Love as it was

If Bai Fang were still alive and saw someone like this standing beside Little Bai, she would probably have felt reassured too.

In truth, only fifty percent of Auntie Zhou's doubts had been dispelled so far.

But this was the person Little Bai had chosen himself, which made her feel that perhaps it was worth a try.

Auntie Zhou raised a hand to smooth the stray hairs over her forehead and held out the envelope.

"The nursery doesn't pay much. Little Bai's mother entrusted me with keeping part of his wages for him every month. For now... I'll hand this over to you."

Ding Ding hadn't expected that and didn't dare take it at first. Then Auntie Zhou continued.

"The money from before is all still there, but that's for Little Bai's emergencies. I can't give it to you yet. Of course, if you treat Little Bai badly in the future, the nursery will take the money back too."

"Of course."

Ding Ding agreed and glanced toward Granny Sun, who was handing out wages by the main gate, looking hale and hearty. Presumably, she was one of the "old folks" Auntie Zhou had mentioned.

It turned out that beneath those seemingly ordinary days, there were still people supporting Bai Congming.

Ding Ding accepted the envelope with both hands, then turned and handed it to the person beside him.

"Keep it safe, little moneybags."

Bai Congming happily pushed it back toward him. "For Brother Ding!"

"..."

Auntie Zhou said nothing at the sight of them like this. She only reminded them to be careful on the way home, then turned back to help Granny Sun with the accounts.

"Why are you giving it to me..."

Somewhat helplessly, Ding Ding pinched Bai Congming's cheek, thinking that Auntie Zhou might well assume he was only after the money.

Bai Congming understood none of these complications. He merely tilted his head up to make it easier for Ding Ding to pinch his cheek and said clingingly,

"Everything I have, it's all yours!"

Some worker's phone rang, loud enough to stand out even amid the noisy crowd, and remarkably fitting for the occasion.

"If this doesn't count as love-"

Still, that pay really was far too low.

The movers Ding Ding used to hire at the warehouse could earn six or seven thousand a month. Compared with the same kind of physical labor, these two thousand three hundred seemed rather meager.

But Bai Congming's circumstances were different, after all. Perhaps this place was already his best option.

At that thought, Ding Ding sighed.

"Little Bai, do you like growing flowers?"

"I do!" Bai Congming answered loudly.

Ding Ding hummed in acknowledgment, drawing out seven or eight threads in his mind and cutting them off one by one until a single clear one remained.

"How about I open a flower shop for you someday?"

"A flower shop..." Bai Congming's eyebrows rose, his face full of anticipation. "Sunflower Sister has a flower shop!"

Ding Ding didn't know who this Sunflower Sister was, but that didn't stop him from asking again.

"Would you like a flower shop?"

"Flower shop, flower shop, flower shop!"

"..."

Ding Ding decided to take that as a yes. After helping him put on his helmet, he drove him out of the street.

Watching their retreating figures, Auntie Zhou grew a little distracted and failed to respond even when the person beside her called several times.

Aunt Xie reached over and poked her shoulder. "Zhou! What are you looking at?"

"Huh?" Auntie Zhou came back to herself. "What is it?"

"I was telling you my niece will be here next week. How do you think we should arrange for the two of them to meet?"

She had forgotten about that.

Auntie Zhou lowered her head and said very softly, "Give me... a little more time to think."

"..."

With a vehicle to get around on, Bai Congming arrived home much earlier than usual that day.

That was a good thing. It meant he had a little more time to spend with Brother Ding.

The electric scooter was parked in the courtyard. Only when Ding Ding turned and walked back toward the gate did Bai Congming notice a new lock on the rust-covered gate.

"Huh?"

Ding Ding closed the gate, smiled at him, then took out a key and handed it over.

"With a gate, you have a home."

"Little Bai has a home!"

Bai Congming looked very excited. The hand holding the key trembled slightly, and he spoke with such emphasis that, for a moment, it was hard to tell whether he was stressing something or refuting it.

Ding Ding didn't press him. He gave a quiet hum and reached out to cover Bai Congming's eyes.

"Dark!" Bai Congming shifted his grip from the key to Ding Ding. "Can't see!"

"Don't be scared, Little Bai," Ding Ding said close to his ear. "I'll do a magic trick for you."

With his eyes covered, his other senses grew sharper. Almost as soon as Bai Congming stepped through the door, he noticed something was different.

There was a cool scent in the air and a faint mechanical hum by his ears.

The darkness left Bai Congming feeling a little aggrieved. "Brother Ding, it's dark."

"Don't blink!"

His palm tickled as Bai Congming's lashes swept back and forth, moving uncontrollably even beneath his hand.

Ding Ding had never done anything like preparing a surprise before. Beyond covering Bai Congming's eyes to preserve a little mystery, he had no idea what he was supposed to do next.

When they reached the middle of the room, Ding Ding paused, then finally let go of Bai Congming rather awkwardly.

"All right, take a look."

The once-empty room was now filled to the brim. Almost everywhere he looked had been transformed.

Unlike the reaction Ding Ding had imagined, Bai Congming didn't seem particularly surprised or delighted. Instead, he was remarkably calm.

He calmly looked around, calmly touched this and that, and calmly shed a string of tears.

Those tears didn't seem to signal sadness, so Ding Ding had no intention of comforting him. He simply stood beside him and watched, waiting for him to take this place in and give him some positive feedback.

Ding Ding knew it would come.

Sure enough, after opening and closing the bathroom door three or four times, Bai Congming let out a sob and threw himself into Ding Ding's arms.

"What are you crying for?"

Bai Congming sniffled. "Wifey..."

Ding Ding instinctively wanted to correct him, but before he could speak, Bai Congming's words softened his heart completely.

"Did Mom... send you to love me?"

"..."

Ding Ding had always felt that love was a weighty word, not something to be said lightly.

Nor did he think Bai Congming, with his condition, could understand what love was.

Yet when the word suddenly appeared, Ding Ding realized that it made perfect sense.

All the love in Bai Congming's life had come from his mother. After she was gone, that love had dwindled sharply. Then Ding Ding appeared.

He cooked him delicious meals, bought him a phone, brought him a little blanket...

Similar care and attention made Bai Congming feel that they must spring from the same feeling.

Just as his mother had said, it was because of love.

Ding Ding sighed. "You loved me first."

Only later did Ding Ding learn that this house had originally had those appliances.

Before Bai Congming's mother died, she had sold them all.

-Because she worried about the dangers of electricity and couldn't leave Bai Congming to face those unknown risks alone.

After all those twists and turns, everything seemed to have returned to the way it had been at the beginning.

The person was different, but the love remained the same.

"You first," Bai Congming said, holding him tightly. "You saved me."

Ding Ding smiled and squeezed a reply out of his throat.

"I was the lucky one."