Chapter 65: Sunflower (Part 1)

Su Wanqing felt like her lungs were aching.

If she had known it would be like this, she would never have gone.

Now she just felt like she’d lost out on a hundred million.

“Alright, come back. Don’t bother her for now. Wait for my next move.”

Su Wanqing gave orders to her subordinates.

The maid, understanding the young lady’s command, withdrew.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ran had already gone upstairs.

She placed the things on the table.

Su Wanqing had really sent a lot of stuff—enough for her to cook many meals.

As Jiang Ran put away the groceries, she glanced at the news on her phone.

She heard there was severe convective weather coming again soon.

The weather forecast said to hurry up with flood prevention preparations.

But looking outside, the weather was clear and sunny.

It really didn’t seem like the kind of day that would bring severe convection.

Jiang Ran thought about it and decided to trust the weather forecast this time, choosing to close all the windows and doors securely.

After confirming all the windows were closed, Jiang Ran also took the opportunity to bring in the laundry she had hanging outside.

If it rained, she couldn’t leave that stuff out there.

Once everything was put away, Jiang Ran called Bai Ranran, telling her to bring in her laundry too.

If it was severe convective weather, things wouldn’t be peaceful around here, and it would probably last a long time.

Hearing about the severe convective weather, Bai Ranran asked,

“Jiang Ran, is your place sturdy? Do you want to come stay at my place? My house is bigger. What if there’s a strong wind? What about you?”

“Severe convection isn’t a typhoon, it’s fine. I’m just letting you know, it’s nothing serious.”

Hearing Jiang Ran say that, Bai Ranran couldn’t say much more.

She just told Jiang Ran to be safe, and that was the end of it.

‘I wonder how the others are preparing.’

Thinking of the others, Jiang Ran checked her social media feed.

Sure enough, she saw some people were already preparing for the upcoming rain.

Then she switched to another app and bought some emergency supplies.

If the rain got really heavy later, she could eat those and not have to go out to buy groceries.

If she really couldn’t buy vegetables then, she could also ask Su Wanqing for help.

Realizing she still had options, Jiang Ran simply stopped worrying about it.

Beep beep beep beep.

Her phone rang with an urgent sound.

Jiang Ran opened it and saw it was a message from Su Nian.

It had been a long time since she’d heard anything about Su Nian.

So, Jiang Ran put it on speakerphone and answered.

“What’s up?”

“Sweetie, it’s going to start raining soon. How about I pick you up and you stay with me for a few days? Coincidentally, in a few days I’m taking you to an exhibition. It’ll be more convenient if we’re closer.”

Su Nian’s voice came through the receiver clearly.

It was only then that Jiang Ran remembered this arrangement.

She had promised Su Nian back then that they would go to the exhibition together.

Now the time was almost up.

“Regarding the exhibition, I’ll go. But about staying over, I’m used to living here now. Thanks for your concern. How are your preparations? Do you need me to bring anything?”

Hearing Jiang Ran say this, Su Nian’s voice instantly became warmer and more affectionate as she replied seriously, “What is there to bring? We’re old acquaintances. You just need to show up when the time comes. Keep warm, don’t catch a chill, my precious girl.”

“Okay. The weather isn’t very cold yet, but after this first autumn rain, it’ll probably get colder and colder.”

Jiang Ran remembered that in her area, once autumn hit, it loved to rain.

Every time it rained, it would pour for a long time, almost non-stop.

She simply shook her head.

“Alright, I know. Is there anything else? I’m still cooking. If not, I’ll hang up first.”

“Nothing else, my precious daughter. Remember to eat dinner and take a nice hot bath. The autumn weather is still very dry.”

“Mm, I will.”

Jiang Ran replied earnestly.

Thinking about it now, Su Nian wasn’t really that bad.

At least, compared to her birth mother from before, who probably wouldn’t have cared much about whether she was keeping warm or being cautious about heavy rain.

Thinking of this, Jiang Ran felt a warmth in her chest.

She hung up the phone and returned to the kitchen.

Tonight’s meal was very simple: one dish and one soup.

Plus, she’d already eaten some things outside, so cooking was much easier than usual for Jiang Ran.

She finished almost without any effort.

“I’ll dig in!”

Jiang Ran put her hands together and began to eat happily.

In a certain attic, Gu Ge opened a door that had been sealed for a long time.

She had almost forgotten the last time she was here.

She only knew that back then, her little sister was still very thin, following behind her like a little shadow.

Looking back now, the other girl had indeed been too skinny.

Everyone said she was malnourished.

As a child, Gu Ge didn’t really understand what malnutrition meant.

It was only later, while her sister was playing with toys, that she heard her say,

‘Sister, my chest hurts.’

Later, her little sister started coughing up blood, had a high fever overnight, and needed several blood transfusions, but nothing helped.

Not knowing how to communicate with people, after her sister came back, Gu Ge simply moved here by herself.

The furniture inside was very simple.

Even the bed her sister used was still the small one from childhood.

They hadn’t had time to change it to a bigger bed before she hastily left this world.

Gu Ge’s gaze drifted downward, noticing a dried flower bud on the bed.

It had almost completely dried out in the wind, showing no trace of life.

Some gauze on the bed had also weathered into coarse grains of sand, scattered randomly on the sheets, light as dandelion fluff.

“Time passes so fast. If the timing isn’t wrong, you should have already grown up in another world by now. You’d have a healthy body, wouldn’t cry about your body hurting, or wake up coughing up blood in the middle of the night. Or maybe… you’d have parents who love you…”

Gu Ge spoke, her eyes turning to the vibrant sunflowers blooming outside the window.

She remembered she used to call her little sister Xiao Kui, because when she was little, she loved sunflowers.

She said that just seeing the sun made her feel strong, as if seeing the sun meant she wouldn’t feel the pain in her body.

After Xiao Kui died, Gu Ge also filled the courtyard with flowers—always her favorite sunflowers.

Back then, Xiao Kui had asked her, ‘Do you think there will be sunflowers in the other world?’

Gu Ge would smile and say, “Yes, there are. As long as Xiao Kui holds a sunflower seed in her mouth when she’s feeling bad, she can grow sunflowers in the other world. In that world, there will be many sunflowers… They’ll look at the sun, just like you, Xiao Kui.”

“Really? But sister, my body hurts so much. I don’t think I can hold a sunflower seed in my mouth anymore.”

Gu Ge looked at Xiao Kui’s body, which was becoming somewhat translucent from the waist down.

They said it was due to malnutrition, which led to abnormal blood production.

Both she and Xiao Kui had this condition, except hers was chronic, and Xiao Kui’s was more acute.

Back then, Xiao Kui would say, ‘As long as I run fast, I can catch up to sister.’

“Yes, Xiao Kui runs faster than sister.”