"Do you love what you're doing?" Xu Liang's voice broke the morning silence.
Lin Hua, crouched in the middle of the lotus garden, glanced up, a faint smile tugging at his lips. His hands were deep in the soil, tending to a cluster of newly sprouted flowers. "If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here every morning, would I?" he replied.
Xu stood a few paces away, his elegant robes contrasting starkly with Lin’s simple, mud-streaked clothes. He watched as Lin moved with quiet grace, his fingers gentle as they nurtured each plant. It was a scene he had come to know well—Lin among the flowers, in tune with the earth, a world so different from Xu’s.
"You seem so at peace here," Xu said, stepping closer, the hem of his robes brushing the damp ground. "I envy that."
Lin chuckled softly, his eyes focused on the lotus before him. "The garden listens," he said quietly. "It’s simple. It doesn’t demand anything, only patience. And that’s something I’ve learned to give."
The heir to the Liang family, Xu had never imagined that he would find solace in such a simple place or with such a person. The heavy weight of his family’s expectations and the arranged marriage that loomed over him seemed to fade when he was here, with Lin. His heart beat faster as he observed Lin’s graceful movements.
“Xu,” Lin called softly, glancing up with a smile that made Xu’s heart ache in the most beautiful way. “Are you just going to sit there, or are you going to help me?”
He hesitated for a moment, looking down at his hands—hands that had never known the feel of soil, the roughness of earth beneath his fingertips. But then, Lin extended a hand, still dirty from working in the garden, offering Xu something far more valuable than just an invitation to help.
Xu’s voice was soft, unsure. “I don’t think I should…”
“Come,” Lin urged, “let me teach you.”
Against every rule ingrained in him, Xu stepped forward, kneeling beside Lin on the moist ground. Lin took his hand and placed it on the base of a lotus flower. “Feel this,” Lin said, guiding him. “The roots, they are strong, deep in the mud, but the flower…” Lin’s voice softened as he gently traced the petals with Xu’s hand. “It blooms pure, unstained by the dirt below.”
Xu marveled at the sensation—the coolness of the mud, the softness of the petals. He glanced at Lin, whose face was illuminated by the soft sunlight. How had he, Xu Liang, heir to one of the most respected families, fallen so deeply for someone so far outside the world he had been born into?
Before Xu could respond, a sharp voice pierced the peaceful air of the garden. “Xu Liang!”
Both men froze, their heads snapping toward the source of the voice. Lady Mei, Xu’s mother, stood at the edge of the garden, her face twisted in a mixture of shock and fury. Her elegant robes, lined with gold embroidery, shimmered in the sunlight, and her presence alone seemed to darken the peaceful scene.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, her voice cold and cutting as she stormed toward them. “Why are you down here, in the dirt, like a common laborer?”
Xu scrambled to his feet, his face flushed with embarrassment, while Lin knelt silently, his eyes cast downward in deference. “Mother…” Xu began, but Lady Mei was not interested in explanations.
“And you,” she snapped, her sharp gaze turning to Lin. “How dare you let my son—a Liang—dirty his hands like this? Have you forgotten your place? You are a servant, nothing more!”
Lin kept his eyes lowered, his body still. Xu’s heart pounded in his chest. He had never seen his mother so furious, and the sight of her berating Lin, the man he had come to care for so deeply, filled him with shame and anger.
“Mother, it was my choice,” Xu said, stepping in front of Lin, trying to shield him from her wrath. “Lin didn’t ask me to help. I… I wanted to.”
Lady Mei’s eyes narrowed. “Nonsense. This behavior is unbefitting of the heir to the Liang family. You have responsibilities, Xu Liang—an arranged marriage, obligations to the family name. You cannot simply abandon everything for this—this gardener!”
"What do you mean?" Xu asked, stepping closer to his mother.
She turned to face him, eyes sharp. "And you think I don’t know, Xu?" Her voice was icy but controlled. "Mothers always know. I see everything. You cannot just throw it all away—your future, your duty. Not for this."
Xu clenched his fists at his sides, his frustration bubbling over. “I haven’t abandoned anything,” he said, his voice shaking. “But I… I don’t want the life that has been chosen for me. Not if it means—” He glanced back at Lin, who remained silent, his face pale. “Not if it means giving up what truly matters to me.”
Lady Mei’s lips tightened into a thin line. “What truly matters? You speak of duty, of honor, of family obligations as if they are meaningless. You were born into privilege, into a name that has stood for generations. And yet, you throw it all away for… for this?” She gestured toward Lin, her voice dripping with disdain. “A man? Have you no shame, Xu Liang?”
Xu felt his chest tightened. He had always known that his love for Lin would never be accepted, that it would go against everything his family—and society—believed in. 
A relationship between two men was not only frowned upon; it was seen as an affront to the natural order, to the expectations placed upon him as the heir.
“I cannot deny what I feel, Mother,” Xu said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. “Lin… he’s more than just a gardener to me. He’s… he’s everything.”
Lady Mei’s face paled, her eyes wide with shock. “Everything? You would forsake your duty, your future, for this forbidden affair? Do you even understand the shame you will bring upon this family? How can you expect to continue the Liang lineage, to fulfill your role as heir, if you pursue this path?”
Xu remained silent, his heart heavy with the weight of her words. 
Lin, who had been silent throughout the entire exchange, finally spoke, his voice low and respectful. “Lady Mei, I would never want to bring dishonor to the Liang family. If my presence here is a burden, I will leave.”
“No!” Xu exclaimed, turning to Lin with desperation in his eyes. “You don’t have to go. Please…”
Lady Mei took a step forward, her voice like ice. “You will do no such thing, Lin Hua. You will leave this garden immediately and go back to your village. You are no longer welcome here.”
Xu’s breath caught in his throat. “Mother, please, no! You can’t—”
“I can, and I will,” she interrupted. “This disgraceful relationship ends here. Xu, you are my son, the future of the Liang family. You cannot allow this to continue. Remember your marriage will be next week.”
Xu’s eyes burned with unshed tears, and he turned to Lin, his heart breaking. “Please, Mother, I beg you… Don’t make him leave. He’s the only one who makes me feel alive.”
Lady Mei’s gaze softened slightly, but only for a moment. “Xu… What is this between you two? What kind of madness has taken hold of you?”
Xu looked at her, his eyes pleading. “It’s not madness. It’s love.”
Lady Mei’s face hardened, and she shook her head slowly. “You cannot love him, Xu. Not in this way. Your duty to the family must come first.”
The silence that followed was deafening. Lin stood, finally meeting Lady Mei’s gaze, his expression calm but filled with sadness. “I will leave,” he said quietly. “I will not stand in the way of your family’s honor.”
“No!” Xu cried, grabbing Lin’s arm. “You don’t have to go. Not because of her. Not because of this.”
But Lin’s mind was made up. He gently pulled his arm away, his eyes filled with quiet determination. “It’s better this way, Xu. For both of us.”
Lin to walked away. Xu’s heart shattered into a thousand pieces. He watched helplessly as the man he loved disappeared into the distance, leaving behind nothing but the scent of lotus flowers and the unbearable weight of family duty.