Yin Shou took Xue Teegan to the lavender farm. He was right; it was empty since most visitors were watching the Garden Show, which contained a variety of flowers and plants. However, there was something about the abundance of lavender that struck her in awe.

The field had light-purple flowers spread in rows with light gra.s.sy-green paths in between. Xue Teegan breathed in the air, memorizing the flowery scent.

"The farmers have grown them since lavender doesn"t grow much on these parts of the region," Yin Shou said, interrupting her thoughts.

Xue Teegan looked at him astonis.h.i.+ngly, "How did you know?" she asked.

He then lifted something, "This brochure told me," he said.

Xue Teegan pushed him aside playfully, and Yin Shou chuckled. They both walked side by side down the path, following it until they reached a small market booth.

Two young girls were selling lavender scented products such as soap, essential oil, and lip balms. Xue Teegan beamed at how delicately packaged some of the things were in gla.s.s jars. As Xue Teegan looked around at the products, she glanced up to see one he collect a bag after purchasing some items.

Curious, she approached him and said, "What did you buy?"

Without saying a word, he pa.s.sed it to her and said, "For you."

Xue Teegan"s eyes widened. She looked at him skeptically, but she peeked into the bag and found a purple throw blanket, and some sachets full of the flowers. She flushed instantly, but she felt embarra.s.sed for feeling fl.u.s.tered. Yin Shou was smirking at her, which made her blush deepen. Xue Teegan then covered her face with one hand, but she felt as if it was pointless.

They both then walked towards the garden show and stopped short of the entrance.

Xue Teegan glanced at how beautiful it looked. She then caught a glimpse of Xue Liena and Long Bolin walking together, and her sister wasn"t looking at him, but rather, away because of how shy she felt.

Xue Teegan smiled, taking Yin Shou"s hand and dragging him to her car.

The Flower Markets began to close up after the show ended, but Long Bolin wanted to take her to see the hedges.

Xue Liena held her skirts, following him towards them, but she didn"t know it was a towering maze, a labyrinth of spirals and dead ends of hedgerows that made them wander around looking for the right path. It excited her, and she hadn"t done anything like this in awhile.

She was one to stay at home, planting in her garden. It was a hobby she did most of her life, but she couldn"t help but admit to herself that part of the reason why she continued to plant was to see him.

Every morning after the dawn break, and during the early evening right before the dusk of the setting sun falls, she would be gardening because she would catch Long Bolin walking to and from work.

He had been her neighbour for years, but she hadn"t dared to do or say anything. They were the same age, went to the same school, and lived in the same area, and yet, they never spoke much. She noticed him pa.s.sing by in the halls, but he would be walking alongside his friends, where many girls gawked at him, for his appearance.

Long Huojin was the one that came over and visited, and some part of her felt disappointed that he didn"t bring his brother. But still, she kept it to herself anyways.

She was a girl who kept quiet and stayed hidden, not imagining that there would be a day that Long Bolin would ask her to a garden show. She didn"t know if it was a date or not, perhaps he only considered them as friends.

They began to speak more, only three years ago when her mother died. He gave her his condolences, offering white chrysanthemum flowers. Xue Liena appreciated it. Not long after, he came to visit her, saying, "I noticed you haven"t been gardening. Why don"t I help you?" He said. Because it was true; her garden was dying, because some part of her did, too, when she learned of what happened to her parents. Then he came to help her, and she slowly transitioned back into doing what she loved doing.

Long Bolin hadn"t gone to helping as much as he did before since he was busy, but occasionally he would drop by.

Down the paths, Long Bolin noticed she was falling behind, so he held out his hand for her to take, and she hesitated, but she slowly reached out to grasp it. He tightened his fingers around hers, ensuring that she wouldn"t fall behind as they kept walking through the paths looking to see if they weren"t hitting dead ends.

At the end of it, they stumbled upon a hilltop view, and she didn"t realize that the garden show was near the mountains.

The view was beautiful, and she couldn"t look away from the city that loomed beyond. It was near dusk, the sun"s light began to die away, but the city was still bright enough for viewing. She could see people down below walking along the sidewalks, or talking to each other.

After a few moments, Xue Liena realized that Long Bolin was staring at her. She turned to face him, her heart pounding through her ears.

There were some parts of him that she didn"t understand. He always had some distant, lonely expression on his face.

The wind caressed his black curls, and his cold blue eyes looked at her considerably before out looking at the horizon.

She wanted to get to know him better. In some ways, he acts like Xue Teegan, but only he was quieter, shutting himself off entirely.

"Did you like the show?" he asked, breaking her thoughts.

Xue Liena smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "I loved it!" she said. But then she blushed at how eager she sounded. She felt ridiculous.

"I"m glad," he spoke low and softly. "How is your father?" he asked.

Xue Liena released a breath. "I see him every so often, but it hurts, so then I avoid it altogether. But then I make it worse. Teegan is the only one that"s strong enough to endure."

Long Bolin smiled gently. "Well, I believe that you and your sister have different strengths. Aren"t you the one that kept Teegan and Guangli from barring their teeth and coming at each other"s throats?" he asked her.

Xue Liena chuckled. Yes, she was the moderator between those two. They fought and fought exhaustingly, but it was because they were angry, and with that anger, they took it out on each other.

But Xue Liena didn"t want them to fall apart, so she did what she could to keep them together.

"If anything," Long Bolin continued, "You have the strength to keep going. Many people don"t have that," he said.

Xue Liena"s mouth opened; she was at a loss for words. She couldn"t help but ask, "Did you ask me out today to make sure I was okay?" Perhaps he did only consider them as friends.

Long Bolin faced her, tilting his head; his curls tumbled over and he smiled. "I thought this was a date," he said.