Ch11 - Roses

Editor: MinMin

Proofreader: DarkSapphire

Bai Xi knew that his parents had certainly doubted his sexual orientation for a long time.

When he was a freshman, his hidden pornographic comics were unfortunately discovered by his family. He originally thought it would be a violent storm, but Wu Mo and Bai Zihua’s expressions changed several times, but in the end they said nothing. Only Wu Mo was not taking it lightly. He said again, “How old are you, and you still read comics.”

When he was a college freshman, his hidden stash ofBLmanhua was unfortunately discovered by his family. He originally thought it would cause a huge fight on the spot but Wu Mo and Bai Zihua’s facial expressions went through many changes, then ultimately didn’t make any harsh comment other than Wu Mo offhandedly uttering, “Still reading manhua at this age.”

They mentioned nothing about the content in the manhua at all.

That was how his secret was lightly exposed.

Bai Xi thought that if he came out now, his parents would most likely nod, but he and Qi Xun had only been in love for a few days, so if he came out now, it would always mean forcing Qi Xun.

He thought that if he came out, his parents would probably nod in response. But it hadn’t been long since he and Qi Xun started their relationship. If he came out now, it would feel like he was forcing Qi Xun.

He thought for a while and felt that he had to wait for their relationship to be more stable.

.

After dinner, Bai Xi and Bai Ruo played mahjong with their parents before going to bed.

He lost the most, and there went his one-month salary. Even Ms. Wu Mo felt pity and caressed his doge face and said, “Son, it’s mother’s fault for not giving you enough intelligence during birth.”

That did not help Bai Xi’s gloomy mood.

While he was in his bedroom, he wanted to chat with Qi Xun before sleeping, but he remembered that Qi Xun had a reception tonight and should not be disturbed.

He turned over on his bed. He was watching the latest American TV series but wasn’t keeping the information displayed on the screen. He had to admit, he missed Qi Xun.

He scrolled through his phone album, unbeknownst to him, there are many new photos of him and Qi Xun saved. There were photos of Qi Xun or both of them, and some were just him taken by Qi Xun.

There was a photo of him sitting on the bay window. He was wearing Qi Xun’s white shirt. It was spacious and loose on his figure, exposing his collarbone. He wore nothing underneath, and his slender legs were faintly discernible. However, because he had just gotten up, he was not fully awake as he stared blankly at nowhere while nibbling on an apple.

Qi Xun saw him on the bed, sat up and took this picture.

But not long after taking this picture, he grabbed Bai Xi back to bed.

…

Bai Xi blushed at the thought and scolded internally again.Old hooligan.

But the ‘old hooligan’ was thousands of miles away, leaving his side empty and cold. He wanted to throw a cute tantrum, but not without a partner.

His mood turned sour and he felt a little disappointed.

.

When Bai Xi was up the next day, he went to work as usual.

After his recent bustling days, he became more leisurely as he relaxingly ate a cake as morning tea during the middle of the day.

When he put the last piece of the cake in his mouth, someone knocked on his office door.

“Please come in.”

The head that appeared behind the pushed open door was his little assistant, Tong Jia. Anauntie smilehung on her face, looking like she was here not only to gossip but also to tease.

“Mr. Bai, there’s something for you, do you want me to go get it~?”

Her smile frightened Bai Xi. “Sure, but isn’t that the cup I purchased online the day before yesterday?”

Tong Jia shook her head and ran out, her steps thumping. When she came back in, she was holding a large bundle of flowers in her arms, enough to cover most of her body.

Bai Xi gawked at the flower bouquet in surprise.

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Soon, he found the card that came with the flowers. There were no tender loving words or messages, only a simple signature,Qi Xun.

Clean and neat.

The little assistant beside him had taken out her phone and snapped a bunch of pictures.

She knew Bai Xi had a boyfriend, who she had never met. She was very curious.

She thought about how good-looking Mr. Bai was, so his boyfriend must also be very handsome. As expected, nowadays, all attractive men are taken away by other men.

She asked Bai Xi, “Mr. Bai, is this from your boyfriend? It’s so romantic! Why is myboy-stockalwaysin the red?”

Her last sentence carried a hint of whine as she pouted her lips.

He smiled, took a few roses from the bundle, and handed them to her. “Why don’t you put these on your desk?”

