《Pastoral Daily Life》 Chapter 1 ¡°Dr. Liu, the patient has lost his vital signs.¡± ¡°Prepare for electroshock.¡± ¡°Wait, the vital signs have reappeared.¡± ¡°Beep¡­ beep¡­ beep¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s the blood pressure?¡± ¡°80.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the pulse?¡± ¡°60.¡± ¡°The patient has been stabilised, continue the operation.¡± The strange dialogue sounded vaguely in his ears, and Lu Lingxi opened his hazy eyes, seeing in a daze the dazzling light above his head. He moved his head slightly; it was so heavy that he could only tilt it in small increments, indistinctly seeing the ovepping figures around him. Where is this? Lu Lingxi thought nkly, struggling to open his eyes to see his surroundings clearly. His vision was blurred and he strained to blink his eyes as bits of memory shed back; yes, this was a hospital. He was undergoing surgery; his brother¡¯s health had gone wrong again. The doctor said his brother had acute kidney failure and he, as his brother¡¯s HLA match, was the best candidate for transntation. Lu Lingxi closed his eyes, and the image of his mother clutching his hand and crying seemed to be right in front of him. ¡°Xiao Xi, your brother¡¯s condition is getting worse. You are the only one who can save him, you will save him, won¡¯t you?¡± His father stood behind his mother, the expression on his face obscure andplicated. He looked at his father and then at his mother and nodded obediently. ¡°Good boy! Good boy!¡± There was a sudden glint in his mother¡¯s eyes and she hugged him as hard as a drowning man clinging to thest piece of driftwood. He nestled quietly in his mother¡¯s arms, as he had every time in the past when his brother¡¯s health had gone wrong and he had been required to lie on the operating table. He was the good boy his mother said he was; the reason he existed was for his brother, and he had always known it. Lu Lingxi was born into the Lu family in Zhongjing eighteen years ago. His father, Lu Guangjing, was the youngest son of the Lu family, and his mother, Li Caiying, was the eldest daughter of the Li family. The two were talented and beautiful, and countless people were envious of the marriage between the Lu and the Li families. But how could there be perfection in this world? Lu Wei¡¯an, the first child of Lu Guangjing and Li Caiying, was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia when he was seven years old. When the initial test results came back, Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s condition was still in the chronic stage. Lu Guangjing and Li Caiying took Lu Wei¡¯an to doctors all over the world, but the only treatment avable was allogeneic transntation. The chronic phase of myeloid leukaemia had a duration of 3-4 years, which was enough time for the Lu family to find a suitable donor for Lu Wei¡¯an. However, instead of a blood unrted donor, the doctor suggested that Lu Guangjing and Li Caiying should have another child and use the newborn¡¯s umbilical cord blood to extract stem cells to help Lu Wei¡¯an. What the doctor said was very practical. Even if Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s transntation was sessful, there was no guarantee that he would not rpse in the future. The rpse rate of leukaemia after sessful transntation was very high, and instead of having to search for a suitable donor every time, taking into ount that such a donor might happen not to be found, it was the best option for them to have another child. On the advice of the doctor, Lu Guangjing and Li Caiying used a sophisticated gene matching technology to conceive and give birth to Lu Lingxi, a perfect gic match for Lu Wei¡¯an. From the day he was born, Lu Lingxi lived for his brother Lu Wei¡¯an. He was his brother¡¯s shadow, his brother¡¯s ¡°medicine reserve bank¡±, umbilical cord blood, stem cells, bone marrow¡­ as long as his brother needed it, he would quietly lie on the operating table. Until this time¡­ ¡°Xiao Xi, this is thest time, I promise.¡± On the night that Lu Lingxi agreed to donate, Lu Guangjing appeared in his room alone. Unlike Li Caiying, whose whole heart was on the ailing Lu Wei¡¯an, Lu Guangjing tried his best to treat Lu Wei¡¯an and Lu Lingxi equally. Looking at his son, who had been well-behaved and obedient since childhood, Lu Guangjing made this promise with difficulty. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t say anything, just opened a pair of dark eyes and looked at Lu Guangjing steadily. Lu Guangjing could not see any emotion in Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes; neither was he happy nor unhappy. He wanted Lu Lingxi to say something, but Lu Lingxi only looked at him in silence¡­ Lu Guangjing averted his eyes in embarrassment and carefully stroked Lu Lingxi¡¯s soft hair, as if to assure and promise: ¡°Xiao Xi, after this operation, Father will send you to study abroad.¡± Study abroad? To Lu Lingxi, this was too distant a dream. After the car ident in his third year of elementary school, his mother refused to let him out of her sight again. She hired a tutor for him and arranged for him to take sses at home. He understood that his mother was worried about him but was more convinced that she was worried that in case something happened to him, it would be toote to have another child to save his brother. ¡°Lu Lingxi, you are not anyone¡¯s appendage, you deserve a life of your own.¡± ¡°Xiao Xi, this is thest time, I promise.¡± Dr. Su¡¯s words and his father¡¯s words alternated in his mind. Lu Lingxi slowly closed his eyes and once again felt the heavy exhaustion flooding from the bottom of his heart. It would be great if this was really thest time¡­ ¡°Doctor, why is my son still not awake? Didn¡¯t you say he would wake up in a day or two after the surgery? It¡¯s been almost a week, is your hospital trying to charge more money?¡± ¡°Family member, the patient¡¯s surgery was very sessful. The currenta is the body¡¯s self-healing. He should wake up soon, please wait patiently.¡± ¡°Wait, how can I wait? Do you know how much it costs to stay in the hospital for one day? Your hospital is so shady, my son has not woken up, are you going to give me an exnation?¡± ¡°Family member¡­¡± In the inpatient department of Fengcheng No. 1 Hospital, the doctor looked helplessly at the woman making a fuss in front of him, feeling a terrible headache. The woman in front of him was called Wang Shuxiu, the mother of the patient in Bed 20, and from the time the patient was hospitalised until today, there wasn¡¯t a single day that Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t make a scene. Either she disliked the nurse¡¯s bad attitude and wanted toin, or she questioned the hospital for overcharging. The nurses and doctors in charge of Bed 20 were all in distress from her agitation. Fortunately, she only appeared every day in the afternoon and disappeared as soon as the evening came, so they had to endure her only for an hour or two. s ¡°Doctor, tell me, why is my son still not awake?¡± Wang Shuxiu raised her eyebrows and grabbed the doctor to prevent him from leaving. The doctor awkwardly tried to free himself from Wang Shuxiu, but did not dare to move too much. It was because Wang Shuxiu was wearing too little, a ck low-cut hip-hugging dress, and the doctor felt that if he struggled a little, he might be called a scoundrel. None of the other family members in the same ward came forward to stop them, all watching the show with interest. The patient in Bed 20 was an eighteen year old boy. He was Wang Shuxiu¡¯s son but she really didn¡¯t look like a mother of such a big son. They say that even if a beauty makes an unreasonable scene, she can be forgiven. Wang Shuxiu was such a beauty. She was forty-two years old, but lookedpletely in her early thirties. With her willowy eyebrows, phoenix eyes and tall, voluptuous figure, her every move was full of charm as long as she didn¡¯t open her mouth; it was a pity that her essence was revealed when she did. She had obviously experienced vicissitudes of life, and although the family members of the patients in the same ward were willing to give her another look, they were not willing to deal with her. While Wang Shuxiu and the doctor were tugging, the patient in Bed 20 slowly started to move. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes were closed and he felt the buzzing noise in his ears. He didn¡¯t know if it was the after-effects of the operation, but his head felt like it was sawed from side to side with a dull saw, aching vaguely. Lu Lingxi struggled to lift his hands, but his limbs didn¡¯t seem to obey him much, and with all the strength he could muster he could only move his index finger slightly. ¡°It¡¯s so noisy!¡± Lu Lingxi tried to speak, but his throat seemed to be blocked by something and he couldn¡¯t make a sound. ¡°Hey, he¡¯s moving, he¡¯s moving!¡± Someone shouted loudly. ¡°Wang Shuxiu, your son has moved.¡± Another voice reminded. Wang Shuxiu, who was pulling the doctor, let go of the doctor¡¯s hand quickly and rushed to the hospital bed. ¡°Lu Lingxi, you little bastard, you were born to piss off your mom, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Lu Lingxi, Lu Lingxi!¡± Wang Shuxiu shouted twice in a row, but the person on the bed still did not move. She immediately looked around in discontent and crossed her arms, saying loudly, ¡°Which asshole said my son was awake? You guyse and take a look, where the hell is he awake?¡± The two people who had spoken out before wanted to say something, but they were afraid of Wang Shuxiu¡¯s cursing skills, so they reluctantly confessed. Wang Shuxiu turned her head, saw that the doctor had already taken advantage of this opportunity to leave and became even more dissatisfied. She felt that they were fooling her in order to please the doctor, and immediately opened her mouth to curse. ¡°So noisy!¡± Lu Lingxi finally uttered after numerous efforts. He thought he was very loud, but to the ears of the people around him it was nothing more than a whisper. Luckily, no one was talking in the ward at this time, so Wang Shuxiu heard him and immediately leaned down to him. ¡°Son, son, Lu Lingxi, little bastard!¡± After a series of shouts the young man on the hospital bed finally opened his eyes. Wang Shuxiuughed happily, ¡°Little bastard, you are in a hurry to kill your old mom, aren¡¯t you?¡± Lu Lingxi blinked nkly; what appeared before him was an unfamiliar face. He recognised the voice, it was the same voice that had been making noise in his ears. When Wang Shuxiu saw Lu Lingxi wake up, her heart finally settled. She said excitedly to Lu Lingxi, ¡°Little bastard, they all said you won¡¯t make it, but I didn¡¯t believe them, and look, you¡¯ve been saved, haven¡¯t you? Your olddy raised you for so long and hasn¡¯t enjoyed your blessings for a single day. If you had died, I would have lost money for all these years. Your dead old man, I don¡¯t know where he¡¯s gone again, he hasn¡¯t shown his face these days. Remember, you¡¯ve been in the hospital for so many days, and it¡¯s my hard-earned money that you¡¯ve spent.¡± s The woman in front of him kept on talking, and Lu Lingxi understood every word she said, but all together, he had no idea what the other party meant. He watched as the woman¡¯s mouth opened and closed, and finally took advantage of the gap to ask his question with an effort. ¡°Who are you? Where¡¯s Father and Mother?¡± ¡°What did you say, you little bastard! What Father and Mother, are you trying to lie to your old mom again?¡± Wang Shuxiu raised her willow eyebrows and pped Lu Lingxi¡¯s head. ¡°You can¡¯t hit the head!¡± The nurse who came in with the medicine shouted urgently, but unfortunately she was a step toote. Wang Shuxiu pped him, and a few minutes after Lu Lingxi opened his eyes, he was once again plunged into darkness. ToC / Next Chapter 2 It had been two days since Lu Lingxi woke up again and became Lu Lingxi. That was a rather odd statement to make, but the truth was even odder than that. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know what had happened; after an operation, he was no longer Lu Lingxi, the youngest child of the Lu family in Zhongjing, but somehow appeared in Fengcheng as Lu Lingxi, the son of the woman he had met two days ago. When Lu Lingxi first discovered this fact, he was really surprised for a long time. His body was no longer the body he was familiar with; without the pallor and thinness of the past, his new body was overflowing with a vigorous energy. The only thing that carried a shadow of the past was his face. The two faces were three or four points simr, but this new one was more delicate and beautiful, and simr in appearance to this body¡¯s mother. Lu Lingxi heard the doctor talk about how his operation had created a miracle. At one point during the operation he had lost his vital signs, but a miracle urred and his heart managed to beat again after stopping for a dozen seconds. He thought that perhaps it was not a miracle created by the operation at all, but a metaphysical miracle from the underworld. After this body¡¯s heart started beating again, the person inside the body was no longer the original Lu Lingxi, but him. What about the original owner of this body? Did he pass away? Or did he enter a strange body like him, a body that originally belonged to him? Thistter thought made Lu Lingxi uneasy. Not only was the idea too odd and he had never heard of anything like it happening, but more than that, his current body was so much healthier than his original one that it gave him an inexplicable feeling of guilt. He imagined the teenager he¡¯d never met waking up inside his body, facing a body that had just been crippled by surgery, and wondered what kind of panic he would feel? Lu Lingxi felt that he needed to try to contact his family. If the other person was really inside him, he would find a way to swap bodies back with him. The other person was not him. They each had their own life trajectories. He could not take over the other person¡¯s existence without permission, let alone selfishly allowing the other person to take over his existence. Even though that was the existence he subconsciously wanted to escape¡­ As all kinds of random thoughts shed in Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind, he didn¡¯t say a word, just lying quietly on the bed alone. In the past, he was the youngest child in the Lu family, and because of his special situation, he had never had any ymates. After years and years of being alone, he gradually developed a non-talkative temperament. Now that he was in an unfamiliar environment, he was even more at a loss as to what to say. ¡°Doctor, what is wrong with my son? He doesn¡¯t remember anything. Didn¡¯t you say the operation was very sessful?¡± ¡°The patient received a heavy blow to the head earlier, which may have affected the nerve centre to some extent. It¡¯s not a big problem, he¡¯ll be fine after a while.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t even recognise me anymore, and you don¡¯t call it a big problem? What is a big problem then? Is your hospital normal or what?¡± The doctor said helplessly: ¡°The patient¡¯s current problem ismonly known as amnesia. If you want the patient to recall things as soon as possible, it¡¯s best to talk to him more about things he¡¯s familiar with. It will help the patient recover his memory.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really!¡± The conversation outside the door came to an end as Wang Shuxiu, dressed in a light red low-cut short dress, sashayed in on her ten centimetre high heels. ¡°Little bastard, did you hear that? You know who I am now?¡± Wang Shuxiunded her butt next to Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi looked at her quietly without saying anything. ¡°You¡­¡± Wang Shuxiu raised her hand out of habit and halfway through a p remembering that she couldn¡¯t hit the head, spun her hand in mid-air and pped the bed, pounding it bitterly, ¡°You¡¯re really my retribution. Just like that deadbeat dad of yours, you both are bastards.¡± In the past eighteen years of Lu Lingxi¡¯s life, it could be said that he had almost never heard anyone swear. asionally he would see some on TV or in books, but this was the first time he had ever encountered a mother scolding her own son like this. But for some reason, although Wang Shuxiu¡¯s tone was rude, Lu Lingxi felt that beneath her rude tone was a concern for this body. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes were too clean and he looked at Wang Shuxiu with an innocent expression. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s ¡°little bastard¡± was on her lips, but she swallowed it back and changed it to ¡°Are you hungry?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded in embarrassment. He hadn¡¯t eaten for nearly a week and he was really hungry. Wang Shuxiu took a thermos cup from the side, opened it and poured out a bowl of chicken soup. In the past, when Lu Lingxi was in aa, he didn¡¯t need to eat as long as he was given an infusion, but now that he was awake, he couldn¡¯t rely only on infusions anymore, and he needed nutrition. The freshly poured chicken soup was still a bit hot, so Wang Shuxiu stirred it with a spoon while quietlyining in her habitual manner: ¡°I can¡¯t sleep at night at work, so I rely on the morning to catch up on my sleep, and now I can¡¯t sleep in the morning either ¡®cause I still have to bring you food every day. If you dare not be filial in the future, this olddy will find someone to break your legs.¡± Although she wasining a lot, her movements did not slow down at all. After cooling a spoonful of soup, she carefully fed it to Lu Lingxi¡¯s mouth. Lu Lingxi cooperated by taking a sip of the soup and whispered, ¡°Thank you.¡± Wang Shuxiu looked at Lu Lingxi strangely with a spoon in her hand. When did the little bastard be so sensible? But then she thought about the fact that Lu Lingxi had lost his memory and was now almost like a nk sheet of paper. She used to say that her son was smart and sensible when he was young, but he had been ruined by that old bastard. So it seemed that memory loss was not a bad thing. s Lu Lingxi finished his soup one spoonful at a time and was debating how to tell Wang Shuxiu that he needed to make a phone call. The door of the ward was pushed open and two policemen walked in, followed by a tall man who was supporting an old man, and headed straight for his hospital bed. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes widened in surprise when he saw the man¡¯s appearance. Dr. Su, why was he here? Dr. Su that Lu Lingxi mentioned in his mind was called Su Lang, one of Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s former doctors. In the past, Lu Lingxi had often been hospitalised together with Lu Wei¡¯an, so he got to know Su Lang over time. Su Lang took great care of Lu Lingxi and to a certain extent he sympathised with his situation, but as a doctor he could not say anything to use the Lu family of doing something wrong. The only thing Su Lang could do was tofort the young man who was quiet most of the time after his repeated bone marrow punctures. Compared to Lu Lingxi¡¯s surprise, Su Lang was even more surprised to see him. He was dealing with his resignation in Zhongjing when he suddenly received a call from home. Grandpa Su had met a group of punks brawling when he was out for his morning walk, and had identally been caught up in it and injured. When Su Lang rushed back to Fengcheng, he heard from the police that the gang of punks had all run away, leaving a seriously injured one in the hospital, the one who seemed to be called Lu Lingxi. The name evoked memories that Su Lang did not want to think about. He originally thought that the punk he heard from the police only had the same name as the teenager he remembered, but he did not expect that the boy in front of him even had some simrities in appearance to the Lu Lingxi in his memory, except that the teenager in front of him looked a bit more stunning. Su Lang was only momentarily surprised; the policeman had already walked up to Lu Lingxi¡¯s side. ¡°Awake?¡± They hade when Lu Lingxi was first brought to the hospital. At that time Lu Lingxi was still a non-mainstream teenager with a head of yellow hair. Perhaps it was because of the convenience of the hospital examination, but the boy¡¯s yellow hair had been shaved clean, leaving only a short stubble. The colourful makeup was also washed off. A clean face, coupled with an appearance that resembled his mother¡¯s, made for a really beautiful teenager. The policemen¡¯s serious expressions unconsciously eased and they smiled kindly at him. Wang Shuxiu put down the bowl as soon as the police came in and stood in front of Lu Lingxi with her arms crossed like an old mother hen protecting her chickens. ¡°Why are you guys here again? Didn¡¯t I tell you that it wasn¡¯t my son who hit this old man? My son was almost killed, what do you mean bying here several times? Can the police bully people? Are you bullying us orphans and widows who don¡¯t have a man around?¡± As soon as Wang Shuxiu opened her mouth, the police felt helpless. They had already experienced Wang Shuxiu¡¯s cursing power before, so they said kindly: ¡°There was a misunderstanding before. We found the surveince video of the park, and the one who injured Elder Su was not your son, so we just want to ask him for information.¡± ¡°Ask for information? What information? My son has lost his memory, he doesn¡¯t remember anything.¡± ¡°Amnesia?¡± The policeman said in surprise. Wang Shuxiu rolled her eyes in disgust, ¡°My son was hit on the head by such a big brick and spilled so much blood that he almost lost his life. If you guys don¡¯t believe me, go ask the doctor, go ahead!¡± The two policemen looked at each other and smiled bitterly. On the one hand, they came here to clear Lu Lingxi¡¯s name of suspicion, and on the other hand, they also wanted Lu Lingxi toe forward to identify the people in the video. Now that Lu Lingxi had lost his memory, there was no hope for thetter. Since nothing could be asked, the two policemen didn¡¯t stay much longer. Instead Su Lang helped Elder Su to sit down. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Wang Shuxiu said warily. Elder Su smiled good-naturedly, ¡°I¡¯vee to thank this young man. I watched the surveince video and this young man helped me. If it wasn¡¯t for him, that brick would have hit me on the head.¡± He had a kind attitude and Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t kick them out, so she let them stay in the ward and went outside to wash the bowl and her thermos. Once Wang Shuxiu left, Lu Lingxi looked at Su Lang and lowered his head. He knew that Su Lang would definitely know about his original body¡¯s situation, but he couldn¡¯t ask, he couldn¡¯t exin how he knew. Even if he didn¡¯t understand the world, he knew that the idea of changing bodies was too inexplicable, and depending on whether Su Lang believed him or not, he might be transferred from this hospital to a mental hospital. s When Lu Lingxi did not say anything, Grandpa Su pushed Su Lang, signalling him to speak first. For young people, it was easier to close the distance. Su Lang picked up on Grandpa Su¡¯s hint and finally emerged from his trance-like state of mind he had been in since seeing Lu Lingxi. Perhaps it was because Lu Lingxi¡¯s half-lying pose was too simr to the young man in his memory, Su Lang said almost ghost-like, ¡°I know a friend, his name is also Lu Lingxi.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart thudded as he lifted his head and said softly, ¡°Really?¡± Su Lang nodded hesitantly; he didn¡¯t know why he had brought up this topic, but it seemed a littlete to regret it. Lu Lingxi hesitated for a few seconds, but finally did not resist asking, ¡°How is he now?¡± Realising that the question was inappropriate, Lu Lingxi exined covertly, ¡°I mean your friend with the exact same name as me, what does he do?¡± Su Lang¡¯s expression darkened slightly and he whispered, ¡°He passed away, just a few days ago.¡± ¡°Passed away?¡± Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t say exactly how he felt when he heard the news. He subconsciously asked, ¡°How did he die?¡± Su Lang was silent for a few seconds and said slowly, ¡°He had an operation a few days ago, and as a result, his spleen ruptured and haemorrhaged during the operation and he was not rescued.¡± Ruptured spleen and haemorrhage¡­ So he had died, Lu Lingxi thought nkly. He thought that he had swapped bodies with the owner of this body, but it turned out that he had died and hade to life again inside this body. Lu Lingxi could not tell what he felt in his heart, he seemed to be sad, but beyond that there was a vague hint of relief. He remembered the words his father had said, ¡°This is thest time¡­¡± When his father said it at the time, although Lu Lingxi did not say anything, there was actually expectation in his heart. From his childhood, he had been taught that he was the only one who could save his brother, that he existed for his brother. For his brother, he donated his umbilical cord blood at birth. For his brother, hey on the operating table several times and endured severe pain of bone marrow punctures. For his brother, he did not go to school, did not make friends and just stayed quietly at home. For his brother¡­ He knew he shouldn¡¯t have anyints. His life was given to him by his parents, and the only reason he existed was because his brother needed it. But in thete hours of the night, when he was too sore to sleep after his bone marrow puncture, when he couldn¡¯t go to school and watched alone as his neighbours went to school, he asionally thought that he hated this life, that he wanted to be free of his family and free of his brother. Every time he saw his brother struggling toe alive from death and smiling at him, he was ashamed of his selfish thoughts at that moment. He felt conflicted, on the one hand agreeing that he should save his brother, but on the other hand he was really too tired. He couldn¡¯t remember how many times he had been admitted to hospital because of his brother¡¯s condition since he was a child, especially when he and his brother were lying weakly in a hospital bed at the same time, and his mother always had only his brother in her eyes. Now that he was dead, now that he had given away his life, was it fair to say that he no longer owed his parents? That the life they had given him, the kindness they had raised him with, he had finally paid it all back. Lu Lingxi was silent and didn¡¯t say anything. Grandpa Su red at Su Lang in discontent. How could one tell a patient such a thing? What about someone with the same name who died in a failed operation, isn¡¯t that scaring people? Look, the young man is scared, right? Su Lang smiled bitterly in silence as he tried to change the subject to something lighter, and the teenager on the bed raised his head to ask onest question. ¡°Your friend is dead, was his family upset?¡± Chapter 3 Grandpa Su and Su Lang stayed at the hospital for a while and then left. Wang Shuxiu also packed her things and prepared to leave. She was a supervisor in a KTV. Unlike during the day, the night was the time when there were many customers and many things to do. ¡°I¡¯m leaving, you can manage alone, right?¡± Wang Shuxiu looked at Lu Lingxi suspiciously. She wanted to stay, but she still had to earn money to support her family. If a woman couldn¡¯t rely on her husband, she could only rely on herself. Lu Lingxi nodded, ¡°I can manage.¡± When he said this, his expression was very serious, and his little face was solemn as if he was making some kind of promise. Wang Shuxiu hadn¡¯t seen Lu Lingxi behave like this since he was three years old, so she smiled and squeezed Lu Lingxi in her arms, patted his head and kissed him on the forehead. ¡°Little bastard, with you looking like this I won¡¯t worry about not having food to eat in the future.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s whole face was pressed against Wang Shuxiu¡¯s chest, and his cheeks instantly turnedpletely red. He had never been this close to his mother for as long as he could remember, not to mention the fact that although Wang Shuxiu was the mother of this body, she was still a stranger to Lu Lingxi. He was embarrassed and tried to break away from Wang Shuxiu¡¯s embrace. Looking at him, Wang Shuxiu kissed him on the forehead several times and reprimanded him with a smile, ¡°What are you ashamed of? Did you forget it when you were a baby and were breast-fed?¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The male family members in the same ward looked envious. When Wang Shuxiu stood up straight and nonchntly instructed Lu Lingxi to ask the others in the ward to help him if he wanted to drink water or go to the toilet or whatever, they were all enthusiastic. Lu Lingxi nodded awkwardly as Wang Shuxiu gave a few more instructions and, seeing that she was going to bete for work, left the hospital in a hurry on her high heels. Once Wang Shuxiu left, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know what to say to the people around him, so he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. The ward he was in was a four-patient room, with Bed 20 at the far end near the window. Lu Lingxiy on his side facing the windowsill, and the words Su Lang had said earlier shed in his mind. His parents were very sad when he died. That was enough, Lu Lingxi thought. His operation had failed, but his brother¡¯s operation to rece his kidney had been sessful. He had used his own life to exchange for his brother¡¯s, so he had repaid his parents¡¯ kindness. As long as his brother¡¯s health got better, it wouldn¡¯t be long before his parents would gradually forget about his existence. In the future, he would have nothing more to do with the Lu family in Zhongjing. He was now Lu Lingxi; Lu Lingxi, the son of Wang Shuxiu of Fengcheng. Although he did not know why he had entered this body, since he had be Lu Lingxi, he should take up the responsibilities that belonged to him. When he thought of Wang Shuxiu, what Lu Lingxi was most impressed with was the words ¡°little bastard¡± and the closeness he felt when Wang Shuxiu kissed him at the end, the closeness he had never felt with his mother. ¡°I¡¯m your mom, remember?¡± Wang Shuxiu¡¯s words to him echoed vaguely in his ears. Lu Lingxi hugged the pillow and called out soundlessly, ¡°Mom.¡± It was hard for him to describe how he felt about Wang Shuxiu. The other party actedpletely different from his mother, without the dignity and elegance that his mother should have in his impression, yet he subconsciously wanted to be close to her. Mom¡­ As it was in the hospital, everyone rested very early. The summer weather was sultry, and the family members who were taking care of the other patients in the same ward all haphazardly spread out a few newspapers and slept on the floor. Lu Lingxi, whose bed was shaking with a cacophony of various snores, tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Now he missed the days when he was in aa. After staying up until 12 o¡¯clock, Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t sleep and sat up with difficulty, holding the edge of the bed. The corridors of the hospital generally did not turn off the lights at night, and the bright light shone through therge piece of ss in the ward door. Lu Lingxi looked around enviously; the other three patients and their families were all sleeping soundly, and he was the only one who could not sleep in the whole ward. In the middle of the night, Lu Lingxi could not do anything, and after he looked around the ward, his eyes unconsciously fell on a pot of chlorophytum on the windowsill. The soil in the pot waspletely dry and the leaves were yellow and dull, looking very unhealthy and lying limply on the edge of the flowerpot. Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart moved and he gently stretched out a finger to touch the leaves in front of him. He remembered that at his bedside there was mineral water that Wang Shuxiu had bought, and one bottle was enough to water the nt. This thought shed in his mind; he turned around and just reached for the mineral water bottle when a white panel suddenly appeared in front of him. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The panel in front of him was about the size of two sheets of A4 paper and as thin as paper, too. In the centre of the panel was a ck disy with a very textured appearance. Without the help of any external force, the white panel just floated lightly in front of him. Lu Lingxi subconsciously looked around; the other people in the ward were still sleeping, and their snores continued to sound non-stop. His gaze returned to the panel. Perhaps because he had just experienced the miracle of dying anding back to life, he was strangely not afraid at all, but had a little urge to see what the white panel in front of him really was. s Lu Lingxi settled down, carefully reached out and tapped on the white panel. There was a sh of blue light like ripples on the water, and the ck screen in the centre of the panel lit up, and a pot of somewhat yellowed chlorophytum appeared on the screen. Next to the chlorophytum were three short lines of text: nt name: Chlorophytum nt needs: Water nt viability: High Lu Lingxi looked at the chlorophytum on the screen in shock, and then turned his head to look at the chlorophytum on the windowsill. Both were exactly the same, even the colour of the poor quality stic pot underneath the chlorophytum was exactly the same. He wondered if he was dreaming and reached out to pinch his arm. It hurt! The feeling was very clear, so it should not be a dream. Since it wasn¡¯t a dream, it meant that what was in front of him was real. His eyes flicked over the words ¡®nt needs¡¯, and after a few seconds of hesitation, he picked up the mineral water he had just unscrewed and poured it into the flower pot on the windowsill. The dry soil in the pot was quickly wetted with water and the word ¡®water¡¯ behind the nt needs on the panel became ¡®none¡¯. He was surprised at the change in the panel when a green light shed at the bottom end of the long bar below and the words appeared at the top of the bar. Meeting the needs of the chlorophytum nt, reward +1 nt heart. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± What was in front of him was so fantastical that he had no idea what was going on. Out of some sort of exploratory mentality, Lu Lingxi tried tapping on the chlorophytum on the panel. As he tapped his finger on the chlorophytum¡¯s image, the nt that had been stationary suddenly rotated, showing itself to him from all angles, front and back, left and right. Lu Lingxi¡¯s mouth opened in surprise and his eyes fell on the three small lines on the left. Whichever line he tapped on, the small characters in that line would berger and jump out. After tapping on everything he could one by one, his finger finally moved to the long bar below. 1¨M100 (Level 0) This data made Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart stir. He had just watered the chlorophytum once and gained 1 nt heart, so if he watered the chlorophytum a hundred times, wouldn¡¯t he be able to gain 100 nt hearts? Lu Lingxi was absorbed in his thoughts when the patient on the bed next to him muttered something and rolled over. Startled by the movement behind him, Lu Lingxi carefully nced back to make sure everyone was asleep, and then his gaze returned to the white panel in front of him. Just as he had turned around, the white panel had also shifted its position with him, remaining at a distance of about 30cm in front of him. Lu Lingxi tried shifting his body left and right for a long time, but no matter how he moved, the panel would always move with him. Was this white panel just going to keep following him in the future? Was there any way to make it disappear? This thought just shed through his mind when Lu Lingxi was surprised to see that the white panel in front of him disappeared. He blinked and thought tentatively ¡°Appear¡±, but there was nothing in front of him. ¡°Panel appears¡±, still nothing. He struggled to recall the image of the panel in his mind, and this time the white panel reappeared. Lu Lingxi¡¯s interest was piqued. It was as if he had been given a fun toy; his full attention was focused on figuring out how to use the panel. Until the sky started getting bright, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t figure out what this sudden panel was. He just knew that he could see the needs of the chlorophytum on the windowsill through the white panel. And once he satisfied the chlorophytum¡¯s needs, he would get a little nt heart as if he was ying a game. He looked at the long, pitiful disy of 1¨M100 (Level 0) below and wondered a little what would happen if he gained 100 nt hearts and upgraded to the next level. s The sound of nurses walking down the corridor came, and Lu Lingxi put away the panel, slightly exhausted; he had just had surgery, after all, and although he was mentally alert, his body was still not in the best condition. Hey on the bed with his eyes closed and couldn¡¯t help but think once again of the white panel that had just appeared. What exactly was the panel? How did it appear? Did it belong to the original owner of this body? Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know the answers to the first two questions, but he faintly felt that the answer to thest question should be negative. If the panel belonged to the original owner of this body, it was unlikely that the nt heart bar would be 0. But if the panel did not belong to the original owner of this body, then what the hell was going on here? He thought back carefully to his experience of waking up, and an absurd thought came to his mind. Could it be that the mysterious white panel had appeared after the death of the original owner of this body, and that the key to his rebirth was this white panel? Lu Lingxi recalled that the doctor said that this body¡¯s heart had stopped beating for more than ten seconds. What had happened during those ten seconds? These unanswered questions gued Lu Lingxi as he repeatedly thought about his experience during that time. He had died ande back to life, not only with a healthy body, but also with a strange ¡°toy¡±. He rolled over gently, thinking of the way Wang Shuxiu had called him ¡°little bastard¡±, wondering what would happen if he told Wang Shuxiu the truth. Probably she would p him unceremoniously and decide that he was lying. The corners of Lu Lingxi¡¯s mouth curled up unconsciously as he imagined this scene; drowsiness enveloped him and he finally fell asleep in a daze. Chapter 4 Lu Lingxiy on the hospital bed for a few more days, and after various tedious examinations, he was finally able to get out of bed freely. The doctor repeatedly said that he was a miracle, recovering so well from such a serious injury, it was unbelievable. Wang Shuxiu was the happiest with the doctor¡¯s praise, changing from her usual acrimony to clutching the doctor¡¯s hand and thanking him incessantly, making the not-yet-married doctor blush in embarrassment. After a few days ofck of sleep, taking care of Lu Lingxi and working the night shift, Wang Shuxiu looked a little haggard. However, this haggardness did not detract from her beauty at all but added a touch of pitifulness to it. As Lu Lingxi¡¯s health improved, Wang Shuxiu began to tell him about the past in the hope that Lu Lingxi would remember something. Today she was telling him about Lu Lingxi¡¯s junior middle school life. ording to Wang Shuxiu, Lu Lingxi had never liked studying since he was a child, and while he had been able to get a pass in primary school, he could barely keep up in junior middle school. He either skipped sses or got into fights every day, and dropped out of senior middle school in the second half of his junior year, never going back to school after that. ¡°Do you still remember the time you got into a fight with a ssmate in junior middle school and were grabbed by the teacher?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head and lowered his eyes; he didn¡¯t dare to meet Wang Shuxiu¡¯s eyes whenever she mentioned something from the past. His eyshes were very long and when he lowered them slightly like this, the long eyshes seemed to cast small shadows under his eyes, fluttering lightly, almost as if scratching one¡¯s heart. ¡°Forget it, forget it if you can¡¯t remember.¡± Wang Shuxiu took one look at Lu Lingxi¡¯s expression and immediately skipped the topic. She didn¡¯t have to make Lu Lingxi recover his memory either, she even felt that Lu Lingxi was better off like this now. If it wasn¡¯t for the doctors saying every day that restoring his memory would be helpful to Lu Lingxi¡¯s recovery, she wouldn¡¯t bother talking about it. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± Wang Shuxiu¡¯s attention quickly shifted to another thing she had been passionate about recently, namely fattening up Lu Lingxi. She had always known that her son was good looking, after all, she had given birth to him. As long as he looked like her, he couldn¡¯t be too bad, not to mention the fact that Lu Lingxi had picked up exactly the best she and the bastard of his father had to offer. It was just that in the past, Lu Lingxi was too rebellious and liked gothic and heavy metal styles, something she didn¡¯t understand at all, and painted his face in such a way that his real features couldn¡¯t be seen. She couldn¡¯t remember how long it had been since she had seen Lu Lingxi¡¯s clean face. After the incident, Lu Lingxi¡¯s personality changed drastically and he never painted his face like a ghost again. Wang Shuxiu looked at Lu Lingxi¡¯s white face and the more she looked at it, the more she liked it. The only bad thing was that it was a bit too thin. Boys, especially adolescent boys, should be stronger. ¡°Come on, have a chicken leg.¡± Lu Lingxi felt helpless. He had just had his lunch not long ago and really couldn¡¯t eat. But before he could say no, Wang Shuxiu thought she had guessed what he was thinking and gave him a nonchnt squeeze on the face, ¡°What? Didn¡¯t wash your hands before eating? Little bastard, don¡¯t make a fuss.¡± Wang Shuxiu felt that washing one¡¯s hands before eating was a hassle, it wasn¡¯t as if the little bastard had gone out to work and gotten dirty. He hadn¡¯t even gotten out of bed all day, to need to wash his hands. But although she thought so, she couldn¡¯t resist Lu Lingxi¡¯s insistence, so she was forced to adapt to Lu Lingxi¡¯s habits. Wang Shuxiu put the shoes on Lu Lingxi¡¯s feet and looked like she was going to help him wash his hands. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He didn¡¯t want to go against Wang Shuxiu¡¯s good intentions. He touched his stomach; forget it, although it was a bit full, he could still eat another chicken leg if he tried hard. The four-patient ward did not have a separate washroom, so you could only go out of the ward to the public washroom. Lu Lingxi was washing his hands alone in there, and before he had finished, he heard Wang Shuxiu¡¯s scolding voiceing from the doorway. ¡°Little bastards, how dare you show up here!¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know who Wang Shuxiu was scolding, so he took a few quick steps and saw three oddly dressed, ragged teenagers standing in a row against the wall at the entrance to the washroom with their heads bowed, and Wang Shuxiu, holding one of her hands on her waist, was pping them with the other. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Wang Shuxiu looked like a queen. ¡°You little bastards, why don¡¯t you ask around and find out who I, Wang Shuxiu, am! You dare to run away after leaving Lu Lingxi alone in the hospital when something happened, huh? Run, huh? Now you dare toe over here again, you think I won¡¯t take care of you, do you?¡± The teenager in the lead looked up sheepishly, ¡°Auntie, I¡­¡± This ¡°Auntie¡± stirred the ho¡¯s nest again. Wang Shuxiu willow eyebrows rose up as she sneered, ¡°Auntie?¡± The second teenager was smart enough to change his words immediately, ¡°Sister, we were wrong.¡± The third teenager looked up to follow suit and admit his mistake, but saw Lu Lingxi. He was so used to Lu Lingxi¡¯s painted face that he was a little afraid to recognise the current Lu Lingxi, hesitating to say hello. s The other two teenagers looked over along with him and were simultaneously shocked by Lu Lingxi¡¯s appearance. ¡°Mom.¡± Lu Lingxi stood quietly beside Wang Shuxiu. Wang Shuxiu was not used to hearing him call her ¡°Mother¡±, and Lu Lingxi also intentionally wanted to separate himself from his past life, so after Wang Shuxiu mentioned it once, he never addressed her as ¡°Mother¡± again. After greeting Wang Shuxiu, Lu Lingxi turned his eyes to the three people standing against the wall. Judging from their age, they seemed to be friends of this body¡¯s original owner, but their outfits were really too strange. The three teenagers: ¡°¡­¡­¡± It was Lu Lingxi who looked strange. Wang Shuxiupared her son to the other three little bastards and once again felt that Lu Lingxi¡¯s amnesia was not a bad thing. Although she scolded fiercely, she also knew that it was thanks to these three Lu Lingxi had been brought to the hospital in time and it was also the three of them who called to inform her, so she let it go after scolding them a few times. However, Wang Shuxiu forced them to clean their faces andb their hair in the washroom before they went to the ward. She had been rolling in society for many years and she knew exactly the contempt that asionally shed in the eyes of the ward families when they met her. She didn¡¯t care, but she didn¡¯t want Lu Lingxi to be looked down upon in the same way as she was. Now that Lu Lingxi had lost his memory, he had managed to reverse his image of a punk in the eyes of the public, and she didn¡¯t want it to be ruined by these three little bastards. There was no way to dye their hair ck, but their faces had to be washed clean. Wang Shuxiu supervised as the three teenagers washed their faces over and over again until their skin was almost rubbed raw. Finally the paint was washed off their faces to reveal their original appearance. Ten minutester, the three of them, wet and obedient, were herded by Wang Shuxiu to Lu Lingxi¡¯s ward. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± After having washed away the vivid colours from their faces, all three looked very clean. One of the teenagers, who was presumably the closest to Lu Lingxi, was the first to speak up, ¡°Lao San (Old Third), we¡¯re sorry.¡± He had just found out about Lu Lingxi¡¯s rather serious injuries and memory loss; he didn¡¯t expect that the consequences would be so serious. The young man who spoke up was called Yi Hang. He was Lu Lingxi¡¯s neighbour and the oldest of the four. The teenager who had acted the smartest earlier was Zheng Tan, three months older than Lu Lingxi. The remaining teenager was called Bai Yuan, and he was a month younger than Lu Lingxi. The four of them used to be junior middle school ssmates and were together since they were young. Later, when they graduated from junior middle school and dropped out of senior middle school together, the four of them were inseparable and so close that they could wear the same pair of pants. When Lu Lingxi had an ident, they sent Lu Lingxi to the hospital and then notified Wang Shuxiu. They didn¡¯t dare to go home for the next few days and were hiding outside. A few days ago, Yi Hang heard that all the people they fought with that day had been arrested, so they panicked and discusseding to the hospital to see Lu Lingxi before going to the surrounding cities to hide. As a result, they were arrested by the police before they could reach the hospital and were only releasedst night after a few days in jail. They rested for the night and made an appointment to see Lu Lingxi the next day, not expecting that Lu Lingxi had actually lost his memory. When Yi Hang told Lu Lingxi all that, his expression became more and more guilty. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know what to say. What Yi Hang was talking about was like a story from another world to him. Fighting and brawling, being arrested by the police, waspletely beyond his imagination. Although Lu Lingxi had probably guessed from the police¡¯s appearance to Wang Shuxiu¡¯s intermittent narration that this body¡¯s lifestyle was not very peaceful, he really didn¡¯t expect the original owner of this body to be such a punk. Facing the apologetic eyes of the three people opposite, Lu Lingxi shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I forgot all about it.¡± When he said this, Yi Hang and the others were visibly relieved. In order to liven up the atmosphere, Zheng Tan said with a smile, ¡°Lao San can forget everything else, but when you get rich, don¡¯t forget your brothers.¡± Yi Hang pped Zheng Tan and said to Lu Lingxi, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to Zheng Tan, what about getting rich or not, Lao San, you should get well.¡± Lu Lingxi was quite ufortable with the name ¡°Lao San¡±, but considering that the other party was a friend of this body and he was now Lu Lingxi, he had to naturally learn to adapt to the original owner¡¯s life. ¡°I know.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded politely. Although he tried hard to talk simr to the way the other teenagers talked, his years of upbringing were deeply rooted and decent manners were almost engraved in his bones. Yi Hang and the others were obviously not used to the current Lu Lingxi. Originally they thought they would hug and be best buddies as always when they met, but Lu Lingxi did not remember anything, and what was even more odd was that his speech had changed from his usual rudeness to elegance. If everything was normal, Yi Hang would have pped Lu Lingxi, ¡°Pretend if you want to pretend.¡± But with the current Lu Lingxi, he couldn¡¯t p him in any way. s After an afternoon of whispering, once they left the hospital, Zheng Tan was the first to shout out. ¡°I almost died of suffocation this afternoon. Is Lao San possessed, didn¡¯t he used to hate this kind of well-behaved and quiet look? Look at him now, Lao Tzu (I (arrogant)) has to think carefully before talking to him, just in case it scares him.¡± Yi Hang red at him discontentedly, ¡°Who¡¯s possessed? Don¡¯t you know that Lao San has lost his memory?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s so strange, he¡¯s changed too much!¡± Bai Yuan muttered, ¡°I do think that Third Brother is fine now. Second Brother, don¡¯t you like that girl from Fengcheng No. 1 High School? She didn¡¯t look at us before, now we can push Third Brother in front of her, no problem.¡± (Yi Hang and Zheng Tan are older than Lu Lingxi, so they refer to him as Lao San. Bai Yuan is younger, so he calls him Third (elder) Brother). ¡°Fuck off! If she really likes Lao San, what will I have?¡± They bumped their shoulders into each other and left the hospital. Lu Lingxi was standing in front of the window watching their backs, his eyes shing with a hint of envy. He could feel the restraint of Yi Hang and the others during the afternoon chat. He had been trying to fit in with them but didn¡¯t seem to be sessful. He wondered if Yi Hang and Zheng Tan would think he had be weird and thus he would lose these few friends. Not long after Yi Hang and the others left, Wang Shuxiu also rushed off to work. Lu Lingxi was alone again, tet-a-tet with the chlorophytum in front of him. After watering the chlorophytumst time and getting a little nt heart, Lu Lingxi asked around the next day to find out that the chlorophytum was raised by the patient in Bed 17. When he tried to tell the patient in Bed 17 that he wanted to take care of the chlorophytum, the guy said with a smile that he had forgotten that he had such a pot and readily gave it to him. After carefully experimenting with the white panel that was invisible to everyone but him, Lu Lingxi opened it every day when he was alone to study the chlorophytum. He soon discovered that he did not get a nt heart every time he watered the chlorophytum, he had to water it when it needed water. After he watered it when the chlorophytum did not need watering, he was even deducted a heart nt. This experience made Lu Lingxi realise that taking care of flowers and nts was not as simple as he thought. In the past, when he was at the Lu family¡¯s house, when he had nothing else to do, he would asionally go to the garden to watch the gardeners water the nts and cut the branches. At that time, he thought it was very simple, but when he started taking care of this chlorophytum himself, he realised that even such a simple thing as watering had a lesson to learn. Due to his previous health problems, the doctor had been restricting Lu Lingxi¡¯s movements, so his research on the white panel could only be carried out around the chlorophytum on the windowsill. Now that he could finally move around freely, Lu Lingxi decided that he would have to find some other nts to look at as soon as possible. He wondered if the panel could only show this chlorophytum or if other nts were also avable? He thought a bit and quickly came up with the idea of therge-leaved golden pothos on the ground floor of the inpatient department. Chapter 5 Lu Lingxi¡¯s ward was on the third floor of the inpatient department. He remembered that there were a few pots ofrge-leaved golden pothos ced at the entrance of the lobby on the ground floor of the inpatient department. He had seen them when he was pushed by the nurse to the ground floor for a CT scanst time. Thinking of those pots, Lu Lingxi quickly straightened his hospital gown and changed his shoes with the intention of going to have a look. ¡°Xiao Lu, where are you going?¡± The person who asked was Sister Tian, the wife of the patient in Bed 19, Brother Li. During the past few days of Lu Lingxi¡¯s hospitalisation, although the people in the ward had a bad opinion of Wang Shuxiu, they could not find anything wrong with Lu Lingxi. The child was good-looking and polite, and was very pleasant to be around. In particr, although Lu Lingxi was alone and had no one to take care of him, he rarely bothered anyone else, even the nurses, and did everything he could alone. The people around felt that he was so sensible that it was heartbreaking, and everyone was usually willing to give him a hand with anything. Sister Tian had just fed Brother Li and turned her head to see that Lu Lingxi was going out, so she asked casually. ¡°Going downstairs to buy some things.¡± Lu Lingxi exined. ¡°Can you do it alone? Do you want me to apany you?¡± Sister Tian felt a bit uneasy. Lu Lingxi smiled shyly, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll be fine alone.¡± After Lu Lingxi left, the few people in the ward sighed; this child was really quite pitiful. He had been in hospital for so many days but they had not seen any other rtives apart from Wang Shuxiu. The child also had a father, but it was better to have no father at all than a father like that, who neither contributed money nor effort, and seemed to have a bad rtionship with Wang Shuxiu and his son. In the beginning, they were a bit ufortable with Wang Shuxiu, especially the female family members, who felt that Wang Shuxiu was immodest. But after spending more time together, they found out that Wang Shuxiu only dressed a little extravagantly and was not really what they thought she was. In particr, although Wang Shuxiu was rude and often quarrelled with the doctors and nurses, she was still very attentive to Lu Lingxi. Considering that it was not easy for a woman to support the family, everyone was not as critical of Wang Shuxiu as they had been at the beginning. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know about all the gossip behind the scenes; he was actually a bit bad at getting along with people around him. His social life used to be too monotonous in the past and he didn¡¯t really see many outsiders apart from his parents, family members and doctors. A small environment like a multi-person ward was something he had never experienced before. He could feel the kindness of the people around him, but he did not know how to respond and how to measure his response. Lu Lingxi did not use the elevator but took the stairs to the ground floor. He also felt that his body was recovering well and was usually willing to move more whenever he had the chance. After buying something from the kiosk on the ground floor, he pretended to be curious and stood in front of the potted nt at the entrance, reaching out quickly to touch the green leaf in front of him while no one was around. Soon the white panel appeared. nt name: Golden pothos nt needs: None nt viability: High Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes lit up. Just as he had expected, the white panel was not just able to show the chlorophytum, but other nts as well. The pot of golden pothos in front of him was obviously well looked after, and although he hadn¡¯t obtained a nt heart, Lu Lingxi was still in a good mood. He walked around the hall on the ground floor, intending to look at all the golden pothos on the ground floor. One pot, two pots, three pots¡­ By the time Lu Lingxi got around to the west door, the record on the white panel changed. nt name: Golden pothos nt needs: Water nt viability: High Lu Lingxi quickly unscrewed a bottle of water and carefully poured it into the pot. But unexpectedly, the nt needs on the panel did not change, still showing the need for water. ¡°Watering the flowers?¡± A familiar voice sounded behind him. Lu Lingxi was startled, ¡°Dr. Su.¡± Behind Lu Lingxi, Su Lang stood in a simple T-shirt and jeans, looking at Lu Lingxi with a gentle expression. After taking off his hospital white coat, Su Lang looked a little less serious and a little more bright and cheerful as a young man should be. Lu Lingxi nodded and Su Lang smiled as he stood behind him, looking at the nt and pointing out, ¡°The soil is almost wet but the leaves also need some spraying.¡± Lu Lingxi listened to his words and gently sprinkled some water on the leaves. The nt¡¯s needs quickly changed. A strange expression flickered in his eyes and he subconsciously looked up at Su Lang. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lu Lingxi smiled, ¡°You know so much, Dr. Su.¡± Su Lang saw his smile and couldn¡¯t help but look slightly dazed. It was already the second time that he saw the shadow of that teenager in Lu Lingxi. Ever since that teenager had died of sudden haemorrhage during surgery, that incident had be Su Lang¡¯s heart demon. ¡°Dr. Su?¡± Su Lang quickly returned to his senses and smiled covertly, exining, ¡°I just know a little bit about it, I learnt it from my grandfather. He likes to raise flowers, nts and stuff since he¡¯s retired and has nothing to do.¡± Lu Lingxi had a very good impression of Grandpa Su and was concerned, ¡°Is Grandpa Su feeling better?¡± Su Lang nodded. The old man¡¯s health was actually fine; it was more that because of a sudden incident his blood pressure was a bit high due to the stimtion, so he was okay after he recuperated. s ¡°That¡¯s good. If there¡¯s nothing else I¡¯ll go back to the ward first, Dr. Su.¡± Lu Lingxi said politely. He and Su Lang used to be quite familiar with each other, but because of that he was a bit afraid of Su Lang, afraid that Su Lang would notice something. Although the idea of a soul transfer was a bit absurd, there was no guarantee that he would not resemble his past self too much and cause Su Lang¡¯s suspicion. Su Lang seemed to want to say something, but the phone rang just in time. Lu Lingxi turned around and with his peripheral sight saw Su Lang picking up the phone, so he went straight upstairs without pausing. ¡°Hello?¡± Su Lang hastily waved his hand to Lu Lingxi and picked up the phone. ¡°This is Ye Kang.¡± The person on the other side of the phone said in a deep voice. Su Lang¡¯s expression rxed a bit, ¡°Something happened?¡± ¡°Yan Yue has returned to China, let¡¯s have a meal together.¡± ¡°Yan Yue has returned to China?¡± Su Lang was quite surprised by this news, then said regretfully, ¡°There¡¯s no chance for dinner. I resigned, now I¡¯m not in Zhongjing but back in Fengcheng.¡± ¡°You resigned?¡± This time it was Ye Kang¡¯s turn to be surprised, ¡°Why? Weren¡¯t you about to be promoted to deputy director soon?¡± ¡°Something came up at home.¡± Su Lang exined vaguely. ¡°Forget it then, Yan Yue will probably stay in the country for a bit longer this time, let¡¯s talk about it when we have time.¡± The two said a few more words and quickly hung up the phone. Su Lang and Ye Kang had met when they were studying abroad. The two were students at the same medical school, one in clinical medicine and the other in psychology. As they were both from China, they met at apatriot meeting and soon became friends. Through Ye Kang, Su Lang got to know Yan Yue. Yan Yue was a finance student at another university. He had been friends with Ye Kang since childhood and their families were close to each other. For several years, the three of them had a good rtionship and would often have dinner together until Su Lang and Ye Kang returned to China while Yan Yue stayed abroad to take over the Yan family¡¯spany. Su Lang remembered that when he spoke to Ye Kang on the phone about Yan Yue some time ago, Ye Kang said that Yan Yue would not be returning to China anytime soon. But within a few days Yan Yue suddenly returned to China, and ording to Ye Kang, he was going to stay here for a while. Although Su Lang had a good rtionship with Yan Yue, probably because of Yan Yue¡¯s personality, he had never known much about him. He had vaguely heard Ye Kang say that Yan Yue¡¯s family was rather troublesome; could it be that something had happened to Yan Yue¡¯s family? After thinking about it, Su Lang couldn¡¯te up with any clues, so he decided to call Yan Yueter to say hello. Zhongjing Ye Family¡¯s Psychological Clinic Ye Kang hung up the phone and returned to his office. In front of the floor-to-ceiling window, Yan Yue, dressed in a ck suit, was standing looking out of the window. His well-cut suit outlined his strong and slender body, making him look even more upright. Hearing the sound of the door closing, Yan Yue turned around, ¡°What did Su Lang say?¡± Ye Kang whistled at Yan Yue, ¡°Hold this pose, I¡¯ll take a picture and sell it to my cousin.¡± It was nearly evening and the streetlights outside were turned on, the bright lights illuminating Yan Yue¡¯s profile, handsome and dazzling. Among the three of them, Su Lang, Ye Kang and Yan Yue, Su Lang had the best personality, Ye Kang was the most narcissistic, and Yan Yue was the most handsome, a heroic kind of handsome. Yan Yue did not take Ye Kang¡¯s words seriously, pulled out the chair in front of the desk and sat down, repeating the question, ¡°What did Su Lang say?¡± Ye Kang spread his hands, ¡°He resigned, he¡¯s not in Zhongjing now, dinner is out of the question.¡± ¡°Resigned?¡± Yan Yue was as surprised as Ye Kang, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say he was going to be promoted soon?¡± Ye Kang shook his head, ¡°Maybe there¡¯s something going on at home.¡± The reason of something going on at home resonated with Yan Yue; his brow furrowed slightly and although it quickly smoothened, it was still noticed by Ye Kang. Ye Kang had heard Yan Yue talk about the reason why he had returned to China this time. What he was worried about was not Yan Yue¡¯s inability to handle things at home, but the state of Yan Yue¡¯s mind. ¡°Have you been in contact with Professor Susan recently?¡± Professor Susan that Ye Kang spoke of was his teacher when he was studying and was quite knowledgeable in psychology. Yan Yue had always had serious psychological problems because of his family environment. It was just that Yan Yue refused to mention it and Yan Yue¡¯s parents didn¡¯t even know about it. Ye Kang actually had chosen to major in psychology that year because he was influenced by Yan Yue. He knew that Yan Yue was very reluctant to talk to strangers about his family and when he had to return to China a few years ago, he entrusted Yan Yue to Professor Susan, who knew both of them well. s Ye Kang¡¯s question made Yan Yue frown and say instead of answering, ¡°Didn¡¯t you cry that you were hungry? Let¡¯s go eat.¡± The more he avoided the topic, the more Ye Kang felt that Yan Yue¡¯s problem was aggravated. But Yan Yue did not want to talk about it; a trace of worry shed in Ye Kang¡¯s eyes as he held back from asking again. It was after nine o¡¯clock when the two of them finished dinner. Ye Kang had his own house in downtown Zhongjing, so Yan Yue drove back to the Yan family mansion by himself. The Yan family mansion with a four-entry antiquepound was located at the foot of the most prestigious Xiangshan Mountain in Zhongjing, covering a wide area. When Yan Yue¡¯s grandfather built the mansion, he wanted the Yan family¡¯s children and grandchildren to blossom and live together in peace and harmony. Unfortunately, until the old man¡¯s death, the only owners of the Yan family¡¯s mansion were Yan Yue¡¯s parents and Yan Yue. Later on, Yan Yue¡¯s parents abandoned the young Yan Yue and moved out of the mansion, leaving Yan Yue the only owner of the mansion. When Yan Yue returned, there were only a few lights flickering in the house, and most of the mansion was shrouded in deep darkness. Compared to the brilliant lights and liveliness of the Ye family¡¯s house not far away, the Yan family¡¯s house looked like a ghost mansion. Upon receiving the news of Yan Yue¡¯s return, the Yan family¡¯s housekeeper quickly weed him. ¡°Shaoye (young master).¡± Yan Yue nodded and walked past the housekeeper towards his courtyard. The housekeeper took a few steps closer to follow behind Yan Yue, carefully peering at Yan Yue¡¯s expression, asking awkwardly, ¡°Second Miss, she¡­¡± Yan Yue paused slightly and said without looking back, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± The housekeeper answered carefully, ¡°Second Miss said she wanted to see you, Shaoye, saying that Madam has a message for you, and that if she can¡¯t see you, she¡­ she is going to die.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s expression remained unchanged as he lightly instructed, ¡°Then let her die.¡± The housekeeper wiped a cold sweat and looked at Yan Yue¡¯s back with a bitter smile, not daring to say anything. As for the Second Miss, who did not justly deserve this name, the housekeeper shook his head and thought, ¡°Madam let the things go on like this, now Shaoye really doesn¡¯t have the slightest bit of mother-child affection with her.¡± Chapter 6 After a few nights of torment, Lu Lingxi miraculously adapted to the sound of snoring in the ward. After a good night¡¯s sleep, he got up early, thinking of going for a walk around the small garden at the back of the hospital. As thergest hospital in Fengcheng, Fengcheng No. 1 Hospital was huge, consisting of several buildings such as the medical building, the outpatient building and the inpatient department, not to mention that the hospital had deliberately set aside a small garden at the back of the inpatient department as a ce for patients to rx. This was Lu Lingxi¡¯s goal. Yesterday he had already tested it out with the golden pothos in the hospital lobby and established that the mysterious white panel could disy not only the chlorophytum he kept in the ward, but also other nts. He wanted to go to the garden to continue the experiment, but it waste afternoon and there were too many people in the garden, so he had to resist the idea for fear that someone would see his anomaly. Early this morning, before dawn, Lu Lingxi could not sleep and kept thinking about this matter. He vaguely felt that the white panel was like a nt detector, and he was the ¡°nt doctor¡± holding the detector in his hand. This new identity gave him an unspeakable closeness to nts. After a brief wash, Lu Lingxi dressed and made his way downstairs. It was July and the pansies in the small garden were in full bloom. The flowers of all colours werepeting with each other, swaying slightly in the warm orange light of the sunrise, the vibrant colours making people feel suddenly cheerful. When Lu Lingxi was a young son of the Lu family, he had once seen the family¡¯s gardener nting pansies in the corner of the garden. It was said that this flower was mostly a wildflower in Europe and was very popr among garden owners because it was easy to grow, had a high survival rate and a long flowering period. However, in the eyes of some professionals, pansies were toomon to bother with. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t think so. In his eyes, there was no difference between a wild petunia on the roadside and a famous orchid that the Lu family had bought for arge sum of money and carefully cultivated. They were both gifts from nature, how could there be superiors and inferiors among them? As it was still early, there were not many people in the garden. When Lu Lingxi went there, there were only two elderly men in ordinary clothes squatting close to each other in front of the flower bed at the entrance to the garden, pointing at the pansies in bloom and saying something. Lu Lingxi listened casually to the two old men, who seemed to be the gardeners in charge of the small garden. Without paying too much attention, he found a flower bed close by, crouched down there like the old men and gently touched a pansy in front of him with his fingertips. The white panel appeared in the air and floated in front of him. nt name: Pansy nt needs: Fertiliser nt viability: High The smile on Lu Lingxi¡¯s lips froze at the word ¡°fertiliser¡± on the nt¡¯s requirements. Whether it was the chlorophytum or the golden pothos, all they needed was water. Lu Lingxi almost forgot that there were other things besides water that a nt needed to grow well. For example, light and fertiliser. But if watering was fine, what should he do with fertilisation? Lu Lingxi touched a few more pansies next to him, and all the nts needed to be fertilised. He was in a bit of a quandary; not to mention how to fertilise, but where would the fertilisere from? Lu Lingxi subconsciously looked at two old men who looked like gardeners not far away, and one of them, a slightly chubby, kind-looking old man, happened to stand up and affirm, ¡°Itcks fertiliser a bit, we need to fertilise it again.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± After this old man finished, the other old man who looked very thin and tall also stood up and nodded. The two seemed to be men of action and soon brought a white stic bucket and some tools from a small locked house in the corner of the garden. The slightly chubby old man opened the stic bucket and poured out some brown pellets, diluting them with water and blending them very skilfully. The tall and thin old man picked up the water and adjusted the tools in his hands. As Lu Lingxi watched intently from the side, the slightly chubby old man noticed his gaze, turned his head and smiled at him amiably. ¡°What are you looking at, young man?¡± A little embarrassed, Lu Lingxi smiled shyly and said curiously, ¡°Are you fertilising?¡± The old man thought that Lu Lingxi had heard their previous conversation and nodded. Lu Lingxi hesitated for a few seconds and took the initiative to ask, ¡°Do you need my help?¡± His words caused the slightly chubby old man to freeze for a moment, and even the tall, thin one looked over. Lu Lingxi¡¯s face reddened a little as he was looked at by them like this. He wanted to help not because he could get the nt hearts, but because he saw that these two men were old and it was inappropriate for him to watch from the sidelines while they were working. But once the words were out of his mouth and he was being looked at by the men, he couldn¡¯t help but feel embarrassed. It was as if the men could see through the fact that he had a mysterious panel on him and that all this was being done to get the nt hearts. s The slightly chubby old man chuckled heartily after his initial surprise. ¡°It¡¯s good that the young man wants to help,e on, let me show you how to use it.¡± The tall, thin old man gave Lu Lingxi an appreciative nce, but scolded with augh, ¡°Elder Zhang, you old slicker, can¡¯t you see the young man is wearing a hospital robe, how can he do it?¡± The old man called Elder Zhang also seemed to think that his behaviour was a bit inappropriate. Lu Lingxi insisted before the other man could politely refuse, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± The tools the two old men had brought, he had seen them before at the Lu family; they were not too tiring to operate, one just needed to bend down and control the direction of the water spray. Lu Lingxi kept insisting, and the tall, thin old man thought about it for a while and agreed. The hospital¡¯s garden lookedrge, but apart from thewn, there were not many flower beds. There was an automatic irrigation system on thewn that didn¡¯t need to be managed by them, and the only thing they really needed to tend to was the dozen or so flower beds that were scattered all over the ce. The three of them worked together and were very efficient. Apart from Lu Lingxi, who was not very skilled, the two old men were very familiar with the work and looked like veterans. By the time the small garden slowly filled up with people, all three had already finished their work. During the fertilising process, Lu Lingxi also learnt that the slightly chubby, kind-looking old man was surnamed Zhang, and the tall, thin, serious-looking old man was surnamed Zhao. The two old men had a very good impression of Lu Lingxi, and after hearing that he had amnesia, they even asked him many questions seriously for a long time. Lu Lingxi originally thought that the men were the gardeners who took care of the small garden, but after hearing their professional questions that were simr to what the doctor said he was a bit confused about their identities. Although he was puzzled, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t ask anything. After finishing his work, he quickly left the garden. It was time for Wang Shuxiu toe to the hospital, and Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t want her to worry if she couldn¡¯t find him. Walking all the way back to the inpatient department, Lu Lingxi was just about to enter the ward when someone behind him suddenly grabbed him. ¡°Where have you been? I¡¯ve been looking for you for half a day. Hurry up,e with me to get discharged from the hospital.¡± Lu Lingxi turned around bewildered; pulling him was a strange man. The man looked to be in his forties, his hair was greasy, and his face was stubbled, so Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t make out his features. The man wore a dirty grey T-shirt on top and a pair of wide floral pants on the bottom, with a pair of slippers on his bare feet. He held Lu Lingxi tightly and pulled him, asionally ncing towards the elevator. ¡°Who are you?¡± Lu Lingxi asked hesitantly. He had a vague suspicion in his heart but couldn¡¯t believe it. Lu Lingxi¡¯s words made the other party¡¯s eyes widen violently and he opened his mouth to curse, ¡°Little bastard, I am your dad, have you fallen on your head? You don¡¯t even know me anymore.¡± Lu Lingxi broke free from the other party¡¯s grasp a bit forcefully and frankly admitted, ¡°I have amnesia, I don¡¯t remember anything.¡± The man who imed to be the father of this body did not give Lu Lingxi a good first impression, not because the man was dressed in a poor manner and was cursing, but because of a feeling that was hard to describe. Hearing that Lu Lingxi had amnesia, the man froze, ¡°Really lost your memory?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. The man frowned and cursed in a low voice, ¡°Damn.¡± However, he grabbed Lu Lingxi once again and said quickly, ¡°If you lost your memory, then you lost your memory. This is not important, you go with me first to get discharged. By the way, do you know how much of the hospitalisation deposit the hospital is still holding?¡± Lu Lingxi was about to say that he didn¡¯t know when the elevator door opened not far away and Wang Shuxiu ran out menacingly. Seeing the man who grabbed Lu Lingxi, she opened her mouth and cursed, ¡°Lu Yishui, do you call yourself a man?! You lost money, you can¡¯t pay it back and you actuallye to your son to get his life-saving money! Was your conscience eaten by dogs?¡± Wang Shuxiu chasing after him was exactly what Lu Yishui feared. That was why he hurriedly tried to drag Lu Lingxi to get discharged from the hospital. He just didn¡¯t expect Lu Lingxi not to be in the ward, causing him to search for Lu Lingxi for a long time, only to be caught red-handed by Wang Shuxiu. s To put it bluntly, he was too greedy. He had lost arge sum of money in the past few days, so he decided to go home and ask Wang Shuxiu for money. But Wang Shuxiu¡¯s money was all prepared for Lu Lingxi¡¯s hospitalisation, so how could she possibly give it to him? He secretly took the money when Wang Shuxiu wasn¡¯t looking and now he was also thinking about the hospital deposit that Wang Shuxiu had mentioned. He wanted to coax Lu Lingxi to get discharged from the hospital behind Wang Shuxiu¡¯s back. When he saw that Wang Shuxiu was about toe after him, Lu Yishui pulled Lu Lingxi and tried to leave. Lu Lingxi stood still and refused to move. Lu Yishui became anxious, ¡°Little bastard, my survival depends on you.¡± In the meantime, Wang Shuxiu had already run up to the two of them, pulled Lu Lingxi over and blocked him behind her, then took off her shoes, grabbed Lu Yishui¡¯s hair with one hand and smashed the shoes held in the other hand on his head. ¡°You steal the money, steal my son¡¯s life-saving money? Where is my money? Where did you hide my money?¡± ¡°You crazy woman, you let go of me! What¡¯s your money? You¡¯re married to Lao Tzu, it¡¯s Lao Tzu¡¯s money.¡± Lu Yishui was in a mess as he was grabbed by Wang Shuxiu, yelling loudly and trying to break free. The scene in front of him happened so fast that Lu Lingxi was a little bit unable to react for a while. It was only when the people in the ward heard the noise outside and came out to see what was going on that Lu Lingxi realised what was happening. Instinctively, Lu Lingxi rushed up and wrapped his arms around the man¡¯s waist from behind, restricting his movements. He had never been in a fight before and didn¡¯t know how he could help Wang Shuxiu. But ording to his thinking, Lu Yishui couldn¡¯t move, so Wang Shuxiu could get the upper hand anyhow. In his mind, how could a man beat a woman? Especially when that woman was Wang Shuxiu. Lu Yishui was about to break away from Wang Shuxiu by hitting and kicking her, but when Lu Lingxi held him, he was at a disadvantage. Wang Shuxiu grabbed her high heel shoe and hit Lu Yishui¡¯s forehead with the heel several times, then pulled a stack of money out of his pocket, signalled Lu Lingxi to let go, pulled Lu Lingxi¡¯s arm and retreated to the side. ¡°Xiao Xi,e to Mom¡¯s side.¡± Lu Lingxi hadn¡¯t thought much about it when he rushed up, but now that the fight was over, he realised that the corridor was full of people. He, Wang Shuxiu and Lu Yishui had be the centre of attention in the whole corridor. Compared to Lu Lingxi and Wang Shuxiu, Lu Yishui was now in a terrible mess. He covered his eyes and red at Wang Shuxiu with hatred, saying with a stern look, ¡°Crazy woman, you¡¯re fucking crazy, I¡¯m your man. And you little bastard, I¡¯m your father.¡± Wang Shuxiu sneered at Lu Yishui, spat at him and said loudly to everyone around, ¡°People say that family shame should not be disclosed, but I, Wang Shuxiu, am not afraid to beughed at by people. This man is my son¡¯s father. My son has been injured and in the hospital for so many days but not only did he note to see him, but also stole my son¡¯s life-saving money and went out to gamble. Not only did he steal the money, but he was also thinking about the hospital deposit, trying to trick my son into being discharged from the hospital. Lu Yishui, shame on you!¡± When Wang Shuxiu finished speaking, people around began to talk. ¡°This is too shameless.¡± ¡°Is there such a father?¡± ¡°No wonder he doesn¡¯t look like a good person, he looks wretched.¡± The people from Lu Lingxi¡¯s ward were the first toe out and heard almost the whole thing. Although they usually didn¡¯t look up to Wang Shuxiu, their opinion of her greatly improved now. Sister Tian took the lead to point at Lu Yishui and scold him. The other family members in the ward helped out and made sarcastic remarks about Lu Yishui. Lu Yishui was scolded and disgraced. Seeing that the people around him were all speaking in Wang Shuxiu¡¯s favour, he understood that he would not be able to take advantage of the situation today, so he hatefully said some harsh words, cursed and pushed the crowd away. After scolding Lu Yishui, Sister Tian turned her head and took Wang Shuxiu¡¯s hand, ¡°Sister, are you okay?¡± Wang Shuxiu nodded. Sister Tian turned around and shouted at everyone, ¡°All right, let¡¯s disperse, it¡¯s all right, don¡¯t look.¡± One by one, the crowd dispersed and Wang Shuxiu went to the bathroom to tidy up her clothes. When she came out today in a hurry, she put on a shirt and skirt casually. Now she just had a fight with Lu Yishui, and her shirt was in a mess. Sister Tian turned to Lu Lingxi and asked him if he was alright, and Lu Lingxi nodded gratefully. He didn¡¯t go back to the ward either, but followed behind Wang Shuxiu and waited at the bathroom door. Ten minutester Wang Shuxiu came out of the bathroom, and Lu Lingxi saw her slightly red eyes at once. Unable to say what he felt in his heart, Lu Lingxi called out in a small voice, ¡°Mom.¡± Wang Shuxiu looked at Lu Lingxi waiting there and couldn¡¯t help but smile. The grievances in her heart were swept away, and she scolded,ining and affectionate at the same time, ¡°Little bastard, aren¡¯t you a good fighter? Right now you just knew how to hug that deadbeat guy, it¡¯s not like you at all.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t say anything; a strange emotion rose from his heart, warm and overflowing. He looked at Wang Shuxiu and smiled faintly. Chapter 7 One battle made Lu Lingxi and Wang Shuxiu famous. The whole hospital had heard that there was a mother and son on the third floor of the inpatient department. Even when the doctors came to check, they couldn¡¯t help but stare at Wang Shuxiu¡¯s ten-centimetre high heels, imagining how much it would hurt to be hit by such a sharp and thin heel. Through this fight, Wang Shuxiu unexpectedly got closer to the others in the ward. Sister Tian smiled and joked with her, ¡°Your son was not raised for nothing, he¡¯s on his mother¡¯s side when it matters.¡± Wang Shuxiu looked happy, ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± With the others following suit and joking as well, Wang Shuxiu felt even happier. Lu Lingxi was a little ufortable being the protagonist of their conversation. This experience was very new to him. He could feel Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heartfelt pride; she was proud of him. He felt that he hadn¡¯t actually done anything but held the waist of the man he should call his father amidst the confusion. Did Wang Shuxiu need to be so happy about such a small thing? Lu Lingxi tilted his head and gazed at Wang Shuxiu¡¯s profile. The slight redness in her eyes had dissipated and her smile at this moment waspletely sincere. Noticing Lu Lingxi¡¯s gaze, Wang Shuxiu looked back at him quickly and asked nervously, ¡°Do you feel ufortable somewhere?¡± When Lu Lingxi shook his head, Wang Shuxiu breathed a sigh of relief and couldn¡¯t help but instruct, ¡°Next time you encounter that old bastard, run, don¡¯t just stand there and be fooled by him.¡± This was also because Lu Lingxi had lost his memory. If he hadn¡¯t lost his memory, Wang Shuxiu wouldn¡¯t have worried. Lu Lingxi digested the words ¡°old bastard¡± in his mind for a few seconds and nodded obediently. Wang Shuxiu continued to chat with Sister Tian, while Lu Lingxi had nothing to do but pretend to read the newspaper while quietly opening the white panel. The results of the morning¡¯s fertilisation came out, and he gained fifty points of nt hearts. Although he didn¡¯t do it for the sake of nt hearts, he couldn¡¯t help being happy when he saw the words 56/100 (Level 0) disyed at the lower end. This time Lu Lingxi figured out another rule of the panel. Satisfying the needs of a single nt, he could get one point of nt heart, but with a flower bed of pansies, the panel did not count every single pansy, but a flower bed as a whole, and the whole could get him ten points of nt hearts. Lu Lingxi was responsible for five flower beds in the morning, and the final result was equal to him taking care of the chlorophytum for several months. Speaking of chlorophytum, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know if it was his illusion, but he felt that the pot of chlorophytum on the windowsill seemed to have recovered a bit too well. In just a few days, the previously yellow and limp leaves hadpletely straightened and were as green and shiny as if they had been specially tended to. Yesterday, when the doctor brought a group of nurses to check on him, they evenplimented him on how well he was raising the chlorophytum and asked him for advice. Lu Lingxi had never raised flowers and nts before, and he wondered if he was being paranoid. Did the chlorophytum recover so well just from watering, or did it have something to do with the mysterious white panel? The morning passed quickly and Wang Shuxiu had to get ready for work again in the afternoon. Lu Lingxi looked at the traces of fatigue in the corners of Wang Shuxiu¡¯s eyes and hesitantly suggested that he wanted to leave the hospital. As soon as he had been able to get on his feet, he had advised Wang Shuxiu not toe to the hospital so early. His body almost recovered and he was able to take care of himself. Wang Shuxiu did not listen to him at that time but Lu Lingxi still had the intention of being discharged from the hospital. Today, after Lu Yishui had made such a show, Lu Lingxi thought of leaving the hospital early even more. From Lu Yishui¡¯s words, he could tell that the family was in a bit of financial distress. Whether it was his hospitalisation or Lu Yishui¡¯s gambling money, it was Wang Shuxiu¡¯s hard work that earned money. There was no way for Lu Lingxi to justify watching Wang Shuxiu¡¯s hard work, so he wanted to do what he could to ease some of her burden. ¡°Discharge from the hospital?¡± Wang Shuxiu froze for a moment at first when hearing Lu Lingxi¡¯s proposal, and then objected vehemently, ¡°You haven¡¯t recovered yet, what discharge?¡± Lu Lingxi deliberately tried to find an excuse. Wang Shuxiu looked at Lu Lingxi suspiciously, suddenly reached out and pped him on the head with a smile on her face, ¡°What? You¡¯re afraid your mom won¡¯t have any money? Little bastard knows how to care for his mom now. Don¡¯t worry, how can your mom not have money? Don¡¯t listen to your dad¡¯s nonsense, even if there is no other money, for your hospitalisation there will be.¡± When Lu Lingxi hesitated to speak, Wang Shuxiuughed, patted Lu Lingxi to reassure him and hurried away. Lu Lingxi leaned on the windowsill and watched Wang Shuxiu¡¯s figure disappear, then quietly sat back down on the hospital bed. He had to seriously think about how to get out of the hospital. In the next few days, Wang Shuxiu arrived at the hospital early as usual and stayed until she went to work every day. She was a bit worried that Lu Yishui would again take advantage of her absence to look for trouble with Lu Lingxi, and she told Lu Lingxi several times that he should run away when he saw Lu Yishui and wait for her toe. To be on the safe side, Wang Shuxiu not only begged the people in the ward to keep an eye on Lu Lingxi, but also went to the nurses she had fought with before, hoping that they would watch out for strangers and not let Lu Lingxi be fooled. Some of the nurses had seen the situation with their own eyes, and even if they hadn¡¯t, they had heard about the fight between Wang Shuxiu and Lu Lingxi¡¯s father, and privately they all sympathised with Wang Shuxiu. Although Wang Shuxiu¡¯s attitude was not good in the past, it was hard for a mother to be quiet when she watched Lu Lingxi lying unconscious in bed all the time. In addition, Lu Lingxi¡¯s looks were so pleasing that they agreed to Wang Shuxiu¡¯s request. s In this way, Wang Shuxiu was relieved, but Lu Lingxi¡¯s behaviour was restricted again. If he wanted to go to the small garden to see the flowers, he had to be surrounded by nurses. Knowing that Wang Shuxiu was worried about him, Lu Lingxi would always report to the nurses before he went out and tried to move with the other patients of the ward. He didn¡¯t go anywhere else either, just to the lobby on the ground floor to look at the golden pothos and in the morning to the small garden to look at the pansies. Since thest fertilisation, Lu Lingxi had met Elder Zhang once more in the small garden. Elder Zhang remembered his amnesia and asked him how his recovery was going. When he heard that he still had no recollection of the past, Elder Zhang made a point offorting him. Lu Lingxi knew in his heart that he was not suffering from amnesia, but he was still grateful for Elder Zhang¡¯sfort. He apanied Elder Zhang to water the nts once, and with the sessive care of the chlorophytum and the golden pothos in the hall, the nt hearts on his panel finally rose to 99¨M100 (Level 0), just one step away from being levelled up. That night, the patient in Bed 17 of the same ward was informed that he would be discharged the next day, and the whole ward was very happy. No one was sleeping at the usual bedtime, and everyone gathered together to chat excitedly. Lu Lingxi was also happy for the patient in Bed 17, a big, burly man who everyone called Lao Ding. Lu Lingxi was the youngest in the ward and he was the only one who could not call him Lao Ding but had to call him Brother Ding. Like Lu Lingxi, Brother Ding¡¯s injury was to his head, and it was also due to a fight. However, Brother Ding never said exactly why he was fighting. Lu Lingxi was infected by the lively atmosphere in the ward and kept smiling as he listened to their conversation, asionally saying a few words if anyone mentioned him. Having developed a regr daily schedule over the years, Lu Lingxi was actually a little sleepy, but he couldn¡¯t sleep yet. He counted the time to water the chlorophytum tonight, just so that he could get a little nt heart and level up. He was all set, just waiting for everyone to fall asleep to level up. It was well past 11 o¡¯clock before the crowd in the ward washed up and went to bed at the reminder of the nurse on duty. Lu Lingxi had been waiting for this moment for a long time. He quickly washed up and sat quietly on the hospital bed, eyeing the chlorophytum. Brother Li, who was in Bed 19, asked, ¡°Xiao Lu, are you not sleeping yet?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded sheepishly and whispered, ¡°I drank too much water just now, I¡¯m waiting to go to the toilet again.¡± Brother Liughed, thinking that Lu Lingxi was still a child. He could have gone to bed first and got up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet, was he afraid of wetting the bed? He admonished Lu Lingxi to hurry up and go to sleep, turned around and started snoring. The people in the ward fell asleep one by one, and the sound of snoring rose from everywhere again. Lu Lingxi turned off the light and looked nervously at the white panel in front of him by the light from the corridor. When the word ¡°none¡± behind the nt needs changed to ¡°water¡±, he immediately perked up, quickly took the mineral water he had prepared and carefully poured it into the pot. As the clear mineral water seeped into the soil of the pot, the long green bar at the bottom of the panel finally gave a prompt. Meeting the needs of the chlorophytum nt, reward +1 nt heart. Immediately following this prompt was another prompt. Collecting 100 nt hearts, start the primary mental scan, scanning range limited to three metres, also reward one packet of tomato seeds. As this prompt shed, Lu Lingxi only felt a weight in his hand, and a palm-sized ck package appeared in his hand. