A contract among flowers

"Where are you off to, Little Bai? Shall Auntie dish up some food for you?"

"No food! Going home!"

Bai Congming answered hastily and ran out of the Flower Nursery without looking back, cradling a hydrangea bloom that had been snipped off for its poor appearance.

Poor appearance really only meant its petals weren't quite as densely clustered. Its overall shape was still round.

A hydrangea that was pale blue all over was precious. He wanted to take it home for Brother Ding to see.

Having run the whole way, Bai Congming was panting hard when he came through the door. Ding Ding was only just stirring awake.

"You're back..."

"Brother Ding!" Bai Congming brought the flower to the bedside. "Look! Flower!"

Ding Ding squirmed under the covers a couple of times. Remembering the price of accepting that spray of pink lily of the valley, he couldn't help smiling.

"I haven't brushed my teeth yet..."

Bai Congming didn't understand what looking at flowers had to do with brushing teeth, so he held the hydrangea a little closer.

"Look at flower!"

"I see it, I see it." Ding Ding sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Let me get up and wash first..."

Bai Congming didn't wait. He happily carried the hydrangea outside, dug a hole at the foot of the wall, and buried the flower beneath the bougainvillea.

Ding Ding came out brushing his teeth and thought he meant to plant the flower with its roots cut off.

"You have to keep flowers like that in water."

Bai Congming patted the top layer of soil firmly down. "Not growing this. This is for, Mom."

The courtyard, the soil, the bright, brilliant flowers-put together, they gave Ding Ding an outrageous suspicion.

Ding Ding spat out his toothpaste foam and pointed at the spot where Bai Congming had buried the flower. "Your mom... is here?"

A lot of leaves had fallen off the patch near the corner. Bai Congming went over to check and missed Ding Ding's little gesture.

And so Ding Ding heard Bai Congming murmur his agreement. "Mom lives in the bougainvillea."

"..."

More than fear, what Ding Ding felt was respect.

An absent husband, a sick son-this woman must have suffered a great deal while she was alive to raise Bai Congming into who he was today.

Ding Ding stepped back and bowed toward that patch of ground.

The bow was far too formal. Ding Ding held himself rigidly straight, so much so that he lost his balance as he rose, stumbled, and nearly toppled to the ground.

Fortunately, Bai Congming reacted quickly, catching him and steadying him.

Having embarrassed himself in front of his late mother-in-law, Ding Ding swallowed what he had meant to say and hopped back inside.

After all, not everyone could calmly say, "Leave your son to me. Don't worry," under those circumstances.

"..."

"I've brushed my teeth."

Bai Congming nodded and turned to fold the quilt Ding Ding had slept in and twisted into a sesame ball.

His unconcerned manner made Ding Ding frown and repeat himself more loudly.

"I said, I've brushed my teeth!"

Bai Congming tilted his head, not knowing why Brother Ding kept talking about brushing his teeth today.

Remembering how long it had taken him to learn to brush his teeth as a child, and how his mother had praised him every time he finished, Bai Congming suddenly understood.

"Great job!" Bai Congming gave him a thumbs-up, then thought for a moment and added, "Good boy!"

"..."

Ding Ding closed his eyes for a moment. "Come here and give me a kiss!"

"Kiss! Mwah, mwah, mwah!"

All that fuss wasn't as effective as one simple sentence.

They reheated and ate the potato rice left over from the night before, and then Bai Congming had to return to the Flower Nursery.

Before leaving, he tugged reluctantly at Ding Ding's sleeve and handed over all the money in the house, keeping not a cent for himself.

Ding Ding raised an eyebrow at him. "Aren't you afraid I'll run off?"

"Don't run!" Bai Congming immediately grew anxious, but not over the money. "Life together!"

"Yes, yes, we'll have a life together," Ding Ding hurriedly soothed him. "I was only teasing!"

"Pinky promise!"

"..."

Thirty-year-old Ding Ding helplessly held out his little finger and hooked it around Bai Congming's. After a stumbling recitation of the pledge, their thumbs pressed together, sealing the contract.

A man who had once insisted on finding ways to uncover loopholes even in contracts written in black and white now had no intention of going back on a pinky promise with no legal force whatsoever.

"Come home early tonight."

"Okay."

Ding Ding hopped all the way to the door to see him off, holding the doorframe and watching until Bai Congming was out of sight before slowly turning around.

The more he thought about it, the less right it felt.

His iron tree had finally bloomed, only to turn him into a devoted wife and mother.

Especially when, a moment later, Ding Ding carried a stool outside on his lame leg and began lighting a fire to brew his medicine.

"..."

The lunch break wasn't long to begin with, and Ding Ding hadn't wanted him to go to all the trouble of making the trip.

What was the point of coming back just to share a meal?

But for all Bai Congming's occasional cluelessness, he could come up with one excuse after another.

He said there were bugs at the Flower Nursery and he was afraid they'd fall into his food, then said the Flower Nursery served dishes that made his mouth hurt. Back and forth he went, until he really did convince Ding Ding.

Only now did Ding Ding realize that this was Bai Congming's home. He didn't need Ding Ding's permission to come back.

The fool didn't understand rules or principles, yet he still instinctively knew to respect others.

The herbal medicine was so bitter that it overwhelmed even the fragrance of the courtyard flowers. Ding Ding pinched his nose, tilted his head back, and gulped it down, then hopped into the bathroom to brush his teeth several times.

At times like this, he missed him especially keenly.

Ding Ding sat in the courtyard. The sunlight was warm, and when he closed his eyes, a sweetness of gardenia seemed to fill his mouth.

It put him at ease and left him feeling complete.

The only flaw was how short of money the two of them were.

Ding Ding counted the money in his hands over and over, unable to understand how only half was left after a little over a month.

"It's not like there are any new big-ticket items in the house..."

Ding Ding put the money away and limped around watering the courtyard plants. It felt as though he had been at it for ages, but when he checked the time, only half an hour had passed.

Perhaps because Bai Congming was a gardener, the flowers in this courtyard bloomed especially well under a professional's careful tending.

But in Ding Ding's eyes, they held another meaning.

A mother who couldn't stop worrying about her foolish son had made flowers bloom from her own flesh and blood so that he would no longer be lonely.

Ding Ding was so moved by his own thought that he brought over a stool, sat facing the bougainvillea, and began rambling.

"A... Auntie, hello."

This counted as meeting the parent, too. Ding Ding sat a little straighter and began introducing himself.

"My surname is Ding. You know, it's a major surname back where I'm from. The ancestral hall is beautiful. It's just that my family... anyway, I won't be taking Little Bai back there. If you're interested, you can float over and have a look yourself."

Smiling, Ding Ding recited an address in a small coastal city more than three thousand kilometers from M City.

"It's a bit far, but floating there shouldn't be too much trouble for you..."

"As for me, I might look a little down on my luck right now, but don't worry. I've still got my skills. Your son won't have too bad a life with me."

"I'm no saint, but I've really never done anything heinous. I don't know if your underworld offers that kind of service... you know, checking someone's life history and all that..."

There was no reply. Ding Ding talked on alone for a long time, giving an account of three generations of his family.

Most people kept a respectful distance from ghosts and spirits, but Ding Ding felt that if ghosts truly existed, then it must be lingering attachments and unspent love that brought the dead across a thousand miles, returning to ease their loved ones' ceaseless longing.

There was no need to fear such beings.

By the end, Ding Ding's mouth was parched, and he let out a long breath as though a weight had lifted.

"Anyway, just watch. I'll be good to him."