Chapter 53: A Moment of Serenity by the Lake

“Alright, the tour is almost over. It’s time to play and relax!” After showing Su Xinxin around the Flower Gallery headquarters, Jasmin took her to the lake. The lake was as vast as a giant mirror, reflecting the sky and clouds. The water, instead of the usual green or blue, had a pale moonlight hue, as if the moonlight had been crushed and sprinkled inside.

The shoreline was winding, with various unnamed flowers and grasses. Some hung over the water, others stood tall, in clusters and clumps, their colors ranging from pale pink to deep purple, layered and spread out. The most unusual sight was the fallen petals floating on the water, not drifting lifelessly, but moving gracefully with the current, occasionally forming circles and then dispersing, as if dancing a silent waltz. Su Xinxin stood on the shore, captivated by the lake.

“What do you think?” Jasmin asked, proudly tilting her chin. “This is one of my favorite places in the headquarters. Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Hmm…” Su Xinxin replied softly.

A breeze blew from the lake, carrying the damp air and the faint scent of flowers. The fragrance was subtle, not overpowering, but seeping through gently, a mix of the scents of many unnamed flowers. In the distance, the flower fields they had passed through earlier were still in view. From this angle, it seemed they framed this world with a colorful border. Occasionally, flower petals were picked up by the wind, floating across the lake and joining the other floating petals.

“Is this place also part of the headquarters?” Su Xinxin finally asked.

“Of course!” Jasmin nodded confidently. “Simply put, everything here is the headquarters! Except for the more formal departments, even the flower fields, the lake, and the distant shopping malls are all within the headquarters’ territory!”

She pulled out her phone, and a gray-brown floppy-eared rabbit popped up on the screen.

“You guys are having too much fun, you forgot about me!” Xiao Li grumbled, pouting.

Just as she finished speaking, a voice came from Su Xinxin’s phone.

“I was suffocating in there!” Xiao Ming gasped, as if she had just been fished out of water.

Su Xinxin chuckled at the sight. “Weren’t you supposed to be taking a nap?”

“Napping?” Xiao Ming rolled her eyes. “If I nap any longer, I’ll turn into a pig!”

Jasmin had already opened the navigation on her phone and handed it to Su Xinxin.

“See, the navigation can’t even get a fix here! It’s like another world.”

She opened the compass, and the needle just spun on the dial, unable to stop.

Su Xinxin took the phone and looked at it, then raised her head and looked around.

It really was like another world. The sky was a deep blue, and the clouds were low, as if within reach. The buildings in the distance were arranged in a harmonious disorder, some hidden among the flowers, only half the wall visible, others built right in the flower beds, with roofs covered in blooming flowers, as if grown from the earth, like the flower kingdom in a fairy tale. And the flowers—everywhere were flowers. By the roadside, in the corners, under the eaves, in the crevices, wherever there was soil, there were flowers blooming. Even the supposed street lamps had large, glowing, unnamed flower buds on top.

“I don’t know if you like it, Gentian,” Jasmin said softly, her gaze fixed on the distant lake. “But I do love the quiet atmosphere. With no crowds, just looking at the natural beauty, it’s like… what’s it called, a healing movie? It’s like we could make a movie out of this. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed here. It’s a special place.”

She paused, then suddenly smiled.

“Hey, do you think I sound like an old lady?”

Su Xinxin was taken aback and turned to look at her. Jasmin’s tone was light, as if reciting lines, but with a hint of seriousness, sadness, and a touch of inexplicable summer melancholy. The sunlight slanted behind her, casting a warm glow on her profile, and her silver hair was gently lifted by the breeze, a few strands floating by her face.

Su Xinxin looked at her profile, then at the lake. The water reflected the sky, shimmering with tiny gold specks. A petal drifted to her feet, swirled on the water, and then floated away.

‘Why did she say that?’ she wondered, turning to Xiao Ming. ‘Did she guess my identity? Should I tell her?’

‘No, you can’t,’ Xiao Ming’s voice echoed in her mind. ‘If you don’t want to lie, either don’t answer or change the subject. Besides, she might not mean what you think. Maybe she’s just humoring you, following your lead. Many friends do that.’

“Daydreaming again?”

Jasmin’s voice brought her back. Su Xinxin gazed at the lake in silence for a moment.

“Even now, I still feel like this isn’t real.”