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He had imagined what would happen after collecting a hundred nt hearts, but none of those things included a packet of tomato seeds suddenly appearing in his hand in the middle of the night. It was toote to study what a mental scan was; his attention was focused on the small ck parcel in his hand. Lu Lingxi subconsciously turned the parcel in his hand upside down, a little apprehensive as to whether these seeds would be like a panel that only he could see. Or were they physical objects that everyone could see? ording tomon sense, no matter what the white panel was, since he was rewarded with the seeds he must have been expected to nt them, so everyone should be able to see them. s With that in mind, he couldn¡¯t very well ask someone in the middle of the night to confirm if they could see what he was holding or not. One mistake, and he would be treated as a psychopath for his actions. Lu Lingxi turned the parcel upside down again and carefully put it away in the bedside drawer. If he guessed correctly, he would have to find an excuse tomorrow to exin to Wang Shuxiu why he suddenly had an extra packet of tomato seeds after a good night¡¯s sleep. Having settled the matter of the seeds, Lu Lingxi then focused his attention on the so-called mental scan. By now, Lu Lingxi was getting more and more confused as to what the white panel actually meant. The other side only gave a prompt, but did not even mention what a mental scan was and how to use it. Lu Lingxi tried to imagine the mind as a thought, and the mental scan as a diffused thought. A few dozen seconds passed, and just as his mind went nk and he was about to give up, he unexpectedly ¡°saw¡± the chlorophytum on the windowsill in his mind. Lu Lingxi looked at the windowsill in surprise. The feeling was so mysterious that he did not know how to describe it. He was sure that the chlorophytum that appeared in his mind was not something he saw with his eyes, but was more like the radar he had seen in a science programme before, transmitting the image to his mind through some kind of light wave scanning. Lu Lingxi had the illusion that when he was thinking about the mental scan, it was as if a strange wave of intent was emitted towards a three-metre radius around him. After this wave of intent returned from the emission and analysed the information, the previously scanned items, more precisely the scanned nts, would appear in his mind. Of course, this series of emission and reception was very fast and did not take time. It was as if Lu Lingxi could see the potted chlorophytum within three metres in his mind just by having a thought. To confirm this, Lu Lingxi quickly got out of bed. He cautiously bypassed the person sleeping on the floor and estimated the distance of three metres in his mind. Bed 19, Bed 18; by the time Lu Lingxi was standing in front of Bed 18, he could not see the chlorophytum. He tried to take a step back and deliberately turned his back to the windowsill. As the thought shed through his mind, the chlorophytum on the windowsill appeared clearly in his mind. Lu Lingxi tapped on the white panel and the same image of chlorophytum appeared in the centre of the panel. Unlike in the past when the image in the centre of the panel was t, this time the chlorophytum on the windowsill appeared in a three-dimensional form in front of him. Chapter 8 nt name: Large-leaved golden pothos nt needs: None nt viability: High Near the main entrance on the ground floor of the inpatient department, Lu Lingxi did not touch the leaves of the golden pothos as usual, but deliberately stood a little farther away to conduct a mental scan. As with the chlorophytumst night, the golden pothos within three metres behind him not only appeared clearly in his mind, but also on the white panel. Lu Lingxi excitedly circled the lobby, and as pots of golden pothos appeared in his mind, the joy of the panel upgrade finally became real. After testing all the golden pothos, Lu Lingxi was about to return to the ward when two staff members dressed in hospital logistics style uniforms stopped in front of the pot of golden pothos not far away. ¡°Lao Wang, look at this nt, do you think it looks better than the other pots?¡± ¡°It seems to be a bit, it feels taller than the other pots.¡± ¡°Not only is it taller, but the colour looks better than the others too. Look at these green leaves, the markings on them are clearly distinguishable. How can the other potspare?¡± ¡°It does look different, but why? We water and look after them the same.¡± ¡°I wonder too, I thought it was a bit differentst time, but the difference wasn¡¯t so obvious then.¡± The golden pothos they were talking about was the same one that Lu Lingxi had watered. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t listen any further when he heard this. It was really not his illusion, whether it was the golden pothos or the chlorophytum on the windowsill, the ones he had taken care of seemed to grow better. He remembered that thest time he watered the garden with Elder Zhang, the old man had jokingly mentioned that the pansies in the flower beds that Lu Lingxi had fertilised were blooming particrly well, while the others were a little less so. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t see the difference after looking at them for a long time and it was hard to tell whether what Elder Zhang said was true or just an encouragement to him. Now with the addition of this pot of golden pothos, there seems to be no more doubt about this issue. Lu Lingxi was sure that it was all connected to the white panel. Lu Lingxi walked all the way back to the ward deep in thought when the attending doctor, Chen Zhu, stopped him in the corridor. ¡°Xiao Lu,e here for a moment.¡± ¡°Dr. Chen?¡± He obediently followed the doctor into the office, and Chen Zhu fished out Lu Lingxi¡¯s yesterday examination report from the pile of documents on his desk and gently pointed it out to him. ¡°Xiao Lu, your examination report is out. Except for the problem of amnesia, you have recovered well, and ording to your health condition, you can almost be discharged. You should discuss it with your mother to see if you should be discharged now or stay for a few more days to continue checking the problem of amnesia.¡± As soon as Chen Zhu said that, Lu Lingxi replied, ¡°Dr. Chen, I want to be discharged.¡± ¡°Discharged?¡± Chen Zhu pondered for a moment, ¡°Discharge is fine, but Xiao Lu, you¡¯d better discuss it with your mother.¡± ording to Lu Lingxi¡¯s examination report, Lu Lingxi¡¯s health fully met the requirements for discharge. Under normal circumstances, the hospital would not stop a patient from requesting to be discharged, but Lu Lingxi¡¯s situation was different. After all, Lu Lingxi had just turned 18 and was still a child in Chen Zhu¡¯s eyes, so it was best for his parents to decide whether he should be discharged or not. Lu Lingxi knew Chen Zhu¡¯s concerns, but he still wanted to insist. ¡°Dr. Chen, my body is fine, and my amnesia does not affect my life, you see¡­¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes were pleading; he himself knew his condition, memory loss was not a problem at all. But Wang Shuxiu has always only listened to doctors. If Dr. Chen mentioned amnesia, Wang Shuxiu would definitely keep him in the hospital for a few more days. When he was in the Lu family, he had never thought about hospital fees or medical expenses, and the Lu family was not short of money at all. But this time when he was hospitalised, he watched Wang Shuxiu work so hard and realised the importance of money for the first time. He was really fine and didn¡¯t want Wang Shuxiu to spend more money than necessary. Chen Zhu also knew some things about Lu Lingxi¡¯s situation. It seemed that the Lu family¡¯s conditions were not too good, and the burden of being hospitalised for a long time was indeed a bit heavy. Thinking of this, Chen Zhu sighed in his heart andpromised, ¡°Then let¡¯s discharge you. But¡­¡± Chen Zhu found a sticky note and left Lu Lingxi his phone number, instructing, ¡°Call me immediately if anything happens to your health. Or if you remember something one day, give me a call as well.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Lu Lingxi was pleasantly surprised, his eyes shining brightly as he looked at Chen Zhu. Looking at him, Chen Zhu couldn¡¯t help but smile and joked, ¡°I promise to discharge you from the hospital, don¡¯t turn against me when your motheres over and scolds me for being irresponsible.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t happen,¡± Lu Lingxi hurriedly said, feeling a little embarrassed. He still remembered the time when he first woke up from aa and Wang Shuxiu grabbed Chen Zhu and cursed the hospital for cheating them out of money. Chen Zhu smiled: ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. Xiao Lu, go and pack up, you are about to be discharged from the hospital.¡± ¡°En. Thank you.¡± Coming out of the office, Lu Lingxi briskly walked back to his ward, finally ready to be discharged. Perhaps because his memories of hospitals before were not good Lu Lingxi subconsciously did not like the hospital very much and had a vague feeling of depression. He was greatly relieved to be discharged this time. In his heart, discharge from hospital did not only mean physical recovery, but also a farewell to his past life. It also represented a new life for him, a fresh start. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t dy and started packing his things as soon as he returned to his ward. He had been in the hospital for so many days and had umted a lot of bits and pieces. He finished packing early, so that Wang Shuxiu would not have to worry about it when she arrived. As soon as Lu Lingxi started packing his things, the other family members in the ward noticed it. Sister Tian was the first to ask, ¡°Xiao Lu, are you going to be discharged from the hospital?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, ¡°Dr. Chen said that I¡¯ve almost recovered and can be discharged.¡± ¡°Aiyo, that¡¯s a good thing!¡± Sister Tian was even happier than Lu Lingxi, putting down whatever she was doing and ready to help Lu Lingxi pack. ¡°No need to bother, Sister Tian, I can do it alone,¡± Lu Lingxi hastily refused. Sister Tian ignored him, ¡°I¡¯ll do it, you¡¯re a young man, how can you know how to pack these things? By the way, Xiao Lu, did you tell your mother?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head. It was still early; if he told Wang Shuxiu, Wang Shuxiu would definitely rush over. It would be better to say itter; it would still allow her to sleep a little longer while he packed his things. When Sister Tian saw Lu Lingxi shaking his head, she thought he didn¡¯t have a mobile phone. She was about to say that Lu Lingxi could take her mobile phone to make a call, but then she suddenly understood. Sister Tian liked Lu Lingxi from the bottom of her heart. Although Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t have a proper man, it was worth having such a son, she thought. Lu Lingxi, together with Sister Tian and with the help of the others in the ward, quickly packed up his things. If he hadn¡¯t been aplete stranger to Fengcheng, unable to find his way home, he would have asked Wang Shuxiu not toe and would have been fine on his own. s After putting his packed things together neatly, Lu Lingxi saw that it was almost the usual time for Wang Shuxiu toe. He borrowed Sister Tian¡¯s mobile phone to send a text message to Wang Shuxiu who quickly called him back. ¡°Why are you being discharged from the hospital suddenly? What did the doctor say?¡± The news was so unexpected that Wang Shuxiu was worried that Lu Lingxi had secretly managed to get out of the hospital without telling her and the doctor. ¡°The results of yesterday¡¯s examination came out, and Dr. Chen said I was recovering well enough to be discharged,¡± Lu Lingxi patiently exined, knowing what Wang Shuxiu was worried about. Once she heard that it was the doctor¡¯s advice, Wang Shuxiu calmed down. She was afraid that Lu Lingxi would still remember Lu Yishui¡¯s nonsense words fromst time and would refuse to be hospitalised for fear that his family would not have enough money. When she heard that Lu Lingxi had already packed his things and gone through the discharge procedures, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s voice grew louder. ¡°Just wait for me to do these things, you don¡¯t have to worry about it! Don¡¯t worry about anything, I¡¯ll be there soon.¡± Lu Lingxi hung up the phone. Sister Tian looked at him and smiled, ¡°Your mother said that, right? I told you not to worry about these things, your mother is there to do them.¡± Lu Lingxiughed in embarrassment. Sister Tian said this, but in her heart she couldn¡¯t help but envy Wang Shuxiu. Lu Lingxi was such a sensible child, so much so that it was heartbreaking. No matter what Lu Lingxi was like before he lost his memory, she felt that judging by Lu Lingxi¡¯s nature he was definitely not a bad kid before he lost his memory. Sister Tian remembered one thing and said with concern, ¡°Xiao Lu, what are you going to do after you leave the hospital?¡± Without waiting for Lu Lingxi¡¯s answer, she said straight away, ¡°At your age, you should study. If you want to study, ask Brother Li to run around and find a ce for you to re-study your first year of senior middle school. You¡¯ll be just two years older than an average student, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Sister Tian heard Wang Shuxiu talk about Lu Lingxi dropping out of school after graduating from junior middle school and felt a bit sorry for him. She was worried that Lu Lingxi would feel embarrassed to be a freshman at eighteen or something, and thought aboutforting him in advance. Lu Lingxi smiled gratefully, but still shook his head. ¡°Thank you, I don¡¯t n to study anymore, I want to find a job.¡± Although Lu Lingxi had stayed at home before, he had a fair understanding of the outside world through the inte. Three years of senior middle school plus four years of university, seven years of tuition fees and living expenses added up to be a very heavy burden for Wang Shuxiu. Without taking into ount the current financial situation of the family, being able to study was one thing that Lu Lingxi longed for more than anything else. All his memories of school were stuck in the third grade of primary school. The wide school yard, his lively ssmates, the pleasant sound of the after-ss bell and the ss teacher with her gentle smile. After the car ident, he was forced to withdraw from school. At first a few of his best friends came to see him with the ss teacher, but after a while no one came to see him anymore. They all forgot about him, but he could never forget his primary school life. The night before the operation, his father had also promised to send him to study abroad. Being able to study seemed to be a kind of obsession for him to some extent, but when he thought of how hard Wang Shuxiu worked, Lu Lingxi gave up this idea. In fact, it was the same whether he studied or not; he hadn¡¯t been to school much anyway, so he might not be able to adapt if he really went back to school. Besides, he was fine the way he was. Lu Lingxi had already thought about it; when he was discharged from hospital, he would find a job in a gardening shop. He could not only use the panel to take care of flowers and nts but also collect nt hearts, and at the same time earn money to support himself so that Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t have to work so hard. Hearing that Lu Lingxi did not intend to go to school, Sister Tian couldn¡¯t help but persuade, ¡°Xiao Lu, you are still young and don¡¯t know what this society is like. What kind of job can you find if you don¡¯t go to school? It¡¯spletely different from when youe out of school, so don¡¯t be confused.¡± s Lu Lingxi knew that Sister Tian was being kind, but he had already made up his mind and just smiled without saying anything. Sister Tian sighed in her heart and didn¡¯t persuade Lu Lingxi any further, but thought that she would have to talk to Wang Shuxiuter so as to not disadvantage the child. In a short while, the sound of Wang Shuxiu¡¯s footsteps came from the corridor. Since Lu Lingxi was about to leave the hospital, Wang Shuxiu had bought a lot of fruits at the entrance of the hospital. The people in the ward had been taking care of Lu Lingxi for a long time, especially Sister Tian, so Wang Shuxiu wanted to do something for her. ¡°Come on, eat the fruit.¡± Wang Shuxiu carried several bags in her hands, and put a bag on every bed. ¡°What are you doing, Sister!¡± Sister Tian took her hand and wouldn¡¯t let go. Wang Shuxiu insisted, ¡°Xiao Xi is going to be discharged from the hospital, I have nothing else to give. A little fruit is not worth anything, thank you all for this time.¡± Her expression was so sincere that Sister Tian took the fruit after pushing it back twice. While Lu Lingxi was washing apples in the washroom, Sister Tian mentioned to Wang Shuxiu about Lu Lingxi¡¯s going to school. As soon as she heard that she could find someone to get Lu Lingxi back to school, Wang Shuxiu immediately became happy. Both she and Lu Yishui were not well educated, so all their hopes were pinned on Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi did not like to study in the past. She had scolded him a lot but had no choice but to agree with Lu Lingxi dropping out of school early. Now that there was a chance to go back to school, Wang Shuxiu thought about the changes in Lu Lingxi after the ident and simply said, ¡°Yes, he must go.¡± Sister Tian reminded her, ¡°I¡¯m afraid Xiao Lu is not willing to go.¡± Wang Shuxiu waved her hand, ¡°Little bastard still wants to turn the world upside down but he has to listen to me on this matter.¡± If it was before, Wang Shuxiu was not confident that she could control Lu Lingxi, but after the ident Lu Lingxi behaved too obediently and Wang Shuxiu felt that she could still make the decision on this matter, so she directly agreed. Chapter 9 When Lu Lingxi was discharged from the hospital, he left the chlorophytum he was raising to Sister Tian. The pot of chlorophytum was raised by him extremely well; its leaves were so green and lush that, in Sister Tian¡¯s words, one look at it made her feel good. Since Sister Tian liked it, Lu Lingxi was happy too. This pot of chlorophytum was the first nt he had ever raised, and as a major contributor to his discovery of the white panel, it had a very special meaning in Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he had too many bits and pieces that he and Wang Shuxiu had to take back with them, Lu Lingxi wouldn¡¯t be able to bear to leave it behind. Seeing Lu Lingxi look at the chlorophytum reluctantly, Sister Tian smiled and joked, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Xiao Lu, Sister Tian will help you raise this chlorophytum first to ensure that it is well nourished and then you will take it back one day when youe to the hospital.¡± When Sister Tian said this, Lu Lingxi smiled in embarrassment. After bidding farewell to Sister Tian and the other people in the ward, Lu Lingxi followed Wang Shuxiu out of the hospital. The two of them took a taxi, and Wang Shuxiu gave the address and repeated it to Lu Lingxi on purpose, telling him to remember the name of the district. Lu Lingxi nodded, looking out the car window. Fengcheng was located in the north of China, not far from the northern capital, Zhongjing, and was arge, heavily industrial city. As it was summer, the streets were very lively, with a constant flow of traffic and people, men, women and children who walked in a hurry or looked casual. The whole city was full of vitality and Lu Lingxi was fascinated for a while. In the past, in the Lu family, he seldom went out and if he did, it was mostly to the hospital. In the oppressive and tense atmosphere at that time, he was not in the mood to watch the outside world. This was the first time he observed a city so vividly, not through videos and text, but with his own eyes. The taxi came to a stop at a red light, and a little white puppy was struggling to get out of its owner¡¯s arms on the pavement not far away from them. The owner, who seemed unable to bear the tossing and turning of the little puppy, squatted down and put it on the ground, while holding out his hand carefully around it to protect it. The puppy looked around curiously with big, wet eyes and tentatively stretched its front paw to take a step. There was no danger. The puppy was about to take the second step when a little girl passed by and eximed in surprise at the sight of the puppy. Startled by the exmation, the little puppy stumbled, turned around and jumped into its owner¡¯s arms, refusing toe down again. Lu Lingxi could not help butugh at this scene, but afterughing, he felt that his current mood was somewhat simr to that of the little puppy. Perhaps because he had been locked up in a small world for too long, Lu Lingxi was full of longing for the outside world. But when he could really walk out, he was vaguely afraid. He knew nothing and had no experience of social life at all, could he adapt to a new life? This question hovered in Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind, recing the joy he felt when he was just released from the hospital and giving rise to a hint of apprehension about the unknown life. The puppy would have an owner to show it the world, and it could jump back into its owner¡¯s arms if it was scared, but what about him? ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Wang Shuxiu leaned over and the taxi moved. She did not see the puppy outside, but saw a street square not far away and immediately pointed it out to Lu Lingxi. ¡°See? Your mom works there, Shida za, remember.¡± ¡°En.¡± For the rest of the journey, Wang Shuxiu excitedly pointed at the buildings outside the window and introduced them to Lu Lingxi. Perhaps it was because they were almost home, the surrounding area was basically the area where Lu Lingxi used to walk around. The ces he used to go, the ce where he used to go to school, the park where hisst fight happened and where he had the ident. In the end, Wang Shuxiu patted Lu Lingxi¡¯s head and concluded, ¡°Remember these ces if you can, but it doesn¡¯t matter if you can¡¯t remember, just think of them as new ces to visit. When your mom came to Fengcheng from the countryside, I couldn¡¯t even read a few words, but I¡¯m still alive and kicking here. If you have nothing to do in the next few days, let that boy Yi Hang apany you around and get familiar with the surroundings.¡± ¡°En.¡± The apprehension in Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart was swatted away by Wang Shuxiu. With Wang Shuxiu¡¯s introduction, his whole heart gradually settled down. The taxi turned east and west on the road and soon stopped in front of an old neighbourhood near the centre of Fengcheng. ¡°Here it is.¡± Wang Shuxiu got out of the car carrying the bags and pointed the way for Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi got out of the car after her, and the first thing he saw was a row of small sheds built crookedly at the entrance of the district, and the figures inside the sheds who were pointing at them. ¡°Wang Xiaohua, who did you bring back, he doesn¡¯t look like your son, ah?¡± A slightly teasing remark came from inside a small shed, and the people burst outughing. Wang Xiaohua was Wang Shuxiu¡¯s original name. When Wang Shuxiu was born, her parents were poor and uneducated. In that era, a daughter was not worth much, so they casually gave her the name Xiaohua (little flower). When Wang Shuxiu left her hometown to make her way in the world, she felt that the name Xiaohua was too rustic and changed it to Wang Shuxiu (elegant, warm and virtuous). When Wang Shuxiu married Lu Yishui and moved to this neighbourhood, she had already changed her name. Originally, no one knew that her previous name was Wang Xiaohua, but once she had a fight with Lu Yishui and Lu Yishui called out her old name, which was overheard by the neighbours who were bored watching. Since then, everyone liked to make jokes about her name when they had nothing to do. When Wang Shuxiu heard their teasing, she sneered and responded spiritedly, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business who I bring back. If he doesn¡¯t look like my son, does he look like yours? Fine, then give money to raise him.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Wang Shuxiu talked back and the person who spoke before suddenly did not dare to speak again. Faintly, someone was heardughing and scolding, ¡°Ma Laosan, can you do it? Is it really your son?¡± ¡°Fuck off! If Lao Tzu¡¯s son could grow up like this, I wouldn¡¯t need to worry about getting a daughter-inw.¡± ¡°Hey, what did Lu Lingxi look like before? I don¡¯t remember at all.¡± ¡°Just look at that little brat Yi Hang, he looked exactly the same.¡± The people inside the sheds seemed to be full of curiosity about Lu Lingxi. They had already heard about Lu Lingxi¡¯s amnesia. The crowd was more than intrigued to see this kind of scenario that often appeared on TV. Wang Shuxiu scowled, not bothering to pay any further attention to them, and dragged Lu Lingxi into the neighbourhood. This neighbourhood was almost twenty years old. After decades of weathering and poor maintenance, the entire district looked very dpidated. Some of the external walls started to peel off, and more of them were ckened and covered with moss. Although there were flowers and grass in the area, it felt very disordered. Everywhere you went, you could see garbage piling up and every two steps there were small sheds built haphazardly by the residents. These were things that Lu Lingxi had never seen before, and he followed behind Wang Shuxiu a little ufortably. Wang Shuxiu was oblivious to everything around her and kept pointing out to Lu Lingxi whichever building he was passing. s Their home was at the far end of the block, Building 3, Gate 3, No. 101. ¡°We¡¯re almost there.¡± After turning a corner, Wang Shuxiu motioned with her head to indicate that Lu Lingxi should go forward. Lu Lingxi looked ahead and suddenly froze, a hint of confusion shing in his eyes. ¡°Those people are?¡± Wang Shuxiu followed his line of sight and looked over, violently threw away the things in her hands and rushed up. ¡°Lu Yishui, you son of a bitch, what are you doing?¡± Not far ahead, Lu Yishui, his head wrapped in bandages and one arm hanging on his chest, was directing several big and burly men to carry things out from inside 101. A green pickup truck was parked outside 101, and a lean man sat in the back of the pickup,zily holding a cigarette and shouting every now and then. ¡°Hurry the fuck up, you guys, haven¡¯t you eaten in the morning?¡± Wang Shuxiu¡¯s voice attracted everyone¡¯s attention. The lean man nced obliquely at Wang Shuxiu, and Lu Yishui trotted two steps forward to block Wang Shuxiu. ¡°Wang Xiaohua, I¡¯m warning you not to cause trouble, Brother Feng is not a man to be negotiated with.¡± Before Lu Yishui could finish his sentence, Wang Shuxiu had already pped him on the head. ¡°I¡¯m causing trouble? Do you fucking want to live, you let them move all our stuff away, what about us?¡± Lu Yishui squatted under her p and yelled loudly, grabbing her arm. ¡°Is it not because you didn¡¯t give Lao Tzu moneyst time? Look what kind of beating I got! If I hadn¡¯t had these things to give, I would¡¯ve lost an arm.¡± Wang Shuxiu was so angry that she pounced on Lu Yishui, continuing to hit him. ¡°You gamble?! I¡¯ll let you gamble!¡± ¡°All right, all right ah, Wang Xiaohua, I warned you enough, ah!¡± With his arm hanging Lu Yishui didn¡¯t have the fighting power he hadst time at the hospital and could only take the beating while retreating. The man in the pickupughed at Lu Yishui¡¯s abject appearance. Perhaps stimted by the other man¡¯sughter, Lu Yishui¡¯s face turned red, he red at Wang Shuxiu and pped her. With a ¡°thud¡±, Lu Yishui¡¯s p did notnd on Wang Shuxiu, but hit a pile of scattered things instead. With a stern face, Lu Lingxi held the things in his hand to block the p, standing in front of Wang Shuxiu. ¡°Little bastard, you¡­¡± Lu Yishui jumped to scold. Lu Lingxi did not know how to curse and just looked quietly at Lu Yishui with a pair of dark eyes. Meeting his gaze, Li Yishui suddenly felt guilty and his cursing stopped. The man in the pickup looked at the scene coldly and said loudly, ¡°All right, leave the rest to them.¡± He said that without even a nce at Lu Yishui and said to Wang Shuxiu, ¡°It¡¯s only right to pay back what you owe. Lu Yishui lost a lot of money to me, so don¡¯t me me for taking things to cover the debt. How much is this stuff worth? It¡¯s just an add-on. I¡¯m in a good mood today, so I won¡¯t move the rest of your things. I¡¯ll give you another week to pay the money Lu Yishui owes, figure it out yourselves.¡± s ¡°Hey, hey, Brother Feng!¡± Lu Yishui held the man tightly, trying to say something. The man impatiently pushed him away and gestured for his men to drive. The pickup truck wobbled away from the neighbourhood. Lu Yishui turned his head to meet Wang Shuxiu¡¯s gaze and chucked dryly, ¡°So what¡­¡± Wang Shuxiu spat on him and pulled Lu Lingxi into the house, locking the door and shutting Lu Yishui out. The house was a mess. The refrigerator, colour TV and severalrge appliances were missing. Wang Shuxiu held back her anger and smiled at Lu Lingxi as if nothing was wrong, ¡°If the old ones don¡¯t go away, the new ones won¡¯te. These things have been used enough. Mom will take you tomorrow to buy the new ones.¡± Lu Lingxi reached out to support her and could feel Wang Shuxiu¡¯s body tremble slightly. He was afraid that Wang Shuxiu¡¯s anger would be bad for her health, so he said softly, ¡°I want to find a job, and I will support you in the future.¡± ¡°Little bastard.¡± Wang Shuxiu cursed in a low voice, her eyes slowly reddening. Chapter 10 Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t take Lu Lingxi¡¯sment about working to support her seriously. She was still hoping that Lu Lingxi would go back to school. She had been struggling in society for many years and had suffered a lot because of herck of education, so she hoped that Lu Lingxi would not follow the same path as she and Lu Yishui. Lu Lingxi was young now, but when he got old, he would know the pain of being uneducated. After tidying up a little, Wang Shuxiu started cooking. Although Brother Feng¡¯s gang moved away the refrigerator, the other kitchenware was basically untouched. Wang Shuxiu looked through it and found some vegetables and meat, enough for her and Lu Lingxi to have a couple of meals. ¡°Are you hungry? I¡¯ll cook right away, you go back inside and lie down for a while.¡± Wang Shuxiu was worried that Lu Lingxi had just been discharged from the hospital and that his body would not be able to bear the hardships, so she rushed him to rest. Lu Lingxi was fine. He wanted to stay and help, but he hadn¡¯t ever been in the kitchen. Knowing that he would just be in the way if he stayed, Lu Lingxi obediently retreated and continued to clean up the house. The ce was not very big, a small two-bedroom apartment. Because it was an older type of house, the bedrooms were quiterge, but the living room was tiny. As the two bedrooms faced north and south, the living room that was squeezed in the middle had no windows and appeared somewhat dark. Wang Shuxiu had already tidied up the living room briefly, and apart from theck of appliances, it was not really in a mess, so Lu Lingxi focused on his ¡°own¡± room. The original owner of this body seemed to be an avid heavy metal fan, and the whole room was decorated in a very dark and gloomy style. The walls were covered with all sorts of weird posters that Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t recognise, and the clothes in the wardrobe were just like the ones Yi Hang and the others worest time, either printed with skeletons or tattered and torn. Before dinner, Lu Lingxi tore down all the posters on the walls, packed and sealed all the original owner¡¯s CDs, and divided the clothes in his wardrobe into two piles ording to what he could and could not wear. Lu Lingxi did not intend to throw away all these things of the original owner, but wanted to keep them as a memento. He knew that this idea was ridiculous, but he always felt that he had taken over the original owner¡¯s body and even if everyone around him was used to his new appearance and had forgotten what the original owner was like, he should not forget it. When Wang Shuxiu called him to eat, Lu Lingxi had already tidied up everything. The whole room was clean and fresh, and all the extra things had been packed up and piled up in the corner. The lunch for mother and son was very simple. Wang Shuxiu made stir-fried pork with garlic shoots and eggs with tomatoes, apanied by steamed soft rice. Although it didn¡¯t look rich, it aroused Lu Lingxi¡¯s appetite. Only after eating two bowls in a row did Lu Lingxi stop. Wang Shuxiu kept giving him meat, instructing him, ¡°Eat more.¡± Seeing that Lu Lingxi had almost finished eating, Wang Shuxiu mentioned what Sister Tian had said earlier. ¡°Mom will leave you some money. Take a nap this afternoon. When you wake up, go find Yi Hang and ask him to take you out for a walk. If you see a bookstore, buy a few high school books, and in a few days we¡¯ll enrol you in a study ss to catch up on the previous ones, so you don¡¯t start school without knowing anything.¡± Wang Shuxiu had the final word, apparently already decided on this matter. Lu Lingxi was silent for a few seconds and then said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to school, I want to go to work.¡± ¡°Little bastard, you still want to make a fuss!¡± Wang Shuxiu threw down her chopsticks and raised her eyebrows, ¡°I have the final say in this matter.¡± She was full of momentum, but Lu Lingxi still refused to relent, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to school, I want to work.¡± ¡°Little bastard, you¡­¡± Wang Shuxiu habitually wanted to p Lu Lingxi on the head, but halfway through the motion she met Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes and couldn¡¯t p him. ¡°This matter is not negotiable, you must go to school,¡± Wang Shuxiu said bitterly. Lu Lingxi did not say anything else, but his expression showed his persistence. Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t understand how Lu Lingxi could be so reluctant to go to school even though he had lost his memory and couldn¡¯t remember anything. After sending Lu Lingxi to take a nap, Wang Shuxiu put away the dishes and sat alone in her bedroom to calcte her savings. s Wang Shuxiu hadn¡¯t saved much money in all her years with Lu Yishui. Although her sry was not bad, Lu Yishui waszy and a gambler, and Lu Lingxi used to spend a lot of money, so all her money was spent on the father and son. This time, Lu Lingxi¡¯s ident cost her arge sum of money, which she had originally saved for Lu Lingxi¡¯s future marriage but had to spend almost entirely on one hospital stay. There was still a little bit left, and Wang Shuxiu nned to give it all to Sister Tian, but she didn¡¯t know if it was enough. Although Sister Tian only said that Brother Li knew people and could help Lu Lingxi get back to school without mentioning money, there was no way to find someone to do things these days without spending money. The school was not owned by Sister Tian and her family and it was Sister Tian¡¯s kindness to find someone. Sister Tian meant well, but Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t really just use her favour shamelessly. After calcting that the money was not enough, Wang Shuxiu pped the bed bitterly, ming the old bastard. When she thought that Lu Yishui owed even more money, Wang Shuxiu was furious. It was all his addiction to gambling and his constant losing. No matter where she hid the money, he was able to find and steal it, and now she couldn¡¯t even gather enough money to send Lu Lingxi to school. It was not that Wang Shuxiu hasn¡¯t thought about divorcing Lu Yishui over the years and getting out of this mess. But every time she mentioned it, Lu Yishui would urge Lu Lingxi to make a scene. Even though Lu Lingxi usually barely looked at Lu Yishui, when it came to a divorce, he was definitely on Lu Yishui¡¯s side. After a few times, Wang Shuxiu stopped mentioning it. The only son she had was this one, so she endured it for the sake of Lu Lingxi. This time¡­ Wang Shuxiu sighed; let¡¯s see what Lu Lingxi¡¯s mood would be in a few days. Anyway, no matter whether she divorced or not, she wouldn¡¯t pay a single penny for Lu Yishui. Thinking of this, Wang Shuxiu quickly found the real estate certificate for the house. Last time she forced Lu Yishui to change the title for the house to Lu Lingxi¡¯s because she was afraid that Lu Yishui would sell the house behind her back. Later, she also told Lu Lingxi not to be tricked by that old bastard Lu Yishui into selling the house. Across the wall, Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t sleep and was thinking about Lu Yishui. He couldn¡¯t understand why Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t get a divorce. He had only seen Lu Yishui twice, counting the time in the hospital, but his impression of Li Yishui was very poor. Gambling and hitting his wife, either was uneptable to Lu Lingxi¡¯s upbringing, and Lu Yishui did both. So why hadn¡¯t Wang Shuxiu left him? ording to Lu Lingxi¡¯s understanding, anyone who got involved in gambling would end up losing his family. Was it because Wang Shuxiu and Lu Yishui were in love? Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t understand. Turning over, he thought of the money Lu Yishui owed. How was Lu Yishui going to pay it back? Would Wang Shuxiu help him pay it back? As he thought about these questions, Lu Lingxi fell asleep in a daze. When he woke up, Wang Shuxiu was already dressing up to go out. ¡°So early?¡± Lu Lingxi was surprised. ¡°I have to go to your Aunt Lin¡¯s house. Oh, you don¡¯t remember who your Aunt Lin is, right? I¡¯ll bring Aunt Lin to have dinner with us in a few days.¡± The Aunt Lin that Wang Shuxiu spoke of was her colleague Lin Mei, who worked with her and sometimes switched shifts with her. Wang Shuxiu thought about where to hide the house certificate for a while, but nowhere felt particrly safe. After thinking about it, she simply messaged Lin Mei and decided to keep the house certificate at Lin Mei¡¯s ce for a few days. After leaving the key and money for Lu Lingxi, Wang Shuxiu said, ¡°Yi Hang wille overter¡± and left in a hurry. Lu Lingxi put away the key, found the tomato seeds rewarded when the panel upgraded and went to the small garden outside the balcony. The garden was actually a small piece ofnd owned by the first-floor residents, with a fence around it so no one else could enter. Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t have the heart to take care of it before, so the small garden was overgrown with weeds and looked messy. When Lu Lingxi was in the hospital, he was thinking about where to nt these tomatoes after he was discharged, and this little patch ofnd seemed to be prepared just for him. When Yi Hang came over in the afternoon, he saw Lu Lingxi squatting on the ground in the hot sun, pulling weeds little by little. He had already cleared half of the small patch ofnd in their backyard. Across the fence, Yi Hang called out to Lu Lingxi, ¡°Lao San, what are you doing?¡± When Lu Lingxi saw Yi Hang, he patted the soil off his hands and walked over. ¡°I want to grow some tomatoes here.¡± Yi Hang: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Speaking of which, he was really a bit confused. How could a person change so much after losing their memory? It didn¡¯t matter that Lu Lingxi¡¯s personality changed, howe his hobbies had changed as well and he had acquired a love for gardening? Yi Hang had a headache watching Lu Lingxi pluck the weeds. He was toozy to go around to the front door, so he directly climbed the fence and jumped down. ¡°Hurry up, I¡¯ll help you finish, your mother still wants me to take you out for a walk.¡± The two of them worked together and it took half an hour to clear the rest of the weeds. Yi Hang wiped his sweat and urged Lu Lingxi to hurry up and change his clothes and go out. Lu Lingxi looked at him hesitantly, ¡°You¡¯re just going out like this?¡± Yi Hang was puzzled, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lu Lingxi hesitated for a few seconds and said in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s strange?¡± Yi Hang¡¯s outfit was simr to the one he wore when he went to see Lu Lingxi at the hospital that day, a big ck skull t-shirt, ripped jeans, his face and hair were all colourful; he almost looked like a person walking out of the poster Lu Lingxi had packed earlier. Yi Hang¡¯s eyes fell on Lu Lingxi¡¯s light blue t-shirt and white shorts. Thinking about the image of the two walking together, it was like a punk holding a good student hostage. It was really out of tune. Yi Hang helplessly scratched his hair, took a shower at Lu Lingxi¡¯s house and haphazardly put on a pink t-shirt that Wang Shuxiu bought for Lu Lingxi at some point. Still wearing the jeans from before, with his face clean, he looked at Lu Lingxi bitterly. ¡°Is this alright?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. As the two went out, the neighbours around poked out to take a look. They had seen Lu Lingxi in the morning, but who was the young man next to Lu Lingxi? Yi Hang¡¯s father was ying poker in the small shed outside the neighbourhood. When he looked up and saw Yi Hang, he was so surprised that he forgot about the cards in his hand. ¡°Lao Ma, look, is that my family¡¯s little brat?¡± Lao Ma nced indifferently, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Wang Xiaohua¡¯s little boy? Are you seeing things?¡± Yi Hang¡¯s father looked and looked again and again, doubting if he had really been mistaken. Yi Hang stood by the road with Lu Lingxi waiting for the bus, ufortably pulling on his clothes and asking, ¡°Where do you want to go?¡± ¡°The bookstore, I want to buy a book.¡± ¡°No kidding?¡± Yi Hang gave an exaggerated shout, ¡°What your mother said is true, Lao San, you really want to go back to school! Aren¡¯t you too old?¡± Lu Lingxi was amused by his reaction andughed, ¡°No, I¡¯m going to buy a book on how to grow tomatoes. I also think I¡¯m a bit too old to go back to school and I want to get a job.¡± s ¡°A job?¡± Yi Hang became interested and looked at Lu Lingxi with a strange smile, ¡°I do know of a job that is quite suitable for you now. You still remember my cousin, right? The one who studied horticulture and couldn¡¯t find a job after graduation and opened her own gardening shop. She¡¯s pregnant now and is looking for someone to look after the shop for her. I think you¡¯ll have no problem looking after the shop for her if you have the dedication to pull weeds all afternoon.¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± Lu Lingxi said earnestly. ¡°Crap! Lao San, you¡¯re serious!¡± Yi Hang blinked,pletely speechless. Couldn¡¯t Lu Lingxi hear that he was teasing him? A big man fiddling with flowers and nts every day, didn¡¯t he think it was boring? Lu Lingxi nodded. Of course he was serious. Yi Hang: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Twenty minutester, Yi Hang could not resist Lu Lingxi¡¯s insistence and took him to his cousin¡¯s gardening shop. Yi Hang¡¯s cousin¡¯s name was Du Lin, and she was a very bright and cheerful girl. Her shop was not very big, just about ten square metres, and the name of the shop was Tiny Garden. As soon as Lu Lingxi entered the shop, he felt in a good mood for no reason. Although Du Lin¡¯s shop was small, it was neat and tidy inside. There were several shelves on the wall, filled with lush green nts of various shades. In the centre of the shop was a circr stand with several pots of begonias in full bloom. Their bowl-sized flowers in rich colours ced amidst the bright green foliage made them very eye-catching. On the left side by the wall there was a variety of blooming flowers, beautiful, fragrant and dazzling. ¡°Wee, do you need¡­¡± Du Lin greeted them and suddenly froze halfway through her greeting. Yi Hang grinned, ¡°Cousin.¡± ¡°Yi Hang.¡± Du Lin hesitantly looked at Lu Lingxi and said cautiously, ¡°Lu Lingxi?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. Du Lin couldn¡¯t believe her eyes, ¡°So this is what you look like after washing your face.¡± She couldn¡¯t help but joke, ¡°If I had known, I wouldn¡¯t have married so soon.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Du Linughed and invited the two to sit down on the wicker chairs in the shop. ¡°What brings you guys here, is there something wrong?¡± Yi Hang poked Lu Lingxi and gestured, ¡°Lao San wants to find a job, aren¡¯t you hiring, Cousin?¡± Hearing Yi Hang¡¯s words, Du Lin looked at Lu Lingxi critically. To be honest, she had met Lu Lingxi a few times before and had a very general impression of him. It was mainly because Lu Lingxi and the others were too non-mainstream, and Du Lin could not stand their aesthetics. This time when they met, Lu Lingxi gave her apletely different feeling. How to put it? The Lu Lingxi in front of her made her feel veryfortable, not because Lu Lingxi was good-looking, but because Lu Lingxi had an aura about him that put people in a calm mood. But all this only proved that Lu Lingxi easily made people feel good about him; it did not mean that he was qualified for the job. Although Tiny Garden was small, it was Du Lin¡¯s heart and soul. Every de of grass and flower in it was painstakingly cultivated by Du Lin herself. Not to mention that she had worked hard to get a firm foothold in the street and be popr, she simply liked these flowers and nts and didn¡¯t want to find someone ignorant to ruin them. Although Lu Lingxi had no social experience, he also knew that this did not seem to be the way to find a job. He thought about it and said seriously, ¡°Sister Du Lin, I really like this job. You can test me to see if I can meet the requirements.¡± Du Lin thought about it for a second. It was fine. She gestured to Lu Lingxi to look at the corner, ¡°Do you know that potted flower? Can you tell what¡¯s wrong with it?¡± Lu Lingxi followed Du Lin¡¯s line of sight and saw a dozen little, oddly shaped flowers clustered together in a small white porcin pot in the corner. The yellow flowers had slipper-shaped petals, also somewhat resembling an ancient purse. The petals were littered with small red spots and looked very fresh and interesting. However, the flowers did not look very energetic and were a little wilted. Lu Lingxi had never seen this kind of flower before, and he did a mental scan almost immediately. nt name: Lady¡¯s purse nt needs: Root rot treatment nt viability: Medium Lu Lingxi gave Du Lin a sheepish nce and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s ady¡¯s purse, isn¡¯t it?¡± Du Lin was slightly bbergasted, not expecting Lu Lingxi to know it. Thedy¡¯s purse originated from Mexico and Peru and had not been cultivated in China for long, only seen on the market in recent years. Du Lin thought of nting one because in the flowernguage the meaning of thedy¡¯s purse was prosperity. ¡°Can you tell what¡¯s wrong with it?¡± Du Lin asked. Lu Lingxi walked up to thedy¡¯s purse, reached out and touched the soil in the pot, looked carefully and hesitantly said, ¡°Maybe the root system is a little rotten from too much watering.¡± A hint of surprise shed through Du Lin¡¯s eyes as she deliberately asked, ¡°Sure?¡± Lu Lingxi nced at the white panel and nodded. Du Lin smiled, ¡°Alright, you pass, when can you start working?¡± As Du Lin said that, Lu Lingxi¡¯s mood that had been tense finally rxed. Yi Hang looked at Lu Lingxi dumbfounded, ¡°Lao San, ah, I didn¡¯t even know you actually knew this.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled sheepishly, thinking that he would have to buy a few more books when he went to the bookstore. Du Lin was about to ask Lu Lingxi to sign a contract when a customer hurried in, ¡°Boss, take a look at my flowers.¡± Chapter 11 The visitor was a middle-aged man with a slightly chubby figure and a somewhat bald head. Perhaps because he was running in a hurry, his bare head was covered in sweat. Du Lin obviously knew the man and quickly greeted him, ¡°Brother Cheng, what¡¯s wrong?¡± The slightly chubby man known as Brother Cheng didn¡¯t bother to wipe the sweat from his head and hurriedly pulled Du Lin to look at the azalea he was holding in his arms, ¡°You still remember this pot of azalea I boughtst time, right?¡± Du Lin nodded. The full name of the azalea in Brother Cheng¡¯s hands was Azalea ¡®Belgian¡¯, a hybrid cultivar that was highly sought after in the flower market because of itsrge, eye-catching flowers and the fact that it could bloom all year round. There were different varieties of Belgian azaleas depending on the colour of their flowers. The pot that Brother Cheng bought was ¡®Racehorse¡¯. Its flowers were usually white, with a brilliant pink edge and asional red spots haloing inwards from the edge, making them very pretty to look at. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this pot of racehorses?¡± Du Lin asked. Brother Cheng carefully ced the flowers on the table and said eagerly, ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong, it¡¯s just that the petals are falling so badly. Look, it¡¯s only been in bloom for a few days and it¡¯s almost gone.¡± Brother Cheng had been on a business trip this week, and the flowers were fine before the trip, but when he came back today, something was wrong. Where had they all gone? The family couldn¡¯t tell what happened, so Brother Cheng hurried to see Du Lin with the flowers in his arms. After listening to Brother Cheng¡¯s words and pinching the soil, Du Lin had a rough idea in her mind. There were just a few reasons for Belgian azaleas to stop blooming. She turned her head towards Lu Lingxi and beckoned, ¡°Xiao Xi,e and take a look, tell us what the cause is.¡± As soon as Brother Cheng came in, Lu Lingxi had already looked at the flowers through the panel. Hearing Du Lin¡¯s words, Lu Lingxi quickly walked over, and Yi Hang followed suit. The azalea in front of them was actually blooming quite well, but the flowers were a bit scarce and there was a feeling that the flowering period was about to pass. On the white panel, the three-dimensional azalea rotated in a circle, from the root system to the flowering nt. Lu Lingxi nced at the nt¡¯s needs and looked at Brother Cheng to ask delicately, ¡°Did your family put this pot of flowers together with a fruit te?¡± Brother Cheng looked at Lu Lingxi in amazement, ¡°How do you know, little brother? This pot of flowers was blooming so well that the olddy put it on the coffee table, with several fruit tes stacked next to it, saying that it looked good together.¡± As soon as Brother Cheng finished speaking, Du Linughed helplessly. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you? You can¡¯t put azaleas with fruit trays when they¡¯re in bloom; the ripe fruit will emit ethylene, stimting the azaleas to drop their petals and end their flowering period early.¡± ¡°Oops, I forgot.¡± Brother Cheng eximed as he pped his head. ¡°So there¡¯s nothing else?¡± Brother Cheng looked carefully at Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi shook his head; the panel showed that there was nothing else wrong with the pot of azaleas. Brother Cheng was relieved and vigorously patted Lu Lingxi¡¯s shoulder, praising him, ¡°Not bad, young man.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled shyly, and Du Lin looked at Lu Lingxi with even greater satisfaction. She did not expect Lu Lingxi to be so knowledgeable. When signing the contract, Du Lin took the initiative to skip the probationary period, and the sry was also very generous. ¡°Xiao Xi, is it okay to start working tomorrow?¡± Lu Lingxi hesitated for a few seconds and nodded affirmatively. ¡°That¡¯s good,e tomorrow and we¡¯ll do the handover. I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able toe often during this period. The shop is in your hands, call me if you don¡¯t understand anything.¡± ¡°Well, good.¡± After setting a time for the handover the next day, Lu Lingxi recalled that he had to go to the bookstore to buy some books, so he didn¡¯t stay in the shop much longer. Yi Hang was amazed by Lu Lingxi¡¯s performance, poking him every now and then along the way, ¡°Hey, Lao San, when did you get to know all this anyway? Howe I didn¡¯t know you knew anything about flowers and nts?¡± s Lu Lingxi felt a little guilty at this question and just smiled without saying anything. Yi Hang poked a few times without getting an answer, and his attention quickly shifted. ¡°Hey, have you ever thought about what you¡¯re going to do with your paycheck?¡± Lu Lingxi froze for a moment; the figure of Wang Shuxiu shed in his mind. He wondered what Wang Shuxiu liked. Jewellery, pearls, or clothes? ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°Thinking of buying a present for my mom when I get paid.¡± Yi Hang scratched his hair and clung to Lu Lingxi, ¡°Okay, Lao San is sensible, your big brother is finally relieved.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The distance from Tiny Garden to the bookstore wasn¡¯t far. The two did not take a bus and walked all the way. Yi Hang remembered Lu Lingxi¡¯s amnesia and at every intersection pointed the direction to Lu Lingxi several times. In his words, this was called strengthening memory. The ce where they walked belonged to the central part of Fengcheng, and the area was very prosperous. It was the time when people got off work and the crowd was very lively. Yi Hang was standing by the side of the road with Lu Lingxi waiting for the green light when he suddenly pointed at a car in front of him and eximed. ¡°Damn, look at that car, thetest model of Jaguar.¡± Lu Lingxi was startled by Yi Hang¡¯s reaction and followed his finger to look over, seeing a ck car that stopped on the side of the road, also waiting for the green light with them. Yi Hang drooled enviously over the car. Lu Lingxi caught a glimpse of the licence te number; the car was from Zhongjing. Inside the Jaguar, Yan Yue¡¯s face was expressionless as he held the steering wheel. His slender index finger was tapping rhythmically, the gesture vaguely revealing a hint of impatience. On the passenger side beside him, the screen of the silver-white mobile phone was glowing faintly, showing there was a conversation going. ¡°Ah Yue, are you listening to me?¡± ¡°How can you be so indifferent to Xiao Ya? She is your sister. I heard from the housekeeper that you refused to even see her. Do you know how upset Xiao Ya is?¡± ¡°This time when you returned to China, Xiao Ya was so happy to go to see you, but what did you do?¡± ¡°Ah Yue, are you still angry with Mom? Do you still refuse to forgive your mom?¡± ¡°Your father was the one who wronged me first back then, can¡¯t I pursue my own happiness?¡± The female voice in the phone kept going, the same phrases repeated over and over. Yan Yue suppressed the urge to throw the phone out of the window, waiting for his mother on the other side of the phone to hang up. As the light turned green and the traffic surged, the impatience in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes dissipated a little. He nced out the window carelessly and drove away from the intersection. Lu Lingxi¡¯s attention did not linger on the Jaguar; his mind was on how he should mention the matter of going to work to Wang Shuxiu tomorrow. ¡°Hurry up, the light is green.¡± When someone shouted, Lu Lingxi returned to his senses and looked at therge signboard of the bookstore across the road, pushing his thoughts down for the time being. Lu Lingxi had bought quite a few books at the bookstore, mostly about flower growing, agricultural cultivation and the like. Yi Hang was bored and followed behind Lu Lingxi, wondering what was so good about these books. That evening, Lu Lingxi was reading with great interest a book on the management ofmon crops, which had a special chapter on the cultivation and management of tomatoes. ording to the book, normal tomato sowing was divided into spring and summer sowing. Spring sowing had to wait until next year, which Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t wait for, but summer sowing was just right. In addition to the timing of sowing, the book also highlighted the treatment of seeds. Ordinary seeds needed to be disinfected before sowing. Lu Lingxi looked at the seeds in his hand. He didn¡¯t really know how to tell if the seeds were good or bad; but these were the seeds that were rewarded from the upgrade of the panel, so they shouldn¡¯t have been too bad. He decided to skip the process of disinfection. After carefully studying how to sow the seeds, Lu Lingxi connected a hose from the kitchen and carefully watered the ground in the backyard until it was soaking wet. He and Yi Hang had already turned the soil over in the afternoon when they were pulling weeds. Lu Lingxi followed the instructions in the book, scattering the seeds evenly and then carefully covering them with ayer of nutrient soil. s After all was done, Lu Lingxi took a quick shower and sat on the balcony with his legs dangling, looking contentedly at the fruits of hisbour. He wondered when these seeds would germinate. When would they bear fruit? Would the tomatoes they produced be tasty? He could not help but smile slightly as he imagined the tiny shoots growing day by day, the green fruits appearing and then growing bigger and redder day by day, heavily adorning the nts. On the first night after leaving the hospital, Lu Lingxi had insomnia. He flipped around excitedly, unable to sleep. All he thought about were big red tomatoes. He couldn¡¯t wait to open his eyes the next day and see the tomatoes in the backyard growing out. That night, Yan Yue was also sleepless. Unlike Lu Lingxi who couldn¡¯t sleep because he was excited, Yan Yue¡¯s insomnia was habitual. At two o¡¯clock in the morning, Yan Yue pushed open the window, leaned out of it and lit a cigarette. He could not remember how many times he had been unable to sleep at night and waited for the dawn. Ye Kang said that his insomnia was psychological and that he had to adjust to it himself. Outwardly, Yan Yue did notment on Ye Kang¡¯s conclusion, but subconsciously he agreed with him, otherwise he would not have let Ye Kang, a half-baked psychologist, toss and turn him for years. Yan Yue still remembered the first time he had insomnia when he was six years old. His parents had moved out of the Yan family mansion that day, leaving only him, the housekeeper and a few servants in therge home. Although his parents had already separated because of their bad rtionship, and the so-called family living together was only a formality, that night, facing the empty house, Yan Yue still had the feeling that he had beenpletely abandoned by his parents. The whole night, Yan Yue did not sleep, but sat in the living room with his pillow until dawn, startling the housekeeper who woke up early. From that day onwards, Yan Yue was unable to sleep more and more at night. He used to wander around the Yan family mansion alone at night, and only when he was tired of wandering, would he go back to his room to sleep. This went on for years until he grew up and began to learn to control his behaviour. The housekeeper was the only one who knew about his insomnia in the entire Yan family. At first, the housekeeper was worried that he was afraid of the dark and turned on all the lights that could be turned on in the Yan household at night. Later, the housekeeper knew that he had insomnia and tried to turn off all the lights that could be turned off as soon as it got dark. After a few years, the Yan family¡¯s servants were all used to going to bed as soon as it was dark. Even during the years Yan Yue stayed abroad, this habit in the Yan family mansion had not changed. Chapter 12 As the darkness faded and the morning light broke, the city that had slept all night began to wake up. Yan Yue extinguished the cigarette in his hand and took afortable bath. At six o¡¯clock, he appeared in the dining room downstairs fully dressed. In the dining room, Yan Yue¡¯s grandfather, Yin Yongde, was already sitting at the table. Yin Yongde was a white-haired old man, hale and hearty. Perhaps because he was getting older and sleeping less and less, he got up at five o¡¯clock every day. He did some boxing and raised flowers, and had breakfast at six sharp. ¡°Ah Yue, how was your sleep?¡± Yin Yongde asked kindly. The corners of Yan Yue¡¯s mouth curved at just the right angle, ¡°Very good.¡± Yin Yongde smiled and gestured at Yan Yue to sit down beside him. ¡°Ah Yue, what are your ns for today? If you don¡¯t have any ns, you can apany me, an old man, for a walk in the morning, and in the afternoon your mother wille over and we¡¯ll have a meal together.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s expression remained the same, not even the curve of his mouth changed. Yin Yongde looked at him and felt a little ufortable in his heart. From the beginning to the end, Yan Yue¡¯s smile was impable, but he did not see the slightest hint of joy in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes. With a silent sigh, he said nothing and easily moved to the topic of breakfast. The ce where Yin Yongde lived was located near Fenghuang Mountain Park in Fengcheng, and he liked to go climb Fenghuang Mountain when he had nothing to do. Since they were going to climb the mountain, the shirt and pants Yan Yue was wearing would not be appropriate. After breakfast Yan Yue went back to his room to change his clothes, while Yin Yongde waited in the courtyard, bending down to look at his precious cymbidiums. The housekeeper came over and handed the phone to Yin Yongde, whispering, ¡°It¡¯s Young Lady.¡± The youngdy the butler spoke of was none other than Yan Yue¡¯s mother and Yin Yongde¡¯s only daughter, Yin Qinn. Hearing that it was his daughter¡¯s phone call, Yin Yongde picked it up. ¡°Why are you so early today?¡± Yin Yongde smiled. ¡°Dad.¡± Although Yin Qinn was now nearly fifty years old, she still behaved like a little daughter in front of Yin Yongde, ¡°Have you mentioned to Ah Yue about dinner together tonight?¡± Hearing the eagerness in Yin Qinn¡¯s tone, Yin Yongde thought that his daughter was concerned about his grandson, so he feltforted and said in a softer tone, ¡°Yes, I did.¡± ¡°Then, what about Xiao Ya?¡± Yin Yongde¡¯s face sank, ¡°You¡¯re bringing Xiao Ya along?¡± ¡°Dad, Xiao Ya is also your granddaughter, you¡­¡± Yin Yongde interrupted her words with suppressed anger, ¡°I didn¡¯t say that Xiao Ya was not my granddaughter. But Ah Yue is here, Xiao Ya should not be brought here. Alright, this matter is settled.¡± Yin Yongde hung up the phone and sighed helplessly; when he turned his head, Yan Yue was standing behind him. ¡°Ah Yue?¡± Yan Yue looked as if he hadn¡¯t heard anything, his expression as usual. Yin Yongde looked at Yan Yue hesitantly, trying to say something, but in the end, under Yan Yue¡¯s eyes that seemed to understand everything, he couldn¡¯t say a word. The Yin and the Yan families were a mess. More than twenty years ago, the Yin and the Yan families joined in marriage and the Yin family¡¯s only daughter married the Yan family¡¯s only son. Yin Yongde had only one daughter, and all of the family¡¯s wealth was used as a dowry. The Yin family¡¯spany was logically merged into the Yan family, and together they formed Hopewell Group. The two families agreed that the future heir to Hopewell Group could only be the child of Yin Qinn and Yan Shihui. The Yin and the Yan families were very hopeful at the time, both in terms of the merger of thepanies and the fact that Yin Qinn and Yan Shihui got along very well before the marriage. No one expected that the two would find that their personalities shed after the marriage, which led to constant conflicts. Yan Yue¡¯s father, Yan Shihui, was a cold and hard-hearted man who was mostly focused on his career. Yan Yue¡¯s mother, Yin Qinn, grew up spoiled, naive and self-absorbed, and needed to be held in the palm of one¡¯s hand. What Yan Shihui needed was a wise helper who could assist him in managing the family business, while Yin Qinn wanted a good man who would make her the centre of his universe. With this fundamental disagreement, their rtionship broke downpletely. Yan Shihui was the first to cheat, and after making a scene a few times Yin Qinn soon went off to pursue her own happiness. The two had lovers and children of their own, leaving Yan Yue as the redundant one. After Yan Shihui cheated, the two families considered divorcing and remarrying. However, after the twopanies had been merged for a few years, the assets were all mixed together and the division of property was a major problem. Yin Yongde and Yan Yue¡¯s other grandfather had discussed how to divide the property several times, but before they coulde up with a suitable n, Yin Qinn announced in a high-profile manner that she had found her own happiness. Since Yan Shihui could find a woman outside, she could also find a man. Yin Yongde was very angry with Yin Qinn¡¯s behaviour. Originally Yan Shihui was in a disadvantageous position and the Yin family was in control of the situation, but Yin Qinn made such a mess and as a result both of them were equally matched and neither couldugh at the other. Yin Yongde was still angry, but Yin Qinn was his daughter whom he had spoiled since childhood, so he had no choice but to pinch his nose and ept her behaviour. After discussing the matter again, the two families agreed that Yan Shihui and Yin Qinn would remain married to each other but live their own lives in private. As for Hopewell Group, which was shared by the two families, Yan Yue, their child, would be the sole heir. Over the years, Yin Yongde had felt guilty towards Yan Yue. Theck of parental care during Yan Yue¡¯s childhood was certainly due to the irresponsibility of both parents, but to some extent it was also due to the wrong decision made by him and Yan Yue¡¯s other grandfather. Now the older Yan Yue got, the weaker his rtionship with his family became. Yin Yongde saw it with his own eyes, but could do nothing about it. It was for the best, he thought with a sigh. Yan Yue was Yan Yue and Yin Ya was Yin Ya. His daughter was confused, but he was not yet confused. s When Yan Yue apanied Yin Yongde up to the top of Fenghuang Mountain, Lu Lingxi had just woken up. He was so excitedst night that it was almost two o¡¯clock when he fell asleep, and in the morning he had unknowingly slept a little longer. As soon as he opened his eyes, Lu Lingxi could smell the aroma of food. He rubbed his eyes, got dressed and pushed open the door to see the figure of Wang Shuxiu busy in the kitchen. ¡°Got up? Hurry up and wash your face, get ready to eat.¡± Wang Shuxiu had just returned from her night shift and had bought soy milk at the entrance to the neighbourhood. She disliked the unclean oil from the fritters you could buy outside and came back to make her own pancakes. Lu Lingxi nodded and finished washing up quickly. He was about to help set up the dishes, but after inadvertently seeing the backyard, he couldn¡¯t close his mouth in surprise. In just one night, all the tomato seeds ntedst night had actually sprouted. Green shoots sprouted out of the soil and filled the entire backyard. Lu Lingxi put down the dishes and chopsticks and ran to the balcony, looking at everything in front of him in astonishment. He used the mental scan and the small sprouts that had yet to take shape spun in front of him. Sessful tomato nting, reward the nt heart +50 The panel prompt lit up, and Lu Lingxi could not help but feel excited as he received such arge reward for the first time. Originally he had been a little worried that his progress would be too slow to level up when he looked at the 0/1000 (Level 1) that the panel disyed, but now he was relieved. He stayed in the backyard for a bit too long, and when Wang Shuxiu came over to call him to eat, she was stunned to see the backyard. In just one day, the backyard waspletely changed. The weeds had been cleaned up, the soil had been turned over, and there was no telling what had been nted. What had been nted? Wang Shuxiu looked at Lu Lingxi suspiciously. Lu Lingxi also came back to his senses. He had already thought of an excuse for the appearance of these seeds, saying that they were given to him by the flower farmer he had helped at the hospital. He thought it would be fun and thought he would try to grow something. When Lu Lingxi said this, Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t say anything. The seeds were not worth much anyway, so the other party was probably just using them to trick Lu Lingxi, the silly boy, as abour force. As for Lu Lingxi¡¯s nting, the backyard was empty and growing grass was also growing grass, as long as Lu Lingxi was happy. ¡°All right, all right, eat first, look how happy you are. You have all day to fiddle with it, the soy milk is getting cold.¡± Wang Shuxiu finished speaking and went back to the living room, but Lu Lingxi realised a big problem. He hadn¡¯t spoken to Wang Shuxiu about his work yet. He secretly nced at Wang Shuxiu¡¯s expression and sat down beside her obediently. ¡°Come, eat a pancake while it¡¯s hot.¡± Wang Shuxiu¡¯s cooking was good, the pancakes golden in colour, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, very tasty. Lu Lingxi absentmindedly took a bite, and while Wang Shuxiu seemed to be in a good mood, he whispered quickly, ¡°Mom, I¡¯ve found a job.¡± ¡°What?¡± Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t hear what Lu Lingxi said at first, and when she reacted, she immediately threw down her chopsticks, ¡°What did you say, little bastard?¡± Lu Lingxi bit into the pancake and blinked, looking at Wang Shuxiu with a serious expression, ¡°I found a job, so you won¡¯t have to work so hard in the future, Mom.¡± s Wang Shuxiu¡¯s anger waspletely extinguished by Lu Lingxi¡¯s words. ¡°Little bastard!¡± Wang Shuxiu scolded with a smile, ¡°You know how to say something nice.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes, smiling, thinking that Wang Shuxiu saying that meant that she agreed; but who knew that Wang Shuxiu would slowly and methodically pick up her chopsticks ande straight to the point, ¡°Although I¡¯m happy to say this, but working is still not an option, you must go to school.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Mother and son were at a standstill when Yi Hang climbed the fence and tumbled in from the backyard. ¡°Lao San, when are you going to go to¡­ Fuck, Lao San, what did you nt yesterday, this grass is growing too fast!¡± Yi Hang ran in from the balcony in a fuss. He was unexpectedly dressed very simply today and his face was clean, so he looked just like an ordinary student. As soon as Yi Hang came in, Wang Shuxiu sneered. The little bastard had just been discharged from the hospital and couldn¡¯t remember anything, so even if he wanted to find a job, it wouldn¡¯t have been that easy. It must have been that little bastard Yi Hang who helped him. Yi Hang waspletely unaware of the danger and smiled as he met Wang Shuxiu¡¯s eyes. ¡°Hello, Sister.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Wang Shuxiu grabbed Yi Hang¡¯s ear, ¡°Sister? Sister, my ass! What did I tell you to do yesterday? To take Lu Lingxi out to buy some books for his first year of senior middle school, but you actually took him to look for a job? Do you want to make trouble?¡± Yi Hang: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Sister, I was wrong!¡± He hurriedly eximed. Lu Lingxi hastily walked up to pull Wang Shuxiu away from Yi Hang and eagerly said. ¡°It has nothing to do with Yi Hang, it¡¯s me who insisted on looking for a job. It just so happened that there was a suitable one, so I agreed to it. I even signed the contract and said I would go to work today.¡± Wang Shuxiu loosened her grip bitterly and met Lu Lingxi¡¯s pleading eyes. There was really nothing she could do. When she thought about the time before the little bastard¡¯s ident, although he did not listen to her, she could beat him up and scold him whenever she wanted to. But now, the little bastard¡¯s temperament had changed. When he looked at her solemnly, she really couldn¡¯t be harsh anymore. When Lu Lingxi insisted, Wang Shuxiu finally had no choice but to let him go to work for a few days first to see. When Yi Hang bit into the pancake and scowled at Lu Lingxi, Wang Shuxiu pped him on the head, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault.¡± Yi Hang: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He was really going to die of injustice. Chapter 13 The handover went very smoothly. Tiny Garden was small and there were not many things to hand over. It was nothing more than exining how to take care of the flowers and nts in the shop. Du Lin was really relieved to have Lu Lingxi. She was in theter stages of her pregnancy and was not ready toe to the shop often after the handover, so she nned to be an arm-flinging shopkeeper (somebody who asks others to work but does nothing himself). After leaving her mobile number and home phone number to Lu Lingxi, Du Lin exined the shop¡¯s liquidity to Lu Lingxi, packed up and left. She was not worried about Lu Lingxi running away with the money. For one thing, Lu Lingxi was someone Yi Hang knew, and although Yi Hang liked to y, he was still trustworthy. Secondly, after just two meetings the impression that Lu Lingxi left on Du Lin was too good. When they met yesterday, the feeling was not too obvious, but today, probably because of severe morning sickness, Du Lin was a little irritable. However, after standing next to Lu Lingxi for some time, she felt her mood inexplicably calm down. Once Du Lin left, Yi Hang was liberated. He sat down grumpily on the wicker chair at the entrance of Tiny Garden and shouted loudly, pretending to be a customer, ¡°Boss, bring up the most expensive flowers you have here.¡± Lu Lingxi was holding a small watering can to water the flowers in the shop and didn¡¯t have time to pay any attention to him. Yi Hang was alone and bored, and habitually tried to move closer to Lu Lingxi when a customer walked in. ¡°Wee!¡± Yi Hang was extremely quick to react, and only halfway through shouting did he realise that it was actually an acquaintance, Brother Cheng, whom he had met yesterday. Brother Cheng saw Lu Lingxi at a nce and was surprised, ¡°Xiao Xi, where¡¯s Boss Du?¡± Lu Lingxi had left a very deep impression on him, and he remembered that Du Lin called the young man in front of him Xiao Xi, so he called the name smoothly. Lu Lingxi put down the watering can in his hand and exined, ¡°Sister Du has gone home, I will be in the shop during this time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Brother Cheng happily said, looking back, ¡°Lao Han, hurry up.¡± As Brother Cheng said that, a man of his age walked in carrying a pot of clivia. Brother Cheng grabbed him, introducing, ¡°Lao Han, I¡¯m telling you, don¡¯t look Xiao Xi is young, he¡¯s no less capable. You know the pot of azaleas at my house that was losing petals, right? Here, Xiao Xi, take a look, can this pot still be saved?¡± The man known as Lao Han was very cooperative and immediately showed the clivia in his hand to Lu Lingxi¡¯s face. The leaves of a normal clivia were dark green and shiny, and the flowers should be in full bloom in July. But the clivia in front of them was only sparsely blooming with a few small flowers, and the leaves were withered and yellow. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes fell on the rhizome part (a nt stem that grows horizontally, generally underground, and produces both shoots and roots) of the clivia; there were thin white mycelia wrapped around the rhizome, and some of the mycelia were tangled together and made small reddish-brown clumps. The white panel emerged as Lu Lingxi scanned the clivia. nt name: Large-flowered clivia nt needs: Treatment of white mould nt viability: Very low Lu Lingxi stared at the very low nt viability disy and frowned slightly; he didn¡¯t know if it could still be saved. Lao Han could see his face and said with a bitter smile, ¡°Is it not possible?¡± Lu Lingxi hesitated for a few seconds and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you leave it here and I¡¯ll try?¡± He didn¡¯t have a clue when he said this; from the panel it looked like most of the rhizomes of this clivia had actually rotted. Although he could see the symptoms of this clivia through the panel, it was still a question of how to save it. Lao Han¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard the words ¡°I¡¯ll try¡± and he looked at Lu Lingxi gratefully. Lu Lingxi carefully put the flower pot on the floor. He still needed to look up the information on how to cure it. After sending Lao Han and Brother Cheng away, Yi Hang took a look at the clivia. Even if he didn¡¯t know anything, he could tell that this clivia was not going to make it. ¡°Lao San, are you sure?¡± After all, this was Lu Lingxi¡¯s first day at work. What if the flower didn¡¯t survive and there were any bad repercussions? Lu Lingxi shook his head. He was not sure, but he couldn¡¯t just watch the clivia die and do nothing. White mould was one of themon diseases ofrge-flowered clivia, affecting the rhizomes and underground fleshy stems. The early stages of the disease were rtively easy to deal with, but once it reached theter stages, it threatened the survival of the nt, and in severe cases the nts would wilt or die. Lu Lingxi closed the book with the information and carefully followed the instructions in the book to remove the diseased parts. With the aid of the white panel, he could easily see exactly where the rhizome was rotting and did not need to try hard to find it. After removing the diseased parts, he then disinfected the remaining base and put it in sterile, wet sandy soil, waiting for it to take root again. This process was simple to say, but in fact extremely tedious to carry out and required one¡¯s full attention and care. It was already afternoon when Lu Lingxi had finished. It would take a few days for the clivia to take root again. He had done his best, but the rest would depend on the vitality of this clivia. s As the thought shed through his mind, a prompt suddenly appeared on the white panel. The rescue of therge-flowered clivia sessful, rewarding the nt heart +1 and the power of nature +1 Lu Lingxi¡¯s gaze fell on the words ¡°power of nature¡±, and his expression turned slightly puzzled. He thought he already had a basic understanding of the white panel; what was this sudden appearance of the power of nature? And what was the difference between it and the nt heart? New things always tend to arouse people¡¯s interest, and Lu Lingxi studied the panel for a long time. Luckily, Yi Hang had left at noon because he was bored, and now Lu Lingxi was the only one in the shop, so he didn¡¯t worry about his strange behaviour being noticed. Unfortunately, no matter how much he tapped on the panel, there was still no hint on it. His knowledge of the power of nature remained limited to these few words. Forget it, Lu Lingxi thought to himself; the panel would naturally give a hint when it was due and even if he thought about it now, he couldn¡¯t figure it out. After he decided, Lu Lingxi stopped dwelling on the power of nature and sat alone on a wicker chair with the book he bought yesterday and read it carefully. After one day, Lu Lingxi quickly adapted to life in the shop. When he arrived home in the evening, Wang Shuxiu had already gone to work. The dinner was ready on the table, so Lu Lingxi just had to warm it up. After dinner Lu Lingxi went to the backyard again. The seedlings in the yard seemed to have grown a little taller. He checked the humidity of the soil, watered some more and received a ten point reward of nt hearts. He took a shower, read and fell asleep; a day passed like that. Over the next few days, Lu Lingxi began to make new friends while working. Tiny Garden had been on this street for a little over a year, and Du Lin used to be very popr. It was no secret that she had gone home to have a baby and had found someone to look after the shop for her, so the shop owners visited to get acquainted with Lu Lingxi when they had free time. Lu Lingxi was good-looking, polite and in addition had an indescribable aura about him that made everyone feel veryfortable next to him. Within a few days, Lu Lingxi became popr in the neighbourhood. The owners of several small shops around like to tease Lu Lingxi. The child was so young and tender that he would blush when teased, and his whole appearance was so pink and soft that they all felt motherly and could not wait to give him a squeeze. Of the several shops around, Lu Lingxi liked the one across the road called ¡°Angel Baby¡± the most. The owner of the pet shop was a man in his thirties called Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi was so chubby and honest that he was nicknamed ¡°Dough¡± by the people around him. Whenever people around him teased Lu Lingxi, Dong Zhi would speak up in his defence. As time went by, Lu Lingxi quickly became friends with him. Sometimes, when he was tired of reading, Lu Lingxi would go to the pet shop to hang out. Unexpectedly, the animals in the pet shop all liked Lu Lingxi very much. Every time he appeared, the animals were willing toe to his side. asionally, the cats and dogs inside were fighting and Dong Zhi could not control them, but as soon as Lu Lingxi appeared, the animals would all be obedient. Dong Zhi even joked and asked Lu Lingxi if he would be willing to work for him. Compared to the gardening shop, the pet shop was the right ce for Lu Lingxi to stay. Such a life was something that the old Lu Lingxi would never have dared to imagine. A healthy body, a caring mother, new friends, freedom at his disposal, all these things that Lu Lingxi once dreamed of but could never have. Lu Lingxiy on his bed, rolling happily. Although the bed was so small that he had to worry about whether he would roll onto the floor when he rolled, he had never been happier. If this was a dream, he wished he could have stayed asleep for the rest of his life. When he woke up the next day, the sky was overcast and dull. Before Lu Lingxi went to work, Wang Shuxiu asked him to take an umbre, fearing that it would rain during the day. Sure enough, in the evening when he was about to leave work, it suddenly started to rain heavily. Although Lu Lingxi had an umbre, he decided to wait for the rain to subside before going home. Sitting on the wicker chair inside the shop, Lu Lingxi felt the coolness in the air and looked through the window at the sshes of water on the ground outside. Suddenly there was a sharp sound of brakes and a ck Jaguar stopped in front of the pet shop opposite. The car door opened and a man who seemed to hold something got out of the car and entered the pet shop. Lu Lingxi took a look and his eyes unconsciously fell on the ck Jaguar. He felt that this car seemed somewhat familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before. Before he could remember where he had seen this car, he heard a mournful wail suddenlying from inside the pet shop, the sound that was so loud that it even drowned out the rain outside. ¡°Be careful, be careful.¡± Inside the pet shop, arge, pure ck dog halfy on its side on the operating table, its front limbs poking over the edge of the table and looking bloody. Two young nurses were nervously gathered around the table, holding tweezers and trying to do some cleaning of the big dog. But as soon as they dared toe near, the big dog would straighten up and let out a low growl, baring its teeth, warning them not toe closer. ¡°What should we do?¡± The young nurse looked at Dong Zhi in panic. Dong Zhi nced in embarrassment at the man who had brought the dog. The man was very tall, at least 1.8m, with a strong body and handsome features, wearing a ck suit that didn¡¯t look cheap. Perhaps because he had held the dog, the hem of the man¡¯s clothes were stained with mud, but he didn¡¯t seem to care about it and kept staring at the ck dog on the operating table. s The ck dog looked like a stray dog, with dirty fur that was tangled and clumped together, wet with the rain. In just a moment, the white sheets on the operating table had been soaked ck. One could only wonder who hit this dog. Dong Zhi gave the man a look and ruled him out. Usually stray dogs like this one would hold a grudge, and had this man hit it, the dog would have looked at the man differently. Dong Zhi thought about it and ordered, ¡°Prepare the anaesthetic, give it a shot before cleaning it up.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The young nurse left in a hurry. Yan Yue stood there listening to their conversation, his eyes lingering on the ck dog on the operating table. He was driving nearby and saw the ck dog that had been hit by someone struggling to get up and get off the road. When the headlights illuminated the ck dog, Yan Yue saw the look in the dog¡¯s eyes. There was vignce, alienation and hostility in them, but more than anything else, there was a desire to live. Yan Yue couldn¡¯t say what happened. He seemed to be moved by the dog¡¯s eyes, stopped the car and carried the dog to the car, finding the pet shop along the way. The ck dog had been cooperative before, but when the young nurse took the scissors and tried to cut away the tangled hair around the dog¡¯s wound, the dog suddenly barked, furiously refusing to let anyonee any closer. Yan Yue guessed that the ck dog must have experienced some kind of injury before, so much so that it was wary of humans. Unfortunately, he had never owned a dog before and didn¡¯t know what to do when faced with this situation. The young nurse came over with the anaesthetic and the ck dog looked even more vignt. As it arched its back and growled low in anger, Yan Yue was sure it would have pounced on them if it hadn¡¯t had difficulty moving. ¡°What should I do?¡± The young nurse was about to cry in fear and said hastily, ¡°Why don¡¯t we let Xiao Xi try? Boss, remember all the puppies in our store are especially obedient whenever they see Xiao Xi?¡± Dong Zhi hesitated for a few seconds, ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll go and try to find Xiao Xi.¡± The dog¡¯s injury was so bad that if it couldn¡¯t be treated in time the dog would probably be a cripple even if it got well. It was hard enough for a stray dog to survive; with a limp, it would be even harder. Dong Zhi smiled embarrassedly at Yan Yue as he finished speaking and hurried out the door with his umbre. Yan Yue watched as Dong Zhi crossed the road and went to the gardening shop across the street. The rain was so heavy that Yan Yue could not see the other person¡¯s face, but judging from his figure he did not seem to be very old. As the two crossed the road, Yan Yue saw the person¡¯s appearance and was surprised with how unexpectedly young the other person was, perhaps even underage. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± The young nurse called out happily. The teenager smiled shyly at the nurse and his gaze fell on the ck dog on the operating table. He had obviously heard what had happened and didn¡¯t need the nurse to exin anything, taking a few tentative steps towards the dog. To Yan Yue¡¯s surprise, the ck dog that had been manic and restless actually did not growl at the boy, but merely strained its body and watched him warily, as if judging the boy¡¯s intentions. Noticing the ck dog¡¯s reaction, the boy paused a little and stopped where he was. A minute or soter, the ck dog¡¯s tense body slowly rxed, much of its hostility dissipating and its attitude bing gentle. Compared to humans, the intuition of animals was much more acute. The ck dog sensed a veryfortable aura from the young man in front of it, and it somewhat wanted to get closer to this aura. The young man saw the ck dog¡¯s intention and carefully walked up to it, gently reaching out and putting his hand on its head. The ck dog moved and let out a low whimper, not a warning but a kind of affectionate bark. The young man smiled faintly, his face radiant as he patted the ck dog¡¯s head again and again. He ran his white, slender fingers along the knotted fur on the top of the ck dog¡¯s head, not at all disgusted by the dog¡¯s dirtiness. The ck dog squintedfortably and became docile, not caring much about Dong Zhi who took the opportunity to approach it. The teenager stroked the ck dog while repeating in a soft voice, ¡°It¡¯s alright, it doesn¡¯t hurt, just sleep and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± The ck dog seemed to understand the boy¡¯s words and stopped struggling as Dong Zhi gave it anaesthesia. While a group of people gathered around the ck dog on the operating table, Yan Yue looked straight at the young man. There were stormy waves in his heart, and he felt that he was really crazy. He watched the boy gently stroking the dog, wishing that the boy¡¯s hand was now touching his head. Chapter 14 The summer rain stops as quickly as it starts. The wounds on the big dog¡¯s body had not been treated yet when the rain outside had already stopped. The anaesthesia took effect, the big dog fell asleep, and Lu Lingxi was free to go. Dong Zhi took the time to instruct him to be careful on his way back. Lu Lingxi shook his head, not intending to leave halfway. He wanted to wait until the end of the treatment to ask about the big dog¡¯s condition. When he had just touched the big dog, all he could feel was the thin, bony body under his palm and obvious scars in a few ces. He had never seen a stray dog before, and although he wasn¡¯t so naive as to think that all dogs were as shiny and smooth as the golden retriever kept in the Lu family¡¯s main residence, he had never expected it to be this thin and bony to the touch. In order not to add to the mess, Lu Lingxi quietly took a few steps back and stood right next to Yan Yue. From Yan Yue¡¯s point of view, the young man¡¯s appearance was on the delicate side, and his slender figure was a bit thin. Because it was summer, the teenager had a light blue t-shirt on, and his short ck hair was falling softly, making his exposed neck look even more delicate and white. When the boy was far away, Yan Yue didn¡¯t feel it, but now that he was closer, Yan Yue felt that there was somethingforting in the boy¡¯s presence. As he just stood quietly by Yan Yue¡¯s side like this, the violent emotions Yan Yue had been suppressing inside seemed to calm down. He couldn¡¯t help but want to get closer to the teenager, closer still. As the thought shed through his mind, Yan Yue was shocked to realise that he had actually taken a step in the teenager¡¯s direction. The moment he returned to his senses, a hint of embarrassment shed in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes and he retreated back to his original position quietly. His movement caught Lu Lingxi¡¯s attention; Lu Lingxi turned his head in confusion and smiled at Yan Yue. The young man¡¯s smile was so clean and clear that it was like a ray of sunshine shining into Yan Yue¡¯s heart. Yan Yue recalled the young man smiling and petting the big dog, and that crazy thought stirred up in his mind again. His eyes darkened and he turned away expressionlessly, leaving the boy with the sight of his cold profile. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s voice re-captured Lu Lingxi¡¯s attention. He wiped his sweat and nodded in the direction of Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue. ¡°The wound is treated. It should be fine after a few days of recuperation.¡± Lu Lingxi breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to the operating table, asking, ¡°When will it wake up?¡± What the young nurse brought to Dong Zhi was a strong anaesthetic, and the anaesthetic effect wouldst at least 12 hours. Dong Zhi calcted the time, which was about the time the pet shop would open tomorrow. ¡°Around eight o¡¯clock tomorrow morning.¡± Lu Lingxi asked, ¡°Can it eat meat buns?¡± There was a breakfast shop at the entrance of the neighbourhood that had delicious meat buns. Wang Shuxiu had bought them a few times and Lu Lingxi soon fell in love with the taste. Dong Zhiughed, ¡°Stray dogs eat everything.¡± After answering Lu Lingxi¡¯s question, Dong Zhi turned to Yan Yue and said sincerely, ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± With the dog¡¯s injury, had Yan Yue not rescued it, on the rainy day, it would probably have been hit a second time because it could hardly move around. Yan Yue¡¯s actions could be said to have saved the dog¡¯s life. ¡°No need.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s tone was concise as he took out some cash from his wallet and handed it over, ¡°This is the cost of the treatment and the follow-up expenses for the next few days.¡± After saying that, he handed over a business card, ¡°Call me if you don¡¯t have enough money.¡± When he was talking to Dong Zhi, his eyes always were following the teenager inadvertently, but the boy was busy grooming the big dog¡¯s tangled fur together with the two young nurses and didn¡¯t pay any attention to him. Yan Yue felt a little ufortable again. After suppressing the absurd thought in his mind, Yan Yue quickly left the pet shop. Before driving, he nced at the name of the gardening shop across the street and remembered the words ¡° Tiny Garden¡±. Inside the pet shop, Dong Zhi pinched the business card Yan Yue had left and read, ¡°Yan Yue.¡± This business card was different from the ones Dong Zhi had seen before. There was nothing fancy about it, just a name and a phone number, but it was unexpectedly impressive. Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart twitched when he heard the words ¡°Yan Yue¡±. He seemed to have heard this name somewhere. There seemed to be a Yan family in Zhongjing? This thought was only fleeting; Lu Lingxi quickly left it behind and focused on the big dog. Because he had helped out at the pet shop for a while, Lu Lingxi came home a littlete. Wang Shuxiu had left the prepared meal on the table, as she always did, along with a brand new silver and white metal-cased mobile phone. Lu Lingxi¡¯s old mobile phone had been picked up by someone during a fight in the park back then. He was used to not having a mobile phone and didn¡¯t mention it, but Wang Shuxiu found it inconvenient to contact him and took the time to buy him a new one. Lu Lingxi carefully entered Wang Shuxiu¡¯s number first, and the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously. He now had only three contacts, including Du Lin. He made up his mind to save Dong Zhi¡¯s and Zheng Tan¡¯s numbers when he went to work tomorrow. These people were his friends, and he would definitely have more and more friends in the future. After ying with his phone for a while, Lu Lingxi ran to the backyard again. After a week, the tomato seedlings in the backyard had grown to almost a metre high. At this rate, he would soon be able to eat tomatoes. But if the tomatoes grew too fast, would the neighbours around find it strange? Lu Lingxi hadn¡¯t thought about this when he nted the tomatoes, but now he had to think about it. It would be best to find something to cover them up so that they are not too obvious from the outside. With this thought on his mind, Lu Lingxi sent a text message to Yi Hang before he went to bed at night. ¡°Lao San, you finally have a phone.¡± Yi Hang¡¯s text message came back quickly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about this, tomorrow I¡¯ll get Lao Er and we¡¯ll make some simple shelters, just cover it up.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart felt warm; maybe this was what it felt like to have a friend. That night, Lu Lingxi had a good night¡¯s sleep. Likewise, Yan Yue unexpectedly did not have insomnia and slept until dawn. It was just that when he woke up, Yan Yue¡¯s face was a bit pale and his eyebrows were tightly drawn together. Throughout the night, his dreams were filled with the voice of the boy from yesterday, ¡°It¡¯s alright, it doesn¡¯t hurt, just sleep and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± Those words were like magic, soothing the restlessness lurking inside him. Ever since his parents abandoned him alone in the Yan family mansion at the age of six, he had been subconsciously afraid of facing his fear of being alone every night. As a child, he did not know how to resolve this fear and resisting sleep seemed to be his weak way to fight. As he grew older, he was able to hide this fear well, but it had long been imprinted in his bones, tightly entangled with his insomnia. Yan Yue had heard the saying that the more one stayed in the dark the more one longed for light, an instinctive pursuit. He thought of the strange boy and his almost instinctive desire to get close to him. He couldn¡¯t describe this psychology; it made him sound like a pervert, to say the least. Yan Yue lowered his eyes, suppressing this strange urge, dressed and went downstairs. Downstairs in the dining room, apart from Yin Yongde, there was also a strange young girl today. The girl looked about twenty, very cute and clean-looking. When she saw Yan Yue, a hint of surprise appeared on her face. She nced at Yan Yue anxiously and called out in a small voice, ¡°Brother.¡± s Yan Yue looked indifferent, as if he had not heard her words. A trace of hurt shed in the girl¡¯s eyes, but she still managed to put on a smile and reached out her hand to try to pull Yan Yue. Yan Yue gave her a cold look and the girl¡¯s hand stopped in mid-air, not daring to really touch Yan Yue. She was only making a show of it anyway, so that Grandpa could see her attitude. She was aware of Yan Yue¡¯s character; he was perfectly capable of taking off the clothes she had touched and throwing them in the trash in front of Grandpa and the servants. The confrontation between the two was only momentary, as Yan Yue bypassed the girl to sit opposite Yin Yongde. With a sigh in his heart, Yin Yongde pretended not to see the undercurrent between the two and talked about other interesting things. After a breakfast that left Yan Yue in no mood at all, he refused Yin Yongde¡¯s offer to go hiking and drove away from the Yin house alone. Unconsciously, he had arrived at the same street as yesterday. Yan Yue parked his car at the intersection and looked at Tiny Garden from afar. It was still early and Tiny Garden had not yet opened, so Yan Yue did not know whether the teenager from yesterday worked there or was just watching the shop for his family. He remembered that the teenager looked like he was underage and should normally still be in school at that age. Realising that his behaviour was akin to perversion, Yan Yue was about to leave when the boy, carrying a bag of buns and trotting to the entrance of the pet shop, appeared in the rear-view mirror. ¡°Brother Dong, Brother Dong.¡± Lu Lingxi waspletely oblivious to this car parked on the side of the road. His whole mind was on the ck dog in the pet shop. Dong Zhi lived behind the pet shop and opened the door with a smile when he heard Lu Lingxi¡¯s voice. ¡°Xiao Xi, so early.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled shyly and gestured at the buns in his hand, ¡°Have you eaten, Brother Dong?¡± Dong Zhi smiled, ¡°Xiao Xi, did you bring me breakfast? Or did you bring it for Dahei?¡± Dahei (Big ck) was the name they had given to the stray dog from yesterday. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes, ¡°Brother Dong, you eat half and save half for Dahei.¡± While the two of them were talking, Dahei, who had woken up after the anaesthetic had worn off, heard Lu Lingxi¡¯s voice and was already barking in a low voice. Lu Lingxi walked to the cage where Dahei was locked up. Dahei was obviously very ufortable in this small space. He growled irritably, and from time to time he used his front paw that was not injured to pluck at the bars of the cage. Feeling Lu Lingxi¡¯s approach, Dahei stopped growling and squinted at Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi¡¯s expression softened as he carefully reached into the cage and touched Dahei¡¯s head. Dahei didn¡¯t move, letting Lu Lingxi touch him. Yesterday they took advantage of Dahei¡¯sa to give him a bath. After a night, even though one couldn¡¯t say that Dahei¡¯s fur was shiny, at least it was much cleaner. ¡°Here, eat the bun.¡± Lu Lingxi took out a bun and ced it in front of Dahei. Dahei looked at Lu Lingxi and then lowered his head to sniff the bun, without moving. s Dong Zhi reminded Lu Lingxi, ¡°Xiao Xi, step back a little.¡± Lu Lingxi obediently took a few steps back, and Dahei let out a low growl and lowered his head to bite the bun. After eating two buns, Dahei refused to eat any more. Lu Lingxi was puzzled; he didn¡¯t think two buns would be enough. Dong Zhi exined with a sigh, ¡°Stray dogs like this are very sensible and good at reading people¡¯s eyes. It is afraid of being disliked if it eats too much, so it usually eats half full.¡± Dahei also ate only what Lu Lingxi fed him; when Dong Zhi tried to feed Dahei in the morning, Dahei looked at him and turned his head away, with a clear look of caution in his eyes. Lu Lingxi nced at Dahei and asked in a low voice, ¡°Will someone adopt him?¡± Dong Zhi shook his head. His pet shop often rescued some abandoned puppies, and asionally people woulde to see them and adopt them. But usually the puppies that were adopted were either obedient and sensible, or some more expensive dog breeds. Dahei was just an ordinary dog, who would adopt him? Lu Lingxi fell silent, looking at Dahei and thinking about Wang Shuxiu, wondering if Wang Shuxiu would be angry if he adopted Dahei. Yan Yue sat in the car and watched as Lu Lingxi ran happily into the pet shop and came out in a depressed mood. What happened? Did something happen to the ck dog? Or¡­ Yan Yue couldn¡¯t sit still, clenching the steering wheel, hesitating whether to go over and take a look. Chapter 15 Tiny Garden usually opened at nine o¡¯clock; Lu Lingxi came over early today, so he opened early. After rolling up the roller shutter door and moving a few potted nts that needed sunlight to the door, Lu Lingxi simply tidied up the shop and debated how to tell Wang Shuxiu about his wish to adopt Dahei. Did Wang Shuxiu like dogs? Would she be willing to keep a dog at home? Dahei could live in the backyard, but would the neighbours agree? Lu Lingxi hesitated for a while and tentatively sent a text message to Wang Shuxiu, ¡°Mom, I want to get a dog.¡± Wang Shuxiu, who was doing a facial mask, picked up her phone and nced at it, remembering that Lu Lingxi had mentioned that there was a pet shop opposite Tiny Garden. In Wang Shuxiu¡¯s eyes, the dogs in the pet shop were all small pet dogs like Pekingese, Toy Poodles and Pugs. Having one at home didn¡¯t take up much space, so she simply replied at once. ¡°As long as you like it.¡± Lu Lingxi looked at Wang Shuxiu¡¯s reply with surprise and pushed open the shop door to run across the road to Dong Zhi. ¡°Brother Dong, my mom has agreed for me to adopt Dahei.¡± Only when he finished did he realise that there was someone else in Dong Zhi¡¯s shop, the very same man who had brought Dahei over yesterday and seemed to be called Yan Yue. Yan Yue was squatting in front of the cage containing Dahei and looking at him. Perhaps recognizing him as his benefactor, Dahei did not bark, but he still looked at the man with a little bit of caution in his eyes. When Yan Yue heard the young man¡¯s voice, he turned around silently, not expecting to be faced with Lu Lingxi¡¯s smile. Unlike the light smile he had seen yesterday, now the teenager¡¯s eyes were bright and shining, the corners of his mouth were turned up, his expression was animated, and the joy on his face was undisguised. Yan Yue¡¯s heart stirred, and his irritable mood of the morning seemed to be soothed by the boy¡¯s smile, his tightly wound nerves unconsciously rxing. Lu Lingxi gave Yan Yue a slightly awkward nce and bypassed him to walk up to Dong Zhi. ¡°Brother Dong, my mom has agreed for me to adopt Dahei. When he is ready, I will take him home.¡± Dong Zhi was also happy to hear this, ¡°I just saw that Dahei is recovering well, there will be no problem in two more days.¡± Perhaps because he knew his status as a stray dog, Dahey¡¯s desire to survive and his ability to recover were both amazing. Normal pets would be brought to the vet when they were injured, but stray cats and dogs didn¡¯t have a ce for them to nurse their injuries. It was hard to survive out there, and the slower they recover, the greater the danger, so stray cats and dogs recovered faster than domestic pets from the same injury. Lu Lingxi smiled and squatted down in front of Dahei¡¯s cage, reached out and stroked Dahei¡¯s head, saying softly, ¡°Dahei, you have to get better quickly, I¡¯ll take you home.¡± As if he understood Lu Lingxi¡¯s words, Dahei whimpered in a low voice and took the initiative to rub against Lu Lingxi¡¯s palm. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes curved and he smiled happily. Yan Yue stood by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side, looking at his smiling face up close, and a strong longing suddenly arose in his heart. This longing was like a tidal wave sweeping through Yan Yue¡¯s body, and his original thought of just looking at the boy from afar was heavily crushed, reced by a desire to be closer to the boy, to be much closer to him. The moment this thought popped up, Yan Yue heard his own voice, ¡°Are you nning to adopt this dog?¡± Lu Lingxi froze, turned his head to look up at the man and nodded. The man¡¯s voice was low and pleasant. Lu Lingxi was squatting on the ground; looking at the man from this angle, he only felt that the man was incredibly tall. He couldn¡¯t see the man¡¯s expression and only heard the man¡¯s regretful voice, ¡°That¡¯s a pity, I was going to adopt it.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­huh?¡± Yan Yue slightly lowered his eyes, watching the expression on the teenager¡¯s face as the boy looked at him intently, tilting up his head. Yan Yue liked the current pose, like he had the teenager captive in his world. ¡°I think I have a bit of fate with this dog. But that¡¯s okay, I can see he likes you a lot, and it¡¯s good that you¡¯ll adopt him. It¡¯s just that, can I take the liberty of asking for your contact details? I thought I could visit him sometime.¡± The man¡¯s request was reasonable; he was the one who saved Dahei, so it was only logical for him to offer to adopt him. It was just that Lu Lingxi nced at Dahei and was a bit reluctant to give Dahei up, and since the man was willing to take a step back and just have a look at Dahei sometime, Lu Lingxi certainly had no problem with that. Lu Lingxi took out his mobile phone and said with some embarrassment, ¡°I¡¯ll call you, I haven¡¯t memorised my number yet.¡± The corners of Yan Yue¡¯s mouth curved up imperceptibly as he nodded and reported his number. ¡°My name is Yan Yue.¡± Lu Lingxi rang Yan Yue¡¯s phone and said with a light smile, ¡°Lu Lingxi.¡± Lu Lingxi, Yan Yue repeated this name in his mind and nodded at the young man with a nd expression. After Yan Yue¡¯s desire to adopt Dahei, Lu Lingxi had a very good impression of Yan Yue, but he felt that Yan Yue¡¯s personality was a bit cold. He still remembered Yan Yue¡¯s reaction when he smiled at him yesterday, so he didn¡¯t know what else to say to him after he left his phone number. He smiled apologetically at Yan Yue and knelt down again to pet Dahei. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes followed Lu Lingxi closely. Watching Dahei squinting contentedly under the boy¡¯s hand, he felt a bit ufortable. Stupid dog, with a stupid face! Resisting the urge to get closer to the boy now, Yan Yue stayed for a while and then left. Years of insomnia, long nights waiting for dawn, had developed enough patience in him. Leaving the street, Yan Yue pulled over to the side of the road and pressed Ye Kang¡¯s phone. His feelings for the teenager were too sudden and too strong, and this strange feeling that he had never felt before made him lose hisposure a little. ustomed to self-examination, Yan Yue thought of Ye Kang. s The phone was quickly answered, but Yan Yue did not know how to speak. After waiting for a long time for Yan Yue to speak, Ye Kang asked, ¡°What? Are you in a bad mood? Is there something wrong with Yin Ya again?¡± The Yin Ya that Ye Kang was talking about was Yan Yue¡¯s half-sister, who was a sophomore this year. Because of Yan Yue¡¯s special family situation, Yin Ya deliberately pestered Yan Yue all the time when she was a child. In the years when Yan Yue was away from China, Yin Ya was always in front of Yin Yongde, for the sake of the inheritance rights to Hopewell Group. Yin Ya, plus Yan Yue¡¯s half-brothers Yan Hai and Yan Qian, had been making trouble in thest few years. Yan Hai and Yan Qian were okay because they had Yan Shihui to keep them in check, so they didn¡¯t dare to do anything openly yet. However, Yin Ya, because of her father¡¯s instigation behind the scenes, worked hard to discredit Yan Yue¡¯s image everywhere she could and was close to jumping out and saying that Yan Yue was trying to harm her. Yan Yue was indifferent, ¡°Just some small tricks that don¡¯t matter.¡± Hearing from the tone of Yan Yue¡¯s voice that the matter really seemed to have nothing to do with Yin Ya, Ye Kang became curious, ¡°Then what¡¯s the problem?¡± s Yan Yue was silent for a while and whispered, ¡°I met a boy.¡± ¡°A boy?¡± Ye Kang¡¯s gossip fuse instantly lit up and he immediately became energetic. Perhaps due to the influence of his family environment, Yan Yue was a bit obsessed with cleanliness when it came to rtionships and had always been alone all these years. This was the first time Ye Kang had heard Yan Yue mention another person in such a tone. Although it was a little unexpected that he was talking about a boy and not a young girl, these were minor issues. While Ye Kang was excited, Yan Yue suddenly didn¡¯t want to talk about it, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll hang up first.¡± ¡°Hey, hey¡­ you can¡¯t do that¡­¡± Ye Kang¡¯s voice disappeared as the phone was hung up, and Yan Yue turned off the phone straight away. The moment he spoke he realised he didn¡¯t want to share the boy with anyone, even if it was just the mention of him. He just wanted to keep the boy in his world alone. Yan Yue lowered his eyes and considered the feasibility of this matter. After Yan Yue had left, Dong Zhi drooled over Yan Yue¡¯s car for half a day. He had a rather good impression of Yan Yue. Even though Yan Yue looked a bit cold in attitude, but taking into ount Yan Yue¡¯s thoughts of Dahei you could see that he was kind-hearted and a good person. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help but smile when he heard this praise. In Dong Zhi¡¯s eyes, anyone who loved animals was a good person. But it was thanks to Dong Zhi¡¯s mention of the car that Lu Lingxi finally remembered where he had seen this car before. It was the other day when he followed Yi Hang to the bookstore and Yi Hang had drooled over this car for half a day just like Dong Zhi. The licence te of Zhongjing? Yan Yue? Could he be from the Yan family in Zhongjing? Lu Lingxi had stayed at home in the past and waspletely unfamiliar with the Lu family¡¯s social circle. He didn¡¯t know if the Yan family had any dealings with the Lu family. If it did, it would be better for him to see Yan Yue as little as possible. He didn¡¯t really want to have any more interactions with his past life. After watching Dahei for a while, Lu Lingxi returned to Tiny Garden and began his daily routine of scanning. He could see which pots needed watering, which pots needed fertilising, which pots needed catching insects, everything waspletely clear at a nce at the panel. As he was busy, Lao Han, who had been herest time, walked in. ¡°Wee! Brother Han?¡± Lao Han smiled, ¡°Xiao Xi, how¡¯s my pot of clivia?¡± He asked with a look of apprehension, afraid that Lu Lingxi woulde and say that it had died. Lu Lingxi understood Lao Han¡¯s mood and did not procrastinate, quickly carrying out the repotted clivia from behind the cashier¡¯s desk. After the clivia had taken root again, Lu Lingxi changed the soil in the pot and carefully rented it back after the pot and soil had been disinfected. Unlike the sickly clivia that Lao Han had brought over, the clivia after re-rooting still looked a little thin, but the yellow leaves had already started to turn green, and a few flower buds emerged among the previously sparse small flowers, showing a positive and vigorous spirit. Lao Han looked at the pot of clivia with surprise and asked in an incredulous trembling voice, ¡°Is it really saved?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded; he actually found it hard to believe too. Although the panel had already indicated that the rescue was sessful after he finished treating it that day, he waited until the clivia had taken root before his heart settled and he was convinced that he had really saved the clivia. As he watched the new roots take root in the soil through the panel, Lu Lingxi was filled with a sense of achievement, but more than that, he felt the same joy as Lao Han. Chapter 16 Lao Han left with his precious clivia, thanking and praising Lu Lingxi profusely for his ability to save a nt from certain death. Du Lin used to be good at raising flowers and was already well known in the neighbourhood. When Lao Han advertised what happened, people found out that Lu Lingxi was from Tiny Garden, and in less than two days he became famous among the flower lovers around the street. Everyone knew that the new boy from Tiny Garden was a good person, and that he was good at raising flowers. Passers-by were attracted by the pots of begonias at the door of Tiny Garden that were blooming very vigorously, and if you went inside the store to take a look, you would be reluctant to leave. The flowers and nts inside were really good. The leaves were emerald green and the flowers were beautiful. The whole shop was full of greenery and the air was fresher than outside. If you stayed there for a long time, it seemed that even the fatigue of the day was gone. These words were not an exaggeration. The few regr customers who came to the shop often obviously noticed the difference. The same ca lilies that Lu Lingxi took care of grew better than theirs at home. They used toe in when Du Lin was here, but they didn¡¯t notice such a difference. How to describe it? The flowers and nts raised by Xiao Xi were full of positive vitality. Because of this vitality, the whole shop had a different feel. When you spent a lot of time in the shop, you were really at peace and felt that all the bad things were gone. When Dong Zhi was telling Lu Lingxi about these rumours, Lu Lingxi could not help but blush. His face was hot and he looked embarrassed by thepliments. Dong Zhi held back hisughter; Lu Lingxi was really tender-faced, and no matter whether he wasplimented or teased, the child would easily blush. When he was done, Dong Zhi patted him on the shoulder and deliberately made a serious face, saying, ¡°Young man, you have a future. Do well.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded earnestly. When Dong Zhi looked at him, he found Lu Lingxi¡¯s seriousness very cute. The child really listened to his casual words. By all ounts, Dong Zhi was almost a decade older than Lu Lingxi and always unconsciously treated the boy as a junior in need of care. He really didn¡¯t know what kind of family could raise such a well-behaved and obedient child. Dong Zhi had heard Lu Lingxi mention Wang Shuxiu a few times, and at that moment he was in awe of Wang Shuxiu, whom he had never met. A woman who supported a family and raised Lu Lingxi so well must have been dignified, generous, reasonable and extremely virtuous. After sighing in his heart for a long time, Dong Zhi remembered something, ¡°By the way, you can take Dahei home today.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Lu Lingxi said in surprise. Dong Zhi nodded. Dahei¡¯s injuries almost healed, so there was nothing wrong with him as long as you were a bit careful. Dahei was also used to the unrestrained life outside, and now that he was locked up in a cage all day, Dahei¡¯s temper was very irritable. Only when Lu Lingxi was feeding him was he a bit more docile, but the rest of the time Dahei scared the other pets that came to the pet shop. Dong Zhi was so disturbed by him that he couldn¡¯t wait for Lu Lingxi to take him away. Lu Lingxi often heard Dahei¡¯s barking from across the road and naturally knew how helpless Dong Zhi was against Dahei. It was strange to say that; Dahei was just an ordinary dog, not very big, and thin and bony because of the long life of wandering, but he was very strong. Yesterday, a St. Bernard dog came to the pet shop. Perhaps Dahei felt provoked and confronted it. Dong Zhi hurriedly intervened to stop them, afraid that Dahei would suffer. As a result, before he could do anything about it, Dahei arched his back and roared, and the St. Bernard turned around and ran away. When Dong Zhi and Lu Lingxi talked about it, they felt a bit incredulous. Because he had to take Dahei home in the evening, Lu Lingxi was very motivated to pack up his things and get ready to leave work. Dong Zhi kindly gave him a leash and a dog muzzle for Dahei. Even if Dahei didn¡¯t bite, with a muzzle at least everyone would be more at ease. The leash was barely eptable, but Dahei was very unhappy about the muzzle, refusing toe near Dong Zhi and growling. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t put it on, so he had to leave it to Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi knew it would be ufortable to wear it, but there was nothing he could do. He gently patted Dahei and coaxed, ¡°It¡¯s just to go home, just for a while.¡± Dahei whimpered a few times and reluctantly raised his head. Lu Lingxi smiled and stroked Dahei approvingly. It took only half an hour to walk back to the neighbourhood from Tiny Garden, and Lu Lingxi took Dahei all the way to teach him to recognize the way. Soon after the two of them left the street of Tiny Garden, Dahei suddenly turned his head and crouched, looking cautious. Lu Lingxi looked behind him strangely. There was nothing there. ¡°Dahei?¡± Dahei crouched and growled in a low voice. Although he couldn¡¯t make too much noise because of the muzzle, this roar seemed to squeeze out of the depth of his throat and was even more shocking. Lu Lingxi was a little bewildered and tried to figure out Dahei¡¯s reaction. Was there someone following them? It was only seven o¡¯clock, and the sky was still bright. The street was not too remote, and there were asional pedestrians hurrying past on the roadside. Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head in confusion, wondering what Dahei had sensed. Just as Lu Lingxi looked around and was about to pull Dahei away, a familiar car drove by and stopped beside the two of them. The window opened and Yan Yue looked as if he had met them by chance, ¡°What¡¯s going on? I saw Dahei making a fuss from far away.¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head; he didn¡¯t know what was going on either. The good thing was that since Yan Yue appeared, Dahei had stopped growling, but was still crouching alertly on the ground, looking in the direction behind them. Yan Yue nced at Dahei and his gaze paused on Lu Lingxi¡¯s fingers unconsciously stroking the top of Dahei¡¯s head. The soft ck fur tangled around the white fingers. It was an unspeakable eyesore. Yan Yue withdrew his gaze and said seemingly casually, ¡°Get in the car, I¡¯ll give you a lift where you¡¯re going.¡± s Lu Lingxi hesitated a little. Yan Yue woulde to the pet shop daily these days to visit Dahei, and the two would run into each other every time. Although they weren¡¯t strangers, they had just exchanged a few words, so he didn¡¯t really want to bother Yan Yue. Yan Yue could see Lu Lingxi¡¯s hesitation, and his eyes darkened slightly. Although in his heart he could not wait to jump out of the car and drag the young man inside, on the surface he still looked expressionless. Under Yan Yue¡¯s silent insistence, Lu Lingxi gave in. He pulled open the car door and gestured for Dahei to get in first, and was about to follow him when Yan Yue leaned sideways and opened the front door, saying, ¡°Sit in the front, the back is a bit messy.¡± Lu Lingxi was a bit startled, touched Dahei and turned around to get into the passenger seat. ¡°Where to?¡± Yan Yue was in a good mood but couldn¡¯t show it; he could only suppress the corners of his mouth from curling up slightly and try to sound casual. Lu Lingxi said the name of the neighbourhood. Yan Yue knew this neighbourhood, one of the older neighbourhoods in the centre of Fengcheng. A few years ago Hopewell Group had been interested in this neighbourhood and had even made a project description. Later, the project was shelved because the demolition costs for the residents of the district were too high. If you walked along this road and turned left at the first intersection, you would find thatmunity. Yan Yue nced at the young man and just as he should have turned left, he did not hesitate to turn right. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­ wrong.¡± Yan Yue was surprised, ¡°Wrong? I remember turning right at the first intersection.¡± Lu Lingxi blinked and pointed out in embarrassment, ¡°You have reversed left and right.¡± Yan Yue gave Lu Lingxi an apologetic look, ¡°Sorry, that was my mistake, will it dy your return home?¡± Yan Yue¡¯s attitude was so polite; Lu Lingxi was even more embarrassed. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll be alone when I go home, I won¡¯t be dyed.¡± ¡°You live alone?¡± Yan Yue looked like he was casually making small talk. ¡°No, I¡¯m with my mom, but my mom works the night shift and she¡¯s already at work at this hour.¡± The young man¡¯s voice was soft and his tone was slightly more animated when he mentioned his mother. It could be seen that the rtionship between the mother and the son was very good. Yan Yue let out a ¡°hmm¡± and didn¡¯t ask where the teenager¡¯s father had gone. ¡°Do you live nearby?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little curious. He had met Yan Yue frequently at the pet shop in the past two days, and when he fed Dahei at noon, Yan Yue was always there. Now that he encountered Yan Yue again, Lu Lingxi only thought that Yan Yue lived nearby. ¡°No, I have something to do here.¡± When Yan Yue said this, he nced at Lu Lingxi quietly, without saying that he had been wandering around the young man like a voyeur for the past two days. He watched the young man¡¯s every move every day, watched him take care of the flowers and nts wholeheartedly, watched him receive every customer earnestly, watched him clean the shop when no one was around, watched him smile uncontrobly at the stupid dog. He desperately tried to suppress the urge to appear by the boy¡¯s side and only pretended to meet him by chance when Lu Lingxi went to feed Dahei. The young man was innocent but not stupid, and Yan Yue didn¡¯t want to frighten him with his recklessness. He wanted Lu Lingxi to gradually get used to his presence and slowly ept his transformation from a stranger to a friend. When Yan Yue was studying abroad, he would asionally go out hunting with his ssmates. When a good hunter finds his prey, he has to have enough patience to wait, set a trap and then strike when the prey is close and unaware. Yan Yue had the patience and enough confidence. The young man would be his, Yan Yue was extremely sure of that. Unwilling to be left alone, Dahei pushed his head forward and whined in a low voice. Lu Lingxi smiled and reached out to scratch Dahei¡¯s chin, interrupting the conversation with Yan Yue. s The car fell into silence, with only Dahei¡¯s low whimpers from time to time. Yan Yue nced at the young man who looked rxed, sitting quietly by his side. Outside the window was a shiftingndscape, and inside was a closed world of two people and a dog. Without the hustle and bustle of the outside world, the world¡¯splexities seemed to disappear and Yan Yue¡¯s eyes were filled only with the clear smile of the young man. His heart slowly settled down, enjoying this rare peace. Not long after the two left, Lu Yishui got out of the niche in the wall, cursing and spitting at the car that was driving away. He was forced by Brother Feng to pay his debts in the next few days and was hiding all day. Wang Shuxiu, a woman with a vicious heart, was not only ruthless and did not give him a penny, but she was also shouting everywhere that she wanted to divorce him. Lu Yishui grew up with his mother and had never seen his father at all. When his mother passed away, the only family members he had left were Wang Shuxiu and Lu Lingxi. Apart from them, he really had no other ce to find money. Lu Yishui thought that if Wang Shuxiu could not be relied upon, Lu Lingxi, the little bastard, could always be used. As a result, it had been a few days now, and Lu Lingxi was acting like he didn¡¯t have a father. Lu Yishui couldn¡¯t wait any longer and could only take the risking to Lu Lingxi. This time, when Lu Yishui heard that Lu Lingxi had found a job, he didn¡¯t dare to appear in public for fear of being seen by Brother Feng¡¯s men. So he sneaked over and followed Lu Lingxi, thinking to talk to Lu Lingxi while no one was aroundter. Wasn¡¯t there a house under Lu Lingxi¡¯s name? If he could coax the little bastard to get soft-hearted, he could take the house and sell it. He really needed to get the money, otherwise Brother Feng would really kill him. Lu Yishui had nned it beautifully, but he did not expect that Lu Lingxi would be followed by a dog. When the dog barked, his knees went weak and it was hard to take another breath. And then the little bastard followed that man. However, Lu Yishui rubbed his chin, when did the little bastard get to know such a rich man? Just looking at that car was enough for him to pay off his gambling debts before turning over a new leaf. He didn¡¯t know what the rtionship between the little bastard and the other party was but couldn¡¯t he borrow some money to save the day? Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know that he was being targeted by Lu Yishui at this time. Because Yan Yue turned in the wrong direction, it took half an hour to find an intersection where he could turn and go home. Lu Lingxi thought about getting off at the entrance of themunity, but Yan Yue insisted on sending him to the door. In the words of Yan Yue, there were only a few more steps to go, so it saved the trouble. Facing the prying eyes of his neighbours, Lu Lingxi politely said goodbye to Yan Yue, ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ve really bothered you today.¡± Yan Yue hooked the corner of his mouth, ¡°No need to thank me.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes in a smile. After watching Yan Yue leave, Lu Lingxi led Dahei into the house. He had already set up a nest for Dahei in the small courtyard at the back, and he wondered if Dahei would like it. ¡°This will be your home from now on.¡± Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei and said. Dahei seemed to understand the words and gave a low bark, rubbing against Lu Lingxi¡¯s palm. That night, Lu Lingxi was about to go to bed when he suddenly heard Dahei barking loudly, and along with Dahei¡¯s barking there was a man¡¯s wail. ¡°Damn dog! Let go!¡± He hurried to the backyard and saw a dark figure clinging to the fence. One of the man¡¯s legs was bitten by Dahei fiercely and no matter how much the man struggled, he was unable to break free. Chapter 17 When Wang Shuxiu received a call from Lu Lingxi and hurried back, what she saw was Lu Yishui crouching over his injured leg, sitting in the living room and wailing, while a big ck dog squatted opposite him, staring at him intently. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± As soon as she heard that Lu Yishui hade home, she quickly hung up the phone and called a taxi just to rush back, afraid that Lu Lingxi would suffer alone. She was still not clear what had happened. Lu Lingxi told about Lu Yishui climbing over the fence from the backyard instead ofing through the main entrance, and being bitten by Dahei. After speaking, he touched Dahei¡¯s head, worried that Wang Shuxiu would be angry with Dahei. Lu Yishui grunted and scolded: ¡°Little bastard, you¡¯ve grown up, huh? You let that dog bite your old man! Hurry up and take that dog away from me.¡± Wang Shuxiu listened to Lu Lingxi¡¯s words and snorted, ¡°Deserve it!¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know why Lu Yishui didn¡¯t go through the front door, but she knew. He was just afraid that Brother Feng¡¯s people would see him, so he had to sneak around. After interrupting Lu Yishui¡¯s grumbling, Wang Shuxiu questioned suspiciously, ¡°What are you doing back here?¡± Lu Yishui straightened up. ¡°This is my home, why can¡¯t Ie back?¡± Seeing that Wang Shuxiu was about to get angry, Lu Yishui suddenly softened his tone and begged, ¡°Xiaohua, I was wrong, I really know I was wrong this time. I¡¯ll never gamble again, I¡¯ll be a son of a bitch if I gamble. Brother Feng is really going to kill me this time. He said that if I don¡¯t pay back the money, he will send me to the northwest to work in the mine. Xiaohua, can you watch me being forced to death by Brother Feng? Once a couple is always a couple, Xiaohua, please save me just this once more.¡± When Lu Yishui spoke pitifully, Wang Shuxiuughed coldly, ¡°Be a son of a bitch if you gamble? I¡¯ve heard you say that many times before. Brother Feng should have sent you to the coal mine in the northwest to save you froming here and causing trouble. I¡¯m telling you, Lu Yishui, you should give up. I won¡¯t give you any money, not only that, I¡¯ll divorce you.¡± Wang Shuxiu had not divorced before because of Lu Lingxi. But this time Lu Lingxi was so badly injured that he almost lost his life, and Lu Yishui was still at the gambling table without even showing his face, so Wang Shuxiu waspletely heartbroken. Even if Lu Lingxi regained his memory and made trouble with herter, she was still sure to divorce this time. When Wang Shuxiu mentioned divorce, Lu Yishui immediately exploded. ¡°What divorce? Who wants to divorce you? Little bastard, son, do you want to see this family fall apart?¡± This phrase was Lu Yishui¡¯s golden phrase. Perhaps it was because Lu Yishui had told Lu Lingxi too many times about the hardships he had suffered growing up without a father, but Lu Lingxi was very sensitive to the topic of divorce. Every time Wang Shuxiu mentioned it, Lu Lingxi would oppose it in every way. Lu Yishui was used to pulling Lu Lingxi in as an ally, but he forgot that the current Lu Lingxi was no longer the old Lu Lingxi. When the conversation turned to him, Lu Lingxi looked seriously at Wang Shuxiu and said, ¡°Mom, if you want to get a divorce, just do it. I will take care of you in future.¡± Although Lu Yishui was the father of this body, Lu Lingxi had only seen him three times after he woke up and every time the impression of Li Yishui¡¯s character in his eyes got worse and worse. He really had no feelings for Lu Yishui at all. He didn¡¯t know how this body¡¯s original owner would have chosen to act in this situation, but he was now Lu Lingxi and his heart ached for Wang Shuxiu. He hoped that Wang Shuxiu could get out of this kind of life. ¡°Little bastard, you¡­¡± Lu Yishui lunged to hit Lu Lingxi. As soon as he got up, Dahei straightened up and gave a low growl. Dahei¡¯s growl stirred up a bad memory in Lu Yishui and fear shed across his face as he reluctantly sat down again. ¡°Divorce is divorce, but¡­¡± Lu Yishui¡¯s eyes twinkled, ¡°Xiaohua, sell the house to pay back Brother Feng for me, and I¡¯ll divorce you.¡± ¡°Bah, nice try!¡± Wang Shuxiu was furious, ¡°This house is my son¡¯s, Lu Yishui, don¡¯t even think about this house.¡± ¡°Then I won¡¯t divorce!¡± Lu Yishui said disdainfully. Wang Shuxiu was so angry that she looked around to find something to beat Lu Yishui with, but when she turned her head and saw Dahei, she pointed at Lu Yishui and said, ¡°Bite him.¡± Dahei understood Wang Shuxiu¡¯s words, shook his fur and slowly stood up. ¡°Wang Xiaohua, don¡¯t go too far¡­ hey hey, damn dog, don¡¯te closer¡­¡± Lu Yishui didn¡¯t think Wang Shuxiu was serious, but Dahei was serious. At that moment, Lu Yishui no longer cared about anything. Dragging his injured leg, he opened the door and ran away. Dahei slowly walked to the door, barked and heard Lu Yishui ¡°ouch¡± outside. He had probably run into something in the dark. After scaring Lu Yishui, Dahei calmly walked back and squatted at Lu Lingxi¡¯s feet. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Wang Shuxiu was originally furious, but she couldn¡¯t help butugh at this scene. ¡°Is this the dog you said you wanted to keep?¡± Wang Shuxiu asked as she closed the door. Lu Lingxi nodded nervously. Wang Shuxiu seemed to want to say something, but waved her hand half-heartedly, ¡°Forget it, I thought that you were going to raise a puppy like a Pekingese. I didn¡¯t expect it to be such a big guy. Okay, for the sake of him biting the old bastard, let him be big.¡± Lu Lingxi breathed a sigh of relief, stroked Dahei¡¯s head andplimented him, ¡°Dahei is very smart, sensible and capable. There are many people who like him and there are people whopeted with me to adopt Dahei.¡± Wang Shuxiu¡¯s expression became weird. Just a stray dog, and there were people who wanted to adopt it? The little bastard didn¡¯t even know how to lie now. She didn¡¯t believe it but pretended that she did, saying casually, ¡°Fine, fine, whatever you say. What¡¯s the name again, oh yes, Dahei, Dahei is a good dog.¡± s Lu Lingxi felt Wang Shuxiu¡¯s words were perfunctory and was a little aggrieved for Dahei. He thought of Yan Yue. Obviously, there were many people who liked Dahei, and Yan Yue liked Dahei. Yan Yue also wanted to adopt Dahei, he even came to see Dahei every day. ¡°Okay, okay, go to bed.¡± Wang Shuxiu had asked for a leave to rush back, so she didn¡¯t bother to go back to work. Seeing that it was gettingte and the little bastard had the intention of continuing to praise Dahei, she hurriedly urged Lu Lingxi to go to sleep. Lu Lingxi was still a bit worried about Lu Yishui¡¯s gambling debts. He remembered the man named Brother Feng from thest time. He was a little worried that if Lu Yishui didn¡¯t pay back the money, Brother Feng woulde to trouble Wang Shuxiu. Wang Shuxiu waved her hand, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Brother Feng is okay, not the kind of person who messes around.¡± He would only deal with Lu Yishui, never involving his family. As for how Lu Yishui would find the money, she didn¡¯t care. Lu Lingxi rxed and prepared to go back to bed. Dahei consciously followed him, with no intention of going back to the backyard. Lu Lingxi smiled and scratched Dahei¡¯s chin, ¡°You want to sleep with me?¡± Dahei squinted his eyesfortably and curled up, lying at the head of Lu Lingxi¡¯s bed. After a good night¡¯s sleep, when Lu Lingxi had to go to work the next day, Wang Shuxiu insisted that Lu Lingxi take Dahei with him. She knew Lu Yishui; the old bastard would never give up, he was still thinking about the house and was probably waiting for Lu Lingxi somewhere. Wang Shuxiu said to Dahei bitterly, ¡°Remember that old bastardst night? Bite him when you see him, don¡¯t be polite.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± One man and one dog walked to Tiny Garden. Dahei seemed to like staying in Tiny Garden very much but refused to go to the pet shop across the street no matter how much Lu Lingxi tried to coax him. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t bark or make trouble, but just curled up under the wicker chair at the entrance and slept. Some customers didn¡¯t even notice that there was a dog in the shop. asionally, when a customer saw Dahei and tried to tease him, Dahei wouldn¡¯t even lift his eyelids and continued to sleep after turning in another direction. Recently the business of Tiny Garden was quite booming because of Lao Han¡¯s vigorous advertising. Lu Lingxi was busy all morning and nned to take Dahei to the pet shop across the street for lunch while no one was around when someone walked in. ¡°Excuse me¡­¡± ¡°Grandpa Su?¡± Lu Lingxi turned around, slightly baffled. The customer at the door was Su Lang¡¯s grandfather Su Weizheng. When he was hospitalised, Su Weizheng even went to the hospital to see him a few times. ¡°Xiao Xi, why are you here?¡± Su Weizheng was very surprised. Lu Lingxi exined, ¡°I work here.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Su Weizheng suddenly realized and said with a smile, ¡°You are the very powerful young man they mentioned.¡± Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help but feel guilty when hearing that. When he first watered the golden pothos at the hospital, he didn¡¯t know anything and it was Su Lang who showed him how to do it. And now within a few days, he had be a very powerful person everyone talked about. Would Grandpa Su find it strange? s Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart was drumming, but Su Weizheng knew nothing about it. With a smile, he showed the flower he was holding in his hands to Lu Lingxi, ¡°Xiao Xi, can you help me and take a look? Why does this pot of flowers keep growing leaves but not blooming?¡± Su Weizheng was talking about the violet he was holding. He exined, ¡°A former student gave me this pot of flowers a while ago, and it has been growing very well. The student said it was going to bloom in a few days. But it¡¯s almost autumn and it¡¯s still not blooming, so I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on?¡± When it came to business, Lu Lingxi dismissed the messy thoughts in his head, scanned the violet, and the white panel appeared. nt name: Violet nt needs: Vernalisation treatment nt viability: High The term ¡°vernalisation treatment¡± originally referred to the act of giving germinating seeds a certain amount of time at low temperatures in order to promote the formation of flower buds. It was called vernalisation because low temperatures would bring on spring. Later on, it came to mean the treatment of not only germinating seeds, but also nts in the growing season to promote the formation of flower buds. The pot of violets in front of them was a perennial crop. The student who gave it to Su Weizheng probably did not know anything about it and it had not undergone the low temperature treatment. Lu Lingxi, who had been studying flowers for some time, tried to make it as easy to understand as possible, and Su Weizheng soon understood. ¡°Then what should I do?¡± The flowering of violets was greatly affected by temperature, and there were many artificial means to regte the timing of violet flowering. Lu Lingxi gave Su Weizheng a detailed exnation, and it was up to Su Weizheng to decide what to do. Since he retired, Su Weizheng enjoyed tinkering with flowers and nts. He usually met old men and olddies to discuss these things together. It was rare to meet a young man like Lu Lingxi. The boy had a nice voice and his expression was gentle when he talked about flowers and nts. The old man had a very good impression of Lu Lingxi before, and now that he saw him like this, he liked him even more, so much so that he wanted Lu Lingxi to be his own grandson. The old man and the young man had a warm chat, and Su Weizheng was so happy that he asked Lu Lingxi to go to the flower market with him early tomorrow morning. ¡°Xiao Xi, let me tell you, the flower market is not far from here, it¡¯s by the river not too far behind. The market opens at six in the morning in summer and there are all kinds of flowers in it. You should really go and have a look, Xiao Xi.¡± Lu Lingxi was moved by Su Weizheng¡¯s words, and he calcted that if he went there at six in the morning, he would have enough time to return before nine. ¡°Okay then, Grandpa Su, tell me the time and the ce and I¡¯ll find you.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do it this way, tomorrow morning at six o¡¯clock, we¡¯ll meet at this street corner.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, ¡°No problem.¡± Elder Su left with the flowers in his hands satisfied, and Lu Lingxi called Dahei, ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go eat.¡± Dahei wagged his tail and stood up. But when he walked out, he suddenly stood still, baring his teeth towards the left and giving a low growl. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lu Lingxi followed the direction of Dahei¡¯s gaze and looked over. A little white Pekingese was so scared by Dahei that it shivered, pawing its master¡¯s leg and refusing to move. Lu Lingxi was speechless and flicked his finger on Dahei¡¯s head, ¡°Scaring other dogs again?¡± Dahei wagged his tail, aggrieved, and gave a low whimper as he followed Lu Lingxi. At the intersection on the left, Lu Yishui wiped his sweat. He was almost discovered by that damn dog. Thinking of that dog made his right leg ache dully; the bite he receivedst night hadn¡¯t healed yet. Just wait, don¡¯t let him catch that dog. If it does, he will sell it to a hot pot restaurant, Lu Yishui thought with hatred. There was no way today; the dog was with the little bastard and Li Yishui didn¡¯t dare to show his face. Lu Yishui was limping away about to leave when he turned his head and saw a familiar car parked not far away. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and an idea came to his mind. Chapter 18 The ce where Yan Yue parked his car was not far from Tiny Garden. Turn to the left, and there would be the street where Tiny Garden was located. He hadn¡¯t been here long but without Dahei, he needed to find another suitable excuse to appear in front of Lu Lingxi. The sun was so hot in the middle of summer that the asphalt on the road seemed to be melting. Pedestrians running around in the scorching sun often looked parched, and when they passed Yan Yue¡¯s car, they would more or less nce at him curiously. The air conditioner inside the car was on, but Yan Yue felt even hotter than the pedestrians outside. This heat did note from his body, but from the insatiable desire in the deepest part of his heart. He wanted to appear in front of the young man immediately, but was wary of the reaction Lu Lingxi would have. He was used to appearing by the boy¡¯s side every day at noon on the pretext of visiting Dahei. He would feel the boy¡¯sforting aura and asionally the boy would give him a pure, clear smile. Then the restlessness that was churning inside Yan Yue would calm down like under a breeze blowing over the sea. Now that his habit had been interrupted, Yan Yue waspletely unable to restrain his impulses, like a thirsty traveller in the desert, craving frantically for a spring that could save his life. Gently tapping on the steering wheel, Yan Yue stepped on the elerator. He was going to the pet shop to buy some dog food for that stupid dog and use it to meet the young man. Yan Yue¡¯s car had just started when a man passing by suddenly staggered, hit the front of Yan Yue¡¯s car and fell to the ground. ¡°A man has been killed!¡± Someone shouted out loud, and it was like a drop of water sshed in a frying pan. The pedestrians who were originally wilting in the heat instantly boiled up. Yan Yue¡¯s face was ugly and he mmed on the brakes very quickly. If he was right, the man had crashed into his car on purpose, inevitably making Yan Yue think of hitting porcin (the practice to jump under a car to extort the money from the driver; in general can be used for any kind of simr scam). With a cold face, Yan Yue pushed open the door and stepped out of the car. Within a single minute, the surrounding pedestrians had crowded around the two men and the car. Yan Yue frowned imperceptibly and looked at the man lying on the ground coldly, ¡°Shall I take you to the hospital?¡± The man was none other than Lu Yishui. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Yan Yue getting out of the car. He immediately made a painful face, holding his head and muttering, ¡°Why am I not dead¡­¡± Someone on the roadside interjected, ¡°What do you mean? Why would you die when you¡¯re fine?¡± Lu Yishui banged his head on Yan Yue¡¯s car and said loudly, ¡°I am not a human being! I wronged my wife and children! I lost all the money of my family, I have no face to live!¡± As soon as he said this, the people around him who were watching the fun immediately started talking. ¡°If you die, what will happen to your wife and children?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, how can a man not take responsibility? You are done with your life but how can they live?¡± Amidst the outbreak of discouragement, Lu Yishui stole a nce at Yan Yue and covered his face with a guilty expression, ¡°I¡¯m useless, I have no money, I lost all the money for my son¡¯s schooling. He¡¯s only 18 and he has to work in a gardening shop! I¡¯ve wronged him!¡± At this point Lu Yishui seemed unable to go on, and choked up, ¡°Xiao Xi, Daddy is sorry.¡± A gardening shop? Xiao Xi? These two names were enough to catch Yan Yue¡¯s attention, and he looked at the man on the ground icily. The man¡¯s chanting and beating his head was just a hrious sight in the eyes of others, but in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes, the man had an ulterior motive. He didn¡¯t doubt Lu Yishui¡¯s words; this man had the kind of shameless and rascal airmon to gamblers. He hadn¡¯t expected the beautiful teenager to have a father like that. If at first the man bumping into his car had struck him as a bit fishy and made him think that the guy was deliberately hitting porcin, now he probably guessed what the man was thinking. Yan Yue didn¡¯t know how the man knew that he and Lu Lingxi were acquainted, or even how much the man really knew. But he should have never used Lu Lingxi¡¯s name for a scam. If the man could use his son once today, he would use him countless timester. s Yan Yue suppressed the disgust in his eyes, ¡°You¡¯re Lu Lingxi¡¯s father?¡± Lu Yishui was overjoyed; indeed this man knew Lu Lingxi. He looked at Yan Yue as if he was surprised, ¡°You know my son? He¡­¡± Yan Yue interrupted him, ¡°Xiao Xi and I are friends. I¡¯ll take you to the hospital first.¡± Being surrounded by people for so long was already Yan Yue¡¯s limit, especially since this ce was not far from Tiny Garden; he did not want to get Lu Lingxi involved. Lu Yishui stood up with seeming difficulty, nodded gratefully at Yan Yue and refused, ¡°No need actually, it¡¯s not a big deal.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Yan Yue interrupted Lu Yishui¡¯s words and took the lead to get into the car. Lu Yishui suppressed the joy on his face and followed cautiously into the car. He had never been in such a fancy car before and was a little timid for a moment. But on second thought, he was about to be driven to death by Brother Feng. He was just taking his chances anyway, what if he could get some money out of this sucker? In any case, he had Lu Lingxi on his side, and it was only natural for the father and the son to share debts. And even if he couldn¡¯t, it was just a matter of losing face. How much was a face worth? With this idea in mind, during the drive to the hospital Lu Yishui shaped himself into a man who regretted making a mistake and wanted to make up for it but didn¡¯t know how. His wife wanted to divorce him, his son refused to forgive him, and he was so desperate that he thought of suicide. And he was a little selfish, too, wanting to do hisst bit of duty by dying to make a fortune for his family. When Lu Yishui said this, he nced at Yan Yue anxiously, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t know you were Xiao Xi¡¯s friend, I¡­¡± A hint of yfulness shed in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes as he said coldly, ¡°Did you just say that Xiao Xi wants you to divorce his mother?¡± Lu Yishui did not know Yan Yue¡¯s intention and nodded cautiously. Yan Yue mmed on the brakes, and Lu Yishui, unprepared, crashed directly into the backrest in front of him. ¡°You¡­¡± Lu Yishui bumped hard and asked vaguely. Yan Yue¡¯s face was expressionless as he turned around, his eyes lightly sweeping over Lu Yishui. For some reason, Lu Yishui suddenly felt cold from the bottom of his heart, as if all his thoughts were seen through by the young man opposite him. ¡°I will pay the money you owe, and you and Xiao Xi¡¯s mother will divorce.¡± Yan Yue said coldly. Lu Yishui looked at Yan Yue in surprise, utterly confused about Yan Yue¡¯s intentions. Yan Yue also had no intention to exin and said straightforwardly, ¡°Tomorrow at this time, at that street corner just now, you bring the divorce certificate over, and I will give you the money.¡± ¡°Really?¡­¡± Lu Yishui said with some disbelief. Yan Yue opened the car door, as if he didn¡¯t n to say anything more, ¡°You can go.¡± Lu Yishui got out of the car in shock. Things had gonepletely beyond his expectations. The whole process was incredibly smooth, and he hadn¡¯t even yed hisst bitter card. What made Lu Yishui feel even more strange was the condition this young man had set. Was there any necessary connection between his divorce from Wang Xiaohua and paying back the money? Could it be¡­ Lu Yishui first thought of Wang Xiaohua giving him a green hat (cheating on him), but in his heart he didn¡¯t feel it was that. This man really didn¡¯t look like someone who would be interested in Wang Xiaohua, so why? Although Lu Yishui¡¯s heart was thudding, this opportunity was rare and he really didn¡¯t want to miss it. It was just a divorce, wasn¡¯t it? Even if they divorced, Wang Xiaohua was still his wife and Lu Lingxi was still his son, so how could they not take care of him when he was old? He was thinking about what the man had said and hurriedly took a taxi to rush home. The two of them would do the formalities today, and it would be a matter of minutes before they remarried tomorrow if the situation was not right. As soon as Lu Yishui left, Yan Yue made a phone call to Ye Kang. ¡°Is Ye Sange (Third Brother) in Fengcheng? Help me check someone for me.¡± Without waiting for Ye Kang to ask more questions, Yan Yue hung up the phone and then sent Lu Yishui¡¯s name and address over. He believed that with Ye Sange¡¯s strength, he would be able to see the results tonight. Yan Yue had seen a lot of gamblers like Lu Yishui, who were capable of doing anything when they were losing. The result of entanglement with them was that they would lose all their money and their families would be ruined. Yan Yue thought of Lu Lingxi, a naive and soft-hearted young man who should not have had such a father. s The excitement that happened across the street had not yet reached Lu Lingxi¡¯s ears, and he was still going about his business as usual. Fiddling with flowers and nts, receiving customers, reading books when no one was around, soon it was time to leave work. In the middle of the day, Lu Lingxi received a phone call from Wang Shuxiu, saying that Lu Yishui suddenly agreed to a divorce and they were now at the Civil Affairs Bureau. Without waiting for Lu Lingxi to express his surprise, Wang Shuxiu admitted she herself was in a bit of disbelief. ¡°Has the old bastard found his conscience this time? He actually didn¡¯t ask for anything and didn¡¯t mention the matter of the house.¡± Lu Yishui¡¯s character was so bad that Wang Shuxiu was worried that Lu Yishui had some kind of scheme behind it, but the divorce was not a fake in any case, so Wang Shuxiu decided to follow him to the Civil Affairs Bureau and divorce him first. Lu Lingxi also felt that this matter was a bit strange, but after all, Wang Shuxiu would finally get rid of Lu Yishui. He could hear the relief in Wang Shuxiu¡¯s tone and was happy for her. Without Lu Yishui dragging them down, he was now working and earning money, so Wang Shuxiu¡¯s burden would be reduced a lot and she could stop working at the KTV and get an easier job instead. Wang Shuxiu was not young anymore, and her body couldn¡¯t stand working night shifts all the time. Before Lu Lingxi could finish his words, Wang Shuxiu rudely interrupted him, ¡°This olddy is only forty! Where am I old? Besides, I¡¯m saving money for you to marry a wife, little bastard.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°All right, all right,e back early tonight. The divorce from the old bastard is a big deal, so I¡¯ll make you a stewed chicken to celebrate.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know whether to cry or tough and could only ¡°en¡± obediently. Wang Shuxiu was satisfied and hung up the phone in a happy mood. At seven o¡¯clock, Lu Lingxi packed up his things in the shop and walked home with Dahei. After a long day, he felt that something was missing, and after thinking about it he realized that he didn¡¯t seem to see Yan Yue today. In the past few days when Dahei was recovering from his injuries, every day at noon Yan Yue woulde to see Dahei. It seemed to have be a habit. Lu Lingxi felt a little guilty. Yan Yue really liked Dahei, he must have thought that Dahei had been left at home by him today. Touching Dahei¡¯s head, Lu Lingxi said casually, ¡°Dahei, you remember Yan Yue, right? Lu Lingxi said that causally, but Dahei suddenly stopped and refused to leave, turned around and barked in a low voice towards the back. Lu Lingxi followed him and turned around to look but didn¡¯t see anything for a long time. Dahei¡¯s reaction was a bit simr to yesterday, but not as intense as yesterday. It was a pity he couldn¡¯t understand Dahei¡¯s bark and didn¡¯t know what Dahei actually meant. ¡°Don¡¯t look there, or you won¡¯t have a chicken leg to eat at home.¡± The appeal of a chicken leg was very strong; Dahei immediately turned around and pulled Lu Lingxi into a trot. ¡°Wait, wait, run slower.¡± Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud after being dragged for a few steps. Chapter 19 Wang Shuxiu had some chicken soup in the evening and went to work, leaving the whole stewed chicken for Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi¡¯s appetite wasn¡¯t big, so he just ate a bit of meat while both chicken legs went into Dahei¡¯s stomach. After eating and drinking enough, Dahei squinted in satisfaction and wandered off to the small yard at the back of the house. The tomatoes in the yard had only been nted for two weeks but had already started to bear fruit. Although the tomatoes were only the size of a ss bead yed by children and still green, Lu Lingxi was already amazed at the speed at which they were producing. Normal tomatoes took at least two or three months from nting to fruiting. Luckily, Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t care about them and only casually mentioned one day that the tomatoes in the backyard were growing a bit fast but said nothing else. Last time, Yi Hang helped find some simple wooden nks to block the fence, so now you couldn¡¯t see the inside from the outside. Lu Lingxi felt a bit guilty, but fortunately Wang Shuxiu and Yi Hang were both unconcerned and would only mutter a word or two, not thinking much of it. Lu Lingxi wondered what these tomatoes would look like when they grew up. Would they be edible? Would they be strange? The seeds awarded by the panel were a bit different from ordinary seeds, weren¡¯t they? After routinely watering the tomatoes, Lu Lingxi sat on the balcony and clicked on the white panel. After all this hard work, the number of nt hearts on the panel was already 248/1000 (Level 1). 248 seemed like a lot, but it was still a long way from 1000. Lu Lingxi gave himself a pep talk and cheered himself up in his heart. He was a bit curious to know what kind of features would be unlocked when the panel was upgraded again. This time it was the mental scan, what would be next time? He had to get up early the next day, so Lu Lingxi read a book and took a shower before going to bed early. Once again, Dahei abandoned his nest in the backyard and stayed at the head of Lu Lingxi¡¯s bed. Lu Lingxi scratched Dahei¡¯s chin, acquiescing to Dahei¡¯s behaviour. ¡°If I knew, I wouldn¡¯t have worked so hard to build you a nest, it¡¯s much easier to just buy a mat.¡± Dahei came over and affectionately stuck out his tongue and licked Lu Lingxi¡¯s fingers. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help butugh and stroked its head, ¡°Sleep.¡± Lu Lingxi had a good night¡¯s sleep, but Yan Yue had insomnia once again. If he just continued to have insomnia as always, it would be fine, Yan Yue was used to it, after all. But he had slept well a few days ago because of Lu Lingxi, and after only two days of good times, he was back to his former lonely self. At two in the morning, Yan Yue sat in front of hisputer with a cold face. On the other end of theputer was Yan Yue¡¯s assistant, An Jie. An Jie was a ssmate of Yan Yue¡¯s from university and had been following him for five years after graduation. This time, Yan Yue had purposely left An Jie abroad to take care of the overseas branch of Hopewell Group for him. Having followed Yan Yue for a long time, An Jie could already tell from Yan Yue¡¯s subtle expressions how he was feeling at the moment. For example, even though they were separated by the screen, An Jie seemed to be able to feel the discontent that was pervading Yan Yue¡¯s mood. As a qualified assistant, An Jie also knew about Yan Yue¡¯s insomnia. It wasn¡¯t that he had never seen Yan Yue working in the middle of the night, but he always felt that the previous Yan Yue was at best cranky, and now he was like a volcano on the verge of eruption. After reporting on some recent affairs, An Jie closed the information in his hand and gave Yan Yue a concerned look, ¡°Boss, when are youing back?¡± Before Yan Yue returned to China, he had mentioned that he would stay in the country for about a month. Now it was almost a month, but Yan Yue had not made any move to return, so An Jie was a bit worried. When going back was mentioned, Yan Yue frowned slightly and the first thing that came to his mind was Lu Lingxi. s ¡°I have something to do, let¡¯s talk about going back next time.¡± Yan Yue had been staying abroad after graduation, and his development focus was also abroad. Compared with the mess of his so-called family members at home, Yan Yue preferred a foreign country where he had no rtives. ording to Yan Yue¡¯s n, Yan Shihui would not give up his power for at least ten years. During this time he would do his best to develop his business abroad and prepare for the future. Yan Yue¡¯s life was like a train with a clear destination, with him meticulously nning where the final stop would be and what stations he would stop at midway. The only exception was Lu Lingxi. After meeting Lu Lingxi, Yan Yue suddenly wanted to overturn all his past arrangements. His destination was no longer what he had nned before. He just wanted to stay by the boy¡¯s side or to tie the boy to his side. Yan Yue rubbed his forehead with a headache. The boy would definitely not go abroad with him in the short term, so he himself would stay in the country. In that case, some things would have to be considered in the long run. An Jie vaguely noticed something in Yan Yue¡¯s expression. Although his face remained unchanged, his heart was full of gossip. Was the boss in a bad mood at the moment because he was troubled by love? This conclusion was quite frightening, and An Jie immediately said twice in his heart, ¡°No way, no way.¡± After the two of them finished talking about business. An Jie finally remembered that the time in China was now two in the morning and urged Yan Yue to rest earlier. After ending the video call, Yan Yue still did not feel like sleeping and casually picked up the information on Lu Yishui that had been investigated earlier and read it. The information showed that Lu Yishui was very good at gambling and had been doing nothing for thest ten years but wandering around various poker tables and underground casinos. Over the years, Lu Yishui had lost and won, but basically he had lost more than he had won. He owed a lot of money and had been relying on his wife Wang Shuxiu¡¯s ie to support the family and pay off his debts. The most recent time was a month ago, when Lu Yishui lost a little more than 200,000 on the gambling table. He borrowed money from a loan shark and lost again, and in a month the interest rolled up to more than 400,000. This amount of money was nothing to Yan Yue, but a gambler like Lu Yishui was like a dogskin ster that couldn¡¯t be torn off once it stuck to you. What Yan Yue was concerned about was not that Lu Yishui was sticking to him, but that Lu Yishui was pestering Lu Lingxi and Wang Shuxiu and wouldn¡¯t leave them alone. Yan Yue¡¯s slender fingers habitually tapping in the desk stopped at another name shown on the file, Xiao Feng. Xiao Feng was an interesting man. Forty years old and single, he had been in Fengcheng for just over ten years and had grown from a small-time gangster to his present position, with two chess and card parlours under him, and also being a part-time loan shark. The money Lu Yishui owed was Xiao Feng¡¯s. These things were not the focus of Yan Yue¡¯s attention; the point was that Xiao Feng did things in a very unexpected way. He had an elder brother who contracted a small private coal mine in his hometown in the northwest. About a quarter of the workers in the mine were people who owed Xiao Feng money. These people were fed and housed by Xiao Feng, and their wages were never deducted and paid monthly, but every time the wages were paid to them, they would soon return to Xiao Feng¡¯s hands. When the money owed to Xiao Feng was paid back, the workers could leave from there. Before leaving, Xiao Feng also gave them a sum of money for the journey plus half a month¡¯s living expenses to ensure that they would not starve to death on the road. A small private coal mine? Yan Yue hooked the corner of his mouth. It was a good ce. At five o¡¯clock in the morning, Lu Lingxi got up. He went to bed earlyst night and was in good spirits. After a simple wash up, Lu Lingxi took Dahei out. The appointment time between him and Grandpa Su was six o¡¯clock, and it was almost time for him to have an early breakfast and sneak out. At this time Wang Shuxiu had not yet returned from her night shift, so Lu Lingxi left a note for her in the living room. At first, Wang Shuxiu was not optimistic about Lu Lingxi¡¯s job; she thought that the little bastard would not be able to bear hardship and would probably quit his job and go home in a few days. But half a month passed, and Lu Lingxi was actually enjoying his work. He had bought a lot of books and read themte at night every day. Wang Shuxiu was shocked when she tidied up Lu Lingxi¡¯s room the day before yesterday. There were actually more than a dozen books in the previously empty bookcase. Although all of them were about raising nts and gardening, Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t care. No matter what the little bastard read, as long as he read, it was a good thing. She calcted the money for the books and thought that Lu Lingxi had probably saved the meal money. She immediately called and scolded Lu Lingxi and left him an extra 200 yuan that night. After this incident, Wang Shuxiu gave up. The little bastard was probably really unwilling to go back to school. It was better to learn a trade, but if not, she could take the little bastard back to her hometown to farm in the future, and they wouldn¡¯t go hungry in any case. Wang Shuxiu did not mention the matter of going to school again, but Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart was unsettled and he kept trying to find an opportunity to talk to Wang Shuxiu about it. He also knew that his junior middle school education was a bit low, so he wanted to save some money to enrol in a night school to study in an adult college or something in the future, and choose horticulture or agriculture as his major, so that he could apply what he had learned. Of course, this was all nned for muchter. Lu Lingxi thought about it casually, leading Dahei straight to the bun shop at the entrance of themunity. s When the owner of the bun shop, the chubby guy Tian Jun, saw Lu Lingxiing, he smiled, ¡°Yo, Xiao Xi is up so early today.¡± ¡°Brother Tian.¡± Lu Lingxi greeted him politely. ¡°Still two meat buns?¡± Tian Jun asked as he took the buns. Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head, ¡°Six this time.¡± Tian Jun took a look at Dahei, understood and casually said, ¡°Eh yo, this dog is quite good at eating.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled shyly and did not say anything. As he watched Lu Lingxi walk away, Tian Jun shook his head and sighed. Wang Xiaohua had suffered enough. They were all from the same neighbourhood, and everyone knew what was going on in each other¡¯s homes. Wang Xiaohua had a strong character, a woman who supported a family, and Lu Yishui was too rotten to support anything. Even if there was a son, Lu Lingxi before had been no good. Who would think that after Lu Lingxi had almost walked through the ghost gate, he would be transformed to a new person? Now, everyone said that it was good that Lu Lingxi had amnesia, so he didn¡¯t remember what happened in the past. A few joked that it would be good if their little bastards also lost their memory one day. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know about Brother Tian¡¯smentations; he was squatting by the roadside feeding Dahei a bun. After eating two, Dahei refused to eat more. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Not tasty?¡± Lu Lingxi found it strange. Dahei¡¯s usual meal was four buns, two was not enough for him to eat at all. Dahei took the bun in his mouth and pushed it to Lu Lingxi, signalling him to wrap it up. Lu Lingxi looked at Dahei¡¯s behaviour and suddenly remembered Brother Tian¡¯s words from before. He didn¡¯t know whether to cry or tough. ¡°Is it because of what Brother Tian said?¡± Dahei whimpered, aggrieved. Lu Lingxi really couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore and couldn¡¯t stopughing as he squatted by the road. Dahei was even more aggrieved. Lu Lingxi hurriedly stroked Dahei¡¯s head and coaxed, ¡°Brother Tian was joking. Praising you for your ability to eat means that you are in good health. I hope Dahei will eat more and grow stronger so that he can protect me in the future.¡± After a long time of coaxing, Dahei seemed to ept this reason, licked Lu Lingxi¡¯s fingers and ate the remaining two buns. Lu Lingxi was happy and looked at Dahei with amusement, deciding that he needed to praise Dahei more in the future to protect Dahei¡¯s sensitive little mind. One man and one dog finished eating the buns and slowly walked up to the street corner next to the gardening shop. ¡°Xiao Lu, here.¡± Su Weizheng seemed to have juste over and waved at Lu Lingxi as he walked. ¡°Grandpa Su.¡± Lu Lingxi tugged Dahei and ran to Su Weizheng¡¯s side. Su Weizheng looked at Lu Lingxi with a smile, ¡°Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s just over the river, we¡¯ll be there after a short walk.¡± The flower market was not far from the gardening shop, but it was not really a flower market, but more like a ce for flower lovers tomunicate. There were indeed all kinds of flowers in it, as Su Weizheng said. Most of them were raised by the farmers nearby for sale, while a few came from severalrge nt nurseries around Fengcheng. Lu Lingxi heard Su Weizheng say that the flower market started out as a gathering of flower enthusiasts, butter became famous. More people came and the market grew bigger and bigger. All the flower lovers in Fengcheng knew about this ce. Su Weizheng enthusiastically pulled Lu Lingxi to look around, from time to timementing in a few words. The flowers in this stall were raised well, and the flowers in that stall were not blooming well. Lu Lingxi had just finished reading an illustrated book on flowers, and after doing a mental scan, he recognised at least half of the flowers there. Two people and the dog were looking around in excitement when they turned around the corner and came across several people squatting on the ground, looking at something. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go over and see what¡¯s going on.¡± Su Weizheng, an old man with a young heart, pulled Lu Lingxi over. When they got closer, they found that there were quite a few rotten flowers and nts piled up in the corner. They were probably all cleaned out from the surrounding stalls. A few old men about Su Weizheng¡¯s age were squatting there, picking and choosing with their faces full of pity. ¡°Look at this one, it¡¯s of really good quality, but unfortunately the roots are all rotten.¡± ¡°That one definitely won¡¯t survive, it¡¯s bound to die. If there was even a slight possibility, those people wouldn¡¯t be able to throw it away.¡± ¡°Look at this one, it¡¯s a rare wild orchid, isn¡¯t it? Who the hell picked it? If you don¡¯t know how to take care of it, don¡¯t touch it. Look, the roots are all broken, what a waste.¡± ¡°This one is a bit of a shame, but the quality is better than that one just now, and the price would definitely be more than that if you raised it well.¡± The old man who spoke stretched out his hand and showed three fingers. Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind whirled between three thousand and thirty thousand. Su Weizheng saw that he was listening carefully and followed with a sigh, ¡°What a pity, if one raised it until it bloomed, it would be worth more than three hundred thousand.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Almost subconsciously Lu Lingxi did a mental scan and the white panel surfaced. nt name: Wild Spring Orchid nt need: None nt viability: Dead Lu Lingxi was sorry to see that it was dead and was about to withdraw his mental scan when a sentence suddenly appeared in the bottom of the white panel. ¡°The nt is dead, consume a power of nature to save it?¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Chapter 20 The power of nature, the reward given by the panel when he had saved the clivia; Lu Lingxi had explored it for a long time, trying to figure out what exactly the power of nature was. He did not expect to discover the use of the power of nature at this time. Facing the prompt on the panel, Lu Lingxi did not immediately make a choice. Did he want to save it? Of course he did, but he did not dare to save it now. He didn¡¯t know how the panel would save it, and in case there was too muchmotion and the wild spring orchid was saved in front of everyone, he would probably be dragged off to be studied as a monster. As he hesitated, the old men squatting on the ground picked and chose and took away a few nts that did not appear to bepletely ¡°dead¡±. They didn¡¯t pick up the orchid with the broken roots, obviously not hopeful that it could be saved at all. Su Weizheng also knelt down to pick it up with interest, and while doing so, he said to Lu Lingxi, ¡°Don¡¯t look at some of these flowers that look like they are dying. They can be saved if they are lucky enough to meet an expert. Come and take a look at them too, some of them are really pitiful.¡± Lu Lingxi obediently squatted beside Su Weizheng, keeping his attention on the spring orchid with broken roots. Su Weizheng quickly noticed Lu Lingxi¡¯s gaze and smiled, ¡°What? Xiao Lu wants to try?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded and carefully picked up the spring orchid. Orchids are nts with tenacious vitality, and sometimes they can grow new roots even after their roots are broken. But this orchid looked drooping, otherwise the guys before him wouldn¡¯t have left it behind without picking it up. But Lu Lingxi was young and vigorous; Su Weizheng looked at him as if he were his own grandchild. At this time he would not say anything to pour cold water on him. Instead, he joked, ¡°Xiao Lu has ambition. If you bring this spring orchid back to life, you must let the old man take a good look at it, I will also learn from it.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded seriously. With the panel¡¯s tips, it should definitely be possible to raise it. Because of this spring orchid, Lu Lingxi¡¯s attention was no longer on the flower market, and he just thought about going back as soon as possible to save the spring orchid. But Su Weizheng had asked him toe to the flower market and they were only halfway through, so Lu Lingxi was too embarrassed to say he was leaving now. Su Weizheng noticed what he was thinking and suggested with a smile that the two of them should stop here for today. He was getting old and could not walk anymore, so they could continue next time. Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed, ¡°Grandpa Su¡­¡± Su Weizheng smiled, ¡°Go, go. I can catch up with Su Lang if I go back now. If that brat didn¡¯t go out, I¡¯ll bring him some breakfast.¡± Lu Lingxi had not thought of Su Lang for a while and always thought that Su Lang returned to Zhongjing. It was a bit strange. ¡°Dr. Su did not return to Zhongjing?¡± Su Weizheng shook his head, ¡°The brat resigned. Now he¡¯s joined some kind of volunteer organisation for leukaemia and is out running around every day withouting home.¡± Although his tone seemed to beining, Su Weizheng was actually quite happy in his heart. In the past, when Su Lang was in Zhongjing, the two of them would not see each other more than a few times a year. Now Su Lang stayed in Fengcheng; although he ran outside every day, he had to go homete at night, so they could see each other almost every day. ¡°Resigned?¡± Lu Lingxi heard that Grandpa Su was quite satisfied with Su Lang¡¯s current job, but he wondered why Su Lang had resigned. The Lu family was so powerful that when he and his brother were first hospitalised, the hospital had specially arranged a team of experts to be in charge of his brother¡¯s treatment throughout the whole process. Su Lang was one of these experts. Lu Lingxi had heard the little nurse mention in private that although Su Lang was young, he had experience studying abroad and was highly valued by the hospital, one of the hospital¡¯s key targets for training. Arranging him into the expert group was also to pave the way for future development. Why should he resign with such a good future? Su Weizheng remembered the reason why Su Lang resigned, sighed and said vaguely, ¡°A patient under his care had an ident. He was affected by it and couldn¡¯t pass the hurdle in his heart, so he quit.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Lingxi could see that Grandpa Su was not willing to talk about it, so he did not continue with the topic. He didn¡¯t really associate this incident with himself, he just felt quite sorry for Su Lang. The two separated at the entrance of the flower market; Su Weizheng¡¯s home and Tiny Garden were not in the same direction. Lu Lingxi watched Su Weizheng walk away before taking Dahei to jog all the way back to Tiny Garden. After closing the door, Lu Lingxi carefully ced the broken-rooted spring orchid on the table. The white panel surfaced again. The nt is dead, consumes the power of nature to save it? Lu Lingxi was about to click ¡°yes¡± when he suddenly thought of Dahei. What if the panel caused too much movement and scared Dahei? He looked down at Dahei, who was crouching at his feet, quietly watching him. Lu Lingxi hesitated for a few seconds whether to shut Dahei out, squatted down and stroked Dahei¡¯s head, seriously admonishing, ¡°Be good, hide behind me, something strange might happenter. Don¡¯t be afraid.¡± Who knows whether Dahei understood Lu Lingxi¡¯s words. He rubbed against Lu Lingxi¡¯s palm, gave a low bark and quietlyy down on the floor. Lu Lingxi smiled and carefully chose ¡°yes¡± on the panel. His heart surged. How would the panel save the spring orchid? Would it suddenly emit a white light like in a sci-fi movie? Or would the orchid suddenly disappear and reappear with its roots already intact? All sorts of strange and weird thoughts shed through Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind, but the reality was ¨C nothing happened. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He stared at the spring orchid for a long time, and really nothing happened. There was no white light, no green light or any light at all, and the spring orchid didn¡¯t suddenly disappear. Undeterred, Lu Lingxi scanned it again and the information on the panel about the spring orchid changed. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help but freeze as he nced at it. nt name: Wild Spring Orchid nt needs: Rooting nt viability: Very low Lu Lingxi¡¯s gaze swept over the nt needs and nt viability. He was a little disappointed but on second thought it seemed that this was the way it should be. It had been nearly a month since he had discovered the panel, and although he still couldn¡¯t figure out exactly what the panel was, he probably had some guesses. The panel was still fundamentally an aid, it wouldn¡¯t function too much against nature. Combined with the previous sentence, Lu Lingxi thought that the panel¡¯s so-called ¡°save¡± probably meant that the spring orchid was alive again and no longer in a dead state, but whether he could eventually raise it or not would still depend on his efforts. After thinking about this clearly, Lu Lingxi quickly got busy. Although the orchid¡¯s roots were severely broken, as long as there was life there was still a ray of hope. He remembered that in general, when orchids had few roots or the roots were not too severely broken, there was a special method of ¡°drawing out the roots¡±. First of all, the orchid needed to be cleaned, especially the roots, and thoroughly disinfected. After disinfection, wrap the orchid¡¯s broken roots in water moss to create a clean, aerated, moist and fertiliser-free environment for the orchid¡¯s roots. After this, ce the orchid in a ventted ce out of direct sunlight. In a few days the orchid¡¯s new roots would slowly grow out. Once the roots had grown well, it would be just as if the absorption function of a human body was restored; then the orchid could be given nutrients gradually until it waspletely revived. Both the disinfectant cleaning solution and the water moss were avable in Tiny Garden. Lu Lingxi first adjusted the disinfectant solution in the right proportion, then soaked the dried water moss in water and waited for it to thoroughly absorb the water. Only after the preparatory work was done did he start to carefully clean the orchid. By the time Tiny Garden opened its doors at nine o¡¯clock, the broken-root spring orchid had been carefully wrapped in water moss and ced not far from the doorway to ensure that it would not be exposed to sunlight but would have enough air and light. The white panel quickly appeared. The treatment of the wild spring orchid was sessful, reward +1 nt heart. It was just a nt heart, not the power of nature. As soon as the thought shed by, Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help butugh, feeling that he was too greedy. Last time he saved the clivia, he got a little bonus of the power of nature unexpectedly, and after discovering that the power of nature was so special, he couldn¡¯t help but look forward to it this time too. Thinking about it was really too greedy. To him, being able to bring this wild spring orchid back to life was already the biggest reward of all. Lu Lingxi always remembered Su Weizheng¡¯s remark that this spring orchid, when raised well, could be worth three hundred thousand when it bloomed. Three hundred thousand¡­ Lu Lingxi in the past had no concept of money at all; he did not need to spend money nor did he have a ce to spend it. After this experience of being reborn, Lu Lingxi had realized the importance of money, and three hundred thousand was definitely a huge amount of money for him now. With this money, he could open his own little gardening shop and run it during the day and enrol in a study ss at night. Wang Shuxiu could also quit her job and not have to work so hard. Or they could sell the house and go to another city, without having to worry about Lu Yishui continuing to pester them after losing money again. Lu Lingxi stared at the spring orchid and imagined the bright future ahead. He turned his head to see Dahei, smiled and stroked his head, ¡°Dahei, keep an eye on this spring orchid, all your chicken legs will depend on it in the future.¡± Dahei narrowed his eyes and moved forward a few steps, lying at the foot of the table where the spring orchid was ced. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± At lunchtime, Lu Lingxi told Dong Zhi funny stories about Dahei, especially the bun incident in the morning. He was the first tough before he finished speaking. Dahei had really brought him a lot of joy since he was around. Lu Lingxi wasughing when Yan Yue pushed the door and walked in. At the first nce, his attention waspletely caught by Lu Lingxi¡¯s smile, and the parched feeling inside him instantly disappeared, as if a clear spring washed him from head to toes, his whole body getting cool and clear. ¡°Mr. Yan.¡± After riding in Yan Yue¡¯s car once, Lu Lingxi felt they were familiar and immediately greeted him with a smile. Lu Lingxi¡¯s greeting was like the charming song of the siren. Yan Yue took two uncontroble steps in Lu Lingxi¡¯s direction, his heart desperately mouring to get closer, closer. Fortunately, what was left of his self-control restrained the behaviour of his legs, and Yan Yue stopped a step away from the young man. ¡°Are you here to see Dahei?¡± Lu Lingxi asked with a smile in his eyes, unaware of Yan Yue¡¯s odd behaviour. This close, the boy looked at him intently. Yan Yue could see his own figure in the boy¡¯s dark, clear eyes, and his heartbeat quickened uncontrobly. So much so that he didn¡¯t even hear the boy¡¯s question and just looked at him steadily. ¡°Dahei!¡± Lu Lingxi called out to Dahei with a tilt of his head. Dahei, who had been lying at the doorway beingpletely ignored by Yan Yue, wagged his tail, slowly got up and walked over to squat in front of Yan Yue. The dog and the man looked at each other for a long time, and then Dahei barked at Yan Yue in a low voice. The corners of Yan Yue¡¯s mouth curled up unconsciously. Stupid dog. After seeing the boy and patiently staring at Dahei for half an hour, Yan Yue could not find a reason to stay any longer. As soon as he left, Dong Zhi hesitantly looked at Lu Lingxi, remembering a rumour he had heardst night when he was eating nearby. Chapter 21 ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± ¡°En?¡± Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t actually sure if the rumour was rted to Lu Lingxi, but several key points in the rumour matched up with Lu Lingxi. The gardening shop, the son named Lingxi, and most crucially, Yan Yue¡¯s appearance reminded Dong Zhi of the car that was rumoured to have hit the man. He hesitantly told Lu Lingxi about it, the middle-aged man who suddenly tried tomit suicide in the middle of a downtown, the wife who was separated from him because of gambling, the son who worked in the gardening shop. The man was finally taken to the hospital by the young owner of the car that hit him, and the car that hit him was a Jaguar. If one point could be a coincidence, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t think it was a coincidence when so many points matched up. After Dong Zhi finished speaking, Lu Lingxi was stunned. After listening to it, he felt that there seemed to be something wrong. The middle-aged man in the rumour was too much like Lu Yishui. The owner of the car was suspected to be Yan Yue. But if it was Yan Yue, why didn¡¯t he say anything just now? When linking it to Lu Yishui¡¯s sudden promise of divorce yesterday, Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart was a little unsettled and he thought of giving Wang Shuxiu a call to ask. ¡°Brother Dong, thank you, I¡¯ll go back first.¡± Lu Lingxi hurriedly said goodbye. As soon as he left, Dahei, who had beenzily lying there, immediately stood up and followed him closely. Lu Lingxi returned to Tiny Garden and held the phone hesitantly wondering how to talk to Wang Shuxiu. He didn¡¯t believe that Lu Yishui tried tomit suicide. If Lu Yishui was truly regretful, he wouldn¡¯t have tried to make Wang Shuxiu sell the house to cover his debts before he would divorce her. But Brother Dong¡¯s description was too much like Lu Yishui, especially taking into ount the car owner¡¯s question about being ¡°Lingxi¡¯s father¡±. Who else in the neighbourhood worked in a gardening shop and was called Lingxi? He was hesitating when Wang Shuxiu¡¯s phone call came. ¡°The old bastard didn¡¯te looking for you, did he?¡± Wang Shuxiu asked aggressively. Even though this was not the first time he had heard this, Lu Lingxi still had to take a few seconds to digest the words ¡°old bastard¡±. ¡°No, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°The old bastard got the money from somewhere to pay off all the gambling debts he owed.¡± Wang Shuxiu had just heard this news from Brother Feng and the first thing she suspected was that Lu Yishui had gone behind her back to find Lu Lingxi to mortgage the house. Lu Lingxi instantly thought of the rumour and asked softly, ¡°Is it a lot of money?¡± Since Lu Yishui had not gone to Lu Lingxi, Wang Shuxiu did not care anymore and casually said, ¡°Four hundred thousand, I think. Even if he gets rich, it has nothing to do with us, we don¡¯t care about his money. I wondered why that bastard was so quick to divorce me yesterday. So he was afraid that we might covet his money since he got rich.¡± Wang Shuxiu simply hung up the phone after she finished speaking, but Lu Lingxi felt even more uneasy with this news. If the man Brother Dong described was really Lu Yishui, and the owner of the car was really Yan Yue, then it would be self-evident where the money for paying off Lu Yishui¡¯s gambling debts came from. This possibility made Lu Lingxi unable to sit still. He quickly found Yan Yue¡¯s number in his phone and called it. When the phone rang, Yan Yue was not far from Tiny Garden, waiting for Lu Lingxi to leave work. He had never thought that after living for 27 years he would one day realise that he had the potential to turn into a pervert. For almost a week, he wandered around the street every day, sneaking up to look at the teenager. He waited for Lu Lingxi to leave work, then stealthily followed behind him, escorting him home. He couldn¡¯t help but want to see the young man, and he couldn¡¯t help but want to appear by the young man¡¯s side. He would even be jealous of the stupid dog who followed the boy every day, imagining that one day he could take the ce of that stupid dog. The sound of the phone made Yan Yue a little annoyed. Who would call him at this hour? He casually picked up the phone and was about to hang up, but froze for a moment when he saw the name of the caller. After the initial disbelief, unspeakable excitement and joy swept across the body. ¡°Hello.