Fifteen minutes earlier.
Not far from Himeko's Coffee Shop, there was a private hospital.
At this moment, Bailu, Natasha, and Luocha stood outside a patient's room.
The three were discussing something with Su Chen.
"Did she go fight a war in Korea? How'd she get hurt this badly?" Luocha looked at the medical chart, rubbing his brow before turning to Natasha. "You sure this chart's correct?"
"At first, I didn't believe it either, but it's true." Natasha crossed her arms.
Su Chen propped a hand on his forehead. "I had no idea Himeko's coffee was this potent. Usually, it just causes a stomachache. How'd it get this bad? Otherwise, I wouldn't have let her open the shop."
"If it was just the coffee, a stomach flush would fix it. She's suffering from excessive blood loss."
Su Chen's mouth twitched, recalling Firefly's thousand-word "will." "Heh, blood loss? Got it. Nice job pulling that off."
Natasha then left with Bailu, leaving only Luocha and Su Chen watching Firefly in the room.
Neither spoke,
until Su Chen broke the silence. "Can I go in and see her?"
"You may."
"Alright." Su Chen didn't immediately push open the door. Instead, he turned to Luocha. "Actually, I want to ask you something while we're here."
"Go ahead."
"I've heard some stories—like how Luocha isn't your real name, is it?"
Luocha's expression remained unreadable. He spoke slowly, "Correct."
"Alright, just curious, don't mind me."
"I don't mind. Since it's something that's already happened…" Luocha let out a breath, a smile curling his lips. "It's good you know. I've been looking for a chance to explain, just never found the right moment."
"I get it. Go handle your stuff." Su Chen nodded to Luocha and pushed open the door.
He looked at Firefly on the hospital bed, slowly approaching her side. He bent down to tie his shoelace, then pretended to step on something accidentally.
"Sigh, you, huh. Sampo's idea of fun at least has limits. You're the type to go all-in without a care for your life."
The next moment, Firefly's eyelid twitched. She slightly opened her eyes, her lips moving faintly.
Su Chen, thinking she was about to share her last wishes, leaned in close. "Go on, tell me your final wishes. I'll make them happen."
In an extremely hoarse voice, laced with a playful tone, Firefly said, "You stepped on my oxygen tube"
"Sorry! Sorry!" Su Chen quickly lifted his foot.
Firefly took a deep breath, then tilted her head and closed her eyes again.
Su Chen chuckled, then sighed. "Sigh! Thought you were fine. Guess you really got hurt bad. My bad.
Looks like I'll have to bring Sampo instead. You can't join in on this one."
"Wait." Firefly removed her oxygen mask. "The great Firefly is totally fine. But, Boss Su Chen, how'd you know?"
Su Chen shook his head. "I unplugged your oxygen tube when I came in, then stepped on it. I'm honestly impressed—how'd you get Luocha and the others to play along with your act?"
"Easy. Natasha got scammed by Sampo before, Luocha almost did, so I told them I'd help them get back at Sampo. As for Bailu? Ta-da! Guess!"
"She's a kid, what else? For fun, right? You promised to play games with her?"
"Correct!" Firefly hopped up, bouncing to Su Chen's side. "Where we going for fun?"
"Dreamscape Grand Hotel, tomorrow."
"Oh, come on, today! I got better early just to help you."
"Someone's gonna crash and burn today. Don't you want to see the fun?"
"Deal!"
Just then,
Su Chen's phone pinged. He saw a message from Stelle with a picture attached.
It showed Himeko, the coffee shop owner, Yunli, and a man in a cowboy hat.
"What in tarnation! They actually showed up?" Su Chen's eyes lit up at the picture. "I'm stealing a car and coming right over."
With that, Su Chen bolted out of the hospital, Firefly's shouts trailing behind.
"Su Chen, Su Chen! Wait for me… I wanna come too… ouch!"
Firefly's flip-flop laces were untied, and she tripped.
But,
she got up and kept chasing after Su Chen.
…
Soon after,
Su Chen had circled the area several times, still unable to find a usable car.
He tugged at his collar, fanning himself. "Damn it, should've just run there!"
"I told you not to run like that!" Firefly panted heavily beside him. "I just wanna know, why're you in such a rush?"
"Quiet, I'm brainstorming." Su Chen tapped his forehead with his index finger. "Where's a car? Where's a car?"
By sheer coincidence,
two familiar figures passed by Su Chen.
She dangled a keyring on her finger, swinging it back and forth. "Hehe, I finally ditched my 86. Time to roll out my new ride. Jingliu, you're done for today—I just picked up my new car!"
Baiheng hooked an arm around Jingliu's neck. "No matter what, you're riding with me today."
Su Chen whispered to Firefly, "You see Baiheng?"
"Oh, I get it!" Firefly raised an eyebrow at Su Chen. "Gotcha! Since you're taking me for fun later, I'll help you out."
Firefly skipped over to Baiheng and Jingliu. "Hey, Baiheng, Jingliu!"
Baiheng looked down, pondering for a bit. "Oh, right, you're… uh, that one, who was it?"
She glanced at Jingliu, who sighed helplessly. "Her name's Firefly. We ate together at the hotel before."
"Oh!! Right! That day we hit a ghost. The food was either too spicy or too salty, and Jiaoqiu chugged a cilantro milk tea and self-destructed on the spot."
"Awesome, you guys remember me?" Firefly pulled out her phone. "What a coincidence! No day like today—how about a group photo?"
Baiheng gave an awkward smile. "No one's here to take it."
"No one?" Firefly whistled, and Su Chen instantly appeared before the trio.
Jingliu's brow furrowed slightly.
"Am I overthinking, or do I feel like something's about to go down?"