DBTHDCAR Chapter 68

The island in the middle of the lake was a man-made islet. When the botanical garden was originally built, they dug this lake and a small river, diverting water from Dianshan Lake for landscaping. The stones and soil they excavated were piled up to form this very island.

After years of careful maintenance, the island had become one of the most beautiful spots in the entire garden.

The outer ring road around the island was planted with cherry trees: Tokyo cherry, Kawazu cherry, and Somei-yoshino cherry bloomed in fierce competition, a billowing sea of clouds and mist. Everywhere the eye could see was dazzling pink, a breathtaking view.

Inside the island, the scenery was even more lively: crabapple trees bloomed brilliantly, peach trees reached toward the sky, and clusters of lupines erupted in color. Wherever you looked, it was a sea of flowers.

“Ah-choo!”

As soon as Ning Xiaobei stepped onto the island, something felt off. Sneezes came in rapid succession, tears and snot flew, and now even his eyes were starting to close on their own.

“What’s wrong? Is your asthma acting up again? You haven’t had a flare in ages,”

Fan Xia fretted, circling anxiously around Ning Xiaobei.

“It’s not asthma… ah-choo… looks like it’s a pollen allergy.”

Tears streaming, Ning Xiaobei held a tissue to his nose, feeling like a leaking teapot. Liquid poured from his eyes, nose, and mouth, unstoppable.

“A pollen allergy? I don’t remember you ever having this as a kid.”

“Asthma is basically a sign of an allergic constitution, ah-choo… just because I wasn’t allergic to pollen before doesn’t mean I can’t be now, ah-choo ah-choo…”

No wonder his forehead itched the moment they entered the park; the full-on attack had arrived here.

Ning Xiaobei clutched his chest, sneezing until his lungs ached, looking completely helpless.

Fan Xia thwacked his own thigh in frustration. How could he have forgotten that Xiaobei had always been physically fragile, and now he’d been tricked into the botanical garden over two strings of sausages by Gu Kaige?

“Go check the island’s little shop for masks. If that doesn’t work, ask at the park service center if they have any emergency medicine.”

Ning Xiaobei looked around and pointed to an octagonal pavilion built on a jagged artificial rock formation. It was relatively free of flowers and trees, making it a slightly safer spot.

“Go quick and come back fast. If you can’t get anything, we’ll retreat. Just send Brother Kai a message then.”

Fan Xia nodded and sprinted off.

At the same time, Zhao Jingwen and Ning Jianguo staggered their steps and also made their way onto the island.

“Jianguo, let’s climb that artificial hill. I saw the map at the entrance. The octagonal pavilion at the top is the highest point. From there, you can get a full view of the lake island.”

As soon as he set foot on the island, Zhao Jingwen pointed eagerly toward the pavilion at the summit.

“We’re not middle schoolers anymore, and you still want to climb an artificial hill? Let’s just walk down here,” Ning Jianguo said.

So the two of them wandered deeper into the shady greenery.

“Jianguo, look,”

Zhao Jingwen pointed to a camphor tree ahead, big enough for three people to hug, its branches thick and lush. “I remember back at our shoe factory, there were camphor trees lining both sides of the entrance. In summer, walking underneath them, not a ray of sunlight could get through. Come April, tiny flowers bloom on them — white and yellow, each as small as a grain of rice.”

“And in spring, the smell of camphor trees… nothing else compares. No flower scent or fruit fragrance… just this subtle aroma, you don’t know where it comes from, but even after walking far, it lingers on you. Smells like fresh grass and leaves… Ever since leaving the shoe factory, I haven’t smelled it in all these years.”

Zhao Jingwen wasn’t some artsy intellectual; these words came straight from the heart.

Now successful in his career, he not only had a car, he was even preparing to buy a second apartment. But every midnight, in his dreams, he still found himself back in the Third Shoe Factory.

In the office, he drank tea and casually chatted with the long-term workers; outside the workshop, he waited for Ning Jianguo to finish work; he batted his eyes at the cafeteria aunties just to get an extra piece of pork ribs; before the New Year, he would lug a basin and queue with Fan Xia for a bath, and arguments often broke out over who cut in line and who didn’t…

His youth, the best years of his life, were all devoted to the Third Shoe Factory, and it was here that he met the love of his life.