¡± Yan Yue was afraid that the teenager would hear something strange, so he suppressed his emotions, pretending to sound cold. ¡°Hello, Mr. Yan, this is Lu Lingxi.¡± The teenager¡¯s voice came out of the phone, soft and polite. ¡°Yes?¡± The voice on the other side paused for a few seconds before saying tentatively, ¡°Is it convenient for you to speak now? I want to ask you something.¡± s Yan Yue almost blurted out ¡°convenient¡± but reacted quickly. ¡°There¡¯s something going on right now, how about this, are you in the shop? I¡¯lle and see you when I¡¯m done.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m here. Sorry for troubling you,¡± the young man said politely. Yan Yue shouted ¡°No trouble¡± in his heart, but still said lightly, ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± As he hung up the phone, Yan Yue quickly figured out what the young man wanted to ask him. It must have been about Lu Yishui. In fact, he didn¡¯t want to hide this matter from Lu Lingxi. After all, everyone loved to gossip, and it was only a matter of time before something big like making trouble andmitting suicide would reach the boy¡¯s ears. As for the money he gave to Lu Yishui, given Lu Yishui¡¯s nature, he would definitely not tell the truth; and in a few days he would have no chance to talk even if he wanted to. Yan Yue drove around the neighbourhood for half an hour before pretending that he had just arrived and appearing in front of Lu Lingxi. Before Yan Yue came, Lu Lingxi had been thinking about this matter. Although he didn¡¯t have much social experience, he could always figure out something when he thought about it carefully. He was now basically sure that the man was Lu Yishui, and that Lu Yishui must have deliberately bumped into Yan Yue¡¯s car. He even must have known beforehand that Yan Yue and him knew each other, so he deliberately mentioned his name. Lu Lingxi thought of Yan Yue and felt a little guilty. Perhaps because of his preconceptions, he had a very good impression of Yan Yue. From the way Yan Yue saved Dahei on the rainy night, he could see that Yan Yue had a very good heart. Lu Yishui had yed a bitter card ofmitting suicide in front of Yan Yue, so it made sense that Yan Yue would lend him the money. Perhaps the money was nothing to Yan Yue, but Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t pretend he didn¡¯t know anything. After all, Lu Yishui had approached Yan Yue using his name. Thinking of this, he gave the spring orchid he had saved in the morning a somewhat heartbreaking nce. Lu Yishui had cheated Yan Yue out of 400,000 yuan, and this spring orchid would probably sell for 300,000 yuan in the future, so if he wanted topensate Yan Yue for his loss, he would still be short of 100,000 yuan. Lu Lingxi bit his lips, unconsciously stroking Dahei¡¯s head, and whispered, ¡°It seems, Dahei, your chicken legs are going to be gone.¡± Dahei¡¯s ears pricked up and he looked warily at the spring orchid on the table in front of him. What Yan Yue saw when he came in was the sight of the man and the dog staring at an orchid on the table. Of course Lu Lingxi was in a daze, while Dahei was watching vigntly. Seeing Yan Yuee in, Lu Lingxi returned to his senses in embarrassment. ¡°Mr. Yan, you¡¯re here.¡± Yan Yue took a few steps in Lu Lingxi¡¯s direction, stopping at a position where he would not provoke the teenager¡¯s disgust but still be the closest to him, and nodded in a seemingly casual manner. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes in a smile, greeted Yan Yue and invited him to sit down, and went to pour him a ss of water. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes followed his movements, and when the boy looked over, he immediately turned his head and pretended to be admiring the potted flowers ced in the corner. This was the first time Yan Yue had ever been inside Tiny Garden. Perhaps it was because of the boy¡¯s presence that he unexpectedly found these flowers and nts quite interesting to look at. Especially the pot of flowers in front of him was blooming weirdly, like a bunch of mushrooms huddled together. Lu Lingxi put the water in front of Yan Yue and instead of beating around the bush said directly, ¡°Yesterday¡­ did Dad trouble you?¡± The young man¡¯s directness was beyond Yan Yue¡¯s expectations. After a slight pause he nodded. Lu Lingxi looked at Yan Yue seriously and said, ¡°Did he ckmail you?¡± Without waiting for Yan Yue¡¯s answer, Lu Lingxi already said embarrassingly, ¡°I heard my mother say that my father paid off his gambling debt today, a total of 400,000 yuan. He ckmailed you for this money, right?¡± Saying that, Lu Lingxi felt a little embarrassed and looked at Yan Yue anxiously, ¡°I will pay back this money to you. But I don¡¯t have so much money now, so can I give you an IOU first?¡± To prevent Yan Yue from not believing him, Lu Lingxi carefully showed the spring orchid on the table to him, ¡°Grandpa Su said that this spring orchid can be sold for 300,000 yuan when it is raised well. Please give me some time to wait for the spring orchid to grow up. I will pay you back when I sell it.¡± As soon as Lu Lingxi touched the spring orchid, Dahei immediately straightened his body and his eyes followed from Lu Lingxi to Yan Yue. Yan Yue didn¡¯t care about the stupid dog¡¯s reaction. In fact, he didn¡¯t even listen to what the boy said to him at all. He looked at the boy¡¯s serious, anxious face and his gaze uncontrobly fell on the boy¡¯s lips. Lu Lingxi¡¯s lips were very nicely shaped and the colour was a healthy pink. A certain crazy thought popped into his head and Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help but think: I wonder what it would be like to kiss these lips. s ¡°I know this is a bit too much, but I really don¡¯t have any money right now, can you wait?¡± Lu Lingxi exined embarrassedly. Yan Yue interrupted him, ¡°No need to pay it back.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Yan Yue forced himself to look away from Lu Lingxi¡¯s face and said in a deep voice, ¡°I was the one who hit your father, that money ispensation for him.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s really not necessary,¡± Yan Yue repeated. Lu Lingxi bit his lip without saying anything but just took out a piece of white paper and carefully wrote down an IOU for 400,000 yuan, then signed and handed it to Yan Yue. Yan Yue was not going to take it, but when he met the young man¡¯s insistent eyes, he was helplessly defeated. He thought to himself that it was just a piece of paper, and as long as he didn¡¯t mention paying back the money, this IOU would be a scrap of paper. The young man¡¯s handwriting was elegant and Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi¡¯s names were juxtaposed at the bottom, so Yan Yue couldn¡¯t bear to throw it away. The moment he took the IOU, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t tell if he had touched the boy¡¯s fingers on purpose or unintentionally. Lu Lingxi¡¯s fingers were very beautiful, white and long, with pink, neatly trimmed nails, just like the most perfect craftsmanship. Yan Yue only felt that the boy¡¯s fingers were slightly cool, and the touch felt like fine jade, moist and creamy. He watched the young man let go of his hand, a little reluctant in his heart. It was not until Yan Yue epted the IOU that Lu Lingxi let out a sigh of relief. He repeatedly and earnestly assured, ¡°I will definitely pay you back.¡± Yan Yue nodded nomittally. He realised that as long as he didn¡¯t say anything, Lu Lingxi would take the initiative to talk to him. He liked watching the young man focus on him and talk to him, and his eyes unconsciously fell on Lu Lingxi¡¯s lips again. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know these thoughts of Yan Yue. In his eyes, although Yan Yue looked a bit cold, in fact his heart was very good. Lu Yishui¡¯s incident proved this point even more. He stroked Dahei¡¯s head and thought to himself: Yan Yue is really a good person. Chapter 22 Yan Yue intended to leave after staying at Tiny Garden for more than half an hour. Even though inwardly he wanted to stay shamelessly, what was left of his sanity reminded him that it was too much. Compared to the other day when he could only sneak a few nces at Lu Lingxi under the guise of seeing Dahei, today was already an extra bonus. When Yan Yue wanted to leave, Lu Lingxi politely escorted him to the door and thanked him once again, ¡°Mr. Yan, thank you.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s expression was sincere, his eyes full of trust and gratitude. When Yan Yue was looked at by him like this, he felt his emotions stirring but he could not show it, so he could only suppress his excitement and nod slightly, saying casually, ¡°No need to be so polite, just call me Yan Yue from now on.¡± Lu Lingxi curled his eyes in a smile, the corners of his mouth turning upwards as he obediently said, ¡°Big Brother Yan.¡± The young man¡¯s voice was clear and bright, and the sound of ¡°Big Brother Yan¡± was like a kitten scratching Yan Yue¡¯s heart. His heart itched, wishing for the young man to call him like that a few more times. Luckily, he had not lost his head yet, so he swallowed the words that almost came out of his mouth when he met the boy¡¯s clear eyes. From the time Yan Yue got up to leave to the time Lu Lingxi walked him to the door, Dahei¡¯s eyes followed Yan Yue. When Yan Yue left with empty hands, Dahei turned his head to look at the spring orchid on the table and plopped back down on the floor. Lu Lingxi sent Yan Yue away and turned around to squat beside Dahei, flicking his finger on Dahei¡¯s head and saying affectionately, ¡°Little viin, don¡¯t think Big Brother Yan didn¡¯t see your reaction.¡± Dahei whimpered twice, aggrieved; Lu Lingxi stroked his head in amusement and said softly, ¡°This spring orchid must be used to pay back to Big Brother Yan when it is well raised and sold. Now there is still a shortage of 100,000, and Dahei¡¯s chicken legs. Tomorrow we will go to that flower market to see, maybe we¡¯ll repeat today¡¯s good luck.¡± Dahei squinted his eyes and rubbed against Lu Lingxi¡¯s palm, giving a low bark. Yan Yue didn¡¯t go far from Tiny Garden and parked the car at the side of the road. The corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously as he remembered the boy¡¯sst call of ¡°Big Brother Yan¡±. The mobile phone on the passenger side suddenly rang, interrupting the charm in Yan Yue¡¯s heart. He frowned irritably, suppressing his impatience when he saw it was An Jie, and picked up the phone. ¡°Hello? What¡¯s wrong?¡± At this hour, it should be two in the morning on An Jie¡¯s side. He wouldn¡¯t call in the middle of the night without an urgent matter. ¡°Boss, Professor Susan¡¯s office has just been robbed.¡± An Jie didn¡¯t beat around the bush and dropped the bombshell directly. Although Yan Yue didn¡¯t like seeing a psychologist much, his problems couldn¡¯t be solved on his own. Sometimes the insomnia was so bad that he had to go to Professor Susan. At An Jie¡¯s words, Yan Yue¡¯s eyes turned cold and he smiled icily, ¡°What was stolen must be client information.¡± s ¡°Not bad.¡± This was exactly the point that An Jie was worried about. An Jie had lived abroad since he was a child, so he considered it normal to see a psychologist. Who didn¡¯t have a bad mood and didn¡¯t need guidance at times? But the situation in China was different; perhaps because people didn¡¯t know much about it, psychological disorders were often portrayed as simr to mental illness. An Jie suspected that someone was behind the incident and was worried about Yan Yue¡¯s situation. The coldness in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes deepened. Professor Susan had his past counselling records. No matter who did this, Yan Hai or Yin Ya, they were smart. But¡­ this matter also worked to his benefit. He was still thinking about how he could stay in the country for a long time; this situation was exactly what could give him an excuse. Habitually tapping on the steering wheel, Yan Yue said solemnly: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about this, let them go. Take care of thepany¡¯s affairs, focus on Dezhi Investment, ande back to China to find me after a while.¡± Dezhi Investment was an investmentpany that Yan Yue privately owned and controlled, and it had taken shape when Yan Yue was still studying. After he graduated and took charge of the overseas branch of Hopewell Group, he used the opportunity to develop Dezhi Investment into a sizable investmentpany using the momentum of Hopewell Group. Whether you might have said that Yan Yue had no trust in Yan Shihui or something, he was neverfortable leaving his future in the hands of others and believed in his own hard work. The break-in to Professor Susan¡¯s office was only the first step in this matter. He supposed that rumours of his psychological problems would soon spread throughout Hopewell Group. The key to the whole thing was the attitude of his grandfather and father, and who his father would send abroad would determine his next step. Yan Yue thought the whole thing through and there was not much anger in his heart, he just felt ridiculous. Although he had just left Lu Lingxi, he was a bit impatient to meet him again. The emotion was too intense. If he were rational as usual he could still control it, but at this moment, Yan Yue was somewhat unwilling to suppress it. Yan Yue¡¯s return surprised Lu Lingxi very much. ¡°Big Brother Yan?¡± This sound of ¡°Big Brother Yan¡± was like a touch of spring sunshine, and the frost that had unconsciously built up in Yan Yue¡¯s heart instantly melted away cleanly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lu Lingxi looked at Yan Yue with a puzzled expression. Yan Yue was a little embarrassed. He was worried that Lu Lingxi might have mistakenly thought he was concerned about the IOU. Yan Yue nced at the strange pot of flowers on the floor and immediately said calmly, ¡°I remembered something after I left. My grandfather likes these flowers and nts very much. I want to buy a pot for him.¡± s Lu Lingxi smiled, ¡°What kind does Big Brother Yan want to buy?¡± Yan Yue looked fixedly at Lu Lingxi¡¯s smile and said meaningfully, ¡°Whatever you pick is good.¡± Lu Lingxi did not notice the subtle meaning of this statement and seriously exined to Yan Yue that keeping different flowers would have different health effects on people. Some flowers had a light fragrance and could be ced in the bedroom to relieve tension and calm the mind, which was good for helping insomniacs to fall asleep. Some flowers had a clearing effect on the liver and calming the eyes, and had an analgesic and soothing effect on some chronic diseases of the elderly. In addition to different flower fragrances, the flowers varied in colour and it also had different effects. Brightly coloured flowers would lift people¡¯s moods, while elegantly coloured flowers would give people afortable and refreshing feeling. Giving flowers looked simple, but it was actually a big deal. Lu Lingxi was very serious when he talked about flowers and nts, and his face was very soft when he mentioned them. Yan Yue looked at the young man¡¯s profile in fascination, and his gaze gradually became hot. Only when Lu Lingxi turned around did he avert his eyes. Recalling what the young man had just said, Yan Yue replied, ¡°Then let¡¯s have one pot for insomnia and one pot in a more elegant colour.¡± Lu Lingxi carefully chose a pot of geraniums and a pot of mother-inw¡¯s tongues for Yan Yue. He specifically advised Yan Yue that geraniums could soothe anxious and frustrated emotions, relieve stress and were very effective for insomnia. Yan Yue nodded and decided to keep the pot of geraniums in his bedroom. That night, Lu Lingxi went home in Yan Yue¡¯s car. Yan Yue had spent the afternoon at Tiny Garden under the banner of getting advice on how to raise flowers well and insisted on giving Lu Lingxi a ride home in the evening to show his gratitude. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t refuse and agreed. His impression of Yan Yue was getting better and better in his heart. When he returned home, Wang Shuxiu had already gone to work. When Lu Lingxi entered, he first took Dahei and wiped his four paws, then squatted on the ground, stroked Dahei¡¯s head and joked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell Mom about the IOU, it¡¯s enough that we both know. This is a little secret that belongs to the two of us. Come on, give me your paw.¡± When he finished speaking, he extended his right hand, and Dahei who squatted in front of him quickly lifted his left paw and ced it on Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand. This was a new little game Lu Lingxi and Dahei had invented. Lu Lingxi smiled and pulled Dahei¡¯s furry dog paw and shook it, saying seriously, ¡°Dahei, you promised, if you go back on your word you will be punished by not eating chicken legs for a month.¡± Dahei gave a low bark and Lu Lingxi smiled and hugged him, ¡°I know, Dahei is not a dog who doesn¡¯t keep his word, right?¡± Dahei barked again, seemingly satisfied. After the two of them had eaten dinner, Lu Lingxi connected the hose and prepared to water the tomatoes in the backyard. After a day¡¯s absence, some of the tomatoes that had been the size of marbles yesterday reached the size of a fist. The green skin had a slight tinge of red and looked ready to be harvested soon. These tomatoes were growing so fast that Lu Lingxi was actually a little apprehensive, not knowing if they were edible or not. He did believe that the panel would not harm anyone, but he just had some doubts in his mind. It would be best to wait for these tomatoes to ripen and find somewhere to test them to see if there were any problems. He was nning quite well when he turned his head and saw Dahei crook his neck and swallow half of the reddened tomato in one bite. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Chapter 23 ¡°Spit it out, spit it out.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t care about watering anymore and anxiously tried to open Dahei¡¯s mouth to make him spit it out. Unfortunately, Dahei ate so fast that the whole tomato had been swallowed and nothing could be seen. Lu Lingxi was speechless and worried that something might happen to Dahei, so he flicked his fingers on Dahei¡¯s head several times and reprimanded, ¡°How can you eat indiscriminately?¡± Dahei opened his mouth wide and squinted at Lu Lingxi with an innocent look. Since he had already eaten the tomato, there was nothing Lu Lingxi could do. He could only keep an eye on Dahei¡¯s condition, just in case something happened. The dog and the man looked at each other until midnight. Dahei was still in great spirits but Lu Lingxi was so sleepy that he couldn¡¯t hold on any longer and fell asleep in a daze. Because he went to sleep toote at night, Lu Lingxi did not get up at five o¡¯clock the next morning and missed the time to go to the flower market. It was only when Wang Shuxiu called him that he woke up. ¡°I¡¯m going to your Aunt Lin¡¯s house for something after work, I won¡¯t be home in the morning, so remember to buy yourself some breakfast.¡± Wang Shuxiu rattled a few instructions and hung up without waiting for Lu Lingxi to say anything. Lu Lingxi rubbed his eyes and threw away the phone, suddenly thinking ofst night, ¡°Dahei.¡± As soon as he called out, Dahei, who was lying at the head of the bed, immediately came over, stuck out his tongue and licked his face enthusiastically. Lu Lingxi rubbed Dahei¡¯s fur, made sure he was okay, and finally put his mind at ease. After washing his face and brushing his teeth, he took a look at the tomatoes in the backyard. He had only watered half of themst night and the tomatoes on this half were already starting to turn red, while the other half that had not been watered was still a bit green. Calcting that it was still early, Lu Lingxi decided to finish watering the other half left fromst night. He had just finished connecting the hose when Yi Hang climbed over the fence and jumped in. ¡°Lao San¡­ fuck, your tomatoes have been given a growth elerator?¡± Turning around the corner, Yi Hang looked at the tomatoes in the backyard that were already heavy with fruit in surprise. ¡°The seeds are of the fast-growing type,¡± Lu Lingxi said vaguely, ¡°I guess.¡± Yi Hang didn¡¯t know anything about these things, so he listened and let it go. He picked a tomato the size of his fist. It was a little hard to squeeze, the skin was just slightly red, and it looked a bit unripe. Yi Hang was just curious at first, he didn¡¯t really expect Lao San to grow tomatoes. But when he looked at the tomato in his hand, he could smell a faint fragrance of it up close. Yi Hang could not resist lifting up the hem of his t-shirt, wiped the tomato haphazardly and directly bit into it. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­don¡¯t eat it.¡± He just lowered his head to get the hose when Yi Hang bit the tomato and it was toote to stop him. Yi Hang finished the tomato in three bites and wondered, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lu Lingxi was afraid that something would happen to Daheist night, so he took his phone and looked up a lot of information, which said that it was best not to eat unripe tomatoes, as there seemed to be something in them that was bad for your health. Yi Hang didn¡¯t care, ¡°What can happen if you eat one. You¡¯re just too cautious, Lao San. Besides, do you think the tomatoes sold outside are ripe since they are red?¡± He said that as he tried to pick another one, but when he met Lu Lingxi¡¯s disapproving gaze, heughed and let it go. ¡°Speaking of which, Lao San, where did you get the seeds? They taste really good.¡± Yi Hang squinted his eyes enjoying the aftertaste and praised Lu Lingxi. The tomatoes were still green, but the taste was sour and sweet. It¡¯s just that there was a little less juice because it was not ripe yet. It was so much better than the tomatoes sold in the market that had a nd taste. This tomato had exactly the same taste Yi Hang remembered from his childhood. After this praise, Yi Hang shouted that this summer¡¯s tomato supply depended on Lu Lingxi, so don¡¯t forget him when these tomatoes were ripe. Lu Lingxi nodded helplessly, looking at Yi Hang the same way he was looking at Dahei. Yi Hang smiled and was about to head inside when he was startled to see Dahei. ¡°Damn, when did you get a dog, Lao San?¡± Yi Hang eximed. No wonder he was surprised; Dahei was lying silently on the ground with a small bucket in front of him, so he really couldn¡¯t be seen without looking closely. Yi Hang and Dahei¡¯s eyes met and Yi Hang subconsciously took a step back. He didn¡¯t know if it was his illusion, but he felt that this dog was looking at him with a wary look in its eyes, like it could pounce and bite him at any moment. ¡°This is Dahei.¡± Lu Lingxi walked over, stroked Dahei¡¯s head and introduced him, then pointed at Yi Hang and said to Dahei, ¡°This is Yi Hang, Dahei, remember.¡± Dahei looked at Yi Hang, lowered his head and turned his eyes away. Last time, when Dahei bit Lu Yishui, Lu Lingxi had warned him not to bite people casually. Thinking about how Yi Hang was toozy to go through the front door every time and just went over the fence, Lu Lingxi was worried that one day Yi Hang would be bitten by Dahei. s With Lu Lingxi around, Yi Hang also regained his courage and had the heart to tease Dahei, ¡°Yo, Dahei, right? I¡¯ll find you a little bitch some day, how about that?¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Dahei squinted his eyes and looked up at Yi Hang, then turned in the opposite direction, presenting Yi Hang his ass. Yi Hang: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help butugh. Although Dahei was not as wary of everyone now as he was at the beginning, perhaps because of his personality, he didn¡¯t bother to take a look at ordinary people, and it was only Brother Dong and Yan Yue who could make Dahei look at them patiently. Lu Lingxi thought that maybe it was because they had saved Dahei¡¯s life. Yi Hang was frustrated by Dahei and could only look at Lu Lingxi sarcastically. ¡°Right, Lao San, I have something to tell you.¡± Yi Hang deliberately came to Lu Lingxi this time after hearing his mother mention the news about Du Lin. ¡°My cousin might be going back to her hometown in the near future.¡± Lu Lingxi was puzzled: ¡°Is Sister Du going to visit her hometown?¡± Yi Hang guessed at first nce that Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t understand what he meant, and patiently exined: ¡°It¡¯s not about going to visit, I¡¯m afraid she won¡¯te back. I heard my mother mention it seems that Cousin¡¯s old home is to be demolished and you can get a house and a shop with thepensation. Cousin¡¯s husband wants to go there to develop.¡± Lu Lingxi reacted, ¡°Do you mean Tiny Garden is going to be closed?¡± Yi Hang shook his head, ¡°Not necessarily, Cousin spent a lot of thought on Tiny Garden, she certainly won¡¯t want to close it. She¡¯ll either find someone to take care of it, like you, or sell it.¡± Lu Lingxi let out a sigh and didn¡¯t speak again. The thing that Yi Hang mentioned to Lu Lingxi was exactly what Du Lin hesitated about. She graduated from university several years ago and started out working for others. After earning some money, she started the Tiny Garden business. It can be said that Tiny Garden was her other child, and she had poured a lot of her heart and soul into it. From the bottom of her heart, she couldn¡¯t let go of Tiny Garden, but with the opportunity to return to her hometown, it was a difficult choice. ¡°Linzi, I¡¯m telling you, this opportunity is really rare. If you don¡¯t think of yourself, you have to think of our future children. Neither of us has a Fengcheng family register, and we can¡¯t afford to buy a house here. We can¡¯t live in a rented apartment when our child is born, can we? Even if we rent a house, what about going to school? This time our hometown is going to be demolished and two houses are directly given as apensation. Let¡¯s sell one for a shop and go back to gardening. Isn¡¯t it better than staying here? ¡± It was Du Lin¡¯s husband, Zhang Hua, who was talking. He had had enough of being adrift and wanted to go back. The problem was that although he was talking about selling a house for a shop, the money was still not enough. He calcted that they would have to sell Tiny Garden and borrow some more to get enough money for the shop. It was Tiny Garden that Du Lin couldn¡¯t part with right now. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± Du Lin hesitated. ¡°What else is there to think about?¡± Zhang Hua was a little anxious. There were only a few shops on the street, and the rtives back home had deliberately withheld the news of the demolition trying to take advantage of their family. They only just found out that their old home was going to be demolished. They had received the newste, and there really wasn¡¯t anything good left if they dyed any longer. ¡°Linzi, didn¡¯t you always say that Xiao Lu is not bad? He is sensible and likes these flowers and nts as much as you do. It¡¯s not safe to sell it to others but what else is there to worry about if you sell it to him? ¡± Du Lin didn¡¯t say anything. If she really wanted to sell the shop, Lu Lingxi would be a good candidate. But she was afraid that the child wouldn¡¯t have the money to buy it. The couple discussed and discussed, and the matter dragged on for another half week. Only three dayster did Lu Lingxi hear about this matter from Du Lin¡¯s mouth. ¡°Xiao Xi, this is the situation, what do you think?¡± Early that morning, Du Lin came to the shop hugging her stomach to look for Lu Lingxi. She was not an indecisive person. She couldn¡¯t make up her mind before, but once she made up her mind, she was straightforward. In Du Lin¡¯s heart, Lu Lingxi was really a good candidate to take over. After only half a month of working in the shop, Lu Lingxi had already gained a reputation in the neighbourhood, and the business would definitely be good in the long run. She had a good impression of Lu Lingxi and was confident in the Tiny Garden business, so she thought she would help the child out. Apart from that, it was also Du Lin¡¯s selfishness. She didn¡¯t feelfortable selling the business to someone else. They were in a hurry and didn¡¯t have time to choose someone slowly, and she was afraid that someone who didn¡¯t know anything would ruin her hard work. s When Du Lin finished speaking, she looked at Lu Lingxi expectantly, waiting for his answer. Thest time Lu Lingxi heard Yi Hang¡¯s words, he had actually thought about it, but his main problem was that he didn¡¯t have any money and he still owed Yan Yue 400,000. Facing Du Lin¡¯s expectant gaze, Lu Lingxi shook his head somewhat embarrassedly. ¡°I know Sister Du has good intentions, but I don¡¯t have so much money.¡± Du Lin thought for a moment and said, ¡°Look, Xiao Xi, don¡¯t make a decision in a hurry, go back and talk to your family to see if you can borrow some money. Don¡¯t look at the amount of money you think is a lot right now. The business will be profitable in a year or two once it¡¯s up and running. It¡¯s much better to work for yourself than to work for others all the time.¡± Du Lin meant well, so Lu Lingxi nodded. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go back and discuss it with my mother and give you news tomorrow, Sister Du.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you then,¡± Du Lin said and left. She had a mess waiting for her at home to go back and clean up. As soon as Du Lin left, Lu Lingxi took a pen and did some calctions. Du Lin¡¯s Tiny Garden was actually not only this shop, but also several acres ofnd that she rented where Du Lin¡¯s own nt nursery (a garden where young nts or seedlings of flowers are cultivated), the source of the nts in the shop, was located. This shop was rented by Du Lin; the contract was signed for three years, and it had been only one year now, with two years to go. The shop, plus the nt nursery, added up to about 200,000 yuan. Thest time Lu Lingxi was hospitalised, it cost a lot of money, and Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t have much money left in her hand, so it wasn¡¯t enough to cover the price Du Lin mentioned. Lu Lingxi let out a small sigh, looking at the spring orchid that had already taken root. He really wished he had five of them all of a sudden, so that he would have enough money for everything. When he had something on his mind, he didn¡¯t know how to hide it and everything was written on his face. After Yan Yue once again came to the door with a stupid question like ¡°How long can this geranium bask in the sun in a day¡±, he saw the boy¡¯s strangeness at a nce. Chapter 24 ¡°Big Brother Yan?¡± Lu Lingxi saw Yan Yue enter and smiled at him, his gaze falling on the geranium in Yan Yue¡¯s hand. ¡°Is there something wrong with this geranium again?¡± Ever since Yan Yue bought the geranium from Tiny Garden three days ago, he appeared in front of Lu Lingxi every day, holding the pot in his hands. ¡°How often does this geranium need to be watered?¡± ¡°Should I put it above the bed or at the window at night?¡± ¡°I watered it a bit too muchst night, the geranium¡¯s roots won¡¯t rot, will they?¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t suspect anything and only treated Yan Yue as a hobbyist who was new to gardening. He sometimes encountered customers like Yan Yue in the shop, who were inevitably a little overly concerned because they just started raising flowers. Other customers would even record the number of petals that had fallen off their flowers in a day, and would nervouslye to the shop to ask if there was something wrong with them. Lu Lingxi himself was a novice at raising flowers, and his only advantage was the white panel. In order not to be too timid, he did his best during this time to gain as much knowledge as possible on the subject. The process of exining to customers their doubts was actually also the process of consolidating and reviewing his knowledge. When he saw Yan Yuee in, the first thing Lu Lingxi noticed was the geranium in Yan Yue¡¯s hand. ustomed to Yan Yue¡¯s nervousness about it, Lu Lingxi knew without asking that it must be about the geranium again. He looked at Yan Yue and could not help but think to himself that the other party must be a gentle person at heart. Yan Yue would rescue the injured Dahei on a rainy night, would be nervous about a freshly raised geranium, would give money to Lu Yishui whom he did not know, and although he looked cold on the outside, inside he was actually very different. Lu Lingxi looked at the geranium, but Yan Yue looked at his face. Yan Yue did not answer Li Lingxi immediately. Normally, he would respond seriously to whatever Lu Lingxi said to him, and as long as he could find a reason to get close to the boy, repeating these seemingly stupid questions would not be an obstacle for him at all. But today was different. Realising that the young man had something on his mind, Yan Yue was a little unable to calm down. He looked at the boy¡¯s smiling face and wondered what he had been thinking about before his arrival. Did he encounter any problems? Or was it about Lu Yishui? Was the smile on the boy¡¯s face really happy at this moment? Yan Yue was thinking too much and his face sank unconsciously. Lu Lingxi looked up at him and blinked in confusion. Noticing Lu Lingxi¡¯s gaze, Yan Yue returned to his senses and said seemingly casually, ¡°Didn¡¯t you sleep wellst night? You don¡¯t look very energetic, do you?¡± Although he wanted to ask the young man directly if he had something on his mind, he was worried that it would make Lu Lingxi feel strange, so he had to mention it in a roundabout manner. Lu Lingxi froze for a moment, then smiled and shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± His words blocked the possibility of Yan Yue continuing to ask, and Yan Yue¡¯s eyes dimmed. His heart was itching more and more, eager to know what exactly had happened to Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi was unaware of Yan Yue¡¯s thoughts, and his attention was back on the geranium. He lowered his head and looked earnestly at the leaves of the geranium. Yan Yue stood by his side, his gaze burning as he stared at the boy¡¯s white neck. Finally he couldn¡¯t hold back and asked, ¡°Did you encounter any problems?¡± s Lu Lingxi gave Yan Yue a surprised look, but still shook his head to indicate that he was fine. He didn¡¯t know why he had a feeling that if he were to say he was short of money, Yan Yue would definitely lend it to him. But it was precisely this feeling that made him reluctant to mention the matter of Tiny Garden in front of Yan Yue. He already owed Yan Yue 400,000, and he couldn¡¯t keep relying on Yan Yue¡¯s money just because Yan Yue was a good person. When Lu Lingxi refused to say anything, Yan Yue was quite anxious. But he couldn¡¯t show it and his heart was almost hurting. Until he left, he did not ask again what problems Lu Lingxi had encountered. When he got back in the car, Yan Yue¡¯s expression darkened, his face somewhat distorted. He was not angry with Lu Lingxi, but realised that Lu Lingxi was still treating him like a stranger. Better to say, he was only a stranger who was a little more familiar in Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes. The young man didn¡¯t ssify him in the category of the people he could share his worries with, and this knowledge frustrated Yan Yue a little. Yan Yue tapped the steering wheel out of habit and made a phone call. During thest investigation into Lu Yishui¡¯s affairs, Ye Kang¡¯s third brother, Ye Cheng, heard that Yan Yue was in Fengcheng, so he deliberately left a phone number for Yan Yue, telling him to just call if he needed something. Ye Cheng had watched Yan Yue grow up, sympathised with his situation and always treated him like a younger brother. In the past, Yan Yue had been abroad and refused to return to China, so Ye Cheng was busy with his own career and the two did not have much contact. Now that Yan Yue has returned to China, Ye Cheng was willing to help Yan Yue wherever he could. Yan Yue hung up the phone and lowered his eyes. He knew that this was a bit inappropriate and that the young man would be angry if he found out. But when he thought of how preupied Lu Lingxi was, he couldn¡¯t control his behaviour, he just wanted to know what had happened to him. By the time Lu Lingxi got off work, he had already figured out the Tiny Garden thing. Du Lin meant well, and he liked Tiny Garden, but for him now, it was simply not realistic toe up with 200,000 all at once. He didn¡¯t want to touch Wang Shuxiu¡¯s savings, hoping that she would keep some money around, and he didn¡¯t want Wang Shuxiu to go out and borrow money for him. He was still young anyway, so if Du Lin sold the gardening shop to someone else, he could stay and do well. If he couldn¡¯t stay, he would find another simr job, work hard for a few years to save some money and try to open his own gardening shop. Besides, he still had the white panel, so if he worked hard, he would not be bad off in the future. Lu Lingxi led Dahei all the way home. Wang Shuxiu happened to be off work and didn¡¯t go out, so it was a rare asion for mother and son to get together for dinner. ¡°Go wash your hands quickly.¡± Wang Shuxiu counted the time and waited for Lu Lingxi to arrive home before cooking. The eggs and tomatoes she had fried had juste out of the pan, and from a long way off, one could smell a sweet and sour aroma. The tomatoes in this dish were picked by Wang Shuxiu from the backyard. Originally when Lu Lingxi said that he wanted to grow tomatoes, she only thought that Lu Lingxi was ying around, but she never thought that the little bastard would really grow them and they would taste quite good. In just a few days, Wang Shuxiu had seen the tomatoes in her backyard grow from the size of her thumb to the size of two fists, their colour bright red, and they looked ripe and delightful, heavily decorating the branches. When he heard Wang Shuxiu¡¯s order, Lu Lingxi obediently nodded. He first squatted on the ground and wiped Dahei¡¯s paws before washing his hands and helping Wang Shuxiu set up the bowls. The dinner was notplicated. Wang Shuxiu fried eggs and tomatoes, bought half a roast chicken, mixed another cold dish and boiled some white porridge. It was a simple, home-cooked meal, but Wang Shuxiu¡¯s cooking was mouth-watering. Especially her fried eggs and tomatoes were very sweet and sour. Lu Lingxi ate three bowls of porridge in one gulp with the tomatoes. ¡°The tomatoes in the backyard are growing really well. Next time you meet the person who gave you the seeds, remember to thank them,¡± Wang Shuxiu mentioned while serving Lu Lingxi the porridge. The other day, when she saw that the tomatoes were almost red, she casually washed one and ate it. She didn¡¯t expect the tomato to taste sweet and juicy in her mouth, so she couldn¡¯t resist eating another one at once. Until she went to work, all she could taste in her mouth was the aftertaste of tomatoes. Later, as long as she was at home, she washed and ate tomatoes, and even cooked all kinds of dishes with tomatoes. Yesterday when she went to work, she also specially picked a few tomatoes to eat at night, but as soon as she took them out, she was robbed clean. After eating them, the colleagues asked Wang Shuxiu where she bought these tomatoes. They tasted so good that they could be eaten as fruit. Wang Shuxiu was proud to show off that her son had grown them with his own hands, and was not unexpectedly envied by her colleagues, who praised her for having a good son. When she thought of this, Wang Shuxiu felt that since the little bastard had lost his memory, her life became so much more joyful than before. Lu Lingxi took the bowl from Wang Shuxiu¡¯s hand and smiled without saying anything. s Wang Shuxiu looked at him, suddenly thought of something and said lightly, ¡°The old bastard lost while gambling again. This time he owed even more and was sent to the northwest by Xiao Feng to dig coal.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­does it matter?¡± Wang Shuxiu snorted, ¡°Why would it matter? The old bastard no longer has anything to do with us. The divorce certificate is not for nothing. Besides, I heard that Xiao Feng¡¯s coal mine is quite well regted, insurance and everything, good food and drink and all. They just have to do some work and are not tired to death.¡± Thest time Lu Yishui owed money, he was shouting that Brother Feng would send him to dig coal and force him to death. He had been supported by Wang Shuxiu for so many years that beingzy had be a habit, and probably in his eyes, digging coal was really worse than death. Lu Lingxi actually doesn¡¯t understand Lu Yishui¡¯s mentality. Was gambling that interesting? He liked gambling so much that he would rather abandon his wife and son behind and go around tricking and cheating people? Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know what to say and lowered his head without speaking again. When Wang Shuxiu was full, she left the table and went to clean up the kitchen, and Lu Lingxi secretly gave Dahei the chicken leg that no one had eaten. Dahei nced at the kitchen cleverly, bit the chicken leg and ran to the backyard. Yi Hang came in over the wall and saw Dahei gnawing on the chicken leg, picked a tomato and bit it while shouting at Lu Lingxi, ¡°Lao San, your dog¡¯s life is really good, he eats chicken legs all the time.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Wang Shuxiu heard this and peeked out from the kitchen to re at Lu Lingxi. She pursed her lips at Lu Lingxi¡¯s embarrassed expression and motioned, ¡°If you don¡¯t eat chicken, give it to Dahei. Little bastard, are you still ying mind games with your old mom?¡± Lu Lingxi shed a big smile at Wang Shuxiu. She could do nothing about it, red at him and went back to cleaning up the kitchen. When he finished eating and wanted to clean up the dishes, Wang Shuxiu stopped him, ¡°I¡¯ll do it, you and Yi Hang go y.¡± She was a bit sad for Lu Lingxi. Yi Hang was even older than Lu Lingxi, and he just hung out every day. Lu Lingxi had been working for more than half a month now, and he still had toe back at night to read books. She heard he was often reading until midnight. In the past, when the little bastard was fooling around with Yi Hang, she disliked him for not working hard. But now that he was working hard, she was starting to feel sorry for him. Wang Shuxiu drove the two out of the kitchen, and Lu Lingxi sat on the steps with his legs dangling to watch Dahei eat the chicken. Yi Hang washed another tomato and bit into it, asking with a full mouth, ¡°Did my cousin look for you? What will happen to Tiny Garden?¡± ¡°She did. Sister Du wants me to take over the shop, but I don¡¯t have the money.¡± Yi Hang felt it was a pity, ¡°How much?¡± ¡°Two hundred thousand, I think.¡± Yi Hang touched his pocket. He only had a few hundred yuan in total on him. He wanted to say that he would give it to Lu but was too embarrassed. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell Aun¡­ Sister?¡± Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t helpughing when he heard Yi Hang changing the way he addressed Wang Shuxiu halfway. ¡°Mom doesn¡¯t have much money anymore. It¡¯s not easy for her to save some money, she still needs to keep it for some emergencies. Don¡¯t tell Mom about this either.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Yi Hang hugged Lu Lingxi¡¯s neck and squeezed in beside him, saying casually, ¡°If only there was some way to get money quickly.¡± Lu Lingxi thought of the spring orchid and nned to continue his trips to the flower market tomorrow. Chapter 25 The next morning, Lu Lingxi woke up at five o¡¯clock. The moment he moved, Dahei immediately opened his eyes, shook his fur and came over. Lu Lingxi smiled and stretched out his hand to touch Dahei, got up and washed up lightly. Dahei followed Lu Lingxi wherever he went without the need to call him. After simply packing a few things, Lu Lingxi gently opened the door, and Dahei jumped out with a whoosh, squatting in the corridor and waiting for Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi had already told Wang Shuxiu about going to the flower market yesterday, but he still left a note and posted it in a conspicuous ce in the living room. After going to the flower market with Su Weizheng once, Lu Lingxi took Dahei to the market himself once, even though he knew in his heart that ¡°picking up¡± needed luck and he could not alwayse across the best spring orchids. Besides, without the power of nature, it was not certain whether the nt could be saved even if it was encountered; but under the huge financial pressure, he could not help but hold on to a little hope. ¡°Am I getting greedy?¡± Lu Lingxi whispered to Dahei. Dahei whimpered twice quietly, as if to refute Lu Lingxi¡¯s words. Lu Lingxi puffed out augh and scratched Dahei¡¯s chin with a smile. It was still early in the morning and the road was empty, so Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t put a muzzle on Dahei. Dahei trotted a few steps excitedly, turned his head and barked twice at Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi understood what Dahei meant; he was asking to run with him. He looked at Dahei helplessly; Dahei ran back to Lu Lingxi¡¯s side in a sh, gently bit his pant leg and dragged him forward. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Because of his poor health in the past, Lu Lingxi actually liked to be quiet and not to move much, but Dahei didn¡¯t understand Lu Lingxi¡¯s psychology. Every time he was having fun, he had to drag Lu Lingxi along. Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head speechlessly and was forced by Dahei to trot all the way to the flower market. The two of them went straight to the corner of the flower market where the half-dead flowers and nts were discarded, and carefully examined them. Lu Lingxi soon found a few ca lilies that were not yet dead. The panel showed that these ca lilies had started to rot from the petioles (the stalk that joins a leaf to a stem), which seemed to be caused by improper fertilisation. He nned to take them back and try to see if they could be saved, so that they could be kept at home to add some atmosphere. Dahei, who had been quiet, suddenly straightened up and gave a low bark. Lu Lingxi turned around and when he saw who was behind him, surprise shed in his eyes. ¡°Grandpa Zhang, Grandpa Zhao.¡± Not far from Lu Lingxi, two old men were looking at him with a smile. They were none other than Elder Zhang and Elder Zhao, who had fertilised the pansies with Lu Lingxi at the hospital before. As soon as Lu Lingxi turned around, Elder Zhang burst intoughter and said cheerfully, ¡°I thought it was Xiao Xi when I looked at him from afar, Elder Zhao, I am not wrong, right?¡± Elder Zhao grunted at him and turned his head to smile amiably at Lu Lingxi, ¡°How are you? How is your recovery going? Have you recalled anything?¡± Lu Lingxi was now used to the excuse of memory loss and shook his head with a smile, ¡°My body is fine, but I still can¡¯t remember anything.¡± Elder Zhang didn¡¯t care, ¡°You are still young, just forget it if you can¡¯t remember, you have to look more towards the future.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled and nodded. Elder Zhang and Elder Zhao lived nearby. They woke up early every day to stroll around the flower market, not expecting to meet Lu Lingxi today. After some questioning, they found out that Lu Lingxi was now working in a gardening shop and that he had picked up an extremely fine spring orchid herest time, and wanted toe over again to try his luck. When Elder Zhang heard about the spring orchid, he was immediately interested and grabbed Lu Lingxi to ask him what the nt looked like. When he heard that the spring orchid had broken roots and was growing new roots, he couldn¡¯t help but look distressed. s ¡°How is it doing? Is it alive?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded; he had seen it through the panel, the newborn root system of the spring orchid was tiny but already growing out. Elder Zhang¡¯s eyes lit up, he held Lingxi and wanted to go take a look right now. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go and take a look at the spring orchid.¡± Elder Zhao shook his head helplessly and gestured to Lu Lingxi, ¡°He is just like this, as soon as he hears there is a good orchid anywhere he has to go and have a look. Don¡¯t be offended, Xiao Xi.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes in a smile. He thought it was good that Elder Zhang was like this, he would only be like this if he really liked orchids. Before Elder Zhang and Elder Zhao came, Lu Lingxi had basically seen almost everything. Except for the few ca lilies, all the other nts were dead. Without the power of nature, there was nothing he could do. After collecting the ca lilies, Lu Lingxi took Elder Zhang and Elder Zhao back to Tiny Garden. As soon as they entered Tiny Garden, a strange look shed in Elder Zhao¡¯s eyes. He had been tinkering with flowers and nts every day, so he could naturally see that the potted nts in Tiny Garden were all quite well raised and could be described as vibrant, making people really like them. He looked at Lu Lingxi in amazement, only to feel that the boy¡¯s future life was terrifying. Elder Zhang¡¯s mind was so absorbed by the spring orchid that he didn¡¯t pay attention to the potted nts around him and pulled Lu Lingxi to look at the orchid. When Lu Lingxi carefully held out the spring orchid, Elder Zhang¡¯s eyes lit up and he eximed, ¡°The leaves are green and verdant, with the rightbination of rigidity and softness, lofty and unyielding as if made by Heaven. A good orchid!¡± As the saying goes, ¡°When you look at an orchid, look at the leaves and you will see the flowers¡±. It meant that the quality of the leaves corresponded with the quality of the flowers after blooming. Although the spring orchid in front of him was not in bloom yet, he could see that the leaves were delicate and firm, so he could tell that the quality was definitely not bad. Elder Zhang¡¯s heart stirred. He couldn¡¯t sit still as if a kitten was scratching his heart. He looked and looked at the orchid and touched it carefully, his eyes shining like Dahei¡¯s when he saw a chicken leg. Elder Zhao saw what he was thinking and smiled, not arguing with him. Elder Zhang looked for a long time, made up his mind and said to Lu Lingxi, ¡°Xiao Xi, are you selling this spring orchid?¡± Lu Lingxi could see that Elder Zhang liked this spring orchid very much, but he didn¡¯t expect that Elder Zhang would want to buy it. Just¡­ Elder Zhang took one look at Lu Lingxi¡¯s expression, guessed what he was thinking andughed, ¡°Is Xiao Xi worried that Grandpa Zhang can¡¯t afford it?¡± Lu Lingxi blushed and got a little embarrassed. He was not sure about the identities of Elder Zhang and Elder Zhao. The value of the orchid was too high and he needed to sell the orchid to pay back Yan Yue, so he could not lower the price too much, and he was worried that they would not be able to agree about the price. Elder Zhang didn¡¯t care, ¡°A good orchid is hard to find. This orchid is of good quality and is definitely worth a lot of money. Come on, Xiao Lu, let¡¯s discuss it.¡± He was old, had worked hard all his life, and his only hobby after retirement was these flowers and nts, and he didn¡¯t care about money at all. Without waiting for Lu Lingxi to ask, he offered a price of 300,000. Lu Lingxi froze for a moment, hesitantly wanting to lower the price a bit. Grandpa Su had said at the time that it would be worth 300,000 if it was raised well, but now this spring orchid was still growing its roots, so it was definitely not worth that much. He was telling the truth here, and Elder Zhao smiled suddenly. This child, Xiao Xi, was honest and didn¡¯t understand the secret. A superb orchid was hard to find, and if it was raised well, it was not a matter of 300,000 yuan at all. At that time, you could make a lot of money a year by selling pollen and offspring. Many orchid breeders had such an orchid as a family heirloom and made a fortune from it. Of course, Elder Zhang was reluctant to toss this orchid, so he offered 300,000 yuan, which was a realistic price. Elder Zhang insisted, and Lu Lingxi ended up epting 300,000. The old man was afraid that the news would get out and he would be robbed, so he left Elder Zhao to look after the precious orchid for him and went home alone to transfer the money to Lu Lingxi. When the tossing and turning was over, Lu Lingxi was holding a thin card and Elder Zhang was ready to leave with his orchid in his hands, smiling. Lu Lingxi gave Elder Zhang a bag of orchid soil and a bag of water moss and carefully instructed Elder Zhang on some precautions to take. The orchid¡¯s new roots had just grown, so it needed careful attention for a while. s Elder Zhang nodded repeatedly. He understood all these, but hearing the child¡¯s serious instructions, the old man still listened with a smile on his face. When he was leaving, he didn¡¯t forget to tell Lu Lingxi to remember to inform him the next time there was such a thing. After sending the two old men away, Lu Lingxi looked at the bank card in his hand and still felt that the morning¡¯s events were somewhat mysterious. Although he had always known that the spring orchid was worth 300,000 yuan, the words ¡°300,000 yuan¡± and the feeling of actually holding the money in his hand werepletely different. Dahei whimpered at him. Lu Lingxi immediately guessed what was on Dahei¡¯s mind and looked at him in amusement, stroking his fur soothingly and coaxing, ¡°I was the one who told Grandpa Zhang to take the orchid away, it¡¯s not that Dahei didn¡¯t look after it well. How about an extra chicken leg for lunch today?¡± Dahei¡¯s ears perked up; he squinted his eyes and licked Lu Lingxi¡¯s fingers, quietly lying at his feet. The morning passed; Yan Yue stuck to the point of rushing in before Lu Lingxi ate. This time he didn¡¯t bring the geranium; instead he carried a few bags of imported dog food. Dahei sniffed the dog food, looked up at Yan Yue and continued tozily lie on the ground. ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re here?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little happy to see Yan Yue; he actually was looking forward to seeing him in order to return the money. Yan Yue looked intently at the boy¡¯s smiling face and nodded slightly, ¡°I¡¯vee to see Dahei.¡± Lu Lingxi had already seen the dog food in Yan Yue¡¯s hands and looked a little shy, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you can juste to see Dahei, you don¡¯t need to bring anything.¡± What he didn¡¯t dare to say was that Dahei didn¡¯t eat dog food, he didn¡¯t even want to smell it. Yan Yue nodded indifferently at this, ncing at Dahei on the ground. Dahei gave him a face-saving bark as if greeting him. Lu Lingxi poured a ss of water for Yan Yue and at the same time ced the bank card in front of Yan Yue. The young man¡¯s voice was cheerful, ¡°Big Brother Yan, I was looking for you. You still remember that spring orchid, right? It was sold this morning, and here is 300,000. Give me some more time for the remaining 100,000, I will definitely pay it back.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s gaze fell on the bank card, his eyes obscure. He already knew that the shop owner of Tiny Garden intended to leave Fengcheng and return home and was looking for someone to sell Tiny Garden to. When he came to the shop yesterday, Lu Lingxi was probably worried about this. Yan Yue wanted Lu Lingxi to take over Tiny Garden but when he thought about it, he guessed that the boy probably didn¡¯t have the money. After a night of debating between offering to lend Lu Lingxi money and buying the shop and hiring him, Yan Yue came here today to find out what Lu Lingxi wanted to do. He didn¡¯t expect the boy to have the money and not use it for business but instead to pay him back. This kind of alienation put Yan Yue in a somewhat bad mood. He made a decision almost immediately to tie the boy to him anyway, no matter what. Yan Yue looked at Lu Lingxi and asked patiently, ¡°I heard that Tiny Garden is being sold?¡± Lu Lingxi looked up in surprise, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯ve heard about it too?¡± Yan Yue nodded and said, as if inadvertently, ¡°You do a good job here, have you considered the next step?¡± Lu Lingxi was slightly surprised, then he curved his eyes in a smile and was about to speak, when Yan Yue hurriedly said, ¡°If it¡¯s because of the money, you can pay it backter, I¡¯m not in a hurry. This is a good opportunity, better not miss it.¡± Yan Yue sounded like he was thinking of him, and Lu Lingxi was grateful to hear that, but he really didn¡¯t want to owe Yan Yue such a big favour. Guessing Lu Lingxi¡¯s thoughts, Yan Yue continued quietly: ¡°Or you can do this. You treat the money you pay me back as my share. I will pay and you will contribute your skills. How about we buy this store together?¡± ¡°This way¡­¡± Yan Yue kept paying attention to the boy¡¯s expression. When he saw that there were doubts, his expression became more and more sincere, ¡°I have been very interested in these flowers and nts recently, and I have been thinking about opening a shop to try. But I don¡¯t understand anything. Now I just happened to encounter Tiny Garden, and our cooperation together is a win-win situation. ¡± Although Yan Yue said this, Lu Lingxi was not stupid and knew that Yan Yue was trying to help him in a roundabout way. He became a little excited; this opportunity was really good. He couldn¡¯t ask Yan Yue to borrow money, but if they worked together, he would definitely try hard to make money for Yan Yue. He looked at Yan Yue hesitantly, and Yan Yue was also looking at him with a burning gaze. Lu Lingxi could see the trust in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes and smiled, making up his mind. ¡°Big Brother Yan, thank you.¡± The young man¡¯s tone was solemn and he clearly agreed to his proposal. The corners of Yan Yue¡¯s mouth curled slightly; from a-stranger-acquaintance to a stranger-partner, he took a step closer to the boy. Chapter 26 Yan Yue meant that he wanted to pay all the money and Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t have to pay a single penny. He was supposed to invest purely his skills. Of course, Yan Yue would not ept the 300,000 in the bank card, except for as his early investment. But Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t agree with this proposal, insisting that the two of them each pay half of the money, and that Yan Yue take the majority of the shares of Tiny Garden. Lu Lingxi felt that he had already taken advantage of Yan Yue. To put it bluntly, the money in his hand was actually Yan Yue¡¯s. When others cooperated, they feared that they would suffer losses; but when these two people cooperated, they only feared that the other party would suffer losses. After some pushing, Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t say no to Yan Yue, so he had to take a step back and agreed that they would each take half. After agreeing to cooperate, Lu Lingxi found a piece of white paper and carefully wrote an agreement, signed it and handed it to Yan Yue. Yan Yue had already figured out the rules of getting along with the young man and simply put away the agreement. Sure enough, he saw the boy curve his eyes in a smile at him, revealing a small dimple that appeared at the corner of his mouth. Yan Yue¡¯s heart stirred; he wished he could immediately lean over to kiss the young man, but when he met Lu Lingxi¡¯s clear eyes, he suppressed the impulse in his heart. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t dy and immediately called Du Lin. Du Lin had been waiting to hear from him and was very happy to hear that Lu Lingxi was taking over the shop and immediately came over toplete some formalities. Lu Lingxi held the phone and asked Yan Yue in a low voice, ¡°Big Brother Yan, do you have timeter? Sister Du ising over.¡± Since they were cooperating, Lu Lingxi felt that it was best for the two of them to do these things together, in case there were any conflicts and contradictions in the future. Yan Yue was eager to spend more time with Lu Lingxi and nodded seriously. Du Lin came quickly, and Zhang Hua also came with her. The two were rushing back to their hometown, so they thought they¡¯d get everything they could do today. Apart from the handover of Tiny Garden side, there was also a small nt nursery in the suburbs that Lu Lingxi needed to take a look at. When they first saw Yan Yue, they both froze for a moment. Hearing Lu Lingxi call him ¡°Big Brother Yan¡±, Du Lin was a little confused about Yan Yue¡¯s identity. She had heard Lu Lingxi say on the phone that he was cooperating with someone else and was actually a little worried that Lu Lingxi would be deceived, but after taking a look at Yan Yue¡¯s car parked at the entrance, Du Lin rxed. The entire Tiny Garden business didn¡¯t cost a tenth of the cost of the car at the entrance. There was no objection to the handover between the two sides, and the agreement was quickly signed. Yan Yue left the whole process to Lu Lingxi and just nodded. Zhang Hua was happy to get the money and smiled at them, ¡°Come on, it¡¯s still early, let¡¯s go see the nt nursery.¡± He drove a little Jinbei minivan, so it was no problem at all to take a few people. While Lu Lingxi locked the door, Yan Yue politely said to Zhang Hua, ¡°Xiao Xi will take my car, please lead the way.¡± Zhang Hua could see that Yan Yue was quite a big shot, so it was not suitable for him to go in his cheap car, and since Xiao Xi was Yan Yue¡¯s younger brother, there was nothing wrong with it. He smiled and nodded, took Du Lin and drove first. s ¡°Huh, Sister Du and her husband have already left?¡± Lu Lingxi came over with Dahei and saw Yan Yue leaning against the car door waiting for him while Zhang Hua and Du Lin were no longer there. Yan Yue¡¯s expression remained unchanged, ¡°They¡¯re going to lead the way, we¡¯ll just follow behind.¡± He opened the car door and gestured for Lu Lingxi to get in. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t think much about it and got into the passenger seat, while Dahei was herded by Yan Yue to the back seat. Du Lin¡¯s nt nursery was a little far from the city, located in a small vige on the outskirts of Fengcheng. Most of the young people in that vige had left to work in the city, and the ones that remained in the vige were old people and children. The old people were too old to farm, so they either left their farnd abandoned or to supplement their ie, rented it out to outsiders like Du Lin to grow something. Yan Yue followed the little Jinbei in front of him all the way. When he passed a drive-in restaurant, he stopped deliberately and looked at Lu Lingxi, ¡°What do you want to eat?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Yan Yue said seemingly casually, ¡°You didn¡¯t eat at lunchtime, did you?¡± He had rushed over at mealtime just to find an excuse to have a meal with the young man, but he hadn¡¯t expected to identally be the young man¡¯s partner. By the time Du Lin came and the formalities werepleted, the two of them already had no time to eat. He saw Lu Lingxi secretly rubbing his stomach before, but Du Lin was in a hurry, so the boy didn¡¯t say anything and cooperated with Du Lin all the way. Yan Yue was a little distressed, but there was nothing in his car except for two bags of dog food. Fortunately, there was a drive-in restaurant on the side of the road, and thinking that generally teenagers at this age liked to eat fast food, Yan Yue deliberately turned in. Hearing Yan Yue¡¯s words, Lu Lingxi blinked and smiled happily. ¡°What do you want to eat, Big Brother Yan?¡± he asked, looking at the menu seriously. Yan Yue paused and said that he had already eaten as an excuse to not ask for anything. He originally wanted to pay attention to his image in front of the boy, but soon he regretted it. For he saw that Lu Lingxi bought a box of chicken legs for Dahei after buying a set meal for himself. The rest of the way, Yan Yue watched Lu Lingxi finish eating, turn around and feed Dahei chicken legs. In the rear-view mirror, Dahei squinted happily as he gnawed on the chicken leg in the boy¡¯s hand. Yan Yue was looking at him with regret. If he had also bought a portion, he would have an excuse to have the boy feed him instead of the stupid dog on the pretext that it was inconvenient to drive and eat. Out of the corner of his eye, Yan Yue noticed that Dahei stuck out his tongue to lick the boy¡¯s fingers after he had finished chewing the chicken leg, and his face slightly twisted. Really, such a stupid dog! The good thing was that there were not many chicken legs in the box, so Dahei had gobbled them up in no time. Lu Lingxi carefully put away the garbage and turned his head to look ahead again. Yan Yue slowly let out the breath he had been holding and his attention refocused on the road. When they arrived at the nt nursery, it was three o¡¯clock, the hottest part of the afternoon. Du Lin under an umbre led them into a small farmhouse by the road. This was the ce Du Lin rented, and the nt nursery was at the back of the courtyard, separately partitioned off. ¡°It¡¯s convenient this way,¡± Du Lin exined as she walked. It was August, and the flowers inside the nt nursery were in full bloom. Although the nt nursery was small in size, Du Lin had carefully outlined different areas and nted different flowers that were basicallymon in Tiny Garden. In the back corner of the courtyard, various flower pots were piled up together, next to arge bag of unopened nutrient fertiliser. ¡°In total, these are the ones.¡± Du Lin pointed it out to Lu Lingxi. Du Lin usually was dealing with Tiny Garden; Zhang Hua had his own job and also worked as a part-time Tiny Garden delivery. Du Lin came to the nt nursery twice a week and she hired an old neighbour called Li to take care of it every day. ¡°We¡¯ll see Uncle Liter too. The old man is in very good health, he is conscientious and responsible, and he is very dedicated to the nt nursery. Xiao Xi, you definitely won¡¯t be able to look after the nt nursery alone in the future, so it¡¯s better to let Uncle Li keep an eye on it here and you keep an eye on Tiny Garden.¡± Lu Lingxi had thought about theck of manpower before, and nodded when he heard her words. ¡°It¡¯s just the delivery¡­¡± Du Lin was a bit embarrassed. She was in a hurry to sell the shop and didn¡¯t exin the back issues to Lu Lingxi clearly. She was a little worried about taking advantage of the child. Lu Lingxi was not worried about delivery; there was Yi Hang, after all. Du Lin immediately smiled when she heard about Yi Hang, ¡°Yes, you should take Xiao Hang with you too, to save him from being idle the whole day.¡± s The unfamiliar name ¡°Yi Hang¡± made Yan Yue frown slightly. He actually wanted to say that he could deliver the goods, but after looking at Du Lin, he held back from speaking. Lu Lingxi was not experienced enough in society, so it was easy to fool him with whatever Yan Yue said. But Du Lin looked shrewd and took great care of Lu Lingxi, so he didn¡¯t want Du Lin to notice anything suspicious. Anyway, Du Lin would be gone in a few days, so they could talk about it then. In a short while, they had finished looking at the nt nursery, and Du Lin took Lu Lingxi to meet Uncle Li. Uncle Li¡¯s name was Li Yuanchao, he was just about 60 this year and was in very good health. The children of Uncle Li were all living in the city and were usually filial to Uncle Li. It was just that the old man had too much free time and there were no other activities in the countryside, so when Du Lin had started a nt nursery and the work in the nt nursery was light and could help pass the time, Uncle Li took it over happily. Uncle Li has done a good job this year and he was really interested in the nt nursery. When he heard Du Lin say before that the nt nursery would be sold, the old man felt it was a pity, but when he met Lu Lingxi, he didn¡¯t think it was a pity anymore. In his words, the child had a feeling about him. The city people might not feel it but he spent all year round in the countryside. Wherever he went, there were trees, crops, wild flowers and grass. The city people were not usually close to nature, but this child had such an aura about him. With Uncle Li¡¯s age, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t mind at all when being called a child. The only thing that startled him a little was Uncle Li¡¯sment on the feelinging from him and he wondered if Uncle Li could sense something. On the contrary, Du Lin smiled and said, ¡°Yes, yes, I just feelfortable staying with Xiao Xi. That¡¯s what emotions are all about.¡± Lu Lingxi felt so guilty because of their words that he unintentionally turned his head and bumped into Yan Yue¡¯s gaze. The other party was looking at him solemnly, with emotions that Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t understand welling up in his eyes. ¡°Big Brother Yan?¡± Lu Lingxi called out in a small voice. Yan Yue nodded at Lu Lingxi as if nothing had happened, his eyes slightly lowered as he hid the emotions in them. When Du Lin talked about feelingfortable staying with the boy, he could not wait to immediately kidnap Lu Lingxi and lock him up in his home from now on, to be the only one to see him. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t. Resisting the mouring desire in his heart, Yan Yue forced himself to look normal, as if nothing had happened. They didn¡¯t stay here much longer. It was Friday and Du Lin was worried that they would be in trouble if they went backte and got caught in the traffic jams in Fengcheng. Uncle Li had a really good impression of Lu Lingxi. He sent them all the way to the road and told Lu Lingxi toe often when he had time. He also assured them that he would take good care of the nt nursery and that the child didn¡¯t need to worry. Lu Lingxi smiled and nodded. On the way back, Lu Lingxi was in a good mood. Arge area of abandoned farnd outside the window spread in front of him, and he thought of the small nt nursery of Tiny Garden. It would be nice if one day there would be Tiny Garden¡¯s nt nursery all around. Lu Lingxi was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn¡¯t realise that half of Yan Yue¡¯s attention was on him. As he gazed at the young man¡¯s slightly smiling face, Yan Yue¡¯s irritable mood slowly calmed down. The young man in front of him was like a pearl in a m shell. Removed from its heavy shell and with the sludge washed off, it was gradually showing its warm and delicate beauty to outsiders. He believed that he was not the only one who had discovered Lu Lingxi¡¯s goodness. From Dong Zhi to Du Lin, there would be others in the future. These people would find out how good the young man was, would want to stay by his side, and one of them would even have the same thoughts about the young man as he had. Since there was no way he could keep the young man locked up, the only thing he could do was to find a way to be the unique one in the young man¡¯s heart. Chapter 27 When Lu Lingxi arrived home in the evening, he smelled a gorgeous fragrance from a distance. It smelled like tomatoes and like a rich sauce. The aroma filled the whole building, and before Lu Lingxi could do anything about it, Dahei was already dripping saliva remorselessly. ¡°Little foodie.¡± Lu Lingxi flicked his finger on Dahei¡¯s head, his tone intimate. He still remembered when he first met Dahei, Dahei didn¡¯t even dare to eat a full meal, for fear that eating too much would make people dislike him and abandon him. In just a few days, Dahei had revealed his nature as a foodie, and almost half of the tomatoes ripening in the backyard ended up in Dahei¡¯s stomach. Even he, Wang Shuxiu and Yi Hang couldn¡¯t outeat Dahei. After talking to Dahei, Lu Lingxi was about to look for the key when the door opened from the inside and Wang Shuxiu looked at him strangely, ¡°Why are you back so early today?¡± ¡°I had to close the shop early because of something,¡± Lu Lingxi said obediently. Wang Shuxiu left the door open and looked at Lu Lingxi who squatted at the door to wipe Dahei¡¯s paws. The corners of her mouth twitched and she ordered, ¡°You¡¯re back just in time, I made some tomato sauce. You can pick some tomatoester and take them and some sauce to Yi Hang and his family.¡± Yi Hang and Lu Lingxi were good friends, and Lu Lingxi found a job thanks to Yi Hang. Wang Shuxiu saw that Yi Hang liked tomatoes, so when she made tomato sauce, she didn¡¯t forget him. Lu Lingxi nodded, washed his hands and didn¡¯t go to Yi Hang¡¯s house but squeezed to Wang Shuxiu¡¯s side. Wang Shuxiu was in the kitchen watching the tomato sauce boil. Juicy tomatoes were boiled with soy sauce, plus some ground meat, salt, glutamate and other seasonings. The whole kitchen was shrouded in a peculiar aroma, much strongerpared to the fragrance in the building. Dahei squatted in the kitchen doorway, his eyes glowing as he gazed at the thick sauce in the pot. Wang Shuxiu red at him in amusement and hurried Lu Lingxi out of the kitchen. ¡°Go, go, what are you doing here, it¡¯s hot here. Hurry up and take Dahei out.¡± The kitchen of the old house was small and there was no air conditioner, so Wang Shuxiu was already hot and sweaty. Now there was another person and a dog in the kitchen, and they were all crowding around her, so Wang Shuxiu felt like she was about to die of heat. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t leave, but took a stack of newspapers and dutifully fanned Wang Shuxiu. As he did so, he said, ¡°Mom, I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°What?¡± Wang Shuxiu said casually, not caring much. Lu Lingxi deliberated and said, ¡°You know the gardening shop where I work, right? The shop owner, Sister Du, is going back to her hometown, and I¡­¡± Before he could finish, Wang Shuxiu interjected quickly, ¡°Is it that you don¡¯t have a job anymore? It¡¯s okay, Mom will support you.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart felt warm; the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously. He clung to Wang Shuxiu¡¯s arm affectionately, shook his head and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m taking over the shop.¡± ¡°What?¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s words were tantamount to a bomb. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s voice rose and she eyed him suspiciously, ¡°Where did you get the money?¡± The little bastard didn¡¯t do anything bad, did he? Wang Shuxiu muttered in her heart. It would beplicated to talk about this matter clearly, and if one really wanted to look into it, one had to start with Lu Yishui. Lu Lingxi was not stupid and didn¡¯t want Wang Shuxiu to worry, so he skipped over the previous events and started with the sale of the spring orchid this morning. However, he didn¡¯t dare to say that he sold it for 300,000, but only that he sold it for 100,000 and bought the shop together with another person, the two of them being in half-and-half partnership. To Wang Shuxiu it sounded like she was listening to a fairy tale. A broken flower he had picked up sold for 100,000? ¡°You take your mom for a fool, huh?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lu Lingxi said seriously, ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Wang Shuxiu fiercely turned off the fire, ¡°Little bastard, you¡¯re not joking?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head; he had already said the price was two hundred thousand less. Wang Shuxiu was no longer in the mood to make any tomato sauce. She wiped her hands haphazardly and pulled Lu Lingxi into the living room, ¡°Come on, tell Mom what¡¯s going on?¡± Dahei struggled for a while between the iron pot exuding a rich aroma and Lu Lingxi, but chose Lu Lingxi and squatted quietly at his feet. Lu Lingxi habitually stroked Dahei¡¯s head and re-told the whole story in a shortened and redacted form. Wang Shuxiu finished listening and began to worry about another matter. ¡°What about the guy you¡¯re in partnership with? Don¡¯t be stupid to be sold and still count the money for the other party!¡± ¡°No, Big Brother Yan is a good man.¡± Lu Lingxi defended Yan Yue. Wang Shuxiu thought about it and pped the table, ¡°All right, a good guy or a bad guy, whatever. He is in partnership with you, so invite him toe and have a meal together some day.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Lingxi obediently agreed, thinking that Yan Yue had helped him a lot, so it was really time to invite Yan Yue for a meal. He just didn¡¯t know if Yan Yue was used to home-cooked food. He shouldn¡¯t be too picky, right? s No matter how apprehensive Wang Shuxiu was in her heart, fearing that the little bastard would suffer, Tiny Garden was neatly put under Lu Lingxi¡¯s name, in ck and white; even the legal person on the business licence was changed to Lu Lingxi. During this series of events, Lu Lingxi kept a very low profile and didn¡¯t deliberately publicise the change of ownership, but other shop owners on the street soon knew about it. Dong Zhi was the first to jokingly ask Lu Lingxi if he wanted to hold a grand opening ceremony, but Lu Lingxi rejected this idea. He thought it was pretty good as it was now, and he wasn¡¯t even going to change the signboard of Tiny Garden. It would still be the same as before anyway, and it was good enough that everyone knew that the owner had changed. Dong Zhiughed and discussed with a few other shop owners to chip in and give Lu Lingxi a silver ecological fish tank, along with several goldfish of various shapes and sizes. To paraphrase Dong Zhi, water represented wealth and fish also represented wealth. With flowers, grass, water and fish, Xiao Xi¡¯s shop could be considered to be blessed with a unique source of wealth. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t believe in this, but epted it because it was a kind gesture from everyone. The main thing was that Dahei liked this fish tank very much. Since the fish tank was ced on the cashier counter, Dahei had another pastime of looking at the fish every day, crouching under the counter with his eyes following the fish inside the tank. Fortunately, Dahei was a dog and not a cat, otherwise Lu Lingxi would have been worried about the lives of these fish. He didn¡¯t know if it was really the fish tank that brought in the fortune, but before Lu Lingxi could straighten out the things in the shop, Brother Han, who hadn¡¯t been here for a while, once again came looking for him. ¡°Xiao Xi, Xiao Xi.¡± Brother Han¡¯s loud voice sounded from far away. Lu Lingxi, who was tidying up the cabs, stopped and looked over to see Brother Han walking in, his head sweaty. ¡°This damn weather is so hot,¡± Brother Han couldn¡¯t help butin. Lu Lingxi poured a ss of ice water and brought it to Brother Han, who drank it all in one gulp, then sighed in relief, ¡°It¡¯s sofortable here, Xiao Xi.¡± Because the shop was full of flowers and nts, Du Lin hadn¡¯t installed air conditioning before, and naturally Lu Lingxi wouldn¡¯t either when he took over. But although the shop didn¡¯t have air conditioning, it wasn¡¯t hot at all. The lush greenery filled all the spaces in the shop, and when you were inside, you unconsciously had the illusion of being in the wilderness. The dryness in your body was swept away and you felt refreshed and indescribablyfortable. Lu Lingxi smiled. He was so used to the environment in the shop that he felt hot when he went outside. ¡°Something¡¯s happened, Brother Han?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Brother Han confirmed, ¡°I¡¯vee to you on business.¡± s Brother Han worked in a public institution and they had just received notice that a superior wasing for inspection in a few days. After thinking about it, Brother Han¡¯s chief decided to buy some potted nts and put them in the offices for decoration. Brother Han had long wanted to persuade the chief to buy some potted nts to improve the environment and for the employees to have something to rest their eyes on when tired of working. This time he was happy to hear about the n and volunteered to do the job. The first person he thought of was Lu Lingxi. The green nts in the young man¡¯s shop were really good. Brother Han didn¡¯t know if it was his illusion, but he always felt that the pot of clivia at home was indescribably refreshing when he got close to it, simr to the feeling he had when staying in Tiny Garden. With a little selfishness, Brother Han thought about setting up many pots like this in the office. ¡°Xiao Xi, what do you rmend?¡± He simply handed over the choice to Lu Lingxi. There were actually some rules for cing flowers and nts in the office. The first rule was that they needed to be easy to take care of. After all, no one in the office was a professional in raising flowers and nts, and Lu Lingxi himself couldn¡¯t go to see them every day. If it happened to be some delicate nts that were difficult to raise and they died in two days, it would ruin the brand of the gardening shop. In addition to easy maintenance, Lu Lingxi thought of choosing somerge-leaved nts or sulents. An office was, after all, an office, and green decorations should be mainly elegant, creating a quiet, simple and bright environment. One or two pots of flowers with more vivid colours could be ced here and there for embellishment, but more fresh green nts were better. When Lu Lingxi mentioned this, Brother Han nodded. ¡°Whatever you say, Xiao Xi.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled shyly and took the initiative to ask: ¡°Brother Han, what kind of flower pots do you want?¡± Anyone who had ever raised flowers knew that there were many different kinds of pots, and different nts needed different pots. But most people who purchased nts for the office liked the pots to be in a unified style, so Lu Lingxi had to ask. Sure enough, Brother Han hesitated for two seconds and said, ¡°Let¡¯s make it uniform, how about brown y pots?¡± ¡°Okay!¡± y pots were quite breathable and water-permeable, and the pots were also weighty, so the nts were not likely to tip over. The only trouble was that the pots were heavy and not very convenient to carry, but since it was an office and the location shouldn¡¯t change casually, it didn¡¯t really matter. There were many offices in Brother Han¡¯s unit, so the overall amount purchased was quite arge one. Lu Lingxi patiently recorded down all that was needed. After this deal was done, at least a quarter of the shop¡¯s green nts would be gone. After the two of them made a deal, Brother Han readily left a deposit of three thousand yuan, and the rest was to be paid when Lu Lingxi went to deliver the goods. Brother Han had great faith in Lu Lingxi¡¯s character, and after making an appointment for the time and ce of delivery, Brother Han left in a hurry. Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one in the shop, Lu Lingxi began to work on the order. What Yan Yue saw when he came over was Lu Lingxi biting the tip of the pen, writing and drawing on a nk piece of paper. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re here?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little surprised. He hadn¡¯t seen Yan Yue for a week since they came back from their trip to the nt nursery that day. It seemed that Yan Yue had been busy with something but the two of them were in touch by phone every day. After not seeing Lu Lingxi for a week, Yan Yue missed him terribly. Under the pretext of seeing what Lu Lingxi was doing, he quietly squeezed beside the young man, almost sticking to the young man¡¯s body. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t notice anything and happily pointed out what he had written before to Yan Yue. ¡°Big Brother Yan, look, Brother Han has ordered over thirty potted nts from us. This is the biggest deal I¡¯ve done since I came to Tiny Garden.¡± The total amount of Lu Lingxi¡¯s so-called biggest deal was only tens of thousands of yuan, and the profit left after removing the costs was not much, so it was nothing inparison to Yan Yue¡¯s wealth. But as he looked at the boy¡¯s ted expression, as he watched the boy bite the pen and calcte the final profit, as he watched the boy carefully record this business deal, his heart suddenly softened. This was their business, his and the young man¡¯s, the one that belonged to just the two of them. This sense of aplishment was much stronger than the one when Yan Yue had signed a contract for Hopewell Group, making millions, or even the sense of aplishment brought to him by Dezhi Investment. Yan Yue met Lu Lingxi¡¯s bright eyes and nodded solemnly, saying, ¡°Xiao Xi is amazing!¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and smiled happily. Chapter 28 The number of potted nts ordered by Brother Han was quiterge. Apart from some small ones ced on desks and windowsills, there were also some to be ced in corridors and corners of the office. In thetter case, Lu Lingxi helped Brother Han pick out more than thirtyrge-leaved golden pothos and money trees. These nts were not usually ced in the shop because they took up too much space, so if necessary, you had to go to the nt nursery to prepare them. Lu Lingxi nned to go to the nt nursery after the shop closed and change the pots to y ones in advance. All the green nts in Tiny Garden also needed to be repotted to y pots. After carefully keeping the ounts, Lu Lingxi found a merry apron that Du Lin had prepared for him earlier and put it on. He was wearing shorts today, and the apron hung down just over the edge of his shorts. From the front, it looked like the young man was wearing nothing but the apron, which was quite an unexpected match with the silly sheep printed on it. A smile shed in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes as he asked, ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Lu Lingxi took out several y pots from under the cashier¡¯s desk and pointed at them, exining, ¡°The green nts that Brother Han ordered need uniform y pots, and the pots need to be changed before delivery.¡± The green nts in Tiny Garden were all in stic pots, except for a few begonias in full bloom in porcin pots. As stic pots were cheap, they were usually given away for free as add-ons when customers bought something. However, most customers didn¡¯t like stic pots and would buy other pots specifically, which was another major source of ie for Tiny Garden, apart from the nts. In the list of Brother Han, over a hundred y pots cost a lot of money. After Lu Lingxi finished speaking, he was about to move the chlorophytum hanging above his head. Yan Yue stopped him in time, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Lu Lingxi blinked,pared their heights and obediently moved out of the way. Tiny Garden was small in size and Du Lin had thought of a number of ways to make reasonable use of the space, and the nts hanging from the ceiling was one of them. Many hanging and climbing nts were suspended overhead. Lu Lingxi usually needed to step on a small stool for watering and caring for them, but Yan Yue only needed to stand on tiptoe and stretch out his hands to easily pick the chlorophytum that was out of his reach. ¡°What else do you need?¡± Yan Yue followed Lu Lingxi¡¯smand and ced the chlorophytum in the corner, looking at Lu Lingxi with a faint smile. Lu Lingxi looked at his height with some envy and pointed out a few more potted nts, all of which needed to be taken down and repotted. Yan Yue rolled up his sleeves and was about to go get them, ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Lu Lingxi suddenly thought of something and stopped him. s Yan Yue was a bit confused, but Lu Lingxi had already turned around, found another apron behind the cashier¡¯s desk and handed it to him. Generally, in order not to get dirty in the shop, everyone needed to wear an apron. Yan Yue in his shirt and pants looked like a well-dressed elite, which really didn¡¯t suit working in a gardening shop, so Lu Lingxi thought it would be better to give Yan Yue an apron. Yan Yue looked at the grey wolf apron handed to him and chuckled, raising his eyebrows slightly, ¡°I wear it?¡± Lu Lingxi also felt that this apron didn¡¯t suit Yan Yue, but there was nothing else that would fit, so he had to smile shyly and exin, ¡°It won¡¯t be good to get your clothes dirty.¡± The young man¡¯s eyes were shining brightly as he looked at Yan Yue, his eyshes fluttering like butterfly wings, the dimples appearing at the corners of his mouth. Yan Yue now finally understood what a ¡°beauty trap¡± meant. At this time, let alone wearing this funny apron in front of the boy, he was willing to walk on the street in it. Yan Yue quickly picked it up, took the thin strap of the apron and put it around his neck, then turned around and stood in front of Lu Lingxi, casually saying, ¡°Xiao Xi, help me tie the belt at the back.¡± ¡°En.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t think anything of it and naturally reached out from Yan Yue¡¯s back to the front and pulled the apron¡¯s ties. For a moment, Yan Yue felt as if the young man was hugging him, and despite the thinyer of his shirt, the heat of skin-to-skin contact still made him shiver uncontrobly. The feeling was so wonderful that Yan Yue felt his mind go nk for a moment; his heart seemed to stop and a strong current of electricity raced through his body. He could barely control himself not to turn around to hold the young man in his arms. Lu Lingxi tied the straps and took a step back, saying softly, ¡°There.¡± Yan Yue turned around, nearly breathless, and with difficulty squeezed out a smile towards Lu Lingxi as if nothing had happened. Before he met Lu Lingxi, he had never known that a hug that wasn¡¯t really a hug would affect him so much. Lu Lingxi had clearly stepped away, but instead of subsiding, the searing heat from Yan Yue¡¯s back seemed to be spreading throughout his body. Yan Yue remembered the touch he had longed for when he saw Lu Lingxi for the first time and the way he couldn¡¯t resist getting closer to the boy again and again. This dark craving seemed to have reached its peak at this moment. The contact with Lu Lingxi was like an opium poppy; having tasted the sweetness once, he couldn¡¯t help but want more. ¡°Big Brother Yan, take the gloves.¡± Lu Lingxi, unaware of Yan Yue¡¯s reaction, bent down and found another pair of gloves for him. Yan Yue took a deep breath, reined in his reverie and said in as steady a tone as possible, ¡°Okay.¡± With Yan Yue¡¯s help, the green nts that needed to be repotted were quickly taken down. Lu Lingxi carefully piled them up in the corner, then vacated a nearby spot,id arge stic sheet on the floor and moved a small stool to sit. Changing the pots of green nts required extra care. If you didn¡¯t pay attention, you might break the root system of the nt stuck in the soil. With the help of the panel, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t have to worry about this. He carefully held a pot of chlorophytum and his mental scan showed the distribution of the nt¡¯s root system clearly. Avoiding the root system, Lu Lingxi took a small shovel and inserted it along the edge of the pot to loosen the soil, then carefully supported chlorophytum to turn the stic pot upside down and tapped on the bottom of it. When Lu Lingxi was doing this, he looked very serious and his eyes were fixed intently on the pot in his hands, as if he was dealing with a living object. Yan Yue was so absorbed in watching that he dragged another small stool to sit beside Lu Lingxi. The stool was a little short and it was notfortable for him to sit with his long legs, but the boy¡¯s serious attitude overcame this difort. After the chlorophytum fell out of the stic pot, Yan Yue handed over a y pot right in time. Lu Lingxi was taken aback for a moment, and then looked up and smiled at Yan Yue. After repotting the chlorophytum in his hands, he patted the soil off his gloves and said to Yan Yue, ¡°Big Brother Yan, if you feel bored, you can go wander around or take Dahei to find Brother Dong across the street, don¡¯t mind me.¡± Dahei, who was lying quietly next to Lu Lingxi¡¯s leg, heard his name and gave a low bark, his furry head rubbing against Lu Lingxi¡¯s calf, as if he was unhappy that Lu Lingxi was kicking him out. Lu Lingxi patted Dahei¡¯s head affectionately and smiled slightly. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes were hot; he shook his head and said seriously, ¡°You tell me what to do, I¡¯ll do it with you.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes, ¡°Okay.¡± To his surprise, Yan Yue was very clever and learned how to do it almost immediately, and did everything very well. He looked at Yan Yue in amazement, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re really good!