Part 2
Zhu Ran waited for Z for over half an hour in the holographic world before Z came out of the room.
The other’s face was calm, making it impossible to see his joy, anger, or state; his emotions were well-restrained.
Zhu Ran stood up to ask: “Is your body alright now?”
Z gave Zhu Ran a glance.
Zhu Ran was asking in his usual tone, as he always did. However, probably because of the change in his mindset, even the simplest inquiry made Z’s heart skip a beat.
He settled his mind: “Mm, it’s fine now.”
Zhu Ran: “The video has been processed. Both of our faces have been blurred. Take a look and see if there’s anything else that needs adjusting.”
Z walked to Zhu Ran’s side to look at the video. The video only captured the lower half of Zhu Ran’s face, while his own face was censored with a lavender flower sticker.
Their images in the holographic world were already different from reality. With this kind of processing, it shouldn’t be easy to recognize them.
In the video, accompanied by Zhu Ran’s explanation, Zhu Ran’s hands were kneading near Z’s temples, moving in and out of Z’s hair.
Even knowing this was just an explanation video for work, it still made Z feel satisfied.
It made him feel a different kind of intimacy between himself and Zhu Ran.
Z’s gaze was fixed on the screen, but his attention was on Zhu Ran: “It’s filmed very well.”
“As long as you have no objections. Then I’ll post it using the shop account later.”
After speaking, Zhu Ran was slightly melancholy: “I wonder if everyone can accept plant essential oils and aromatherapy.”
Z replied with a certain tone: “They will like them.”
Zhu Ran turned his head toward Z, opening his green eyes. His gaze was clear and shimmering with light: “Really?”
Being gazed at by that patch of green, Z’s fingers at his side curled slightly.
Subsequently, he then nodded: “They will. Because it is you, they will like them.”
The living room of the holographic world didn’t have the natural plants cultivated by Zhu Ran, nor did it have the bright sunlight and the reassuring scent belonging exclusively to natural plants.
However, even so, Z still felt that staying here made him feel very at peace.
Because Zhu Ran was here.
After recording the video, Zhu Ran transported to the shop to prepare for the expansion and renovation.
He first took photos of the shop’s current appearance as a keepsake.
The warm lights, the overall dark wood style, and the simple white picket fence…
These renovations were all designed by Zhu Ran himself. Although they might look a bit too simple now, Zhu Ran still felt some reluctance toward the shop he had personally arranged.
“Thank you for accompanying me through this time. Now I’m going to re-renovate you.”
With that, Zhu Ran entered the shop’s 3D model interface to design the new shop.
Shops on the Starbuy holographic street could be expanded within a specified range as long as one paid. There were two ways to expand.
One was to expand the storefront along with the interior. Many large chain stores chose this method, making the storefront occupy most of the street, which looked very grand from the outside.
However, the price was also very expensive.
The other way was to keep the storefront size unchanged and only expand the interior space.
With this method, the shop looked little different from the outside, but once inside, one would discover a whole new world. The price was also relatively cheap.
Given that the number of products in Zhu’s Lingering Fragrance was not yet large enough to justify a large-storefront shop, Zhu Ran temporarily chose the latter method.
“I’ll first expand the 10-square-meter shop to 100 square meters! Divide it into two floors—60 square meters for the lower floor and about 40 square meters for the upper floor.”
“The first floor will be the shopping area, where plants and other products are sold. The second floor will be an experience area, which can be divided into several rooms. A small 3-square-meter room will be made into a single-person aromatherapy experience room, and I’ll also make two tea rooms for customers to experience the floral tea.”
After finishing the rough layout concept, Zhu Ran first built the model in the 3D modeling diagram.
Soon, a white-box model of the two-story shop was constructed.
The first floor was a large open plan, while the second floor was divided into six rooms: four aromatherapy experience rooms, two tea rooms that could seat four people, and a self-service tea pantry.
The construction of the white-box framework went smoothly. However, when it came to deciding on the specific shop decoration style, Zhu Ran found it difficult.
“Should I still use the wood style? Or use a simple and clear black-and-white French style?”
An overall wood style could allow guests to immerse themselves faster in a natural atmosphere. However, the black-and-white minimalist style might better suit the aesthetic of interstellar people and better highlight the colors of the plants.
Zhu Ran was indecisive. Ultimately, he made a simple layout of both plans and sent them to Yan You and Z to hear their opinions.
In no time, the two gave their answers.
Yan You: [The wood style is more suitable for natural plants. Although the black-and-white style highlights the plants, it lacks some character.]
Z: [The balcony at home looks better.]
Zhu Ran stared at Z’s “the balcony at home looks better” and suddenly had some other ideas.
“What if I make it into a semi-open forest style! Upon entering the shop, vast amounts of green plants or flowers are bathed in sunlight, blooming with the beauty of life.”
