I raised stunning young ladies, but they all wanted to possess me.

When he wrote his will three years ago, he deliberately did not mention Old Master Gu.

It's not that I don't want to mention it, it's that I'm afraid to.

He was afraid that the old man wouldn't be able to bear the news of his death.

The person who raised him from childhood, who waited for him all his life under the ginkgo tree, leaning on a cane.

Pei Youyi paused slightly in the wine glass, then gently placed it on the table, the bottom of the glass making a very faint thud as it touched the tablecloth.

"After you left, the old man's condition worsened."

"The three institutes had not yet launched the deification project at that time, but decided to launch another top-secret project ahead of schedule."

"Use the world's best medical resources and the most advanced superpower maintenance system to keep the old man alive."

"This project was not disclosed to any media outlets, nor was it notified to any theater command. It was cobbled together from various countries by the senior members of the three academies through their personal connections."

"They were afraid that the old man wouldn't live to see the news of your return spread throughout the world, so they simply decided not to make it public."

She looked up at him.

"The old man has been waiting for you."

"No matter what others say, he doesn't believe you're dead."

"His health is not very good, but every time someone visits him, he asks the same question."

"Has Xiao Yan come back today?"

Gu Yan lowered her head, her fingers clenched so tightly on the table that her knuckles turned white.

He spoke again after a long time, his voice even hoarser than before.

"I see."

"What about Yu Ran?"

Pei Youyi remained silent for a while.

She picked up the wine bottle, poured herself half a glass of red wine, took a sip, and then sighed very softly.

"After you left, that child locked himself in the back mountain and did nothing but practice swordsmanship."

"Combining ice-based superpowers with swordsmanship, he broke through his bottleneck despite his grief."

"Upgraded directly from S-rank to SSS-rank."

"This is extremely rare in the entire history of superhumans."

"But she was colder than before. In the third month after you left, when the fighting in the Middle East became intense, I brought her to the base."

"She never smiled again after that."

"The ice crystals that were sealed on her sword tassel have not thawed yet."

Gu Yan remained silent for a long while.

"Should I...go and see her?"

Pei Youyi paused for a moment, her eyelashes trembling slightly in the candlelight.

She thought for a while, then shook her head.

"Not for now."

"She's emotionally unstable; she definitely won't let you leave once she sees you."

"She will leave you in the Middle East war zone and stay by your side every step of the way."

"What will happen to Kyoto's defenses then?"

"Miss Lin is waiting for you to return, and so is Lady Chiyo-no-miya."

"I'll tell Yu Ran about it slowly."

"Once she's calmed down, I'll bring her to Kyoto to see you."

She paused, then resumed her calm and gentle tone.

"Anyway, you're alive now, so there's no rush."

Gu Yan nodded.

He didn't say anything more, but the weight in his heart hadn't completely lifted.

It was already dark when we came out of the restaurant.

A few dim wall lamps lit up in the alley, and the wind blew through the earthen-yellow old walls, carrying the smoke from the distant barbecue stalls.

Pei Youyi did not return directly to the base, but instead slowly walked forward along the alley.

Her plain white trench coat fluttered gently in the evening breeze, and her high heels made a crisp sound on the stone pavement.

As she reached the corner of the alley, she stopped in front of a very small flower shop. The shop was filled with desert flowers unique to the Middle East, with crimson bougainvillea hanging down from the wall and swaying gently in the night breeze.

I want to give you a bouquet of flowers.

Pei Youyi turned around to look at Gu Yan, the wind blowing a few strands of hair on her forehead gently.

"You came all this way to invite me, so I should give you something in return."

Gu Yan was stunned for a moment.

He hadn't really encountered the situation of giving flowers to boys much before.

But Pei Youyi had already pushed open the glass door of the flower shop, and the brass bell on the lintel rang softly.

The shop was filled with all kinds of fresh flowers, and the air was filled with the fragrance of lilies and lilies of the valley.

Behind the counter, an elderly woman wearing a headscarf was trimming roses. When she saw the two enter, she put down her scissors and greeted them in English with a Middle Eastern accent.

Pei Youyi did not let Gu Yan choose for herself.

She walked past rows of flower stands, bending down to carefully select each flower under the warm yellow light.

She picked up a bunch of white lilies of the valley, looked at it, and put it down. Then she picked up a bunch of pale pink roses, examined them for a moment, and put them down as well.

Finally, she stopped in front of a bucket of golden sunflowers in the corner.

"That's it."

When the old woman came over and saw the large bunch of sunflowers in Pei Youyi's hand, a bright smile suddenly appeared on her face.

"Wow, this lady has excellent taste."

"These were just cut from the flower field this morning, and every single one is in full bloom."

"Was this chosen for this gentleman?"

Pei Youyi nodded and took out a few banknotes from his wallet, handing them to the old woman.

As the old woman made change, she smiled and glanced at Pei Youyi, then at Gu Yan, her eyes holding a knowing look that came from someone who had been through it all.

She deftly wrapped the sunflower, covering the stem with dark green wrapping paper and tying it with a pale gold ribbon.

Gu Yan accepted the bouquet.

The golden petals shimmered softly under the warm yellow lights of the flower shop, each one in full bloom, as if the sunshine of the entire Middle East had been condensed into this small bouquet.

"Why a sunflower?"

Pei Youyi's ears flushed a very faint pink.

She reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then opened her mouth to speak.

Her phone suddenly rang in her trench coat pocket.

She took out her phone, glanced at the screen, frowned slightly, and then looked up at Gu Yan with a slightly apologetic smile.

"It was Yu Ran calling."

"I'll go out and get it."

She pushed open the glass door and walked out of the flower shop, standing in the alley to answer the phone.

The silhouette of her in the plain white trench coat appeared exceptionally long under the dim streetlights, and the night breeze gently swayed the stray hairs hanging down her neck.

Only Gu Yan and the old woman with the headscarf remained in the flower shop.

As the old woman gathered the pruned branches and leaves, she looked up at Gu Yan, her smile even more pronounced than before.

"Sir, you are very fortunate."

"Your wife loves you very much."

She spoke English, and although her accent was heavy, she pronounced each word very clearly.

Gu Yan, holding the sunflower, paused for a moment, instinctively wanting to explain.

But he swallowed the words back, because explaining them would be too complicated.

She wasn't his wife, but she had just kissed him.

She was the mother of another of his fiancés, but she hugged him and told him she loved him.

The elderly woman in the Middle Eastern flower shop, wearing a headscarf, probably wouldn't want to hear so much.

Do you know what the sunflower symbolizes?

The old woman wiped her hands and pulled a handwritten label from under the counter.

The label was written in crooked Chinese characters, she said, pointing to the line of text.

"This was written by the lady herself when she came to order flowers a few days ago."

"A bouquet of sunflowers is delivered to the same apartment at the base every day."

"She said it was her favorite flower."

The flower's meaning is: "No one else comes into my sight, you are all around me."