2018, winter.
Port city.
Goose-feather-like snowflakes fell from the sky, then fell silently to the ground, covering the earth with a snow-white quilt.
The first snow in the harbor city was flying, crystal clear and shining with a cold silver light.
The temple, which is filled with the smell of fireworks and incense, is covered with a layer of snow-white.
Xia Li originally came to Hong Kong City with her parents to hold a business dinner today.
Her parents had been busy preparing for the final steps of the banquet in the hotel since early in the morning. Xia Li felt that it was a waste to waste such a good time on such boring things, so she secretly ran to a temple closest to the hotel. , is also a famous temple in Hong Kong City.
In the second half of the year, she will take the college entrance examination.
She thought about coming to the temple to pay her respects, hoping that the Bodhisattva could bless her to get into the university of her choice.
But no one expected that the first snowfall in Hong Kong City would come so unexpectedly.
As soon as she opened the car door, she felt scattered snowflakes falling on her face.
Xia Li didn't pay attention at first, thinking the snow wouldn't fall too hard.
But when she first stepped into the temple, the snow in the sky became heavier and heavier, falling down like catkins.
Xia Li stopped in the front yard, looking at the snowflakes falling in front of him, and sighed sadly.
When I woke up from the hotel this morning and looked out through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, the entire harbor city was filled with fog.
I had guessed that it would snow in Hong Kong City, but I didn’t expect it to snow today.
If she had known she should have brought an umbrella out.
The vestibule was still some distance away from the temple behind her. Xia Li was wearing a velvet white dress and an off-white shawl. It wasn't too cold.
She rubbed her two hands that were red from the cold outside, put them to her mouth, took a breath of heat, and stamped her feet.
I was hesitating whether to brave the snow or take a taxi back to the hotel.
Amidst the falling snow, not far away, a black Maybach with three license plates drove slowly along the one-way road to the door of the temple's front courtyard and stopped.
This temple generally does not allow ordinary vehicles to drive directly to the temple's front courtyard, except for some powerful people who can break this rule.
Obviously, the owner of this Maybach has a certain status in the local area.
The driver walked around the back of the car holding a black umbrella worth four figures, opened the back seat door, and bowed slightly to wait for the man in the car to get out of the car.
At this time, Xia Li was standing there sending a message to her friend Chu Shishi, saying that she would help her pursue her studies together.
Chu Shishi on the other end of the phone sent a cute cat emoticon saying "I love you."
Xia Li smiled. When he took back his phone and raised his eyes, he saw the person getting out of the Maybach in front of him.
The black leather shoes that he stepped out of the car were polished to a shine. Xia Li's eyes followed him involuntarily, and he saw an exquisite and straight black suit.
She was stunned for a moment, and caught the eye of the man who stepped out of the car off guard.
The man's eyebrows are long and the bridge of his nose is high and straight. His beautiful eyes are dark and deep, as if filled with unknown dangerous whirlpools.
The face was so perfect that almost no flaws could be seen, yet it exuded a sense of coldness and indifference.
Xia Li watched the man take the black umbrella from the driver's hand. The cuffs of his white shirt were exposed due to his action of holding the umbrella, and the cufflinks reflected a cool light.
Seeing that the man was about to go in, Xia Li subconsciously took a step to the side.
The man walked to her side holding an umbrella, but suddenly stopped.
He turned his head slightly to look at Xia Li, who was standing aside and looked a little restrained, and asked in a clear voice in Cantonese:
"Girl, do you want to give me a ride?"
Although Xia Li is not from Hong Kong City, her parents have been in close contact with Hong Kong City since she was a child, so she can still understand some basic Hong Kong language.
Xia Li hesitated for a moment. Although he was a little embarrassed, he still nodded in order to burn the incense smoothly.
She stepped into the man's umbrella. The man was carrying the fresh and pleasant smell of ebony agarwood. At this moment, paired with the temple environment, he seemed to have a touch of piety.
Xia Li walked into the vestibule side by side with the man.
Xia Li noticed that the man seemed to have changed his hand to make it easier to hold the umbrella for her.
The hand holding the black umbrella handle has distinct joints, and the muscles are exposed with a little effort.
And wearing a string of Buddhist beads on her wrist.
When he arrived under the eaves, Xia Li pursed his lips and gave a faint smile, and thanked the man in moderately standard Cantonese.
"Thank you, sir."
Listening to the girl in front of him speak a not-so-standard Cantonese, the corners of Xie Yin's mouth curled up slightly.
"It's okay."
After breaking up with the man, Xia Li bought a pair of incense sticks from a nearby store selling incense and candles. He saw an old woman selling umbrellas at the door of the store, so he bought an umbrella from her.
She came to the candlelight, lit the incense in her hand, bowed earnestly and devoutly to the Buddha statue in all four directions, and then inserted the incense in her hand into the incense burner nearby.
-
When Xia Li returned to the hotel, Xia Youming and Su Jing were looking for her in a hurry.
"Hey, Li Li, where have you been?"
Su Jing looked at Xia Li who walked in the door, walked over quickly, took her hand and led her upstairs:
"Why are your hands so cold? The party is about to start. Go upstairs and change your clothes."
Waves of warmth came from the cold palms, and coupled with the heating in the hotel, Xia Li soon felt warm all over her body.
Xia Li was stunned by Su Jing: "Mom, do I want to participate too?"
Xia Li thought that she did not need to participate in such a gathering, so she was not in a hurry on the way back.
