The vast expanse of blooming roses in Stanley Park reminded Huang Liang of the azaleas covering the mountains and fields of his hometown. Layer upon layer, patch upon patch, like a spread of flames, they dyed the mountains and the sky red.
During the Du Juan blooming season, he likes to go to the mountaintop alone, lie down among the flowers, and look at the blue sky and white clouds. There are flowers beneath him, flowers at his feet, flowers above his head, flowers in his palms, and flowers all around him. He can feel the vitality of the flowers, with their vigorous life and fiery passion.
Why do these flowers bloom so brightly? Their lives are so short!
Why do the clouds in the sky drift so leisurely? They clearly scatter as soon as the wind comes!
Behind the clouds lies the blue sky, but what lies beyond that blue sky? Is there life there?
He was obsessed with this fantasy, but it was a luxury for a country boy. Only when he was completely relaxed amidst the blooming flowers did he have time to think about these trivial matters.
His younger sister always came to find him in the evening, her warbling voice carried on the fragrant breeze.
"Hey brother--where are you--"
He casually plucked a flower from the bushes, held it by the stem, and raised it high, swaying it in the air. His younger sister, as light as a butterfly, flitted through the flowers, and as she neared, she pounced on him, throwing herself into his arms, sending petals flying everywhere, giggling as she said:
"Lazy brother, I've caught you!"
Huang Liang felt as if he were in a dream. He was capable enough to distinguish between dreams and reality, and if it weren't for the thorns of the rose pricking him awake, he would rather have stayed in the dream forever.
Martha picked roses in the designated area. Although the Wolf family had privileges, they couldn't just do whatever they wanted, after all, it was a public place.
Huang Liang sat down on a deserted path in the rose garden. The roses around him swayed gently in the morning breeze, their fragrance intoxicating. He was lost in a strange reverie.
Martha's voice came on the wind:
"Huang--Where are you--"
He forgot that roses are different from azaleas; roses are covered in thorns. He heard the warbling of the nightingale and, just like when he used to pluck Du Juan, grabbed a stem and held it high, only to have his palm pricked and bleed.
Martha, like a butterfly, gracefully flitted through the flowers, a few rose petals she stirred up dancing in the wind along with her dress.
"Aha, I found you! I thought you were gone!"
"This is for you," Huang Liang said, holding up the rose in his hand.
Martha's heart pounded, and she bravely looked up at him. The wind around them suddenly stopped, and all the colors and fragrances of the roses seemed to freeze in the distance, leaving only the one in his hand, dazzling, like a fire on the horizon, stained with blood that resembled the color of the flower.
She took the rose from his hand and suddenly noticed blood seeping from his palm, slowly trickling down the rose's stem.
"Oh no, your hand is bleeding!"
Martha placed the roses into the flower basket already overflowing with blossoms, grasped Huang Liang's hand, carefully removed some thorns that remained on his skin, gently blew on them a few times, and said with concern:
"We need to pull all the thorns out. The administrator has the tools. You need bandages, so come with me!"
Martha pulled Huang Liang to the rose garden's management office. The manager, an elderly woman, looked at Huang Liang's palms and said, "This is the first time I've seen someone pick roses like this. Even if you have thorns on your face, it's not as shocking as what you've done! Where did you get these thorns? It wasn't in a public viewing area, was it?"
Martha gently shook her head at Huang Liang, signaling him not to speak.
The old woman glanced at them, then, while using a tool to remove thorns from his arm, said, "Don't try to hide it from me. I know every single flower here. Young people can be romantic, but they have to follow the rules. I was young once too! Do you know why I love this place? Because my husband and I met in Stanley Park. Back then, there weren't so many roses here, just wildflowers whose names I didn't know. We'd have our trysts here, and every time he'd pick me a huge bunch of wildflowers. He even said he'd build me a rose garden!"
Huang Liang then asked, "Did your wife build this rose garden?"
"Here?" The old lady paused for a moment. "Oh, no, no, of course not. This is a public facility. Mr. Wolf paid for it, so Miss Martha has the privilege of picking flowers."
"And what about your spouse?"
