Chapter 45

Mu Chi’s stunned expression gave Song Wenzhou a sense of accomplishment, and he thought to himself that surprising someone you like was such a delightful thing.

Mu Chi hugged the roses, bent down to sit in the passenger seat, then handed the bouquet to Song Wenzhou. “Hold this for me.”

Song Wenzhou took it, watching as Mu Chi fastened his seatbelt, before reaching into his arms to take the roses back.

The bouquet he ordered was not small, and Mu Chi was tall. A big man sitting in the passenger seat with a bouquet made the space feel cramped, even after adjusting the seat, it was still difficult to stretch out.

Song Wenzhou felt uncomfortable watching Mu Chi hunch over, trying to avoid squashing the flowers, and kindly suggested, “Why don’t you put the flowers on the back seat?”

“No.” Mu Chi firmly refused. “I want to hold them.”

Song Wenzhou couldn’t do anything about it and turned to start the car. “Fine, fine, do whatever you want.”

“Hey,” Mu Chi, hearing his tone, wasn’t happy. “Do you remember you’re the one who’s chasing me? Don’t sound so impatient.”

Song Wenzhou thought to himself that he wasn’t impatient at all, but it was clearly not the time to reason with Mu Chi. He put on a fake smile and said, “What I meant is, if you like them, just hold them.”

Mu Chi grunted and buried his face in the flowers, inhaling their fragrance.

“One, two, three…” He started seriously counting.

Song Wenzhou caught a glimpse of his actions and, amused, asked, “Do you want me to just tell you how many flowers there are?”

“No need, I went to school, I can count.” Mu Chi replied, then paused for a moment before turning and glaring at him. “It’s all your fault, you made me forget where I was in counting.”

Song Wenzhou laughed for a long time. “Sorry, I’ll stop talking.”

Mu Chi didn’t say anything more and silently finished counting, then happily reported, “99.”

“Right,” Song Wenzhou, taking advantage of the red light, gave him a thumbs-up. “You counted right, great job.”

“…”

Mu Chi narrowed his eyes. “Do you think I’m a little kid?”

“Are you not?” Song Wenzhou asked with a smile.

When Song Wenzhou smiled, there were subtle dimples on both sides of his cheeks.

His bright smile made Mu Chi admit defeat, and he reluctantly acknowledged, “I guess so.”

Fool, Song Wenzhou thought to himself.

Mu Chi didn’t feel foolish at all. He hummed a cheerful tune, tugging at the rose petals, and said, “This is your first time officially giving me flowers.”

He had received flowers in the past, but they were usually just wildflowers Song Wenzhou casually picked while waiting for him after class, or when he was bored on the side of the road.

The stems were too thin to hold properly, so he could only pinch them between two fingers, and if he wasn’t careful, they would fall off.

Song Wenzhou carefully thought back, trying to recall at least one instance where he had argued in his defense, only to realize, as Mu Chi had said, that he had never actually given Mu Chi flowers formally.

He, on the other hand, had received countless bouquets.

This was something he had done poorly. He really hadn’t been a competent boyfriend in the past.

Mu Chi saw through his thoughts, glanced at him, and said, “Actually, compared to receiving flowers myself, seeing you happy because I gave you flowers makes me even happier.”

Every time he saw Song Wenzhou like that, he wanted to give him the whole world to choose from.

Song Wenzhou’s heart seemed to be scratched by a kitten, and he couldn’t help but smile more happily.

Twenty minutes later, the Audi stopped in front of a French restaurant.

Mu Chi hadn’t asked Song Wenzhou where he was taking him, and even now, as the car came to a stop, he casually said, “We’re here,” clearly leaving everything up to Song Wenzhou’s arrangement.

“Mm.” Song Wenzhou responded, taking the key out and getting out of the car.

As he walked around the front of the car, Mu Chi also got out, still holding the large bouquet of bright red roses.

Song Wenzhou paused for a moment to wait.

Mu Chi stood still as well, even looking at him with a questioning expression, wondering why Song Wenzhou wasn’t moving.

