"I woke up a little late today, and then I had some other things to handle. I originally didn't plan to come, but I still had some orders, so I ended up coming, but it's already very late."
Lin Yun briefly explained to Xiao Huli, who nodded, "Oh, so that's how it is. Then you should finish your orders early and go home. Don't stay too late."
"We'll be closing early today. If you have to go home by yourself very late, be careful. Women are at high risk when they are out at night."
Lin Yun heard Xiao Huli's kind reminder and, due to his good intentions, didn't show any impatience. However, thinking that Xiao Huli mentioned the book cafe would close early, she curiously asked, "You're closing early today? Why?"
Since Xiao Huli had asked her, it was fine for her to ask back. It was a give-and-take situation, and asking after being asked didn't seem abrupt.
Xiao Huli said, "Oh, because my elder brother and sister-in-law went on a date. So, my brother already snuck out early, and after discussing it with Fatty Brother, we decided to close early."
As Lin Yun listened to Xiao Huli speak, she suddenly blinked, "Your sister-in-law? Your brother has a partner?"
Xiao Huli continued, "Yes, don't you believe me? My brother is already married. Today, a customer tried to hit on my brother and didn't believe he was married, saying that since my brother wasn't wearing his wedding ring, he was just pretending to be married to deal with her."
"Because my brother and sister-in-law's wedding rings are still being custom-made, and they'll only have the wedding ceremony after the rings are ready. But they really have already registered their marriage."
"Then my brother called his wife over to the shop to show her, and then went out to buy temporary replacement rings to prove their married status, and went on a date."
Xiao Huli saying this was also a way to help Ye Tiancheng fend off admirers. He had previously mentioned to Ye Tiancheng that the flower shop owner seemed to have a slight crush on him, which Ye Tiancheng found quite troublesome.
Lin Yun's expression changed for a few moments as she heard Xiao Huli's words. After nodding, she simply said, "So that's how it is. Then I wish your brother and sister-in-law a hundred years of happiness."
"I need to get back to my orders. Do you need anything else?"
This was a clear hint for her to leave, but Xiao Huli had promised to stay longer in the flower shop whenever he had the chance, so that Nuwa Stone could have more opportunities to investigate the whereabouts of new fragments of Fuxi Qin. Therefore, even though he understood Lin Yun's intention, Xiao Huli didn't rush to leave.
Xiao Huli said to Lin Yun, "Uh, I do have something. I want to order a batch of flowers from your shop. Just single roses, a bit of every color. Simple packaging, order... ninety-nine stems."
"We'll use them to give to our customers at the shop. After we give them away today, we'll close for the day."
Since this was about business, Lin Yun couldn't rush him anymore. Xiao Huli lingered in the shop for a while longer, then selected some packaging and a few different colored roses.
Under Lin Yun's gaze, her fair fingers swiftly packaged the rose bouquets. During this time, Xiao Huli would sometimes watch Lin Yun, and sometimes wander around the flower shop.
Lin Yun said to Xiao Huli, "Our shops are only separated by a wall. If you get bored waiting here, you can go back next door to wait. Once I've finished packaging the bouquets, I'll come over and call you to pick them up."
Xiao Huli glanced at Lin Yun with a very innocent expression and playfully smiled, "I won't be bored. I'm also taking a little break sometimes, and I don't want to go back next door right now."
With him saying that, Lin Yun didn't say anything more, because if she insisted, it would seem too deliberate, as if she were trying to get rid of him. Lin Yun didn't want to appear that way.
Xiao Huli strolled leisurely through the flower shop. When Lin Yun had finished tying up exactly one hundred roses, she called out to Xiao Huli, "The roses here are all packaged for you. There are a hundred stems in total; one is a gift, but thank you for your frequent patronage."
Hearing Lin Yun say that, Xiao Huli's gaze swept over the rose bouquets Lin Yun had tied. He casually picked up a white rose and offered it to Lin Yun. Seeing that Lin Yun didn't take it, he placed it on the counter in front of her.
"A borrowed flower to offer to the Buddha. This rose is for you. I bought ninety-nine roses for my brother and sister-in-law; ninety-nine is a good number."
Lin Yun pursed her lips and looked at the white rose placed before her, saying nothing. Xiao Huli then circled back to the book cafe next door, called Fatty, and another person to help carry the ninety-nine roses back.
As he took away the last bouquet of roses, Xiao Huli also called out to Lin Yun, "See you tomorrow."
After returning to the book cafe, Fatty asked Xiao Huli, "Why did you buy so many roses? Although I joked about you using your good looks, you're not actually going to pursue the beautiful shop owner next door, are you?"
Xiao Huli smiled and replied, "Fatty Brother, what are you thinking? Of course, I'm not pursuing her."
"These rose bouquets are an excuse for me to celebrate my brother and sister-in-law. I bought them to give to customers. Didn't you ask me to try and stay in the flower shop a bit longer each time? I needed a suitable excuse."
