Zhou Mi stared at the photo on her phone for a long time.

She felt the flower gave the same impression as Zhang Lian—intense and eye-catching colors, sharp yet intricate form, romantic yet realistic.

She didn’t know how to react to this, whether to graciously thank him for his well-wishes or continue pretending not to notice.

She also couldn’t understand what Zhang Lian intended by placing the flower there—was it because she had fulfilled the boast she had made before him, so he was offering congratulations as promised? Or was he certain she would intuitively grasp its meaning, and then, like an idiot, agonize over it?

Zhou Mi took a screenshot of the photo and the flower’s meaning and sent it to He Miaoyan, her tone feigning indifference: “It’s starting again, he’s at it again.”

He Miaoyan saw right through her: “You’re upset again, she’s upset again.”

Zhou Mi was instantly speechless: “…”

She roughly tugged at her hair twice: “What can I do? Just when things calmed down, he comes to mess with me again.”

He Miaoyan sent a voice message, expressing an anxiousness that made it seem like she wanted to take Zhou Mi’s place: “If he messes with you, why can’t you mess with him back? Why are you being so cautious? If I were you, I’d counterattack. You’re so quick-witted and bold when hooking up, why can’t you apply that to real relationships? “

Zhou Mi put on her earphones to listen, then typed a rebuttal: “Casual sex and genuine feelings are completely different, okay?”

He Miaoyan said: “Listen, set that flower photo as your Moments background right now, and don’t say a single word. He put that flower there to congratulate you, but he’s curious about your reaction. If you don’t give any response in person, he’ll look for clues in your social media. Didn’t you tell me before that Zhang Lian secretly checks your Weibo? When he sees you’ve set it as your background, he’ll start overthinking just like you are now.”

Her tone carried an evil smile: “Oh—his thoughts will start racing, he’ll get active, and he’ll feel a little happy too.”

Zhou Mi replied: “Really?”

He Miaoyan, sent another voice message lasting forty-two seconds: “I can’t guarantee it, but I suggest you test him. I don’t know why you’ve been so evasive since moving in. You’re being too passive. Go for it! If he wants to be ambiguous with you, be ambiguous back. Whatever he does, you do the same. Learn from him. See what happens after three months. Mimi, you’re not lacking in perception. The dog is very interested in you, and not just sexually. If he only wanted sex, wouldn’t that be easy? Why bother with flowers to tease you? If that’s all he wanted, he could just ignore you altogether.”

Her words awakened Zhou Mi from her daze.

Zhou Mi sat still for a moment, then replied to He Miaoyan: “Should I set it now?”

He Miaoyan, responded impatiently: “Quickly!”

Zhou Mi was half-convinced: “Will he look at my Moments profile?”

He Miaoyan said: “Of course. He might have already saved your photo from today. You rarely post selfies in your Moments. That work photo was so nice, and it’s his company’s ID card. He might even think you posted it for him and look at it twice before going to bed.”

Zhou Mi: “???”

He Miaoyan: “Men are like that. Trust me. I haven’t dated much, but I dislike men, so I know what they’re like. The way to beat them is to understand them.”

Zhou Mi said, “What if I set it and he doesn’t come looking for me?”

He Miaoyan finally started typing: “That’s normal. He’s waiting for you to find him. Just keep not seeking him out, and he won’t be able to hold back from finding you.”

After understanding the idea, Zhou Mi pondered for a moment, then decided to try what He Miaoyan suggested. Turn defense into offense, no longer hesitating at the vast shoreline, but taking this opportunity to place a bet, to cast this bait. Even if she couldn’t catch the treasure map she wanted, getting a bottle with a fragment of it would still be a gain.

Without further hesitation, she added a favorite filter to the photo on her phone, cropped it to a 1:1 square, and set it as her Moments background.

After showering and leaving the bathroom, Zhou Mi felt discomfort in her ear, so she stopped in the hallway and tilted her head to rub the water inside. When she suddenly looked up, her gaze met Zhang Lian’s as he walked out of the study.

Zhou Mi’s scalp tightened, as if pulling on a fishing rod, ready to reel in at any moment.

He must have showered too—his bangs were slightly fluffy, covering part of his forehead. He had changed into a loose black T-shirt and tapered pants. The cotton material looked soft and skin-friendly. The exposed parts of his arms and a small section of his ankles were clean and neat, thin but not scrawny, exuding a sense of strength.

Zhou Mi’s hand remained on her ear as she blankly scanned him from head to toe, then back up from the bottom.

