It was nearing 6 PM.
I was thinking about what to eat for dinner when the wind chime at the door rang, signaling the arrival of a customer.
I hurriedly got up to greet them: "Welcome to Cloudside Flower Shop. Feel free to look around, and let me know if you need anything."
The customer was a young man in his twenties or thirties, not very tall.
After scanning the shop, he looked at me and signaled:
"Please, wrap me a bouquet of roses."
The young man's voice was hoarse, not typical for his age, and I couldn't help but look at him again.
"Sure, how many would you like?"
The young man paused, chuckled softly: "Let's say, 18 stems."
"Just a moment, it'll be ready soon."
After saying this, I began selecting the roses. As I reached out my hand, a sharp ringing sounded in my head:
[Ah! Manager, I don't want to go with him!!]
[He's a murderer.]
[I can smell the blood on him.]
[Olive refuses. Olive doesn't want to be at the crime scene...]
Hearing this, my hand froze in mid第air. Recalling the news from a few days ago, I couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine...
J City had recently been shaken by a series of serial shark attacks.
The perpetrator remained at large, causing widespread fear.
Olive's nagging continued in my head:
[Manager, choose ordinary roses, send him away quickly.]
[Don't doubt me, Manager. He's really dangerous.]
[I swear, Olive, I'm not joking this time!]
I responded to Olive calmly: [Hmm.]
Then, without showing any obvious signs, I glanced back at the young man and continued to pick out roses, making sure not to reach for the special ones.
The bouquet was quickly wrapped, and I handed it to the young man:
"It's 30 dollars. You can scan the code here."
But the young man handed over two bills instead.
I couldn't help but pause: "Cash?"
Young people these days rarely use cash.
Could he, as Olive suggested, be a fugitive shark attacker, afraid to scan the code?
The young man furrowed his brow: "Can't you accept cash?"
"No, just wait a moment, I'll give you change."
Realizing my slip, I quickly took the cash from the young man.
While counting the change, I missed the strange smile on the young man's face.
After sending the young man away and confirming he was far enough, I hurriedly pulled down the shop door, planning to close early.
Regardless of whether what Olive said was true, better safe than sorry.
If I really was targeted, it would be a waste to die again after only three months of a second chance at life.
In my previous life, when I had just graduated from university, the family came to me, claiming I was their long lost daughter.
At first, I didn't believe them, but the subsequent DNA test results forced me to accept it.
Thus, I returned to the Monroe family and met Jaylyn Monroe, the girl who had been mistakenly taken in by them.
Upon my return, Jaylyn insisted on moving out.
But the parents intervened and persuaded her to stay.
They turned to me and said: "Baby, don't be resentful. Jaylyn has been with us since she was little…"
"After all these years, there is still affection. Your parents hope that you can get along well, okay?"
Listening to the parents' obviously biased words, I didn't feel much.
I understood, knowing that it's difficult to treat a biological daughter raised in the family the same as one who has just been brought back.
I just considered myself as someone who changed her surname but was still essentially an orphan.
But I didn't expect Jaylyn to be so intolerant of me.
She took advantage of the parents being out and staged a fire.
When she heard my cries for help, she sneered: "Carolina, you shouldn't have come back to the Monroes'."
I thought that if I could start over, I would stay far away from the Monroes'.
Perhaps my wish was truly heard by a divine being.
When I opened my eyes again, I was reborn.