“Are you planning to take the flowers inside?” Song Wenzhou asked.

Mu Chi nodded as if it were obvious. “Yes.”

“Well… the flowers are too big and difficult to carry,” Song Wenzhou said, using a coaxing tone. “How about we leave them in the car for now?”

With 99 roses and the elaborate wrapping, the bouquet was quite large.

And it was too conspicuous.

It already felt a bit odd for two men to go for a Western meal together, but one of them carrying such a large bouquet would attract even more attention.

“I don’t think it’s hard to carry,” Mu Chi seemed not to understand his implication.

Song Wenzhou tried again, “Just trust me. Leave the flowers in the car. Don’t worry, no one will steal them.”

Mu Chi chuckled. “You’re the one chasing me, shouldn’t you be listening to me instead?”

The restaurant’s greeter had already noticed the commotion and occasionally looked over.

Song Wenzhou felt his ears heat up. He instinctively wanted to act like he usually did, but Mu Chi’s comment about him chasing him made him unsure of what to say to make Mu Chi give in. In the end, he stomped his foot in frustration.

“Ha!” Mu Chi couldn’t hold back his laughter. “Alright, alright, I’m not teasing you anymore.”

With that, he carefully placed the flowers in the passenger seat, adjusting their “seating” position.

Song Wenzhou immediately locked the car after he closed the door, muttering, “Crazy.”

He just knew Mu Chi was messing with him, and yet every time, despite knowing Mu Chi’s behavior, he still fell for it.

Mu Chi suddenly turned around, incredulously asking, “Were you just insulting me?”

Song Wenzhou didn’t respond, instead walking into the restaurant first.

He had already made a reservation before leaving work, and after giving his name, the waiter led them inside.

The French restaurant had a calm atmosphere, with everyone speaking in hushed tones.

Mu Chi leaned closer to Song Wenzhou’s ear and quietly “threatened,” “With your attitude toward me, do you believe I’ll stop agreeing to you?”

Song Wenzhou naturally didn’t believe it, but to maintain the pride of his ex-boyfriend and future boyfriend, he lowered his posture slightly, saying, “Sorry, I was wrong. Don’t refuse me.”

“Let’s see how you behave later,” Mu Chi said arrogantly.

As they were talking, the waiter had already led them to their reserved table, which was a two-person seat by the window.

Song Wenzhou habitually moved toward the inner seat, but when he sat down and adjusted his clothes, Mu Chi was still standing by the table.

The waiter, not understanding what was happening, still maintained a polite smile.

“Hm?” Song Wenzhou was puzzled and asked, “Why aren’t you sitting?”

“Cough, cough.” Mu Chi lightly coughed twice with his fist near his lips, his gaze sweeping across the chairs next to the table.

“?” Song Wenzhou tilted his head, not understanding.

Mu Chi looked at him in frustration, then pointed to the chair next to the table again.

“Oh.”

Finally understanding the hint, Song Wenzhou stood up, moved around to the other side, and pulled the chair out a little, setting it at the right distance for Mu Chi to sit.

“Please sit,” Song Wenzhou said calmly.

Mu Chi nodded in satisfaction, sitting down while unbuttoning his suit jacket at the waist.

The irritating look on his face made Song Wenzhou grind his teeth in secret, and as he turned around, he noticed the waiter’s twitching mouth, causing his ears to redden again.

Once both of them were seated, the waiter, who was holding the menu, stopped his little thoughts. He had originally planned to show the menu to Song Wenzhou first, but the action of Song Wenzhou pulling out the chair for Mu Chi made him hesitate, and then he handed the menu to Mu Chi instead. “Sir, please order.”

Mu Chi instinctively wanted to give the menu to Song Wenzhou, but after a moment’s pause, he took it.

Song Wenzhou didn’t mind who ordered, continuing to adjust his shirt cuffs. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Mu Chi quickly flipped through two pages of the menu, and without looking too closely, casually listed a few dish names.

Upon hearing this, Song Wenzhou looked up and glanced at Mu Chi a few times.

