Chapter 38: 038
The warm sunlight fell upon Mu Qingzhou, draping him in a layer of pale gold.
The blend of warm light and cold frost created a paradoxical sense of beauty.
Zhu Ran was slightly surprised; he hadn’t expected the Ice Butterfly to turn into Mu Qingzhou.
But then he remembered this was the holographic world, where it wasn’t strange for users to change their appearance at will.
“Long time no see,” Zhu Ran greeted naturally. “Are you here to buy natural plants?”
Mu Qingzhou shook his head and said frankly, “Not exactly. I came to see you.”
Zhu Ran was puzzled. “See me?”
The warm hue of the sunlight caught in Mu Qingzhou’s dark pupils, softening his innate aura of frost and snow. “I was worried you’d be affected by the public opinion. But… it’s good to see you’re fine.”
After discovering the crisis facing Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance yesterday, Mu Qingzhou had been constantly worried about Zhu Ran being impacted.
Although he later received a “I’m fine” message from Zhu Ran, without seeing him in person, Mu Qingzhou couldn’t be certain if Zhu Ran was truly alright.
He also knew Zhu Ran had been busy with the shop’s promotion these past two days and had no time for anything else, so he didn’t disturb him. Instead, he stayed near Sector 19, waiting for Zhu Ran to come online.
Fortunately, he had successfully waited for him.
Seeing Mu Qingzhou’s concern, Zhu Ran wore a faint smile. “What happened yesterday really didn’t affect me. Actually, by the time I found out, everything had already settled.”
“Look, there are so many customers waiting at the shop entrance now. Business is great; there are no problems at all.”
“But thank you for caring about me.”
Zhu Ran’s tone was calm and gentle; he truly didn’t sound like someone who had been through trouble.
Seeing this, Mu Qingzhou felt relieved, yet also a bit disappointed.
When such a thing happened, he hadn’t been by Zhu Ran’s side, nor could he do anything for him.
He seemed to be a bit distant from Zhu Ran.
Mu Qingzhou’s gaze fell on the bustling street of Sector 19. The entrance to Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance was swarming with people, all of whom wore joyful smiles.
Compared to his last visit, the area had undergone significant changes.
And these changes had occurred in just the few days he was focused on his exams.
In just a few days of not seeing each other, everything was different.
Mu Qingzhou reigned in the disappointment in his heart and spoke calmly, “The flowers you cultivate are excellent. Everyone will like them.”
“I’ve been a bit busy with final exams these past two days, but I finished the last one today. I’ll be free soon.”
Free soon to come find you.
Mu Qingzhou added inwardly.
No wonder Mu Qingzhou hadn’t sent much news lately; he had been busy with final exams.
Zhu Ran smiled lightly. “Then haven’t you escaped the sea of suffering that is finals? Well, I shouldn’t say that. For someone as smart as you, final exams shouldn’t be difficult, right?”
Zhu Ran remembered that Mu Qingzhou was a prominent figure in the academy and the “Male God” of his customer, “Qin Ke is Very Reliable.”
“I wouldn’t say that. Because my grades have always been good, there’s also pressure. I worry about making mistakes and not doing well.”
“For example, in the theory class I just finished today, the focus points weren’t within the scope of review…”
The two chatted as they walked, the atmosphere relaxed and pleasant. Before they knew it, they had walked half the street.
Mu Qingzhou stopped walking. He turned and gazed down at Zhu Ran with slightly lowered eyes.
Zhu Ran’s image in the holographic world was different from his reality, but that didn’t stop Mu Qingzhou from feeling very comfortable being with him.
He wanted to… stay a bit longer.
Mu Qingzhou thought for a moment. “Mm… I want to watch a short film, about twenty minutes. I wonder if you have time to accompany me?”
“It’s a documentary about the origin of the planets. My classmates have no interest in it.”
The shop promotion was proceeding in an orderly fashion, and a twenty-minute film wasn’t long, so Zhu Ran readily agreed. “Planet origins? I’m interested.”
