Being able to work at the Flower Nursery again was the second thing that had made Bai Congming happy that year.
The first was, of course, having a wife... Though his wife made him call him "husband," Bai Congming felt there was no difference.
Dinner at a restaurant with lots of pretty little fish, holding hands with his beloved in the evening light, and home at the end of the road.
Mom really hadn't lied. Once he had a wife, everything would get better.
Ice cream melted in his palm. Bai Congming licked it, leaving a wet streak.
"Dirty."
"Not dirty." Ding Ding smiled as he wiped his hand. "Silly."
Neither embarrassed nor annoyed at being called that, Bai Congming nodded cheerfully. "Little Bai's an idiot!"
Ding Ding didn't like hearing him say things like that. He clicked his tongue, pinched his nose, and gave it a shake. "What did I teach you?"
Bai Congming pouted. "Not an idiot. A little cutie."
"And?" Ding Ding pressed, holding back his laughter.
"A piggy-farty-donkey-silly-billy."
Unable to hold it in any longer, Ding Ding burst out laughing. Then Bai Congming's slightly aggrieved expression made him feel guilty. Feeling rather as though he was bullying him, he crouched down in front of him.
"Hop on. I'll carry you home."
Zhu Bajie must have been blissfully happy too, the moment he carried his wife on his back.
He couldn't leave Little Bai to manage the newly acquired Flower Nursery alone. Ding Ding carved out time to spend half the morning there with him, returned to the company in the afternoon to handle urgent business, then went back to pick him up around the right time.
Making several trips a day turned him into a regular at the nearby gas station.
Fortunately, his efforts weren't fruitless.