"certainly."
While they were talking, the two of them had already arrived at the door of the room.
Su Jing opened the door and motioned for Xia Li to go in, her tone a little anxious:
"Hurry up, it starts in ten minutes."
Xia Li nodded obediently and said:
"I know, Mom."
Xia Li changed into a plain white strapless dress, with soft and delicate satin overlapping at random.
Elegant yet with a different kind of coolness.
A pure white mink fur shawl was draped around her body, slipping slightly to reveal her round and white shoulders.
She always liked white.
Likewise, she also loves white roses.
So this time, Xia Youming and his wife deliberately planted a lot of white roses in the back garden of the hotel long in advance, and even installed a constant-temperature room.
Elegant piano music was playing in the banquet hall, and the tables were filled with a variety of delicacies.
Most of the guests at this dinner were capital bosses from the port city, and Xia Li was not familiar with them.
Occasionally, a few of Xia Youming's old partners would come up to say hello and chat with Xia Li, who was standing in front of the dessert table. Xia Li spent most of the remaining time looking around.
She was really bored with such a party.
Not far away, Xia Youming was talking to an older man, slowly walking towards here.
Vaguely, Xia Li heard the content of their conversation.
It seemed to be related to a person, but she really didn't understand the complicated Cantonese, and she only vaguely heard the word "thank you".
As for what it is, I'm sorry she doesn't understand.
Xia Li shrugged and took a small cake from the gold-encrusted pastry table next to him.
At this time, Xia Youming and the old man stopped in front of Xia Li.
Xia Youming introduced: "Li Li, this is Mr. Qi. Say hello to Grandpa Qi."
Xia Li had a smile on his face and said in a sweet voice, "Hello, Grandpa Qi."
Xia Li was not very impressed by the old man in front of him.
I only occasionally hear my parents telling stories from the past.
"Hello, hello," Mr. Qi looked at the girl in front of him kindly, then turned to Xia Youming and said in Cantonese, "It's really a woman's transformation. The longer she gets, the more beautiful she becomes."
"Yes." Xia Youming was also quite emotional, "The last time you saw her, she was only a little bit old, and now she is almost a big girl when we see her again."
Mr. Qi smiled and nodded, his kind eyes falling on Xia Li.
He raised his hand and stroked his beard. Although he was old, he still spoke powerfully:
"Our Qidu family is about the same age as Li Li, and our A'du family also grew up in the capital. If we have the opportunity, the two children can communicate with each other, and we can make an engagement for them in the future. It can be regarded as Qi Xia's two children. We are close friends."
Although Xia Li stood aside and didn't understand what Mr. Qi meant, she still listened to the conversation between the two elders with a smile.
Xia Youming nodded: "That's what you said."
The three of them chatted for a long time before Xia Youming slowly walked forward with Mr. Qi.
Xia Li, who felt like his face was about to freeze from laughter, breathed a sigh of relief.
She stayed in the banquet hall for a while, but finally felt too bored and simply came to the back garden of the hotel.
Standing on the pavilion in the back garden, you can see a field of white roses.
White.
Pure.
It's the kind of feeling she likes.
Xia Li walked along the corridor and entered the glass room covered with white roses.
The glass house isolates the white snow falling outside, and standing inside is like entering another world.
A quiet world with no noise, only clusters of white roses.
In the center of these rose bushes, there is a cream-colored swing specially prepared for Su Jing.
With the moonlight shining in, Xia Li slowly walked towards the swing.
She lifted up her skirt slightly, put one hand on the swing rope and sat on it carefully.
On a snowy moonlit night, in a garden surrounded by white roses.
The girl was wearing a white dress and was sitting on the swing.
Xia Li raised his head slightly and looked at the moonlight in the sky. He felt that the moon in Hong Kong City was particularly beautiful tonight.
not far away.
The man in a suit and tie stood in a hidden corner at the end of the corridor, talking on the phone with his back to the moonlight.
He turned his head and lit a cigarette. The lighter made a crisp sound and the flames illuminated his face.
In a blink of an eye, it was extinguished again.
After a cigarette, Xie Yin finally hung up the call.
He turned around and was about to put out the cigarette that was about to burn out in his hand, but his eyes inadvertently fell on the white rose garden illuminated by the glass room.
Xie Yin paused to put out the smoke.
Before arriving, he had heard that the Xia family in the capital spent a huge sum of money to build a white rose garden in the back garden of the hotel for their daughter.
He didn't pay much attention when he answered the phone earlier.
At this moment, his eyes fell on the figure sitting on the swing in the garden.
Under the hazy moonlight, the heavy snow falling in the sky may be the white roses blooming everywhere.
At this moment, it all seems to be just to set off the girl sitting on the swing.
Even though it was a back view, Xie Yin still felt as pure and moving as the moon goddess descended to earth.
Xie Yin raised his eyebrows slightly, and even forgot to put out the cigarette that was almost burning in his hands.
Until he felt a vague pain in his fingertips, he came to his senses and put out the cigarette in his hand.
When he raised his eyes again to look for that figure, his sight was empty.
Xie Yin stood in the courtyard, looking at the snowflakes falling from the sky and falling silently on the glass covered with roses.
He raised his head slightly to look at the moonlight in the dark night, and raised his fingertips to lightly brush the beads on his wrist.
The scene I just saw appeared in my mind, and my thin lips were slightly opened as if whispering in a low voice:
"The roses in the moonlight complement the beauty."
