Flower Room

Chapter 24 Nirvana
The first ray of sunlight in the morning entered the room through the thin carved window screens, and shone brightly on Shangguan Lin's sleeping face. She moved slightly, and suddenly woke up.He opened his eyes and closed them quickly, the light was too dazzling.She sat up with difficulty, only to realize that she was not sleeping on the bed.

On the other side of the sofa, Manzhi tilted her body slightly, but she still hasn't woken up.Her face was backlit, with some dark shadows, even when she fell asleep, her expression was still a little anxious, the tears on her cheeks should have dried up long ago, and no traces could be seen, but Shangguan thought of her appearance when she was mourning and crying last night. Can't stop pantothenic acid in the nose.

Manzhi is not much older than her, but her heart is far older than her own, because she has experienced too much pain.Shangguan has no way of knowing, if those things happen to her, whether she can bear it, whether she can struggle like Manzhi to this day.

One night, she heard too much resentment, hatred, endless torture and cold war, but she didn't hear the word "love".Shangguan couldn't help being confused, is there "love" between Manzhi and Shaoyun?

But what is love?What is happiness?
In Shangguan's understanding, love and happiness go hand in hand, no two people can love but hate each other; they are obviously in love, but they can't feel happiness when they are together.

There is still some sluggishness in his mind that is not fully awake, and it is obviously difficult to think about such a complicated issue. Shangguan frowned and gave up.

The drowsiness struck again, and she lay back down again. The sofa was too soft, and her bones ached from sleeping, but she was too lazy to move, turned over to avoid the glare of the sun, and continued to sleep.

This sleep was a bit obsessed, and Shangguan thought it would only be for a short while, but when he woke up, he found that the sky had already penetrated, and on the small table beside her, her mobile phone was playing the sound of nature, ringing tirelessly Over and over again, if it wasn't for this, she might still be able to sleep unrestrainedly.

Shangguan subconsciously raised his hand to wipe the wet corners of his mouth, and reluctantly got up, reaching for the phone.

Manzhi was also woken up by the alarm, rubbing her eyes, as if she was also a little confused about her situation, she was stunned for a few seconds, and then gradually recovered her memory.

"What time is it?" Manzhi murmured.

Shangguan had already fished the mobile phone into his hand, and by the way, looked at the little clock on the water dispenser, startled, "Ah, hurry up!"

Both of them laughed in bewilderment.

The call was from Shao Lei. Listening to his nagging, Shangguan felt an unprecedented warmth in his heart, but he refused to forgive him, "Okay, don't talk too much. I know it all. Don't you worry about her being with me?"

Then she lowered her voice a bit and said, "Give her some time to think about it before you talk about it... um."

Taking a sneak peek at Manzhi, Shangguan asked, "How is Mengmeng?"

Manzhi glanced at her gratefully, although she was eager, but she couldn't hear Shao Lei's answer, so she had to stare at Shangguan in vain.

"Okay, okay, I'll call you again... okay, okay, hang up!" Shangguan finally hung up the phone with a slight smile, and when he looked up, his eyes met Manzhi's expectant eyes .

"Shao Lei said that Mengmeng went to school with grandma early in the morning. The little girl is quite obedient. There is nothing wrong. You don't have to worry."

Manzi nodded.Shangguan opened his mouth, hesitating for a while whether to mention Shao Yun's news, but seeing that she no longer had an expectant look on her face, he didn't dare to make a fuss.

After the two of them took turns washing and changing their clothes again, Shangguan realized that he was so hungry that his chest was stuck to his back, and he yelled, "Oh, I'm so hungry, I haven't eaten breakfast or lunch yet!"

Manzhi laughed angrily and said, "I'm not familiar with this area, so let's just pick a place and I'll treat you."

"Okay, okay!" Shangguan was not polite, tilted his head and thought for a while, "I know there is a Korean restaurant in the food street at the entrance of the community. The environment is quite good, why don't you go there."

Manzhi nodded with a smile.

Restaurants are very close, within walking distance.

Shangguan flicked through the menu, and quickly ordered a few classic Korean dishes that seemed indispensable: saury, miso soup, Korean barbecue platter, bibimbap.Coupled with the complimentary pickles and seasonings, a small table was soon filled.

Shangguan ordered two more glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice, "For beauty." She winked at Manzhi.

Manzhi looked at the dishes, smiled and frowned, "Is it delicious?"

