On Monday at work during lunch break, the open office was quiet. Some colleagues hadn’t returned yet, some were napping at their desks, while others watched shows with their headphones on. The air was filled with faint coffee and fruit scents, and next door two young mothers could be heard exchanging parenting tips.
Zhan Xi was curled up at her desk browsing rental apps, saving suitable listings. She had caught a cold yesterday and kept blowing her nose, drinking cup after cup of hot water.
Department manager Wen Qin had lunch with Manager Sun and returned near the end of break. Passing by Zhan Xi’s desk, she tapped it and said, “Little Zhan, we have work to do. Come to my office.”
“Coming!” Zhan Xi obediently followed her in. Just as she sat down, Old Qian from Marketing rushed in with a stack of documents, crying out, “Thank goodness you’re back! I need these stamped urgently!”
Wen Qin, who was nearly forty, flipped through the documents and told Old Qian, “Wait a bit. Let me give Little Zhan her assignment first — work hasn’t even started yet.”
Old Qian sat down to wait while Zhan Xi listened attentively as Wen Qin relayed Manager Sun’s instructions.
The matter was simple. In about twenty days, an important client would be visiting with his team. The client was Japanese, male, in his fifties, and Manager Sun wanted to prepare a welcome gift. This was what the lunch meeting had been about.
Apparently, this Japanese man was both proper and proud, refusing any expensive gifts. Manager Sun thought local specialties wouldn’t be appropriate either, so after asking around, he learned that the client had lived in China for many years and enjoyed tea ceremonies, flower arranging, and other refined pursuits. He especially loved the artificial flower works by a master craftsman from his hometown in Japan.
At this point, Zhan Xi was still confused when Old Qian couldn’t help interrupting: “So we need to import flowers? Won’t they wilt during shipping? Getting plants through customs must be complicated, right?”
Wen Qin gave him a “you’re so ignorant” look and said: “Hand-crafted artificial flowers — they’re not real!”
“Fake flowers?” Old Qian was even more puzzled. “Can’t we just buy those from the wholesale market? A pot would cost at most a few hundred yuan. Can we really give something like that as a gift? Local specialties would be better.”
“Stop interrupting!” Wen Qin gestured for him to be quiet, then turned back to Zhan Xi. “Don’t listen to Old Qian’s nonsense. The flowers Manager Sun wants us to prepare aren’t cheap — they’re handmade using some kind of… pressed flower art! We don’t need to buy from Japan, there are people making them here now. Little Zhan, your task is to find someone who makes these flowers and order a decorative piece — something elegant. You should be able to find it online. Young people like you are always on short video apps, so this task is perfect for you. We’ll decide on the specific design after you find someone.”
Zhan Xi understood, but she was unfamiliar with this field and had never heard of “pressed flower art” before. She asked, “Sister Wen, what’s our budget?”
Wen Qin was equally clueless: “How would I know? Even Manager Sun couldn’t say. I’m guessing low four figures — anything more would be excessive.”
“Wow!” Old Qian exclaimed, “Three or four thousand for a fake flower? Manager Sun has lost his mind!”
Wen Qin frowned: “What do you know! It’s handmade — handmade things are the most valuable now! Hand embroidery, hand carving — these are crafts that are superior to machine-made products. It shows sincerity when given as a gift.”
Old Qian couldn’t appreciate this level of refinement and fell silent. After giving Zhan Xi a few more instructions, she left the office.
Zhan Xi couldn’t say she particularly liked this job, as she hadn’t chosen it herself — Chi Guilan had pulled strings through various connections to get her in. The HR manager Wen Qin was Zhan Xi’s distant cousin, and the last time Zhan Xi had seen her was at her great-great-grandmother’s memorial service when she was only five. She wondered how Chi Guilan had managed to make such a distant connection work.
Zhan Xi had been working for half a year, mainly doing odd jobs for the department as a clerk. She did whatever Wen Qin asked and sometimes helped other sisters who managed salary and benefits, recruitment and training, and promotions and team building. Without specific job responsibilities of her own, she couldn’t help feeling anxious.
Back at her desk, Zhan Xi first searched for information about pressed flower art on her computer. After getting a general understanding, she searched shops and short video platforms on her phone, and actually found several stores and streamers who worked in this field.
Zhan Xi focused on a streamer on Q platform who had quite a few views. This person mainly made pressed flower works, creating accessories, clothing decorations, bridal bouquets, and floral table arrangements.
She had to admit that the accessories and decorations were truly exquisite and looked almost real. There was a strawberry-shaped brooch, round and plump, that Zhan Xi particularly liked.
