Bellflower, Iris

"Group A, proceed to point one to manage the flow of people."

"Team B, proceed to point two and wait."

"Group C, proceed to point three for the handover."

"The remaining staff members can fill in any gaps on their own, and may have some discretionary freedom if necessary."

A man in a suit and tie issued orders in an office filled with surveillance equipment. After methodically outlining the tasks, he instructed in a serious tone:

"Gentlemen, this mission is very different."

"According to the information provided by Party A, the two men possess near-supernatural intuition and combat skills beyond the reach of ordinary people. We've all been in this line of work for a long time, so we should understand what this means if it's true."

"Whether these are pranks by the client or fact, our industry has always adhered to the principle of 'the client is God,' and we must implement the plan with this as the premise. Fortunately, the other party did not require the target relationship to progress to any specific level."

"So all we need to do is create the best possible atmosphere so that the two of them can naturally develop a deeper relationship. The deposit they sent is substantial, and this mission absolutely cannot fail."

"Finally, I want to reiterate: remember not to linger your gaze on the other person for more than three seconds at a time. This is advice given to us by the client."

After muting his microphone, the man continued to carefully observe the surveillance footage. He had complete control over the theme park area today, and tickets on the market had been restricted to an extremely limited number a month in advance.

Basically, everyone allowed in is a couple, and even so, the flow of people is controlled to a lively but not crowded level, with the couples' routes being closely monitored and analyzed by the team.

It is possible that upon arrival at the project, the two individuals will undergo a series of modifications that make it easier for them to become intimate, depending on the conditions. There will also be a certain degree of personnel evacuation to prevent the other party from having to queue.

The choice to arrange all the couples is naturally intended to immerse the target in the same atmosphere, thereby subconsciously guiding the relationship in that direction.

However, it does not appear to have had a significant effect so far.

Judging from the man's years of experience, these two are the type of people who are extremely unaffected by the external atmosphere, but the atmosphere they create between themselves seems to be an exception.

That's where they can find an opportunity, a place where they can use it as a starting point to work their best.

Meanwhile, on the other side...

Completely unaware of the headmaster's further machinations, the two were currently sitting in a bumper car decorated with HOMU patterns.

Yes, bumper cars.

Normally, the game is supposed to be played by one person sitting in one vehicle and randomly bumping into each other when the game starts.

However, since all the tourists were couples, the bumper car game was essentially turned into a two-player mode.

Of course, this idea arose because the two of them hadn't paid attention to the names of the projects outside.

In reality, due to the inefficiency of the other team, after confirming the direction the two were coming from, the original name of the "HOMU Bumper Cars" was changed to "Couple's Double Bumper Cars" before the two arrived.

To enhance the fun of the two-player game, they even borrowed over a dozen sensor suits and infrared pistols from the shooting game next door.

The game mode then became one where one person was responsible for driving and the other for shooting.

The rule is that the game ends when all the vital points on the sensor suits are hit, leaving only one suit remaining.

Su Qing'an silently accepted the sensory suit and pistol issued to him in the car and handed the driver's seat to Fu Hua.

Having little experience with amusement parks, the two didn't notice anything unusual about the game. Even if they were to do a silly bunny hop and skiing combo, Fu Hua would find it perfectly reasonable, since the level of excitement wouldn't be much different for her.

What followed was a massacre.

Fu Hua floored the accelerator, turned the steering wheel, and began an unpredictable drift. Accompanied by the boy's swift draw of his gun, the other couples were instantly stripped of their game privileges, leaving them with almost no gaming experience.

Su Qing'an has always been a good shot, but most of the time he doesn't need to use this skill. He once ambushed and sniped with Nishikujo Sara in a virtual battle scenario.

The battle ended with one win and one loss.

Since then, he has fully mastered this course.

It was at that time that Nishikujo Sara finally understood Su Qing'an's abnormality.

This was a near-perfect person. He even knew Japanese flower arranging and tea ceremony, and he mastered these skills much faster. In just one day, Su Qing'an left behind a comment that resonated with the martial arts and chose to leave.

Even without the blessing of Soul Essence, the martial arts of the State of Still Water alone are enough for him to master many things without a teacher.

All the teachers at the St. Freya Academy were deeply impressed by this boy. His eyes seemed to reflect most of the laws governing the flow of things. No matter how difficult or complicated the skill was, it was as simple as an adult stacking building blocks in his hands.

Unfortunately, of all the things Su Qing'an could learn without a teacher, emotions were definitely not among them.

From the day I could no longer suppress my emotions, a burning passion consumed my heart, and my Mind Lake trembled with unease.

Sometimes happy, sometimes sad.

They are plagued by anxieties and find it difficult to control themselves.

It is extremely dangerous to be unable to properly weigh the pros and cons.

These emotions, which are just like those of ordinary people, are things that Su Qing'an ultimately cannot escape, and he can only choose to restrain them.

Calmness and rationality are the reasons he has survived until now, but they are also the root of his current suffering.

If Su Qing'an is a madman who disregards everything, then his love must be passionate and unrestrained.

But now his love is like a flame carefully gathering its own heat, trying not to burn the paper surrounding it.

That emotion was curled up in a false shell, and the boy wove fragile yet exquisite lies little by little, trying his best to create the illusion that things were always the same.

Su Qing'an can't fool herself, but perhaps she can fool Fu Hua.

