He walked up to the little girl and squatted down, saying to her, "Little one, how much are your irises?"
Seeing a customer, the flower-selling girl smiled happily and held up two fingers. "Two wen each. How many do you need?"
Su Cheng looked at the flower basket, the blossoms fully unfurled, and said, "I'll take two, the prettier ones."
"Alright! That'll be four wen. Here you go." The girl quickly took two irises from the basket, which were blooming beautifully and swaying gently in the breeze, and handed them to Su Cheng.
Su Cheng took out four wen and gave it to the girl. After receiving the flowers, he turned to walk back.
Gu Qianying stood in place, watching the man in her heart, dressed in white, walk towards her with a smile in the sunlight. Su Cheng held the perfectly bloomed irises, his eyes filled entirely with her. For a moment, she was stunned by the beautiful scene before her.
Su Cheng saw Gu Qianying standing obediently and waiting for him, her expression dazed. He thought she was utterly adorable.
He couldn't help but smile even brighter, quickening his pace to Gu Qianying. He presented the two beautiful irises to her.
Gu Qianying snapped back to attention, about to reach out and take them.
But just before her fingers touched the irises, she heard a child's urgent cry nearby.
"Excuse me, thank you!"
However, Gu Qianying had no time to register what was happening or react. Seeing that Gu Qianying was about to be bumped into by the impetuous child.
In a flash, the Flood Dragon A Mu was too far away to reach Gu Qianying's side in time.
Fortunately, Su Cheng was agile and quick-witted. He pulled Gu Qianying into his arms, clearing the space on the street, allowing the reckless child to run past without Gu Qianying being hit.
Pulled forcefully by Su Cheng, Gu Qianying felt a dizzying spin, and in an instant, she found herself leaning against Su Cheng's chest.
Seeing Su Cheng pull Gu Qianying into his embrace, the Flood Dragon A Mu, with great discernment, knew it was not appropriate for him to approach at that moment and maintained his original distance from the two of them.
The crowd on the street, after the brief commotion caused by the impetuous child, resumed their busy or leisurely activities.
The two, however, who had made physical contact due to the child's collision, were momentarily stunned.
Su Cheng and Gu Qianying looked into each other's eyes, their minds blank, as if fireworks had exploded.
They stood frozen, unsure of what to do.
Fortunately, after a short while, Gu Qianying regained her composure, exerted force to pull away from Su Cheng's embrace, her face flushing slightly.
She mumbled a quiet thank you, "Ahem, well, thank you very much just now. If it weren't for you, I would have been knocked over and possibly trampled by pedestrians."
Su Cheng, hearing this, also came to his senses and replied repeatedly, "No need to thank me. The main thing is that you are unharmed."
As he spoke, he suddenly remembered that he hadn't yet given the irises he bought to Gu Qianying.
He looked at his left hand. Fortunately, the delicate flowers had not been damaged by this small mishap and were still as good as new.
However, Su Cheng realized something and froze. He slowly turned his head to look at his right hand – it was holding Gu Qianying's slender, fair wrist.
Su Cheng's face also turned red instantly, his breathing becoming somewhat erratic.
He quickly released Gu Qianying's delicate wrist, took a step back, cupped his hands in a salute, and apologized to her.
"I offended you in my haste."
However, after letting go, Su Cheng's hand suddenly felt empty.
He subtly rubbed his fingers, recalling the feel and warmth of Gu Qianying's wrist.
Gu Qianying also realized their intimate contact and felt a blush creep up her face.
"It's alright, you were just protecting me. And I can accept it..."
As she spoke, Gu Qianying's voice trailed off. Su Cheng hadn't clearly heard her later words, "I can accept it."
So he leaned closer to Gu Qianying again, wanting to hear her voice clearly and to feel her presence.
With this sudden lean forward, Su Cheng's aura enveloped Gu Qianying once more, his unique, masculine scent making her flustered.
"I, I said I can accept it. Don't get so close, I'm a little embarrassed..."
Su Cheng rarely saw Gu Qianying act so girlish. He chuckled softly, his deep, pleasant voice making Gu Qianying's heartstrings tremble, her face turning even redder.
Seeing this, Su Cheng slightly suppressed his smile, lowered his head, took one of the irises from his left hand, and then raised it again. He spoke to Gu Qianying in a gentle voice, "Don't move."
Gu Qianying obediently stopped looking up at him, allowing Su Cheng to proceed, her expression full of trust.
Su Cheng, with a smile, slowly inserted the iris into Gu Qianying's hair bun.
He took a small step back, looking at the charming and lovely beauty before him, his mood exceptionally bright and joyful.
Gu Qianying felt Su Cheng's movements and knew he had placed an iris in her hair. She slowly raised her hand, gently stroking the soft petals, a wave of sweetness rising in her heart.
At this moment, Su Cheng still held another iris in his hand. He raised the flower and offered it to Gu Qianying.
"Flowers complement beauty. May you always be as radiant as a flower."
Gu Qianying looked at the iris before her, her eyes almost welling up with tears.
Su Cheng saw her as a flower that needed to be cherished with care. In front of Su Cheng, she could be a soft, delicate woman.
She slowly extended her hand and took the iris from Su Cheng.
As their fingers inevitably brushed when she took the flower, both Gu Qianying and Su Cheng trembled slightly.
Even the delicate iris seemed to tremble with their hearts.
Gu Qianying slowly took the flower from Su Cheng's hand and thanked him again, "Thank you for the flowers, they're beautiful. I really like them."
Su Cheng looked at the radiant woman holding the beautiful irises in the sunlight, his heart stirring once more.
"As long as you like them, I can give you more flowers in the future."
Gu Qianying was even more touched by Su Cheng's words.
They looked at each other and smiled.
Passersby on the street, witnessing the beautiful scene of the handsome man and woman smiling at each other, also cast sideways glances.
After the small interlude, the three continued on their way.
After the incident where his master was almost hit, the Flood Dragon A Mu no longer dared to stay too far away. He now maintained a distance of only one body length from Gu Qianying and Su Cheng, constantly vigilant for any unexpected situations.
Of course, Gu Qianying did not blame him for this, which made him feel relieved and even more guilty.
Amidst the noisy crowd, in places Gu Qianying couldn't perceive, two pairs of eyes witnessed these events.
One pair of eyes was from a street corner, and the other was from the crack of a window on the second floor of a distant tea house.
As the three gradually moved away, the people in the shadows withdrew their gazes, transmitting intelligence to prepare for their next actions.