It was almost midnight, but Zhan Xi still didn’t want to leave. Since Luo Jingyu knew tomorrow was Sunday, he didn’t urge her to go home. He made two cups of hot orange juice, and they cuddled together on the sofa, chatting.
Being able to openly lean against Little Fish, holding his arm and being intimate with him made Zhan Xi feel like she was flying with happiness!
She no longer had to envy Luo Xinran, Yuan Sichen, or Yin Li. Now she had a boyfriend too!
And her boyfriend was incredibly wonderful – tall, handsome, and talented! He was also gentle, considerate, and caring, and would never be harsh with her.
Others might have one special skill, but her Little Fish had way more than that – he had four, five, six skills… He was hundreds of times better than her good-for-nothing brother who just lazed around like a lord!
Little Fish just couldn’t hear, but what of it? It wasn’t his fault, it wasn’t something he could choose. As long as she liked and accepted him, that was all that mattered.
She just wanted to be with him, didn’t want to give him up or lose him. As for other things, she didn’t want to think about them now. When dating, you should just start dating first and figure out the rest later.
The feelings in Luo Jingyu’s heart were indescribable, beyond just “happiness.”
He felt buying the sofa was truly a wise decision.
Zhan Xi clung to his side like a cat, both legs curled up on the sofa, his jacket covering her legs. Her right hand held his left, fingers intertwined, sometimes touching the wounds on his hand. He could clearly feel her concern.
[It doesn’t hurt.] Luo Jingyu signed to her. It was a simple and intuitive sign he had just taught her. Seeing the doubt in her eyes, he added another gesture: tapping his index fingers together followed by the “doesn’t hurt” sign, smiling at her as he turned his head.
Zhan Xi understood. He was saying: [Really doesn’t hurt.]
Sign language wasn’t actually as complicated as imagined. Just like learning English, once you build up vocabulary, it gets easier.
Zhan Xi only knew some basic sign language vocabulary now, all taught by Luo Jingyu. When he came across simple phrases, he would demonstrate them once, and Zhan Xi could remember and understand how to apply them. For example, the “really” gesture could be combined to form phrases like “really hungry,” “really don’t know,” “really delicious,” and so on.
Zhan Xi hugged Luo Jingyu’s arm and asked, “Making peonies hurts your hands, so why do you make peonies? Can’t you make other flowers?”
Luo Jingyu typed in response: [I’ve made many flowers before, but not peonies. Can’t be the same.]
Zhan Xi: “You mean for the Flower Festival, the flowers can’t be repeated each time?”
Luo Jingyu nodded and typed: [Spring Flower Festival, girls like flowers, spring orchids, berries, cherry blossoms, peonies, lily, daffodils, peach blossoms, made many already.]
He typed the flower names very smoothly, all memorized in his heart, almost without any typos.
Zhan Xi asked again: “Then why don’t you ask Xiao Zhong and Xiao Mo to help you make them? Last time they helped you make cherry blossoms, I thought it worked well, and you wouldn’t have to work so hard.”
After reading her lips, Luo Jingyu smiled and shook his head, typing: [Their skill level isn’t good, only basic, haven’t studied professionally, can’t do peonies.]
Zhan Xi said: “If they can’t do it, you could teach them!”
Luo Jingyu shook his head again, picked up his phone and thought about how to explain to her, then typed a few key words for her to understand: [Pressed flowers, professional, high tuition, I can’t teach, simple ok, has rules.]
Zhan Xi started to verify: “You mean pressed flower learning has rules, there are special schools or institutions to learn it? The tuition is very high, and you can’t teach professional techniques privately? You can teach simple beginner stuff, is that what you mean?”
Ah, worthy of being the clever Egg Teacher! Luo Jingyu no longer used the “clever” sign to praise her now, nor gave thumbs up, but directly planted a “mwah” kiss on her face as affirmation.
Zhan Xi blushed bright red, burying her face in his shoulder again, nuzzling like a cat.
