Chapter 55: Sigh! Xinghua & Capitalism

As if noticing her brief lapse in concentration, Kui Furen smiled again.

“What’s wrong?”

Lin Zhiyan snapped back to her senses almost immediately.

“Nothing.”

Looking at him honestly, she said,

“I just think you smell really nice.”

A ripple passed through Kui Furen’s eyes.

The corners of his lips curved upward, the small beauty mark beside them resembling a dab of vermilion.

“I’m glad you like it.”

Lin Zhiyan lifted her head, slightly puzzled.

Kui Furen merely smiled and finished what he had been about to say.

“It’s easy to get this scent. It comes from taking care of flowers.”

As he walked toward the preparation area, he glanced back at her. There was a teasing glint in his beautiful eyes.

“So if you train under me, you’ll smell nice too.”

An ambiguous, tempting atmosphere spread like a delicate spiderweb, weaving itself from every direction. Yet it remained transparent and fine enough that one barely noticed it closing in.

Lin Zhiyan felt like a rabbit being picked up by the ears, her legs carrying her after him almost automatically.

After a few steps, she suddenly came to her senses and silently cursed herself for being shallow.

Then she immediately shifted the blame onto Kui Furen.

I was a perfectly decent person once. Men ruined me.

She thought this fiercely while internally battling herself.

Meanwhile, Kui Furen had already arrived at the preparation area and sat down among layers upon layers of flowers waiting to be processed.

Surrounded by blooming flowers, he looked like one himself—serene, elegant, quietly smiling.

Lin Zhiyan was deeply shaken.

She began pondering whether he was naturally flirtatious with everyone or deliberately trying to seduce her.

If it was the former, then his boss was truly incompetent.

If it was the latter…

Surely she wasn’t that attractive.

Forget it.

I’ll just pretend I don’t notice anything.

Her recently recovered self-control felt increasingly fragile, though none of it showed on her face.

She sat down beside him and asked,

“What should I do?”

“No rush.”

Kui Furen pointed at a recessed basin in front of them. Water was slowly rising inside it, with several silver tools resting at the bottom.

“Everything will finish sterilizing in another five minutes.”

He tapped a few controls.

A small sink rose out of the workstation.

“Wash your hands first.”

Lin Zhiyan nodded.

The cool water cleared her mind somewhat.

She turned, intending to ask if there was anything else she could do, but her eyes landed first on Kui Furen’s neck.

His head was lowered.

A black hair tie was caught lightly between his lips.

His gentle eyes were lowered as well, and his slender fingers gathered his hair as he attempted to tie it back.

Noticing her gaze, Kui Furen smiled and was about to speak—

Then the hair tie slipped from his lips.

Lin Zhiyan’s eyes slowly widened.

He wore a simple white shirt beneath a pale pink plaid apron.

The hair tie slid directly through the open collar.

His well-trained chest seemed to twitch slightly from the unexpected sensation.

Lin Zhiyan:

“…”

As an educated and cultured person, her thoughts traveled from the wars between the Old and New Eras to the modern anti-technological infiltration war.

From Freud’s theories to Foucault’s history of sexuality.

From Hegel, Schopenhauer, and Wilde to Laozi, Zhuangzi, Confucius, Mencius, and Wang Yangming.

In the end, only four words remained in her mind:

Look at that.

Kui Furen also seemed startled.

His Adam’s apple bobbed, and faint embarrassment appeared on his face.

“Ah. It fell.”

He paused.

“Would you mind turning around for a moment while I look for it?”

Lin Zhiyan took a deep breath and stood up.

“Boss, let me help. I happen to have an extra hair tie.”

Kui Furen froze.

“What?”

Without hesitation, Lin Zhiyan walked behind him and slid her fingers into his hair.

She immediately felt his body stiffen.

Ignoring it completely, she threaded both hands through his hair and lightly brushed past the hands still holding it.

Leaning down, she said seriously,

“Boss, let go.”

She could see his jaw tighten.

Several seconds later, it relaxed.

He smiled slightly at her from the side.

Then he released his grip.

Naturally, Lin Zhiyan took over gathering his hair.

She was quite strong, and a faint sound escaped his throat.

Secretly amused, she maintained an utterly serious expression while holding his hair.

Kui Furen let out a soft groan and inhaled sharply.