She has only tried Korean food once or twice, but she has no impression, and feels that it is not as exquisite as Japanese food.

Shangguan has already started to act, "I think it's good, hehe, maybe I was too addicted to watching "Dae Jang Geum"."

Manzhi looked up at the "Korean Wave" girl in front of her, and smiled again unconsciously.

In fact, the two of them were already very hungry, and they didn't talk too much. They put down their ladylike airs and ate heartily.

The Korean food is a bit hot and sour, Manzhi's face is flushed, and there is a little sweat on the tip of her nose, but her body is very warm.

After eating most of it, Shangguan was finally satisfied and slowed down.She looked at Manzhi's pure eating appearance, which seemed to be no different from her own, so she suddenly drew closer.

"Here!" She handed Manzhi a tissue, pointed to her nose, and joked, "Wipe off your sweat, it's about to drip into the dishes."

Manzhi was a little embarrassed, took it and wiped it, "It's not so exaggerated." She was indeed very hungry today.Seeing that she was in a good mood, Shangguan was also very happy. He smiled and showed two cute canine teeth, and blurted out: "Sister Manzhi, your condition is much better today. I was almost scared to death by you last night." I wish I could swallow my tongue.

Manzhi didn't change color, she looked natural, still smiling, and retorted lightly, "Otherwise, what should I do? Life must go on? Crying can't solve the problem."

Shangguan felt that at this time, Manzhi suddenly recovered her maturity.

"Then... have you thought about what to do in the future?"

Manzhi quickly closed her eyes, subconsciously brought the juice to drink, the cold sweet juice slid down her throat, it was chilly, she immediately put it down, shook her head and said: "I don't know yet."

Shangguan stared blankly at her expression, hesitated for a while, and finally summoned up the courage to express the suspicion in his heart, "Sister Manzhi, do you... love him?"

Manzhi was slightly stunned, staring fixedly at the messy dinner plate in front of her, a little absent-minded.

Uh, does she love Shao Yun?

Over the years, she has never asked herself such a question.

She approaches Shao Yun, marries Shao Yun, and becomes Shao Yun's wife. Every step has nothing to do with "love", and every step does not require her to answer this question. She has always just accepted it passively, whether it is good or bad, For her, it seems that she has no choice but to accept.

She knew that she hated Shao Yun, and hated him so much that her heart was broken.

But, did she ever love him?

After a long silence, Manzhi suddenly let out a long breath, and the feelings of six years seemed to be condensed in this sigh.

It must have been love.

She thought of the affectionate kiss between the two standing in the greenhouse, of him teaching herself to swing on the tennis court, of his obsessively burying his face deep in her neck, of those kisses that made her suffocate...

All the sweetness of the past, although short-lived, is still deeply branded in her heart, dreaming back in the middle of the night, it is her support for talking to soothe her lonely soul.

It must have been love.

She thought of the tears she shed, whether angry, sad, sad, or desperate. Every tear that flowed into her heart left an indelible scar!

If you have never loved, why would you be hurt so deeply and hurt so deeply!

Manzhi finally saw her heart clearly at this moment, yes, she loved, once, deeply loved!
Seeing her silence for a long time, Shangguan knew that his question was a bit abrupt, so he cleared his throat immediately, quickly diverted his attention, raised his hand and said to the waiter: "The fruit can be served."

Manzhi bit her lower lip, and said with some difficulty, "I want to stay with you for a few more days, is that okay?"

Shangguan was stunned for a moment, then smiled crisply, "Yes, of course."

"It won't be too long, I... just want to find a place to be quiet for a while."

Shangguan hurriedly said: "It doesn't matter, you can stay here for as long as you like."

Living with yourself is better than Manzhi quietly finding a place to hide, which is more reassuring.

Shangguan is a hot-tempered person, so after eating, Lamanzhi went to the supermarket, bought a bunch of daily necessities, and went back to fill up the refrigerator.

"I have to go to work during the day, you can make whatever you want to eat yourself." She instructed enthusiastically.

Seeing her busy, Manzhi felt very warm.

After everything was settled, Shangguan said apologetically, "I have to go back to the office and report to our director for some work."

Manzhi felt a little guilty and said, "I've delayed you for a day."

"It's okay, our director is very talkative. He promised me that I can disappear for a day or two, as long as I don't fail to hand in the work." Shangguan gave Manzhi a relieved smile, then remembered something, and ran into the room to look for it. Give Manzi the key.

