The Art of the Scoundrel's Code

Chen Zhi went through every possible solution he could think of.

The inventory of every high-end flower shop in Beijing had been cleared out by that woman with a single phone call. He managed to intercept the chrysanthemums, but right now, Chen Zhi had absolutely nothing in his hands.

He checked the time on his phone: 6:42 AM.

Lin Wanwan was exhausted from last night. At most, she could sleep for another two hours.

Then, he thought of a place.

Beijing's largest flower market. It opened at 5:00 AM and sold strictly wholesale goods. The quality wouldn't be too bad, the prices were half as much, and most importantly, no matter how capable Pei Ningxue was, she couldn't possibly shut down all the wholesale flower markets in Beijing.

Chen Zhi grabbed his jacket, lightened his footsteps, and headed for the door.

Passing by the bedroom, he peeked inside. Lin Wanwan was curled up under the covers, breathing evenly, fast asleep.

He gently closed the door behind him, grabbed the room card, and left.

As the elevator went down, the customer service rep from the flower shop sent him a message, apologizing profusely that they were out of stock and his order had been forcefully canceled.

Chen Zhi didn't reply. He walked out of the hotel, hailed a cab, and headed straight for the flower market.

Upon arriving, Chen Zhi realized he had underestimated the place.

It wasn't even 7:00 AM, but the market was already bustling with noise. Flower farmers pushing carts, wholesalers carrying bundles of roses, and shop assistants lugging flower buckets bustled back and forth. The air was thick with a mixture of floral scents.

Chen Zhi went straight to the shop with the largest storefront.

"Boss, how many red roses do you have?"

The boss was a woman in her forties. She was busy trimming flower stems.

"How many? How many do you need? They just arrived today, very fresh."

"I'll take them all."

The scissors in the woman's hand stopped.

She looked up and looked Chen Zhi up and down, eyeing this ordinarily dressed young man.

"Young man, did you come here bright and early just to mess with me?"

"I'm not joking." Chen Zhi pointed at the red roses on the stand. "I'm buying all the red roses at your stall. Roughly how many stems do you have?"

The woman finally realized he was serious. She immediately shoved her scissors into her apron pocket and stood up straight.

"I have about two thousand stems in stock, but I can contact the neighboring stalls for you. They got shipments today too. How many do you actually need?"

"The more the better. I want to completely cover a suite in a five-star hotel. Give me an estimate of how many I'll need."

"How big is the suite?"

"A standard suite. One living room and one bedroom."

"That'll be four thousand stems minimum. If you want it fully covered, leaving no room to even step, you'll need at least six thousand."

"Six thousand stems. Can you gather them right now?"

The woman was already pulling out her phone, her attitude significantly more enthusiastic. "Give me ten minutes! I'll pull all the stock from the neighboring stalls for you! There are a lot of goods in the market today, so getting six thousand won't be a problem! But it'll cost extra. If we deliver them to your door and handle the arrangement, labor fees are separate, alright?"

"Sure, name your price."

The woman quoted a number.

Chen Zhi directly scanned the QR code and paid.

The woman checked the payment receipt on her phone, her attitude growing even warmer. She shouted at the top of her lungs to the neighboring stalls:

"Old Wang! Old Liu! Come over here, we've got a huge order!"

The market instantly turned into a chaotic frenzy.

Chen Zhi stood next to a flower bucket, pulled out his phone, and sent Lin Wanwan a message.

Still sleeping?

No reply.

She was probably still in dreamland.

While the woman and the others were counting the stock and loading the vans, Chen Zhi took a stroll around the market and stopped in front of a stall selling small potted plants.

Waiting for the flowers, he wandered casually around the market, stopping at a stall selling small potted plants.

A row of mini cacti was displayed on the stall. They were thumb-sized, planted in palm-sized ceramic pots. The pots were painted with various patterns—some had kittens, some had stars, and some had words written on them.

Chen Zhi squatted down, looked around, and finally picked one up.

The pot had four words written on it: To the Bitter End.

He thought about it, then put it back.