Mu Qingzhou’s eyes crinkled. “Then let’s go watch it now!”
The two were transported together to the screening room of the holographic world. Mu Qingzhou had bought tickets for a private booth for two.
In the room of about 30 square meters, a soft two-seater sofa was placed in the center, facing a massive curved screen that took up about three walls.
Zhu Ran and Mu Qingzhou sat on the sofa together. The moment the lights dimmed, Zhu Ran subconsciously grabbed Mu Qingzhou’s clothes.
Zhu Ran disliked dark, enclosed spaces; it brought back bad memories.
However, the action of grabbing Mu Qingzhou’s clothes only lasted a moment before Zhu Ran let go.
The latter didn’t seem to notice and focused on the film along with Zhu Ran.
Aside from the initial discomfort when the lights went down, the subsequent experience was fantastic.
This documentary was filmed with high skill. It didn’t hold back on various special effects, giving it the feel of an interstellar blockbuster.
Moreover, as the camera moved, the sofa they sat on would tilt and shake, making it feel as if they were physically present.
“Sorry.”
Because the sofa suddenly tilted to one side, Zhu Ran lost his balance and slid toward Mu Qingzhou, their bodies bumping into each other.
Mu Qingzhou supported Zhu Ran’s arm, helping him steady himself.
“It’s okay.”
With two boom sounds, brilliant explosions of stars filled Zhu Ran’s vision at the end of the film.
Zhu Ran was drawn in by the grand imagery, fully immersed.
Because of this, the focused Zhu Ran didn’t notice that for more than half of the film, Mu Qingzhou’s attention wasn’t on the screen, but on Zhu Ran’s face.
His dark eyes were incredibly focused. Under the intersecting starlight, his eyes reflected only Zhu Ran.
Unfortunately, such a time was too short; the twenty-minute film ended in no time.
Walking out of the screening room, Zhu Ran’s steps were light and joyful.
This was Zhu Ran’s first time watching a film in the interstellar holographic world, and the experience was very novel.
“Thank you for taking me to see the film; it was very good.”
Mu Qingzhou etched the current image of Zhu Ran into his mind. Besides joy, there was also a bit of reluctance.
“There are many other interesting places in Starbuy. I’ll find you again when you’re free.”
Zhu Ran didn’t think much of Mu Qingzhou’s invitation and naturally agreed, “Okay.”
“Then, see you next time.”
With that, Mu Qingzhou bid farewell.
After going offline, Mu Qingzhou stared blankly at the pots of natural plants on his desk.
The freesia and daisy had been sealed in ice by him. Although it preserved the moment of their greatest beauty, it also locked away their fragrance.
The lavender that had arrived just two days ago was in full bloom, elegant, charming, and full of life.
A faint fragrance wafted over, causing Mu Qingzhou to become intoxicated by it.
From the moment Mu Qingzhou obtained the lavender, his sleep time had been longer than before. Simultaneously, he began to dream.
Zhu Ran’s figure was in every one of his dreams—sometimes as the young man in the virtual world, sometimes as the tender, soft image bathed in sunlight from their video calls.
But no matter what Zhu Ran looked like, the person in the dream couldn’t help but reach out to get close, to touch, to embrace.
Mu Qingzhou looked down at his hand for a moment. In the holographic world, he had indeed touched Zhu Ran with his hand.
This gave him a moment of satisfaction.
“We’ll meet soon, Zhu Ran.”
After Mu Qingzhou went offline, Zhu Ran began checking the shop’s interactive comments with a joyful heart.
Around 10:00 PM last night, Zhu Ran had posted the new product preview and asked customers to guess the flower names from the images. The contest ended at midnight, so the time was quite tight.
“I wonder if anyone got the answers right.”
With this question, Zhu Ran flipped through the names the netizens had suggested. Their answers were still all over the place.
For example:
[Red Flame.]
