Chapter 40: 040 Shop Closed for Renovations (Part 1) part 1
Probably because someone was making him uncomfortable in his drowsy state, Zhu Ran frowned slightly, looking somewhat displeased.
However, his tone was soft and devoid of any lethal force. His “Stop it” sounded less like a warning and more like he was acting spoiled.
As he said this, Zhu Ran’s hand waved gently, accidentally brushing against Z’s wrist as Z toyed with his hair.
It made a light sound.
Zhu Ran opened his eyes blearily. Seeing a mass of golden hair before him, he felt reassured and fell back asleep, instinctively hugging his blanket closer.
His breathing was steady, radiating a gentle warmth under the sunlight.
Z’s hand, which had been swatted away, remained frozen in mid-air. For a moment, his body seemed to have hit a pause button, turning rigid.
A moment later, Z’s hand dropped to his side.
Those thoughts of encroachment and possession, those little impulses stirred by Zhu Ran’s scent, and that uncontrollable, parched heat—all were soothed by a single sentence from Zhu Ran.
His greedy longing vanished without a trace. Only the fragrance and warmth lingering on his fingers reminded Z of the tempestuous intentions he had harbored toward Zhu Ran just moments ago.
A sudden calm, yet the undercurrents remained turbulent.
In Z’s blue-and-gold heterochromatic eyes, only one person was reflected.
The other was sleeping peacefully, while he, because of a single unconscious sentence, was left with a heart in disarray, rising and falling with emotion.
He didn’t feel like himself at all.
Z thought that he probably had no way to deal with Zhu Ran.
After gazing at Zhu Ran for a long time, Z reached out to tidy the hair he had messed up, tucked the blanket around him, and then departed.
He went to his own room and sat on the bed, lost in thought.
What exactly was Zhu Ran to him?
He had originally thought it was an instinctive pursuit, but it seemed… it was not limited to that.
All the products sold during the Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance promotion day, including those pre-ordered by old customers, were fully shipped by the following afternoon thanks to the efforts of Zhu Ran and Z.
When Xiaolong finished school, he received the Star Beauty his mother, Zhou Yunjie, had bought for him.
The tiny, chubby plant was currently resting in his palm.
The plant was compact, its leaves were round and adorable, and it radiated the boundless vitality belonging to nature.
Even Xiaolong, who loved metallic mech battles, couldn’t help but lower his breathing and carefully nurture this tiny plant after receiving the Star Beauty.
This was the affinity of nature.
It was so cute.
It was so fragile.
I must protect it well.
Thinking this, the usually somewhat aloof Xiaolong became very light-footed.
“Xiaolong, Xiaolong, what are you holding? Let us see!”
“Wow! It’s so cute! Is it a new toy?”
“Xiaolong, I want to take a look too…”
…
In no time, a circle of peers surrounded Xiaolong. They all stared at the small pot of Star Beauty with focused eyes, their faces full of wonder.
The students, who usually went on Starnet to play games the moment class ended, were now seriously flipping through the natural plant care manual provided by the shop owner. When they encountered words they didn’t know, they even proactively looked up the annotations.
The Star Beauty was treated as a treasure by the children, cherished and loved. From this day forward, in their worldview filled with steel and metal, a place was reserved for delicate, plump plants.
Star Beauty was truly adorable.
Xiaolong thought: Could he become a plant scholar when he grew up and cultivate a whole field of Star Beauties?
Zhang Jiali, an internet worker, was currently slumped listlessly in front of two massive optical computer screens due to continuous overtime.
Her dark circles were very deep, making her already pale complexion look even more lifeless, tinged with a faint greenish-gray.
She clearly looked like she had been staying up far too much.
Just let it all end! Whoever wants this crappy job can have it!
Complaining every day in her heart, Zhang Jiali nonetheless grit her teeth and endured for the sake of the considerable salary.
Just then, with a ding, her Starbuy delivery arrived.
Accompanied by a ripple in space, a palm-sized plant landed in front of her.
Zhang Jiali instantly felt an aura unique to plants, gently soothing her extremely irritable mood.
