Through the floor-to-ceiling windows with half-open curtains, she could see the vast river beyond the other street.

Team leader: [Arrived?]

He Ye came back to her senses: [Yeah, just arrived.]

Team leader: [There’s plenty of time, please feel free to explore.]

He Ye: [I’m not used to this style, and I’m a little scared to be alone.]

Team leader: [I was still single when I was renovating. I’ll listen to you next time.]

He Ye: [I’m going to the cloakroom.]

Lu Jin called He Ye via video.

He Ye answered, and Lu Jin appeared on the screen, wrapped in a bath towel and sitting on the sofa outside.

He Ye quickly changed the camera view: “Why are you sitting on my sofa? Go back to your room.”

It was unclear if he was sitting on a bath towel or if there was no obstruction at all.

Lu Jin said, “The sheets are too ugly unless I go to your side.”

He Ye glared at the screen, even though he couldn’t see it.

Lu Jin continued, “It’s the one on the right.”

He Ye glanced around.

His side is a four-bedroom apartment. The doors to the master bedroom and study are open, matching the cold style of the rest of the place. There’s also a closed door, probably a guest room.

He Ye opened the cloakroom door, feeling a bit annoyed.

As he opened it, he thought about how he is a grown man yet has a room just for dressing.

Once inside, He Ye was shocked by how it was furnished.

Dark gray is the main color, with a large black island cabinet in the center and cabinets on three sides.

Suits, shirts, trousers, jackets, ties, shorts, shoes, belts, and watches are neatly arranged by category.

The surface of the island cabinet is black marble, with drawers underneath for small items.

He Ye thought: “What should I do if my boyfriend is ten thousand times more sophisticated than me?”

Lu Jin calmly instructed his girlfriend to get clothes.

He Ye recalled what her colleagues said about him: as an IT guy, his clothes were indeed too flashy.

Holding her phone in one hand, she took out clothes with the other and complained quietly, “You are more suitable for the marketing department or other departments that require frequent socializing.”

Lu Jin replied, “Dressing is a matter of personal taste and has nothing to do with occupation. Don’t forget the shorts.”

He Ye regretted keeping him last night.

Lu Jin added, “There is a packaging bag at the back.”

He Ye said, “I see. I’ll hang up first.”

She placed her phone on the shiny center island counter. Feeling influenced by the atmosphere, He Ye became serious and meticulous while folding the clothes. She folded them neatly and put them into the packaging bag.

After closing the cloakroom door, He Ye glanced at her master bedroom.

On the bedside table facing the door was a photo frame.

He Ye’s heart raced. Was it a family photo or a narcissistic picture of himself?

Anyway, her boyfriend said she could visit freely, so He Ye bit her lip and walked in with the packaging bag, leaning down to look closely at the photo frame.

In the photo was a girl wearing Hanfu, standing on a quiet path in a bamboo forest. She seemed to hear someone calling and looked back with a smile.

He Ye felt embarrassed looking at it.

Just as she was about to leave, she noticed a black-glazed porcelain jar about thirty or forty centimeters high in the corner of the bedroom.

He Ye walked over in surprise.

The water in the jar was clear, and lotus flowers that had been dormant for winter were growing a few round leaves, fresh and green.

He Ye recalled the year she first registered on WeChat. As a high school student, she wanted a unique nickname, so she chose “Ye Zi Yuan Yuan” ^[1]which means “lotus leaf” in Chinese..

Because she is He Ye, a lotus leaf with round leaves.

When did Lu Jin start growing the lotus in this jar? How long had he kept the framed photo of her in Hanfu?

With no answer, He Ye began to feel sad.

After a final look at the green leaves, He Ye left with the packaging bag.

Returning to Room 901 of Dangui Jiayuan, He Ye opened the door and saw that Lu Jin had returned to the second bedroom, leaving the door slightly open.

He Ye stuffed the packaging bag inside and leaned against the wall next to her.

Lu Jin changed his clothes, opened the door, and when he saw her, his dark eyes showed surprise: “Eavesdropping?”

He Ye looked at him, lowered her eyes, and said, “You told me to visit freely, so I wandered into your bedroom.”

Lu Jin replied, “Feel free to stroll. I don’t blame you. You’re leaning here like a primary school student being punished by the teacher.”

As he spoke, he moved aside and pulled her into his arms.

He Ye looked at his neck and asked, “When did you frame the photo on your bedside table?”

Lu Jin touched her head and said, “I did it back then. It was a souvenir of my first love. I couldn’t bear to throw it away. I just took it out after we got back together.”

He Ye accepted this because she still kept the gifts he gave her.

“What about the lotus pot?”

Lu Jin smiled: “I raised it when I had a crush on you. I researched a lot before I bought it. I worked hard to grow it for a year, so there’s no way I’d throw it away.”

He Ye understood that his lotus growing must be connected to her.

Even if they broke up, the flowers were innocent. Why throw them away, especially after putting so much effort into them?

There was one last question.

“I ran into the old lady next door to your house. She wanted to introduce you to a girlfriend last year, but you already had one.”

His chest shook slightly; he was laughing.

Then Lu Jin lifted her chin, looked into her eyes, which showed some resentment and questioning, and asked, “Do you believe it?”

He Ye turned away and said deliberately, “Dressing like that every day, you look like someone who often goes out to have affairs.”

Lu Jin smirked: “Have an affair, or be the one having an affair?”

He Ye was speechless.

How shameless.

But he does have the charm to be “having a romantic encounter.”

Lu Jin touched her blushing face and said seriously, “I’ve only loved once, and I’ve been single since the breakup. I told her I already had a girlfriend because that old lady was too nagging.”

He Ye tugged at his clothes: “This?”

He was not so high-profile in high school. He stood out mostly due to his height, good looks, and temperament.

Lu Jin smiled: “Just think of it as me fishing, catching a fish that will spy on me in the elevator.”

He had a crush on her for a year without any flaws.

You can also set up a plan a year in advance and wait for her to take the bait.