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The flower vendor said, "Yes, indeed, sir, you have an eye for beauty. You know the Jade Lotus of March is the most beautiful." Saying that, he picked a bundle of white-tinted-with-pink Jade Lotus from a pile of colorful spring flowers.
Quentin Thorne handed over the money and got back into the car with the large bouquet in hand.
The taxi driver glanced at him through the rearview mirror and smiled, "Sir, are you going to meet your lover today?"
Quentin Thorne was taken aback, the shy demeanor akin to a young man first venturing into love quickly vanished, replaced by his usual gentle and elegant manner: "I am meeting a friend from my youth."
The driver smiled and didn't inquire further.
Just this brief interaction drew Professor Thorne, who in a parallel universe held flowers to meet his lover, back into the real world.
