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“Holy shit, Huang-ge, one of the dogs ran outside!” The glass door slammed open as an orange-haired youth yelled into the room.
“Why didn’t you go chase after it?” Huang Shaotian yelled back.
“I need the dog treats!”
“Ugh, give me a second, I’ll go after it.” Huang Shaotian quickly located the small bag and dashed out. “Which way?”
“Across the street!”
Huang Shaotian ran a pet daycare in a corner of the city, helping white-collar workers look after their pets as they went off to their jobs. Luckily, the street the building was located on was a small, two-way street, so it was unlikely that the pet got hit by a car or a motorcycle.
He blindly crossed the road, nearly running into someone on a bike as he went to go look for the missing dog. Since there weren’t many people that were outside at the moment, he didn’t really have to know what the dog looked like. After all, it would probably be the first dog he found.
“Ah-” Huang Shaotian caught sight of the dog sniffing a plant, and was about to call out to it when he saw someone lift it off the ground.
Huang Shaotian followed the dog upward and saw a man standing a short distance away, carrying the small pomeranian in his arms. “Is this your dog?” The man asked, looking at him, then at the panting dog.
“I- yeah,” Huang Shaotian agreed quickly. He didn’t know how to quickly explain that he only took care of the dog.
“Oh, that’s good,” the man handed the dog over to Huang Shaotian before patting down his clothes. It was only then that he noticed the other man was wearing an apron with two large pockets on the front. “Do you live around here? I don’t think I’ve seen this dog before.”
“It’s not actually mine…” Huang Shaotian sighed, deciding to explain in the end. “I run a pet daycare, so we just care for them while their owners are at work. Sometimes we take the dogs out for walks, though.”
“I see,” the man nodded. “Actually, I work here too.”
He turned around to look in the direction of the plant store behind him. “It’s a plant nursery and a flower shop,” he explained, seeing Huang Shaotian’s puzzled expression.
“Really?” Huang Shaotian peeked through the window, seeing flowers and plants of various colors lining the walls and shelves. “Woah, that’s cool! Oh, I don’t think I’ve introduced myself yet. My name’s Huang Shaotian, what’s yours?”
“Yu Wenzhou,” the other, Yu Wenzhou, smiled lightly.
“Nice to meet you!” Huang Shaotian was about to say something more when he heard someone yelling his name from across the street. “I’ve got to send this dog back, I’ll see you around, Yu Wenzhou!”
Before Yu Wenzhou could respond, Huang Shaotian had already turned around and ran back, leaving a blur of blond in the distance. He waved, although he knew the other couldn’t see him. Then, he turned around and re-entered the store, cleaning up various shelves and restocking plants.
“I’m back, I’m back,” Huang Shaotian lowered the dog onto the ground as he let the door swing shut behind him.
“Welcome ba- oh what, you actually got it back without using the treats?”
“Yeah, someone picked it up while it was distracted.”
“Oh,” the orange-haired youth shrugged. “Well, as long as it’s back. By the way, Xiao Qiao-ge is coming by later.”
“Okay,” Huang Shaotian took off his jacket and tossed it onto the couch. “Don’t forget to take the dogs out for a walk.”
“Yessir!”
-
“Oh, you’re here already,” Yu Wenzhou looked up as Wang Jiexi came out from the storage room. He had probably entered from the back, which was why Yu Wenzhou didn’t see him earlier.
“Mm,” Wang Jiexi picked up a few flowers and started making a bouquet. “Who was that earlier?”
“You saw?” Yu Wenzhou’s lips tugged upward involuntarily. “He works at the pet daycare nearby. He said his name was Huang Shaotian.”
“Sounds like you’re interested in him?” Wang Jiexi didn’t even look up as he started placing them on the plastic.
“He seems like an interesting person,” Yu Wenzhou shrugged helplessly.
Wang Jiexi and Yu Wenzhou had been roommates since college. They had gotten along pretty well, and decided to open a small shop after graduation. Since this store wasn’t too far from the city center, yet wasn’t too close either, they had a good number of customers, but not too many.
The bell that was tied to the door jingled, and Yu Wenzhou looked up to see a boy entering quickly. “Oh, it’s Yingjie. Good afternoon.”
“Good afternoon, Wang-ge, Yu-ge.”
Gao Yingjie was a well-behaved boy that constantly came in to visit Wang Jiexi. They were family friends, and the two of them bonded over their love for plants, despite their age gap. Yu Wenzhou had always thought of them as something like a parent and their child.
“Is Yifan not with you today?” Wang Jiexi saw that Gao Yingjie was alone.
“He has classes today. I’m going to pick him up later,” Gao Yingjie answered.
“I see.”
The two of them started to chat, so Yu Wenzhou left them alone to tidy up the store again. He was about to head to the back when the door opened again, and Yu Wenzhou turned to see the man from earlier.
Huang Shaotian was holding a drink in his hand, his eyes darting around the store, lighting up when he spotted Yu Wenzhou. “There you are!”
“You were looking for me?” Yu Wenzhou walked over to him.
“Yeah, to give you this! A thank you gift. It’s earl grey tea.”
“Thank you,” Yu Wenzhou laughed as he accepted it. “This… isn’t it a little too much? I didn’t do anything.”
“Nah, that dog that you picked up really likes to run. If you didn’t pick it up, I probably would’ve spent at least another ten minutes chasing after it. Usually we have to bring dog treats to get it to even look at us, but half the time they end up running away anyway. I think it’s because the dogs don’t like staying stuck inside all the time, so I have Yuyang go walk them every day. Anyway… it’s not too much, so just take it.”
“Alright,” Yu Wenzhou smiled. “Well, let me at least give you something in return.”
