Feast of Flowers

nued, “I just want her to be covered in something beautiful before she… she…”

The sounds of sobbing could be heard on the other line.
Hua Jin couldn’t help but put on a determined expression as she glanced at the mostly finished quilt.
“Will five days do? I can finish the dragon and phoenix quilt in five days, and will send it to you immediately after, so could you please give me your delivery address?”

“Thank you, thank you!” The man couldn’t stop thanking her because he didn’t know what else he could say. 

After Hua Jin hung up, she looked at the sun shining brightly outside.
She took a deep breath before sitting down before her embroidery work station.

There were many legends pertaining to the dragon and the phoenix.
Some say that the two were born to be fated enemies from birth, where one will not suffer the other’s presence, thus they were known as the Battle of the Dragon and the Phoenix .
More popularly, the two were traditionally known as bringers of fortune, so together, the two were also known as The Prosperity of the Dragon and the Phoenix.

Knowing this, when depicting the dragon and the phoenix in any artform, merely depicting the two mythical beasts was not enough.
The most important thing is to capture the beauty in their dissonant harmony, so when people see them, they’ll feel happy.

Traditionally, the dragon scales and the phoenix feathers were highlights of an embroidery piece, which Shu Embroidery greatly complements, since the technique specifically calls for the use of brightly colored thread.
It is simply perfect for making dragons and phoenixes.

For five days, Hua Jin spent most of her free time and energy on embroidering the dragon and phoenix quilt.
When it was finished, it was already 4 in the morning of the fifth day.
Having only slept for two to three hours, she even struggled to get up when her alarm clock rang.

Seriously ill patients who find sleeping or eating already difficult, every waking moment was precious.
Hua Jin could not afford to waste any more time. 

She directly took a taxi to the hospital, and while she was on her way, she tried to call the customer to say she was on her way.
The other party took a long time to answer though, and when he finally did, he sounded tired and desperate.

“You’ve been a good husband.
I’ll bring it up myself so you don’t have to come down.”

The hospital was crowded with beds.
The people who were sick, along with their family members, all wore haggard expressions on their faces.
When Hua Jin finally found the man who ordered the custom quilt, he was leaning against a wall, a few pieces of paper were crumpled in his fist.
When he saw her arrive, he had tried to smile but ultimately couldn’t. 

When she handed over the quilt, Hua Jin saw that the pieces of paper he was holding were pamphlets from the hospital about a critical illness.
Close to where he stood was a hospital bed with a woman with an obvious jaundice.
She also looked so thin as she slept there, hooked up on a ventilator.

The man took a stack of money from his bag and tried to give it to Hua Jin.
She merely took two pieces from it, before handing it back over, “I don’t need the rest.”

“How’s that possible?” The man was so stunned that he reverted back to speaking his natural dialect.
“It’s only right that I pay what I said I would pay.
I know it isn’t easy for you young people to make money.”

“You’ve already made a deposit, and the two hundred yuan is the remaining balance.” Hua Jin decided not to charge anything extra.
“It’s rare to meet someone from the same hometown after being away for so long.
Keep the rest of the money to take good care of your wife and children who are still going to school.”

The man couldn’t help but get emotional, but after he regained his composure, he said, “Thank you.”

He stared at Hua Jin deeply, as if he wanted to etch her appearance in his heart.

Hua Jin left without bothering the man and his wife.
The hospital corridors not only smelled strongly of bleach, it was also very confusing, so Hua Jin quickly found that she was lost.
When she finally found an elevator to go down, it wasn’t the right one as it only stopped on even-numbered floors and not the odd-numbered ones.

Hua Jin had no choice but to get out on the second floor.
When she exited the elevator, she heard someone yell at her, “Wait! Wait! Please hold it for me!”

If not for the fact that the other party was running towards her, she would have mistaken the person as a huge pineapple.
He was sporting a golden yellow coat, golden yellow hair, and even gold sneakers!

It was really too dazzling! One wouldn’t be able to resist trying to help, and she was no exception.
Unfortunately, the elevator had already closed its doors and gone up a floor.

The ‘pineapple’ gasped for air as he stood panting beside the elevator door.
He turned towards Hua Jin to say, “Thanks for trying, Beauty.”

“No worries.” she replied as she took a double take on the other party’s getup.
There weren’t many young people who were as unique as him–a rare species deserving of protection.

The hospital elevators were almost always full, so Hua Jin decided to just take the stairs down to the ground floor.
When she found one, it smelled even more strongly of bleach that she became dizzy while going down it.

“Beauty, it seems we’re fated to be together~ But I’ve got to tell you that the cost of trying to feel me up by feigning falling down the stairs will be expensive.” Someone had given her a hand, before quickly letting go.

When she had steadied herself on the handrails, Hua Jin was finally able to see ‘Dreamy Eyes’ again.

It was the guy in the sports car she had met outside the hotel five days ago. 

This time, the guy was wearing a white shirt and a blue suit.
He looked a lot more decent.

“Expensive? Weren’t you the one who reached out without being asked?” Hua Jin took out some chocolates from her bag as she thought her blood sugar level was too low, probably due to her staying up late consecutively in addition to not having had breakfast yet.

She divided the chocolate into two halves, giving the other half to the man in front of her.
“Although I’m not too keen on men who are too forward, I am very satisfied with your appearance.
Take this as your reward.”

Weren’t they all socialites? Who wouldn’t take an easy opening?