¡± The astonishment and admiration in the young man¡¯s eyes was undisguised, and Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help but feel a certain subtle sense of satisfaction. Since when did he feel proud of himself for being able to change the pot of a chlorophytum without any problems? Driven by the subtle sense of satisfaction of being watched by the young man, Yan Yue worked harder and harder. The two of them worked together and the process of changing the pots went a little faster, but even so they worked until 7 o¡¯clock when Tiny Garden closed. Lu Lingxi made a phone call to Wang Shuxiu, saying he had to go to the nt nursery in the suburbs. Wang Shuxiu took hold of Lu Lingxi on the phone and asked for a long time. ¡°Going alone? How long will it take? What if you can¡¯t get a taxi when going back at night?¡± Lu Lingxi patiently exined to Wang Shuxiu that he was not going alone but together with Yan Yue. As for going back at night, Yan Yue had a car, so it wasn¡¯t a problem. Lu Lingxi was originally going to ask Yi Hang to go with him, but when he had mentioned it in the afternoon, Yan Yue said that he would go. Tiny Garden was his and Lu Lingxi¡¯s business, so why bother someone else? Lu Lingxi thought about it and agreed, although Yi Hang was not someone else, but a part-time worker he had hired. Because the nt nursery was in the suburbs, Lu Lingxi needed to visit it from time to time and needed a car to bring the nts from the nursery to the shop or to make deliveries like this one. Thest time Lu Lingxi went to deliver tomatoes to Yi Hang, they agreed that he would look for Yi Hang when he needed a car. Every time he used the car, Yi Hang would write it down and they would settle the money at the end of the month. Yan Yue also knew about it but since he insisted on going this time, it also saved Lu Lingxi the trouble of looking for Yi Hang. Moreover, the two of them had to change the pots of the nts, and Yan Yue was at least a skilled hand, much more useful than Yi Hang. s Before going to the nt nursery, the two of them had to find a ce to eat. ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with the area, what do you want to eat, Xiao Xi?¡± Yan Yue asked. Lu Lingxi hesitantly nced around and said with a slightly shy expression, ¡°Big Brother Yan, do you eat beef noodles? I¡¯ll treat you to noodles.¡± This street of Tiny Garden was close to some old districts, and the surroundings were basically full of small restaurants, so there were no particrly decent ces to eat. It didn¡¯t matter to Lu Lingxi himself but he was worried that Yan Yue wouldn¡¯t be used to it, so he thought of beef noodles. There was a beef noodle shop at the back of the street. Despite the inconspicuous facade, the noodles were particrly good. Especially the stewed beef was so soft that it melted in your mouth. Yan Yue was not picky when it came to food. He wanted to say that he would buy the meal, but looking at the young man¡¯s expectant eyes, he didn¡¯t say anything and just nodded. As soon as the two of them walked in, the olddy selling the noodles greeted Lu Lingxi with a smile, ¡°Xiao Xi is here to eat noodles?¡± Lu Lingxi gave a shy smile and nodded, pulling Yan Yue to sit down. ¡°Two bowls of beef noodles?¡± The olderdy asked Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi said ¡°en¡± and added, ¡°A small extra bowl of beef.¡± A bowl of beef noodles in the shop was ten yuan and there were noodles and meat; but some customers liked the taste of beef, so an extra bowl of beef was twenty. Two bowls of beef noodles were quickly brought up; the hot noodles were dotted with a few pieces of beef and green onions were evenly sprinkled in a circle, emitting a faint fragrance. Lu Lingxi pushed a small bowl of beef that had been added separately towards Yan Yue. ¡°Big Brother Yan, add it to the noodles, it¡¯s really extra delicious.¡± The young man looked at him seriously, as if he was afraid Yan Yue wouldn¡¯t believe him. Yan Yue¡¯s heart instantly melted into a puddle of water, the corners of his mouth slightly hooked up, ¡°Let¡¯s eat together.¡± The two of them finished their noodles and got some food for Dahei nearby, looked at the time, saw that it was gettingte and drove directly to the nt nursery without further dy. It took only forty minutes to get out of the city, and by the time they got to the nt nursery, it was already past eight o¡¯clock. Lu Lingxi made a phone call to Uncle Li halfway and told him that they wereing over. He was afraid that if Uncle Li heard themotion, he would be worried thinking it was a thief. Unexpectedly, when they arrived, they found that Uncle Li was waiting for them in the nt nursery and even prepared the y pots they needed and cleaned them all carefully. Lu Lingxi was a bit embarrassed, feeling that he was bothering Uncle Li at thiste hour. Uncle Li smiled sincerely, ¡°Linzi wouldn¡¯t get here until this time, she had to wait to get off work toe here. I¡¯m used to it. Don¡¯t worry, child, there is nothing to do in the vige at night, I¡¯m just looking for something to pass the time.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and thanked Uncle Li politely. Skipping the previous steps, they got busy starting to change the pots. Golden pothos and money trees cultivated in Tiny Garden were growing well, each reaching a man¡¯s waist. Coupled with the soil wrapped around the roots, it was impossible for one person to lift them, so two people had to work together to change the pots smoothly. Until now Lu Lingxi thought it would be simple, simr to changing the pots of small nts, and that he would be able to finish it in two hours and be home by eleven o¡¯clock. Only when he started doing it did he realise it wasn¡¯t that easy at all. Even though both he and Yan Yue knew the steps, they were still fumbling around and making mistakes. When they finished changing half of the pots, Lu Lingxi was so tired that he found a rock and sat down, wiping his sweat as he said to Yan Yue, ¡°Big Brother Yan, let¡¯s take a break.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s physical strength was much better than Lu Lingxi¡¯s, so he wasn¡¯t too tired, but he was a bit distressed to see Lu Lingxi like this. ¡°Let¡¯s continue tomorrow,¡± Yan Yue suggested. Lu Lingxi thought about it and shook his head, ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s finish it all since we¡¯re here today. It¡¯ll just be a bit toote.¡± It was almost eleven o¡¯clock now, and Uncle Li had been persuaded by Lu Lingxi to go back to rest. It would be early in the morning when all the pots were changed, and Lu Lingxi was hesitant to rush back to the city. The small farmhouse was quiteplete, so there was no problem with living there. Du Lin had stayed here asionally for a night back then. She showed Lu Lingxi everything when she handed over this ce. The things in the house were quite new and Du Lin didn¡¯t take any of them with her, leaving them all to Lu Lingxi. At the sight of Lu Lingxi¡¯s hesitation, Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened and he said in as calm a tone as possible, ¡°If it¡¯s toote, we can just stay here for the night.¡± Lu Lingxi thought about it and agreed. The two of them rested for a while and finished changing all the flower pots. After a simple wash, Lu Lingxi found a clean sheet inside the cupboard to make the bed. As Du Lin had only lived there once in a while, only one room that could amodate people was cleaned up and the rest was filled with misceneous things. Yan Yue¡¯s heart was pounding. Even though he knew it was just sleeping, he couldn¡¯t suppress the mouring desire in his heart at the thought of the boy lying beside him. After washing his face with cold water, Yan Yue pushed open the door as calmly as he could, thinking of all sorts of scenarios but forgetting the existence of Dahei. On one side of the kang bed, the young man sat with a light smile, while Dahei grinned widely lying in the middle, separating him from the young man. Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Chapter 29 The kang bed was apletely new experience for Lu Lingxi. He sat on the edge of the kang bed and kicked it curiously, but the grey bricks were so tightly assembled that there was no sound when he kicked them. Dahei was curled up on the bed like he was at home, separating Lu Lingxi from Yan Yue. ¡°Can you really make a fire under here?¡± Lu Lingxi took off his shoes and got on the bed, patting the hard edge of the kang bed and asking Yan Yue curiously over Dahei. Yan Yue, who was also sleeping on the kang bed for the first time, smiled faintly, ¡°We can try it out when it gets cold, then we¡¯ll know if it¡¯s possible.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t hear the subtle meaning of this statement and agreed with shining eyes. He was really tired today and fell asleep not long after the light was turned off. The night in the suburbs was very quiet, without the friction of passing cars on the road or the noise of the roadside stalls. Only the asional sound of insects apanied by the clear moonlight spread over the house, weaving a peaceful and beautiful atmosphere. Yan Yue thought he would not be able to sleep, but instead, he closed his eyes under the sound of insects and slept through the night till dawn. There was no insomnia and no nightmares, and he seemed to be surrounded by the scent of grass and trees all night long, so much so that he even ignored Dahei¡¯s snoring. It was just after six when Yan Yue woke up. He was used to insomnia in the past and had always been disciplined, rarely sleeping past six o¡¯clock. When he first opened his eyes, he was in a momentary trance, surrounded by apletely unfamiliar environment; but unexpectedly it gave him a feeling of reassurance. As soon as he moved, Dahei opened his eyes and raised a little to look at him. Yan Yue sat up and looked at Dahei who was crouching. In a good mood, he reached out his hand and scratched Dahei¡¯s chin like Lu Lingxi did, smiling quietly, ¡°Don¡¯t make any noise, be careful not to wake up Xiao Xi.¡± He didn¡¯t know if Dahei understood but he curled up on the bed again. Behind Dahei Lu Lingxi was sleeping soundly. The young man¡¯s sleeping face was pure and quiet, his skin almost transparent, and the pale morning light spilled through the window onto his face, as if tingeing it with a golden halo, making it impossible to give birth to a single thought of sphemy. Last night, the two of them stayed overnight unexpectedly and didn¡¯t bring any change of clothes with them. When they went to bed at night, Lu Lingxi only took off his shorts and wore his t-shirt as pyjamas. During the night, the t-shirt rolled up to his chest, revealing his white, tender belly that rose and fell gently with his breathing. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes slowly filled withughter as he looked at Lu Lingxi¡¯s round belly button and followed all the way down. Lu Lingxi¡¯s underwear had a big yellow duck printed on it, and under it were the boy¡¯s long legs; the sheet that had originally covered them long since had been stomped under his feet. The desire to get close to the boy and touch him was mouring madly in his mind. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes were obscure as he leaned over and gently pulled the sheet to cover the boy¡¯s exposed parts. Although Lu Lingxi was not as tall as he was, his proportions were just right. Yan Yue himself was 186cm, and Lu Lingxi was half a head lower than him, so he should be about 178cm. But Lu Lingxi was only eighteen, so he would continue to grow taller. Yan Yue was thinking all sorts of thoughts to distract himself from his desire to get closer to the young man, while he quickly dressed, pushed open the door and walked out. He remembered that Lu Lingxi saidst night that all the green nts that had been repotted needed to be watered this morning. In order not to let Lu Lingxi get too tired and to find something to distract himself with, Yan Yue washed up and then found a stic can in the nt nursery and started watering. When Uncle Li came over to call the two of them to eat, he saw Yan Yue bending over and sticking a bamboo stick in the flower pot to see if the soil underneath was all wet. The old man burst intoughter, thinking that Yan Yue was a smart young man. Although he didn¡¯t know much about how to take care of these flowers and nts, he knew how toe up with a solution. It¡¯s just that this solution was a bit stupid; unlike that child Xiao Xi, who could tell with just a nce whether water was enough or not. But no wonder, Yan Yue didn¡¯t look like someone who would fiddle with these things. He was quite simr to the kind of white cors Uncle Li saw on TV or something. The old man came over with a smile, ¡°Where¡¯s Xiao Xi?¡± s Yan Yue turned around, saw Uncle Li and greeted him politely, ¡°Xiao Xi is still sleeping.¡± Uncle Li looked a bit distressed, ¡°Oh, but you were exhausted yesterday, so let the child sleep a little longer. I¡¯ll heat up the meal for you, remember toe and eatter.¡± Yan Yue was about to nod in agreement when Lu Lingxi pushed the door open rubbing his eyes. ¡°Big Brother Yan?¡± ¡°Awake?¡± Yan Yue put down the can and walked over. Lu Lingxi came outpletely awake and smiled shyly when he saw Uncle Li, ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± Uncle Li liked Lu Lingxi; the child was so white and tender that he was a delight to look at. ¡°Go and wash your face, we¡¯ve made porridge and steamed sweet potatoes, it¡¯s not delicious if it gets cold.¡± ¡°En.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes. He was too tired fromst night¡¯s work and he was really hungry now, so he didn¡¯t try to be polite. The breakfast at Uncle Li¡¯s house was very tasty. The thick white porridge was apanied by refreshing and tasty side dishes. The emerald greens looked like they were just taken out of water, and you would feel your mouth watering just by looking at them. There were also soft sweet potatoes steamed, and as soon as they were brought out of the pot, a sweet aroma filled the air. Lu Lingxi had never seen sweet potatoes steamed directly like this before. He had eaten sweet potatoes when he was with the Lu family, but they were already processed sweet potato cakes and had lost their original taste. Uncle Li broke a sweet potato in halves and handed them to Lu Lingxi. The sweet potatoes fresh out of the pot were still hot, and when Lu Lingxi sniffed them at such a close distance, the sweet aroma filled his nose. Lu Lingxi blew on the sweet potato twice, eager to eat it but afraid of the heat. This dilemma was noticed by Yan Yue, who felt both amused and helpless; he didn¡¯t say a word but just watched Lu Lingxi¡¯s anxiety. When Uncle Li saw that Lu Lingxi liked sweet potatoes, he was very happy, so he told his wife to pack some sweet potatoes for Lu Lingxi to take back home. Their sweet potatoes were all home-grown, no pesticides, absolutely pure and natural. Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart stirred when he heard they were home-grown. He also wanted to grow some sweet potatoes in the backyard, but it was toote this year, so he could only wait for next year. The two of them went back to the courtyard after eating and prepared to go back to the city. Lu Lingxi scanned the nts and found that all of them had been watered, and that they had been watered properly. There were no cases where the soil was still dry underneath the wet surface, nor was there any overwatering that dripped everywhere. He looked at Yan Yue with some surprise. Yan Yue didn¡¯t understand what he meant, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The corners of Lu Lingxi¡¯s mouth turned up and he vigorously praised him, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re really quite good, these potted nts are all watered just right.¡± This was already the second time Lu Lingxi hadplimented him, and Yan Yue was a bit teary-eyed. It seemed that he really had talent in tending to these flowers and nts. However, Yan Yue hooked the corner of his mouth and looked at Lu Lingxi, ¡°Xiao Xi is even better, he knows how well the nts are watered just by looking at them.¡± He only meant topliment Lu Lingxi, but he didn¡¯t expect thisment to poke at Lu Lingxi¡¯s guilty conscience. Lu Lingxi peeked at Yan Yue, making sure that there was no strange expression on Yan Yue¡¯s face, before sighing in relief. There was a slight traffic jam on the way back because of the morning rush hour. Lu Lingxi had always been kept at home before, and now that he had a job, it was the first time he faced the morning rush of people going to work. The two of them were stuck on the highway into the city, with cars in front and behind them. Yan Yue reassured him, ¡°There¡¯s a toll booth up ahead, it¡¯ll be better once we get past it.¡± s Lu Lingxi nodded; he was not in a hurry, he was now one of the little bosses of Tiny Garden, and the person sitting next to him was his partner. Yan Yue would not use him of beingzy and not working, right? When he said this, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help but smile. Speaking of which, when Lu Lingxi first met Yan Yue, Yan Yue rarely smiled. The reason Lu Lingxi thought Yan Yue was cold was because he always saw Yan Yue¡¯s expressionless face. But now that the two of them were familiar with each other, Lu Lingxi found that Yan Yue could actually smile, not the kind of smile that didn¡¯t reach his eyes as he curled his lips, but a real smile. ¡°Big Brother Yan, you should smile more, so that you will be in a good mood every day,¡± Lu Lingxi said seriously. Yan Yue looked at him with a smile on his face and nodded. The car in front of him began to slowly creep forward, and Yan Yue was just about to follow when the tide of cars stopped once again. Usually, Yan Yue would have been in a grumpy mood by now, but because Lu Lingxi was sitting beside him, it seemed that even the traffic jam had be a tolerable and even somewhat enjoyable thing. While they were talking, Yan Yue¡¯s mobile phone rang by his side. The caller was An Jie. Yan Yue nced at Lu Lingxi and picked up the phone. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the matter?¡± An Jie¡¯s tone was a little heavy, with the implication of feeling aggrieved for Yan Yue. ¡°News hase from the headquarters that the chairman seems to be interested in sending Yan Hai abroad.¡± The name ¡°Yan Hai¡± caused Yan Yue¡¯s eyes to darken slightly. A little over half a month ago, Professor Susan¡¯s office had been robbed. Then just as Yan Yue had expected, a rumour started circting in thepany¡¯s headquarters in Zhongjing that Yan Yue had actually been seeing a doctor abroad for many years, and even his refusal to return home after graduation was because he was unwell. In the rumours, his visits to the psychologist turned into visits to a psychiatrist, and everyone seemed to be certain that he was a psychopath. Yan Yue didn¡¯te forward to exin this matter; he acted as if he knew nothing about it. Soon after, Yan Shihui called him back to Zhongjing. Both father and son knew exactly what was going on. It was just that in Yan Shihui¡¯s eyes, whether it was psychological disorders or mental illness, there was something really wrong with Yan Yue. He politely said that Yan Yue should not have too much stress and that his health was more important. Yan Yue understood Yan Shihui¡¯s hint and perceptively relinquished his position overseas, taking a week to hand over the specific tasks. This was also the reason why he had been busytely without appearing in front of Lu Lingxi. Yan Yue¡¯s concession was only the first step, and he was waiting for his father¡¯s subsequent reaction. For Hopewell Group, the overseas market was very important, and Yan Shihui definitely had to put in someone he wasfortable with there, and this candidate would reveal his true attitude towards Yan Yue. Yan Hai! A touch of mockery shed at the corner of Yan Yue¡¯s mouth, and his voice was cold, ¡°Since the board of directors has made a decision, let him go. Hand over the affairs there and return home as soon as possible.¡± An Jie agreed, ¡°What about the negotiations with NT Group?¡± Yan Yue said lightly, ¡°Stop the negotiations. Re-contact NT¡¯s people in the name of Dezhi Investment. Email me the relevant information, and I¡¯ll give them a call.¡± ¡°Good!¡± The cooperation with NT was a major overseas project for Hopewell Group this year, and Yan Yue had started contacting the other party two years ago. The two sides had been talking on and off for nearly two years. Some time ago, a breakthrough was about to be made, but Yin Qinn wanted Yan Yue to return to China, so Yan Yue left the follow-up to An Jie. An Jie had previously advised Yan Yue to approach NT in the name of Dezhi Investment to take over the project. After considering it, Yan Yue rejected An Jie¡¯s proposal. He had no intention of returning to China at that time, and it made no difference to him who won the project between Hopewell and Dezhi. But now everything was going to be different. The two said a few more words before Yan Yue hung up. Only after putting the phone away did he realise that Lu Lingxi was right beside him. Yan Yue had some regrets, more chagrined than anything else. He had no defences against Lu Lingxi and made no secret of his calctions against Hopewell during the phone call. He wondered what Lu Lingxi would think of him after hearing this. The young man was simple and sincere and had just entered society without any exposure to such things. Would he decide that Yan Yue was a bad person? Adding to his family¡¯s mess, Yan Yue became a bit apprehensive and turned his head to look at Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi¡¯s expression was a little surprised and somewhat understanding. Yan Yue wanted to exin, but didn¡¯t know how to speak. Lu Lingxi smiled shyly and averted his eyes to look out through the car window. He didn¡¯t mean to listen to Yan Yue¡¯s phone conversation, but it was just hard not to hear it when they were sitting together. He had never asked about Yan Yue¡¯s identity before. He had already decided in his heart that Yan Yue was a good person because of Dahei, and Yan Yue¡¯s identity and background were not important in his eyes. Through the time they had spent together, he took Yan Yue at the face value. But this phone call made him realise that the Yan Yue he saw, a gentle person who loved animals and nts, was only one side of him, and that there were many other aspects that he had not seen. The things Yan Yue mentioned on the phone reminded him of the Lu family in the past. Several uncles fought over the family¡¯s assets, and whenever they got together for the New Year, the atmosphere in the Lu family mansion would be very odd. Lu Lingxi was actually a bit puzzled, what was the point of such a life? He pretended to unintentionally sneak a nce at Yan Yue and felt even more puzzled in his heart. Chapter 30 Because of the morning rush, Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi continued to stop and stop, and it was almost nine o¡¯clock when they returned to Tiny Garden. The two of them hadn¡¯t spoken since Yan Yue¡¯s phone conversation. Lu Lingxi felt a little embarrassed to overhear Yan Yue¡¯s private matters, while Yan Yue was worried that Lu Lingxi would reject him and wanted to exin but couldn¡¯t find a suitable opportunity. Until the car was parked, neither spoke up to break the silence between the two. Yan Yue gently nced at Lu Lingxi, paused and said nothing, then got out of the car and walked to the trunk. The shop consumed many y pots yesterday, so on the way back Yan Yue deliberately brought a batch from the nt nursery to replenish the shop¡¯s stock. Lu Lingxi saw Yan Yue¡¯s intention and followed him over to help. He was in a bit of a hurry, and Yan Yue was looking down at the pots in the trunk, not noticing there was someone behind him. When Lu Lingxi leaned over, Yan Yue was about to straighten. As soon as he raised his hand, he felt his elbow hit something and then he heard a low grunt from Lu Lingxi. ¡°Xiao Xi?¡± Yan Yue turned around to look at Lu Lingxi with a speed that ordinary people could not achieve, and said anxiously, ¡°Where did I hit you?¡± Lu Lingxi covered his nose, his eyes slightly red, and shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Yan Yue anxiously ignored Lu Lingxi¡¯s answer, directly pulled away his hand and saw that the boy¡¯s nose was a little red. When he did this, Lu Lingxi¡¯s nose was sore from the stimtion and tears flowed out of his eyes. Yan Yue¡¯s expression became cautious; as if facing a fragile treasure he gently wiped away the tears at the corners of Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes, then carefully touched the boy¡¯s nose and asked in a low voice, ¡°Does it still hurt?¡± This series of actions made Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart tremble slightly; there was an indescribable strange feeling, but the embarrassment was stronger. He really didn¡¯t cry because his nose hurt, it was a purely physiological reaction. Taking a step back a little awkwardly, Lu Lingxi looked slightly shy and shook his head, ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt anymore. ¡± Yan Yue looked at him steadily, his eyes as deep as ancient starlight. After a long time, he raised his hand to cover the top of Lu Lingxi¡¯s head and let out a soft, inaudible sigh. Lu Lingxi keenly sensed that Yan Yue was in a bad mood and tilted his head after some thought: ¡°Are you unhappy, Big Brother Yan? Is it because I heard you talking on the phone in the car?¡± His question made Yan Yue a little stunned, ¡°What?¡± Lu Lingxi blinked and blushed, ¡°Isn¡¯t it because I overheard your private matters, Big Brother Yan?¡± Realizing that he had misunderstood something, Yan Yue curled his lips into a faint smile; then he shook his head and affirmed, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Lingxi rxed, feeling that he could guess why Yan Yue was unhappy. As the matter concerned Yan Yue¡¯s family, Lu Lingxi could not say it explicitly, but could onlyfort him vaguely, ¡°Big Brother Yan, no matter what, the important thing is to live afortable life.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know the specific situation of Yan Yue¡¯s family, but he believed intuitively that Yan Yue was not a bad person. Even if Yan Yue did something, there had to be a reason for it. The way the young man looked slightly shy and consoled him earnestly made Yan Yue¡¯s heart softenpletely. He rubbed the boy¡¯s hair hard and let out a heavy muffled chuckle. Because of this little ident, Yan Yue refused to let Lu Lingxi move the pots with him and rushed him to rest. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t object, so he had to go back to the shop obediently. But he couldn¡¯t rest either; he found a watering can and started watering the potted nts in the shop. The nts hearts disyed on the panel were slowly umting, but the power of nature didn¡¯t appear once again. Lu Lingxi nced at the disy of 357 nt hearts and thought that he still needed to keep working hard to level up. Halfway through watering, the mobile phone that was charging at the cashier¡¯s desk rang. The ringtone was specially set by Lu Lingxi for Wang Shuxiu. As soon as he picked up the phone, Wang Shuxiu asked a flurry of questions. s ¡°Where are you now? Back at the shop? Have you eaten in the morning?¡± When Lu Lingxi didn¡¯te homest night. Wang Shuxiu was thinking about it all night and didn¡¯t even bother to go to work. Although she knew that Lu Lingxi was in the nt nursery and that he wasn¡¯t alone, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heart just couldn¡¯t settle down. In the past, Lu Lingxi and Yi Hang yed wildly and often didn¡¯te home. Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t feel anything at that time. But since Lu Lingxi¡¯s ident, when Wang Shuxiu thought of the little bastard lying unconscious in the hospital and almost dying, her heart could not be as calm as before and she could not help but worry. Her questions were too many and too fast, like machine gun fire, and before Lu Lingxi could answer one, he faced the next. After listening patiently to all the questions, Lu Lingxi answered them seriously. He had eaten at Uncle Li¡¯s house, and brought back some sweet potatoes, and now he was already in the shop, Yan Yue was working and he was watering the potted nts. Wang Shuxiu rxed, ¡°Yan Yue is the one you¡¯re in partnership with, right?¡± Lu Lingxi gave an ¡°en¡±. Wang Shuxiu thought about it and simply said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do it today. I¡¯ll switch shifts with Lin Mei and you can take him home for dinner tonight.¡± Lu Lingxi nced at Yan Yue, who was squatting in the corner to organise the y pots, and obediently said, ¡°Okay, let me ask Big Brother Yan if he has time?¡± He hung up the phone; Yan Yue was already looking over when he heard his name. Lu Lingxi¡¯s expression was somewhat expectant: ¡°Big Brother Yan, do you have time tonight? Mom asked me to take you back home for a meal.¡± Yan Yue was stunned by this question for a moment; no matter how calm he was, he couldn¡¯t help but be a little surprised. ¡°Go to your ce for dinner?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, his eyes shining brightly as he looked at Yan Yue. Yan Yue could not bear to disappoint him and nodded, ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and happily went to text Wang Shuxiu. The business in the morning was quite good; not long after the door opened, customers came one after another to buy some flower fertilisers and small tools. Even three of the y pots Yan Yue had just brought were sold. Lu Lingxi was careful to keep track of the money he received, registering pots, fertilisers and tools clearly in different categories. When Yan Yue saw how serious he was, he thought about it and suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t we buy aputer to keep the ounts?¡± ¡°Can aputer also keep ounts?¡± Yan Yue nodded, ¡°Now there are many bookkeeping software, it¡¯s clear and convenient, much easier than writing by hand. When there are no customers, Xiao Xi, you can also y games to pass the time. And when you get a regr customer baseter, you can open an online shop.¡± Apart from the convenience of keeping ounts, Yan Yue was more worried about Lu Lingxi being bored in Tiny Garden every day and thought that with aputer, he could y games and read the news or something. He wanted to buy aputer and give it to Lu Lingxi, but he knew that the young man would not agree, so he could only go in a roundabout way. Lu Lingxi consciously skipped the games and focused on bookkeeping software and opening an online shop. He knew how to use aputer, and regarding the bookkeeping software, it was evident what it was from its name. But could an online shop also sell flowers and nts? Yan Yue smiled, ¡°You can sell anything.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes instantly lit up; he had been thinking about how he could earn more money to pay back Yan Yue first and then save some money to support his family so Wang Shuxiu wouldn¡¯t have to work so hard. If he could really open an online shop, there would definitely be a lot more customers than there were now. The idea of getting aputer was almost unanimously approved by both of them, and Lu Lingxi found the bank card fromst time and handed it to Yan Yue. The card still contained 100,000 yuan, which was regarded as an initial investment of 50,000 yuan from him and Yan Yue. After theputer was bought, it would be the property of the shop, so Yan Yue was not allowed to pay for it himself. s Yan Yue took the card with amusement. He knew it would be like this. Sometimes he wondered how on earth the boy had been raised with such steadfast principles. As the two were talking, a customer hurried in. A middle-aged man, together with a younger boy, worked together to carry in arge porcin pot and ce it on the floor. The middle-aged man wiped his sweat as he said, ¡°Boss, please take a look.¡± Lu Lingxi put down his ount book and came closer. The pot on the floor was a five-fingered eggnt, a rtively precious fruit-bearing nt. He had seen simr fruit-bearing nts like kumquats before, but this was the first time he had seen a five-fingered eggnt. Without waiting for Lu Lingxi to say anything, the middle-aged man hurriedly exined, ¡°Boss, can you take a look at this five-fingered eggnt? The fruit is so sparse, and we¡¯re very worried that it doesn¡¯t bear any fruit.¡± With a fruit-bearing nt, it was the fruit that counted. The fruit of the five-fingered eggnt was a small pear-shaped gourd with five little protrusions at the bottom of the fruit, resembling fingers or horns. The shape was very strange and cute. In addition, its colour was golden and bright, and didn¡¯t change for a long time, symbolising wealth and prosperity and very pleasing to the eye. But the five-fingered eggnt in front of them was in a bad state, with very few fruit, and the colour of the peel was not very good-looking. Lu Lingxi used the mental scan, the white panel popped up and the five-fingered eggnt appeared in three dimensions in front of Lu Lingxi. nt name: Five-fingered eggnt nt needs: Pruning nt viability: High When Lu Lingxi saw the word ¡°pruning¡±, he thought for a moment that the five-fingered eggnt in front of him was indeed a little too tall. He turned to the middle-aged man and asked, ¡°Has this five-fingered eggnt only had its stem cut once?¡± The middle-aged man was taken aback for a moment, and then immediately nodded. Lu Lingxi said patiently, ¡°The taller the five-fingered eggnt grows, the better, but it is best to limit it to about 60cm. Don¡¯t be reluctant to cut the stem, it¡¯s best to cut it two or three times to make the nt shorter so that it can produce more fruit. The colour of the peel is not very good either as itcks light, so more sunlight is needed for the colour to be bright and shiny.¡± The middle-aged man listened in awe, ¡°What now?¡± Lu Lingxi took a look. It was not toote to prune. He found a pair of small scissors and showed the middle-aged man how to do it. After a demonstration, the middle-aged man suddenly understood and smiled gratefully at Lu Lingxi. Yan Yue leaned against the cashier¡¯s desk and looked at Lu Lingxi, slightly lost in thought. There was something indescribably soft in the young man¡¯s expression whenever he looked at the nts. He recalled what Uncle Li had said about Lu Lingxi having the aura of nature. It was the aura he liked to be close to. After sending the middle-aged man away, Yan Yue asked curiously, ¡°Xiao Xi, how did you know that this five-fingered eggnt didn¡¯t have its stem cut?¡± Lu Lingxi curled the corners of his mouth mischievously, ¡°If I said that as soon as I saw it, all the information about the five-fingered eggnt would appear in my mind, would you believe me, Big Brother Yan?¡± A smile filled Yan Yue¡¯s eyes as he nodded with unusual certainty, ¡°Yes.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Yan Yue suddenlyughed, thinking that the boy¡¯s current expression was really funny. Hisughter was interrupted by the ringing of his mobile phone. Yan Yue absent-mindedly nced at it, but curbed hisughter when he saw the caller ID and then took a few steps outside the shop to pick up the phone. ¡°Grandpa.¡± Lu Lingxi looked up at Yan Yue unexpectedly, not knowing why he was reminded of the phone call in the morning again. Yan Yue¡¯s face had a faint smile on it, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, looking like he was smiling, but Lu Lingxi could not see the slightest trace of smile in his eyes, as if he was wearing a mask called ¡°smile¡±. ¡°Okay.¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t say much and seemed to be listening to the other side. He quickly hung up the phone and looked apologetically at Lu Lingxi, ¡°Xiao Xi, I have to leave for a while, wait for me at the shop, I¡¯lle and pick you up this afternoon.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded and wanted to say something but felt that none of it was appropriate. He watched Yan Yue drive away, regretting that he didn¡¯t ask Yan Yue what had happened. Yan Yue didn¡¯t know what was on Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind at the moment. He didn¡¯t stop after leaving Tiny Garden but went straight back to the Yin family¡¯s house. Grandpa called him because he wanted to have lunch with him. Although Grandpa hadn¡¯t said anything on the phone, Yan Yue probably guessed what the meal was for. Even An Jie had received the news that Yan Hai was going to the overseas branch; he didn¡¯t believe that Grandpa would not know. Thest time the rumours spread Grandpa had said nothing; instead it was Yin Ya who kept jumping up and down. This lunch was the perfect time to see Grandpa¡¯s attitude. Yan Yue thought of his ns and gently tapped the steering wheel, the expression on his face bing cold. Chapter 31 When Yan Yue arrived home, Yin Qinn was with Yin Yongde. Unlike her daughter, Yin Ya, who was lovely and clean, Yin Qinn was a rare beauty. Although she was already over fifty years old, she had maintained her beauty quite well, and half of Yan Yue¡¯s good looks came from Yin Qinn¡¯s genes. Yin Qinn didn¡¯t know about the previous rumours that Yan Yue was mentally ill. Although she was a shareholder of Hopewell Group, she didn¡¯t care about thepany¡¯s affairs at all. Coupled with Yin Ya¡¯s deliberate concealment, she didn¡¯t know anything until Yan Hai jumped out. She didn¡¯t believe that Yan Yue was sick, so she went straight to Yin Yongde and asked him to back up Yan Yue. Yin Yongde had only one daughter in his life and there was nothing he could do about it. He was so upset by her that he could only say solemnly, ¡°I¡¯ve already arranged for Ah Yue to have lunch with me at noon. It¡¯s up to Ah Yue to decide how to handle this matter.¡± Yin Qinn, who felt that her father was shirking his responsibilities, was displeased and said excitedly, ¡°Ah Yue has already been squeezed out by Yan Shihui like this, and Yan Hai is stepping on his head, how can you still sit still, Father?¡± Yin Yongde scowled and reprimanded, ¡°Now you remember that Ah Yue is your son? What did you do before? Ah Yue is under too much pressure, so it¡¯s good to take a break for a while. Yan Hai is not enough to squeeze Ah Yue out of his position.¡± ¡°Too much pressure?¡± Yin Qinn looked puzzled, ¡°What pressure does Ah Yue have? Neither Yan Shihui nor I have ever forced him?¡± Yin Yongde choked hearing her tone and pounded the ground with his cane, ¡°You are not not putting pressure on him, you arepletely ignoring him. Even Shihui is better, at least he remembers that Ah Yue is the heir to Hopewell, so he paid him some attention. What about you? Did you take care of Ah Yue all these years?¡± Yin Qinnined in an aggrieved voice, ¡°Am I the one who doesn¡¯t care about him? He¡¯s the one who won¡¯t let me take care of him. He doesn¡¯t listen to anything I tell him, it¡¯s all perfunctory.¡± Seeing that Yin Yongde was about to get angry again, Yin Qinn hurriedly changed the subject, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with Ah Yue¡¯s stress? Is it something about thepany?¡± Yin Yongde took a deep breath and softened his tone, ¡°Ah Yue has some psychological problems and has been seeing a psychologist abroad. Didn¡¯t that kid from the Ye family study these things, so I guess he has something to do with Ah Yue. What happened this time is actually not a bad thing. Ah Yue has been hiding it from us. If we knew earlier, we could have apanied Ah Yue to counselling. This kind of thing is not a big deal. Ah Yue is under too much pressure, so it¡¯s good to take this opportunity to rest.¡± When Yin Qinn heard that Yan Yue was suffering from psychological problems, her face distorted a little and she felt even more aggrieved. ¡°Aren¡¯t psychological problems a mental illness? How can Ah Yue have psychological problems? Yan Shihui and I have neglected him a bit, but we haven¡¯t done him any harm. He nevercked in food and clothing. Now that he has psychological problems, isn¡¯t it like using us of not doing well as parents?¡± ¡°Yin Qinn!¡± Yin Yongde knocked his cane angrily. Before Yin Qinn could say anything, Yin Ya ran in from outside. ¡°Grandpa, Mother is also too sad to ept the fact that Brother is sick. Don¡¯t be angry.¡± When it came to Yin Ya, Yin Yongde couldn¡¯t say anything else and waved his hand, ¡°Xiao Ya, you should apany your mother and go rest first.¡± ¡°I want to wait to see Brother,¡± Yin Ya hesitantly whispered. Yin Yongde frowned and was about to refuse when Yan Yue already appeared in the doorway. ¡°Ah Yue.¡± Yin Yongde had a bit of a headache. Yan Yue was too quick to arrive; he had just wanted to send Yin Qinn and Yin Ya away and meet Yan Yue alone. But now that the two sides met, the old man was afraid that Yan Yue would be irritated again. Yan Yue was indifferent to the scene before him. He had guessed that this would be the case and was mentally prepared for his mother and Yin Ya¡¯s appearance. ¡°Grandfather. Mother.¡± Yan Yue greeted calmly, directly treating Yin Ya as if she were air, not even looking at her as he crossed over to sit beside Yin Yongde. Yan Yue¡¯s silence and beingpletely ignored made Yin Ya¡¯s heart itch with hatred, but in front of her grandfather, she didn¡¯t dare to do anything. Besides, Yan Yue¡¯s aura was so strong that although he expressed neither joy nor anger, Yin Ya had a feeling that if she dared to provoke him, Yan Yue could definitely crush her to death with one finger. She shifted ufortably, a little frightened but more indignant. Why should she be inferior to Yan Yue when they both were grandchildren of the Yin family? Wasn¡¯t Yan Yue so strong because he had Hopewell? When he had nothing left, she didn¡¯t believe that Yan Yue would still be so confident. Yin Ya hung her head and looked submissive. When Yin Qinn looked at her, she felt a little aggrieved for her, so she patted Yin Ya¡¯s hand soothingly and said, ¡°Ah Yue, can¡¯t you see that Ah Ya is here?¡± s Yin Ya hurriedly said, ¡°Mom, it¡¯s okay, Brother¡­¡± This sound of ¡°Brother¡± caused Yan Yue to nce at her without a smile. With just one nce, Yin Ya, who saw a heavy disgust and warning in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes, was immediately silenced. Yin Qinn¡¯s expression froze, ¡°Ah Yue.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s eat!¡± Yin Yongde cut off her words with a bellow, interrupting her and taking the lead in standing up with a cold face. The lunch was as tasteless as wax for them. Yin Yongde looked at Yan Yue and then at Yin Ya, sighing in his heart. He understood what Qinn was thinking. Both Ah Yue and Xiao Ya were her children, so she naturally wanted them to get along well, and even he hoped so too. But Qinn was too naive; because Ah Yue was Yan Shihui¡¯s son, she had been cold to Ah Yue and favoured Xiao Ya since she was a child. They had been alienated for a long time; not to mention the brother-sister rtionship between Ah Yue and Xiao Ya, even the rtionship between Ah Yue and his mother were in jeopardy. This time¡­ Yin Yongde shook his head. Xiao Ya had also grown up, not the little girl who timidly pulled Ah Yue¡¯s sleeve and asked her brother why he didn¡¯t like her. She also started to have her own ideas. After a dreary lunch, Yin Yongde ignored Yin Qinn¡¯s gaze and called Yan Yue toe to the study with him. ¡°Ah Yue, have a seat.¡± Yin Yongde said in a pleasant manner, ¡°You know your mother¡¯s temper, she has been like this for so many years, so don¡¯t me her.¡± ¡°I know, Grandpa.¡± Yan Yue said politely. Yan Yue¡¯s detachment made Yin Yongde a little sad and he sighed, ¡°Ah Yue, what are your ns for this time? Do you want to go back or¡­¡± The old man was in some difficulty, not knowing what to say about the psychologist, just in case it would overstimte Yan Yue. Yan Yue hooked up the corners of his mouth and looked natural: ¡°Father and I have discussed it. Work is important but health is more important. I¡¯ve been seeing a psychologist and my father knows about it, so he wants me to rest for a while.¡± Yin Yongde didn¡¯t expect Yan Yue to talk directly about him seeing a psychologist. What he wanted to know was Yan Yue¡¯s attitude, not Yan Yue repeating the words of his father. ¡°What about you, Ah Yue? What are your thoughts?¡± Yan Yue¡¯s smile remained unchanged, ¡°Father¡¯s thoughts are my thoughts. I think it¡¯s good to take a break for a while.¡± A trace of disappointment shed in Yin Yongde¡¯s eyes. Ah Yue was not even willing to tell him the truth. As Yan Yue grew older, Yin Yongde became more and more unable to understand Yan Yue¡¯s thoughts. He sighed, ¡°That¡¯s fine, rest for a while and get well before going back. Don¡¯t worry, what¡¯s yours is yours, Grandpa is watching it for you.¡± Yan Yue smiled indifferently and didn¡¯t say anything. He believed in himself more than in Grandpa¡¯s promise. When he graduated from university, he was going to return to China to join the headquarters of Hopewell, but his father sent him to the overseas branch for training, so he stayed abroad until now. At that time, Yan Yue told himself, take a step back, the sky is vast. It was also because he was away from the headquarters of Hopewell that he had time and energy to create Dezhi Investment without alerting his father and grandfather. If he had insisted on returning to China back then, he would probably still be a puppet who listened to his father¡¯s words, a so-called heir without any backbone. The same was true this time. Lu Lingxi¡¯s appearance was only a trigger. Although this trigger was weighted heavily, it came down to the fact that both Yan Hai and Yin Ya had grown up. Both their father and mother had started to think about their future. Hopewell¡¯s cake was just that big, and if they wanted to eat it, they could only force him to spit it out. Yan Yue¡¯s obsession with Hopewell was not really great. On the contrary, because of his family ties, he had a subconscious distaste for Hopewell. It was just that Yan Yue had always believed that it was one thing whether he was willing to eat it or not, and another if he was forced to spit it out. Since in this position he had be a target, he would take a step back and give up the position. He would like to see how Yan Hai and Yin Ya would fight. Yan Yue¡¯s decision to take some time off to recuperate was met with strong opposition from Yin Qinn. ¡°How can Ah Yue admit that he is mentally ill? What does he mean by that? Is he ming me for not taking care of him?¡± ¡°Mom, it¡¯s already sad that Brother is sick. Won¡¯t you make him more sad like this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m making him sad, why doesn¡¯t he think of me?¡± Yin Qinnined discontentedly, ¡°If he leaves Hopewell and Yan Hai takes his ce, what will happen to our Yin family? No, I have to talk to your grandfather. Since Yan Hai can enter Hopewell, so can you, Xiao Ya.¡± Yin Ya¡¯s eyes lit up and she hugged Yin Qinn¡¯s arm affectionately, ¡°I love you the most, Mommy.¡± Yin Qinn was easily coaxed by her and smiled, ¡°Oh, if only Ah Yue was half as sweet as you are, Xiao Ya.¡± Yin Ya hooked up the corners of her mouth and didn¡¯t say anything. Outside the door, Yan Yue¡¯s hand that was about to push the door open froze in midair. He turned around and left the Yin family¡¯s house. It had been several hours since Yan Yue answered the phone and left. Lu Lingxi looked at the time and thought about Yan Yue saying that he would be back in a few hours, and his brow furrowed slightly. Dahei seemed to see that he had something on his mind and quietly squatted in front of him. Lu Lingxi gently stroked Dahei¡¯s head and asked in a low voice, ¡°Dahei, do you think I should ask Big Brother Yan what happened to him? I feel that as a friend, shouldn¡¯t I care about Big Brother Yan?¡± Dahei let out a low whimper. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes, ¡°Dahei, are you agreeing that I should ask? But if it involves the Yan family¡¯s privacy, will Big Brother Yan be unhappy and think I¡¯m meddling?¡± Dahei cocked his head and let out another low whimper. Lu Lingxi blinked, ¡°Yes? So, Dahei, you also think it¡¯s meddling? Is it better not to ask anything?¡± Dahei whimpered twice this time. Lu Lingxi snorted and flicked his finger on Dahei¡¯s head, ¡°Dahei, why are you so unprincipled? So, to ask or not to ask?¡± This time, Dahei whimpered three times and simply changed from crouching to lying down, his furry head stuck between Lu Lingxi¡¯s hands, refusing toe out. Lu Lingxi was angry and amused, ¡°Are you angry, Dahei? Then I¡¯ll apologise to you.¡± As soon as the word ¡°apologise¡± was uttered, Dahei¡¯s ears swished up and he lifted his head and stuck out his tongue to lick Lu Lingxi¡¯s chin affectionately. Lu Lingxi felt itchy andughed, pushing Dahei¡¯s head away, smoothing his fur while muttering to himself, ¡°I feel like Big Brother Yan is unhappy, but I don¡¯t know what to do. I used to be all alone when I was unhappy, there was no Dahei and no friends around me. But I was also alone when I was happy, with no friends around me either. Whether I¡¯m happy or unhappy, I want someone around me who I can share my joys and sorrows with.¡± s His voice grew lower as he spoke, and Dahei licked his fingers and whimpered twice. The corners of Lu Lingxi¡¯s mouth curled slightly as he continued, ¡°Actually, it was not that there was no one. My father would sometimes stay with me. But every time my father stayed with me for a long time, my mother would get upset, thinking that my father neglected my brother and was unfair to him. You don¡¯t know, Dahei, that I used to have an elder brother. I heard from the housekeeper uncle that my brother was a premature baby and had been in poor health since he was a child. And then he got sick and his health got worse. I felt that my brother was like a porcin doll and I had to be careful every time I spoke to him, just in case I blew him over. My mother loved my brother, my father loved my brother, the whole family loved my brother, and I sometimes felt like I was actually a superfluous person.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s okay now.¡± Lu Lingxi changed the subject, ¡°I now have Dahei, I have Mom, I have Yi Hang and the others, I have Brother Dong, plus Big Brother Yan, and Tiny Garden, I already have a lot. Dahei, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Dahei stood up and squatted down in front of Lu Lingxi, giving a low bark. A smile slowly spilled out of Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes as he reached out and scratched Dahei¡¯s chin, deliberately saying, ¡°Come on, give me your left paw.¡± Dahei seemed to be thinking seriously, and slowly raised his right paw and ced it on Lu Lingxi¡¯s palm. Lu Lingxi was about tough to death. Dahei was good at everything, but he couldn¡¯t tell right from left. He sometimes deliberately teased Dahei shamefully, just to see Dahei hesitate to distinguish between right and left. As the dog and the boy yed happily, Yan Yue stood far away across the road, not immediately walking in, but watching them through the ss with a faint smile. The negative emotions after leaving the Yin family were too heavy, and Yan Yue didn¡¯t want to appear like this in front of Lu Lingxi. He wished the boy could always smile as innocently as he did now, preferably never knowing the ugly sides of this world. The phone rang; it was Ye Kang¡¯s call. Yan Yue reckoned that Ye Kang had also heard about Yan Hai, and sure enough, Ye Kang was a little worried about Yan Yue¡¯s situation. Yan Yue¡¯s reaction this time was too unlike his style; Ye Kang absolutely didn¡¯t believe that Yan Yue would be so submissive, unless Yan Yue had encountered other problems. Yan Yueughed, ¡°You have no confidence in me?¡± Ye Kang sighed with relief and was in the mood to joke, ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re not falling head over heels. By the way, how have you been sleepingtely?¡± Although Yan Yue didn¡¯t admit it, in Ye Kang¡¯s eyes his problem was really serious. It was not just a physical problem caused by chronic insomnia, but more of a hidden psychological problem. Ye Kang actually always suggested that Yan Yue find a girlfriend. He suspected that Yan Yue was subconsciously insecure because of theck of parents in his childhood. It would be better for him to have someone to keep himpany. However, Yan Yue was very reluctant to have a rtionship because of his parents¡¯ history, and had been single all the way to the present. Seeing that Yan Yue¡¯s problem was getting worse, Ye Kang could only keep an eye on Yan Yue¡¯s sleeping condition from time to time. Hearing Ye Kang¡¯s concern, Yan Yue spoke in a lighter tone, ¡°I¡¯ve been sleeping quite welltely.¡± Ye Kang was a little disbelieving. In a sh of inspiration he thought of the boy Yan Yue had mentionedst time and hesitantly said, ¡°Ah Yue, are you¡­¡± Realizing what Ye Kang was about to say, Yan Yue paused and tacitly affirmed his words. Ye Kang was about to jump up in surprise. He didn¡¯t even take it seriously when Yan Yue mentioned itst time, but he didn¡¯t expect Yan Yue to actually tell the truth. Unfortunately, Yan Yue was very tight-lipped and was not willing to say another word no matter how much he asked. It was only when he hung up the phone that Ye Kang remembered something. Most people like Yan Yue, whocked affection in childhood and were severely insecure, would show a symptom called ¡°skin hunger¡±. Inyman¡¯s terms, this symptom meant that if they met someone they liked, they would be strongly attracted to the other party and couldn¡¯t help but want to touch the other party uncontrobly. He didn¡¯t know how Yan Yue¡¯s rtionship was progressing. If he hadn¡¯t caught up with the object of his interest yet, Ye Kang just hoped that Yan Yue would learn to restrain his reactions and be careful of being taken for a pervert by the boy he was talking about. Yan Yue didn¡¯t know that Ye Kang was worrying about him. He put away his mobile phone and strode across the road towards Tiny Garden. Lu Lingxi looked up, curved his eyes at Yan Yue through the ss and greeted him happily. ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re back?¡± A light smile spread from the bottom of Yan Yue¡¯s deep eyes as he nodded to the young man who weed him. ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± Chapter 32 With Yan Yueing for dinner, Wang Shuxiu was very apprehensive about it. Although she warned Lu Lingxi to be careful about being sold and helping to count the money, how could a mother really want her son to meet bad people? Since Yan Yue was Lu Lingxi¡¯s partner, Wang Shuxiu wanted to leave a good impression on Yan Yue, so that he could take care of Lu Lingxi. After a good night¡¯s sleep, Wang Shuxiu first called her colleague Lin Mei to discuss the shift change. Lin Mei and Wang Shuxiu had known each other for almost ten years and they had always had a good rtionship. When Lin Mei heard that Wang Shuxiu wanted to change shifts, she agreed at once. After chatting casually for a few minutes, the topic of conversation turned to Wang Shuxiu changing jobs. Lin Mei was a few years younger than Wang Shuxiu, and although she didn¡¯t look as young as Wang Shuxiu, she was not far behind. She had just resigned from her job at the KTVst week; in her words, she was getting too old to stay up all night. Lin Mei knew everything about Wang Shuxiu¡¯s situation. Before, she had been dragged down by the old bastard Lu Yishui and had to work hard to support the family. Now that Wang Shuxiu and Lu Yishui had divorced, and Lu Lingxi was also sensible, Lin Mei advised Wang Shuxiu not to work so hard. The money earned at the expense of her health would just take her to a cheap hospital. Besides, she and Lu Lingxi could only see each other early in the morning andte at night, and Lu Lingxi had just been discharged from the hospital. Didn¡¯t she want to see her son more, ah? The topic had been raised several times by Lin Mei, and Wang Shuxiu was moved by her words. But what would she do if she quit her job? She was old and uneducated, what could she do? When Wang Shuxiu said this, Lin Meiughed and said, ¡°What¡¯s the worry? If you really quit your job, you can go and set up a stall to sell your tomatoes, and you¡¯ll surely be popr.¡± Lin Mei had eaten the tomatoes that Wang Shuxiu brought her several times and couldn¡¯t get the taste out of her mind. Thest time Wang Shuxiu brought her a bottle of tomato sauce, her whole family was shocked. Lin Mei¡¯s youngest son even shouted that he wanted to live in Auntie Wang¡¯s house and eat tomato sauce every day, which Lin Mei told Wang Shuxiu as a joke. When Lin Mei said this, Wang Shuxiu subconsciously looked at the backyard. She didn¡¯t know how the little bastard had grown the tomatoes, but they were growing one crop after another, and at a nce, the fruits were hanging heavily. They were more than enough to eat, but if they really wanted to sell them, it would not have been enough. Thinking about this, Wang Shuxiu smiled to herself. She had really been led around by Lin Mei and was actually thinking of selling tomatoes. After a few more words with Lin Mei, Wang Shuxiu saw that it was gettingte, so she hurriedly changed into her usual clothes and went to the market with her trolley. After buying a chicken, some ribs and a bunch of vegetables, Wang Shuxiu was debating whether to buy some fresh shrimps at the seafood stall when she heard a muffled grunt behind her. When she turned around, Brother Feng was standing behind her, twisting the arm of a short man, and the purse she had in her pocket was in the short man¡¯s hand. Because of Lu Yishui¡¯s gambling, Wang Shuxiu and Brother Feng were familiar with each other. After the initial daze, Wang Shuxiu quickly reacted to what had happened. After nodding hastily towards Brother Feng, Wang Shuxiu snatched back her purse and smashed it down on the short man¡¯s head. Brother Feng: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Look at you, you have the hands and feet to work! You can pick junk every day and make a living. But if youe to steal, you should ask around who Wang Shuxiu is before stealing from her!¡± Wang Shuxiu was furious and cursed as she smashed the short man¡¯s head with her purse. Themotion soon attracted the attention of the people around her, and a circle of people gathered around when they heard that the thief had been caught. A few of those who found their wallets missing even squeezed to the front and pulled the short man to search him for their wallets. The short man was gripped tightly by Brother Feng and could not break free, so he could only lower his head and shout, ¡°Don¡¯t beat me, I won¡¯t dare to steal again.¡± Brother Feng didn¡¯t say anything; he just kept looking at Wang Shuxiu. Never mind the short man¡¯s miserable screams; even though it seemed that Wang Shuxiu was quite strong, in fact he could have been pretending. Brother Feng had heard before that Wang Shuxiu was pungent, and he had seen it with his own eyes thest time he went to her house with Lu Yishui to move things away. However, this time Wang Shuxiu was still greatly beyond his expectations. Brother Feng thought of Lu Yishui, who was thrown to the northwest to dig coal, and then looked at Wang Shuxiu with a smile in his eyes. When he saw that Wang Shuxiu was almost done venting her anger, Brother Feng stopped her. ¡°Come on, the police station is just up ahead, let¡¯s send him there.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, we should send him to the police station.¡± An olddy agreed with Brother Feng¡¯s proposal while not forgetting to grab the short man. The most annoying thing for people like them who frequented the market was thieves, and it was simply impossible to guard against them when the market was crowded. Wang Shuxiu put away her purse and smiled at Brother Feng, ¡°Thank you for this time. Next time you go singing, I¡¯ll get the supervisor to give you a 20% discount.¡± Brother Feng was nomittal and nced at the trolley on the ground, ¡°Not going to work today?¡± Wang Shuxiu nodded, and Brother Feng gave her a thoughtful look, grabbed the short man and pushed his way through the crowd. s When Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue arrived home in the evening, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s dishes were almost ready. At the first sight of Yan Yue, Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t help but mutter in her heart. She had been working in KTV for many years, and her eyes were sharp. Just by looking at Yan Yue standing there, it was obvious he was not someone who wanted to make 100,000 yuan opening a gardening shop with the little bastard. The little bastard had amnesia and didn¡¯t understand anything, but Wang Shuxiu felt that there was something very odd about it. But since it was Yan Yue¡¯s first time here and he was Lu Lingxi¡¯s guest, Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t help but give face. After greeting Yan Yue politely, Wang Shuxiu instructed Lu Lingxi to stay with Yan Yue in the living room while she finished cooking the remaining two dishes. ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Lingxi obediently agreed and weed Yan Yue, ¡°Big Brother Yan, have a seat.¡± Yan Yue smiled politely at Wang Shuxiu and followed Lu Lingxi¡¯smand and sat down. Not only was Wang Shuxiu surprised by this meeting, but Yan Yue was also very surprised. On the way here, Yan Yue had already heard some things from Lu Lingxi and had thought he had a general understanding of the boy¡¯s mother. But after meeting Wang Shuxiu he realised that his understanding had to be reassessed. Thinking about the other party¡¯s scrutinising gaze just now, Yan Yue smiled bitterly in his heart. He also knew that he didn¡¯t seem like someone who would partner with Lu Lingxi to open a shop, but he really couldn¡¯t find any other opportunity to get connected with Lu Lingxi in a reasonable way. Yan Yue himself was quite understanding of Wang Shuxiu¡¯s vignce. It was clear that Wang Shuxiu and Lu Lingxi were very close and she was instinctively protective of the young man. If Lu Lingxi had been raised by his side, so good-looking and well-behaved, he would have been as worried as Wang Shuxiu about whether the people who approached the boy had ulterior motives. This thought shed through Yan Yue¡¯s mind and his heart stirred. If he really lived with the young man¡­ every day, waking up with him, going to Tiny Garden together, watering nts and changing pots together, and then taking Dahei for a walk together after work¡­ Just imagining this kind of life made him uncontrobly excited. Yan Yue forcefully suppressed the reverie in his mind, not showing it on his face in the slightest. His gaze towards Lu Lingxi was frank and open, his thoughts hidden really well. The Lu family¡¯s house was not very big, and the living room was especially small. A wooden table with four chairs took up almost a third of the space. Lu Lingxi took Yan Yue to sit down and said to him as if offering a treasure, ¡°Big Brother Yan, please sit down first, I¡¯ll go and pick some tomatoes for you to eat.¡± Yan Yue nodded with a smile, putting the fruit he had brought on the table. When he wanted to buy fruit before, Lu Lingxi resolutely refused to allow it. Only when Yan Yue joked that it wouldn¡¯t look good toe to visit for the first time empty-handed that Lu Lingxi reluctantly agreed to him buying some. He told Yan Yue with a serious face that the fruit was not good and that the tomatoes he grew himself were much better than the fruit bought outside. Yan Yue still remembered the look on the fruit shop owner¡¯s face when he heard this, his smile very stiff. As soon as Lu Lingxi mentioned picking tomatoes, Dahei¡¯s ears swished up. Lu Lingxi just pulled open the screen door of the balcony and Dahei rushed out like an arrow. ¡°Dahei, you¡¯ve already eaten your share for the day in the morning.¡± Lu Lingxi looked at Dahei and tried to reason with him. Dahei super liked to eat tomatoes grown in the backyard. If left alone, he could eat all the tomatoes in the backyard in one day, and he also knew how to pick the ripe ones to eat. Lu Lingxi was worried that he would eat too much and get a stomachache, so he had to limit the amount Dahei ate every day. As soon as he spoke, Dahei squatted down dejectedly and quickly wagged his tail at Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi¡¯s face was t and unmoved. Dahei squinted his eyes, straightened his body, propped up his hind legs and raised his two front paws, whimpering at Lu Lingxi in a ttering manner. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± s The puppies in Brother Dong¡¯s pet shop would often do this action pawing at Brother Dong¡¯s legs to beg him for food, and it was quite cute to watch. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know when Dahei had learned it but the problem was that the puppies around Brother Dong were small dogs and could only reach Brother Dong¡¯s thighs when they straightened up. But Dahei¡¯s body was so long and slender that he was almost as tall as Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi slightly lowered his head and met Dahei¡¯s furry face. He looked at Dahei speechlessly andpromised. ¡°Take another one.¡± Immediately, Dahei put down his front paws and squatted on the ground, intimately rubbing against Lu Lingxi¡¯s calf. Lu Lingxi stroked his head and really couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Since dinner was soon to be served, Lu Lingxi only picked a few tomatoes, intending to let Yan Yue taste them first, and if he liked them, he would give more to Yan Yue when he left. When he went to the kitchen to wash the tomatoes, Wang Shuxiu looked at him with a bit of dismay. It wasn¡¯t that she couldn¡¯t bear to part with the tomatoes, but she felt that the little bastard was too enthusiastic about Yan Yue. When it was time to eat, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s feeling became even more obvious. From two chicken legs, Lu Lingxi gave one to Wang Shuxiu first, and then one to Yan Yue, saying earnestly, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you eat, Mom¡¯s stewed chicken is especially delicious.¡± From a te of braised pork with tomato sauce, Lu Lingxi took a spoon and gave Yan Yue a spoonful, rmending, ¡°Mom¡¯s best tomato sauce is especially delicious.¡± When the steamed ribs with glutinous rice were cooked, Lu Lingxi first picked a piece for Wang Shuxiu and then gave another to Yan Yue, curving his eyes and saying proudly, ¡°The ribs are also super delicious, Yi Hang could barely walk after eating themst time.¡± The little bastard only used delicious to describe every dish, and although he wasplimenting her, Wang Shuxiu still felt a bit ufortable with the little bastard¡¯s attitude towards Yan Yue. Yan Yue had different feelings about the same things. If Wang Shuxiu was ufortable, Yan Yue needed to desperately suppress his inner happiness and try his best to look calm, just in case he identally allowed some gaffe and Wang Shuxiu noticed something. Halfway through the meal, Wang Shuxiu asked, seemingly inadvertently, ¡°How did Mr. Yan meet Xiao Xi?¡± Yan Yue put down his chopsticks and looked frank, ¡°Because of Dahei.¡± ¡°Dahei?¡± Wang Shuxiu only knew that Dahei used to be a stray dog and waster adopted by Lu Lingxi, but she really didn¡¯t know exactly what happened. Lu Lingxi added, ¡°Dahei was hit by a car when it was raining, and it was Big Brother Yan who passed by and brought Dahei to Brother Dong¡¯s ce. Big Brother Yan liked Dahei very much and often came to see him, so I got to know Big Brother Yan.¡± When Lu Lingxi finished, Wang Shuxiu felt a little less guarded in her heart. So it sounded like Yan Yue was quite nice and should hardly deceive the little bastard. Dahei, who was crouching by Lu Lingxi¡¯s leg eating tomatoes and marinated meat with rice, heard this and followed in time with a couple of whines. Wang Shuxiuughed and scolded, ¡°Dahei, what are you doing?¡± Lu Lingxi, who had always found Dahei to be smart, affirmed, ¡°Dahei must have heard us talking about him.¡± Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t help butugh and said casually, ¡°Okay, Dahei is the smartest. Little bastard, hurry up and eat, the ribs are getting cold.¡± She was used to calling Lu Lingxi ¡°little bastard¡±, so she called him that in front of Yan Yue. Neither mother nor son cared but Yan Yue was taken aback, looking at Wang Shuxiu and then at Lu Lingxi, a smile slowly filling his eyes. ¡°Little bastard.¡± He repeated those words in his mind. Although this nickname was vulgar, it was also extremely intimate. It was a warmth Yan Yue had never felt before, and he somewhat understood why Lu Lingxi spoke of Wang Shuxiu with such a look of pride. When the three of them finished eating, Wang Shuxiu cleaned up quickly. Lu Lingxi wanted to help but was driven out of the kitchen by Wang Shuxiu. ¡°It¡¯s just a few bowls, don¡¯t make a fuss.¡± Lu Lingxi could not resist Wang Shuxiu, so he washed and brought out the fruit that Yan Yue had bought earlier. Yan Yue hooked up the corners of his mouth and joked, ¡°After eating the tomatoes you nted, I can¡¯t eat these fruits anymore.¡± He didn¡¯t say this to please Lu Lingxi; after he had tasted the tomatoes, he really thought they tasted quite good. They were sweet and sour, smooth in the mouth; no wonder the young man had served them to him at first with such an expression as if offering him a treasure. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you like them, I¡¯ll pick more for you when you leave.¡± He did what he said and immediately dragged Yan Yue to the backyard. Once he reached the balcony, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help but open his eyes wide. He hadn¡¯t seen it from the living room before, but now that he was on the balcony, he could see that the backyard was full of bright red tomatoes, heavy on the green nts. This sight made people feel good. Yan Yue didn¡¯t know if it was his illusion, but he felt that he was standing not in the stifling heat of a summer evening here, but, just like in Tiny Garden, his body was feeling refreshed. ¡°Big Brother Yan, you sit here and wait for me.¡± There was a chair at the balcony steps, and Lu Lingxi invited Yan Yue to sit down and wait for him. It was fine for him to go to the ground in his flip-flops, but it would be inappropriate for Yan Yue to go with his leather shoes on. Yan Yue nodded with a smile and noticed that there was a book on the chair. He picked it up and nced at it, ¡°Encyclopedia of Common Floriculture¡±. The page margins inside were full of notes made by Lu Lingxi, his handwriting neat and dense. Yan Yue remembered the praise of the young man from the customers in the shop. He didn¡¯t know how much effort unseen by anyone the young man had put in. Yan Yue was not interested in the content of the book, but focused on the boy¡¯s notes. The corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously as he stretched his fingers and rubbed the handwriting, imagining the boy writing these notes carefully. In the centre of the book was a piece of white paper with some of Lu Lingxi¡¯s notes. It was obvious that the boy had jotted them down casually, and in the bottom corner there was a half-finished sketch of Dahei. Although there were only a few strokes, they vividly outlined the appearance of Dahei stealing tomatoes. The smile on Yan Yue¡¯s face deepened. He folded up the paper and put it into his pocket quietly. He thought with some regret that it would have been better if the picture below was not Dahei but him. Chapter 33 Not long after Yan Yue finished the meal, he took a bag of tomatoes that Lu Lingxi picked for him and said goodbye. Although he wanted to stay a little longer, he knew that if he stayedte, he would only arouse Wang Shuxiu¡¯s suspicion, so it was better to keep a low profile. After sending Yan Yue away, Lu Lingxi started his daily watering routine. Dahei squatted aside watching him, his little eyes ncing eagerly at the tomatoes around him every now and then. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help but feel his heart soften when he saw Dahei¡¯s eyes. He put down the water hose and squatted in front of Dahei, looking at him seriously: ¡°You know, it¡¯s for your own good that I don¡¯t let you eat tomatoes.¡± After Brother Dong heard that Dahei especially liked to eat tomatoes, he once warned Lu Lingxi that although a stray dog like Dahei had a better stomach than an average pet dog, he couldn¡¯t be allowed to eat indiscriminately. If you were not careful, he would easily get enteritis and diarrhoea. Inparison with how skinny and bony Dahei was when Yan Yue brought him to Brother Dong, now that Lu Lingxi had managed to fatten him up a bit, he could barely be called shiny and smooth. So naturally Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t let Dahei get sick again, especially with something like enteritis that would make him vomit and affect his appetite, or diarrhoea. So he took Brother Dong¡¯s admonition to heart and began to limit the amount of tomatoes Dahei ate each day. Dahei seemed to have understood his words and gave a short bark. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes, raised his hand to touch Dahei¡¯s head and praised, ¡°But Dahei was obedient today, so he can be rewarded with half a tomato.¡± Dahei had eaten quite a lot in the evening, and Lu Lingxi was somewhat afraid to let Dahei eat more. Half a tomato was just a matter of relieving Dahei¡¯s cravings, and it shouldn¡¯t be too much of a problem. Lu Lingxi then watched as Dahei¡¯s ears twitched and his eyes lit up. He saw his reflection in Dahei¡¯s brown eyes, full of closeness and trust. Lu Lingxi smiled softly, washed his hands and picked a big tomato, cutting it in half, one half for him and one half for Dahei. Dahei narrowed his eyes in satisfaction and quietly squatted at Lu Lingxi¡¯s feet. After eating the tomato and watering, Lu Lingxi took Dahei and rinsed the mud off his paws, then picked up the book on the chair and brought it back inside to read. Wang Shuxiu just came out of the shower and hesitantly called out to Lu Lingxi when she saw him enter the house. She wanted to talk to Lu Lingxi about resigning. Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t want Lu Lingxi to make a decision, but since they were the only ones at home, without a man as the backbone, they could only discuss anything between themselves. She was forty-two this year, and in Lin Mei¡¯s words, she was not young anymore. Even though she took good care of herself, there was no way she couldpete with the young girls in KTV who were as tender as flowers. Wang Shuxiu was not unaware of this, but she really didn¡¯t know what she could do if she quit her job. She couldn¡¯t let the little bastard support her, could she? She was still young and didn¡¯t want to be a burden to Lu Lingxi. Besides, Lu Lingxi was already eighteen and should soon get married and have children, so Wang Shuxiu was still thinking of saving up to buy Lu Lingxi an apartment. Nowadays, young girls were proud; not many were willing to live with their inws, and she didn¡¯t mind it, so she still had to work to earn money. But Lin Mei was also right; her body really couldn¡¯t bear it. If she had a brain fever and copsed, it made her heart ache to think that the little bastard would have to look after her alone. With all this forethought, Wang Shuxiu still couldn¡¯t make up her mind to quit. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t think as far as Wang Shuxiu; it was too far away to get married and buy a house. He felt that it was good for him and Wang Shuxiu to live together, and as long as he did a good job and the Tiny Garden business was slowly getting on track, he would have no problem supporting Wang Shuxiu. Wang Shuxiu had been working hard for so many years, it was time to take a good rest. Wang Shuxiu snorted withughter after hearing this and casually pped Lu Lingxi on the head. ¡°Little bastard is good at saying nice things. You think it¡¯s good to live with me now, but when you have a wife, you¡¯ll probably think I¡¯m an eyesore.¡± s When Lu Lingxi wanted to refute, Wang Shuxiu joked, ¡°Okay, you need to find a wife first.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± After talking for a long time, mother and son still didn¡¯t have a unified opinion. Wang Shuxiu saw that it was gettingte and rushed Lu Lingxi to go to bed first. Even if she wanted to resign, she had to report a month in advance, so it was still early. Lu Lingxi took Dahei back to the house, but his mind was still on Wang Shuxiu. He didn¡¯t know anything about the outside work, and he didn¡¯t know what Wang Shuxiu could do if she quit. Why doesn¡¯t he ask Big Brother Yan tomorrow? Big Brother Yan must know more than him in this area. Lu Lingxi made up his mind and quietly began his daily reading. ¡°Huh? Where¡¯s that piece of paper?¡± Lu Lingxi flipped through the ¡°Encyclopaedia¡±; he remembered that there was a sheet with his notes sandwiched inside, and there was also a half-finished sketch of Dahei. But he had searched for a long time and couldn¡¯t find this piece of paper. Had it been stuck in another book and he had remembered it wrong? Lu Lingxi looked puzzled, but didn¡¯t think much of it; the notes were not important anyway, so he could look for them in other books tomorrow. After reading for a while Lu Lingxi was ready to go to sleep. He had an appointment with Yi Hang to go to the nt nursery tomorrow morning and had to get up early. The next morning, Lu Lingxi woke up at five o¡¯clock, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he heard Dahei¡¯s low whimpering. Dahei couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore; he ate too muchst night and early in the morning he wanted to poop but couldn¡¯t open the bolt of the balcony. He didn¡¯t want to wake up Lu Lingxi, so he could only bear it pitifully, squatting at the door and whimpering aggrieved. Lu Lingxi felt a little distressed, and hurriedly opened the balcony door. Dahei rushed out like an arrow, and Lu Lingxi walked out with him. Seeing Dahei running to the corner skillfully, Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t helpughing when Dahei was relieved. The morning air in the backyard was very fresh, invigorating andfortable. Lu Lingxi stretched his back and habitually did a mental scan. The white panel suddenly surfaced and floated in front of him. ¡°Second generation tomatoes collected and nted sessfully, bonus reward nt heart +50.¡± Lu Lingxi looked at the white panel in confusion. Second generation tomatoes sessfully nted? What did this mean? Mental scan swept across the backyard, and a few tender nts just showing their leaves growing below the balcony were revealed in the white panel. nt name: Tomato nt needs: Water nt viability: High Lu Lingxi crouched down in amazement. How could tomatoes grow here? He remembered¡­ The events ofst night shed through his mind, and Lu Lingxi instantly thought of the tomato he and Dahei had shared here. Could it be that the seeds inside had fallen to the ground and grown out on their own? This conjecture made Lu Lingxi a little excited. The system rewarded tomato seeds were only a tiny packet. Although he had purposely saved half of them when he nted themst time, the total number was there, so with another crop it would probably be gone and he didn¡¯t know when the system would reward them again. If these tomatoes could be nted by themselves, then wouldn¡¯t there be no need to worry about seeds in the future? Lu Lingxi thought of this and immediately went back to the house to look for the book on tomato growing. He remembered that it mentioned how to collect seeds, but he hadn¡¯t had time to read it carefully because he had been busy recently. s Soon Lu Lingxi came out with a book in his hand. He followed the instructions and picked a ripe tomato, first removing the flesh and leaving only the seeds inside, then went to the kitchen and found a piece of gauze to wrap the seeds in, and soaked them in a cup of clean water to wash them. After the seeds were cleaned of the pulp and other fments, Lu Lingxi took out the gauze and carefully dried the seeds on a sheet of white paper. ording to the book, the seeds dried in the sun were the tomato seeds that could be nted directly. Lu Lingxi carefully pressed the white paper against the windowsill to make sure that it would not be blown away by the wind. After all this was done, he had time to return to the backyard to continue studying the newly grown seedlings. The book said that the tomatoes you bought in the market now were basically hybrids, and none of them were considered to be properly ripened either, so their seeds could easily mutate and grow poorly. But his tomatoes were rewarded by the system, so there shouldn¡¯t be this problem, right? Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t remember what the first batch of tomatoes looked like now; the growth rate of these seedlings should be simr to that of the first batch. In fact, it didn¡¯t matter if it grew slowly, as long as the taste remained the same. In order to prevent these seedlings from being trampled by Dahei, Lu Lingxi gave Dahei a special warning. He also prepared a small patch ofnd around the seedlings and was going toe back in the evening to nt all the seeds that had been dried. If all these seeds grew without problems, they would have a constant supply of tomatoes in the future. ¡°Are you there, Lao San?¡± Yi Hang¡¯s voice rang out from outside the fence. Lu Lingxi said yes. What Yi Hang saw when he came in over the wall was Lu Lingxi squatting there with his hands covered in mud. ¡°What are you nting?¡± Yi Hang asked curiously. Lu Lingxi showed him the young seedlings that had grown and exined about saving tomato seeds. Yi Hang¡¯s eyes instantly lit up, ¡°You can really grow it?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded uncertainly, ¡°It should be possible.¡± The system had already prompted that the nting was sessful. Yi Hang excitedly pulled Lu Lingxi, ¡°Lao San, the tomatoes I¡¯m going to eat in my life all depend on you.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± After washing his hands, Lu Lingxi dressed and followed Yi Hang out the door with Dahei. Yi Hang¡¯s family¡¯s soon-to-be-retired small Jinbei was parked in front of the building, Yi Hang said with a proud expression, ¡°Don¡¯t look that the car looks shitty, the speed is great.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled and nodded. Yi Hang got into the car and said casually while starting the engine, ¡°Lao San, have you noticed that the weeds near your building are growing a bit too well? You¡¯re not secretly fertilising them, are you?¡± Lu Lingxi had actually noticed the problem that Yi Hang mentioned. The weeds near Building 3, especially near Gate 3, were growing particrly vigorously, and he had heard the neighbours aroundining about it several times. It felt like these weeds were growing a bit crazy and no one knew what was going on. ¡°But it¡¯s not just weeds. You know Grandma Wang, the olddy upstairs in your house. My mom heard her bragging yesterday that the cabbages she nted on her balcony this year are growing exceptionally well and will be ready to eat in a few days. Fuck, she has never seen the tomatoes you nted, what she does know what it means to grow well,¡± Yi Hang continued. Lu Lingxi smiled and didn¡¯t say anything. His eyes swept over the weeds outside. Somehow he thought of the white panel; it couldn¡¯t have anything to do with it, could it? Chapter 34 Yi Hang¡¯s car was really as he said; it looked shitty, but it was fast. Lu Lingxi felt in a daze that they rushed to the outskirts of the city and then rushed back, all before it was nine o¡¯clock in the morning. At the door of Tiny Garden Dahei desperately jumped out of the open window even before the car stopped fully, Lu Lingxi poked his head out anxiously and nced at Dahei. Seeing that he was alive and kicking outside, not looking like he was going to be sick any moment as he had been inside, Lu Lingxi breathed a sigh of relief. Yi Hang waited for the car to stop, proudly pulled out the car keys, raised his eyebrows at Lu Lingxi and said, ¡°How was that?¡± Lu Lingxi was speechless for a long time and reluctantly gave a thumbs up. The speed was no problem, but it would be nice if it wasn¡¯t so bumpy. It didn¡¯t bother him but Dahei waspletely dizzy. Yi Hang harrumphed, obviously proud to ept Lu Lingxi¡¯s praise. This time they went to the nt nursery they only brought half of the potted nts. There was no other way; the trunk of the old Jinbei was too small and therge-leave golden pothos and money trees were both half a person high, so they could only take half of them and make another trip for the rest. The two of them didn¡¯t go directly to Brother Han¡¯s work but went back to Tiny Garden first. Lu Lingxi wanted to make full use of the space in the Jinbei by also picking up the small potted nts in the shop, so that he could make one less trip. He didn¡¯t dare to take Dahei in Yi Hang¡¯s car again, so he had to leave Dahei at Brother Dong¡¯s ce. After settling Dahei, Lu Lingxi put up a sign at the entrance of Tiny Garden, exining that he would be opening the shopte and leaving his phone number in case anyone was looking for him. The two of them followed the address left by Brother Hanst time and arrived at the entrance of Brother Han¡¯s unit. When Yi Hang parked the car, Lu Lingxi took out his mobile phone and called Brother Han. Brother Han had been waiting a long time for Lu Lingxi and when he answered the phone, he brought a few colleagues with him. As soon as the door of the car was pulled open, Brother Han nodded in satisfaction. For the convenience of the delivery, the seats at the back of the Jinbei were removed, and the car full of greenery was very eye-catching. Before loading the car in the morning, Lu Lingxi deliberately watered all the potted nts, and under the sunlight, the green nts looked as if they had been washed. As Brother Han took a look, he felt that all the dryness of the morning had disappeared and he was in a good mood for no reason. Although the colleagues brought by Brother Han didn¡¯t raise flowers, they could see that the nts were really good and that Brother Han had not praised them for nothing. The bunch of people worked all together and soon finished unloading the car. Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed to say that his car was rather small and he would have to make a few more tripster. Brother Han smiled, ¡°It¡¯s okay. How about this, our unit also has a car. I¡¯ll go and talk to the boss about going with you. It will save you trouble.¡± ¡°Will it be troublesome?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little uneasy. The man behind Brother Hanughed: ¡°What¡¯s the trouble, I¡¯m the driver. If I say it¡¯s no trouble, it¡¯s no trouble.¡± s Lu Lingxi¡¯s appearance was really pleasing, and there was his age, about the same as Brother Han¡¯s and the driver¡¯s children. If you don¡¯t go to school and work at this age, it means that either the family is not good or the child himself is not good. As soon as these people saw Lu Lingxi, no one thought that it was the child who was bad and they took it for granted that it was the family¡¯s problem. When they looked at Lu Lingxi again, they couldn¡¯t help but feel sympathy for him, and their attitude became more epting. Brother Han asked Lu Lingxi to wait while he went to the boss to talk. Lu Lingxi smiled gratefully and thought to himself that he would give Brother Han an extra pot when he went back to Tiny Garden to bring more potted nts, as a thank you to Brother Han for his help. Since Brother Han¡¯s unit had a car, Yi Hang didn¡¯t need to wait here. The two agreed that Yi Hang would go back to the nt nursery, and Lu Lingxi would take Brother Han directly to bring all the remaining small potted nts from Tiny Garden, and basically finish the job before noon. As soon as Yi Hang left, Lu Lingxi heard someone calling him from behind. ¡°Xiao Xi?¡± Lu Lingxi turned around and said in surprise, ¡°Brother Li.¡± The person calling him was none other than the patient from his ward at the hospital, Brother Li from Bed 19. ¡°Xiao Xi, it¡¯s really you, why are you here? Looking for someone?¡± Li Weisheng was quite happy to see Lu Lingxi. His bed was next to Lu Lingxi¡¯s when he was in the hospital, so they were familiar with each other. When Lu Lingxi was discharged from the hospital, Brother Li soon followed and they hadn¡¯t seen each other since then. Later on, he heard his wife Tian Lei say that she wanted him to arrange the school for Lu Lingxi. He had just found someone to ask for connections when Tian Lei received a call from Wang Shuxiu who said that Lu Lingxi insisted on not going to school and that she had no choice but to let him go to work for a few days first. During that time, Tian Lei mentioned Lu Lingxi a lot at home, saying that she thought it was a pity for the child to not go to school at a young age. Brother Li¡¯s ears were getting calloused from hearing this, but he never expected he would meet Lu Lingxi here. ¡°I¡¯m not looking for someone, I¡¯m here to deliver potted nts.¡± Lu Lingxi exined, ¡°How is Sister Tian doingtely?¡± ¡°Good, your Sister Tian is fine, she just misses you quite a bit and has mentioned you a few times.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled, a little embarrassed. He had been busy with work since he was discharged from the hospital. At that time he was thinking of finding time to go back to the hospital for a visit, but he never had the time. That is, he sent a text message to Sister Tian once and he was surprised that Sister Tian still remembered him. Li Weisheng paid attention to what he had just said about the potted nts, ¡°What? You work in a gardening shop?¡± s Lu Lingxi nodded. Li Weisheng was interested, ¡°Xiao Xi, you still remember that pot of chlorophytum of yours, right?¡± He was the first tough when he said that, ¡°Your Sister Tian treats that chlorophytum like a treasure and likes it very much. A friend of mine moved to a new home some time ago and asked for the pot of chlorophytum, saying that he had never seen such a good chlorophytum before and that he wanted to use it to help absorb formaldehyde in his new home. But it made your Sister Tian feel bad. You¡¯re in a gardening shop now, aren¡¯t you? Leave me the address, I¡¯ll ask your Sister Tian to look for you, and you can pick another pot for her, so that she won¡¯t have to talk about that pot of chlorophytum every day.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled and left the address of Tiny Garden to Li Weisheng. Li Weisheng had some things to do, so he left after saying a few words to Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi watched him enter Brother Han¡¯s unit and thought that the two might even know each other. Not long after, Brother Han came out with the driver and took Lu Lingxi back to Tiny Garden. From a distance, Lu Lingxi saw Yan Yue standing at the entrance of Tiny Garden, with Dahei squatting by his feet. There was a familiar figure beside Yan Yue. Surprisingly it was Dr. Su, whom Lu Lingxi hadn¡¯t seen for a while. It could be seen that the two were chatting animatedly. Lu Lingxi was a little taken aback; did Big Brother Yan turn out to know Dr. Su? Su Lang came here today at the behest of Grandpa Su. The old man seemed to have an unlucky year. The previous month, he had suffered in a fight between punks and his blood pressure was very high. This month, he had another ident. Yesterday, when he went out for his morning walk, he fell down and twisted his back. He was lying in the hospital with nothing to do and remembered the spring orchid that Lu Lingxi brought backst time. He asked Su Lang to take a look for him to see if the orchid had been saved. Su Lang had no choice but to stop whatever he was doing and go take a look for the old man. However, when he thought about Grandpa Su¡¯s words that Lu Lingxi was there, he also thought that he woulde to see Lu Lingxi. Towards Lu Lingxi, Su Lang had some mixed feelings. Every time he saw Lu Lingxi, he would think of the boy in his memory. The two had the same name, and even their looks were somewhat simr. He sometimes wondered if that boy didn¡¯t live in the Zhongjing Lu family, but was from an ordinary family like Lu Lingxi, even if he lived a bit harder, wouldn¡¯t he be happier? Unfortunately, there were no ifs in this world¡­ When Su Lang arrived at Tiny Garden, he never expected to see Yan Yue at the entrance. He knew that Yan Yue had returned to China, and he also knew that Yan Yue hade to Fengcheng some time ago and they had even spoken on the phone, but they were both busy and had never met. At first, Su Lang was more than surprised. Yan Yue was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, which was apletely different image from what he remembered. Yan Yue was also very surprised to see Su Lang, and when he asked, he learned that Su Lang hade to see the spring orchid. Yan Yue remembered the spring orchid that Lu Lingxi had sold for 300,000 yuan and said that Su Lang was a stepte. ¡°Sold it?