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

"Hehe, no way!" Xu Xi playfully stuck out her tongue, looking smug. "Xiaoman and I are very close. She definitely won't tell on me if I secretly steal one."

As she spoke, she turned to look at the chubby little penguins around her, then pouted and muttered with slight disappointment, "It's a pity that these polar penguins can't adapt to the warm environment of home. If I were to bring them home to raise, I would have to turn my home into a cold storage, which is too much trouble."

"Then let's forget about it." Xu Nian couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

If they really raised penguins at home, he, Xu Xi, and Mai Mai probably wouldn't be able to live there properly; the house would turn into an icebox.

"Hehe, I was just kidding." Xu Xi smiled sweetly. "Brother, did you finish your class with Sister Xiaoman? Did you learn anything?"

Xu Nian hesitated for a moment, then nodded and softly hummed in agreement.

He didn't want to reveal that he had told Zhou Xiaoman about his experiences in prison, lest Xu Xi feel heartbroken and upset, ruining her good mood.

He changed the subject, saying, "Why didn't you answer my calls?"

"Huh? Really?" Xu Xi quickly struggled to get out of his arms, took off the heavy penguin costume, and reached into her pocket to pull out her phone.

The phone screen was completely black, with a faint low battery warning flashing in the corner, indicating that it had already shut down.

"How could this be? I remember it had plenty of battery before I came!" She frowned, gently patted her phone screen, and muttered in confusion.

As soon as she finished speaking, her nose suddenly itched, and she couldn't help but open her small mouth and sneeze loudly: "Achoo—"

She rubbed her red nose, then suddenly realized what had happened and exclaimed, "Oh my god! It must be so cold here that it froze my phone battery!"

As she spoke, she quickly covered her phone with her palm and breathed on the screen repeatedly, trying to restore it to normal.

Xu Nian then belatedly realized that the surrounding temperature was frighteningly low.

Polar creatures live in frigid environments year-round, and the polar aquarium uses refrigeration equipment to keep the temperature extremely low in order to create suitable living conditions for them.

Neither he nor Xu Xi were wearing thick clothes, and Xu Xi had been in this cold environment for two whole hours; she was probably going to catch a cold.

He quickly led Xu Xi back to the car and turned the air conditioning on to the maximum, and the warm air gradually filled the entire car.

Once she had recovered, Xu Xi hugged herself tightly, her teeth chattering, and whimpered pitifully, "Waaah, it's so cold, brother, I feel like my whole body is frozen."

Xu Nian quickly took off her coat and carefully draped it over her, wrapping her up tightly: "Wait here for a while, I'll go get you a cup of hot water."

As he spoke, he picked up his thermos, opened the car door, and got out.

But it was already late at night, the aquarium was closed, and the surrounding shops were also closed. Where could they get hot water?

Xu Nian stood by the car, frowning and thinking for a moment. Suddenly, she remembered that there was a water dispenser in Zhou Xiaoman's office, so there should be hot water.

Without further hesitation, he turned around and went back into the aquarium, then quickly walked along the same path toward Zhou Xiaoman's office.

After passing through the quiet underwater boardwalk, we arrived at the specimen hall. The door to that office was still ajar, with warm light shining through.

Xu Nian walked to the door and stopped.

He suddenly remembered that there was a bedroom in Zhou Xiaoman's office, so she probably lived there.

Moreover, Zhou Xiaoman had clearly said she was going to rest before leaving. If he were to barge in and stumble upon her changing clothes or doing something else private, it would be incredibly awkward.

So he gently knocked on the door and called out, "Zhou Xiaoman, it's me. May I come in and get a cup of hot water?"

There was complete silence inside the door; there was no response. Xu Nian knocked gently a few more times, raising her voice slightly, but there was still no reaction from inside.

Perhaps Zhou Xiaoman went out.

With that thought in mind, he stepped straight into the room.

The room was quiet, without a sound.

But when Xu Nian entered the living room, she found Zhou Xiaoman lying on the sofa with her eyes closed, fast asleep.

It turned out she was asleep.

Xu Nian breathed a sigh of relief and subconsciously slowed her footsteps, afraid of waking her up.

He walked to the water dispenser, unscrewed the lid of his thermos, and filled it with hot water.

After filling the hot water container, he once again tiptoed out.

Zhou Xiaoman was still fast asleep on the sofa, her long eyelashes drooping gently, her eyes occasionally trembling slightly, her flowing purple hair cascading down, some falling onto the sofa and some dragging on the floor, her chest rising and falling gently with her even breathing, her appearance quiet and elegant.

Xu Nian suddenly realized that she wasn't covered with a blanket, her arms were tightly hugging her body, her shoulders were trembling slightly, and her brows were furrowed, clearly because she felt cold.

Looking at her slightly curled-up appearance from the cold, Xu Nian felt a pang of pity. She quietly put down the thermos in her hand, turned around and went into Zhou Xiaoman's bedroom, took out the quilt from the bed, and tiptoed out again, carefully draping it over Zhou Xiaoman's body.

Zhou Xiaoman exhaled a warm breath, gently brushing it against the back of the man's hand, carrying a faint fragrance of violets.

Even in her sleep, her face remained elegant and dignified.

Xu Nian's gaze inadvertently shifted downwards, landing on her exposed shoulder.

On that snow-white skin was tattooed a bewitching violet, its petals layered upon each other, its color vibrant, making it look exceptionally alluring.

Xu Nian has always disliked tattoos. In his mind, tattoos represent chaos and disorder.

Just like the members of Ye Long's gang back then, each of them had fierce patterns tattooed on their arms, exuding a bandit-like aura.

He remembered that when Zhou Xiaoman was still a woman of the world, she didn't have this tattoo on her shoulder. How come she has this flower tattoo now that she has left the world?

However, the bouquet was exceptionally charming, with a subtle three-dimensional quality.

The tattooing technique is truly exquisite, bringing the flower to life.

Xu Nian couldn't help but squat down, wanting to take a closer look at the details of the tattoo.

But after watching for a moment, a look of astonishment appeared on his face, and his eyes were full of surprise.

In the center of the flower's stamen, a deep scar rose up, grotesque and ugly, like the smile of a demon.

That subtle three-dimensional effect actually comes from this scar.

It's hard to imagine how severe the injury must have been to create such a horrific mark.

Xu Nian was startled and instantly understood.

Zhou Xiaoman tattooed this violet to cover up this ugly scar.

It was so careless of you to suffer such a serious injury.

He sighed silently, tucked the blanket around Zhou Xiaoman to make sure she was covered up more tightly, then picked up his thermos, tiptoed out of the office, and gently closed the door behind him.