Floating Perfume Shop

When Xiao Chongyun returned to France, it happened to be the summer of July.

He received a call from his tutor, saying that he had read his graduation thesis and thought it was great, and asked him when he would return to school for the defense.The warm sunshine of Nanyang fell on the pale skin, Xiao Chongyun racked his brains for a long time, and finally remembered that he had indeed written such a graduation thesis before leaving school, put it in the mailbox in advance, and set it to be sent regularly.

At that time, he felt that he might not have the opportunity to display his talent and realize his dream in the perfume industry.When people refer to him in the future, at least they will say that Xiao of the East completed his studies before his death.

Of course he didn't die.

He failed to die with Zhang Wenshan that day.

The knife did not stab Zhang Wenshan's spleen, but a book that was placed next to his body in the inner pocket of his coat, piercing through the thin pages of the book, and then piercing into the soft tissue.It was the French version of "Selected Poems of Dai Wangshu" that he gave to Zhang Wenshan.He didn't expect that this man would take the book with him and come all the way to see him.The effect of sleeping pills made his limbs lose their keen perception, so he didn't realize the existence of the book, and he didn't know the vital part that his knife deviated far away.

Zhang Wenshan was injured, but the injury was not serious enough to take his life immediately.He even had time to crawl to the unconscious Xiao Chongyun, punched him twice in the stomach, opened his mouth, and forced him to spit out what he ate.

Xiao Chongyun's stomach convulsed in a coma, and he vomited in a mess.

When he woke up, Zhang Wenshan had already left.

How he got there, Xiao Chongyun didn't know.He came by car. In order to avoid people's eyes and ears, he parked the car cautiously in the woods next to the villa, and then walked to knock on the door.Maybe he managed to get back to the car and drove the car back to the private clinic that had treated his arm, or maybe he called the doctor, or had other connections.

In short, Zhang Wenshan survived, and by the way dragged him to survive together.

Xiao Chongyun got off the plane and called a familiar friend. Ben Custer drove all the way to Nice to pick him up, and hugged his shoulders when they met: "Xiao, what's wrong with you? Why are you so thin? You have been so thin for so long. Where did you go?"

"It's nothing," Xiao Chongyun said, "Something happened at home, and it took a long time to deal with it."

"How is it now?"

"It's been dealt with, and some annoying legal documents have been signed," Xiao Chongyun said softly, "Thank you."

"I have received the final notice from Guerlain. Have you thought about what to do after graduation?"

Xiao Chongyun didn't speak.

The two walked side by side on the road, Xiao Chongyun was silent for a while: "I will come back to participate in the graduation defense, and I will go home after I get my degree certificate."

"Are you going back to China? To chase your Chinese incense?"

"Ah."

"Xiao, give me your address, I may go to you when I'm on vacation."

Xiao Chongyun thought for a while: "We will give you an email address, and we can contact you by email."

The car was parked on the side of the street in Grasse, and a group of brightly dressed girls came, their beautiful curly hair blowing up in the wind. Suddenly someone shouted: "Xiao? Xiao from the East is back?"

The girls gathered around, chirping like happy sparrows.Although Xiao Chongyun used to focus on his studies and never put his mind on romance, he was very popular among girls.Probably because he is really handsome, and he treats people with tact and courtesy, or maybe Westerners have a special affection for oriental ascetic youths.He used to be very willing to talk to the girls, but now he seems tired of coping.

"There's something at home," he explained, "and it's taken care of now."

"The problem with this fragrance recipe is that the amount of jasmine used is too heavy, which will destroy the balance of the fragrance scale. The fragrance is like a melody, and any note that is too heavy will appear harsh," he handed back a recipe list to a plaid skirt. In the girl's hand, she smiled, "It's a nice perfume, what's its name?"

"'Things of mind'", the girl replied with a blushing face.

"Very cute name," Xiao Chongyun said.

They just walked into the campus and walked all the way to the teaching building.When the scene that he longed for thousands of times in the dream reappeared in front of his eyes, Xiao Chongyun's heart was actually peaceful.Such tranquility, such beauty, and such vitality seem to be missing something.

