Chapter 88: Coaxing
Ming Fei had also prepared flowers.
Bringing a bouquet of flowers for your sweetheart was a basic requirement mentioned in every romance book.
The bouquet she prepared today consisted of lisianthus, lilies, violets, and snapdragons, symbolizing—”Please notice my love.” But the government building, as a workplace, wasn’t suitable for such a gesture, and she didn’t want to cause any trouble for Zhu Yiqiao, so she had left the flowers in the trunk.
As the hovercar moved onto the track, Ming Fei got up and opened the trunk, thinking that next time she should put them directly on the seat so they would be visible as soon as she got in.
She felt annoyed at her lack of romantic cells, her metaphorical ears drooping as she took the flowers and presented them to Zhu Yiqiao.
Zhu Yiqiao first accepted the “reward”: “Okay.”
The fragrance of flowers filled the air. She didn’t immediately take the bouquet, but reached out and pinched Ming Fei’s cheek: “From now on, I’ll only accept flowers from Ah Fei.”
Ming Fei’s happiness was evident.
Perhaps because she was too happy, she didn’t know how to respond. Should she say thank you? Saying thank you in this atmosphere seemed a bit strange. So, after some thought, she said seriously, as if making a promise,
“Me too.”
“I promise.”
Hearing these words, Zhu Yiqiao felt that the twenty-five-year-old Ming Fei hadn’t changed at all, still as earnestly cute as the Tree of Mystical Jade from long ago.
After having lunch at the Sky Garden Restaurant in the city center, they returned to the villa in the hovercar.
Soon, Zhu Yiqiao, having attended multiple meetings, went upstairs to the third floor for a nap. Ming Fei unpacked the box she had brought back yesterday on the first floor, 008 and 0619 flanking her. She retested the robotic bionic bird according to procedure before letting it fly.
This bionic bird was an ornamental racing model developed last year, its appearance and function mimicking a common white dove. Many of them had been released in the Tranquility Lake at the center of the campus, but the students could only watch them; the operating permissions were on the research terminal in the lab.
Ming Fei watched as the robotic bird flew around the roof, then landed steadily on her shoulder, cooing a few times.
0619 asked, “Teacher Xiao Fei, are you planning to play message carrier with Chief Judge Zhu?”
Ming Fei explained, “Because there’s a little dove in the cartoon Zaozao has been watching recently, and she likes that little white dove very much, but doves aren’t suitable as pets, so I bought this for her to play with.”
This bionic bird was completely white, its appearance cute, and Ming Fei had painted a jujube on its belly, signifying that it was Little White Dove, exclusively for Zaozao the Great.
Before 0619 could reply, 008 started playing the familiar “Great Mother.”
Ming Fei smiled and said, “But it can indeed be used as a message carrier.”
After saying that, she took out a sticky note from the drawer, tore off the light orange one, thought for a moment, and wrote on it—
[Hope Jiejie is happy every day ^^]
0619, witnessing this, said, “Teacher Xiao Fei, carrier pigeons usually carry very important messages. You can write down what you most want to express. Chief Judge Zhu will be very happy to see it.”
On this matter, 008 and 0619 agreed.
“Yes,” it added, “Teacher Xiao Fei, I searched the database for a massive amount of love phrases for you. For example, ‘Your eyes are more beautiful than flowers,’ ‘Everything about you is better than a thousand…’ “
Hearing this, Ming Fei suddenly thought of the scene at the government building.
The councilor from Taiya had a very loud voice, and even standing at the bottom of the steps, Ming Fei could hear every word. Every compliment from her was filled with enthusiasm and admiration. In comparison, her own “be happy every day” did seem a bit subtle.
She thought for a moment, tore off another orange sticky note, and wrote in her neat handwriting:
—Jiejie, I hope you will be safe, healthy, and happy, every day.
This was the blessing Zhu Yiqiao had given her, and now it had become her most sincere wish.
And as Ming Fei expected, Ming Zaozao, after a day of fun at the amusement park, was very happy to see the robotic bird when she returned. She kissed Ming Fei on the cheek twice, said she loved Mommy very, very much, and then took her new companion and Tuan Tuan for a walk.
Yuan Yuan quietly accompanied Ming Fei as she worked, its fluffy tail swaying back and forth.
When Zhu Yiqiao came downstairs and saw Ming Fei holding the kitten and reading documents, she walked over and sat next to Ming Fei. Yuan Yuan immediately jumped into her arms, meowing non-stop.
Ming Fei, having just finished reading the documents, looked up and smiled faintly.
“Jiejie.”
“Mm.”
“Jiejie, did you see the message?”
She had set the message delivery time for the little white dove at five o’clock. After sending the message and coming downstairs, she hadn’t received any reply. Because of the little white dove’s video surveillance function, she was certain that it had completed its mission, but she wasn’t sure if Zhu Yiqiao had opened and read the message.
Zhu Yiqiao hummed in acknowledgment: “I saw it.”
Yuan Yuan, like flowing cream, slipped away. Zhu Yiqiao asked in return, “Then how can I be happy?”
Even someone as slow as Ming Fei understood.
She thought, Zhu Yiqiao was probably testing her. The higher her answer scored, the more Zhu Yiqiao’s happiness level would increase, and it would advance her pursuit progress.
Her mind raced, and she tentatively asked, “Jiejie, do you want to hear a joke?”
Zhu Yiqiao’s lips curved upwards: “Is the Storyteller going to tell a joke to make me happy?”
“Mm.”
“Okay.”
