Chapter 28.1
Editor: Princess
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Of course, Yu Pei said, “I like it a lot!”
Luo Changzhou nodded when he heard this, then put down his chopsticks, reached into his backpack, and pulled out a small notebook, starting to write something in it.
Yu Pei asked him, “Changzhou, what are you writing?”
“A recipe.” Luo Changzhou answered without even looking up, “Didn’t you just say you liked this little hot pot rice noodles? I’m writing down how to make it, so I can cook it for you next time I have time.”
“You, you’re going to make it for me in the future?” Yu Pei got so flustered his tongue almost tied itself in a knot, because Luo Changzhou said he was going to cook for him.
Luo Changzhou raised his eyes, the corners of his lips curling up slightly, as he gave Yu Pei a quick glance: “Mm-hmm.”
Yu Pei met his eyes, and his ears turned even redder. He looked down and mumbled softly, “But maybe this pot of rice noodles has some secret recipe or something… how would you even know how to make it?”
At this point, Luo Changzhou had already finished jotting down the ingredients. As he put away his pen and notebook, he told Yu Pei, “No matter what it is, if I eat it once, I can tell what the ingredients are. But to get the taste exactly right, I might have to test it out a few times.”
“That’s so awesome!” Yu Pei said, super impressed. “I thought only people in movies had that kind of skill.”
When Luo Changzhou heard this, he smiled at him again, then pointed at the noodles in Yu Pei’s bowl and said, “So you have to eat it properly. Really remember what it tastes like. That way when I make it for you later, you’ll know if it’s exactly the same.”
“Okay.” The warmth that had started at Yu Pei’s ears slowly spread to his cheeks too. His little face turned red as he nodded.
“Oh, right.” Luo Changzhou then unzipped his backpack a little more, and pulled out a clear acrylic box. “This is for you.”
Inside the box was the Tagimoucia. It was clearly very well taken care of, because it was lush, full of life, and even had a few bunches of red flower buds. The buds were all bunched up together, super cute.
Yu Pei tried holding the box and realized it was actually pretty heavy. He asked Luo Changzhou, surprised, “Changzhou, you’ve been carrying this plant on your back this whole time?”
“En.” Luo Changzhou nodded.
“It’s so heavy though. You could’ve given it to me earlier.” Yu Pei‘s brows furrowed a little, feeling distressed that Luo Changzhou had carried it so far. “And you even rode a bike and took me along too. Weren’t you tired?”
“Because it’s heavy, that’s exactly why I didn’t want to give it to you too early.” Luo Changzhou looked straight at him and said seriously.
Yu Pei met his deep blue eyes, listening to these sweet, effortless words coming out of his mouth like they were free, and his heart just felt like it was melting into sugar, as if he had just eaten his favorite candy and everything inside turned all soft and sweet. He could only murmur softly, “Changzhou…”
Luo Changzhou smiled again, and for the fourth time today, reached out and held Yu Pei’s hand. Then he gently guided it to rest on top of the acrylic box holding the flower pot and said, “From now on, it’s yours to take care of. It stands for a new life. So no matter what the past was like, Ah Pei, from now on you have to live every day happily.”
Luo Changzhou had never gone out of his way to ask about Yu Pei’s past, but that didn’t mean he knew nothing. The way their classmates acted around Yu Pei at the start of the semester, the way they talked to him, how Yu Pei distanced himself from everyone—those were obvious clues. He didn’t need to dig to understand. But all of that was the past now. As long as Yu Pei was willing, he’d be by his side from now on, every single day.
Yu Pei had his hand pressed down on the acrylic box, but at this moment, there was nothing romantic running through his head. He just stared at the red flower buds inside the clear box, and his eyes started to sting and turn red.
The truth was, he didn’t like science subjects at all. He liked liberal arts. He liked reading those warm, powerful words. But he ended up picking science.
In the past, he would’ve never believed that the phrase “bitter times will pass” would ever apply to him. He always felt like his whole life was gray, dark, and without a speck of light.
But when Luo Changzhou showed up, he realized that maybe, just maybe, there really was someone in this world who could make one feel like all the suffering they went through in the first half of their life was worth it, just to meet them. That it wasn’t in vain.
He lowered his head. He wanted to cry so badly, but forced himself to take deep breaths, trying to push down the sting in his chest and eyes. He couldn’t cry. He shouldn’t cry. All the gloom in his life had finally gone away, he had no reason to cry anymore.
Because just like the meaning of the Tagimoucia flower—
Tears are a sign of new life.