Actually, Luo Jingyu also wanted Zhong Peng and Mo Yang to help him with work, just like he used to help Xu Qingyan. Back then when Xu Qingyan’s store had too many orders after opening, she was too busy to handle them all, so Luo Jingyu helped make some, earning quite a bit.
But Zhong Peng and Mo Yang couldn’t do it. They were still high school seniors who had only learned the most basic pressed flower techniques from Zhou Lian. They hadn’t gone for professional advanced training and couldn’t be compared to Luo Jingyu at that time. They simply couldn’t make presentable works.
Back then, Luo Jingyu had properly gone to Shanghai as an apprentice to learn the craft, right after graduating high school when he was still an eighteen-year-old youth.
Because he couldn’t hear, he truly suffered many hardships going out alone. Fortunately, Xu Qingyan took very good care of him, almost giving him private lessons, which allowed him to formally enter this profession.
So, towards Teacher Xu, he was very grateful and respectful. He wouldn’t do anything against professional ethics, like teaching professional pressed flower techniques privately – charging fees was not allowed, and teaching for free was even more out of the question.
Pressed flower teaching was actually very systematic and divided into schools. In Luo Jingyu’s school, every type of flower had clear methods progressing from easy to difficult.
For example, students of different levels making roses – the lowest level rose and the rose made at Luo Jingyu’s level had huge differences in technique and finished product refinement.
Every year going for advanced training, Luo Jingyu would learn more difficult techniques.
These techniques came with proper authorization from the Japanese classroom that Xu Qingyan had obtained, with specialized teaching materials and matching supplies.
Luo Jingyu could teach Zhan Xi and Mr. Chi Jiang to make simple beginner flowers, one or two was fine, because they were just hobbyists and wouldn’t become professionals.
He absolutely could not casually teach children like Zhong Peng and Mo Yang, because they might pursue it professionally. If wanting to go professional, they needed to pay for systematic learning. If every high-level pressed flower artisan opened their own teaching classes, the market would become chaotic.
Luo Jingyu typed on his phone to tell Zhan Xi that most of the Flower Festival accessories were done, and the first batch would be shipped tomorrow, with Fang Xu coming to his home to pick them up. The second batch had four more days until shipping, he still had eighty pieces unfinished, just a few more days and this business would be wrapped up.
Typing really gave Luo Jingyu a headache, but fortunately they were both patient people. At this time having just confirmed their relationship, they were especially sweet. Zhan Xi just watched him slowly type on the screen, telling her one sentence at a time.
Luo Jingyu was used to staying up late, normally still working at 2-3 AM, but Zhan Xi couldn’t handle it. By almost 1 AM she was extremely tired and let out a long yawn. Luo Jingyu patted her face, pointed to the front door, and made a sleeping gesture.
Zhan Xi knew it was time for her to go home.
Her coat was a mess. Luo Jingyu said he would take it to the dry cleaners, found her a pair of his track pants, and wrapped his jacket around her.
Originally Zhan Xi thought she could just go up and down the stairs, she could go back by herself, but Luo Jingyu wouldn’t allow it, insisting on walking her to her door.
Zhan Xi’s things were placed on the entrance cabinet. Luo Jingyu stared at that umbrella, unhappily pursing his lips. Zhan Xi pointed at the juicer and said to him: “Little Fish, this is a prize I won in a lottery, keep it here. I have a juicer already, don’t need two.”
Luo Jingyu only had a blender, indeed no juicer, so he smiled and nodded, accepting it.
They took the elevator together, Luo Jingyu looking at Zhan Xi wearing his jacket and pants – the jacket too big, pants too long, bunched up at her ankles, appearing a bit funny.
At door 802, Zhan Xi opened it and softly said to Luo Jingyu: “Gift should be sleeping.”
Luo Jingyu remembered that white kitten. He hadn’t seen it since after New Year’s and really missed it, wondering if the little cat would still recognize him.
He stood facing Zhan Xi, and she said: “Well, I’m going in.”
Luo Jingyu nodded, but caught her arm just as she was about to turn, signing: [Tomorrow], then drew a small question mark with his finger.
