I'm not a literary giant

Chapter 86 Flowers for Algernon (Thanks to the leader for changing the name and asking for money)

Ning Chunyan writes new literature and his thinking is very jumpy; Lin Feng writes reportage and his thinking is not very jumpy. When a writer of reportage hears a very new literature proposal, he subconsciously feels that it is not appropriate. But he can't say exactly what is wrong with it.

"That's not good?"

Ning Chunyan said: "Why not?"

Raymond Lam said: "I just went over to say hello to his wife. If you go and see her, what does that mean?"

Ning Chunyan said, "As Wang Zixu's friend, what's wrong with me visiting my friend's family? By the way, aren't you curious about what his wife looks like? I'm super curious, let me tell you."

"..."

To be honest, Lin Feng was not curious. In his heart, he felt that Ning Chunyan's attention to Wang Zixu was a bit beyond the normal limit, especially since Wang Zixu was already married. He felt that it was not good for Ning Chunyan to be too involved in their lives. But how could he say this openly? It was a bit beyond the line.

Lin Feng thought for a moment and said, "Then let's pretend to be passing by and say we came to see if Wang Zixu is here. Maybe this way it won't be so presumptuous."

Although Ning Chunyan felt that it was unnecessary, she still agreed. The two walked towards the flower shop together.

It is early summer now and the weather is very hot and humid. The door of the flower shop is closed, but through the glass, you can see all kinds of gorgeous flowers displayed inside.

Ning Chunyan pushed open the door, and the cool breeze blew on her face. When she walked into the flower shop, she felt like she was walking into a deep secret garden, or in the tropical rain forest of South America. On both sides were the upright figures of the weeping angel and the lucky bamboo, and the fluffy leaves of the pine brushed her face. She pushed aside the palm-sized leaves of the golden plate in front of her eyes, and saw a row of thick and lovely hydrangeas. She looked past the counter with baby's breath and forget-me-nots, and in the deepest part of the shop, a woman was sitting between a tuberose and Peruvian lily, flipping through a book with a calm expression.

The woman had her hair tied up in a bun and was wearing a thin, cool tank top that highlighted her large breasts. She had an oval face, thick lips, a gourd-shaped figure, and a plump body.

The cold air from the air conditioner made the plants sway. The light yellow, light white, bright red and emerald green colors intertwined together, filling the eyes with vitality. The hostess of the shop sat among these breathing plants, like a protected queen.

Lin Feng and Ning Chunyan looked at each other, and they both thought of Wang Zixu's work "Wild Creepers".

Both of them had read "Wild Grass". In the novel, there was a description of the scene where the hero met the heroine for the first time. It could be said that it was exactly the same as the scene they saw at that moment, as if the description in the book was moved into reality intactly.

The female shop owner in front of me is undoubtedly the heroine in the novel. Her demeanor and temperament are exactly the same as in the novel, except that her age is a little off. The female shop owner looks to be in her thirties.

Both of them were shocked. One was shocked by the accuracy and appeal of Wang Zixu's writing style, and the other was simply shocked that the scenes in the novel appeared in reality. Fiction and reality intersect here, giving people a passive experience of "pilgrimage to a holy place".

Lin Feng and Ning Chunyan looked at each other and whispered, "They really look alike, don't they?"

Ning Chunyan nodded: "Yes."

"It seems that his novels draw a lot from real life."

"Ah."

Ning Chunyan began to regret coming over. She just wanted to watch the fun, but she felt that she had accidentally discovered her friend's privacy. The heroine in "Wild Creepers" was not a good image. Once she compared the fictional heroine with the one in front of her, she couldn't face the other person with a normal heart.

The lady owner of the flower shop saw them coming in, put down the book, and said softly, "Look for yourself if you want anything."

Lin Feng was not as thoughtful as Ning Chunyan, and walked straight forward: "Hello. I am Lin Feng."

The hostess was a little stunned. In her opinion, the guest in front of her was a strange one. She had never heard of introducing oneself before buying anything.

Seeing the hostess's expression, Raymond Lam added, "We are friends with your husband, and we came here today to see if he is in the store."

The hostess smiled and said, "You are looking for him here, but it's a fool's errand. He never comes to the store to help. By the way, how did you get to know my husband?"

Lin Feng said: "I met Brother Zixu during a social event. I admired his literary skills and we became friends after a while."

The hostess seemed to be confused: "He has a literary background?"

