It seems to be a flower seller.

Xu Yitong was a bit dazed, hesitantly wondering, is this referring to her?

A flower seller…

Referring to her.

A flower seller?

Xu Yitong slowly turned to stone.

—

During the time she spent preparing the gift, Xu Yitong had imagined that when Yu Ge first opened it, he would be indifferent. 

But it didn’t matter—once he removed the rose on top, he would see the hidden boxes of cookies underneath. 

At that point, Yu Ge should be deeply moved.  

Every time she envisioned this moment, Xu Yitong couldn’t help but feel a little smug.

Because Yu Ge would never expect that the surprise didn’t end there.

Like peeling an onion layer by layer, the cookies came in many varieties. 

After he took out all the cookies, he would be astonished to find a small glass fish pendant lying at the very bottom.

For this glass pendant, Xu Yitong had practically camped out at her friend’s handicraft shop for an entire week. 

The hardship was known only to her. 

The initial attempts resulted in a ridiculous jellyfish, which then morphed into a monstrous octopus. 

After countless efforts, it finally evolved into a beautiful little fish.

In the end, Xu Yitong simply left a note: 【Made it myself ^.^】

After all this, she happily imagined every possible reaction Yu Ge might have—touched, surprised, delighted…  

Out of all the possibilities, she never expected Yu Ge to mistake her for a flower seller.

Xu Yitong was utterly speechless.  

Which flower seller dresses as prettily and elegantly as she does?  

She was heartbroken.

……

……

“By the way, bro, Auntie called me earlier. Grandma told her to return the money to you. She said she doesn’t need much for her medical expenses.”

“Let her keep it.”

Yu Nuo nodded and asked, “Grandma’s coming to Shanghai for her check-up in a couple of days. She’ll stay at Dad’s place. Do we have time to visit her?”

Hearing no response from the other end of the line, Yu Nuo tentatively called out, “Bro?”

Yu Ge: “We’ll see.”

The call ended.

Yu Ge stood still, reaching into his pocket for a cigarette. 

However, he wasn’t in the habit of smoking, so he didn’t carry any with him.

There was a convenience store fifty meters away. 

As he started walking toward it, the hem of his pants was suddenly tugged by someone.

Yu Ge looked down.

It was the flower seller from earlier.

She was wearing a bright yellow dress and black leather shoes, looking as wilted as a frostbitten eggplant, crouched by a small flower bed.

For some reason, Yu Ge thought of a dried-up SpongeBob.

She looked up at him, her eyes wide: “Don’t you remember me?”

Yu Ge remained silent.

Even her voice was similar.

Seeing he had no intention of speaking, Xu Yitong decided to give herself an out: “I’m Xu Yitong.”

Yu Ge still didn’t respond.

“You know, the one who went to your place for dinner and accidentally broke a bowl…” Xu Yitong tried to jog his memory.

Yu Ge murmured, “Oh, it’s you.”

At the bustling intersection, nearing rush hour, groups of students passed by, creating a long line of traffic. 

A few idle drivers even rolled down their windows to watch the scene unfold.

Yu Ge lowered his gaze.

“What do you want?”

His usually rich voice sounded hoarser than before, slightly rough, as if he had a cold. 

But that didn’t diminish the coldness in his tone.

It was as if they had never met.

Xu Yitong felt a pang of grievance.

“I came to give you a gift…”

“A gift?”

He paused briefly, seemingly puzzled.

“Why give me one?”

Xu Yitong stiffly replied, “I heard you’d like it.”

What kind of question was that?

She thought indignantly.

What other reason could there be besides liking him?

Could it possibly be that Xu Yitong had nothing better to do than lug around dozens of pounds of stuff to work off a meal?

Yu Ge glanced at the flowers beside her. “Thanks.”

Those two words made Xu Yitong’s heart leap with joy.

“But I don’t know where you heard that.”

Xu Yitong: “?”

He turned his gaze back and stated flatly, “I don’t like flowers.”