“That hurts a little.”

Only then did Lin Zhiyan seem to realize.

“Sorry. It’s my first time tying someone else’s hair.”

He still smiled.

“It’s fine.”

Sure.

Lin Zhiyan sneered inwardly.

Nevertheless, she gentled her movements.

Looking at his smooth, slightly wavy hair, her little finger lightly traced from his scalp down toward the back of his neck.

She immediately sensed his body temperature rise.

His muscles tightened.

His voice sounded slightly strained.

“Are you done yet?”

Only then did she take out her own hair tie.

A few quick motions later, his hair was secured.

“Done.”

She promptly sat back down.

Kui Furen appeared momentarily stunned, seemingly surprised by how quickly she withdrew her hands.

Still, he said nothing.

Only a faint flush lingered across his face.

After tidying himself up, he returned to his seat.

Soon afterward, he brought out the flowers that had been soaking.

“The shop’s equipment is excellent, so many steps can be simplified.”

He gestured around them.

“What you need to learn first are these flowers.”

“These are all species discovered after the New Era. They’re much hardier.”

Lin Zhiyan nodded.

The wars between the Old and New Eras had transformed climate and soil conditions, causing many plants and animals to evolve while entirely new species emerged.

Kui Furen picked up a thorn-covered flower with white petals and pale yellow stamens.

“This is a Silence Orchid.”

He adjusted a nutrient solution at the workstation.

“After removing the thorns, you need to manually apply nutrients to the petals and stamens until the petals become transparent. Only then can they be placed into cultivation bottles.”

As he spoke, he scooped up water and poured it over the flower.

His fingers traced along the veins of the petals, spreading the nutrient solution.

The liquid was thick.

Light reflected softly from his fingers.

Lin Zhiyan suddenly felt like an animal being lifted by the ears again.

Her scalp tingled.

Her limbs felt strangely loose.

Fortunately, years of maintaining a calm public persona allowed her to keep a perfectly composed expression.

At least, she hoped Kui Furen hadn’t noticed her wandering thoughts.

Probably not… right?

He concentrated on coating the petals and stamens.

The gentle sounds of water and the silver threads of nutrient solution stretching between his fingers made the atmosphere strangely heated.

Then he glanced sideways at her.

“Give it a try.”

He handed the flower over.

As Lin Zhiyan accepted it, she could still feel the warmth lingering from his hand, along with the faint floral fragrance.

She scooped up nutrient solution and spread it along the petals and stem.

Lacking experience, her movements were somewhat rough.

The liquid made her pale fingers gleam.

Several petals were accidentally torn off by her strength.

A little helpless, she looked toward Kui Furen.

He shook his head but said nothing.

So she continued.

This time she was gentler.

Gradually, the translucent petals became even clearer.

Soon, the entire bouquet had transformed into something crystal-clear.

The white veins looked like delicate lines of glass.

Lin Zhiyan looked toward him.

“Is this okay?”

“Mm. Not bad.”

Kui Furen praised her.

“You did very well.”

“Next, let’s try waking up Bone Porcelain Epiphyllums.”

He inserted the Silence Orchid into a cultivation bottle and brought over another large bouquet.

While demonstrating, he explained,

“The petals of Bone Porcelain Epiphyllums are hard and brittle, almost like porcelain.”

“You need to pat the nutrient solution onto the petals.”

“Be gentle. Too much force will shatter them.”

“Stop once the buds begin to open.”

As he demonstrated, Lin Zhiyan wiped away a bit of sweat.

Working in a flower shop really wasn’t as elegant as she’d imagined.

Once he finished, she began practicing.

She lightly patted the flowers.

Silken strands of viscous liquid stretched between her fingers and the petals.

Kui Furen raised an eyebrow slightly.

While tending to flowers himself, he quietly watched her.

Her expression was focused.

Dark eyes fixed on the blossoms.

Her temperament was calm, cool, and refined.

Like a beautiful porcelain vessel that had been tempered through years of firing.

Smooth. Lustrous. Precious.

Warmth appeared in his eyes.

Yet his teeth lightly caught his lower lip.

Even the beauty mark beneath it brushed against his teeth, damp and glistening.

Porcelain was always beautiful.

But perhaps even more beautiful was the moment it slowly cracked under immense pressure.

