Chapter 14

By the time Shu Shiran’s car pulled into the underground parking lot of the building housing the Chunxiang Firm, it was already past eleven. Before stepping out, she glanced at the bouquet of yellow roses on the passenger seat, hesitated for a moment, then took the flowers with her.

Entering the firm, the receptionist greeted her and immediately noticed the flowers in her hands. “Sharon, you’re already getting flowers on Monday? They’re so beautiful.”

Shu Shiran’s face remained expressionless. “I bought them on the way.”

After handling a few trivial matters and finishing lunch, Shu Shiran called everyone for a meeting. The regular meeting combined with several project discussions ran until well past three in the afternoon.

Back in her office, after hours of work, Shu Shiran finally found a moment to breathe and was struck by an inexplicable emptiness, a sense of having nowhere to anchor herself.

Her gaze fell upon the bouquet on her desk.

The marriage certificate was still tucked inside her bag. It was hard to believe she had actually gotten married just like that.

She felt this strange void because her identity had changed—from single to married—and she was a little lost.

In any case, it was a special day.

Shu Shiran called over Yuanyuan and ordered afternoon tea for everyone.

Yuanyuan, upon hearing about the treat, exclaimed, “Wow, Sharon, is today some kind of special occasion?”

Shu Shiran replied, “Everyone’s been working hard lately. You say that as if I never treat people.”

Yuanyuan smiled. “I’m just saying casually.”

The afternoon tea arrived quickly.

Shu Shiran’s phone rang; it was Dai Jiao. Dai Jiao was on a business trip again and wouldn’t return until tomorrow.

“What’s up, Della?” Shu Shiran assumed it was a work matter.

Dai Jiao asked, “Are you seeing someone?”

Shu Shiran paused and asked, “What do you mean?”

Dai Jiao replied, “I heard you brought flowers to work today.”

“How did you find out?”

“Others told me.”

Shu Shiran, carrying the flowers into the office, had been seen by many. The firm had only a dozen or so people, but the number of private chat groups was countless, and news spread quickly. Even Dai Jiao, in another city, knew about Shu Shiran treating everyone to afternoon tea.

Shu Shiran said, “I bought the flowers myself.”

Dai Jiao laughed, “Babe, ask them if they believe you bought them.”

Shu Shiran was silent.

Until then, she thought they believed her.

Having successfully teased her, Dai Jiao chuckled, “Some might believe it, but I don’t. And since you treated everyone to afternoon tea, there must be something new going on. How long have you been broken up? It’s time for new developments.”

Shu Shiran had told Dai Jiao about the breakup with Yan Yi about half a month ago.

Learning about Yan Yi’s infidelity, Dai Jiao had been furious, saying she never saw that side of him coming.

Last week, one evening during overtime, a senior architect casually mentioned to Shu Shiran that it had been a long time since Yan Yi came to the firm.

Shu Shiran casually said, “We broke up.”

Several people were around, and soon everyone knew about the breakup. Yan Yi was never mentioned again.

Caught, Shu Shiran stopped concealing the truth. “There is some new development.”

She and Ji Xi had agreed to go public in two months; until then, they needed to prepare the ground.

Dai Jiao, with a knowing tone, asked, “Who is it? How do you know them?”

Shu Shiran answered, “I’ve known him for a while.”

Dai Jiao pressed, “What’s the status? Is he pursuing you? You must be interested, or why else would you accept flowers?”

The progress was much faster than Dai Jiao imagined—they had already registered their marriage.

Shu Shiran vaguely replied, “I’ll introduce him to you when the time is right.”

“Alright then.”

Dai Jiao wasn’t in a hurry to meet Shu Shiran’s “new situation,” just as she wouldn’t introduce her casual dates to Shu Shiran, only steady boyfriends after confirming the relationship.

That would come when the timing was right.

Outside at the workstations, Wu Tianqi was eating a small cake, quietly glancing toward Shu Shiran’s office, looking through the glass at the flowers on her desk.

He had been called away to work on a model earlier and hadn’t seen her bring flowers to the office.

During the afternoon tea, he overheard another intern say, “What’s the occasion? Sharon brought flowers to work again and treated us to afternoon tea.”

Those flowers must have been a gift.

Wu Tianqi picked up his phone and messaged Feng Kuan.

- Wu Tianqi: You’re fast, huh?

- Feng Kuan: ?

- Wu Tianqi: Weren’t you the one who sent flowers to my boss?

- Feng Kuan: ???

- Feng Kuan: Someone sent flowers to Shu Shiran?

- Wu Tianqi: Yeah, wasn’t it you?

- Feng Kuan: Not me!

- Wu Tianqi: Alright, I’ll get back to work.

- Feng Kuan: Who’s so quick?

- Feng Kuan: Damn, am I getting beaten to the punch again?

- Feng Kuan: Stop working, help me find out who’s so fast.

**

After celebrating with afternoon tea, the work still had to be done.

There were many tasks today, so Shu Shiran worked overtime that night.

The next day at work, the receptionist stopped Shu Shiran.

“Sharon, there’s a bouquet for you.”

It was a large bunch of red roses.

Shu Shiran took the flowers, glanced at them, and asked, “Who sent them?”

The receptionist replied, “I don’t know. The delivery guy left right after dropping them off. There’s no card.”

