Chapter 70 Side Story 2

Chapter 70: Bonus Story 2

When Shen Gali opened his eyes, a circle of faces with various expressions peered down at him. Judging by their attire, they were nurses.

Seeing their delighted expressions, Shen Gali suspected their next words would be:

"Hey, girl, you're finally awake."

He instinctively reached down to check between his legs.

Good, it's still there.

"Notify the doctor that the patient is awake," one nurse said, her tone barely able to contain her excitement.

For medical staff, nothing is more exciting than a patient waking up successfully after surgery.

After staring blankly for a while, Shen Gali slowly began to take in his surroundings.

A plain white room, a constantly beeping monitor, and the sharp smell of disinfectant.

A familiar hospital room, everything was just the same.

But some strange memories came flooding back. A man in a wheelchair appeared in his mind, ordering him around, and on a snowy night, that man held his hand and said he was Nan Liujing, that no matter where Shen went, he (Nan) would find a way to find him.

There was also a woman who looked like his mother but not quite, wearing a cheap Lisianthus bracelet, softly calling him "Lili baby."

Rubbing his forehead, Shen Gali felt this long story was like a dream, yet he remembered every detail with surprising clarity.

Something seemed to block his chest, his breathing became labored, and whenever he thought of the man named Nan Liujing from the dream, his heart stung like needles.

Why? It was just a dream. Why did waking up leave such a strong sense of loss, as if something vital had been ripped out of him, leaving a gaping hole?

The attending physician rushed over, performed a thorough examination, and gave detailed instructions.

But Shen Gali didn't hear a word, his head was completely stuffed with every detail of the dream.

In the following days, he had to stay in the hospital for further observation, and could only be discharged after they confirmed there was no post-surgery rejection.

The days in the hospital were boring. His cousin, a caregiver, read cheesy CEO romance novels by his bedside as usual. All he could do was stare at the clock on the wall, but whenever he had a free moment, he couldn't help thinking of the male lead in the dream, the man named Nan Liujing.

Every time he thought of him, the monitor would start beeping faster, causing nurses to come check on him repeatedly.

The night before discharge, he dreamed of him again. In the snow, the man used his foot to trace the characters "Shen Jia Li" (with the wrong final character, a simpler one), saying he was afraid of forgetting, and also afraid of being too late, so he replaced the last character with a simpler one.

When the man's face gradually blurred, Shen Gali woke up, tears clinging to his lashes, the pillow wet.

Just then, a nurse came in to help him pack, and seeing the damp pillow, joked that Shen Gali must didn't want to leave the hospital.

"Hospitals aren't good places. Though we've spent so much time together and I'll miss you, I hope you never have to come back," the nurse said as she handed him his luggage, genuinely expressing the hope she had for every patient.

Shen Gali left the hospital, saw his cousin off on the train home, and went back to his empty apartment.

In the empty apartment, his mother's photo on the table had collected a little dust. He gently wiped it clean, set it back in its place, and looked out at the gloomy sky, suddenly feeling lost.

Where was his future? Which direction should he take? He had no idea.

After not writing for a long time, he suddenly felt like writing something, but after hesitating for a while, he only ended up writing three characters on the paper:

"Nan Liujing"

Tired. Gotta lie down for a bit.

In the dream, what he said most in the dream was: "Tired. Gotta lie down for a bit."

And that man named Nan Liujing always found ways to torment him so he couldn't get any sleep, but every time it backfired on him. His pissed-off face was really hilarious.

After lazing around for a few days, the utility and property bills arrived, and he realized he needed to do something.

He checked his bank account—only 30,000 yuan left. If he wanted to go back to school, the tuition of seven to eight thousand per semester was more than he could afford. Though he could apply for student loans, he'd still have to repay them eventually. Shen Gali hated being in debt, feeling uneasy about owing money.

After thinking it over for half a minute, he decided to go back to his old job—continue running his mother's flower shop.

For the days ahead, he'd just take things as they come. Live if he could, and if he couldn't, whatever. But at least he had to finish his studies, as that was his mother's last wish.