Mu Chi seemed oblivious to it all. After ordering, he closed the menu and handed it back to the waiter, saying, “That’s all.”

“Wait a minute,” Song Wenzhou stopped the waiter who was about to leave. “I’ll add two more dishes…”

French cuisine isn’t as diverse as Chinese food, and Song Wenzhou didn’t often eat it. However, the dishes Mu Chi had ordered were exactly the ones he liked.

Mu Chi had always been like this, even though they never lacked the extra money to order more, he always prioritized what Song Wenzhou liked when it came to food, clothes, or other things.

Song Wenzhou understood this well and happily enjoyed this favoritism, while also responding in his own way.

Just as Mu Chi understood him, he too knew Mu Chi’s preferences well: taste, dressing style, the music he listens to when cooking, the positions they take during intimate moments… He knew exactly what Mu Chi liked.

As expected, after Song Wenzhou added the extra dishes and the waiter left, Mu Chi let out a small laugh and secretly decided to retract the “threat” he made when entering the restaurant.

His expression was silly, which made Song Wenzhou laugh too, asking, “What are you laughing at?”

“I’m happy,” Mu Chi leaned forward slightly and looked into Song Wenzhou’s eyes, saying, “Our Zhouzhou actually remembers what I like to eat.”

“Hm?” Song Wenzhou raised an eyebrow, “Actually?”

Mu Chi blinked innocently, giving a “Did I say something wrong?” expression.

“Alright,” Song Wenzhou nodded, “I get it.”

It was really a bit disappointing, Mu Chi had used the word “actually,” which was unexpected.

So, for the rest of the meal, Song Wenzhou showed Mu Chi through his actions that he not only remembered his food preferences but also the order in which he liked to eat, the angles of the cutlery, how many bites it took to finish foie gras… All the little details, he knew exactly what Mu Chi liked.

By the end of the meal, Mu Chi seemed to have a new understanding of Song Wenzhou, feeling both surprised and full of warmth inside.

After the meal, both of them felt a bit lazy, so they silently sat face to face, enjoying the music flowing through the restaurant. They occasionally exchanged a few trivial words until Song Wenzhou began to feel sleepy and got up to leave.

Back in the car, Mu Chi immediately picked up the eye-catching bouquet of roses.

He gently pinched one of the petals, saying with slight sadness, “It’s starting to wilt.”

Song Wenzhou glanced at it casually and, using his years of experience, said, “That’s normal. Flowers wilt quickly once they’re away from water.”

“Then let’s hurry home,” Mu Chi said, “and put it in a vase.”

“Alright.” Song Wenzhou started the car and headed home.

Actually, he had plans for after the meal, but since Mu Chi asked, and since it was his suggestion for a date, Song Wenzhou naturally followed his wishes.

At Mu Chi’s request, Song Wenzhou drove him all the way to the door of his high-end apartment on the top floor. Then Mu Chi, using the excuse that the bouquet was too big for him to manage with his hands full, asked Song Wenzhou to open the door for him.

Song Wenzhou had no complaints, and without needing to confirm the password, he unlocked the door with his fingerprint.

The arrangements inside the house were the same as before he left after attending Qi Ling’s wedding. The fingerprint lock and the password would certainly be no different either.

Since he was already here, Song Wenzhou didn’t plan to leave immediately. At the very least, he intended to go in and have a drink of water.

But Mu Chi didn’t know his thoughts and was worried he might leave. After entering the house, he seriously said first, “Don’t leave yet, wait until I finish with the flowers and then we can watch a movie.”

Song Wenzhou nodded, “Okay.”

Clearly, Mu Chi wasn’t fully reassured. As he carried the flowers to the balcony, he kept glancing back, afraid that Song Wenzhou might sneak off if he wasn’t paying attention.

Song Wenzhou, meanwhile, changed into his slippers from the shoe cabinet. He saw Mu Chi’s cautious behavior out of the corner of his eye and, amused, asked, “I’m not going to sneak away. What are you worried about?”

Mu Chi squinted his eyes, opened the glass door that separated the living room from the balcony to its fullest, and then fully relaxed.