He looked better with his high, broad forehead exposed, which would make his eyes appear more profound.

Perhaps because her gaze was too direct, Zhang Lian glanced at her expressionlessly.

Zhou Mi’s pupils shifted slightly to the side, but suddenly remembering He Miaoyan’s lesson, she regained her composure and looked straight back at him, continuing to rub her ear as if nothing was happening.

Zhang Lian was still looking at her, but unlike her, he remained calm, without any sense of competition.

Their eye contact lasted only a moment, yet there was an inexplicable and subtle mutual understanding.

Zhou Mi’s heart began to race, and she couldn’t help but wonder: Had Zhang Lian received the signal from her Moments and deliberately come out to see her, as well as to be seen by her?

As he passed by her, he suddenly dropped a comment: “Cotton swabs are in the cabinet under the sink.”

Zhou Mi widened her eyes in surprise, then responded with an “Oh.”

His scent also brushed past her—a clear, cool ocean salt fragrance.

After he left the hallway, Zhou Mi secretly raised the corner of her mouth and ran back to find the cotton swabs with light steps.

Looking in the mirror while cleaning the water from her ears, Zhou Mi glanced again at the two pin cushion flowers in the vase. She touched the flower head with her fingertips, then slid down along the edge, rubbing the serrated leaves to confirm they weren’t sharp before pulling one out.

The stem end was damp. She wiped it with a soft tissue, planning to use it as bait for a second cast.

After doing all this, Zhang Lian still hadn’t returned to his room. Curious, she silently stepped out into the corridor.

The man was standing behind the coffee table, remote in hand, turning on the television.

Zhou Mi held the flower stem behind her back, hiding part of herself like a cat secretly observing.

But she was still easily noticed.

Zhang Lian glanced over, his hand holding the remote control dropping to his side.

The young woman was like a small climbing rose peeking out from a fence, the exposed skin on her body showing a pink and white petal-like quality from the recent shower.

The living room was filled with the sound of a commentator’s rapid introduction, accompanied by the lively noise of the green field and the spectator stands.

Zhou Mi froze, her face showing traces of embarrassment. So it was her imagination running wild again; he had only come out to watch a football match.

After several seconds of silent gazing, Zhang Lian asked: “Do you need something?”

Zhou Mi naturally pulled out the flower stem, waving it slightly: “I think this flower looks quite special. Can I take one to my bedroom as a decoration?”

Zhang Lian said, “You didn’t ask for my permission before using it as decoration in your Moments either.”

Zhou Mi said nothing, but could no longer control her spreading smile and prominent cheek dimples.

“Oh? You saw that?” she feigned innocence and had a valid justification: “I thought the color and meaning were auspicious, so I wanted to use it as a background.”

Zhang Lian’s lips curled slightly: “Now you’re getting greedy and don’t want to let go of the actual flower.”

“People are always greedy,” Zhou Mi pointed behind her with the flower stem. “If not allowed, I can put it back.”

“Keep it, it’s yours anyway,” he said.

Just as he finished speaking, the opening whistle suddenly sounded from the television, long and powerful.

Zhou Mi felt goosebumps rise on her skin and shifted slightly: “Go ahead and watch. I won’t disturb you. I’m going back to my room.”

Zhang Lian: “Mm.”

The moment she turned her head, Zhou Mi could no longer suppress her mischievous smile.

“Zhou Mi.” His voice came from behind.

Zhou Mi quickly straightened her expression and turned back: “What?”

The man was still standing there, his eyes fixed on her: “Good night.”

Zhou Mi felt all her facial muscles straining toward an emotion called “joy”: “Oh, good night.”

Zhou Mi returned to her room with high-frequency little steps, throwing herself back onto the bed as if falling into a large, pink cloud. She rolled left and right several times before picking up her phone again to look at her Moments background.

The strange-looking flower made her otherwise girlish Moments page look forty years older.

But what did that matter?

She had confirmed one thing.

Zhang Lian was indeed paying attention to her.

Intensely and closely paying attention to her. He cared about her more than she had imagined.

She took a screenshot of her Moments interface and went to bother him again: “Would an ordinary person look up the meaning of such an ugly flower?”

His reply came quickly: “That’s why it would only end up in your hands.”

Zhou Mi sat up and replied: “What if I didn’t understand either?”

The other side responded: “You would.”

Zhou Mi said, “So confident?”

Zhang Lian replied: “I believe in you.”

Zhou Mi rubbed her sore smile muscles with one hand: “Can’t you focus on watching the game? Constantly chatting is disrespectful to everyone running and fighting for the ball on TV.”

