Chapter 138: Come Down Now

After hanging up, Xia Xi glanced at the flower shop's address; it was conveniently on the way, not far from the club where Xu Yanfeng was.

After arriving, she paid the fare, told the driver to leave first, and she could walk the rest.

After waiting less than five minutes, the boss came over—a young woman in her early twenties, not much older than Xia Xi. Xia Xi greeted her: "Sorry, could you make a trip?"

The boss shook her head, smiling: "No problem. I heard your voice sounded urgent on the phone, so I guess you have something urgent."

Xia Xi smiled, didn't explain, waited for the boss to unlock the door with a key, then followed her inside.

In the back storeroom, a batch of flowers was pushed in, packed in individual triangular cardboard boxes, still unopened. The boss pulled them out and asked Xia Xi: "What flowers do you want?"

"Roses." Xia Xi said.

The boss put on gloves, squatted down, set aside several boxes of roses, took scissors to cut the tape on the cardboard—just as she had said on the phone, they were untrimmed, with long stems bearing thorns and messy leaves, the flowers wrapped in white nylon netting.

"How many stems do you need? I'll trim and wrap them now—you might have to wait a bit." The boss tore open all the boxes at once, intending to give any leftovers to relatives and friends tomorrow.

Xia Xi personally picked them, choosing soft colors—pink, white, yellow—combined together, they looked fresh and nice.

"No need to wrap them; I'll just take them like this."

Xia Xi liked this raw state of the flowers, with a hint of wildness, which suited her personality and was also fitting to give Xu Yanfeng—ideally, seeing the flowers would make him think of her.

"Huh? Are you sure?" The boss, who had run the shop for years and never encountered such a request, stared for a moment at the rose stems about half a person tall, then advised: "At least trim the lower part of the stems and pluck some leaves."

"No, just like this, it's fine." Xia Xi tore off the white plastic netting around the blossoms; the petals, freed from restraint, burst open, lush and dewy. She was pleased, grabbed a crumpled newspaper to wrap them for easy carrying, looked up and asked the boss, "How much?"

The boss gave her the lowest discount ever—60% off—because the flowers were leftovers, otherwise they'd go to waste.

Xia Xi scanned to pay, hugged a bunch of wild yet elegant roses, left the flower shop, walked down the street, drawing sideways glances from passersby; even the shop owner ran out just to get another look.

That young woman had striking looks and an especially infectious smile, holding a bunch of blooming roses, striding forward as if in a movie, so beautiful it was heart-stopping, making it hard to look away.

Xia Xi was barred outside the club; the front desk told her non-members couldn't enter. Just like when she had gone to Maple Leaf Lake Golf Course to chase Xu Yanfeng before, it was a gathering place for the wealthy and elite, off-limits to ordinary people.

She freed a hand, fished out her phone from her bag, and placed a voice call to Xu Yanfeng.

She could actually have messaged Fu Li to ask him to come down and let her in. Fu Li had once offended her with a thoughtless joke, promising that whenever she needed something he would spare no effort, so this small request would surely not be refused. But she didn't want to do that.

In dealing with people, keeping distance is important.

With different people, there are different standards.

But Xia Xi was a little worried—what if Xu Yanfeng didn't answer her call? His mood was changeable like June weather, shifting at a whim. Weather changes at least have signs, but his turning hostile gave no warning.

While on the high-speed rail, she had chatted with Xu Yanfeng on WeChat, but mid-conversation he suddenly stopped replying.

The ringtone sounded in her ear for a moment, went unanswered, and Xia Xi tipped her head back, gazing at the imposing building ahead, wondering which floor and which private room Xu Yanfeng was in.

In the top-floor private room, Ling Yan, seated closest to Xu Yanfeng, glanced at his phone lighting up with an incoming voice call labeled "WeiaiXYF". She pondered: did that mean "Only love Xu Yanfeng"?

The caller's avatar was a very cute red cartoon crab.

Probably a girl?

Ling Yan lifted her eyes to Xu Yanfeng—he held a deck of cards, leaned back in his chair, his expression less stern, unusually relaxed. Although the ringtone wasn't loud, the phone was right next to him; he surely heard it.