Zhan Xi knew he was asking about her plans for tomorrow, saying: “Tomorrow morning I need to go out for a bit, for class, I’ll be back by noon, why?”
After understanding, Luo Jingyu felt a bit regretful – Huanhuan has class in the morning? He shouldn’t have kept her out so late.
He waved his hand and took out his phone to type: [My work finishes on the 4th, will have many free days, tomorrow afternoon you sleep, evening dinner at my place?]
He had even arranged her schedule clearly. Zhan Xi thought the arrangement was good and nodded in agreement: “Okay, tomorrow evening I’ll go to your place for dinner, afternoon nap, wait until you’re less busy these few days before making other plans.”
She tugged at his jacket, “Take care of yourself too, don’t always stay up late. Tomorrow just make a couple simple dishes for dinner, let me buy the groceries, I can even cook!”
Luo Jingyu repeatedly shook his head.
Zhan Xi pouted: “I know, you just think my cooking isn’t good.”
Luo Jingyu helplessly smiled and shook his head, ruffling her hair, pointing inside to indicate she could go in.
“Then I’m going in,” Zhan Xi also smiled at him, “Goodnight, Little Fish.”
Luo Jingyu had his left hand in his pocket, waving with his right.
Zhan Xi turned around, but just as she was about to enter, she pressed her lips together, suddenly turning back. Luo Jingyu hadn’t left yet, and saw Zhan Xi rise on her tiptoes, quickly pecking his lips.
“Goodnight, Little Fish.” This time, she really went inside, and Luo Jingyu helped close the door for her.
Inside, the girl stood with her back against the door for a long while, right hand pressed to her heart, breathing slightly heavily.
Outside, the man stood with both hands in his pockets, silently facing the door for a long time. Finally his right hand emerged from his pocket to touch his lips, head lowered in a silent laugh.
He turned toward the elevator, pressed the up button. Before the elevator arrived, he looked back once more at door 802, thinking of the girl inside. He scratched his head and signed into the empty air: [Girlfriend, goodnight.]
—
After showering, Zhan Xi only slept for five hours, forcing herself to get up at 7:20 AM.
She had arranged to have sign language class with Teacher Zhou at 9 AM at Teacher Zhou’s home, and it would take over an hour to get there.
Zhan Xi sat on the bed patting her face to try to wake herself up more, grabbed Little Whale for a squeeze and kiss, saying: “Good morning, Fish Egg, I forgot to tell you last night, your brother is my boyfriend now!”
Coming out of the bedroom, Zhan Xi called to the cat lounging on the sofa: “Gift, good morning! I have good news, you have a daddy now! Tonight we’ll take you to play on the cat tree.”
Gift twitched its ears, jumped down from the sofa, and circled around Zhan Xi’s legs.
While brushing her teeth, Zhan Xi with a mouthful of foam performed another split personality act in front of the mirror.
“How is Teacher Egg feeling now?”
Zhan Xi looked proud: “To describe it in one idiom – overjoyed with happiness! Teacher Egg has a boyfriend now! Teacher Egg even got a kiss last night!”
“Teacher Egg, does Mr. Luo know you’re like this in private?”
“I’m not afraid of him knowing, if he knew he would just say…” Zhan Xi gargled and spat out the foam, cupping her cheeks at the mirror, “Teacher Egg is very cute!”
Gift stayed at the bathroom door, and after watching all this, turned and walked away with a swish of its tail.
At 7:50 AM, Zhan Xi prepared to leave, saying to the few flower stems in the glass vase on the dining table: “Big Sunflower, Little Sunflower, and Onion, Mommy’s leaving. In a few days when your Daddy is less busy, Mommy will go learn to make a few more flowers, let’s try to fill up the vase, okay!”
When she arrived at Teacher Zhou’s home through the city, Zhan Xi transformed back into that gentle and quiet girl. Teacher Zhou welcomed her in, looking her up and down with a smile: “Little Zhan, you’re even prettier than your photos.”
Zhan Xi was puzzled: “Huh?”
