บท 23: A white rose
In the morning, Bai Chen left the house at nine in a very normal-looking outfit. He wore a pair of grey jeans and a white t-shirt with English words printed on it. He also wore a grey jacket on top.
Today was not a school day, so he did not have to show up there. He had helped his parents prepare the Chinese steamed bun shop for opening in the morning before he left the house.
Bai Chen rode his bicycle to Xing Xuan Station.
The front of the station was not very far from Xing Seng Business District. The distance was barely half a kilometre, which was not tough at all to cycle.
More than half an hour later, Bai Chen finally arrived at the front of Xing Xuan Station. He parked his bike at the paid parking lot, which cost only about 2 yuan.
Once he had parked, Bai Chen began looking for a florist’s shop. The front of Xing Xuan Station was quite crowded. Some people were there for work, some for leisure.
After searching for a while, he found a florist’s shop and immediately walked over.
The shop was actually quite large with luxurious decor. It was so luxurious that Bai Chen did not dare enter.
He only had 100 yuan with him today, so if the flower was too expensive, he would not have enough money left for anything else.
Thus, he could only lounge around hesitantly, debating whether or not to enter.
As he was caught up in his own indecisiveness, the door of the florist’s shop opened. A girl, who looked about 10 years old or so, walked out with a basket of white flowers.
The basket was filled with a bunch of white roses.
Bai Chen looked at the 10-year-old girl, then his eyes widened in bewilderment!
She was extremely cute. Her long black hair was tied in twin tail. She was wearing a white dress that looked very cute and suited her very well. Her pretty eyes were round and big.
‘So adorable!’ Bai Chen could not help but say in his heart. If no one else was around, he would have rushed over to give this girl a hug.
After exiting the shop, the cute little girl looked left and right before noticing Bai Chen, who was standing there with a dumb expression. She smiled at him and walked over.
“Brother, are you here to buy flowers?” the girl asked, the lashes of her big eyes fluttering.
Bai Chen looked down at the little girl before nodding hesitantly. “Yes… but I don’t know if it’s going to cost too much.”
“Hehe, don’t worry, brother. The auntie of this shop is really nice. I buy from her all the time. The price starts at five yuan per flower,” said the little girl with a smile. “Are you buying one for your girlfriend?”
“No, not for my girlfriend. Thank you so much for telling me this.”
When he heard that the price started from five yuan, Bai Chen immediately felt relieved.
“So, you’re trying to court her?” The girl seemed to sense something was going on.
Bai Chen blinked and shook his head a little. “No, no, I’m only buying one for my friend.”
The girl only looked at him without saying another word. It was then that she saw a Mercedes-Benz pulling over on the side of the street.
“I have to go. I hope you win her over.”
She uttered this as her last remark and ran past Bai Chen to get into the Mercedes-Benz.
After that, the car departed.
Bai Chen looked at the departing Mercedes-Benz and thought that the girl must be the daughter of a wealthy family.
Her look, her clothes, and her car pointed towards that conclusion.
“Let’s hurry up and buy a flower.”
When he realised that it was almost 10:00 AM, Bai Chen ran into the florist’s shop.
The first word that he heard as soon as he pushed the door open was, “Welcome.”
Bai Chen turned to where the voice came from and saw a middle-aged woman in a floral apron. She was arranging flowers in a vase. The woman had a gentle face and appeared to be somewhere around 40 to 50 years old.
“What kind of flowers are you looking for, young man?” the middle-aged woman looked up and asked him.
She seemed to be a nice person who did not care if a guy with a 100-yuan outfit like Bai Chen stepped into her upscale and spacious shop.
Bai Chen went quiet for a little while. He was thinking of buying a flower but did not know what kind.
Suddenly, he thought of the flowers that were in the cute girl’s basket earlier.
“White roses, please. Can I just get one? I don’t have much money,” he told her, though it was quite embarrassing to admit.
The middle-aged woman smiled. “Sure. One white rose it is.”
She then walked over to pick up a white rose and handed it to Bai Chen. “Five yuan, please.”
Bai Chen quickly grabbed five yuan and gave it to her as he spoke.
“Thank you so much. You’re just as kind as that little girl told me.”
“You mean Er Er?” The shop owner seemed a little bit surprised that the boy in front of her knew the happy little girl who was a frequent buyer at her shop.
Bai Chen smiled shyly. “I don’t know her name. She only talked to me for a bit.”
“I see.” The middle-aged woman smiled. “If you want more flowers, make sure to come by.”
“Of course.” He nodded in reply. Bai Chen took the white rose from her hand and exited the shop.
Seeing the young man walking out, the middle-aged shop owner could not help but say, “Never thought that that girl would talk to strangers.”
After that, she shook her head with a smile, before resuming arranging flowers in the vase.
End of Chapter 23
ของขวัญ
-- ได้รับของขวัญแล้ว สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง