[A 25,000-character short story inspired by a line spoken by the Lotus Blood Duck character in the game Food Fantasy: "I once turned toward the sunlight for you, too."]
[Cheerful, unconventional intern counselor x sharp-tongued, arrogant senior male counselor]
The seeds planted in a past life have finally borne bitter fruit.
The punishment a god gives a stubborn child is to send him into the mortal world to be reborn, making him wander through life and suffer the pain of love.
--
Of all the people I have ever known, he was the one who touched my heart most, yet he was also the most indifferent and heartless.
"I can't even save myself. What makes you think you can?"
He looked at me with something close to scorn, as if what I'd done was absurd. I couldn't tell whether it was contempt or pity.
"Don't expect anything from me. You can't warm my blood."
He asked me, "They all come to counselors to be healed, but who heals the counselors?"
I said, "Lianhua, I can!"
He said, "You know, you're so clumsy at hiding that you like me. Don't waste your time on me."
I took the bullet he fired for me, and remembered his question.
Now I could answer him.
I would save him with my blood, my heart, and my life.
I don't know whether the Buddha showed mercy or this was a god's punishment, but I'm still alive, and I still remember Lianhua, remember everything about him. But I'm the only one who remembers.
Until the day I became a counselor capable of standing on my own, just like him. I was discussing him with my assistant when I caught sight of a figure who should never have appeared again.
Then I saw Lianhua smile, spring blooming in the corners of his eyes. I heard him say, "After wandering through the mortal world, seeing all its splendor alongside her, how could I bear to forget?"
I once wanted to lock away every memory of him. If there really were a potion to forget, maybe that would have been for the best. But when I learned that he remembered me too, and saw how full of life he was, I felt that I should remember forever. Remember him forever.
I turned to my assistant and said, "I've seen the clear breeze in the mountains and flowers in every hue. How could the mundane world ever catch my eye again?"
My assistant said, "Sis, how did a spring dream make you reach enlightenment? What, are you going to become a nun?"
After that, I never saw Lianhua again, though it also felt like I saw him all the time. But I don't think I'll ever fall for anyone again in this life.
Of all the people I have ever known, he was the most indifferent and heartless, yet he was the one who touched my heart most.
Theme: I once turned toward the sunlight for you, too
