Chapter 5: 005
The intensely imposing delivery man nearly scared Zhu Ran sick. After resting for a while, he began his follow-up work.
Originally, Zhu Ran had planned to catalyze another seed today, but because there was no sun, his energy was lacking, and he had just suffered a scare. Therefore, Zhu Ran decided to catalyze the small Freesia cutting instead.
Catalyzing a cutting required much less spiritual power than making a seed sprout, well within what Zhu Ran could withstand today.
He spread out his spiritual power to envelop the newly snipped cutting.
Upon contact with Zhu Ran’s spiritual power, the Freesia cutting grew rapidly. In just a few seconds, it shot up to about 25cm, and several flower buds appeared at the top of the stem.
After reaching this stage, Zhu Ran withdrew his spiritual power. He intended to let the Freesia grow on its own; it should grow into a lush bouquet by tomorrow.
Familiar with the process, he injected his spiritual power into the purified water of the test tube holding the cutting and reinforced the spiritual isolation net.
After finishing this, Zhu Ran decided to go online to look for nice-looking containers to hold the plants.
Although the shop’s income hadn’t arrived in his account yet and he still only had around 70 Star Coins on hand, taking a look and adding things to his shopping cart in advance was fine.
Thinking this, Zhu Ran logged into the Xinggou holographic network and started window-shopping.
This time, the system randomly dropped Zhu Ran into East District 46.
Compared to West District 10 from yesterday, the foot traffic in East District 46 was clearly much sparser. The shops here didn’t employ flashy hawking, instead solidly displaying their goods.
Though it was a bit deserted, it was peacefully quiet.
As a street with a higher number, East District 46 probably understood its shops couldn’t compete with the streets at the front, so it focused primarily on selling cheap, good-quality daily necessities.
3 Star Coin toothbrushes and toothpaste, 5 Star Coin towels, 2 Star Coin tissues, 1 Star Coin near-expired nutrient solutions… and so on.
Not only were the items cheap, but the packaging was also particularly cute, making them very popular among students or people tight on money.
As Zhu Ran strolled along, he saved quite a few items to his favorites folder.
And don’t look down on the cheap prices here—buying a little bit here and a little bit there quickly added up to over a hundred.
It can only be said that shopping is truly addictive. No wonder interstellar citizens loved browsing Xinggou so much.
For Zhu Ran, who hadn’t really enjoyed a relaxing shopping trip before, casually strolling and buying held immense appeal.
Had his pockets not been empty, Zhu Ran would definitely have shopped till he dropped, receiving packages until his hands went soft.
As Zhu Ran strolled, his mood also relaxed, and the discomfort brought by Delivery person Z subsided significantly.
But he didn’t forget his main task.
He arrived at the entrance of a shop selling utensils to choose containers for the plants. Because the shop owner was closing down the business, they were clearing out all containers at exceptionally cheap prices.
Macaron-colored clay vases, thick-glass polygonal vessels, metallic containers in black and white, starry-sky projection vessels… all sorts of containers were available.
Prices ranged from 3 Star Coins to 35 Star Coins, with free shipping for orders over 10 Star Coins. Although some designer vessels were more expensive, the basic models were cheaper than the ones Zhu Ran had seen before.
Zhu Ran tried adding some to his cart and checked the logistics.
It would take about 3 days to deliver to his house, which wasn’t too long. So, Zhu Ran picked out 3 tender green clay vases, spending 12 Star Coins.
At this point, his account balance was left with only 63 Star Coins.
It wasn’t until Zhu Ran exited the Xinggou APP and returned to reality that he realized… huh, didn’t he say he was just going to look and not buy? How did he end up placing an order?
Zhu Ran was puzzled.
Zhu Ran decided not to think about it.
Zhu Ran decided to sleep.
Jialan Comprehensive University
Qin Ke was particularly excited today. His eyes were even brighter than usual, as if holding stars. Even when he was made to stand as punishment by his instructor for losing focus during class, he kept grinning foolishly.
As soon as class ended, he returned to his dorm and retrieved the Freesia from the Xinggou APP’s spatial storage point.
The Freesia looked even more vibrant in reality than in the holographic world.
The rush of greenery, mixed with the unique fragrance of the plant, made Qin Ke involuntarily inhale deeply, and then again.
It smells so good…
He was starting to feel like he couldn’t put it down.
“The shop owner used spiritual power to weave an isolation net, and the water soaking the roots of the Freesia is also infused with a lot of spiritual power. This way, this fragile natural plant can survive for about 3 days!”
Qin Ke sensed the spiritual power radiating from the Freesia and analyzed the approximate time the store owner’s method would allow the natural plant to survive in the interstellar environment.
Natural plants exposed to the interstellar environment typically only survived for a day, or even half a day.
The shop owner using this method to extend the natural plant’s flowering period made Qin Ke feel quite favorable towards them.
It was just…
“Why use a nutrient solution test tube to hold the Freesia? Is there some reason? I want to change the container, but I’m afraid of ruining the ecological base…”
Looking at the crude nutrient solution test tube that completely mismatched the Freesia’s status, Qin Ke frowned.
“Forget it, the store owner probably cultivated it by accident and didn’t prepare a specialized container. I’ll just wrap the test tube in ribbon later to dress it up.”
“Hmm… what color ribbon should I use? Light blue is nice, it suits Mu Qingzhou’s temperament, but maybe red is okay too? Bright red is so lively…”
Qin Ke had already pictured the owner of [Zhuying Anxiang] as a rugged, scruffy older man who had accidentally cultivated a natural plant.
It never crossed his mind that Zhu Ran used a test tube for the Freesia simply because he was poor…
Qin Ke spent 200 Star Coins to wrap the test tube holding the Freesia. On a light blue base, he tied a bright, vibrant red paper flower.
