Chapter 5
On the first day Iris left, before Zhuang Zhuoyuan even had a chance to start thinking about her, or even before he stepped out of the airport, he received his first text message—a geographical coordinate and the words "Come quickly".
The letter was unsigned, and the phone number was unfamiliar. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was puzzled, but ultimately drove there anyway. His destination was a flower shop in Yuen Long, a small shop at one end of the street, utterly ordinary, nothing special, nothing that seemed to require immediate attention, and certainly no reason to come so urgently. He entered the shop with suspicion, and before he could speak, the proprietress, wearing round-framed glasses, looked up at the doorbell, squinting as she sized him up. She seemed to recognize him; after a silent nod, she strode forward, took a bundle of flowers from the right shelf, and handed it to him: "Mr. Zhuang, are you? Please sign for it."
This was the first time Zhuang Zhuoyuan had heard of "home delivery" meaning the shop owner delivers the goods, and the customer comes to the shop. He took the pen in a daze, stopping just before signing, and asked the shop owner, who seemed about to return to the counter after receiving the order, "Who delivered these flowers?"
The proprietress raised an eyebrow, her expression clearly showing a hint of disdain, as if she thought his question was idiotic, but she still answered in the end: "Let me formally introduce this flower, it's called an iris, or Iris in English."
It turned out to be his girlfriend! Zhuang Zhuoyuan was immediately overjoyed, treating the bouquet of flowers as if it were a precious treasure. This was the first bouquet of flowers he had ever received in his romantic life; he had never imagined that giving flowers wasn't just a man's prerogative. Iris, Iris, he wished she were here with him right now.
The happy atmosphere didn't last long. The proprietress once again showed Zhuang Zhuoyuan the reasons for the shop's poor business. She inexplicably spoiled the mood by tugging at the unsigned order, watching him write his name, and then quickly returned to the counter, as if there were no more customers to serve. As she stopped, Zhuang Zhuoyuan's phone beeped again. The second text message appeared, from Iris—
"Don't miss me, baby, I'll be back soon. Congratulations on solving the first riddle and successfully reaching the florist to collect your prize. I hope you like the flowers I sent you. Kiss~ Also, just so you know, there will be similar surprises waiting for you every day until I return. If you have work commitments that prevent you from playing the game, please let me know in advance, and I will accommodate your schedule. Love you xx"
from your best girlfriend
Indeed, she was "the best girlfriend in the world," Zhuang Zhuoyuan couldn't suppress the smile that curved his lips. Although it was clearly a timed text message, Iris's thoughtfulness was evident. She told him she would be in England for at least a month, which meant she had already planned everything for the next thirty days. Thinking of this, Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt that being alone in Hong Kong wasn't so unbearable. He probably wouldn't even have to wait for his girlfriend to return; he could respond to her advances via video call—Yes! Yes! Yes! What else could it be but "yes"? If he could, he would add "I do" even more.
For the past week, Zhuang Zhuohua had gotten used to seeing something new when she came home from work, but today the half-person-sized chubby rabbit doll on the sofa still made her raise an eyebrow. It was rare for her to come home at dinner time. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was still busy in the kitchen wearing an apron. Hearing the noise, he just poked his head out and greeted her, "Sister, you're back."
"Hmm." Zhuang Zhuohua was in a good mood today. She put down her briefcase, rolled up her sleeves, and prepared to help. She joked with her brother, "You didn't tell me we'd have guests tonight."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan hadn't reacted for a moment. His hand holding the spatula paused for a moment, and his thoughts drifted further and further in the wrong direction: "Sister, are any of your friends coming over for dinner? I didn't prepare anything! These two dishes aren't enough, are they? I'll go down to Uncle Wang's place on the next street to get some more ingredients."
Zhuang Zhuohua suppressed a laugh and simply stopped at the door, continuing to tease the other party: "I think this guest probably doesn't eat meat, and it's also very polite, bringing its own food."
"Who is this guest who is so polite? Are you sure we know each other?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan turned off the fire and suspiciously turned around. He saw his sister looking out the window, so he went over to take a look as well and instantly understood everything.
“That rabbit,” he pointed to the doll, a standard smile spreading across his face, his tone a mix of sweetness and smugness, “today’s special mission. Shishi called me in a panic, asking me to go to the toy store and win this new rabbit for her. Hitting the bullseye ten times in a row, only a super sniper like me could do that.”
