A beautiful summer night

Summer colds are the hardest to bear. Because I was sick and didn't turn on the air conditioner, I sweated profusely in the summer evening. The next day, I felt dizzy and lightheaded, so I simply stayed in bed to rest.

He hadn't left the house all day, and when he opened his room door in the evening, his mother's voice came from downstairs—

"Does she really think this place is her own home? She's not even married into the family yet, and she already doesn't respect me as an elder. What will she do after she marries in? She'll be completely lawless!"

"Can't you just shut up a bit!" Mr. Zhou rubbed his temples, feeling extremely annoyed.

"You won't give it to me after I say a few words? What kind of daughter-in-law sleeps in her room all day without showing her face? Your son has been busy with the company these past few days, and you don't even care about him!" Zhou's mother spun around twice before sitting down again, turning away to grumble at Zhou's father.

"Don't I care about my son?" Mr. Zhou lowered his voice, pointing at Mrs. Zhou and arguing, "When the Xia family was doing well, who made our son visit them every day? Now that they're in trouble, look at your attitude! Old Xia entrusted his daughter to us, not so that she would suffer in our Zhou family! What am I supposed to tell everyone if they come back..."

Zhou's mother slammed her fist on the table in anger: "If they could come back, they would have come back long ago! They can even abandon their own daughter. The Xia family will probably never recover in this lifetime!"

"Xia Wanzhi is a burden now, a burden that's dragging our son down!"

"..."

The argument downstairs went on and on, with the topic of Xia Wanzhi and the entire Xia family continuing.

Xia Wanzhi retreated back into the room and gently closed the door.

Her fingertips drooped slightly as she leaned weakly against the door, her strength, which she had maintained for more than a month, finally crumbling into dust.

Tears fell silently, only to be quickly wiped away.

Despite the physical and emotional discomfort, she curled up at the head of the bed and scrolled through her phone, going through her contacts before finally fixing her finger on the number labeled "Grandpa".

For a fleeting moment, she considered giving in.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a ringtone. Xia Wanzhi wiped away her tears and composed herself before answering the call.

"Dear Ms. Xia, our shop has just received a new batch of flowers. The owner has personally prepared a bouquet of blue daisies, symbolizing freedom and happiness, for you. Would you do us the honor of coming over to take a look?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was gentle with a hint of playfulness. Xia Wanzhi burst into tears, barely managing to stop them before she sobbed and laughed, "You're finally back."

-

The Jinzhihua shop is located at a crossroads, and the business is very good, largely due to the owner's stunning beauty and gentle, intellectual personality.

But at this moment, two tall, handsome men stood at the entrance of the Jinzhihua store. One of them was 1.9 meters tall, and the other had an aura of 2.8 meters.

One was dignified and reserved, the other had a detached expression.

One had one hand in his pocket, while the other looked up at his watch.

"so hot!"

A passing girl covered her mouth and giggled, then couldn't resist taking a picture with her phone.

Do you think they might be a couple?

"Oh my god, I really want to ship them..."

"..."

The two men had excellent hearing. They frowned at each other, glanced at one another, and then each jumped back two meters.

Xie Qiyan held back for two last seconds: "Jiang Baichuan."

Jiang Baichuan sighed silently: "You're telling me to prepare myself mentally."

Xie Qiyan: "..."

"Don't look so fierce, it'll leave a bad impression." Jiang Baichuan straightened his clothes, eager to try.

"If you've got the guts, don't pull me off the bus." Xie Qiyan's face darkened even more.

"I don't have the guts." Jiang Baichuan took a deep breath, took a small step forward, and then stepped back.

Xie Qiyan frowned: "You're the president of the Jiang Group, and you're such a coward when it comes to pursuing a woman?"

Jiang Baichuan cleared his throat: "Then you haven't experienced the power of pepper spray."

Xie Qiyan: "..."

"Isn't this a bad first impression?" Jiang Baichuan took another deep breath, and this time took two steps but immediately retreated.

Xie Qiyan could no longer contain himself: "You..."

“Isn’t that your Xia family’s younger sister?” Jiang Baichuan raised his chin, gesturing for him to look over.

Xie Qiyan looked up and his gaze fell on the girl who had just gotten out of the car.

It is indeed Xia Wanzhi.

He looked even more haggard than yesterday.

Despite appearing to be nearly 1.7 meters tall, she looked incredibly thin and frail, as if she could be blown away by the wind.

The sun was shining today, and her figure moved in the light and shadow. A breeze blew by, causing her light-colored hair to flutter and her bangs to be lifted, revealing her fair and smooth forehead.

Perhaps because she had just woken up, Xia Wanzhi's tuft of hair stood up playfully, giving her a somewhat adorable and innocent look.

Xie Qiyan chuckled lightly: "Isn't she your Xia family's younger sister?"

Jiang Baichuan snorted: "You two are not as close as I am."

Xie Qiyan's eyes were cold and indifferent, and he did not reveal his emotions. Jiang Baichuan had no idea what he was thinking at that moment.

"Go in and take a look for me, and while you're at it, buy a bunch of lychee roses to support their business," Jiang Baichuan urged him.

"What are you looking at?" Xie Qiyan frowned.

"Look at the person I fell in love with at first sight." Jiang Baichuan looked around, then slipped to the back. "And while you're at it, take a look at your Xia family's younger sister."

Xie Qiyan's face was grim.

Only a madman would get off the bus with him.

In the small, square flower shop, the proprietress was carefully wrapping a bouquet of pink and blue daisies. Xia Wanzhi walked in without making a sound, standing aside and observing closely until the bouquet was finished.

She turned around with the bouquet in her arms, paused slightly when she saw Xia Wanzhi, and then smiled warmly: "Who bullied our little Wanzi?"

Xia Wanzhi couldn't hold back any longer, blinked a few times, and threw herself into her arms: "Yunli..."

The crying didn't subside at all, and Xie Qiyan, who was almost at the entrance of the flower shop, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Don't cry yet." Yunli said softly, patting her back and handing her the bouquet. She gently wiped away her tears with a look of tenderness in her eyes. "See if you like it."

She was close to Xia Wanzhi, but she wasn't part of those wealthy social circles. When she learned of Xia Wanzhi's current predicament, she wanted to help but felt powerless to do so.

Xia Wanzhi's eyelashes trembled slightly: "Do you think it's because my unlucky divine body is working its magic that the Xia family is like this..."

Yunli quickly covered her mouth: "Pah, pah, pah, nonsense! Why don't you say it's Zhou Yu who's cursed you? Your family has already run into trouble right after your engagement."

Xia Wanzhi, with tears still clinging to her eyelashes, suddenly widened her eyes upon hearing this: "What you said makes so much sense."

"Hello, please wrap a bouquet of lychee roses." A deep and magnetic voice suddenly interrupted. Xia Wanzhi paused slightly, as if she recognized the voice, but she remained tense and did not turn around to look at him.

Yun Li keenly noticed Xia Wanzhi's slight pause, glanced at Xie Qiyan, and replied, "Wait a moment."

The atmosphere was quiet during the waiting time. Xia Wanzhi didn't leave, nor did she speak to Xie Qiyan. She just watched Yunli wrap flowers.

Xie Qiyan lowered his eyes, inquired about the price of the bouquet, scanned the code to pay, and said unhurriedly as Yun Li handed it to him, "It's for you."

Xia Wanzhi turned around almost reflexively, her expression one of astonishment.

Yunli was stunned for a moment and almost dropped the flower.

After a moment, she spoke weakly: "Excuse me... am I part of your play?"