Those Flowers

Nursing home.

Twenty high-precision watches were neatly arranged in front of me, which touched me deeply. Cheng Shuang is such a kind person.

And so, the days that followed continued as usual.

During the day, I accompanied Cheng Shuang to places like Cat Cafe and flower markets to take photos, and occasionally we would deal with the unscrupulous owners of air gun stalls. In the evenings, I spent all my time disassembling and assembling watches. Although the Experience Points I gained from disassembling and repairing these high-precision mechanical watches were constantly decreasing, the overall Skill Experience I gained was quite substantial.

After accumulating 400,000 Skill Experience, I assembled and debugged all the watches. Then, Cheng Shuang and I went to return them. No damage was caused during the process. As for wear and tear... Brother Ning didn't say much, probably because he did Cheng Shuang a favor.

At this moment, there were only three days left before my near-death Severely Injured disappeared. Dragon Nine completed his protection mission and left, which was a great relief.

And on that very day, Cheng Shuang's birthday arrived.

I've recovered a lot and can move around freely now, so I accepted Cheng Shuang's invitation to attend her birthday party that evening. She said that most of the attendees were her close friends and classmates, so I shouldn't be shy. She also mentioned that there would be a live band playing music.

I really couldn't refuse, so I had to agree.

Around 5 p. m., I heard the sound of an engine downstairs, followed by two beeps, which was my and Cheng Shuang's secret signal.

I went downstairs in casual clothes, walked to the Maserati, opened the door and got in, feeling extremely nervous. "Cheng Shuang, I can't hold my liquor, so I won't drink. Let's make this clear first, your friends can't urge you to drink, not even one glass."

"Um."

Cheng Shuang smiled and said, "I understand."

The car slowly drove out of the sanatorium, passing through the night view of Jiangning City. About twenty minutes later, it entered a villa area and finally stopped in front of a courtyard-style building.

I was slightly surprised. There were already seven or eight cars parked in the parking lot, all of them luxury cars and famous cars. The lowest-end one was Porsche 718, which was quite shocking. If I weren't a gamer, I probably would have felt inferior at this moment.

After parking the car, the two walked into the lobby together.

"Wow, our birthday star Shanshan, arriving right on time!"

Inside, a young girl in a bodycon skirt stepped forward, affectionately took Cheng Shuang's hand, and said with a smile, "Come on, come on, everyone has been waiting for you for a long time!"

"Xiaoyan, wait a moment."

Cheng Shuang smiled and said, "Let me introduce you. This is Ding Han... Um, Ding Han, this is my best friend, Liu Yan. We've been classmates since elementary school, right up until college."

"Oh?"

Liu Yan squinted at me and smiled, "Handsome, you're Ding Han, the one Cheng Shuang's been keeping by lately?"

"Hello."

I smiled and nodded.

"Xiaoyan, stop talking, let's go inside and eat first, I'm hungry!"

"Um!"

So, I followed the two beautiful women into the banquet hall. There was already a group of people inside, about seven or eight, mostly girls, but also two men dressed in suits and ties, who looked like the kind of people whose parents were very successful.

Perhaps afraid I'd get stage fright, Cheng Shuang tugged at my sleeve and pulled me to sit next to her, then solemnly smiled and said, "Let me formally introduce you all. This gentleman next to me is my good friend Ding Han."

I wasn't intimidated. I stood up, clasped my hands in greeting, and said, "Hello everyone, my name is Ding Han. Please take care of me!"

"Wow..."

One of the two men chuckled, "Our Cheng Shuang rarely admits to having any men as close friends. Ding Han, you're no ordinary person. I wonder where you're working?"

"Huh?"

Cheng Shuang tilted her head and looked at him, somewhat annoyed, and said, "Liu Yuyang, can you not be so worldly? Today is a class reunion and a gathering of friends. What Ding Han does is none of your business."

"That's right!"

Liu Yan laughed and said, "Liu Yuyang, when the banquet starts later, you'd better punish yourself with a drink!"

Clearly, this man named Liu Yuyang had something to ask of Cheng Shuang, or rather, the Cheng Group. His imposing manner immediately weakened, and he clasped his hands together and bowed repeatedly, saying, "I was wrong, I was wrong. I'll punish myself with a drink later!"

Afterwards, Cheng Shuang introduced me to her group of best friends and classmates one by one, but apart from Liu Yan, none of the others left a deep impression on me.

"How about we eat first? I'm hungry..." Liu Yan said.

"OK!"

Cheng Shuang smiled and said, "Let the kitchen serve the dishes."

"Okay, okay!"

The group started placing bottles of liquor on the table, including imported spirits and red wine, all of which looked very expensive.

Cheng Shuang poured a small glass of red wine, then poured me some juice. She stood up and said with a smile, "Thank you to all my family and friends for attending my birthday party today. However, the gentleman next to me, Ding Han, is allergic to alcohol, so I gave him a soft drink. Please don't urge him to drink. I'll drink his glass of wine for him."

