“Alright.” Ji Huaizhi nodded. He set down the bowl and whisk in his hands, gathered up all the long hair that had fallen along his temple, and retied it with a hair tie.
It was just such a simple motion, but it nearly made Ning Shuang lose himself in watching again. Snapping back to attention, he steadied his thoughts and returned to slicing fruit. “Let’s buy a pot of pom-pom chrysanthemums, some hydrangeas, and maybe… some evening-blooming shrubs…”
“Never mind. We’ll figure it out tomorrow. The flower market has a ton of varieties. If you see any you like, we can pick them up together.”
Ji Huaizhi thought for a moment and realized he didn’t have strong preferences for any of them. Besides, the flowers he found truly beautiful weren’t the sort sold at ordinary markets anyway.
“Sounds good,” Ning Shuang replied.
~~~
That night, around midnight, the rain outside grew heavier, and a thunderclap like a collapsing mountain jolted Ning Shuang awake. He struggled to pry open his eyelids just as a bolt of lightning tore across the sky, illuminating half of Huai’an City.
The flash was blinding. Ning Shuang sat up, switched on the bedside lamp, drew the curtains that hadn’t been fully closed, and then left the room. He headed downstairs to the living room to fetch Ning Dundun, who had also been startled awake by the thunder, and brought it back up.
Huai’an City rarely saw downpours like this. It hadn’t been long since the last one, and now here was another. Ning Shuang felt it wasn’t right to leave the dog sleeping downstairs in such weather, so he decided to let it share his room for the night.
When Ning Dundun was little, Ning Shuang had allowed it to sleep with him. Only after it grew up did he make it sleep downstairs on its own.
Returning to its old spot from puppyhood, Ning Dundun grew wildly excited. It bounced across the bed with a frenzy of “Woof! Woof! Woof!”
Ning Shuang reached over and gave its head a gentle swat. “Hush now.”
Ji Huaizhi was sleeping in the next room over, and Ning Dundun’s racket might wake him.
He pulled a fleece blanket from the closet and draped it over Ning Dundun. Then he slipped back into the still-warm covers, patted the lump beside him where the dog lay under the blanket, and murmured, “Time to sleep.”
Ning Dundun nuzzled against Ning Shuang’s hand.
Ning Shuang turned off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness.
“Ning Dundun,” he called softly.
“Woof-woof!” It let out a quiet bark in response.
Ning Dundun was a smart dog. It understood a lot of what was said and could read people’s expressions well. Smiling, Ning Shuang ruffled its head. “How about I find you a little dad?”
Ning Dundun lay obediently still, as if it had no idea what he meant.
Ning Shuang’s sleepiness had mostly vanished by now, and he wasn’t liable to drift off right away. Unable to resist, he kept teasing the dog. “Actually, I’ve got someone in mind.”
Ning Dundun licked the palm of Ning Shuang’s hand, tickling him into a laugh. “What do you think of Ji Huaizhi?”
“If you like him, give a bark.”
Ning Dundun: “Woof!”
“Oh? You like him? Then why weren’t you friendly with him at first?” Ning Shuang was surprised the dog had picked up on even this.
“Woo…” Ning Dundun let out a whine.
Ning Shuang tucked the blanket more securely around it and let out a breath. “Alright, enough of that. Why am I even asking you? It’s not like you can help.”
Ning Dundun gazed at him with its big, sparkling dog eyes, tilting its head as if pondering his words. After a while, it nestled against Ning Shuang’s neck and fell asleep.
~~~
The downpour let up sometime after four in the morning.
But the sky remained oppressively overcast. The dark clouds hung like sodden rags stuffed full of filthy water, ready to squeeze out their load at any moment.
Ning Shuang woke to Ning Dundun licking his face. He grabbed its muzzle and forced his eyes open. “Guess why I stopped letting you sleep with me?”
Its morning wake-up routine was more than he could handle.
Ning Dundun’s face was all goofy delight, tongue lolling as it tried to lick his cheek again. Ning Shuang yanked the covers over his head, burrowing underneath.
Undeterred, Ning Dundun nosed around for gaps in the blanket, its cold snout rubbing everywhere and sending shivers of itchiness through him. With a sigh, Ning Shuang threw off the covers and sat up. He fixed Ning Dundun with a stern stare. “Ning Dundun, off the bed!”
It hopped down.
“Sit.”
Ning Dundun tucked its hind legs and sat on the floor.
Ning Shuang instinctively started to flop back onto the pillows, but in the next instant, Ning Dundun’s front paws were back on the bed.
“I’m at your mercy,” Ning Shuang grumbled. On a gloomy day perfect for sleeping in, he was forced to rise early.
He changed into workout clothes, clipped the leash onto Ning Dundun’s collar, and headed out for their morning run.
He figured he’d be back soon enough to make breakfast himself. But when he returned from the run, the scent of frying youtiao—those crisp Chinese dough sticks—hit him before he even reached the door.
He crouched to wipe the mud from Ning Dundun’s paws with a damp wipe, unclipped the leash from its collar, and let it scamper off.
Only then did Ning Shuang change out of his shoes and head toward the kitchen.
Sure enough, breakfast on the table was Ji Huaizhi’s handiwork.
Ever since they’d met, Ning Shuang hadn’t bought takeout breakfast or cooked it himself even once. He suspected he’d feel off if some day it wasn’t Ji Huaizhi handling it.
