The man’s low, magnetic voice came through the phone. Yun Manxia’s ear tingled slightly, and then she froze.
“What gift?”
“A bouquet,” he said. “Lin Shen just told me it’s already been delivered. It should be downstairs—go take a look.”
Bai Hedu actually sent her flowers?!
Yun Manxia was both surprised and delighted. The bit of gloom in her heart instantly vanished.
“I’ll go check!”
Hearing the excitement in her voice, Bai Hedu’s brows softened unconsciously.
Meanwhile, Yun Manxia held her phone and headed downstairs. The moment she stepped out, she ran into Wu Xiaoya.
The other girl was holding an eye-catching bouquet and was also heading downstairs.
Yun Manxia’s gaze immediately fixed on the flowers.
“Where did you get those?”
Wu Xiaoya smiled smugly. “Ninth Master gave them to me. Pretty, right?”
“He gave them to you?” Yun Manxia was full of doubt.
Could it be that Bai Hedu was so unreliable that he sent two bouquets—one for her and one for Wu Xiaoya?!
Just thinking about that possibility made her irritation threaten to return.
Ignoring Wu Xiaoya, she quickly went downstairs and asked, “How many bouquets were delivered just now?”
“Of course just one,” Xiaomei said. Seeing Wu Xiaoya coming down behind her, she seemed to understand and sneered. “Madam, you didn’t think that bouquet was for you, did you? That’s thinking too much—it was specially sent by Ninth Master for Xiaoya!”
The servants working nearby glanced over, silently evaluating.
It seemed this Madam wasn’t much different from the previous ones.
Look—even now, Ninth Master sent flowers to Xiaoya, not her.
They exchanged knowing looks, quietly enjoying the scene.
But when Yun Manxia heard there was only one bouquet, the knot in her chest instantly loosened. She immediately turned around and reached out to Wu Xiaoya.
“That’s not yours. Give it back.”
“How is it not mine? If it’s not mine, is it yours?” Wu Xiaoya snorted, hugging the bouquet tightly. “This is from A University. It’s Ninth Master’s reward for me getting admitted there! If you want one, can you even get into A University?”
Yun Manxia scoffed. “Sorry, I got in last year. This bouquet really is mine. Give it back!”
Wu Xiaoya’s heart skipped a beat.
What?
Yun Manxia also got into A University?
The servants watching froze as well.
Clutching the bouquet tighter, Wu Xiaoya felt a bad premonition but still refused to let go. “Just because you say it’s yours doesn’t make it yours. Ninth Master didn’t say so!”
Yun Manxia couldn’t be bothered to argue further. She directly took out her phone and dialed the number from earlier.
“Wait—!” Wu Xiaoya tried to stop her.
But the call had already connected.
Yun Manxia immediately asked, “Husband, is the gift you gave me the bouquet from A University?”
She put the call on speaker, so everyone heard Bai Hedu’s voice from the phone—
“Yes. Lin Shen said many students at your school wanted one, so I had someone prepare it for you. Do you like it?”
Xiaomei’s mouth fell slightly open.
The other servants all turned to look at Wu Xiaoya.
Wu Xiaoya’s expression froze, her face burning.
“I do like it, but it hasn’t reached me,” Yun Manxia said, glancing at her meaningfully.
Bai Hedu’s voice grew slightly deeper. Yun Manxia could almost imagine his brows knitting together.
“What’s going on?”
Without hesitation, Yun Manxia complained, “The flowers are with Wu Xiaoya. She said you gave them to her and refuses to return them.”
“You—!” Wu Xiaoya wished she could rush over and cover her mouth.
From the phone, Bai Hedu said, “I’ll be back soon.”
The call ended.
Wu Xiaoya’s face turned pale.
She knew Bai Hedu well—just from his tone, she could tell he was angry.
She glared at Yun Manxia resentfully and shoved the bouquet into her arms without care. “Take it! As if I care that much!”
Yun Manxia calmly stepped aside and didn’t take it. “Don’t care? That’s not what you said earlier. You seemed to like it a lot—keep it. I’ll wait for Ninth Master to come back.”
With that, she sat down to the side.
Wu Xiaoya was furious.
Bai Hedu returned very quickly.
Hearing the movement, Yun Manxia stood up. “You’re back!”
The man responded with a low “Mm.” Seeing her bright smile and that she didn’t seem wronged, the coldness in his expression eased slightly.
Then his gaze swept toward Wu Xiaoya.
“Ninth Master…” Wu Xiaoya stood there nervously. The bouquet had already been placed on the coffee table.
“What’s going on?” Bai Hedu asked.
“I don’t know,” Yun Manxia huffed lightly as she went over to push his wheelchair. Lin Shen tactfully stepped aside. “When you told me about the gift earlier, I was so happy. But Wu Xiaoya said it was specially for her. Weren’t those flowers for me? How did they become someone else’s?”
Bai Hedu also wanted to know. He had clearly prepared them for Yun Manxia—to coax her—so how had they ended up belonging to someone else?
He frowned slightly and looked at Wu Xiaoya, waiting for her explanation.
“I… I thought Ninth Master gave them to me,” Wu Xiaoya said pitifully.
“You thought?” Bai Hedu repeated.
“Even if you misunderstood at first, I told you later they were mine, and you still didn’t return them,” Yun Manxia said. “Let me think—oh, you even mocked me. You said if they weren’t yours, could they be mine? And told me to get into A University first. That’s what you said, right? I didn’t remember wrong, did I?”
Wu Xiaoya stiffened.
Her eyes filled with resentment as she shot Yun Manxia a vicious glare.
It had only been a misunderstanding, yet Yun Manxia insisted on making a big deal out of it and pushing things this far?!
Meeting her gaze, Yun Manxia smiled faintly, her eyes cold.
If it had really just been a misunderstanding, she wouldn’t have pressed it like this. But with Wu Xiaoya’s attitude, if she didn’t deal with her properly, the other girl would never take her seriously as the Madam.
With reddened eyes, Wu Xiaoya looked at Bai Hedu. “Ninth Master, you promised to give me a gift…”
He had really promised her a gift?
Yun Manxia couldn’t help glancing at him, a hint of sourness rising in her heart.
Such a cold man—yet he treated Wu Xiaoya with such consideration?
Noticing her gaze, Bai Hedu paused, then corrected, “I never said I would give you a specific gift. When your admission letter arrived, you said you wanted a reward. For Aunt Wu’s sake, I agreed—but you still haven’t decided what you want.”
So Wu Xiaoya had asked for it herself, and he had only casually agreed?
Yun Manxia felt happy again.
Wu Xiaoya’s face burned with embarrassment.
The way Ninth Master said it made it seem like he was eager to distance himself from her…
“Say it now—what do you want?” Bai Hedu said flatly, his patience nearly gone.
Wu Xiaoya glanced at Yun Manxia and bit her lip. “I want a bouquet exactly like Madam’s!”
Yun Manxia’s smile vanished. She snapped her head toward the man.
This was the first time he had ever given her flowers!
If he really gave Wu Xiaoya an identical bouquet, she would be utterly disgusted!
She glared at him, her expression fierce yet pitiful, her eyes clearly saying—
Don’t you dare agree!