Aiden then noticed that he had taken too much at once and hurriedly explained, "Ah, today I had good luck. I encountered a super rich person. In order to make his female companion happy, he directly threw me a wad of money and bought all the flower baskets."
"Your luck is really good," Aerith said enviously. "I've sold flowers for so many years, and I've never encountered such a generous customer. It's already good if I can sell a few flowers in one night."
"You'll meet one in the future too." As Aiden spoke, he handed that wad of money to Aerith.
"I don't want it. This was earned by you selling flowers." Aerith shook her head.
"But the flowers were given to me by you." Aiden directly grabbed Aerith's hand and placed the money in her palm.
"Besides, I still have to stay at your house for a long time," he added.
"Then... alright." Only then did Aerith accept the money.
Before going home, Aerith dragged Aiden to a nearby shop. After all, they earned so much money tonight, it had to be spent properly.
Of course, nothing good could be bought in the slums, so the two only bought some relatively expensive meat and daily necessities.
After that, they returned home.
Ms. Elmyra didn't go out tonight. She had been waiting for them at home. When she opened the door and saw the two returning with big and small bags, she was a little surprised.
But she didn't ask anything, only asked Aiden if he was hungry.
This made Aerith very dissatisfied because normally her mother would ask her first.
"He's a guest." Elmyra crossed her arms and said to Aerith.
"Hmph!" Aerith pouted and then sat angrily on the sofa, turning on the TV.
Looking at Aerith sulking, Aiden shook his head, then sat next to her, accompanied her in watching TV, and chatted with her for a while.
Not long after, Elmyra came out of the kitchen to call Aiden and Aerith to eat a late-night snack. Of course, Aerith didn't eat much, because she still wanted to keep her figure, so most of the food went into Aiden's stomach.
By the time Aiden was full, Elmyra had already gone to sleep, leaving only Aerith to help clean up the table.
Originally, Aiden wanted to do it himself, but was refused by Aerith, so he could only cross his arms and lean against the door frame, watching her.
"Phew~ Finally done." Aerith wiped her hands with a towel.
Then she turned around and looked at Aiden. "You're still not going to rest?"
"You're busy here, how could I rest with ease?" Aiden shrugged.
"Hmph, at least you have a conscience." Aerith snorted softly, then smiled.
"But since you're already done, then I'll go rest." Aiden stood up straight.
"Mm-hmm." Aerith nodded and waved at Aiden. "See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
———
In the following days, Aiden's life was very regular. During the day, he basically accompanied Aerith to take care of her flower garden, and at night, he accompanied her to various commercial districts to sell flowers.
Of course, occasionally when he had free time, he would still make a trip to Seventh Heaven, drink some wine, and chat a bit.
Aiden originally thought that until the plot officially began, he would continue living this kind of life.
But sometimes, trouble comes knocking on its own.
It was another night selling flowers with Aerith. Like usual, Aiden was holding the flower basket, wandering aimlessly on the street of the commercial district in the Eighth Sector.
But when he walked to the entrance of a luxurious restaurant, he was suddenly stopped by someone.
"Do you want to buy flowers?" Seeing the person in front of him who looked like a bodyguard, Aiden didn't think much, just lazily asked.
"Yes." The bodyguard-like person nodded.
"How many do you want?" Aiden asked. "Thirty-one flowers, no bargaining."
"All of them," the man said.
"All of them?" Aiden instantly perked up, looked down at the flowers in the basket, calculated the price, and said, "A total of 900 bucks, how about it?"
"That's fine." The man nodded, then said, "But the buyer is not me, it's someone else, and they want you to deliver it personally."
"Not delivering." As soon as he heard he had to deliver it himself, Aiden refused right away. He couldn't be bothered to run.
When the man heard Aiden's refusal, he was momentarily stunned, then immediately frowned in dissatisfaction, "Listen, the person buying your flowers is a big figure. Don't refuse to show respect when it's given."
