The evening breeze blew gently, carrying the flower shop's sweet, fresh fragrance.
Shrek City's main street was livelier at night than during the day. Streetlights glowed one after another, their warm yellow light filtering through gaps in the parasol leaves and casting dappled shadows across the stone pavement.
The shops along the street had yet to close. Rows of exquisite cakes filled the dessert shop's window, and the aroma of baking bread spilled through the doorway, mingling with the scent of jasmine and tuberose drifting from the flower shop next door.
Several students in Shrek uniforms sped down the street on soul-powered bicycles. Their bells gave crisp little rings before they vanished around the corner.
Wu Changkong and Long Bing walked along the street.
Long Bing wore a light-colored jacket, her hair tied back to reveal a stretch of slender, fair neck.
Her steps were light, her soles making almost no sound against the paving stones. Occasionally, she tilted her head to glance at a shop, letting her gaze linger briefly on its illuminated window before looking away. Wu Changkong walked on her right, the collar of his black uniform neatly buttoned. One hand rested in his pocket, while the other hung at his side, his fingertips occasionally brushing the back of her hand.
"Here."
Making a deliberate show of casualness, Wu Changkong brought out the flower he had bought for Long Bing.
It was a white rose, its petals still bearing tiny droplets of water that glittered like diamond chips beneath the streetlights. He held the lower end of the stem between his fingers, keeping his eyes ahead as he offered it to her, as though he had simply plucked it from the roadside.
Long Bing blushed faintly.
The tips of her ears reddened first, the heat spreading from