Chapter 62
Li Jia spread chocolate sauce on the last slice of toast, her hand touching a sticky note on the inside of the refrigerator door.
It was a follow-up appointment reminder sent by the community hospital last week. The ink had already blurred a bit, just like her mood at that moment, which was neither good nor bad.
She took a bite of toast and walked to the balcony. The morning light made the quilts on the clothesline warm and cozy, giving them a sunny smell.
The breakfast stall downstairs is frying dough sticks and fried dough fritters. The smoke from the oil, along with the aroma of sesame seeds, wafts up, just like every other morning.
She went downstairs and bought a fried dough stick, then fried two eggs and arranged them into a 100 shape.
Perfect.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a patient support group she had joined last week. There were 99+ new messages popping up in the group. Someone had posted a long travel guide, saying they wanted to see the aurora borealis before they had a chance to see it.
Li Jia glanced at it and exited the interface; it wasn't something she was interested in.
So-called tourism is nothing more than going from a place you're tired of to a place others are tired of, squeezing onto high-speed trains and catching flights, and falling asleep as soon as you're exhausted. Nothing beats the comfort of curling up on the sofa to catch up on anime or play games.
Some patients admire Li Jia's positive attitude, as she never cries or complains.
Li Jia shook her head: "Do you know what the fairest thing in this world is?"
"Whether you're rich or poor, you're going to die anyway, so what's the difference between dying sooner or later?"
"Just lie there and do your job as usual."
Patient: Master, I understand now.
The only thing that worried her was the system. Although she didn't know why she hadn't died, she still missed it.
I wonder if it's been sent back for a complete overhaul.
After finishing breakfast, Li Jia put the empty plate into the sink, the water was running, she applied some lime-scented dish soap, picked up a rag and started rubbing it in circles.
She wasn't sad, but occasionally she would call out "System" to the empty room, listening to the echo hit the wall once and then fall gently down.
Alas, it's not here.
"Li Jia! Want to go for a walk in the park together?"
Aunt Zhang from across the hall called out from the door. She was a kind-hearted woman who knew that Li Jia was a young girl living here and was sick. Every few days, she would come over to ask how she was doing and make her some soup to help her recover.
Li Jia poked her head out, smiled and waved her hand: "No, Auntie, I want to catch up on my sleep today."
Aunt Zhang peeked at her, then hesitated, saying, "You child, you really need to go out more..."
"Going out is tiring too."
Li Jia gently closed the door, leaned against it, and sighed.
Li Jia placed a cup of hot cocoa on the coffee table, walked to the sofa, wrapped herself in a beige blanket, curled up, and opened the book she hadn't finished reading last time, "From Me to You."
This is the kind of thing to watch in winter.
On the screen, Sawako Kurosawa is surrounded and teased by her classmates, who ask Shota Kazehaya, "What is she to you?"
The surroundings were noisy, and Shuangzi's face turned as red as an apple.
Li Jia felt around in her pocket, pulled out a tangerine-filled gummy candy, unwrapped it, and put it in her mouth.
As soon as she bit into the filling, a sour taste shot up her tongue. She frowned and muttered, "Twisted people need to be loved firmly and brightly..."
The task was actually completed quite well.
Persephone was born safely, and the war of the gods did not occur.
Hera...
She didn't marry a bad man either.
All of this has come to pass.
But the orange candy is so sour.
The anime was halfway through when it started to drizzle outside.
Raindrops pattered against the glass, sounding like sprinkled salt. Li Jia pulled the blanket up to her chin, listening to the rain and Kazehaya Shota's words "She's my girlfriend" on the screen, and slowly closed her eyes.
I wonder if the grove she planted has blossomed and borne fruit.
She vaguely thought that if she could see her again next time, she would definitely talk to her properly and ask her questions.
Is the fruit sweet?
His Majesty.
...
Spring has come again, and Hera stands in the orchard, her fingertips brushing against the branches adorned with white flower buds.
The petals were still covered with morning dew, and when the sunlight shone on them, they were crystal clear, and the fragrance of the flowers was refreshing.
Five years after Li Jia left, the trees in the forest grew from waist-high to provide ample shade.
Every spring thereafter it blooms with snow-white flowers and bears abundant red fruit, never missing its season.
Hera remembered that night, and she smiled slyly, saying she would definitely like it, and that she would invite her to taste it together.
She picked the fruit and tasted it; it was very sweet.
The fruit tree was very delicate and prone to disease, so she had to ask Demeter to come and check on it every few days.
Later, when Demeter came to patrol the forest, she looked at the thriving forest and couldn't help but sigh: "I told her that these seeds were hard to grow, but she insisted on trying, saying she wanted to give you a surprise."
Hera didn't speak, quietly watching the orchard. The wind blew through the trees, and petals fell softly, landing in Hera's hair, her long, snow-white hair cascading down to her waist.
"Shouldn't you let it go?"
Demeter patted her old friend on the shoulder, her tone admonishing: "Those who are gone will not come back, and the living cannot be trapped in the past forever."
Hera's voice was as soft as it had been many years before when Artemis had asked her, yet it carried an undeniable firmness.
"I can."
"Wait."
She knew that Li Jia might not come back, just as she knew that flowers would bloom every spring and fruits would ripen every summer.
But she was still willing to wait, to wait for the rustling sounds of the wind passing through the woods, to wait for the morning dew to fall on the petals, to wait for some morning that might never come, when someone would walk out of the sunlight, lifting their skirt, their eyes filled with the familiar, fervent love she knew so well.
The flowers are blooming beautifully again this year; it's a bumper harvest, Hera thought.
When the fruit ripens, save the sweetest one; perhaps Li Jia can taste it when she returns.
Demeter, as the goddess of agriculture, had the right to name plants, but this seed was obtained from Li Jia, who is now gone. She gave the naming rights of the tree to Hera, asking Hera what name to give the fruit tree.
Demeter's quill hovered over the parchment scroll, a small drop of ink clinging to its tip. She looked up at Hera, who stood beneath the flowering tree, and repeated her question: "Have you decided on a name for this fruit tree?"
Hera, her fingertips twirling a freshly fallen petal, nodded gently upon hearing this.
Cherries.
When we first met, she said her eyes were as beautiful as cherries.
Demeter frowned and tapped her pen on the paper: "What fruit tree on Olympus has such a strange name? How about Spring Snow? It would suit this tree full of white blossoms perfectly."
"No need, this is fine."
"Oh well."
The quill pen wrote the three characters "cherry" on the parchment scroll, the ink spreading out and appearing remarkably vivid compared to the ancient names "olive" and "pomegranate" next to it.
Hera selected many cherry tree seeds and had Winslow distribute them to the people of Fragrant City, saying they were left by the Little Goddess.
Cherries are large, brightly colored, sweet, and easy to eat.
For a time, it became one of the city flowers of Xiangcheng and Quandu, alongside osmanthus. Only Xiangcheng and Quandu could sustain this fruit tree, making it the best-selling seasonal fruit.
Unexpectedly, yet logically, she left her people a considerable income. The people all remembered Li Jia's kindness and held this little goddess queen, who had been gone for many years, in the highest esteem.
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