EWH 27

The next day, during his lunch break, Yang Moshou went to the flower shop near the hospital.

There actually weren’t many flower shops by the hospital. Most of them sold funeral wreaths. After all, when someone passed away, the family didn’t have to go far. They could just buy them at the hospital entrance. That’s why the wreath and burial clothing shops nearby were always doing well.

Yang Moshou dialed Xu Wanhe’s number.

But the one who picked up wasn’t Xu Wanhe himself. It was one of his underlings.

“Huh? Isn’t this Xu Wanhe’s number?”

“Who’s this?”

“Oh… I’m Yang Moshou…” As soon as he said that, Yang Moshou felt a bit uneasy. If Xu Wanhe refused to answer his call, that would feel like a real blow.

There was a brief pause, and then that deep voice came on the line.

“What is it?”

Yang Moshou breathed a little easier. “Weren’t you planning to give someone roses? Want me to help you buy them?”

“No need. We’ll talk later.”

Yang Moshou had no intention of hanging up. He wandered around the chrysanthemum section a couple of times.

“Are you giving them to a man? You really don’t get how men think. Who the hell likes roses? Too girly.”

Then he added, “How about chrysanthemums instead? Bright colors, nice meaning too.”

There was a faint sound of anger on the other end.

“Get lost, you damn idiot. Chrysanthemums are for the dead. Are you treating me like a fool?”

Yang Moshou looked up at the shop sign and quickly backed out of the funeral wreath shop, slipping into the fresh flower shop next to it. “What about sunflowers then? Same kind of meaning, but they look way better than chrysanthemums. And they’re not for dead people.”

“You messing with me again?”

Yang Moshou felt a wave of helplessness. “You’re impossible to please. Fine, I won’t buy anything for you. Get whatever the hell you want yourself.”

The other side went quiet for a while.

“You’re off work already? I’ll send someone to pick you up.”

Yang Moshou walked past the shops near the hospital. “Why are you picking me up?”

There was a brief pause on the other end. “Are you coming or not? Cut the crap.”

Yang Moshou spotted a stationery store and stepped inside.

“No, I’m going to that rice noodle shop later. The one that’s really good. You don’t want to go anyway, so I’ll just go by myself.”

The other end stayed silent for a long while, but the call wasn’t cut.

Hearing the sound of a lighter, Yang Moshou could already picture how sour Xu Wanhe’s face must look right now.

It was rush hour, not just for workers getting off but also students finishing school. A crowd of high schoolers with backpacks swarmed into the store, chattering and weaving through the aisles.

“Where are you? Go somewhere quiet to talk.”

Yang Moshou looked up at a row of cards hanging by the entrance, not moving an inch. “I’m at a stationery shop right now. You can buy the flowers yourself. I’ll pick out a card for you. Definitely better than those free ones from the flower shop.”

Xu Wanhe sounded a bit impatient. “Do whatever you want.”

Right after that, a Phoenix Legend ringtone played from his side. Xu Wanhe answered with a quick “Hello,” and the call ended from his side.

Yang Moshou picked out a card, paid for it, and didn’t go to eat. Instead, he went straight back to the office.

At his desk, Yang Moshou pulled out a gel pen and colored the little white dog on the card black.

The drawing on the card wasn’t anything special, just a little boy walking a dog. Yang Moshou colored the white dog black, then wrote a tiny ‘Yang’ character on the red tank top the boy was wearing

He stared at it for a while, then turned the dog’s eyes into heart shapes and added two red blush marks on the boy’s cheeks.

Once that was done, he scribbled the most cringey emo song lyrics he could think of onto the card.

While he was still writing, Xu Wanhe’s call came in.

“Talk to me. I’m so fucking annoyed I could lose it.”

Yang Moshou kept scribbling on the card. “What happened?”

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t get it. Fuck, I’ve had enough.”

Yang Moshou finished writing and hesitated a little at the signature line.

Holding the pen, he paused for a few seconds. “By the way, do you know English?”

Xu Wanhe sounded irritated. “I fucking hate people like you. So what if I don’t?”

Yang Moshou held back a laugh. “Perfect.”

Then, at the bottom of the card, he signed it with “bad boy,” planning to brush it off later if Xu Wanhe asked by saying it was the English version of his name.

He just hoped Tang Ziyan was cultured enough to be even more disgusted with Xu Wanhe after receiving the flowers.

It would be best if every man in the world hated him too, thought he was tacky and uneducated, and wanted nothing to do with him.

Yang Moshou set down his pen with satisfaction. “Done. Have someone come pick it up.”

Someone seemed to be calling for Xu Wanhe on the other end. He gave a quick response and hung up right away.

Yang Moshou used the excuse of checking the flowers and pinched little nail marks into several petals before feeling satisfied enough to watch the guy leave.

When Xu Wanhe saw the bouquet, he suddenly felt pathetic.

Before, he gave flowers because the other person didn’t have anyone. But now it was different. Tang Ziyan was already officially with that guy named Shen. And here he was, still doing this shit. It was as cheap as it could get.

Stupid couple. Hope they both get AIDS. And fast.

The guy beside him noticed his sour expression and tensed up. “Xu-ge… should I go give this to Tang-ge now?”

“Give what? Tell him to fuck off.”

The underling turned pale and gave a subtle signal to the others behind him. Just as he was about to take the bouquet out, Xu Wanhe stopped him.

He flicked the ash off his cigarette, reached out, and pulled the small card from the flowers.

After reading it for a bit, his expression softened. There was even a hint of a smile.

One of the guys nearby asked, “Xu ge, what is it? What does it say?”

“This guy’s actually got some talent…”

Xu Wanhe smirked, suddenly looking at Yang Moshou in a new light.

“Pretty good rhyme.”