[GL] Cypress Boat | 柏舟 (Bo Zhou)

Chapter 1

In the morning, around six o'clock, Bo Zhou was awakened by Wan Dou jumping up from his cot.
Wan Dou is an active, energetic Shiba Inu, not yet four years old, and every morning he waits eagerly for Bo Zhou to take him for a walk.
Lately, however, he has been getting up earlier and earlier.
(TN: 豌豆(Wān dòu) – pea)
When Bo Zhou got up, fed the dog, washed her face and opened the fridge, she was still half asleep.
The fridge was empty, except for a loaf of bread in the corner and a carton of milk.
Bo Zhou checked the expiration date on the milk and found that it had been out of date for several days.
She threw the milk in the bin and ate the bread for breakfast.
Wan Dou finished eating his dog food and waited at the door with his leash in his mouth, looking at Bo Zhou expectantly.
Bo Zhou put on her shoes, looked at Wan Dou, sighed and stroked his head, then tied the leash to him and said:
«Let's go play.»
It was a foggy late autumn morning. After walking about a hundred metres, Bo Zhou's hair was already wet from the fog.
Bo Zhou ate a piece of bread in a few bites, threw the bag into the trash can, and ran with Wan Dou down the deserted cobbled street.
The trees on either side of them had turned completely yellow, their sparse branches and leaves making a muffled sound as the wind blew through the grove.
A layer of leaves that had fallen overnight lay on the ground, rustling softly as they were stepped on.
After walking for more than twenty minutes, Bo Zhou slowed down, out of breath, and Wan Dou stopped in front of her and turned around, barking at her to hurry.
Bo Zhou walked slowly and cajoled him:
«I can't run anymore. Let's take a break.»
Wan Dou yapped, not too pleased, but walked back to Bo Zhou and walked beside her feet.
After a few minutes of walking, a small wooden house appeared by the side of the road. It looked like a kiosk, but it was a flower shop.
«Let's go buy some flowers,» Bo Zhou jogged off, while Wan Dou, tongue out and tail wagging, rushed forward excitedly, but was pulled away by the leash and barked unhappily.
«Slow down,» Bo Zhou laughed.
There was a small stool at the entrance to the flower shop, where the owner was sitting, using scissors to cut fresh flowers that had just been brought in today. When he saw the girl and her dog coming up, he greeted them with a smile:
«You're early today.»
Bo Zhou walked this street almost every day, so the flower shop owner knew her well.
«It's because of the dog,» she replied, then looked at today's flowers, crouched down and picked a few stems.
The owner knew her habits. Usually she only bought seasonal flowers, not many, just enough to fill a small vase.
Today was no exception. Bo Zhou carefully picked and selected fresh, dewy flowers with full, bright petals.
She handed the selected flowers to the owner to wrap in a bouquet, and then she paid.
«See you tomorrow,» the owner waved her off.
It would have been a bit awkward to run with the bouquet, but fortunately there were not many people on this street, especially on weekdays, and Wan Dou was well trained. Although he was a naughty dog, he obediently ran back to his mistress at the sight of people and gave way.
Bo Zhou glanced around to make sure that no one was around. She unhooked the leash and let Gorokh run free: He ran happily back and forth, twirling around Bo Zhou and rustling his paws on the fallen leaves.
Someone called, and Bo Zhou took out her smartphone. It was Jiang Yuan.
She answered and a voice came through the receiver:
«Bo Zhou, are you up yet?»
«Yes,» Bo Zhou replied, keeping her eyes on Wan Dou, who was burrowing headfirst into a low bush.
«Wow, how early did Wan Dou wake you up?»
«Yes,» Bo Zhou replied lazily, yawning lazily, «what's wrong? Do you need anything?»
«Well, not really, my friends and I were going to get together on Saturday, do you want to go?»
Jiang Yuan's voice was hoarse, she had probably just woken up.
Bo Zhou agreed without hesitation:
«Sure, just send me the time and place.»
«Great,» Jiang Yuan grinned, «Then I won't bother you, see you on Saturday.»
«See you on Saturday,» Bo Zhou hung up.
Less than a minute later, Jiang Yuan sent the time and place. Saturday at 6 pm, at the restaurant at the entrance to the medical college.
Over the years they had always chosen this place for their meetings.
Bo Zhou put her phone back in her pocket and thought absently that if the restaurant closed one day, they would have no place to meet.
Wan Dou found something in the bushes, put it in his mouth and rushed towards Bo Zhou, his tail wagging excitedly.
Bo Zhou quickly bent down and took Wan Dou in her arms. She almost fell from the force of the blow. She clung to him and stroked his head:
«Did you find anything of value?»
Wan Dou had a flair for finding lost things, often finding something in different corners of the house.
His black eyes glittered as he looked at her, and finally he spat out a small orange ball into Bo Zhou's hand.
Bo Zhou was surprised, then laughed:
«Wan Dou, is this the same ball you lost last year?»
Wan Dou barked loudly and raised his head proudly, expecting praise.
Bo Zhou rubbed his soft fur, stood up and threw the ball:
«Fetch!»
Wan Dou ran like a gust of wind.
Watching him run, Bo Zhou realised that this dog was almost four years old.
Time really flies.
Bo Zhou suddenly remembered how she and Sang Yang had met Wan Dou in the pet shop.
The decision to get a pet was spontaneous.
It was a day off and Sang Yang had a class reunion that day.
Sang Yang planned to go shopping with Jiang Yuan and the others and then go out to a restaurant to celebrate.
Bo Zhou was against it, hiding under a blanket, sulking and protesting:
«It's our day off and you don't want to spend it with me? Will you go out with someone else?»
Sang Yang crouched on the edge of the bed and, fearing her friend would suffocate, tried to lure her out from under the covers:
«It's not a date, and we're going together. It's New Year's Eve. Do you want me to buy you some clothes?»
