Lu Yin Zhen felt somewhat helpless and softened his tone, saying, “I didn’t mean to scold you.”

“Yes, you did.” Song Mianfeng lifted his hand to undo the seatbelt. “I won’t buckle you up. Do it yourself.”

The hand that had been loosely gripping the wrist tightened slightly, while the other hand handed the seat belt buckle back to Song Mianfeng. Then, holding Song Mianfeng’s hand, he re-buckled the seatbelt.

With a click, the seat belt was fastened again. However, Lu Yin Zhen didn’t let go of his hand. Instead, he looked at him and said in a calm tone, “Now, that’s being harsh.”

Lu Yin Zhen was accustomed to high positions, and possessed a strategic mind. He was always firm in his methods and decisive in his actions. Although he deliberately restrained himself and indulged Song Mianfeng when they were together, he was never as gentle as he seemed.

Song Mianfeng raised an eyebrow, meeting Lu Yin Zhen’s gaze without flinching. “Are you always this fierce when doing business?”

“Even fiercer.”

The young man, due to his long-term illness, always had a pale complexion on his face, looking frail, but his eyes were full of vitality, like wild grass in spring, carrying a fierce momentum, growing wildly without leaving any room for retreat.

He asked Song Mianfeng, “Are you afraid?”

“Afraid of what?” Song Mianfeng chuckled. “I’m not doing business with you.”

Lu Yin Zhen’s expression relaxed slightly, and he loosened his grip on Song Mianfeng’s hand. “Then, what are you doing with me?”

“Talking…” Song Mianfeng withdrew his hand, sat back in the driver’s seat, fastened his seatbelt, started the car, and then slowly continued, “…talking about how the flowers are blooming in J Province this year.”

Song Mianfeng deliberately changed the subject. How could Lu Yin Zhen not see through it?

Some words, when said like a joke, leave the listener unsure whether to take them seriously, and the speaker may not feel any easier either.

It’s better left unsaid.

So Lu Yin Zhen just remained silent for a moment before picking up the conversation. “They’re blooming exceptionally well.”

In the photos he took, the flowers in J Province this year were blooming beautifully.

When they arrived at Lu Yin Zhen’s place, it was already a few minutes past three. It was still quite early for dinner, so it seemed natural to go upstairs and sit for a while.

Following Lu Yin Zhen into the house, he pushed the suitcase aside and found a pair of slippers for him to change into.

Looking at the brand new men’s slippers, Song Mianfeng, knowing the answer, asked deliberately, “Why did you prepare new slippers?”

After changing shoes, Lu Yin Zhen pushed the suitcase towards the living room. “Last time I invited you to come upstairs, I found out after you left that there weren’t any spare slippers, so I prepared a pair.”

Lu Yin Zhen placed the suitcase beside the sofa, took two cups from the coffee table, went to the kitchen to rinse them briefly, then brought out two cups of water and handed one to Song Mianfeng. “Feel free to sit. I’ll go to my room to put away the luggage.”

Taking the water, Song Mianfeng said, “Thank you,” with a slight smile. “Can I take a look around?”

“Sure.” Lu Yin Zhen took a sip of water, placed the cup on the coffee table, and pointed to the kitchen, becoming a serious guide of the house. “That’s the kitchen, and outside the kitchen, there’s a small balcony.”

“There’s a small gym outside the balcony.”

Lu Yin Zhen pushed the suitcase and led Song Mianfeng inside. “This room is the study.” Walking past the study, Lu Yin Zhen stopped at the door of the second room. “This is my room.”

“Opposite is the walk-in closet, and the two rooms next to it are guest rooms.” Lu Yin Zhen paused for a moment and explained, “They’re vacant.”

“The room at the corner is the bathroom and shower room.”

Lu Yin Zhen pushed open the door to his room and gestured for him to enter.

Lu Yin Zhen’s room was very spacious. It would be inappropriate to call it a single room because there was a resting area upon entering, with another door leading to the bedroom. Against the wall in the resting area was a Japanese-style small tea table, on which lay a neatly arranged set of tea utensils. Song Mianfeng didn’t understand tea utensils, but he could tell they were valuable. Two sides of the tea table were tatami mats, and the floor was covered with a soft blanket, comfortable to step on. There was a projection screen on the wall, and in the corner, there was a massage chair, somewhat similar to the one he had bought for Song Shaochen before.

Expensive, too.

Overall, Lu Yin Zhen either came from a wealthy family or had a successful business.

Song Mianfeng subconsciously thought of the prominent Lu family in S City, but then he remembered that Lu Yin Zhen grew up in B City, and his name didn’t seem to follow the naming conventions of the family, so he felt he was overthinking.

The door of the room was open, so Song Mianfeng walked in and found another door on the left, probably leading to the bathroom.

The room was decorated only in black, white, and gray, simple yet cold. A full-length glass window let sunlight pour in, adding a fourth color to the room.

Song Mianfeng looked around the room and then turned his gaze to Lu Yin Zhen.

Lu Yin Zhen stood by the bed, took off his suit jacket, hung it on the coat rack, untied his tie, and then unbuttoned his shirt.

