Chapter 45 Sunflower: Has she never mentioned me to you?
When Chang Xile opened her eyes, she felt a splitting headache. Her vision was hazy, and when several shadows merged into one, she found Dai Xigang sitting on the sofa across from her, reading a letter. His left hand repeatedly stroked the tattered paper, his eyes filled with an emotion Chang Xile couldn't understand.
"Mr. Dai." Chang Xile found herself comfortably placed on a sofa. She shook her head to relieve the severe headache, then looked around and asked, "What time is it now?"
Daisy's eyes dimmed the moment she opened her mouth. He lowered his head slightly and said affirmatively, "You are always joyful."
Chang Xile had already found the clock hanging on the wall by now, and more than two hours had passed since the agreed time.
Ah...Dai Shanyan, has she left?
But what about Wuchang? Chang Xile hadn't given up searching. She stood up, trying to find the dark figure. Since he had made a promise to her, now that Dai Shanyan had said goodbye, it was time to check and accept his promise. He wouldn't just let Chang Xile go, would he?
If Chang Xile could find the ghost named Xie, she would be able to see Dai Shanyan again - they hadn't said goodbye properly yet.
But no, besides Chang Xile, there was only Daisy Port left on this entire floor.
He stood up, put his suit jacket over his arm, and said to her, "Come on, I'll take you back to school."
The window in the living room was not closed tightly, and the wind blew through. The old piece of paper on the table fluttered in the wind and fell in front of Chang Xile.
She bent over and picked up the paper. It was covered in writing, written in beautiful handwriting. The paper had been torn into many pieces, but now it was carefully stuck together with transparent tape.
Chang Xile swore that she did not intend to read the words above.
[My not-so-dear brother, since parting always comes so suddenly, in order to avoid making everyone too flustered when the time comes, ahem, I’m going to announce my bucket list here.
1. Don't cry at my funeral
2. No black at funerals
…]
The next second, a slender hand quickly pulled the yellowed paper away. Chang Xile raised his eyes and met Dai Xigang's cold gaze.
Is this the torn suicide note that Dai Shanyan mentioned?
"Let's go."
After the rain stopped, the funeral came to an end and the guests left one after another.
Chang Xile glanced at the taciturn Secretary Ye beside her. Dai Xigang had clearly said he would see her off, but he'd left midway, leaving Secretary Ye to escort her out instead. Perhaps the rich's time was always precious, and trivial matters like these could be delegated to those whose time was less valuable than theirs.
As they passed the small garden in the front hall, Chang Xile saw from afar the girl lying in the exquisite coffin. Her features were still beautiful, her eyes were closed, her face was peaceful, as if she was sleeping, and her body was covered with beautiful and fragrant flowers.
A sudden feeling of unreality welled up in her heart. One second, Dai Shanyan was still chattering in her ear, and the next second, she turned into a cold corpse lying in the coffin, and would never speak again: "Come on, Xile, I'll take you to appreciate my collection!"
Chang Xile stopped and just looked at the direction where Dai Shanyan was lying, while Secretary Ye beside him leaned slightly in the other direction.
A tall man appeared before their eyes. He wore a velvety, lotus-pink striped suit and held a large bouquet of blooming sunflowers. On his wrist, he wore a handmade bracelet with copper coin tassels, which jingled as he moved, a stark contrast to the monotonous funeral scene.
"Who is that?" Chang Xile looked at his back. He didn't remember seeing such a person at the funeral today.
"Young Master." Secretary Ye replied.
The eldest son of the Dai family... Chang Xile's mind went blank for a moment before he realized what was going on - that was Daixi Port.
Did he just go to change clothes?
Chang Xile watched Dai Xigang stride over to Dai Shanyan's coffin. He stared at her face, then gently reached out and gathered the sunflowers in her arms, which had become somewhat dehydrated in the sun, and then carefully spread the large bunch of golden sunflowers around her.
Finally, he looked at Dai Shanyan deeply again, then turned to look at Chang Xile and said, "Let's go."