Xu Yitong’s smile froze: “It’s not just…”

She wanted to explain that it wasn’t just flowers inside—there were also many cookies, lots of them, ones he would surely love. 

But the words stuck in her throat. 

She resented the idea that he wouldn’t discover the surprise himself.

At this moment, on the verge of tears, from her crouched position, she could clearly see his distinct, bony hands—marked by masculine features yet clean and slender.

She forgot what she was about to say.

The breeze brushed against Yu Ge’s clothes, and the team jersey he hadn’t yet changed out of was outlined in gold by the setting sun, making him look incredibly gentle.

What the hell.  

Her eyes weren’t red, but her face was flushing…

Xu Yitong couldn’t cry anymore.

She really wanted to reflect on herself.

*

In the private dining room, most of the dishes had already been served. 

When Yu Ge walked in alone, the group stopped their banter and turned to look at him.

Amidst the chorus of “tsk tsk” and “oh ho,” Yu Ge remained silent and took a seat.

Noticing the lighter and cigarettes Yu Ge casually tossed on the table, 

Will nudged him with his shoulder and winked: “Since when do you smoke? That beauty got you this worked up?”

Yu Ge pushed him away. 

“Get off me.”

“Yeah, just take it out on me. Might as well bully me to death,” 

Will said melodramatically.

Yi Yi studied Yu Ge with a smile and asked casually, “Huh? Where’s the stuff? Didn’t you take it?”

She tried to sound natural, but her curiosity was still evident.

Yu Ge gave a noncommittal “Hmm.”

“What a shame,” 

Yi Yi said, her expression tinged with regret. 

“Tongtong spent a long time preparing it.”

Yu Ge seemed uninterested in continuing the topic and didn’t respond.  

The OG team rarely joked about his personal life. 

Yi Yi stuck out her tongue and didn’t press further.

She had already guessed Yu Ge wouldn’t casually accept gifts from others.

As part of OG’s extended circle, Yi Yi knew Yu Ge better than most.

Yu Ge wasn’t rude, but objectively speaking, he carried an air of aloof arrogance. 

Or perhaps it was just his nature—reserved, with an innate sense of distance. 

You could call it steadiness, or you could call it indifference.

Whether familiar or not, Yu Ge rarely joked around or mingled freely with others.

Aside from his younger sister, it seemed he didn’t care much about anyone else.

Except,

Yi Yi had thought Xu Yitong might be an exception.

When she found out they had exchanged WeChat, there was a moment when Yi Yi couldn’t believe it.

Of course, she genuinely liked Xu Yitong, her new friend, and was happy to help. 

If Xu Yitong could really win Yu Ge over, Yi Yi would be delighted.

But… but she also had some inexplicable, hidden feelings. 

It wasn’t jealousy toward Xu Yitong or anything else. 

If she had to describe it, it was more like disappointment—Yu Ge was just like anyone else after all.

As long as you were rich enough, pretty enough, Yu Ge was just like anyone else.

Yi Yi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and, while taking a sip of water, discreetly glanced at Yu Ge.

His expression remained as calm as ever, as if nothing had just happened.

There was a reason this man was universally recognized as one of LPL’s most popular players of all time.

Handsome men were a dime a dozen, and looks could be ranked. 

But it was precisely because Yu Ge was effortlessly handsome—unaware of his own charm—that made him so captivating.

Being liked seemed like the most mundane thing to him; he never showed a hint of pride. 

Even topics related to himself held no interest for further discussion.  

Which made people even more curious:  

Could such a still, placid lake ever ripple for someone?

After some idle musing, Yi Yi refocused.  

Sure enough.  

Yu Ge was still Yu Ge.

The unattainable flower remained just that—unattainable.

Admired by many, surrounded by many, but never to be plucked.

*

As the sun set, Shanghai resembled a half-ripe orange. 

Xu Yitong stared blankly at the passing scenery outside the window.

Like its owner, the pink roses beside her looked pitifully wilted.