The videos were edited and didn’t show the complete creation process. They had simple text explanations, and the creator never showed their face or spoke — only their hands were visible.
And they were extraordinarily beautiful hands.
They appeared to belong to a man, with fair skin and long, well-defined fingers. Faint blue veins were visible on the back of the hands, the nails were neatly trimmed and rounded, and there was a small red birthmark at the base of the right pinky finger.
His sleeves were lightly rolled up, revealing slender wrists. Whether stretched out or curled, those ten fingers moved with a graceful dexterity that was pleasing to watch as they handled various tools.
Accompanied by light music, Zhan Xi watched with fascination, marveling at how skillful this man was. If only her brother had such hands, her nephew’s school craft projects would never be a problem again.
As she watched, Zhan Xi couldn’t help looking down at her own hands. Due to family genetics, while her skin was fair, her ten fingers were chubby, as was the back of her hand. Rings didn’t look good on her, and she’d been told that jade bracelets would make her look plump.
Everyone said these were lucky hands, matching her name which meant “full of joy.” Zhan Xi pouted in frustration — she would have preferred delicate, graceful hands that looked more sophisticated.
After watching several flower-making videos and seeing the “accepting custom orders for pressed flower products” information on the creator’s page, Zhan Xi immediately sent a private message. Fortunately, the other party responded right away.
Zhan Xi explained the situation and humbly asked about pricing.
The other party seemed confused.
Strawberry Cake: [starry eyes][starry eyes][starry eyes]
Little Fish Fish Pressed Flowers: Dear, each flower has its price, and each work has its price. I don’t know what you want to make.
A man with beautiful hands addressing her as “dear” made Zhan Xi uncomfortable, but she figured all online shop owners talked like this. At least he hadn’t called her “old iron” or “family.” She tried not to mind it.
She quickly found some pictures of flower arrangements online and sent them to him.
Strawberry Cake: Can you make something like this with pressed flowers?
Little Fish Fish Pressed Flowers: Yes, I can.
Strawberry Cake: How much would it cost?
Little Fish Fish Pressed Flowers: Once you decide on a specific design, I can give you a quote.
Zhan Xi chose a piece with bird of paradise and lily flowers. The red and yellow colors made it look lively, and it had an auspicious name called “Good Fortune Comes.”
Little Fish Fish Pressed Flowers: Please wait a moment.
—
By his computer, Fang Xu was slurping up some spicy hot pot while sending two WeChat messages.
Fang Xu: Good Fortune Comes.jpg
Fang Xu: Fish, how much would this cost to make with pressed flowers?
After a while, the other party replied.
Fang Xu: That expensive??
Big Fish: The crane orchid needs silk fabric, takes long work hours, needs styling, requires a week.
Fang Xu wiped his mouth with a napkin and opened Q platform to reply to the private message.
Little Fish Fish Pressed Flowers: Dear, this one will cost 6000.
Strawberry Cake: So expensive??? shocked_dog.jpg
Little Fish Fish Pressed Flowers: Dear, you might not understand, but the crane orchid in this piece needs silk fabric, takes long work hours, has complex overall styling, and needs a week to complete.
Strawberry Cake: What’s a crane orchid?
Little Fish Fish Pressed Flowers: Dear, it’s the bird of paradise~
Zhan Xi sniffled at her phone, thinking this person was clearly an expert — she hadn’t even known the bird of paradise had another name, let alone what silk fabric was.
Six thousand yuan — this was robbery! She could buy dozens of real flower arrangements with that money.
Zhan Xi felt dizzy and put down her phone, lacking the energy to negotiate prices. She thought about either choosing a simpler flower design or looking for another shop to inquire.
—
In the afternoon, Zhan Xi’s WeChat was buzzing non-stop.
There was her chatty college roommate group, her work group, and a message from her blind date match, Little Wang.
In the [Four Little Fairies] group, Yao Ying was cursing eloquently, listing the stupid crimes of her client. Luo Xinran and Zhan Xi were too busy to respond, with only Zhao Qingqing encouraging Yao Ying.
Zhan Xi took a sip of water and asked the group:
Egg Pudding: I’m thinking of renting a place near my company. Should I rent a single room or share with someone?
[Yao Ying]: Why suddenly want to rent? Aren’t you living at your brother’s?
Egg Pudding: My brother’s place is too far. I want to sleep in longer.
[Yao Ying]: My goodness! Just to sleep longer, you’re giving up free housing?
Egg Pudding: That’s how luxurious I am!
