Chapter 74
Fairy Garden
It's a long way from the room to the parking lot. Most people no longer flock to me. This is not surprising, because since the day I came to visit my brother, I have only occasionally gone home to get personal belongings and for mother to clean up, and the rest of the time I am always in the hospital.
Celebrities are like rare specialties. The less they appear, the more the 'foodies' crave delicacies. On the contrary, eating peacock spring rolls and phoenix meat every day makes them feel that it is more tasteless than boiled snail broth[1].
I am no exception, even though I am a world superstar – the younger brother of two man gods who attract girls like a magnet attracts metal.
In a month, only a few vultures circled in front of me, and every time I drove them away, they would still fly back like moths.
Most of the others were not interested in the guy who was always cursing, and drove away fans more than he drove away evil, threatening to strangle the vultures and pluck out all their feathers.
Tsk. I am so absorbed in my thoughts that I don't realize I have reached the parking lot until I hear Rose calling me. I quickly put on the helmet already hanging on the motorcycle to cover my confused face.
Rose sees that "something is wrong with me", so she doesn't ask me to put on her hat as usual. The girl puts on her own hat to avoid embarrassment in front of outsiders, but she doesn't help me push the motorcycle out. The girl wants to watch her "boyfriend" show "manly bravery".
I can't see Rose's face, but I'm sure she squints her eyes and watches me wheel out a praying mantis-shaped sports motorcycle. The parking attendant purses his lips tightly and doesn't dare to smile.
I get on the motorcycle. Rose sits in the back. As her hand touches my waist, I immediately press the accelerator, causing her chest to hit my back hard. Our bodies touch twice in just a few minutes. I don't speed on purpose, but with so many people around, she and I still feel inexplicably awkward.
If everything were normal, I would scream immediately. The awkward thing is that the heat from the 'intimate' moments just now has not yet dissipated, and now, it is burning on my back.
I secretly glance at Rose through the rearview mirror. She wants to hug me, but is hesitant and doesn't dare. The short-term "boyfriend" immediately knows that the temporary "girlfriend" is also "tortured" by the strange fire. I exhale and deliberately say rudely:
- Hey, I think you are sitting firmly?
There are giggles all around. The girls cover their mouths, shaking their heads, speechless because the guy is being idiotic to the girl.
I almost laugh out loud looking at Rose in the mirror. The girl's shoulders tremble slightly, maybe she bites her lips to suppress her smile because her "boyfriend" deliberately shows his rude habits.
It seems that every minute with the girl, I become "wiser", enjoying things I never imagined. I say in an irritated voice:
- Hey, lioness, do you want a hug or a fall now, tell me?
She giggles and pats my back, swinging her arms and legs deliberately:
- Humph, no charm!
The girl hugs me and says something sarcastic. We pretend from beginning to end, but we both still feel our backs going numb. Her chest moves on my body, and I am considered to be her "someone", so the heat is burning again.
My whole body is overwhelmed by an intoxicating rush, and the sweet aroma lingers... just as the girl sticks to me every time we meet. I have to drive off immediately. If I stay here any longer, maybe... my soul... will be fucking dizzy...
I silently tell myself, feel myself blushing, and hurriedly shake my head to drive away the chaotically jumping monkey. The motorcycle speeds past the hospital entrance and runs down the street. The girl says in a fearful tone "time is passing too fast":
- Lang, slow down, I want to see the scenery!
I exhale:
- The streets of this country are the same every day, older than my face. You have been here countless times, but you are not bored?
The girl giggles and teases me that I am "an idiot to girls" like before. I have long been accustomed to that "irritating" way.
I have just promised to be her boyfriend until the end of the day, so I have no choice but to nod and listen to "lover". I slow down to half speed, turn left and right on the motorcycle, circle around the city.
Over the past week, Rose has been surprised many times and has enjoyed my superb serpentine skills. The bike turns into a red‑and‑black streak, sometimes zigzagging as if it is "roller skating" and gliding through the crowded traffic. Sometimes it swoops up like a praying mantis catching its prey.
She's been thrilled this whole week. Now she forces me to run at the speed of a horse riding to see flowers. She keeps talking and laughing, her usual sassy, sharp‑tongued voice is gone. All I hear is the sweet, clear trill of a golden oriole, as sweet as honey laced with sugar.
