Chapter 39

The winter sun was mild and not harsh. It penetrated through the thick glass of the greenhouse and shone on the blooming flowers. The gorgeous red, elegant white, fresh yellow and elegant purple decorated the greenhouse in a sea of flowers.

In such a beautiful and magnificent sea, a gentle and handsome young man was slightly bent over and smelling a delicate white lily. He had a handsome and noble temperament, attracting the eyes of everyone who saw him.

Even if it wasn’t Xi Ze, there was no one who wouldn’t appreciate such a beautiful picture.

There was a flash of light through Xi Ze’s mind that gave him a fantastic feeling.

Ming Yu had long discovered Xi Ze’s arrival. He was somewhat astonished about why the other person would show up again today, but he didn’t show it. Instead, he slowly put down the lily in his hand and asked, “Didn’t you come this morning?”

At this point, Xi Ze had already restored his expression. His thin lips curved slightly as he moved forward. “But I haven’t come this afternoon.”

Ming Yu had already experienced his man’s overbearing and willful nature during the past three days. He wasn’t angry. Rather, he was faintly happy. This showed that the other person really thought of him as a friend, and no longer treated him politely.

Ming Yu took out a carnation from a vase and asked, “Do you like flowers?”

There was a moment of silence and Xi Ze gently nodded. “Yes.”

After this sentence, Ming Yu raised some flowers for Xi Ze to smell, using his opinions as a reference.

The two people had a tacit understanding while holding the flowers, like they were old friends who didn’t need words.

By the time they walked towards the end of the greenhouse, Ming Yu was already holding a large bouquet of flowers in his hand. Red, yellow, purple and white decorated the hands of the young man. Ming Yu placed them in a vase and prepared to leave the greenhouse.

“I am going to prepare for the spring and summer high-end fashion shows early next year.” The man’s low and magnetic voice rang out in the quiet greenhouse. He paused and continued, “I am afraid I will be very busy in the upcoming months. Do you want tickets for the show?”

Ming Yu held the heavy vase and thought for a moment before asking, “Are you giving me an invitation as a friend?”

Xi Ze raised an eyebrow. “You can have two tickets if you want.”

Ming Yu naturally know the significance of Xi Ze’s promise.

‘Ji and Ya’ held fashion shows four times a year. It represented the world’s top aesthetic standards and often led the fashion trends for this year and the next few years. Many people dreamt of receiving these invitations. However, it wasn’t easy to get even if a person had money.

Now, Ji and Ya’s chief designer and creative director promised to definitely give him two invitations. There were no traces of exaggeration in these words, but Ming Yu felt like they were too heavy and went beyond the boundaries of friends.

Thus, he shook his head and said. “If it isn’t convenient, I will be very grateful for one.”

The two people spoke while walking towards the door. They had just arrived at the door when Xi Ze gently sneezed, causing Ming Yu to look over with surprise. “Do you have a cold?”

He looked closely at the handsome man’s face. He didn’t know when, but a small red dot had appeared at the corner of the left eye. Xi Ze coughed twice, then shook his head. “It isn’t a cold. It is probably a little pollen allergy.”

Ming Yu heard these words and suddenly stopped, looking at the man with amazement.

Xi Ze noticed the youth’s sudden stop and did the same, turning to look at him.

There was a long silence before Ming Yu slowly sighed and said softly, “Since you have a pollen allergy, you should’ve told me when I asked you to help me select flowers. You didn’t need to help me.”

Ming Yu was very confident in Xi Ze’s aesthetic level and discerning eyesight, so he let Xi Ze help with choosing flowers. But he never would’ve done it if he knew that this man had a pollen allergy.

In Ming Yu’s mind, Xi Ze wasn’t someone who would hurt himself to help others.

The man’s deep and dark eyes gazed at him before Xi Ze gently nodded and explained. “It isn’t a very serious allergy. This much contact isn’t a problem, so I didn’t think much of it.”

Ming Yu replied with some remorse, “It is my fault so tonight I will invite you to dinner as an apology. I also want to thank you for helping me pick flowers.”

Xi Ze naturally didn’t refuse this invitation.

That evening, the two people had a meal in a random French restaurant. Then Xi Ze took the initiative to send Ming Yu home. It was like any ordinary friends, with Xi Ze not crossing any lines with his behaviour.

Ming Yu got out of the car, the two people said ‘goodbye’ and Xi Ze drove away.

The delicate and cheerful youth stood in the cold moonlight in front of the tranquil apartments, watching the black Aston Martin depart. Ming Yu didn’t look away when the car completely disappeared around the corner, still staring solemnly at where it disappeared.

Approximately three minutes later, as the cold winter wind blew, the youth turned and walked into his apartment building.

Ming Yu always believed that this man, like himself, was full of self-confidence and seemingly gentle, but he was actually difficult to get close to.