“I saw your moments,” Teacher Zhou said, “You don’t mind, do you?”
“No, no, not at all.” Zhan Xi also observed Teacher Zhou – she was nearly fifty but very well-maintained, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with long curly hair loosely tied back, looking very elegant.
Teacher Zhou’s home was spacious and tidy. Her husband was also there. Following her into the study, Zhan Xi discovered Teacher Zhou also had a handcraft workbench, filled with various materials, tools and half-finished products, more varieties than Little Fish’s – many things Zhan Xi didn’t recognize.
“Let’s have class here.” Teacher Zhou made Zhan Xi a cup of tea, sat with her by the workbench, and asked with a smile, “Luo Laoshi said you’re learning sign language to communicate barrier-free with a boy you like, is that true?”
Zhan Xi’s face turned red, thinking how could Ji Hongzhe tell Little Fish’s sister even this!
“I… I guess so.” She could only shyly admit.
Teacher Zhou asked: “Is it Little Fish?”
Zhan Xi: “…”
She blanked for a moment before exclaiming: “Huh?”
“Hahahahaha…” Teacher Zhou couldn’t stop laughing, opening her phone to show Zhan Xi – under Zhan Xi’s “I am the monster” post from the previous night were Luo Jingyu’s comment and Zhan Xi’s reply, clear as day.
Zhan Xi wanted to run out the door – what was all this! She and Little Fish had another mutual friend on WeChat!
“My name is Zhou Lian,” Teacher Zhou said with a smile. “Don’t be nervous, Little Fish was my student, I taught him for six years in middle and high school. Other teachers might not remember him, or might not have his WeChat, but I definitely would. Because this child… he really wasn’t good at studying, only in my handicraft class was he always first in the grade.”
Really not good at studying… Zhan Xi had heard more than one person say this about Little Fish. Fang Xu said his education level wasn’t high, Ji Hongzhe said his grades were poor, Little Fish himself often said his cultural level was low, and now Teacher Zhou also said he wasn’t good at studying. Oh dear, why did it sound so pitiful?
Zhou Lian stood up and took a flower from a drawer to show Zhan Xi. Zhan Xi recognized it immediately – it was a yellow rose, made by pressed flower craft.
“Little Fish is making pressed flowers now, I could be considered his enlightening teacher,” Teacher Zhou said. “Of course, I’m just an amateur hobbyist, my level is far below his now, he’s professional.”
She looked at Zhan Xi, a young, beautiful, healthy girl, thinking of Luo Jingyu, and asked: “Have you really decided to learn sign language?”
Zhan Xi nodded firmly: “Really, I want to learn systematically, learn well, want to understand what Little Fish is saying, want to chat properly with him.”
She admitted it – yes, it was for Little Fish.
“Children like them are very sensitive,” Zhou Lian knew she shouldn’t meddle but having known Luo Jingyu for over ten years and still keeping in touch, she felt she should warn the girl before her. “Little Zhan, you’re still young, looking at you, you’re not much older than my daughter. I’m not trying to discourage you, I just want to tell you that children like Little Fish, because they couldn’t hear since young, tend to be more pure, dedicated, even a bit stubborn. I don’t know what stage your relationship with him is at, but let me just say this… don’t hurt him, okay?”
What… what did that mean?
Zhan Xi felt quite upset. She had just started dating Little Fish last night, how come the very next day someone was telling her “don’t hurt him”?
Was Teacher Zhou lacking confidence in her? Well, they didn’t know each other originally – Teacher Zhou only knew Little Fish, so of course she would be biased towards him.
Zhan Xi calmly said: “Teacher Zhou, I’m really very serious about Luo Jingyu, and I know he’s also very serious about me. All I can say is, being with him, I will definitely give my whole heart to this relationship. As for the hurt you mentioned… isn’t a relationship between two people? You can’t just say this to me.”
Zhou Lian said: “Little Zhan, don’t misunderstand, I have a daughter myself, she’s in university. Let me ask you one question – does your family agree?”
Zhan Xi had no answer.
