Chapter 228: A Subtle Confession That's Hard to Understand

"You...are afraid of the dark?" the girl asked incredulously.

Hmm, it doesn't look like it at all!

Last time we spent the night in the cave, I didn't notice any signs that he was afraid of the dark!

Bai Ye glanced fearfully at the dark staircase, swallowed hard, and said with a hint of apprehension, "Shh, don't tell anyone else, or they'll laugh at us. Xiaxia, I really love epiphyllum flowers, could you... come with me?"

Last time, his insistence on finding Su Guan He Ding caused him to be trapped in the mountains for a night. Yun Xia stroked her chin with her fingertips, thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Okay, let me go back to the house and put on a coat. Although it is early summer, it is still very cold at night."

Watching the girl's retreating figure as she went back into the house, Bai Ye touched the thin coat he was wearing, sighed, and thought to himself that his plan to increase his favorability by wearing a coat was probably not going to work.

The tall cherry trees blocked the moonlight as the two strolled along the pebble path. The tranquil atmosphere was so pleasant that even without speaking, they soon arrived at the clump of epiphyllum flowers.

The purple flower buds were slightly fluffy. "Oh, I've been to the backyard several times, and I'm only now discovering such a large patch of night-blooming cereus."

“The backyard is all taken care of by the nanny. My uncle can count the number of times he comes over on one hand. If I don’t mention this epiphyllum, he’ll almost forget about it. Look, this one is about to bloom.”

The beauty of the epiphyllum is fleeting. The purple bracts fully unfold, and the layers of snow-white petals slowly bloom at a speed visible to the naked eye. The slightly trembling stamens are like a bewitching beauty dancing.

The girl, who was sniffing the flowers closely, was beautiful and charming. A few playful strands of hair fell on her fair cheeks, adding a touch of whimsy to her appearance. She had come to see the flowers, but she was so captivated by them that she seemed to be mesmerized.

"A fleeting moment, a life adrift, youth blossoms in an instant, but holding the hand of the one beside you is a lifetime," Bai Ye said, gazing at the girl with emotion.

Immersed in admiring the flowers, Yunxia poked a petal with her fair fingers, watching it sway back and forth with a smile. "Oh, it smells so good! So this is what the fragrance of the epiphyllum is like. Hmm, were you just being sarcastic? I didn't quite understand!"

"Holding your hand, growing old together"—if phrased euphemistically, it would be incomprehensible. At this moment, he deeply regretted confessing his love in this way; the atmosphere had been completely ruined.

"Oh, just a fleeting thought. I've heard that epiphyllum flowers can be used in cooking, is that true?"

The girl perked up at the mention of cooking. "Of course! Using flowers in cooking is simple and delicious. Anyway, Uncle Bai Jie doesn't seem to care much about these epiphyllum flowers, so why not pick them and make a flower feast tomorrow? Hehe, no, we can't pick them all. We have to leave a few for him. What if he suddenly decides to come and admire the flowers in a few days?"

The girl was a woman of action; once she said she would do something, she did it. Before long, two-thirds of the entire ephemeral flower patch had been destroyed by her, whether the flowers were in full bloom or still in bud.

Now, the beautiful and tranquil atmosphere vanished completely, leaving only Bai Ye still in a daze.

The night-blooming cereus has a very short shelf life. The best course of action is to hurry back inside and put it in your personal space. "Hey, what are you daydreaming about? The night-blooming cereus has been picked. We need to hurry back inside and put it in water to keep it fresh. Let's go, let's head home!"

"Well, all that effort for nothing," Bai Ye smiled helplessly, then quickened his pace to catch up with the girl.

The next day, early in the morning, Bai Jie, having just finished washing up, went downstairs and saw the girl setting the table with dishes.

"Hey, Xiaxia, you're up so early today!"

"Early to bed and early to rise makes for a healthy body, Uncle. Come and eat! Today's breakfast is especially special!"

