They half-walked, half-ran all the way back.
To be honest, the infirmary was already far from the dormitory building. The round trip, plus the time spent in between, took over an hour. No matter how Zhuang Chi thought about it, she was sure Ling Jing’s flowers must have been cleaned up long ago. But she couldn’t dissuade the unwilling-to-give-up Ling Jing, who insisted on pulling Zhuang Chi along as they sped back to the vicinity of Gu Ximian’s dormitory.
…So tired. Zhuang Chi silently wiped her sweat. Her stamina was no match for an A-class Alpha to begin with, and Ling Jing refused to leave her behind and go on ahead. The whole run had left her completely exhausted. Ling Jing, on the other hand, was only slightly out of breath, energetically leading the way. It made Zhuang Chi feel like an owner being dragged along by an overly energetic large dog.
“…Wow,” while still some distance from the lawn that was their destination, the large dog—Ling Jing—suddenly stopped. She stared straight ahead, her eyes shining with a surprised brilliance. “Look, Zhuang Chi! They actually weren’t taken away!”
Indeed. Zhuang Chi followed her gaze and, even from such a distance, could see the cluster of flowers still sitting right where they left them. She was quite surprised for a moment and sighed, “…This must be what they call ‘good deeds are rewarded.’ You should keep doing good things in the future, Ling Jing.”
Ling Jing was overjoyed. She probably would have found anything Zhuang Chi said reasonable at that moment. She nodded in agreement and started walking over. “Exactly! It would have been too tragic if we came back after doing a good deed only to find the flowers taken away. Maybe even God couldn’t bear to see that happen, so that’s why—?!”
She stopped abruptly mid-sentence. The latter half of her words got stuck in her throat, forcing out a strange “gurgle” that sounded like a bird being strangled. Zhuang Chi looked at Ling Jing, completely baffled. Seeing her wanting to go over but not daring to, she thought something was wrong with the flowers. So, she walked past her to take a look, but she couldn’t see anything amiss. Just as she was feeling puzzled, a voice came from the side: “You’re finally back.”
Zhuang Chi’s heart skipped a beat. She turned her head and saw Gu Ximian slowly walking out from the shadows beside the dormitory building. Her tone carried a hint of deliberate complaint, yet she couldn’t hide the smile on her lips.
“If you hadn’t come back soon, I wouldn’t have kept watch for you anymore.”
It wasn’t a miracle, nor was it that God couldn’t bear to see it. It was the kind-hearted Gu Ximian who had stepped in, helping to watch over the flowers and saving them from being swept into the trash.
“Right after you left, the cleaning lady came to clear this area,” Gu Ximian said, gesturing toward the flowers. “But I heard someone say you brought them… so I thought I should help guard them for a while. After all, the flowers look quite nice. It would be a shame for them to be thrown away just like that.”
“But I didn’t expect you to be gone for so long…” Gu Ximian wrinkled her nose slightly and sighed. “And the smell here… it’s all mixed together, a bit strange.”
Indeed. The fragrance of so many flowers gathered together was already strong. Mixed with that Alpha’s pheromones—the exact scent of which was unknown but seemed quite pungent—one could imagine it wouldn’t smell very pleasant. Zhuang Chi smiled apologetically at Gu Ximian. “Thank you, we’ve troubled you.”
“No need. I haven’t even thanked you for what happened earlier,” Gu Ximian said, also looking at the rather flustered Ling Jing behind Zhuang Chi. She spoke in a gentle voice, “Thank you for helping to subdue that Alpha. Otherwise, who knows what might have happened… So, are these flowers really yours? There are so many.”
No, “yours” wasn’t the right word here. Zhuang Chi wasn’t sure if she should be the one to answer, so she first looked at Ling Jing, the true owner of the flowers. This person really was tamer than a housecat in front of Gu Ximian. But now, seemingly flattered by Gu Ximian’s thanks, she had mustered some courage. In short, Ling Jing took a small breath and suddenly stepped forward. “D-do you like flowers?”
…Isn’t that a bit too sudden? Out of nowhere, Zhuang Chi thought. And the intention behind the question is super obvious. Even I can see it, so Gu Ximian must be even more…
“…” Gu Ximian was quiet for a long moment, then gave the hopeful Ling Jing a gentle smile. “I don’t.”
“…”
…What a decisive response. Her resolute attitude almost made Zhuang Chi feel sorry for Ling Jing. She looked at Ling Jing, who had gone from full of hope to utterly dejected because of that single sentence. It seemed Ling Jing wouldn’t be able to give away these flowers. Although this was to be expected… one could only say, let this be a lesson learned…
“What’s wrong? Why ask me that all of a sudden?” Gu Ximian, who had just delivered the fatal blow so effortlessly, acted as if she hadn’t noticed a thing and deftly changed the subject. “And where did you get so many flowers? Did you put them here for a reason?”
