Chapter Sixty-Six: The Matchstick Heaven (1)

At this moment, Cheng Xiaoyu was unbearably awkward. Letting go was impossible, yet Sun Jingyao was still leaning against him; not letting go felt equally wrong, for his hands were positioned on rather sensitive spots. All he could do was hurriedly help Sun Jingyao up. In the process, he inadvertently took advantage of her, though heaven knows that our Cheng Xiaoyu had absolutely no intention of doing so.

Sun Jingyao, her face flushed crimson, turned to see a pudgy, lewd-looking man. Because they were in a private room, Su Weilan had not introduced Cheng Xiaoyu to her, so she had no idea he was Su Weilan’s relative. Remembering the pinch from Cheng Xiaoyu moments ago, she couldn't help but slap him, cursing, "Filthy scoundrel."

This time, Cheng Xiaoyu was prepared; he covered his face with his hand, yet the slap landed hard on his hand, producing a resounding smack.

Everyone walking ahead was startled, turning back to witness the awkward scene: Cheng Xiaoyu with his hands covering his face, and Sun Jingyao, fierce and still brandishing her right hand.

Clearly, nobody had seen the full story, and felt too embarrassed to ask. Yet the looks cast at Cheng Xiaoyu were laden with complicated emotions—shock, disdain, envy, all mixed together.

Even Su Yuxi looked at him, her face showing surprise.

Su Weilan hurried over, fixing her gaze on Cheng Xiaoyu, but instead supported Sun Jingyao’s shoulder and asked, "Jingyao, are you alright?"

Sun Jingyao didn't know how to respond. After all, it hadn’t really been intentional on his part, and he was merely trying to steady her. Looking at the chubby youth, who seemed at most a high schooler, with his hands covering his face in a dazedly cute manner, his eyes utterly innocent, she realized perhaps she had overreacted. Yet the memory of his hands pressing against her body lingered, filling her with a sense of shame she couldn't shake, and her expression remained sour. She shook off Su Weilan’s hand, turned away, and said, "It's nothing," before walking off.

Su Weilan glanced at Cheng Xiaoyu, wanting to ask further, but ultimately refrained and chased after Sun Jingyao.

Those ahead, watching the spectacle, were all eager to know what had happened, but, constrained by propriety, said nothing. They simply eyed Cheng Xiaoyu with noticeably less friendliness.

Cheng Xiaoyu felt dejected, wishing he could cry out to clear his name, chase after them and explain, “I was just being helpful, is that a crime?” But since no one asked, he felt too embarrassed to explain out of nowhere, which would only make him seem guiltier.

Had he known it would end like this, perhaps he would have enjoyed those moments a bit more, he thought ruefully. That inexplicable, simultaneous squeeze from both hands felt excellent—the first time this homebody’s body had touched a woman.

When Cheng Xiaoyu stepped outside, a fine snow was falling, the sky heavy and low as if within reach, and the snowflakes seemed to descend from a nearby, shadowed sky.

Su Yuxi, Gu Xue Ren, Sun Jingyao, and the others were gathered at the foot of the staircase before Bronze Bird Terrace. Su Weilan and one of Gu Xue Ren’s friends were heading to the parking lot to fetch the car.

Cheng Xiaoyu approached and saw, at the center, a little girl of eleven or twelve, selling flowers with a guitar slung across her back. She wore her hair in two pigtails, sweet and well-behaved, with a dimple appearing when she smiled. Her cotton jacket was patched and worn, clearly from years past.

The guitar, nearly as tall as she was, suggested that the girl not only sold flowers but likely sang for tips at the nearby night market from time to time.

She held a small red plastic bucket, filled with red roses.

Su Yuxi gently asked, "Little sister, how much for a rose?"

The girl replied brightly, "Ten yuan, but big sister, you’re so pretty! I’ll sell you one for five, okay?"

Gu Xue Ren, standing nearby, immediately took out his wallet and said, "I’ll buy the whole bucket. How much for all of them?"

The girl glanced at him and shook her head, "Big brother, I don’t need your pity. Just buy one to give to this beautiful big sister."

Su Yuxi patted her head and said, "Then can I buy one for myself?"

The girl smiled and nodded.

Su Yuxi pulled out a twenty, the girl accepted it and returned fifteen in change. Su Yuxi hesitated, then smiled and thanked the girl.

Seeing Su Yuxi smile, Gu Xue Ren suddenly felt as if the snow falling from the sky was not snowflakes, but a shower of flowers. His heart raced, and, seeing Su Yuxi so considerate of the girl’s pride, he too took out ten yuan, smiling, "Then I’ll buy one as well."

The girl, her hands reddened from the cold, took the money and handed a rose to Gu Xue Ren, saying, "Thank you, big brother."

Sun Jingyao, standing by, quickly pulled money from her Chanel purse to buy a rose. She broke the stem in half, stripped the leaves, and tucked it into her hair. Ordinarily, a rose in the hair would seem vulgar, but on the stunning Sun Jingyao, it looked exceptionally beautiful.

