Vase

"Here we are. Get off."

Su Tingbai planted his long legs on the ground, bringing the vehicle to a steady stop.

Shen Rui'an had flowers in both hands. He looked at one, then the other, wondering which to put down first when Little Zhu and the others came out after hearing them arrive.

"Boss, Young Master Shen, you're back!" Meng Meng swiftly took the flowers from Shen Rui'an, then winked meaningfully at a petite, unfamiliar girl behind her.

Ya-ya, who had been following behind, immediately lit up at the sight of Shen Rui'an. She had originally studied art, but by the time she graduated, experts were everywhere and lesser talents were a dime a dozen. Someone like her, stuck somewhere in the middle, could not find many good jobs. Fortunately, she had been good at writing copy since childhood, so she successfully joined Su Tingbai's team.

The facts proved that her luck had exploded. She had really stepped in dog shit. Su Tingbai's team had easy work, high pay, holidays off, weekends off, and never made them work makeup days!

Most importantly, Su Tingbai was a willful rich second-generation heir!

Especially after Su Tingbai came to this resort, Ya-ya went home every few days to visit her mother. She had been born in a small village not far away, so wasn't that fate of a sort?

Since joining Su Tingbai's team, she had traveled all over the country, eaten delicacies from every region, and met plenty of people she had previously only seen in newspapers or on television. It had truly broadened her horizons.

As an art student and someone obsessed with good looks, Ya-ya had always held beauty to high standards. She could even find certain evergreen stars in the entertainment industry insufficiently attractive. She had thought she had seen countless handsome men and beautiful women in her life and would no longer be stirred by any of them.

But when she saw Shen Rui'an now, she suddenly felt that she had been too arrogant. How could there be someone this beautiful in the world?

He was more stunning than any anime character, practically a masterpiece created after Nuwa and God held a competition!

Ya-ya stared, utterly captivated.

Although Meng Meng and the others had seen Shen Rui'an several times already, they still had no resistance to him. Still, they were better off than Ya-ya, recovering after staring for only a moment.

Seeing that her friend was unresponsive, Meng Meng could not help nudging Ya-ya with her elbow and whispering in her ear, "Girl, stop staring. Boss's death glare is coming this way!"

Only after meeting Su Tingbai's speechless gaze did Ya-ya snap back to her senses. She eagerly took Su Tingbai's backpack. "Boss, I'll wash the vegetables! A-Ming, hurry up and film!"

All of this was footage, so they definitely had to film it. After editing, it would only appear in a fleeting shot.

Meng Meng was far more perceptive. With a delighted, auntie-like smile, she took the little purple flowers clutched in one of Shen Rui'an's hands. "Young Master Shen, let me hold these for you."

Shen Rui'an naturally handed them over. "Thank you."

Then, bracing one hand on Su Tingbai's broad shoulder, he slowly got off the vehicle.

A beauty was a beauty, after all. He was clearly getting off an electric scooter, yet Meng Meng and Little Zhu somehow got the illusion that he was stepping out of a luxury car.

Afraid that Shen Rui'an might fall, Little Zhu stood nearby, ready to support him. Young Master Shen looked like a delicate beauty in a painting; they could hardly be blamed for worrying.

After Su Tingbai's feeding over the past two days, Shen Rui'an's appetite had improved somewhat. But he had been frail and ill for too long, and his body could not recover so quickly. He still looked extremely pale and weak.

He staggered slightly as he got down, but steadied himself by holding onto Su Tingbai. Then he took the little purple flowers back from Meng Meng and waited for Su Tingbai to get off.

With Ya-ya and the others helping wash the vegetables, Su Tingbai had even less reason to hurry. Once Shen Rui'an got off, he met his expectant gaze and the corners of his mouth lifted unconsciously. "Come on. I'll find you a vase to put them in."