After thinking about it, there was nothing to explain, so I went out.

Manzhi is somewhat envious of her and Shao Lei, a happy and harmonious couple.

At the entrance of the kindergarten, Shen Yufang got out of the car with a light travel bag in her hand. She looked around and saw Manzhi coming out of a crowd of people at the corner of the door and walking towards her quickly. She's already here. "Mom." Walking closer, Manzhi called softly.

Shen Yufang's eyes were red again, she grabbed Manzhi's palm and looked at it carefully, "Manzhi, are you okay?"

Manzhi felt very sad, and managed to squeeze a smile out, "I'm fine, aren't I?"

Shen Yufang wiped her eyes with her hand, probably thinking that it is not appropriate to shed tears in such a place, so she quickly put away the tears and handed her the bag in her hand, "I picked a few in your closet at random, There are also some things you use every day, including your mobile phone and charger, I also put them in, you can see what is missing, if you don’t have enough, go back and get it.”

Manzhi didn't check, just nodded and said: "Okay."

Shen Yufang looked at her hesitantly, "Then... when will you come back?"

Manzhi pursed her lips in embarrassment, not knowing how to deal with her concern, she didn't dare to make any promises, so she could only vaguely say: "Let's see."

The kindergarten door opened on time, and the parents rushed in. Manzhi followed Shen Yufang and walked in, saying in a low voice, "I'll take a look at Mengmeng before leaving."

Shen Yufang didn't dare to turn her head back, for fear of crying again.

It was a little late, there were only a few children left in the classroom, and Mengmeng Tuan sat on the small bench with a listless look.

"Mengmeng, your mother is here." Teacher Vivian suddenly raised her voice and called out to her.

Mengmeng couldn't believe her ears, she stared eagerly at the door, and sure enough, her mother and grandma were standing at the door smiling!
She burst into joy all of a sudden, and ran over like flying.

From last night to today, she has been worried, not knowing when she will see her mother again, but seeing Manzhi now, her heart is filled with joy.

"mom!"

"Mengmeng!"

Manzhi picked her up and walked around the door happily twice.Then she walked out the door with Shen Yufang.

Mengmeng chattered non-stop along the way, and she didn't see her all night. She seemed to have saved a lot of words, and she wanted to tell Manzhi as if she didn't have time. Manzhi listened, nodding and smiling frequently, but her heart was bursting with sorrow.

Soon they reached the side of the car, Shen Yufang went in first, Manzhi handed Mengmeng in her arms, but she didn't get in the car.

Mengmeng was very stunned. To her, seeing her mother again meant that she had returned. She somewhat panicked, "Mom, why don't you come in?"

Manzhi smiled at her pretending to be relaxed, and said the words she had made up long ago smoothly, "Mengmeng, my mother has some work to go out of town for a few days, please listen to grandma, mother will be back soon , I will definitely bring you a gift then... Tell me now what gift you want, and my mother will definitely remember it."

Mengmeng looked at Manzhi's face dubiously, as if she couldn't see any clues, she stayed for a while, and then murmured: "I don't want a gift, I just want my mother to come back soon."

Shen Yufang covered her mouth and quickly turned her head to look out the window, but she still couldn't control her tears.

Manzhi's face trembled slightly, she tried her best to hold back her tears, and continued to smile: "Okay, I'll be back as soon as I finish my work, and Mom will call you every day."

Only then did Mengmeng feel a little relieved, and nodded to her.

Manzhi suddenly hugged Mengmeng, kissed her heavily on the forehead, then quickly exited and closed the car door.

The car whistled softly, moved forward slowly, and soon turned a corner and disappeared.

Manzhi bent down to pick up the bag on the ground, turned around, tears were already covering her face crazily.

The fragrance of chrysanthemum tea rises again, and the slight warmth circles around Manzhi's jaw for a few times, and then disappears.

The viewing angle of the balcony is very good. Looking out, it is an open view. As usual, there are pavilions and pavilions and green lawns even in winter. There are not many obstacles in the field of vision.Looking up, you can still see the blue sky, that kind of pure azure blue without any impurities.

In memory, Manzhi has almost never had such a leisurely moment like now, and even if she had, she never seemed to be so relaxed.

After stopping, I suddenly felt that as long as we are good at discovering, there are always beautiful things around us.It's a pity that in the past few years, she has been in a hurry, so that she has missed too many scenery.

