Loving Baihe

### Wild Rose

The past flowers bloomed, their fragrance was strong.

In July, the sun rose early, lighting up the less than 60-square-meter small house.

Downstairs, the old-style vegetable market welcomed the day's "morning rush." The steam from the freshly made buns in the breakfast shop mingled with the market's noise, rising to the third floor and entering the inner room through the wooden lattice window.

"Ring ring ring!"

At the same time the alarm clock went off at 7:30, the microwave also beeped.

I quickly spat out the foam in my mouth, ran my fingers through my short ear-length hair, took the hot porridge out of the microwave, then rushed to my mom's bed and turned off the alarm clock with a loud "pop." The house instantly became much quieter.

"Mom, get up." I patted my mom's back. She mumbled, unwilling to get up. I called her several times, but she just wanted to stay in bed.

I pursed my lips and whispered in her ear, "If you don't get up, old Zhang will run off with Aunt Zhao."

Hearing this, my mom's ears twitched, but she burrowed further into the blanket.

I had no choice but to straighten up with a sigh. The old wall clock in the living room pointed to 8:10. I had to leave. It seemed I had to wait for Mrs. Li, the caregiver, to help mom get up.

Before leaving, I grabbed my purse and looked back into the room, worried, and called out, "Mom, if you're hungry, dress up and get some food. But if the porridge is cold, don't heat it yourself, wait for Mrs. Li. She'll be here by 8:30."

I dashed down the crowded stairs in my flat shoes, my hand brushing over the peeling green iron railing. The morning light cast my shadow into a quickly descending wrinkle in the stairwell.

Nervously, I calculated if I would be late arriving at the store on my e-bike. A customer had an appointment for a massage at 8:40. But as I put on my helmet and looked up, I met the gaze of Aunt Zhao on the second-floor balcony. She was about to go out for morning exercises with her red fan. I quickly dodged into the stairwell, but her loud voice soon followed.

"Xia Zhi! I saw you! When are you paying the rent?"

"Hehehe, good morning Aunt Zhao." I walked out slowly, scratching the back of my head through my helmet.

"It's been three months!" Aunt Zhao raised three fingers, shaking them at me, her fat wrist's gold bracelet gleaming.

"If you delay any longer, don't blame me for kicking you and your mom out—"

Before she could finish, I pretended to get a phone call, "Ah? Hello? Yes, I'm on my way, please wait a moment!"

I kept talking, not giving Aunt Zhao a chance to interrupt. I smoothly rode off on my e-bike, my face showing a practiced expression of "Aunt Zhao, you are a reincarnation of Guanyin, I'm going to earn the rent now."

"Xia Zhi! You're pretending again! I didn't hear your phone ring!"

I had already ridden dozens of meters before Aunt Zhao's angry voice faded away.

Turning out of the alley, I slowed down, stopped at the traffic light, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Almost every day, I went to and from work trying to avoid Aunt Zhao. Recently, I had just repaid a debt left by my deadbeat father and had no extra money. Aunt Zhao had a sharp tongue but a soft heart, so I dragged it out as long as I could.

......

Just as I opened the store's rolling door, a voice called out behind me.

"Xia Zhi-jie, why are you so late today?" Liang Yanzhe walked over, greeting me. He wore a sea-blue polo shirt today, his hair neatly combed.

I put away the key, patted the dust off my hands, and smiled, "Mom didn't want to get up."

"Auntie is really like a child."

"Exactly. I never want to be a mom in this life."

"Hahaha..."

Liang Yanzhe, following my lead, helped me push open the glass door and then skillfully arranged the chairs inside, preparing to open for business.

Upstairs from my massage parlor was a mahjong room, and Liang Yanzhe was the owner's son.

My massage parlor had been open for five years, and I had seen Liang Yanzhe almost daily for five years. Over time, we became familiar. He was on summer vacation from his third year in college and often came to my store, saying he wanted to learn massage to help his father with shoulder pains.