¡± Su Lang didn¡¯t quite believe it. The old man swore that the chances of saving that spring orchid were super small; even if it was saved it would probably be sickly. It was still very early to raise it well and sell it for money. Yan Yue nodded affirmatively without exining why he knew. Keenly, he sensed a different meaning in Su Lang¡¯s tone when he mentioned Lu Lingxi. At least Lu Lingxi was special to Su Lang, not just a person he knew. This awareness gave him a sense of crisis and he quietly created the appearance in front of Su Lang that he and Lu Lingxi were good friends, acting almost out of instinct of a male to mark his territory. Although Su Lang was surprised that Yan Yue knew Lu Lingxi because it didn¡¯t look like the two of them would have any intersection at all, he didn¡¯t think too much of it. It was rare to meet Yan Yue, and Su Lang didn¡¯t rush to leave for a while, so the two stood at the door of Tiny Garden and chatted. Chapter 35 ¡°Big Brother Yan, Dr. Su,¡± Lu Lingxi, who got out of the car, greeted politely. The obviously different way of addressing them secretly pleased Yan Yue. Watching Lu Lingxi go to open the door, Yan Yue said to Su Lang in the tone of a kind of owner, ¡°Come in and have a seat. Xiao Xi has cleaned up the shop quite well. That spring orchid was sold but you can also look at other things.¡± Su Lang almost finished chatting with Yan Yue, and seeing that Lu Lingxi brought someone with him and was obviously busy, he was about to leave but stopped in his tracks at Yan Yue¡¯s words. The old man liked these flowers and nts, but the ones at home were either nted in the yard or in pots that were too big to move around, so if there was a suitable one in the shop to ce on the hospital windowsill, the old man might be in a better mood looking at it every day. It was August and the weather today was particrly hot and humid, the air so dense that it seemed to be frozen. There was no breeze and everyone was quite hot and breathless. As soon as the door to Tiny Garden was opened, the room filled with greenery weed them. The damp, stuffy air seemed to be washed away by the green nts, and even breathing became easier. Standing in the doorway, everyone felt that the small door seemed to separate Tiny Garden from the outside as if there were two different worlds, one stifling and the other refreshing. Brother Han couldn¡¯t wait to go in. He took a deep breath and felt a current of fresh air running through his body, indescribably refreshing. He and Yan Yue often came to Tiny Garden and they were used to the freshness inside but Su Lang and the driver were here for the first time and couldn¡¯t help but be a little surprised. ¡°It¡¯s reallyfortable here, I don¡¯t even want to leave.¡± The driver eximed vigorously when he finished drinking the iced water Lu Lingxi had poured for him and sat on the wicker chair at the entrance. Brother Han nodded, ¡°The environment in Xiao Xi¡¯s shop is really nice. More than that, since I¡¯ve had a few pots of flowers at home, the air seems to be a little better too. Especially that clivia, I feel veryfortable when I¡¯m near it.¡± ¡°That obvious?¡± The driver clearly didn¡¯t believe it, ¡°Are you joking, Lao Han?¡± Brother Han exined unhurriedly, ¡°You know photosynthesis, right? Flowers and nts absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Isn¡¯t it just air? Xiao Xi¡¯s ce is a clear example of this. Speaking of which, I need to buy a few pots for my home. I want the kind that absorbs carbon dioxide very effectively. What would you rmend, Xiao Xi?¡± When he said this, the driver also started thinking about it. The effect of Tiny Garden was too obvious, so the driver immediately approached Lu Lingxi. s Lu Lingxi was moving a few pots of chlorophytum onto a special three-tier shelf to save space and to make it convenient to carry them to the carter. Yan Yue had been following him since he came in and was now moving the pots with him. Seeing that the driver was about to get close to Lu Lingxi, Yan Yue immediately moved to separate the two. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t notice his subtle movement. While sorting out the potted nts in front of him, he said after some thought, ¡°Dianthus, Belgian azalea, cymens, fuchsias are all fine. They look good at home and purify toxic gases, which is good for your body.¡± The driver listened to him and took a fancy to cymen at a nce, and the name was also nice. Su Lang interjected with interest, ¡°What would be a good gift for a patient?¡± ¡°A patient? Dr. Su, do you have a friend who is sick?¡± Lu Lingxi said in surprise. He had been busy since he entered the shop and had only had time to hastily greet Su Lang without asking anything else. ¡°Grandpa has twisted his back.¡± ¡°Grandpa Su has twisted his back?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little startled. Just a few days ago when he and Elder Su went to the flower market, the old man looked quite energetic, and now he had twisted his back. ¡°But,¡± Lu Lingxi said seriously, ¡°you don¡¯t usually give potted nts to patients, it doesn¡¯t have a good meaning.¡± A potted nt with roots could easily be misunderstood as a root for a long-term illness, which was a taboo for the patient. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know this before and left the pot of chlorophytum to Sister Tian when he was discharged from the hospital. He only learned itter when he read a book. Su Langughed, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Grandpa doesn¡¯t care about superstitions. Besides, if the flowers die within a few days of being given, Grandpa will only be more unhappy.¡± Hearing him say this, Lu Lingxi turned around and brought a pot of ca lilies from behind the cashier¡¯s desk. As soon as he brought it out, Brother Han was the first to say in surprise, ¡°Green?¡± The ca lily in front of him was not the usual yellow, white or pink, but a very rare green colour. The nt was tall and elegant, the petals were tender green and the leaves were emerald green, looking very fresh and eye-catching. This ca lily was picked up by Lu Lingxi at the flower marketst time and was raised by him for a few days. Originally he had nned to keep the ca lily at home, but because of the colour of the flowers he wanted to disy it in the shop. If it was an ordinary customer, Lu Lingxi would be reluctant to part with it, but as it was Grandpa Su, he thought about how suitable this ca lily was for a patient, both in terms of its symbolism and its colour, so he took it out willingly. Brother Han was itching as he looked at the ca lily; he really liked it too much. But Su Lang had said it was for a patient, so he was too embarrassed to argue and just hurriedly gave it a few more nces to satiate his craving. s Su Lang was also very happy, thinking that the old man would definitely like it, and immediately asked, ¡°How much is it?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head, ¡°This ca lily doesn¡¯t cost anything, Dr. Su, greet Grandpa Su for me and I¡¯ll go see him sometime.¡± Su Lang was taken aback, ¡°How can you not take money for it?¡± Lu Lingxi insisted. Su Lang was about to say something when Yan Yue spoke up, ¡°Forget it, don¡¯t brush off Xiao Xi¡¯s feelings.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes at Yan Yue and nodded at Su Lang, ¡°This is my heart for Grandpa Su.¡± Su Lang left holding the ca lily, and Lu Lingxi had to follow Brother Han to settle the rest of the money, leaving Yan Yue alone in the shop. Lu Lingxi was worried that Yan Yue wouldn¡¯t understand anything if a customer came to the shop and repeatedly told him to call him if he needed anything. Yan Yueughed and said deliberately, ¡°So little confidence in your Big Brother Yan?¡± Lu Lingxi blushed, a little embarrassed to look at Yan Yue. Although he did have this kind of worry, would it hurt Big Brother Yan¡¯s self-esteem if he said it outright? Yan Yue could tell from Lu Lingxi¡¯s face what was on his mind, and couldn¡¯t help but reach out and rub his hair, saying with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely call Xiao Xi if there are customers.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes curved as he nodded. After they left Tiny Garden, no customers came to the shop for a while. Yan Yue sat on the wicker chair at the entrance, reading emails on his mobile phone, and Daheiyzily at his feet, one person and one dog in harmony. There were a lot of emails in the mailbox. During this time Yan Yue was not abroad, and there was a time difference of more than ten hours between the two sides, so the phone calls were not very convenient. Many things about Dezhi Investment were handled by email. Fortunately, when he started Dezhi Investment, he hired a professional manager to manage thepany in order not to be noticed by his family. With An Jie on hand to assist him, many things were handled by the people below and not much really needed to be reported to him. At the moment, the most important thing for Dezhi Investment was the cooperation with NT. An Jie was obviously very efficient. He had just made contact with NT and when they got in touch, An Jie immediately followed up on it in the name of Dezhi Investment. The only thing was that they heard there were doubts within NT about this partnership project and there was hesitation about whether to go ahead with the project. It was likely that Dezhi Investment would have to work hard to get this project. Once people are fully engaged in their work, time passes very quickly. Yan Yue felt that he hadn¡¯t even dealt with a few emails before it was already 12 o¡¯clock. Lu Lingxi hadn¡¯t returned yet. Yan Yue frowned imperceptibly. Did settling an ount need to be so slow? Or did the boy encounter something else? Not too far away from Brother Han¡¯s unit, a few gardeners were dealing with a small dead willow tree. China¡¯s economy was taking off over the years, but the corresponding natural environment was getting worse and worse. As arge, heavy industrial city, Fengcheng was among the top ten cities with the worst environment in China. The current administration of Fengcheng had made improving the environment a key remediation project. Since the beginning of their term, they promoted the nting of trees throughout the city, nting many saplings everywhere. But simply nting a tree was not enough for it to survive. Sunlight and rain, watering and fertilising were all essential, but these follow-ups had never been done adequately. The sapling in front of Lu Lingxi was dying because ofck of water, and the gardeners were about to cut it off and remove it. When Lu Lingxi passed by, he just made a habitual mental scan, and then he suddenly shouted at Yi Hang to stop the car. The white panel surfaced. nt viability: very low This tree was not dead yet! Chapter 36 Weeping willow, a tall deciduous (shedding its leaves annually) tree, is one of the types of willows and one of the mostmon tree species in China. Because of its beauty, ease of breeding and low cost as well as its ability to absorb carbon dioxide, the weeping willow is amon street tree in many cities. The sapling in front of Lu Lingxi was a seedling of the weeping willow, its trunk the size of a dor coin in diameter and shorter than a man¡¯s height, obviously recently nted. The panel showed that the sapling was dying due tock of water, but in the eyes of the gardeners, the sapling had already withered to death. When Lu Lingxi got out of the car, the gardeners had just uprooted the sapling and transnted a new one that was alive. The uprooted sapling had been thrown carelessly on the ground and one of the workers was about to break it. Lu Lingxi hurriedly stopped him. The workers were all migrants, speaking a not-so-fluent dialect of Mandarin. Lu Lingxi could not quite understand what the other party was saying, so the two sides tried to talk for a long time but finally were able tomunicate clearly. Lu Lingxi said that the tree was still alive and could be saved by watering. The other side said that the tree cost only a few yuan and that it would be no big deal to rece it with another one. After another round of chicken-and-duck talk, the other party readily threw the seedling at Lu Lingxi to do whatever he wanted with it. Lu Lingxi carried the tree back to the car. Although it was a small sapling, it was still a tree. Yi Hang looked at the sapling in the trunk in a daze for a long time, then gave Lu Lingxi a speechless thumbs up. Because of the tree, the two of them didn¡¯t go back to the Tiny Garden but turned and directly went home. Wang Shuxiu was very surprised to see them, asked about Yan Yue in the shop and didn¡¯tment. It was a rare asion for Lu Lingxi toe back at noon, so Wang Shuxiu hurriedly took care of cooking for the little bastard not to go hungry. Lu Lingxi was so anxious to nt the tree that he didn¡¯t notice what time it was. He was digging a pit in the backyard with his hands covered in mud when his mobile phone rang on the chair. Yi Hang, who was halfway through chewing a tomato, wiped his hands haphazardly and picked up the phone without looking at who was calling. ¡°Hello.¡± With half a tomato in his mouth, his voice was a little slurred, but it was clearly a man¡¯s voice. At the sound of an unfamiliar voice, on the other end of the phone the smile on Yan Yue¡¯s face froze, the upturned curve of his mouth ttening at once. ¡°Who are you? Where¡¯s Xiao Xi?¡± His tone was dark and cold and there was some subtle jealousy in it. The person who had ess to Lu Lingxi¡¯s phone must be someone he was familiar with. ¡°Lao San is nting trees, he can¡¯t answer the phone right now. What do you want?¡± Yi Hang was so used to being careless that hepletely missed the displeasure of the man on the other side of the phone. The name ¡°Lao San¡± once again poked Yan Yue¡¯s sense of crisis, and he quickly added, ¡°This is Yan Yue, can you ask when Xiao Xi will be back?¡± ¡°Yan Yue?¡± Yi Hang inexplicably felt that this name was somewhat familiar. Where did he hear it before? He shouted at Lu Lingxi, ¡°Lao San, who is Yan Yue? He¡¯s asking when you¡¯re going back.¡± There was some noise on the other side of the phone. Lu Lingxi¡¯s voice came, his tone full of apologies. ¡°Big Brother Yan, I¡¯m sorry, I forgot to tell you. You¡¯re in a hurry, aren¡¯t you? I¡¯ll be right back.¡± s ¡°Not in a hurry,¡± Yan Yue said in a gentle tone, ¡°I heard you were nting trees, was there any ident?¡± ¡°No.¡± Lu Lingxi briefly told what had happened before, and at the end assured, ¡°I¡¯ll go back as soon as I¡¯m done.¡± Yan Yue smiled, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to eat at home? Come back after you¡¯ve eaten.¡± He was so reasonable that Lu Lingxi was even more embarrassed. ¡°Big Brother Yan, then wait for me, I¡¯ll bring you lunch.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± When Lu Lingxi hung up the phone, Yi Hang finally remembered who Yan Yue was. He grabbed Lu Lingxi and asked, ¡°Yan Yue is the one you said paid half of the money?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. Yi Hang curled his lips and said regretfully, ¡°If only I had money, we would have done it together, and saved ourselves the trouble of finding an unfamiliar outsider.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and didn¡¯t say anything, but in his heart he felt that Yan Yue was actually quite good and wasn¡¯t really an outsider. This thought was only fleeting, and his attention returned to the sapling in front of him. Before answering the phone, he had already dug a pit and poured a bucket of water into it. In such a short while, the water at the bottom of the pit had all prated into the ground, wetting the soil around it. Lu Lingxi reached out and touched it, feeling that it was almost wet enough, so he carefully nted the sapling, filled andpacted the soil around it and poured the water again. After the water was absorbed, he watered again. By the time he was ready to water a third time, the panel that had remained unchanged finally changed. Satisfy nt needs, reward +1 nt heart Sessfully saved the weeping willow seedling, reward the power of nature +1 Lu Lingxi looked at the panel with some surprise, not expecting to get another power of nature for saving the sapling. If the first time when he saved the clivia, it could be said to be a coincidence, the second time was some kind of a rule. Compared to the ease of obtaining nt hearts, the power of nature was obviously much more demanding, but also much more precious. When he finished dealing with the sapling, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s lunch was ready. Lu Lingxi had said that he would bring Yan Yue¡¯s food, and there was also Dahei, so Wang Shuxiu deliberately made some extra. Before eating, Lu Lingxi found tworge instion boxes to pack the lunch for Yan Yue and Dahei and then he, Wang Shuxiu and Yi Hang began to eat. Speaking of which, Lu Lingxi was raising Dahei in a kind of free-range manner. At first when Lu Lingxi brought Dahei home, he was going to give Dahei dog food. But as a stray dog, Dahei had been going through the trash cans, caught rats and eaten everything but dog food. He considered the dog food that Lu Lingxi prepared for him very repulsive; instead he liked to eat whatever Lu Lingxi ate. After a few times, Lu Lingxi also got used to it. Every time he cooked a meal, he would leave some for Dahei. After eating Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t let Yi Hang drive him and took the bus to Tiny Garden by himself. After eating quite a bit, he didn¡¯t dare to take Yi Hang¡¯s car, afraid of getting sick on the bumpy road. When Lu Lingxi got off the bus, he didn¡¯t even get to the entrance of Tiny Garden before Dahei rushed out excitedly. Lu Lingxi looked at him andughed, and when he looked up, Yan Yue was standing at the door waiting for him. The morning was too urgent and there were too many things to do, so Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t pay much attention to Yan Yue. Only now did he realise that Yan Yue had taken off his usual shirt and trousers today and waspletely dressed in a casual outfit. ustomed to Yan Yue¡¯s usual seriousness and suddenly seeing his rxed appearance, Lu Lingxi felt a bit dazzled and thought that Yan Yue looked several years younger. Yan Yue listened to Lingxi¡¯s description, smiled slightly and said as if casually, ¡°Do I usually look old?¡± Although he was twenty-seven and Lu Lingxi was eighteen and there was a difference of nine years between them, this gap was not very big, right? Lu Lingxi thought for a while seriously and exined, ¡°Not old, it¡¯s just that Big Brother Yan usually feels very serious and distant, just like Brother Dong, like an elder.¡± Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Might as well not exin. Oddly enough, when Yan Yue was alone, there was not a single customer in the shop. As soon as Lu Lingxi returned, the shop was immediately filled with customers. The afternoon was busy and the time passed quickly. When some of the old customers saw Yan Yue and asked questions, without waiting for Lu Lingxi to answer, Yan Yue introduced himself as a new shop assistant recruited by Tiny Garden. He was good-looking and hard-working, so some olddy soon praised him as a young man with good spirits. He seemed to be a nice person, was he a local? Did he have a girlfriend? The olddy¡¯s neighbour had a daughter and she wanted to help introduce her. Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± This helpless expression of his was seen by Lu Lingxi, and Lu Lingxi was about to die ofughing. He rubbed his stomach and dared notugh out loud, but could only lower his head and hold in hisughter as his shoulders jerked. Yan Yue politely refused the olddy, saying that his family was too poor to afford a house and that he didn¡¯t intend to get married for the time being. Lu Lingxi wanted tough even more when he heard it. s After sending the olddy away, Yan Yue flicked his finger on Lu Lingxi¡¯s forehead, ¡°Is that so funny?¡± Lu Lingxi held back hisughter and nodded. The olddy was a long time customer of Tiny Garden, Lu Lingxi called her Grandma Wang. She was a nice person, but she was too keen on tying red strings (arranging marriage) everywhere. When Lu Lingxi first came, she saw that Lu Lingxi was a good boy, well-behaved and sensible, and regretted that he was too young, otherwise she would have introduced her granddaughter to Lu Lingxi. Later on, when Lu Lingxi talked to Brother Dong about it, he learned that Grandma Wang also nned to introduce her colleague¡¯s niece to Brother Dong, but unfortunately Brother Dong had a girlfriend, so Grandma Wang regretfully gave up. When Lu Lingxi said this, the corners of his mouth turned up and his eyes shone brightly. As Yan Yue watched, he felt his heart itching to bow down and kiss him. His recent efforts had paid off, and the teenager and the rtionship between the young man and him had be much closer. But it was also limited to changing from a partner to an acquaintance and was still too far from the position he wanted. Human desires are always like this. If you have 0, getting 1 is already a satisfying thing. But once you get 1, you will start thinking about getting 2. Yan Yue was no longer satisfied with the position of an acquaintance, and wanted to go further. Lu Lingxi waspletely unaware of Yan Yue¡¯s thoughts. He asked curiously after he finished telling about Grandma Wang, ¡°Big Brother Yan, do you have a girlfriend?¡± Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened as he looked at Lu Lingxi intently and said, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Lingxi remembered something and asked, ¡°Big Brother Yan, don¡¯t you have to go to work these days?¡± He had never asked Yan Yue about his personal affairs and he was not sure if Yan Yue was a member of the Yan family in Zhongjing or not. But some time ago Yan Yue always took the opportunity to visit Dahei at noon, so Lu Lingxi wondered if Yan Yue was working nearby. In the past few days, Yan Yue had been following him around the shop, so Lu Lingxi had forgotten about Yan Yue¡¯s work for a while. It was only when Wang Shuxiu inadvertently mentioned at noon that asking Yan Yue to help look after the shop might affect Yan Yue¡¯s work that Lu Lingxi remembered the matter of work. Yan Yue had already thought of an answer to this question and said calmly, ¡°I¡¯m on vacation these days, and I¡¯ll probably be on vacation until the end of the month.¡± By the end of the month, An Jie would finish his business abroad and return to China, so Yan Yue was afraid he wouldn¡¯t have the time to follow the boy around every day like he did now. At this point Yan Yue quite understood what Brother Han was feeling when he faced that ca lily in the morning; he was trying to spend more time with Lu Lingxi to satiate his craving. It was time to get off work soon; Lu Lingxi locked the door and led Dahei to wait for Yan Yue to drive. ¡°Do you still dare to ride in the car?¡± He deliberately teased Dahei. Dahei squatted beside him and whimpered. Lu Lingxi smiled and was about to speak when a ck Audi drove past on the road. Dahei, who had been quiet all along, suddenly stood up, rushed after the ck Audi and pounced on it frantically. Lu Lingxi was pulled by him and staggered, barely able to hold the leash in his hand. ¡°Dahei!¡± Lu Lingxi called out, anxiously calming Dahei down. The ck Audi soon disappeared, but Dahei kept looking in the direction of the Audi, his body arched up and his teeth bared in an angry growl. Chapter 37 ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± When Yan Yue drove back and noticed Dahei¡¯s abnormality, he got out of the car and looked in the direction Dahei was looking, but saw nothing. Lu Lingxi looked worried, ¡°A car just passed by, and Dahei is like this.¡± He stroked Dahei¡¯s head, trying to calm him down. The car was driving fast; Lu Lingxi only recognised it as a ck Audi, but didn¡¯t see anything else. Yan Yue frowned imperceptibly, faintly thinking of something. It had been a while since Dahei was hit, so it was unlikely Dahei would be able to recognise the person who hit him. But the dog¡¯s sense of smell was very keen, and Dahei was exceptionally smart, so it might be the culprit. Yan Yue¡¯s gaze fell on Dahei; despite Lu Lingxi¡¯s reassurance, Dahei still looked very angry. His eyes were fierce as he red ahead and there was a low growl deep in his throat. All the time until now, Dahei behaved so harmlessly by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side that Yan Yue had almost forgotten that he was a stray dog before. A dog that needed to fight, fight for food and fight viciously to survive. Yan Yue followed Lu Lingxi¡¯s example and squatted down, meeting Dahei¡¯s eyes seriously, ¡°The car that just passed was the one that hit you?¡± If someone had mentioned to Yan Yue in the past that he would be talking to a dog as seriously as if it were a human, he would have thought the other party was crazy. But the reality was that he was trying hard to figure out what was going on in Dahei¡¯s mind at the moment. He wasn¡¯t actually very sure that Dahei could understand suchplicated words. Although Dahei was usually very smart and Lu Lingxi would often talk to him, Yan Yue always felt that Dahei¡¯s reaction was a conditioned reflex, not necessarily that he really understood the young man¡¯s words. But to Yan Yue¡¯s surprise, after he finished speaking, Dahei, who was very angry, quieted down somewhat and gave him a low bark. Yan Yue concealed his surprise and looked at Dahei steadily, saying in a deep voice, word by word, ¡°Remember his smell, next time you find him, I will take you to revenge.¡± His strength was evident in these words, even though he was talking to a dog. Dahei looked at Yan Yue with some hesitation for a moment; his arched body slowly calmed down, the hostility in his eyes dispersed, and instead of a low roar, he whimpered, aggrieved. Yan Yue looked at him and hooked up the corners of his mouth, stretched out his hand and stroked Dahei¡¯s head vigorously. Dahei didn¡¯t dodge like before and looked at Yan Yue with a little more trust in his eyes. Lu Lingxi let out a sigh of relief, a little surprised but more shocked. Yan Yue¡¯s aura just now was so strong that even he was somewhat subdued. Dahei, who was calmer now, rubbed against Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand as affectionately as usual. Perhaps realizing that he had scared Lu Lingxi earlier, Dahei licked Lu Lingxi¡¯s fingers a little tteringly, as if the dog that had just bristled was not him. As Yan Yue watched Dahei¡¯s action, the upturned corners of his mouth turned down. There was some uncontroble jealousy in his heart. Really, a stupid dog. On the way back, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t sit in the passenger seat but in the back seat hugging Dahei all the time. Yan Yue red at Dahei silently. Of course, Dahei couldn¡¯t understand what Yan Yue wanted to express through his eyes. Out of some closeness, Dahei squinted his eyes and wagged his tail at Yan Yue. Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The weather in summer changed at the drop of a hat, and they were still halfway from home when a thunder suddenly sounded on the horizon. Apanied by a sh of lightning across the sky, heavy rain poured down. The sky was getting darker and darker, and the visibility was so low that Yan Yue turned on his headlights and slowed down. s The road was soon devoid of pedestrians, and there was just a row of headlights in front of them. Through the car window, the sky outside was as dark as at night. Another bolt of lightning struck down and Dahei squeezed towards Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi noticed his movement and scratched his chin soothingly. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid.¡± Most animals were afraid of thunder and lightning; it seemed to be a natural instinct. While waiting for the green light, Yan Yue nced back. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes, holding Dahei¡¯s front paw and waving it at him. A smile lit up Yan Yue¡¯s eyes and the corners of his lips curved up in a faint arc. There was lightning and thunder outside, but inside the car seemed to be isted from all storms, a world of its own, cosy and reassuring. Originally, it only took ten minutes to get home, but today it took more than half an hour. Yan Yue stopped Lu Lingxi from getting out of the car when he parked downstairs. ¡°Wait for me, I¡¯ll pick you up.¡± He remembered that there seemed to be an umbre in the trunk, and without waiting for the boy to refuse, Yan Yue had already pushed the door and got out of the car. The rain outside was quite heavy, hitting his face almost painfully. The violent wind rolled up the fallen leaves and gravel on the ground, whistling and rushing them at Yan Yue. Yan Yue raised his arm to cover his face and went around to the back of the car. Lu Lingxi looked at him through the car window. Something seemed to be slowly growing in his heart. Before he regained his senses, Yan Yue was already holding the umbre and pulling open the back door of the car. ¡°Dahei,e down first.¡± As soon as he said that, Dahei slipped out of the car, rushed into the building lightly, shook off the water on his body and squatted there waiting for Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi followed Dahei and was sent home with Yan Yue¡¯s umbre shielding him securely. ¡°Xiao Xi, I¡¯ll go first.¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t enter. He was all wet and it was not very convenient. ¡°Big Brother Yan, you should wait for the rain to get lighter before you go.¡± Lu Lingxi nced at the sky with ck clouds outside anxiously. It was too dangerous to go out in this weather. Besides, Yan Yue was drenched all over and needed to wipe the water off at any rate. The young man¡¯s expression was serious and his eyes were so full of concern that it was hard for Yan Yue to refuse his invitation; or more precisely, he was unwilling to refuse. He folded the umbre in his hand and followed Lu Lingxi through the door. Lu Lingxi quickly found a towel for him and went to Wang Shuxiu¡¯s room to look for the clothes that Lu Yishui had left here. His own clothes were too small for Yan Yue to wear. After some tossing and turning, Yan Yue looked helplessly at the big floral pantsid out in front of him. Lu Lingxi was still a little embarrassed but this was already the most suitable variant he could find. ¡°Big Brother Yan, take a shower and change first, I¡¯ll go to the backyard and take a look.¡± Lu Lingxi was still thinking about the tree he had nted at noon, as well as his yard full of tomatoes. In the backyard, the sapling that had just been nted at noon was already blown to a 45-degree angle by the wind and might break at any time. As for the tomatoes that had heavily decorated the branches before, they were beaten down by rain and scattered all over the yard. The tomatoes were fine, they could be washed and eaten. But if the willow sapling were broken, saving it would be in vain. Lu Lingxi was quite worried and thought of finding something to support it, so he was about to go out with his umbre. As soon as he opened the door, he was pulled by Yan Yue. s ¡°Xiao Xi, what are you doing?¡± In the time it took him to say this, the rain had already got inside and Lu Lingxi¡¯s t-shirt was immediately wet. ¡°That tree.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little worried. Yan Yue looked at his wet t-shirt and his eyes darkened. He protected the boy from the rain all the way not to let him go out and work in the rain. With a slight use of force, Yan Yue quietly took the young man into his arms and pushed him back inside. ¡°Tell me what you want to do, I¡¯ll do it.¡± ¡°Big Brother Yan¡­¡± Lu Lingxi wanted to refuse, but Yan Yue had already taken the umbre and walked out. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and Yan Yue squinted at the sapling in front of him that somewhat resembled a mop. It was so thin that it was hardly possible to support it with anything. Yan Yue was thinking about what to do when Lu Lingxi disobediently squeezed up to his side with his umbre, holding a loop of rope in his hand. A gust of wind blew, and the umbre in Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand was instantly turned inside out. The pouring rain fell, and Yan Yue was a little anxious, reaching out to pull Lu Lingxi into his arms, the umbre above his head moving to shield the boy¡¯s head. Despite Yan Yue¡¯s quick movements, Lu Lingxi was still drenched all over. The young man was slightly chilled and clung to Yan Yue unsuspectingly. Yan Yue couldn¡¯t even get angry but said solemnly with a straight face, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to stay inside?¡± Lu Lingxi was inexplicably a little guilty and whispered, ¡°Two people will be faster.¡± He held out the rope and gestured to Yan Yue, who guessed what he meant, shook the rope and wrapped it around the sapling several times, tying two ends to the fence. This way, there was no need to worry about the sapling being blown away by the wind. After fixing the sapling, Yan Yue didn¡¯t let Lu Lingxi take care of the tomatoes on the ground and escorted him back to the house with his arms around him. ¡°Go and take a shower.¡± Yan Yue felt that Lu Lingxi¡¯s body was really thin and was afraid that he would catch a cold from the rain. Lu Lingxi nodded obediently without arguing. Outside, the rain was getting heavier and heavier, as if a hole had been poked in the sky and it was never going to stop. Yan Yue stood on the balcony looking out, his mind filled with the scene of the young man in his arms just now. It was the first time they had really been so close, and it felt as good as he had imagined. He had some uncontroble impulses; his whole body was burning like it was on fire. The cool drops of rain on his body awakened Yan Yue¡¯s senses and pushed down the thoughts in his mind. ¡°Big Brother Yan? What are you looking at?¡± Lu Lingxi was quick in the shower and came out in no time. When he saw Yan Yue standing on the balcony, he walked over curiously. Yan Yue didn¡¯t know if it was his illusion, but he felt that there was a fresh scent of grass and leaves on the boy¡¯s body. He looked at the teenager with obscure eyes, suppressing the heat in his gaze, and said calmly, ¡°Looking when the rain outside will stop. I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t stop tonight.¡± Lu Lingxi nced outside and casually said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if it doesn¡¯t stop, you can stay here at night, Big Brother Yan.¡± He said it casually, but a stormy wave surged in Yan Yue¡¯s heart; he tried desperately to suppress it not to allow himself to lose control. Lu Lingxi¡¯s attention was on the outside; he looked at the tomatoes on the ground with some regret. Basically, this crop had been knocked down, and after this rain, it would be a few days before the next crop grew. The only fortunate thing was that the tomatoes on the ground could be washed and eaten, but there were too many tomatoes on the ground, so he guessed the few of them wouldn¡¯t be able to finish eating them. Should they be all boiled into tomato sauce? While Lu Lingxi was so distracted, his mind full of tomato sauce, Yan Yue was quietly watching him and couldn¡¯t help but curl the corners of his lips. The mental scan spread out unconsciously, enveloping the entire yard. Lu Lingxi originally wanted to see if the tomato nts were okay, but when the white panel floated up, it was not the tomatoes that were disyed, but the entire yard. The ntingnd has been polluted, consume a power of nature to purify it? Chapter 38 Yan Yue was rushed by Lu Lingxi to take a shower, and together with him, Dahei was also driven into the bathroom. As a stray dog, Dahei used to have absolutely no concept of bathing. At most, when it was hot, the dog would find a pond or a puddle to paddle in. But ever since he was separated from the identity of a stray dog, Dahei has been forced to develop the habit of bathing. Fortunately, Lu Lingxi knew from Brother Dong that dogs couldn¡¯t bathe every day as it was not good for their skin and they could easily get sick, so Dahei didn¡¯t have to take a bath every day. But today, Dahei was drenched by the rain, so he couldn¡¯t escape. In the bathroom, Yan Yue and Dahei look at each other for a long time. Yan Yue didn¡¯t say anything. A trace of struggle shed in Dahei¡¯s eyes and then he hesitantly went over and consciously squatted under the shower. Outside the bathroom, without Yan Yue by his side, Lu Lingxi recruited the white panel, and his eyes fell on the strange prompt below. The ntingnd has been polluted, consume a power of nature to purify it? This sentence was not difficult to understand; the ntingnd should be referring to the small backyard below, but what he didn¡¯t understand was how the small yard could be polluted? How has it been polluted? This question made Lu Lingxi a little puzzled, and instead of choosing purification immediately, he first took his mobile phone and checked the Inte to find out whatnd pollution was. He was just intending to give it a try, but when he typed in the words nd pollution¡±, countless reports popped up, along with arge number of shocking pictures. Inyman¡¯s terms,nd pollution meant that toxic and harmful substances from human activities entered the soil and umted to a certain extent, exceeding the soil¡¯s instinctive purification capacity, resulting in changes in soil properties and quality. Simr sources of pollution included industrial pollution, transport pollution, household pollution and so on. The consequences of such pollution were very serious and would not only lead to a deterioration in the nature of the soil, but more importantly, the organisms inside the soil would absorb toxic substances directly from the soil, eventually entering the human body through the food chain, thus endangering human health. As one of the most important heavy industrial cities in China, Fengcheng discharged an unknown amount of waste, waste water and exhaust gas every day. These pollutants either settled underground, seeped into water sources or floated in the air, little by little eroding the natural environment of Fengcheng and polluting its soil. Now with a heavy rain, all the toxic gases in the air have been brought to the ground to be absorbed into the soil, finally making thest straw that broke the camel¡¯s back and exceeding the soil¡¯s instinctive self-purification ability. Lu Lingxi put down his phone and looked back at the white panel, choosing ¡°Purify¡± without hesitation. It was still raining outside and the sky was getting darker and darker, so Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t see any change in the purified soil for a while. He just couldn¡¯t help thinking that the soil inside the small backyard could be purified through the power of nature, but what about other ces? Would it be like what the picture showed, the umtion over time exceeding thend¡¯s own self-purification capacity and eventually bing shocking? s He was so absorbed in his thoughts that Dahei came out of the bath and barked, aggrieved. When Lu Lingxi returned to his senses, he saw Dahei squatting at the door of the bathroom and Yan Yue walking out with his upper body naked and wearing the big floral pants he had found, wiping his hair. This image of Yan Yue was so subversive that Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help butugh. Yan Yue raised his eyebrows, ¡°Very funny?¡± He himself felt a little funny looking in the mirror, but his clothes were really too wet to wear, so he couldn¡¯t help it. Lu Lingxi held back hisughter and didn¡¯t dare to admit it. It wasn¡¯t really funny, but it didn¡¯t match Yan Yue¡¯s aura at all. However, Lu Lingxi did feel that Yan Yue looked more grounded this way. Yesterday, when Yan Yue came to dinner in a suit and leather shoes, although Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t say anything, Lu Lingxi vaguely sensed a certain inappropriateness. In the past, he was used to being surrounded by people of Yan Yue¡¯s elite style in the Lu family, and when he was alone with Yan Yue, he didn¡¯t feel anything. But once Yan Yue entered his current living environment, a certain ipatibility was immediately evident. Now it was better; Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes swept over Yan Yue¡¯s floral pants and he felt more harmonious. His eyes were pure and simply nced at the fancy pants, but Yan Yue felt the heat in the small of his back from his gaze and turned sideways silently. After showering, the two faced the difficult task of cooking. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know how to cook at all, and Yan Yue was also so-so. Fortunately, there was tomato sauce in the fridge that Wang Shuxiu had boiled earlier, so Yan Yue found a bag of noodles and asked Lu Lingxi, ¡°Want to eat noodles?¡± Lu Lingxi rubbed his stomach and nodded. Seeing that he was hungry, Yan Yue was a little distressed, poured the water and turned on the fire to the maximum, ¡°It will be ready soon.¡± He kept his eyes on the pot in front of him as he spoke, and Lu Lingxi could only see Yan Yue¡¯s profile. Lu Lingxi hummed in agreement obediently and leaned against the kitchen door to watch Yan Yue cook the noodles. It was raining and windy outside, and the kitchen window was rattling loudly. There were raindrops hitting the ss in a white blur. Themp hanging from the roof was quietly lit, and the somewhat dim glow illuminated Yan Yue¡¯s face, making him appear somewhat gentler. The water in the pot was boiling quite quickly, a white mist spreading out after the noodles were dropped. Yan Yue¡¯s expression was a little blurred by the mist. As if he sensed Lu Lingxi¡¯s gaze, he turned his head and slightly hooked up the corner of his mouth at Lu Lingxi. At the sight of this smile, Lu Lingxi suddenly felt his heart inexplicably miss a beat. This feeling was a bit strange. Lu Lingxi squirmed and averted his eyes, beckoning Dahei, who immediately ran up head over heels. Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Dinner for two people and one dog was noodles with tomato and meat sauce. The tomato sauce boiled by Wang Shuxiu was really delicious. Simply mixed with the noodles, it was tasty enough to match the so-called haute cuisine noodles that Yan Yue used to eat at the Yin family¡¯s house. s After eating, Lu Lingxi gave up his bedroom to Yan Yue and took Dahei to sleep in the master bedroom. His bed was a little small; he and Dahei could barely fit in, but if Dahei was reced by Yan Yue, it would be quite cramped. Anyway, Yan Yue was a guest; Lu Lingxi was embarrassed to squeeze with Yan Yue and consciously gave up the bed very kindly. ¡°Big Brother Yan, you should rest early.¡± Lu Lingxi found a book and took it with him before leaving. Yan Yue gave him a deep look and somewhat helplessly epted Lu Lingxi¡¯s kind offer. Although he didn¡¯t have the opportunity to sleep with the boy, the room was so full of the boy¡¯s aura that Yan Yue¡¯s depression about Dahei being able to sleep in the same bed with Lu Lingxi finally subsided. Lu Lingxi went to the other bedroom, found a mat and spread it on the floor, and said seriously to Dahei, ¡°You have to sleep on the mat tonight, understand?¡± It didn¡¯t matter what happened when Dahei was with him, but if Wang Shuxiu found out that Dahei slept on the bed, he would probably be scolded. Dahei whimpered a little, aggrieved, and obediently plopped down on the mat. Lu Lingxi opened the book and read it, unconsciously thinking about the situation in the backyard again. As soon as the thought shed, the white panel surfaced and the situation in the backyard appeared on it. Lu Lingxi was a little surprised; he had not sent out a mental scan and the current range of his mental scan was only three metres, so it was reasonable that he couldn¡¯t reach the yard. He thought about taking a few steps back to make sure that the distance from the backyard was more than three metres, but the white panel was still floating and the whole backyard was clearly visible. Lu Lingxi was really surprised this time. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation. He carefully stretched out his hand and tapped on the surface of the disyed soil, and a very special connection rose up from the bottom of his heart. The feeling was indescribable. It was as if he had established some kind of connection with thend in his backyard because of the power of nature. This connection went beyond the three metre range of the mental scan, and the backyard would appear on the white panel whenever he wanted it to. Lu Lingxi¡¯s first thought was that he would be able to keep track of the growth of tomatoes in his backyard even in Tiny Garden in the future. But then heughed. This connection looked very mysterious, but when you thought about it, it was not really of much use, just a matter of saving time. However, every time the panel developed a new function it was enough to make him happy. Lu Lingxi simply put the book down and began to study the panel. It rained outside all night and only stopped at the break of dawn. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t sleep very well at night, always worrying about the tomatoes and the sapling in the backyard. At five o¡¯clock, Lu Lingxi woke up. As soon as he turned over, Dahei immediately opened his eyes and crawled up. Lu Lingxi made a ¡°shhh¡± sign at Dahei. Yan Yue was still sleeping next door; the sound instion in the old house was not good and they had to keep their voices down so as not to wake up Yan Yue. Dahei squatted quietly in front of Lu Lingxi; Lu Lingxi put on his clothes and stroked Dahei¡¯s head with appreciation. One man and one dog lightly went out the door. Lu Lingxi was anxious to see what was going on in the backyard, pushed open the balcony door and walked out, and what was in front of him immediately made him freeze in his tracks. Overnight, the tomato seedlings that had been battered down by the heavy rainst night had actually blossomed again. Countless small yellow flowers swayed in the wind among the green leaves. A swarm of bees appeared from nowhere, hovering over them and looking very busy. Even the willow sapling, which the gardeners had determined to be dead yesterday, had sprouted new shoots, Although small, the green leaves covered the branches, and a few chirping sparrows sat on it. Seeing Lu Lingxi, they were not afraid at all. The air in the courtyard was as fresh as never before, the fragrance of the vegetation mixed with the smell of the earth, making one¡¯s heart settle down for no reason. Lu Lingxi closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and for a moment, the only thing he felt was rxation and happiness. Was this the effect of soil purification? Or was this what nature was supposed to be like? Yan Yue woke up in the morning to the sound of birds chirping outside. After a good night¡¯s sleep in the aura of the young man surrounding him, he overslept for the first time. After getting dressed, Yan Yue followed the sound to the balcony and, like Lu Lingxi at the beginning, waspletely stunned. Everything in front of him was like a colourful picture full of vivid colours. The whole courtyard was covered in the pale golden morning glow, yellow flowers, green nts, thin willow swaying in the wind, and two piles of bright red tomatoes piled up under the balcony. It waspletely impossible to tell that this ce was hit by a heavy rainst night. The only thing that carried a little bit of the shadow of the heavy rainst night was probably the wet ck soil. Yan Yue looked for Lu Lingxi; the young man was squatting on the ground, carefully weeding. Behind him, Dahei was jumping at the wall trying to climb up. A few sparrows were chirping on the wall, as ifughing at Dahei. The air in the courtyard was fresher than ever before, and Yan Yue took a breath, intoxicated, as he walked towards Lu Lingxi. Chapter 39 When Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue arrived at Tiny Garden, it was already almost half past nine. When they left home, they thought they had plenty of time, but after a heavy rain a lot of water umted on the road, and they had to take a detour and dodge pedestrians, which dyed them. The drainage facilities in Fengcheng were built decades ago and had been patched and repaired over the years without much effect. Usually, when it was raining heavily, the water umted easily. But this time the rainstorm was the heaviest in a few years, and it was a mess. Many buses were forced to change their routes. Wang Shuxiu was trapped at work in the morning and called Lu Lingxi early to say that she couldn¡¯t go home for the time being and had to wait for the water outside to recede. When she heard from Lu Lingxi that Yan Yue had also been trapped by the rainst night, Wang Shuxiu specifically told him that there was nothing to eat at home and that he shouldn¡¯t neglect the guest. Yan Yue asked if he needed to go pick up Wang Shuxiu, but Wang Shuxiu politely declined. The car stopped when the red light came on at the corner. The noise of pedestrians on the pavement reached the car, and although there was water everywhere, the heavy rain brought a long-awaited coolness to the sweltering Fengcheng, and the crowd was more than a little happy about it. The air outside was not bad either. Although not as nice as in the backyard of Lu Lingxi¡¯s house, it was still refreshing and soothing, not so wet and greasy that it felt difficult to breathe as it had been the previous days. Yan Yue kept the window open all the way and felt that the dust that usually floated in the air had been washed away by the heavy rain, and even the sky seemed a little bluer. He mentioned it to Lu Lingxi, who didn¡¯t say anything, but only looked at the stagnant water outside with some unease. The air today was indeed much better than usual, but Lu Lingxi knew that this was all temporary. The heavy rain had only beaten down the floating dust in the air onto the ground, polluting the whole of Fengcheng along with this stagnant water that could not be drained out. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yan Yue sensed that he was in a bad mood. Lu Lingxi shook his head, ¡°I just think that the environment is so polluted that even the rainwater is ck.¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t expect him to be worried about this andforted him, ¡°The environment is a bit bad now, but the country is also aware of the importance of environmental protection and has been spending money to improve it, so it will definitely get better and better in the future.¡± Lu Lingxi let out a sigh, reluctantly epting Yan Yue¡¯sfort. A faint smile reflected in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes, and he looked at Lu Lingxi with an extraordinarily soft expression. He found that Lu Lingxi was serious, not just casually mentioning that the environment outside was bad, but really worried. To be honest, he could never understand how on earth Wang Shuxiu with her pungent personality had managed to raise such a naive and kind, crystal-clear being as this young man. s ¡°Okay.¡± He didn¡¯t resist reaching out to rub the boy¡¯s hair and said, ¡°When Tiny Garden makes money, we can expand the scale of our nt nursery and nt more flowers and nts. That way more people will buy them, and it will be an improvement to the environment, don¡¯t you think?¡± This constion was much more useful than the vague one before it, and Lu Lingxi nodded seriously, thinking about what Yan Yue said about expanding the scale of the nt nursery. The green light came on and the two turned into the street where Tiny Garden was located. From a distance, they could see quite a few people gathered across the street from Tiny Garden. When they got closer, Lu Lingxi recognised that several of the people there were shop owners from the neighbourhood, and Brother Dong was also there, talking about something. Lu Lingxi looked over there with some curiosity. Yan Yue stopped the car and motioned, ¡°I¡¯ll open the shop, Xiao Xi, go and see what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Lu Lingxi obediently agreed, leading Dahei all the way across the road at a trot. Yan Yue hooked up the corners of his mouth. It was a rare moment when he could see that Lu Lingxi was only eighteen years old, still a teenager who hadn¡¯t grown up yet. The moment Dong Zhi turned around, he saw Lu Lingxi trotting over and hurriedly waved at him. Lu Lingxi stopped in front of Dong Zhi. The people gathered in front of him were a bit crowded, so he couldn¡¯t see what was going on. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked, unable to hide his curiosity. Dong Zhi shook his head and sighed, ¡°Grandma Wang was hit by a car yesterday, and her family is looking for witnesses. Xiao Xi, you remember Grandma Wang, right?¡± Of course Lu Lingxi remembered; yesterday Grandma Wang even said she wanted to introduce a girlfriend to Yan Yue. His heart tightened, ¡°Grandma Wang, she¡­¡± As soon as Dong Zhi saw Lu Lingxi¡¯s expression, he knew what the young man was afraid of and quickly added, ¡°Grandma Wang¡¯s life is not in danger, but her leg is broken, and she soaked in the rain for a long time, so she has a bit of a cold. I don¡¯t know which unscrupulous person hit her, but he stopped to take a look and then turned his head and ran away.¡± He said this and looked at Dahei, who was squatting by Lu Lingxi¡¯s leg. It was the same thing with Dahei that time but fortunately, Yan Yue saved him. Lu Lingxi thought of it too, and petted Dahei soothingly, saying in concern, ¡°Did Grandma Wang see the car that hit her?¡± Dong Zhi shook his head, ¡°I heard it was a ck Audi, but I¡¯m not sure about anything else. It was raining too much yesterday and the roadside camera was broken, so nothing was captured.¡± Lu Lingxi was very sensitive to the mention of a ck Audi. Wasn¡¯t the car that Dahei reacted so violently to yesterday a ck Audi? Just as this thought shed, Dahei, who had been quiet, seemed to smell something and his expression became somewhat anxious and restless. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Dahei?¡± Brother Dong was a little surprised. Lu Lingxi made a connection to yesterday¡¯s incident and looked at Dahei with some hesitation, ¡°Dahei, do you smell something?¡± Dahei lowered his head and sniffed around, looking a bit strange, but not as violent as yesterday. Lu Lingxi told Dong Zhi about what happenedst night when a ck Audi passed by. Dong Zhi felt a bit incredulous. How long has it been since Dahei was hit? Could Dahei still remember it? ¡°Look at Dahei¡¯s reaction, could it be the same car?¡± Lu Lingxi also suspected this, but Dahei¡¯s reaction didn¡¯t look as intense as yesterday. He squatted in front of Dahei and said seriously, ¡°Dahei, do you recognise this smell? Is it the same person as the one who hit you?¡± Dahei was a little hesitant, seemingly unsure. s Brother Dong patted Lu Lingxi, ¡°It rained too much yesterday, any smell would have been washed away long ago.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded and didn¡¯t say anything else. When he led Dahei back to Tiny Garden, the people on the side of the road had dispersed. Yan Yue was a little curious, ¡°What happened? What took so long?¡± Lu Lingxi told Yan Yue about Grandma Wang being hit, emphasising how unusually Dahei behaved at the time. But as Brother Dong said, the rain was so heavy that too little of the smell remained, and Dahei himself was not sure. Yan Yue saw that Lu Lingxi¡¯s mood was affected and said soothingly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This kind of case is not difficult, it should be solved soon. When the police catch the perpetrator, we¡¯ll take Dahei to identify him and see if it¡¯s the same person.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be okay?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Yan Yue affirmed. But whether it was Grandma Wang¡¯s family or Yan Yue, no one expected that after half a month, there would be no clues at all about this ordinary traffic ident case. The police had been searching the area for several days and had even gone inside Tiny Garden to ask for information. Lu Lingxi had already left work the day Grandma Wang was hit, so naturally he didn¡¯t see anything. But he made a point of mentioning Dahei¡¯s reaction to the police and the fact that Dahei had been hit before, wondering if it was the same person. The policeughed at this and didn¡¯t take Lu Lingxi¡¯s words seriously. No matter how smart the dog was, they didn¡¯t believe it could remember the smell of the person who had hit it for such a long time. Looking at Lu Lingxi¡¯s serious expression as he talked about Dahei, the two policemen thought that Lu Lingxi was still a child and that the dog just had a trained conditioned response. At first, when Grandma Wang was hit, the nearby shopkeepers often mentioned the incident. But now half a month had passed and there had been no clues, so people didn¡¯t mention it as much. Only Dahei would run to the ce where Grandma Wang was hit and sniff around. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t worry about it and let Dahei go on his own. At the end of the month, Lu Lingxi asked Yan Yue to take stock of the ounts. It had been a month since he took over Tiny Garden, and with word of mouth from regr customers, the shop was doing better and better and there were more and more repeat customers. Everyone said that Lu Lingxi had green fingers and that the flowers and nts they bought from Tiny Garden were all flourishing and very easy to raise. In particr, maybe it was just an illusion, but people always seemed to feel good when seeing these flowers and nts and were veryfortable staying around them. The reputation of Tiny Garden was slowly spreading out. Lu Lingxi was gentle and easy to talk to, and the environment inside was so good that many customers came in just to tease him when they were passing by and had nothing to do. As long as they entered Tiny Garden, they would more or less buy something before they left. This month, Lu Lingxi calcted that, excludingbour, he and Yan Yue had made a profit of 20,000 yuan. Lu Lingxi was a little excited. If things went on like this, they would soon be able to expand their nt nursery. As long as the sales kept up, the profits would definitely be higher and he would be able to pay off the money he owed Yan Yue sooner. Afterpleting the ounts, Lu Lingxi began to prepare for opening of the online shop that Yan Yue had casually mentioned earlier. Because of the special living environment in his previous life, although Lu Lingxi usually had ess to aputer and would learn about the outside world through it, he didn¡¯t really have a deep understanding of the inte. The tutor the Lu family had hired for him would not talk about this either. Lu Lingxi knew that he could buy things online, but couldn¡¯t imagine that you could actually buy anything online, as long as you had money. Since Yan Yue had equipped the shop with aputer, Lu Lingxi researched a lot about opening an online shop. He was most worried about any damage to the flowers during the shipping process and other problems didn¡¯t seem so serious. ¡°Do you really want to open an online shop?¡± Yan Yue asked. Lu Lingxi nodded and said with conviction, ¡°I¡¯ve researched it, it¡¯s very simple, notplicated at all, just register on Taobao and you can open a shop.¡± He also found a lot of colleagues on Taobao and saw all kinds of flowers and nts, much more than what he saw when he went to the flower market. When Lu Lingxi talked about this, his eyes shone brightly and Yan Yue saw the excitement in his gaze. Although in his heart he didn¡¯t want Lu Lingxi to be too tired, but even more so, he didn¡¯t want to dampen his enthusiasm, so he could only nod. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you agree? Don¡¯t worry, I will definitely do it properly and make our Tiny Garden famous as soon as possible.¡± Yan Yue hooked up the corner of his mouth and said in support, ¡°Good.¡± With Yan Yue¡¯s support, Lu Lingxi was full of energy, but before he could finish his online shop, Brother Han, whom he hadn¡¯t seen for some days, brought him another big order. The order was from someone Lu Lingxi knew. It was Li Weisheng, whom he had just met half a month ago. Chapter 40 Han Jianmin and Lu Lingxi were acquaintances. Brother Han was not only a regr customer of Tiny Garden, but also a hardcore fan of Tiny Garden. As a man over 40 years old, Han Jianmin had both the old and the young people under his care, was the backbone of the family and a representative of the most stressed group of poption in the social science survey. Some time ago, he had some bad days. The old man at home was a little ufortable and was admitted to the hospital. The college entrance exams of the child were not very smooth. The things at work also annoyed him, and his favourite clivia looked like it was about to die. With a lot of things piled up, Han Jianmin felt quite powerless. But all this seemed to have changed since he was taken to Tiny Garden by Lao Cheng and the clivia was saved. The old man was discharged from the hospital, the child was ready to resume his studies on the advice of his ss teacher, and even things at work became smooth. That day, his stingy and cheap boss suddenly said he wanted to purchase a batch of green nts to decorate the office environment. As someone who loved flowers and nts very much, Han Jianmin naturally took this job. The first ce he thought of was Tiny Garden, and out of confidence in Lu Lingxi, he spent the budget approved by the boss cleanly without a moment¡¯s hesitation. The delivery speed of Tiny Garden was fast and the potted nts were delivered in no time. There was nothing special about these potted nts the first few days after they were put up, but soon Han Jianmin noticed that the office environment seemed to have changed for the better. He was not the only one, other colleagues also felt this way. Han Jianmin¡¯s office was in a newly renovated building and their whole unit moved in after the renovation. Some colleaguesined privately that the office was full of formaldehyde and that they felt stuffy after a day at work. There was also a new girl whoined that her face was allergic and itching unbearably every day. But since these pots were put up, the colleagues¡¯ stuffy head symptoms seemed to have gradually reduced, and even the new girl was not so allergic anymore, the red rash on her skin fading away, revealing a pretty face. In private, other colleagues also felt that the smell of the newly renovated office seemed to have dissipated and the air was noticeably fresher. Because these potted nts were purchased by Han Jianmin, everyone would mention that Lao Han had done a good job. Even the bossplimented Lao Han once and moved the potted nts that were originally ced at the entrance to the office inside and put them behind himself. Han Jianmin was somewhat pleased to be unanimously recognised by his colleagues, which was not an easy task. It was simr to the logistics of giving out New Year¡¯s Eve goods: there were colleagues who were still making a fuss about the things they were given for free. But these potted nts were deservedly able to please everyone. Originally, this was the end of the story, but who would have thought that the day of the inspection by the superiors would have coincided with a power outage in the unit. The weather in August would be deadly hot without air conditioning; and yet, maybe it was a psychological factor but Lao Han didn¡¯t feel hot at all that day. When the superiors left, theyplimented on the good work they had done in the office, especially the lush potted nts that made people feel cool just by looking at them. When they heard it was Han Jianmin who had purchased the nts, they even gave Lao Han a specialpliment. This time, Han Jianmin waspletely on fire. He already had a good impression of Lu Lingxi, and when he thought about these things, he felt as if his life had gone smoothly since Lu Lingxi had saved that clivia. The child was blessed, so good. A few days after the inspection, Li Weisheng came up. Han Jianmin was acquainted with Li Weisheng before but didn¡¯t know him well. Li Weisheng was in charge of the logistics of a superior unit, and his level was much higher than Lao Han¡¯s. Han Jianmin was wondering what Li Weisheng was looking for him for and then he heard that the other party was also going to buy potted nts. When the superiors went back after the inspection, they all thought the potted nts here were good and wanted to buy a batch to rece their original ones. Li Weisheng was in charge of this matter, so he asked around and came to Lao Han. s When they talked about Tiny Garden, they found that by coincidence they both knew Lu Lingxi. Li Weisheng also made a point of asking Han Jianmin if the time he met Xiao Xi was the time he came to deliver the goods. When Han Jianmin nodded, Li Weishengughed. He had been wondering if the potted nts were from Xiao Xi¡¯s shop, and now Han Jianmin confirmed it. The two of them agreed to go to Tiny Garden together. This order was muchrger than the one Han Jianmin had previously made for his unit. ¡°Brother Han, Brother Li.¡± Lu Lingxi was quite happy to see the two of them and curved his eyes to wee them into Tiny Garden. This was the first time that Li Weisheng hade to Tiny Garden, and even though along the way Han Jianmin had painted a picture of how good Tiny Garden was, he couldn¡¯t even imagine it. It wasn¡¯t until he stood inside Tiny Garden that he realised that Lao Han hadn¡¯t been exaggerating, and that the air in it was simply amazing. Before Li Weisheng was hospitalised, their unit had organised a trip to a certain scenic area that was known to have the best natural environmental protection in China. He strolled around at that time and felt that the local air was definitely better than that of Fengcheng, but it wasn¡¯t as impressive as it was boasted to be, called the pure natural oxygen bar. If you asked him, it was inside Tiny Garden that was the real pure natural oxygen bar. When he heard that the current owner of Tiny Garden was Lu Lingxi, Li Weisheng was even happier. ¡°Xiao Xi is good, your Sister Tian will be happy when she finds out.¡± Thest time Li Weisheng met Lu Lingxi, he went back and told about it to Tian Lei, but Tian Lei¡¯s work suddenly sent her on a business trip, so she never came to see Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed by thepliment and smiled shyly. Li Weisheng came here for the green nts in Tiny Garden, but when he finished talking, Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help but feel a little embarrassed. The business of the shop had been good for a while and potted nts of every size sold quite well. Not counting the small potted nts, what Brother Li asked for was a hundred pots ofrge-leaved golden pothos and money trees. The stock in the nt nursery was probably not enough. ¡°Not enough?¡± Lu Lingxi exined with some embarrassment that the nt nursery was not veryrge, and therger potted nts like this were bought by offices. The sales were usually quite average, and the nt nursery didn¡¯t grow much of them. ¡°Oh, so.¡± Li Weisheng thought about it and said cheerfully, ¡°Then count as many as there are, and I¡¯ll go to other ces to make up the rest.¡± ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll trouble Brother Li.¡± Li Weisheng smiled. What kind of trouble was this, he was usually in the logistics, running around was amon thing for him. But the green nts here in Lu Lingxi¡¯s shop were really nice. He was nning to buy a few pots to disy at home. After confirming the stock of the nt nursery, Li Weisheng paid half of the money as a deposit. He had a good impression of the child and knew that his family was not in a good situation, so he could give him a hand with the money. He believed that the child¡¯s character was fine anyway. Having made an appointment for the delivery, Li Weisheng didn¡¯t stay much longer. There was not enough stock in Tiny Garden, and he had to find someone else. After sending the two of them away, Lu Lingxi was a bit excited to keep track of the ounts. This single order from Brother Li was worth two months of Tiny Garden¡¯s sales. This money, plus the money in the card, was enough to rent a few more acres ofnd to expand the nt nursery. It was almost September now, and it would be winter soon. By then, the Tiny Garden business should not be so active and he could focus on the nt nursery and prepare for next spring. Thinking of this, Lu Lingxi pulled out his notebook where his development n was carefully outlined. When the nt nursery was expanded, the nting scale of some green nts would be appropriately expanded as well. He also wanted to introduce some new nts. He had been looking at seeds on Taobao, but he just never had the space to nt them. After listing all these, Lu Lingxi chewed on his pen and decided that if he had extra money he would rent an acre ofnd specifically for tomatoes. s Thest time there was a rainstorm in Fengcheng, the tomato crop in the backyard was knocked to the ground. He and Wang Shuxiu washed them all and cooked them into tomato sauce, which they sold at the bun shop of Brother Wang. Originally Wang Shuxiu was just giving it a try. There was too much tomato sauce and it couldn¡¯tst long, and there weren¡¯t that many people to give it to. What she didn¡¯t expect was that the tomato sauce would be so popr that it was sold out within two days, and even Brother Wang¡¯s bun business was on fire with it. These days, many people were still looking for tomato sauce, and Wang Shuxiu made tomato sauce at home after work when she had nothing better to do. Perhaps because thend in the backyard had been purified, the newly grown tomatoes were big and red, and the taste was a little better than before, and the sauce was even more fragrant and rich. Lu Lingxi wanted to persuade Wang Shuxiu to quit her job and just specialise in tomato sauce. Or they could open a small restaurant like Brother Wang and sell tomato sauce there. Wang Shuxiu scolded Lu Lingxi for his simplistic thinking. How could it be easy to open a restaurant? What if you encountered a customer dragging his feet on credit and not paying? What if they encountered punks looking for trouble? She was a single woman in the family and Lu Lingxi was a kid. Without a man to stand up for them, anyone would treat them as a punch bag. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t understand what Wang Shuxiu said. Since he started working at Tiny Garden, things had been going well and there hadn¡¯t been any incidents with customers who didn¡¯t pay or punks looking for trouble. The people he met were all quite nice, like Yan Yue, Brother Dong and Brother Han, and they all felt like good people. He also felt that he had grown up and was not a kid anymore. Wang Shuxiu pped him directly, ¡°Little bastard, wait until you get a wife before you grow up.¡± Lu Lingxi tried to retort that there was still Big Brother Yan. Big Brother Yan was tall and strong and could definitely intimidate people and stand up for them. Wang Shuxiu immediately snorted, ¡°Little bastard, if you were a girl, you could point to your Big Brother Yan to be a family and stand up for us. Now you are a boy and it¡¯s toote for your mom to have another daughter. Yan Yue helped us once, how can he help us every time?¡± Lu Lingxi was a bit confused, but also felt that Wang Shuxiu had a point. The matter of Wang Shuxiu¡¯s quitting her job was put off again. The most important thing was that Wang Shuxiu pointed out that the tomatoes grown in the backyard were too few and that there would not be enough to open a restaurant. He could hear Wang Shuxiu¡¯s meaning. Probably Wang Shuxiu wanted to quit her job, but all the conditions were not suitable. Lu Lingxi chewed on his pen and was seriously thinking about renting an acre ofnd to grow tomatoes, when a customer walked in. ¡°Wee.¡± He immediately put down his pen and looked over. Appearing at the door was a young man. Judging by his clothes, he didn¡¯t seem to be a resident of the nearbymunity but looked somewhat simr to Yan Yue in the feeling he gave off. The man looked at Lu Lingxi with a scrutinising gaze and a hint of indescribable meaning in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Yan Yue, is he here?¡± Chapter 41 ¡°I¡¯m looking for Yan Yue, is he here?¡± The man who spoke was well-mannered and his voice was very nice, sounding slightly maic, veryfortable to the ears. Lu Lingxi was taken aback for a moment. It was the first time someone came to the shop looking for Yan Yue. When he recovered, he curved his eyes and said politely, ¡°Big Brother Yan is not here right now, he went to the nt nursery to bring some goods. He should be back soon. Do you want to sit for a while and wait for Big Brother Yan?¡± His smile was clean, his voice clear and his tone sincere. The scrutiny in the visitor¡¯s eyes slowly faded away to reveal a warm smile. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll trouble you. I¡¯m Ye Kang, you¡¯re Lu Lingxi, right?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little surprised, then smiled, ¡°I¡¯m Lu Lingxi, was it Big Brother Yan who told you about me?¡± Ye Kang smiled without saying anything, but in his heart he groaned that Yan Yue was like a giant dragon that had found a treasure and couldn¡¯t wait to hide Lu Lingxi securely. How could he be willing to tell him? Yan Yue and he had grown up together and had always talked about everything, and even the private matters of the family that outsiders would feel ashamed of had never been concealed from Ye Kang. Only when it came to Lu Lingxi did Yan Yue refuse to say anything, so much so that he was not even willing to reveal the boy¡¯s name. It was Su Lang who called him a few days ago and mentioned that he had identally met Yan Yue. After that, Ye Kang asked for the location and followed the trail. Ye Kang also kept it from Yan Yue this time. He was a bit concerned about Yan Yue. Ye Kang was never worried about the battles of the Yan family. He believed that Yan Yue could handle them well. But he was a bit uneasy about this Lu Lingxi who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Used to all kinds of conspiracy theories, Ye Kang felt that Lu Lingxi¡¯s appearance was too much of a coincidence, and the more unusual Yan Yue¡¯s reaction was, the more it showed the influence Lu Lingxi had on him. After thinking about it, Ye Kang decided toe and see Lu Lingxi in person. After seeing him, Ye Kang finally put his mind at ease. As a psychologist Yan Yue called ¡°half-assed¡±, Ye Kang felt that he was quite urate in reading people. The young man in front of him looked simple and gullible, not well-versed in the ways of the world. He had been worried that the young man had bewitched Yan Yue, but now it seemed that he needed to do the opposite, as it was not certain who was fooling whom. With this in mind, Ye Kang¡¯s expression became gentler. He had the same good looks as Yan Yue, and unlike Yan Yue, who was cold to outsiders, Ye Kang always knew how to use these looks to gain the goodwill of others. He had studied psychology at university and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was good at coaxing people. After a few words of conversation, Lu Lingxi¡¯s goodwill towards him went up. Ye Kang¡¯s speech was not too fast or too slow and the rhythm was controlled quite well, so he was able to get a lot of information out of Lu Lingxi¡¯s mouth without saying much himself. ¡°Big Brother Yan is very nice, he saved Dahei, and Dahei likes Big Brother Yan a lot.¡± ¡°Big Brother Yan looks a bit cold, but although his face is cold, his heart is warm. He is actually a good person.¡± ¡°Big Brother Yan has helped me a lot. Many of the regr customers in the neighbourhood also like Big Brother Yan. Last time Grandma Wang even said she wanted to introduce a girlfriend for Big Brother Yan.¡± Ye Kang had a smile on his face, but in his heart he was a little surprised. If Su Lang had not told him the address, he would have thought that the Yan Yue that Lu Lingxi was talking about was not the same person as the Yan Yue he knew. Perhaps because of his special family environment, in Ye Kang¡¯s eyes, Yan Yue was somewhat cold in nature, with a strong sense of self-restraint and a slight perfectionism. He was not only strict with himself, but also with those around him. Yan Yue¡¯s life was like a machine working, meticulous but no fun. But in Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes, Yan Yue was apletely different person. He was full of love, he would rescue a stray dog on a rainy night, he would visit an injured dog every day during his lunch break, he would help strangers he met, he loved flowers and nts, he was soft-hearted andpassionate. To be honest, Ye Kang and Yan Yue had known each other for more than twenty years, but this was the first time he had heard of Yan Yue having these qualities. Ye Kang looked at Lu Lingxi thoughtfully. The young man¡¯s eyes were clear and his body had a veryfortable aura, and when he spoke of Yan Yue, his eyes were curved and full of trust. He truly believed that Yan Yue was the kind of person he was talking about, without the slightest doubt. Ye Kang probably understood somewhat why Yan Yue was so unusual to the young man. There was an attraction about Lu Lingxi, like warmth mixed with light. He could imagine Yan Yue¡¯s first reaction when he saw the boy. Someone like Yan Yue, who hadcked warmth since childhood and lived in that kind of chaotic family, would inevitably be unable to resist this attraction and control his desire to get closer. It was as if a person had been walking for a long time in a dark and cold tunnel; when a bright light suddenly appeared in front of him, he would subconsciously approach and would follow that bright light. s Ye Kang was analysing it in his mind out of habit when a big ck dog suddenly rushed in through the door. This should be Dahei? Ye Kang guessed. Sure enough, Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Dahei, you¡¯re back, where¡¯s Big Brother Yan?¡± ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± The man came in; all his attention was fixed on Lu Lingxi, not even a single extra nce spared to the surroundings. The corner of Ye Kang¡¯s mouth twitched. For the first time he felt that he had no sense of existence. The Yan Yue in front of him was somewhat different from his memory. He had taken off his usual shirt and trousers and wore a simple and fresh t-shirt and shorts, looking full of vitality. Ye Kang remembered that when Yan Yue was abroad, his shirt was straight and buttoned up to the top in the 30-degree heat. He hardly ever saw Yan Yue wearing a t-shirt. Ye Kang coughed slightly, ¡°Yan Yue.¡± Lu Lingxi said at the same time, ¡°Big Brother Yan, there¡¯s someone looking for you.¡± Yan Yue turned around somewhat in surprise. ¡°Ye Kang.¡± His re at Ye Kang contained a warning. Ye Kang immediately raised his hand yfully and made a gesture that both of them understood, letting Yan Yue know, don¡¯t worry, I didn¡¯t say anything. Yan Yue smirked and averted his eyes, cing the pile of flower pots he was carrying on the ground. The pots at the top were stuffed with small bags of nutrient fertiliser, apparently to save space. He had brought back quite a few flower pots this time, and when Lu Lingxi wanted toe out to help, Yan Yue stopped him and gestured to Ye Kang, ¡°The two of us will be enough. It¡¯s hot outside, Xiao Xi, you don¡¯t need to go out.¡± Ye Kang: ¡°¡­¡­¡± It took the two of them three times to finish unloading the car, and Ye Kang patted the dusty trunk in distress and said, ¡°Baby, your master treats you like this, treats you like a truck, do you want to change the master?¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t bother to pay attention to Ye Kang, threw him a bottle of water, interrupting his performance, leaned against the car and asked carelessly, ¡°Come on, did Su Lang tell you?¡± Ye Kang smiled and said narcissistically, ¡°You know, as Professor Susan¡¯s most outstanding student, if I wanted to set up a conversation, Su Lang would not even notice.¡± Yan Yue hummed thoughtfully and said abruptly, ¡°How much did you find out from Xiao Xi?¡± Ye Kangughed heartily, ¡°Enough for me to write a thesis on how a pervert disguises himself as a decent guy to get close to an innocent young man in a deliberate manner.¡± Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Ye Kang continued to tease, ¡°I didn¡¯t even know that I had a caring,passionate and kind-hearted friend by my side. Honestly, you know I¡¯ve liked this car for quite a while. You see, you¡¯re full of kindness to strangers, shouldn¡¯t you be even more kind to me? As a good brother, shouldn¡¯t you fulfil my wish?¡± Yan Yue nced at him expressionlessly as Ye Kang continued without fear of death, ¡°Xiao Xi is watching from inside, keep smiling, don¡¯t spoil your image in his mind, ah.¡± Yan Yue finally couldn¡¯t hold back, ¡°¡­get lost.¡± Ye Kangughed out loud, and after he finishedughing, he said with a straight face, ¡°Do you feel that you¡¯re a little more popr now?¡± Yan Yue was not impressed, ¡°Was I not popr before?¡± Ye Kang nodded solemnly. ¡°Before, you were either expressionless, or you smiled and even the curvature of your mouth looked like it was finely calcted in advance. That is, I don¡¯t dislike you, but ask around in your circle of ssmates. Who won¡¯t say you live like a machine?¡± Yan Yue hooked up the corner of his mouth without saying anything, and looked up through the window at Lu Lingxi who was lowering his head to tidy up the potted nts. A touch of tenderness shed in his eyes. Ye Kang noticed it, put away his joking attitude and said earnestly, ¡°Are you serious?¡± Yan Yue gave an ¡°en¡±. Ye Kang thought about Yan Yue¡¯s family, ¡°Your parents, they¡­¡± Yan Yue looked indifferent, ¡°Since they thought I could stand on my own enough to survive alone in the old mansion when I was six, there¡¯s no need to wait until I¡¯m twenty-seven toe back to pick up the role of the caring parents trying to dictate me what to do with my life.¡± What he said was mean; Ye Kang sighed, ¡°Just make your own decisions.¡± Through the window, Lu Lingxi nced at Yan Yue, who was talking to Ye Kang outside, with a little confusion in his heart. He didn¡¯t know what the two were talking about; Yan Yue¡¯s expression was somewhat cold, his brows slightly furrowed with a hint of disgust. He had rarely seen Yan Yue look like this. Only when he heard Yan Yue¡¯s call back then in the car; it seemed that the other party mentioned Yan Yue¡¯s younger brother and Yan Yue showed this kind of true disgust. Could it be that Ye Kang also mentioned Yan Yue¡¯s younger brother just now? Did the other party do something to make Yan Yue angry again? Outside Tiny Garden, Ye Kang was somewhat gloating, ¡°Did you find someone to push Yin Ya into Hopewell? Do you know that she ispeting with Yan Hai in a high-profile manner for the qualification to go abroad? The two sides are fighting quite a lottely.¡± s Yan Yue¡¯s expression was slightly cold, with a faint trace of mockery. ¡°Hasn¡¯t she always wanted to enter Hopewell? I¡¯m just fulfilling her wish.¡± Ye Kang shook his head, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Uncle Yan has quite a headache.¡± Yan Yue had little reaction to these words, saying indifferently, ¡°He should have expected this day toe when he made ns for Yan Hai.¡± Ye Kang, who had always been on Yan Yue¡¯s side, acted as if he had not heard Yan Yue¡¯s somewhat rebellious words. He finished the water in his hand in one gulp and threw the empty bottle to the trash can, perfectly hitting the aim, and then asked, ¡°What are you going to do? Stay in Fengcheng all the time?¡± Yan Yue nodded, ¡°An Jie will be here soon. I need a favour from you.¡± ¡°What?¡± Yan Yue tapped on the car and said in a deep voice, ¡°Make a false impression to the outside world that I¡¯m going abroad to recuperate.¡± Right now Yan Hai and Yin Ya were busy fighting for power, so he guessed no one would care about him. But when Yan Shihai finished dealing with the matter of Hopewell after a while, he might remember he still had a son who was forgotten in the back of his mind. Then, in case he found Xiao Xi¡­ Yan Yue didn¡¯t want to involve Xiao Xi at all. It wouldn¡¯t be difficult to do such a thing, forging an exit document would be no problem. Yan Yue was looking for Ye Kang to be his witness. It was estimated no one would doubt Ye Kang¡¯s words, and Yan Yue could stay in Fengcheng without worry. Ye Kang almost agreed but¡­ his eyes fell on the car behind Yan Yue. Yan Yue looked at him with a smirk, pulled out the keys and threw them to him. ¡°A bargain for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m also doing you a favour. This car is too shy. Come to think about it, I¡¯ll give you my soon-to-be-scrapped VW to drive overter, it will definitely let you blend into the crowd without being conspicuous at all.¡± Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Ye Kang cheekily spent the afternoon in Tiny Garden and in the evening announced that he wanted to invite Lu Lingxi to dinner. Lu Lingxi closed Tiny Garden and politely declined Ye Kang¡¯s invitation. He had to go to the nt nursery to prepare the green nts that Brother Li wanted. Yan Yue, of course, had to go with him, and before leaving, he thought of tricking Ye Kang into getting into the car as well. Although he wanted to stay overnight in the countryside after workingte like he didst time, in view of the huge order this time, the thought of not wanting Lu Lingxi to be too tired prevailed. As a strongbourer, Ye Kang could still be of some use. Not knowing what they were going to do, Ye Kang followed in a daze to the nt nursery. By the time he regretted it, he was already on the outskirts of the city and couldn¡¯t go back even if he wanted to. The three of them, plus Uncle Li, finished by eleven o¡¯clock and finally had all the potted nts that Brother Li wanted ready. On the way back, Lu Lingxi was a bit sleepy and unknowingly fell asleep with Dahei in his arms. Yan Yue saw him sleeping in the rearview mirror and subconsciously slowed down the car, driving more smoothly. Ye Kang angrilyined about Yan Yue¡¯s unfair treatment in a low voice. His back was about to break, howe he didn¡¯t see Yan Yue being considerate of him? Yan Yue nced at him, ¡°My advantage isn¡¯t that easy to take.¡± Ye Kang was speechless for a long time, and then changed the subject bluntly. ¡°By the way, I said the name Lu Lingxi sounded a bit familiar. I suddenly remembered why when I was moving that pot. You know the Zhongjing Lu family, right? The youngest son of their family was called Lu Lingxi. But I heard that he passed away two months ago.¡± The words ¡°passed away¡± caused Yan Yue to feel a little ufortable, and he casually asked, ¡°The Lu Lingxi you¡¯re talking about was not in good health?¡± Ye Kang smiled sarcastically, ¡°The one who is not in good health is his brother Lu Wei¡¯an. You¡¯ve been abroad and don¡¯t know the situation of their family. You have an impression of Lu Wei¡¯an, right? We met him when he was a child, he was skinny and small, not at all eye-catching. Later, he got leukaemia, and his mother gave birth to another child, Lu Lingxi. Isn¡¯t it true that leukaemia requires a bone marrow transntation from a matching donor? They say that Lu Lingxi was specially born to transnt bone marrow to Lu Wei¡¯an. The Lu family had been keeping him at home all these years, and he didn¡¯te out often to see people. Some time ago, I heard that Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s condition deteriorated again, and then I don¡¯t know what happened but something went wrong during the operation. By the way, Su Lang was in charge of Lu Wei¡¯an before he resigned. I think Su Lang also resigned because he was implicated by this ident.¡± Yan Yue was not very interested in the affairs of the Lu family in Zhongjing, but when he heard the reason for Su Lang¡¯s resignation, he suddenly thought of Su Lang¡¯s tone when he mentioned Lu Lingxi at the door of Tiny Gardenst time, and frowned imperceptibly. He vaguely felt that Su Lang seemed to be treating Xiao Xi as a stand-in for that Lu Lingxi, and this feeling made him a little ufortable. Xiao Xi was Xiao Xi, the unique Lu Lingxi in this world. Ye Kang was still talking about the gossip of the Lu family, ¡°You know Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s mother, right? The daughter of the Li family, and it is said that she is nning to have another child, for the sake of Lu Wei¡¯an. But this news was denied by the Lu family. I heard it was because Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s father didn¡¯t agree.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s interest in gossip was not as high as Ye Kang¡¯s, and he just listened with a nd expression, asionally adding a response. Neither of them noticed that Lu Lingxi had woken up at some point and was silent the whole way, hugging Dahei without making a single sound. Dahei quietly licked Lu Lingxi¡¯s fingers, his moist eyes looking tenderly at Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi tightened his arms and gave a light smile to Dahei. When Yan Yue dropped Lu Lingxi off at home, Lu Lingxi got out of the car rubbing his eyes as if he had just woken up. ¡°Sleep early.¡± Yan Yue rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s head. Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. Yan Yue was keenly aware that Lu Lingxi seemed to be in a bad mood, ¡°What, tired?¡± Lu Lingxi rubbed his stomach and found an excuse, ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± Yan Yue smiled, ¡°Do you want to go for a snack with me?¡± ¡°No, Mom must have left dinner for me.¡± Lu Lingxi refused. ¡°Good then, hurry up and go back. Eat less to digest the food easier.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded and ran back with Dahei by his side. He was just talking casually, but as soon as he turned on the light, he found a note on the dining table in the living room. Wang Shuxiu had left dinner for him in the fridge. Lu Lingxi opened the fridge and took out the fresh-keeping box, smiling faintly at the ribs inside. The small grievance that had arisen from hearing the news about the Lu family earlier also dissipated in the aroma of the food. Three dayster, Lu Lingxi delivered the potted nts Brother Li had asked for to their unit as promised. Alsoing to make the delivery was an employee from another gardening shop. The twopanies met together at the entrance, and unlike Lu Lingxi and Yi Hang who drove a small broken Jinbei, the other gardeningpany was obviously very wealthy, directly driving a van. Yi Hang bumped Lu Lingxi enviously, ¡°Lao San, see our goal?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, ¡°I see, I¡¯ll buy it for you after I work hard to make money.¡± Yi Hang hooked Lu Lingxi¡¯s neck in satisfaction, ¡°Lao San is good.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and smiled. After receiving Lu Lingxi¡¯s call, Li Weisheng quickly rushed out. ¡°Xiao Xi is here.¡± ¡°Brother Li.¡± Lu Lingxi greeted him politely. Li Weisheng was about to say something when a young man jumped out of the van next to him and squeezed in front of Lu Lingxi, smiling warmly at Brother Li, ¡°Brother Li.¡± Li Weisheng nodded, ¡°Xiao Qiu, you¡¯re here. You have to be careful with the potted nts this time. If the boss is not satisfied, you¡¯ll have to take them back.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Brother Li, there¡¯s absolutely no problem this time.