Mistaken ‘O’ is a Crazy Gorgeous Boss - Chapter 36

The slanting drizzle brushed against the stained-glass window, and the sudden noise inside made Qu Zhen pause in her steps.

She knew who this Omega was. Two days ago, Qin Huan had mentioned her, the Omega’s name was Gu Shutang, two years older than her, and she was the recently hired front desk clerk.

Gu Shutang softly apologized as she bent down to pick up the fallen thermos. When she straightened up, all emotion in her eyes had vanished. Her skin was fair, her features delicate and graceful, and she stood slender and elegant in the corner, no different from the crabapple blossoms in the courtyard.

“You must be Qu Zhen, right? Hello, I’m Gu Shutang.” She offered a gentle smile. “Aunt Qin told me that if you arrived first, I should let you wait in the shop for a while. They’ll be back soon.”

Qu Zhen nodded and introduced herself as well. When introducing Shen Zhikou beside her, she used the word “lover,” spoken softly, as if imbued with infinite tenderness.

“We’ll let you get back to work, then. We’ll take a look in the backyard.”

“Alright.”

With that, Qu Zhen placed the prepared gift on an empty display shelf and, holding Shen Zhikou’s hand, walked toward the back door.

Connected behind the arched door was a small courtyard, or rather, a modestly sized greenhouse. They passed through a slightly narrow and cramped corridor, gradually making their way inside.

“Sister, all the flowers planted here are my mother’s favorites.” Qu Zhen smiled. “Every single one was planted by my mom for my mother. My mom handled the digging and planting, and my mother took care of the watering and nurturing.”

Shen Zhikou’s gaze lingered on a tuberose. “Did you choose to open a flower shop because Aunt Qin likes them?”

“Yes. My mother loves opera the most, followed by flowers. After she was discharged from the hospital back then, she told my mom that her first half of life was dedicated to opera, playing roles and singing on stage for half a lifetime. For the second half, she wanted to stay by my mom’s side, planting flowers, growing trees, raising cats, walking dogs, and living the life she loves.”

Though she said that, both mother and daughter knew well that the main reason Qin Huan left the opera troupe was because the car accident years ago had damaged her vocal cords. The attending physician had said that even with careful recovery, they would never return to their original state.

“As long as Aunt Qin is happy,” Shen Zhikou said gently.

“Yes! I think so too!”

As they drew closer, Shen Zhikou noticed that beneath each pot of flowers was a sticky note. Written on them weren’t the names or habits of the flowers but different dates, with a sticker of two cartoon figures at the end.

Qu Zhen’s attention was entirely on Shen Zhikou. Seeing her pause and lean in to look at the labels beneath the flowerpots, Qu Zhen understood.

“This is my mother’s handwriting.”

“When they opened the ‘Huanxin Flower Shop,’ I was still studying in Haicheng and hadn’t come home for break. Everything was done by the two of them personally, including setting up this greenhouse.” Qu Zhen’s eyes sparkled with warmth. “The dates my mother wrote are the planting time, the sprouting time, and the time they watched the flowers bloom together.”

Inside the stained-glass greenhouse, vibrant blossoms flourished in a riot of colors. What seemed like the nurturing of flowers was, in essence, the nearly thirty-year-long love story of a devoted couple.

Shen Zhikou’s gaze lingered for a long time beneath a pot of marguerite daisies.

There were two labels there. The first one also had dates written on it, but the second was different.

The handwriting on the paper was elegant and graceful, with two little stars drawn at the end.

The flowers bloomed, and I even watched the stars with Qu Han in the greenhouse.

Because Qu Han was so silly, the stars stopped twinkling.

But Qu Han made me the candied hawthorn skewers I used to love, so I forgave her on behalf of the stars.

After a long silence, Shen Zhikou turned and said, “They have a very good relationship.”

“Yes, especially good.” A sudden realization dawned on Qu Zhen, and she blushed as she added, “I will also treat you especially, especially well in the future, no, starting from now!”

Shen Zhikou teased lightly, “Wasn’t it good before?”

For Qu Zhen, learning was highly effective. In her past back-and-forths with Shen Zhikou, she had almost never fought back, let alone gained the upper hand. Most of the time, she would blush and fall silent or evade the question by changing the subject.

But now, she had learned to calm down and carefully analyze the intent behind every word Shen Zhikou spoke.

“Your feelings are what matter most, and the question should be answered by you.” Qu Zhen turned the tables. “What do you think, was it good or not?”

The room was warm and cozy. Instead of answering directly, Shen Zhikou gazed at her intently, her eyes distant, and said softly, “Thank you, Zhenzhen.”

“You’re welcome.” Qu Zhen pursed her lips, revealing her small dimples. “It’s what I should do.”

They weren’t at home at the moment, so she didn’t dare say it out loud in front of Shen Zhikou, only adding quietly in her heart.

Because my heart beats for you, so it’s only natural.

…

As the weather forecast had predicted, the gentle autumn rain was gradually turning into a fierce storm.

Under the crabapple tree in the backyard was a long bench. After leaving the greenhouse, the two sat close together on it, with Shen Zhikou quietly listening to Qu Zhen talk about the past.

After waiting in the courtyard for nearly half an hour without seeing Qin Huan and Qu Han return, Qu Zhen couldn’t help but worry.

Soon, she dialed Qin Huan’s number.

Qin Huan’s voice on the other end sounded a bit urgent: “The flowers have been delivered, but there’s a problem with the car.”

Qu Zhen asked worriedly, “What happened? Mom, where are you?”

“Nothing serious, don’t worry. We’re on Minsheng Road. The car suddenly stopped moving, but your mom has already called for help. We’ll take a taxi back soon.”

