âWhat happened?â
âSir, the car seems to have broken down. Please wait while I make a call for help.â
There was little traffic on the road due to the ongoing snowstorm. The street lamps that lined both sides of the road shone dimly on the blanket of snow.
Knock, knock, knock... Someone knocked on the car window.
Puzzled, the driver lowered the window to reveal a trembling woman holding flowers in her arms. âHello, sir. Do you want to buy some flowers?â
âNo, thanks.â As he spoke, he proceeded to roll up the window.
âJust a moment, sir. Iâm begging you, would you please buy a bouquet from me? Iâm in urgent need of money, as my child has been admitted to a hospital.â
He shifted his gaze to the withered flowers in her arms. âIâm sorry, but weâre not interested.â
âPlease, sir!â she implored pleadingly as she grabbed the window to prevent it from closing.
The constant cold gusts of wind blowing inside the car made Mo Jiangye frown in displeasure. âWhatâs going on?â
âSir, this woman is trying to sell her flowers. I already told her that we donât need them, but she just refuses to leave.â
âIâm in urgent need of money. My child has fallen sick, so we need money for his treatment. Please help me out, sir. All you need to do is buy one bouquet from me.â
âHer flowers have all withered,â the driver added.
âNever mind. Just buy a bouquet from her.â Ye Erruoâs voice rang out from the passenger seat at that moment.
âSir?â
âJust buy it!â
âNoted.â Upon receiving his bossâs order, the driver pulled out his wallet.
âHow much for a bouquet?â
âIt isnât expensive at all. Just 500 yuan.â
He was flabbergasted by the price. How was this inexpensive?
âMadam, your flowers have withered from the cold. Isnât it too much to ask for 500 yuan?â
In his opinion, even fifty yuan would be far too expensive for this bouquet of withered flowers. It was worth six yuan tops.
âThese arenât ordinary flowers.â
âArgh, whatever.â He could not be bothered to continue bickering with her just to haggle over the price. Thus, he shoved the money in her hand and reached out for the bouquet before rolling the window shut immediately.
The flowers might have withered slightly, but there was no trace of snow on them and they exuded a faint, refreshing floral fragrance. However, he did not know what kind of flowers they were.
âYoung Madam...â He turned back to hand the flowers over to Ye Erruo.
The woman reached out to receive flowers from him, but the moment her fingers brushed against the stalks, her hand trembled a bit, causing her to miss the bouquet, which fell on her lap instead.
Fragmented images sprang forth in her mind without warning and disappeared just as abruptly. She picked up the bouquet and stared at the flowers with a confused frown.
âWhatâs wrong?â
âWhat kind of flowers are these?â
The driver turned on the carâs lights at that moment.
Her pupils instantly widened when she noticed that each petal of the withered flowers had a different shape and was a varying shade of red, just like artificial flowers. Her sense of touch and the floral fragrance, however, told her that these flowers were real.
Meanwhile, the sight of the flowers caused Mo Jiangyeâs eyes to dim. âThese are... tarot orchids.â
âTarot orchids?â
He snapped his head in the rear windowâs direction at once, only to see that the seller of the flowers had already gone far away.
âThese flowers are unique to Blue Tower.â No other place has them.
The woman frowned as she stared at the flowers. An ominous premonition seized her all of a sudden, causing her to break out in cold sweat and toss the bouquet aside immediately.
âMo Jiangye!â She frantically clutched her husbandâs hands for comfort.
âIâm right here, babe.â
âI...â She was somehow feeling a sense of terror and fear. Quite naturally, her flustered look did not escape her husbandâs eyes.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âWhatâs wrong?â
âI-I have no idea... I think... I might have fallen sickâNo. I guess Iâm just tired.â
This was the second time that strange image of a sea of flowers had flashed across her eyes.
The man enveloped his wife closely in his embrace and reached for the cape that had been set aside to place it over her body. âGet some rest if youâre tired.â
âI donât want to see those flowers,â she said abruptly.
âPardon?â
âI donât want to see any flowers from now on!â she cried out as she hugged him back tighter than before.