Part 2
As Yan You spoke, he clicked on the images of the ecological garden.
The beautiful sunset, the waterfall flowing down, the calm water surface covered in golden light, and the flowers swaying gently in the breeze… Even though Yan You was the original author of this design plan, he couldn’t help but gape in surprise upon seeing the actual scene.
So beautiful… beyond words.
He suddenly felt a surge of numerous impulsesâhe wanted to go to the ecological garden immediately to paint this beautiful scene, to capture this beautiful and vibrant moment.
Hold it in, Yan You.
Distributing the invitation codes and getting down to business was more important.
As Yan You’s teacher, Bai Luo naturally received an invitation code from him immediately. Seeing that it was still early and feeling curious about the natural plants that had allowed his student Yan You to rally himself, Bai Luo logged into Starbuy and went directly to the ecological garden Zhu Ran had built.
After seeing the landscape that looked like a natural gift, the language center in Bai Luo’s brain suddenly went offline. He couldn’t think of any magnificent words or sentences; his mind was blank. In the end, all his praise turned into two words.
“Exquisite.”
The lush green scenery burst into his vision. Various flowers were in full bloom and looked exquisite. Combined with the sound of gurgling water that seemed to cleanse the soul and the refreshing fragrance of the flowers… his vision, hearing, and smell were all enjoying a feast.
Bai Luo couldn’t help but be intoxicated, and it took him a while to snap out of it. He suddenly had a strong urge to paint. He wanted to paint this beautiful scenery, the natural plants, their blooming, and their withering.
He found a spot to sit on the ground and summoned his paintbrush in the holographic world to begin painting.
Bai Luo was one of the most famous painters in the Interstellar today. One of his winter scenes had once sold for over 100 million starcoins, making others look up to him in admiration. However, his output had significantly decreased in the last ten years, with only one painting every three or five years, making his works hard to come by.
Others said that Master Bai had shifted his focus to training students and thus stopped painting himself. But only Bai Luo knew the truth: he stopped painting because he had no inspiration and didn’t know how to start.
The Interstellar was technologically advanced and could achieve planetary travel, but more and more man-made landscapes, synthetic plants, and cold metal were constantly invading his perception and aesthetics. Finally, one day, he could no longer produce any work.
In the face of this, Bai Luo felt helpless but had no choice but to accept the fact. He was old, his inspiration was gone, but his skills were still there, and he could still teach students. So he chose to take on apprentices, hoping they would succeed and carry forward the art of painting.
Although Bai Luo didn’t say it, he had always harbored regrets. But today, he suddenly felt an urge to pick up his brush. So, he painted.
The passion and inspiration surging in his heart turned into stroke after stroke, gradually filling the white canvas. The deep fragrance of the plants soon filled the entire roomâlight, yet soul-soothing. These plants might just be plants to ordinary people, but to artists like Bai Luo, they were art.
After a while, other artists and lucky individuals began to arrive at the mini ecological garden Zhu Ran had established. There was Rachel, the court painter who had painted a portrait of the Interstellar’s highest ruler, Zefaer Sawyer; Solo, who had been named the most outstanding painter in the Interstellar for two consecutive years; and Ke Mu, a junior artist and a lucky draw winner who looked quite young…
Almost everyone who received an invitation code, regardless of their status or what they were currently doing, put down their work and entered the Starbuy holographic world immediately after seeing the preview of the ecological landscape, heading straight for Zhu Ran’s home.
And when they saw such a unique and exquisite landscape, they all felt a resonance from the depths of their souls. Thus, sitting on the ground and beginning to paint became an act they performed without hesitation.
The sound of mixing pigments, the sound of washing brushes, and the sound of brushes hitting the canvas overlapped, harmonizing with the crisp sound of the water. Several painters sat by the natural landscape garden, immersed in their own worlds, focused and undistracted.
In the vast Interstellar, there was finally a fountain of inspiration exclusive to artists.
That day, Bai Luo, who hadn’t uploaded a new work in years, posted a message on his “dusty” Starblog account.
[Bai Luo: At the invitation of my student @YanYou, I have created a painting based on the natural plants Freesia, Daisy, and Lavender from the Starbuy shop, ‘Zhu’s Shadow and Fragrance.’ [Image]]
Once this post was out, the entire painting world was shocked.
“Master Bai actually released a new work? Why wasn’t there any news?” “My god, this painting is so beautiful. Master Bai is truly a star-level treasure of today’s painting world.” “By the way, what are Freesia, Daisy, and Lavender? Does anyone know?” “If you don’t know Freesia, your news is too outdated!”