"He's long gone to meet God. I think he's already built a rose garden in heaven, waiting for me to come!"
While the old lady and Huang Liang chatted, Martha carefully removed the thorns from the rose with scissors and wrapped the flower in paper. She noticed that the flower was exceptionally vibrant and its fragrance was particularly strong. Besides the floral scent, she also detected a faint smell of blood, but it wasn't fishy at all; instead, it enhanced the rose's fragrance. She recalled a line of poetry:
A rose that has passed through a lover's hands will forever bear the scent of that lover.
After the old lady finished removing the thorns from Huang Liang, she handed the disinfectant and gauze to Martha. "Disinfect him. Once you're a wife, it's not just about romance anymore. Besides roses, you'll also need to know how to do chores!"
Martha pretended not to understand and carefully wiped Huang Liang's wounds on his hands. When she peeked at him, she found him looking at her, and her face turned red.
It was nearly noon when they left the rose garden. Huang Liang's hands were too weak to ride the bike anymore, Martha pushed it, with the flower basket hanging on the handlebars. As they passed the spot where they had met, Dickinson was reeling in her fishing rod.
"Ah, what a lucky day!" he exclaimed cheerfully, pointing to the fish bucket. "Quite a haul! Come over to my place for some fish soup!"
Huang Liang was almost certain that Martha was not the second leader. Although he was willing to stay with Martha for the rest of his life, he wanted to talk to Dickinson, hoping to find out something. Even if he wasn't the second leader, he was also very interested in the things that Mei Yiqiu and the others were exploring.
Martha said, "I still need to take the roses back, and Mr. Wolf can't do without me." She looked at Huang Liang, "You go ahead, don't worry about me, I'll ride the bicycle back, but your hands..."
Huang Liang said, "Oh, it's nothing. You forgot I'm a doctor! Besides..." He looked at her, "Thank you!"
Martha smiled happily. She said goodbye to Dickinson, got on her bicycle, and rode away.
"She's a nice girl," Dickinson said as she walked over.
Huang Liang watched Martha's figure disappear under the large redwood tree in the distance before turning his gaze away. He then noticed that Dickinson's bucket contained more than a dozen small white fish, which looked similar to the whitebait from his hometown, but were quite large.
"Really just eating fish?" he asked.
Dickinson glared at him and said, "What else do you want to eat?"
Huang Liang smiled and said, "I will obey all arrangements."
Dickinson, seemingly oblivious to the implication in his words, asked, "Can you cook?"
Huang Liang said, "I know a little."
Dickinson cheered. "Haha, great! I can eat China food today! Only China food deserves the word 'gourmet food,' everything else is just 'food.' As for Canada..." He shook his head self-deprecatingly, as if the food in Canada didn't even deserve the word "food."
Huang Liang was inexplicably assigned the task of cooking, but it wasn't difficult for him. How many kids from the countryside don't know how to cook?
"Professor, do you come here to fish often?"
"Not often, just occasionally," Dickinson said. "Looking at the vast ocean broadens one's horizons and expands one's mind. Sometimes, problems that are hard to solve in the office suddenly become clear while sitting by the sea. That's why I like fishing."
"So, are you in a relaxed mood today, or have you encountered some difficulties?"
"Today? No, not at all. We have guests at home today, and they like to eat fish, so I came here specifically to catch a few."
Huang Liang found it strange. Shouldn't he stay home with his guests? Why would he leave them to go fishing? Even if they like fish, buying a few wouldn't be a big deal.
"You have guests, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to go over there, would it?" he said.
Dickinson said, "It's alright, and you can cook China food, China my guest particularly enjoys. Oh, by the way," he suddenly added mysteriously, "Guess who my guest is?"
Huang Liang was taken aback, then thought, "Could it be Professor Mei?"
Dickinson shook her head and said, "It wasn't him, but it's related to him."
"Who could it be?" Huang Liang really couldn't guess.
" Selina — China Mei's old flame! Hahaha!" Dickinson seemed to recall something very funny and burst into laughter. "Just because of Mei Yiqiu, she likes China food. If you cook well today, you might hear a lot of interesting stories about China Mei from her."