However, the girl beside him may have already noticed something was amiss.

But as long as they don't break through this barrier, they can remain stagnant.

Stagnation might be the best answer for now.

The boy held the doll in one arm and put down his pistol.

The game is over.

"Let's go to the next place, Hua."

Inside the monitoring room.

The man rubbed his temples. He now believed the information the client had given him; this marksmanship was far beyond the level of an amateur. It seemed this target was no ordinary person.

The game ended in less than a minute, which means not only did others not have a good gaming experience, but the players themselves also didn't have much of a gaming experience.

The man saw the target's unusual behavior merely as evidence to confirm the authenticity of the information. Their objective wasn't assassination, and the opponent's combat capabilities wouldn't affect their operation. With this in mind, the man issued orders to the rest of his team.

A few hours later, in the afternoon.

On a wooden bench opposite the jewelry store.

Su Qing'an was holding a doll in one hand and clutching a strange balloon shaped like HOMU in the other.

Fu Hua also has one of these balloons in her hand.

The staff distributed them to the tourists while saying words of blessing.

The girl gazed wistfully at the balloon swaying in the wind in her hand. She really didn't like this kind of thing. Compared to the balloon, the doll she had won was much cuter. It was truly hard to understand what Headmaster Theresa liked.

She said:

"Su Qing'an, are we being treated like children?"

In Fu Hua's eyes, only children seem to need to be given balloons.

Su Qing'an recalled the words of "a long and happy marriage" that the other party had spoken, and felt that things were probably not quite the same as what Fu Hua had thought.

He said with a smile:

"After all, we're not adults yet, are we?"

Upon hearing this, she gazed at the gradually darkening azure sky, tilted her head, and said softly:

"Perhaps?"

If she nodded without hesitation, it would seem a bit shameless, but for some reason, she just didn't want Su Qing'an to know her real age.

This has nothing to do with any secrets or background; it's simply that I don't want him to know.

But Fu Hua didn't want to lie to the boy, so she chose to answer questions with questions.

Su Qing'an understood what the other person meant. He naturally didn't care about her age. Perhaps in the eyes of this young man, the person beside him who had already witnessed the rise and fall of human civilization was still the girl whose eyes were filled with fear and anxiety that day.

He smiled and changed the subject, saying to Fu Hua:

"Shall we go check out that store?"

"It's almost evening, after we finish seeing the sights we can do, we can wander around a bit more and that should be enough."

Despite walking all day, their physical condition meant they didn't feel much fatigue.

She paused for a moment, then nodded and said:

"Good."

This is a somewhat peculiar shop, filled with meticulously trimmed branches and all sorts of flowers. As you close the glass door and step inside, the fragrance fills your nostrils, a blend of woody notes and bold aromas that creates a perfectly balanced scent.

It looks like a flower shop, but the owner laughs and says they don't sell flowers here.

The shop's name is derived from the language of flowers.

The shop owner was an elderly man nearing seventy, and there were no customers in the shop at this time, seemingly because it was approaching dusk.

He adjusted his reading glasses and said in a voice that was still quite clear for his age:

"Two little guests, would you like to see what flower you'll draw?"

The old man, as if routinely promoting his business, took out a stack of exquisite wooden plaques from a small box, and then continued:

"Every bouquet of flowers speaks a different language; even flowers of the same variety can have completely opposite meanings depending on their color."

The old man said with a smile:

"Well, whether the meaning of flowers signifies your future, or whether it's accurate or not, is a metaphysical concept. It might be surprisingly accurate, or it might be completely the opposite."

"This is just a game with no scientific basis, but it should be good for a bit of entertainment."

"How about it? Want to give it a try?"

"I'm about to close up shop anyway, so I won't charge you this time."

The old man quietly placed the small wooden signs on the table, as if inviting the other person to join him.

Fu Hua responded:

"Then we'll accept it without hesitation."

For her, this game is just a game; the past is gone like smoke, and the future remains unpredictable and uncertain, and will not be changed by this game.

The girl casually picked up a wooden sign and glanced at the writing on it.

[Platycodon grandiflorus]

This is a flower with a cold connotation, symbolizing hopeless yet eternal love.

This did not shake Fu Hua's resolve; she generously handed the wooden plaque back to the old man.

The old man looked puzzled after taking it. This shop usually uses flower names engraved on wooden signs to express blessings, and almost all of them have auspicious meanings.

Characters like Kikyo are extremely rare to obtain.

However, as he said before, it's best to treat it as a pastime.

Whether it's a blessing or bad luck, it's all just an insignificant interlude.

Su Qing'an followed Fu Hua's lead and picked up a sign.

[Iris], that's the name of the flower engraved on the sign.

So it wasn't Fusang after all.

The boy paused for a moment, the words flashing through his mind, then handed it to the old man as if nothing had happened.

The old man glanced at it and smiled.

This is a normal brand; the beautiful meanings of irises are countless.

He spoke eloquently to the two of them:

"This is the national flower of France. Legend has it that when Clovis, the first king of the French kingdom, was baptized, God gave him an iris as a gift."

"Therefore, in France, the iris is a symbol of light and freedom."

"Young guest, it seems you're in luck."

Su Qing'an said softly:

"Yes, it's rare to be this lucky."

Iris, a flower destined to wither in the height of summer.

Even the meaning of a single flower can often be multifaceted.

For example, love born of despair.