"Young man, buy a bouquet for your girlfriend?" a grandmother selling flowers nearby cheerfully called out to customers.
Since the village was close to the ancient town, there was usually a decent number of tourists, so some elderly locals set up stalls along the roadside to supplement their income.
Jian Ran and Chu Lulin exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of helplessness in each other's eyes. They had gotten used to it these days—ever since the misunderstanding with the two girls at the workshop, it was like opening a floodgate. At restaurants, the owner mistook them; on the street, passersby mistook them; even Teacher Chen, when she first met Chu Lulin, asked if he was Jian Ran's boyfriend.
Jian Ran had given up explaining. She crouched down to look at the flowers in the bucket and asked, "Grandma, would you sell a bouquet to a girlfriend instead?"
The grandmother was clearly startled, then looked at them and laughed. "That's fine too. As long as you young couples have a good relationship, it doesn't matter who buys."
Jian Ran smiled along. "Alright then, could you please wrap two bouquets for me?"
The flowers looked fresh, with quite a variety—roses, lilies, freesia, chamomile, and others. She asked the grandmother to make one bouquet of freesia and chamomile.
Jian Ran held up the two bouquets, looked at them, then handed the chamomile one to Chu Lulin. "This one's for you."
Chamomile's flower language is strength in adversity, vitality in difficulty. She thought it suited Chu Lulin's current situation.
Chu Lulin was startled, a bit surprised. "For me?"
Jian Ran nodded. "What, you don't want it?" she asked with a smile.
"Thank you, Big Sister." Chu Lulin shook his head with a smile, happily accepting the chamomile. "This is the first time I've received flowers from someone."
Jian Ran raised an eyebrow. She didn't quite believe it. Setting everything else aside, just looking at his face, how could he lack people giving him flowers?
"Really," Chu Lulin said helplessly. "I can't accept those."
Jian Ran said "Oh," understanding immediately. Right, those were confessions. Since he didn't accept them, naturally he couldn't take the flowers.
"Then enjoy the feeling. Isn't it nice to receive flowers?"
Chu Lulin nodded emphatically and replied seriously, "Mm, I'll definitely treasure them."
Jian Ran was amused by his solemn expression. She patted his shoulder and laughed. "You should treasure them. After all, this is also the first time I've given flowers to a guy."
Chu Lulin turned to look at Jian Ran, clearly surprised.
Seeing his reaction, Jian Ran let out a "Hey." "What's with that look? Do I seem like the type to give flowers to guys often?" she asked.
No way—was it because she had pursued Zhou Yu for so long that her face betrayed her? Honestly, she had never given Zhou Yu flowers over the years, primarily because he didn't like such things, finding them too flashy.
Chu Lulin shook his head with a smile. "No, Big Sister looks more like the type who receives flowers from guys often."
Tsk—this younger guy had a sweet tongue.
Jian Ran glanced at him but couldn't help the corners of her mouth turning up.
Chu Lulin looked at Jian Ran, then at the flowers in his hand, and smiled too.
"What are you grinning about?"
"Nothing. Just that seeing you happy makes me happy too."
Jian Ran's smile deepened, but as she laughed, she seemed to remember something and suddenly turned to Chu Lulin. "Did I scare you that first day I came?"
Chu Lulin looked confused. "Why do you ask that all of a sudden?"
Jian Ran waved her hand. "Nothing. I just feel like you pay a lot of attention to my moods. That day when we went horseback riding, you earnestly asked if I was having fun. Today you say you're happy because I'm happy. I've noticed a lot of small details over these days."
Was it because she had such a sour face on her first day that it left a lasting impression?
Chu Lulin paused, his lashes lowering to half-veil his eyes. "Do you want the truth, Big Sister?"
Jian Ran was taken aback. "Of course."
"I wasn't scared at all." Chu Lulin gazed at her calmly, a soft light in his eyes. "At that moment, I only had one thought."
"What thought?"
"... How to make you happy."