Chapter 48: Forever and Always, Through the Long Years Part 2

Yue Chengqi was puzzled.

Zhang Mingfang walked over with her hands in her pockets and let out a cold laugh. “You think one meal is enough to appease your sister? Even if she agrees, her girlfriend won’t.”

“Do. You. Know. How. Long. We. Waited. For. You. Last. Night?” The woman bent down and stared straight into Su Ye’s eyes, emphasizing every single word through gritted teeth.

If they weren’t in public, she would have wanted to strangle Su Ye to make her compensate for her beautiful night—that was nighttime! How precious! This unlucky kid who understands nothing!!

Yue Chengqi: “?” What happened now?

*

Su Ye sat behind the counter wrapping flowers. Before her were the materials Yue Chengqi had prepared to use as the “heart” of the flowers. Lacking experience, she pricked her hand before finishing even a few, letting out a soft hiss.

“Ah, ssst…”

A customer waiting in line to pay couldn’t help but look over. “Is Boss Su really okay? Does she… have a partner?”

Yue Chengqi gave a dangerous smile. “No, she’s preparing something to apologize to someone.”

The customer was surprised. “Using roses for an apology?”

“We didn’t have a choice. We went late, and the only loose flowers left in the flower shop were roses. She has to wrap them herself one by one; otherwise, it won’t be sincere enough.”

The customer joked, “You seem like her older sister. I can’t even tell which one of you is the boss anymore. I’m off, Boss. Give me a discount next time!”

People were forgetful, and they didn’t care much about small dramas. After all, everyone on this street had bickered with someone, and fights were common. After two or three days, the customers had mostly forgotten. Those who still remembered only talked about it over tea or dinner.

No one was crazy enough to bring up such things in front of the people involved.

Thus, the things Su Ye worried about wouldn’t happen in the market. As for other places… they still had to wait and see.

Yue Chengqi saw off a few more customers and registered two water heaters before walking back to Su Ye with her arms crossed. “How’s it going? How’s the wrapping?”

Truth be told, you could see it with your eyes: a large drumstick.

But the girl stubbornly said, “Extremely good. I’ve never seen such beautiful flower arrangements in my life.”

“Hold this for a second. I’m going to start on the floral hearts.”

Yue Chengqi held the flowers and sat down with her head close to Su Ye’s. After looking at them for a while, she couldn’t resist trying to fix them.

“Don’t touch!” the girl yelled. “Don’t ruin my work! This exquisite masterpiece of mine—don’t ruin it, don’t touch it!”

“…”

Exquisite masterpiece? This drumstick?

Yue Chengqi suppressed her disdain but ultimately couldn’t help but put the “drumstick” back. “If you ever have someone you like in the future, remember not to wrap them like this.” Otherwise, she seriously doubted the relationship would survive the accumulated resentment from such things.

The girl’s hand paused slightly. “Then… you’d better help me fix it.”

“I’m not fixing it. Let it be. Sister Wanjia will surely see the sincere intent from you.”

Su Ye finished the floral hearts in silence before finally asking, “Does she really dislike this look? What about you? Do you like it?”

Why are you asking me!

Yue Chengqi pouted inwardly. She didn’t want to be some “love consultant”! Didn’t Su Ye already like girls a little bit? Then she must have someone she likes… so why ask her! Doesn’t she know she’s a lesbian too!

Yue Chengqi muttered gloomily, “If you gave it to me, I could reluctantly accept it.”

“Oh…” Su Ye thought, That’s good.

If she had said she wouldn’t accept it, Su Ye would have pinned her to the ground and pummeled her.

Well, maybe not. At most, she would have worked harder to see if she could make this “drumstick” look a bit prettier…

Thinking of this, she suddenly held up the “drumstick” and shoved it in front of Yue Chengqi. “Here, for you, Ah Huan.”

This caught Yue Chengqi off guard.

“Huh? These are roses. A single stem is very expensive.”

“Just take them! I wrapped them so poorly, I can’t bear to give them to Sister anymore. I’ll go buy nine more and re-wrap them.”

“…Ten stems! Perfect in every way!”

“No,” Su Ye countered, pulling one stem from the bouquet. “I’m giving you nine. This one will go into the next bouquet.”

Su Ye thought: Nine stems. Hehe. Forever and always, through the long years.

But Yue Chengqi thought: Is she really emphasizing Lin Wanjia’s special status right now? Even the flowers have to be one more than mine? Such superior treatment indeed.

However…

The girl silently hugged the large bouquet in her arms and took a deep breath.

At least the person Su Ye gave the flowers to was her. The person Su Ye couldn’t bear to let down was also her. Though she “couldn’t reach the moon despite being in the pavilion by the water,” she could at least enjoy a moment of secret joy.

No, not secret. Blatant joy.

But when Su Ye went back to buy flowers, there were no more roses. Only a bunch of lilies and a bunch of carnations remained. After hesitating for a moment over whether to create a “pious daughter” vibe, she chose the large bunch of lilies.

More than ten stems.

She challenged herself again, but unfortunately, she wasn’t very skilled. In the end, she could only stand at the courtyard gate, hesitantly holding another “drumstick” bouquet.

“Sister Mingfang seems to be working overtime; only Sister Wanjia is home tonight.” Yue Chengqi pushed her shoulder, encouraging her.

Su Ye: “…”

The last time the girl had shown the softness hidden beneath her thorns was… well, the last time. Even though she was facing someone so close now, regarding such a personal matter… she took a deep breath.