The flower shop didn't make much money. Competition was cutthroat these days, and relying solely on storefront business couldn't cover normal expenses. Gritting his teeth, Shen Gali spent several thousand to create a listing on Dianping.

Soon, he received his first online order. The customer called and said his boss had an important blind date tonight and wanted Shen Gali to prepare a bouquet with a rose theme to be delivered to a certain hotel.

Shen Gali cut several large, lush champagne roses as the main focus, interspersed with some white chamomile, surrounded by asparagus fern. The whole arrangement was fresh, nicely coordinated, elegant, and beautiful.

He found the bicycle his mother used for flower deliveries. Not knowing how to use navigation, he relied on asking people for directions to find his destination.

It was the cold winter season, with strong winds carrying damp, chilly rain hitting his face. Shen Gali rode very slowly, stopping every so often to catch his breath and check that the bouquet in the basket was still in good shape.

To save taxi fare, he rode for over an hour before arriving. When he reached the hotel entrance, he was completely exhausted. The damp air soaked his hair, and raindrops clung to his eyelashes like tiny diamonds.

Following the delivery address, he entered the hotel and went up to the eighth floor. The entire floor was reserved for a private event. A huge floor-to-ceiling window offered a broad view of the city's night skyline.

By the window, he saw two men seated in a booth. One was in a suit, looking extremely elegant, looking down at the menu. The other was younger, wearing a meticulously detailed white shirt, sitting upright and gracefully.

Shen Gali, fresh from the cold wind, looked completely out of place next to the hotel's fancy decor and the high-class clients in the booth.

Holding the flowers, he stepped forward. As he approached the two, he suddenly caught an extremely distinctive scent, incredibly oppressive and chilling, yet strangely familiar.

He was sure he had smelled this fragrance somewhere before.

Lowering his gaze, his eyes fell on the man looking at the menu—neatly trimmed jet-black hair, a clear profile faintly visible.

Shen Gali felt a sudden pang in his heart. After a brief pain, he realized—

He had seen this man before! He was the male lead of that long dream, Nan Liujing. Every detail of his features matched the dream exactly.

A coincidence? Or maybe it wasn't a dream at all.

The man sensed something, suddenly looked up, and met his eyes.

The man's brows furrowed slightly. After a long moment, he asked, "Did my assistant send you to deliver flowers?"

Shen Gali clutched the bouquet tightly, nodding repeatedly.

He wanted to ask if this man was called Nan Liujing, and whether he recognized him.

But the man's distant, cold gaze clearly showed the word "stranger."

His nose stung, his feet wouldn't move. Shen Gali stood like a statue, holding the flowers, forgetting to breathe.

The younger boy across from him broke into a delighted expression, cupping his cheeks adorably: "Brother Jing, are the flowers for me? Wow, I didn't expect to receive flowers from you on our first meeting. Roses too. How did you know I like roses?"

The boy eagerly took the bouquet from Shen Gali's hands. But before he could examine it closely, his face turned pale, and sneezes came one after another, unstoppable.

The young man shoved the bouquet into Shen Gali's arms, waving his hand anxiously. "Get it out of here, quick. I'm allergic to chamomile."

A perceptive waiter hurried over, took the bouquet, and quickly walked out, leaving Shen Gali still like a statue, staring blankly at the man who had been so close to him in his dreams.

He had scratched his name in the snow, saying he was afraid of forgetting, but today, his cold gaze clearly told Shen Gali that he had forgotten after all.

"No wonder people like you running small businesses can never achieve anything big. You don't even think to ask customers beforehand if they have any allergies to the bouquet. No wonder you're gonna be broke forever." The young man wiped his nose with a tissue, looking cute and pretty, but his words were mean and sarcastic.

The man across, who looked exactly like Nan Liujing, put down the menu. He set it down gently, but it hit the table with a surprising thud.

His brows were furrowed even deeper than before. "It was my assistant being too nosy and didn't check if you might be allergic to any flowers. So are you blaming me for poor management?"

