That night, Gu Yuheng gazed at his little rose until two or three in the morning before finally sinking into sleep.
The dream was strange and vivid. The little rose’s branches slowly grew longer, the stems climbing up along his hand, pressing little dimples into his face bit by bit, utterly mischievous.
He suddenly reached out and grabbed a branch, but his hand closed on empty air. When he looked again, the little rose had vanished without a trace.
“Little Rose! Little Rose!” Gu Yuheng called out anxiously, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He rummaged through every corner of the house but couldn’t find the little rose anywhere. His eyes turned bloodshot with panic, and he looked like a lit stick of dynamite.
Just as he was about to break down and explode, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.
“Were you looking for me?” The voice was sweet and clear.
Gu Yuheng was startled. When had someone entered the house? Without paying attention to what the other person had said, he whirled around and demanded before even turning fully, “Did you steal my little rose? Did you”
Before the furious question could fully leave his lips, Gu Yuheng froze. His pupils contracted, and his feet felt as if they were rooted to the ground, he couldn’t take a single step.
The young man before him had eyes like a river of stars and exquisite features, his brows carrying the unique vitality and handsomeness of youth. His nose was high and delicate, his lips perfectly shaped, not too big, not too small.
He wore a red robe that swept the floor, a black belt revealing his slender waist. His long, fair neck stood in stark contrast to the vivid red of his garment. On his collarbone bloomed a rose of mingled black and red, so lifelike it seemed real, luxurious and mysterious, yet languid and alluring beyond measure, impossible to look away from.
The young man’s ink-black hair spilled down his back to his waist, his facial features sharply defined, showing nothing feminine. A pair of slender, perfect jade-like feet stood bare on the floor, a clear emerald-green anklet wrapped around one ankle, making them look all the more delicate, as if they might snap at any moment.
“Little Rose.” Is that you?
Gu Yuheng called to him softly, as if speaking any louder would scare him away.
The young man tilted his head at his words. “Gu Yuheng.” He spoke his name aloud.
“Gu Yuheng! Gu Yuheng!” The sweet, clear voice rang in his ears.
The two voices sounded at once, gradually overlapping into one. That’s right! That was his little rose.
Gu Yuheng’s eyes snapped open, the joy not yet faded from them. Remembering the call that had just sounded by his ear, he turned his head and looked at the little rose beside the bed, feeling a sudden pang of loss.
So it was just a dream.
Qi Yu had been sleeping soundly, even dreaming that he had taken human form. But because Gu Yuheng had discovered him mid-transformation, he’d been startled awake.
After waking, he heard Gu Yuheng murmuring in his sleep, seemingly restless. At one point he’d even broken out in a cold sweat, calling “Little Rose, Little Rose” over and over.
So Qi Yu had decided to wake him.
Gu Yuheng lay in bed collecting himself, then got up to wash, placed the little rose by the window, and stroked his leaves. “Little Rose, good morning.”
“Good morning.” Qi Yu had finally slept a good night’s sleep without a single worry, and his mood had improved considerably. However, that good mood lasted only until Gu Yuheng got ready for work.
“What? You’re taking me to the office?”
He couldn’t quite understand Gu Yuheng’s thinking. Bringing a potted plant to work? Some special hobby of the villain’s?
“Not going.”
Qi Yu flatly refused. At home alone, he could still wander and run around, but if he went along to the company, there’d be nothing for him to do at all.
However, a flower has no rights. Gu Yuheng simply pretended not to hear, carefully placed the little rose on the passenger seat, and went around to drive.
Only when the car started moving and there was no one around but him and Gu Yuheng did Qi Yu speak up to complain: “Tyrant! Dictator!” With that, his stem visibly tilted to the right, clearly refusing to talk to Gu Yuheng.
Gu Yuheng just smiled, unbothered. As long as the little rose was by his side, nothing else mattered.
To keep the speed from making him uncomfortable, Gu Yuheng drove as slow as a snail crawling, and by the time they arrived, it was long past office hours.
At the company, everyone was stunned. The workaholic CEO who braved wind and rain without fail was actually late! Big news!
Just as they were gossiping about their boss, they saw the very subject of their gossip walk in holding a potted rose, looking to be in an excellent mood.
The cold, ruthless domineering CEO carrying a little potted rose, something about it was off no matter how you looked at it!
It wasn’t until Gu Yuheng’s figure disappeared into the elevator lobby that everyone snapped out of it, and hushed voices began to murmur through the office.
“Holy crap, has the CEO turned over a new leaf? Is he in love?”
“Nine times out of ten it’s love. Who would’ve thought, who would’ve thought ”
Then, suddenly, someone’s chair slid back nearby, and a voice whispered: “You’ve got it all wrong. Do you know what our CEO is famous for, besides being a workaholic?”
“What? What?”
“There’s gossip I haven’t heard? Spill it!”
“Well, I heard that our CEO is obsessed with roses. Not only does he have a rose garden at his villa, he keeps a potted rose in his bedroom year-round. My guess is, it’s this very one from today.”