With that, she downed a small glass of red wine in one gulp. "Today, there's nothing else to it but for everyone to have a great time and enjoy themselves!"

"Okay, okay, okay~~~"

Everyone finished their drinks.

After dinner, the group continued their gathering in the villa's living room, while an open space facing east was cleared out, where a drum set, microphone, and sound system were set up.

Next, the band invited by Cheng Shuang for her birthday entered the venue.

However, I was completely stunned when the lead singer in the jacket entered the stage.

Milo!

He was stunned, standing on the stage in a stark, spread-eagled position with his guitar in hand.

"Ding Han... you... what are you doing here?!"

"I also want to ask you, weren't you a migrant worker in Beijing? Why did you come to the South?"

"How?"

Liu Yan asked in surprise, "Milo, you know Ding Han!?"

"Of course I know him."

Milo looked dejected. "This guy is my best brother..."

"What a coincidence..."

Liu Yan was also surprised.

I explained, "Milo, the host of your performance today, Cheng Shuang, is my friend."

"Ah?"

Milo looked incredulous, as if he couldn't believe I had such a wealthy friend.

"Never mind, we'll talk about it later, you perform first!"

"Okay, sure!"

Milo began his live performance, starting with his self-composed song "The Ordinary Road" and followed by another self-composed song, "Sorrow Dissipation." His singing skills were noticeably improved, and he also played his instruments with great proficiency. In an instant, the atmosphere of the birthday party reached its climax.

Liu Yan and the other girls even screamed, probably because they had never heard any good songs before.

"Cough cough..."

Milo picked up the microphone and said with a smile, "Today, we first wish our birthday girl Cheng Shuang, a happy birthday! May she always be young and beautiful, and always happy. We also wish everyone a wonderful evening."

The crowd cheered, demanding another song.

Milo laughed and said, "It's not very interesting if only I sing. I have a suggestion. Actually, my good brother Ding Han is also a good singer. If he's willing, I'd like to invite him to perform on the same stage with me and sing a duet of 'Those Flowers' for Ms. Cheng Shuang. Ding Han, what do you say?"

"Ah?"

Why would I want to perform on stage? My path in <Star Abyss> is completely different from Milo's. He's a pop star destined for fame, while I'm a ruthless assassin walking in the shadows. What does performing on stage have to do with me?

"Ding Han, you can sing?"

Liu Yan smiled and said, "It's rare for Milo to invite me, so please, let me enjoy your duet, okay?"

Her eyes lit up with anticipation.

Cheng Shuang looked at me encouragingly. "Give it a try?"

"All right..."

The atmosphere had been built up, and I couldn't refuse, so I went up on stage and took the microphone from Milo.

The intro started, but I had completely forgotten the lyrics. A little panicked, I whispered, "Holy crap, I don't remember a single word of the lyrics..."

"You son of a bitch..."

Milo hurriedly turned to a new page of the sheet music.

Then, the two began to sing the song "Those Flowers" together. The lyrics of this song are actually very well written, especially the last two lines: "Are they all old? Where are they? We just like that, each going our own way." These two lines sound pretentious when you're young, but only those who have experienced it can understand the meaning behind them.

After the song was finished, enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience.

I fled back to the audience seats.

"Ding Han, I didn't expect you to have such a good singing voice. Excellent, really excellent..."

Liu Yan craned her neck to look at me, then smiled and said, "Let's add each other on WeChat?"

"WeChat?"

I hesitated for a moment.

He doesn't have a cell phone yet...

Cheng Shuang explained, "Once his phone arrives and he logs into WeChat, you can have Milo send it to you."

As she spoke, she looked at me and smiled, "Ding Han, Xiao Yan is the boss of Xinli Media. She probably has her eye on you and wants to sign you. If you become a signed singer with Xinli Media, your future in the entertainment industry will definitely be bright."

My lips twitched. Forget it, I don't want to be a star. I'm just a ruthless, cold-blooded killer!

Afterwards, Milo and the others sang a few more songs, ending the evening's performance. Only then did he have time to step off the stage, pick up a wine glass, toast Cheng Shuang, and then walk towards me.

"Shall we have a chat, you two?"

"OK."

I took a glass of juice and walked out of the hall with Milo onto the balcony.

A cold wind was blowing, and the two of them couldn't help but shiver.

How are your injuries?

"You're almost fully recovered."

I took a deep breath. "To be honest, this time I almost never saw you again, buddy."

"Damn, I didn't expect the battle for Creek City to be this fierce..."

Milo asked, "Did you find out that Xiao Bei went to Creek City to look for you later?"

"Ruolin told me."

"Yeah?"

Milo frowned. "What happened in Creek City is a long story. Xiao Bei left behind the life she loved most, and everything she knew. Now she's become a caged canary."

"Have you seen her since she returned to BH City?" I asked.

Milo said, "Ding Han, all I can say is... after hearing about your accident in the Stream City Campaign, she was very anxious... no, not just very anxious, she was practically going crazy."

I:"..."