Qu Zhen was particularly sensitive to traffic incidents. Frowning, she said firmly, “I’ll drive over to pick you up. It’s hard to get a taxi in this rain. Wait for me there, I’ll be right over.”

“Huh? It’s fine, you and Koukou wait for us at the shop.”

Seeing Shen Zhikou nod beside her, Qu Zhen insisted stubbornly, “I’ve discussed it with her. Mom, send me your location on WeChat. I’m coming now.”

Before Qin Huan could protest further, Qu Zhen decisively ended the call.

Feeling a bit guilty for acting without prior consultation, Qu Zhen explained apologetically to Shen Zhikou: “Minsheng Road is very close to the flower shop. I’ll be back in about twenty minutes. It’s windy and rainy outside, and the temperature has dropped since we arrived. I don’t want to risk you catching a cold.”

“Can you wait for us at the shop for twenty minutes?”

“Alright, go ahead.”

Qu Zhen stood up. “I just refilled your thermos with hot water. If you feel cold, go to the break room instead of staying outside. I’ll head out now. See you soon.”

“Be safe. See you soon.”

With Qu Zhen’s departure, the courtyard filled with the fragrance of flowers was left with only Shen Zhikou alone. She remained motionless, still seated on the long bench, as beautiful as a statue carved from white jade.

Her style of dress was entirely different from Qu Zhen’s. Qu Zhen’s overall attire still carried a student-like air, while in contrast, she appeared very mature. Her wardrobe was filled with various styles of trench coats and dress shirts; even if their clothes were mixed together, they would be easily distinguishable.

Mingqiu County was two degrees cooler than Haicheng. Dressed in a long black trench coat, Shen Zhikou suddenly rose and stood by the glass wall of the greenhouse. Tall and graceful, her striking beauty outshone the vibrant colors of the entire garden within. She remained composed, the silver-rimmed glasses still perched on the bridge of her nose, concealing the unreadable emotions in her eyes.

The softness in her expression vanished with Qu Zhen’s departure. In an instant, her demeanor turned completely cold. Though her appearance remained unchanged, the aura she exuded at that moment was like that of a completely different person compared to when Qu Zhen was present.

Her indifferent gaze seemed to carry a frosty chill. The Buddhist beads on her wrist glimmered with a subtle sheen, and the commanding presence of someone in a position of power was fully unleashed. As her eyes swept over the flowering branches, the leaves trembled as if shivering from the cold.

“Come out.”

Her words dissipated into the air. Five seconds later, Gu Shutang, who had been standing by the flower wall, walked directly into the open space. Compared to the Omega not far away, she seemed like a fragile herbivore, utterly defenseless.

Her voice was low and hoarse: “President Shen.”

Gu Shutang was one of the very few in Haicheng’s elite circles who had seen the true face of Shen Yunxi, the current head of the Shen family. Born into the Gu family, she was an illegitimate child left behind by the family head’s indiscretions. Even after being acknowledged by the Gu family, she was treated with disdain, marginalized at every turn, and lived a life even less regarded than the Gu family’s gardeners.

That was until she was unexpectedly chosen by Yan Shuang, the heir of the Yan family, to be her study companion.

The Yan family and the Gu family were worlds apart. The Gu family couldn’t even rank among Haicheng’s elite circles, while the Yan family was a colossal entity second only to the leading Shen family in all of Haicheng. One family was in the heavens, the other in the dirt. On the day she was chosen, she received unprecedented attention from everyone in the family.

Because of this, she went from being the most insignificant existence to someone the entire Gu family had to rely on.

Yet for her, it was merely moving from one cage to another, there was no fundamental difference between the two.

The slender Gu Shutang clenched her hands tightly, her thin wrists seeming as though they could be snapped with the slightest pressure. Faced with the inscrutable Shen Yunxi, she bowed her head respectfully, the curve of her neck so low it seemed pressed down by an invisible hand, her face pale as paper.

Raindrops beat heavily against the diamond-patterned carved window, and Gu Shutang’s thoughts raced.

The moment she saw Shen Yunxi by the flower stand, she had recognized her.

That one glance made her feel as if she had fallen into an icy abyss.

She was both astonished and terrified, because Shen Yunxi and Yan Shuang were acquainted friends, and she did not want her whereabouts exposed, nor did she want to return to Yan Shuang’s side.

At the same time, she couldn’t understand why Shen Yunxi was… the Shen Zhikou that Aunt Qin had mentioned. The Shen Zhikou that Aunt Qin spoke of, an ordinary employee at a foreign trade company, was actually Shen Yunxi, the one who controlled the entire economic lifeline of the Shen family, held half of Haicheng in her grasp, and stood at the pinnacle of power and order.

It was simply unbelievable.

But she could never mistake her identity.

After calming down quickly from the dropped thermos incident, she witnessed Shen Yunxi and Qu Zhen’s intimate interaction at the front desk, their hands tightly clasped together.

A torrent of chaotic information stormed through her mind like a sudden, violent gale.

Though many things remained unclear, after sorting through her thoughts, she understood why Huanxin Flower Shop had managed to stand out among numerous competitors and secure long-term contracts with all the major hotels in the county.

It wasn’t because Huanxin was more competitive than other florists, nor was it due to any other reason, it was simply because this was Shen Yunxi’s doing. All of it was orchestrated by Shen Yunxi, who could turn clouds with one hand and rain with the other.

The hem of her knitted cardigan wrinkled under Gu Shutang’s tight grip. Her eyelashes fluttered as she pleaded almost desperately, “President Shen…”

“Please… I beg you, don’t tell President Yan that you saw me here.”

“I’ll leave the flower shop immediately, I’ll disappear from this place.”