Seeing the car parked at the flower shop, Ji Yuning suddenly guessed Fang Bai's intention, but she couldn't be sure.
But the next second, Fang Bai's words confirmed Ji Yuning's guess.
Fang Bai asked her, "Do you remember what flowers your mother liked?"
really.
I'm buying flowers for my mother.
Ji Yuning looked out the window. Even though her mother's face was blurry in her memory, she remembered all of her mother's preferences clearly and would never forget them.
Fang Bai unbuckled his seatbelt. "I'm going inside to buy some flowers. You come with me."
Ji Yuning turned her head, stared at Fang Bai, and asked, "You...are you going?"
Fang Bai: "Mm."
Fang Bai: "Monday is the anniversary of your mother's death, but you have to go to school. I originally wanted to bring you yesterday, but you had something to do... so today is fine too."
The day before yesterday, in addition to asking about Ji Yuning, Liao Li also mentioned that next Monday is Lu Xia's death anniversary and asked if she would go.
The original owner never performed the ritual.
Fang Bai, however, felt that she needed to pay her respects.
It wasn't an apology on behalf of the original owner, nor was it a promise to Lu Xia; it was simply the behavior that should be done as Ji Yuning's guardian.
When it came to Lu Xia, Ji Yuning could no longer pretend. She lowered her eyes and asked, "Are you worthy?"
Ji Yuning's tone wasn't aggressive; she simply asked the question in a very cold tone.
But precisely because of this, those three words had a direct impact on Fang Bai's heart, tearing away the veil of hypocrisy. It was as if he had been despised as an ant, and everything Fang Bai wanted to do seemed like a joke.
Fang Bai said, "...Lu Xia is my friend."
Fang Bai felt she should pretend to be angry, so he slammed the door shut.
At the same time as the bang rang out, Ji Yuning let out a soft chuckle that reached Fang Bai's ears.
"Oh."
How ironic, my friend.
The laughter contained so much, but Fang Bai pretended not to hear it.
Fang Bai wasn't really angry. Ji Yuning was talking about the original owner, not her. She was just acting angry from the perspective of the original owner who "wanted to improve."
But what caught Fang Bai's attention was Ji Yuning's tone of voice, which was exactly the same as the night before last.
When Ji Yuning got out of the car, Fang Bai walked up to her and said, "You're such a child, don't talk to me like that in the future."
Fang Bai felt that wasn't enough, so he added a threat: "If there's a next time, I'll... take away your allowance."
After saying that, Fang Bai turned and walked into the flower shop, leaving Ji Yuning behind him.
“…”
Lakeside cemetery.
The car was parked on the side of the road.
After Fang Bai got out of the car, she took out the flowers she had bought from the back seat. When she looked up, she saw Ji Yuning getting out of the passenger seat with the flowers in her arms.
Two identical bunches of sunflowers, representing the sun, full of radiance and vitality.
Their eyes met, and Ji Yuning looked away first, silently walking towards the cemetery.
When Lu Xia was buried, the original owner did not appear, which meant that Fang Bai did not know where Lu Xia's grave was.
So at this moment, Fang Bai followed Ji Yuning silently. One second she said she was Lu Xia's friend, but the next second she didn't even know where Lu Xia's grave was. Fang Bai found it ironic.
Ji Yuning caught a glimpse of Fang Bai's behavior out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't expose him.
Fang Bai bringing her to the cemetery was something Ji Yuning had never imagined. Her doubts about this matter overshadowed Fang Bai's ridiculous behavior at this moment.
Ji Yuning was trying to figure out Fang Bai's purpose in doing this.
Was it to make her believe the karma theory she talked about that night? To make her completely believe it?
But didn't Fang Bai say that it was just a reason for her to trust him?
"?"
Ji Yuning suddenly felt dazed, because she realized…
She actually believed Fang Bai's words?
When Ji Yuning stopped, Fang Bai thought they had arrived, but after looking around, he didn't see Lu Xia's name.
Fang Bai asked, "What's wrong?"
Ji Yuning temporarily concealed her surprise and came to her senses, saying, "It's nothing."
One minute later.
Ji Yuning stood in front of a tombstone, with Fang Bai following behind her. They looked at the two characters "Lu Xia" on the tombstone, and at the woman in the photo, a gentle smile on her lips.
Lu Xia was a good person, kind throughout her life, but she loved the wrong person and ruined herself.
