She was sure Qin Jiran knew that she wasn't fond of flowers, so why would he give her one? Was this one of his attempts to convince her not to reject him?

  "En! Uncle Ji said that flowers could be used to express unspoken words to other people. Is it true, Mommy?" Xiao Bao asked curiously. This was the first time he heard something like this about flowers.

  "I'm not sure, Baobao. Perhaps we can search what the flower means?" Tang Moyu replied, bringing her son back to his feet, noticing that he was getting heavier lately. "What did you bring for me, Xiao Bao?"

  "Ah!" Xiao Bao exclaimed before carefully getting his pot of flowers on top of the table and presented it to his mother. "I bought you hydrangeas while Uncle Ji chose the yellow daffodils."

  Tang Moyu accepted the pot of hydrangeas from her son and placed it on top of her desk, beside the framed photograph of her cute little buns. Meanwhile, Song Fengyan followed her lead and placed the bouquet of yellow daffodils on top of her desk, excusing himself as his phone started to ring nonstop.

  The empress nodded at him and watched him leave the room, leaving her alone with Xiao Bao.

  "But why hydrangeas?" She asked while gently touching the purple flowers her son had given her.

  She took a seat and let Xiao Bao sit on her lap, when he asked for it. Xiao Bao settled in her lap and looked at her desktop monitor with curiosity.

  "Why don't we look for the answers together, Mommy?" He suggested, eager to know the meaning behind the flowers he and his Daddy Ji gave to his Mommy.

  "Hmm, good idea." Tang Moyu powered up her desktop and waited for it to boot up before hitting the search engine for what hydrangeas symbolized.

  Several results popped out from her initial search. Clicking the first link on the first page, Tang Moyu frowned when she read what hydrangeas meant. The hydrangea had a wide range of meanings, from heartfelt emotion to gratitude to boastfulness.

  Did Qin Jiran choose this flower for her or it was just a coincidence?

  'Hydrangeas became associated with boastfulness and vanity because they produce magnificent flowers, but very few seeds. They were also given to people who turned down love interests as signs that they were cold or frigid.'

  Was this what Qin Jiran thought of her? She hoped not. She didn't think he was the kind of man who would look down on her but… why did she feel disturbed by the possibility that he also thought of her as cold or frigid?

  If it was another person who associated her with those words, Tang Moyu wouldn't have any qualms about it. She'd been called like that since she was young. Technically, she turned down Qin Jiran, but she didn't think he would take it seriously.

  Was this the unspoken message Qin Jiran wanted to tell her? Tang Moyu wondered. Did Qin Jiran have this desire to understand her?

  "Did your Uncle Ji choose this flower, Xiao Bao?" She asked her son.

  Xiao Bao shook his head.

  "It was the pretty sister at the shop who suggested it. You don't like it, Mommy?"

  "I don't like it…" Tang Moyu watched as her son's face fell. "Because I love it. My dear Baobao gave it to me. Why would I hate it, eh?"

  Xiao Bao pouted at his mother and crossed his arms over his chest.

  "Mommy is teasing me again!" He complained, then remembering something… "Then what does the yellow daffodils mean then?"

  Tang Moyu eyed the bouquet of yellow daffodils Qin Jiran had given her. Daffodils bloom during spring and she wasn't surprised that he decided to give this flower instead of roses but what did daffodils mean?

  She took the bouquet from her desk and touched its flowers. Her eyes then caught a small card hidden among its stems. Tang Moyu plucked the card out and read the neat handwriting on it.

  'The sun is always shining when I'm with you.'

  Her eyes widened. There was no doubt that this was Qin Jiran's handwriting. Her breath hitched and she felt her heart painfully thud inside her chest. What was this supposed to mean?

  This was the first time she was being compared or associated with warmth. People always assumed that she was unfeeling, that she didn't give a damn care about people around her, when in fact it was the other way around.

  Qin Jiran had been the first who didn't associate her with the chilling coldness of an iceberg.

  Hitting a quick search again, Tang Moyu found the answers.

  'Regard; Unrequited Love; You're the Only One.'

  Tang Moyu was lost for words at that moment. Was this what Qin Jiran truly felt for her?

  She didn't know how to react to those indirect confessions from the man whom she thought would be better without her. She thought that by rejecting him, she was sparing him the trouble she might cause in the future.

  She believed Qin Jiran didn't deserve to be dragged into the nasty rumors about her. He deserved to be with someone who would be able to give everything to him, which she couldn't and wouldn't be able to give back.

  How was she supposed to return his feelings when she didn't understand it herself?

  For someone like her who had practically zero experience in romance and dating, how would she be able to reciprocate his feelings?

  'The daffodil symbolizes rebirth and new beginnings. It became associated with new beginnings and the coming of spring because it is one of the first perennials to bloom after the winter frost.' She continued to read.

  Rebirth and new beginnings? Did she even deserve it?

  The empress didn't need a rebirth if it meant losing her precious little buns.