East Sea City. The source of this content ɪs novelꜰire.net
People walking on the streets, aunties dancing in the square, and even office workers lounging at home all looked up at the sky. Then, their pupils constricted as they gasped in shock.
Petals, glowing faintly, drifted through the sky, forming a gorgeous sea of flowers.
Some tried to catch the petals, but they dissolved into specks of light upon contact, impossible to grasp. Others tried to photograph the marvel, but all phones and cameras, without exception, showed only static, as if being jammed.
"Daddy, it’s so beautiful."
In a corner of East Sea, on a home balcony, a young man followed his son’s gaze to the sky and was momentarily transfixed. He even forgot he was watering the plants, the watering can still pouring out water.
"Shi Lei, you’re going to drown your flowers!" a beautiful woman called out in a delicate voice from a few steps away.
"Oh, oh." The man snapped back to reality and said, "Xiao Xiao, I’ll take our son out for a walk to see the flowers."
Hidden at the foot of Mount Haitang, Tan Chang leaned against a tree, squinting at the sky.
So there really is a member of the Great Martial Sect backing Xu Lai! If I recall correctly, that member of the Great Martial Sect who was called the Flower Fairy in her youth loved Haitang flowers most of all. Although it was done covertly, all of this was easily seen through by me, Tan Chang. Flower Fairy, oh, Flower Fairy. To think that you, with countless suitors in your youth, once vowed never to marry, preparing to grow old alone in a sea of flowers. In the end, don’t you still have an illegitimate son? Heh. Women!
「At the mountaintop.」
Ruan Tang gazed at the scene before her—a sight no woman could ever forget—and tears once again spilled from her eyes. She saw that the narrow path she had walked with her grandmother as a child seemed to be specially illuminated by the Haitang blossoms, the flowers on both sides blooming with extraordinary beauty.
Xu Lai whispered, "Give me your hand."
Ruan Tang extended her hand almost without hesitation.
In a moment of tacit understanding, they fell silent, holding hands as they stepped onto the path. The path wasn’t long, only five or six hundred meters, yet it took them a long five minutes to walk. With every step, a flood of memories surged into her mind.
When they reached the end of the path, Ruan Tang fell into a long silence.
"The bridge my grandmother walked across was called the Bridge of Forgetfulness. On that bridge, I promised her I would take good care of you and Yiyi in the future," Xu Lai whispered in her ear. "Grandma agreed, so Ruan Tang, marry—"
Ruan Tang suddenly pushed him away and glared. "Nonsense! My grandmother passed away seven or eight years ago. What could she have possibly agreed to?!"
Xu Lai was dumbfounded.
Why isn’t this woman following the script? Normally, shouldn’t she be moved to tears, say she’ll listen to her grandmother, and agree to marry me? ’Please take care of me for the rest of our lives,’ and all that?
Seeing Xu Lai’s baffled expression, Ruan Tang’s lips curled into a slight smile before she quickly composed herself. She said nonchalantly, "Let’s go. Yiyi and Ruan Lan are still waiting for us up there."
But the moment she turned, her lips moved silently, as if forming three words. It was unclear if they were "thank you" or something else.
So many years passed, and whenever he recalled this day, Xu Lai still didn’t know what Ruan Tang had said. Just as no one in East Sea City knew that the sky had filled with drifting Haitang blossoms that night simply because she liked them.
That, and nothing more.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was eleven at night. Ruan Tang gave the beautiful scenery on and off the mountain one last, reluctant look. Tying up her hair, she said, "It’s late. Let’s go home."
Xu Lai nodded, but instead of heading down the mountain, he followed a wide road toward the easternmost point.
There was only one building there—Haitang Court, the so-called Tower King of Haitang, worth hundreds of millions!
"Have you lost your mind?" Ruan Lan panicked. Though Xu Lai had given her sister plenty of surprises tonight, he hadn’t been drinking, had he? So why was he acting so reckless?
While Mount Haitang was private property, it was open to the public from Monday to Friday. Haitang Court, however, was strictly private land. In the past, many tourists who thought it was uninhabited had snuck past the iron gate to take pictures, only to be caught by security and handed over to the police for trespassing. The penalty started at ten days’ detention.
Ruan Tang asked, her voice a mix of surprise and doubt, "Xu Lai, you didn’t book Haitang Court as well, did you?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Xu Lai subconsciously flicked Ruan Tang’s nose. Seeing his wife’s annoyed expression, he coughed and said, "That’s our home. What’s there to book?"
"What?" Ruan Tang was dumbfounded once again.
"Come on, I’ll show you your new home," Xu Lai said with a smile.
After leaving Earth a few days ago, he had sent out two Divine Senses: one telling Taotie to find a star, and the other ordering Tan Chang to buy Haitang Court. The price was just right, exactly five hundred million. Of the money from Su Daiyi and Fang Zheng, minus the ten million for booking Mount Haitang for a day, there was twenty million left.
Led by Xu Lai, they stepped into Haitang Court. The villa was filled with Chinese-style architecture, complete with pavilions, terraces, rockeries, and gardens. The interior decoration was the epitome of luxury.
It looked like an emperor’s palace.
Even after seeing her sister’s name on the property deed on the table, Ruan Lan still couldn’t believe it. "You... you really bought it? And it’s in my sister’s name."
The powerful and wealthy Ruan Family couldn’t even afford a villa at the foot of the mountain, yet Xu Lai, the man they looked down on, had just bought Haitang Court. The irony was staggering.
"Yeah, it only cost about five hundred million," Xu Lai said nonchalantly.
Five hundred million...
"Xu Lai, I’m so salty!" Ruan Lan cried.
Ruan Tang knocked her sister hard on the head. "Don’t swear in front of Yiyi."
"Ow." Ruan Lan rubbed her head, aggrieved.
Xu Lai smiled and handed a bank card to Ruan Tang. "Here’s twenty million. Renovate it however you like."
This time, Ruan Lan was genuinely jealous. She huffed, "Having money is no big deal. So what if you booked Mount Haitang, used some trick to fill the city with Haitang flowers, and gave my sister a villa? My sister is naive and hasn’t seen the world, so you might be able to charm her. But my future brother-in-law must be an elegant and refined gentleman of extraordinary character. I still don’t like you!"
"Your sister mentioned you don’t like living at school. Why don’t you move in with us? The house is big enough," Xu Lai said, as if to himself. "You two sisters can look after each other."
"Wow! Sis, Brother-in-law, I call the master bedroom on the second floor!"
Tsk, tsk. What an iron-willed sister-in-law, already calling him "Brother-in-law."
"Yiyi, come with your Little Aunt! Let’s go exploring!" Ruan Lan, ever the child at heart, grabbed Yiyi’s hand and ran off to explore the house.
Only Ruan Tang and Xu Lai remained in the living room.
Ruan Tang gave Xu Lai a sidelong glance. "What else are you hiding from me?"
From the moment she had woken up, Xu Lai had given her too many surprises, leaving her feeling dizzy and still unable to believe it was all real.
This man. He was definitely hiding many more things from her!
"Now that you mention it, there is one more thing," Xu Lai said gravely. "But you can’t tell anyone else. Come closer, I’ll tell you."
Ruan Tang leaned toward Xu Lai’s ear.
But what he whispered immediately made her face and ears burn crimson.