"Take it or leave it." Aiden glanced at him, snorted coldly, and walked past him.
Seeing Aiden walking away, the bodyguard-like man got anxious, and directly reached out to grab Aiden's shoulder.
Sensing the movement behind him, Aiden frowned and was just about to counterattack when suddenly, he heard a mature, alluring female voice.
"Stop."
Then Aiden heard the crisp sound of high heels tapping toward him.
Aiden immediately felt something was wrong, because a person came to his mind.
So he turned around and glanced, and sure enough, it was Scarlet. She was jogging toward him from the restaurant.
"Meeting again, my warrior." Seeing Aiden turn back, Scarlet stopped and stood in front of him with an extremely elegant posture.
Although Aiden really wanted to say he didn't want to meet her again, after thinking about it, he didn't say it aloud. He only asked, "Running out so urgently, was it to pay me back?"
"Is all you ever think about is money?" Scarlet rolled her eyes in annoyance. The man before her seemed really unromantic. Her posture was basically wasted.
"What else? Do you have other business?" Aiden looked Scarlet up and down. He had to admit, Scarlet in her long red dress was truly stunning. Time seemed to have left little trace on her, instead giving her a unique charm, something that couldn't be found on Aerith or Tifa.
Scarlet had been watching Aiden, and seeing him look at her, she didn't show any displeasure. Instead, she even changed her pose, boldly letting him look.
Then, she asked, "Interested in having a drink with me?"
"No." Aiden couldn't possibly drink now, he still had to go back with Aerith later. If she smelled the alcohol, it would be hard to explain.
Although Aiden felt Aerith probably wouldn't say anything anyway.
Aiden's second refusal surprised Scarlet. She looked down at her own outfit, especially her proud figure, and gradually became confused.
Was she really so unattractive?
After thinking, Scarlet said again, "Keep me company for a while, and I'll give you the money."
"Sorry, I sell flowers, not myself." Aiden shook his head and was ready to leave. He no longer intended to take the money, he didn't want to get too involved with Shinra people.
Seeing Aiden was even giving up the money, Scarlet felt disheartened. Then, seeing him turn to leave, she simply followed after him.
"Why are you following me?" Aiden looked at Scarlet, who was just one step behind him, and asked with a bit of a headache.
"I'm not following you." Scarlet put on an innocent expression. "The road is so wide, I can walk however I want. How is that following you?"
"Suit yourself." Aiden didn't want to deal with her. He turned his head and kept walking.
"Hmph!" Seeing Aiden's attitude, Scarlet felt a bit smug, 'Little boy, you can't escape from this big sister's grasp.'
Looking at Scarlet clinging to him like a plaster, Aiden felt helpless. He could only quicken his pace, trying to shake her off.
However, Scarlet seemed to realize his intention. As soon as he sped up, she did too, and even took off her high heels to chase after him.
But Scarlet was someone used to a pampered life. Her feet, wrapped only in stockings, were soon rubbed raw from running on the hard concrete. Her speed gradually slowed down.
Even so, she gritted her teeth and continued to follow Aiden with faltering steps.
Soon, the chase brought them to a quiet, secluded street.
"Ah…"
At that moment, Scarlet finally couldn't take it anymore. She cried out and fell to the ground.
Hearing the painful cry from behind, Aiden initially didn't want to bother. But the sobbing that followed made him stop.
He turned around and looked at Scarlet, her face full of grievance, quietly sobbing.
He furrowed his brows.
"You're almost forty, and you're still playing this trick?" he thought.
To be fair, although Scarlet was the tall, curvy type of blonde mature woman, this delicate, tearful little-woman act of hers still stirred some sympathy.
"Why can't I cry? It really hurts." Scarlet looked up at Aiden. Her eyes were full of tears, completely unlike her usual strong and capable self.
"That's what you deserve. You insisted on following me and even took your shoes off." Aiden looked at Scarlet coldly and spoke indifferently.
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