Although weary from the journey, with fatigue evident in his features, he wore a frost-white shirt that clung to his slender waist, looking immaculately neat even with the slightest creases. His fingers, which were unbuttoning his shirt, were long and slender, with distinct joints. The movements of unbuttoning his shirt were also unexpectedly alluring.

Unintentional seduction was the most fatal, Song Mianfeng deeply believed.

Perhaps his gaze was too intense, Lu Yin Zhen glanced at him and relaxed a lot after unbuttoning two buttons. His tone was light as he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Taking a sip of water, Song Mianfeng said, “It’s nothing, just professional habit acting up.”

Lu Yin Zhen placed his watch on the bedside table and asked, puzzled, “Huh?”

Song Mianfeng smiled. “When I see something or someone beautiful, I just want to take a photo. I think about what kind of light would look best and what lens to use, and from what angle to shoot.”

Song Mianfeng praised subtly, which made Lu Yin Zhen blush slightly as he listened. “You’ve seen many beautiful people, I suppose.”

“In fact, not many.” Song Mianfeng said, “Apart from work, I hardly take portraits.”

Most of the magazine covers were of female celebrities, but he had no interest in women. Occasionally, he would take on fashion shows, editorials, and some shoots with celebrities he had worked with before, but other than that, he rarely took portraits.

“It seems you don’t like being photographed either.” Lu Yin Zhen said, “I mean, you don’t like being photographed.”

That day when he returned home, out of curiosity and a desire to understand Song Mianfeng more, he looked up information about him. However, while there were entries about awards he had won and places he had photographed, there were no photos of him.

“I don’t.” The smile on Song Mianfeng’s face faded slightly. “I offer my soul to art; I’ll leave my body to my lover.”

Lu Yin Zhen noticed the change in his expression and didn’t continue the topic. Instead, he suddenly spoke up, “I have something for you.”

He placed the suitcase on the ground, half-squatting down to open it, and took out a delicately packaged gift box from inside.

Song Mianfeng was momentarily stunned. “For me?”

A smile played at the corner of Lu Yin Zhen’s lips as he handed the gift to him. “For you.”

Only then did Song Mianfeng take the gift box. With a water glass in one hand and the gift box in the other, he wasn’t sure whether to open it now or how to open it.

“Aren’t you going to open it?” Lu Yin Zhen chuckled, taking the water glass from his hand to free up his hands.

Song Mianfeng lowered his gaze, his fingers touching the edge of the box lid, hesitating for a moment before gently opening it.

Inside the black box lay a single red rose, wrapped in black tissue paper and tied with a beautiful bow, placed in a slender glass bottle.

“Eternal rose?” Song Mianfeng reached out and touched the glass bottle, feeling a slight coolness on his fingertips, as if he had touched soft, unfolding petals and leaves, softening his heart into a bundle, itching as if it were about to bloom.

“Why suddenly… give me a gift?”

“Do I need a reason to give you a gift?” Lu Yin Zhen smiled, his eyes and brows warm. “If I need one, then I’ll make one up for you.”

Song Mianfeng looked up at him and smiled slowly. Somewhere along the line, a seed planted in his heart suddenly sprouted, growing vigorously in the wind, causing his heart to beat uncontrollably.

The rose brought back from afar seemed to make one see hills covered with blooming flowers, as colorful as brocade.

There was also a card tied to the bow, handwritten in English, with strong and beautiful handwriting.

Song Mianfeng relaxed his brows, his eyes curved with a gentle smile as he asked, “What does this sentence mean?”

“For nothing this wide universe I call, Save thou, my Rose, in it thou art my all.” Lu Yin Zhen’s English was not only beautifully written but also spoken beautifully, his voice deep and alluring with a smile.

“The vast universe means nothing to me, only you, this rose, is my earthly root.”

Lu Yin Zhen translated it word by word for him, his voice as light as if afraid of disturbing the sunlight falling on Song Mianfeng.

Though his tone was light and gentle, it felt like a fire had ignited in his heart, making Song Mianfeng’s face burn red. “Thank you.”

Song Mianfeng closed the lid, covering the bright red of the rose, and suppressed the unruly beating of his heart in his chest. Holding the box to his chest, he choked out, “I really like it.”

…

After returning home, Song Mianfeng took out the rose Lu Yin Zhen had given him and placed it on the bedside table. Against the backdrop of the snow-white walls and the light from the bedside lamp, he took a photo and posted it on his social media.

Soon, there were likes and comments, with fellow photographers and friends praising the composition and lighting. Song Mianfeng couldn’t be bothered and only replied to Liu Chengyin’s comment with, “I didn’t pick flowers, I went to pick herbs.”

Liu Chengyin replied with several question marks, and Song Mianfeng couldn’t contain his laughter, feeling that his reply was not only high-end but also vividly descriptive.

After replying to two comments, Song Mianfeng went to take a shower. When he came out, he saw a comment from Song Zhanyue.

“From Lu Yin Zhen?”

Song Mianfeng replied with a particularly reserved “Yes.”

Within two minutes, Song Mianfeng’s social media received two heavyweight comments.

Song Shaochen: “From Lu Yin Zhen?!”

Su Jieyi: “Who gave it to you??”

^[1]Author’s note: “For nothing this wide universe I call, Save thou, my Rose; in it thou art my all.” – Shakespeare’s Sonnet There are several versions of … Continue reading