Chapter 31: Covered in Red Roses

Her senior said the auction information could be found online and quickly sent her a link. Lin Xi clicked on it and, sure enough, it stated that the diamond necklace had ultimately been purchased by a mysterious bidder. She double-checked the necklace repeatedly; it was indeed the same one.

Nearly five million U.S. dollars—more than thirty million in local currency. To Lin Xi, this amount wasn’t particularly significant, and for Qin Yu, it was a trifle. Still, she didn’t believe either of them would be generous enough to hand over such a sum to someone else for no reason.

For a moment, Lin Xi felt that what she held in her hands wasn’t a necklace, but stacks of heavy banknotes.

Something so valuable, and Qin Yu wanted her to give it to Lu Bei—was he doing charity now?

Putting the necklace back in its place, Lin Xi called Qin Yu, but no one answered.

After her shower, Lin Xi emerged from the bathroom to find several missed calls on her phone, all from Qin Yu.

Before she could return the call, she noticed a friend request on WeChat. With one hand still toweling her hair, she tapped in and saw that familiar profile picture and name.

It was Qin Yu.

The note attached to the request consisted of just two words: “Open up.”

Lin Xi lifted her head, a beat behind, to look toward the door.

It had been an hour since he’d tried to call back. Had he been waiting outside her door all this time?

But why had he come back?

Setting her phone down, Lin Xi strode to the door.

There was no noise outside. Looking through the video doorbell, she saw no one.

Puzzled, she gently opened the door a crack and peered out.

The pitch-black corridor sprang to life with light at the sound of her door opening, revealing a floor strewn with roses, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Her heart thundered in her chest, deafening in the silence. She opened the door fully and stepped out in a daze, but with nowhere to place her feet, she managed just a tentative step, barely steadying herself.

She stood there, stunned, for several minutes until the motion-sensor lights flickered off. Like a dream shattering, everything faded into ordinary silence.

Lin Xi coughed lightly, and the lights came on again.

It wasn’t a dream—the flowers were still there.

A heady fragrance filled the air, the scarlet petals so vivid they were impossible to ignore.

Regaining her composure, Lin Xi found herself at a loss, uncertain what to do next.

Hadn’t Qin Yu already sent her a bouquet of roses? What was all this for?

But today was the Qixi Festival…

She went back inside for her phone, accepted his friend request, and after much hesitation, finally typed out her message.

“Third Brother, are the flowers at my door from you? Didn’t you already send some earlier? There are way too many here—how am I supposed to manage them?”

As if he’d been waiting for her reply, his response came almost instantly: “The ones at your door, yes. The bouquet you received earlier wasn’t from me. Take as many as you like inside; the rest can stay in the corridor. Someone will tend to them daily.”

He answered each question, terse as always—his signature style, unchanged after all these years, as though two extra words might exhaust him.

Lin Xi grumbled silently, typing back: “Why did you send me so many flowers, Third Brother? What’s the point of leaving them in the hallway?”

Her apartment building had only two units per floor, and the one next door was unoccupied; she was the sole resident on her floor, so there was little risk of disturbing anyone. Still, she couldn’t fathom Qin Yu’s intentions.

This time, his reply was delayed. Lin Xi managed to bring in over a dozen flowers before his message appeared.

Qin Yu: “I’m worried you’ll be tricked away by someone with just a single bouquet. Seeing the flowers in the corridor every day will put you in a good mood.”

“…Do I really seem that easy to fool?” Lin Xi replied with a string of ellipses.

She was twenty-four now, and even at fourteen she hadn’t been the type to be swept away by a single bunch of flowers.

Qin Yu didn’t respond further, only saying: “Throw out the bouquet from the office tomorrow.”

Lin Xi: “Already done. [smile]”

“Mm.” One chilly syllable, as cold and concise as the man himself. Lin Xi could all but picture his expression through the screen.

She pursed her lips, imitating his stony face with a soft “mm,” only to make herself laugh.

Turning, she caught sight of the diamond necklace on the table and drew in a breath—she had nearly forgotten her main concern.

“Third Brother, take the necklace back another day—it’s too valuable. I’ve already transferred the money to Lu Bei, so there’s no need to return the necklace.”

A minute passed, then two—Lin Xi leaned against the wall, idly twirling her fingers.

Five minutes went by with no reply.

Her intuition told her he was deliberately ignoring her.

—

The next morning, Lin Xi was startled all over again by the flowers at her door as she left for work. She grabbed a bunch at random and took them to the office, placing them in a vase.

From her drawer, she retrieved the card left with the previous day’s unclaimed bouquet and studied it carefully.

Searching her memory, it dawned on her that the handwriting was Lu Bei’s.

The card Qin Yu had shown her before had similar penmanship—so it had to be Lu Bei. Besides him, there was no one else who would secretly send her flowers.

After finishing her morning tasks, Lin Xi found a moment to message Lu Bei: “I received the flowers, thank you, but I don’t like them. Please don’t send me anything again. If you keep this up, I’ll be very troubled.”

“As for your feelings, I’ll say it again—you’re a nice person, but I already like someone else, so there’s no possibility between us.”

After sending the message, she transferred the cost of the previous day’s flowers to Lu Bei and deleted him from her contacts without waiting for a reply.

At noon, before her lunch break had ended, Lin Xi received a call from Cheng Si.

She lay back in her chair, eyes half-closed, and only picked up after a brief nap.

She hadn’t expected anything urgent from Cheng Si, but he told her he wanted her to accompany him on a business trip.

“Me?” Lin Xi opened her eyes and switched the phone to her other hand. “Can’t you send someone else?”

“You’re the project lead—who could be more suitable? Besides, there’s nothing to worry about. You only need to report progress to Huasheng and coordinate a bit—it’s easy.”

“…Isn’t this the kind of thing anyone could handle? Why does it have to be me?”

Cheng Si replied, “It’s for your own good. You’ve been working so hard lately, so take the business trip as a chance to relax. I’ll give you three days off—after dealing with Huasheng, stay in Huaicheng for two more days and unwind.”

Lin Xi closed her eyes again, her tone languid, “No need. I’m already plenty relaxed. Thank you, boss.”

“So dedicated to your work? Have you become obsessed with money?”

“You think I’m working for that little bit of pay? My monthly salary doesn’t even cover my snacks.”

“Then what are you working for?”

“Obviously, so our dear President Cheng can become a billionaire as soon as possible.”

Cheng Si: “…”