"So, is your dad's shoulder better?"

"Much better. Xia-jie's techniques are really professional!" Liang Yanzhe chuckled. I saw him pick up a mop and hurriedly said, "No need to mop, take a break. If you keep mopping, the floor will be cleaner than my face."

I was about to pour him a glass of water when a phone call came in.

"Hello?"

"Hello, are you the masseuse Xia Zhi?"

"Ah, yes."

"Your interview is scheduled for 9:00 tomorrow. Please arrive on time. We will send the detailed address via SMS shortly."

I was puzzled. An interview? I didn't remember sending out any resumes. Just as I was about to ask, a grandpa and his granddaughter, my appointment clients, arrived at the door. I quickly hung up the phone and greeted them with a smile.

I led the grandpa into the room for a massage, and through the curtain, I saw Liang Yanzhe serving tea to the granddaughter. She politely took a sip and then started watching short videos. She wasn't wearing headphones, so the video sound reached the inner room.

The grandpa was a regular, and I was familiar with the points to focus on, so the granddaughter's phone video kept me entertained.

"Recently, the movie 'Deep Valley' has been a hit, with box office and reviews both soaring. 'Deep Valley' tells the story of..."

"The success of the movie is inseparable from the three-time award-winning actress—"

"Ah, ah, right there, Xia, press there again."

I was listening intently when the grandpa suddenly called out. I quickly replied, "Okay, okay. Grandpa, relax, don't tense up like that."

I continued my work, and the granddaughter's video was almost over: "This youngest triple-award-winning actress from the mainland announced her retirement, to the regret of many fans. 'Deep Valley' undoubtedly captures her final brilliance..."

The video ended, and the granddaughter repeatedly played the promotional MV of 'Deep Valley.'

The music was soothing, matching the strength of my massage. The grandpa fell asleep. When the massage ended, I let the grandpa continue resting since business was slow, and I had no other clients that morning. It wasn't until the granddaughter wanted to take him home that I gently woke him.

As the grandpa left, he praised the room's fragrance. I looked at Liang Yanzhe, puzzled, as he hadn't lit any incense.

The granddaughter laughed and said, "What incense? It's the fragrance of gardenias! There's a big one, I saw it from the outer hall!"

"Look, outside the inner room's window."

I followed her pointing finger.

Through the swaying door beads, beyond the old-fashioned brown wooden window, a lush shrub covered by the eaves' shadow stood. Sunbeams pierced through, brightening the room. Dust particles sparkled in the light.

The sparkling light formed a mist. A cluster of white shone brightly through the mist, but it seemed distant, far in time, untouchable.

......

"Xia Zhi, quick! Come here!"

Raindrops dripped from the grass in the pathless shrubbery. The ground was muddy and slippery from last night's heavy rain.

Behind the waist-high weeds, she made a gap and reached out her hand to me.

Clear rainwater slid slowly down her fair, healthy arm, with small twigs and leaves sticking to it.

"Forget it, I'll go around."

"By the time you get here, the sapling will be dead!"

"Common sense says it won't die in such a short time."

"Who knows!" She raised her voice, and with a "snap," she grabbed my wrist.

Before I could react, she pulled me over, and I felt a sudden loss of balance, my heart racing.

One second or two, or maybe less than half a second, time stopped. The breeze, the grass, the green leaves, and the branches brushing against my face were unforgettable.

When I looked up, she had already embraced me, laughing freely and brightly.

She said, "Haha, you really did fall. Shall we plant it here?"

Dusk was intoxicating. Pressed against her rain-drenched chest, I imagined for the first time the smell of summer: fresh and warm, passionate and reckless.

"You did it on purpose." I hid from her embrace, looked down, and turned away my flushed face, answering, "Then hurry up, I still have a mock test to do."

"Haha, what's the rush? I have seven or eight more tests to do."

"That's not doing, that's copying."

"Just borrowing ideas. Xia Zhi~ the best Xia Zhi~ please don't tell the teacher, okay?"

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