# Chapter 16
"Camellia? I never expected A-Yi is the same kind of devoted person as me!" At my answer, Chen Zhongyang immediately exclaimed beside me. Clearly, this test he'd done long ago.
I blinked in confusion. Ma Ting smiled gently: "Each flower represents a meaning. Rapeseed flowers mean being extremely fickle—loving a new person every time you meet one." Here, she shot a fierce glare at Chen Zhongyang. No doubt this guy had chosen that one from the very start.
"Osmantus flowers represent enjoying chance encounters, like one-night stands."
Those two sharp-tongued troublemakers both showed expressions of approval. Even Yilin and Xiaowei nodded, not the least bit embarrassed. Xiaowei even said: "I do enjoy chance encounters, but one-night stands—mm, next time I'll find a chance to try."
"Chrysanthemum means enjoying affairs."
Qianqian adjusted her glasses, a knowing smile playing at her lips. Now only Shangguan hadn't shown any particular expression. Could he have also chosen camellia? It had been too chaotic earlier—I hadn't noticed.
"And camellia represents devoted dedication—loving only one person for a lifetime!"
"Really really?" Xiaowei's face lit up with excitement. "A-Yi, is that accurate?"
The others all fixed their gazes on me. I rubbed my nose: "It should... be accurate."
"Wow! So A-Yi has a significant other?" Xiaowei grew even more excited. "Who? What's their name? Their surname? How old? Male or female? What do they do? What are their hobbies? Do you have photos? Come on come on, confess honestly!"
"No no." I quickly said. "No girlfriend."
"Then it's a secret crush?"
"Neither."
"Liar! How can you say it's accurate if you don't have someone you like?" Xiaowei's face showed utter disbelief. The others nodded in agreement. Shangguan even stared at me with those eyes of his—somehow both icy and flaming—as if trying to burn a hole through me or freeze me solid.
Ergh... it seemed these people had already driven me half-crazy. I was actually perceiving absolutely impossible phenomena in Shangguan.
"A-Yi." Chen Zhongyang spoke with the weight of experience. "Leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist. Did you think you could keep secrets from all of us?"
"Exactly right—don't think you can get away just because Shangguan's protecting you! Even Shangguan can't stand against the government. Besides, Shangguan wants to know too, right?"
Xiaowei elevated herself to the level of government, adopting the stance of representing the people. And Shangguan actually nodded.
"So just confess honestly..."
The whole group gave me a sinister grin showing rows of white teeth. Scared, I hastily confessed: "There's really no one. I said it's accurate because I think if I were to love someone, I'd love at most one."
"Hmph! Have you ever been in love? Have you ever loved anyone? If not, how would you know you'd only love one?" Xiaowei immediately countered.
"Because it's troublesome." Seeing the others' confusion, I continued: "Love is the most troublesome thing in the world. Loving one person is already too much—why would I need to love a second? I'd be exhausted to death."
...
Silence. More silence. Damn it, I had a very bad feeling. In my experience, whenever this kind of silence happened, it meant I was about to have bad luck!
I looked at Shangguan in bewilderment, hoping to get some hint from him. But his expression was equally strange—seeming both stunned and like he'd anticipated this. Ergh, or perhaps with just a touch more disappointment and relief mixed in? Damn it, the hallucinations were acting up again.
"So you're saying you think you'd only love one person because you're afraid of the trouble?" Ma Ting looked at me. Her tone was still normal. I couldn't detect any traps, so I nodded.
"Loving one person isn't because you're devoted—it's because you're too lazy to love?" She asked again, as if confirming.
I grew cautious. But what she said was the truth. Devotion, passion—I hadn't thought about any of that. So I nodded again.
Boom! Everyone burst into laughter again.
The three witches laughed until they collapsed into each other. Chen Zhongyang collapsed onto Ma Ting. Those two sharp-tongued friends even fell off their chairs dramatically—and even so, they kept laughing.
"I'm convinced, A-Yi, I'm absolutely convinced! Too lazy to love! Hahahaha, too lazy to love—this answer is goddamn classic!" Chen Zhongyang clutched his stomach and bellowed. Following his words, the others laughed even harder. Even Shangguan was bent over the table, shoulders shaking continuously.
I felt so wronged! What? What was wrong with my answer? Love really is the most troublesome thing! What's wrong with not wanting to get into trouble? Too lazy to love? So what if I'm too lazy to love?
I got a little angry, glaring furiously at these mentally ill people. What was so funny? Such a normal thing became exaggerated when they were involved?
But despite being confused and angry, I was smart enough not to say more. I had an absolute generation gap with these people! If I kept talking, it would probably turn into another round of explosive laughter.
This meal ended in my bewilderment and everyone else's laughter. Of course, the gathering wasn't over. Since Wa Wa had both accommodation and karaoke, and it was the weekend, everyone said they wanted to have a good time.
No one was leaving, and being outnumbered, I had no right to object, so I stayed.
After eating, everyone moved to the fifth floor for karaoke. I took the chance to slip away to the restroom. Ergh, why does even going to the bathroom feel like sneaking around? But there was no helping it—if I tried to slip away alone, I'd probably end up with a whole train of followers. After being teased by these people for two hours, even I wanted some time alone to catch my breath.
Wa Wa was indeed a famous entertainment center—even the bathroom was beautifully decorated. The cleanliness and luxury level absolutely rivaled the restrooms in fancy hotels often seen in movies.
The glass was bright and spotless. The sound-activated faucets were trimmed with gold edges. Two tall green plants I couldn't name stood on either side of the sinks. Honestly, this place was cleaner than my university cafeteria.
For the past two years, living with Shangguan, I'd occasionally gone to Western restaurants and other high-end restaurants with him. Those places also put effort into their restrooms, but they still couldn't compare to this.
There's a saying: to check a restaurant's hygiene, don't look at the kitchen—look at the bathroom. Judging by this restroom alone, Wa Wa's success definitely had reasons.
Why was I paying so much attention to the restroom's condition? This... because I was about to do something that was normal for girls but strange for guys—looking in the mirror.
Guys can certainly look in mirrors too. But staring at your own face in a mirror for no reason in a public restroom always feels a bit odd, right? To avoid making others laugh, I had to scout it out first. Fortunately, luck was on my side—there was no one else in the restroom. I could look in the mirror with peace of mind.
Looking to the right—
Author's Note: Whew... finally about to reveal A-Yi's appearance. Group... um... I'll go check how to set that up. There was a group before, but it seems to have always been empty... *sweat*... never managed it...