Part 2
Xiaolong pulled at his mother’s sleeve and pointed at the billboard. “Mom, Mom, I want that.”
Zhou Yunjie had also seen the ad. To be honest, she liked the plant herself; it was round, cute, and compact, perfectly matching her aesthetic.
But… this Star Beauty seemed to be a natural plant. That must be very expensive! Could she really afford it?
Xiaolong: “Mom, Mom, can we go buy that now? If you buy that, I promise I’ll study hard.”
Xiaolong had just started the first grade this year, which was the time to build a foundation for learning.
If buying a natural plant could make Xiaolong study hard and, by the way, cultivate his sense of responsibility by caring for it, then even if it cost 30,000 to 50,000 credits, Zhou Yunjie felt she could grit her teeth and buy it.
“Okay, okay, we’ll go check out this shop right now.”
With that, Zhou Yunjie took Xiaolong toward the [Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance] shop in Central Sector 19.
There were all sorts of other people in Starbuy who learned about this shop selling natural plants through the promotion.
“What? There’s actually a shop selling natural plants in Starbuy? Is it that high-end?”
“Natural plants must be expensive… we might not be able to afford them.”
“If we can’t afford it, can’t we still go take a look to broaden our horizons? Looking doesn’t cost money.”
“True, then let’s go have a look!”
There were quite a few people with this thought, and they all headed to Central Sector 19.
“Sector 19 is so lively! It was deserted the last time I came.”
“With this foot traffic, I’d think we were entering some luxury discount season. It’s truly unimaginable.”
“Wow! The shop with the most people in front must be Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance! There are so many people…”
…
[Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance] had enabled the “No-Closure Policy,” so most guests could see the situation inside through the large floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
The small Eco-garden placed in the entryway was extremely eye-catching.
The full blossoms were blooming one by one, filling the tiny space with a beautiful, natural aura.
The two completely different Eco-gardens, which switched every hour, gave people entirely different feelings.
The mysterious and elegant Lavender theme and the passionate yet rain-bathed Rose theme were both sights that interstellar people had never seen before.
Not to mention, since the door was open, waves of delicate fragrance wafted from the shop, refreshing the mind and lingering in the air, causing one’s mood to gradually relax.
“So beautiful! It’s countless times prettier than synthetic plants. I really want to own a natural plant!”
“Natural plants must be very expensive! I definitely can’t afford one. But I can follow the shop and participate in the mini-interactions or something.”
“Shop followed. I’m going to start saving money now; I must come and buy a bouquet when I confess my feelings.”
…
The number of followers for Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance instantly broke through 50,000 and was about to reach the 100,000 mark, still rising steadily.
This follower count was nothing compared to other interstellar chain stores with millions of followers.
However, considering that Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance was a private little shop with no foundation, reaching this level of following in just over half a month was truly impressive.
Not only were many people within the Starbuy app following Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance because of the ads, but it also attracted a lot of attention in the real world.
The advertisement for Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance was too well-made—not at all pretentious, and without a single flashy special effect. It presented the most innate beauty, perfectly showcasing a natural aesthetic unique to the interstellar era.
Many people who didn’t often use holographic shopping apps also began to express curiosity about this shop after seeing the promotion.
Fulke Li was the head of a wealthy family who pursued a high-quality lifestyle. Although he had retreated to the second line due to his age, his daily life consisted of nothing more than reading the news, tinkering with stocks, and raising rare pets. He lived a very leisurely life.
However, his influence in his social circle was beyond doubt.
Fulke Li never shopped in the holographic world; he felt that things on Starnet were fake, ordinary, and not worthy of his status.
In physical stores, he could enjoy professional and thoughtful service that Starbuy could never provide.
While Fulke was browsing Starnet news as usual, his friend J sent him a message.
[J: I think you might like this.]
Fulke clicked on it. The title actually read—Starbuy App takes you to experience…
Fulke was dismissive.
[Fulke: My old partner, why are you sharing a Starbuy ad with me? You know I never shop online.]
[J: Hey~ you have to see it this time. You’ll regret it if you don’t. Anyway, after my wife saw this ad, she started clamoring that she must buy some kind of Rose.]
[J: I don’t understand this, but since it’s something my wife likes, it shouldn’t be too bad. She insisted I recommend it to you.]
J’s wife was a lady with excellent taste, and she and Fulke got along very well on many viewpoints and aesthetics.
[Fulke: Fine, fine! Since that’s the case, I’ll take a look!]
With that, Fulke clicked on the video.
The ad opened with a gentle sea of pure white flowers.
The sun was bright and a light breeze blew; the tiny, plain white flowers swayed in the wind, a picture of peace and harmony.
As the camera pushed forward, the white flowers passed by, and the lens stopped in a sea of purple. The purple flowers bloomed profusely in an elegant posture.
Next to appear on screen were flowers with key-shaped leaves, red stamens, and white petals; fiery red flowers that struck directly at the soul; and simple, small, rounded plants without a hint of aggression.