Zhan Xi hadn’t told the group about her family situation, feeling embarrassed about such trivial matters. Only Luo Xinran knew some details.
[Zhao Qingqing]: It’s good your company is far out. Single rooms there are cheaper than in the city, but still around 2000+, right?
Egg Pudding: Yeah, a third of my salary. So depressing. Why isn’t there a rich person to keep me? chin_in_hand.jpg
[Yao Ying]: Why isn’t there a rich person to keep me!
[Zhao Qingqing]: Why isn’t there a rich person to keep me!
[Yao Ying]: If you move out, does your mom know? Won’t she kill you if she finds out?
Egg Pudding: Probably. depressed.jpg
After four years as college roommates, Zhan Xi had a good relationship with all three girls. They’d heard plenty about Chi Guilan, and Yao Ying labeled Zhan Xi as a “mama’s girl,” saying she’d never seen a girl who listened to her mother so much.
Zhan Xi wasn’t sure if that was praise or criticism.
Egg Pudding: Sigh… the blind date guy is messaging me.
[Zhao Qingqing]: What’s his situation? Civil servant or public institution worker this time?
Egg Pudding: Public institution.
[Zhao Qingqing]: Boring. Can’t your mom set you up with a CEO?
Egg Pudding: [crying] I wish!
[Yao Ying]: Public institution is fine, go for it! Our group’s poverty alleviation depends on you, Xiao Xi!
Zhan Xi switched chat windows.
[Auntie Zhu’s Classmate’s Son Little Wang]: Hi, I’m Wang He. Are you busy?
Egg Pudding: I’m at work.
[Auntie Zhu’s Classmate’s Son Little Wang]: Me too. My workplace is near Wenxing Bridge. How about you?
Egg Pudding: I’m at Qingque Gate.
[Auntie Zhu’s Classmate’s Son Little Wang]: We’re quite far apart then. I’m in the city, you’re almost out of town.
Zhan Xi hadn’t given Wang He access to her Moments, but he had given her access to his. She had seen his photos — he looked decent, but maybe because the blind date setup was too obvious in its purpose, Zhan Xi felt nothing for him and just chatted casually.
Her cold made her listless, and thinking about facing Qin Fei alone after work since her brother wouldn’t be home made Zhan Xi even more dejected.
Because of a few bags of garbage, her brother and Qin Fei were still giving each other the cold shoulder this morning when she left for work. Neither would speak to the other, and Zhan Xi really wanted to ask them: Is it worth it??
After work, Zhan Xi returned home. Sure enough, Zhan Jie was working overtime and hadn’t returned. Qin Fei ate dinner with her son and Zhan Xi. Zhan Xi used serving chopsticks to get her own dishes and said to Qin Fei, “Sister-in-law, I have a cold. I don’t want to infect you both.”
Qin Fei’s face immediately soured: “Are you saying you caught it from taking out the garbage yesterday without wearing a coat?”
“No, probably from sweating on the subway and then getting chilled by the wind.” Zhan Xi thought her sister-in-law was being too sensitive. She didn’t say more, just sat far away from them and ate quietly.
With Zhan Jie absent, the two women had an unspoken agreement to not even maintain pleasantries. After eating, Zhan Xi washed dishes and took out the garbage, then dutifully sat beside her nephew to help with homework, remembering to wear a mask.
While Weiwei was copying vocabulary words, Zhan Xi sat on a small stool with nothing to do. Thinking about the unresolved flower matter, she pulled her stool further away and took out her phone to search for new streamers, watching videos on mute.
When Qin Fei entered the children’s room with a bowl of washed strawberries, she saw this scene and heavily set the bowl beside her son, speaking with an icy tone.
“Can’t even hold back for this short while?” Her voice was cold. “Always glued to your phone. It’s one thing normally, but while helping Weiwei with homework? It will affect his studies.”
Weiwei added fuel to the fire: “Phone in hand, heaven and earth are grand! Phone away, soul astray!”
“What nonsense are you spouting? Who taught you that!” Qin Fei smacked her son’s head, then said to Zhan Xi, “Don’t think I’m targeting you, Zhan Xi. If it weren’t for me and your brother having lower education than you, we wouldn’t need you to tutor Weiwei. You agreed to this yourself — if you don’t want to do it, just tell me directly. I can still teach first grade material.”
Zhan Xi had already put away her phone and said quietly, “Sister-in-law, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
Weiwei ate strawberries with a fork, his eyes darting between them. The little boy actually quite liked his aunt — she was pretty and often bought him snacks and toys. After Qin Fei left the room, Weiwei tried to feed Zhan Xi a strawberry with his fork: “Auntie, eat this. The strawberries are really sweet.”