He said: “The game is just a pretext.”

Zhou Mi curled her legs and rested her chin between her knees, as if creating a support to prevent the syrup in her head from accidentally spilling out.

She asked curiously: “Then what’s the main text?”

Zhang Lian replied: “The other party is typing.”

Zhou Mi completely forgot what emotional management was, her whole being lightly floating upward: “I want the ending now.”

Zhang Lian said, “Alright, it is getting late.”

Zhou Mi said, “Let’s write a bit more; the word count seems a bit low.”

Zhang Lian: “That works too, since you haven’t written for a week.”

Zhou Mi said, “You’re so annoying.”

Zhang Lian said, “Don’t say those things again next time.”

Zhou Mi: “What did I say?”

Zhang Lian: “You know what.”

Zhou Mi began to feign memory loss like a fish: “I seem to have forgotten.”

Zhang Lian didn’t let this pass: “I’m not as bad as you think.”

Zhou Mi’s nasal passage clogged slightly, followed by a low-concentration acidity: “You didn’t speak nicely last time either, so what’s wrong with me thinking this way about you?”

Zhang Lian didn’t point it out directly: “I admit there was an element of spite last time. But thinking of me this way lowers you, too. Don’t belittle yourself, Zhou Mi.”

He added, “I’ve never texted with someone for so long.”

Zhou Mi’s heart contracted heavily: “Then just call me directly, it’s not like I can’t speak.”

Zhang Lian said, “Texting makes you more comfortable, though it makes it harder to judge emotions.”

Zhou Mi’s eyes swelled slightly. She blinked quickly twice and, without hesitation, dialed the voice call below.

The other side answered immediately.

Just as Zhou Mi was about to speak, Zhang Lian said: “Wait, let me turn off the TV.”

Zhou Mi took the opportunity to sniff, as her chest was filling with tide again—salty seawater in a more complex shade, with lead gray, peach pink, and moss green.

The background noise disappeared completely, and the man said, “Done.”

Zhou Mi swallowed and adjusted her tone and voice: “Can you tell what my emotions are now?”

Zhang Lian didn’t answer immediately, only saying: “Say something else.”

Zhou Mi began to play tricks, counting numbers like a child with full vigor and extremely fast speed: “One two three four five six seven eight!”

But he didn’t laugh. His voice became more serious: “If I were beside you right now, I would hug you.”

As if a ray of sunlight existed just for her had shone down, or as if she were truly embraced, an invisible heat source enveloped Zhou Mi from head to toe.

She slowly flattened her lips, not speaking for a long time. After a while, she asked: “Are you still in the living room?”

Zhang Lian said: “Mm.”

Zhou Mi unconsciously mumbled: “Then can you sit there and not move?”

“Okay.”

She quickly slid off the bed and hastily slipped on her slippers: “I want to come over and hug you, or be hugged by you.”

He said, “Come quickly.”

Zhou Mi hung up the call and opened the door. She ran back to the living room, her nightgown inflating like a pale yellow hyacinth in the airflow.

Zhang Lian was still sitting in the same place, watching her with a calm face. He was truly waiting for her.

Her vision began to sink, to tilt, to rain. Zhou Mi felt somewhat dizzy, momentarily stalled in place.

Zhang Lian seemed unwilling to wait any longer. He stood up, walked over, and directly lifted her.

Like a koala instinctively clinging to an eucalyptus tree, Zhou Mi almost reflexively clamped her legs around his waist. Droplets condensed into stars; in his arms was a weightless universe.

Zhang Lian carried her back to the sofa and sat her on his lap.

They gazed at each other silently for a moment.

Zhou Mi’s blood boiled from head to toe, her emotions surging, every pore breathing and fluctuating. Just from being looked at by him this way.

Zhang Lian held her face with one hand, gently wiping away the tear marks under her eyes with his thumb. Then, without saying a word, he leaned forward, crossed his arms behind her back, and with one movement, like loading a gun, completely enclosed her against his chest.

Perfectly sealed.

He took a deep breath against her slightly damp hair.

The man’s shoulders were broad, and his posture was too deep and forceful, making this embrace not just an overlap but a kind of sinking in, a mutual absorption. So dense, yet so warm. The world compressed to just the size of his embrace, secure enough for only her to fit. Zhou Mi buried herself in the crook of his neck, surrounded by his sea breeze scent. She closed her eyes, feeling her chaotic heartbeat gradually becoming quiet, like a crescent moon sinking into summer night waters, peaceful enough that she didn’t want daybreak to come.