A petal floated in front of her, and she caught it. It was light, almost transparent, with a pale pink color and a hint of white at the edges. It lay in her palm like a small, glowing cloud.

“I still don’t feel a sense of belonging,” she said slowly, looking at the tiny petal in her hand. “Like a fallen leaf or a petal, alone, without a home…”.

She lowered her eyes.

She missed home. The old house filled with old things, the flowers on the balcony that no one tended to anymore, her daughters running in the courtyard, her granddaughters reaching out for a hug. Those memories were far away, yet so close. Close enough to touch, far enough to reach.

Jasmin seemed to sense something, and her scattered thoughts in her mind connected. She turned and took Su Xinxin’s hand.

“Gentian,” she asked softly, “are you… your family…”

Su Xinxin wanted to refute, but before she could speak, her eyes welled up.

“I… I…”

Jasmin looked at Xiao Ming.

Xiao Ming brought her front paws together, looking troubled. “Well, this… it’s a matter of privacy, right? If the owner doesn’t want to tell, I can’t either.”

“Gentian…”

Jasmin called her softly.

Su Xinxin lowered her head. On the lake, another petal drifted by. The sunlight on the water broke into countless specks, swaying gently with the ripples.

“Do you need a hug?” Jasmin also lowered her head, looking up at her.

Su Xinxin said nothing, turning away.

“You didn’t answer, so I’ll take it as a yes?” Jasmin paused, “Three, two, one—”

She didn’t follow as Su Xinxin turned, but instead, she opened her arms and hugged her from behind.

“Wait—”

Su Xinxin’s words were cut off as her back pressed against a warm chest. Jasmin’s arms were around her, not tight, but steady. The warmth of their bodies, separated only by the thin fabric, was clear in the cool lake breeze.

The wind paused for a moment. Petals fell at their feet, then drifted away with the current.

“Although we haven’t known each other for long,” Jasmin’s voice came from behind, muffled and nasal, “I know you have a complex story, Gentian. I won’t force you to tell me everything, but I believe your feelings are genuine!”

She paused, her arms tightening slightly.

“I, if I can, I want to spend more time with you. Be your great friend, a very, very good friend, a great, great friend…”

Her voice broke with a sob.

Su Xinxin’s tears had dried, but now it was Jasmin’s turn. She felt the warmth from the back, real, warm, and trembling slightly.

The more real it was, the more she felt guilty. In the distance, the flower fields swayed with the wind, creating layer upon layer of colorful waves. Some petals were caught and floated across the lake, floating and drifting to their side. One landed on Jasmin’s shoulder, paused, and then slipped down, carried away by the wind.

“O-okay, okay!” Su Xinxin turned and looked at Jasmin’s red-rimmed eyes. “I’m fine now!”

“Hmm…” Jasmin sniffed. “Then, then don’t cry, Gentian… You’re making my eyes cry again!”

Xiao Li appeared with a tissue. Jasmin took it and wiped her face.

Su Xinxin looked at her, her heart softening.

“You said there’s a shopping street not far away, right?” she said. “Then, how about we go shopping for a while?”

Girls should love shopping, right? Her daughters were like that. So she would spend more time with her.

Jasmin’s eyes lit up.

“Sure!”

The traces of tears hadn’t dried yet, but the smile was already returning. Su Xinxin looked at her, instinctively reaching out to pat her head—

“Hey, hey, hey! Stop!”

Jasmin was quick, catching her wrist.

“You’re not older than me! Why do you want to pat my head?” She smiled, pressing Su Xinxin’s head with her other hand. “You should let me pat your head!”

Su Xinxin was pushed, her head tilting slightly, and before she could resist, she heard Jasmin using a tone to coax a child.

“Su Xinxin little girl, be a good girl, okay?”

Su Xinxin opened her mouth, but couldn’t say anything. Only the faint blush on her face, whether it was from the rubbing or the “little girl” comment, was unclear.

At the lake, the wind blew again. The fallen petals still drifted on the water, one chasing the other, towards an unseen distance. In the distance, the outline of the flower fields glowed softly in the sunlight, like a spread of watercolor. The shadows of the two girls were reflected in the water, very close. The water surface swayed, merging their shadows, then slowly separating, then merging again. In the air, the scent of flowers still lingered.

Light, faint, as if the world itself was breathing.

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