Chapter 35: A Sea of ​​Three Thousand Flowers

Sunny days are wonderful.

Before that, Xia Li first handled Xia Qingqing's funeral arrangements, and then she took Xia Qingqing's ashes and flew to a small island in the south of the island nation. The island was small in size, with clean water, beautiful crystal-clear sea, and live corals that could be seen while diving.

Xia Qingqing hates the dark, is afraid of the cold, and is a clean person who is extremely particular about the details of life. The places she is in are almost spotless.

Xia Li thought that if Xia Qingqing were buried in the ground, she would probably be angry. Perhaps she would take a drag on a cigarette, hum a soft hum, exhale a smoke ring, and scold her for not knowing how to be filial at all.

So she crouched down slightly and scattered half of the ashes onto the sea surface, watching helplessly as the ashes were soaked and slowly sank to the bottom of the sea, just like Xia Qingqing herself, slowly, slowly disappearing from her life.

The rising tide gently lapped at her ankles, soaking her trouser legs. She kicked them as she stood up.

Kick, the water splashes, washing away the fine sand clinging to the back of your feet.

It was June, the height of summer, but on this small island where winter temperatures were close to 20 degrees Celsius, she felt incredibly cold and couldn't help but shiver.

My hands and feet are icy, and my heart is cold.

At this moment, Ji Ling suddenly grabbed her wrist, tentatively feeling her cold fingertips and her body temperature. Then he gently placed her hand on his chest, where it was burning hot, so hot that her fingertips trembled involuntarily.

“You’re so afraid of the cold. It’s windy at the beach. Let’s go,” he said.

Xia Li nodded, picked up the other half of the ashes, and at the same time Ji Ling's cold voice came on the wind, accompanied by the rustling of the surrounding leaves. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "There's more?"

Xia Li replied, "Okay, let's go to the next place."

The land here can be bought and sold, and once purchased, one has permanent ownership.

She made a momentous decision, a decision that severed ties with the past. With the fifteen million yuan Xia Qingqing had given her when the contract was signed, she bought three thousand square meters of land on this small island.

We determined the required area and price in advance, and luckily, we found a suitable location and a private seller in a short time. The location was an open area on the southernmost side of the island, near the sea.

Such a rapid pace is almost impossible. It's hard to tell whether it's Heaven's favor towards Xia Qingqing, whose fate has been unfortunate, or its pity for her being all alone.

The contract signing process went quite smoothly. When the seller learned that she needed the money urgently, he was very generous and decisively let her plan how to use it in advance. If the process had been followed, it would have taken at least one or two months before he could take over.

Xia Li booked a car and told the driver the direction to go.

Seeing Ji Ling following behind her, she turned her head in confusion before getting into the car, her eyes calm, and asked softly, "Are you coming along too?"

The hotel they booked was nearby, so Ji Ling didn't need to make a wasted trip with her to watch ashes being scattered—it was such a pointless thing.

Ji Ling turned his head shyly, his words being swallowed by the wind, indistinct yet exceptionally powerful: "I want to stay with you."

Xia Li nodded in surprise and opened the car door: "Let's go."

They got into the car together and drove straight ahead. The road was sparsely populated and very smooth. Finally, they stopped at the end of the road.

To the left was an endless sea, and to the right were rolling hills. Xia Li led Ji Ling toward the nearest hill, then crossed a path between two hills, and climbed toward higher altitudes.

They stopped in front of a sign.

"Beware of snakes," Ji Ling read aloud as he looked at the sign.

Xia Li turned to look at him, her eyes narrowed slightly: "If you're scared, it's not too late to leave now."

Ji Ling's expression hardened slightly. He narrowed his eyes and stared intently at her before saying calmly, "Since you're already here, why leave? You promised to stay with you."

Xia Li covered her mouth and lowered her eyes to smile, her body trembling slightly. The wind blew her hair into a mess, sticking to her cheeks. She explained, "The chances of encountering a snake are very small, so don't worry."

Ji Ling remained calm, gazing at her intently. Then, without a word, he took out a hair tie and raised his head to tie up her hair, which was fluttering in the wind. His knuckles were distinct as he gently ran his fingers along the roots of her hair, smoothing it downwards.

Xia Li felt itchy and wanted to dodge, but he pulled her back and continued what they were doing. After everything was over, Ji Ling looked down at the large, empty flat area and said, "This place is quite suitable for your mother."

Xia Li retorted, "A femme fatale?"

Ji Ling said with a stern face: "Forget about the venomous woman and the beauty."

Xia Li asked, "You don't like her?"

Ji Ling was completely speechless. He was baffled by the question and coldly replied, "Why would I like her, especially since she treats you badly?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Xia Li lowered her eyes slightly. One of her hands was held by Ji Ling, and the other hand was holding Xia Qingqing's ashes. She walked slowly forward on the sandy road: "Actually, she was quite pitiful."

Xia Qingqing spent her entire life in pretense.

She should have had a dazzling life, but it was ruined by a man, and her youth was wasted.

When Xia Li arrived at the 3,000-square-meter land he had bought for Xia Qingqing, the first thing he did was not to scatter her ashes, but to quietly rummage through the box and pull out a bag of dark-colored items.

seed.

Ji Ling frowned, immediately helped her lift it, and asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"

Xia Li said calmly, "Plant flowers."

Xia Qingqing loved bright colors the most. Before she died, she would choose a gorgeous new dress and put on exquisite makeup.

She wants to scatter a large field of flower seeds here, and let her ashes be scattered into the sea of ​​flowers, so that Xia Qingqing may live forever in the sea of ​​three thousand flowers and grow together with the sea of ​​flowers.