"After we give these flowers away today, we'll close early."
Fatty nodded, "Alright then, that excuse is quite fitting, considering all the things that happened today."
After Fatty finished speaking, he began distributing the rose bouquets. Xiao Huli watched Fatty's retreating figure and sighed slightly. He felt a bit awkward when interacting with Fatty.
In the beginning, it wasn't Xiao Huli who felt awkward, but Fatty. Perhaps it was due to the change in Xiao Huli's identity and his sudden transformation into an adult man. Fatty always seemed unnatural when interacting with Xiao Huli, and over time, Xiao Huli also started to feel awkward.
Although Xiao Huli didn't want it to be this way, he had amnesia and didn't know what their relationship was like before. However, Xiao Huli had heard Ye Tiancheng say that Fatty used to treat him very well and doted on him. For it to become like this now, it must have been because his past self had gone too far.
However, since Xiao Huli knew he was in the wrong and everything was changing, his overall attitude was quite optimistic. So, occasional moments of sadness wouldn't last long, just a fleeting thought in his mind, and he would quickly forget about it, which didn't affect Xiao Huli's behavior or attitude.
Because the book cafe's business was good, it didn't take long to give away ninety-nine rose bouquets.
Some customers were complaining about the shop "spreading PDA," but it was clear they weren't genuinely complaining. Most of them were joking and offering blessings. After all, there weren't that many villains in the world; most people were kind and reasonable.
However, some people refused to accept the roses. Most of those who refused were women. Xiao Huli couldn't help but sigh. It was obvious they were the ones who had come for his elder brother, and their attitudes were strange and disgusted upon seeing the rose bouquets.
So, his brother sometimes complained about him, even though Ye Tiancheng was very popular in the shop himself.
After the news of Ye Tiancheng's marriage spread, look at the reactions of these female customers. He wondered if the number of female customers visiting their shop would shrink after today.
However, there was no need to worry about the book cafe's business suddenly declining. After all, many people still came to see Xiao Huli, and Ye Tiancheng, being a businessman, wouldn't completely stop people from looking even if he couldn't flirt anymore.
Some female customers who didn't intend to hook up with Ye Tiancheng should still come for him.
After the rose bouquets were given out, the book cafe hung up a "Resting" sign. After seeing off the last customer, Xiao Huli and Fatty truly left work early.
Since Ye Tiancheng was definitely going to be on a date with Hou Mingzhu until late today, and Ye Qingcheng and Fatty's partners were at home, Xiao Huli and Fatty were also a bit uneasy about lingering outside for too long. In fact, they themselves wanted to go home earlier.
As they closed the shop, Xiao Huli habitually glanced at the flower shop again and noticed that the flower shop had closed even earlier than them.
He wasn't sure if it was because the flower shop owner had finished her orders, or if she was discouraged by him today and couldn't bear to stay in the shop any longer, so she closed early and left.
After all, judging by the time, Lin Yun hadn't even stayed in the flower shop for three hours after arriving.
However, these thoughts only crossed Xiao Huli's mind for a moment, and within a second or two, he dismissed the matter and went home with Fatty.
As they walked home, compared to Xiao Huli's daily walks with Ye Tiancheng, the journey with Fatty was much quieter, with little conversation.
The main reason was that they didn't live far apart. Ye Tiancheng and the others didn't always drive to the shop; they often chose to walk, intending to move around a bit and consider it exercise, which was better than just going back and forth between a few points without much movement.
However, they still needed to take a car when they got close to the villa area, because the villa area was very large. Except for those who went out for walks, very few people would be so foolish as to walk around the villa area every day.
Just as they were about to return, they passed by a dark alley. Xiao Huli suddenly heard a woman scream. His footsteps paused for a moment. Fearing he had misheard, he stopped and frowned, looking into the alley.
Fatty, noticing Xiao Huli hadn't kept up, turned back and walked to Xiao Huli's side, asking, "Why are you stopping here? Is something wrong?"
Xiao Huli said to Fatty, "Fatty Brother, did you hear anything? I think I heard a woman screaming in this alley."
What Xiao Huli didn't say was that he not only heard a woman screaming, but he also felt that this woman's voice sounded somewhat familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
Fatty glanced curiously at the dark alley. In the darkness, the alley entrance looked like the gaping mouth of a giant beast in the dark. The atmosphere alone was quite frightening, but he concentrated and listened for a moment, yet heard nothing.
"No, I didn't hear any woman screaming."
Xiao Huli hesitated, then shook his head, finally saying, "Alright then, perhaps I misheard. Let's go home."
However, as Fatty thought about what Xiao Huli had said, he himself began to hesitate. Seeing that Fatty wasn't moving, Xiao Huli asked, "Fatty Brother, aren't you going? Or... did you also hear something?"
Fatty looked at the dark alley entrance and shook his head, "No, I still don't hear anything. But what if you didn't mishear? What if someone really needs help?"