There were still some lingering suspicions.
But when Shu Yu said she sort of liked him, Si Yiheng's heart skipped a beat anyway.
Si Yiheng's voice was low and hoarse. "Mm."
"I like you too."
Shu Yu cupped her face in her hands, her fair, pretty features spread wide with an unstoppable smile. "Then will you be with me?"
The girl's voice carried that same smile with it.
Crisp and bright, with just a hint of fearless abandon.
She was just going to be with him like that, without a care in the world?
At least it was him.
Not some rotten piece of trash out there.
Si Yiheng's voice was rough. "Can I?"
Shu Yu was drowned in sweetness but couldn't stop herself from grinning even more. "Yes, you can, boyfriend."
Si Yiheng: "Then do we need to tell your brother?"
The smile on Shu Yu's lips vanished in an instant. Oh no!
How could she have forgotten about Si Yiheng?
Shu Yu pressed her lips together. Two years ago, she'd promised Si Yiheng that if she ever started dating, she'd tell him.
How had she not thought to report this to Si Yiheng?
Oh, right. At first, she'd only treated ATM like a turtle at the bottom of a wishing well. She never imagined that one day, seeing ATM's messages would make her this happy.
Shu Yu felt guilty. "No, maybe not?"
Si Yiheng: "..."
Good news: Little Treasure was willing to be with him.
Bad news: Little Treasure really would hide her relationship from him.
Si Yiheng: "Okay."
Taking advantage of everyone being asleep that night, Shu Yu snuck downstairs to grab the flowers.
The flowers ATM had ordered were a bouquet of roses neatly wrapped in kraft paper—deep crimson, their petals looking especially soft at the edges under the dim light.
Like they'd been cut from a garden not long ago, still carrying a hint of night dew.
Shu Yu grabbed the flowers and quietly went back upstairs. At the top of the stairs, she ran into Si Yiheng.
Shu Yu: "!!!"
She quickly tried to hide the flowers behind her back, but no matter how she tucked them away, it looked like she was protesting too much.
Si Yiheng stepped closer, his tone calm. "Flowers from a friend?"
Shu Yu: "..."
She tilted her delicate, porcelain-white face up, a hint of shame from being caught. "Yeah."
Si Yiheng looked at the curl of the rose petals. "Do you like them?"
Shu Yu blanked for a second. Huh?
Shouldn't he have asked if she was dating someone?
Or maybe it was totally normal to give roses between friends.
Shu Yu: "I like them."
Si Yiheng: "Good. I'm glad you like them."
"Brother, I'm going back to bed."
Si Yiheng: "Mm."
When he didn't press further, Shu Yu hurried back to her room.
Si Yiheng seemed oddly easygoing today.
Shu Yu's head was spinning in a daze, and she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
Like, if ATM had someone deliver roses ahead of time, and she'd turned ATM down, how would the roses outside the door have been handled?
Or, why was Si Yiheng being so agreeable?
Shu Yu fell asleep with a brain full of question marks.
When she woke up the next morning.
She glanced at her phone and saw ATM's message first.
ATM: Good morning. I'm headed to the lab.
ATM: Baby, I miss you.
Shu Yu's ears went a little warm reading that.
LittleFishSwimming: Focus on your experiments, don't miss me.
LittleFishSwimming: I miss you too. cat poking head out sticker
Si Yiheng didn't say anything at the first line.
But when he read the second line, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
Xiao Jun: "..."
Xiao Jun: "Brother, tone it down a little. Look at you—you've got online dating going well now. Let's hope you're still this happy when Little Treasure finds out you're running a secret account to date her online."
Si Yiheng said nothing.
But if it weren't for this online courtship, Shu Yu would never have imagined a future beyond them being siblings.
She'd only ever see him as her brother.
Xiao Jun: "I think you two should meet in person sooner rather than later."
Si Yiheng: "I know."
ATM: Little Treasure, do you want to meet in person?
When she received that message, Shu Yu was sorting through her three years of high school books, getting ready to pack them all somewhere she'd never have to look at them again.
Shu Yu read the message twice.
LittleFishSwimming: A real-life meetup?
ATM: Mm.
LittleFishSwimming: What made you think of meeting?
Shu Yu leaned against the desk, tapping out her words.
ATM: I want us to have more of a future. At the very least, I should know who you are.
ATM: I also want to be with you more properly.
Shu Yu felt that strange feeling stir in her chest again.
Anticipation, nervousness, mixed with a touch of sweetness.