“If my daughter found Little Fish as a boyfriend, I wouldn’t agree at first,” Zhou Lian looked into Zhan Xi’s eyes. “Why do I say at first? Because I’m a special education professional, I know too well how hard those children have it. I wouldn’t blindly oppose because of physical disabilities – I hope their lives can also be wonderful and happy. So, I would observe my daughter, see how deeply she’s invested in this relationship. Frankly speaking, I rarely see hearing people and deaf people stay together, many don’t even make it to the stage where parents find out, breaking up for various reasons.”
Zhan Xi: “…”
She thought, if only Mom could be as reasonable as Teacher Zhou, Little Fish was clearly such a good person.
Zhou Lian continued: “If my daughter passed the test, then I would agree, provided the other party must be an outstanding child like Little Fish. You don’t know about some others… how to put it, most are good children, but some have bad habits in life or personality. The reason I’m telling you all this is because you want to learn sign language from me. I can teach you, but I’m afraid you’ll only be passionate for three minutes. I’m afraid Little Fish will get hurt, and I’m afraid I’ll be disappointed too. So I’m being frank upfront – if you’ve made up your mind we can start. I have teaching materials, I’ll teach you properly.”
Zhan Xi didn’t spend time thinking about this question, directly saying: “I’ve made up my mind, Teacher Zhou, I want to learn.”
Zhou Lian smiled gently: “Good, then let’s begin.”
After two hours of sign language teaching, Zhou Lian gave Zhan Xi teaching materials and other sign language books, saying: “What I taught you is Chinese Sign Language, similar to the standard language in sign language, used nationwide. But when Little Fish and others communicate privately, they use Natural Sign Language, which has no teaching materials, similar to dialects, um… that requires you to chat with him more to get used to it. Natural Sign Language has different word order, gestures than Chinese Sign Language, many signs are simplified, Little Fish knows them all, it actually tests you.”
Zhan Xi packed all the materials into her bag, her mind still full of the many sign language vocabulary just learned, feeling she gained a lot, saying to Zhou Lian: “Thank you Teacher Zhou, I will definitely study hard and practice lots, won’t let you down.”
“Keep it up, you’re a good child too.” After two hours together, Zhou Lian quite liked Zhan Xi – such a pretty girl, yet with such a gentle and humble personality, speaking softly and gently, without any hint of arrogance, no wonder that silly boy Little Fish would like her.
—
Fang Xu came to Luo Jingyu’s home again, preparing to take away over four hundred finished peony accessories.
“Amazing, Fish Bro,” Fang Xu looked at the several large boxes. “Fifteen days, made four hundred and sixty pieces, truly pushing the limits! Then in previous years when you started work two months early, how come you could only make just over a thousand?”
After reading his words, Luo Jingyu didn’t want to answer, just showed his left hand.
“Damn! So bad?” Fang Xu looked at the dense wounds and broken skin on his hand, feeling his own hands hurt. “Let’s not make peonies anymore in the future, just hang on three more days, it’ll end in three days. You take a good rest for half a month, then we’ll plan what’s next.”
After speaking, Fang Xu carried the boxes one by one to the elevator, planning to ship them as soon as he got back.
Luo Jingyu still had eighty accessories to make – three days’ time should be enough.
Looking at the wall clock showing past 1 PM, had Huanhuan come back? Had she eaten? Or was she napping?
In the morning, they only exchanged two or three WeChat messages. Zhan Xi said she was in class, so Luo Jingyu didn’t disturb her anymore.
He thought Huanhuan was really amazing, always taking exams, attending classes, improving herself. The cultural gap between him and her was really big – what to do?
Luo Jingyu decided, after finishing this batch of peonies, he would go buy books to read. As for what books to buy, he’d let Huanhuan help pick – Sister said reading more books would improve his typing and make his mind smarter too.
Ah, also, after finishing this wave of Flower Festival business, he could rest for half a month. Which meant, by next weekend he’d be free, and Huanhuan would be on break too – should he take her out on a date?
Where do others… go on dates?