…
Bai Luo’s painting perfectly showcased the beauty of natural plants. Emerald green leaves filled the entire canvas, and delicate white, purple, and red-centered flowers were in full bloom. These plants were different from any gene-synthesized plants in the Interstellar. They weren’t overly brilliant or complex; they were simple and even looked a bit fragile. Yet, it was these plantsâso out of place in the Interstellar environmentâthat gave all the artists who saw the painting a sense of enlightenment.
So… there are actually plants like this! So beautiful.
There was a sense of pure, quiet tranquility, as if one were in another dimensionâcomfortable and far-reaching.
Those who knew a bit about art discussed:
“Master Bai is still as sharp as ever! How many people were singing a different tune before, saying his inspiration had run dry? Look for yourselves, does this look like his inspiration has run dry?” “This is art! Look at the mess you usually paintâwhat even is that?”
The art masters, however, saw the deeper meaning in Bai Luo’s painting. Rather than saying the painter gave the work life, it was more accurate to say the natural plants gave the painter inspiration. The natural plants in the painting were the key.
The old artists were excited.
“Quick! Go buy me Freesia, Daisy, or Lavender!” “Contact Master Bai immediately and tell him I want to pay him a visit.”
…
The name of natural plants spread widely in the art world, and ‘Zhu’s Shadow and Fragrance’ became a favorite among painters. The number of followers for ‘Zhu’s Shadow and Fragrance’ was surging vertically.
The next day, through Yan You, Zhu Ran received many requests for authorization to use the natural plants. After approving them all, he released a public statement.
[Zhu’s Shadow and Fragrance: I and the designer, Yan You, agree that the plants in the shop and the ecological garden in the community may be used for non-profit painting and creative activities.]
Once this announcement was released, many painters expressed that the shop owner was really ‘nice.’ This way, they could always find inspiration and paint through the ecological garden, which was desperately needed in the Interstellar’s barren artistic environment.
However, eagle-eyed customers who weren’t artists noticed that Zhu Ran’s statement mentioned a “community ecological garden.”
?
Shop owner, what have you been doing secretly? You set up another ecological garden in the community? And it seems to be open only to artists? Is there something that we, your distinguished VIP customers, can’t see?
Wait… ‘Zhu’s Shadow and Fragrance’ didn’t actually have a VIP system, so they weren’t really distinguished VIP customers.
…
Shop owner, if you have the ability to create another ecological garden, why don’t you have the ability to show it? Show it! We want to see it!
However, soon, the disgruntled customers saw the new arrival preview for ‘Zhu’s Shadow and Fragrance.’
[Zhu’s Shadow and Fragrance: Tomorrow at 3:00 PM, five pots of the new product, Lavender, will be listed. The ecological garden in the shop will also be updated simultaneously. Please stay tuned.]
The people who were originally angry immediately shifted their attention to tomorrow’s new productâcrowding together and eager to try.
The freesia personal shoppers were frantically grabbing stock. The daisies were regarded as treasures by artists, and regular people couldn’t get them either. The new lavender… it wasn’t a “love-seeking” holy item, nor was it a source of art. They should have a good chance of buying it, right?
“I will definitely snag the lavender tomorrow!” “I’ve had insomnia for almost half a year. I beg you kind people to let me have the lavender! I’ll buy it at a high price.” “The purple of the lavender really suits me; I want it.”
…
Below the shop update, the number of comments exceeded a thousand within a minute and was still growing. The newly followed artists were also eager, expressing that they would join the battle to grab lavender tomorrow as well.
Others were suddenly dumbfounded:
?
Why… do so many people want lavender? Is this lavender… really going to be easy to grab?
Translator’s Note
Terms Recap:
- Starbuy (ćčłź): The major e-commerce platform in this universe. Think of it as an interstellar version of Taobao or Amazon.
- Star Red Flower & Fish Scale Narcissus (ćç´ čą & ééąć°´äť): These are synthetic, genetically modified plants common in the interstellar era. They are often flashy but lack the “soul” of natural plants.
- Starblog (ćĺ): The interstellar equivalent of Weibo or Twitter.
- Xilan District (溪čĺ°ĺ): A district in the virtual community. “Xi” (溪) means stream, and “Lan” (č) means blueâvery fitting for the watery ecological garden Zhu Ran built!
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