LittleFishSwimming: Okay.
LittleFishSwimming: Tomorrow then? Where?
ATM: Good, see you tomorrow. I'll send you the location.
Shu Yu had just finished talking to ATM when she called Ye Ning.
"Ningning, I'm meeting my online boyfriend in person tomorrow."
Ye Ning shot up in bed at the news. "What? Meeting your online boyfriend? Since when do you have an online boyfriend?"
Shu Yu: "We only got together last night."
Shu Yu added, "You know, the turtle from the wishing well."
Ye Ning: "..."
Ye Ning: "Baby, this isn't some kind of scam, is it? What if he's conning you?"
Hearing Ye Ning say that, Shu Yu calmed down a bit too. "Probably not... right?"
Ye Ning: "Want me to go with you?"
Shu Yu: "If you're willing to come with me, that'd be great."
Ye Ning: "Okay, I'll come with you tomorrow. You go in first, and I'll show up a little later and go undercover. If he's got bad intentions, I'll pop out and beat him up."
Shu Yu nodded. "Yeah. If there's any problem, we'll fight him together."
The next day, Shu Yu was up bright and early.
She and ATM had agreed to meet at seven in the evening.
The place was a nearby amusement park—one so new it hadn't even opened yet.
But Shu Yu didn't overthink it. If ATM told her to come, he must have a way for her to get in, right?
At six in the evening, Shu Yu changed and headed out.
She wore an apricot chiffon dress, her long hair flowing loose, with a pearl bracelet on her wrist—making her look as fine and pale as a pearl herself.
A look that was understated, but flawless.
When Ye Ning saw Shu Yu, she couldn't tear her eyes away. She'd always said Shu Yu was the ultimate pure, delicate beauty.
The plainer, the prettier.
Ye Ning clutched her chest and mimed an arrow to the heart. "Ah, I'm in love."
Shu Yu clutched her own chest and winked playfully at Ye Ning. "Wow, I'm in love."
The two of them went to the amusement park together and spotted a few costumed mascots at the entrance.
One of the mascots tied a bunch of balloons around Shu Yu's wrist, hopping around and tugging at her.
Another mascot grabbed Ye Ning, spinning her in a twirl.
When Ye Ning finally looked around again, her friend was gone.
"Miss, please come play over this way."
Ye Ning: "..."
Golden Corn: You okay?
LittleFishSwimming: I'm fine.
Golden Corn: That partner of yours sure is full of tricks.
Ye Ning kept walking forward and noticed that the amusement park was mostly filled with mascots—everywhere else was packed with glowing rides and billboards.
She even spotted signs from the animated series Shu Yu used to watch as a kid.
It was like a massive, dedicated shrine to everything Shu Yu loved.
Balloons, flowers, lights—everything arranged to look dreamlike and enchanting.
This amusement park had never been opened to the public before. It looked tailor-made for Shu Yu.
Ye Ning added another message.
Golden Corn: And this gold-digger candidate is a real golden boy—rolling in money, it seems.
Shu Yu couldn't tear her eyes away either—every step brought a new scene, with character light boards lined up all along the path.
Shu Yu stood in that patch of multicolored lights, watching the images from her memories become real-life standing displays.
It was as if someone had picked up the fragments scattered across her timeline, one by one, and pieced them back together into a complete path.
Shu Yu was puzzled. Had she really told ATM all these things?
How did ATM know what she liked?
Finally, the puppet figure holding her hand came to a stop. Before her, under the lights, stretched an endless sea of roses, covering the entire plaza.
The roses shifted in gradient from deep crimson to soft pink, and at the heart of the flower sea wound a narrow path.
It led to a carousel in the distance, wrapped in gentle light.
A breeze swept over the flower sea, carrying a cool, fragrant scent.
Shu Yu stepped forward slowly and circled the carousel twice, but found no one there.
Shu Yu sent a message.
LittleFishSwimming: Brother, where are you?
ATM: I'm coming over now.
Suddenly, Shu Yu spotted a familiar figure in the distance.
Si Yiheng!?
Shu Yu: w(ﾟДﾟ)w
Shu Yu immediately crouched down, hiding herself beside the flower bushes near the carousel. The flowers brushed against her, swaying slightly, scattering a few petals.
LittleFishSwimming: Don't come yet—I see my brother.
The moment Shu Yu sent the message, she heard Si Yiheng's cool, clear voice from above her head, "Baby Yu."