Every time she spots something fun, she giggles, pats my shoulder, and points excitedly, as if she has discovered a new continent.
The innocent personality the girl is always "proud" of is cute... don't know since when... but it makes me feel that whenever she is with me, the girl lives in a completely different world.
That world is only joy... and... full of happy laughter... forgetting all worries!
Maybe besides the promise, I also want to hear that pure angelic voice, so the guy who is considered a boyfriend "spoils" the girl... just like a real lover.
I feel there is another reason. But I cannot determine it. I just feel my ears are very hot even as she asks:
- Lang, have some ice cream!
I grimace at the freezing air:
- It's so cold that the hose shrinks, you still want to eat ice cream. Do you want me to beat the drums with my teeth and lips for you to hear?
Her hilarious laughter makes me realize that I am playing a stupid game:
- Damn, eat... cage...
The girl giggles and taps my shoulder:
- Hey! You started it again. I'm a lady — no dirty words allowed!
I sigh, pull up in front of the shop literally called "Winter Is Not Cold Ice Cream" and rub my arms while mumbling "splatter not cold," then take off my helmet. The girl hands me the helmet for me to hang on the mirror.
When we show up, only a few customers come out of the store to ask for autographs. Some people on the street stop to take a few photos and drive away, while people walking on the sidewalk don't even bother to look at the specialty that is already tiresome. We can relax, sip ice cream, and watch the hustle and bustle of the streets.
But today is the weekend, and many parents are out with their children. The children giggle and surround me, some wanting photos, some wanting ice cream, some shaking my sleeves, jumping and chirping:
- You enter the Fairy Garden Park, play with me!
Parents are from all backgrounds: rich and poor, posh and common. I think someone will take their children away to keep them away from this uneducated guy.
Guessing like a god, young mothers dressed fashionably, pretty, cute, frowning, stern-faced, approach the children who are asking me to go to the park with them.
I have endured such "cruelty" countless times, so I have no time to be angry. They change their attitude and surround me happily. A lot of the wives crack up because I am the one who is fooled by them. Rose is dying laughing as I slap my forehead and lament:
- Being fooled like a child, stupid!
The fathers are not angry about their wives putting their arms around my neck, they are still teasing:
- Come on, wives and children, take a nice pose for dad to take a picture...
- It's a rare opportunity to be so "close" to a world-famous superstar. Be intimate, honey, let me take a photo as a lifelong memory! Haha...
- I will enlarge this unique photo, bigger than the wedding photo, and hang it in the most solemn place at home!
- Your daughter creates poses, your wife kisses your idol on the cheek, and at best I will sleep alone in the living room tonight!
One cheerful dad waves over to an ordinary family:
- Oh, why are you all standing there, come and play with us, what are you hesitating about, everyone is the same!
Rose and I laugh with the crowd. Today is the second time since I became a world star that I feel like a "public figure" in a positive sense. Miraculously, both times come from innocent children.
Maybe I have a real connection with children.
From young patients to children on the street, they all gather around me to take pictures; their innocent smiles relieve my sadness. Whenever I contemplate these little angels, my heart and soul are at peace... just like when I am with... Luu Ly... my lovely niece.
I have thought of Luu Ly a lot lately, maybe because... we... don't have much time left.
Thinking of Luu Ly, I have not been able to help but laugh out loud. The childish picture that has emerged in my mind: the super naughty boy... Kim Thai Duong has shown his teeth, grinned, and teased. Every time he has seen me, he has been more fanatical than a real fan, riding on my shoulders and forcing me to run around the hospital.
From the past to the present, Luu Ly has been the only one who has been allowed to "ride on my neck". The little girl has been a fragile pearl on a thread swaying in the wind.
I have tried to bring as much joy to the angel as possible, so I have come up with the idea of allowing Kim Thai Duong to "commit sacrilege" so that the two children can get to know each other.
The plan has been more successful than I expected, and from then on they have been closer to each other than to me. Children have made friends easily; if there has been something connected, they have become close quickly. I have been willing to be a seesaw so that they can have fun.
The fans see that I am confused, so they wave in front of me. I am a little startled and laugh it off. Then I take selfies and sign autographs until my hands are tired. I don't stop until everyone is satisfied and says goodbye.
