Chapter 6

Shang Mingbao’s heart skipped a beat as she turned around. Waiting for him? What for?

Xiang Feiran didn’t say much and walked straight to his bedroom. When he came out again, he was carrying a soft-shell jacket, black, with a thin fleece lining.

The wind surged forward, bringing with it the rich scent of the night and his presence, stopping right in front of her breath.

He handed over the jacket: “Put it on, it’s cool at night.”

Shang Mingbao glanced at the nearby mansion just a few steps away, then looked back at him: “Aren’t we… going back to sleep?”

Seeing her not taking it, Xiang Feiran let go, casually tossing the jacket into her arms: “If you want to see the flowers.”

Shang Mingbao hurriedly caught it, grabbed the collar, and draped it over her shoulders.

Xiang Feiran said, “Wear it properly.”

“…”

Annoying meddlesome middle-aged man!

Shang Mingbao dared not show her anger and obediently slipped her arms into the sleeves. Under his steady gaze, she zipped it up properly.

His jacket was large, carrying a refreshing scent, loose and warmly enveloping her.

Xiang Feiran extended his hand: “Flashlight.”

Shang Mingbao handed over the flashlight. Xiang Feiran turned it on, shining the light on a cluster of evening primroses, and casually explained: “The flowers before you are called beach evening primroses, part of the willow leaf family, genus Oenothera. In some places, they are also called sea hibiscus, native to the Gulf of Mexico in North America. Domestically, they are mainly cultivated in South China as ornamental plants. Evening primroses are very resilient and have become common wild escapees, like here.”

“What does ‘escapee’ mean?” Shang Mingbao asked.

“Simply put, you can think of it as plants escaping confinement. Plants that are introduced and cultivated are often grown in botanical gardens, gardens, or agricultural places. But their seeds escape, breaking free from human control, taking root and thriving in the wild, completing their genetic self-renewal, and establishing their own free kingdom.”

Shang Mingbao looked dazed as if she had something to say.

“What is it?”

“Uncle, you know so much.” She said sincerely.

And you can talk this much?

Her praise was genuine, but his expression turned a bit cold.

Feeling awkward, Shang Mingbao continued the conversation: “So, the flowers I picked yesterday were really wildflowers, you weren’t lying to me.”

“I have no reason to lie to you.” Xiang Feiran said calmly: “Just over the mountain here is the sea, the climate and soil are very suitable for them. Fifty meters up the mountain outside the yard, there’s an even larger patch.”

“Why are they called evening primroses?”

The flashlight illuminated the bright yellow petals: “The answer is in the name.”

Shang Mingbao understood: “Because they only bloom at night, only the moon can see them!” She clenched her fist and struck her palm, as if having a sudden revelation, her tone very jubilant.

Some people’s smiles were so faint it seemed they had no intention of being noticed.

“That’s right. However, not all evening primroses strictly bloom only at night; some bloom both day and night.”

“It’s such a waste to bloom at night when no one can see,” Shang Mingbao muttered.

Xiang Feiran glanced back at her, his gaze brushing across her face, and said casually, “It’s not a waste, because you can see them.”

He also talked about some “common knowledge” about evening primroses, a world Shang Mingbao had never seen. Low and creeping at her feet, yet so beautiful.

They even established their own little kingdom.

But Xiang Feiran didn’t stay with her for long. After he finished talking, he handed the flashlight back to Shang Mingbao: “Alright, you can look around on your own. Unless it’s a matter of life and death, don’t knock on the door.”

Shang Mingbao: “…”

The feeling of being touched vanished!

·

Admiring flowers is romantic, but getting up early is hell.

At 5:10 the next morning, when the alarm went off, Shang Mingbao just wanted to strangle herself.

Fang Suining had already gone out to practice singing. She had purposely chosen this time to get up just to discreetly return the jacket.

She hadn’t fallen asleep until after three last night, so she was very tired, and at that moment, she could barely stand while brushing her teeth. After splashing her face with cold water to wake up, she put on casual clothes and went out with a bare face.

The first ray of morning light had not yet crossed the ridge, and the courtyard was filled with a grayish tranquility, with only the kitchen smoke rising into the light blue mist.