Not very auspicious.

There was another one next to it. The pot had a heart painted on it, and inside the heart was a crooked little flower.

Chen Zhi picked it up and asked the boss, "How much is this?"

"Fifteen bucks."

"Keep the change."

He cradled the small potted plant in his arms and walked back to the woman's stall.

The stall owner looked at the twenty-dollar bill in his hand and thought to himself, acting like a big shot when you're broke.

They had already started loading the flowers into two minivans.

The woman came over to confirm the address. Chen Zhi gave her the hotel name and room number, adding a reminder: "Don't open the bedroom door yet. Wait until I get there."

"No problem. We're experienced. We've set up tons of these," the woman said while directing the loading. "Is it a proposal? Or are you coaxing your wife?"

Chen Zhi thought for a moment.

"Making up for a birthday present."

The woman chuckled. "You're quite thoughtful, young man."

Chen Zhi didn't say anything, just watched as the red roses were loaded onto the vans bundle by bundle.

Six thousand stems.

Although it was over three thousand stems short of his original plan of 9,999 roses, it was definitely more than enough to completely cover a standard suite.

He checked his phone again. 7:20 AM.

Lin Wanwan still hadn't replied.

He went to a breakfast stand at the market entrance, bought two cups of hot soy milk and a fried dough stick, and sat on a plastic stool, eating while waiting for the flower shop's vans to depart.

The fried dough stick was a bit cold, but washed down with the soy milk, it was tolerable.

Chewing on the fried dough stick, Chen Zhi couldn't help but sigh inwardly. His nineteenth birthday had certainly been a rollercoaster ride.

At 7:40 AM, the flower shop's two minivans set off on time.

Chen Zhi hailed a cab and followed behind. On the way, he sent a message to the hotel reception, giving them a heads-up to let the flower shop workers go upstairs.

At exactly 8:00 AM, the vehicles parked downstairs at the hotel.

Chen Zhi went up first. He walked to the door of Room 501 and knocked twice.

No response.

He took out his room card, swiped the door open, and stood in the entryway, listening closely. The sound of even breathing still came from the bedroom. The girl really wasn't awake yet.

He shut the bedroom door tightly, turned around, and opened the main door wide, letting the woman and her employees bring the flowers inside.

For the next half hour, the living room was quiet but orderly. The flower shop workers moved very gently, spreading the roses out bunch by bunch. They paved a path from the doorway to the sofa, spreading from the sofa to the coffee table, and all the way to the windowsill.

Chen Zhi wasn't idle either; he joined in on the setup.

While moving the last bucket of flowers, Chen Zhi looked at the thorny stems in his hands, and a brilliant idea suddenly popped into his head.

He had the romance covered, but he needed to add a little catalyst.

Steeling himself, he forcefully pressed his right index finger against a thick rose thorn.

Hiss—

His fingertip was instantly pierced, and a bead of blood welled up.

With calculated cunning, Chen Zhi squeezed it hard to make it bleed a little more. Then, he went to the bathroom, dug out a Band-Aid, and deliberately let a bit of dark red blood seep through the edge of the bandage.

The sympathy card—an essential skill for any playboy.

After finishing that, he took out the fifteen-dollar mini cactus potted plant from his pocket and placed it right in the middle of the coffee table.

Surrounded entirely by red roses, this tiny patch of green sticking out looked a bit out of place, but it also inexplicably created a striking contrast.

At 8:40 AM, the setup was completely finished.

The cleaning lady and her team finished clearing the trash, happily accepted the final payment, and left with a smile.

Chen Zhi deadbolted the front door and stood in the living room, taking a look around.

Red covered everything in sight, and a floral scent completely filled the apartment. The guitar was still leaning against the sofa, surrounded by rose petals. He had already cleared away the deflated balloons and ribbons from last night; now, only the flowers remained.

He walked over to the bedroom door, curled his fingers, and knocked twice.

"Wanwan, are you awake?"

It was quiet inside for a few seconds.

Then came a muffled, "...Hmm?"

