The Twentieth Song – 《roses & sunflowers》

Lu Chengze.

To borrow a sentence from Wang Xiaobo: When I think of you, a smile appears on my ugly face. Of course, my face wasn’t ugly, it was only that a smile appeared on it, as if it was part of my facial muscle memory from this point on, all because of Lu Chengze.

In the second week at Guangniu, my colleague and his colleague had a tacit agreement that we got together at the speed of light, because we always came in and went out together.

He often ran to the 12th floor to ask me to go out, or bought food and delivered it to me. Every time he appeared from a distance and I did not notice it in time, my colleagues would call out to me, “Qi Miao, your little boyfriend has come!”

Little boyfriend. It was exactly because of that person’s very deceptive white and tender skin, and his year round style of dressing similar to that of male college students.

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Plus that refreshing smile.

He always looked energetic.

Was this person only one year younger than me? I silently asked in my heart.

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Mbl clprlnvynzle xyzl nszzlytwl obs nyzzle bkx “Hlgl” yzps bye zwdnb okvb wp sdnl, vlypkdt Nw Ubldtgl qsa clkdt lqqknkldv.

R vbalo vbl elyvb iwlpvksd okvb y pxkzl: “Eyp bl ps lqqknkldv clqsal?”
Mbl twu okvb tzypplp oyp pzknj cwv pkdnlal: “R esd’v jdso ycswv clqsal, cwv yqvla bl nyxl vs Nkqw, R dlhla pyo bkx nbypkdt y tkaz. Zsw yal vbl qkapv.”

Ubypl.
Tso lmynvzu eke bl vlzz swa pvsau vs vbl rwczkn?

R oydvle vs zywtb y zkvvzl yde ypjle, “Slyzzu?”
Mbl tzypplp twu tzydnle yv Nw Ubldtgl. Tl oyp nwvvkdt vbl pvlyj nyzxzu: “Zsw pyo kv vss, bl’p bszekdt y jdkql.”
Nw Ubldtgl kxxlekyvlzu zlv ts sq vbl jdkql yde qsaj, yde kxkvyvle rknjkdt wr vbl ralvglz kd qasdv sq bkx yde vbasokdt kv yv bkp nszzlytwl.
Tkp nszzlytwl xyel y czsnjkdt ynvksd.

R zywtble: “Rv’p byae dsv vs cl lqqknkldv obld usw zssj zkjl Nw Ubldtgl.”
Mbl prlnvynzle casvbla rwv bkp qynl kd bkp bydep yde pyke kd y rykd-qkzzle hsknl: “Ebu eke R nsxl vs xssnb y xlyz sqq usw twup…”
Nw Ubldtgl ynvle zkjl vbl jkde sq alpkeldv yehkpsa kd vbl xld’p esaxkvsau, obs oyp csvb tsse kd nbyaynvla yde ynyelxknp cwv eyaj-clzzkle, yde pyke zygkzu, “Zlyb, usw’zz ryu uswa pbyal zyvla.”
“Valpkeldv Nw, Valnkswp Nw, Jasvbla Nw, Hlgl——” Tkp nszzlytwl cltyd vs rzlye, “Qkhl xl y oyu swv, ds sdl zssjp qsa ycwpl yde byp vs ryu qsa kv.”

……
Gv lktbv s’nzsnj kd vbl lhldkdt, yqvla tlvvkdt sqq osaj, Nw Ubldtgl’p nszzlytwlp kdhkvle wp vs jyaysjl, yde R yzps nyzzle y qaklde sq xkdl.

Ohlausdl bye y talyv vkxl, yde vbl nsadlap sq vbl clprlnvynzle twu’p xswvb vokvnble: “Rq dsv qsa vbl vos sq usw, R oswze dlhla byhl alyzkgle vblal olal ps xydu zshl psdt ewlvp kd vbl osaze. Rv srldle xu lulp, vbydj usw.”

Ohlausdl pxkzle yde zlydle cynj sd vbl psqy.

Although Lu Chengze had a Western player kind of face, he didn’t drink alcohol or smoke tobacco. On the other hand, I inhaled cocktails like throat syrup, sip after sip, and drank several glasses without realizing it. Fortunately, I had a fairly good alcohol tolerance, and I was only slightly tipsy on the way back. I wasn’t drunk enough to be talking nonsense and walking unsteadily.

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Well, I was indeed a little excited. I jumped along the bricks in the flowerbed and enjoyed it.

Lu Chengze walked behind me, his steps unhurried.

When I turned back for the third time and said that he would never be able to catch up with me, he chased after me and picked me up from behind.

I shouted out, “Ah!” My legs were dangling in the air but I was too lazy to struggle much: “Put me down.”
He obediently let me land, and then trapped me back in his arms.

I snuggled up to him, his chin resting on my shoulder.

He’s so heavy, this guy, it was not easy to coordinate nor was it convenient to walk in this way. Along the way, I stepped on his white sneakers, so I said with a guilty conscience, “Let go.”

Lu Chengze then rejected: “No.”

Then I could only…

To prevent accidentally hurting the other party, I counted the beats like playing a game of three-legged race: “Left, right; left, right.”
Lu Chengze stepped forward in coordination.

We hugged each other like this, like two clumsy penguins glued together by some strange magic spell. He wrapped himself around me, I leaned against him, and we slowly moved to the elevator entrance.

Fortunately, it was late at night, and the chances of meeting passers-by who would make us want to die on the spot with embarrassment was very small.

It was a common occurrence for us to kiss as soon as we walked through the doorway. Sometimes it was just a sweet kiss and sometimes it was a long kiss. Today’s Lu Chengze was in the mood to savor our kiss. I was taken back to the bedroom by him.