Aunt Lan, who was about to go to the backyard to feed the chickens, saw her and asked with a smile, “Good morning. Up so early today? Did Suining wake you?”

The workers had a good impression of her. Although she had only stayed for two days, she was polite and didn’t act like a spoiled young lady.

Shang Mingbao tightly held the jacket in her hands, pointed to the closed door, and asked softly, “Is he awake?”

Aunt Lan laughed and deliberately lowered her voice, “He’s still sleeping. Don’t wake him up. He gets very grumpy when woken up, and no one can deal with it.”

Was it still too early? Shang Mingbao felt she had come in vain. She yawned and was about to turn around and leave when a door suddenly opened, revealing Xiang Feiran in a gray hoodie.

“Here,” he coughed, his voice slightly hoarse.

Shang Mingbao quickly covered the rest of her yawn. She had a bit of a girlish modesty and a beauty’s burden.

“Oh?” Aunt Lan was surprised. “Up so early today?”

“Didn’t sleep,” Xiang Feiran said tersely, giving her a look.

Aunt Lan understood and tactfully made an excuse to leave. The empty courtyard was now just the two of them, not even a chicken in sight. Most of the evening primroses from the night before had withered. Standing in front of the flower bushes, Shang Mingbao faced him, her heart tightly shut, momentarily forgetting why she had come.

Xiang Feiran leaned against the door frame with one hand, the other habitually in the pocket of his dark gray sweatpants. “Looking for me?”

Shang Mingbao nodded.

After a couple of seconds with no further explanation, Xiang Feiran patiently asked, “So, what do you need from me?”

Shang Mingbao snapped out of her daze and quickly crossed the stepping stones. Standing in front of him, she looked up and said, “I’m returning your jacket.”

Xiang Feiran took the jacket without a word. Shang Mingbao tugged the sleeve over half her palm and said, embarrassed, “I haven’t washed it. I don’t know how to do laundry…”

Her brain, which had been running all night, finally short-circuited with this sentence. Xiang Feiran let out a light laugh, “Miss, no one expects you to hand-wash clothes.”

“I know, I mean…” Shang Mingbao was mortified, unsure how to explain.

“You mean that clothes you’ve worn should be returned clean, but as a guest, you’re too embarrassed to ask the workers, and you don’t know how to wash them yourself.”

Shang Mingbao took a light breath, unsure if his sharpness had saved her or trapped her.

Odd, why was she blushing?

“It’s just one night, no need to be so formal.” Xiang Feiran casually rolled up the jacket, his gaze lingering on Shang Mingbao’s face for a moment.

Her exhaustion was evident, with dark circles under her eyes. Indeed, no one knew better than him what time she had gone to bed last night. Although he had insensitively ordered her not to knock on the door, who had kept a bit of attention on the door all night? Only when she had truly gone upstairs to sleep did he continue working without distraction.

“You got up so early just to return my jacket?” He smirked, a hint of mockery breaking through his usual indifference.

Their significant height difference made Shang Mingbao feel as if his gaze had physical weight.

Her tangled thoughts were hard to express, yet he pierced through them: “You want to avoid Fang Suining, don’t want her to know you have dealings with me.”

Shang Mingbao’s heart skipped a beat. The golden light pierced the clouds, as if it had seen through her.

Yes, she didn’t know how to explain to Fang Suining. Although Fang Suining had only said a few words, her aversion to this uncle was clear.

Young people’s friendships were straightforward and absolute; likes and dislikes had to be on the same line. Shang Mingbao felt that her little interactions with him seemed like a betrayal of this new friend.

Returning the jacket would settle things, and she swore never to suffer insomnia again, let alone go out in the middle of the night to see flowers!

Xiang Feiran, someone who had skipped the high school and college entrance exams, and had been accepted by a top 2 university only to turn it down without hesitation, took just a second to figure it all out.

She still regarded him as Fang Suining’s uncle—after seeing his face clearly.

In a daze, Shang Mingbao thought she heard a faint sigh.

This girl had poor eyesight.

Or perhaps she had some fundamental misunderstanding about the correlation between male appearance and aging.

After making his diagnosis, Xiang Feiran’s expression was unreadable. His mind slowly turned. If he wanted to clear up the misunderstanding, now was a good opportunity. But he was running on empty; even if the sky were falling, he’d just pull it over himself as a blanket.