Another voice chimed in, “Could it be from the person who sent you flowers yesterday?”

Shu Shiran said, “Probably not.”

Ji Xi had sent flowers yesterday because of their marriage registration. Why would he send flowers again today for no reason, and without a card? That wasn’t his style.

The voice asked again, “Why not? Who was it yesterday?”

“Yesterday—” Shu Shiran almost answered, but stopped when she noticed Wu Tianqi, who had appeared without her noticing.

The small talk attempt failed. Wu Tianqi acted casual and greeted her, “Good morning.”

Shu Shiran nodded. “Come to my office later. You’ve been drawing abstract art for so long, time to switch it up.”

Wu Tianqi: “...”

He had just gotten comfortable with it and found it relaxing.

“I think I can practice a bit more.”

Shu Shiran gave him a warm, gentle look.

Wu Tianqi quickly changed his tune. “...Okay.”

Shu Shiran instructed Wu Tianqi to start practicing architectural sketches.

Wu Tianqi had some drawing basics but was more experienced with figure sketches than architecture.

She told him to begin by copying, paying attention to lines, composition, and perspective—four sheets a day.

Wu Tianqi sighed, fearing even more work after bargaining, and accepted the new assignment with a groan.

With Wu Tianqi set, Shu Shiran resumed her work, starting on sketches in the morning.

Around eleven, her phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID, she was momentarily taken aback.

It was a voice call from Ji Xi.

After working late the night before, getting home near ten, sleeping, and then coming back to work, her routine hadn’t changed much.

At one moment in the morning, she even forgot she had gotten married, much less that she and Ji Xi now shared a deeper bond.

She answered the call.

Ji Xi’s voice came through lazily: “At the office?”

Shu Shiran lowered her eyes to the half-finished sketch. “Yes, what’s up?”

Ji Xi: “Are you free this afternoon? I’ll come over.”

Shu Shiran: “You’re coming?”

Perhaps her tone made it obvious, because Ji Xi chuckled softly on the other end. “You got mad when you thought you forgot about my project.”

Shu Shiran: “...”

She had truly forgotten just then, only thinking about their agreement to go public in two months and wondering why he suddenly wanted to come to the office.

Ignoring the topic, she asked, “What time will you come this afternoon?”

Ji Xi didn’t insist and answered smoothly, “Around two.”

“Okay.”

Shu Shiran thought of the bouquet of roses.

They were still at the front desk.

Though her intuition said he wasn’t the one who sent them, what if he was?

“Those weren’t from you, right?” she tested.

Ji Xi: “What?”

Definitely not him.

Shu Shiran: “Nothing.”

Silence on the other end.

Shu Shiran: “I’ll see you this afternoon then.”

Ji Xi replied with a soft “Mm.”

**

At noon, Shu Shiran and Dai Jiao ate together.

They first discussed the project Dai Jiao had been working on during her business trip.

That project had been tough on Dai Jiao, with frequent trips.

She complained bitterly, “Why on earth did I choose this line of work?”

Shu Shiran said, “I often think the same.”

They both grumbled but kept going.

Dai Jiao said, “The client for Jinhe Mansion is coming this afternoon.”

She had seen the message in their group chat.

Shu Shiran: “At two.”

Dai Jiao: “I’ll join too. I haven’t met this famously handsome client yet.”

At around 1:50 p.m., Shu Shiran’s WeChat beeped.

- Ji Xi: I’m here.

Just as Shu Shiran read the message, her assistant came in to tell her the client had arrived and was talking with Wu Tianqi.

She sent the assistant to fetch Dai Jiao.

Dai Jiao arrived, and the two went to the conference room together.

At the door, Dai Jiao saw Ji Xi inside and whispered, “He really is a total handsome guy.”

As she said this, Ji Xi, listening to Wu Tianqi, casually glanced up and met Shu Shiran’s eyes.

Their gazes locked briefly before Shu Shiran looked away and entered the room with Dai Jiao.

Ji Xi slowly looked away as well.

Seeing the two leaders enter, Wu Tianqi put away his relaxed posture and obediently sat to the side.

Shu Shiran noticed Wu Tianqi usually followed the client and sat quietly in a corner to listen.

She introduced, “Let me introduce you. This is another boss of the firm, Dai Jiao.”

She caught a teasing glint in Ji Xi’s eyes, as if amused by her seriousness.

She glanced back at him silently.

Dai Jiao said, “Mr. Ji, hello. I’m also on the coordination group, this is Della.”

Ji Xi smiled slightly. “Hello.”

Shu Shiran: “Let’s get started.”

Today was their first round of brainstorming.

Shu Shiran presented the general layout of the villa, showed some representative style images, and introduced the artists they planned to collaborate with.

Ji Xi leaned back in his chair, watching. Shu Shiran’s eyes occasionally met his.

He said nothing throughout, giving no hint whether he liked it or not.

When she finished, Dai Jiao asked, “Mr. Ji, what do you think?”

Shu Shiran looked at Ji Xi.

He had seemed casual, as if going along with her ideas, but no one could truly follow another’s tastes completely; everyone’s preferences and aesthetics differed.

Their meeting was about finding common ground.

Ji Xi spoke, “It’s pretty good.”

He lowered his eyes and added, “I forgot to mention earlier—I plan to make this our marital home.”