The succulent, compact plant quickly occupied her field of vision. The base of the leaves was a fresh green, while the rounded tips were a powdery blue.
Her dull eyes, polluted by a day’s worth of code, instantly brightened. “This is Star Beauty… how can it be so cute?”
Zhang Jiali had purchased the Star Beauty during the 11:00 PM surprise restock after seeing the promotion for Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance.
At that time, she was still working overtime, full of resentment. Thinking she should be better to herself, she bought a pot of Star Beauty as a reward.
She had originally only intended to buy it as a decorative piece to look at, but who could have guessed that what the Star Beauty brought her was far more than a simple vase or ornament?
Her heart was no longer restless, her spirit improved significantly, and the gloom from days of overtime dissipated by half after seeing the Star Beauty.
Because her mood had improved, Zhang Jiali’s coding speed also increased. BUGs that usually took until the middle of the night to resolve were actually fixed before 10:00 PM today.
The work orders were cleared, and Zhang Jiali managed a rare, pleasant clock-out before 10:00 PM.
“Star Beauty is truly amazing. The ‘desktop companion plant’ mentioned in the ad lives up to its name. I’m going to share this with my fellow Starnet workers~”
Before long, a post appeared in the “Workers’ Section” of the forum.
[With Star Beauty’s company, I finally got off work before 10:00 PM! (Clock-out record image)]
…
Within half an hour, this post became a trending topic.
Many workers expressed: Is Star Beauty really that magical? I want to try it too.
The natural plant Star Beauty gained a name for itself among the working class in just a single night.
“Zhou Zheng, you stole-picked my lavender!”
Ye Chao pointed a finger at Zhou Zheng, his face full of anger.
Ever since Ye Chao discovered his lavender had been plucked bald by person or persons unknown, he had started keeping a sharper eye out.
Today, Ye Chao had specifically faked sleep and caught him red-handed.
His assistant, Zhou Zheng, was currently plucking a small lavender flower to hide it.
No wonder he felt the lavender was getting balder; it was Zhou Zheng’s doing.
The caught Zhou Zheng was a bit embarrassed, but after a moment, he apologized with a very good attitude. “Sorry, superstar. I haven’t been sleeping well these past few days, so I wanted to use the lavender to save my sleep.”
“Don’t be angry. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have touched your flowers.”
Seeing Zhou Zheng’s good attitude, the originally angry Ye Chao also thought about how Zhou Zheng had been busy day and night for the promotion of his new album. His anger dissipated by half. “If you can’t sleep, just tell me. I can put the lavender in the living room so we can use it together.”
“I’m sorry.”
As Zhou Zheng spoke, he pulled a pot of fiery red roses from his storage space. “Don’t be mad. Look! Your new flowers are here.”
The superstar Ye Chao used Zhou Zheng’s name for his delivery packages. The Red Rose he had pre-ordered during the Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance promotion day had arrived today.
As soon as Ye Chao saw the Red Rose, his slightly drooping dog-like eyes lit up.
Whatever about Zhou Zheng plucking his flowers, whatever unhappiness, whatever crowded schedule—all were thrown to the back of his mind.
Wow~ so delicate and fragile natural plants could also have such an aggressive appearance?
Look at this powerful main stem, look at this thorn-covered look. From the outside, it was practically a lethal weapon.
Yet, on such a stem that practically screamed “do not approach,” bloomed soft, gorgeous red flowers.
The flower buds had beautiful curves, and the teardrop-shaped petals made the buds look full of artistic flair.
It was bold, not hiding its passion at all.
It was beautiful, yet covered in thorns.
Ye Chao suddenly felt a surge of creative desire. He pulled up the composition interface on his optical computer, his hands flying across the screen.
An hour later, Ye Chao snapped out of his creative trance.
He played back the song he had just finished. Although the arrangement was still a bit simple, the overall quality made Ye Chao very satisfied.
This was the song he wanted, the kind that could set the stage on fire.
Suddenly, he looked up, his brown eyes burning with intensity.
He stared straight at Zhou Zheng.
Zhou Zheng suddenly had a bad feeling.
Ye Chao said seriously, “I want to change the title track.”
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