Red Rose [Never Let You Go, Again Book 3]

25: Free Bird

"A-Ning?"

Wen Ning jumped. "A-Qiang! When did you come?"

"While ago. You didn't notice me. What's wrong?" Lan Qiang asked as she walked into the flowery garden.

"N– Nothing!" Wen Ning quickly stuffed whatever he'd been holding in his hands into his sleeve. I have to do it. Slowly, Wen Ning nodded to himself before sitting down on the grass. "A-Qiang, want to come and sit here?" He patted the grass.

"Mn," Lan Qiang smiled and lay down beside him. "Sky's beautiful."

"Sure is," Wen Ning nodded as he looked up at the twinkling stars and lied down beside his own star. "A-Qiang?"

"Mn?"

"Have you ever met my sister?"

"Wen Qing?" Lan Qiang thought for a while. "No, I left Cloud Recesses too early for that."

"Oh, I see."

"But I have heard of her skills and wisdom and her sacrifice for Ying-ge. And then there's you."

"Me?"

"She brought you up. She has to be sweet."

Wen Ning pursed his lips to stifle the grin. "She is."

'Take it slow, A-Ning,' he recalled Wei Wuxian telling him.

"A-Qiang, you know how both Wen Qing is my sister and Wei Wuxian is as close as my brother, right?"

"Mn. Ying-ge is your brother."

"They're the only ones I treasure in my life. All I have for a family were Jiejie, Ying-ge and A-Yuan."

"Well, what about me?" Lan Qiang turned to face him.

Wen Ning took a deep breath. "You're as pretty as jiejie, as kind as Ying-ge and as smart as A-Yuan. And stronger than them all like Second Young Master Lan and Zewu-Jun. You..." Gulp. "You're as close to my heart as my family. But... N– Not as a sister..."

Lan Qiang held back the smile and raised her eyebrows. "Mn."

Wen Ning sat up and brought something out from his sleeve. "A-Qiang."

"Mn?" Lan Qiang rose and sat before him.

"This is for you."

Lan Qiang looked down at the object in his hands. A cluster of small red flowers. Deep red, as red as Wei Wuxian's dark blood. With a dark brown centre. They look like wildflowers... she thought as she lowly took the bouquet. Something told her to sniff it so she brought it up to her nose and took in the fragrance.

And then she gasped. "Mm! This smell!" She beamed at Wen Ning. "How's that possible?"

"Chocolate Cosmos," Wen Ning smiled. "Smell like chocolate. Knew you'd like them."

"Isn't this supposed to be extinct?"

"I had to look around. Found them in a little shop selling the rarest flowers, somewhere outside Bailing. Zizhen found the shop."

"This must have been expensive," Lan Qiang narrowed her eyes at him. "Just what did you do?" 

"Erm... A bit... One large bouquet of my pink roses made up for it, though."

"You did barter trade?" Lan Qiang's golden eyes swelled. "Since when are you a businessman?"

"Oh no, Ying-ge suggested it. Just this once."

"Just to get these flowers?" Lan Qiang smiled at him.

"Well... I... Thought you knew their meaning..."