“Browsing the shop will be like strolling through a garden. Occasionally, one can sit on a flower-covered swing and rock for a bit, enjoying the peace of being enveloped by plants.”
“Guests can also walk up the wooden stairs to the second floor to enter the log cabin experience rooms, deeply experiencing the aura of the plants amidst waves of fragrance.”
Z’s suggestion undoubtedly opened up Zhu Ran’s design ideas.
No one ruled that a holographic shop had to be decorated conventionally like a store; it could have more room for imagination.
Following the idea of decorating the shop as a small garden, Zhu Ran redesigned a version of the shop’s decoration and asked Yan You to make adjustments.
The final 3D presentation made Zhu Ran very satisfied. Of course, the cost was not cheap either.
The expansion fee was 100,000 credits. Since quite a bit of holographic projection technology was used in the decoration, it also cost about 100,000 credits. Totaling 200,000 credits.
Zhu Ran pressed the confirmation button next to the 3D model. Accompanied by a ripple of data light, the originally cramped flower shop suddenly became spacious and bright, and the field of vision opened up.
Zhu Ran sat on the swing directly facing the entryway Eco-garden and rocked a couple of times.
Looking from this perspective, he saw a landscape of tiered plant pots that visually turned the shop into a botanical garden. Bright artificial sunlight shone through the natural plants, laying patches of pale gold light on the pebble path.
Getting up from the swing, Zhu Ran walked to the entrance of the small Eco-garden.
The small Eco-garden, acting as the storefront, was still placed in the center facing the shop door. The paths extending from it to the left and right, decorated with white freesia projections, gave the entire space a minimalist beauty of being surrounded by flowers.
On the curved display shelves to the right, pots of natural plants awaiting sale were arranged by type, bathed in bright sunlight.
To the left of the Eco-garden, tiered display cabinets were made, ready to hold derivative products like Daisy Tea and essential oils.
The two sides were clearly zoned and easy to see.
The stairs leading to the second floor were set next to the swing.
A wooden sign hung on the stairs, reading: Product Experience Area ↑.
Zhu Ran stepped onto the second floor. The log cabin decoration style, paired with gentle warm lights, made it very easy for people to relax.
And the eaves of the cabin were currently filled with projections of natural plants, making the style of the second floor consistent with the small garden style of the first floor.
The four aromatherapy experience rooms on the second floor contained a single bed and a table. On the table were an aromatherapy machine, essential oils, and an instruction manual.
One wall of the cabin was made of a large, transparent floor-to-ceiling glass window, but it was covered tightly with blackout fabric. As soon as it was drawn, the room would be dimly lit, very suitable for people to rest.
The other two tea rooms were a bit more spacious and brighter. Glass tea sets and Daisy Tea were already placed on the wooden tables, available for guests to use at will.
After finishing the interior decoration expansion, Zhu Ran finally decorated the external signboard as well.
The shop was currently using a wooden signboard. Although a bit of decoration had been done on the frame, in comparison to the interstellar cyberpunk style, this simple wooden signboard was not eye-catching at all.
So Zhu Ran used white freesias and purple lavenders to create a beautiful floral arch around the signboard, making the originally inconspicuous storefront instantly visible.
Having done all this, the expansion of the entire shop was completed.
Zhu Ran sat on the swing and rocked for a while, looking at the newly renovated shop with satisfaction.
He recalled when he was on Newbie Street, in that small shop of only about five square meters, where the shop could only hold one small display cabinet.
Now, Zhu Ran possessed a 100-square-meter online shop. The shop environment was spacious, and the artificial virtual sunlight was bright and gentle. It was like a private garden, and the overall atmosphere was natural and beautiful.
“Time really flies, and everything is moving in the best direction.”
Zhu Ran’s face held a smile, and his eyes were brilliant.
After the shop renovation, Zhu Ran logged off to rest. He would prepare the inventory for listing and post the essential oil usage video tomorrow.
Just after logging off, a somewhat unexpected message popped up.
Mu Qingzhou: [I’ve arrived in the central district of Aipus Planet. Are you free to come out and have a meal together recently? It won’t take too much of your time.]
Zhu Ran was slightly surprised.
He remembered Mu Qingzhou said he would come to find him during winter vacation, but who would have thought he’d arrive so soon?
Zhu Ran thought that since Mu Qingzhou had traveled so far, he should find time to meet even if he was busy. So he replied: [I’m free tomorrow at noon.]
Mu Qingzhou sent a location.
Mu Qingzhou: [Then let’s meet here tomorrow at noon.]
Zhu Ran: [Alright.]
Mu Qingzhou, who had just stepped off the starship, saw Zhu Ran reply with an “alright.” The aura around him became gentle, like spring breeze melting snow.
“See you tomorrow.”
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