The children insist that I go to the park. Their parents glance at Rose, who is smiling slightly. The girl looks aimless but occasionally glances at me secretly, her eyes full of tenderness and tacit confirmation:
"The rumor is true, not fake!"
Everyone smiles quietly and coaxes the children gently, but the children still want me to go. Rose and I can't bear to disappoint them, so we pay for the ice cream, drive to the parking lot, and follow the children into the park.
Rose and I show up and fall into the sea of people: an hour of taking pictures and signing autographs for fans, the next hour playing with the little fans — riding the carousel, the slide, the seesaw, the whack-a-mole game, picking up most of the stuffed animals in the store, and... playing all kinds of children's games, so the kids don't nag, and then they say goodbye to us.
It has been a long time since joy has truly returned to me. Seeing me laughing throughout the whole process of having fun, the girl covers half of her mouth and blinks her eyes, just like the "giggle" icon on a chat app from the past. I laugh when I realize that... the girl, similar to me, has a hobby of imitating classic things.
- What are you laughing at? You are already ugly and not charming at all!
Rose looks up and sees her parents playing with their children in the distance. The girl is watching the parents intently.
In just a few seconds, her expression changes from happy to thoughtful and worried. It is hard to understand why the girl suddenly becomes "weird."
The girl acts as if she can't yet believe if it is real or fake, then she lets out a breath. The way she solves the problem is the same as when I am angry, but forget it, just ignore the mother of life. I chuckle and think that this girl is quite interesting.
The girl narrows her eyebrows, curls her lips, and stares at me, as if she wants to ask what I am laughing at. I smack my lips:
- Tsk, this piece of life really stinks, but even in the garbage dump there are some valuable things, not to mention... never mind. Do their parents really want their children to play with me, or are they simply using the celebrity's fame for personal gain? I don't have any free time to care. How life used to be for me — brain fatigue — it's still the same now, it may not change in the future.
I ponder and think to myself:
- I'm used to it!
It is just four simple words, but for the person who always cares about me, they contain the loneliness that I don't want to share with anyone.
The rose frowns, and the girl feels depressed, but suddenly she is fresh and doesn't need watering. She smiles and contemplates me.
Rose never talks about why she is happy, and she never reveals why she is upset or angry with me. This time, the girl smiles more brightly than ever before with me.
She even expresses her feelings in the most understandable way, so that... the idiot guy who doesn't understand the psychology of girls... knows that she is happy because... someone is confiding sadness about hundreds of years, where only heart speaks to heart...
I smile slightly, contemplate Rose's blush, and absent‑mindedly look away to avoid the ugly, unattractive guy who is making her embarrassed. I smile and say the whole thing:
- Just to contemplate the carefree laughter of children is a joy for me. It doesn't matter whether life is complicated or not!
Rose is bashful, and when she hears me talking flowery, she takes the opportunity to giggle and tease me to ease her embarrassment:
- Terrible! A philosophical splatter bullet, definitely a big storm tonight!
I laugh at the girl who imitates the "criticizing, teasing" tone of the super naughty Sam. The two of us happily walk into the entertainment complex in Wonderland.
This place is suitable for all ages. Each entertainment venue has a different shape. Those who like bold wild festivals and movies go to the West — there are countless buildings that simulate architecture in blockbusters.
Mansions are decorated grandly with modern Western style. The palace villa, the jade palaces, and the golden palaces bear oriental classical beauty.
The two architectural complexes are opposite, but together they reflect the image under a river that meanders like peach silk fluttering in the wind.
During the day, the clear river becomes a mirror, allowing God to gaze upon a face glittering with golden light... beautiful, radiant, without being blinding. As the sun sets, the river is a paradise of thousands of lights shining like stars in the night sky.
Lovers of red and black games go to the East — the place where gamblers thirst for extravagance is the casino complex consisting of a row of aristocratic villas. The buildings are perfect in every centimeter, meeting all the standards of luxury and splendor, monumental like the palace of heaven letting God... burn money.
The appearance of a demon who sucks human blood and eats meat without spitting out the bones is "tattooed" in the shape of gold and silver water waves. Money flows in like water, and at the same time, the pattern of clouds and the sky with treasures is carved in the shape of money dripping out.