“It’s only seven thirty. On vacation, don’t you want to sleep in?” Ning Shuang wandered over to Ji Huaizhi’s side and peered into the pot where white congee bubbled away.
“My internal clock is set like this,” Ji Huaizhi said.
“I used to have one too, but college wrecked it. On breaks like this, I always sleep in.”
He’d just run, so his body still hummed with lingering warmth. He smelled strongly of laundry detergent and shampoo, with no trace of sweat.
Ji Huaizhi’s throat bobbed. He eyed Ning Shuang’s damp hair at the temples and said seriously, “Go change first. The congee’s not ready yet.”
In that moment, dressed in casual home clothes in muted tones, his sleek long hair bound by a pale purple hair tie, with stray wisps framing his forehead and temples—those softened the icy detachment of his features. Ning Shuang took it all in and felt something new.
What was it? He frowned, searching for the word. It popped into his head: the perfect homemaker.
From the day they’d met until now, Ning Shuang couldn’t help thinking—Ji Huaizhi was almost too good to be true. Was he this nice to everyone?
But when they’d first bumped into each other, he’d definitely gotten an irritated glare.
Could it be… maybe… Ji Huaizhi saw him as just a little bit special? Ning Shuang couldn’t stop himself from wondering.
Noticing Ning Shuang staring off into space, Ji Huaizhi tested the waters. “Ning Shuang?”
“Huh!” Ning Shuang snapped to, his face flushing crimson like a boiled shrimp. His ears rang with the shriek of a train whistle. Steam practically poured from the top of his head. He latched onto Ji Huaizhi’s earlier words. “Right, okay! I’ll go change! Thanks for this!”
He practically tumbled out of the kitchen, nearly tripping on the stairs going up.
He looked every bit like a man who’d knocked back some bad booze.
Ji Huaizhi glanced back at him, a knowing smile tugging at his lips.
After breakfast, the two took the bus to Huai’an City’s largest flower market.
The trading area was massive, with vendors hawking blooms up and down the entire street. Ning Shuang caught the mingled scents of fresh flowers before they even stepped inside.
They strolled side by side, browsing.
“Want a pot of daisies? Look at these—blooming in every color.” Ning Shuang lifted a pot of daisies and turned to show Ji Huaizhi.
Ji Huaizhi’s gaze lingered on the flowers for a second before lifting to Ning Shuang’s face. Seeing the delight shining in his eyes, he nodded. “Sure. I like them too.”
“Great, we’ll take this one.” Ning Shuang handed the pot to the vendor lady to package. As he pulled out his phone to scan the QR code, a pale, elegant hand appeared at his side, offering a crisp hundred-yuan bill.
The vendor took the cash from Ji Huaizhi.
“Hey!” Ning Shuang protested. “Why’d you pay? You’re just here accompanying me.”
“No big deal. I like these flowers too.” Ji Huaizhi pocketed the change from the vendor.
“Fine.” Ning Shuang felt a touch awkward but couldn’t help muttering, “You’re already paying such high rent to my family every month. Save your money.”
“Got it.” Hearing the concern in Ning Shuang’s voice warmed Ji Huaizhi’s eyes.
Ning Shuang cradled the wrapped pot and plucked a pale purple daisy. He held it up. “This color matches your hair tie perfectly.”
Ji Huaizhi’s hair ties were always in deep tones, but lately he’d favored this purple one.
With care, Ning Shuang tucked the daisy’s stem into the hair tie securing Ji Huaizhi’s ponytail. From a distance, it looked like the tie had its own purple ornament.
“Looks good,” Ning Shuang said with a grin.
Ji Huaizhi glanced down at it. “Really?”
“Of course, my taste isn’t that bad, okay?” Ning Shuang laughed with complete abandon, the dimples in his cheeks appearing even deeper than usual.
He grabbed Ji Huaizhi’s hand and led him deeper into the flower market. The two tall, striking young men drew plenty of admiring glances as they strolled along.
Prices for flowers here were generally fixed with no room for haggling, but Ning Shuang’s silver tongue won over the shop owner, who beamed with delight and promptly knocked down the price.
Ji Huaizhi watched him from a short distance behind.
Ning Shuang seemed to radiate a dazzling, warm glow—one that only shone in the outside world, never fading. This vibrant, cheerful, and free-spirited version of Ning Shuang truly belonged in a place far better suited to him.
Thank goodness he had made it happen.
He had fulfilled Ning Shuang’s dream and let him leave Miao Village. During those six years and nine months apart, he had often wondered if all his efforts—keeping Ning Shuang away from him for so long—had truly been the right choice.
But from the very first glance upon their reunion, he knew he had been correct.
He loved seeing Ning Shuang’s unrestrained laughter, loved that uniquely alive spark that defined him.
“Ji Huaizhi.” Ning Shuang suddenly turned back, holding up a red rose he clutched in his hand for him to see. “The lady boss gave it to me!”
A gentle breeze stirred, lifting Ning Shuang’s hair and exposing his smooth forehead. His prominent tiger teeth lent him an extra burst of vitality, while his eyes and brows curved into the shape of crescent moons. To Ji Huaizhi, the scene before him was like a priceless masterpiece, one of the world’s rarest paintings.
