I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

If it were a year or so ago, she would definitely have said these things outright, but now... it's better to keep them to herself and not hurt anyone's feelings.

"Tell me quickly, how did he propose to you? Was it incredibly romantic?"

"that is....."

Bai Xiaoqi was a little stunned, as if he hadn't even had a chance to ask before she snatched the ring away.

"It's pretty much like what you see on TV. He asks, 'Will you marry me?' And I say, 'Yes.'"

"and then?"

"It's gone."

......

I wanted to show off my diamond ring to my friends, but I didn't succeed. Instead, I got a lesson, and there's not much to say about the proposal.

Finally, Bai Xiaoqi discussed their plan to steal flowers in the middle of the night with Anya, and then headed home.

Back home, after wandering around the room for a while without finding Chen Shuo, I went up to the rooftop and found him sitting in the pavilion feeding goldfish.

Bai Xiaoqi moved closer to sit with him, then stood up again after thinking for a moment, straddled Chen Shuo's lap, and snuggled into his arms to find the most comfortable position.

Chen Shuo also moved, not wanting her to squeeze in, and finally simply put the small bowl of fish food in his hand next to her feet, straightened her body, and said, "I'm feeding the fish, so calm down for a while. If you squeeze in again, we might both fall into the water."

"..."

Bai Xiaoqi pouted and stared at him with a pitiful expression.

After staring at her for a moment, Chen Shuo quickly gave in, putting his arm around her slender waist. "Fine, fine, you can squeeze in."

"Hmph..." Bai Xiaoqi snorted, then buried her face in Chen Shuo's arms again, leaning against his chest and saying, "I went to Ya Ya's house just now, and she said I wore the wrong ring."

"Wearing it wrong?"

"Yes, the engagement ring should be worn on the middle finger of your left hand." Bai Xiaoqi raised her left hand to show him the ring on her middle finger, then suddenly asked, "I've been wanting to ask you this for a while now. We keep all our money here with me, so where did you get the money to buy the ring? Did you save it up little by little?"

"Ah...right, I sometimes ask you for some pocket money, but I don't actually spend it. It just adds up little by little..."

Chen Shuo's expression was somewhat unnatural, but Bai Xiaoqi seemed not to notice.

As the two were talking, Walnut, who had been squatting obediently watching the fish by the pond, seemed to have seized the opportunity and suddenly came running over. Its chubby body became particularly agile at this moment. Its paw quickly reached into the bowl of fish food, dipped a handful of fish food, and ran away.

It ran back to the edge of the pond where it had been staying, then lay down again and put its paw, which had been covered in fish food, into the pond.

It had been secretly observing Chen Shuo for a long time. Every time the two-legged beast threw this thing into the water, the fish would automatically swarm around it.

There's hope for catching fish this time.

"Look, Walnut is going to catch fish."

"what?"

Bai Xiaoqi was stunned for a moment, then looked back and saw that it really was true.

At this moment, Walnut was lying on the edge of the pond, struggling to stretch its paw into the water. The paw barely touched the surface of the water, and fish food swam around it in a circle. Several fish were swimming towards it, looking rather silly.

Seeing this, she quickly jumped off Chen Shuo's lap, ran over, grabbed Walnut Fate by the scruff of its neck, lifted it up, pointed it at the fish pond, and began to lecture it with meows.

These fish are so expensive! I only bought ten-centimeter fry, and each one costs fifty yuan. I almost got ruined by this big fat cat just now.

Chen Shuo also came over, wondering if the big fat cat had become intelligent because it had spent too much time with her, or if it was just naturally smart, but it had even learned to use fish food to bait its nest.

He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't witnessed the whole thing with his own eyes.

Whose cat knows how to build a nest?

This cat must be possessed by a spirit.

Chapter 247 Then I'll Leave

"What are you doing in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? And you're dressed like a criminal. And that sack you're carrying, who are you trying to kidnap?"

Around 11 p.m., Chen Shuo was almost asleep when Bai Xiaoqi's commotion woke him up again.

In the middle of the night, her phone rang twice. She picked it up and glanced at it, then, as if she had received a signal, she crawled out of bed, slipped on her slippers, and went into the walk-in closet.

When she came out again, she had changed into a black tracksuit and was carrying the large woven bag she had used when she moved.

"Ya Ya and I have decided that we're going out to tend to the flowers tonight."

"Playing with flowers?"

Chen Shuo was taken aback. "You're going to steal flowers, right? And that huge sack you're carrying, how many are you planning to steal?"

Dressed entirely in black, like someone in a night owl's outfit, especially at night like this, it's easy to associate him with stealing flowers.

"It's not stealing. We just went to the suburbs to pick some wildflowers. We didn't steal anyone else's."

"..."

Chen Shuo hadn't expected Anya to agree to go with Bai Xiaoqi to the countryside to steal—no, to pick flowers. Based on his impression of that woman, she dressed up beautifully every day, wore exquisite makeup, and wore high heels that made a clattering sound when she walked. No matter how you looked at it, she didn't seem like the kind of person who would go to the wild to pick flowers.

After Bai Xiaoqi explained, An Ya understood. She had originally wanted to grow some flowers on her balcony, but she had never grown them before and was afraid that the flowers she bought wouldn't survive. Then she saw that the wildflowers were thriving even though no one cared for them, and they didn't cost any money.

Then the two hit it off and decided in the middle of the night to team up as flower thieves.

Chen Shuo rubbed his forehead. Buying some online wouldn't cost much, so why bother sneaking around digging in the middle of the night?

