Chapter 90: Magical Magic

Ruan Hongzhuang looked at Shen Siyuan with a puzzled expression.

“What are you muttering to yourself?”

If not for the fact that Shen Siyuan wasn’t wearing wireless earphones, she’d have thought he was on a call.

“No, I was talking to someone,” Shen Siyuan said.

“To whom?” Ruan Hongzhuang glanced around, even more confused.

“You don’t know, do you? I’m a magician—I can communicate with spirits. I was just chatting with a ghost mother.”

Ruan Hongzhuang gave him a sidelong glance, utterly speechless—clearly, she didn’t believe a word of it.

But Chen Haiyan, standing nearby, believed him a little, thinking his words might be true.

“You can’t?” Shen Siyuan asked with a smile.

Before she could answer, he suddenly reached toward her ear.

Ruan Hongzhuang instinctively tried to pull away, but then realized and blushed, standing still.

Ruan Hongzhuang had a neat, chin-length bob, giving her a crisp, efficient look; but the weather was hot, and sweat glistened faintly at her temples, with a few stray hairs obscuring her ear.

Shen Siyuan reached out and gently smoothed her hair back, then tucked it behind her ear before withdrawing his hand.

Yet Ruan Hongzhuang, still blushing, widened her eyes in utter disbelief.

Because in Shen Siyuan’s palm lay a rose—vibrant, dripping with dew.

“How is this possible?” Ruan Hongzhuang whispered, unable to believe it.

Shen Siyuan was wearing a sleeveless crew-neck tank top—there was nowhere to hide anything, and this wasn’t like a coin you could palm.

This was a rose—a rose still glistening with water droplets.

“For you,” Shen Siyuan said, offering the rose to Ruan Hongzhuang.

Ruan Hongzhuang took it dumbly, feeling her mind couldn’t process it.

She lowered her head and sniffed—the fragrance filled her nose, the petal’s texture against her tip confirmed its reality, all telling her this was truly real.

“How did you make it appear?”

Regaining her composure, Ruan Hongzhuang couldn’t help but press further.

Chen Haiyan was equally curious—she’d been watching closely the whole time and hadn’t seen how Shen Siyuan produced the rose.

“I told you—I’m a magician. Isn’t this just a simple trick?”

As he spoke, Shen Siyuan reached his hand out again before Ruan Hongzhuang, snapped his fingers, and another rose appeared out of thin air.

“Wow~”

Ruan Hongzhuang couldn’t help but gasp, then eagerly reached out to take it.

“You’re incredible—how did you do that? So magical…” Ruan Hongzhuang was so excited she could barely form coherent words.

Shen Siyuan smiled but still didn’t answer, saying instead: “Wait here for me—I’ll go buy some water.”

Ruan Hongzhuang nodded obediently, her full attention now on the two roses in her hands, trying to spot any hidden mechanism.

Shen Siyuan turned and signaled Chen Haiyan with his eyes to follow.

Turning his back, Shen Siyuan took a step forward, thought of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, and it appeared in his palm; he formed a hand seal.

Before Chen Haiyan could react, she was effortlessly drawn into the [Ten Thousand Souls Banner].

“Boss, give me a bottle of mineral water and open a coconut.” Shen Siyuan walked toward a nearby stall.

The boss handed him a bottle of mineral water first; the coconut would take a moment—the machine had to crack it open on the spot.

At that moment, Shen Siyuan formed another hand seal with his fingertip, and Chen Haiyan was released from the [Ten Thousand Souls Banner].

But now, all her questions had been answered; she merely bowed slightly to Shen Siyuan before turning to walk toward her son.

A smile lingered on her lips, her steps light and swift.

“Mineral water or coconut?”

“Coconut.”

Shen Siyuan handed her the coconut and took the rose from her hand.

This green-skinned coconut required both hands to hold—it was inconvenient to carry while holding a rose.

“Let’s sit and rest in that pavilion over there,” Shen Siyuan said.

They were lucky—the pavilion had just been vacated by a family, leaving them a place to sit.

Coconut water is actually colorless, like plain water; many inlanders mistakenly think it’s milky white, but it isn’t.

It tastes bland, far less sweet than canned coconut water, but it’s refreshingly crisp, with a faint plant-like fragrance, somewhat like slightly unsweetened sugarcane juice.

The water in one coconut exceeds the volume of a bottle of mineral water; one person drinking it all at once would surely feel bloated.

So after a few sips, Ruan Hongzhuang couldn’t drink any more, making this large coconut a burden.

“I can’t drink any more—do you want it?”

Ruan Hongzhuang turned to Shen Siyuan, hoping he’d help her finish it.

“Give it to me.”

Shen Siyuan didn’t hesitate and reached out to take it.

“Go ask the boss for a straw.”

Ruan Hongzhuang reached to pull out the straw she’d just used.

“It’s fine—I don’t mind your germs,” Shen Siyuan said.

Ruan Hongzhuang froze mid-motion, her cheeks flushing, her eyes glistening as she looked at Shen Siyuan.

“What? You don’t want to?”

“N-no… I just… you don’t mind?” Ruan Hongzhuang said, embarrassed.

Shen Siyuan bit down on the straw—the faint scent of peach lingered on it.

Shen Siyuan looked at Ruan Hongzhuang’s red lips.

“Is that her lipstick?”

Ruan Hongzhuang seemed to guess his thought and blushed, turning her head away.

But soon she turned back, picked up the rose Shen Siyuan had set aside, and sniffed it.

“It always feels so magical—are these things you prepared in advance?”

Shen Siyuan nodded. “I planned to give them to you when I took you home tonight.”

Shen Siyuan had unlocked the first storage layer of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner; his greatest gain wasn’t the Spirit-Fire Fireflies, but the storage space itself.

Knowing he’d be on a date today, he’d bought these flowers ahead of time and stored them in the space, keeping them fresh—even preserving the water droplets sprayed at the florist’s.

“No one’s around—tell me secretly, how did you do it?”

Ruan Hongzhuang suddenly leaned close, whispering; they were so near, Shen Siyuan could feel her faintly fragrant breath.

“It’s a secret—I can’t tell you,” Shen Siyuan laughed.

Hearing this, Ruan Hongzhuang suddenly leaned in and lightly kissed his cheek—then pulled away instantly, before Shen Siyuan could react.

Blushing, she lowered her eyes, unable to meet his gaze: “Now can you tell me?”

“No.”

“I just kissed you!” Ruan Hongzhuang looked up, clearly displeased.

“That’s fine—I’ll return it.”

Before she could react, Shen Siyuan swiftly pressed a light kiss to her cheek.

Now Ruan Hongzhuang’s cheeks burned even redder.

“I… I feel like we’re moving too fast.”

Even for Ruan Hongzhuang’s reserved nature, she felt utterly flustered.

“You kissed me first,” Shen Siyuan said.

Hearing this, Ruan Hongzhuang bit her lower lip, lifted her head, and looked at Shen Siyuan—her bright eyes shimmered with tears.

“Then you have to take responsibility for me.”

“Huh?”

Shen Siyuan felt he’d been tricked.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Chen Haiyan followed her son down the path.

Though she longed to reveal herself and meet her son, the mountain was crowded—she feared causing a disturbance.