In the evening, I went to the hospital to find Meng SiQi. This morning, he had told me that he would take me to a charity dinner tonight.
“There are free drinks and beautiful music. I hope that you’ll enjoy it,” he said.
On the way, I passed by a flower shop and thought of buying a bouquet of flowers, so I opened the door and walked in. Unsurprisingly, while the outside was bitterly cold, the inside of the shop was calm and warm.
One inside and one outside, it was like two different worlds.
The flower shop was located near the hospital and on the same street as the fruit market and the shroud and wreath shops. The flowers sold here could be given to lovers, relatives, the living, the sick, and the dead.
How wondrous it was.
There, I took a fancy to a type of chrysanthemum, where bright yellow, long, and thin petals were stacked together and rolled out from the inside to the outside. The flowers were also a little pale green, and the smell it gave off was fresh and rejuvenating.
So I bought a dozen and asked the owner to wrap it up for me.
Naturally, I was not giving it to others. No, no, no, I’m not that vicious. I’m giving them to myself.
I liked this kind of chrysanthemum and thought that buying a bunch would be a good reference. If l die unfortunately in the future, Meng SiQi would then know what kind of flowers to buy as grave offerings.
While waiting, I looked at the room full of flowers indifferently. There was a lonely unopened white garland-lily inserted in a transparent glass bottle. With only a branch, it looked strangely desolate.
It was at this time that another customer entered.
The shop owner had hung a string of silver wind chimes at the door. Every time a customer entered, clear and pleasant chimes could be heard.
As my attention was on the garland-lily, I had not yet raised my head, but my arm was harshly grabbed. Wearing black gloves, the hand was full of strength, and it felt painful. When I turned back mindlessly in surprise and pain, I saw the face belonging to an old friend.
“Pei JiYu!” he said unbelievingly.
“Chen ErXin, why are you here?” I frowned.
He was my old classmate back in England and held a UK passport, no longer a Chinese citizen. I haven’t been in touch with him since I left England.
“Why didn’t you come back to attend the graduation ceremony?” he probed, ignoring my uncertainty.
Graduation ceremony? God, he still remembered something that happened four years ago to this day. During that time, I was called back home by my father and didn’t even have time to hand in my dissertation, let alone attend the graduation ceremony.
Thinking back, despite conscientiously studying in a university for several years, I didn’t even receive a paper certificate. For Leo, I had sacrificed greatly.
“Something came up at home,” I answered vaguely, shrugging at him.
Hearing that, Chen ErXin’s eyes moved up and down as he examined my whole body carefully. He looked as if he was deep in thought, and I didn’t know what he was thinking about.
After a while, he said, “Pei JiYu, did you finally lose all your family property?”
I couldn’t help laughing.
I’ve been living in Meng SiQi’s house in recent days and haven’t acquired any new clothes, so I was currently wearing his. Although his stature was similar to mine, it was still not an exact fit.
Because of that, he thought that my family had declined.
However, recalling the situation at home, I became silent. Although my family was not in decline, it was still bleak and desolate.
At this time, my chrysanthemums had finished wrapping, and the owner asked if I needed a card. I thought about it, shook my head, and said, “Thank you, there’s no need.”
With Chen ErXin nearby, I didn’t want him to see me doing the stupid act of sending flowers to myself.
“What are you doing here?” It was only now that he remembered to ask me that.
I held the flowers properly, paid the shop owner, and said to him, “I’m going to the hospital to see a friend.”
“You’re going to visit a friend and give that person chrysanthemums?” He raised his eyebrows. “Pei JiYu, it appears that you have not changed at all.”
I was too lazy to bother with him.
His prejudice against me has a long history. In Chen ErXin’s eyes, Pei JiYu was the embodiment of all evil and the symbol of viciousness.
In the beginning, we were pretty good friends, but somehow for some unknown reason, we ended up like this.
When I first arrived in England, I was unfamiliar with my surroundings, my English was a mess, and I was doing poorly in my assignments. Besides, I was also an Asian, and it was inevitable that I would be ridiculed and isolated by others.
Fortunately, I met Chen Erxin, who was also a fellow Asian. He helped me with my English speaking, gave me remedial lessons, and even introduced me to his circle of friends.
He really helped me a lot.
I had thought that he would be my lifetime bosom friend and never considered that one day we would be at odds with each other.
The reason seemed to have something to do with the time when I was just admitted into university. At the freshmen dance, I had drunk too much, hugged Chen ErXin while calling out Lu QingFan’s name, and occasionally mixed it with a few words that encompassed my inner feelings.
The next day when I woke up in Chen ErXin’s bed, under the morning light, he had asked me with a livid expression, “You have a man that you like?”
I hesitated for a moment, but nodded as I didn’t want to lie to him.
“He’s in China.” I then added on, “In my house.”
After hearing that, his face showed both disappointment and pain. There were even some feelings of shame and resentment on his face.
From then on, Chen ErXin gradually distanced himself from me. Every time we met, he would even vilify me and magnify my shortcomings infinitely, constantly finding fault with me.
He gave me the feeling that he was forcing himself to paint me as a good for nothing person.
Whether it was true or not wasn’t important, as long as I was someone hateful enough.
Up until I picked up Leo from the roadside, the situation became more and more serious. He and I were like fire and water, comparable to having a feud.
It was unexpected that we got to meet again today.
Is this the so-called doomed affinity in heresays?
Chen ErXin also said that he was heading to the hospital and insisted on me joining him.
As I looked at the cold wind wreaking havoc outside, I thought that sitting in the same car with him was not something that was unbearable. After all, it was only a short distance away from the hospital, and I wouldn’t have to brace against the wind too.
At the hospital parking lot, I took advantage of the fact that his attention was on the car, opened the door, and ran.
Chen ErXin yelled in rage and exasperation behind me, “Pei JiYu!”
I didn’t even look back. I have no intention of getting mixed up with him.
I have only half a year left to live, so I’m only seeking my last chance of happiness.
As someone who was familiar with my surroundings, I went towards the oncology department after entering the building.
With a handful of chrysanthemums in my arms, I also attracted quite a lot of people’s attention along the way. Nonetheless, I pretended to be indifferent and strode towards Meng SiQi’s office.
Standing outside the corridor, I didn’t have to enter to notice the miserable and gloomy atmosphere. Through a spotless glass window, Dr. Meng, who was wearing gold-rimmed glasses, was sitting upright behind a square table. In front of him, there were two women – one old and one young, like a pair of mother and daughter.
The young woman’s beautiful eyes were blankly opened, and there was also no trace of blood on her face. Her mother hugged her shoulders and leaned forward slightly. She was anxiously consulting Meng SiQi while he patiently answered her inquiries one by one.
They had such deep attachments to life.
After seeing that, it was evident that Meng SiQi would be temporarily occupied and unable to leave.
I stood outside the door for a moment before feeling bored. I then took an elevator down and sat on a random seat in the hall. I watched all kinds of people coming and going while waiting for him.
Sitting there for a while, I realized that all the people entering and leaving the hospital, whether they were doctors or patients, they were all lacking facial expressions. It seemed that everyone’s face was covered with a layer of paleness, their complexions gloomy and gray.
As dusk arrived, it looked as if demons and monsters were appearing in this world one after another, as the whole hall was shrouded in cold white lights. It felt as if I was in the underworld.
I couldn’t help but shiver. It traveled from the bottom of my feet in layers of ripples to the top of the head.
I then scoffed in my heart and thought that it was no wonder that Meng SiQi liked me. He’s used to seeing such people like this every day, so it was unsurprising for him to notice me.