The young man was stunned for a moment, then immediately put on a fawning smile. "How could that be? If anyone is at fault, it certainly isn't Brother Jing."

As he said this, he shot Shen Gali a vicious look. Seeing that Shen Gali remained unmoved, he said irritably, "Why are you still standing here? The money should have been paid, right?"

Shen Gali couldn't be bothered with him. He stood by the man who was extremely similar to Nan Liujing, gazing with a look of longing.

Because he clearly heard the young man call the man "Brother Jing," which was seventy or eighty percent similar to Nan Liujing's name.

The man gave him a faint look. He didn't seem willing to leave, but he didn't say a word, just quietly stared at him with his red-rimmed eyes.

The more he looked, the more he felt a strange sense of familiarity, but the man was certain he'd never seen this florist guy before.

But when his eyes met those eyes filled with reluctance, a strange sense of loss suddenly arose in his heart, as if two people who were once as close as one's own flesh and blood had, for some reason, forgotten each other one day, having the most important memory ripped from their minds, leaving a big hole.

The young man across kept glaring daggers at Shen Gali. To have a meal with this man, he had begged and pleaded and dropped a ton of cash. Whether he could marry into the conglomerate all depended on today. He couldn't let this clueless nobody mess up his plans.

What was even scarier was that Brother Jing, who hadn't even looked at him properly since they walked in, couldn't stop staring at this poor guy.

The young man pulled out his wallet, took a few hundred-yuan bills, and slapped them on the table. With a face full of disgust, he said to Shen Gali, "Here, the money for the flowers. Aren't you supposed to be delivering somewhere else? What are you still standing here for?"

Shen Gali snapped back to reality, realizing he was intruding. He didn't take the money and turned to leave.

He knew he shouldn't confuse dreams with reality, but after confirming that this man didn't recognize him, his eyes went red despite himself.

Entering the elevator, Shen Gali pressed the button for the first floor. Fatigue washed over him; he leaned against the wall, not caring how he looked, raising a hand to wipe his sore eyes.

The elevator doors were sliding shut, but just before they closed completely, a large hand suddenly slipped in, holding the doors open.

Shen Gali caught a familiar scent. Out of the corner of his eye, a tall figure stepped into the elevator. With an "Excuse me," the figure stopped beside him.

His disappointment slowly faded. Shen Gali, who had long given up any expectation from the world, suddenly had a strange thought—he wished the man beside him would say something.

"By the way," the man actually took the initiative to speak. He pulled out some cash and handed it over. "Didn't my assistant pay you?"

Shen Gali looked at those long, slender hands, with faint veins visible on the back, exactly the same as in his dreams—strong and powerful.

"He did. Online payment," Shen Gali said softly.

"I see." The man put his hand away.

The elevator descended. In the narrow space, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

It was Shen Gali who broke the silence.

"Can I ask your name?"

The man looked at the descending numbers on the elevator display, his voice utterly calm: "Nan Liujing."

The moment the name was uttered, Shen Gali's vision blurred.

It was him.

"And you? Your name." Nan Liujing glanced at him from the corner of his eye and suddenly asked.

Shen Gali's heart trembled. He lowered his head. "Shen Gali."

"Which Li?"

"The 'Li' that means 'dawn'."

Nan Liujing nodded. "Got it."

"Don't you need to go back and eat with your friend?" Shen Gali asked again.

"No need. He's not a friend. I don't know him." Nan Liujing replied casually.

The elevator arrived. The doors opened to both sides. Nan Liujing stepped out first, striding out of the hotel without a backward glance.

Watching his determined back, Shen Gali let out a quiet sigh.

Sure enough, he had been flattering himself. The man had only politely asked back because Shen Gali had first asked his name. Yet Shen Gali had felt a flicker of joy just because he asked "which Li."

Just someone from a dream. From his demeanor, he was obviously wealthy and powerful. Maybe Shen Gali had seen him in the news before and coincidentally had a dream about him, and then started to let his imagination run wild.

Outside the door, light snowflakes were drifting down from the night sky. Shen Gali got on his bicycle and rode home against the wind and snow.