The little assistant immediately smiled. “Of course. These are gorgeous. Maybe I’ll order one for myself next time.”

Then she accepted the flowers and walked out, leaving Bai Xi alone in his office.

He looked at the beautiful arranged flowers under the sun for a while. He couldn’t hold back the urge to call Qi Xun.

Bai Xi was the only one left in the office. He looked at the exceptionally beautiful bouquet of roses in the sun for a while, then couldn’t help himself and finally called Qi Xun.The other party picked up the call quickly, and the background sound was a bit noisy, like being outdoors.

The opposite end soon picked up. There was background noise, it sounded like he answered the call outdoors.

“Did something happen?” Qi Xun asked. “Why did you call me during this time?”

When Bai Xi heard Qi Xun’s voice, a smile appeared in his eyes unconsciously, “It’s nothing, I just received the rose you gave me… Why did you think of giving me flowers?”

As soon as Bai Xi heard Qi Xun’s voice, his eyes curved into smiles unknowingly. “Nothing serious, I just received the roses you sent me…What gave you the idea of sending me flowers?”

Today wasn’t a holiday and it wasn’t his birthday either.

Qi Xun was inspecting on-site, but he made a ‘stop’ gesture to his secretary and went to the closest corner.

“No reason at all. I just went out this morning and saw these very beautiful roses in this flower shop. I thought they suit you very well and wanted to give you a bouquet.”

He said it plainly, and it was all the truth.

There was a flower shop next to the hotel where he stayed. When he passed by, he happened to see the roses in bloom. He suddenly thought of Percy and felt that Percy and the roses went well together.

There was a flower shop next to the hotel where he was staying. When he passed by, he happened to see roses in perfect bloom. He suddenly thought of Bai Xi and felt he was very well-matched with the rose.

Bai Xi held his phone and didn’t reply for a long time.

Qi Xun spoke in an ordinary yet gentle way as if it was just a trivial matter.

This was not a big deal.

But his stomach was fluttering like a fawn. It had evolved into a moose crushing into a wall.

He even wondered if Qi Xun had undergone advanced training class, otherwise, how could he be so attractive virtually.

“I al-also missed you.” Bai Xi stammered back.

Not saying I thought of you, but that I missed you.

Qi Xun smiled. “I know.”

But he couldn’t continue their call anymore.

At the other end of the phone, Qi Xun’s secretary gently reminded him that it was time to go to the next location.

Bai Xi could only keep his words in his throat and said thoughtfully, “You go ahead with your work, we can talk in the evening.”

After pondering shortly, he added, “The roses are very beautiful. I like them very much.”

“That’s good.” Qi Xun whispered.

Bai Xi stayed on the line until the other side ended the call.

Sitting in his seat in a daze for a while, he felt this powerful gas fill the pit of his stomach. It was sour but sweet, like it was an uncontainable urge.

He mused for about three seconds before he unrelentingly called Liang Song.

The so-called childhood friend was not only suitable for being atrash canbut also suitable for being forcibly fed dog food.

Liang Song was sitting at home when thepotcame down from heaven, hitting his pitiful head. He was supposed to spend this great day building Lego, but Bai Xi had to call and he was forced to listen to Bai Xi’s eight hundred descriptive words on these feelings of love. Even the roses were photographed at three hundred sixty degrees, leaving no blind spot. It was like he had to witness his friend’s romantic evidence.

He rolled his eyes on the other side of the phone.

All right, Bai Xi is truly beyond help.

How to deal with this stupidly in love friend of his?

He should just drag and bury the fool.

Bai Xi was still deeply moved. “I wondered if Qi Xun even has aKPIfor being a boyfriend. Otherwise, how can he be so perfect, a perfect balance between sweet and sexy. Is this what it means to be treated with high-class performance?”

The person who held the secret affection was him. Why was that when they entered a relationship, the one who actively flirts would be Qi Xun?

Fine, he lost.

He told Liang Song, “I really want to see him now…”

Liang Song silently shook his head. “You are really beyond saving.”

Bai Xi accepted at face value.

After being so hung up on this tree dubbed Qi Xun for six years, if there was a way to save him, he would have been rescued long ago.

But before he could open his mouth, Liang Song timely refused his advance on more publicly displaying affection.

