Hey, How Much for the Flowers?

Another story in the same series as The Town. Hope you all enjoy it~

One late night after a business dinner, Cheng Zhou was dragged into a karaoke room by a friend. He had no interest in the off-key howling, or in the pretty boy pushed beside him. He lit a cigarette and left the room without a word.

The karaoke bar hallway was dimly lit. Every few meters, people were making out, hugging and holding each other as if they were about to start a full-on brawl.

With a cigarette between his fingers, he was about to tell them off when he saw a fool holding a bouquet walk up to one of the couples and ask for money.

The dim lights couldn't hide the muscles bulging across the fool's body, or a face so handsome it was unreal.

Cheng Zhou narrowed his eyes around his cigarette and, for no reason, felt a strange itch in his throat.

Before he could look away, his friend came out to find him and patted him on the shoulder, asking what he was staring at so intently.

Cheng Zhou said nothing. His gaze swept over the name of the flower shop on the fool's bouquet, and he shook his head.

It was only later that Cheng Zhou learned the fool was a little hard of hearing. Somehow, he felt a surge of affection for him, and privately recommended the man's flower shop to his friends.

His friends were happy to do him a favor, and soon made the flower shop famous.

The fool somehow found out that Cheng Zhou had helped him, and started bringing him flowers every few days.

He called them thank-you gifts.

Cheng Zhou didn't know whether they were thanks or gifts.

On nights when he received one, Cheng Zhou would always end up trapped in the flower shop. The lights swayed above his head like waves, and the fool making those waves would only bury his face against Cheng Zhou's shoulder, his hands, pricked by flower thorns, roaming over every inch of his skin.

Cheng Zhou felt the sweat on his bulging muscles and touched the tattoo stretching to his lower back. Unable to take it anymore, he leaned close to the man's ear and pleaded, "Slow down. Be gentle."

At times like that, the man would always take the hearing aid hooked over his ear and carefully set it aside.

Not listening. And unable to hear.

Theme: Every flower has meaning.