“Sometimes I think… if only the shoe factory had lasted. Everyone would always be together, and every problem would have the organization backing us. Birth, old age, sickness, death… the state would take care of it all. Now that I look back, Old Ma and his wife weren’t so unbearable after all…”

Ning Jianguo wore a look of nostalgia.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground. A breeze stirred, and the shadows quivered. Black and white mixed in a chaotic dance, and standing there, it felt as if he were beneath the water, looking up at ripples on the surface— dreamlike and unreal.

“Do you remember the first time we met?”

“How could I forget? We even had a fight.”

Seeing no one around, Zhao Jingwen boldly placed his hand on Ning Jianguo’s shoulder and led him beneath the trees…

In early spring, the lake island looked like a jade pendant set with a delicate circle of pink diamonds. The green canopy hid whispering lovers among lush foliage and the scent of flowers. The warm wind rustled the leaves, sounding like the soft murmur of lovers’ voices.

Meanwhile, Fan Xia dashed out of the service center, medicine in hand, sprinting toward Ning Xiaobei’s location.

The service center had no masks and no allergy medicine. But, by coincidence, a young woman had her own allergic attack and came to the desk for hot water and medicine. Hearing that a middle school student was sick too, she tore her own blister pack in half for Fan Xia, telling him to hurry and save the person.

Fan Xia now felt like an arrow released from a bow, wishing he could sprout wheels under his feet.

“Rules be damned!”

He stomped his foot and sprinted into the trees.

Passing through this camphor grove led straight to the octagonal pavilion. Taking the main road would take at least ten minutes, but cutting through the greenery would save at least half the time.

The boy clenched his fists, moving like a little whirlwind beneath towering trees.

Under his feet, the fresh green grass carried the distinct scent of spring. Clumps of mondo grass, just emerging from winter, drooped lazily as if not fully awakened, their green a little lackluster. Persian verbenas, blue with hints of purple, quietly bloomed on the exposed soil; in Shanghai, they were nicknamed ‘foolish grass’ for their carefree, wherever-they-planted-they-bloom nature.

Dandelions, wild garlic, yellow shepherd’s purse, catnip—all the wild spring grasses—were crushed beneath his speeding steps.

The boy gritted his teeth, feeling as if he had become a green gust of wind, weaving through layers of deep and light green.

A few days ago, a heavy rain had broken a dead branch, which the wind had dropped onto the ground, hiding beneath a patch of grass. The boy didn’t notice it and tripped over it, sprawling onto the ground.

The soft mud and grass cushioned his fall, preventing injury, but it startled the couple huddled under a nearby tree.

“Someone’s here!”

Ning Jianguo shoved Zhao Jingwen aside and leapt up like a startled rabbit.

Even though there were no longer park patrols to catch people for being perverts or acting all scandalous in the grass, the thought of being seen still sent shivers down Ning Jianguo’s spine.

“There’s no one. Stop scaring yourself…”

Zhao Jingwen was startled too. He positioned Ning Jianguo behind him and scanned their surroundings.

Just then, a large wild cat, round-headed and plump, darted across in front of them and vanished into the forsythia. Two white butterflies, flustered, flapped their wings in chaos atop the flowers, their panicked movements eerily mirroring the two boys.

“See? Just scaring ourselves. Nothing to worry about…”

Zhao Jingwen said, lifting Ning Jianguo’s chin as if to kiss him. Ning Jianguo, flustered, half resisted, half yielded, glancing around nervously before finally giving in.

“All right, let’s go back. When we arrived on the island, was the boat tied properly? It shouldn’t drift away, right?”

Blushing slightly, he darted out of the woods and onto the main path. Zhao Jingwen chuckled softly and followed, draping his arm over Ning Jianguo’s shoulder as usual.

“It’d be fine if it drifted. Then we could just live on the island forever, like Zhang Wuji and Yin Susu on Ice Fire Island in 《The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.》”

“Jingwen, you tell Xiao Xia not to read martial arts novels, and look at yourself! You’re the one reading nonsense. Just babbling nonsense…”

It wasn’t until their figures disappeared entirely into the camphor grove that Fan Xia slowly lifted his head.

A tender green tulip tree leaf had fallen on him. Distracted, he sat down heavily on the damp grass. Leaves fluttered from his forehead to his shoulders, then to the ground, as if mirroring the boy’s lost soul.