"Huh? Oh..." Chang Xile followed Daisy Port, glancing at him from time to time. Daisy Port had deep features and a flamboyant, exotic charm. He was tall and slender, and the bright suit complemented him perfectly. If this weren't a funeral, and his expression wasn't so icy, passersby would have been tempted to whistle.
She remembered the second request written on the suicide note:
[No black clothes allowed]
However, the air pressure around Daisi Harbor was so low that Chang Xile fell silent, her mind turning to other things. Originally, she had only hoped to fulfill Dai Shanyan's last wish, a daily act of kindness. However, she hadn't expected Dai Shanyan to leave so suddenly, and Chang Xile was momentarily lost as to what to do next.
She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice Secretary Ye had quietly left. It wasn't until she got on the passenger seat of a black mountain bike parked next to the villa that she realized Daisy Port was sitting in the driver's seat.
Chang Xile looked around and asked, "Where's Secretary Ye?"
Daisy Port looked down at her, raised his chin, and reminded her: "Seat belt."
"You're going to send me off in person?" Chang Xile hadn't forgotten how Dai Xigang had scolded her when she first arrived. She put her hand on the car door handle, laughed dryly, and declined, "Don't bother. I can actually go back by myself."
There was a beep, and Chang Xile pressed the door handle, but the door didn't budge. She looked back at Dai Xigang in disbelief, and he slowly withdrew his hand from the lock.
What is going on? If you don’t know, you might think they are kidnapping.
Daisy Gang leaned over to Chang Xile, frightening her so much that she pressed herself against the car seat, barely daring to breathe. The next second, he reached out, fastened her seatbelt, and started the car.
The journey was so quiet that only the sound of each other's breathing could be heard. Chang Xile's hand was still on the doorknob. Looking at Dai Xigang's eye-catching outfit, she couldn't help but ask, "Did you change your clothes temporarily to fulfill Shanyan's last wish?"
Ice Face said nothing.
After a while, Chang Xile saw him nod in the rearview mirror out of the corner of his eye.
"She likes me to dress like this." Dai Xigang recalled the Christmas gift that Dai Shanyan carefully prepared for him a few years ago.
At that time, he thought it was a routine prank from his sister. He frowned helplessly and thought to himself that he had carefully prepared a gift that Dai Shanyan liked.
What did Dai Shanyan say at the time? - "Brother, if I didn't have a family business to inherit, I would really support you to become a model. Please try it on! I think this kind of clothes will suit you perfectly! This is one of my last wishes -"
"Shut up." This was too unlucky, Daisy Port scolded her.
"You have to accept that I will die." Dai Shanyan's smile remained unchanged, but her words were particularly cruel. She opened her hands to feel the sunlight, squinting her eyes and sighing, "The book says that it's better to greet death with a smile than to cry over a separation that hasn't come yet."
Daisy refused to accept it. He tore up the suicide note, pretending he had never read it. The two of them had a quarrel and didn't reconcile for a long time.
Chang Xile listened quietly. She turned her head and said seriously, "Shanyan is right. This kind of clothes really suits you."
Daisy Port was silent for a while. He thought for a long time before asking, "Have you never heard of me before?"
Chang Xile was puzzled. She recalled for a moment and said uncertainly, "Maybe I've seen you on some news website, but I usually just scroll past those pages."
"..." Daisy Gang didn't get a satisfactory answer. He usually stopped worrying about questions after hitting a wall once. However, he pursed his lips and continued, "Shanyan, she never mentioned me to you?"
Chang Xile was stunned for a moment, then she remembered what she had said to Dai Xigang when they first met today: "What a coincidence, I've never heard her mention you before."
It turns out he cares so much.
Seeing Chang Xile's silence, Dai Xigang probably knew the answer. He forced a smile and concluded, "It seems she's still angry with me."
Chang Xile was able to attend Dai Shanyan's funeral, but she had never heard her mention her brother. Doesn't that mean she still refused to forgive him? That's right. After all, he was not only angry with her as a brother, but he also hid abroad and refused to return - until she died.
