A large bouquet of fresh flowers was presented in front of Shen Li, but her face showed no hint of joy, only a sense of helplessness. She had made it so clear to Fang Ze, why couldn't he understand? These past few days without a call from Fang Ze had led her to believe he had gotten the message, but unexpectedly, the flower offensive had arrived.
Just as she was about to refuse the delivery, a female colleague watching from the doorway exclaimed, "These are Purple Violets, ah! A new variety just cultivated by masters in France, not yet available in our country. Were these flown in? How much does one stem cost? It must be a sky-high price."
The handsome guy in the suit smiled and answered, "One hundred thousand per stem, Miss. If you're interested, you can place a pre-order now and receive it in half a year." Gasps filled the air; it was quite normal for a brokerage firm to receive flowers. When the man in the suit entered, the female colleagues had surrounded him, sensing something unusual about the flowers he carried.
But they had never imagined the flowers would be that expensive – one hundred thousand for a single stem, then how much would this whole bouquet cost?
The man in the suit brought the bouquet even closer to Shen Li, his smile gentle and submissive as he looked at her tenderly.
Even the most calm and self-possessed woman, faced with such beautiful flowers and such a handsome suitor, envied by her peers, would surely be pleased.
If Shen Li had happily accepted the flowers, he could have returned to report his success.
There was not a trace of joy on Shen Li's face; she was completely flabbergasted and asked anxiously, "Who sent the flowers?"
Although Fang Ze's family was wealthy, flowers as expensive as these... it didn't seem like he was that reckless with money.
"Mr. Huo," the man in the suit replied with a smile. "Mr. Huo personally selected them, and they were delivered by a chartered plane."
Another round of gasps followed, and everyone's eyes widened as they looked at Shen Li. It was not uncommon to see big bosses charter planes, but chartering one just to send flowers was unheard of.
Shen Li's face appeared to have taken a heavy blow, her expression collapsing instantly. She had reached out to take the flowers but then had a sudden thought and asked, "Um, would you take them back at half the price?"
Huo Siyu had said that she could dispose of his gifts as she saw fit. Selling such expensive flowers back at half price would be the best solution.
"Ah?" The man in the suit was dumbfounded, staring at Shen Li in disbelief, his speech becoming slightly stammered, "I was ordered to deliver the flowers to Miss Shen. If you have any other requests, you could call Mr. Huo directly."
"Call him…" A twitch ran across the corner of Shen Li's mouth, she'd have to be out of her mind to call him. Then she thought and said, "I don't want them, can you take them back?"
The man in the suit shifted from being dumbstruck to pleading, "Miss Shen, if you have any issues, you can discuss them with Mr. Huo, please don't make things difficult for us."
"I..." Shen Li covered her nose with her hand, saying, "The truth is I have a slight allergy to pollen, I really can't accept them."
The man in the suit was taken aback, stuttering, "But... my job is—if Miss Shen doesn't accept..."
What woman doesn't love flowers, especially a bouquet of Purple Violets, a new variety, air-freighted in? Any normal woman would be delighted to accept them.
Shen Li reiterated, "I really am allergic."
Struggling to breathe, Shen Li covered her nose, her demeanor one of intolerance as she walked away.
The crowd, already stunned, moved aside unconsciously to make way for Shen Li. The man in the suit also looked shocked, and it wasn't until Shen Li had stepped into the elevator that he realized something was amiss. He quickly chased after her, calling out, "Miss Shen, Miss Shen..."
But Shen Li had vanished, and the man in the suit, now sweating profusely, hurriedly made a phone call, "Mr. Situ, Miss Shen says she's allergic to pollen and refuses to accept the flowers."
Situ looked at the information on Shen Li in his hand. Allergy to pollen? She was good at making excuses, though her background had been thoroughly investigated. He said, "I'll report this to Mr. Huo; you can return."
"Millions of dollars in flowers rejected, are you playing the long game for a bigger catch?"
Shen Li sprinted all the way from the office until she got on the bus, finally breathing a sigh of relief when she was certain the flower delivery boy hadn't followed.
Is he insane, suddenly sending her flowers. And such expensive ones at that, though to Huo Siyu money might as well be scrap paper, she still couldn't accept it.
Or to be more exact, she refused anything that came from Huo Siyu.
She rode the bus home, where still no one had returned, very good, very good.
After making a simple meal for dinner, Lawyer Zhang called to say Fang Hongxia was sentenced to five years in prison for human trafficking, Father Shen received six months with a suspended sentence of another six months, and Shen Yueh, not involved in the crime, would be detained for a few days before being released.
"Miss Shen, are you satisfied with this arrangement?" Lawyer Zhang inquired cautiously.
"Just follow due process, no need to ask for my opinion," Shen Li said.
"The trial will start on the seventh day of the lunar month, you can come and observe if you like," Lawyer Zhang added.
Suddenly remembering something Shen Li, though reluctant, still decided to ask, "The house under my father's name, it was bought with the demolition compensation from my maternal grandfather's house, can I claim it back?"
Years ago, when her grandfather's house was demolished, a considerable sum was paid in compensation. Her mother was an only child, so her grandfather used the money to upgrade the family home. After her grandfather passed away, the house became the Shen Family's property. During her parents' divorce, Father Shen schemed and ended up owning the house where he kept his mistress.
"Of course you can, it rightfully belongs to you," Lawyer Zhang said with a smile, "I'll head over tomorrow and bring you the deed in the afternoon."
"No, I'll come and collect it myself," Shen Li stated.
Lawyer Zhang immediately responded with a laugh, "There's no need to trouble yourself, I'll have someone deliver it to you."
"You've been a great help with this situation, if there's anything I can do for you in the future..." Shen Li began, discomfort washing over her at the thought of being indebted to Huo Siyu's favors.
"Please don't say such a thing, I really can't afford it," Lawyer Zhang replied in alarm, hastily adding, "These are Mr. Situ's instructions; I'm simply following orders."
"..." At a loss for words, Shen Li could only say, "I'll be home tomorrow."
After hanging up the phone, Shen Li took a breath of relief, but the sense of liberation was minimal.
Blood is the strongest, as well as the most bizarre, tie in the world; feelings like hatred, when you think about that person being your own father, even if the things he's done make you want to strangle him, you wouldn't actually do it.
So be it, the father-daughter relationship ends here. She would take back the house that belonged to her mother, and sever ties completely; they would no longer be enemies, nor family, just strangers passing by.
After a shower and some sleep, she could actually rest for a day, and firstly, a good sleep was in order. As for going back to work the day after tomorrow, Shen Li didn't see it as a big problem. She was just a temp anyway; it's not a big loss if she doesn't go, not a big deal.
Regarding the refusal of flowers today, even now she still felt nervous inside. But what's done is done, and regret was pointless. Worst comes to worst, she would just accept them next time.
Wrapped in her bath towel, her phone wouldn't stop ringing on the bed. Shen Li resignedly answered, only to hear Huo Siyu's voice coming through, "How is it that I wasn't aware you're allergic to pollen?"