When fractures spread across its surface.

When it shattered completely.

Reduced to ordinary fragments swept into a trash bin.

A flower was similar.

Its beauty peaked not only when filled with life, but also when it dried out, withered, and finally returned to dust.

Kui Furen liked flowers.

He liked porcelain too.

Yet both were fragile.

Always on the verge of breaking.

He disliked that.

What he preferred were things eternal.

Stable.

Unchanging.

Thus he smiled and asked,

“Tired?”

Lin Zhiyan let out a breath while continuing to pat the buds.

“A little.”

“If you keep going like that, you’ll become even more tired.”

His voice was gentle.

“You’re barely using any force. At this rate, the buds still won’t open by the time your shift ends.”

Lin Zhiyan raised an eyebrow.

She was genuinely confused.

She had been doing this for over ten minutes.

Why was he only mentioning it now?

“Oh.”

“I didn’t know.”

Patiently, Kui Furen said,

“Use a little more strength. It’s fine.”

She complied.

Even so, she remained cautious.

As far as she knew, these flowers were expensive imports.

“More.”

He encouraged her again.

Lin Zhiyan nodded and increased the pressure slightly.

Kui Furen slowly exhaled.

Then he reached over and wrapped his hand around hers.

Their hands were both warm and slick with nutrient solution.

As though completely unaware of the intimacy, he guided her hand lower.

“Your position is wrong.”

Lin Zhiyan stared at him.

“…You didn’t say that earlier.”

Kui Furen looked mildly surprised.

“I thought the demonstration made it clear.”

Then he seemed to understand.

His tone became gentle and patient.

“It’s okay. If you’re ever unsure about something, just ask me.”

“There’s no need to be embarrassed.”

“Everyone starts out ignorant before they learn.”

Lin Zhiyan:

“…”

Are you insane?

You demonstrate something. I copy you.

I make a mistake.

You watch me do it wrong for ten minutes without correcting me.

Then when you finally say something, you still don’t explain everything and make me discover the rest myself?

She silently fumed.

Still, she corrected her movements.

Then Kui Furen seemed to remember something.

“Oh, right.”

“You don’t need to call me ‘sir’ or speak so formally.”

“We don’t need that kind of distance between us.”

While continuing to pat the flowers, she replied,

“But you’re older than me. I feel like I should show respect.”

“We’re not that far apart in age, are we?”

Kui Furen laughed softly.

At the same time, he subtly closed the distance between them.

“You seem to be a first-year student.”

“So I should only be about two years older.”

“After all, I’m the same age as Zefi.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Lin Zhiyan calculated immediately.

Then she smiled.

“Then you’re actually five years older than me.”

“I skipped grades.”

Kui Furen looked surprised.

With complete seriousness, Lin Zhiyan continued,

“Five years is a generation gap.”

“That makes you an elder.”

“I should continue showing proper respect.”

His eyes flickered slightly.

Yet he only smiled.

Instead of responding, he looked down at her work and sighed helplessly.

“Still too gentle.”

“And when waking flowers, the bouquet should be tilted.”

“Otherwise the nutrients won’t absorb properly.”

“Boss.”

Lin Zhiyan looked at him again.

“Why didn’t you say that earlier?”

“Well…”

A lock of hair fell across Kui Furen’s beautiful face.

He was sweating slightly as well.

Patiently, he replied,

“My demonstration showed the bouquet tilted.”

“Maybe I didn’t notice.”

“But you should’ve paid closer attention.”

Then he smiled.

“Forget it.”

“Start over from the beginning.”

“I’ll watch carefully and point out every mistake this time.”

Lin Zhiyan smiled.

“You’re right.”

“I was making assumptions.”

After saying that, she tilted the bouquet.

Then she raised her hand—

And slapped the flowers.

Hard.

Cracks immediately appeared across several brittle petals.

Without even glancing down, she delivered several more resounding slaps.

A few flower buds flew straight off.

Turning toward the visibly stunned Kui Furen, she asked honestly—while carefully avoiding a clear subject—

“Boss.”

“Are they awake now?”

The smile on Kui Furen’s face faded.

After a pause, he replied,

“I’m afraid they’re never waking up again.”

Lin Zhiyan smiled calmly.

“What a pity.”