The Florist's Dominance

Chapter 1

"Elysia, congratulations! Your name is on the VIT website!"

The woman showed her smartphone screen to her friends. There, Elysia Harris's name appeared in the VIT Innovators Under 35 finalist nominations. The Vecredal University graduates cheered while also feeling envious of the purple-haired woman.

"This is seriously cool! Congratulations, Elysia! After this, more sponsors will definitely come for your AEON project!"

VIT Technology Review's Innovators Under 35 was one of the most prestigious awards in the technology world for young people. It was like a lifetime achievement for most people.

"With this, your dream of saving more trauma victims will soon come true!"

"Honestly, I'm jealous of you. You're not just this year's best graduate. Your work also made it to the VIT Innovators Under 35 finalist nominations!"

"But who am I compared to a genius like you?"

They all laughed together.

At the same time, Adrian Reid stood under a maple tree, watching his girlfriend. Then the tall, black-haired man's gaze fell on the ring box in his hand.

"Finally, our graduation day has come."

"I hope Elysia likes my surprise."

Not long after, five aerobatic planes flew across the Vecredal University sky and wrote digital letters with the sentence: "Elysia Harris, Congratulations!"

Elysia's friends squinted as they looked at the sky.

"Elysia! Look!"

"Oh my god! Who did this?"

Another skywriting team came and wrote the next sentence in the sky.

"You are the best student this year!"

"You make me proud!"

The Vecredal University graduates and their families, who had been busy taking photos, stopped. Now their cameras focused on the sky.

It didn't stop there. Five more aerobatic planes wrote in the sky.

"But I'm even prouder of you..."

"Because you are my soulmate..."

The planes coordinated sophisticatedly, refreshing the smoke at the exact same points so that the messages written in the sky remained suspended in the air.

Next, five other planes maneuvered in the air, then drew a heart in the sky. They formed a formation so that the smoke produced read: "Will you marry me, My Love?"

The girls at Vecredal University screamed hysterically.

"Aaaaaa! This is so sweet!"

"OMG! Who is that guy?"

"It must be Elysia's boyfriend!"

"What? Are you serious?"

The woman with heavy makeup laughed.

"Elysia's current boyfriend is Adrian Reid! He's nothing but a poor loser on campus!"

The graduates crowding around Elysia asked, "Be honest, Elysia! Who is that man?"

"There's no way this is Adrian, right?"

Elysia, also looking at the sky, answered confusedly, "I don't know."

"But I'm sure this isn't Adrian."

Elysia's friends' eyes widened.

"You don't know? What's wrong with you?"

"How can a man put this much effort into proposing to you and you don't know who he is?"

"Just admit it! You've secretly been in a relationship with Zak!"

Elysia laughed nervously. "You're crazy. We're just friends."

Zak Rogers was a handsome student from a second-tier family at Vecredal University. He was one of the most attractive students on campus and the dream of many girls.

Moreover, Zak and Elysia both came from the Biomedical Engineering department. This was different from Adrian, who came from the Biology department.

The cameras that had been focused on the sky now turned to Elysia. Suddenly, they felt the need to know the latest gossip on campus on their graduation day.

"Friends? Are you sure? But he did this for you?"

"You've also worked on many campus projects together, right?"

"And AEON's current success must also be because of his help!"

"Elysia, don't be shy! Just admit it! This is for your future too!"

"That's right! Rather than hoping for a florist man with no future like Adrian, Zak is a hundred times better!"

"Agreed! The difference between them is like earth and sky!"

"If I were you, I wouldn't think twice. Just break up with Adrian and accept Zak's proposal!"

"Ah, same here!"

They laughed together.

At the same time, Adrian, still under the maple tree, faintly heard their laughter. He was very sure of his decision to propose to Elysia. Then, he walked toward the crowd of graduates surrounding Elysia.

He greeted her, "Elys. I hope you like my surprise."

At first, the girls didn't care about Adrian's arrival. But Adrian's words made them all stop and turn to him.

"Surprise?"

They couldn't fathom how an orphaned student who had to work while studying could claim to have put on that spectacular show for Elysia.

One of them sneered, "You? How dare you take credit!"

"Who do you think you are?"

"The richest person in Vecredal?"

They all laughed at Adrian, and only Elysia remained silent. Even so, her face flushed with embarrassment at having a boyfriend who didn't know his place.

Elysia warned him, "Ad, please don't talk carelessly. All the cameras are watching you now!"

"You can't take credit for someone else's actions!"

The black-haired man's brow furrowed. Then he answered calmly, "Why should I be embarrassed? I'm telling the truth. I've been planning this for a long time."

Then he took out a velvet box and showed a two-carat diamond ring to Elysia. "I'm serious, Elys. Will you marry me?"

Right at that moment, a blond man still wearing his graduation gown walked toward Elysia carrying a bouquet of flowers.

A woman pointed at him. "Look! It's Zak!"

"Oh my god, he really came!"