Shen Rui'an worriedly looked at the slightly wilted purple flowers in his hand, lifted them toward Su Tingbai, and said anxiously, "Su Tingbai, these are about to wilt!"

Shen Rui'an possessed a certain innocence born of being sheltered from the world. Because of his frail health and long recovery, he had usually been cared for by others. Even if he had any particular hobbies, he lacked the strength to pursue them himself. Even something as simple as flower arranging had always required someone to help him, so he had no idea how to handle flowers and plants.

Shen Rui'an did not have many refined hobbies. Normally, he walked the dog and watched short videos. Sometimes, even a slightly longer video tired him out. Once he grew tired from scrolling, he went to sleep. He rarely had enough energy in a single day to deal with anything else.

He spent most of his time sleeping. Today's activity level had already exceeded his limits, yet strangely, he did not feel tired at all. He even felt fairly alright.

Su Tingbai looked at the bluish-purple flowering onion. It had been picked for too long and was a little wilted from lack of water. "It's fine. Put it in a vase with water, and it'll last several days."

These flowers bloomed in May and June, and this was exactly their flowering season. They usually grew in swathes, making for a striking sight. Three or four blossoms clustered and branched along their long stems in scattered layers. They looked like orchids, yet not quite orchids—unique and exceptionally beautiful.

If wild roses were passionate beauties blazing like fire, then these flowering onions were cool, distant beauties.

Their styles were different, but both were equally beautiful in their own ways.

It was Shen Rui'an's first time holding so many pretty little flowers, and he could not bear to part with any of them.

"Then hurry and find one for me." He clutched the flowers and urged him on. He really was worried that the flowering onions would wilt.

Su Tingbai said helplessly, "Come with me."

He led Shen Rui'an to a storage room. "Just stand at the door. It's cluttered inside, and there's quite a bit of dust."

He remembered that Shen Rui'an was in poor health. He had gotten carsick on the first day he arrived, and the room was dusty. Su Tingbai was truly afraid the dust would make him cough.

In truth, the storage room was not as messy as Su Tingbai made it sound. Several aunties cleaned it every week, so it was not dirty, and everything had been sorted away. Still, it was a room for storing miscellaneous items, and Su Tingbai rarely came here.

Following his memory, he found a transparent pale-green oval vase. "This one. It's quite pretty."

He carried the vase out. Shen Rui'an followed behind Su Tingbai with the flowers in hand like a little puppy, while Baisui appeared from somewhere and trailed behind Shen Rui'an.

Little Zhu and the others were picking and washing vegetables in the courtyard. With sharp eyes, they noticed the two men and the dog, then exchanged knowing looks.

"Didn't Boss used to think flower arranging was too troublesome? That's why he bought so many green plants to put around the house."

"You remembered right. He disliked how short-lived flower bouquets were, how they vanished in a flash and made people feel sentimental. So apart from the courtyard, which had dedicated gardeners keeping it blooming in abundance, most of the plants inside the house were evergreen varieties that were easy to care for."

"Tsk, have you ever seen Boss be this considerate toward anyone? He even went looking for a vase~"

"Never. Last time, Boss Xing bragged about having lots of romantic luck and brought over several bouquets, asking Boss to find a vase so he could arrange them and show off. And what happened? Boss just put down a bucket of water and told Boss Xing to deal with it himself..."

"Ummm... I think Boss treats Young Master Shen differently."

"Isn't that obvious!"

Meng Meng recalled how Boss had spoken when taking Old Master Su's call that day and mimicked him. "Who wants to take care of some delicate young master? Go back where you came from~"

"Pfft—"

The group whispered among themselves, then could not help laughing at Meng Meng's imitation.

Meanwhile, Su Tingbai had no idea his employees were gossiping about him. He helped Shen Rui'an scrub the vase clean inside and out until it was crystal clear. When he turned around, he met Shen Rui'an's clear eyes. Looking down at the vase in his hand, he felt that it was not even as bright as Shen Rui'an's eyes.