Yang Yi walked across campus carrying a large bundle of flowers, drawing sidelong glances from quite a few students staying behind for the holiday. However, no one thought he was about to confess his feelings.
With his white T-shirt, baggy shorts, and flip-flops, Yang Yi didn't look anything like someone about to make a romantic confession!
Besides, Xiao Luo had thoughtfully separated the different types of flowers for Yang Yi, wrapping them in newspaper into individual bundles... So Yang Yi looked more like a flower delivery guy.
Yang Yi, of course, had no idea about any of this. He strode briskly back.
But as soon as he went upstairs, Yang Yi was stunned to see several large and small vases placed around the living room, already washed, with wet water trails stretching from under the vases all the way to the bathroom.
"..." It felt like several black lines were hanging down from Yang Yi's forehead.
"Hey, you're back? What flowers did you buy?" Mo Fei rolled up her pant legs, revealing fair calves and playful feet, stepping out of the bathroom in slippers. She was holding another freshly washed vase, and when she saw Yang Yi, she actually broke into a sunny smile.
It was as if an iceberg had melted—that bright smile dazzled Yang Yi so much he forgot what he was about to say.
"Mommy, is there more?" Xi Xi's little head poked out from the bathroom, her hand holding a black brush, clearly having helped her mom quite a bit.
"No more! But don't come out yet—Mommy needs to wash your hands with soap!" Mo Fei called out. She set down the vase and quickly turned back into the bathroom.
Yang Yi gently placed the large bundle of flowers on the dining table, then turned to look at the vases scattered across the floor and the water stains. He shook his head helplessly.
Forget it, I'll just pretend I didn't see it.
Once everything's done, I'll clean up slowly...
Ever since there was a noisy little one in the house, Yang Yi's obsessive-compulsive tendencies had actually improved quite a bit. Of course, this improvement could also be described as his ability to selectively ignore things for a while.
...
A moment later, Mo Fei came out with Xi Xi, who was giggling.
"You just recovered from a fever, and you're messing with so much water!" Yang Yi said with a hint of reproach. "It might come back again!"
"It's fine, I barely soaked in the water—I used the showerhead to wash them. Besides, the sun today made the water piping hot, so there's absolutely no problem!" Mo Fei laughed.
She was indeed in a great mood, perhaps also because of the fun she'd just had washing the bottles with her daughter in the bathroom. Her voice was full of laughter as she spoke.
Mo Fei's smile was actually very beautiful, like a hundred flowers blooming—much prettier than when she was cold and distant!
They were both adults; she should know how to take care of herself. Yang Yi didn't nag.
Instead, Xi Xi couldn't wait to chime in. She tugged at her dad's hand and said, "Daddy, let me tell you, the water really was hot! Mommy said if Xi Xi bathed in that water, she'd get boiled! And then when Mommy made Xi Xi wash her hands, Xi Xi didn't dare..."
Yang Yi found it amusing and patted the little girl's head, listening to her tell her story for quite a while before she finally stopped.
"Where did you dig up these vases?" Yang Yi finally got a chance to ask the question on his mind.
"You don't know? In that painting studio!" Mo Fei lifted her head with a hint of pride, her casually tied ponytail looking youthful and charming. "There's a big box inside with these beautiful vases. They're not antiques, though—they used to hold flowers before, but I don't know why they were put away."
Yang Yi understood. He had cleaned up the studio, but since it was rarely used, it was basically sitting idle. He'd never thought to open the things inside, since they were left by Old Man Hu.
But... since Mo Fei had taken them out now, so be it. After all, Old Man Hu had said Yang Yi could use anything in the house freely, even replace furniture he didn't want—though he preferred things to stay as they were. Still, the old man understood that young people had their own tastes, so he only asked Yang Yi to take good care of the little building and preserve his memories.
These vases were probably used by Old Man Hu's wife back in the day, right?
Why were they put away? That question naturally had its answer.
But Yang Yi didn't plan to tell Mo Fei. He smiled and said, "It's fine. Since you found them, go ahead and use them. Just be careful not to break them... They're mostly porcelain, easy to shatter, and the shards could hurt Xi Xi!"
Mo Fei nodded and said, "Actually, I'd really like to buy tempered glass vases—those are transparent and not easy to break. But these vases are so pretty! Look at the flowers and birds painted on them—they're so well done, and the colors are still so bright after washing!"
"Did you hear what Daddy said?" Mo Fei also taught Xi Xi, saying, "You can't touch these vases carelessly, okay? If you break them, Daddy will be very angry!"
However, the little girl's big eyes were full of wisdom. She said defiantly, "Daddy won't be angry! Daddy never yells at Xi Xi! Only Mommy does!"
Yang Yi couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Mo Fei was both embarrassed and annoyed. She pulled Xi Xi over and pretended to spank the wailing little girl's bottom a couple of times, though she didn't use any force. "When has Mommy ever yelled at you?"
"Yes, you have, yes, you have! Daddy never spanks Xi Xi's bottom!" Xi Xi pouted, refusing to bow to the forces of evil, standing her ground.
...
Mo Fei wanted to arrange the flowers, and since Yang Yi had nothing else to do, he naturally helped. Following Mo Fei's instructions, he unwrapped the newspaper bundles and took the flowers to the bathroom to wash the mud off the roots.
That wasn't enough. To keep the blooming flowers fresh, Mo Fei also had to trim the leaves from the stems, and for some flowers, even singe the stem ends with fire.
"This maximizes the stored nutrients and prevents rot," Mo Fei explained to Yang Yi.
Of course, Mo Fei also had to cut the flower stems to different lengths based on the layering of the arrangement.
Not all flowers were treated the same way. For example, narcissus had to be placed in diluted salt water, while lilies needed sugar water. Yang Yi had no clue about any of this and could only sit with Xi Xi on the side, watching Mo Fei's "performance" in admiration.
The intricacies of flower arranging were even more numerous. Big flowers go at the bottom, smaller ones on top—that was just a basic trick.
"Each layer must have an odd number of the same type of flower. The quantities can differ, but odd numbers of the same type create a more unique image," Mo Fei explained.
"Color matching is also very important. It depends on where the vase will be placed. For festive occasions or your coffee shop, you'd use warm, heavy tones like red, orange, and yellow. For home use, like the living room or bedroom, you can go with clean, comfortable neutral tones!"
Mo Fei laughed. "Of course, it's not all one color. Different color combinations can create different feelings, especially when there's a sharp contrast..."
She had just finished a small vase arrangement with lilies and daisies. Though it wasn't complicated, the combination brought together the pure white of the lilies and the vibrant colors of the daisies in a harmonious way—neither monotonous nor overly lively.
It looked like a work of art!