She lowered her head and took a sip of the tea. The light sweetness was very pleasing to her stomach. She swallowed it slowly, and unconsciously took another sip.

Raise the glass in your hand and look up at the reborn chrysanthemum in the light yellow tea water. You can even see faint veins on the translucent petals.The flowers float slightly with the water waves, like a fairy, dancing enchantingly, making Manzhi think of the word "Nirvana" again.

Chrysanthemum can be reborn from Nirvana, what about her?
Manzhi leaned back on the chair comfortably, and closed her eyes in the boundless dark blue.

Two gentle gazes gradually gathered in front of her eyes, which became clearer and clearer, and then she finally saw clearly that it was Chang Shaohui's eyes looking at her, with a touch of tolerance and affection.

Manzhi suddenly remembered the hot kiss he had reflected on her lips that evening, and the painful and forbearing expression when he let her go...

Every tiny movement of his was so in line with her heart that she was shocked and moved invisibly.

She unconsciously let out a very low sigh, so light that she didn't even notice it.

The tea was getting colder, Manzhi had to put down the cup, and felt a little coolness on her body, she looked up and saw that the sun had quietly set to the west.

One afternoon, I wasted extravagantly in this warm winter sun.

With a sound of "ding", Manzhi finally stepped into the store.

All the familiar scenes came into view again, but she felt as if it was a lifetime away.

Li Qian was diligently cleaning the glassware. When she saw her come in, she was surprised and happy, "Hey, Sister Manzhi, you are finally here! Are you fully recovered?"

In the past few days, Manzhi entrusted Li Qian to take care of the whole store, and said that she had a bad cold.Hearing her concerned question at this moment, he nodded with a smile.

The store is well organized and clean as ever.During the few days she was away, there was no chaos, Manzhi was very relieved, and asked casually: "Xie'er, are you okay these few days?"

Li Qian carefully put a cleaned thin-necked vase back on the shelf, and replied as she walked towards the pool: "Everything is fine, it's not too soon to celebrate the New Year, there are so many people getting married, and the flowers are all sold out." Quite a few. Oh, and there are several customers who have reserved floats.”

Hearing what she said, Manzhi felt a little apologetic in her heart. It was a busy time recently, and it was really hard for her. She had to wrap a big red envelope for her at the end of the year.

"You are really getting more and more capable." Manzhi sat down at the small table and praised sincerely.

After washing her hands, Li Qian warmly made her a cup of tea, then sat down face to face with her, and said with a smile, "It's because you trained her well."

Manzhi also laughed, as if she had returned to the peaceful days before.

As usual, there were still few guests in the morning, occasionally one or two acquaintances would come in, and when they saw Manzhi, they would greet Manzhi with greetings, which made her very happy.

Li Qian suddenly hesitated, she hesitated to speak a few times, Manzhi saw it, and directly punctured her and said: "If you have anything to say, just say it, don't hesitate to talk to me."

"Well...that's how it is. In the past few days when you were away, Mr. Chang has been getting old."

Manzhi's heart skipped a beat, and she lowered her head to drink tea while concealing it. As soon as the tip of her tongue touched the hot tea, she retracted quickly, feeling a sharp pain.

She was somewhat embarrassed, "Oh, what... what is he here for?"

"I just looked around, didn't say anything, and left quickly every time, I guess...he probably came to look for you."

Li Qian's tone did not hide a trace of curiosity and disappointment, the doubts from a few days ago were still circling in her mind.

Manzhi kept silent, she didn't expect Chang Shaohui to come to her after that.

Li Qian said again: "By the way, he came here this morning! He said he was going to leave, so come and have a look at last."

Manzhi suddenly changed color, "Gone? He, isn't he going to leave after the New Year?"

Li Qian was taken aback by her expression, and explained: "He said he was going back to his parents' house for the New Year." After a pause, he continued: "However, I heard that his house here has also been withdrawn, so I guess it will not happen in the future." Will be back."

Another guest came in, so Li Qian left Manzhi behind and greeted her.

Manzhi sat blankly, feeling a little lost, her mind was in a mess, and she couldn't tell what she was pretending to be.

Knowing that this is the result, why am I still so lost...

I don't know how long I sat there, the phone rang twice suddenly, and a text message came in.She didn't have the heart to look, and kept sitting in a daze.

A customer happened to walk up to her and kindly reminded her, "Miss, your phone is ringing."

Only then did Manzhi come to her senses, she answered "Oh", took it listlessly, and opened it.