He quickly retrieved a yellow flower with countless pointed petals, handing it to him. “A gift,” he said. “A thanks for your thanks.”
Huang Shaotian looked at it dumbfoundedly. “I… that’s not how it works though?”
He was the one who was giving a gift to Yu Wenzhou, how did it end up as Yu Wenzhou gifting him something? That didn’t make sense at all! But it was rude to not accept it… but also he was the one that was supposed to be giving the gift! Not the other way around! Huang Shaotian promised to find something to give back to Yu Wenzhou as his thoughts whirled in his head.
“You can just give me your number,” Yu Wenzhou suggested off-handedly.
“I- ah?” Huang Shaotian was stunned into silence for the second time in the past minute.
“We can call it even then.”
No, wait, that wasn’t even at all!
In the end, Huang Shaotian still gave him his number, and left the store with a sense of loss.
“When did you become so good at flirting?” Wang Jiexi asked from behind the counter, Gao Yingjie also peering curiously at him. “I don’t remember you being like this before.”
“I’m not,” Yu Wenzhou took a sip of his tea.
Wang Jiexi stared at him for a solid second before turning away. Gao Yingjie whispered to him, “I think it’s because he’s interested in that man.”
“I know,” Wang Jieixi replied.
“Oh.”
-
Because Huang Shaotian firmly believed that Yu Wenzhou deserved more than whatever the latter gave him (while everyone else was trying to convince him that it was normal to trade favors between friends), the two of them started to meet up more often.
Huang Shaotian would talk about anything and everything, and Yu Wenzhou would listen, occasionally offering his own opinions or comments. If someone saw them chatting on the street, they’d think that the two of them had been friends for years.
One day, he passed by the shop while walking one of the dogs. Curious to see if Yu Wenzhou was inside, Huang Shaotian looked through the glass windows. The door was pushed open just then, when a black-haired man walked out, holding a tray of succulents. He saw Huang Shaotian, showing a slight look of surprise, since he most likely didn’t expect to nearly run into someone.
“Are you looking for someone?” The man asked, putting the plants on the display shelf that was in front of the store.
“Oh, is Wenzhou inside?” Huang Shaotian wound the leash around his hand.
“Wenzhou?” The man looked up in thought before nodding. “Let me go call him.”
“Thanks,” Huang Shaotian had the dog sit as he waited.
The other man went back inside with the tray tucked under his arm, and Huang Shaotian could hear him calling for Yu Wenzhou. A minute or so later, Yu Wenzhou brushed off a few stray leaves and saw Huang Shaotian playing with the dog. “Is something the matter?” Yu Wenzhou walked over and bent down as well, putting his hand in front of the dog so that it could sniff him.
“No, I was just passing by,” Huang Shaotian laughed. “Ah, right, there was this new stationery store that opened a week ago. Have you gone yet? I hear that the things they have over there are actually pretty cool. Do you want to go check it out sometime?”
Yu Wenzhou patted the dog’s head as he smiled. “Sure,” he agreed easily.
Huang Shaotian made a noise of excitement. “I’ll text you then,” he stood up suddenly, startling the dog. “You can come visit whenever you’re free, too!”
“Alright,” Yu Wenzhou pushed himself up. “I’ll come by when I have time.”
The two of them parted ways and Yu Wenzhou went back inside, his hands lingering on the leaf of a plant as he walked in. “Was that Huang Shaotian?” The other man, Lin Zhi was still inside, tying a bow on a bouquet of flowers.
Their store was extremely small, and had very few employees. Thus, all of them knew everything that happened, so it wasn’t strange that he’d know about Huang Shaotian’s existence.
“Mm,” Yu Wenzhou affirmed. “Was that the first time you’ve seen him?”
“Recently I’ve been out more to do photography with Ziyao,” he smiled as he finished tying the bow. “So I haven’t been paying much attention. It looks like you get along pretty well with him?”
“He’s quite interesting. Energetic, and never really runs out of things to say. It’s nice to be able to listen to someone ramble.”
Yu Wenzhou had unconsciously grown used to being around Huang Shaotian, despite knowing that he preferred quieter, calmer environments. The other had basically bumped into him, and Yu Wenzhou could’ve let him go, but he instead asked him to come back.
It was quite contradictory, but perhaps it was just that Yu Wenzhou had closed himself off for so long, and it was time for someone to drag him out. It took Huang Shaotian’s constant endeavors for him to realize that, but at least he knew now. But he truly did enjoy spending time with the other; he had a warm presence that never made him feel awkward.
Lin Zhi leaned his elbow on the counter, resting his cheek on his palm. “Have you told him about your feelings, then?”
“Is it that obvious?” Yu Wenzhou asked, shaking his head helplessly. “I don’t want to assume he feels the same way. I’ll probably wait a little longer.”
“Okay,” Lin Zhi nodded in agreement. “Take your time. These things aren’t supposed to be rushed, anyway.”
Before Yu Wenzhou could say anything else, Lin Zhi continued, his voice gentle. “I heard from Jiexi that he hasn’t seen you this happy in a long time. I’m happy for you.”
“Ah-” Yu Wenzhou froze before relaxing. “Yeah, he’s probably right.”
When he was in college, Yu Wenzhou had never thought about dating, as all his energy had been focused on studying or some other hobby. But now that he had the time… maybe it was time to give it a try.
Looking out of the window, he saw a couple sharing a drink as they walked down the street, chatting about something with smiles on their faces. He didn’t know if he would be like that some day as well, but if he were to be, he hoped that he could be like that with Huang Shaotian. Well, that would only be if he was willing.
For now… he’d find some free time later, and go visit Huang Shaotian.
Maybe he’d bring a handful of white violets as well.