Ming Fei said seriously, “One day, there was a person walking on the street…”
As it turned out, Ming Fei could only tell corny jokes. 0619, after listening, its display screen frosted over, and it silently went outside to patrol. Zhu Yiqiao’s reaction was very polite. She didn’t laugh, but she did applaud.
“Very well told.”
Ming Fei’s ears felt a little hot: “…Then… Jiejie, are you a little happier now?”
“Mm.” Zhu Yiqiao added, “A little.”
Just “a little” meant it wasn’t enough.
Ming Fei went to the kitchen and brought out the dessert she had prepared for Zhu Yiqiao. Just as she was about to go upstairs to get something else, Zhu Yiqiao grabbed her hand.
“Ah Fei.”
Ming Fei looked back: “Mm?”
“Do you want to see my reply?”
Ming Fei’s eyes lit up: “Yes.”
“There’s a way.”
Ming Fei, of course, wanted to know, so she sat back down next to Zhu Yiqiao. After hearing what Zhu Yiqiao said, her ears turned bright red.
“The residual effects of the temporary marking are still there.”
“What should we do?”
Ming Fei didn’t understand. While she was thinking about the answer, Zhu Yiqiao answered a phone call. After hanging up, Zhu Yiqiao hugged her and whispered in her ear,
“Ah Fei, I lied to you.”
“There are no more effects, I just wanted to see you blush.”
Ming Fei asked softly, “Why?”
Zhu Yiqiao seemed to smile: “Think about it yourself.”
“Because of the annual public opinion poll, I have to go to Linxi City and will be back the day after tomorrow.”
Before even parting, Ming Fei already felt reluctant and started to miss her. She hugged Zhu Yiqiao tighter, wanting to say so much, but in the end, all her feelings and longing condensed into two sentences.
“All the best, and stay safe.”
“I will miss Jiejie, every day.”
After Zhu Yiqiao left, Ming Fei, following her instructions, went to the study on the third floor after dinner and saw the reply.
A simple sentence.
—Thank you, Ah Fei, your blessing is today’s first collectible.
Ming Fei’s heart pounded, only calming down before she went to bed.
Ming Zaozao had been sleeping with her these past few days. The bedtime stories were never missed, and every morning, she would see her daughter’s flushed cheeks from sleep.
Sometimes, Ming Zaozao would probably be fighting monsters in her dreams, rolling to the other side of the bed unconsciously. After waking up, she would rub her eyes and linger in bed, only getting up after Ming Fei kissed her.
This morning was the same.
After washing up and waking Ming Zaozao, Ming Fei went downstairs, had breakfast, and then took Ming Zaozao to Li Xing’s house. Because they were going to the elderly care home together on their day off, Ming Fei had made plans with Li Xing a few days ago to send Ming Zaozao over to play.
Li Xing’s grandmothers and mother all liked Ming Zaozao very much. Knowing that she was coming, they prepared her favorite cookies and various fruit snacks in advance.
Before leaving, Ming Fei was also given a lot of fruit snacks for her and Li Xing to eat if they got hungry or for the journey.
The trip to Xinmin Elderly Care Home took an hour and ten minutes. Li Xing used this time to catch up on the information about the elderly care home, which Ming Fei had already read in advance.
While browsing, Li Xing joked,
“The map of Xinmin Elderly Care Home, if you look at it upside down, looks like a crown.”
Ming Fei glanced at it: “Mm, it does.”
Neither of them paid much attention to it. Li Xing read for a while, finished browsing all the information, and then started talking about Wei Lingyu with her friend.
“…I originally planned to ask her directly, but she hasn’t been in the country recently, and I think it’s better to discuss this in person, so I decided to wait until she comes back.”
Ming Fei supported all of her friend’s decisions.
They chatted about many things, and Li Xing also talked about the recent annual public opinion poll.
“Chief Judge Zhu’s public approval rating will definitely be far ahead this year. Not to mention all the anti-corruption work, just the gene theft case is enough.”
Ming Fei’s eyes smiled: “Mm.”
Li Xing teased, “So? Teacher Xiao Fei, who once claimed to have no expectations for love, are you now drowning in honey every day?”
Ming Fei’s dimple appeared: “Every day is very happy.”
“Oh, oh~”
When the hovercar arrived at its destination, the other teachers were almost all there. The car door opened automatically, and as Ming Fei got out, a gust of cold wind swept past, ruffling her hair.
She smoothed her hair, tightened her scarf and down jacket, greeted Teacher Wen, who was leading the team, and then waited at the entrance with her for the two teachers who hadn’t arrived yet, and the director of the elderly care home.
During this time, she looked at the elderly care home. The elderly were all doing activities indoors, with only two white-haired elderly people sitting by the flowerbed. The overall architecture was neat and orderly, the facilities on the left side slightly old, but a huge mural on the right side was particularly eye-catching.
Ming Fei stared at it, realizing that the painting seemed to be telling a story about an ancient tribe.
Just as she was about to take a closer look, the two late teachers finally arrived. At the same time, three figures blocked her view. The one in front had brown hair and green eyes, a kind face, and was about seventy years old.
Ming Fei recognized her as the director of the elderly care home.
Another gust of cold wind blew past, and Ming Fei noticed a few strands of white hair at the director’s temples. She inexplicably guessed that the director’s brown hair was probably dyed.
The director also noticed her and smiled kindly.
Ming Fei politely returned the smile, then quickly looked away.
Li Xing, standing next to her, had just finished replying to a message. As the director walked towards the group, Li Xing tugged on Ming Fei’s sleeve and whispered, “Eh? Look, what’s that over there?”