The flower buyer’s plan had just failed. Zhuang Chi looked at the dejected Ling Jing, who seemed to be struggling with how to respond to Gu Ximian. It wasn’t hard to understand her feelings. Although it was a simple matter, really, now that Gu Ximian had clearly stated she didn’t like flowers, for her to go on and say “I bought them to give to you” would seem a bit…
“…Um. There was an old lady selling flowers at the school gate this afternoon.”
The silence dragged on for too long, and in the end, Zhuang Chi couldn’t bear it and extended a helping hand. She didn’t say who bought them, just vaguely glossed over it while trying to find another reason for the flowers being here. “It’s just… there were a lot of flowers, so we thought we’d just put some at the bottom of each dorm building. Anyone who wants one can take one. If not, they can still serve as decoration…”
Ling Jing shot her a grateful look, appearing as if she had no complaints about what was done with her flowers. Meanwhile, Zhuang Chi was worriedly thinking that this might sound too far-fetched. Gu Ximian had probably already seen through her lie. In any case, before Gu Ximian could say anything, she rolled up her sleeves, started gathering some of the flowers from the lawn, and put them back on the cart nearby, trying to make her hastily concocted rescue plan seem a little more plausible. “…Since you don’t like flowers, we’ll just leave a few less here…”
Just as she was thinking that she’d have to talk to the dorm manager later, Gu Ximian, who had been quiet for a while, suddenly spoke up. “Since anyone who wants a flower can take one, can I take one too?”
“…”
…What is she talking about? Isn’t that a contradiction? Zhuang Chi stopped, stunned. Half-puzzled and half-reminding, she said, “…Didn’t you just say you don’t like flowers…?”
“I did.” Gu Ximian nodded, her eyes looking quite innocent. Her questioning tone even held a hint of grievance. “Does not liking flowers mean I can’t take one?”
…It feels completely illogical, yet it’s hard to say the word “no.” Having more or less understood that Gu Ximian was difficult to comprehend, Zhuang Chi decisively gave up on thinking. She stepped aside to make room, gesturing at the cart and the remaining flowers on the ground. “Then go ahead and pick. We haven’t given any away yet, so there are more to choose from. You can take them all if you want, no problem.”
But Gu Ximian didn’t move. She just glanced around vaguely, then declared under Zhuang Chi’s blank stare, “But because I don’t like flowers, I don’t think I can pick one out.”
…If you stretch it, I guess that makes some sense. But if that’s the case, why force yourself to pick one? Zhuang Chi’s confusion was about to overflow. If it had been Ling Jing saying these things, she would have probably classified this behavior as looking for trouble. But this was Gu Ximian. She couldn’t be doing all this just to make things difficult for her, could she…
While she was racking her brains over here, Gu Ximian remained nonchalant from beginning to end. Then, she finally threw out her proposal: “Can you pick one for me?”
Zhuang Chi froze. She heard Gu Ximian say, “Just pick any one. It doesn’t matter if you choose the most inconspicuous flower. Just pick one for me. I remember… you like flowers, don’t you? Is that okay?”
…It seems she’s referring to that time I casually said my favorite scent was flowers. Her memory is really good, Zhuang Chi thought. Even so… what on earth is she thinking, Gu Ximian? It really feels like she’s just trying to make things difficult for me.
Feeling at a loss, Zhuang Chi met Gu Ximian’s gaze for a few seconds. She couldn’t detect any hint of playfulness or teasing in those beautiful eyes. On the contrary, Gu Ximian looked exceptionally serious, her gaze as clear and bright as starlight, causing Zhuang Chi to quickly admit defeat.
…Alright, alright. Zhuang Chi thought. It’s just picking a single flower.
So she resignedly turned her head and began to hesitate, staring at the flowers. Ling Jing seemed even more invested than she was, carefully examining each flower one by one, probably wanting to help her pick out the most perfect one. But Zhuang Chi didn’t share her earnestness. To be honest, she didn’t have much of an idea either. However… while she didn’t know what she should pick, she might know which flowers she shouldn’t pick…
“Here.”
She handed over the final result of her selection. Gu Ximian blinked. “There are three.”
“Mhm.” A sunflower with the largest bloom, a white lily with the sweetest fragrance, and a blue hydrangea at its fullest blossom. Zhuang Chi presented these three flowers to Gu Ximian and explained, “…I felt it wasn’t right to choose based only on my preferences, so I picked three. Just think of it as me narrowing down the options for you. With a choice of one out of three, do you find it easier to choose?”
She had originally thought that if Gu Ximian still said she couldn’t choose, she would just have her pick one with her eyes closed. But Gu Ximian looked for a long moment, and when she finally reached out, she grasped the stems of all three flowers. She gave Zhuang Chi a gentle smile. “Then can I choose them all?”
