Chapter 327 - Rosebud

"You are right," said Addison to Wuming,. "They are pretty chill."

Wuming turned to her and saw the light outside. "Why are you up?" he asked and turned away from her. "Go back to sleep."

"But it's really weird, what's happening about your mother," she said like Wuming had not spoken at all. "I wish my mother was that exciting."

"Believe me you wouldn't want to be in this position at all. I highly do not recommend."

"But wouldn't it be fun?" she turned to her stomach, pulling Wuming to his back. "What would you first do when you see here?"

"I am not even thinking about it. Before I have to worry about that, I would have to know if she's really alive."

"She's alive!"

"We don't know that. Besides, she had been dead to me for years. Sure, I acknowledge that these clues could actually lead to something. But I don't think it would point us to her real body. If she's dead, she's just probably bones now." Wuming cracked his neck, getting into a more comfortable position. "What about you, do you know what happened to your parents?"

Addison sighed. "I still visit them from time to time, you know when I have job near our town. They look well and old."

"Do you still hear things about your disappearance?"

"Unfortunately," she began. "I was turned into some legend or someting. A folklore, relating me to the deaths of men in the area. I was a witch of some sort."

"That must be nice," he said. "You'll forever live on their lips."

"Yeah, must be nice to be remembered as the woman who had gone crazy and killed herself then started haunting the people in her town. But better than nothing, I guess."

Wuming knew he was not going to be able to fall asleep again. "Want to start planning for the mass murder next week?"

Addison smiled widely. "Now we're talking. But first," she said and got on top of him.

**

Days passed and they kept on working on the clues. But so far, they were not yet yielding the desired results. The time came when it was finally Feng Xuan's opening.

She was still so sleepy that she could not help yawning while Wang Yimin was giving her an overview of what's going to happen for the rest of the day. 

"Sorry," said Wang Yimin angrily. "Am I boring you?"

"No, no, no. I just had a really long night," she said. "I'm really sleepy. Do proceed. And how much do I owe you?"

"Let's not even talk about the finances at the moment. I need this day to go perfect!"

Feng Xuan knew that her cousin was still in the stage of denial so she just nodded her head and let her took charge of everything. If anything, she was thankful for Wang Yimin's help. She really could not have pulled this off.

The opening party started at ten in the morning. Feng Xuan cut the ribbon, took about a gazillion pictures, shook a lot of hands, and made a quick speech before she was finally allowed to sit down.

Qing Chen was also quietly sitting at one corner. If it was possible that he was sleeping with his eyes open, then that was what he was doing.

Feng Xuan sat down next to him and leaned on his shoulder. "I want to go home."

"Me too," he said, wrapping an arm around her.

They used the same strategy when they opened the first branch of Gretel's, they invited a bunch of celebrities for the first week and now they were all booked until the next month and it was just the first day. Everyone wanted in on the "bake it yourself" program.

"I'm going to go get us something to eat, okay?" she stood up and made her way to the kitchen. Everything on the menu was her recipe and she ordered them a heavy meal. 

She was on the way back to their table when someone from the outside caught her attention. The weather was getting better and some preferred to sit outside while the sun was out.

Feng Xuan saw a woman in green, walking around. She only saw the woman's back but she knew that back. She may not have seen that back in years but she was positive it was her mother's.

All the hairs on her arms stood, her heart raged in her chest. I'm crazy, she thought. There was no way that was her mother.

By the time that she got outside, the woman was nowhere to be found. She rounded the whole property but none of them were wearing green.

"Why do you look like that?" Wang Yimin asked. "Your food's already at the table."

"Nothing," she said. "I think I saw someone I know."

Wang Yimin looked pitifully at her cousin. "You know, you should really get some sleep. I'll send some tea to your table so you'd get sleepy when you get home, okay?"

Feng Xuan walked back inside, finally labeling herself delusional. All this talk about Qing Chen's mother was finally getting to her. She really needed to rest. They had been sleepless for a few nights in a row.

Before she even reached the table, she already saw it. She rushed and grabbed it before it disappeared from her sight. It was real. It was wedged between the tray and the plate. It was pink in color and its petals were still closed.

A rosebud. 

Feng Xuan looked around, tears stinging her eyes, remembering what her mother used to call her. But this could not be real, she thought, my mother could not be here. That was impossible. She was dead.

"Are you okay?" Qing Chen asked, transferring the plates to the table.

"We didn't order roses today," she said quietly, twirling the stem in between her fingers.

"What?"

Feng Xuan shook her head and dropped the flower on the table. "Nothing."