He didn’t want to keep bothering Mu Qingzhou and annoying him, so he placed the bouquet at the door of Mu Qingzhou’s dorm and left a card.
After doing all this, Qin Ke took another lingering sniff of the Freesia’s scent before reluctantly leaving.
It smells so good.
I hope Mu Qingzhou likes it!
(20 minutes later)
After Mu Qingzhou finished his afternoon classes and added two sets of workouts for himself, he returned to his dorm door.
His aura was icy and cold, yet as tranquil as water.
His long, narrow, phoenix-like eyes gave him an extremely classical beauty, and paired with his cascading long black hair, his temperament was uniquely distinct.
Even though it was currently December, he was only wearing a thin, pure white shirt, which accentuated his cold and aloof temperament even more.
Seeing an extra bouquet of flowers at his dorm door, Mu Qingzhou wasn’t surprised.
Since childhood, he had been very popular and received gifts until his hands were soft. Because he was too popular, he started putting on a cold face, attempting to drive people away with this method. But who knew that after he put on a cold face, he seemed to become even more popular.
Mu Qingzhou bent down and picked up the white bouquet.
He examined this bouquet, or more accurately, this ‘plant’, for a moment.
The flowers were pure and flawless, small and delicate, while the leaves below were full of vitality, adding a touch of warmth to the cold winter day.
Is this… a natural plant?
Mu Qingzhou was somewhat surprised that he could see a monopolized natural plant.
One must know that even standing at the pinnacle of interstellar power within the Mu family, Mu Qingzhou had never seen a natural plant in reality.
Was it accidentally cultivated?
Mu Qingzhou lowered his eyes.
His fingers involuntarily toyed with the lush green leaves, feeling the touch of plant fibers.
This gift is a bit precious; I have to return it.
Thinking this, he pulled out the card on the bouquet.
[TO: Mu Qingzhou
This is a bouquet of Freesia flowers I randomly found on Xinggou. I think it suits you very well, so I wanted to give it to you.
If possible, I’d like to be friends with you.
From
Qin Ke
Starcom ID: 19385****]
Mu Qingzhou remembered Qin Ke; he was a first-year freshman this year, simple and passionate, like a little sun.
Qin Ke had given him gifts several times, all of which he had refused. He didn’t expect him to actually send a natural plant this time.
Mu Qingzhou lowered his head and smelled the flower again. The light fragrance was very pleasant.
After a moment of hesitation, he took the bouquet into his room.
He didn’t dislike this bouquet of flowers. Whether it was the fragrance or the tiny flowers, it completely aligned with his aesthetics.
Since he liked it, he would keep it.
“I’ll give the money to Qin Ke and consider it bought by me.”
With that thought, he took a shower, changed into fluffy, warm loungewear, picked up his optical computer, sat by the table where the Freesia was placed, and began studying obscure interstellar documents.
His schedule read:
Time: 16:00~17:30
Task: Analyze documents and complete a report
Mu Qingzhou went about his life systematically according to the items on his schedule, operating like a precise AI instrument.
Wake up at 6:00, morning training for 1 hour, breakfast at 7:30, class at 8:00…
Every day from 6:00 AM to 12:00 AM, Mu Qingzhou’s itinerary was pre-arranged. Even when feeling unwell, the disciplined man had never deviated from his schedule.
His spiritual sea seemed to be aching faintly, but it didn’t matter, he could still endure it.
He pressed his knuckles against his temples, massaging them while forcing himself to focus on the document.
The indoor temperature was around 20 degrees, and the room was brightly lit.
The sparkling water placed on the table made faint ‘pop’ ‘pop’ sounds as bubbles burst.
The Freesia grew perfectly under the spiritual isolation net, emitting a curling fragrance that quickly filled the corner of the table with its fresh scent.
A moment later, with a slight rustling sound, the optical computer in Mu Qingzhou’s hands slipped onto his blanket-covered lap.
His black hair fell over his shoulders, and his usually cold face revealed a peaceful expression.
He had fallen asleep.
…
By the time Mu Qingzhou woke up again, 40 minutes had passed.
The time was 16:50.
Having taken a brief nap, he quickly made himself alert.
He frowned.
“How did I… fall asleep?”
Mu Qingzhou had never experienced a deviation from his daily schedule, but today, a tiny accident had broken his long-standing operational track.
This had never happened in his 23 years of life.
After pondering for a moment, his gaze landed on the Freesia by the table.
“Is it because… of you?”
Right now, Mu Qingzhou’s forehead had broken into a thin sweat from the heat, and his cheeks were tinged with a slight flush.
In a room with a temperature of 20 degrees, wearing thick, fluffy pajamas, it would be strange if he weren’t hot.
It was just… he seemed completely oblivious to it.
He reached out and touched the Freesia again.
Complex thoughts churned in the depths of his dark eyes. After turning it over in his mind a thousand times, he finally made a decision.
Mu Qingzhou added Qin Ke’s Starcom and got straight to the point.
[Mu Qingzhou: How much was the Freesia, I’ll transfer it to you.]
[Mu Qingzhou: I really like it, can you tell me the store’s name?]
After sending those two lines, Mu Qingzhou placed the Freesia in front of him.
He gently stroked its leaves one by one, as if touching some precious treasure. His dark eyes were entirely occupied by the green plant, his gaze focused and carrying a hint of infatuation.
He lightly rubbed the leaves, feeling the cool temperature from his fingertips, entirely unwilling to let go.
Mu Qingzhou brought the fingers that had touched the leaves to his nose and sniffed. The faint scent wrapped closely around his sense of smell, filling it completely. In his unchanging, barren world of ice and snow, a delicate little white flower had bloomed.
The corners of his lips curved into a small smile: “Smells so good.”
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