Zhuang Chi was holding the middle of the stems, while Gu Ximian held the lower part. Although their hands weren’t touching, the sight of them holding the flowers together seemed more intimate than usual. It made Zhuang Chi quickly let go and take half a step back, her gaze dropping slightly. “…Of course, you can.”
Anyway, this should be the end of it. With Gu Ximian’s help, Zhuang Chi and Ling Jing busied themselves with arranging the flowers at the base of her dormitory building. When Ling Jing volunteered to go talk to the dorm manager, there was finally a sense of closure. Zhuang Chi let out a small breath, and then heard Gu Ximian’s voice: “Are you tired?”
She was, a little. It felt like she would sleep very soundly tonight. Gu Ximian evidently got her answer from her expression and smiled lightly. “I still want to say it again, formally—thank you for helping to stop that person. I was just coming back to my dorm to drop off my books. I didn’t expect to run into something like this when I came back out… If you hadn’t been here, I don’t know how things would have developed.”
“Stop him…” Zhuang Chi was a little embarrassed and gave a wry smile. “That was mainly thanks to Ling Jing. I didn’t do much.”
“You can’t say that,” Gu Ximian shook her head, giving her a deep look. “If you hadn’t blocked him that one time, that Alpha probably would have rushed toward me. I’m afraid Ling Jing would have had to use more effort to subdue him.”
As she spoke, she lightly tapped her own right shoulder and asked, “You were hit here, weren’t you? Did you have the doctor look at it when you went to the infirmary?”
“Mhm… it’s nothing serious,” Zhuang Chi said reassuringly, not expecting her to have seen so clearly in that split second. “It was just a normal bump, no broken bones or anything.”
Gu Ximian’s gaze softened slightly. Her eyes traveled from Zhuang Chi’s right shoulder down to her right wrist. After looking for a long moment, she lowered her lashes and sighed softly. “I should have treated you to dinner tonight, but I have plans with my family this evening, so I have to go back now.”
“I’ll owe you this meal,” Gu Ximian said, raising her hand again and lightly tapping Zhuang Chi’s nose with the gently swaying flowers. “Thank you for the flowers.”
And just like that, Gu Ximian left with the three disparate flowers. Even though they didn’t look particularly harmonious together, being held so gently by her made them seem exceptionally pleasing to the eye.
Back at home. The butler was the first to greet her. He didn’t say much upon seeing the flowers in Gu Ximian’s hand, only asking, “Do you need a vase?”
“Mhm.” Gu Ximian nodded, thought for a moment, and added, “Just one will do.”
So she received a white porcelain vase and put all three flowers inside. There wasn’t much skill in flower arrangement she could use; after all, the three of them were worlds apart in both appearance and stature. Placed together, they were simply blooming in their own separate ways.
I didn’t expect to get these three flowers. Gu Ximian thought.
In that pile of flowers… there were clearly so many roses, yet not a single one was chosen by Zhuang Chi.
It was something one could tell at a glance. Nowadays, any flower shop catering to young people was dominated by roses. Even the old lady selling flowers from a cart at the university gate followed this trend. Gu Ximian had seen it with a single glance—roses of all colors vying for attention: pink, ice blue, champagne, and of course, the timeless red rose, blooming in bunches, beautiful and alluring.
To be honest, when she had asked Zhuang Chi to help her pick a flower, she had already been prepared to receive a rose. Gu Ximian’s gaze flickered. Recalling the way Zhuang Chi’s brows had furrowed slightly as she bent down to choose, she couldn’t help but curve her lips into a smile. It was truly impressive how she managed to precisely pick out these three flowers from among so many roses.
She really is a bit of a strange person, Zhuang Chi.
Gu Ximian silently repeated the name in her heart, slowly stroking the delicate petals of the blue hydrangea.
A very kind person, soft-hearted, with a personality as well-behaved as her appearance. Someone you can chat with normally. And I can clearly feel that she does care about me, but it’s always accompanied by a certain detached, standoffish negativity, as if she has no intention of getting any closer.
And… it seems she’s known me for a long time. As for that “friend” of Zhuang Chi’s, who was obviously fabricated out of thin air, Gu Ximian deliberately didn’t bring it up again, and this person conveniently acted as if she’d forgotten about it too. It was clear she had no reasonable explanation to give.
Very strange, but she doesn’t seem like a “bad person.” Gu Ximian lowered her lashes slightly. Regardless… since the start of the semester, Zhuang Chi has been injured for my sake, directly or indirectly, twice now. That can’t be faked.
What kind of person is she, really… or rather, what kind of role is she supposed to play?
She’s really making me more and more curious, Gu Ximian thought.