Xiao Chongyun didn't know what was missing, he just felt that there was a emptiness in his heart, filled with the wind passing through the hall.

He passed by a rose and lilac flowerbed without fragrance, a privet tree with no fresh smell, and returned to his laboratory with the girls without any sweet smell.During this period, Xiao Chongyun lowered his head countless times, trying to find the source of the burnt smell on his clothes, and turned around countless times, anxiously checking if there were any houses on fire.

A girl asked, "Senior Xiao, what's wrong with you?"

Xiao Chongyun hesitated and said, "Did you smell anything...?"

Then someone laughed: "How is it possible."

Xiao Chongyun forced himself to wake up: "It's nothing, I feel wrong."

No one questioned "Xiao of the East"'s keen sense of smell, and everyone laughed it off, thinking it must be because he smelled something that no one else could smell.

The laboratory has not changed, it is still the same few students, and two elementary school students have gone to the studio in Paris, so it seems a bit empty.Rare laughter filled the space again, and someone jumped over the crowd and shouted: "Senior Xiao."

Holding a notebook between his hands, the young man tried his best to push away the people surrounding him, and squeezed past: "Senior Xiao, where have you been?"

Xiao Chongyun looked up in surprise.

The young man should be his apprentice, an oriental man with bright eyes.At the age of nineteen and twenty, tall and handsome, he is a clothes hanger who is growing up.He stood in front of Xiao Chongyun seriously, with an almost questioning tone: "Where have you been?"

Xiao Chongyun looked at the junior in front of him, but couldn't think of this person: "There is something at home."

The youth persevered: "What is it that takes so long?"

"Father passed away," this was not what he should have said at first, but for a moment he didn't know why, Xiao Chongyun said in front of everyone, "There was another fire at home, and there were a lot of things to deal with, so I took a break to study." The credits have been completed in advance, and the thesis has been written, so graduation will not be affected."

In fact, the fight between the two families finally ended with a fire as the official case.A lot of evidence was lost in the fire, half of the Xiao family compound was reduced to scorched earth, and Zhang Wenshan inherited his grandfather's family business, and through some legal means, he actually annexed the part of the property that belonged to him in name.There are many ways to express the truth. He left out the blood and captivity, and chose this relatively gentle expression, as if subconsciously felt that he should be gentler to this innocent and young student.

He smiled at the young man and stood up: "I still have something to do, I have to go back to the hotel first."

After taking two steps and not knowing why, I turned around and asked, "By the way, what's your name?"

When these words were blurted out, the young man in front of him was stunned.His face suddenly changed, and the thing in his hand fell to the ground with a snap, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't say it.

Xiao Chongyun thought he was unwilling to speak, so he reached out and patted his shoulder, and walked through the crowd.

The rented house has already been returned by Zhang Wenshan, so Xiao Chongyun can only live in the hotel when he comes back this time.The hotel is not too far from the campus, and the decoration is not luxurious, but it is convenient.Xiao Chongyun walked to the door of the hotel, turned around and glanced at the street behind him, and found that the young man just now was following behind him all the way.

"Senior Xiao," he asked the previous question again, "Where did you go? Why did you walk for so long?"

It's like the lie that Xiao Chongyun worked so hard to fabricate before was seen through at a glance.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" The young man asked very sincerely. "I heard a little bit about your family. If it involves money, I can really help you."

"Thank you, no need," Xiao Chongyun heard himself ask, "What's your name?"

Xiao Dongfang has many admirers in Grasse's school, and the person in front of him is probably one of them.He cares about why his academic predecessors disappeared for such a long time, and he cares about the future development direction of his seniors, just like others.To be honest, Xiao Chongyun didn't take it to heart.But he really cared about the name of the young Dongfang student in front of him.Although it was the first time they met, Xiao Chongyun had a strange feeling that the junior in front of him might be extremely talented.

Xiao Chongyun didn't understand why the young man would look at him straight after asking this question.

