“Thank you, thank you—”
She kept thanking him breathlessly with her head lowered. The champagne roses in her arms swayed slightly from her run, and a few petals fell onto the sleeve of her white T-shirt.
Then the elevator doors closed.
The air instantly turned quiet.
Wen Xi stood in a corner of the elevator, head down, staring at her canvas shoes.
It was eerily silent.
She could hear the soft hum of the air-conditioning, her own breathing, and—next to her—the steady, shallow breathing of someone else.
She slowly raised her head.
Fu Linfeng stood beside her, less than half a meter away.
One hand was in his pocket. His expression was as cold and indifferent as always.
But his eyes—
His eyes were looking at her.
When their gazes met, Wen Xi froze completely.
His eyes slowly moved from her face to the bouquet in her arms, then back to her face again, taking in her slightly flushed cheeks from running.
A faint, almost imperceptible shift passed through his brows—something between surprise and amusement.
Wen Xi’s mind went completely blank.
She had never imagined that on her first flower delivery to Fu Group Corporation, she would run straight into him.
And in his private elevator, no less.
Behind him, Chen Mo’s expression briefly cracked.
He recognized her immediately.
The girl President Fu had chosen on the top floor.
The girl living in President Fu’s villa.
The girl who had made President Fu late for work.
Why was she here?
Chen Mo’s eyes flicked to the bouquet. His thoughts raced.
Was this for President Fu? But Madam wouldn’t send flowers through delivery, would she?
Or was it for someone else? A man? A woman?
He stopped himself before the thoughts spiraled further and returned to his usual calm, expressionless state.
The two executives standing behind Fu Linfeng, however, were not nearly as composed.
One of them frowned and spoke stiffly.
“Miss, this is the President’s private elevator. Without the President’s permission, outsiders are not supposed to use it.”
The other added, slightly displeased, “Yes, this elevator is exclusively for President Fu. You should take the staff or public elevator.”
Wen Xi’s face instantly turned red.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t know… I was in a hurry and saw the doors open so I ran in… I’m sorry…”
“I’m already inside… and it’s going up… I can’t get out anymore…”
Her voice grew softer and softer until the last words were barely audible.
Fu Linfeng looked at her flustered expression.
Her face was red. Her ears were red. Even her neck was faintly red.
She lowered her head, eyelashes trembling, looking like she wanted to dig a hole and disappear.
He watched her for a moment, then his lips moved slightly.
“Which floor?”
His voice was calm, as if asking something completely ordinary.
Wen Xi froze and looked up, only then realizing no one else had answered. They were all looking at her.
She quickly understood he was asking her.
“Se… seventeenth floor,” she stammered.
Fu Linfeng said nothing.
He turned his head slightly and looked at Chen Mo.
Chen Mo immediately understood and pressed the seventeenth-floor button.
As the button lit up, a thought flashed through his mind.
Seventeenth floor—that was the marketing department.
What was Madam doing there? Delivering flowers? To whom?
He did not ask. He simply stood back and resumed being a silent presence.
The two executives exchanged glances again.
Neither dared to speak, but both thought the same thing:
President Fu didn’t even get angry… and he didn’t kick her out?
The elevator fell silent again.
Only the soft “ding” of floor numbers breaking the quiet—15, 16, 17—
“Ding.”
The doors opened.
Wen Xi practically shot out like a bird released from a cage.
She ran out holding the bouquet, moving so fast it looked like she was escaping, not even remembering to say thank you.
After a few steps, she suddenly stopped, turned back, and bowed deeply toward the people inside.
“Thank you!” Her voice echoed brightly down the corridor.
Then she turned and ran without looking back.
The elevator doors slowly closed.
Fu Linfeng stood still, eyes falling on a few petals left near the door.
“Whose client is on the seventeenth floor?” he asked suddenly.
Chen Mo responded immediately, “It’s Director Zhang’s marketing team. They have an important client visit today.”
“Mm,” Fu Linfeng said lightly.
He said nothing more.
The two executives behind him exchanged another look.
Neither spoke, but both were thinking the same question:
Who exactly was that girl?
Wen Xi fled Fu Group Corporation almost in a panic.
She got on her creamy-white electric scooter, twisted the throttle, and shot forward so suddenly she nearly crashed into a flower bed.
Her hands scrambled to steady the handlebars. Her heart was still pounding violently in her chest. The wind blew her hair into a mess.
She ignored everything and just rode back the way she came.
At the first traffic light, she stopped and only then realized her palms were completely soaked with sweat.
When she returned to the flower shop, Lin Manman was photographing a bouquet of carnations.
She was crouched on the floor, adjusting angles.
“You’re back!” she called excitedly. “How was Fu Group Corporation? Did you see your husband?”
“I didn’t,” Wen Xi said flatly, avoiding eye contact as she walked to the counter and began trimming stems.
“You didn’t?”
“Mm… he’s on another floor,” she added quickly. “I didn’t go looking for him.”
Lin Manman didn’t think much of it and went back to arranging flowers.
That evening, after closing the shop, they counted the day’s earnings.
“Guess how much?” Lin Manman leaned in.
Wen Xi looked up. “Six thousand eight.”
“WHAT?!”
Lin Manman jumped up. “Six thousand eight on the first day?!”
They hugged and laughed, celebrating the success.
Later that evening, when Wen Xi returned to the villa, she was about to go upstairs when her phone suddenly vibrated.
She took it out.
A message from Fu Linfeng.
“Come with me tonight to the ancestral home. Meet my parents. Change your clothes.”