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Lu Chengze’s hands were a little cold. I got goosebumps and started laughing.

He also smiled from above: “What are you laughing at?”
I hid my face in my hair and shook my head: “I don’t know.” I was simply happy, because he was right in front of me, within reach.

I liked all his intimacy, fingers or lips.

Our breathing became more and more rapid. I wrapped my hands and feet around him tightly, not daring to make too much noise. There was an old man and an old lady living next door. I didn’t know how good the sound insulation was.

This was how I lived with Lu Chengze. It was as natural as breathing, like how I had to drink water and eat every day. He abandoned his superior three-bedroom apartment with excellent lighting. He insisted on squeezing into my ant nest and marked my territory with a variety of his items to enhance my sense of presence, and also gave an adequate reason: He was afraid that I would not be able to raise his bird well.

He was sitting on the chair at the end of the bed and told me this, very casually.
I kicked his knee angrily.
He obviously didn’t want to suffer this in vain, he got up and grabbed my leg, dragged me over, and bullied me.

Lu Chengze gave me a very good exploits. He looked white and spotless, but was completely black and with a destructive tension. I felt sincerely and violently loved.

On this day, we signed an unofficial cohabitation contract. I nestled beside him and used my finger to sign in the hollow of his collarbone: “Okay, I’ll take you in. After all, I did my best to pay your dues.”
He found my words to be vexing/antagonizing yet funny, and swooped at/pounced on me like a bad dog.

Every night when we brushed our teeth and washed our faces together, I scrutinized him in the mirror until he looked at me.

I grinned, and he grinned too.

And even with a mouth full of foam, he was still willing to kiss me.

How could the feeling of falling in love be so great? I sighed countless times, Lu Chengze was like a song, 《roses & sunflowers》; with him there was always spring, the flowering period was infinite, my coquetry skills had returned, I was selfish and jealous. I had become a person without hands and feet. I was afraid of being splashed by oil. I was unable to open a bottle. Even opening up an umbrella would leave me tired. I had advanced osteoporosis and wanted him to carry me all the time. I devised every possible way and means of proving that I desperately needed Lu Chengze. I wanted him to accompany me forever.

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At noon the day before the end of our in-house work, I took the time to go to the mall and bought a set of men’s skincare products, because the travel size set that Lu Chengze brought was about to run out.

After I got home, I lined up the lotion, face milk, foam cleanser, and cream, for fear that he would miss them.

I deliberately pretended to be immersed in the drama, didn’t wash my face and brush my teeth with him, and paid attention to what he was doing. After a while, I heard him calling me from the bathroom: “Qi Miao.”

I didn’t immediately respond.

“Qi Miao——” His voice went higher.

I snickered and hit the pause button: “What’s the matter——”

“Come here.”

I got out of bed, put on my slippers, and took my time walking over, making everything look natural and casual. It most definitely wasn’t intentional. Fine, I admit, I love putting on an act, but my boyfriend obviously loves it. He was already waiting by the door. He grabbed my elbow as soon as I arrived, pulled me to the sink, put his hands on my shoulders, and had me look straight ahead.

“You bought these?” He asked in the mirror, his lips hooked/curved.

I nodded my head: “That’s right, I noticed yours were almost used up.”

Lu Chengze turned me to him with a smile from the heart, which tripled the brightness of the narrow space.

“I didn’t realize,” he said. “I’m too happy.”

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I was also very happy, because he said he was happy, and my happiness was multiplied by two from now on.

I became serious and turned into an unstoppable kidnapper: “Tomorrow I’m going back to the company, and I won’t be able to see or keep tabs on my pretty boyfriend during the day. It’s easy for my imagination to run wild, so I bought these, and you’re not allowed to leave me if you don’t finish these.”
Lu Chengze raised his eyebrows slightly: “Oh, I’ll use them sparingly.”
I stared at his face: “In theory, these should last at least three whole months.”
“Only three months?” Lu Chengze seemed dissatisfied, his forearm suddenly came around me, and in a restraining posture, his chin rested on my forehead: “Can’t you buy more in the future?”

When the goal was achieved, I smiled successfully and couldn’t stop.

I said, “This set is very expensive.”
He said, “I will reimburse you.”
I raised my eyes: “Then I’ll consider it.”

The next day, we parted ways at the subway station and returned to our respective companies and positions. As we approached noon, I browsed Moments, and found that Lu Chengze posted a picture.
To think he secretly took the new lotion I bought him to the company and put it under the monitor on his desk with the words: Wishing Bottle.

The whole picture was very contradictory and weird, but also very warm – I mean, in my eyes. You have to know that falling in love is a game of two fools, that is, there will be many words and deeds that outsiders cannot understand.

The bespectacled brother, who was friends with both of us, was puzzled in the comment area: What is it?
Lu Chengze replied: Skin care products from my girlfriend.
Colleague: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Are you okay?

I pressed the corner of my mouth and saved a picture to chat with him privately: Who are you trying to make laugh?

But Lu Chengze said seriously: This is the best way I can think of.
Lu Chengze: I might as well not use it at all, I’ll leave it at the company so that it will never be empty.

I asked: What wish did you make?
This fool was still very smart. He said: Same as you.

I propped up my face and laughed, thinking of that sweet song again.

　　“You give me those butterflies
　　Wish I could keep them in a jar
　　So I could take you with me
　　No matter where you are, oh
　　My love, my love,
　　My love will never go to waste

Lu Chengze, roses and sunflowers, romantic and enchanting, spread to fill my world.

The author has something to say:
It’s coming, it’s coming, the end is coming.