She always spoke to her as if she were comforting a child.
Even though they've been together for so many years, Bo Zhou still can't get enough of Sang Yang. She desperately wants to get out of bed and see her. Sang Yang's soft voice always melts her heart.
But Bo Zhou holds back. If Sang Yang doesn't compromise, she won't come out and stay sulking under the blanket.
A few seconds later, the sound of the phone ringing came from behind the blanket.
Sang Yang put it on speaker. Bo Zhou immediately pricked up her ears.
«Hello?» - The sound from the phone was slightly distorted, but you could still recognise Jiang Yuan. – «Sang Yang?»
«I can't go to the mall with you, let's meet at the party later,» Sang Yang said with a smile.
Bo Zhou, wrapped in a blanket, was momentarily satisfied. She surreptitiously lifted the blanket and poked her head out, just in time to see Sang Yang's smiling eyes.
Caught red-handed, Bo Zhou was about to hide back under the blanket when she heard Jiang Yuan's words.
«What's wrong? Is your baby against it?»
Jiang Yuan and Sun Yang were schoolmates.
Everyone around them had seen Bo Zhou, who was seven or eight years younger than them, following Sang Yang and calling out to her: «Jiejie, Jiejie,» and one day became her girlfriend. She became the butt of jokes and teasing among the old friends.
Sang Yang's smile grew wider, she looked at Bo Zhou and said slowly:
«Yes, my baby is throwing a tantrum.»
Bo Zhou's face suddenly turned red, and she was about to protest that she couldn't be called that. She was already twenty-two, but then she heard Jiang Yuan say nonchalantly:
«Oh, the child is completely out of control. Just spank her.»
«Hey!» exclaimed Bo Zhou, «What do you mean, 'just spank her'?»
Jiang Yuan heard her voice and laughed out loud.
Sang Yang patted beside her, signalled for Bo Zhou to come over, picked up the phone and said with a smile:
«Okay, I'm hanging up. The baby is starting to get angry.»
Bo Zhou was not happy. She had met Sang Yang when she was only sixteen, when she was really just a child, but now six years had passed and Sang Yang still thought she hadn't grown up and treated her like a teenager.
She climbed out from under the blanket, but didn't sit down next to Sang Yang. Instead, she rested her head on her leg and wrapped her arms around her waist.
«She's picking on me again. Her friends are always picking on me.»
Sang Yang hung up the phone and ruffled her already frizzy hair.
«They just really like you, you're fun to be around.»
Bo Zhou reluctantly accepted Sang Yang's explanation and asked again:
«What about you? Do you like me?»
«And I…» Sang Yang's soft eyes were like lakes reflecting the soft moonlight, a faint smile played on her lips, «I like you the most. I love you.»
The flowers in Bo Zhou's heart bloomed wildly*. She turned around and buried her head in Sang Yang's belly, her voice soft but filled with happiness:
«I love you too.»
(TN: 心花怒放 – to burst with joy; to be over the moon; to be elated)
She wrapped her arms around Sang Yang's waist. The warmth of Sang Yang's body could be felt through her clothes, Bo Zhou had long become addicted to it.
Sang Yang gently stroked her hair, running her fingers lovingly through her parting.
«It's been a long time since we went out, hasn't it?»
Sang Yang is a famous doctor with a busy schedule, and she often works overtime. Sometimes, just as she was walking with Bo Zhou, she had to rush to the hospital after a phone call. She often had to work late into the night during major operations.
Bo Zhou, on the other hand, is self-employed and mostly draws and works from home, rarely going out. As a result, she seems to spend more time alone and less time with Sang Yang.
«Yes, you're always working overtime,» Bo Zhou replied sadly, but there was no resentment in her tone.
She let go of Sang Yang's hand, rolled over and lay back down, her eyes clear and bright. An idea soon came to her and she smiled:
«Shall we go for a walk?»
Sang Yang smiled back and leaned over, kissing Bo Zhou's eye:
«Sure, get up quickly.»
There was a party tonight, and they still had a whole day to spend together.
New Year's Eve was approaching, but there were no festive decorations in the house. But they didn't care. Ever since they had come out of the closet, they had spent New Year's Eve at Sang Yang's parents' house. Their mother and father would take care of everything, and all they had to do was buy presents.
Choosing presents is a lot of fun.
They went to the shopping centre, and as usual, Sang Yang bought Bo Zhou lots of drawing materials. Bo Zhou picked out a pair of leather gloves for Sang Yang, and they saved the down jackets and a bunch of small appliances for her parents. They had to make several trips to get everything into the car.
On the way to the restaurant where the party was being held, they passed a flower shop full of flowers that reminded passers-by of spring.
Sang Yang loves flowers, especially fresh, seasonal flowers, and whenever she sees a flower shop, she makes an effort to go in and buy a bouquet, even if it is small enough to fit in a vase.
Bo Zhou followed her into the flower shop; there weren't many winter flowers, but they were all equally beautiful.
While Sang Yang chose carefully, Bo Zhou looked around nonchalantly. As they were leaving, they noticed a Shiba-inu-style coffee shop nearby. Bo Zhou couldn't help but approach it.
The window was covered in condensation, but she tried to look inside through the fogged glass anyway. Inside, there were many Shiba Inus, playfully chasing each other or being cuddled by visitors. On such a cold winter's day, the atmosphere inside seemed especially warm.
After watching for a while, Bo Zhou was about to leave. But when she lifted her hand from the glass, the condensation wiped away and the image became clearer. A Shiba Inu puppy was sitting behind the glass, looking at her with big, hopeful eyes. As their gazes met, the Shiba Inu tilted its head and stuck out its tongue, revealing its trademark smile.