A riot of flowers bloomed in profusion, a myriad of purples and thousands of reds.
This time, it was not Mu Zi but Ouyang Liuse who associated these scenes with idioms.
In the luxurious presidential suite, a variety of colorful flowers filled the room, their scents mingling together, intoxicatingly sweet.
After an hour of arranging, Ouyang Liuse's forehead was slightly sweaty, and her white dress was covered in pollen, making her look like a giant white butterfly.
She lay on the floor covered in colorful petals, sniffing deeply with her eyes closed, breathing in the sweet aroma.
Since childhood, she had loved flowers, perhaps a natural inclination for girls, just as boys often gravitate towards playing with swords and guns.
She glanced at Mu Zi, who was fervently tinkering with an array of odd-shaped gadgets, a helpless and bitter smile playing on her beautiful lips. Then, she quietly picked up her purse and slipped out the door…
The universal decoder could decrypt most complex passwords in a short time, mainly for locks, safes, and other precision instruments. The invisible bug was only half the size of a green bean, made of transparent material, small but powerful enough to clearly pick up subtle sounds within three kilometers. There was also night-vision goggles, a satellite locator…
These gadgets were all compact and delicate, their total volume not exceeding two Xinhua dictionaries, but they were absolutely top-tier high-tech products, costing Mu Zi a total of two hundred thousand. And that was with Ouyang Liuse's superior online shopping skills; otherwise, even with another two hundred thousand, they couldn't have acquired such fine items.
Mu Zi excitedly fiddled with these treasures, familiarizing himself with their functions.
"A craftsman must first sharpen his tools," he thought proudly. With these gadgets, future operations would be much more convenient.
"Liuse, we should get going." After calling several times without a response, he looked up from his treasures, puzzled, only to find Ouyang Liuse sitting amidst the flowers, counting a stack of one and five yuan notes intently.
"What's this for? Weren't you arranging flowers just now? Why have you switched to money?" Mu Zi asked curiously as he sat beside her.
"It's for those poor beggars," Ouyang Liuse replied without looking up.
"Oh," Mu Zi mused, "but do you need to count it so meticulously? Are you planning to become a professional philanthropist?"
"Mu Zi, look at us, living in such a luxurious hotel, drinking expensive wine. Why can't the money we use for luxury be used to help those in need?" Ouyang Liuse said earnestly, placing the counted money into her bag and looking into Mu Zi's eyes.
Mu Zi tapped the wallet in her hand and paused, saying meaningfully, "I understand, of course, I do. Back in Phoenix City, I was almost reduced to their level. If it weren't for the turn of events that led me to do all these things, I might have ended up just like them. So, do I understand or not?"
For a moment, Mu Zi's eyes clouded over as he seemed to see again the young boy abandoned by kin and fate, huddled against the stormy weather of Phoenix City...
Knowing Mu Zi's past, Ouyang Liuse softened her tone, "Then, why aren't we leaving?"
"That's strange. I was just calling you to leave," Mu Zi coughed lightly, returning from his thoughts, then snorted in a somewhat speechless manner.
"To help those poor people?" Ouyang Liuse blinked, still somewhat doubtful, considering Mu Zi's recent enthusiasm for the gadgets.
"Sort of." Mu Zi carefully packed the high-tech equipment into a bag.
"What do you mean by 'sort of'?" she asked, puzzled.
"I meant we're leaving to deal with Below Zero's issue," Mu Zi said flatly…
Zhen was increasingly feeling that her husband, Below Zero, was acting strangely these past few days.
He, who had never bothered with household chores, suddenly took over all tasks, including washing dishes after meals, insisting on doing it himself to give her rest.
When there were no chores, he became silent and melancholic, sometimes staring at her for minutes, forgetting to do anything else.
In bed, he seemed to regain his former vigor, even more fervently than before. Every night, they made love passionately, his movements rough and forceful, as if trying to merge their bodies desperately.
Waking up in the middle of several nights, Zhen found Below Zero not by her side but secluded in the study, reading or researching. Initially, she thought it was due to his work, but then she realized the material was unrelated to medicine, ranging from mechanical engineering to law, even including analyses of various insurance policies…
Zhen had asked a few times, but Below Zero always evaded the question.
But as a sensitive writer, she had a bad premonition.
Something ominous was going to happen…
Everyone has the right to choose their lifestyle, and He Li is no exception.
Although her way of living is contemptible, aside from moral condemnation, no one has the right to punish her.
The feud between He Li and Below Zero, they had begun to resolve it themselves. There was no need to interfere further…
Mu Zi lay back on the flower-strewn floor, eyes slightly closed. Ouyang Liuse's voice continued endlessly in his ear.
This was their biggest disagreement to date. Just now, they had almost argued. At such times, Mu Zi chose silence, letting Ouyang Liuse express all her thoughts while he remained completely silent. This way of resolving disagreements continued to work well, always successfully resolving issues…
She argued that they didn't need to get involved in something that no longer concerned them, especially since the deal with Below Zero was off due to his dishonesty. They had more important and meaningful things to do — helping those in need.
Ouyang Liuse refused to get involved again in Below Zero and He Li's affairs, her reasons sounding valid, but Mu Zi knew that wasn't the most important factor.
Deep down, Ouyang Liuse was still haunted by the death of Wen Jun.
In other words, she was still Ouyang Liuse, unable to fully embrace the role of Black and White Impermanence.
Some things required time to transition and adapt to.
Liuse, I will wait for you.
Mu Zi gently twirled his hair.
Finally, when Ouyang Liuse finished all her reasons and fell silent, Mu Zi spoke up, instantly capturing her attention.
"Liuse, can you imagine a scene with countless banknotes, fluttering like snowflakes in the sky…"