Even though Senior Sister hadn’t spelled it out, the warning was clear enough.
Mu Nanke watched her retreating figure, lost in thoughts triggered by her words and, for so reason, felt a touch of disappointnt.
So... was Mr. Bao that kind of man?
Preoccupied, Mu Nanke walked out with her head down and didn’t notice the person ahead, until suddenly a dark figure blocked her path, startling her to look up and catch the scent of a fresh, sharp n’s cologne.
It slled good.
He was tall, and Mu Nanke had to raise her head to see his face.
A streetlight shone down on him from above, and as he stood against the light, his handso features looked even more captivating.
Mu Nanke’s cheeks flushed briefly as she recognized him, then she quickly stepped back and called out, "Mr. Bao, what are you doing here?"
Bao Gui watched her with interest sparkling in his peach-blossom eyes, then brought a bouquet he had hidden behind him into view, "Didn’t I say I was coming to pick you up today?"
The flowers he held were a bunch of fragrant gardenias.
Mu Nanke’s face turned even redder, feeling suddenly ill at ease as she eyed the bouquet.
With a lift of his bright red lips that seed sowhat resigned, Bao Gui said, "I thought about it for a long ti and finally figured that gardenias are just about worthy of you. It’s not easy to get them in the middle of winter."
Listening to his voice near her ear, Mu Nanke’s mind buzzed.
Her favorite flowers were gardenias.
When her mother was still alive, she used to take her to pick them, or to tuck them into her hair or behind her ears.
When Mu Nanke saw gardenias, she thought of her mother.
Her mother had said that the aning of the gardenia was eternal waiting.
Mu Nanke took the flowers, her face flushed as she lowered her head and softly thanked him, then she stepped around him and started to walk away.
Bao Gui hurriedly followed and called out, "Do you like them?"
Mu Nanke quickened her pace, her heart racing as if it wanted to numb itself.
She liked them
She liked them a lot.
Bao Gui closed the distance in a few strides, not too close, and leaned in to whisper, "You like them and yet you run so fast? Are you shy?"
Mu Nanke’s face burned, and she buried it deeper.
Bao Gui had never seen a girl so easily embarrassed; her skin was thin, and she looked naive and pure.
Mu Nanke sped up slightly, then suddenly, as if rembering sothing, she stopped.
Bao Gui’s steps also halted, and he teased, "Finally rembered the thing you forgot?"
Mu Nanke paused, asking reflexively, "Did I forget sothing?"
"Yes," Bao Gui half-crouched down, smiling, "It seems like you’ve forgotten ."
Mu Nanke was both embarrassed and annoyed, "Mr. Bao, are you trying to pursue !"
Bao Gui looked surprised, "Isn’t that what I’m doing?"
Mu Nanke didn’t know how to respond, and seeing Bao Gui’s presumptive expression, she couldn’t cool her flushed face and said softly, "We’re from different worlds, please stop doing this."
"Why aren’t we from the sa world?" Bao Gui looked puzzled, then as if suddenly understanding, he exclaid, "Ah, I see now—you have family rules, right?"
Mu Nanke looked up sowhat confusedly.
Bao Gui laughed softly, revealing his pearly white teeth, his voice deep and resonant as if to take root in one’s ears, "A fairy and a mortal aren’t supposed to fall in love."
Mu Nanke was at a loss for words, fizzing with irritation, she stomped her foot lightly and muttered under her breath, "Cliché."
She turned around with a huff, yet the corners of her lips couldn’t help but curl upwards.
The winter gardenias, truly fragrant.
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