The number seems to be familiar, but she has not saved it, so it should not be a familiar person. Manzhi basically does not read such information. She pressed her finger a few times and was about to delete it, but a thought flashed in her mind. Why did this number make her feel so palpitating?It seemed to touch a certain nerve in memory.

So I exited from the deleted state and clicked directly to open it.

It was a very long message, Manzhi only read the first two lines, and guessed who sent it, her heart was beating violently, as if it was in danger of jumping out of her throat at any time.

Li Qian turned around, but saw Manzhi rushing out of the door in a panic, she was surprised and shouted: "Sister Manzhi, are you leaving now?"

Manzhi didn't even look back, she responded indiscriminately, rushed to the opposite side of the street, raised her hand to stop a taxi, and jumped in.

"Go to the airport." She quickly instructed the driver.

"The airport road is stuck in traffic, we can only take a detour!" The master raised his voice.

Manzhi was a little worried, but helpless, "Then trouble you as soon as possible."

"Okay!" The driver readily agreed.

The car quieted down, and the rows of landscape trees on the street quickly passed by in front of my eyes. There was a whistling wind in my ears, which could still be heard through the glass, because the car was driving fast.

She lowered her head, opened the text message again, and read it greedily again. Every word in it was so warm and precious to her.

"Manzhi, I'm at the airport, and the waiting time is a bit boring. I'm leaving this city in one hour, and I'm not sure if I will come again."

"Before I left, I really wanted to see you again, so I couldn't help running to your store these days. Unfortunately, I never got my wish. Is this God's will?"

"I know it's irrational for me to do this, but I can't help it. Really, for the first time in more than 30 years, I lost my composure just because of you."

"Manzhi, I didn't believe in fate before, and thought it was too illusory. Now, I can't believe it—since I have already met you, why did I pass by like this? Such 'fate' is only can make me sad."

"However, I have to hope for the word 'fate' - because, after all, I still have a little fantasy, I hope that with you, it will not end silently like this."

"You must be laughing at me being stupid, right? Hehe, it's okay, if I can make you smile, it's worth it for me to be a little bit stupid."

"I know you won't call me back, but I hope you can read this text message, and hope that everything will be fine for you from now on. ——Chang Shaohui"

Manzhi's eyes were a little wet, but the corners of her mouth were smiling. She smiled hard at the shining screen, as if they were Chang Shaohui's eyes, and he was gazing at herself tenderly.

She wants to fulfill his wish, because it is also her own wish at the same time!She really wanted to see him.

Halfway through the drive, when there was a traffic jam again, the master patted the steering wheel regretfully.

"What's going on?" Manzhi's heart was tightly hanging.

The master scratched the back of his head, turned around and explained: "It seems that a certain leader came to inspect our place. The traffic is under control. Hehe, you have encountered something that has been rare for several years."

Manzhi could only smile wryly. Is it true that everything is God's will as Chang Shaohui said?
Can only wait.

"Aren't you going to catch a plane?" The master looked at Manzhi's empty hand from the rearview mirror and asked speculatively.

"It's not...to send someone off." She replied very softly.

"Oh, which city are you flying to?"

"Shenzhen."

The master looked at his watch, "Hey, I often take that flight, it's quite on time, and it's going to take off in half an hour."

Looking up at the long dragon in front of him, he said worriedly: "According to this trend, even if we let go immediately, we may not be able to make it in time."

Overwhelmed by anxiety, she calmed down now, Manzhi looked out the window, and murmured in a voice so low that only she could hear: "Let's see fate."

The road is finally smooth.

In fact, the time to take off has already passed.The master kindly reminded, "How about I send you back?"

Manzhi shook her head stubbornly, "No, go to the airport."

Her persistence confused the driver, but since the guest requested it, he had to do so.

After getting out of the car, the master enthusiastically called out to her again, "Do you want to wait for you?"

"Thank you, no need." Manzhi smiled at him, turned and walked towards the terminal.

Manzhi stood for a long time in the center of the open hall, where Chang Shaohui had been waiting not long ago.

Did he wish he could come?Are you looking around, struggling to find a familiar figure in the vast crowd?
Did he feel lost when he left?Have you ever been reluctant to part with it?

Passengers with big and small luggage are coming and going beside them. They are smiling, anxious, or numb. There is a story behind each face, just like Manzhi at this moment.

"I've been here before." She said to Chang Shaohui silently in her heart.

(End of this chapter)