Chapter 906: The Flower-Selling Girl

“Pop!”

As they spoke, the slacker had already opened a bottle of Qiandao Lake beer, pouring a glass for both himself and Yan Qiuwen, and raised his cup first.

“Qiuwen, Happy Birthday!”

“Thanks!”

The foamy, pungent liquid rushed into her mouth, causing Yan Qiuwen to choke instantly.

Although she had drunk alcohol before, it was only once; she wasn’t used to the feeling, and frowned: “Why do so many people, especially men, like to drink beer? It damages the brain and body and doesn’t taste great.”

“Haha, because many men drink not for the beer, but for the loneliness!”

Su Zelin smiled as he spoke.

“Many men drink not for the beer, but for the loneliness…”

Yan Qiuwen savored this sentence; it was quite philosophical.

“It’s like some girls who love crazy shopping or binge eating when they’re unhappy, it’s just a way to relieve pressure or emotions.”

Su Zelin shrugged, then continued to ask: “Qiuwen, what do you do to release your emotions when you’re unhappy?”

“I would read books all the time, or quietly think alone for a while.”

Yan Qiuwen said lightly.

“Alright, pretend I didn’t ask…”

The slacker was embarrassed.

In modern society, Qiuwen was indeed an absolute outlier.

“What about you? Besides drinking, what other ways do you use to vent?”

Yan Qiuwen suddenly became interested; this question hadn’t yet been included in her research project.

“I would choose to play sports, or go hiking, doing some exercise.”

Seeing the consultant’s ambiguous gaze, he hurriedly explained: “Not the kind of sports and hiking you might be thinking of, don’t get any wrong ideas.”

“Tch, who’s getting wrong ideas?”

Yan Qiuwen spat.

However, she thought the way she imagined wasn’t unlikely for Su Zelin either.

“And what would you do if you’re really distressed?”

Yan Qiuwen continued asking.

“Racing!”

The slacker answered without hesitation.

No need to hypothesize; he indeed encountered such situations in his past life.

Although he prided himself as a young man chasing the wind, and collected several multi-million supercars, Su Zelin initially didn’t play racing. After all, it risked his own life, constantly walking the edge of danger and death; no matter how skilled a racer, none could claim to be 100% accident-free.

He first stepped onto the racetrack shortly after Qin Shiqing left, his father claiming he was no longer allowed to step foot in the Su family. Since then, whenever the slacker felt terribly vexed within, he would go racing as alcohol could no longer satisfy his need to numb his nerves.

“Racing?”

That answer didn’t surprise Yan Qiuwen; Su Zelin was someone who pursued thrill and novelty, he might try some extreme sports.

What surprised Yan Qiuwen was Su Zelin blurting out the answer without even thinking, and when he uttered those two words, there was a deep sense of vicissitudes in his tone as if he deeply felt it.

Logically, this level of negative emotion shouldn’t appear on someone so young and promising.

According to the consensus she and her mother reached, this person’s psychological age far exceeded his real age.

Yan Qiuwen was very curious about what exactly this young man, only twenty-one, had experienced.

It was an unresolved mystery in her research project, and also the question Yan Qiuwen found most intriguing.

In her routine Q&A games, she would consciously or unconsciously conduct relevant psychological tests, yet, Su Zelin seemed particularly sensitive to this question, evading it intentionally or unintentionally, preventing her from capturing his true thoughts.

If she claimed to know Su Zelin well and understood him thoroughly, this might be the only thing she hadn’t figured out.

However, the more mysterious it seemed, the more Yan Qiuwen wanted to understand.

She hoped to thoroughly analyze the slacker’s inner world.

After drinking, this guy seemed to reveal his heart easier.

Let him drink a few more glasses; maybe I’ll get the real answer.

Yan Qiuwen thought silently.

Both man and woman had their own thoughts, each planning on how to make the other break down.

The talented woman’s plan sounded promising, but unfortunately, her alcohol tolerance wasn’t great; after a few glasses of Qiandao Lake, two rosy clouds appeared on her fair jade-like face, gorgeous and alluring.

Then the skewers were served; Su Zelin picked up a skewer of beef and put it in his mouth, then closed his eyes, with an expression of ecstasy: “Ah, so fragrant, every taste bud is filled with happiness. Qiuwen, have you ever heard this saying, ‘A person who’s never eaten grilled skewers has lived in vain; a life without having tasted grilled skewers is incomplete!'”

“There’s no such saying, I think you made it up?”

Yan Qiuwen remained unmoved, she knew the slacker merely wanted to coax her into breaking her diet.

Do you think I’ll fall for it?

Naive!

As the slacker was about to unleash his eloquence, someone suddenly approached them; it was a girl around fourteen or fifteen, looking like a middle school student, wearing a school uniform, holding a bouquet of flowers: “Handsome brother, sorry to interrupt your meal, would you buy a bouquet for this beautiful sister?”

In the evenings in Lin’an, there were many female students selling flowers to supplement their family’s income, but they usually operated in places like plazas, because there were many couples over there.

This girl hadn’t sold all her flowers tonight, leaving one bouquet; but it was getting late, and she had to go to school tomorrow morning, so she could only go home. She happened to run into Su Zelin and Yan Qiuwen, who appeared to be a couple, so she decided to try selling the bouquet, or it would wilt tomorrow.

Su Zelin couldn’t help but chuckle.

Earlier today, he advised Kang Baohong to take his blind date to the plaza over there and give flowers to Chu Jie if they encountered a flower-selling girl; little did he know it would happen to him now.

But the girl’s words posed a dilemma.

Sending flowers to Yan Qiuwen seemed kinda strange.

Yet with the little girl speaking up, not sending them seemed a bit not right either.