Not Important, Let’s Talk After I Wake Up

As he threw his jacket onto the coat rack, a fresh breeze carried the faint scent of a young girl to his nose.

A man who usually led a life of abstinence involuntarily coughed, his Adam’s apple moving slightly. After a moment’s thought, he unnecessarily shoved the jacket to the bottom of the laundry basket.

There were few pastimes in the mountains, and time was spent idly doing homework.

It was extremely quiet here. By the afternoon, everything seemed to be swallowed by the sun, with only the wind rustling through the grass.

After sharing a pile of idol star cards and posters, Fang Suining tilted her head to listen, looking towards the window.

The black Hongqi car had already left the courtyard, disappearing into the dense green forest after a stretch on the mountain road.

Fang Suining scattered the cards: “Give me five minutes!”

She left excitedly and returned just as excited, slapping the desk with both hands: “Come on, baby! I’ll take you to a place! If you like it, we’ll base our project on plants! Hurry, we can’t miss this chance!”

She thought the car that just left was driven by Xiang Feiran, but to her pleasant surprise, Xiang Feiran had been summoned by their mentor two hours ago!

The two of them half-hopped, half-ran down the stairs, the hem of Fang Suining’s plaid pleated skirt fluttering in the sunlight.

“My name is babe, not baby…” A girl’s voice emphasized amidst the cicada chirps.

“I know, baby! Baby! BB! Bleh bleh bleh~”

The window of Xiang Lianqiao’s study on the third floor was open, letting in the youthful time carried by the wind.

They stopped in front of a row of bungalows. Shang Mingbao’s breathing was noticeably more hurried than Fang Suining’s, and her heartbeat was a bit heavy, but she smiled despite being out of breath.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing.” Shang Mingbao laughed while supporting her hands on her knees.

Outside the corridor, hydrangeas, morning glories, and blue snowflakes were in full bloom. Fang Suining looked around cautiously, then precisely lifted a white ceramic pot in the middle, picking out a key from underneath.

“Ta-da!” She swayed her head proudly, “Xiang Feiran is lazy and only takes one key when he goes out. The rest are hidden under the flowerpots. Let’s go to his specimen room.”

Shang Mingbao’s smile froze, not yet realizing the gravity of the situation: “Does your brother Xiang Feiran also use this room?”

“Of course!” Fang Suining gave her a puzzled look, then inserted the key into the lock and opened the door.

The 20-square-meter room was very tidy. A large workbench held a stereo microscope, and to the right, there was a stack of overlapping table papers.

“These are all specimens, but they haven’t been pressed yet.” Fang Suining explained seriously, showing Shang Mingbao the plants inside one of the papers, “They’ve already been dehydrated with a dryer.”

“These are specimen cabinets, used to store specimens. There are more than ten thousand sheets.”

“And this is a stereo microscope. You know that, right? Do you have lab observation classes in Hong Kong?”

Shang Mingbao nodded, “Do you use this to press specimens?”

“Yes, the labels need to describe the morphology as accurately as possible, such as stem length, leaf width, column length, calyx width, etc. Some trichomes can only be seen under a stereo microscope.”

Shang Mingbao was impressed: “You know a lot.”

“This is all I know.” Fang Suining confessed, “If you ask more, I’ll be exposed. So, do you like it here?”

She didn’t particularly like or dislike it, but the air here had a dry, warm, clean scent of plants, which made her feel peaceful and familiar.

It seemed like she had smelled it on that jacket last night.

Taking advantage of the owner’s absence, Fang Suining rebelliously opened the window and called out, “Aunt Lan!”

Aunt Lan rushed over, half her soul scared away: “Oh my goodness! How did you get in here?!”

“What are you afraid of? He’s not here.” Fang Suining smiled mischievously, “I want some longan ice. Could you bring us two bowls?”

A lady’s order could not be ignored. Aunt Lan hurriedly prepared the dessert while chanting prayers, hoping they would finish quickly so she could clean up before the young master returned.

The longan ice was simple and refreshing, essentially sweetened canned longan with crushed ice, but it was very enjoyable to chew on. Aunt Lan swiftly made two bowls and brought them into the specimen room on a bamboo tray.