That just now… that must have been Uncle and Uncle Ning… no doubt about it; they even mentioned their names.

But… why were they kissing?

Two men… kissing each other…? Men can even do that?!

Fan Xia felt like the worldview he’d built up over sixteen years had completely collapsed.

What was this… what even was this?!

“Swish!” The big wildcat returned, this time carrying a small gecko that was still wriggling in its mouth. Its yellow eyes, with pupils as thin as threads, gave the human sitting on the ground a lazy sideways glance before it strolled into the bushes.

Fan Xia felt a sharp sting in his palm as his scattered wits started returning to him.

Looking down, he saw the jagged edge of aluminum foil from the medicine packets pressing into his hand. He had squeezed it so hard earlier that he’d punctured his palm.

“Medicine… Xiaobei!”

He jolted upright, ignoring the grass and mud clinging to him, and sprinted toward the octagonal pavilion.

“Xiaobei! The medicine’s here!”

Climbing up the octagonal pavilion, Fan Xia almost tumbled down the artificial hill at the sight before him—

Ning Xiaobei was lying against the north-facing railing, completely still.

A white tissue covered his face. Eyes, ears, nose, and mouth were all tightly masked. His body was stiff as a board, motionless, like he was dead.

Hearing Fan Xia’s voice, Ning Xiaobei flopped upright like a startled carp, yanking the tissue off his face. “Finally! You actually came!”

“Holy—, what happened to your face?!”

Fan Xia was shocked again.

What did Ning Xiaobei look like now?

A little like Gong Li’s character Qiu Xiang in Stephen Chow’s movie 《Flirting Scholar》, after being kicked by the infamous deadly scholar sent by Ning Wang with the most despicable and vicious martial arts style face-distorting kick. It’s red, swollen, and miserable.

Ning Xiaobei’s eyes were so swollen he could barely open them, only a sliver of light peeking through the lashes.

“Where’s the medicine?”

Fan Xia hurriedly tore open the foil and put a pill in his palm.

He expected Ning Xiaobei to take it with his hand, but Ning Xiaobei impatiently stuck out his tongue and licked the pill directly from Fan Xia’s palm.

The tiny tongue brushed over the skin, and Fan Xia drew in a sharp breath.

“Water…”

“Here’s water.”

Without thinking, Fan Xia unscrewed the bottle and brought it to Ning Xiaobei’s lips. He gulped it down in huge swigs.

“Boss, you really scared me! I thought you were dead. Why’d you pretend to be dead?!”

About five minutes after taking the pill, Ning Xiaobei could finally speak normally. At his worst, he hadn’t even been able to open his mouth.

“I wasn’t pretending. I wet the tissue with water and put it on my face; first to block the pollen and second to cool my skin. I was about to itch myself to death.”

A little while later, the swelling in Ning Xiaobei’s eyelids faded enough that he could see properly. Seeing Fan Xia completely covered in mud, with hair messy and clothes torn, Xiaobei was just as shocked.

“What happened to you? You’re all muddy, and your hair a mess… Your pants are also ripped.”

“I… I’m fine, really.”

Hearing him say that, the scene from the camphor grove earlier flashed back in Fan Xia’s mind. He awkwardly tugged at the corner of his mouth, deciding not to mention it.

Ning Xiaobei, trusting him completely, tugged at Fan Xia’s arm once and let go. Feeling guilty, he said, “You probably just fell on the way while trying to get my medicine, right? Let’s hurry back and get the nurse to take a look.”

“Wait!”

Seeing Ning Xiaobei turn toward the dock, Fan Xia immediately blocked him— if they ran into those two from earlier… that would be a disaster! They had to wait until those men left the lake island before moving.

“What’s wrong? Hurt? Can’t walk?”

Ning Xiaobei crouched down, rolled up Fan Xia’s sweatpants, and sure enough, underneath was a patch of red; the skin had been scraped.

“No, it’s nothing… I—I’ll call Ding Zheyang first, have him and Lele wait at the East Gate. I don’t want them accidentally coming over here; that would waste time.”

If the two of them also see the scene of Uncle and Ning Jianguo from earlier… that would be even worse.

………………

Author’s Note:

Fan Xia: What did I do wrong? Why did I have to see that!! Ahhh!

====================