Zhan Xi laughed despite her frustration — of course she knew the strawberries were sweet, she had tasted them when buying them.
Ruffling her nephew’s head, she said, “Auntie has a cold, I won’t eat it. Hurry up and copy your words — look at your chicken scratch writing.”
Weiwei grinned and hummed, lying back down at the table to continue copying vocabulary. Zhan Xi didn’t dare play with her phone anymore and could only flip through her nephew’s Chinese textbook out of boredom.
That night, hiding under her blanket, Zhan Xi once again looked at rental listings on the app. Previously occupied with preparing for the civil service exam, she hadn’t had a chance to talk about moving out. Now that the exam was over, she figured she must go view some apartments this weekend.
After browsing listings, she thought about the still-unresolved flower matter and opened another short video platform called P site to search for pressed flower creators again.
This craft was quite niche — while it might be easy to start and many people did it, few were truly skilled. The same few IDs that appeared on Q site were the ones taking custom orders.
Going through creator after creator, Zhan Xi suddenly froze because she saw a familiar pair of hands.
Long, fair fingers with defined knuckles, blue veins visible on the back, neatly trimmed nails, and a red birthmark on the right pinky…
Such beautiful hands were unforgettable after seeing them once. However, this creator had only posted three videos. They were edited like the others but had no music or text, making them seem dry and boring. They had very few views.
The publish date was three years ago. It was lucky Zhan Xi was patient enough to keep scrolling down, otherwise she would have never found them.
Zhan Xi stared carefully at those hands, certain in her heart that this was the same person from earlier, even though their IDs were different, though both related to fish.
Had they switched platforms? Zhan Xi didn’t hesitate to send a private message.
[Sugar Poached Egg]: Hi, good evening.
[Sugar Poached Egg]: Are you the creator of Little Fish Fish Pressed Flowers?
—
When his phone vibrated, Luo Jingyu stared at the sudden private message on his screen for a moment before slowly typing one word.
The other person replied quickly.
[Sugar Poached Egg]: I asked you about pricing earlier today. Is there any room for discount?
Luo Jingyu didn’t know which product they had inquired about.
Big Fish: Which inquiry?
[Sugar Poached Egg]: Good Fortune Comes.jpg
[Sugar Poached Egg]: This one, can you give a discount?
Luo Jingyu remembered now. Earlier that day he had studied this image carefully, examining each flower, leaf, and stem before calculating a price to give Fang Xu.
He didn’t reply, instead messaging Fang Xu directly on WeChat.
Big Fish: Good Fortune Comes.jpg
Big Fish: What price did you quote the customer?
Fang Xu: What do you mean?
Big Fish: The customer found me.
Fang Xu: No way???
Big Fish: What price did you quote?
Fang Xu: Wait, bro, let me explain!
Luo Jingyu didn’t wait for Fang Xu’s explanation. Frowning, he exited WeChat and opened P site again. After some mental preparation, he replied to the inquiry.
Big Fish: This one is 6000.
Zhan Xi deflated seeing this response, thinking these niche products must not have standardized pricing if they wouldn’t even negotiate. She was about to exit when the other party sent another message.
Big Fish: Today but we activity do promotion, all orders have discount, your good fortune came.
Zhan Xi found this peculiar because the way they wrote was strange. While she could understand the meaning, the word order and grammar gave her the impression that “this person is bad at Chinese.”
And they weren’t calling her “dear” anymore.
A question mark popped up in Zhan Xi’s mind, and she curiously asked:
[Sugar Poached Egg]: What’s the discount?
Big Fish: 40% off.
Before Zhan Xi could type, they sent another message.
Big Fish: Good Fortune Comes flower, very difficult, 3600 definitely lowest price everywhere, I not lie to you.
Zhan Xi: “???”
Somehow, her previously gloomy mood began to lift, and she let out a “pfft” of laughter at her phone screen.
[Sugar Poached Egg]: Thank you, but it’s too late today. Let’s discuss details tomorrow during work hours.
[Sugar Poached Egg]: So if I order tomorrow, will it go back to the original price?
Luo Jingyu froze, finding this difficult to answer. The previous few messages had already taxed his brain cells considerably, and he wasn’t sure if he had written them correctly. After thinking for a moment, he dared only to send an emoji and two words.
Big Fish: Online connections bring fate.gif
Big Fish: You guess.
Looking at the sparkling roses and little stars, Zhan Xi truly couldn’t help but laugh.
Leave a Reply