Gao Ruolan was a gentle and lively girl, she loved to laugh, and her threshold for laughter was very low, so when she was with her, you could always hear her giggles.
"Was the person who just called Qinqin?"
Shen Liubai nodded, "Yes. Do you want to shop more?"
"Are you tired?"
"No."
"Then let's keep shopping. Our country's streets are so much more enjoyable to walk around. There's food and snacks everywhere, unlike overseas where it's just coffee shops or luxury boutiques."
As she spoke, Gao Ruolan suddenly pointed to a flower shop across the street, "Liubai, it's so late, and there's still a flower shop over there. Let's buy some flowers."
Shen Liubai frowned slightly. Just then, Lin Zhuyin came out from inside, trying to move a very heavy flowerpot inside. She was thin and not very strong, and it took her a long time to move it even a little.
"What's wrong? Are you allergic to pollen?"
Shen Liubai's hand holding the coffee cup tightened, "No, let's go."
Gao Ruolan smiled happily, "Okay."
Looking at Shen Liubai's handsome and attractive face, Gao Ruolan's heart pounded wildly. She had only met Shen Liubai once as a child.
Back then, Shen Liubai was the perfect child in everyone's eyes, excellent, gentle, and very caring.
Compared to the unapproachable Shen Chiyan, everyone preferred Shen Liubai. She usually heard Shen Liubai's name from others. After meeting Shen Liubai at the age of eight, she remembered him deeply.
Later, something happened in her family, and her parents sent her abroad, so she never saw Shen Liubai again.
They grew up in different places, and naturally lost contact.
A few years ago, she heard about Shen Liubai from a friend, but it was news of his marriage.
At the time, she just felt regret, not much sadness.
She couldn't possibly say that she would be devoted to someone just because she met him once as a child.
Over the years, she had dated many boyfriends abroad. Some were good, and some were bad.
During their relationships, they were all genuinely in love, but after breaking up, they blocked each other's contact information and parted ways amicably.
When she unintentionally heard from her parents that Shen Liubai had divorced, she couldn't sit still anymore and wanted to return to the country to see him.
People often say that childhood crushes usually grow up to be less attractive.
Shen Liubai not only hadn't grown worse, but he had become even more handsome and manly.
In the past two days of getting along, she found that Shen Liubai was basically obedient to her, which she found quite pleasing.
However, as good as Shen Liubai was, he had never done anything intimate with her. She didn't know what Shen Liubai was thinking.
Therefore, she wanted to use the excuse of buying flowers to break the ice.
Lin Zhuyin had left with nothing when she divorced Shen Liubai.
Over the years, she had not taken away anything that Shen Liubai had given her, except for the wedding rings they exchanged during their wedding ceremony.
She had made some money running her flower shop over the years, but she had spent most of it trying to bring Shen Zhengcheng to justice.
Now, after divorcing Shen Liubai, she had to start all over again.
The shop originally had an employee, but she had something to do that evening, and Lin Zhuyin couldn't find anyone else to help, so she had to move the flower pots herself.
She was so tired that she was gasping for breath and sweating profusely. After moving one flowerpot, she wiped her sweat with a towel and was about to drink some water before moving another one when the sensor on the door suddenly rang.
"Welcome."
Lin Zhuyin immediately put down her water cup and turned around with a smile, "Welcome..."
Her unfinished words stopped abruptly when she saw Shen Liubai.
Shen Liubai just glanced at her indifferently and then looked away.
Gao Ruolan smiled at Lin Zhuyin, "Boss, do you have roses?"
Lin Zhuyin composed herself and said with a smile, "Yes. We have pre-arranged bouquets here, and also fresh roses that just arrived. What would you like?"
Gao Ruolan smiled at Shen Liubai, "Liubai, which one do you think I should buy?"
Generally, when a man gives flowers to a woman, it's a pre-arranged bouquet. Fresh roses haven't been trimmed yet and are only suitable for putting in a vase at home, not for giving as a gift.
Gao Ruolan's intention was quite clear: she wanted Shen Liubai to give them to her.
Shen Liubai smiled at her, "Whichever one you like, buy that one."
"Then I'll take the pre-arranged one. Boss, how many roses are in that bouquet?"
Lin Zhuyin took out the bouquet Gao Ruolan was pointing at and smiled at her, "99 roses, symbolizing everlasting love."
At this moment, Shen Liubai came to Gao Ruolan's side and put his arm around her shoulder. Gao Ruolan was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.
Lin Zhuyin felt as if her heart had been pierced by a sharp stab, and it hurt.
Shen Liubai smiled at Lin Zhuyin, "Do you like this one?"
"Yes, I do!"
"Then buy this one."
Saying that, he looked at Lin Zhuyin indifferently again, "How much?"
This was the first time they had seen each other and the first time they had spoken since their divorce.
They had once been an intimate couple, and now they had become a boss and a customer.
"999."
In fact, a bouquet of 99 roses only cost six to seven hundred yuan.
But often, people would pay a little extra for good luck.
Some would pay 888, and some would pay 999.
When the flower shop first opened, Lin Zhuyin had told Shen Liubai about customers paying extra for good luck.
At that time, Shen Liubai had said with a smile, "If you truly love someone, you won't care about an extra hundred or two hundred yuan. In the giver's heart, the only thing that matters is good fortune and the recipient's happiness."
But regardless of whether the customer paid extra, Lin Zhuyin would always quote six hundred when giving a price.
Today, she didn't know why, but the number 999 slipped out of her mouth.
Indeed, Gao Ruolan looked surprised when she heard it, "So expensive?"
Before Lin Zhuyin could reply, Shen Liubai took out his wallet and handed ten banknotes to Lin Zhuyin.
Lin Zhuyin looked at his long, slender fingers and took the money with a heart full of pain.
Her hands were covered in band-aids, all from getting pricked by the rose thorns when she was arranging the flowers that afternoon.
Lin family's eldest daughter, Shen family's young madam, once had fair and tender hands. Now, they were dirty and injured, which was truly lamentable.
Shen Liubai did not really approve of Lin Zhuyin opening a flower shop, mainly because it was too tiring.
But Lin Zhuyin insisted on opening it, and as a doting husband, he could only indulge her.
However, every time he saw Lin Zhuyin's fingers injured, his heart ached, and he would nag her about it.
Now, his face was expressionless, and his eyes were as indifferent as if he were looking at a stranger.
Lin Zhuyin took the money from his hand, said "Please wait a moment," and ran to find some change.
"No need for change."
Lin Zhuyin was stunned for a moment, then heard Shen Liubai say with a smile to Gao Ruolan, "Let's go."
Gao Ruolan was not someone who cared about an extra hundred or two hundred yuan. Seeing that Shen Liubai was willing to overpay just to give her roses, she was very happy.
Did this mean that Shen Liubai also liked her very much?
After all, if he didn't like her, why would he buy her roses?