Damaging the environment is not good.

But the stubborn girl wouldn't listen to him, so he had no choice but to get up, put on his clothes, and go with her. He was worried that the two girls might not be able to pick flowers in the middle of the night and might even get picked themselves instead.

As the two went out and took the elevator, Bai Xiaoqi whispered to him that there was no point in Chen Shuo coming along, "We were originally planning to ride the little turtle, but if you go, there won't be enough room."

"Then I'll go?"

"...I didn't say you couldn't go."

When they went downstairs, Anya was already waiting with a small shovel. She was also dressed in black. It seemed that the two of them had a clear division of labor: one carried the sack and the other carried the shovel. After they succeeded, they would go home and divide the loot.

They have a mature and complete criminal strategy.

"Why did it take you so long to go downstairs? Hey, did you come with me?" Anya said, then noticed Chen Shuo standing next to her.

"Yes, he insisted on coming with us."

"I was just worried about it. Otherwise, do you think I wanted to go?"

It was close to midnight, and the streetlights in the neighborhood were still on, but there were hardly any pedestrians to be seen. Electric bikes couldn't carry three people, so we had to wait for a taxi at the entrance of the neighborhood.

Chen Shuo felt it was time to put buying a car on the agenda, but he was still a little hesitant.

The main reason for this dilemma is that oil prices are too high right now.

I originally planned to wait and see, but after such a long time, all I've seen is prices going up, not down.

As for those electric vehicles, Yangcheng is a small city and there aren't that many charging stations, and this so-called new energy technology is still immature.

The neighborhood is in the city center, which is quite a distance from the suburbs, but wildflowers are very common, and there are quite a few along the roadside.

In May, the transition from spring to summer, it is also a peak flowering season. They spotted their target just as they left the residential area and were about to wait for a car at the intersection.

Clusters of small purple flowers bloomed beside the bushes along the roadside. Two girls, one shining a flashlight and the other opening a photo album on their phone to see what kind of flower it was, were watching.

Chen Shuo glanced at the phone screen. The pictures of wildflowers were categorized and labeled with their names and characteristics.

It seems these two really came prepared, having done a lot of research beforehand and found all the wildflowers that can bloom this season.

"This looks like Viola yedoensis."

"It can also be used in medicine."

"Quick, dig! These wildflowers are quite pretty."

The two quickly agreed on the matter of digging up the flowers with a quick glance and a few words. Inside the large woven bag was a smaller woven bag. Bai Xiaoqi took it out and opened it up. Anya used a small shovel to dig up a plant, roots and all, and put it in the bag. Then she started digging up the second plant.

Chen Shuo stood idly to the side, the night wind carrying a chill, and he tightened his clothes.

The two girls worked together stealthily as flower thieves, and he felt like he was just keeping watch.

I've heard that three or more people constitute a gang crime.

There were three of us, including myself. I don't know if there are any security cameras around here, and it's too dark to see clearly, but there probably are.

As the two dug, they muttered to themselves. Chen Shuo overheard them and said something like, "We can't do things like draining the pond to catch all the fish. Let's dig a little here and a little there. Don't just focus on one place and exploit everyone. Urban development depends on everyone."

Wildflowers are naturally resilient; watering and fertilizing them depend entirely on nature. Since they don't require special care, they have exceptionally strong vitality. Compared to delicate flower varieties, they are remarkably resistant to cold and heat, and they also have a particularly high seed-producing ability.

As long as you don't pluck all the flowers in the same area at once, they will generally grow back soon.

And most importantly, digging for wildflowers is not illegal, as long as you don't dig up endangered species that are classified as first or second level. Apart from being a bit inconsiderate, it's not illegal.

After searching around on his phone, Chen Shuo put it back in his pocket, feeling relieved. Although there were cameras around, as long as he didn't break the law, it wouldn't be a big problem.

He had just moved into his new home and hadn't even enjoyed his good days for long before he was about to get arrested for digging up a few wildflowers.

The two dug up a few plants and then moved on to another spot, searching along the roadside. There were relatively few violets by the roadside, so they didn't dare to dig too much. They gave up after digging up about ten plants, so they basically dug up dandelions.

Dandelions are everywhere by the roadside, plentiful and filling. If Chen Shuo hadn't seen the description next to the picture and then repeatedly confirmed it, he wouldn't have known that these little yellow flowers were actually dandelions.

In his mind, dandelions were the kind of plants that would become bare with just a gust of wind.

So it turns out that dandelions do flower.

I've learned something new.

After digging for a long time, the two of them had only filled the bottom of their large woven bags. Anya shone her flashlight on the surrounding bushes, stood up, and stretched. "Let's go, let's take a taxi to the outskirts."

Chen Shuo couldn't help but ask, "Isn't what you've dug up enough?"

"There are too few kinds of wildflowers in the city, but there are many in the suburbs, and the two of us have to dig in the soil."

"You need to dig up the soil too?"

"Do we have to spend money to buy it?" Bai Xiaoqi asked from the side. It's so silly to have to spend money to buy soil online.

"....All right."

Chen Shuo was speechless.

There are indeed many taxis on the road late at night, but it's easy to get a taxi to the suburbs, but it's almost impossible to get one to return.

To avoid being stranded in the suburbs and unable to return, the three of them first took a taxi to Chen Jianwen and his wife's residential area, intending to wake the elderly couple and then borrow their car.

The knocking and phone call woke Chen Jianwen from his sleep. He opened the door, threw on his clothes, and frowned, saying, "What do you need a car for in the middle of the night?"