The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

In the small room illuminated by warm lights, Xu Nian slowly recounted her story, while Zhou Xiaoman diligently took notes, her pen scratching across the paper, leaving behind neat and elegant handwriting.

Two hours later, the man's narration gradually stopped.

Xu Nian sighed, her heart heavy.

These past ten years have not been easy for him.

After learning that he had brutally murdered a colleague, the prison guards made things difficult for him.

He also saw the wife of the murdered policeman in court. She looked haggard and had a blank look in her eyes. Her newborn baby was crying heartbreakingly in her arms.

Their tragic state, the scornful and indifferent gazes of those around him, constantly condemned his conscience and repeatedly questioned him: Was it really right for him to take the blame for a vicious murderer and let the real killer go unpunished?

But he had no choice. For the sake of his beloved girl's hope for life, he had no choice but to take the risk and embark on this path of no return.

There is no right or wrong in life, only a series of forks in the road, and we can never know what awaits us at the end of the road.

Fortunately, he was lucky enough to be able to remove the stigma of "murderer," escape the cage that had imprisoned him for ten years, be reborn, and reunite with the people he cared about.

Zhou Xiaoman gently closed the notebook and handed it to Xu Nian.

Xu Nian opened it, her gaze falling on the delicate handwriting, and she was immediately filled with surprise and disbelief.

For two hours, his narration was entirely colloquial and rambling, like chatting with a friend, stumbling and even somewhat incoherent, which he himself found disorganized.

However, Zhou Xiaoman, based on his narration, used delicate and ingenious writing to optimize the narrative structure, polish the vocabulary, and add many subtle psychological descriptions that he himself had never noticed.

Looking at the words on the paper, the hardships, struggles, confusion, and hopes of ten years in prison seemed to vividly replay before his eyes, like watching a personal autobiographical film, with every detail touching his heart.

"Your writing is really impressive. I wish I had your ability to express myself."

Zhou Xiaoman rested her chin on her hand and smiled gently: "Xiaoman has been writing books for more than ten years. If she doesn't even have this much writing skill, then she is truly a disgrace to the literary world."

"Are you still writing books?" Xu Nian raised an eyebrow, a hint of doubt on her face.

After his release from prison, he also searched for information about Zhou Xiaoman's pen name "Floating Duckweed" online.

Her works have consistently achieved mediocre results, with each published book selling worse than the last, and reader reviews being mixed.

Many readers say that her narrative style is too realistic, and the stories she writes are too heavy and real, which does not conform to the mainstream style of fast-paced, exciting novels in today's online literature world.

About five years ago, she stopped releasing any new works.

It seems he knew he would have little chance of success in writing, so he gave up.

Zhou Xiaoman smiled and nodded: "Of course I'm writing, Mr. Xu."

Hearing this, Xu Nian was even more puzzled: "You run such a large aquarium and make so much money, why do you still need to write books? The income from writing books isn't even a fraction of what the aquarium makes, is it?"

Zhou Xiaoman looked at Xu Nian, her smile widening, and asked, "Mr. Xu's wealth is now among the highest in the country, so why do you still need to attend classes and study, and why do you need to come here to Xiaoman to improve your communication skills?"

Xu Nian was speechless.

Yes, he has long since achieved financial freedom, but there are some things that money cannot replace, such as cultural enrichment and personal growth, which are what he wants to pursue.

It seems that Zhou Xiaoman persisted in writing books not for the sake of making money, but because she had an unfulfilled dream and an unyielding passion and pursuit.

He scratched the back of his head, smiled awkwardly, and didn't ask any more questions.

"It's getting late, Mr. Xu."

Zhou Xiaoman glanced at the twilight outside the window and said to Xu Nian.

"Xiaoman needs to rest now, Mr. Xu, please go back. We'll teach you how to improve your communication skills another day when you come earlier."

"Okay, sure." Xu Nian picked up his phone and glanced at the time; it was indeed getting late. The aquarium was far from home, and he had to go to school tomorrow, while Xu Xi had to go to the company to "slack off." It was time to head home and rest.

He stood up, said goodbye to Zhou Xiaoman, and then turned and left her office.

Stepping out of the office, Xu Nian took out her phone and dialed Xu Xi's number, wanting to ask her to go home together.

The phone rang again and again, but no one answered.

He dialed several more times, but got the same result.

Xu Nian frowned, a sense of panic rising in her heart.

This girl rarely doesn't answer his calls, could something have happened?

He suddenly remembered that before he entered Zhou Xiaoman's office, Xu Xi had run towards the polar animal pavilion.

So, following the signs inside the venue, he quickly arrived at the Polar Pavilion, stopped a staff member who was cleaning, and asked in an urgent tone.

"Excuse me, have you seen a girl who is this tall, with silver hair, and petite?"

As he spoke, he gestured to his chest, which was exactly Xu Xi's height.

After listening to his description, the staff member nodded and pointed to the penguin habitat not far away: "She's over there, she's been with the penguins for quite a while."

Xu Nian looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a group of short, chubby penguins waddling around on a vast white glacier.

Behind the penguin colony followed a clumsy-looking "little penguin" that was slightly larger than the other penguins and whose movements were particularly comical.

Xu Nian squinted her eyes, took a closer look, and couldn't help but laugh.

This isn't some little penguin, it's clearly Xu Xi!

At this moment, she was wearing a fluffy penguin costume, revealing only her fair and beautiful oval face. She waved her short penguin arms, stepped on her thick webbed feet, and followed closely behind a penguin mother, making "gurgle gurgle" sounds in her little mouth.

But after only a few steps, she slipped and fell heavily onto the slippery ice. The pain made her clutch her head, tears welling in her eyes, and she whimpered pitifully, "Gurgle... Waaah... It hurts so much..."

Looking at her adorable appearance, Xu Nian felt her heart melting.

He quickly stepped forward, carefully picked up the "little penguin," and gently rubbed her head: "Silly girl, why are you trying to be a penguin? Did you hurt yourself?"

Seeing Xu Nian's face, Xu Xi immediately wiped away her slight grievance, her eyes lit up, and she put on a happy expression, reaching out to hug his neck:

"Because penguins are so cute, brother! Their hands and feet are so tiny, and they walk in such a silly, goofy way—it's so endearing. I really want to secretly take one home and raise it as my daughter!"

Xu Nian, both amused and exasperated, gently pinched her little nose, which was red from the cold, and teased, "You dare to steal Zhou Xiaoman's penguin? If she gets angry, she might leave you behind to feed the sharks too, and then what will you do?"