"Newly released?" Zhuang Zhuohua habitually picked up on a single word first. "How does Iris have such good connections? Even though she's in England, she knows about the latest developments at the toy store?"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan was somewhat impressed with his girlfriend on this point. He knew a lot of people, but Iris, who was not a local resident, seemed to know quite a few people after visiting Hong Kong a few times: "She probably has so many informants that she's qualified to join the CIB. If we hadn't run into you by chance this time, our meeting would probably have been caught in her inescapable net."
"So impressive?" Zhuang Zhuohua couldn't help but exclaim. This girl was indeed extraordinary, bold yet meticulous, clear-headed, and with outstanding social skills. She recalled what Iris had told her when they first met: "She brought me a bag of steel balls and said she suspected that someone in Hong Kong was illegally modifying firearms. I had someone follow up, and it turned out that her speculation was quite likely."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan was also aware of this, so he wasn't too surprised. However, his tone suddenly became like that of an old father: "No wonder she was so keen to ask me about the gun club. It turns out she wasn't just gathering information, but also searching for clues. It seems I'll have to give her a safety talk tonight. Ah, I should call Inspector Pan and ask him. I'll feel more at ease when I hand Shishi over to him during my missions."
“Inspector Pan?” Chong Cheuk-wah thought for a moment. “You mean Pan Zi-long from the CIB? When did you meet him?”
Zhuang Zhuoyuan blinked: "It was Tan Sir who introduced him. I happened to run into him when Shishi told me about this the other day, and I casually asked him. Tan Sir then gave me Pan Sir's contact information. I heard that Pan Sir is a very disciplined person, so it's perfect to have him as Shishi's mentor. She won't have to worry about skipping classes."
Knowing her brother perfectly well, Zhuang Zhuohua ignored the last sentence. Since he wasn't around, Zhuang Zhuoyuan spoke a hundred times more strictly. Once Iris returned and started acting cute, it would likely be up to her to decide who her husband's tutor would be and whether he'd even have classes. She already foresaw her brother's future henpecked situation. Only someone else remained oblivious: "Zhuang Zhuoyuan, have you asked where Iris will be staying? If she needs a new place, you'd better start looking now. Otherwise, with your pickiness, even another month might not be enough."
"Am I picky?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan frowned and asked, feeling that the word should describe Zhuang Zhuohua herself. He shook his head and said, "Shishi told me before that Shanfeng Group would arrange for her to stay in a hotel, and told me not to help her with that. Ah, no! Sister, I think you're right. She's all alone in Hong Kong with no relatives or friends. If she wants to stay long-term, staying in a hotel all the time isn't a solution. The worst part is that she can only eat out. Even if I bring her home for meals, it's troublesome to go out for three meals a day. I think I should ask if there are any houses for rent nearby, and then I can look at them before asking her."
Looking at the dishes on the table, now completely ignored, Zhuang Zhuohua raised an eyebrow and picked up a piece of green vegetable, placing it in her bowl. Hearing the voices coming from Zhuang Zhuoyuan's room, she was about 80% certain that when her younger brother returned after viewing the house, he would ask her if she minded Iris staying at their place. He certainly wouldn't consider a house more than three kilometers away, and he'd be overly picky about anything within three kilometers. Unless there happened to be a vacant room across the hall or upstairs or downstairs, Iris would likely be staying with them. Of course, that was assuming this very opinionated girl was willing. Zhuang Zhuohua was conflicted about whether to remind Zhuang Zhuoyuan not to rush things, and not to worry too much about her older sister's wishes, since the person who really needed to be persuaded wasn't her.
“Ah Yuan, if you don’t come and eat first, you’ll miss Iris’s video call. If you’re five minutes late, you two will only have two hours and fifty-five minutes to chat today.” Five, four, three, two, one, Zhuang Zhuohua counted silently in her mind. Sure enough, five seconds later, Zhuang Zhuoyuan reappeared at the table. She really wondered if her younger brother had ever been in a relationship: “Ah Yuan, were all those dating experiences you told me about lying to me?”
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Zhuoyuan looked up at Zhuang Zhuohua with a very serious expression: "Big sister, Iris is pursuing me now."
Zhuang Zhuohua gave a meaningful "Oh": "It's Iris pursuing you—"
Hearing her drawl at the end of her sentence, Zhuang Zhuoyuan guessed there was more to come, and sure enough, his sister added insult to injury: "The method of pursuing her was quite unique."
With such high praise from Madam Zhuang, Iris would probably be tempted to start her own teaching classes. Completely under her thumb, Zhuang Zhuoyuan sighed silently, finishing a mouthful of rice before reconsidering his previous thought. No, there's no need for such a tiring teaching job; she just needs to write it into a book, and she can make a fortune in one go. Sigh, hopefully, his first time as the male lead in her novel won't be on a subject like this?
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