At the end of the stone road, there is a tall banyan tree. It was struck by lightning and half of it is dead, but the other half is still thriving, appearing lush and green under the night sky.
The lighted shop under the banyan tree is a pastry shop. There is not even a store name on the wooden sign. Pushing the door and entering the slightly yellowed glass counter, there are some unsold pastries, the most old-fashioned ones, not in exquisite shapes or bright colors. Only the aroma is tempting.
"Is anyone there?" Li Xuan knocked on the counter.
"Wait." After a while, the door to the back kitchen opened, and a gray-haired old man answered while taking off his apron and walking out, "Want some snacks? We're closed... Come earlier tomorrow? We open at 8 o'clock, and we have freshly baked snacks."
"I made a reservation this afternoon." Li Xuan reported the number.
"Oh... yes, I have made a note of it." The old man suddenly realized and said in a long voice, "I'm waiting for you." He bent down and took out a thick cowhide notebook from under the counter.
"Your last name is Li, right? ... I thought you weren't coming." He took out his reading glasses and put them on. His fingers slid across the pages line by line, and when he found the name recorded, he raised his head and smiled kindly, "You guys take a seat first. It's ready. I'll get it."
A tie-dyed indigo floral cloth hangs on the left side of the counter. A few steps up, there is a small mezzanine with room for only two small wooden tables.
As the night wind blew, the wind chimes collided with each other, making tiny sounds. The warm yellow light sprinkled on the petals of sunflowers and red gerberas in the ceramic vase, and was refracted by water droplets to produce crystal light.
"We ordered a little late. The flower shop in town can only carry so many flowers." Li Xuan explained softly as they sat down at the wooden table.
The bouquet was not large, but the flowers were full and looked like they were about to overflow from the bottle. The overlapping shadows under the light occupied half of the table. Sheng Min gently touched the petals, and the water drops rolled down to his fingertips. He smiled, satisfied but helpless: "How come your memory is so good?"
"I don't know, I just remembered it." Li Xuan said casually.
Sheng Min smiled and looked around: "I haven't eaten osmanthus candy for a long time."
"Then you can try it later to see if the taste is still the same."
"How did you find this store?" Sheng Min looked up at him. "It must be very troublesome. I didn't even know it moved here."
"No trouble." Li Xuan shook his head. "Your requests are not many, so they are not troublesome at all."
Sheng Min pursed her lips, rarely showing a hint of mischief, but her eyes were soft: "Are theater tickets also easy to buy?"
Li Xuan shrugged: "It won't be more expensive than a computer host."
Being outmaneuvered, Sheng Min remained silent. After a long while, he pursed his lips and whispered, "That's not how you compare."
"Yes." Li Xuan lowered his eyes and repeated, "That's not how you compare."
There were footsteps outside the curtain, and the wooden stairs creaked. An old man came up with a tray.
On top was a plate of osmanthus candy, crystal clear, and below were all kinds of snacks, from peach blossom pastry to green rice balls. There were too many kinds of snacks, and the old man was tired of carrying them, so Li Xuan stood up and took them, placing the plates on the table one by one.
"I didn't prepare much of each kind. It's too late and the snacks are hard to digest." The old man said, with a little regret, "It's been out of the oven for a while, and it doesn't taste like it was just made."
Sheng Min then picked up a piece of mung bean ice cream and took a bite. It was filled with chopped plums. He said softly, "It's still delicious."
The old man smiled, looked at Sheng Min and suddenly said, "Young man, you look familiar."
Hearing this, Li Xuan's eyebrows jumped involuntarily, but Sheng Min still smiled gently: "When we opened on Binjiang Road, I often bought your sweet-scented osmanthus candy."
"Oh, no wonder it looks familiar." The old man nodded repeatedly and sighed, "It's been open for many years, and now the rent has increased. I can't afford it... It's better to go home. I'm not used to living in the city for so many years. When I get older, I always want to come back..."
He kept talking for a long time, and Sheng Min listened patiently. After a long while, the old man came to his senses, "Hey, look at me, I talk a lot when I'm old... You guys eat. Just close the door when you leave, I'm going to sleep."
"I'm late. I'm sorry for wasting your time." Li Xuan handed the tray back to him.
"Nothing..." The old man waved his hand and walked down the stairs again.
When I turned around, Sheng Min had already eaten half a piece of osmanthus candy.
"How is it?" Li Xuan couldn't help but smile.
"It tastes the same as before." Sheng Min briskly put the remaining half of the candy into his mouth and pushed the plate in front of him. "I know you don't like sweets, but do you want to try it?"
Li Xuan obediently sat down again and took a piece. In fact, he could not taste any difference between this store's candy and others. It was still too sweet for him. He took the tea and took a sip.
"Is it tasty?"
The tea here is jasmine tea, which is not of very good quality. It tastes a little astringent, and mixed with the remaining sweetness in the mouth, it seems even more greasy. But Li Xuan looked at Sheng Min's slightly expectant expression opposite him, and nodded seriously: "Yeah."