"Oh, really? Let me take a look!"

The main dishes are fried dough sticks and eggs. Flower petals and ginseng slices float in the clear soup. The fried pieces have golden petals that you can vaguely see. The stir-fry is different. You can tell at a glance that it is night-blooming cereus.

"Wow, a whole feast of night-blooming cereus flowers! Crispy with a floral fragrance, so delicious. Hmm, do they sell night-blooming cereus flowers at the market?"

"As long as it tastes good, that's fine. I didn't go to the market; I just picked it from the backyard."

"backyard?"

"Yes, there's a whole patch of cherry trees right next to them. Uncle, I didn't pick them all, so I left a few for you. If you want to see the flowers, you can take Aunt Wu over tonight."

When she mentioned it, Bai Jie remembered that there was a patch of night-blooming cereus in the backyard, which he had bought at a high price, costing over a thousand yuan per plant, with each flower costing around 10 yuan. So... this breakfast was exceptionally luxurious!

Since what has been done is already done, there's no point in attaching it to the flower branch. With a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, he said, "It's alright. The epiphyllum will wither after it blooms. It's fine to cook it into a dish and eat it. It's making the most of it."

The perceptive Yunxia sensed something was amiss. "Uncle Bai, to be honest, is this variety of epiphyllum particularly expensive?"

"All things are equal in nature. Value is given to them by humankind. If you don't pick them, they will fall to the ground and rot into mud in a few days."

"Hmm, that makes sense. Oh, knowing it's a rare variety makes it taste even better!"

Before long, several people came down from upstairs one after another. When they saw the banquet of epiphyllum flowers, they were all amazed. After tasting it, they praised the girl's cooking skills one after another.

"Oh, this is so delicious! Sister Xiaxia, can you make another night-blooming cereus feast for lunch?"

Yunxia: ...

"No, you can't. Finish eating and go to school right away."

Jiang An's grades had never been very good. He didn't like being in a classroom with dozens of other people. Hearing this, he pouted and silently picked up some food with his head down.

"Yunxia, ​​why did you decide to go to the backyard to pick epiphyllum flowers so early in the morning?"

"Oh, I picked these while I was admiring the flowers with Bai Ye last night."

What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener. Jiang Chao narrowed his eyes and looked at the fair-skinned man with ill intent, thinking to himself that he was indeed a wolf in sheep's clothing. Would a decent person invite someone to admire flowers in the middle of the night?

Bai Ye noticed the sharp-tongued gaze of someone, looked up, smiled slightly, and then... served the girl some food.

It was during university exam week, so Jiang Chao didn't have to go to school. In order to protect his younger sister, he chose to study at home. Whenever Bai Ye tried to ask the girl out, Jiang Chao would either find fault with him or follow him directly.

On that day, Bai Ye and Yun Xia were going to meet the person in charge of the decoration company, and Jiang Chao followed them in the car with a stern face.

"Hey, Jiang Chao, you have an exam tomorrow. Is it really okay to be so 'unproductive'?"

Jiang Chao rolled his eyes at someone and said quietly, "I've already reviewed everything. I've memorized all the knowledge points perfectly. Getting first place in my major is no problem. Besides, what's the point of discussing a renovation plan if the homeowner isn't there?"

Oh, I almost forgot, he's also a homeowner!

"Xiaxia, Jiang Chao is right. Besides, university exams aren't as difficult as high school exams. Uncle Zhang, let's drive!"

The car had already started moving, but they couldn't get her out. Annoyed by her, the girl, with a piece of fruit candy in her mouth, closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

Who wouldn't be annoyed? There's always someone following you around no matter what you do. If you ask him to go back to his room to study, he'll find a hundred excuses to stop you. You can't argue with him, and if you fight, the difference in strength is too great, so it's a thankless task.

Yunxia even thought he had a mental problem and almost asked Bai Jie to recommend a psychologist.