"I really hope that after I die, someone will plant a sea of ​​flowers for me."

Xia Li spoke casually, it was just an unintentional remark made when the wind rose, but the person next to him panicked and frowned, scolding, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Xia Li turned around and asked, "Would you plant a sea of ​​flowers for me?"

"...No. You won't die, and don't say anything unlucky again."

Xia Li smiled faintly, responded to his voice, and said nothing more. She grabbed a handful of seeds and tossed them into the wind.

Qingqing gave her life, and she saw Qingqing off to her death.

After scattering the flower seeds and ashes together, Ji Ling picked up a sprout and asked, "What kind of flower did you plant?"

Xia Li pondered for a moment before replying, "Five-colored plum blossom."

Ji Ling remained silent.

He thought that if he could grow old with Xia Li, and decades later, Xia Li really... really left him first, he would definitely plant a sea of ​​flowers for her, more than three thousand square meters.

Since Xia Li planted flowers for Xia Qingqing, she probably really loves this variety...

He gave a dry laugh and said stiffly, "You have a good eye for choosing; it suits your mother very well."

Lantana blooms year-round, is poisonous, and can be used in medicine, but... it smells bad. While it produces beautiful multicolored flowers, you can smell a putrid odor when you get close to it.

It makes people both love and hate it.

Xia Li nodded, then suddenly sighed, "I really want to go back twenty-five years..."

Ji Ling responded with the same sentiment: "Then I'll go with you."

Xia Li was so surprised she couldn't speak. She turned her head, her eyes filled with disbelief, marveling that this man didn't even ask why.

If she could, she would want to travel back twenty-five years and hug Xia Qingqing. Then she would be the first person to hug Xia Qingqing in those twenty-five years.

If she could, she would want to go back to the day Xia Qingqing left, so that she would be the only person in the past twenty-five years to have ever hugged Xia Qingqing.

Xia Qingqing wanted her to be happy, and she responded amidst the wind and the undeveloped sea of ​​flowers, embracing the person who didn't exist: "Xia Qingqing, I will be happy."

If there were another time and space, I hope Xia Qingqing could also be happy.

The emotions expressed by an embrace are beyond words. She turned around, stood on tiptoe, opened her arms, hugged Ji Ling tightly, and buried her head in his shoulder.

She didn't know how long their relationship would last, but at least for now, she had bravely done what she wanted to do, and at least she wouldn't have any regrets when she looked back on it later.

In response, Ji Ling wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, and at the same time, his gentle voice came close to her ear: "You will be happy."

I want you to be happy too.

Returning to a familiar place always evokes some memories.

Whether happy or sad, they changed their plans at the last minute, checked out early, and did not stay on the island that night.

The moment Xia Li stepped into the airport, she felt that she might never come here again. Some memories are better left in the past; the past is the best place for them, undisturbed and untouched, preserved in another form.

When considering where to go next, they both tacitly agreed not to make any suggestions, but instead followed their hearts and first thoughts. Unconsciously, they bought tickets to the same destination as when they traveled nine years ago.

Returning to familiar ground, to that place where blessings and praises were born.

Walking side by side on the street, it seems there are so many things left unsaid, but if you really try to put them out into your own words, there's nothing to say. Everything is washed away by time and quietly slips away.

The hands hanging at the sides would touch each other intentionally or unintentionally, the skin on the back of the hands always bumping into each other in an instant, and then dodging away in an instant.

Xia Li stared down at the crack in the ground, watching her footsteps alternate back and forth. When her knuckles accidentally touched again, Ji Ling grabbed her wrist and they intertwined their fingers.

She turned her head and looked up. Ji Ling liked to hold her hand, just as she liked to hug.

Suddenly, Xia Li felt a warm, wet sensation on her cheek. She looked up and saw large raindrops dripping into the corner of her eye.

One second it was sunny, the next it started to drizzle. Thinking about it, he reached out his other hand to test it. Everything was the same as nine years ago, even the street they unintentionally walked on was the same one from nine years ago.

Ji Ling also noticed that it was raining.

There's a newly opened convenience store at the intersection ahead; they could easily walk a few more steps, it wouldn't take much time.

No matter how much effort they put in, they won't get too wet. They can go inside to get an umbrella and then return to the hotel, or they can find a shop on the street and have a bowl of udon noodles before waiting for the rain to stop.

But none of them did that.

Just like nine years ago in winter, they rashly ventured into the familiar yet unfamiliar dessert shop. Now adults, they were no longer teenagers and felt somewhat awkward in the cramped space.

"Do you remember this place?" Ji Ling asked first, looking down at her as they waited for the rain to stop.

After hearing this, Xia Li glanced around the store. The counter where the checkout used to be was now occupied by a young face, no longer the kind old lady with glasses from back then.

She didn't give a definite answer, but nodded and asked Ji Ling, "Do you want a croissant?"

Ji Ling turned her head away shyly: "I won't eat it."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xia Li pointed to the counter, her dark eyes looking up at him as she looked up: "I heard there's a buy-one-get-one-free offer, plus greeting cards." Then she paused, as if considering, and added: "Couple's sets."

How could she not remember this place? She also knew what Ji Ling had deliberately left untranslated back then.

After the rain stopped and we returned to the hotel, the moment the door closed, we embraced and kissed deeply, our breaths still damp from the rain.

It seems that many unspoken words and missed actions have transformed into the entanglement of their kisses at this moment. They are tender and affectionate, and they are immersed in the land of tenderness.

Practice makes perfect.

The most suffocating thing is lust mixed with rainwater.