¡± The young man smiled fawningly at Brother Li, turning his head while Brother Li wasn¡¯t looking to fiercely re at Lu Lingxi. Don¡¯t think he didn¡¯t know that it was this kid¡¯s gardening shop that had stolen their business. This kid dared topete with them without even bothering to inquire about the status of their Qiu Tian Gardening in Fengcheng, he really didn¡¯t know what he was doing. He would like to see how good the potted nts cultivated by that Tiny Garden could be, worthy of Brother Li returning all the potted nts they had sentst time. Chapter 42 Qiu Tian Gardening was one of thergest gardening shops in Fengcheng, with arge nt nursery on the outskirts of Fengcheng. The owner of Qiu Tian Gardening was Qiu Tian. After many years of operation, he cooperated well with some municipal units in Fengcheng and had always been a fixed supplier of these units. Li Weisheng¡¯s unit was one of them. Three days ago, Li Weisheng suddenly contacted Qiu Tian Gardening to return all the potted nts they had just delivered. The reason given by Li Weisheng was that the nts didn¡¯t look energetic and the boss didn¡¯t like them. This move was a severe p in the face to Qiu Tian Gardening. Qiu Tian was furious. He had been in the market for many years and thought he had guessed what was going on as soon as he returned to his senses. The boss didn¡¯t like them! It must¡¯ve been somepetitor messing around behind his back. He then went around to find out what was going on, and finally he did find out, but the result was unexpected. It turned out that someone had indeed stolen his business, but it wasn¡¯t thepetitors he had in mind, but a small gardening shop with a few acres of nt nursery. Qiu Tian wanted to go after that gardening shop but was stopped by his son Qiu Jun. Never mind the small-scale Tiny Garden, it would not be good to make trouble with Li Weisheng in case there was someone behind the opponent. At this time, Li Weisheng approached them again and ordered a new batch from them, which could be regarded as a way to protect the face of Qiu Tian Gardening. As the two sides talked, Li Weisheng defended Tiny Garden. Qiu Tian pondered about his words and felt that Li Weisheng had something to do with Tiny Garden. Although Li Weisheng was not a big deal, he was a logistics guy who ran outside all the time and knew a lot of people, so Qiu Tian had to give Li Weisheng some face. It was just that they couldn¡¯t take this loss for nothing. Qiu Tian sent Li Weisheng away and personally went to the garden to carefully pick out the potted nts that Brother Li wanted. He had thought about it; if the kid from Tiny Garden did not know how to be decent and stole his business because of his connections, he would take these potted nts and p him hard in the face, so that the kid would understand why Qiu Tian Gardening was the boss of Fengcheng gardening. When the delivery was made today, Qiu Tian deliberately sent his son Qiu Jun out, also showing how much he valued the business. Li Weisheng thought it was an ident that the two happened to meet, but in fact it wasn¡¯t at all. Qiu Jun was deliberately waiting for Lu Lingxi. When he saw Lu Lingxi driving over in a small broken Jinbei, Qiu Jun sneered. The kid really didn¡¯t know what he was doing. Since the two of them met, the important thing was whose goods would be collected first. Li Weisheng thought about it for a while. Although it was his first time working with Lu Lingxi, he had confidence in the potted nts sent by Tiny Garden. So he thought he would see Qiu Tian Gardening¡¯s goods first. In case it still didn¡¯t work out, they would have time to go back and exchange them. With this in mind, Li Weisheng said to Lu Lingxi, ¡°Xiao Xi, wait a minute, I¡¯ll collect the potted nts from this side first.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. He was not in a hurry and by the way, he wanted to see the other party¡¯s potted nts. He had been at Tiny Garden for over two months now and had only been going to the flower market for a stroll; he hadn¡¯t properly seen what other gardening shops were growing yet. After Li Weisheng had said that, Qiu Jun gave Lu Lingxi a smug look. In his eyes, Li Weisheng asking them to unload first meant he was still closer to them. His face was provocative, but Lu Lingxi was clueless,pletely ignorant of those undercurrents. Brother Li looked on helplessly and shook his head. It seemed he still had to go and talk to Qiu Tian so as not to get the kid in trouble. Qiu Jun directed the other workers in the car to unload the potted nts inside and said to Brother Li with some pride, ¡°What do you think, Brother Li?¡± As a graduate of the University of Agriculture in China, Qiu Jun was not a straw bag (good-for-nothing), but a man of real talent. The potted nts were all picked by him and his father together. Both in terms of the shape of the nts and the colour of the leaves, they were definitely the best batch in the garden. In fact, when Brother Li returned the nts, Qiu Jun himself knew that Brother Li had a point. Qiu Tian¡¯s gardening business was getting bigger and bigger. Unlike the old days when they only had a few acres of nt nursery and could afford to take care of every nt there, now that they had hired workers, it was inevitable that they were a bit careless in their work as there were more people and it was not their own business. So some of the nts were really not well raised. There was also Qiu Tian Gardening¡¯s irond rtionship with the units and the fact that the general public could not see what was good or bad, so no one said anything in the past, until Brother Li returned all the potted nts. Before this delivery, Qiu Jun watered and fertilised the selected potted nts, just short of washing the leaves. He wanted to make sure that therge-leaved golden pothos and money trees came to Brother Li¡¯s ce vibrant and pleasing to the eye. Brother Li nodded as he looked at the pots of money trees and golden pothos on the ground. This time it seemed that Qiu Tian had really taken care of them, and the ones delivered were good, looking much more energetic. He instructed the logistics people to carry all these in and turned to Lu Lingxi. ¡°Xiao Xi,e, let¡¯s unload the goods.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. As soon as he pulled open the car door, Qiu Jun¡¯s eyes shed. Since those potted nts hadn¡¯t been moved out of the car yet, they were losing a little in the height aspect. But once the people on the logistics team helped to move all the nts down, everyone¡¯s eyes would not be able to move away. China had a long history of ornamental nts, and the emphasis always was on ¡°looking at the foliage and appreciating the form¡±. Qiu Jun and his father had spent half a day choosing therge-leaved golden pothos and money trees, all of which were bright green in colour and beautiful in shape. As soon as the Tiny Garden nts were brought out, Qiu Jun knew they had lost. In terms of the colour of the leaves, they were both simr, both were bright green, but the Tiny Garden nts were just a little more shiny, even though the people who were not knowledgeable would hardly be able to see it. But the shape of the nts was the main point. s Golden pothos had long, draped branches that swayed and fluttered, while the money trees were square, stable and majestic. It was clear that they were just two ordinary green nts, but a quick nce at them revealed their different charm. What was even rarer was that every one of these potted nts was vibrant and full of vitality. Qiu Jun¡¯s face immediately darkened. It was obvious that they were the same golden pothos, but the ones from Tiny Garden looked like a graceful beauty, while the ones from their shop were like the little servant carrying the fan behind the beauty. It was the same money tree, but the ones from Tiny Garden looked like an imposing general, while the ones from Qiu Tian Gardening were the boy holding the horse for the general. If the nts from the twopanies were ced together like this, anyone who was not blind would be able to see the good and the bad. Qiu Jun immediately became a little anxious. Theparison made their potted nts look even worse. He couldn¡¯t say anything and hurriedly pulled Brother Li aside to discuss whether he could take the nts back and have them reced with another batch. Brother Li also understood his concerns and agreed without embarrassing him. The difference between the two was immediately apparent indeed. As soon as Li Weisheng agreed, Qiu Jun instructed the workers and gathered all the potted nts that had been moved in before, giving Lu Lingxi a fierce re with a ck face before leaving. Lu Lingxi talked to Brother Li and didn¡¯t notice Qiu Jun¡¯s hostility, but Yi Hang saw it and red back fiercely. Leaving Li Weisheng¡¯s ce, Qiu Jun still had a ck face and was in a bad mood. He hade here today with the intention of pping the kid¡¯s face, but it was him who ended up getting pped instead. He didn¡¯t know how Tiny Garden¡¯s potted nts were actually cultivated. If he could learn his techniques¡­ Qiu Jun narrowed his eyes and had a n in mind. He was calcting when his phone suddenly rang. Qiu Jun frowned, picked it up and looked at it, then immediately changed his expression and smiled, ¡°Lu Shao.¡± The person on the other side of the phone was obviously in a bad mood as well, and without waiting for Qiu Jun to say anything, he started cursing. ¡°Do you guys at Qiu Tian Gardening not want your lives anymore? The saplings you sold to my dadst time are all fucking dead juts a few days after being nted. The boss is about to inspect it soon, it¡¯s a key project this year. The new mayor is watching, what do you think we should do?¡± ¡°Dead?¡± Qiu Jun couldn¡¯t believe it, ¡°Lu Shao, the gardeners checked all the saplings when they were nted and said they were fine, basically they were all transnted alive. How long has it been since then and they¡¯re all dead?¡± ¡°You fucking think I¡¯m lying to you, find a roadside to take a look! You tell me whether they¡¯re alive or dead, and then tell me what you¡¯re going to do!¡± The person on the other side of the phone hung up abruptly, and Qiu Jun¡¯s face clouded up for a moment. The person who had called him was called Lu Hongxin, the son of the director of Fengcheng City Administration. The main unit responsible for approving important municipal greening projects in Fengcheng was the Urban Greening Department under the City Administration. Lu Hongxin relied on his old man to get many projects under his name. Among them, due to their personal friendship with Lu Hongxin, Qiu Tian Gardening basically won most of the projects, and the two sides had been cooperating happily. Thinking of this, Qiu Jun let out a sigh. When they bought the seedlings, he said that the seedlings would not grow well and that the 5cm thick seedlings would be easier to survive than the 2cm thick seedlings. The price was a little more expensive, but the follow-up was definitely less stressful and lessborious. As a result, the two ancestors quoted the price of the 5cm seedlings, but turned around and paid for the 2cm seedlings, making half the money on one seedling. When he was paid, he could do nothing, but when things went wrong, they came to him. Ancestors, indeed! Although Qiu Jun scolded them like this, he knew in his heart that if something really happened, Qiu Tian Gardening would not be able to get away with it, so he had to go and see. But Lu Hongxin, this ancestor, couldn¡¯t get contacted a few days ago. He had disappeared for half a month before popping up again. Qiu Jun didn¡¯t know where he¡¯d been all this time, but he must have gotten in trouble and gone into hiding. Specting casually in his heart, Qiu Jun nced out the window. This was the area where municipal offices were concentrated. The vegetation on the roadside was very good, with weeping willows more than ten years old. The trees that Qiu Jun saw here were basically ten years old or older. He knew Lu Hongxin would not have the guts to nt those mop-stick saplings here, so he guessed it was in the most dpidated ces in Fengcheng where those saplings were nted. After Qiu Jun left, Lu Lingxi finished moving the potted nts and also left; he didn¡¯t deliver everything in one trip, so he had to run a few times. Yi Hang drove away from Brother Li¡¯s unit and turned into a small alley instead of going back the same way. ¡°I remember there is a shortcut here, less than half the way we came.¡± Lu Lingxi had no requirements for the distance, the only thing he wanted was for Yi Hang to drive more steadily. Although Dahei wasn¡¯t here today, he could hardly stand the bumps of the Jinbei any longer. s Yi Hang smiled and stepped on the gas. Lu Lingxi hurriedly fastened his seat belt and gave Yi Hang a speechless re. The two turned left and right, and Lu Lingxi could only see that the houses on both sides were getting more and more decrepit, and there were fewer and fewer high-rise buildings. Yi Hang introduced to him, ¡°This is Nancheng, the south side of Fengcheng, I guess you don¡¯t remember it. Originally, this side was very prosperous, the underground was full of coal, and over there was Fengluan Coal Mining Group. The coal underneath this area was mined out, and Fengluan Coal Mining Group also moved away. Some developers wanted to develop this ce, but when they dug up the foundation, they saw that it was all empty below, and there was no way to build a building. After this incident spread out, there was no one willing to develop this area, and it became more and more rundown. Don¡¯t look at our neighbourhood, it¡¯s much better than this area.¡± Lu Lingxi listened to Yi Hang¡¯s introduction and looked out the window, suddenly for a moment, ¡°Huh, isn¡¯t that Qiu Tian Gardening car just now?¡± ¡°Where?¡± Yi Hang was curious and nced in the direction Lu Lingxi indicated, and indeed saw the white van parked not far to the left. The door of the van was open and the man he had seen before, who seemed to be called Qiu Jun, was squatting on the roadside studying a willow sapling. Yi Hang subconsciously nced at Lu Lingxi and wondered why they all had this problem. Last time Lao San got out of the car and carried back a willow sapling, and now that Qiu Jun also looked like he was nning to carry that willow sapling back. ¡°Lao San, what¡¯s wrong with that tree?¡± Yi Hang didn¡¯t understand and was a little curious as to what Qiu Jun was looking at. Lu Lingxi tried a mental scan and frowned slightly as the white panel floated out. ¡°That tree is about to die. Not only that tree, but the two trees next to it are dying too.¡± Yi Hang didn¡¯t care much about this, ¡°That¡¯s the matter of the Greening Department, it has nothing to do with us.¡± As he spoke he had already left Qiu Jun behind. Lu Lingxi withdrew his mental scan and looked a little sickly, not speaking again. Through the white panel, he could see that these saplings were different from the one he had nted in his backyard. They withered not because ofck of water, but because of severe soil acidification, which led to soilpaction. The saplings¡¯ roots were already weak, and this made it even more difficult for them to stretch and absorb the nutrients in the soil. He remembered the heavy rainstorm half a month ago and wondered how the environment would deteriorate if there were more of them. After four trips to the nt nursery, Lu Lingxi and Yi Hang finally delivered all the potted nts that Brother Li needed. Brother Li gave them the money and Lu Lingxi decided to discuss with Yan Yue expanding the size of the nt nursery. As Yan Yue saidst time, he could not do anything else, but he could nt more flowers and nts. This way, more people would buy them and the environment could be improved a little. When he returned to Tiny Garden, Lu Lingxi saw Ye Kang again. Since Ye Kang came to Fengcheng, he stayed at Tiny Garden every day when he had nothing to do. Some of the regr customers saw Ye Kang and thought that Lu Lingxi had recruited another employee. Lu Lingxi was polite to Ye Kang, but Yan Yue often assigned Ye Kang to help customers carry potted nts and fertilisers, and he was not polite at all. ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± When he saw Lu Lingxi enter, Yan Yue curled his lips in a smile, greeting him. Lu Lingxi smiled at the two of them and nodded. Dahei had already run head over heels to Lu Lingxi and rubbed against his leg affectionately. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and stroked Dahei¡¯s head. He actually wanted to take Dahei to the nt nursery to get some fresh air, but when Dahei saw that it was Yi Hang driving, he refused to get into the car. ¡°Where is Yi Hang?¡± ¡°He dropped me off at the corner and went back.¡± Yan Yue hooked up the corner of his mouth, satisfied with this answer. Because Yi Hang and Lu Lingxi had grown up together, Yan Yue was very wary of their closeness to each other. If it wasn¡¯t for the initial agreement to get Yi Hang to do delivery for Tiny Garden, Yan Yue would not have given the two the opportunity to go to the nt nursery alone. Ye Kang looked at Yan Yue yfully. Yan Yue¡¯s possessiveness towards Lu Lingxi was unexpectedly strong. He watched Yan Yue endure silently and was somewhat curious to find out the limits of Yan Yue¡¯s patience. Noticing Ye Kang¡¯s gossipy eyes, Yan Yue faintly nced at him. Ye Kang immediately looked serious, but his eyes gave him away. Speaking of which, he really didn¡¯t know that his good brother had the potential to be a pervert. Thinking about it this way, Lu Lingxi was being targeted by a pervert and Ye Kang could only silently sympathise with him. Lu Lingxi waspletely oblivious to the eye-rolling between the two. He finished keeping the ounts for the day and mentioned to Yan Yue that he wanted to expand the size of the nt nursery. Yan Yue would never refuse Lu Lingxi¡¯s request. Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed, ¡°Then there¡¯s no way to give Big Brother Yan this month¡¯s dividends. It will have to wait until next month.¡± Yan Yue couldn¡¯t resist reaching out and rubbing Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair, smiling, ¡°Therger the nt nursery, the more money you will earn in the future. Your Big Brother Yan can still do the math.¡± Lu Lingxi had recently gotten used to Yan Yue doing this to him. He felt it was like him liking to touch Dahei, a sign of closeness. Yan Yue¡¯s hand was a bit reluctant to leave, so he gently patted Lu Lingxi¡¯s shoulder and said casually, ¡°Why did you suddenly think of expanding the size of the nt nursery?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a sudden thought either, I always had this n.¡± Lu Lingxi exined seriously, mentioning in passing what had happened outside today. He said it casually, but Yan Yue and Ye Kang looked at each other, their eyes darkening slightly. What Yan Yue was concerned about was the hostility Qiu Tian Gardening showed towards Lu Lingxi. What Ye Kang was more concerned about was Lu Lingxi¡¯s mention that the saplings that had been nted were dying. He mentioned, as if inadvertently, ¡°Are there many dead saplings?¡± Lu Lingxi looked at Ye Kang with some surprise and nodded. Ye Kang exchanged a look with Yan Yue and walked out of Tiny Garden on the pretext of smoking. He had to call his third brother to give him a reminder. The Fengcheng municipal greening project was proposed by the newly appointed mayor of Fengcheng, and as the mayor¡¯s secretary, Ye Cheng had been keeping an eye on the matter. Ye Kang didn¡¯t want his third brother to be fooled, which would be a disgrace to the old Ye family. As soon as Ye Kang went out, Yan Yue quietly asked a few more questions about Qiu Tian Gardening. He found that Lu Lingxi was not at all aware of Qiu Tian Gardening¡¯s hostility towards him; instead he seriously praised the other party¡¯s good cultivation of green nts and said that he wanted to learn from them. Yan Yue listened to his narration and his originally obscure eyes slowly lit up with a faint smile. This was good; he would rather the young man could be pure-hearted for the rest of his life, and he would be the one to block the rain and the storm outside for him. Chapter 43 When he got off work, Lu Lingxi wanted to go to the nt nursery with Yan Yue to find Uncle Li. When Ye Kang heard that they were going to the nt nursery, he got into the car with great enthusiasm. Thest time they went to the nt nursery to change the pots, Uncle Li had treated them to a special dinner. To give them a taste of freshness, Grandma Li had steamed a pot of corn dumplings and mixed them with spinach grown in her yard. The sweet corn dumplings and the spinach were so delicious that Ye Kang couldn¡¯t stop eating them, and when he left, he shamelessly took a few with him. In Ye Kang¡¯s eyes, going to the nt nursery = delicious dinner from Uncle Li. Especially since he didn¡¯t have to work tonight, only a fool wouldn¡¯t go. Yan Yue gave Ye Kang a disgusted look. He was looking for something to dy their return in the evening to stay with Lu Lingxi in the courtyard like thest time. He could tolerate the extra Dahei, but what about the extra Ye Kang? Ye Kang pretended that he couldn¡¯t read Yan Yue¡¯s eyes and sat in the passenger side with a cheeky face. Yan Yue tapped on the steering wheel and said in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t you and Ye Sange have dinner tonight? You¡¯re not going yet?¡± Hearing Yan Yue¡¯s warning, Ye Kang deliberately made a dumbfounded face, ¡°I forgot to tell you that Sange had something to do tonight and asked me to take care of myself.¡± Having said that, Ye Kang turned his head to look at Lu Lingxi in the back seat, smiling gently and amiably, ¡°Xiao Xi doesn¡¯t mind if Ie along, right? I kind of miss Grandma Li¡¯s craftsmanship.¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head. He quite liked Ye Kang, both because he was easy to get along with and because he was a good friend of Big Brother Yan. Under the banner of Lu Lingxi, Ye Kang was content to dawdle over to Grandma Li¡¯s house for dinner. Hearing that they wereing, Grandma Li had prepared early. Thest time Lu Lingxi casually mentioned that he liked potatoes. Grandma Li specially made potato cakes for them tonight. The potatoes were fresh from the ground, peeled and grated, then stirred together with some cornmeal and white flour, and fried in oil until golden brown on both sides. The potatoes were crispy and the cornmeal was soft, making the cakes very delicious. In addition to the potato cakes, Grandma Li also made a pot of millet porridge. The yellow grains of millet were cooked to a soft consistency, and a spoonful of the porridge was full of rich fragrance. The steamed eggnts in the pot were cut into strips and two cloves of garlic were added, plus some vinegar and some chilli. The three of them ate until their bellies were round. Uncle Li looked at them with a smile. The food they ate tonight was basically grown by the people in the vige. Unlike the vegetables bought in the market, the home-grown ones didn¡¯t have any chemical fertiliser or anything like that added. Although the harvest was not as good as the mass-produced, the taste was much better. ¡°Eat more if you like, and take some with you when you leave.¡± Uncle Li kept adding potato cakes to Lu Lingxi¡¯s bowl. He just thought the child was too skinny and it would be good if he fattened up a little. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t eat any more and sat on the chair rubbing his stomach. He used to do this to show that he was hungry, but today he was really full. Yan Yue sat beside Lu Lingxi, and when he saw his movement, he couldn¡¯t help but put his hand over the boy¡¯s stomach and whispered, ¡°Did you eat too much?¡± When Yan Yue discovered his little movement, Lu Lingxi nodded in some embarrassment. He was so focused on being embarrassed that he hadn¡¯t noticed Yan Yue¡¯s actions were a little too intimate. s Through the thin t-shirt, Yan Yue touched the small, bulging belly of the boy, and what shed through his mind was the image of the white and tender belly that was exposed when the young man was asleepst time. He slowed down his hand and rubbed gently, his lips curved in a faint smile as he asked, ¡°Still too full?¡± With this ordinary question, Lu Lingxi inexplicably felt the tips of his ears get a little hot. He shook his head quickly, indicating that he was not too full anymore. Yan Yue was disappointed in his heart and let go of his hand somewhat reluctantly, his face still looking solemn. Ye Kang sitting opposite him was alreadypletely unable to look at Yan Yue directly. He was now beginning to worry that Yan Yue might develop a split personality if he continued like this. After dinner, Lu Lingxi mentioned to Uncle Li that he wanted to expand the size of the nt nursery. Uncle Li was very happy. When he was working with Du Lin, the gardening shop was doing well, but when Lu Lingxi took over, the business went to the next level. Because he regarded Lu Lingxi as his own child, the better the business of the gardening shop was, the happier the old man was, and the more energetic he was in his work. After taking a look at the moonlight outside, the old man simply took them for a walk to check out the fields and to make it easier to digest the food. The nt nursery of Tiny Garden was located next to the road and covered only a few acres. Behind the nt nursery was the vige, and the only way to expand it was in the left and right directions. Uncle Li patiently introduced both sides to Lu Lingxi. He was an elder in the vige and was of high seniority, so he talked about it like a family treasure. At the end of his speech, Uncle Li sighed. The few acres ofnd to the north belonged to Widow Yu. Her husband passed away early, leaving her with an old, sick mother-inw and a son who had just started walking. She could not earn much money from farming and she was not well educated, so she had to go to the city to wash dishes at the hotel¡¯s restaurant day and night, and her life was hard. Lu Lingxi thought of Wang Shuxiu as he listened to Uncle Li and decided, ¡°Then let¡¯s rent these acres ofnd to the north for the expansion of the nt nursery.¡± Uncle Li touched Lu Lingxi¡¯s head and sighed, ¡°The child has a good heart, good people are rewarded.¡± The old man and the young man walked in front, while Yan Yue and Ye Kang followed slowly behind. Frogs croaked and insects chirped non-stop, and the gentle moonlight poured down, so that even without streetlights, the surroundings were clearly visible. Ye Kang closed his eyes in ecstasy and said leisurely, ¡°How long has it been since we¡¯ve been this rxed?¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t say anything, his eyes following Lu Lingxi in front of him. Ye Kang nced at him and said meaningfully, ¡°As a psychologist, I must warn you. People are social animals. You can¡¯t keep a person in captivity and prevent them from contacting their friends and the society around them. The consequences would be devastating and immoral.¡± Yan Yue heard his meaning and said slowly, ¡°Do I look like such a pervert?¡± Ye Kang nodded teasingly, ¡°Not quite, but you act like a pervert in front of Xiao Xi. Brother, you must hold back, I don¡¯t want to see your name on social media,¡± Ye Kang said in a serious tone, patting Yan Yue. ¡°¡­get lost!¡± Ye Kangughed. After they finished looking at thend, Lu Lingxi made a point of mentioning to Yan Yue that he wanted to rent these acres ofnd on the left. The left and right made absolutely no difference in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes, as long as Lu Lingxi was happy. At the time, Lu Lingxi was a little sleepy. He hadn¡¯t rested after a few trips to the nt nursery in the morning and had eaten too much in the evening, so he was a bitzy and not very energetic. Uncle Li asked if they wanted to stay here, but Yan Yue politely declined. The nt nursery was a bit far from the city and it was too inconvenient to drive there in the morning. It would be better to go straight back in the evening when there was no traffic and they could take a shower. If it was just him and Lu Lingxi, they would have stayed, but with an extra light bulb of Ye Kang, there was no point in staying. On the way back, Ye Kang drove the car instead, and Yan Yue pushed Dahei into the passenger seat, while he and Lu Lingxi sat in the back. Lu Lingxi was so sleepy that he closed his eyes and dozed off little by little. Yan Yue looked distressed and gently reached out to hold him, pressing the young man into his arms. Lu Lingxi called out ¡°Big Brother Yan¡± in a daze, rubbed against him like a puppy, changed to afortable position and fell asleep with Yan Yue¡¯s arm around him. Ye Kang nced at the two of them in the rearview mirror, and the corners of his mouth curled slightly. He was bored and had nothing to do, and he couldn¡¯t talk to Yan Yue for fear of waking up Lu Lingxi, so he simply pulled out Yan Yue¡¯s sunsses with one hand and put them on the face of Dahei beside him. Dahei squatted in the passenger seat, wearing sunsses, and looked out the window, very imposing. A car caught up with them and the child in the back seat eximed, ¡°Look at the dog with sunsses!¡± Dahei turned his head following the voice and nced at the curious child. The child suddenly cried out a ¡°wow¡±, yelling, ¡°It, it, it¡¯s looking at me!¡± Ye Kang stepped on the gas and overtook the car,ughing to death. He decided to go back to Zhongjing and immediately raise a dog. It was so funny to bring it out at night to blow off steam and scare the little brats. Relying on the navigation, Ye Kang drove all the way to the downstairs of Lu Lingxi¡¯s house. Yan Yue nced out and frowned, ¡°There¡¯s someone at home.¡± Ye Kang immediately noticed that the lights at Lu Lingxi¡¯s apartment were on. Lu Lingxi and his mother were the only two people in Lu Lingxi¡¯s family, and he heard Lu Lingxi¡¯s mother had to go out to work at night, so there shouldn¡¯t be anyone at home at this time. Ye Kang exchanged a nce with Yan Yue, ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look.¡± Yan Yue nodded, very relieved with Ye Kang¡¯s skills. Dahei quickly jumped down while Ye Kang closed the door, and followed him quietly. Ye Kang was a little surprised and whispered apliment, ¡°Good dog.¡± Yan Yue looked at Ye Kang entering the building, his expression slightly dark. He actually wondered if Lu Yishui hade back, but felt it was unlikely. If Xiao Feng hadn¡¯t had the ability to keep an eye on people, he wouldn¡¯t have dared to send all those gamblers to dig coal. s He looked down at Lu Lingxi; the young man was sleeping soundly, his expression innocent like an angel¡¯s. He couldn¡¯t bear to wake him up, but he couldn¡¯t keep sitting in the car like this, so he could only be ruthless and gently pat the boy in his arms, coaxing, ¡°Xiao Xi, we¡¯re home.¡± Lu Lingxi stretched out his hand and rubbed his eyes, unconsciously rubbing against Yan Yue¡¯s arms, and said vaguely, ¡°Is it dawn yet?¡± Yan Yueughed lightly, his chest vibrating as he held Lu Lingxi in one arm and patted his back tenderly with the other, humming, ¡°It¡¯s dawn.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Lu Lingxi hadn¡¯t woken up yet and was dumbfounded. Yan Yue was about to say something when Dahei in the corridor suddenly barked, just as they heard Wang Shuxiu scream, ¡°Dahei, let go.¡± This time Lu Lingxi waspletely awake, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Yan Yue shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s okay, let¡¯s go and have a look.¡± At the door to 101, Ye Kang looked a little embarrassed as Dahei crouched on the ground fiercely baring his teeth and snarling at the man opposite. Wang Shuxiu, protected by Dahei, didn¡¯t know whether to cry or tough as she looked apologetically at the man in front of her, ¡°Are you okay, Brother Feng?¡± Under the dim light, Xiao Feng stood there, looking inconspicuous, but with an aura that made even Ye Kang jealous. Hearing Wang Shuxiu¡¯s words, he shook his head without much concern, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. The little guy is a protector, he¡¯s a good dog.¡± As he spoke, he squinted his eyes slightly, sizing up Dahei with interest. He looked like an ordinary stray dog, but Dahei¡¯s reaction and ruthlessness was really not evenparable to some specialised fighting dogs. Xiao Feng¡¯s gaze fell on his leg; there was a long slit torn in his pants. He was lucky enough to dodge just in time, otherwise it would have been his calf torn instead of his pants. Lu Lingxi came in and saw the scene of several people confronting each other. He was confused, ¡°Mom, what happened to Dahei?¡± Wang Shuxiu waved her hand, ¡°Nothing, Brother Feng sent me back, Dahei mistook him for a thief and almost bit Brother Feng.¡± Lu Lingxi was impressed with Brother Feng and looked at him politely, ¡°Are you alright, Brother Feng?¡± Xiao Feng nced at Yan Yue who was following Lu Lingxi silently and raised his head slightly, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll go first to change my pants.¡± He said that simply, turned around and left. At this point, Yan Yue and Ye Kang couldn¡¯t afford to stay, so they said goodbye and followed. When they got into the car, Ye Kang teased, ¡°Is Xiao Xi going to have a new father?¡± He looked embarrassed before because he thought that he had disturbed Xiao Xi¡¯s mother and that Dahei had probably bitten the wrong person. Yan Yue gave him a speechless re and said firmly, ¡°No way.¡± Ye Kang was a little curious, ¡°Why? It¡¯s not like a single man and a single woman can just be friends at thiste hour, right? I think it¡¯s good for Xiao Xi to have a father, that man seems to be a good man, and he can back up Xiao Xi in case of any problems.¡± Yan Yue said indifferently, ¡°Xiao Xi¡¯s biological father is a gambler, a gambling addict who has screwed Xiao Xi¡¯s mother enough for the rest of her life. That man just now runs a casino. Do you think Xiao Xi¡¯s mother will fall for him?¡± So it was true that she wouldn¡¯t, but Ye Kang was even more curious, ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°He did a thing for me.¡± Yan Yue said subtly, ¡°I set up Xiao Xi¡¯s gambler father and sent him to the northwest to dig coal. I don¡¯t think he will being back in his lifetime.¡± Ye Kang: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Chapter 44 As the bunch of people left, the corridor became quiet. When someone poked his head from upstairs, Wang Shuxiu scolded, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± It was time for Wang Shuxiu to go to work. Lu Lingxi was originally worried that she had encountered some trouble;iIt turned out she was with Brother Feng, so he felt a little uneasy. But after listening to Wang Shuxiu¡¯s scolding, his worry was somewhat relieved. When mother and son entered the apartment, Wang Shuxiu dropped a bombshell directly without waiting for Lu Lingxi to speak. ¡°I resigned.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little surprised. He wanted Wang Shuxiu to resign, but Wang Shuxiu hadn¡¯t made up her mind a few days ago, so how could she resign suddenly? Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t make a secret out of it either, ¡°Quarreled with a troublesome guest. So your old mom simply quit and went home to enjoy the blessing of my son.¡± Lu Lingxi was naive but not stupid. He vaguely felt that things were not that simple. But Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t want to talk about it, so he didn¡¯t ask again, just said seriously, ¡°Well, Mom, I¡¯ll support you.¡± ¡°Little bastard.¡± Wang Shuxiu scolded with a smile, and the unhappiness she had been harbouring in her heart dissipated with Lu Lingxi¡¯s words. Speaking of which, Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t lie to Lu Lingxi. She really quarrelled with a guest, only with a little too much noise as well as bearing a bottle of wine and giving him the boot. The KTV where Wang Shuxiu worked belonged to a national chain, and it was quite formal on the surface. There was nothing messy about it. Besides, even if there was anything, there were many young and beautiful little girls in KTV. No matter how beautiful Wang Shuxiu was, her age was there, and she asionally encountered guests who disappeared as soon as she reported her true age. After several years of work, Wang Shuxiu was considered smooth. However, tonight she met a customer who, no matter how hard she tried, pestered her to drink with him. Although Wang Shuxiu usually dressed boldly, it was because of her work environment; she was not really that kind of person. If she were, she would have kicked Lu Yishui out when she was younger and found a gold master to feed and clothe her. In line with the principle of making peace and making money, Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t want to make too much of a fuss with the customer, so she thought she would just have a drink. But when the other party saw that she hadpromised on a drink, he actually started to move his hands. Wang Shuxiu was outraged and smashed the bottle of wine on the other party¡¯s head. The other party shouted that he wanted to call the police, just when Brother Feng came to sing with some of his brothers. When he saw what had happened to Wang Shuxiu, he dealt with the incident for her. s This matter was originally resolved, but the new manager of KTV had to press Wang Shuxiu to apologise to the guest. The more Wang Shuxiu thought about it, the more angry she became. She pped the table and said she quit. She was going home, so Brother Feng drove her back. They didn¡¯t think that as soon as they entered the house, he would be bitten by Dahei who suddenly sprang out. Wang Shuxiuughed at the thought. Although Dahei had bitten the wrong person today, this kind of behaviour should still be praised. She immediately pped her hands and said, ¡°Tomorrow, we will stew a chicken and give Dahei a chicken leg.¡± Dahei¡¯s ears twitched and he squatted at Lu Lingxi¡¯s feet calmly. Lu Lingxi thought of Brother Feng¡¯s pants, flicked his finger on Dahei¡¯s head and nodded with his eyes curved. Although Wang Shuxiu had resigned from her job, she didn¡¯t want to just rest at home. After a night of discussion, mother and son decided it would be cheaper to open a small restaurant. Wang Shuxiu had some savings, barely enough for the rent, and she wasn¡¯t going to make it too big, just a small stall. So there was no need to hire someone else, she was enough by herself. After deciding what to do, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heart was also at ease. She was not afraid of hardships. What she was afraid of was that she would have nothing to do. For several days, Wang Shuxiu was busy looking for a ce, and Lu Lingxi also asked the shopkeepers around to help him make enquiries. In addition to this, Lu Lingxi was thinking about the expansion of the nt nursery. Uncle Li had already made a deal with the widow and she agreed to rent thend to him. The only problem was that the restaurant where the widow worked was a bit busy these days, so she couldn¡¯t take time off work to go home and they had to wait for a few days to sign the contract. Uncle Li also said another thing. He didn¡¯t know if he was paranoid, but he always felt that someone was hanging around the nt nursery these days. The other person was a small-time thug in their vige. Uncle Li was very concerned about the nt nursery and had noticed several times that the guy was intentionally or unintentionally going around the nt nursery, so he was worried that the guy was not well intentioned. s When Lu Lingxi answered the phone, Yan Yue was by his side. Noticing that the young man looked a little uneasy when he hung up the phone, Yan Yue said with concern, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lu Lingxi ryed what Uncle Li had said and hesitantly asked, ¡°Is he a bad guy?¡± Yan Yue frowned imperceptibly and his first thought was about Qiu Tian Gardening. Of course it could also be someone else who saw the nt nursery making money and had a crooked mind. Not wanting to worry Lu Lingxi, he said soothingly, ¡°We¡¯ll go take a look at it tonight.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. In the evening after work, Lu Lingxi let Wang Shuxiu know and followed Yan Yue to the nt nursery. Before they reached the nt nursery, the two saw someone sneaking around their yard. The guy even peeked through the door and looked inside, as if to see if there was anyone inside. Yan Yue stopped the car; there would be too much noise if he drove closer. He opened the door and gestured to Dahei, ¡°Dahei, go.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Dahei rushed out like an arrow. The man didn¡¯t even notice the movement behind him, still crouching at the door watching. When he heard a low angry roar from behind him, he turned around abruptly and was right in time to face Dahei. Dahei bared his teeth and growled. The man was startled and took two steps back, bending down to pick up a stone from the ground and shouting, ¡°Don¡¯te over here, dead dog, or I¡¯ll smash your head.¡± Dahei narrowed his eyes and took a step forward. The man threw the stone haphazardly, turned and ran. Dahei overtook him in a few steps and blocked his way. The man hurriedly turned around and ran back. The door of the small courtyard opened and Uncle Li, who heard themotion, rushed out from the nt nursery. As soon as he saw Dahei, Uncle Li understood what was going on, and holding the big broom in his hand, struck down hard on the man. ¡°Ouch, Uncle, don¡¯t hit, don¡¯t hit, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s you I¡¯m hitting, you brat.¡± Uncle Li struck twice angrily and said to Yan Yue who had rushed over, ¡°It¡¯s him.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s expression darkened slightly as he nced at the man coldly. He turned to Lu Lingxi first, ¡°Xiao Xi, you go back to the house with Uncle Li first, leave this to me.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded hesitantly. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation and he instinctively trusted Yan Yue. Chapter 45 When Lu Lingxi followed Uncle Li into the house, Uncle Li told him about the young thug who had been caught. The youngster, Xu San, had beenzy, sneaking around and stealing since he was a child. The other young people in the vige thought that farming was not profitable and went to work in the city. Xu San also disliked farming for not being profitable, but he focused his attention on other ces. Every day, he would go around with the eyes of a thief and cause a lot of trouble. The vige had caught him several times and someone called the police to arrest him. But Xu San was a scoundrel who not only refused to admit what he had done, but also tried to screw people behind their backs. The people who had called the police to arrest him before got in trouble. After a few times, the people of the vige had no choice but to guard against him. When he saw that he couldn¡¯t take advantage of the vige, he went away to a different ce. But he was back again these days, and he even got his eye on the nt nursery. ¡°In the past, when the widow¡¯s husband just died, Xu San used to torment the widow¡¯s family a lot, bullying them for not having a man and taking whatever he saw when he entered the house. Later, several neighbours couldn¡¯t stand it anymore, so they asked Old Man Xu, the senior in the family, toe forward and coax and scare Xu San to restrain him.¡± Uncle Li said to Lu Lingxi solemnly, ¡°You can¡¯t be soft on this kind of person. if you let him off once, he won¡¯t remember your kindness, he will only think that you are good to bully and take advantage of you, and will trouble you endlessly.¡± The old man said this because he could also see the difference between Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue. He had lived a long life; not to say that he had be an expert in human beings, but at least he had seen a lot of human beings and worldly situations. Lu Lingxi, the child, was pure-hearted and probably didn¡¯t understand the dangers of the human heart. Yan Yue was the opposite of him, and the old man knew from the first moment he saw him that Yan Yue was not a man to be trifled with. Just now when Yan Yue asked Lu Lingxi to go back first, the old man guessed that Yan Yue probably nned to do some things he didn¡¯t want the child to see. If you asked Uncle Li, he would say that you should be like Yan Yue when dealing with wicked people; they are wicked and you should be more wicked than them. But he was worried that the child would not understand, so he wanted to give the little boy a vination first. The two of them should not have any misunderstanding because of Xu San¡¯s affairs. Uncle Li was kind, and Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. In fact, he didn¡¯t need to be told that by Uncle Li, he also believed in Yan Yue. Besides, Xu San was already a bad person, so it was only right for Big Brother Yan to teach him a lesson. As the old man and the young man were talking, Yan Yue pushed the door open and walked in, with Xu San following him like a little angry wife. The old man hurriedly took a look at Xu San, and when he did so, he muttered a little in his heart. Xu San looked just like before, he was not bruised and swollen as Uncle Li expected. Did he think too poorly of Yan Yue? This thought had just shed through Uncle Li¡¯s mind when Xu San rushed forward abruptly. Seeing that he was about to pounce on Lu Lingxi, Yan Yue let out a soft hum. This sound was tantamount to thunder in the clear sky for Xu San, and his body immediately froze in aical position. Shaking his legs and cowering as he stole a nce at Yan Yue, Xu San turned around and flung himself at Uncle Li¡¯s side instead, hugging his legs and shouting. ¡°Uncle, I was wrong, I really know I¡¯m wrong, I won¡¯t dare to sneak to the nt nursery again. I¡¯m just a bastard.¡± Xu San said as he gave himself a p, showing his loyalty to Uncle Li, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Uncle, I¡¯ll take care of the safety of the nt nursery from now on. Anyone around who dares to sneak to the nt nursery will deal with me, Xu San.¡± Uncle Li: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The old man was now convinced that he didn¡¯t think too poorly of Yan Yue. Nor did he know what Yan Yue had actually done. It was summer and he didn¡¯t see any injuries on Xu San. The old man was puzzled. Xu San was still hugging him and showing his loyalty. Uncle Li didn¡¯t know whether to cry or tough. ¡°All right, the nt nursery doesn¡¯t rely on you, Xu San. Just stay away from it.¡± s When Uncle Li said this, Xu San¡¯s first reaction was to peek at Yan Yue¡¯s expression. Yan Yue just gave him a faint nce. Xu San immediately understood and hurriedly promised again and again that he would get as far away as he could from the nt nursery from now on, and would definitely not appear there to get in the old man¡¯s way. ¡°All right, all right.¡± Uncle Li was tired of being pestered by Xu San, so he sent him away and turned to Yan Yue to ask him what was going on. Yan Yue said lightly that Xu San saw that the nt nursery had been doing well recently, was jealous and wanted to take advantage of it, and that there should be no more problems after this time. When he said this, Uncle Li was relieved and invited the two of them to his house for dinner. ¡°You¡¯re hungry, let¡¯s go, it¡¯s goosebumps (sort of dumplings) tonight, I guess you don¡¯t eat them much in the city now.¡± As soon as Uncle Li left in front, Lu Lingxi, a little curious, came over to Yan Yue, eager to ask him what he had done. ording to Uncle Li¡¯s description, Xu San was aplete scoundrel, how could he be so quick to admit that he was wrong? Meeting the boy¡¯s curious eyes, Yan Yue said with a straight face, ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything, just gave him a lecture.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± With a smile in his eyes, Yan Yue stretched out his hand and rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair, coaxing, ¡°Forget about Xu San, let¡¯s go eat first and stay here for the night to give the nt nursery some boost.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t ask any more questions, but Xu San, who had left the nt nursery, was gnashing his teeth bitterly. They were all from the same vige, and Xu San¡¯s house was not far from Uncle Li¡¯s. He was now stripped naked and standing in front of the mirror, looking for wounds on his body. Dark, the guy is too dark! Xu San had never seen anyone who was darker than Yan Yue. He looked at the mirror for almost a dozen times, but he didn¡¯t see any redness and swelling on his body. It looked exactly the same as usual, but he was in real pain inside, so much so that he could hardly stand upright. Xu San slowly moved to the bed with shaking legs and holding onto the table, cursing Yan Yue half to death in his heart. But he was really afraid of him. He had never seen a man like Yan Yue before. He didn¡¯t even blink when he beat him and he didn¡¯t let him scream. He said he would beat him even harder if he dared to scream. There was also the dog, squatting aside and staring at him with feral eyes. When he dared to run, it bared its teeth and came to bite. How could he provoke these two gods of death! Xu San cursed Yan Yue and then he cursed Qiu Jun. It was all because that bastard Qiu Jun told him to find a way to get close to the nt nursery to see if he could steal some secret technology. He had seen Du Lin a few times before and thought she was the owner, but the nt nursery had changed hands. The car that Yan Yue drove was not something he could afford to mess with. He was really blinded by money when he agreed to it. He was just waiting for Qiu Jun to suffer a loss at the hands of Yan Yue, so that Qiu Jun could also taste what he was feeling now. Xu San cursed in his heart, but he still had to get dressed to go and guard the nt nursery for Yan Yue. He was not joking when he told Uncle Li that he would be responsible for the safety of the nt nursery. If he dared to let anything happen to it, Yan Yue would find him. Xu San couldn¡¯t afford to mess with him and couldn¡¯t hide from him, so he had to do as he was told. Having settled the matter with Xu San, Lu Lingxi ate and went to the nt nursery. He believed, as did Uncle Li, that Xu San was only interested in the nt nursery to make money. Since Yan Yue said it was all right, Lu Lingxi stopped thinking about it and focused on the nt nursery. Since thest time he had connected to the piece ofnd in the backyard through the white panel, Lu Lingxi discovered that the panel had one more function. Now he could see not only the nts, but also see the condition of the piece ofnd where the nts were growing. Of course, the range he could see was still limited to three metres, just like the mental scan. In front of him, a small area of the nt nursery appeared on the white panel, and the colour of the soil was shown as light brown. Lu Lingxi had initially thought that all soil was the same colour, but the difference in the colour of the soil in the backyard and the nt nursery made him realise his mistake. He deliberately looked it up on the inte and found that normally the soil would vary in colour depending on the regional environment, but the panel¡¯s disy didn¡¯t depend on the regional environment, but on the degree of pollution of the soil. The soil in the backyard, for example, appeared transparent and light-coloured on the panel because it had been purified by the power of nature. As the soil became more polluted, the colour on the panel would be darker ordingly. Compared to the dark brown colour of the soil in downtown Fengcheng, the pollution here in the nt nursery was obviously much lighter. s Lu Lingxi squatted on the edge of the nt nursery and studied the soil in his hand for a long time. The less polluted the soil was, the better the nts on it would grow, and the better the corresponding environment would be. The cycle would repeat itself to form a good ecological environment, just like his house¡¯s backyard. If only the nt nursery could be purified like the backyard once in a while. The thought shed through his mind and Lu Lingxi brushed off his hands and stood up, walking around the nt nursery to the willow sapling that had been transnted a few days ago. The space in the backyard was too small, and there was no way to nt the willow sapling in the backyard. As soon as this willow sapling got healthier, Lu Lingxi and Yi Hang transnted it to the nt nursery. After a few days of not seeing it, the leaves on the willow sapling seemed to have grownrger again and the branches were swaying and looking very energetic. When Lu Lingxi looked at the sapling, he couldn¡¯t help but think of the saplings he had seenst time in Nancheng and wondered how they were doing. Qiu Tian Gardening Qiu Jun, with an obscure look on his face, directed the workers to gather all the 5cm willow saplings growing in the nursery, ready to go overnight to rece the saplings in several ces in the city that might be investigated by the tops. When Lu Hongxin approached him a few days ago, he was thinking of saving as many saplings as he could and trying to spare some costs. But today, he suddenly received news that the authorities were going to check the results of the greening project ahead of schedule, so he couldn¡¯t wait to take his time to find a way to save the saplings. Qiu Jun calcted that Qiu Tian Gardening would have to bleed a lot of money. The money he had made on the project would have to be spent on this trip, and that was an optimistic estimate. If the city expanded the scope of the inspection, they would have to lose money on the project. Qiu Jun was so upset that when a worker came over and asked him what to do with the saplings that had been removed, Qiu Jun waved his hand, ¡°You guys pick and choose. If you can save them, bring them back. If you can¡¯t save them, just throw them away somewhere on the road.¡± With his words, the workers were relieved. That night, they picked their way through dozens of saplings, broke them and threw them on the road. As they passed through a vige, the workers on the bus threw down thest few saplings. ¡°It¡¯s a bargain for them, someone will pick them up in the morning and burn them for firewood.¡± Chapter 46 Before going to bed at night, Yan Yue gave Ye Kang a call and mentioned the matter of Xu San. Ye Kang didn¡¯t expect Qiu Tian Gardening to really look for trouble with the nt nursery, so he asked, ¡°Do you want Sange¡¯s help?¡± Yan Yue chuckled lightly, ¡°Do you think such a small matter needs to involve Sange?¡± If Yan Yue couldn¡¯t even solve this problem, he wouldn¡¯t be Yan Yue. Ye Kang listened to Yan Yue¡¯s concern, ¡°How is the progress on Sange¡¯s side?¡± When it came to this, Ye Kang didn¡¯t know whether tough or to cry, ¡°The progress is good, but you know how Sange is. Qiu Tian Gardening is probably bleeding money right now.¡± Unlike the Yan family, which was a single-descendant family, the Ye family in Zhongjing had many branches and arge number of talented people. There were five brothers in Ye Kang¡¯s generation alone, not counting the cousins. Among these five brothers, Ye Cheng was the third in line, so people who were familiar with him called him Sange. Ye Kang once told Yan Yue in private that Ye Cheng was thest guy one could wish to offend. Ye Cheng was recognised as the family¡¯s most cautious and vengeful member. After Ye Kang reminded Ye Cheng of the incident, Ye Cheng sent people all over the city to collect evidence within a day. Ye Kang thought that Ye Cheng would use threats to deal with Lu Hongxin and his father. Who knew that Ye Cheng would just send someone to release the news that the mayor wanted to check the results of the municipal greening project in advance. In Ye Cheng¡¯s words, now that Lu Hongxin and his father were taken down and implicated Qiu Tian Gardening, who would work for them? What about the dead seedlings? Where would the money for rentinge from? Wait for Qiu Tian Gardening to solve this mess before talking about them. As for Lu Hongxin and his father, they were the whips hanging over Qiu Tian Gardening¡¯s ass urging it on. It saved Ye Cheng himself from worrying about the matter. Although Yan Yue didn¡¯t deal with Ye Sange much, he had heard something about his style of operating, and he quickly guessed what Ye Kang meant. The corners of his mouth hooked up. It seemed that for a short time there was no need to worry about Qiu Tian Gardening being free to do something else. Hanging up the phone, Yan Yue turned and went back to the house, and saw Lu Lingxi lying on the bed, calcting something. Dahei was quietly curled up on one side, and when he heard Yan Yue, he looked upzily and continued to lie. Perhaps after the time spent together, Dahei recognised Yan Yue; or perhaps this evening when one person and one dog fought side by side had created some kind ofradeship. This time, Dahei didn¡¯t lie down between the two of them, but upied the position to Lu Lingxi¡¯s left, leaving the position on the right to Yan Yue. Happiness came so suddenly that Yan Yue was a bit overwhelmed. He was stunned for a few seconds before he walked over and quietly sat beside Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi was so absorbed in his calctions that he didn¡¯t notice Yan Yue¡¯s presence at all. The current nt nursery of Tiny Garden was about 5 acres, and with the addition of thend of Widow Yu, it would be about 12 acres in total. Although 12 acres was notparable in size to somerge nt nurseries, when Lu Lingxi had stood at the head of the vige and looked at it, it was big enough to be called endless. He roughly nned out the area of the nt nursery in his notebook. Tiny Garden now mainly focused on foliage nts and various flowers, and Lu Lingxi was going to add some fruit-bearing nts in thetter half of the year. Thest time a customer brought a five-fingered eggnt to the shop, Lu Lingxi became interested in fruit-bearing nts. He had looked on Taobao and found that some of the moremon fruit-bearing nts were five-fingered eggnt, ornamental pepper, wolfberry, kumquat, and nandina. These didn¡¯t need to be grown on toorge a scale either, two acres ofnd was about right. If possible, Lu Lingxi also wanted to dig a pond and raise some aquatic flowers to spice things up. Having nned out these areas, Lu Lingxi habitually chewed on his pen. A hand reached out from the side and took away the pen he was chewing on. Lu Lingxi looked up in bewilderment and blinked, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯ve finished your phone call?¡± Yan Yue nodded and asked, ¡°What are you drawing?¡± The topic obviously aroused Lu Lingxi¡¯s interest. He rolled over and sat up, his two long legs swinging over the edge of the bed as he leaned towards Yan Yue to point out his ns to him. s ¡°Here are ornamental peppers, here are kumquats, and here we can grow some five-fingered eggnts. If there¡¯s anynd left, we¡¯ll dig a water pond in the middle. Isn¡¯t there a river behind the vige? We can draw the water from there. After it¡¯s done, we can fish by the pond in summer, skate in winter, and raise lotus roots in the pond¡­¡± While Lu Lingxi was talking with great excitement. Yan Yue was a little distracted by the fact that he was too close. His attention was less on these ns and more on Lu Lingxi. He heard Lu Lingxi use the word ¡°we¡± all the time; even if in the young man¡¯s mind, this ¡°we¡± only referred to a partnership, Yan Yue had an unusual sense of satisfaction. This feeling was truly indescribable. He remembered the first time he had met the boy, when he vaguely and frantically wanted to get close to him. He had spied on Lu Lingxi from afar like a stalker and a voyeur, and had set up several chance encounters just so he could see the boy up close. At that time, it seemed that the hidden anger that had been mouring inside him would only calm down when he was next to Lu Lingxi. He would be excited by the fact that the boy was talking to him, excited by the fact that the boy was near him. He had imagined living close to the young man countless times, just as he was now. Although the current progress was still far from his goal, the young man was talking about ¡°us¡±¡­ In the young man¡¯s heart, he had already begun to have his ce. ¡°Big Brother Yan, do you think we should grow some sulent nts? The kind in small pots the size of your palm to put on the desk for decoration.¡± Lu Lingxi asked casually; Yan Yue gathered his thoughts and tried his best to suppress his emotions, saying, ¡°Whatever Xiao Xi says is good.¡± Lu Lingxi suddenly smiled and looked at Yan Yue with his eyes curved, saying seriously, ¡°Big Brother Yan, thank you. It¡¯s so good to know you.¡± For Lu Lingxi, Wang Shuxiu and Yi Hang were good to him because of this body, but Yan Yue was different, Yan Yue was good to him because he was Lu Lingxi. It was a bitplicated to say that, and Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know how to express this feeling. In his heart, Yan Yue was like a big brother who cared about him. He was also like a friend, supporting him in his Tiny Garden. Sometimes he was also like a teacher. In the past two months of running Tiny Garden, Yan Yue had taught him many things little by little. He felt there was a lot he wanted to say, but with all these mixed emotions, some of which he didn¡¯t quite understand, the only thing that he could say for sure was that he was happy to know Yan Yue. The young man¡¯s eyes were clean and clear, full of trust, and he looked at Yan Yue defencelessly. Yan Yue could no longer control the longing in his heart. He felt that his bitter suppression of his emotions had been easily defeated by the young man¡¯s words, ¡°It¡¯s so good to know you¡±. s Almost instinctively, Yan Yue reached out and hugged Lu Lingxi, circling the young man in his arms together with the ck notebook. Lu Lingxi blinked, looking a little confused, but leaned obediently into Yan Yue¡¯s arms trustingly. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± Yan Yue sighed. Lu Lingxi could not distinguish Yan Yue¡¯s emotions and asked tentatively, ¡°Are you in a bad mood, Big Brother Yan?¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t know why Lu Lingxi would ask that, but his natural tendency to take advantage made him say ¡°en¡±. Lu Lingxi stretched out his hand and hugged Yan Yue in return, and after some thought gently patted Yan Yue¡¯s back as if he was patting a child. In his perception, this was how it yed out on TV. When one of the friends was in a bad mood, the other would give him a hug to cheer him up. Although it seemed that he and Big Brother Yan had reversed the order, it should be the same. Lu Lingxi¡¯s reassurance calmed down Yan Yue¡¯s impulses and transformed them into another sweet enjoyment. He almost roguishly took advantage of the boy¡¯s soft heart and used his bad mood as an excuse to hold the boy in his arms for a long time, until he could no longer rely on it¡­ Lu Lingxi thoughtfully didn¡¯t ask Yan Yue why he was in a bad mood, saving him from having to find an excuse for his actions. Gathering up the things around him, Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei and turned his head to Yan Yue, ¡°Big Brother Yan, good night.¡± ¡°Good night.¡± The room fell into darkness, and Yan Yue was a little too excited to sleep. The previous hug had been like a beautiful dream, and now that he was awake he began to reminisce nostalgically. The pale moonlight spilled in, and Yan Yue propped himself up to survey the boy¡¯s profile in the moonlight. The young man fell asleep very quickly. He heard that people with pure minds were like this, unlike him who often stayed awake all night. Yan Yue was so absorbed in watching that he didn¡¯t know when he fell asleep. He seemed to have had a dream, charming and beautiful, and when he woke up it was already dawn. The bed beside him was empty. Lu Lingxi and Dahei were gone, and Yan Yue¡¯s clothes were neatly folded beside him. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, his mood as translucent as the clear sky outside the window. ¡°Slow down, Dahei.¡± By the road, Lu Lingxi took Dahei out to let off some steam. Usually Dahei followed him either in the shop or at home and there was no ce to run around. Every time he came to the nt nursery, it was Dahei¡¯s time to run free. After running for two steps, Dahei suddenly stopped and sniffed the ground. Lu Lingxi trotted after Dahei and saw a few saplings lying in a heap. His mental scan spread out and the image of these saplings appeared in his mind. The nt viability was shown to be extremely low. Lu Lingxi nced around. There was no one around; these saplings had been just abandoned here. He picked them all up with pity, intending to bring them back to the nt nursery to try and see if they could be saved. ¡°Dahei, let¡¯s go back, let Big Brother Yan take you outter.¡± Dahei¡¯s eyes were a little puzzled as he hovered in the same ce as before and sniffed around. Lu Lingxi called him again, and Dahei whimpered in response, chasing after Lu Lingxi in a sh. Lu Lingxi pushed open the courtyard door and saw Yan Yue seemingly on his way out. ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re awake?¡± ¡°I was just going to look for you. What is this?¡± Yan Yue was surprised. Lu Lingxi exined, ¡°These saplings were abandoned by the roadside and are dying. I want to try and see if they can be saved.¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t say anything more and went forward to take these saplings from Lu Lingxi¡¯s hands. He had always known that the boy had a love for these nts that was iprehensible to ordinary people. Thinking of the willow sapling that had been transnted behind the nt nursery, Yan Yue asked, ¡°Should we nt them together with that willow sapling?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. The two of them went to the nt nursery, and Yan Yue quickly dug a few pits. He was now quite good at these tasks. One, two, three, four, there were four nts in total. Lu Lingxi had seen through the panel before that the problem with these willow seedlings was notplicated. It was simply that they were ¡°starved¡° to death because they couldn¡¯t keep up with nutrition, just like the few small willow seedlings he had seen in Nancheng before. He felt that the environment in the nt nursery was much better than in Nancheng, and the soil should be fertile enough for the saplings to absorb the nutrients. He thought he would nt the saplings first and see how it went, and if it didn¡¯t work then he would sprinkle some nutrient fertiliser appropriately. After carefully nting thest sapling, Lu Lingxi was about to disperse his mental scan when the white panel flew out and a prompt appeared in front of him. Found young nts of the same mother tree. Choose to share vitality? Chapter 47 Willows are mostly propagated from cuttings and, to a lesser extent, from sown seedlings. The cuttings are usually taken in the early spring of each year, when a good healthy nt with fast growth rate and few diseases and insects is selected as the mother tree, and the selected branches of suitable length are cut for propagation by cuttings. This info that Lu Lingxi had read in a book before appeared in his mind. He didn¡¯t expect such a coincidence: these willow seedlings came from the same mother tree. Lu Lingxi stole a nce at Yan Yue beside him and hurriedly chose yes when Yan Yue was not paying attention. The willow saplings that were just nted were about to die, so after sharing vitality they should be able to be saved. As the thought shed through his mind, the status of these willow seedlings on the white panel had changed. He unconsciously curved his eyes as another prompt floated out. Sharing vitality ispleted, rewarding the power of nature +1 Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. The power of nature was too rare. Since he had shared the vitality, he hadn¡¯t expected to be rewarded with the power of nature. Yesterday, he had thought that it would be good if he could have the power of nature to purify the nt nursery, and today he was rewarded with it. However, the purification range of the power of nature was limited, and the standard unit was 100 square metres, which was not even enough to purify a quarter of an acre. He thought about the size of the nt nursery and resisted the idea of using up the power of nature now, intending to save up for a while. ¡°Alright.¡± Yan Yue watered all these willow saplings, put away the tools and looked at Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and was not stingy with his praise, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you are getting better and better at your work now.¡± Yan Yue chuckled and joked, ¡°Then when I go bankrupt, Xiao Xi, remember to take me in.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little puzzled, ¡°Aren¡¯t we together right now?¡± The young man spoke seriously, and Yan Yue was stunned for a moment before suddenly smiling. Although what the young man said was not at all what he had thought, thinking about the ¡°we¡± he had saidst night, Yan Yue felt that even if he was really treated as a pervert by Ye Kang, all the work he had done was worth it. The two of them finished tending to the saplings and went to Uncle Li¡¯s house for breakfast before leaving the nt nursery with Dahei. When passing by the entrance of the vige, Dahei, who had been quiet all the time, suddenly stood up and howled from the window behind him in a low voice. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Dahei?¡± Yan Yue said curiously. Lu Lingxi turned around and touched Dahei. Outside was exactly the ce where they had picked up the sapling in the morning. ¡°Dahei seems to have smelled something here,¡± Lu Lingxi guessed. Before, someone who could make Dahei react like this was likely the one who had hit him, but this was in the suburbs, would that persone here? When Lu Lingxi said that, Yan Yue frowned. The young man didn¡¯t know what was going on with these saplings, but Yan Yue probably guessed where they came from. In rtion to what Ye Kang had said on the phonest night, these saplings were probably dropped here by someone from Qiu Tian Gardening. Qiu Tian Gardening¡¯s nursery was not too far from the vige. If that was the case, would there be any connection between Qiu Tian Gardening and the man who hit Dahei? Either way, it was a clue. Since Yan Yue had promised to help Dahei take revenge, and Qiu Tian Gardening was involved, it would be a good idea to solve the problem together. Back at Tiny Garden, Yan Yue gave Ye Kang a call and asked Ye Sange to help check if someone at Qiu Tian Gardening had a ck Audi. Ye Kang was somewhat curious and immediately became interested when he heard that Yan Yue was helping Dahei find an enemy. That afternoon, Yan Yue received the news from Ye Kang. Qiu Tian Gardening didn¡¯t have a ck Audi, but Lu Hongxin, who was close to Qiu Tian Gardening, happened to have a ck Audi. ¡°Lu Hongxin.¡± Yan Yue pondered, ¡°Does Ye Sange have anyone in the Public Security Bureau?¡± ¡°What?¡± Yan Yue told Ye Kang about Grandma Wang being hit; based on Dahei¡¯s reaction, it was probably the same car. Ye Kang thought it was quite interesting. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take care of this, Sange will be happy if he knows.¡± Yan Yue hung up the phone, returned to Tiny Garden and saw Dahei. Dahei was squatting under the cashier¡¯s desk with a serious expression, tilting his head as he watched the fish swimming around in the fish tank. Yan Yue subconsciously hooked up the corner of his mouth. Stupid dog! Dahei¡¯s ears twitched as he calmly turned his head to nce at Yan Yue, narrowed his eyes and continued to watch his fish. Yan Yue smiled faintly, feeling a little incredulous. If the person who hit Dahei was really Lu Hongxin, how on earth did Dahei smell Lu Hongxin from where Qiu Tian Gardening was passing? Could it be that he had been in that car? After thinking about it, Yan Yue walked up to Dahei and squatted down to look at him, ¡°In a few days I will take you to identify your enemy.¡± s Dahei¡¯s ears swished up and he let out a low bark at Yan Yue. Lu Lingxi was a little surprised, ¡°Did you find the person who hit Dahei? Then Grandma Wang¡­¡± ¡°Not sure yet, just have suspicions at the moment.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s face was a little disappointed. Yan Yue could not resist this expression at all. He couldn¡¯t help but reach out and rub Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair, coaxing, ¡°As long as there is a clue, we will definitely be able to catch him.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded vigorously, ¡°I believe in Big Brother Yan.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s eyes were full of smiles, and he was almost about to wrap Lu Lingxi in his arms in one smooth motion. Fortunately, thest remnants of his reason controlled his behaviour; there was no excuse for being in a bad mood today. Qiu Tian Gardening Qiu Jun received another call from Lu Hongxin, urging him to hurry up and rece the willow saplings in that part of Nancheng as well. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say yesterday, Mr. Lu, that only a few key areas would be inspected?¡± ¡°Is it up to me to decide what the tops will inspect? Another day, another shitty news, do you think I¡¯m fucking happy? All right, Qiu Jun, don¡¯t talk nonsense, hurry up and rece all the saplings with 5cm ones. If 5cm can¡¯t survive, rece them with 8cm ones. Don¡¯t fucking think about saving money at this time, if something really goes wrong none of us will get away.¡± After Lu Hongxin cursed, he hung up the phone. Qiu Jun was so angry that he yelled at the phone. He calcted that the area in Nancheng was the worst because it used to be a coal mine and there was a power nt around it, so the environment was the worst and the most seedlings died. If the seedlings in that area were reced, he wouldn¡¯t make a penny on this project. And Lu Hongxin thought that he would rece all the seedlings in the city, forcing him to put his own money into this project. However, Qiu Jun knew that Lv Hongxin was right. Qiu Tian¡¯s Gardening and Lu father and son were united in prosperity or in loss. When the new mayor wanted to start this greening project, Qiu Tian¡¯s old rival, Luxuan Gardening, also wanted to take over the project. s At the tender meeting, Luxuan Gardening proposed to nt pine trees. It was important to know that Fengcheng, as a heavy industrial city, had seen a lot of acid rains over the years, and most of thend in the city had been polluted and acidified. It was obvious that pine trees were more suitable than alkaline willows. However, Qiu Tian Gardening¡¯s main product was willow saplings, and there were not many pine saplings. They and Lu Hongxin worked in tandem to win the project. When it came to this kind of thing, Luxuan really couldn¡¯t catch up with them. After all, willow was amon green tree throughout the country and could be found everywhere. It was easy to grow and had a high survival rate, and it was also quite adaptable. Even if the soil was acidic, it didn¡¯t affect it much. But that was usually the case if everything was all right. If something were to happen, and Luxuan were to do something behind the scenes, it would be a problem for Qiu Tian Gardening. Qiu Jun was determined to get past this hurdle first. The point was that the money lost this time would be earned next time from Lu Hongxin and his father. That night, all the willow seedlings in all areas of Fengcheng City were reced from 2cm to 5cm, and in some key areas, Qiu Jun simply reced them with 8cm. He was afraid that these small willow seedlings would not grow well and there would be problems with the inspection from the tops. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know about these changes of the willow saplings. The area he was working in was basically the city centre, which could be considered the best greening area in Fengcheng. This afternoon, Lu Lingxi received a call from Uncle Li, who said that Widow Yu had returned and asked if he had time to go to the nt nursery to sign the contract. Lu Lingxi was a bit surprised, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say she was busy with work these days and didn¡¯t have time?¡± Uncle Li sighed, ¡°I heard that she had quit and had returned without even getting this month¡¯s wages.¡± The widow¡¯s real name was Yu Xiaojuan. Uncle Li talked about her with a sigh. In the eyes of the vige elders, Yu Xiaojuan¡¯s life was truly bitter. Yu Xiaojuan¡¯s parents died prematurely when she was a child, and she grew up with her grandmother. Later, when her grandmother died, Yu Xiaojuan became a loner. After a few years she got married and was able to live a stable life. But after a few years of good life, her husband passed away, leaving his mother and his child to rely on the widow to support them. In order to earn more money, Yu Xiaojuan washed dishes in the back kitchen of the hotel restaurant during the day and had to stay behind at night to clean up. It was a very hard life. The owner of the restaurant where she worked was not kind either, offering a sry of 1,500 a month. Yu Xiaojuan usually couldn¡¯t bear to spend a penny and saved it all to bring it back to her mother-inw to raise her child. This time, she heard that a customer had lost his mobile phone in the restaurant, and somehow it was put on her head. The boss asked her to pay for the phone, and it was three months¡¯ sry for her. She denied taking it and ended up being thrown out somehow. When Uncle Li said this, he was afraid that Lu Lingxi would misunderstand and assured him that Yu Xiaojuan had grown up under his watch and there were absolutely no problems with her character, and that she would never do such a petty theft. They would know when they met her in person. Lu Lingxi believed Uncle Li and immediately nodded. The two agreed to meet tonight, and Uncle Li instructed Lu Lingxi not to eat, he was cooking for them. ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Lingxi obediently confirmed. After hanging up the phone, Lu Lingxi ryed Uncle Li¡¯s words to Yan Yue, inevitably mentioning Yu Xiaojuan. After saying this, Lu Lingxi looked at Yan Yue cautiously. He felt sympathy for Yu Xiaojuan and was afraid that Yan Yue would have a bad impression of her after hearing this. Yan Yue looked at his reaction with some amusement and reached out to rub his hair, whispering, ¡°I believe in Uncle Li¡¯s vision.¡± The corners of Lu Lingxi¡¯s mouth turned up and his eyes curved in a smile. Perhaps because of a somewhat simr situation, when he thought of Yu Xiaojuan, Lu Lingxi could not help but think of Wang Shuxiu, of the times when Wang Shuxiu had to support the family on her own. During the time he was in the hospital, Wang Shuxiu had to look after him in the hospital during the day and work at the KTV at night. He was in aa, and Lu Yishui was gambling all day long, so he couldn¡¯t imagine how Wang Shuxiu managed to hold it together. It was also because of Wang Shuxiu that Lu Lingxi decided to rent Yu Xiaojuan¡¯snd when he first heard Uncle Li mention her. This time, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t believe that a mother who was doing her best to support her family would steal someone¡¯s mobile phone. He remembered Wang Shuxiu¡¯s words, ¡°If I wanted to have a good life, I don¡¯t know how many men I could have taken advantage of, so I wouldn¡¯t have to look after you alone, little bastard.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and sent a text message to Wang Shuxiu saying that he was going to the nt nursery tonight and would not being back. At the end he hesitantly added a sentence, ¡°I love you, Mom.¡± After he sent it, the tips of his ears turned a little red. Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t care much when she received the text message. The little bastard was busy with the nt nursery recently and often didn¡¯te back, so she was relieved to have Yan Yue around. As a result, when she saw thest sentence, Wang Shuxiu suddenly froze, and her eyes slowly reddened. ¡°Little bastard!¡± Wang Shuxiuughed and cursed at the phone. Just like Lu Yishui, that deadbeat guy, who would say nice things. When she was young, she was cheated by Lu Yishui¡¯s sweet words and suffered for the rest of her life. But since the little bastard had this ability, he wouldn¡¯t need to worry about getting a wife in the future. Wang Shuxiu thought and sent a text message back to Lu Lingxi. ¡°Little bastard, are you short of money?¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Chapter 48 Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue went to the nt nursery again in the evening and signed a contract with Yu Xiaojuan to rent thend. ording to thew, arablend in rural China had a contract period of thirty years, and during the contract period, the contractor had the right to transfer the right to manage thend. Yu Xiaojuan¡¯s family¡¯snd had just been allocated to them the year beforest, and there were still 28 years to go before the contract expired. Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue discussed the matter and signed a five-year contract. As farming was not profitable nowadays, most of thesends were usually deserted, so it was good to have someone to rent them. The rent was not very expensive. ording to the calction of 1,000 yuan per acre ofnd per year, the total cost was less than 40,000 yuan. To Yan Yue, this was nothing, but to Lu Lingxi, 40,000 yuan was equivalent to three months of his profit. This was only the prerequisite investment;ter there were seeds to be bought, the nt nursery to be nned, and a greenhouse to be built since winter was approaching. Lu Lingxi counted the money on his card and once again deeply realised the problem: spending money was much faster than making money. After signing the contract for thend, Lu Lingxi thought of asking Uncle Li to find another worker. The size of the nt nursery doubled and it would be impossible to rely on Uncle Li alone. Moreover, Uncle Li was getting older; even though he said he would be fine, Lu Lingxi was still not sure. After hearing Lu Lingxi¡¯s words, Uncle Li hesitated for a few seconds and asked tentatively, ¡°What do you think of Yu Xiaojuan?¡± Lu Lingxi was taken aback for a moment and subconsciously looked at Yan Yue. His soft-hearted sympathy for Yu Xiaojuan was his own business, but Tiny Garden was a joint business between him and Yan Yue, and it was not up to him alone to say whether someone was suitable for hiring or not, it also depended on Yan Yue¡¯s opinion. When he received Lu Lingxi¡¯s gaze, Yan Yue lowered his head slightly. He had met Yu Xiaojuan before and had a good impression of her. The work in the nt nursery was not heavy, but rather required patience and meticulousness. Compared to finding someone with unknown roots, Yu Xiaojuan had Uncle Li as a guarantee to reassure them. Unlike the simple kindness of the young man, Yan Yue¡¯s view was more practical. Different from Wang Shuxiu¡¯s pungency, Yu Xiaojuan had a kind of obedient forbearance. She was not very educated, had a formal attitude towards them and was still a bit overwhelmed, but you could tell from her attitude towards Uncle Li that she knew how to be grateful. Hiring her to work in the nt nursery at this time was not only helping her in her situation, but also giving her a kind of identity. Yu Xiaojuan would be more dedicated to the nt nursery and her work out of gratitude than someone who came to work in the nt nursery just for the money. If things went smoothly in the nt nursery, Lu Lingxi would be able to worry a little less in the future. As soon as Yan Yue nodded, Lu Lingxi immediately nodded to Uncle Li. Uncle Li looked at Lu Lingxi with a smile, ¡°The child has a good heart, and good people get rewarded.¡± Yu Xiaojuan didn¡¯t leave after signing the lease contract and stayed to help Grandma Li with the cooking. She was actually less than thirty this year, and was good-looking, but the hardships of life had made her look and feel even older than Wang Shuxiu. When she heard Uncle Li say that Lu Lingxi¡¯s nt nursery was looking for someone to hire and offered her to sign the contract, Yu Xiaojuan froze for a moment, and then her eyes reddened slightly. s She was stupid and couldn¡¯t say anything nice, so she held back for a long time and came up with a sentence, ¡°Grandpa, I really didn¡¯t take the hotel guest¡¯s mobile phone. I will definitely do my job in the nt nursery properly.¡± Uncle Li smiled and nodded. That night, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t stay at the nt nursery, but rushed back to Fengcheng overnight. Yan Yue drove him all the way back to themunity. The deeper you went into themunity, the more the weeds on the ground flourished. Even the flower beds in themunity that were not much tended to on a regr basis, had flowers blooming extraordinarily well. Yan Yue nced out the window. Not only the weeds on the ground, but also many of the vegetables and fruits nted in the small courtyards of the first floors were all growing well. Under the dim streetlights, the decrepit neighbourhood looked full of shadows and actually had a feeling of an ecological garden. The closer you got to Building 3, the more obvious this feeling became. The neighbourhood where Lu Lingxi lived was almost thirty years old, and after decades of weathering, most of the walls of the residential buildings were peeling off, with ck spots and patches, and asionally covered with moss, very ugly to look at. However, something was going on with Building 3 and two neighbouring buildings. Climbing nts started to grow on the walls, and in a matter of days they had reached the height of the third floor, covering the peeling walls and making them look much cleaner. As you stood downstairs on a summer¡¯s evening, the breeze was cool and the green nts were full of shadow, almost sweeping away the sweltering heat of the summer. ¡°Here we are.¡± Looking away and steadily parking the car in front of the building, Yan Yue said to Lu Lingxi who was on the passenger side. Lu Lingxi smiled and unbuckled his seatbelt while admonishing, ¡°Big Brother Yan, don¡¯t go yet, I¡¯ll go pick some tomatoes for you to eat.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s tomatoes had be famous in the neighbourhood, and from time to time, neighbours who had a good rtionship with Wang Shuxiu woulde to their door and want to buy some. During this time, while looking for a ce to open the restaurant, Wang Shuxiu was boiling tomato sauce and selling it to the bun shop. The ie was actually not bad, and it strengthened her determination to open a small restaurant. Hearing Lu Lingxi¡¯s words, Yan Yue smiled and said indulgently, ¡°Okay.¡± The young man¡¯s mind was pure and beautiful. He didn¡¯t seem to know much about the world. Getting along with people came entirely from his heart. When you were kind to him, he would be a little overwhelmed and then return the favour twofold. The tomatoes, for example, might not seem worth much to others, but they were grown by the boy himself. In his eyes these tomatoes were good. He had no otherplicated thoughts, simply sharing what he thought was good and repaying the kindness of others. Dong Zhi, Ye Kang, Uncle Li and even a few of Tiny Garden¡¯s regr customers had all eaten the tomatoes brought by Lu Lingxi. Of course, Yan Yue ate the most among them. s Lu Lingxi¡¯s figure quickly disappeared in the corridor, with Dahei calmly following behind him. Yan Yue looked at his back almost greedily, his heart no longer satisfied with this brief time together. He wanted to spend more time with the young man. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes swept over the house next door, a wall away from Lu Lingxi¡¯s, and his fingers tapped on the steering wheel as an idea was born in his mind. After sending Yan Yue off, Lu Lingxi took Dahei back to the house. Wang Shuxiu was in the kitchen cleaning canning jars used for tomato sauce. Lu Lingxi finished wiping Dahei¡¯s paws, washed his hands and went to help in the kitchen. Wang Shuxiu asked a few questions about the nt nursery and sighed when she heard Lu Lingxi mention Yu Xiaojuan. For a woman, it was much harder to live in the world than for a man. She had heard so much about men passing away and women working hard to support their mothers-inw and raise their children, but rarely would one hear about a woman passing away and a man working hard to take care of his mother-inw. Mostly it wouldn¡¯t be long before he would find another woman and simply leave the children to be raised by a stepmother. And as for thete wife¡¯s mother, it would be considered conscientious to go to see her during the New Year holidays. ¡°It¡¯s not easy for everyone, so it¡¯s good to give a hand.¡± Wang Shuxiu said. Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. Wang Shuxiu hesitated for a moment and mentioned something. When Brother Feng heard that she was looking for a ce, he specifically contacted her. He said that the house next door to the card and chess parlour he owned happened to be for rent; the facade was the right size and the price was not expensive, so Wang Shuxiu could go and have a look when she had time. Wang Shuxiu had no problem with the ce, but once she heard that it was next door to the card and chess parlour, she was a bit unhappy. Brother Feng proposed it with a good intention, and he also said that the restaurant would have a regr clientele, the people from the card and chess parlouring to eat in her restaurant. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heart was in a bit of turmoil. When Lu Yishui spent day and night in the card and chess parlour withouting home, she was thinking cruelly that she wished that one day Lu Yishui would starve to death outside. She thought that the families of those people in the card and chess parlour might have the same thoughts as she did. Now that she opened a restaurant next door to the card and chess parlour, it would be even more convenient for them not to go home. Wouldn¡¯t it be like stabbing someone in the back? But Wang Shuxiu had asked around, and the house that Brother Feng had mentioned was really suitable. The price was also very fair, and the location was good. Not counting the card and chess parlour, there was a lot of traffic around. She was a bit worried that if she missed out on this ce, she would not be able to find another suitable ce for a while. What should she do? You can¡¯t sit and eat mountain air. Besides, seeing the hard work of the little bastard who left early and returnedte every day, although Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t say anything, she also knew that it was not easy to make money for him. The little bastard was going to expand his nt nursery recently, didn¡¯t he need money for that? They couldn¡¯t keep on owing Yan Yue, that wouldn¡¯t be nice. She just wanted to make some money earlier and help the little bastard. Wang Shuxiu said to Lu Lingxi that she also wanted to hear Lu Lingxi¡¯s opinion. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t look at it in such aplicated way as Wang Shuxiu and simply said, ¡°If Mom doesn¡¯t like it, forget it.¡± Lu Lingxi had only met Brother Feng twice, but because of Lu Yishui¡¯s gambling, he actually had a somewhat bad impression of Brother Feng. Although Lu Yishui¡¯s gambling was his own business and Wang Shuxiu was grateful that Brother Feng didn¡¯t involve the family when he recovered his gambling debts, Lu Lingxi still felt that it would be better if Brother Feng didn¡¯t open a card and chess parlour. ¡°What if there¡¯s no other suitable house in the future?¡± Wang Shuxiu was a little worried. ¡°I can support Mom, and we can always sell tomato sauce.¡± Lu Lingxi was very optimistic. ¡°That too.¡± Wang Shuxiu shrugged it off. She didn¡¯t want to owe Brother Feng¡¯s favour anyway, so the house matter was over. The two of them washed the canning jars and ced them upside down on the chopping board one by one, waiting for the water inside to dry. Wang Shuxiu rushed Lu Lingxi to rest, ¡°Don¡¯t read, go to bed early once in a while.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, took a shower quickly and obedientlyy down on the bed. After thinking about it he sent a text message to Yan Yue, ¡°Big Brother Yan, have you arrived home yet? I¡¯m going to sleep, good night.¡± Yan Yue looked at the text message and his eyes softened, ¡°Good night.¡± Early the next morning, Lu Lingxi was awakened by the sound of birds chirping outside. During this time, with the nts growing wildly in the neighbourhood, more and more birds were gathering in the area. Grass meant bugs, and bugs meant food. At first Lu Lingxi had only seen sparrows, but slowly more and more species of birds could be seen outside, and magpies and swallows began to appear. Lu Lingxi stretched out and got up from the bed. Dahei had woken up a long time ago and was crouching beside the bed guarding Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi smiled. Every morning when he opened his eyes and saw Dahei, he would feel in a good mood. Heughed and scratched Dahei¡¯s chin when he heard the voices of Wang Shuxiu and a neighbour talking outside. ¡°Xiaohua, these are the vegetables we nted at home. They¡¯re growing extraordinarily well these days. Let¡¯s change them for a few tomatoes for your family to eat.¡± ¡°They are pretty big, your family don¡¯t use medicine on them, right?¡± ¡°Wang Xiaohua, don¡¯t look down on people, our vegetables are for our own consumption, they grow well because I take good care of them, who is crazy enough to add medicine to them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, wait for me to pick a few tomatoes.¡± Lu Lingxi frowned a little uneasily, holding Dahei¡¯s paw and shaking it, whispering, ¡°Dahei, do you think the change in the neighbourhood has something to do with the white panel?¡± Dahei looked at him quietly and gave a low bark. Lu Lingxi got apprehensive, ¡°You think so too? But¡­¡± he hesitated, ¡°this is actually a good change, right?¡± Dahei leaned over, stuck out his tongue to lick Lu Lingxi¡¯s chin and gave another bark. Lu Lingxi was a little relieved, ¡°That¡¯s good, so I can rest assured.