Volume 1 Beginning of Summer Chapter 32: Letter Writing
After sitting in the teahouse for two hours, Jiang You took Ma Yi back to the insect house.
Ma Yi discovered that the geraniums on the flower stand were gone.
"I borrowed it from a bookstore on the street," Jiang You pointed to the empty flower pots piled in a corner, "I plan to plant some chrysanthemums. In two months, the flowers will bloom and the crabs will be ripe."
They went into the bug house.
Ma Yi stood in front of the shelf and slowly looked at the postcard. "How often do you get goods?"
“I haven’t been in for a long time.”
"I think so."
"I'll see what's popular these days and buy some."
After browsing one side of the shelves, Ma Yi walked to the counter.
Jiang Youzheng picked up a yogurt ball from the blue-patterned porcelain bowl.
Ma Yi watched him tear open the candy wrapper and put the candy ball into his mouth, "Aren't you afraid of high blood sugar?"
"I'm afraid. I'm also trying to lose weight, so I buy sugar-free cola and lemon black tea," he thought for a moment, "I feel like the 0-proof cola just doesn't taste as good as the regular one."
"Sugar is more addictive than drugs..." Ma Yi's eyes suddenly froze. He reached out and picked up a stack of tattoo stickers from the cash register. The tattoos were a pentagram and a one-eyed pattern. He asked, "How did you get this?"
His voice was serious, with a slight tremor.
"What?" Jiang You looked at the tattoo in Ma Yi's hand. "I found it when I was cleaning this morning. It might have been pulled down by Wan Zi and the others. There haven't been any other customers recently. I'm going to ask them later."
"It should be furry."
"Is there anything special about this pattern? I saw it on Maru's waist at the comic convention."
"Wan Zi has also joined the Coconut Club," Ma Yi sighed and lit a cigarette. "My ex-girlfriend, who called me Xiao Lang, was a member of the Coconut Club."
"What do you do?"
"A less regulated agency."
"Contact comic conventions or something?"
"Well, and then there are some special businesses, such as organizing crowdfunding outdoor photo shoots," Ma Yi looked into Jiang You's eyes, "You know that people nowadays are more interested in having fun, and many girls are short of money."
“I see.”
Ma Yi nodded. "When Maomao contacted me that day, I thought you... I didn't expect you were just shooting a video. Maybe they don't trust you yet."
"Well, I contacted him using the email address on Weibo."
"No wonder. Just wait, they will come after you sooner or later."
Ma Yi looked around. Jiang You took out an ashtray from the counter drawer and placed it on the counter. Ma Yi put out his cigarette.
"Did you break up with your ex-girlfriend because of this?" Jiang You asked.
Ma Yi sighed again, "I, that was before she knew me..." He tried to organize his words, "I don't mind, do you believe me? No, I mind, but I can't stand being separated from her, but she minds more than me. She has depression and has nightmares every day. I have no choice. I overestimated myself. I thought I could pull her out, but..." Ma Yi shook his head, "In the end, we broke up. She just had a change of mind, but who hasn't had a change of mind? In that environment, capital came in, and all kinds of people and organizations with various purposes who wanted to suck blood from them came in. They were all girls in their teens and early twenties. How could they resist..."
Jiang You took a cigarette from the box on the counter and handed it to Ma Yi, who lit it for him and then took one out and lit it for himself.
Ma Yi calmed down after smoking half a cigarette.
The smoke lingered, carrying a slightly strange fragrance.
"What is she doing now?" Jiang You asked.
"In the hospital."
"Be a doctor?"
"No, the patient is in a closed ward. I heard that he was in good condition during the Chinese New Year, but he was admitted again last month," Ma Yi looked through the smoke at the postcards on the shelf. "He takes medicine every day and has to have electric shocks every few days."
"electric shock?"
"MECT, after doing this, you can forget some things and be happy," he put out his cigarette, walked to the shelf, and picked out a postcard, "but I will still think about it gradually. I'll buy a postcard and send it to her, but don't write who sent it, so as not to irritate her."
Jiang You saw the picture on the postcard. It showed two children, a boy and a girl, sitting by a lotus pond in summer and eating watermelons.
“It feels very summery.”
"Can you write a few words for me? I left a review on Taobao and it said your handwriting is pretty nice."
"Okay, you tell me and I'll write."
Jiang You walked to the long table and took out a pen. Ma Yi walked to the opposite side of him and put the postcard on the table.
Jiang You tore open the transparent plastic bag and took out the postcard.
"Only the green lotus and the red lotus, opening and closing as they please."
Jiang You raised his head and looked into Ma Yi's eyes. "I think you should give this postcard to her in person."
Smoke wafted upwards from the cigarette between Jiang You's fingers.
Gradually it enveloped Ma Yi.
Ma Yi's eyes became somewhat empty.
Jiang You turned the postcard over, placed it in front of Ma Yi, and then put the pen in his hand.
"Write it."
Ma Yi picked up the pen blankly.
Then, he wrote two lines of poetry on the postcard: Only the green lotus and the red lotus, opening and closing as they please. These flowers and leaves complement each other, and when the green fades and the red withers, I feel sad and murderous!
He looked at the words on the postcard and then at his hands.
"I, what's wrong with me..."
He raised his head and saw Jiang You's kind eyes and smile.
"You just said that we'll go see your girlfriend together tomorrow."
"Oh, yes, yes..." Ma Yi breathed a sigh of relief, "How about I..."
He smelled cigarette smoke, "Yes, we'll go together tomorrow."
"It's almost time. Where is your friend? Shall we go to Xijiangyue first and sit down to order some food?" Jiang You put the postcard back into the plastic bag.
Ma Yi nodded.
"What time do we go tomorrow?"
"About ten o'clock in the morning. That's their rest time. They can go for a walk in the small garden at the back. Visits are also allowed."
"Then I'll set an alarm. Come here at nine, go next door and have a bowl of noodles, and then we'll go?"
"good."
Jiang You walked back to the counter and took his phone. "Let's go, let's order first."
Ma Yi glanced at his phone and said, "He's out too."
Xijiangyue specializes in Jiangxi cuisine.
Mandarin fish with rice, braised pork knuckle in a clay pot, stir-fried beef, stir-fried eel slices with lettuce, and stir-fried scallops with bamboo shoots. After ordering the dishes, Jiang Youhe said to the waiter, "Wait 20 minutes before serving. Bring a pot of brown rice tea first."
The waiter said, "Okay."
"You can't lose weight if you eat like this," said Ma Yi.
"I'm considering working out, but I just can't find the time."
The waiter brought tea and poured it for both of them.
"What can't you get rid of?"
"Of course I have. You see, I haven't planted those chrysanthemums yet. And you see, on the west side of the yard, between the pomegranate trees, I'm going to build a swing. I have to find time to do it slowly."
As they were talking, Ma Yi's friends walked towards their seat under the guidance of the waiter.