While reading the story, Fang Bai always felt a sense of regret towards Lu Xia.
It's a pity about her cheerful personality, and a pity about her unpredictable life.
Below the tombstone were two not-so-fresh bunches of flowers: one of sunflowers and the other of oriental lilies.
Both seem like they happened yesterday...
Fang Bai glanced at Ji Yuning casually, guessing what Ji Yuning had done when she went out yesterday.
If Ji Yuning came yesterday, then who sent that extra bouquet? Judging from the packaging, it's from the same florist, and Ji Yuning came with someone else.
It's highly likely that the bouquet of sunflowers belonged to Ji Yuning, and as for the lilies, it seems that the people traveling with her didn't know Lu Xia well.
The two stood silently before the tombstone, each lost in their own thoughts, neither uttering a word.
After an unknown amount of time, a gust of wind blew by, and Ji Yuning's muffled voice reached Fang Bai's ear, "It's ready."
Fang Bai tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear and said softly, "Let's go then."
Fang Bai was wearing a skirt, the hem of which swayed in the wind.
A person is walking towards us from a distance.
Liao Li looked at the person standing in front of Lu Xia's tombstone and exclaimed in surprise, "Fang Bai?"
Fang Bai looked in the direction of the sound and saw Liao Li walking towards them with a bunch of sunflowers in her hand.
After a brief eye contact with Fang Bai, Liao Li's gaze settled on Ji Yuning, and she unconsciously lowered her voice, "Yuning."
Ji Yuning glanced at the flowers in Liao Li's arms and called out, "Aunt Liao."
Liao Li smiled and walked up to Ji Yuning, patting her on the shoulder. "I'll go say hello to your mother first."
After receiving a nod of agreement from Ji Yuning, Liao Li turned to look at Fang Bai, her smile vanished, and said coldly to Fang Bai, "Wait for me to come together."
Fang Bai: "..."
Liao Li must have practiced face-changing, right?
Five minutes later, the three of them walked side by side down the mountain.
Fang Bai thought about the message Liao Li sent her the day before yesterday and asked, "Didn't you say you wouldn't be back until next week?"
Liao Li had a bag slung over her shoulder. "I took leave to come back."
Fang Bai sighed at Liao Li's affection for Lu Xia after hearing this, "Just got off the plane?"
Liao Li: "Mm."
Liao Li recalled what she had just seen and asked, "Who else has been here? I saw two more bouquets of flowers."
Ji Yuning's hands, which were hanging by her sides, involuntarily clenched.
Fang Bai looked into the distance, "Lu Xia has more than just the two of us as friends."
Too.
Liao Li continued, "Why did you come today?"
She remembered telling Fang Bai it was Monday.
Fang Bai still remembered Liao Li's harsh words to her earlier, and retorted, "Weren't you the same?"
Liao Li snorted and explained, "I have several surgeries to perform starting tomorrow, and I really can't spare the time. I can only ask for leave on Sunday."
Fang Bai said "Oh," and replied, "Tomorrow is Monday, and Xiao Ning has to go to school."
Mentioning Ji Yuning, Liao Li turned to look at Ji Yuning and said with a smile, "It's been three years, and Yuning is almost as tall as me now."
Fang Bai subconsciously replied, "If you take off your high heels, you'll probably be about the same height."
Liao Li's smile froze. She turned her head and said, "You think you're so good with words?"
Fang Bai: "..."
If she said it was out of instinct to control the original owner's memories, would Liao Li believe her?
After a brief argument, silence returned to the three of them.
Liao Li waited for a while, and when they were almost at the foot of the mountain, she said directly to Bai, "I want to talk to Yu Ning alone."
Without even thinking, Fang Bai refused, "No."
Liao Li: "Why not?"
Of course, I'm afraid you'll steal Ji Yuning away.
Fang Bai's lips curled up. "Is there anything I can't hear?"
"It's nothing, I just wanted to have a private chat with Yu Ning, and you're a bit of a killjoy," Liao Li said, arms crossed, mercilessly mocking her.
Fang Bai remained unmoved.
Liao Li waited a moment, and seeing that Fang Bai showed no sign of leaving, she spoke up: "About what we talked about last time, I—"
Liao Li paused deliberately.
Fang Bai let out a breath, turned to Ji Yuning and said, "...I'll wait for you at the car."