"Get up for a second, I have something to show you."

"...What time is it?" Her voice was soft and groggy, clearly showing she hadn't slept enough.

"Almost nine."

A long sigh came from under the covers, sounding extremely reluctant.

Not long after, the doorknob turned.

The door opened.

Lin Wanwan had thrown on one of Chen Zhi's t-shirts, her sleep-tousled hair a complete mess. Her eyes weren't even fully open. She rubbed the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, yawned, and took a barefoot step outside.

Then, she froze in place.

Her hand, still rubbing her eye, stopped in mid-air. Her mouth parted slightly.

She blinked twice, seemingly thinking she was still dreaming, and took another hesitant half-step forward, the sole of her foot pressing against soft petals.

She stood at the entrance of the living room, staring at the ocean of red before her.

Chen Zhi stood right beside her, hands in his pockets, waiting quietly.

Lin Wanwan slowly crouched down and reached out to touch a petal by her foot. Only after feeling its very real texture was she convinced this wasn't a dream.

She took two more steps forward, looked down, and saw a palm-sized potted cactus on the coffee table. She paused.

"What's this?"

"For you," Chen Zhi replied.

"A cactus?"

"Yeah. It's easy to take care of and hard to kill."

Lin Wanwan looked up, staring blankly at Chen Zhi.

"Where... where did you get all these flowers?"

"I went to the flower market first thing this morning. Six thousand of them. You can count and see if it's enough."

Lin Wanwan burst into a laugh.

She gave a hard sniffle and turned her back to him.

"You're terrible."

"Why are you turning away?"

"I don't want you to see me cry."

Chen Zhi walked over and pulled her into his arms from behind. Lin Wanwan desperately shielded her face with the back of her hands, refusing to let him see.

"Stop hiding."

"No, I definitely look ugly right now."

"I looked at you all night last night, what is there to hide now?"

Lin Wanwan's hands stiffened for a second. Then she turned around and pounded her small fists hard against Chen Zhi's chest.

"What are you saying!"

"Hey—"

"Pervert!"

"I meant you look pretty without makeup! Where did your mind go!"

Embarrassed and annoyed, Lin Wanwan hit him again, then buried her face in his chest and fell silent.

"Happy birthday, Wanwan."

Lin Wanwan let out a muffled voice against his chest.

"You only just remembered."

"I was too busy last night and forgot, so I'm making it up to you first thing today."

"So where's your gift?"

Chen Zhi turned, picked up the potted cactus from the coffee table, and held it out to her.

Lin Wanwan stared at the little flowerpot painted with a red heart, then looked at the room full of expensive red roses, and finally brought her gaze back to this fifteen-yuan cactus.

"Just this?"

"Just this."

"The six thousand roses aren't the gift, but this is?"

"Flowers wither," Chen Zhi said. He very casually raised his right hand, deliberately flashing his index finger wrapped in a Band-Aid right in front of her eyes. "Cactuses don't."

Lin Wanwan's attention was instantly drawn to the Band-Aid.

"What happened to your hand?"

"I got pricked by a rose thorn while arranging the flowers just now," Chen Zhi said nonchalantly.

"Does it hurt?"

"It's alright, just bled a little."

Lin Wanwan grabbed his hand. Looking down at the bit of dark red seeping through the edge of the Band-Aid, her tears began to fall drop by drop.

"Are you an idiot?"

"I was setting up flowers for you, how could I not be an idiot?"

Lin Wanwan bit her lower lip, carefully brought his finger to her lips, and blew on it gently over the Band-Aid.

"Don't be so reckless from now on."

"Whatever you say."

Lin Wanwan sniffled and took the cactus, holding it in her palms like a precious treasure, studying it earnestly for several seconds.

"Alright, I forgive you."

She hugged the little potted plant to her chest, turned around, and sat on the sofa. Surrounded completely by rose petals, she looked up at Chen Zhi.

"Chen Zhi."

"Yeah."

"If you ever dare forget my birthday again, I'm going to shove this cactus right in your face."