The elegant restaurant suddenly felt smaller.
Mei Lin stood beside the table, her perfectly styled hair catching the golden lights above. Her eyes moved slowly from Zhen Wei to Lian Hua, curiosity and disbelief clearly written across her face.
"Zhen Wei," she said, folding her arms lightly, "you didn't tell anyone you were having dinner tonight."
"I don't recall needing permission," he replied calmly.
His tone was polite, but there was a sharp edge beneath it.
Mei Lin's gaze shifted back to Lian Hua again.
"And this is…?"
Lian Hua felt slightly uncomfortable under the woman's careful inspection, but she kept her posture calm.
"I'm Lian Hua," she said politely.
Mei Lin smiled faintly.
"A florist," Zhen Wei added before she could ask.
The woman's eyebrows lifted.
"A florist?" she repeated slowly.
For a brief moment, silence hung over the table.
Then Zhen Wei spoke again, his voice calm but firm.
"Mei Lin."
The warning in his tone was clear.
She sighed softly and stepped back.
"Relax," she said with a small smile. "I was only curious."
But her eyes lingered on Lian Hua a moment longer before she finally walked away.
The tension slowly faded.
Lian Hua exhaled quietly.
"Was that someone important?" she asked.
Zhen Wei picked up his glass calmly.
"Someone from my world."
"And she seemed very surprised to see me."
"She's surprised because she doesn't understand my choices," he said.
Lian Hua tilted her head slightly.
"And you brought me here knowing people might see us."
"Yes."
"You're not worried about rumors?"
He looked directly into her eyes.
"No."
His answer was simple.
Too simple.
The waiter arrived with their food, placing the dishes carefully on the table. For a moment they both focused on eating, the earlier tension fading into a quieter atmosphere.
After a while, Zhen Wei spoke again.
"You handled that well."
"Handled what?"
"Being examined like a rare flower."
She laughed softly.
"I run a flower shop. I'm used to people examining things."
His lips curved slightly at that.
"Still," he said, "not everyone would stay so calm."
Lian Hua looked out the window at the glowing river.
"You know," she said thoughtfully, "flowers survive storms by bending instead of breaking."
Zhen Wei studied her for a moment.
"And which one are you?" he asked quietly.
She picked up a crimson lotus petal that had fallen from the decoration on the table.
"This one," she said.
"A lotus grows in muddy water but still becomes beautiful."
For the first time that evening, Zhen Wei's expression softened completely.
"A crimson lotus," he murmured.
Their eyes met again across the table.
And in that moment, neither of them realized that the small dinner between a CEO and a florist was slowly becoming something much deeper… and far more complicated.