Slow to mature after marriage

When the two left the hospital, Bo Yan carried her in his arms. She leaned against him and could smell the faint scent of mint on him.

He supported her back with one hand, and in the other hand he carried a bag containing half a piece of gray plaster painted with a cluster of delicate red roses.

The sun was shining brightly on the way back.

When the car passed the flower shop, Bo Yan pulled over.

Mu Siwan watched his retreating figure as he walked into the store. She slowly rolled down the car window, and the spring breeze rushed in, carrying a hint of the scent of fresh grass.

He came out a few minutes later.

She now held a bouquet of flowers.

He walked over to her and opened the car door.

A bright bouquet of sunflowers was shoved into her arms.

The bright yellow flowers were in full bloom, their petals still glistening with tiny water droplets that shone dazzlingly in the sunlight.

"Unwrap the plaster gift, Mrs. Bo."

Mu Siwan looked down at the bouquet of flowers.

The fragrance of flowers filled her nostrils—clean, crisp, with a hint of the raw, youthful scent unique to plant stems and leaves. Mixed with the coolness of water droplets and the warmth of the sun, it all settled into her embrace.

"Thank you." Mu Siwan pulled the bouquet closer to her chest. "I really like it."

-

Back at Muyan Garden, Mu Siwan carried the bouquet of sunflowers into the living room.

She walked to the coffee table, took out the bunch of withered red roses, put them aside, and then inserted sunflowers one by one into the coffee table.

Bright yellow petals and dark brown flower heads tilted their heads towards the French windows. The entire living room was bathed in a warm glow, and a faint scent of fresh grass filled the air.

Mu Siwan stood there, staring at the vase of flowers for a long time.

She spent the entire afternoon drawing.

The pen tip grazed the paper, making a soft, scratching sound, initially at the tangled patterns of bone spurs on the sketchbook. Then, somehow, she started drawing that bunch of sunflowers.

After finishing the last stroke, she looked up at the cluster of bright yellow on the coffee table.

Suddenly, the question Bo Yan asked that night popped into my mind—if you were to paint me, what would my bones look like? What kind of flower would bloom?

At that time, she said she couldn't understand him.

Now, staring at the bottle of sunflowers, she suddenly thought—

If it's a thin inkstone.

He is probably a sunflower now.

Passionate, brilliant, and unrestrained.

-

The day after her cast was removed, Mu Siwan returned to work.

Bo Yan dropped her off at the entrance of the testing center. After the car stopped, he turned his head to look at her.

What time do you get off work?

Five o'clock.

"I'll come pick you up."

Mu Siwan was stunned for a moment.

She meant that her leg was injured, not her hand, and that she could actually drive herself. The steering wheel doesn't require her feet, and the brake and accelerator are also controlled by her right foot.

But when she met the man's uncompromising eyes, Mu Siwan inexplicably swallowed her words.

"……good."

She can now accept Bo Yan's sometimes excessive concern.

Perhaps even if there is no love between husband and wife, they should still care for each other.

Yes, that's right.

Thinking this, Mu Siwan pushed open the car door and slowly walked inside, leaning on her cane.

Bo Yan leaned against the driver's seat, his narrow eyes slightly narrowed, watching the woman's departing figure for a long time.

-

Appraisal Center.

As soon as Mu Siwan pushed open the door to the forensic room, Xiao Qin jumped up from her workstation.

"master!!"

She practically pounced on him.

"You're finally back! Do you know how much work I've done all these days? Two jobs! Two whole jobs!"

"And—" she lowered her voice and leaned closer, looking bitter and resentful, "some of the new interns on this forensic reality show are really unprofessional, especially that curly-haired one."

Mu Siwan looked apologetic.

She only just found out herself. For the past two weeks since her injury, the production team had been at their wits' end and had to temporarily pull Xiao Qin in to fill in. Xiao Qin was juggling the duties of two people while also supervising the interns filming the forensic variety show, and she was thoroughly exhausted.

In the afternoon, the variety show director called.

"Teacher Mu, our fifth episode will be filmed in two weeks. Is your leg still in good condition?"

Mu Siwan glanced at her foot, which had already had its cast removed.

"convenient."

The director breathed a sigh of relief and exchanged a few more pleasantries before hanging up.

She signed a contract with the production team for the entire season, but withdrew from a few episodes due to injury, and she couldn't refuse anymore after that.

She put down her phone and opened the documents on the table.

Xiao Qin peeked around from the side.

"Master, are you really going in two weeks?"

"Um."

Xiao Qin cheered.

"Great! You're finally coming back to save me!"

Mu Siwan smiled slightly and lowered her head to continue writing her report.

In the two weeks she was away, the backlog of reports was greater than expected. One after another, she signed, reviewed, and filed them, head down, reading line by line, page by page. Her cane leaned against the table, and the sunlight slowly moved through the window, but she didn't notice.

Until a surprised voice pulled her out.

"Master!"

Xiao Qin's voice almost blew the ceiling off.

"Did you come to pick up your boss after get off work?"

Mu Siwan raised her head.

Bo Yan leaned against the doorway, one hand in his pocket and the other resting on the doorframe, having stood there for an unknown amount of time. He was wearing a dark gray shirt today, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, watching her.

Meeting her gaze, he raised his wrist and tapped the watch.

Mu Siwan paused for a moment, then looked down at the time in the lower right corner of the computer screen.

5:40.

He said he'd pick her up at five in the morning, but she completely forgot. There were too many documents piling up, and when she got busy, she couldn't think of anything else.

But at this moment, Mu Siwan wasn't thinking about those documents.

This was the first time someone had thought of taking her home on time.

Perhaps it's not about missing someone, but simply what a husband and wife should do?

She doesn't understand.

But she didn't resist this feeling.

She closed the file, stood up by supporting herself on the table with one hand, and walked step by step toward the door with her cane in the other.

The sound of the cane hitting the ground was particularly clear in the quiet forensic room.

She walked up to him and looked up.

"Sorry, I forgot to check the time. Have you been waiting long?"

"Just arrived."

Bo Yan replied succinctly, and then, under her gaze, the man slowly leaned down.

Mu Siwan was startled.

Although he'd gotten used to being carried these past few days, that was all at home, with the door closed and only the two of them together. Now the forensic lab door was still open, and Xiao Qin was peeking out from behind, as someone could pass by in the corridor at any moment—

She instinctively took a step back, her cane tapping the ground with a sharp sound.

"I don't need to be carried!" she blurted out. "I can walk by myself."

The man paused for a moment.

He half-squatted there, looked up at her, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, then curved his lips into a smile.

He didn't say anything.

He simply reached out and pinched her untied shoelaces.

Mu Siwan was stunned.

He lowered his head, his fingers slowly tying a knot in the two white ribbons. His fingertips occasionally brushed against her ankle, bringing a warm sensation.

She looked down at him.

From this angle, you can see the whorl on the top of his head and the shadow cast by his eyelashes.

It turns out she didn't want a hug.

It's about tying shoelaces.

She didn't know why, but her cheeks suddenly felt hot.

The redness spread from the base of her ears to her cheeks, and she couldn't suppress it no matter how hard she tried.

Bo Yan tied his shoelaces, stood up, and met her gaze.

He stared at her for two seconds.

Then he chuckled.

"Let's go."