Clearly he heard it but deliberately didn't answer; Ling Yan thought it must be some girl pestering him, he was annoyed, so she took the initiative, picking up the phone on the sofa and said: "Afeng, want me to get rid of her for you?"

Xu Yanfeng glanced at her casually, saw his phone in her hand, his expression shifted instantly, he tossed his cards and snatched his phone back from her.

Ling Yan's hand hung awkwardly in midair, intimidated by his aura, she dared not utter a word.

She couldn't understand why his reaction was so strong.

The few seated around the table, confused by the situation, wore blank expressions; Tang Yizhou spoke first: "Xu Er, why did you lay down your cards? I finally got a good hand..."

"I'm taking a call." Xu Yanfeng didn't even look at him, cut off his complaint, rose, walked straight to the other end of the private room, stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, and answered Xia Xi's voice call: "What's up?"

He had done his best to push her away and keep his distance, but she seemed oblivious, repeatedly drawing near, tirelessly chipping away at the wall he had built between them.

Xia Xi ignored his cold tone, her voice bright with excitement, as if it could dispel winter's chill: "Come down!"

Xu Yanfeng puzzled: "What are you saying?"

Xia Xi: "Come down now."

Xu Yanfeng fell silent.

Xia Xi threw caution to the wind, resolved to coax him down first and discuss other things later: "Don't doubt me—I mean right now! Now! Come out of the private room and take the elevator down."

Her tone sounded a bit stiff? She realized it herself, switched to a pleading tone: "Don't ask why—will you come down? Xu Yanfeng, it's New Year's, I have just this one request—can't you fulfill it?"

Xu Yanfeng's response was to grip his phone and turn toward the door.

Someone in the private room shouted at him: "Hey, Xu Er, where are you going? It's barely any time, and you're already leaving..."

He couldn't hear the rest; he entered the elevator.

The private room was on the thirty-sixth floor; as he descended level by level, the call never dropped, and Xu Yanfeng could hear her breathing on the other end—slightly ragged, occasionally punctuated by a distant car horn.

"Have you come down yet?" she asked in a tone of unprecedented carefulness.

Xu Yanfeng's eyelids twitched as he watched the numbers change; he was on the eleventh floor, almost down, and he grunted an assent. The voice on the phone instantly brightened: "I'm waiting for you!"

I'm waiting for you...

Xu Yanfeng pondered the meaning behind those three words; a guess suddenly struck him, he thought it impossible, instinctively dismissed it, yet could think of no better explanation.

"Ding—"

The elevator reached the first floor; Xu Yanfeng stepped out.

On the other end of the line, Xia Xi also heard the elevator arrive, promptly ended the call, turned around, shifting from having her back to the club's doors to facing them.

Xu Yanfeng walked around the tall potted plant beside the elevator, entered the opulent lobby, ignored the staff greeting him, lifted his gaze, and saw through the gold‑trimmed glass door Xia Xi waving at him.

She wore a snowy white down jacket, a fluffy hat and scarf, cradled an unadorned bouquet of roses, her smile radiant as she waved at him.

Xu Yanfeng's earlier guess was confirmed—she really was waiting for him downstairs.

Her words "I'm waiting for you" were true.

Xu Yanfeng halted his steps, staring at her in a daze.

The news that Xia Xi was from Qianlin had long circulated at school; a person who ought to have stayed in Qianlin had appeared in Nancheng, and on this New Year's Eve, when families were reunited.

He wouldn't be so foolish as to think she had come just to celebrate the New Year.

She came to find him.

Xia Xi waited happily for Xu Yanfeng to walk toward her, but she saw him suddenly freeze there, motionless. He must have felt very surprised, and that meant her goal was achieved. The person giving a surprise likes most to see the recipient's surprised expression.

She curled the corners of her lips, pushed open the heavy glass door, and walked inside.

A waiter in a suit uniform ran over, oblivious to her expression, and blocked her with the same annoying script: "Sorry, miss, please show your membership. If you're not a member, you can't enter."

Xia Xi grew anxious, pointing at Xu Yanfeng standing not far away: "That's my... friend!" She almost blurted out a lie, saying "boyfriend," but she was quick-witted and managed to stop herself in time.