Inside, the Venetian blinds were half-closed, and the afternoon light cast tiger stripes on the oak floor. Shang Mingbao and Fang Suining were half-lying on the floor, the air conditioning set to a low temperature.

“I loved this place when I was little, listening to my brother Feiran label specimens while napping. Sometimes I’d snore, and he’d say I sounded like a pig and throw me out.”

Aunt Lan smiled at the memory, setting up a small tea table and placing the two silver dessert spoons into the glass bowls.

The longans were round and plump, floating in the icy, clear liquid.

While sipping the sweet, icy soup, Shang Mingbao shared her own plight: “My big brother always throws me out of his study too.”

“See, all men are the same.” Fang Suining exchanged a sympathetic look with her.

“But you seem to admire him.”

“No way.” Fang Suining denied, secretly praising, “What’s so great about Xiang Feiran? Although he speaks three languages and some Latin, which is impressive.”

“That’s nothing,” Shang Mingbao said casually, “My big brother speaks four languages and more than just a little Latin.”

Fang Suining was provoked into competitiveness: “Alright, if we’re comparing, my grandfather speaks eleven languages.”

“How many?!”

Fang Suining proudly waved it off: “No big deal.”

Shang Mingbao refused to admit defeat and thought of something to turn the tables: “Don’t worry, there’s one thing your brother Feiran can’t compare to.”

“What?”

“He definitely doesn’t look as good as my brother.”

Fang Suining exclaimed, “Huh? Are you serious?”

“Of course. My big brother is so exceptional that people forget their manners when they see him. He could easily be a top star. Your Feiran brother studies biology; he might measure up to a science and engineering guy, but he’s not comparable to them.”

Fang Suining, visibly distressed, said, “I didn’t expect you to be so blind at such a young age.”

Shang Mingbao replied, looking down at her longan, “I’ve never seen him. He’s always disappearing and doesn’t even eat.”

Fang Suining gasped in shock, “What?????”

Shang Mingbao, puzzled, responded, “What?”

The two stared at each other for half a second before Fang Suining blurted out, “That day you saw the moon—”

Just as the truth seemed about to come out, footsteps approached from afar, with Aunt Lan’s loud voice growing nearer, “Feiran, you’re back?”

Fang Suining’s face went pale, and she dropped her spoon, scrambling to her feet and slipping on the floor, “Oh no, oh no…”

Why was Xiang Feiran coming back now?!

The specimen room was too tidy to hide in. After spinning around like a headless fly, Fang Suining slid and knelt behind the only sofa chair, “I’m hiding here; you help block the door!”

Shang Mingbao stood there in confusion, “How do I block it?”

“Just block it any way you can! You’re a guest, he won’t yell at you!”

The key turned in the lock with a subtle sound. In that breathless moment, everything came to an abrupt halt.

Shang Mingbao didn’t have time to react; with ice in her mouth, she sat up straight reflexively.

Her heart raced.

The hot afternoon breeze rushed in as the door opened, stirring the loose strands of hair on Shang Mingbao’s forehead. In her perfectly aligned view, Xiang Feiran entered, carrying a silver backpack over one shoulder and a pot of ferns in his left arm.

The sunlight from the west poured in through the door, enveloping him in an orange glow. He removed his shoes and casually looked up—

At the moment their eyes met, the room fell silent, as if both the people in it were pressed on pause.

Shang Mingbao blurted out, “Uncle?”

Fang Suining’s pupils dilated: Huh?????

Xiang Feiran: “…”

Just as he suspected, procrastination is troublesome.

In his calm self-reflection, there was a barely perceptible sense of resignation. With the situation as it was, he decided to temporarily abandon questioning why she was there and instead opened his backpack, pulling out a document.

It had the name and emblem of a nationally renowned university printed on it.

Shang Mingbao took it amidst her rapidly beating heart, her long eyelashes lowered, not daring to look at his tall figure.

She already had the answer in her mind, didn’t she?

She swallowed.

It was so quiet that her heart seemed to rebel against her eardrums.

She gently flipped the cover with her fingertips, revealing a blue formula sheet.

A face that one could never forget, and a pair of sharp, indifferent eyes.

Below it was written:

Xiang Feiran

Biology Department, Level 17, Class 03