He walked over and stopped Xiao Chongyun at the door of the hotel with a serious tone: "I'm Nicolas? Senior Xiao, what's wrong with you? You taught me perfume back then, you said I was very talented, and I even went to you rented apartment, talked to you about your upcoming paper."

In fact, Xiao Chongyun has mentored many junior perfumers, helped many people read papers, and brought more than one classmate to his place to exchange ideas and talk all night long.Some people will be deeply impressed in his memory, and some people will be washed away by time like running water.The oriental man named Nicolas in front of him is probably a member of the running water.He can't say bluntly that I don't remember you, he can only express it tactfully.

"I seem to remember a little," he reached out to pat the young man's head, "I have some impression of this name. You are very hardworking and motivated, and you came to me to ask questions. People like you will have a bright future in the future."

Generally, the Chinese students who come here to study and are willing to ask him for advice are all diligent and motivated.And those who are diligent and motivated will be favored by God in terms of talent.This sentence is correct no matter from which angle you look at it.

However, the young man was as stiff as a stone statue.

"Where do you plan to go after graduation?" Xiao Chongyun asked.

"Go back to China," the young man said, "Senior, you said that Chinese incense can only find its future in its roots."

Xiao Chongyun was a little unbelievable for a moment: "I told you about Chinese incense?"

"Said."

Xiao Chongyun nodded thoughtfully: "Then you must be very talented. I wish you success."

He turned around and walked towards the hotel lobby. The young man was still standing at the door: "Senior, where did you go after graduation?"

Xiao Chongyun turned his head and told the truth: "I was seriously ill before, and my health is not good. I want to go back to Nanyang to recuperate. I will talk about it after everything is well."

In fact, there is no time when he is well-raised, and there will never be another time like that. The first half of the sentence is the truth, and the second half is an excuse.

Before parting, Xiao Chongyun told the truth: "I stayed in Grasse for six years, met many people, and mentored many juniors. It's not because I'm more talented than others, nor because I was born good at perfume, It's just because I'm hardworking and good at persistence. Many people give up halfway, and some people can't hold on to their loneliness for six years. They spend a lot of time doing part-time jobs for small companies and make money for half of the school year. I have met too many people like this People who are eager for quick success, not everyone who has approached me remembers clearly. I’m sorry, but I don’t really remember you. But if you can really return to China and make Chinese incense, I will definitely remember you, remember lifetime."

Because you made my dream come true for me.

An ideal I can no longer achieve.

Xiao Chongyun smiled, opened his arms to embrace the stunned young man in front of him, walked through the crowded lobby, and walked into the elevator.

Many people said that Xiao Dongfang's return this time is a bit different from before.His graduation thesis defense was as exciting as expected, but in the middle of the experiment, there was a small problem.The assistant handed the judges the wrong perfume sample.

The same bottle, different perfume, it is indeed easy to confuse.But this is a low-level mistake that can be discovered only by a careful sniff, and it should not have happened.One of the judges picked up the scent paper and was puzzled: "Xiao, your formula says that the top note is white orchid, but I smell it, a very strong bergamot scent."

Xiao Chongyun, who was standing on the judging table at that time, had an open perfume bottle at hand, but he didn't notice the mistake.

He froze for a moment, thought for a while, then picked up the sample glass bottle and looked down at the label.Based on the text on the label, he found that the assistant sent the wrong sample and applied for a replacement.

The second small question was a question raised by a mentor who admired Xiao Chongyun very much during the debate session.

"The name of your work is 'Afterlife'. Does this name have any meaning?" The old mentor wrinkled his face like a knife, and was very interested. "Is there any connection between this and Eastern mysticism?"

Why is your work called 'Afterlife'?

What a simple question, everyone at the scene couldn't understand why Xiao Dongfang's body suddenly shook, as if he couldn't stand up, and squatted on the ground in pain.

He held his head in his hands and curled up his body until the emergency school doctor rushed over to help him with an emergency examination.

Xiao Chongyun waved the doctor away with one free hand: "I'm fine, I'm a little ischemic."

"I'm fine, really fine."