When unsure, delay.

So, Su Zelin asked: “Little sister, you’re quite sweet, how old are you this year, and where do you go to school?”

Asking, he quickly thought about whether to buy this bouquet.

“Handsome brother, I’m fourteen this year, in the second year of middle school at No.13 School!”

The girl answered truthfully.

“Just a second-year middle schooler and already helping your family make money, how sensible!”

Su Zelin praised her.

“My parents are both unemployed workers; it’s not easy for them to support my schooling, plus I have a younger brother in grade school.”

Although the family was in difficult circumstances, the girl had a bright smile, clearly an optimistic and upbeat person.

“Haha, little sister, study hard, and when you grow up, you’ll definitely make something of yourself and let your family live a happy life. By the way, which university do you want to attend?”

“Handsome brother, I want to go to Zhejiang University!”

Speaking of her dreams, the girl’s eyes lit up, a hopeful glow sparkled in them.

“Oh, Zhejiang University, you have ambitions. This sister over here is a Zhejiang University graduate!”

Su Zelin pointed to Yan Qiuwen across from him.

“Wow, really? Sister, you’re not only beautiful but also so amazing!”

Even though the girl appeared suddenly, she was very articulate and polite, so neither of them felt interrupted unpleasantly.

Yan Qiuwen’s usually aloof face melted into a rare smile as she said, “Getting into Zhejiang University isn’t hard. Keep going, you can do it too.”

“Thank you, beautiful sister, I’ll definitely work hard!”

While chatting with the girl, Su Zelin also made up his mind.

This flower must be given.

As a birthday gift, it should be fine.

However, it requires some tact, to avoid any awkwardness.

An idea suddenly sparked in Su Zelin’s mind.

“Little sister, how about this? If you can convince this beautiful sister to eat a skewer, I’ll buy the flowers in your hand, how about it?”

Actually, these words were intended for Yan Qiuwen.

In this way, she wouldn’t misunderstand his intentions.

Moreover, just for letting the girl sell this bouquet of flowers, she might make an exception and have a skewer. It’s a win-win situation.

Yan Qiuwen was indignant.

This guy actually used the little girl as a tool.

“No way, beautiful sister, you’ve never had skewers?”

The girl was unmistakably surprised in her tone.

“Qiuwen, did you hear that? I told you, there’s no one who hasn’t had skewers by twenty-one!”

Su Zelin found an ally and started joking around.

Yan Qiuwen glared at him harshly, but the joker acted as if he didn’t hear, turning to the girl with a smile and asking, “Little sister, do you think skewers are delicious?”

“Delicious!”

The girl nodded without hesitation.

Her gaze drifted to the skewers on the table, and she instinctively swallowed.

For a girl like her, skewers were an irresistible delicacy. However, due to her family’s financial hardship, she and her younger brother only had them twice, and she would always salivate at the thought of that mouth-watering taste.

But she quickly averted her gaze, as staring at others’ food was considered impolite.

Yan Qiuwen noticed, and the girl’s natural reaction was more touching than Su Zelin, the actor’s pretense, prompting her to wonder.

Are they really that delicious?

“Sister, you really should try the skewers. They’re one of the most delicious things in the world!”

In order to sell her last bouquet of flowers, the girl was giving it her all.

“Alright then.”

Yan Qiuwen was a bit resigned.

Su Zelin had found her weak spot. The joker knew that, just to not disappoint the little flower-selling girl, she wouldn’t refuse.

Picking up a skewer of grilled beef, she hesitated slightly, then took a small bite, the rich aroma quickly overtaking her palate.

This was a novel taste she had never experienced before.

Before long, she finished the entire skewer of grilled beef.

The girl sighed in relief seeing this.

With this, she wouldn’t have to waste the remaining bouquet tonight.

Su Zelin smiled triumphantly.

He originally thought it would take some persuasion to convince Yan Qiuwen, but he managed easily thanks to the flower-selling girl’s appearance.

“Alright, little sister, can you give the flowers to the sister for me?”

“Okay, beautiful sister, these are from the handsome brother for you!”

The girl handed the flowers to Yan Qiuwen with both hands.

The consultant hesitated a bit but still accepted the bouquet.

The joker took out his wallet and handed two hundred yuan notes to the girl, “Here you go, no need to give change.”

The girl was surprised and hurriedly said, “Handsome brother, that’s too much, these flowers only cost thirty yuan.”

In 2005, prices weren’t very high, and flowers were inexpensive, usually below fifty, unlike in later years when they could easily cost hundreds or even thousands.

Su Zelin laughed, “Haha, just take it. The rest is your extra reward for convincing the sister to eat a skewer for me!”

“Thank you, brother, thank you, beautiful sister!”

The girl was overjoyed.

“Wait a moment!” Su Zelin called the waiter over and asked for a takeout bag, packing all the skewers on the table, “Since you like skewers so much, let me treat you and your family.”

Tears welled up in the girl’s eyes.

For someone as wealthy as the joker, two hundred yuan and a meal of skewers were trivial, yet this act could warm a child’s heart, perhaps even leaving a lasting impression as she grew up.

She bowed deeply to Su Zelin, expressing her sincerest gratitude, and then left happily.

“To many people, skewers are not just delicious; they represent beautiful memories!”

Su Zelin said meaningfully.

This time, Yan Qiuwen began to understand.

Some things cannot be judged solely by whether they are healthy or hygienic.

The joker ordered more skewers through the waiter.

Yan Qiuwen’s gaze fell on the bouquet in her hands.

It was just to help that little sister earlier, he probably had no ulterior motives, and I don’t feel like I’m betraying Shiqing.

The female consultant thus convinced herself.