The scene was utterly melancholic—except for the car’s BGM.

When the DJ remix of “Love Can Sometimes Be Cruel” started playing, Xu Yitong froze.

The line “Tears of sorrow have drowned the long, dusty world” came on.

Xu Yitong endured it.

Then came “Still believing sincerity can move his heart.”

Xu Yitong gritted her teeth.

By the time “Can’t quit the  humble one-sided devotion” played, she finally burst into tears: “Who picked such a heartless song?”

Jasmine, sitting in the passenger seat, heard the sob in Xu Yitong’s voice and quickly reached to skip the track.

The driver snapped, “Don’t skip it. Let her listen and snap out of it.”

Xu Yitong’s sniffles grew louder.

Jasmine, caught between the two, changed the subject: “Tongtong, I heard a new bar opened on Huaihai Road. They have that yogurt wine you love. Wanna go check it out later?”

Xu Yitong declared loudly, “I don’t want to. I’m going home.”

As the most sharp-tongued in their friend group, 

Cai Cai never indulged her: “Going home to keep reading your ‘Diary of A Dog Licking’?”

“Alright, alright,” Jasmine mediated. 

“Tongtong’s just been through a breakup. Don’t rub it in.”

“Who said I got dumped?” Xu Yitong retorted.

Jasmine glanced at her.

She must be really upset—her makeup was smudged, and she hadn’t even bothered to fix it. 

Jasmine handed her a tissue. 

“Then why are you crying?”

“I just regret…”

Xu Yitong wiped her tears, sniffling.

“I should’ve put the cookies he likes on top.”

Jasmine: “…”

Cai Cai: “Psycho.”

Xu Yitong lamented, “Do you think Yu Ge really doesn’t remember me after sharing meals together a few times? Am I that forgettable? Maybe his taste is just off.”

Cai Cai, driving, casually replied, “Maybe he’s not into girls.”

Xu Yitong was furious. 

“Cai Yishi! You’re so annoying! I can’t talk to you anymore!”

“Fine,” Cai Cai amended. 

“Maybe he’s just not into you.”

“…”  

Lies don’t hurt; the truth is the sharpest blade.  

Xu Yitong immediately fell silent.

The car was quiet for a few minutes before Cai Cai checked the rearview mirror. 

“Why so quiet?”

Xu Yitong, sulking, turned to the window.

“I’m sad, okay?”

The awful DJ song finally ended, but before her melancholy could fully settle, a Phoenix Legend track came on next.

Xu Yitong couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Can we play something slower?”

“Heartbroken people shouldn’t listen to slow songs, you know.”  

Xu Yitong was utterly fed up with her lousy jokes: “Do you think you’re funny or something?”  

Cai Cai laughed heartily: “I just saw you were about to cry again, so I thought I’d lighten the mood.”  

Molly suddenly had an idea: “Hey, Tongtong, why don’t you ask your little brother? Isn’t he a bit like Yu Ge? Maybe he can give you some advice.”  

“Ask Chen Yuzheng?” Xu Yitong was skeptical. “How are they alike?”  

Molly was certain: “Their profession, for one. And guys usually understand other guys better.”  

Hearing this, Xu Yitong pondered it carefully and began to see some logic in it.  

Well, it was worth a shot—nothing to lose at this point.

Without delay, she pulled out her phone, opened WeChat, and sent Chen Yuzheng a message: 【You there?】  

When there was no reply, Xu Yitong impatiently dialed a video call.  

This time, it was promptly declined.  

He sent back a question mark: 【?】  

Xu Yitong gritted her teeth, already picturing Chen Yuzheng’s infuriating expression on the other end of the phone.  

Suppressing her temper, she started typing.  

“Xiao Zheng, help your sister out and analyze something for me. Why does Yu Ge keep ignoring me? You pro gamers…”  

Before she could finish typing the message, a new notification popped up with a whoosh—  

Conquer: 【How did you know I’m dating Yu Nuo? 0.o】