When I went downstairs, the ceiling light in the shop had been turned off, leaving only a weak night light. There were two bottles of simply packaged osmanthus rice wine on the counter, with a piece of rice paper underneath saying it was a gift for them to try.
The night was getting deeper and quieter, and the whole town fell into a deep sleep. When Sheng Min turned around the corner, the shadow of the banyan tree had completely covered the small courtyard, and only the faint fragrance of osmanthus remained.
They walked slowly along the path, carrying wine, like two wandering souls who depended on each other. They tacitly did not mention going back, as if as long as they did not leave this town, they would not have to talk about the future or think about separation.
After turning one bend after another, we arrived at the riverside. Opposite was a row of stilt houses, casting shadows of varying depths on the water. We sat side by side on the riverbank, the evening breeze blowing away the remaining summer heat. On the stone steps connecting to the river, there were pestles left over from washing clothes, and a few reed boats swaying, but no one was crossing the river. They were just decorations in this quiet night.
Without any communication, they sat silently by the river. Sheng Min unscrewed the lid and drank the rice wine slowly. The dewy air wet their clothes. After a while, he said softly, "It's so nice now."
"What?" Li Xuan didn't hear clearly.
“Now.” Sheng Min stretched and repeated, laughing softly, “It’s better than the drama tonight.”
"Why?" His smiling voice was like a hook, and Li Xuan couldn't help but ask.
Sheng Min thought seriously for a while, rubbing his fingers over the water droplets on the bottle: "Too many people."
There are too many people. Li Xuan thought, Sheng Min doesn't like crowded places, even though he is often surrounded by people.
He was upset at his lack of caution and began to seriously consider the possibility of booking the entire theater. Suddenly, he heard Sheng Min continue the sentence he had just finished: "I want to be alone with you for a while."
The small sound was like thunder, and he forgot what he was thinking. His mind was blank for a long time before he turned around. Sheng Min was also looking at him.
I don't know when I drank half a bottle of osmanthus rice wine. After staring at each other for a long time, Sheng Min suddenly smiled, and with his palms supporting the cold stone slab, he came closer little by little. The faint aroma of rice wine filled the air, like countless silk threads entwining Li Xuan.
"I'm already very happy today." He leaned close to Li Xuan's ear and spoke very softly and slowly, as if sharing a secret with him, "But today is your birthday, you can make a wish, you can indulge yourself a little, right? ... ... Besides, you took the initiative to come back to me, so I want to be happier, shouldn't it be too much?"
He was probably drunk. Li Xuan didn't know that he had such a low alcohol tolerance. He felt a little regretful that he shouldn't have brought that bottle of wine. But was he really regretting it? It didn't seem entirely right.
Sheng Min slowly moved away from his ear, looked at him and smiled. She came closer, her thick black eyelashes brought a thin breeze to the skin of Li Xuan's cheek. There were no stars tonight, and all the starlight fell into Sheng Min's eyes.
Li Xuan gave up thinking at this moment, letting his heart run free, and looked at Sheng Min with the same focused eyes. The sky and the earth were eclipsed, and there was only each other's shadow in their eyes. The distance was intimate, and the breath was entangled. For a moment, Li Xuan thought he would get a kiss, but it didn't happen. Sheng Min's smile deepened, and after a while, she just gently rested her head on his shoulder, sighing: "Let me lean on you for a while."
It was hard to tell whether he was relaxed or lost. Li Xuan exhaled quietly and obediently adjusted his posture to allow Sheng Min to lean on him more comfortably.
He lowered his eyes to look at the whorl of hair on Sheng Min's head, resisting the urge to touch his soft hair. The wind blew through his white clothes like white wings behind him, and Sheng Min's slender ankles swayed gently in the air. Li Xuan once again remembered the dream that had appeared countless times.
Sheng Min really is like a bird, he thought. The legendary bird without feet, flying over endless mountains, rivers and seas, has only one chance to land in its lifetime. Can he help him land safely? Will it be a good habitat
No one could answer him.
Only the moon hangs on the edge of the blue velvet sky, shining brightly. But the moon does not speak, silently witnessing everything and embracing everything.
Time seemed to stand still, like a crystal amber falling from the sky, solidifying all eternity. Until a faint bell sounded from the distant mountain, twelve o'clock had passed.
Sheng Min, who had always been leaning against Li Xuan obediently, finally moved. He turned his head and buried it in Li Xuan's shoulder, and once again smelled the fresh and clean scent.
Is it still the same shampoo? He really wanted to ask him.
"Li Xuan." So he called his name.
"Hmm?" Li Xuan responded softly.
Sheng Min smiled silently, took a deep breath against his neck, letting his breath sink into her lungs, and then said something else: "Let's not meet again in the future."
The author has something to say:
I have been saving manuscripts recently, so the update is slow. Once the manuscripts are saved, it will be updated normally.