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

Lunar New Year's Eve.

The festive atmosphere of bidding farewell to the old year amidst the sound of firecrackers has become a thing of the past.

The strict ban on fireworks made Yuncheng, a rapidly developing city, quiet on this day.

It was even quieter than usual.

The return of migrant workers to their hometowns has taken away nearly half of the city's population.

The once congested Shifu Road, which used to be a road where traffic jams stretched from one end to the other, is now deserted, with only a few pedestrians occasionally passing by carrying New Year's goods on their way home.

"Yay auntie yay auntie yay oh oh~ Yay auntie yay auntie yay oh oh~"

"Congratulations on your fortune! Congratulations on your wonderful life!"

"The best, please come over; the bad, please go away~"

"Oh, being overly polite is never a bad thing~"

With Andy Lau's return to the public eye, the huge shopping mall was filled with his highly recognizable voice.

Xu Nian pushed a shopping cart that was half full as she strolled through the snack section, her eyes lingering on the shelves beside her.

"Little Flame, do you want some dried persimmons?"

"What is that?"

"I ate dried persimmon cakes when I was a child; they were very sweet."

He glanced at the girl standing to the side, hands in her pockets, wearing sunglasses and a mask, and dressed in a cool black trench coat.

"Then let's buy one bag."

Xu Xi said calmly.

With Xu Nian's companionship and meticulous care, she finally ended her period of depression before the end of the year, returned to normal life, and was able to leave her home.

"it is good."

Xu Nian picked out a bag of fresh persimmons from the shelf and put them in her shopping cart.

"Canned yellow peaches, sesame candy, chocolate, and..."

"What else?"

"It's nothing."

Without making a sound, Xu Nian put a bag of spicy beef jerky into the center of the snack pile in the shopping cart.

He pushed the shopping cart forward, his thoughts drifting away.

It's been several months since I last saw the stream.

When the Lunar New Year arrived, a day symbolizing family reunion, he really missed that quirky little girl.

Ke Xuxi had just emerged from a period of depression and hadn't had many comfortable days yet.

He also hopes that Xu Xi can calm down and experience the life of a normal person.

After all, her life was too hard, always accompanied by illness and torment.

"Spring Festival couplets, lanterns, snacks, nuts, glutinous rice balls..."

Xu Nian pushed the shopping cart forward, shopping according to the New Year's goods list she had prepared in advance.

As she walked, Xu Xi discreetly took some items from the shelves beside her and put them into her shopping cart.

When she arrived at the beverage section, Xu Nian looked at the dazzling array of drinks on the shelves and felt somewhat lost.

In recent years, many beverages he doesn't recognize have appeared on the market.

Various colors, various packaging, all new things I've never seen before.

"Little Flame, what kind of drink do you like?"

"casual."

Xu Nian touched her nose and shook her head helplessly.

He didn't know which drinks were good, so he had to choose based on his intuition.

"Paris...sparkling water, is this a soft drink?"

He picked up a green bottle of beverage; its simple yet elegant packaging caught his eye.

His gaze shifted downwards, and he saw the price list. The man was immediately startled.

"Nine yuan a bottle? That's so expensive?"

He quickly put the drink back in its place.

"A bottle of Buckingham coffee is 25 yuan? A bottle of Ramune is 15 yuan?"

As her gaze swept over the rows of product labels, Xu Nian's eyes widened in surprise.

Are drinks this expensive now?

They casually sell drinks for five or six yuan a bottle or more, and there are also drinks that cost ten or twenty yuan a bottle.

There's even a mineral water brand called "Yunyi" that, with a high-end label, can sell for ten yuan a bottle.

He's gone mad, he's really gone mad.

Although he wasn't short of money, his understanding of beverages was still stuck in the era of three or four yuan.

A medium-sized bottle of beverage, around 300 ml, costs more than four yuan, which I feel is not worth it.

"Don't buy it, it doesn't taste good."

Xu Xi's gaze swept past the colorful new beverages, and he picked up a case of Pepsi in long, thin cans and put it in his shopping cart.

After all these years, only Coca-Cola and Sprite have maintained a price of three yuan per bottle, and their taste has far surpassed that of many new beverages.

It's truly a breath of fresh air in the beverage industry.

When Xu Nian went to check out at the cashier, she found that there were many spicy snacks in her shopping cart.

Spicy chicken feet, Sichuan-style chicken drumsticks, spicy fish maw...

When did I get these?

He looked puzzled.

Could it be that Xu Xi bought it?

Xu Nian turned her head and looked at the aloof girl next to her, who was wearing sunglasses and a mask, making it impossible to see her expression.

It shouldn't be, since Xu Xi doesn't like spicy food, so why would he buy spicy snacks?

I probably grabbed it while I was buying other things.

"The total is 1024.8 yuan. Do you need a plastic bag?"

"I need some, get me a few thicker ones."

Xu Nian took out her phone, ready to scan the code to pay.

Although the female CEO of a multinational corporation was standing right next to him, he still had to pay the bill.

After all, all their money was in his hands.

"Wait a moment."

Xu Xi took a box of Biyuntao brand chewing gum from the small shelf on the cashier's counter and handed it to the cashier.

"What is this?"

After paying the bill, Xu Nian put the small box into a plastic bag and asked in confusion.

"bubble gum."

The girl said calmly.

"oh."

Xu Nian, unsuspecting, carried the large and small plastic bags and followed Xu Xi out of the supermarket, returning home.

......

"A little to the left, a little more to the left, yes, yes!"

"It's off-target! Aim higher!"

"Are you sure you can handle this? Never mind, I'll do it."

"Fine, fine, you can go up there, you can go up there."

"Yes, yes, yes! That feels so much better!"

At the entrance of the villa, the man held onto the ladder with both hands, looking up at the aloof girl sitting at the top of the ladder.

The girl tore off the double-sided tape from the couplet and carefully stuck it to both sides of the wall at the front door.

One on the left and one on the right, their positions are perfectly symmetrical.

"It looks much better this way."

Xu Nian murmured, nodding in satisfaction.

Xu Xi patted the dust off his hands and slowly walked down the ladder.

"Come inside, I've prepared a New Year's gift for you."

"A New Year's gift?"

Xu Nian was stunned for a moment.

"Um."

Xu Xi nodded, took the man's hand, and walked into the reception room.

"Sit here and wait for me."

She pressed the man down onto the sofa, turned around, went upstairs, entered the bedroom, and closed the door.

"Okay."

Xu Nian watched her retreating figure, a question rising in her mind.

What gift? Why are you being so mysterious?

He lay on the sofa, idly scrolling through Odbula Banana on his phone.

After a while, the bedroom door was gently pushed open.

"Let me guess, what's the gift?"

Xu Nian raised her head and looked up at the building, her eyes widening in surprise.

Xu Xi, dressed in a black swan dress, slowly walked down the stairs.

As soon as she appeared, the surrounding light seemed to be swallowed up by her dark, ethereal feathers, and then re-condensed on the sequins on her shoulders.

The velvet stand-up collar accentuated her smooth, snow-white chin, and her unadorned face exuded a cool, elegant whiteness.

Those aloof eyes held a chilling coldness that kept people at arm's length.

She proudly raised her head and slowly walked to the side of the stunned man.

Then, she took out a soft, delicate "hand" covered in black stockings from her high-heeled gloves, placed it on the man's face, and gently pressed it.

Call me Your Majesty.