[Anislov’s Sunset.]
[The Green of Death.]
[Gleaming Red and Lush Green.]
…
Some more artistic names were clearly coined by artists and were easy to identify.
As for repetitive names like “Gleaming Red and Lush Green,” they were either jokes from netizens or guesses from children. Although they were far from the correct answers, from an abstract perspective, those two names were quite fitting for the physical objects.
Among the various names, a user with the ID “Prof. Lai” had actually guessed both plant names correctly.
[Prof. Lai: The red one is a Red Rose of the family Rosaceae, genus Rosa. The green one is a Star Beauty of the family Crassulaceae, genus Pachyphytum. I wonder if I’m correct.]
“So impressive, he even got the family and genus right. Is he a natural plant enthusiast or a professional?”
Zhu Ran quickly contacted the person through the Starbuy app.
[Zhu: Congratulations, you got both flower names right. Please private message me your address, contact information, and name. I will arrange for shipment tomorrow.]
Five minutes later, Zhu Ran received the address in reply.
[Prof. Lai: Your plants are cultivated very healthily. If I have any plant-related questions in the future, can I discuss them with you?]
[Zhu: You can.]
[Prof. Lai: Thank you. Sorry for the trouble.]
Lai Ze had taken the day off to stay at home today because he woke up late; he hadn’t gone to the research institute.
Wearing only a pair of casual pants at home, Lai Ze radiated an aggressive wildness that was completely different from his refined and modest appearance at the institute.
The lavender by the bed was blooming profusely. The long-lasting and natural grassy scent made Lai Ze, someone who greeted natural plants almost every day, lose himself in it.
“Lavender… indeed has a sleep-inducing effect.”
Having experienced it personally and consequently oversleeping, Lai Ze didn’t show any frustration.
His gaze fell on the chat with the owner of Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance on his optical computer, and he smiled. “What will you send me? I’m really looking forward to it.”
The sales of [Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance] were simply too good. The items listed every three hours were almost sold out within five minutes of going live.
This was a natural plant priced at over 30,000 credits!
It wasn’t some cheap 50-credit or 500-credit gadget. How could they sell so fast?
This was even with old customers not really participating in the rush and purchase limits in place. If those two restrictions were removed, the sales speed would surely be even faster.
That evening, as the customers were truly too enthusiastic, Zhu Ran estimated the state of his spiritual sea and temporarily listed a few more sets of plants.
He added six pots each of the new Red Rose and the well-received Lavender.
Because the succulent Star Beauty was relatively cheap, many people who were encountering natural plants for the first time would choose to buy a Star Beauty to test the waters.
Stimulating Star Beauty was also relatively easy for Zhu Ran; just a small leaf could be grown into a full plant. The yield was extremely high, so Zhu Ran used two Star Beauty plants to stimulate thirty-five more pots for sale.
The additional forty-seven natural plants went on sale at 11:00 PM.
The customers who happened to catch the surprise restock expressed that the shop owner was truly amazing.
Was there anything to hesitate about?
Buy, buy, buy!
And so, with a few whooshes, the forty-seven temporary plants were sold out again in less than five minutes.
“How come there’s a restock all of a sudden? There was no advance notice. Ugh, I didn’t get one. So sad…”
“A sneak restock of nearly fifty flowers~ the shop owner is too good to us!”
“I got one, hahaha! Shop owner, I love you~”
…
Among the comments, there was surprise, there was regret, and there was non-stop laughter from those who had succeeded.
Everyone expressed unanimous praise for the shop owner’s sudden restock!
The shop owner is great!
I love you, shop owner!
At midnight, the promotional event for Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance concluded.
The day’s sales for Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance reached nearly 10,000,000 credits, the highest sales figure among all recent participants in the one-day promotion for new shops!
Meanwhile, the shop [Designer R], which had received an A-grade promotion during the same period, only had a daily turnover in the millions. After the platform’s cut, they hadn’t even made back the cost of the promotion.