Gu Xue Ren, holding his rose, called Su Feifei, Wu Zixuan, Su Hongwen, and his two friends over, each buying a rose. He also greeted Cheng Xiaoyu.

Cheng Xiaoyu hesitated, seeing Sun Jingyao nearby, not wanting to approach her, but as everyone else bought flowers, he felt he couldn’t shrink away, or he’d look guilty. As he moved forward, reaching for his wallet, he realized the money in his pocket was gone.

At that moment, Cheng Xiaoyu felt utterly distressed. Should he go over and admit he’d lost his money? Would he have to borrow cab fare from Su Yuxi? If someone offered him a ride, should he just accept? A flurry of thoughts raced through his mind. In the end, he felt it was too humiliating, and under the gaze of the group, he awkwardly turned away, intending to see if his money had fallen onto the sofa.

The group was puzzled; they’d only asked him to buy a ten-yuan flower, so why did he run off? Glancing at Sun Jingyao, it confirmed their suspicion that Cheng Xiaoyu must have acted indecently earlier.

Panting, Cheng Xiaoyu rushed to the front desk of Eighty-Eight, asking if anyone had found his money. The answer was no. He recalled it was likely lost when he paid the taxi fare on arrival.

As he walked outside, he searched all his pockets, hoping to find enough for a cab home. Standing at the entrance of Bronze Bird Terrace, he watched Su Yuxi and the others walk toward the parking lot, only descending the steps once they were out of sight.

He now realized he didn’t even have cab fare back to the hotel, and his headache deepened. Misfortune never came singly. He pulled out his phone, but there was no one he could call.

Staring at the guitar on the flower girl’s back, he thought of a solution.

Since there were still a fair number of people passing before Bronze Bird Terrace, perhaps he could manage to sing for tips. Resolute, Cheng Xiaoyu walked over and said to the flower girl, "Hey, little sister, can you help me?"

The girl eyed the slightly chubby Cheng Xiaoyu warily, clutching her bucket of roses, ready to run.

Cheng Xiaoyu quickly stopped a respectful distance away, crouched to meet her eye to eye—easier to gain a child’s trust—and smiled gently, "Little sister, I’m not a bad guy. I just want to borrow your guitar."

The girl clutched the strap tightly. "This is my most precious thing. My mom says I can’t lend it to anyone."

Cheng Xiaoyu thought for a moment, took out his phone and handed it to her, "I’ll leave my phone with you. I’ll just rent the guitar. Whatever I earn from singing, I’ll give to you. You just need to give me enough for a cab home, all right?"

The girl looked at his phone, but didn’t take it, hesitating, "Are you good at playing guitar? Are you good at singing?"

Cheng Xiaoyu smiled and nodded, "Of course. If you don’t like it, you can keep my phone."

She shook her head, "I don’t want your phone. Just make sure you earn enough for your cab fare. It’s hard to earn money singing!" As she spoke, she unstrapped the guitar.

Cheng Xiaoyu smiled, put away his phone, and took the guitar from her. He strummed twice to tune it; clearly, the girl wasn’t skilled, as the strings were out of tune.

She watched nervously, worried he’d run off.

Cheng Xiaoyu reached to ruffle her hair, but she dodged. He laughed silently—this world really does judge by appearances. When Su Yuxi touched her, she didn’t dodge.

He asked, "Little sister, what’s your name?"

She replied in a clear voice, "I’m Xiaoya." Then she asked if he could sing any of the songs on her list, holding up some song sheets.

Cheng Xiaoyu shook his head.

She looked disappointed, put the sheets away, and resumed searching for flower buyers.

This was Cheng Xiaoyu’s first time singing for tips in the street. Watching the hurried passersby, he wasn’t very confident that he could earn enough in the lightly snowing weather.

Yet, there was no other option.

Cheng Xiaoyu gently swept the strings, and chose to play an apt song, "Earnest Snow."

The snow falls so deep, so earnest,
Reflecting the wounds I bear lying in the snow.
In the quiet of night, love prevails,
Secretly controlling my heart,
Reminding me to always stand ready to love you.
The music is quiet—still, it’s love,
Step by step devouring my heart.
Loving you, I lost myself,
Loved so earnestly, so earnestly,
But still heard you say it’s impossible.
In Shanghai, where it hasn’t snowed for years, snow suddenly falls,
Just as you said goodbye.
The snow falls so deep, so earnest,
Reflecting the wounds I bear lying in the snow.
I don’t care how scarred I am,
But I care who will be with you from now on.
Loved so deeply, more earnestly than anyone,
But in the end, I’m left alone.
The swirling snow, please don’t wipe away my tears,
After all, she was the woman I loved most,
After all, I was once the man she loved deeply.

As Cheng Xiaoyu sang, absorbed in his performance, he had no idea that Su Weilan and Gu Xue Ren’s two cars were parked on the road behind him, windows rolled down, watching him singing for tips.