Chapter Ninety-Six: Who Does Not Long for the Old Days
After dinner, the landlady came upstairs. Xiaoxiao did not want her to see how intimate the two of them were, so she deliberately kept her distance from Lin Shuo. The landlady, who was not one for gossip, greeted Lin Shuo warmly. “I’ve seen you coming and going so many times lately, and you never came downstairs to sit for a while, so I had to come up myself, shameless old woman that I am.”
Xiaoxiao was confused and looked at Lin Shuo. As if he understood what the landlady wanted, Lin Shuo deliberately stayed silent, waiting for her to continue. “If you’re free tonight, come downstairs for tea. The ladies can teach you to play cards. What do you say?”
“Pfft...” Xiaoxiao laughed, then immediately put on an apologetic expression. Lin Shuo’s face remained calm. Xiaoxiao wondered how he would answer, and he said, “With my level, sitting at the card table would only spoil everyone’s fun. Maybe next time, when I’m a little better at it.”
“If you never play, how are you supposed to improve?” The landlady was insistent.
Xiaoxiao and Lin Shuo exchanged a smile. It seemed the women had gotten a taste for taking advantage of people and were hooked on it now, but Lin Shuo was hardly the sort of man with the time or leisure to keep housewives entertained. He declined the card game on the excuse that he was unwell, and the landlady gave the two of them a knowing look, advising the young people not to be in too much of a hurry.
Xiaoxiao was so embarrassed she could not speak. Lin Shuo’s refusal to explain or deny anything had, unintentionally, confirmed the landlady’s guess. Only after the landlady left did Xiaoxiao feel the heat in her face ease a little. She shot Lin Shuo a sidelong glance, and there was a hint of allure in it.
A little later, the landlady came upstairs again and set a white porcelain plate on the table. “The magnolias downstairs are blooming. I know your family deals in fresh flowers, so you must like them too. I brought you a few.”
“You’re too kind.”
The flower buds gave off an intoxicating fragrance, so lovely one could not help but cherish them. Xiaoxiao took some cotton thread and tied the flowers together. Lin Shuo asked what she was doing, but she kept him guessing. After a while, she finally shaped them into a little cluster and wound the other end of the thread around the button at her chest, making something more delicate than an ordinary necklace or brooch.
“When I was little, my mother used to wear magnolia flowers on her body. They were far more interesting than perfume.” At the thought of childhood, she felt light and sweet, and she did not mind drifting back into those memories. Sometimes she could spend hours lost in them.
Those years, those years—another way of saying one’s prime. Perhaps many years from now, she would think of this present moment as her own “those years” too.
Lin Shuo could tell what she was thinking; after all, they understood each other well. Half in jest, he asked, “Do you know what kind of person never looks back on ‘those years’?”
She thought for a moment, shook her head, and said she could not guess. He took up the thread: “Someone truly successful and content in their heart.”
“Is there really such a person?” she asked, incredulous.
He liked the earnest look on her face very much, and said cheerfully, “No. That’s why everyone is always looking back.”
Yes, she thought. In that case, everyone really was equal.
It was deep into the night, and downstairs the landlady’s card table was in full swing. Xiaoxiao hinted, directly and indirectly, that Lin Shuo should leave, yet he still sat on the sofa, idly admiring the solitary cactus she had carefully cultivated, with no sign of leaving at all. She began to panic.
“It’s too late. There are no taxis.” He suddenly said.
Her heart gave a little leap. “What about your car?”
“The driver took it.” He lifted his head and smiled, bright and untroubled, able to cheat with such complete composure that she was instantly thrown into disarray. She had no way out and could only lay down her arms.
That night, he lay in her bed, and she rested in his arms. For a long time, she slept without being able to fall asleep, yet it no longer felt hard to bear.