In his last life, he had lived at the top of the fashion industry like today’s Xi Ze. Each of their decisions led to many variables, and many crooked people wanted to use them as shortcuts to climb up.

In this life, Ming Yu had only Zhao Rui and Luo Ru in the ranks of his own people, counting them as friends. The former was really good to him, while the latter was clever and did everything for him.

But XI Ze, he wasn’t considered under Ming Yu’s category of his ‘own people.’

Ming Yu used to think that this person was very similar to him. The two people should get along, so he agreed to be the other person’s friend. But as he got to know the other person, he found that he couldn’t always take everything calmly and even became childish at times.

It seemed that this person was his nemesis.

Originally, Ming Yu intended to keep a distance from Xi Ze when he discovered that this person wasn’t like him. However, this afternoon, when he saw the man who had a red dot on his face because of allergies and even sneezing, he felt the deepest part of his heart softening and he could no longer refuse this person.

Only he knew how low the possibility was for people like them to harm themselves for the sake of others. Now, Xi Ze did it for him, so Ming Yu couldn’t help being moved.

Due to this empathy, it was absolutely impossible for Ming Yu to harm Xi Ze.

“Xi Ze… what type of person are you?”

The words of the youth were covered up by the thick darkness and no one heard it.

On the other hand, Ming Yu didn’t know that the man who just left the apartment in his car received a call. His agent was urgently begging on his knees on the other end of the phone. “I’m begging you, I’m begging you! Master Xi, Lord Xi, my ancestor! Can’t you come back quickly? This side is almost done and the fashion show is in two months, are you trying to court disaster?”

Xi Ze listened to Ding Bo’s desperate voice on the phone and whispered, “I will go back tomorrow.” He paused and added, “I won’t leave for a long period of time until this spring and summer show is over.”

Ding Bo was surprised by the unexpected words and asked, “Don’t you want to pursue your muse?”

Xi Ze turned the steering wheel and asked, “Haven’t I been pursuing him for the past three days?”

Ding Bo, “…”

Of course, Ding Bo knew that Xi Ze was pursuing him.

Ding Bo knew Xi Ze for more than 10 years and had never seen him so devoted to somebody. Xi Ze choose to abandon his job for one person, spending three days to explore his job site.

It wasn’t his style at all!

Xi Ze didn’t hide his whereabouts, generously letting ‘Xi Ze came to Ming Yu’s job site every day’ spread through the entire fashion industry and even the entertainment industry.

What type of behaviour was this? It was him saying—

『 Ming Yu is someone I am taking care of. Before moving against him, please think clearly. 』

Was he mistaken?

Ding Bo and Shen Xiang never received such good judgment! How lucky was it to be protected under Xi Ze’s wings!

Not to mention Xi Ze telling Shen Xiang to promote Ming Yu to the highest level in Muse!

This meant that even if Ming Yu had the strength of a slag, he would be able to smoothly rise in the fashion industry!

Of course, this was just an example. If Ming Yu wasn’t strong, it wouldn’t be possible for Xi Ze to notice him.

This might be the case, but it still made Ding Bo feel depressed for a long time. The feeling similar to being ‘killed on a beach’ made him asked, “You have been pursuing him for three days. You haven’t obtained the muse, so do you intend to give up?”

Xi Ze laughed as if he heard something funny on the phone. Ding Bo was confused for a while, until the man’s low and magnetic voice passed through the phone.

“For three days, I have loosened his heart. From now on, he will always remember the name ‘Xi Ze’ and have placed myself on a different level from others. He didn’t agree to my invitation, but he will be my model sooner or later. After these positive days, there needs to be a cold period. I can’t be a stalker forever. Ding Bo, your cultural standards probably aren’t high enough. Have you ever heard these words?”

Ding Bo’s mouth twitched while feeling sorry for the small model in his heart. ‘You actually provoked such a black-bellied scum.’

Ding Bo asked, “What words?”

Xi Ze paused for a moment before saying, “Warm water will boil a frog.”

Ding Bo, “…Ah, I’m really sorry towards Ming Yu. Aren’t you too bad? The other person sees you as a friend, but you are still being calculating. Xi Ze, you really are too heartless. Fortunately, I’ve known you for so many years…”

“Ding Bo.” The man suddenly interrupted Ding Bo’s words. “Who told you that I don’t see him as a friend?”

Ding Bo was surprised for a moment as he listened to the other end of the phone. Xi Ze sighed and said, “I really do think of him as my friend.”

The dark and enchanting night in the capital. An Aston Martin moved through traffic towards the other side of the city. In the car, the man’s slender fingers gently tapped the steering wheel. The dark red steering wheel and white fingers made a sharp contrast that was difficult to look away from.

Slowly opening up that young man’s heart? Making the other person his own step by step?

Xi Ze deeply sighed as he recalled the scene from this afternoon, the young man sniffing a flower with closed eyes.

In fact, he also felt like it was really difficult to maintain this friendship.