Eating, shopping, watching movies, walking in parks?
Luo Jingyu sat on the sofa, opened his phone and searched: where to go for first date with girl?
The results were similar – Luo Jingyu read them carefully one by one, all mentioning parks, cafes, hiking, movies, arcades, western restaurants, museums…
Museums?
He blinked, lying down on the sofa, eyes fixed on that whale lamp with hollow stripe patterns, his mind going to a place – Natural History Museum.
He had visited the Natural History Museum once when young, for a school activity, and saw a whale skeleton specimen.
He forgot which type of whale it was. At the time his classmates all ran over calling him, dragging him to that skeleton, all raising their little heads, signing rapidly among themselves.
That whale skeleton was suspended in the air. Luo Jingyu didn’t know exactly how big it was or what it looked like when alive. Looking up at those white bones, he only felt awe.
It was as if above his head was a vast blue ocean, with a giant whale slowly swimming past. Compared to it, nine-year-old him seemed so tiny.
Luo Jingyu’s nickname was given by his father, who said his name shared the same sound as “whale”, so called him Little Fish.
His classmates all knew he liked whales, because of his name and nickname, but before that, Luo Jingyu had no idea just how big whales were. Seeing that skeleton, his little mind was confused.
Wasn’t he called Little Fish? How could whales be so big! So big! Why wasn’t he called Big Fish?
He threw this question to his sister. Luo Xiaomei signed: [Because you’re a child, how can a child be called Big Fish?]
Later when he grew up and got a phone, registering WeChat and QQ, he chose to name himself What a Big Fish.
Looking at the whale lamp, Luo Jingyu’s lips curved into a smile. He wondered, would Huanhuan want to go with him to the museum to see the whale skeleton?
Seventeen years… was that whale still there?
—
After a comfortable afternoon nap, Zhan Xi woke up and messaged Luo Jingyu, saying she was going to buy groceries and asking what he wanted. Luo Jingyu replied—
What a Big Fish: Whatever you want to eat, buy whatever, I’ll cook whatever you buy.
[Egg Pudding]: Then I’ll buy an Australian lobster, can you cook that? [grin]
What a Big Fish: Lobster is very simple!
What a Big Fish: WeChat red packet: half a lobster
What a Big Fish: WeChat red packet: half a lobster
Zhan Xi didn’t click the red packets, finding it amusing that Little Fish even knew Australian lobster prices – she didn’t even know, just said it randomly.
[Egg Pudding]: I was just kidding.
What a Big Fish: If you want to eat it you can buy it, I’ll cook it for you, I know how to cook lobster.
[Egg Pudding]: I said I was joking! Okay I’m going to buy groceries, wait for me~ muah!
A shower of heart-eye emojis rained down from above, leaving Luo Jingyu dumbfounded. He had seen such effects in WeChat before, like on his birthday when Zhan Xi wished him happy birthday – he was feeling terribly sad but birthday cakes kept falling in WeChat.
What word triggered it this time?
Luo Jingyu studied for a while, deciding to experiment.
What a Big Fish: wait for me
The heart-eye emojis finally fell! Luo Jingyu was very happy, trying two more times.
[Egg Pudding]: What are you doing?? [embarrassed]
Close to 5 PM, the small light bulb on the entrance door lit up. Luo Jingyu went to open it, and as soon as the door opened, a white bundle rushed into his arms.
It was Gift!
Luo Jingyu held Gift, stroking its back, finding the kitten had really grown bigger. He smiled, looking toward the door where Zhan Xi stood holding groceries, also smiling at him.
She came in to change slippers, put the groceries in the kitchen, then came out to see Luo Jingyu still holding the cat. She went over to take Gift and put it on the ground: “Go on, shoo.”
Then she threw herself into Luo Jingyu’s arms: “Little Fish! Muah!”
Luo Jingyu held her tight, lowering his head to look at her tenderly, placing a kiss on her forehead.
Gift crouching on the ground: cat.disgusted.jpg
It walked away with dignified cat steps, heading toward the cat tree it had been dreaming of day and night.
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