Chapter 10: Bouquet

To her regret, it seemed he hadn’t remembered the story she told that day when they broke up.

However, it didn’t really matter.

She would help him remember when the time came.

She was a petty person.

So what if she didn’t understand love, or if he might not love her anymore?

She would lock him by her side regardless.

Once she adjusted for two days, she would go and retrieve her disobedient, foolish cat.

Thinking this, Lady Cheng’s mood finally improved significantly.

She slowly wiped her mouth, planning to go home and lie down for a while, enjoying a cup of milk tea.

But at that moment, she suddenly received a message.

“I’m planning to move back home. I probably won’t be coming back. There’s half a month of rent left, so remember to pick up your things within fifteen days. The key is in the usual spot.”

“This way, there won’t be any more awkward encounters or things like that in the future. The world is wide; we’ll meet again if fate allows.”

‘Ran away?!’

Lady Cheng was so angry she nearly crushed her phone.

‘Fine, Su Ziyan. I was planning to take my time playing with you, but since that’s how it is, don’t blame me for doxxing you!’

***

On the other side, Su Ziyan was already on the plane watching Spider-Man 3.

The sky was already dimming by the time the flight landed.

The people disembarking began to search for the relatives who had come to meet them, and Su Ziyan moved forward with the crowd.

Carrying his guitar case on his back and pushing his suitcase, he walked aimlessly.

No one was there to pick him up because he had seen Xu Duyan’s reply after the flight landed.

“Why the sudden urge to come home? I might be a bit busy today, so you’ll probably have to take a taxi back yourself.”

It was a pity.

If he had seen this message before boarding, he would have told her he was so heartbroken over his breakup and was coming home to stay forever, whining like a baby so Xu Duyan would come to pick him up and comfort him.

Unfortunately, she had replied while he was already in the air, so he missed the chance to act spoiled and have his sister pick him up.

Su Ziyan could only lower his head to call a ride-share service until a faint fragrance reached his nose, and then flower petals damp with water droplets pressed against his face.

The sudden attack startled him, and he took a step back.

When he looked up, he saw Xu Duyan’s smiling face.

Xu Duyan was 33 years old now.

Although her skin was as good as a 20-year-old girl’s, her temperament carried a certain charm similar to that of a devoted wife.

She wore a tight-fitting white dress, and her long hair draped over her shoulders, making her look like a wife waiting for her husband to return home.

“Surprise!”

Holding the bouquet, she gave a rare smile.

“How could I, as your Knight, be absent when our Princess is coming home?”

Snapping back to his senses, Su Ziyan couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

He responded as he had many times before, “I’ve told you so many times, you’ve got the genders mixed up… What made you think of giving me flowers?”

“I’ve felt that flower arranging has been very fulfilling lately, and since I happened to have some savings, I opened another flower shop.”

Xu Duyan naturally stuffed the flowers into Su Ziyan’s arms and took the guitar case from his back to carry it herself.

“I arranged this bouquet with my own hands!”

“Actually, I can carry the guitar myself.”

Su Ziyan looked helplessly at Xu Duyan, who was now wearing the guitar case.

“That case is quite heavy.”

“Isn’t this so you can have your hands free to hold the bouquet properly?”

Xu Duyan squinted at him.

“Have you ever heard a certain saying?”

“What saying?”

“When a boy holds flowers given to him by a girl, the gazes of every pedestrian on the street are his trophies.”

Xu Duyan patted his shoulder gently.

“Letting you enjoy it for once.”

“Well, thank you then.”

Su Ziyan looked at the water droplets on the flowers and asked somewhat confusedly, “The airport is so far from the city. How did you manage to keep the dew on them until now?”

“What dew?”

Xu Duyan laughed until she shook at her silly brother’s denseness.

Since her life had stabilized and the pressure had decreased, she had become much more prone to laughter.

“I used a small spray bottle to mist them every once in a while. That’s why there are water droplets, you idiot.”

“Fine, fine, I’m an idiot.”

Su Ziyan nodded with a smile.

“Then can my smart sister introduce what kinds of flowers are in this bouquet?”

The bouquet mainly consisted of a type of blue rose and a purple flower Su Ziyan didn’t recognize.

Xu Duyan first pointed toward the purple flowers.

“These are Irises.”

Then she pointed toward the blue ones.

“As for this flower, its name has a bit of a meme behind it.”

“What meme?”

“It’s a plant of the Rosaceae family. When white roses or white Chinese roses are about to bloom, the buds are picked and then artificially irrigated with dye.”

Xu Duyan gave a mysterious smile.

“The name is Blue Enchantress.”

Su Ziyan froze for a moment, his face instantly filling with disdain.

He suddenly felt like he could never look at blue roses the same way again.

Seeing the mischievous grin on Xu Duyan’s face, Su Ziyan couldn’t help but sigh.

“I originally came back because I was sad, but I didn’t expect you to start making fun of me as soon as I landed.”

“Oh? Who upset you this time?”

Xu Duyan raised an eyebrow.

“Tell me all about it, Master. This humble maid shall alleviate your worries.”

“Didn’t you notice I brought back so much luggage this time?”

Su Ziyan patted his suitcase helplessly.

“Usually, I only bring one computer bag when I come home.”

“That’s true.”

A light flashed in Xu Duyan’s eyes, but she hid it skillfully so Su Ziyan wouldn’t notice.

“What? You aren’t leaving this time?”

“Yeah, I plan to move back here permanently.”

“Then what about your little girlfriend? Is she coming back with you?”

Xu Duyan paused, then lowered her head. “Is it time to meet the parents?”

Su Ziyan blinked.

For some reason, he felt that Xu Duyan, who had her head down, didn’t seem disappointed at all.

Her voice even seemed to carry a hint of suppressed laughter.

After all, if he were meeting the parents, it was impossible for him not to mention it in advance, and he wouldn’t have come back alone.

She shouldn’t find it hard to guess that he had broken up.

So why was she pretending to be disappointed while actually snickering?

Was it to tease him?

‘It can’t be because she’s happy I broke up, right?’

‘An illusion. Su Ziyan, don’t overthink it. Maybe Xu Duyan is just happy we won’t be so far apart anymore.’

After all, things had only been occasionally ambiguous between them since that incident.

In reality, every time Su Ziyan confessed, he was rejected very firmly by Xu Duyan.

She had even urged him more than once to find a girlfriend and stop thinking nonsense.

So, such a situation shouldn’t be possible.

After all, who would push the person they loved away?