This data slapped certain people in the face. Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance was simply superior, without a doubt.
At the same time, at midnight, the system automatically drew three winners from the customers who had paid that day to receive their orders for free.
The amounts already paid by the users were immediately returned to their Starbuy accounts.
Zhou Yunjie had just spent 12,000 credits at 11:00 PM to buy a Star Beauty for her son.
Half a month’s salary was gone, and Zhou Yunjie felt a bit of a sting in her heart.
However, once midnight passed, she received a system notification from the Starbuy app: [Congratulations, you have been drawn by Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance for a free order…]
Zhou Yunjie simply couldn’t believe it.
What? She, a person who was an “insulator” for winning prizes, actually won a free order?
She confirmed the message again and again. Upon seeing her account balance increase, she was overcome with excitement.
” I actually won a prize! This is truly a good omen. I have to share this news with my best friends.”
With that, Zhou Yunjie sent a screenshot of the free order to her “BFF group.”
[I won a free order! Haha, come and absorb some of my luck!]
The group became incredibly lively in no time:
[That’s such good luck! Slurp, I’m absorbing it.]
[Rubbing off some luck.]
[Am I seeing this right? You won a free order from Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance?! The ads for that shop are so beautiful; I’ve been tempted myself. Waiting for your user feedback.]
…
Another person who won a free order was the old user Qin Ke, who had bought a pre-order Red Rose.
Qin Ke personally loved the color red—vibrant and fiery, how beautiful!
So the moment he saw the roses listed, his eyes went straight.
Qin Ke felt he absolutely had to own it!
On the day the roses were listed, he happened to be in the middle of an exam. Fortunately, the shop owner Zhu had opened pre-orders for old customers, so he didn’t have to scramble.
The shop owner was truly too kind.
And now, having finished a grueling day of final exams, Qin Ke was actually told he won a free order.
Heavens! He must be favored by the God of Luck.
“I have to post this good news.”
After editing the content, Qin Ke learned from his past two mistakes.
This time, he didn’t post on the forum or his friend circle; instead, he posted it in his family group.
Previously, after he posted on the forum, Freesia became a “holy grail for pursuing love” and was impossible to find.
When he posted on his friend circle during finals, Daisy Tea became a “final exam essential,” resulting in him being unable to buy it himself.
This time, he would only show off in the family group… there shouldn’t be any issues now!
In the “Qin Family Happiness” group, a message appeared shortly.
[Qin Ke: [Screenshot] I won a free order, hehe! Little Fire Dragon smirking.JPG]
[Qin Ke’s Dad: Good luck. Why don’t you take the opportunity to pick two stocks and buy them?]
[Qin Ke’s Mom: My baby is so amazing~]
[Qin Ke’s Uncle: [Thumbs up]]
[Qin Ke’s Aunt: [Clapping]]
…
After a string of blessings, Qin Ke’s older sister, Qin Ya, suddenly sent a red envelope that only Qin Ke could claim. The red envelope was worth 30,000 credits.
[Qin Ke: ? Sis? Why send me a red envelope?]
[Qin Ya: I want the Red Rose. You don’t need to return the extra 6,000.]
[Qin Ke: ???]
[Qin Ke: Wait, did I say I was giving it to you?]
[Qin Ya: Be good. I’ll go to your school to pick it up tomorrow. See you tomorrow.]
Qin Ke private messaged Qin Ya to argue with her, but she pulled out a photo of Qin Ke in women’s clothing from when he was sixteen as her trump card.
Helpless, Qin Ke had no choice but to agree to give it to Qin Ya.
[Qin Ya: It’s to be given to a business partner. I heard they’re interested in rare things.]
[Qin Ya: If the partnership is successful, I’ll send you a big red envelope.]
Qin Ke was listless. [Fine… Also, delete that photo of me in women’s clothing right now!]
[Qin Ya: No.]
[Qin Ke: Little Fire Dragon breathing fire.JPG]
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