"Shanyan once told me," Chang Xile said, looking at the windshield, where a small, fresh golden flower sat, apparently replaced regularly by its owner. "Someone told her that sunflowers symbolize the rising sun, energy, and health. She loved them, so she offered me a bouquet as a token of her gratitude."
Chang Xile turned around and asked him, "Are you talking about you?"
Daisy Gang said nothing. After a while, he suddenly stopped the car on the side of the road.
Chang Xile glanced out the window somewhat bewilderedly. The car had already reached the bustling city center. She said politely, "We're almost there. You can drop me off here and I can take the subway back to school... ok?"
As she spoke, she fell silent, not daring to make a single sound.
Because this serious and stern gentleman was lowering his head, his hands were tightly gripping the steering wheel, and his body was trembling slightly.
"Tick, tick." There was the sound of dripping water. Chang Xile quickly turned his face away and looked out the window without saying anything.
On the bustling street, the young man who had been forcing himself to preside over his family's funeral shed tears in front of a stranger he had only met once.
After a long while, Daisy Harbor finally regained its composure. A hand reached out silently and handed him a napkin.
He glanced to the right, and Chang Xile firmly turned his head toward the window, refusing to even look at his miserable appearance.
After feeling the paper being taken from him, Chang Xile finally made up his mind and said, "I can get off here. Please unlock the car. I won't bother you."
She really didn't have the inner strength to be indifferent to a stranger who had lost a loved one, but she also couldn't say useless words like "Don't be sad". Not disturbing him at this moment was the best she could do.
However, Daisy Gang still didn't unlock the car. He calmly started the car again and said, "Shanyan said you had bad luck and asked me to get you safely to your residence. This was also one of her last wishes."
Okay.
Chang Xile didn't say anything more, just hoped that this journey could be shorter and shorter.
When the car finally arrived at the main entrance of the school, Chang Xile let out a long sigh, said thank you and prepared to open the car door.
However, the driver still did not unlock the car.
Chang Xile turned to him with a smile and asked, "Is there anything else?"
Dai Xigang held the phone in one hand and handed it to Chang Xile: "Please give me your phone number."
"I don't think we'll meet again in the future." Chang Xile couldn't think of a reason to exchange contact information. Dai Xigang certainly wouldn't be in the mood to strike up a conversation with her right now.
Dai Xigang said in a deep voice: "In order to repay you for what you have done for Shanyan, the Dai family will reward you."
"Shanyan is my friend. I volunteered to help without thinking about any reward." Chang Xile still refused. She thought of the bank card that Dai Shanyan gave her with a headache, and thought about returning it to Dai Xigang now.
Daisy Port sighed and said, "From the moment you contacted Shanyan, your personal information has been exposed to us."
In other words, asking for her phone number was just a courtesy. Even if she didn't give it to him, it wouldn't prevent Daisy from contacting her when needed.
"Then find a way to contact me when you need me." Chang Xile, who was soft-hearted, finally laughed out of anger. "I've never heard of anyone treating their sister's friends like this."
Daisy Gang looked at her deeply and finally unlocked the car. He got out of the car and opened the door on Chang Xile's side.
"See you next time." He said softly.
…
After watching Chang Xile walk into the school gate, Daisy Gang sat in the driver's seat and was reluctant to leave.
He held the old yellowed paper and his eyes fell on the bottom of it.
After parting on bad terms that night, Daisy Port picked up the tattered letters piece by piece from the trash can and spent the whole night gluing them back together.
After he glued it together, he threw the suicide note into the innermost layer of the safe.
As for the contents, they had long been forgotten day by day. A last wish was something a dying person would ask for, and his sister, still alive and kicking, bickering with him, had no need for such a thing.
Years later, this long and unwelcome suicide note finally saw the light of day again.
At the end of it, it reads:
[Finally, and most importantly, even when I'm gone, you must continue to live well and not give up on yourselves.
That’s it, we’ll meet again in the next life!
PS: When I die, please plant sunflowers on my grave.]
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