“I beg of you, please spare me. I already knew Qi Xun’s birthday, height, astrological sign, and favourite colour by heart. I really do not want to know what position he likes in bed.”

Bai Xi protested, “I’m not going to share such things with you.”

“Really? What do I feel like if I don’t stop you now, you are one step away from sharing with me Qi Xun’ssize?”

Speaking of this, Liang Song stopped subtly and asked, “Is he big? He is not just for show, right?”

Bai Xi: “?”

How did the conversation suddenly change from cleanly fresh to scenes that only happened at night?

“What is your head filled with?” Bai Xi said disgustingly. “Get your mind out of the gutter, your dirty thoughts crossed the limit. Who wants to talk about this with you?”

“Hey, what’s wrong with asking that? I’ll just assume yes if you keep quiet.” Liang Song was reluctant.

Bai Xi: “…”

Bai Xi mumbled, “…Not just for show.”

Liang Song burst out into a series of earth-shaking laughter on the other side of the phone.

.

Because of the bouquet of roses, Bai Xi’s good mood lasted even when he came back to his family’s house. He also unconsciously hummed a song while watching TV in the living room that night. It was even a short love song.

Bai Ruo ate potato chips next to him, cast a glance at him, then glanced over again.

She had long noticed there was something wrong with her brother.

Last time, when she met with Bai Xi for lunch, she saw what appeared to be a kiss mark on his neck, but even when there was a raging ocean in her heart, her face remained calm and collective, thinking she must be seeing things.

But two days later, when she happened to be in the area of Bai Xi’s apartment, she stopped by his place for a cup of coffee. However, as she passed the flower bed, she saw Qi Xun and Bai Xi walking down the stairs. They were holding hands and were clearly not doing anything too intimate, but the atmosphere between their gaze was inexplicably ambiguous. She immediately realized something was wrong.

In the past two days that Bai Xi came home, he would giggle at his phone randomly and would send voice messages behind his family’s back. If there was nothing wrong with these incidents, then she wouldchange her name backward.

She put down the magazine and stared at her brother for a long time, who finally felt her gaze and met her eyes.

Bai Xi was terrified when he saw the look. As the eye contact last, he could recall his failed physics exams being rummaged through by his twin sister.

He knew there was no reason for him to feel guilty, as he touched his face while asking, “What?” Then he touched his face again. “Is there something on my face?”

Originally, Bai Ruo planned to ask Bai Xi if he was in a relationship with Qi Xun.

But when she saw her brother’s gentle jade-like face, she swallowed her question back down.

She didn’t want to ask anyway.

Her brother would say it himself when the time arrived.

But she was feeling slightly upset. Although Bai Xi was the older one by only three minutes, they weren’t alike since childhood. Bai Xi was born with a good and soft temper, while she had a strong personality. She always felt that she had to take the responsibility of caring for her sibling.

So she looked at Bai Xi bitterly, as if she was watching an S-grade cabbage growing a pair of legs and running away.

Bai Xi with question marks written all over his face: “?”

“Nothing, I just think your earrings look good.” She said casually. “Maybe I’ll buy the same one next time.”

Her brother really believed her as his hands moved to his ears.

“Really? This was a gift from Qi Xun-ge.” He said and couldn’t hold back from showing a sweet smile. “His friend designed it. If you like it, I’ll order one for you.”

Chimp! Bai Ruo bit into a large potato chip as the crumbles fell all over her.

Did she have to repeat herself?

If they are not in a relationship, then she would invert her name upside down!

She was just unable to control her tongue. What was wrong with her mentioning earrings!

Taking a deep breath, she lowered her hand and swatted away the crumbles on her clothes.

“No need, I suddenly remembered that I had too many earrings.”

Translator has something to add:

Teo: I really want to hear the reader’s options on “ah”, “la”, “ba”, etc. in translation (usually placed at the end of the sentence and sometimes italicized). Personally, I would rather go straight to reading Chinese if I see them in English translation. I know some translators like to add it, but it kind of pushes me out of the reading experience because it feels like a bad accent or habit picked up from being accustomed to speaking Chinese for too long or recently (funny/ cute verbally but annoying visually).

Edit: Just to clarify, I am not changing my translation style, I just want to hear what the viewer think (◡‿◡). Please let me know why you like it, why you don’t, don’t really care, or you have no idea what they are but you are just rolling with it xD I promise I won’t bite!