Chapter 014: Campus Mary Sue 12

What did Senior Sister mean by her words? Ke Yuandao was still dazed as he left, and even after returning home, he lay tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep until midnight.

“Ding dong!” The phone by his bedside flashed.

Ke Yuandao reached for it, opened the latest message, and when he saw the content, he shot up with a start.

The number was unfamiliar. The sender had simply written: “Little junior brother, the roses today were delicious. Thank you.”

Senior… Senior Sister! Ke Yuandao was overwhelmed, clutching his phone in excitement.

“Where did you buy them?”

“I grew them myself,” Ke Yuandao replied quickly.

He thought for a moment and added, “If you like them, Senior Sister, I’ll bring you more tomorrow.”

“All right, I’ll be waiting.”

Ke Yuandao stared at the message, his ears burning red.

He held the phone tightly and rolled around on the bed like a child, unable to contain his joy.

“Well, Senior Sister, you should rest early. Tomorrow I’ll pick the prettiest fresh flowers for you.”

“Okay, you should rest early too. Good night!”

Receiving those two words, good night, sent another wave of excitement through Ke Yuandao. After a while, he calmed down.

Something came to mind, his smile faded, and he got up, heading outside.

He was so happy he nearly forgot there was something unresolved from today.

Just as he stepped out of his room, he bumped into his eldest brother returning from a night shift at the hospital. After being dismissed by Le Yixian, Ke Family’s eldest son had officially transferred back to work as a doctor, and was always busy.

“Little Dao, you’re still up?” His brother asked, looking tired.

“Yes, I wanted to check on the lab,” Ke Yuandao nodded.

“Your experiment isn’t finished yet?” His brother was surprised.

“There’s still a bit to go,” Ke Yuandao replied vaguely.

His brother patted his shoulder. “Don’t overwork yourself. You’re still a student. Achievements can wait until you’re older.”

“I don’t care about achievements,” Ke Yuandao answered directly.

His brother paused. “…Alright. If you need anything, let me know.”

“Okay,” Ke Yuandao nodded.

That night, Ke Yuandao stayed at the research institute until late, only returning to his room in the early hours.

The next morning, the eastern sky was gray, but he woke up full of energy.

After a quick wash, he grabbed a basket and scissors and headed straight for the back garden.

He wandered among blooming roses of every color.

In the peaceful dawn, the sound of snipping echoed from time to time.

After carefully selecting, his bamboo basket was quickly filled with blossoms.

Once he finished picking, he hurried back to his room, changed into a clean school uniform, and rushed out.

The Ke family, renowned for generations of doctors, always valued health. By morning, the family was already gathered at the breakfast table.

They watched as Ke Yuandao came downstairs carrying a basket brimming with roses, greeted them, and walked straight out.

The family exchanged puzzled glances.

After a moment, Ke’s mother spoke in surprise, “Did Little Dao just take a basket of roses?”

Ke’s father nodded, picking up his soy milk, “Yes.”

“He’s usually so fond of his roses—now he’s picking them?”

Ke Yuandao had always been obedient, but ever since he was eight, for reasons unknown, he became obsessed with growing roses. At first, his parents thought it was just a whim, but it lasted to this day.

No one else was allowed to touch them, either.

Though they were curious, they didn’t worry; Ke Yuandao had always been independent, and they trusted him.

Later that day, when Ke’s mother went to give Miss Li her routine check-up, she noticed several vibrant bouquets of roses in the girl’s room, but thought nothing of it.

Until one day, running late in the evening, she hurried to the Li residence and happened to see her son walking out of the gate.

Ke’s mother stopped in her tracks.

Oh heavens!

That night, she couldn’t sleep. Her son had fallen for Miss Li—this was a tricky situation.

Their family’s wealth was nothing compared to hers, and if she remembered correctly, the girl was engaged to the son of the An family.

What should she do?

Even if the engagement didn’t exist, would the girl look down on them for being poor?

Ke’s mother spent a sleepless night, and when she got up the next morning, dark circles under her eyes, she sat on the bed, dazed.

Her well-maintained face was wrinkled with worry. Thinking carefully, they really were quite poor—aside from a hundred or so hospitals in the country, there was nothing else worth mentioning.

So poor. From today on, she couldn’t waste money; she needed to help her son save for a dowry… No, for bride price! Ke’s mother sighed deeply.

Just then, a bouquet of bright red roses appeared out of nowhere before her, startling her.

Coming to her senses, she saw her husband’s ever-unruly face and glared at him. “What are you doing so early in the morning?”

“Wife, today’s our thirtieth wedding anniversary,” he said, a bit hurt by her outburst. “I even prepared a surprise for you!”

“Anniversary?” She thought for a moment. It did sound familiar.

“Guess what the surprise is?” He smiled, looking like a puppy eager to please its owner.

“What did you buy?” Seeing his proud expression, Ke’s mother felt a bad omen rise.

Ke’s father pulled out a deep blue gift box from behind his back. “Didn’t you tell me you love the works of Michel from France? I spent a fortune tracking down the Starlight Sapphire set he designed years ago. It cost a fortune, but I got it for you! Open it and see.”

A fortune? Just as Ke’s mother was pondering how to save money, her heart skipped a beat. “How much did you spend?”

“Not much—fifty million!” Ke’s father replied quickly, hoping for praise, but was promptly struck by a flying slipper.

“Ke Aiguo! Fifty million! How could you be so wasteful!” she cried angrily.

“Wife, please don’t hit me!”

The master bedroom upstairs was in chaos when someone knocked on the door outside. “Dad, Mom, are you in there?”

The two inside froze, hurriedly straightening their clothes.

“Come in,” Ke’s father coughed.

It was the weekend, and Ke Yuandao wore casual clothes, looking very youthful.

“Little Dao, did you need something?” Ke’s mother asked, concerned.

Could he be about to confess he had a sweetheart? Oh, what kind of reaction should she have to avoid embarrassing him?

“Yeah,” Ke Yuandao nodded, his gaze shifting from his mother’s face to the roses in his father’s hand, staring as he said, “Dad, why did you pick my roses?!”

“What?! You picked our son’s roses?” Didn’t he know they were meant for his future daughter-in-law?

Ke’s father looked embarrassed. “I only picked a few!”