The Lingering Sounds of Blooming Flowers

Lu Chenfeng’s opened his cigarette box, it was empty, and he leaned back in his chair in frustration. He wasn’t in the mood to feel those so-called “beauty”, and he couldn’t comprehend the meaning behind placing their wish on something else. He could only feel how much of a failure he was and he was sinking in the gains and losses of life every minute and every second.

He lived for 32 years yet he had nothing left at the end of it. He smiled scorningly and shrugged his stiff shoulders. He hid in the small shadow between the seat and the door gloomily without speaking again.

The sky became darker when they arrived in Shuanglang. Lu Chenfeng didn’t want to be bothered and asked the driver to stop somewhere quiet.

He stood in the middle of a strange city with his luggage, Lu Chenfeng stared at Erhai Lake lifelessly under the sunset. When the wind made him feel cold, he finally walked straight down the street aimlessly, planning to stop wherever wanted to.

The tips of feet always pointed forwards, but people couldn’t always look forward.

The place the driver picked didn’t fit Lu Chenfeng’s liking, it was still noisy around him. Other than tourists who were everywhere, teams of motorcycles which drove around the seat also passed him. Lu Chenfeng’s tall and handsome appearance caused the girls in the backseats to look back frequently, whistling at him enthusiastically.

Lu Chenfeng was indulged in his own emotions for a long time. He created a transparent barrier and blocked all the honkings, engines, tourist guide’s horns and noisy voices. All the noises stayed away from him as he walked through the liveliness with floaty footsteps.

At this time, a bike headed his way leisurely. Because it was too slow, it almost moved with Lu Chenfeng for quite a while in parallel. It was interesting that neither Lu Chenfeng nor the rider looked at each other, they never made any eye contact. One of them was staring at the end of the world with his thoughts wandering, and the other one was concentrating on enjoying the flowers and plants on the shore.

About fifteen minutes later, the bike and the person disappeared in the corner of Lu Chenfeng’s eyes before he snapped back. He wanted to see who that was but discovered that the person was already a distance away from him.

The man parked the bike behind him and squatted down into an unnoticeable little ball, leaving Lu Chenfeng with a slim side profile. The hair on his forehead swayed with his clothes, he was observing a bush of blooming flowers attentively.

After a while, he looked up slightly and gazed at the mountains and ocean in the far distance.

Lu Chenfeng turned around and started walking again without stopping.

The road extended into the unknown. A while later, the sound of wheels sounded behind him and distracted him from his thoughts. Lu Chenfeng turned around subconsciously to see who it was, but it was another back view. The bike turned into the front yard of a guest house.

Lu Chenfeng slowed down and stopped.

It was dark, he thought it was time to find somewhere to stay.

There were many accommodations around him; hotels, inns and homestays. But not knowing why, the floating and sinking conscience became clearer. Lu Chenfeng’s heart suddenly calmed down and gazed at the entrance to the guest house.

There was no need to walk closer. The sign hanging on the door was big enough for all the pedestrians, there were two large words engraved with gold ink on it, “Beautiful Dusk”.

Red-orange twilight shrouded the not so big yard. Lu Chenfeng crossed the road hesitantly and walked across a few limestone tiles. He calmed his mind and stepped into the front yard.

There was an opened glass door in front of him, a golden poster of the God of Wealth was stuck on the door. Clearly, the locals in Yunnan loved to have this for businesses. Porcelain water tanks were placed on both sides of the door with a few water lilies in it and green succulents were placed in a corner not far from them. The yard was clean and neat, but the spaciousness looked lonely.

He lifted his hand up and pushed the door open. The hanging wind chimes ringed lightly on his heart. Lu Chenfeng walked into the guest house and his eyes landed on the man who leaned back on the couch at first glance.

The man was tall and slim. The line of his shoulders and arms were contoured nicely and his legs were long. He sat on his side with his left elbow touching the back of the couch. He lazily rested his chin on his chin as he gazed at the glistening surface of the sea outside the window.

His snow white skin was embraced by the dusk and turned into a gentle warm color.

The man turned around at the sound of the door, his eyes were filled with disbelief and surprise. Their eyes met under the warm, melting dusk, Lu Chenfeng’s heart beated twice for no reason as the door slowly closed behind him.

Soundless emptiness extended and after a long time, the man smiled lightly and his beautiful voice was saying, “Welcome.”