Lin Feng quickly said: "Yes, Brother Zixu is a humble and talented person. He actually has a lot of talents."

The hostess said, "What kind of beauty can he have? Sorry, did you recognize the wrong person?"

Lin Feng and Ning Chunyan looked at each other and asked, "Isn't your husband Wang Zixu?"

The hostess laughed: "My husband's last name is not Wang, and his name is not Zixu. You really have the wrong person."

It was a big mistake, and both of them were a little embarrassed. Lin Feng quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my friend said his wife works in this store, and I subconsciously thought it was you, I made a mistake, I'm sorry..." After the words were made clear, the three of them were embarrassed and funny, but the hostess was very smooth and resolved the awkwardness with just a few words. Ning Chunyan felt embarrassed if she didn't buy a bouquet later.

The hostess asked, "The friend's wife you just mentioned, are you talking about another store?"

Lin Feng said firmly: "No, he is talking about this flower shop."

The atmosphere of this flower shop was exactly the same as that described in "Wild Creepers", so he was convinced that he was not mistaken. It was definitely this shop.

The hostess held her face in her hands and said, "That's strange. In our store, there is only one old man and me, and no other female employees."

Lin Feng frowned: "Have you worked here before?"

The hostess smiled faintly and said, "This store has been open for 10 years. In the first year, my cousin helped here. She got married a few years ago, and her husband's last name is not Wang. We have never hired any female employees since then."

She added: "Don't be fooled by the beautiful layout of the flower shop. It's actually a strenuous job. Just look at the pot of Guanyin at the door. It weighs 50 kilograms. It's too much for female employees to carry it in and out every day. So I always hire male employees."

Lin Feng and Ning Chunyan looked at each other. Seeing the expression on Ning Chunyan's face, Lin Feng said awkwardly, "I swear, brother Wang Zixu is definitely talking about this place. I didn't drink that day. I just had a little hangover."

The hostess frowned and said, "The Wang Zixu you are talking about is not a tall or short, fat or thin young man who eats government food and looks quite energetic, right?"

Ning Chunyan said quietly, "Except for the point about being wild and spirited, everything else is very accurate."

The female shop owner said, "Oh, that's him. He came to me almost every day to buy a rose a few years ago, one a day, without fail, so I chatted with him for quite a while, but then he stopped coming."

After listening to this, Ning Chunyan and Lin Feng felt like they had discovered something about their friend's privacy. Their expressions became mysterious, but both of them were too embarrassed to expose it.

Finally, Ning Chunyan couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Did Wang Zixu have a crush on you?"

The hostess blushed, "Ah? No, you mean, he lied to you because he had a crush on me? I don't think so. He had a girlfriend at the time."

This surprised the two even more. The female shop owner continued, "He bought a rose every day, one every day, for more than a year, just to give to his girlfriend. I think he is a very infatuated man."

Ning Chunyan asked: "Are they married?"

The hostess looked outside the store and whispered, "Since you are so curious, let me tell you something quietly. Don't tell him that it was me who said it. Wang Zixu's girlfriend is called Zhang Qian, and she works in the Propaganda Department. Maybe because of some problems at work, they broke up and had a fight in front of our store. After that, he stopped coming to buy flowers."

Ning Chunyan asked nervously, "Why did you break up?"

"I don't know. I only know that Zhang Qian got together with someone in the province and they might have gotten married, but I don't think they had a wedding. Anyway, she was promoted within half a year."

Ning Chunyan and Lin Feng were both moved.

Ning Chunyan, in particular, had already imagined a romantic drama in her mind.

I've had enough melons today.

There was a hint of resentment in Lin Feng's tone, as if he had suffered a serious betrayal from his most trusted friend:

"Then why did he tell me that his wife worked in this store?"

The hostess shrugged: "Then I don't know."

"Is he married?"

"I don't know. After he broke up, I basically haven't seen him. Maybe he was emotionally traumatized."

Ning Chunyan chose a pack of baby's breath. Lin Feng picked a bunch of carnations and said he would take them back for his wife, but after Ning Chunyan and the female owner's strong intervention, he changed to a bunch of red roses.

Before the two of them walked out of the store, the female owner said, "I guess he should be married. He's quite good. If someone like him didn't get married, I don't know how many people would rush to introduce him to someone every day."

Ning Chunyan turned his head and glanced at the female owner. Amid the swaying flowers and branches, the female owner's face became ambiguous and the truth became elusive.

She thanked him and walked out of the store.

(End of this chapter)