Those who like to immerse themselves in majestic and mysterious nature, such as fantasy, move to the south. I am a crazy fan of the fantasy world, but I am hungry, so I pull Rose to the north — that place spreads the seductive smell of food.
Wandering from restaurant to shop, my nose dances, and I jump into a familiar restaurant, not caring about the scenery on the dock under the boat. Tourists crowd more than a festival.
They gather in groups of three or five around the vendors. People bustle in and out of the gilded and red‑painted restaurants and inns (two floors and eight roofs), where the two sides of the roof are curved in the shape of a bow.
In recent years, the trend of ancient style has become crazy, and the virtual network calls for the restoration of ancient culture... it is like a group of people in ancient costumes wandering around. Merchants turn the places for eating, playing, and drinking into painting buildings and poetry pavilions.
Those damn fathers are disciples of the get‑drunk sect[2] and immediately form an association to "sing paintings and write poems."
They call each other brother like a bunch of green forest bandits in the neighboring mother country.
The howling of drinking companions resounds everywhere, echoing where Rose and I enjoy grilled chicken marinated in honey.
Rose is so hungry that her intestines are boiling, she doesn't need to be polite and just comfortably enjoys one of the four pleasures. I eat voraciously, not bothering to wipe off the greasy stains from the sticky corners of my mouth. Rose is about to take the tissue, but immediately withdraws her hand.
The girl retracts her hand very quickly, but I still notice the "unusual" yet not strange behavior. Maybe the girl is afraid that her "boyfriend" will lose face in the crowd.
Even though I am so big‑headed, I still let my "lover" remind me: eating and drinking should be elegant. The temporary girlfriend has to put the bowl to her mouth and pretend to eat to hide her smile waiting to shame the two of us.
The important thing is, maybe she doesn't want me to lose interest. I guess so, and I am 99.9% sure it is right. I try to burp to confirm the remaining 1%; the people taking pictures and videos giggle, and the girl almost chokes on the water and coughs lightly.
I casually take out a tissue and wipe slowly until my mouth is clean. The female owner laughs, squints her eyes, and teases us:
- So clean that I can use the lips of a world star as a mirror. Really, before and after having a girlfriend... - The female owner smiles elegantly at Rose. - One heaven and one abyss are very different, right?
The girl smiles slightly, with her chin resting on her hand, looking absently. I see a bright red rose briefly appear on the girl's cheek, so I matter‑of‑factly ask the store owner to borrow a mirror.
The female store owner vaguely knows what I mean, and even if she doesn't understand, she still gives it to me as usual.
I raise my head, tilt the mirror to one side, touch my lips with my left hand, tilt my face, turn the mirror to the other side, stroke my chin with my right hand, and exclaim proudly:
- Oh, I'm handsome too, right? But "someone" criticizes me as ugly?!
All of them stare at me with their eyes wide open. Rose also turns her head and looks at me without blinking. Everyone sees me imitating the "thousands of people are fascinated" smile of the man god Kai, and all laugh loudly.
I cheerfully return the mirror, pay for the food to the restaurant owner, and continue my journey of "pampering my lover." It is now 15:00. I still have to be tortured by the girl for 9 hours, but I am not as uncomfortable as before.
I feel like I have never been happier than I am right now.
It's not literal joy, nor metaphorical joy.
This is the most "weird" joy ever.
But never mind it...
Enjoy the unique happiness; I can consider the meaning of the fun later.
Notes
[1] Peacock spring rolls and phoenix meat patties are rare delicacies.
In the tradition of the ancient royal family, "peacock spring rolls and phoenix meat patties" are considered a "life‑protecting" dish, indispensable at royal banquets and in the emperor's meals.
Today, chefs inherit this recipe and modify it, preparing "peacock spring rolls and phoenix meat patties" according to modern cooking methods. The dish gradually became popular and is now an indispensable symbol and specialty of Hue.
In the ancient capital Hue, peacock spring rolls and phoenix meat patties represent the elegance and power of the royal court. Their colors are very delicate, crafted to imitate the noble peacock and phoenix of legend.
Original Vietnamese: nem công chả phượng.
Of course, "phoenix meat patties" do not actually exist; they are just a figurative way of referring to the noble dishes of the ancient royal family. Saying "more tasteless than boiled snail broth" means something is extremely boring and uninteresting.
[2] A drunkard is a person for whom alcohol is the single most important thing in life.