"Why don't you hurry up and go buy the gift you want?" Flower Yan rolled her eyes at the smiling Shangguan Ning walking ahead. She thought to herself that she had indeed invested valuable time, and accepting the few hundred yuan worth of items from him was justifiable. Convincing herself, Flower Yan willingly joined Shangguan Ning in picking out a crystal jewelry gift for his mother's birthday.

Seeing a few cute crystal dolls displayed in the shop window of a crystal store, Flower Yan was about to call Shangguan Ning over to take a look, but she noticed he was on the phone, so she went in alone.

Shangguan Ning saw Flower Yan entering the crystal store to help him pick out a gift, and his smile deepened. He also sounded more affectionate towards Cheng Cheng on the phone.

"Are you coming back today? Auntie has already called me and got you a day off, which I agreed to. I'll be going back in a couple of days. You can stay with me and not go home when the time comes."

"How can you just push your brother into the abyss like that? I've been nagged to death these past few days. But having you back to cover for me, not going home isn't a bad idea."

Cheng Cheng felt that the Shangguan Ning who spoke today was no longer cold and indifferent. Normally, if he had yelled about wanting to go back, Shangguan Ning wouldn't have explained anything. He just hung up. Cheng Cheng speculated about what had happened during his absence.

"For my mother's birthday, let's come back together."

"Shangguan Ning, are you buying the gift or not? I've looked at several crystal jewelry pieces, but I don't know which one you want. Stop making phone calls all the time as if you're so busy?"

After wandering around for a while and finally waiting for Shangguan Ning to pay attention, Flower Yan looked back through the clean shop window and saw Shangguan Ning smiling and still chatting on the phone. Feeling a surge of resentment, Flower Yan stood outside the crystal store and loudly questioned Shangguan Ning.

"Who... who told you to come?" The voice of the woman sounded so familiar to Cheng Cheng through the phone. He felt a strange itch in his heart. Apart from his commanding father, no one dared to talk to Shangguan Ning like this, especially not a woman. Today was the first time Cheng Cheng had ever witnessed such a scene.

"I'll call you back later!" With a "click," Cheng Cheng could only feel anxious on the other end of the line.

Shangguan Ning, with a wry smile, apologized sincerely to Flower Yan, "Sorry, just now a friend called." Flower Yan glared at him and said, "Come on, look at these options with me." Angered by Shangguan Ning's behavior, Flower Yan inadvertently revealed her assertiveness from her days as the eldest sister in the orphanage.

"Okay!" Shangguan Ning touched his nose and smiled like a little brother as he followed along. The salesgirls in the store began to look down on Flower Yan for her rudeness, but when they saw Shangguan Ning being so cautious around her, they looked at Flower Yan again with envy and jealousy. As the object of their envy, Flower Yan only wanted to quickly help Shangguan Ning pick out something and then go home.

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Back at home, Flower Yan had just sat down in the living room when her father hurriedly came downstairs and asked, "Yan, why were you out for so long?" Having experienced many setbacks, Flower's father cherished Flower Yan, who was sensible, cheerful, and filial, more than before.

"Just strolling around for a while," Flower Yan reluctantly replied. Seeing her daughter's unhappiness, Flower's father guessed that she was once again troubled by marriage proposals. Flower Yan looked at her father sitting there in distress, knowing that he had once again misunderstood.

But she didn't want to mention how she went from the mad dog's den to the wolf's den today, and as Flower Yan expected, when Li Meier rested with Cheng Jie that evening, she recounted in detail Flower Yan's actions towards her during the day. Cheng Jie, in a good mood, laughed at Li Meier as if he were coaxing his little pet, but he was surprised by Flower Yan's behavior.

In the past, she would be scared to speak up or even be near when others argued, let alone get into an argument herself. After some thought, Cheng Jie felt that Li Meier might have exaggerated the whole thing. It hadn't caught Cheng Jie's attention at all. If Cheng Jie had started to understand Flower Yan now, he might not regret the consequences later.

Flower Yan remembered accompanying Shangguan Ning to buy crystal dolls during the day and being dragged to afternoon tea. She used to think that Shangguan Ning was gentle and elegant, but today's interaction made Flower Yan more wary. Shangguan Ning treated her as if they were old friends, and the sudden change made Flower Yan involuntarily think of the saying, "Beware of those who offer kindness for no reason; they are either villains or thieves."

When Shangguan Ning suggested treating her to dinner to thank her for helping him shop, Flower Yan immediately became unhappy. She forced a smile that disappeared in an instant, and she returned home with a dark expression.

Feeling dejected, Shangguan Ning returned to his company, only to receive a call from Cheng Cheng.

"I've been calling you for over a dozen times, and you only pick up now? Truly forgetting your friends when you're in love."

"I have things to attend to." Shangguan Ning's mood turned cold again, his tone becoming as indifferent and sharp as before. His mind was filled with Flower Yan's gaze at him, as if he were a pervert. Standing in his office, Shangguan Ning looked at himself in the mirror, unable to see where he looked like a pervert.

Cheng Cheng was already hopping mad on the other end of the phone. "Are you extremely dissatisfied? You sound like you're about to die when you speak? You were in a good mood this afternoon, how did it change so quickly? Tell me who that woman was this afternoon? You seem really upset about it. I'll go back and get revenge for you. Why do I feel like I recognize her voice?"

"You take care of yourself, that's good enough. I'm hanging up." Without waiting for Cheng Cheng to say anything else, Shangguan Ning hung up.

The next day, Flower Yan and her father set off after breakfast with their travel bags and essentials. Sitting on the bus to the seaside city, the fast speed made the scenery pass by like scenes from a movie. Flower Yan especially enjoyed this peaceful journey, observing the different scenery along the way as a spectator.

"Yan, why don't you take a nap? You've been staring without blinking for the whole trip, be careful of straining your eyes."

"Dad, I'm fine. How much longer do we need to get to the seaside city?"

"At this speed, we'll need another three or four hours. We should arrive around one o'clock in the afternoon."

Afterward, Flower Yan couldn't help but continue to gaze out the window, and her father didn't stop her. Instead, he chatted with several passengers around them about everything from the weather to chess and interesting things happening in the country.

Having rested for one night, Shangguan Ning called Flower Yan the next day at noon, only to find her phone turned off. Still not giving up, he drove to Flower Yan's villa and found out from Chang Ma that Flower Yan and her father had gone traveling. When asked about their first destination, Chang Ma only said it was unclear and didn't reveal much more.