Pink lily of the valley

"Hey, kid! You can't go that way! Come this way!"

"But... I need to go there."

"I know! Go around this way!"

"Oh..."

Going out had never been a simple matter for Bai Congming.

The flower nursery was not far from home, just a straight walk away. Since his mother had gone, this was only Bai Congming's second time leaving Hongfang Street.

The first time had been to find Ding Ding, and so was the second.

The difference was that this time, Bai Congming had decided to find a flower shop first and take some pink lily of the valley along to ask for a kiss.

The city was enormous, yet somehow seemed tiny. Every place he passed looked the same.

Bai Congming went around in circles, sweating all over with anxiety.

"Hey, kid? Where exactly are you trying to go?"

The security guard at Dragon City Plaza had watched this person dressed in red and green pass him three times. He looked as though he could not find his way but was too embarrassed to ask, so the guard finally stopped him.

"Number Nine. Flower shop."

"You need to go that way." The guard pointed him in a direction. "Turn out through that exit, go left, and enter through the little door."

Bai Congming pressed his lips together. "Thank you, Mr. Policeman."

"..."

Being called Mr. Policeman made the guard pause. He looked Bai Congming up and down, then stepped away from his post.

"I'll take you there."

Shop Number Nine really was hard to find. Its entrance was not on the ground floor; you had to take a little staircase up to the second floor.

The guard took Bai Congming to the foot of the stairs and patted his shoulder as he reminded him.

"If you have a problem, ask the police. Don't be embarrassed like you were just now, understand?"

Bai Congming looked at him and blinked. "Understood."

The guard left, feeling reassured, but could not help feeling sorry for him. Such a good-looking, polite kid, and yet...

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He called home and gave his own son, who was already in his final year of high school but still fought all day, a thorough scolding.

"..."

Sun Xiangxiang's flower shop had been open for almost half a month.

Compared with shops along the street, her walk-in business was painfully quiet. Sometimes she went an entire day without seeing a single customer.

But the girls working at the shop were good at marketing and had made the online store a roaring success.

The two balanced each other out, leaving them neither overworked nor idle. The owner herself was very satisfied.

When Bai Congming came in, Sun Xiangxiang was hiding in the break room eating little candy bites.

"Little Bai!"

Sun Xiangxiang caught only a glimpse of him through the crack in the door before running out, her face alight with excitement.

"You actually came!"

Bai Congming gave her a small, closed-lip smile. "Hello, Sunflower Sister."

"No work today? Want some candy bites? I'll get you some. Our staff made them, and they're so good, I'm telling you. Oh, right, um..."

Before Bai Congming even had a chance to speak, Sun Xiangxiang rushed to the break room for milk, candy bites, and little snacks, piling a small mountain into his arms.

"Did you come to hang out with me, Little Bai?"

Bai Congming nodded, then shook his head. He put the things she had given him into his little bag, then took out a packet of dried roses.

"Thank you. For you."

He had made the dried flowers with Auntie Zhou to repay her for the comic she had given him.

Auntie Zhou had said that the comic looked expensive, and he must not let other people lose out.

Only after thanking her did Bai Congming answer her question.

"Buy flowers. Find my wife!"

"Really really you're going to see him today what do I do I'm not ready yet when are you going oh today wait!"

"..."

When Sun Xiangxiang got excited, she liked to rattle off a whole string of words without punctuation. Fortunately, she remembered who was standing in front of her and stopped herself in time, slowing her speech.

"I mean... um... you're going to see him now?"

Bai Congming murmured an assent. "Day off. Today."

"Okay, okay, okay!" Sun Xiangxiang's face was flushed. "What flowers would you like? They're on me!"

"No." Bai Congming shook his head. "Little Bai has money. Have money. Buy flowers."

"...All right." Sun Xiangxiang took him to choose the flowers. "Then have a look and see what you'd like."

Bai Congming chose quickly, pointing at the bucket of pink lily of the valley.

"That one!"

The shop assistant paused, looking troubled. "Those..."

"It's fine."

Sun Xiangxiang waved for the assistant to wrap the flowers, then led Bai Congming to the seating area with a meaningful smile.

"You read the comic I gave you, right?"

"It's good!" Bai Congming's eyes shone. "Bobo-bobo!"

That was the little dog the comic's two main characters kept. Whenever an intimate scene came along, it would jump out and cause trouble. Its voice was bizarrely catchy, and Sun Xiangxiang laughed the moment she heard it.

"That was one of my prized possessions!"

The two chatted about this and that for quite a while. When the wrapped flowers arrived, Sun Xiangxiang was telling him that she had more comics like it at home.

"I'll give them all to you once I've sorted them out."

But Bai Congming refused. "Expensive. Don't want them!"

"They're not expensive!" Sun Xiangxiang clicked her tongue. "Then I'll lend them to you. Give them back when you've finished!"

Bai Congming thought that would work, so he nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Sister."

"You're welcome, you're welcome!"

Sun Xiangxiang's heart was about to melt. She hurriedly handed him the bouquet.

"Go find him. I'll visit you at the flower nursery when I'm not busy, and you can tell me how it went!"

Bai Congming nodded, took his bulging little wallet out of his bag, and slowly counted out two hundred yuan to hand her.

"For you. Money."

Beside them, the assistant's brows were drawn so tightly they could almost trap a fly. "That doesn't even..."

"Okay, okay, okay!" Sun Xiangxiang interrupted her and snatched the money. "You're so clever, Little Bai! How did you know how much these cost?"

Pleased by the praise, Little Bai gave his shoulders a happy little shake and told her that he had gone to another flower shop specifically to ask the price before coming.

Sun Xiangxiang was a little surprised. "That's amazing!"

This was something his mother had taught him before.

People were always taking pity on the hardships he and his widowed mother faced. Refusing payment or charging them less had been common.

His mother had not wanted to accept favors for nothing, nor had she wanted to reject people's kindness, so she would take him to another shop first to find out the price, then return to buy from the shop whose owner they knew.

Bai Congming had learned everything his mother taught him very well.

Sun Xiangxiang walked Bai Congming downstairs. When she returned, she found the shop manager looking grim.

"Wh-what?"

"Twelve stems of pink lily of the valley, and you sold them to him for two hundred!?"

"Oh, come on!" Sun Xiangxiang sidled over ingratiatingly. "Just take it out of my account!"

"..."

Most pink lily of the valley currently on the market was dyed, but even those could sell for two hundred yuan a stem.

Theirs had been cultivated in-house and were pink straight out of the soil. They had only these twelve stems altogether, and before they had even properly promoted them, she had sold them for a mere two hundred yuan!

The manager was furious, poking Sun Xiangxiang's shoulder and unable to get a word out for a long while.

"Just you wait... wait until that person comes back and takes you to task!"

Sun Xiangxiang pursed her lips and muttered very quietly.

"I'm not scared!"

"..."