The three students had already left, and the flower shop was quiet, with only the faint hum of the overhead exhaust fan.
The black-haired young man walked towards her direction but stopped at the door, flipping the wooden sign from “Open” to “Back Soon”. He seemed relaxed, leaning his shoulder against the glass door, reaching behind to untie his work apron while saying, “I’m about to get off work.”
“How did the exam go?” he asked casually.
“Not bad,” she answered immediately, then worried it sounded too perfunctory. She gripped her phone and lowered her gaze, softly adding, “I didn’t check my phone during the days I was studying, and I was negligent towards you. Sorry.”
He seemed very understanding, shaking his head gently: “You don’t need to apologize. I understand.”
After speaking, he walked towards the back of the flower rack: “Let me grab my bag.”
A slightly trembling voice called from behind: “Carl.”
Almost instantly, a slender arm wrapped around his back, a warm body pressed close to his spine. Impossibly, he felt he could smell the soft, sunlight-like fragrance from her body.
Then he heard her take a breath, as if making a decision: “I… miss you too.”
She looked at the black-haired young man who seemed about to speak but hesitated, and shook her head: “But you are still you..”
She gave a bitter smile, glancing at the pale white fingers resting on her shoulder, and whispered softly: “Therefore… I’m a bit afraid.”
Karl almost stared at her in shock, then suddenly curved the corners of his eyes, leaned in close to her ear, and whispered as if confiding a secret: “I feel the same way.”
Now it was Nelly’s turn to be surprised. He pressed down on her shoulder, maintaining an intimate yet eye-contact-avoiding posture, slightly lowering his head, his lips brushing her earlobe, his breath still burning hot in the warm room: “Vildea no longer needs my existence, so that identity has disappeared. Therefore, I have no special abilities, only memories…” He gently hugged her shoulders, his chin resting on her neck: “And you have family, friends, and your own life here. In terms of sense of security, I’m actually more afraid than you.”