She still… didn’t quite… dare to… open the door.

Yue Chengqi gave her a sudden shove, sending her and the wheelchair crashing into the yard. Su Ye let out a small gasp, but the person inside didn’t seem to notice her arrival.

The television wasn’t even that loud.

The girl looked back and glared at the person who pushed her, then carefully pushed the door open. Through the crack, she could hear the faint sound of an argument coming from the bedroom.

Huh? They’re fighting?

Su Ye hesitated.

The only people who could argue with Sister Wanjia like this were usually her family. She had overheard them a few times and knew their temperament, so…

Inside the bedroom, the argument continued. Lin Wanjia suppressed her anger, her voice cold. “You’re twenty-five years old and you’ve been in the field for five years, yet you can’t even write an inspection proposal? How can I trust you with anything in the future!”

On the other end of the phone, a woman spoke with a southern accent that was even more natural than the older woman’s from a few days ago. She said lazily, “It’s not like you’re involved anyway. Mom told you to handle this.”

“Mom said I just need to go through the motions and get some performance credits. I don’t need to take responsibility anyway. Isn’t that what you’re for?”

“…” Lin Wanjia felt her chest tightening just hearing that accent.

“Speak Mandarin.”

“I can’t. I forgot. You understand me anyway. Mom said you have to come over next year. How can you raise a kid alone? For the healthy growth of our family’s only sprout, you have to bring her to Guangdong.”

“…Lin Qining, I’m warning you. If you don’t want to talk to me, you don’t have to call me anymore. I’m not writing your proposal. Since she’s so afraid I’ll replace her, I’m not going. And I’m not letting Youle go to Guangdong. She stays with me. She grows up in An City. You want a child so you can have inheritance rights? I’ll show you a path: go drop dead of anger right now. You’ll make it in time to be reborn as a January baby next year and grow up before Lin Shenghui dies of old age.”

She let out a cold chuckle. “Maybe you’ll actually have a brain by then.”

“Big Sis, how can you talk like that?”

“If you want to speak Cantonese, speak Cantonese properly. Don’t disgust me with that half-baked accent of yours.” She sneered. “If we’re really talking Cantonese, I know more than you!”

“Get lost. If you mess up this inspection in Shan Province, I’ll demand another two million. I’d be happy to take money from your future wallet.”

“Sis! You—”

Lin Wanjia slammed the receiver down. The woman’s voice was cut off, leaving only a dial tone that seemed to echo the irritation surging in her heart.

What a ridiculous family. Hating each other, using each other, and yet…

A tiny sound, like a little rabbit accidentally stumbling into a fox’s den, crept in through the crack in the door.

Lin Wanjia pursed her lips tightly.

How much of that fight had the child heard? She… she hadn’t planned on hiding anything, but she didn’t want to tell her too much yet. After all, there were some paths the girl had to walk on her own.

Fortunately, Su Ye knew her place. She scratched her head and said sheepishly, “I only came over when I heard the noise stop. I didn’t hear you and your… uh, family, right?”

Lin Wanjia nodded.

Su Ye slowly moved closer, biting her lip. Meeting the woman’s puzzled gaze, she thrust forward the hands she had been hiding behind her back.

She had been nervous, but hearing a bit of the argument changed things. Lin Wanjia usually had a good temperament; the only thing that could make her voice that cold was her family members—the ones Su Ye had never met but who never ceased to infuriate her.

In that case, this bouquet was perfectly timed, even if it was a bit ugly.

A dozen or so light-colored lilies accompanied by a single bright red rose were tied into the shape of a drumstick, with the wrapping paper at the top drooping down limply…

Lin Wanjia was stunned. It took a long time before she took the bouquet from the girl, whose face had turned the color of a cooked shrimp. She murmured, “Is this for me?”

She held the flowers close, burying her face in them and taking a deep breath.

Flowers from small shops like that were kept alive by water and had little nutritional value, so they naturally didn’t have much scent. Yet, she felt she could smell a hint of sweetness, as if the world were reaching out its hand to her once more.

Just like when she first met Su Ye; she had rarely smelled that post-rain sweetness in the air, or seen that poor little rabbit startled by the thunder.

The little one slowly edged closer and hugged her arm. “I was wrong. I’ll never act without thinking again. Sis, don’t be mad at me, okay?”

She hadn’t really been that angry in the first place.

Lin Wanjia stared at the flowers, the corners of her mouth twitching upward as half the gloom in her heart dissipated. She said gently, “I can reluctantly consider not being angry.”

“Come here. Hug.”

Su Ye obediently leaned in.

Lin Wanjia let the other person in as well, and soon she had another “koala” on her other side. The two youngsters, whom she viewed as mere children, leaned on her dutifully.

“Remember, you were lucky this time. You weren’t the primary responsible parties, so it ended quickly. It won’t have much to do with you in the future. But you won’t be this lucky every time. Your lives are still long, and you have much to experience. You must plan before you act. Think thrice.”

“Alright, Su Ye, don’t make that face. Go ask Ah Huan what that phrase means later.”

The girl pouted in dissatisfaction but still nodded.

It had been too close a call. She really knew she was wrong.

After leaning there for a while longer, Yue Chengqi spoke up. “Sis, what do you think about the recent problem with counterfeit goods flooding the market? I have an idea, but I don’t know if it’s feasible.”