Chapter 744: 743 Living Funeral
Annie, with a smile on her face and full of enthusiasm, continuously waved her hands, unable to hide her happiness, and called out from a distance.
Although Annie lowered her voice, her shout still echoed through the church space, startling herself; she covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes and the corners of her mouth brimming with smiles, and hurriedly ran down, curling up on a long bench.
Li Wei walked forward, seeing Annie holding her knees and chuckling on the bench, his eyes involuntarily revealed a smile as he warmly greeted.
“How are you guys doing? Cold?”
Tonight, snow fell in Kansas City, not heavily, but the snowflakes were visible to the naked eye.
This winter, Kansas City was exceptionally cold; this was already the fourth heavy snow since the onset of winter, not to mention the sporadic grain-sized snow and occasional light snow that fell for an hour, making the weather seem unusual.
It was unclear whether the city’s residents would be able to comfortably survive this winter.
Tonight was the same, the temperature had already dropped below minus ten degrees, looking at Felix and Annie, Li Wei couldn’t help but worry about this problem.
Felix looked at Annie and chuckled, then turned to Li Wei and explained, “My mom is also worried about the same thing. Don’t look at me being so slim now, but actually, I’m fully armed inside; I think I could try sumo wrestling.”
Just back from the brink of death, but Felix already looked completely recovered.
Annie nodded repeatedly, “Don’t worry, if I weren’t fully armed, my mom would refuse to send me here, I wouldn’t dare challenge her bottom line.”
In their words, laden with teasing, their mischievous and vivid expressions, their eyebrows, mouths, and noses seemed to have their own souls, starting to twist at different rhythms, which immediately lightened the mood.
No greetings, no pleasantries, everything seemed simple and natural.
Just like a gathering of friends.
Mahomes and Kelsey also relaxed and found seats for themselves.
Kelsey looked around and said, “Sorry, please forgive Patrick and me for showing up uninvited. We were both worried that Li Wei might have lured you guys away. God, that would have been awful.”
“Haha,” Felix laughed, “Welcome, warm welcome. Honestly, I was worried it would be too few people, too quiet. I hope my funeral would be crowded, the more the merrier, that’s what makes it lively.”
Mahomes and Kelsey both lost the ability to react, instinctively turning their heads to look at Li Wei.
But this time, Li Wei was also at a loss, his smile freezing at the corners of his mouth, “Felix?”
Felix waved his hand, “Relax, relax, why so serious?”
After saying that, he paused for a moment, desperately blinking, “Why so serious, did you hear? The famous line from The Joker?”
Li Wei appeared slightly helpless, his smile relaxed a bit, waiting for Felix to continue.
Felix sighed lightly, while sighing he stealthily glanced at Li Wei with his peripheral vision, clearly joking, “My mom couldn’t understand, and I thought you would. Rookie, you’ve let me down a bit.”
Li Wei noticed Felix’s eyes and the corners of his mouth but didn’t play along, “You first tell me what’s going on, and then I’ll decide whether to play along.”
Felix’s eyes lit up, straightening his back, “I’ve always wanted to attend my own funeral, ideally as a ghost of course; but I was worried, if things don’t go according to plan, so I arranged a living funeral first.”
“So, what do you think?”
“My mom says it’s ridiculous, I shouldn’t attend my own funeral, no one should attend their own funeral, and no one should plan their own funeral.”
“But… Li Wei, is it really so?”
As he spoke, the playfulness vanished, and Li Wei could see the sincerity in Felix’s eyes.
For children like Felix and Annie, they hadn’t even figured out what youth and life were all about before they had to face death.
Though people often say that in life, everyone’s end is the same; Felix and Annie were different, they could see their end, and it was closer than imagined.
Especially Felix, who had just taken a stroll near death’s door.
Karen didn’t want to face reality nor was she capable of facing it, but Felix couldn’t escape because escaping meant wasting time, which was the one thing he couldn’t afford to waste… was time.
In the church, the lights were bright, and the atmosphere so peaceful and serene.
Yet, the silent air was so biting, dry and sharp against the skin.
Mahomes ultimately couldn’t bear it and turned his head away.
Li Wei tried to speak, but found himself so clumsy, like a five-year-old, with a thousand words swirling in his mind, yet not knowing how to express them.
“Ahem.” Li Wei cleared his throat, composed himself, “Everyone has the right to plan their own funeral, but only the truly strong can do it with acceptance and openness; and only the real brave can find a way to attend their own funeral, I guess I’m honored to have received an invitation.”
Felix had been watching Li Wei, his smile gradually lifting:
He just knew that Li Wei would understand him.
Felix turned his head to the other side, “Annie, Annie, come on, it’s your turn to speak, tell me you’ve prepared a full eulogy, because I reckon these three superheroes next to me aren’t going to be much help, you’re my only hope.”
Annie protested, “Hey, that’s not fair. I was hoping you would give a speech at my funeral.”
Kelsey suddenly looked up to that skinny little figure, “Annie…”
Annie, smiling, waved her hand dismissively, “I know I’m still a child, but obviously, I might not have time to grow up slowly, I need to grow up faster, otherwise I won’t even qualify to like someone. You guys, don’t stare at me, otherwise you might end up violating Federation law.”
Quirky, clever, looking at Annie , what could they say?
Despite the bitterness in his mouth, Li Wei was the first to start clapping for Annie, and Mahomes and Kelsey took a deep breath and joined in the chanting.
“Go Annie! Annie! Annie!”
Annie returned to the podium, her petite frame completely obscured except for her shoulders and head, which looked slightly comical.
The little girl shrugged lightly, “I should write to the church to complain, this is not child-friendly for those under fourteen.”
The little girl looked at everyone’s smiles, nodded contently, “Ready? Please enjoy this masterpiece I’ve channeled from Fitzgerald.”
“Felix Gray is a narcissistic, arrogant, and crazy lunatic, but we have chosen to forgive him. What can we do, in an era where good looks save the world, how could we not forgive a handsome man?”
Felix even whistled, rather than a funeral, it felt more like a party, the atmosphere was incredibly lively.
The livelier it got, the more bittersweet; the more cheerful, the more sorrowful.
But Li Wei and the other two composed themselves, if this was what Felix wanted, it was the least they could do.