Finally, the screen froze on a well-arranged landscape garden with the purple flowers as the theme.
The tagline read: Starbuy App Central Sector 19 [Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance], bringing you the scenery of nature.
Fulke was just getting into it when, unexpectedly, the video ended with a click.
It was over just like that?
Why was it over?
He hadn’t seen enough! Couldn’t they have filmed a bit more, made it longer?
Fulke had no choice but to watch the video from the beginning again.
Each shot of a natural plant was given less than two seconds, but even that short time deeply captured the hearts of many, including Fulke.
The visuals were simply too beautiful!
Naturally flawless and brilliantly colorful.
Is this some upcoming blockbuster movie?
What? You’re saying this is just an ad for a holographic online shop?
Are you sure you’re not joking?
Are there actually such beautiful plants in the interstellar world?
Too fascinating.
Fulke had to admit he was moved.
Every natural plant in the video perfectly matched his picky aesthetic. He really did want them.
Only…
Such artistic natural plants were actually being sold on a holographic online shop? Was there no physical store?
“What a waste of God’s gifts!”
Fulke felt indignant.
“I wonder if it’s just Starbuy’s false advertising, made with image editing.”
“Have someone get some for me first! These flowers in the video, I want one of every kind.”
Fulke naturally issued the order to his butler.
He thought that with his connections, buying products from an online shop would be extremely easy.
But who would have known that five minutes later, the butler reported to him, “Sir, the items in Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance are temporarily sold out. There are still many people waiting outside the shop. I’m afraid it will be difficult to buy all of them.”
Fulke raised an eyebrow, expressing some surprise. “I can’t even get those?”
Butler: “Yes, the shop’s items are completely in short supply.”
Fulke frowned. “Forget it, I’ll go see for myself.”
Thus, for the sake of that heart-fluttering feeling, Fulke became a new user downloading the Starbuy app for the first time.
Zhu Ran, who loved to sleep in, specially set an alarm to wake up at 8:00 AM today for the shop’s one-day promotion.
He rolled around on the bed twice before getting up, leaning against the headboard to open his optical computer and check today’s sales information.
Messages from the Starbuy app popped up one after another:
[The items in the shop are sold out. The next batch will be listed promptly at 9:00.]
[There are currently 36 items in stock and 21 pre-order items awaiting shipment.]
[The shop is crowded with traffic; server diversion mode has been activated.]
…
Every notification indicated how explosive the sales were for the promotion that had only been running for eight hours.
Without surprise, everything in the shop was sold out.
The visitor traffic recorded by the system had already exceeded 50,000, five times the number estimated by the operator Zhang Jun earlier.
What was even scarier was that today wasn’t even halfway over. It was conceivable that by the end of the day, the daily foot traffic could at least double.
“Ah… so many people…”
While Zhu Ran was marveling, he unsurprisingly found many people in the comments urging him to “list 100 pots daily.”
Mm… he would just pretend he didn’t see those messages for now.
Zhu Ran then logged into the Starbuy app, and his virtual image instantly appeared on the street of Sector 19.
The traffic in Sector 19 was just as lively as his last visit. However, compared to the last time when the virtual images were mostly adult males with an occasional female, this time there were many family groups with children, and the proportion of young women had also increased.
As he walked by, Zhu Ran could hear their discussions.
“Mom, I want that chubby plant.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll buy it for you. But once we buy it, you have to take good care of it, okay?”
…
“Roses are really so beautiful! Ugh… I’m in love. And with the discount, it’s only 24,000 a pot; it’s not too expensive.”
“I actually prefer that Star Beauty. If I put it on my desk while working and look at it occasionally, my mood will improve~”
…
“Good sister, I gave my only pre-order chance to you! You have to choose carefully.”
“You’re so good to me~ I’ll give you a limited-edition bag next time!”
…
“Why did I only find out about this god-tier shop today! Crawling in the dark, I want natural plants, I want purple flowers…”
“Who told you to ignore the outside world and focus only on idol chasing?”
…
People in groups of two or three were queuing in an orderly fashion at the entrance of Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance. There were also passersby who had just arrived, first peering into the shop through the glass windows, then showing faces full of amazement.
Under the bright sunlight, a smile climbed onto Zhu Ran’s face.
His eyes crinkled.
Having so many people like his shop and natural plants made Zhu Ran feel a warmth in his heart, sweeping away the fatigue of continuously stimulating plants over the last two days.
This kind of life was truly good.
Suddenly, a fluttering Ice Butterfly landed before Zhu Ran’s eyes. A fine frost was falling from its translucent wings, looking very aesthetic.
Then, accompanied by a flash of system light, the Ice Butterfly transformed into a human figure.
Dressed in pure white, simple clothing, his entire aura was as cold as water. Only those classically beautiful phoenix eyes gained a bit of warmth upon seeing Zhu Ran.
Mu Qingzhou greeted him, “Long time no see, Zhu Ran.”
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