Zhan Jie turned to look coldly at Zhan Xi and asked: “What are you doing here?” “Attending… the exhibition,” Zhan Xi answered. “What are you wearing?” Zhan Jie asked again, his tone full of disdain. Zhan Xi looked down at her dress: “Hanfu! Many girls wear it on the streets now. Doesn’t it look nice?…

After their short lunch break, the afternoon schedule began. Sister Shao and Sister Zhu went to their pre-booked embroidery booth, while Luo Jingyu started demonstrating how to make yellow roses. Having skipped the drawing and flower-cutting steps, he began with color mixing and dyeing, working methodically. Their booth’s location was indeed a bit off the…

Luo Jingyu briefly explained to Zhan Xi that the girl’s pressed flower technique actually belonged to a different school that was more popular in Europe. After thinking for a while, he typed to Zhan Xi: [Barote] Zhan Xi: “?” She typed back: [Baroque?] Luo Jingyu smacked his forehead, shaking his head with a self-deprecating smile,…

Four days before the Maker Festival opened, Zhan Xi had already learned to make three basic flower types — lily of the valley, geranium, and rose buds. Along with the green orchid she learned before, Luo Jingyu felt it was enough. Before officially starting, Zhan Xi wanted to test her results and needed to find…

June 30th was Zhan Xi’s last day at work. On this day, she received two phone calls. The first call was from the organizers of the Maker Festival, confirming some details with her and notifying her that her booth application had been approved. They asked her to pay the booth fee as soon as possible.…

Luo Jingyu added four new WeChat friends and briefly scrolled through their Moments. Zhao Qingqing and little Xie were both still in school, sometimes complaining about coursework being too tiring, sometimes sharing photos of their dates. Their lives looked simple and beautiful. Luo Xinran mostly shared reposts. To Luo Jingyu, Pipi Xia’s Moments feed was…

Luo Jingyu hadn’t set a return date yet – it depended on when he would finish his major project. A week ago, Mo Yang told him that he had met Zhan Xi at Zhou Lian’s house. Luo Jingyu remembered what Luo Xiaomei had told him before – about a girl who wanted to learn sign…

Before going to Shanghai, Zhan Xi had dreamed about spending weekends there visiting Little Fish for three days and two nights. After visiting Shanghai, she completely gave up on this idea after realizing how exhausting Luo Jingyu’s coursework really was. That day at the hotpot restaurant, she added Shao Jie and others on WeChat, doubling…

The next morning, Luo Jingyu arrived at class right on time again. The older women quietly chuckled as he pulled his homework out of his bag, his heart racing. Sure enough, when Teacher Xu Qingyan received his single pressed cordyceps flower, she frowned and held out her hand: “Why is there only one? Where’s the…

After saying goodbye to everyone, Zhan Xi finished her ice cream cone and walked hand in hand with Luo Jingyu down the street. The warm breeze brushed past their ears. Luo Jingyu looked at the scenery on the street – this was Shanghai’s busy district, almost rush hour, with many pedestrians and vehicles. He imagined…