This had never happened before.
And under normal circumstances, it never would!
Everyone knew that Xie Dingyuan was so punctual, it bordered on compulsive. If he said the meeting started at a certain time, it started at that time. If he said it ended at a certain time, it ended at that time.
But today, he left a room full of board members hanging for almost three hours—and just disappeared. This was a first.
Xie Dingyuan said simply, “Let them wait.”
Assistant Sheng Yiming replied, “…Got it.”
But inwardly, he thought: Mystery solved. President Xie is doing this on purpose!
But why?
Was it because the board didn’t approve the new project proposal?
Or were they trying to interfere with the equity distribution?
It couldn’t seriously be because they all ganged up on him at the celebration banquet and pressured him to get married, right?
Xie Dingyuan put away his phone and walked out of the auditorium.
Behind him, the applause was still going, the cheers not dying down.
He left the school gates of No.1 High, and while driving past a flower shop, he stopped.
“Welcome, sir. What kind of flowers are you looking for?”
“Do you have red roses?”
“Yes, this way, please…”
Ten minutes later, Xie Dingyuan slipped a written card into the bouquet.
“Please deliver this to the No.1 High School auditorium—”
But he suddenly paused mid-sentence.
He looked at the vibrant bouquet of roses in his hands and belatedly realized what kind of misunderstandings and rumors would explode if this bouquet was actually delivered to a school.
Still, when he saw Jiang Fuyue up on that stage, the first thing he thought of was this kind of flower!
Vivid like blood, radiant and dazzling.
Blooming with everything it had—not to attract bees, not to lure butterflies, but for its own delight, proud and unrestrained under the sunlight.
“Sir? You haven’t finished giving the address.” The florist reminded him with a smile.
“…How many more roses like this do you have in the shop?”
“Uh! We just got a fresh air shipment today. About 300 stems. Why do you ask?”
Xie Dingyuan: “I’ll take them all. Here’s what I want you to do…”
The florist grew more and more surprised as he spoke. By the end, she was staring wide-eyed, until he pulled a card from his wallet and handed it to her: “I’ll pay now.”
“Ah? Oh, o-okay!”
“Thanks for your trouble.”
“N-no trouble at all, it’s my pleasure.” She watched him leave with a confused and baffled look in her eyes.
…
With the cultural exchange concluded, both the middle and high school students returned to their respective buildings.
As they walked, they kept chattering excitedly, every other word something like “Jiang Fuyue,” “bad*ss,” or “cool as he*ll.”
Back in class, the afternoon lessons still had to go on.
One moment they were seated in an auditorium, watching Sister Yue be brilliant and awe-inspiring. The next, they were back in their seats doing Chinese and math homework.
But that’s just life: After the waves of grandeur, comes the slow return to calm.
Ups and downs, highs and lows—that’s the rhythm of real life.
Yet the flame ignited in their hearts by Jiang Fuyue hadn’t gone out. If anything, it would continue to burn brightly, illuminating and inspiring their futures.
Middle School Section —
“Alright, is everyone back?”
“No! We’re still missing Jiang Chenxing, Wang Wei, and Zhang Zhenhao.”
Director Xiong frowned. “Start self-study.”
With that, he left the classroom in big strides to go look for them.
In the boys’ bathroom —
Wang Wei: “Zhang Zhenhao, are you crazy? Why won’t you let us out? If you’ve got the guts, move!”
Zhang Zhenhao: “I’m not moving! Weren’t you guys real arrogant in the auditorium? Let’s see you strut now!”
“I’m telling Director Xiong!”
Zhang Zhenhao swallowed hard but kept a tough front: “Go ahead, tell him. Who’s scared?”
“What exactly do you want?” Jiang Chenxing asked quietly, lips pressed into a thin line.
“Hand over the recording.”
“I already deleted it.”
“Yeah, right—” Zhang Zhenhao sneered. “You think I’m an idiot?”
Jiang Chenxing: “I really did delete it.”
“Stop pretending to be so innocent.”
Little Jiang didn’t get it. “Didn’t we agree? You apologize, and I delete it. You did your part, so I kept my word.”
“Apologize?” Some of Zhang Zhenhao’s cronies, brought along for intimidation, looked shocked. “Apologize? Zhang Zhenhao, you apologized?”
Zhang’s eyes flickered, but his tone grew harsher. “Bullsh*t—what did I apologize for? You dreaming or something? Want me to say sorry? Keep dreaming! Who do you think you are?”
Wang Wei was trembling with rage. “You shameless coward! How can you deny what you clearly did?!”
Zhang Zhenhao exploded: “Who the h*ll are you calling shameless?!”
He stomped forward, nearly knocking Wang Wei over.
Jiang Chenxing rushed up to stop him, but his strength wasn’t enough—he almost got his arm twisted by Zhang Zhenhao.
Just then, Director Xiong’s voice echoed in from outside—
“Jiang Chenxing? Wang Wei? Zhang Zhenhao? Are you in the bathroom?”
The voice got closer.
Zhang Zhenhao panicked and quickly let go, backing off two steps.
Before leaving, he bared his teeth and threatened, “We’ll settle this on the playground this afternoon!”
Then, he stormed out of the bathroom with his crew in tow.
As he passed by, he even threw in a casual, “Hello, Director Xiong!”
“Get back to class—every last one of you! Always causing trouble!”
Wang Wei and Jiang Chenxing also returned to class.
“What do we do? Zhang Zhenhao said to meet on the playground… Is he bringing people to beat us up?” Wang Wei asked, clearly anxious and restless.