¡± Dahei barked once more, seemingly echoing Lu Lingxi¡¯s words. Chapter 49 The name of the neighbourhood where Lu Lingxi lived was Hongfu (Ever Rich) Community. Compared to the names like Xincheng (New Town), Tiandi (Universe), Shuiyunjian (Between Water and Clouds) and so on that were popr in Fengcheng now, this name could only be described as down-to-earth. However, as it was one of the earliestmunities in Fengcheng, the residents still living in the Hongfu Community were basically old neighbours for more than ten years. The ones with a little money had moved away, and the rest had grown ustomed to the name over time and even found the name of themunity to be friendly and attractive. In thest two months, the residents in the neighbourhood had clearly felt the change in the environment. It seemed that the neighbourhood was still in the same messy and dpidated state, but the air seemed to be different. The most obvious thing was that there seemed to be more birds that had been extinct for years in the neighbourhood. People talked about it in private, but they thought it was because of the removal of the garbage dump next to the neighbourhood. The Hongfu Community was built a long time ago. Back then, it was still on the edge of the urban area. In order to solve the problem of garbage in the city centre, a certain mayor built a garbage dump in the area. At that time, people didn¡¯t understand environmental protection and thought it was convenient to dump the garbage close to home. As time went on and the city expanded, the Hongfu Community was already close to the city centre and people gradually became aware of environmental protection and started to oppose the existence of the garbage dump. The most crucial thing was that as the poption of Fengcheng City increased, the amount of domestic waste also increased dozens of times. The amount of garbage dumped greatly exceeded the carrying capacity of the garbage dump, which directly led to untimely disposal of garbage, breeding of flies and mosquitoes, and stench, all of which affected the surrounding natural environment. At the beginning of spring this year, the first initiative of the newly appointed city leadership team was to move this dump to the suburbs, where a new environmentally friendly and harmless waste disposal site was built. Therefore, although the environment of the neighbourhood had been changing day by day recently, the people didn¡¯t think much about it. Apart from Lu Lingxi, who was a bit anxious, everyone gave credit to the new mayor for moving the dump, and their opinion of the new mayor improved greatly. In the morning, after Lu Lingxi washed up, Wang Shuxiu exchanged a packet of tomatoes for two Chinese cabbage from the neighbour next door. When she saw that Lu Lingxi was almost ready, Wang Shuxiu remembered something, ¡°We¡¯ll make dumplings at home tonight, so call Yan Yue toe and have dinner. We¡¯ve been troubling Yan Yue all this time, and there¡¯s no other way we can thank him.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Lingxi agreed quickly and added after a moment¡¯s thought, ¡°Big Brother Yan likes to eat pork and scallion stuffed ones.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Wang Shuxiu muttered in her heart, the little bastard knew what kind of stuffing Yan Yue liked to eat and remembered it clearly. She was just about to peel the scallions and chop the stuffing when Lu Lingxi thought of something else and ran to the kitchen door to ask, ¡°Mom, can you make eggnts with garlic? Big Brother Yan likes them.¡± Wang Shuxiu got a little impatient and waved her hand to shoo him away. ¡°Hurry up and take Dahei out for a walk, there will be more peopleter.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled at her tteringly from the kitchen door, and Wang Shuxiu could do nothing about it, ¡°Eggnts with garlic, right? I¡¯ll go buy an eggntter.¡± s ¡°Thanks, Mom!¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes, turned and ran out in a sh with Dahei. Wang Shuxiu shook her head. The little bastard was quite attached to Yan Yue. But she didn¡¯t take it seriously; Yan Yue was a nice person, and it was good for the little bastard to have such a friend. After walking Dahei and eating breakfast, Lu Lingxi walked to Tiny Garden. On the way, he received a phone call from Yan Yue, who had to bete to the shop. A friend had arrived in Fengcheng and Yan Yue had to pick him up. Lu Lingxi was inexplicably a little disappointed and didn¡¯t mention anything about dinner on the phone. He thought he would talk about it when he saw Yan Yue in the afternoon. When he opened the door, Lu Lingxi first did a hygiene check, and then habitually sent out a mental scan to look at the condition of the nts in the shop. He watered the nts and pruned some of them. Only after he had finished and wiped the wicker chairs at the entrance three times did Lu Lingxi realise, as an afterthought, that he seemed to miss Yan Yue a little. Yan Yue had been with him every day for some time, doing hygiene, watering and receiving customers, but today Yan Yue suddenly didn¡¯te. Tiny Garden was empty, and Lu Lingxi seemed to feel a little ufortable. This kind of emotion was too unfamiliar to Lu Lingxi; he sat on the wicker chair at the entrance in some confusion and beckoned to Dahei who was squatting under the cashier¡¯s desk. Dahei ran head over heels and squatted down in front of him. Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head and said with some embarrassment, ¡°Dahei, do you miss Big Brother Yan?¡± Dahei looked at him quietly with a somewhat serious expression. Lu Lingxi was used to Dahei barking every time after he asked a question. This time Dahei suddenly didn¡¯t say anything and Lu Lingxi was taken aback for a moment before reacting. Looking at Dahei¡¯s serious expression, he snorted andughed as he hugged Dahei. Afterughing, Lu Lingxi felt that he was overthinking. Yan Yue was different from him and had his own job. Now that Yan Yue happened to be on holiday, he had time to stay in the shop every day. When Yan Yue¡¯s holiday was over, he would still be the only one left in Tiny Garden. He had Dahei to keep himpany, so it wasn¡¯t necessary for Big Brother Yan to stay in the shop. After thinking about it, Lu Lingxi regained his focus and logged on to Taobao. Since Big Brother Yan was not here, he hurriedly bought the seeds he had been interested in while no one was around, otherwise he would not have time to do this when he had customerster. Fengcheng Airport An Jie got off the ne, looking dazed and fatigued. Anyone who had been on a ne all night would find it hard to bear, not to mention the jetg he had to suffer. After collecting his luggage and walking out, An Jie saw Yan Yue who came to pick him up. In the messy airport parking lot, Yan Yue was half leaning against the car door, his aura calm and steady like a scenery. As long as he was standing there, he could easily turn everyone around him into a background. An Jieughed silently and walked towards Yan Yue with big strides. However, he couldn¡¯t help but have some doubts in his heart. He had already heard from Ye Kang that Yan Yue had recently fallen in love and was quite happy. He had been following Yan Yue for a long time and had always regarded him as a kind of robot. When he heard that Yan Yue had found someone he liked, An Jie was really surprised. He thought that since Yan Yue had a girlfriend, he should have changed a bit. But who knew that when he saw Yan Yue, the man would still have the same indifferent look. An Jie didn¡¯t know how that girlfriend could stand Yan Yue with such a look on his face. ¡°Boss.¡± While gossiping in his heart, An Jie stopped in front of Yan Yue, looking very enthusiastic. A small smile appeared on Yan Yue¡¯s face as he gestured for An Jie to get in the car. ¡°I¡¯ll take you back to the hotel to rest first.¡± An Jie snickered, ¡°Boss is personally driving, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t rest well from the excitementter.¡± s Yan Yue nced at him lightly, ¡°That¡¯s just as well, I have something for you to do.¡± When An Jie heard this, he thought it was something important and immediately perked up. ¡°What is it?¡± Yan Yue had always been generous to those who followed him. An Jie had been with Yan Yue for five years, and not counting his usual sry and bonus, Yan Yue had also given him five percent of the shares of Dezhi Investment, which was enough for him to be devoted to Yan Yue. When Yan Yue got in the car, he said casually, ¡°Help me buy a house.¡± An Jie was puzzled, ¡°Boss, you¡¯re nning to move out of the Yin family¡¯s house? If you¡¯re not going to live here permanently, I¡¯d rather suggest finding a hotel apartment. The environment in Fengcheng is not very good, there¡¯s smog all year round, and houses here don¡¯t have much investment value.¡± His status was that of Yan Yue¡¯s assistant, and he immediately entered the working mode, counting everything in Yan Yue¡¯s interest. Yan Yue didn¡¯t exin, and directly quoted an address, specifically to the building, gate and floor. ¡°I want to buy this ce. Find a way to arrange it with the owner as soon as possible.¡± An Jie was a little surprised but instantly had a thought. He gave Yan Yue a somewhat frightened nce and quickly withdrew his eyes before Yan Yue noticed. An Jie had already guessed where this was: next door to his future sister-inw. No wonder the boss looked like a stranger; so he hadn¡¯t had a sess with his sister-inw yet. An Jie had never imagined that the boss would ever have a problem with chasing a woman. How discerning she was if even the boss couldn¡¯t get ahead with her. But An Jie really didn¡¯t expect that the first thing he would do when he came to Fengcheng would be to help the boss buy a house and chase his girlfriend. An Jie had some vague premonition about his future; he needed to have a good talk with Ye Kang. Ye Kang soon learned of An Jie¡¯s arrival in Fengcheng. He had been in Fengcheng for a little over a week, and apart from spending almost every day with Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi, he had also taken the time to see Su Lang a few times. He came here just for Yan Yue, and now that Yan Yue was alive and kicking, Ye Kang was ready to pack up and go back to Zhongjing. He was away for a few days and his phone was about to explode with calls from his secretary at the psychological clinic. When he received a call from An Jie, Ye Kang was quite happy, ¡°Let¡¯s have dinner tonight.¡± He was ready to postpone his return to Zhongjing for a day. ¡°No problem.¡± An Jie said cheerfully, ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± He nced outside and lowered his voice, ¡°What you saidst time about the sister-inw, did the boss catch up with her or not?¡± An Jie had now arrived at the hotel, and Yan Yue was outside reading the information he had brought with him. An Jie secretly hid in the bedroom to gossip about the boss. The corners of Ye Kang¡¯s mouth twitched as he listened to the word ¡®sister-inw¡¯, his expression a little odd. In fact, he didn¡¯t mean to mislead An Jie, it was aplete ident. He was chatting with An Jie and casually mentioned that Yan Yue stayed in Fengcheng because of someone. How could he have imagined that An Jie would be so good at brainstorming and without waiting for him to say anything would let his mind drift off to the point where he couldn¡¯t control it at all. Ye Kang nned to talk to An Jie to make things clear, but before he could say anything, An Jie had already mentioned Yan Yue¡¯s asking him to buy a house. Ye Kang: ¡°¡­¡­¡± As soon as Ye Kang heard the address, he knew that it was next door to Lu Lingxi¡¯s ce. He was speechless for a long time, no longer knowing how to tell An Jie that in less than two months his boss had evolved from a robot to a lunatic. Chapter 50 An Jie felt that his whole being didn¡¯t feel good! Hanging up the phone, An Jie no longer knew whether the ¡°Sister-inw is a man¡± or the ¡°Boss is a pervert¡± part hit him harder. Maybe he needed to sleep, and when he woke up, he would find that he was still abroad and hadn¡¯te back, and everything was Ye Kang¡¯s hypnosis? Yan Yue waited outside for a long time, but An Jie hadn¡¯te out yet under the pretext of calling Ye Kang. Howe he didn¡¯t know the two were so warm and fuzzy? ¡°An Jie, you and Ye Kang haven¡¯t finished yet?¡± Yan Yue asked casually. An Jie: Hehe, it¡¯s not hypnosis. Brainwashing himself, An Jie told himself that his boss wasn¡¯t a pervert, that his boss was pathetic, had never been in love and didn¡¯t know how to woo people. After saying that three times, An Jie felt that he could face Yan Yue without any obstacles. Of course, as a good assistant, he decided to take the leadter and buy all the books that taught people how to fall in love, and give them to his boss as a friendly sponsor. As the saying goes, experience is not enough to make up for theory, and it was time for the boss to rectify his shorings in this area. Assistant An, proud of himself, walked out of the room with a straight face, and saw his boss sitting on the sofa with a serious expression, quickly scanning the information he had brought. Dezhi Investment was, strictly speaking, a venture capitalpany. Its profit model was simple. It looked for promising and profitable newpanies, mostly small start-ups thatcked the necessary capital. Dezhi Capital would inject capital into thesepanies at the start-up stage, and then when they reached a certain level of development, look for the right opportunity to sell its shares and make a high profit. Due to Yan Yue¡¯s past distractions, the management mode of Dezhi Investment had always been that the management found a suitable project, conducted a preliminary understanding and evaluation, and determined the possible rate of return before finally reporting to Yan Yue. Yan Yue only needed to choose the projects to invest in and didn¡¯t need to worry about the follow-up. The information that An Jie brought back this time were several projects that the management had recently been optimistic about. All of them had been evaluated, had very good rates of return and needed to be finalised by Yan Yue. ¡°Boss.¡± Yan Yue hmmed, put away the information in his hands and motioned to An Jie, ¡°You rest first, I¡¯ll take it back and look at it.¡± If it were usual, An Jie would have appreciated Yan Yue¡¯s kindness, but he had just received the shock of Ye Kang¡¯s news and his sleepiness was gone. He simply couldn¡¯t sleep now. Instead of wasting time he might as well get his work done first. ¡°Boss, I slept on the ne, I have no problem working now.¡± He was so positive, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t say anything. Yan Yue spread out the information again, and An Jie began to exin the data on it. The reason why they had worked together for so many years was that both of them had the potential to be workaholics. An Jie was so serious in his exnation and Yan Yue was so engaged in listening that they had a casual lunch at the hotel without distracting themselves from work. When Ye Kang came over to look for the two of them for dinner in the evening, he saw that the living room table was covered with documents and Yan Yue and An Jie were having a video conference with the head of Dezhi abroad. Ye Kang was speechless for a long time. This was why he didn¡¯t want to start apany, it was too tiring. Of course it was even more tiring to be like his third brother. He preferred a more rxed life. ncing at Ye Kang out of the corner of his eye, Yan Yue said to the video, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s it for today, let¡¯s continue tomorrow.¡± Turning off the video, Yan Yue unintentionally looked at the time and said unexpectedly, ¡°It¡¯s already six o¡¯clock?¡± Ye Kang: ¡°¡­¡­ You guys haven¡¯t been here since morning, have you? An Jie didn¡¯t sleep?¡± Just after he asked, he received a intive look from An Jie. It was all Ye Kang¡¯s fault. At first he was really not sleepy, and then he already ran out of time to be sleepy. With five cans of Red Bull down, An Jie felt that he couldst until tomorrow morning. s Ye Kang understood An Jie¡¯s meaning in seconds and silently shed a tear of sympathy for him in his heart. Yan Yue didn¡¯t bother to pay attention to the eye-rolling between the two, closed hisputer and got up. ¡°You guys discuss what you¡¯re having for dinner first, I¡¯ll go make a call.¡± He didn¡¯t realise that it was sote. In the morning he had told Lu Lingxi he woulde in the afternoon, and he didn¡¯t know if the shop was busy today. When he thought of Lu Lingxi, his expression visibly softened. After a day of high tension, he now only wanted to hear Lu Lingxi¡¯s voice. Throughout the day, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t receive any more calls from Yan Yue. He remembered that Yan Yue had said in the morning that he woulde to the shop in the afternoon, and the few times he heard the sound of the brakes he would look outside, but invariably ended in disappointment. He hesitantly squeezed his phone; Yan Yue¡¯s number was the first in the address book. Should he call Yan Yue? Lu Lingxi thought hesitantly, a little worried that it might interfere with Yan Yue¡¯s affairs. If he was in the middle of something, it would be bad to be interrupted. With these doubts, Lu Lingxi seemed a little distracted all afternoon. Dong Zhi took advantage of the fact that there was no one in the shop toe over and talk, and looking at him, he thought Lu Lingxi was not feeling well. ¡°Why are you so out of sorts? Are you sick?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Dong Zhi observed him carefully to make sure that there was really nothing wrong with Lu Lingxi other than a littleck of energy, so he turned to other matters. ¡°You still remember Grandma Wang¡¯s case, right? I heard that the suspect was found and is being investigated.¡± Lu Lingxi had already heard Yan Yue talk about it, but he still asked, ¡°Is it confirmed?¡± ¡°Hard to say. But Grandma Wang¡¯s family has stopped looking for witnesses, so it seems like it should be almost done.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Lingxi was about to say something when his phone suddenly rang. When he saw that it was Yan Yue calling, his eyes immediately lit up. ¡°Big Brother Yan.¡± The young man¡¯s voice was cheerful, revealing a hint of hidden joy. This joy reaching him through the phone made Yan Yue¡¯s heart jump uncontrobly. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder whether the young man was so happy because he had received a call from him. As soon as the thought shed, he heard Lu Lingxi¡¯s voice some distance away from the phone, ¡°Brother Dong, it¡¯s Big Brother Yan calling.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s expression immediately sank. Lu Lingxi was unaware of Yan Yue¡¯s reaction. He was a little happy and subconsciously curled the corners of his mouth, ¡°Big Brother Yan, are you done?¡± Yan Yue heard that Dong Zhi was now in Tiny Garden. He knew that Dong Zhi had always taken care of Lu Lingxi quite well, but he still couldn¡¯t help but be jealous. If he hadn¡¯t been so busy in the afternoon that he had forgotten the time, he would be the one apanying Lu Lingxi now, and he had the feeling that he had been robbed of his position. Suppressing the somewhat gloomy emotions in his heart, Yan Yue tried his best to calm down his voice. ¡°I¡¯m done for now, but I still have things to do in the evening.¡± ¡°There¡¯s still something to do in the evening?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little surprised, and also a little unspeakably disappointed. He was about to talk to Yan Yue about having dinner together tonight. Yan Yue let out an ¡°en¡±, not sure if it was just his imagination. He felt that Lu Lingxi¡¯s tone seemed a little down. The impulse rose from the bottom of his heart, and he almost took back the words he had just said and drove to see Lu Lingxi right now. But on second thought, Ye Kang was going back to Zhongjing tomorrow, and An Jie had just arrived. It was a rare asion for the three of them to get together, so he resisted the urge. The two of them chatted casually for a few minutes, and Lu Lingxi was very self-conscious, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you are busy, I won¡¯t bother you anymore.¡± Yan Yue was a bit reluctant to part, and patiently instructed, ¡°Good, go home early from work.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Putting his phone away, Lu Lingxi was a little unhappy, but Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help it if he had something to do. He remembered Wang Shuxiu calling him this afternoon about the many dumplings she had made, and looked at Dong Zhi with some embarrassment. ¡°Do you eat dumplings, Brother Dong? Do you want to go to my house for dinner tonight?¡± s Dong Zhiughed all of a sudden. ¡°Worried that Brother Dong doesn¡¯t have a ce to eat at night, huh?¡± Lu Lingxi was amused and exined seriously, ¡°Mom has made a lot of dumplings. I was going to call Big Brother Yan for dinner tonight, but Big Brother Yan doesn¡¯t have time¡­¡± Dong Zhi deliberately interrupted him and made an exaggerated expression, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Brother Dong likes eating dumplings the most, especially those home-made.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and vigorously advertised Wang Shuxiu¡¯s craftsmanship, ¡°Mom¡¯s dumplings are delicious.¡± Dong Zhi nodded; he really believed this statement. In the past, Lu Lingxi would asionally bring some food and he had eaten it a few times. The cooking was really good, and he heard that it was Lu Lingxi¡¯s mother who made it. Dong Zhi had only heard about Wang Shuxiu from Lu Lingxi but had never met her in person, so he had been curious about her for a long time. After work, Dong Zhi picked up Lu Lingxi in his little Alto and drove him home. Dahei had been in the car a lottely and got into the habit of getting into the back very consciously. Dong Zhi looked at Dahei and joked, ¡°Dahei, don¡¯t dislike Brother Dong¡¯s cheap car.¡± Dahei looked at him calmly and gave two low barks. Dong Zhi gave a thumbs up and said to Lu Lingxi, ¡°Dahei is really about to be a genius.¡± Lu Lingxi looked at Dahei and couldn¡¯t help but smile. It was already after eight o¡¯clock when Yan Yue finished his evening meal. An Jie was so sleepy that he went straight back to the hotel. Ye Kang rarely came out and had to drag Yan Yue around Fengcheng. Yan Yue was a bit distracted; he kept thinking about Lu Lingxi. He thought about the regret in Lu Lingxi¡¯s tone when the young man heard that he had something to do in the evening. After thinking about it more, he couldn¡¯t tell if it was his illusion or if Lu Lingxi was really showing his regret. Ye Kang talked by himself for a long time with no one to answer and turned his head to see that Yan Yue¡¯s soul was about to be lost. He really couldn¡¯t describe his current mood in anynguage. Just before he could haveints, Yan Yue had already returned to his senses and simply said, ¡°I have to leave first.¡± Ye Kang: ¡°¡­¡­¡± What¡¯s the matter? Do you need to go under Lu Lingxi¡¯s window in the middle of the night to spy? Yan Yue didn¡¯t care at all about Ye Kang¡¯s derisive look, got in the car without a second thought and said to Ye Kang, ¡°I¡¯ll see you off in the morning.¡± After saying that, he left without hesitation. Ye Kang: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Half an hourter, Yan Yue drove into Lu Lingxi¡¯smunity. He drove very slowly, hesitating to find an excuse to call Lu Lingxi out to meet him. But before he could think of an excuse, he saw Lu Lingxi and Dong Zhi walking out of the building together. Lu Lingxi was talking about something, Dong Zhi wasughing, and Dahei was following the two of them. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened and he unconsciously tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his heart simply going crazy with jealousy. Chapter 51 Dong Zhi carried a bag of tomatoes and was smiling, about to get into the car and leave. He rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair and his tone seemed a bit more solemn. ¡°Xiao Xi, in the future, if you need something, tell Brother Dong, Brother Dong will definitely help if he can.¡± Beforeing to dinner, Dong Zhi probably didn¡¯t understand the situation of Lu Lingxi¡¯s family from his daily life. However, now he realised that it was not easy for Wang Shuxiu alone to bring up Lu Lingxi, so Brother Dog couldn¡¯t help but express his feelings. Lu Lingxi smiled lightly and nodded, ¡°I know, Brother Dong, go back and drive slowly.¡± Dong Zhi waved his hand and didn¡¯t say anything else. Watching Dong Zhi drive away, Lu Lingxi was about to go home, but Dahei squatted in ce and looked in one direction motionless. ¡°Dahei?¡± Lu Lingxi looked suspiciously, then suddenly froze for a moment, blinked in disbelief, and walked over hesitatingly. The Hongfu Community was too old and too worn out, so there was little property management. The row of streetlights in front of Building 3 had been smashed by themunity¡¯s naughty children with slingshots, and no one came to fix them for more than half a year. At night, the light in this area was not very good, and there were a lot of shadows. Lu Lingxi vaguely saw a familiar car parked under the shade of a tree, but it was a bit far away and he couldn¡¯t see clearly whether it was Yan Yue¡¯s car or not. Lu Lingxi thought that Yan Yue couldn¡¯t possibly be here now, but there was an indescribable feeling that prompted him to go over and confirm it. He lingered a little as he walked to the car, and the window slid down to reveal Yan Yue¡¯s handsome face. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little surprised, but more than that, he was surprised in a way that he didn¡¯t even realise. ¡°Big Brother Yan, what are you doing here?¡± Yan Yue¡¯s eyes were dark and deep as he looked at Lu Lingxi intently. This ce where he had parked was quite remote, and basically his whole figure was shrouded in darkness. If Dahei hadn¡¯t spotted him, he was sure no one would have seen him. The gesture Dong Zhi had made to Lu Lingxi before he left was reying in his mind, and the longing in his heart was somewhat overwhelming as he watched the young man standing unsuspectingly in front of the car. If he tricked the young man into getting in the car now, he would take him away without any regard. Could he then confine the young man by his side and from then on no one but him would be able to touch him? Just imagining this scenario, Yan Yue wanted to drag Lu Lingxi into the car now. He couldn¡¯t help but want to touch him, want to possess him, want the boy to really belong to him alone. But he couldn¡¯t; he couldn¡¯t bear it. Ye Kang had made it very clear what the consequences of doing so would be. People were social creatures by nature, and the consequences of him forcing the young man to go against nature were extremely likely to be devastating. Reason and emotions were at war in his mind, and Lu Lingxi¡¯s face slowly became puzzled. Yan Yue suppressed the impulse in his heart, hooked the corners of his mouth and said in a soft voice, ¡°Xiao Xi, I miss you.¡± When these words were spoken, there was an unusual relief spreading in Yan Yue¡¯s heart. He could havee up with many clever or clumsy excuses to deceive the young man, and he was certain that Lu Lingxi would not suspect it at all, but he still said the truest reason. He had once wanted to just stay by the young man¡¯s side, but now he was no longer satisfied with his one-sided desire; he wanted the young man¡¯s response. Hearing these words from Yan Yue, Lu Lingxi was somewhat surprised and blushed a little. He didn¡¯t think of anything else, but simply felt that just like he would miss Yan Yue because he was used to having him around, Yan Yue would simrly miss him because he was used to his presence. Lu Lingxi faintly curled the corners of his mouth, looking a little shy as he whispered, ¡°I miss you too, Big Brother Yan. Mom made dumplings today, with your favourite pork and scallion stuffing, and eggnts with garlic, but they were all eaten by Brother Dong while you were away.¡± Hearing the young man say he missed him, Yan Yue was in heaven for a moment. He was a little afraid to believe what he heard, and for the first time, he showed a dumbfounded expression in front of Lu Lingxi. As for the next part about what Dong Zhi had eaten, to Yan Yue that was no longer the point. s Yan Yue took a deep breath, pushed open the car door and got out of the car. Lu Lingxi stood in front of him docilely, and Yan Yue resisted the urge to envelop the young man in his arms. He reached out and rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair hard, trying to erase all the aura Dong Zhi had left on him. Lu Lingxi frowned and grabbed his hand,ining softly: ¡°My hair is all messed up.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s eyes seemed to be scorching and there seemed to be a shallowyer of bright light floating in their darkness. He looked down at the young man, one hand resting on the top of his head, the young man¡¯s hand grasping his. These linked hands made him shiver with sweet caution. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s voice came from a distant window, ¡°Little bastard, where did you go to send someone off?¡± Lu Lingxi almost subconsciously shook off Yan Yue¡¯s hand and turned around, about to speak. Yan Yue grabbed him quickly and whispered before he could say anything, ¡°Xiao Xi?¡± ¡°En?¡± With such an interruption, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t bother to answer Wang Shuxiu and looked up at Yan Yue first. Yan Yue lowered his eyes slightly and said in an unusually soft voice, ¡°Xiao Xi, I want to spend some time alone with you.¡± Lu Lingxi blinked, somewhat bewildered. He realised that Yan Yue didn¡¯t want Wang Shuxiu to know that he was here. Although he didn¡¯t understand why, he still nodded. However, he said with some embarrassment, ¡°I have to go back now, otherwise Mom will be worried.¡± Yan Yue hooked the corners of his mouth and coaxed Lu Lingxi patiently, ¡°Thenter when your mom falls asleep, would you like toe out and keep mepany, Xiao Xi?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded quickly. Yan Yue smiled in satisfaction and forced himself to let go of Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and trotted back with Dahei. Inside, Wang Shuxiu looked at him and wondered, ¡°What took you so long?¡± Lu Lingxi, somewhat guilty, didn¡¯t dare to look at Wang Shuxiu and whispered, ¡°Dahei didn¡¯t want toe back and wanted to run around outside.¡± Dahei, who was crouched at his feet, gave a low whimper, protesting somewhat aggrieved against his poor excuse. Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t understand Dahei¡¯s meaning and believed Lu Lingxi¡¯s words. ¡°Dahei is indeed suffocating at home, it¡¯s fine to take him out for a run in the evening sometime. All right, you go and take a shower.¡± Lu Lingxi hesitated, thinking that he would have to go outter, ¡°Mom, you go ahead and wash up.¡± Wang Shuxiu pushed him inside, ¡°You go first, just take off your clothes and leave them in there, I¡¯ll throw them in the washing macher.¡± Lu Lingxi had to take a shower and change into the white cotton shorts and a light-coloured T-shirt that Wang Shuxiu had prepared for him and go back to his room. Wang Shuxiu was still in the living room tidying up, and Lu Lingxi wanted to read a book but couldn¡¯t keep his mind still. He walked around the room twice in a somewhat nervous manner and hesitantly sent a text message to Yan Yue. ¡°Are you still there, Big Brother Yan?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The simple word made Lu Lingxi settle down at once. He sat on the bed with his knees bent, holding his phone as he texted Yan Yue. ¡°Mom¡¯s still up, still tidying up the house.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± The corners of Lu Lingxi¡¯s lips curved up in a faint smile. Just like that, he and Yan Yue chatted back and forth. After some time Wang Shuxiu knocked on the door outside, reminding him to go to bed early and said that she was going to go to bed. Lu Lingxi nodded in some panic, his heart suddenly starting to beat rapidly. He didn¡¯t understand what was going on, he was obviously just going out to chat with Big Brother Yan for a while, why did it seem like he was going to do something bad? s Soon there was no movement in the living room. Lu Lingxi pushed the door open and listened whether Wang Shuxiu was asleep. Then he walked to the door lightly, squatted down and said in a soft voice to Dahei who was following him: ¡°Dahei, don¡¯t bark, stay home obediently.¡± Dahei rubbed against his arms somewhat reluctantly, and Lu Lingxi patiently stroked Dahei¡¯s head and promised, ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± After coaxing Dahei, Lu Lingxi gently opened the door and ran out. As soon as he left the building, he saw Yan Yue leaning against the wall at the entrance of the building. He was a little surprised, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re not in the car?¡± Yan Yue looked at his refreshing appearance and a smile filled his eyes as he softly said, ¡°I¡¯m here to pick you up.¡± He naturally reached out and took Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand. Lu Lingxi was a little unprepared and was led by Yan Yue into the car. The two of them didn¡¯t sit in the front but both squeezed into the back seat. Yan Yue¡¯s exnation was that he was afraid that someone woulde backte, see someone in the car and would be scared. The ss in the back seat was tinted, so it could hide their figures. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t doubt Yan Yue¡¯s words. He also felt that it would be bad if he was seen sitting in the front and someone told Wang Shuxiu. The smile in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes deepened. The boy¡¯s obedient look made him reach out and rub the boy¡¯s hair. Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair under the touch of his palm was a little moist, and he could see that the young man had just taken a shower. He could smell the fresh scent of grass and trees on the boy¡¯s body. Although he usually smelled it asionally, it had never been as clear as this time. Yan Yue was a little curious, ¡°Xiao Xi, what kind of shower gel do you use?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed and whispered, ¡°Milk shower gel.¡± He lifted his arm and sniffed it, ¡°Does it still smell? I¡¯ve rinsed it several times.¡± The scent of the shower gel was chosen by Wang Shuxiu, and Lu Lingxi protested several times but was mercilessly suppressed by Wang Shuxiu. A hint of strange emotion shed in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes and disappeared extremely quickly. He was sure that the fresh scent of grass and trees he smelt was definitely not his illusion. But when he saw Lu Lingxi wrinkling his nose and sniffing his body like a little puppy, any vegetation fragrance was forgotten. Yan Yue had to use all his self-control to stop himself from crushing the young man underneath him and rubbing him hard into his arms. Lu Lingxi sniffed for a long time and smelled nothing. When he met Yan Yue¡¯s amused look, he dropped his arm in shame. ¡°Big Brother Yan, is your holiday over?¡± Lu Lingxi asked, thinking of Yan Yue¡¯s busy day today. Yan Yue shook his head, the corners of his mouth curved up, ¡°There¡¯s still half a month left.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little surprised, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it would be until the end of August? It¡¯s already the beginning of September, doesn¡¯t it matter if you keep taking time off like this?¡± Yan Yue looked at him meaningfully, ¡°It¡¯s fine, there are more important things than work right now.¡± ¡°What?¡± Lu Lingxi asked subconsciously. Yan Yue didn¡¯t say anything; he just looked at him and faintly curled the corners of his mouth. Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart inexplicably missed a beat, and the tips of his ears turned a little red. Chapter 52 Lu Lingxi had a dream. Although he didn¡¯t remember most of the contents after he woke up, he seemed to have seen Yan Yue in his dream. When he thought of Yan Yue, Lu Lingxi¡¯s face reddened slightly. He got up a little embarrassed and changed his yellow duck underwear, not daring to think about why Yan Yue appeared in such a dream. While Wang Shuxiu hadn¡¯t gotten up yet, Lu Lingxi sneakily went to the bathroom and washed his underwear, hanging them in a ce he thought was hidden, not wanting Wang Shuxiu to see them. He knew that this was normal, but he couldn¡¯t help but be embarrassed. While he was doing this, Dahei was quietly following him around, looking at him with gentle eyes. Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed to be seen, knelt down and said to Dahei, ¡°This is another of our little secrets and we won¡¯t tell anyone else.¡± Dahei squinted and licked Lu Lingxi¡¯s chin, and Lu Lingxi curled up the corners of his mouth and smiled faintly. Because of the dream about Yan Yue and waking up to find out that he had had a wet dream, Lu Lingxi looked a little unnatural when he saw Yan Yue at Tiny Garden. Although he told himself that he didn¡¯t remember most of the dream and that he saw Yan Yue perhaps because he knew him best, Lu Lingxi still couldn¡¯t help but feel some shame when standing in front of Yan Yue. He had never been very good at disguising his emotions, so Yan Yue could see his abnormality at a nce. Yan Yue raised his eyebrows thoughtfully; the way Lu Lingxi looked at him made his heart itch. Lu Lingxi looked a little guilty and was blushing, as if he had done something bad. Although Yan Yue didn¡¯t know what Lu Lingxi had thought of, this look of the young man only made Yan Yue want to do naughty things to him or tease him. Yan Yue hooked the corners of his mouth; knowing full well that Lu Lingxi was avoiding him, he deliberately kept appearing in front of Lu Lingxi. ¡°Xiao Xi, isn¡¯t it time to water this pot of caryophyllum?¡± ¡°Xiao Xi, I think this pot of golden pothos is better with that pot?¡± ¡°Xiao Xi, what do you want to eat for lunch?¡± ¡°Xiao Xi¡­¡± As the day went on, Lu Lingxi¡¯s little grievance about the morning not only didn¡¯t lessen, but was getting heavier and heavier. The time had just reached seven o¡¯clock, and he couldn¡¯t wait to go home. But before he could pack up, Yan Yue stopped him, proposing to go to the nt nursery in the evening. The reason Yan Yue gave was very legitimate: Yu Xiaojuan¡¯snd rent contract had already been signed and it was time for them to prepare for the construction of the greenhouse. So it was time to go ahead and look at the ns and ask Uncle Li what he thought. The existing greenhouse at Tiny Garden was a bit rudimentary, so should they follow suit and upgrade it too? The expression on Yan Yue¡¯s face was so serious that Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t find a reason to refuse and had to reluctantly talk to Wang Shuxiu. Watching Yan Yue go to the car, he scratched Dahei¡¯s chin somewhat distractedly, hesitating for a while whether to pretend to fall asleep when he got in the carter. He was already a little unnatural in front of Yan Yue because ofst night¡¯s dream, and Yan Yue today was particrly¡­ Particrly what, Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t find the right words to describe. In short, he felt a little strange in front of Yan Yue and wanted to hide like an ostrich. Yan Yue quickly drove the car over, and Lu Lingxi was about to get in the car when he suddenly froze in surprise. Yan Yue saw his astonishment and exined, ¡°That car was taken back to Zhongjing by Ye Kang and was reced with a new car.¡± The new car was still ck and the configuration was slightly worse than before. But Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t care much about it. Yan Yue kept an eye on his expression, and at the sight of how indifferent he seemed, a smile slowly spread in his eyes. When Ye Kang returned to Zhongjing, he would let out the news that Yan Yue was nning to go abroad to recuperate. Then he would move out of the Yin family¡¯s house once An Jie arranged the ce next door to Xiao Xi. By then, with Ye Sange¡¯s help, it would not be so easy for his father to find him. There would be enough time for him to solve one of the most important things in his life. Yan Yue looked at Lu Lingxi intently. If it had been in the past, Lu Lingxi would have been too dull to feel anything. But now he felt guilty facing Yan Yue and his reaction became somewhat sharper. Under Yan Yue¡¯s burning gaze, Lu Lingxi ufortably turned his head and looked out the window with equally ¡°intent¡± gaze. Yan Yueughed silently and withdrew his eyes to look at the road ahead. Without the pressure, Lu Lingxi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Halfway through, the wind began to pick up outside the window and the sky turned vaguely cloudy, as if it was about to rain. Yan Yue hooked the corners of his mouth in satisfaction. He had always felt that the weather forecast in China was ridiculously inurate, but this time it was finally urate for once. ¡°It¡¯s going to rain.¡± Lu Lingxi looked out of the window with some worry. It hadn¡¯t rained in Fengcheng for almost half a month since thest big rainstorm. The air in Fengcheng was very dirty during this time, full of floating dust. He still remembered the pollution from thest rain and was a little worried that this time would be the same. s Yan Yue misunderstood him and coaxed as he drove, ¡°There¡¯s a ce to stay over in the nt nursery and a change of clothes, so even if it rains, there¡¯s no need to worry.¡± It was better if he didn¡¯t say it, but as soon as he did Lu Lingxi suddenly thought of the embarrassing situation when he had gotten up this morning. What if he had a dream that night as well? Lu Lingxi blushed and looked out the window, only to feel the tips of his ears burning. ¡°Xiao Xi?¡± Lu Lingxi dared not turn his head and nodded haphazardly at the window. At the red light, Yan Yue stopped the car and rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair with his hand, saying softly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head awkwardly, embarrassed to say that he was worried about having a wet dream of Yan Yue at night. Yan Yue couldn¡¯t guess what he thought, but looking at the young man¡¯s blushing face, he felt his heart soften into a puddle of water. When the two of them arrived at the nt nursery, it was already raining heavily outside. The trip was very difficult, the sky was dark and the road was in bad condition. Yan Yue was worried that something would happen and drove very slowly all the way. He actually regretted it a little, not expecting the rain to be so heavy. The weather forecast said only moderate rain, but this was clearly the rhythm of a rainstorm. Originally he had only wanted to use the rain as an excuse to keep the young man by his side in the nt nursery, the two of them staying alone together. But with such heavy rain, he was more worried about the boy¡¯s safety than anything else. Luckily, the journey was safe. From a distance, the two saw that something seemed to have happened in the vige. Many people gathered outside with shlights, doing something. Yan Yue drove over, and Uncle Li walked over hesitantly with his umbre. The only people who woulde to the vige at this time of day were Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi. ¡°Xiao Xi, stay in the car.¡± Yan Yue instructed, ¡°I¡¯ll go and see what¡¯s wrong.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. Yan Yue got out of the car with his umbre. Uncle Li was a little surprised, ¡°Howe you¡¯reing over in such heavy rain?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t raining when we left.¡± Yan Yue exined, ¡°What¡¯s going on up ahead?¡± Uncle Li sighed, ¡°The big willow tree at the entrance of the vige was struck by lightning, the blow rattling the whole vige. The electricity is also gone, so everyone gathered here to see what¡¯s going on.¡± Yan Yue had seen before the big willow tree Uncle Li mentioned; it grew not far from their small courtyard. It was said that the willow tree had been growing there for almost a hundred years. Its trunk looked as thick as two adult men, and one man couldn¡¯t even wrap his arms around it. Thest time he and Lu Lingxi went to Uncle Li¡¯s house for dinner, they talked about the tree and the young man even joked that if they had a bigger nt nursery in the future, they would cut saplings from this old tree to propagate. He heard that people in the vicinity did this, saying that the small willows propagated by this tree grew very lush and healthy. No one expected it would be struck by lightning this time. ¡°It¡¯s a pity.¡± Uncle Li shook his head. Because this willow tree had grown for a long time, some superstitious olddies in the vige called it a sacred tree and woulde to burn incense under it and tie red cloth strips around it on New Year¡¯s Day. Uncle Li didn¡¯t say anything, but in his heart he actually believed it. Generally speaking, the mostmon trees in the countryside are willow, elm, birch and so on, and among them willows are usually the shortest-lived. But this willow tree had lived for almost a hundred years, so when Uncle Li thought about it, he felt it was extraordinary. But even though it was extraordinary, it was still struck by lightning. Uncle Li muttered and changed the subject, ¡°You and Xiao Xi haven¡¯t eaten yet, have you? Let¡¯s go, everything is ready to eat at home.¡± Yan Yue had brought a lot of food with him in the car when he came, but he didn¡¯t expect the power outage, which was a big problem. Even if they didn¡¯t go to Uncle Li¡¯s house to eat, they still had to borrow a candle. Yan Yue thought about it and didn¡¯t refuse. However, he looked at the people gathered in front of him; the car couldn¡¯t drive through, so he could only walk with Lu Lingxi. He nodded politely to Uncle Li, ¡°I¡¯ll park the car in the nt nursery beforeing over with Xiao Xi.¡± ¡°Good.¡± As soon as Uncle Li finished speaking, he saw the car window behind Yan Yue open, and Lu Lingxi and Dahei squeezed together and poked their heads out, looking curiously ahead. ¡°Uncle Li!¡± Lu Lingxi called out affectionately, staring ahead in confusion, ¡°What¡¯s going on over there?¡± Before Uncle Li could say anything, he saw Yan Yue striding over with a ck face and an umbre. While putting the umbre over Lu Lingxi¡¯s head, he said sternly, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to stay in the car? What if you catch a cold in the rain?¡± Lu Lingxi had waited in the car for a long time for Yan Yue to return, so he couldn¡¯t resist opening the window to see what was going on outside. He didn¡¯t expect to be lectured by Yan Yue as soon as he opened the window, and in front of Uncle Li, by the way, so he immediately shrank back, a little embarrassed. Uncle Liughed, thinking that Yan Yue was watching the child too closely. But when he thought of how thin the child looked, as if ready to be blown by the wind, it was true that it would be bad if he caught a cold. He didn¡¯t say anything else, signalling that he would go back and get them dinner first, so that Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi coulde overter. Yan Yue nodded, and Lu Lingxi curved his eyes at Uncle Li through the window and shrank back again. After folding the umbre, Yan Yue got into the car. Without waiting for him to speak, Lu Lingxi shed a radiant smile at him. Yan Yue had a smile in his eyes, but the expression on his face didn¡¯t show the slightest hint of it. He reached out and touched Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair; feeling that it was not wet, he put his mind at ease. Lu Lingxi looked at him obediently and whispered, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you haven¡¯t said what happened there?¡± Yan Yue said patiently, ¡°That big willow tree in the vige was struck by lightning and the vigers were gathered around to see what was going on. Let¡¯s park the car at the nt nursery first and go to Uncle Li¡¯s house for dinnerter.¡± When Lu Lingxi heard that the willow tree had been struck by lightning, he couldn¡¯t help but nce towards that side. Yan Yue knew what was on his mind and coaxed, ¡°Let¡¯s go to see itter after dinner.¡± The corners of Lu Lingxi¡¯s mouth curled slightly and his eyes curved in a smile. The two of them parked the car at the nt nursery, and Yan Yue got out of the car first and went to pick up Lu Lingxi with his umbre. There was a lot of mud on the ground in the vige, so Yan Yue opened the door, leaned down slightly and said to Lu Lingxi, ¡°It¡¯s not easy to walk on the ground, let me carry you.¡± Lu Lingxi refused and blushed a little, ¡°I¡¯m not a child.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s gaze was gentle as he offered his hand to Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi obediently took Yan Yue¡¯s hand, and the two of them shared an umbre, with Dahei squeezing in beside them as they walked towards Uncle Li¡¯s house. When they passed therge willow tree, Lu Lingxi pulled Yan Yue¡¯s arm and stopped in his tracks. There were many vigers around, and although it was dark and raining heavily, the willow tree in the middle of the crowd could still be seen clearly, illuminated by the shlights. This was the first time Lu Lingxi had seen a tree that had been struck by lightning. The tree¡¯s trunk, which was originally as thick as two people, was split from top to bottom, almost in half. The charred ck core of the tree was exposed, and the willow¡¯s branches that had been densely covered in leaves were scattered in all directions, covered with rain and mud. s With the mental scan, the white panel suggested that the willow had lost its life. ¡°The nt is dead, consume the power of nature to save it?¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t hesitate and secretly chose yes. Although he was a bit reluctant to part with the power of nature because he was thinking of saving up to purify the nt nursery, this willow tree had been growing for almost a hundred years and it was such a pity for it to be split to death just like that. He also remembered that Uncle Li had said that this willow was the ¡°ancestor¡± of many willows in the vicinity, so if he did nothing, he would feel uneasy. After choosing yes, Lu Lingxi nned to leave. The power of nature could only bring the willow back to life, but whether it could survive depended on it itself. This was different from thest time when the little willow sapling died. He could still help watering it, but this old willow tree could only depend on itself. Lu Lingxi chose to put away the white panel, but to his surprise the white panel didn¡¯t disappear and still floated in front of him. He was taken aback slightly and saw a new prompt appear at the bottom of the panel. ¡°Found ancestral trees of amon origin, do you want to share vitality?¡± As this prompt lit up, the willow tree in the centre of the panel disappeared and what followed was an image of a light brown soil. Above the image, there were six green dots of light flickering. Five of the dots were of simr brightness and size, clustered together. Not far from the five dots, there was another dot that was clearlyrger, but it was dim, as if it might go out at any moment. Lu Lingxi¡¯s first thought was of the five small willow saplings nted inside the nt nursery; thest time they had shared their vitality was already a surprise for him, and he didn¡¯t expect a simr prompt to appear today. Ancestral trees of amon origin? It seemed that what Uncle Li said was really no joke. Lu Lingxi came back to his senses and quickly chose yes. He was staring at the white panel to see what other prompts would appear on it when Yan Yue reached out, swept him up in his arms and said, ¡°Time to go, Uncle Li is still waiting for us to eat.¡± Lu Lingxi was worried that he wouldn¡¯t be able to see the changes in the willow tree once he was out of the range of the mental scan, so he pulled Yan Yue¡¯s arm and whispered, ¡°I¡¯ll watch for a while longer.¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t quite understand what was so beautiful about this dead willow tree, but when he met Lu Lingxi¡¯s expectant eyes, he could only nod helplessly and wrap Lu Lingxi¡¯s whole body in his arms. Lu Lingxi¡¯s attention was on the white panel and he didn¡¯t react at all to how intimate his and Yan Yue¡¯s position was at the moment. After a few minutes, the originally dim green spot of light gradually lit up, while the originally bright five spots of light gradually dimmed down. Lu Lingxi frowned a little uneasily. The vitality of the five small willow saplings was too little. In case¡­ This thought just shed in his mind when a green line extended from the spot of light representing the old willow tree and went around in a circle, stringing together the original five spots of light and then went back to the origin. When the six dots of light were strung together to form a loop, Lu Lingxi felt a jolt in his mind as the soil within the green circle of light seemed toe alive and slowly began to change, turning from its original light brown colour to translucent white. ¡°Willow ecological colony formed, soil purification sessful, reward +500 nt heart¡± Lu Lingxi was stunned by this change. He looked up at Yan Yue with some confusion and whispered, ¡°Big Brother Yan, pinch me to see if it¡¯s true?¡± Yan Yue raised his eyebrows, thinking that the young man¡¯s remark was a bit odd, but he still reached out kindly and gave the young man¡¯s smooth face a gentle squeeze. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t feel any pain at all, but felt his heart thumping with a very strange feeling. He felt that the change in the panel must have made him weird as well, so he smiled shyly and looked at the panel again. After he waited for a few more minutes, the panel didn¡¯t change anymore. Lu Lingxi let out a sigh of relief, put away the panel and pulled Yan Yue, ¡°Big Brother Yan, let¡¯s go eat.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened; just a moment ago, he smelled the fresh scent of grass and leaves from the young man¡¯s body again. Uncle Li had been waiting for them at home for a long time, and when he heard that Lu Lingxi had stopped to look at the willow tree, he smiled andmented that the willow tree was a bit of a pity. Lu Lingxi held back from speaking, thinking of giving Uncle Li a surprise tomorrow. After the two of them finished their meal, Uncle Li said they might as well stay here. There was no electricity or water in the courtyard, and it would be troublesome for them to go back. Lu Lingxi was a bit hesitant, and Yan Yue also felt that it was not too convenient. When they insisted on going back, Uncle Li filled a bucket of water and asked them to take it back with them. Otherwise the two of them would not even be able to wash up. All the way back to the small courtyard with an umbre, half of Yan Yue¡¯s body was wet. ¡°I¡¯ll go boil water, you sit still and don¡¯t run around while the power is out.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. This was the first time he had encountered a situation where there was no electricity, and he found it somewhat novel. Apart from the inconvenience of the water being cut off, he didn¡¯t feel much of an impact. Yan Yue was outside boiling water, while Lu Lingxi sat bored on the edge of the bed, shaking his legs and teasing Dahei who was squatting on the floor. ¡°Dahei, you can¡¯t sleep on the bed today, you can only sleep on the floor.¡± Dahei gave a low whimper of resignation. Lu Lingxi found it hard to bear, but Dahei was too dirty after running around in the rain. They had only brought back a bucket of water from Uncle Li¡¯s house, which was definitely not enough to give Dahei a bath. ¡°When we go back, you can eat two chicken legs to make up for it, okay?¡± The temptation of chicken legs was still very strong, and Dahei¡¯s ears twitched as he barked calmly three times. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­ You want to eat three?¡± Dahei squinted his eyes and gave a low bark. Lu Lingxi remembered Brother Dong¡¯s evaluation of Dahei and was somewhat convinced that Dahei was really bing a genius. As one man and one dog were haggling over how many chicken legs to eat, Yan Yue had already boiled water and called for Lu Lingxi to wash his face. Lu Lingxi dutifully went and washed his face and feet, only to discover a big problem. The sneakers he was wearing today had long been soaked through, so how could he go back inside after washing his feet now? The only slippers in the courtyard were the ones he had brought overst time, and they were now on Big Brother Yan¡¯s feet. Lu Lingxi sat on a chair with his knees bent in embarrassment and seriously considered the problem. How about letting Big Brother Yan go to the bed first, and then calling for Dahei to bring the slippers over? Yan Yue looked at Lu Lingxi¡¯s tangled appearance with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. He had to admit that he did it on purpose. Deliberately didn¡¯t remind the young man, and deliberately left only one pair of slippersst time. He walked over slowly, pretending to be surprised, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Lu Lingxi meekly said, ¡°The shoes are dirty.¡± Yan Yue suppressed the urge in his heart and said as if casually, ¡°I¡¯ll carry you back.¡± Lu Lingxi was about to say that he wanted to let Dahei bring the slippers, but when he heard Yan Yue say that, he froze. Yan Yue didn¡¯t give Lu Lingxi a chance to refuse. Decisively, he leaned down and carefully picked up the young man in his arms. He found that this felt good, the young man¡¯s body was soft and full of the faint fragrance of vegetation, and the moment Yan Yue held him in his arms almost made him feel like he was holding the whole world. Yan Yue tightened his arms and whispered to Lu Lingxi¡¯s ear, ¡°Hold me tight.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s ears turned red. There was no electricity in the house, only a candle lit inside, and the dim light couldn¡¯t illuminate much. But even so, Yan Yue clearly saw Lu Lingxi¡¯s white earlobes slowly tinge with red. His mind went nk for a moment, and before he could realise it, Yan Yue had already uncontrobly pressed the young man down and gently kissed his ear. Chapter 53 In the twenty-seven years of his life Yan Yue had never tried to be so close to anyone. He had no memories of being swaddled as a baby, and wondered if his mother would have gently and lovingly held him in her arms. But it seemed that ever since he could remember, he had never had such a close rtionship with anyone without a trace of estrangement. Yan Yue hugged Lu Lingxi tightly; the boy¡¯s body was soft and surrounded by the faint fragrance of grass and leaves. Perhaps because he was so surprised, the young man didn¡¯t even try to push him away. Yan Yue¡¯s lips pressed against the young man¡¯s earlobe, and from this angle he could see Lu Lingxi¡¯s delicate cor bone and arge area of fair skin. He touched the young man¡¯s waist somewhat uncontrobly; the skin under his palm was warm and soft, like fine white jade. This beautiful sensation made his body tremble with excitement. The urges and desires that he had been trying to suppress all this time swept through his body like a violent storm. Yan Yue felt that he could no longer repress it. He knew it was wrong, but the young man would not understand what a shocking wave had been caused in his heart by just that nce. From the moment he kissed Lu Lingxi uncontrobly, there was no way back. Since this was the case, Yan Yue¡¯s heart simply gave birth to a ruthless determination of someone looking death in the eye. His lips left the boy¡¯s earlobe and found the ce he had been longing for. The moment his lips touched, Yan Yue felt as if he had reached heaven. It was only then that Lu Lingxi finally reacted and began to struggle. To Yan Yue, Lu Lingxi¡¯s struggle was nothing. In this position the young man was unable to exert any force at all. Yan Yue easily confined him in his arms. He cupped the young man¡¯s chin tremblingly, half forcing him to open his mouth, and kissed him obsessively. There was confusion in the young man¡¯s eyes, mixed with shyness and indignation, and a hint of disbelief, and Yan Yue kissed him with fascination. Unlike the previous dragonfly kiss, this kiss was a kiss in the strictest sense of the word. Although it was Yan Yue¡¯s first kiss, he had a kind of uncanny ability to do it without any experience, relying only on his instincts to drive in and taste the sweetness of the young man¡¯s mouth in earnest. The kiss was a frenzied and trembling one, full of all Yan Yue¡¯s emotions, with an unrelenting energy and a ruthlessness that didn¡¯t leave any way for retreat. Lu Lingxi¡¯s reaction was very slow. Although Yan Yue was inexperienced, he at least had a theory, but Lu Lingxi had no theory or experience at all. Almost forced to open his mouth, Lu Lingxi was a little puzzled as he felt Yan Yue¡¯s breath. Unlike his usual calmness and reliability, Yan Yue at this moment was someonepletely unfamiliar to him. Lu Lingxi was a little scared, and more than anything else, uneasy at being controlled. Lu Lingxi¡¯s face began to flush and he gradually became a little breathless. Yan Yue keenly sensed the abnormality of the young man in his arms and let go of Lu Lingxi with some reluctance. He was worried that if he continued kissing the young man, Lu Lingxi would suffocate because he would not be able to catch his breath. Yan Yue¡¯s gaze fell on the young man¡¯s ravaged red lips, his eyes fierce and eager to taste them all over again. Lu Lingxi finally came back to his senses, panting heavily in Yan Yue¡¯s arms. He tried somewhat feebly to push Yan Yue away and was held tightly. ¡°Xiao Xi, please don¡¯t be angry.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s voice trembled a little with a hint of pleading, ¡°I know it¡¯s my fault, but I like you and simply can¡¯t control my feelings.¡± Lu Lingxi lowered his head and didn¡¯t speak. Yan Yue was a little scared. He was afraid that Lu Lingxi wouldn¡¯t understand his feelings, and he was even more afraid that Lu Lingxi would understand but would refuse to ept them. If that happened, he would definitely be unable to resist forcing the young man into confinement, ignoring his wishes and resistance. He didn¡¯t want to go this far, he wanted more, he was greedy. s ¡°Xiao Xi, don¡¯t hate me.¡± Yan Yue sighed, ¡°You don¡¯t understand how much I like you. I liked you irrepressibly from the first moment I saw you. Dahei, Tiny Garden, everything was an excuse for me to get closer to you. I want to see you, to be by your side, to hold you and kiss you like I did now. I don¡¯t know if you understand these feelings. I¡¯ve been telling myself to hold back desperately, I was afraid I¡¯d scare you. But feelings are really hard to control. I never thought I would like someone like this, no, not like, it¡¯s love. Xiao Xi, I love you.¡± Lu Lingxi in his arms moved slightly, and Yan Yue immediately sensed that he¡¯d relented. He softened his tone and coaxed more and more patiently, ¡°Ye Kang is a psychologist, Xiao Xi, you know that, right? I¡¯ve had serious psychological problems since I was a kid. Ye Kang used to say that I was a robot and he suspected that I had no feelings at all. I always thought I was emotionally deficient, but when I met you I realised that it wasn¡¯t that I had no feelings, but that all my feelings were reserved for you. Xiao Xi, you are my switch, the switch that turned me from a robot to a human being.¡± ¡°Xiao Xi¡­¡± Lu Lingxi finally raised his head. His expression was a little aggrieved and embarrassed. He bit his lip slightly and said in confusion, ¡°But we¡¯re both men.¡± In his education, including the TV and movies he watched, it was always a man and a woman together. Could two men also be together? This question from Lu Lingxi was like a ray of light to Yan Yue. He thought he was going to be sentenced to death, but then someone suddenly told him that there was amnesty and he could go home. Yan Yue didn¡¯t expect the young man¡¯s problem to be this. He desperately tried to hold down the excitement in his heart, like a big wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing luring an innocent, naive and pure littlemb, using an iparably calm and reliable tone, patiently coaxing: ¡°Xiao Xi, excluding the fact that we are both men, do you hate me holding you? Do you hate me kissing you like this?¡± Lu Lingxi looked away somewhat skittishly, the tips of his ears slightly flushed. Although the feeling was strange and his heart was beating like it was going to jump out of his throat the next moment, he didn¡¯t seem to hate it. Moreover, Lu Lingxi thought somewhat inappropriately of the dreamst night. Big Brother Yan was in the dream. Was he like that too? ¡°Xiao Xi, you don¡¯t hate it, do you?¡± Yan Yue cunningly reced ¡°like¡± with ¡°don¡¯t hate¡± and continued to ask. Lu Lingxi nodded a bit shyly and said honestly, ¡°I don¡¯t hate it, but¡­¡± Before he could finish but what, Yan Yue had already rejoiced. To Yan Yue, ¡°I don¡¯t hate¡± was Lu Lingxi¡¯s answer, and the contradiction that followed was unimportant. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­ Yan.¡± All the unspoken words were blocked back by Yan Yue¡¯s kiss. Different from the madness of the first kiss, this kiss had more of a soothing meaning, gentle and lingering. Yan Yue kept kissing until Lu Lingxi almost choked, before he stopped. His eyes looked at Lu Lingxi in worship, his expression rapt. The young man¡¯s cheeks were scarlet from his kiss and his eyes were bewildered. Yan Yue carefully and reverently pressed his forehead against the young man¡¯s forehead, repeating in a low but firm voice, ¡°Xiao Xi, I love you.¡± s Lu Lingxi came to his senses and pushed Yan Yue away in some embarrassment, ¡°You¡­¡± You what, he was a little unable to say. He¡¯d just obviously said he didn¡¯t hate it, but before he could finish, Yan Yue took his words out of context. He was a little angry, but he didn¡¯t know why he was angry; it was more like he was ashamed, not knowing how to face Yan Yue. The way Lu Lingxi twisted his head like this and refused to pay him any attention made Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darken even more. He knew the desires of his own body. He desperately wanted to overpower the young man, to possess him, to force him, but thest shred of sanity held at him tightly. His day had been more than perfect, he couldn¡¯t push too hard on the young man, he should give him some time to adapt. Adapt to him, and to the change in the rtionship between the two of them. Yan Yue took a deep breath, suppressing all of his frantic longing. He half-kneeled in front of Lu Lingxi, looked sincerely into Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes and apologised, ¡°Xiao Xi, it was my fault, I should have heard you out. But I was just too happy. I thought you would hate me, I was afraid you would be unhappy, afraid you would be disgusted with me. But you said you didn¡¯t hate me. You don¡¯t know how happy I was, I couldn¡¯t control my emotions at all. Are you angry, Xiao Xi? If you¡¯re angry, you can beat me and scold me, Big Brother Yan will definitely not resist.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s ¡®sorrowful soldier wins¡¯(1) policy worked well. Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart softened, ¡°I¡¯m not angry. It¡¯s just that¡­¡± ¡°Just what?¡± Yan Yue asked patiently. Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed, ¡°It¡¯s just that I find it strange that we¡­¡± Yan Yue keenly sensed what Lu Lingxi was about to say and took the lead, ¡°Look, Xiao Xi, two men can also be together. I won¡¯t lie to you. There are many people like us. We are no different from others. The same like, the same love, the same life together. Xiao Xi, I love you and you don¡¯t hate me, would you like to give me a chance and try to be together?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little hesitant. He didn¡¯t hate Yan Yue, on the contrary he liked him, but was this liking of his the same as Yan Yue¡¯s like? Yan Yue talked about them trying to be together; like Brother Dong and his girlfriend were together? ¡°Xiao Xi?¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t understand.¡± Lu Lingxi said honestly, ¡°Big Brother Yan, I think I like you too, but I don¡¯t understand if it¡¯s the same kind of like you¡¯re talking about. Is this okay?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Yan Yue hugged Lu Lingxi ecstatically. He was a little afraid that what he was hearing was an illusion and only by hugging Lu Lingxi could he feel real. ¡°Xiao Xi, it¡¯s okay that you don¡¯t understand now, we can learn slowly. Big Brother Yan didn¡¯t understand before either, he only learnt after he met Xiao Xi.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little shy, but still nodded slowly. Yan Yue looked at Lu Lingxi¡¯s expression and only felt his heart was full to the brim. He didn¡¯t expect that looking death in the eye could really be the new beginning. The moment Lu Lingxi agreed, he really felt that the Yin family, the Yan family, and the Hopewell Group inheritance all added up were not worth even a hair on the young man¡¯s head. He wanted to do nothing from now on and just stay by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side. It would be best if there was a rope that could tie the two of them together, so that he could take the young man wherever he went and never be separated. ¡°I¡¯ll carry you back.¡± Lu Lingxi let out an ¡°en¡± and suddenly thought, ¡°Where¡¯s Dahei?¡± Howe Dahei hadn¡¯te out after all themotion they had made outside? Yan Yue hooked the corner of his mouth and didn¡¯t say anything. Inside the room, Dahei was intently gnawing on two braised chicken legs, his ears twitching every now and then to listen to the movement outside. Animals don¡¯t have as manyplicated thoughts as humans, and since Dahei recognised Yan Yue, he would naturally not be wary of him. When Yan Yue carried Lu Lingxi into the house, Lu Lingxi saw the chicken legs on the floor at a nce. He looked usingly at Yan Yue, who had a straight expression, as if he knew nothing. He ced Lu Lingxi gently on the bed and lowered his head to kiss the young man on the forehead resignedly. ¡°You go to bed first, I¡¯ll clean up.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded in some embarrassment. While Yan Yue was out, he quickly took off his shorts, then took the sheet and wrapped himself into a cocoon, revealing only his head outside. His movements werepletely subconscious, and Lu Lingxi¡¯s face suddenly flushed even though he was not quite sure what was going on his mind. What Yan Yue saw when he came back from washing up was Lu Lingxi wrapped up tightly. Hey down beside the young man with some amusement and reached out to pull the boy into his arms. ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡­¡± Lu Lingxi said, blushing. ¡°Good boy, I¡¯m not doing anything, just cuddling and sleeping.¡± Yan Yue coaxed in a low voice. Lu Lingxi moved his body uneasily, somewhat ufortable with such closeness. Yan Yue could see his reaction and patiently patted his back, slowly coaxing and persuading him. Lu Lingxi was a little tired from the day¡¯s tossing and turning and unconsciously fell asleep in Yan Yue¡¯s arms. Yan Yue looked at his quiet and peaceful sleeping face with contentment. The mouring noise deep in his heart slowly calmed down and the void that had been festering since he was six years old was finally filled with something. After a deep night¡¯s sleep, Yan Yue slowly opened his eyes after dawn. His first thought was to look for Lu Lingxi, but the bed was empty, and there was no Lu Lingxi. Yan Yue¡¯s face instantly sank, distorted at the thought that he had dreamt everythingst night. Quickly putting on his clothes, Yan Yue didn¡¯t care to wash up, pushed the door open and started looking everywhere for Lu Lingxi. He was not in the nt nursery; he was not in the small courtyard. Even Dahei was not there. Yan Yue was a little scared. He was afraid of waking up and finding out thatst night was all a dream, and even more afraid of seeing regret and disgust on Lu Lingxi¡¯s face. His car was still parked in the courtyard, and since Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know how to drive, Yan Yue took a deep breath and decided to go to Uncle Li¡¯s ce to check. After barely walking for two steps, he suddenly froze, looking ahead with some disbelief. The old willow tree that had been split in half by lightningst night had actuallye to life. Countless young shoots were emerging from the charred branches, and the newborn soft willow saplings swayed gently to the wind. There were birds resting on the trunk chirping, and the whole tree was full of majestic vitality. Lu Lingxi stood quietly in front of the willow tree, with Dahei crouching at his feet. Hearing the familiar sound of footsteps behind him, Lu Lingxi turned his head and curved his eyes at Yan Yue, smiling faintly. Yan Yue¡¯s heart settled down in an instant. He stepped forward and enveloped Lu Lingxi in his arms, lowering his head and kissing him fiercely.
  1. From Laozi: ¡°There is no greater misfortune than underestimating the enemy, and underestimating the enemy will lose the treasure. Therefore, if the resistance is added up, the one who ir sorrowful will win.¡±
Chapter 54 The news of the rejuvenation of the old willow tree spread throughout the vige in a very short time. Before seven o¡¯clock, the old willow tree was surrounded by the people of the vige. Everyone was either shocked or amazed at the new life of the old willow tree. The traces of the lightning strike were still there, but the new green shoots were already growing. What was even more astonishing was that the trunk had been split in half by lightning and the new willow tree formed a Y-shape from its roots. From a distance it looked like an old man standing at the head of the vige with his arms outstretched. ¡°The sacred tree, the tree god.¡± Grandma Shen, who was already over eighty years old, looked at the old willow tree in awe with her mouth open and her hands shaking and couldn¡¯t help but murmur in a low voice. Some of the people around the vige were unimpressed, but many more muttered in their hearts that this old willow tree was really extraordinary and powerful. Perhaps it was an illusion of the vigers, but they felt that when they were close to the tree, they could breathe more freely, and that a breath of air was very refreshing and nourishing. The environment in the vige was usually not bad, and especially after the rain the air was even fresher. But today it seemed to be particrly good; even the few wild flowers under the tree that were normally inconspicuous smelled fragrant. A group of people were whispering around the willow tree, and Lu Lingxi took Dahei back to the nt nursery as soon as someone came over. As the night passed, the inside of the nt nursery had changed no less than the outside. Due to the formation of the willow ecologicalmunity, all thend in this vicinity had been purified. The effect of the purification was outstanding. In just one night, therge-leaved golden pothos and money trees that were only half a person high, had grown almost 20 centimetres taller, with their branches and leaves spreading out and their leaves vibrant green. In the morning light they seemed like pure jade. Simrly to therge-leaved golden pothos and money trees, all the foliage nts in the nt nursery were lush and flourishing. At the other end of the nt nursery, flowers of all colours werepeting with each other in blooming, fragrant in the light breeze. Even a few clivias that had obviously passed the flowering period showed new flower buds, swaying gently in the wind. The most exaggerated were the five small willow saplings nted at the edge of the nt nursery. Although they still looked the same thick as before, they had flourishing branches and leaves, quite like described in the poem: ¡°A tree made of jasper is tall, and ten thousand green silk ribbons are hanging down¡±(1). Lu Lingxi looked at the changes in front of him with some anxiety, wondering how he would exin in case Yan Yue asked him about it. He didn¡¯t worry about Uncle Li. Uncle Li had never seen the courtyard before and only came to the nt nursery once in a while, so even if there were any changes, he wouldn¡¯t think much of them. But Yan Yue was different. The changes in the courtyard were too simr to the changes around his house, so he wondered if Yan Yue would make the connection. When he thought of Yan Yue, Lu Lingxi remembered what Yan Yue had done in the morning. He didn¡¯t understand why Yan Yue liked to kiss him so much and he felt like he was out of breath every time. After he realised what he was thinking about, the tips of Lu Lingxi¡¯s ears reddened slightly. Pushing Yan Yue out of his mind, Lu Lingxi concentrated and clicked on the white panel. The entire purifiednd was disyed on it. He found that it seemed that the purifiednd was free from the three metre limit of mental scan and could be disyed as he wished. This was the first time Lu Lingxi had seriously looked at thend since the purificationst night, and it was muchrger than the small courtyard. From the vige head to the nt nursery, even the courtyard of Uncle Li¡¯s house was included in it. Taking into ount the growth rate of the nts after thend was purified, one could only wonder what kind of cabbage and beans would grow in Uncle Li¡¯s courtyard like crazy. Lu Lingxi hoped it wouldn¡¯t scare the old man. He couldn¡¯t help but smile faintly at the thought. His eyes swept over the panel and suddenly froze, somewhat suspicious of what he was seeing. After a few seconds of hesitation, Lu Lingxi gently tapped on the lower corner of the panel. As he manipted it, the disyed image began to zoom in, and the edge of the purifiednd appeared. As if it was alive; Lu Lingxi could clearly see that the edge of thend was not fixed, but flowed outwards like water, expanding the scope of the purifiednd little by little. This change was so subtle that one wouldn¡¯t notice it without looking closely. Lu Lingxi thought about it and the panel switched locations, this time showing him the backyard of the Hongfu Community. He carefully zoomed in on the purified soil in the backyard. Sure enough, the edges of the soil were likewise spreading outwards like flowing water. However, because the surroundingnd was so heavily polluted, the effect was even less obvious than that of the nt nursery. s This discovery surprised Lu Lingxi a little, but it was more than just a surprise. The purifiednd had a very strong self-cleaning ability and would not be contaminated again in the short term. If they could also expand the purification area, was it possible that the entire neighbourhood would slowly change and then continue to purify until the entire Fengcheng¡­ He was absorbed in his thoughts when Yan Yue walked up to him at some point and naturally moved to wrap him in his arms, ¡°What are you looking at? ¡° Lu Lingxi was startled; although he knew that Yan Yue couldn¡¯t see the white panel, subconsciously he was still a bit guilty. This look of a shadow in his heart was noticed by Yan Yue, and Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened, his expression a little obscure. If you like someone, you want to know everything about them, and Yan Yue was naturally not exempt from this rule. But he knew he couldn¡¯t rush, he had to be patient with the young man. ¡°Is Xiao Xi angry?¡± Yan Yue lowered his head and whispered in Lu Lingxi¡¯s ear. Lu Lingxi froze for a moment, and then realised what Yan Yue was talking about. He had left Yan Yue in the morning to run back to the nt nursery by himself with Dahei. Thinking of this, Lu Lingxi blushed a little but still said seriously, ¡°Not angry.¡± Although he was not used to Yan Yue kissing him, he was not angry, he was just a little shy and afraid of being seen by the people in the vige. Yan Yue heard that Lu Lingxi was not perfunctory in his answer and his heart settled down somewhat. He gently kissed Lu Lingxi on the ear, watching the young man¡¯s earlobes slowly turn red, and his heart simply softened into a puddle. Before his confession yesterday, all he thought about every day was to stay by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side as much as possible, to keep himpany and watch him. He knew that his feelings were too crazy and that the young man was naive and inexperienced, so he had always tried his best to suppress these emotions for fear of scaring Lu Lingxi. But if feelings could be controlled, there wouldn¡¯t be so many infatuated men and women in the world. Yan Yue had not expected his sudden uncontroble outburst; not to mention daring to hope that the young man would actually be willing to give him a chance to try. Happiness was so sudden that Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help but feel fearful that it would all turn out to be just a delusion. Only by holding the young man in his arms and actually being close to him could Yan Yue calm his heart that had been suffering from gains and losses. Yan Yue let go of Lu Lingxi a little, looked him in the eyes and said seriously, ¡°I want to apologise for what happened in the morning.¡± He shouldn¡¯t have been so impulsive outside. He could ignore the strange looks of the people around him, but he couldn¡¯t let the young man suffer even a little. Luckily there was only him and Lu Lingxi under the willow tree and no one else saw them. Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed. Yan Yue reached out and touched his face, saying seriously, ¡°Xiao Xi, I was afraid. I was afraid that I would wake up and find out that everythingst night was an illusion, that you would suddenly tell me that you regretted it and didn¡¯t want to be with me. I didn¡¯t find you in the morning and thought all my fears hade true, and only after I saw you under the willow tree did my heart settle down.¡± What Yan Yue said seemed to make sense to Lu Lingxi. When he thought about it, Yan Yue¡¯s feelings were probably like his own when he was in the Lu family in Zhongjing and his father suddenly promised to send him abroad to study. Dreaming at night, he would definitely wonder if he really could go abroad to study. After thinking about it in this way, Lu Lingxi understood it somewhat. He looked at Yan Yue with a bit of a blush and said in a small voice, ¡°Big Brother Yan, I¡¯m not lying to you. I¡¯m happy with you and I miss you when you¡¯re not around. I want to try being with you.¡± s Although the young man might not yet understand what he meant by these words, to Yan Yue¡¯s ears, they were truly the most beautiful words of love in the world, bar none. In this instant, Yan Yue felt his whole body tremble with happiness and his heart beat as if it was about to pop out of his chest immediately. He hugged Lu Lingxi tightly, trembling a little, and lowered his head to gently kiss him on the forehead. ¡°Xiao Xi, I love you.¡± Lu Lingxi somewhat shyly reached out to hug Yan Yue¡¯s waist and buried his head in his chest. The two didn¡¯t stay much longer in the nt nursery and went back to Tiny Garden after breakfast. The morning was hectic and towards noon Yan Yue received a call from Ye Cheng. He was informed that Lu Hongxin had been arrested for traffic offences. Regarding the circumstances of this incident, Ye Cheng found it quite amazing. When Ye Kang first told him that Lu Hongxin might have hit someone, he didn¡¯t think much of it. The dog couldn¡¯t talk, and it was almost three months ago that it was hit, so how could they be sure that it was reacting in the way they understood it to mean. But Ye Kang was excited, and Ye Cheng thought it was an entry point, so he gave a casual order. Who thought that the investigation showed that the hit-and-run that happened more than half a month ago in the street of Tiny Garden was really done by Lu Hongxin, only that his father used his connections to erase the clues and suppress the matter. As soon as the investigation results came out, Ye Cheng was quite interested. He purposely called Yan Yue to ask him to take Dahei to identify the culprit. He had already made arrangements to see if Dahei was as amazing as Ye Kang said. Yan Yue thanked Ye Cheng politely, hung up the phone and beckoned to Dahei. Dahei calmly walked up to him. Yan Yue hooked the corner of his mouth and said lightly, ¡°The person who hit you has been caught. I¡¯ll take you to identify him.¡± This time Dahei was not calm; his ears swished up and he gave a low growl to Yan Yue. Yan Yue smiled, stroked Dahei¡¯s head and told Lu Lingxi about it. Lu Lingxi was taken aback, not expecting it to be confirmed so quickly. He gave Dahei a somewhat hesitant look, squatted down and said to Dahei, ¡°Dahei, you have to be restrained.¡± After saying that, he was still a bit uneasy, pulling Yan Yue and instructing in a low voice, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you watch Dahei, don¡¯t let anything happen to him.¡± Lu Lingxi was a bit worried that if Dahei was impulsive and bit Lu Hongxin, it would be bad. Although he believed that since the other party had hit Dahei and hit Grandma Wang and fled, but now was caught, it could also be considered Dahei¡¯s revenge. But if Dahei bit the other party in the process of identifying him, the others would not think that Dahei¡¯s actions were justified and would only decide that Dahei was dangerous. ¡°Good.¡± Yan Yue agreed with a smile, reaching out and rubbing Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair to assure him, ¡°I will definitely listen to what Xiao Xi says, and Dahei will listen too.¡± Dahei immediately cooperated and gave a bark. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes, believing the words of the man and the dog.
  1. From ¡°The Willow ¡± by He Zhizhang of the Tang Dynasty
Chapter 55 When Yan Yue arrived at the police station with Dahei, someone was already waiting for him. To some extent, as an important ¡°witness¡±, Dahei was very much valued. The man who weed Yan Yue introduced himself as Fang Lei, the person in charge of the case of Lu Hongxin. Fang Lei was over thirty years old. He greeted Yan Yue and smiled at Dahei amicably. As someone who knew the inside story, he had been curious about Dahei for a long time. Yan Yue nodded politely to Fang Lei and let Dahei follow him inside the police station. ording to Fang Lei, Lu Hongxin was currently detained in the innermost interrogation room, waiting for the follow-up investigation. As he got closer to the interrogation room, Dahei grew a little agitated, from time to time letting out a low bark. Yan Yue looked at Dahei¡¯s reaction and was already sure that Lu Hongxin was their man. Fang Lei also noticed Dahei¡¯s behaviour and was secretly surprised. The two men and the dog walked to the door of the interrogation room. Once the door was opened, Dahei immediately arched his body, bared his teeth and let out a threatening growl from deep in his throat, looking like he might pounce at any moment. Yan Yue tightened the leash around Dahei¡¯s neck and said in a low warning voice, ¡°Dahei.¡± Dahei turned his head to look at him, closed his mouth and slowly calmed down. There were three people inside the interrogation room. One was none other than Lu Hongxin, and the remaining two were Fang Lei¡¯s colleagues. Ye Cheng had already made the arrangements, and they were not surprised to see Dahei, although the order from above was inexplicable. They were informed that a dog was to be used to identify the suspect and they couldn¡¯t help but feel a little strange. The incidents of Lu Hongxin hitting people were already investigated clearly, and now they investigated his corruption and bribery. What was the point of having a dog to identify him? But when the order came from the top, no one was stupid enough to question it. When they saw Dahei, the one who reacted the most was Lu Hongxin. He shouted in horror, ¡°What are you doing? Lynching is illegal, I can sue you!¡± Yan Yue nced at him indifferently, lowered his head and asked Dahei for confirmation, ¡°Is that him?¡± Dahei bared his teeth and barked, looking at Lu Hongxin with fierce hatred in his eyes. The two policemen looked at Lu Hongxin and then at Dahei, and realised that this dog really knew Lu Hongxin. They were still thinking what to do since the dog recognised the man when Yan Yue suddenly let go of the leash and Dahei rushed out like an arrow. In front of several people, Dahei jumped over the table, pounced on Lu Hongxin and pinned him to the floor underneath him as the man screamed in terror. ¡°Be careful.¡± The policeman at the front subconsciously touched his baton but Fang Lei stopped him silently. Lu Hongxin was pinned to the floor and panicked, saying, ¡°Damn dog, get lost, you¡¯re breaking thew like this, I¡¯ll sue you.¡± Dahei red at him with hatred, bared his teeth and growled low, both paws pressed down firmly on Lu Hongxin¡¯s shoulders as he slowly lowered his head closer to the man¡¯s neck. ¡°Damn dog, get out of here. Some¡­ someone is going to die.¡± Lu Hongxin let out a miserable cry, terrified to the point of incontinence as Dahei¡¯s mouth closed in on his neck. The smell in the room was somewhat unpleasant and Yan Yue finally called out slowly, ¡°Dahei,e back.¡± Dahei slowly straightened up and growled at Lu Hongxin again before jumping off his body and trotting all the way back to Yan Yue¡¯s side. Yan Yue nodded at Fang Lei and the others with an apologetic face and med himself, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t keep an eye on my dog.¡± Fang Lei nodded indifferently. His attention was always on Dahei from the beginning to the end. From the time Yan Yue let go of the leash to the time Dahei pounced to scare Lu Hongxin, he felt that the dog¡¯s reaction was simply amazing. After a disgusted nce at Lu Hongxin on the floor, Fang Lei squatted in front of Dahei with interest and said seriously: ¡°Dahei, right? Would you like toe to the police force?¡± He didn¡¯t know how Dahei had been trained. He had seen many police dogs before; all of them were quite intelligent and could understandmands through training. But once hepared them to Dahei, he immediately saw the difference. He felt that Dahei was no longer simply understandingmands, but that he understood exactly what they were saying and doing. It was simply a pity if a dog as smart as this didn¡¯te to the police force. s Dahei narrowed his eyes, calmly tilted his head and rubbed it against Yan Yue¡¯s leg. Yan Yueughed in his heart, but on the surface, he politely refused Fang Lei¡¯s offer. Dahei was just an ordinary pet dog, so he was afraid Fang Lei would be disappointed. If the dog¡¯s owner wasn¡¯t willing, Fang Lei couldn¡¯t force him, so he had to send Dahei away reluctantly. When they returned to the car, Yan Yue stroked Dahei¡¯s head and smiled, ¡°Satisfied now?¡± Dahei barked and took the initiative to rub against Yan Yue¡¯s palm. Yan Yue withdrew his hand, ¡°You know how to answer when Xiao Xi asks, right?¡± Dahei barked again andzily flopped down on the back seat, squinting contentedly and curling up in a ball. One man and one dog came to an agreement, and Yan Yue put his mind at ease, feeling that he and Dahei were quite obedient. Xiao Xi was worried that Dahei would bite someone, but in fact Dahei had only scared the man and it was not against Xiao Xi¡¯s wishes. When Yan Yue and Dahei returned to Tiny Garden, Lu Lingxi was receiving Han Jianmin. Brother Han came this time because he had another order for Tiny Garden. During this time, Han Jianmin had brought in customers to Tiny Garden quite often. Ever since their unit was equipped with Tiny Garden¡¯s potted nts, the air had been changing there day by day. His colleagues that had nothing to do had an acquaintance from the Environmental Protection Bureaue to the unit to do a test and the results showed that the indoor air waspletely up to standard. In just under a month, all the formaldehyde in the office had dissipated. Now all of Han Jianmin¡¯s colleagues had be hardcore fans of Tiny Garden. More or less every one of them bought nts from Tiny Garden, saying they wanted to put them at home to improve the air there. However, this time the order was special. The other party wanted to rent a batch of nts from Tiny Garden instead of buying them. Brother Han was a bit embarrassed, ¡°It¡¯s a buddy of mine from their unit. They are honestly not short of money, just stingy. They¡¯re about to move, too. When they heard about us, they wanted to buy a batch of nts in advance and send them to the new office to absorb formaldehyde. But they don¡¯t know how to raise the nts, and they want you, Xiao Xi, to go over and water them from time to time.¡± Brother Han meant to get Lu Lingxi to agree; this was a long-term matter. Don¡¯t look at the low rent at the beginning, once they know how good Tiny Garden is, they won¡¯t be able to do without the nts from here. It could also be a disguised advertising campaign. Lu Lingxi nodded and took the order. He had read on the inte that many flowerpanies were also divided into two types of business, rental and sale. If it was before, the growth rate of nts in the nt nursery couldn¡¯t keep up, and he would not have been able to start the rental business even if he wanted to. But now that thend in the nt nursery had been purified, ording to the growth rate of the nts, he could really consider an additional rental business for Tiny Garden in the future. As soon as he nodded, Brother Han smiled happily. ¡°Xiao Xi, do a good job. Brother Han is waiting for your Tiny Garden to be number one in Fengcheng.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled, a little embarrassed. He didn¡¯t have such great ambitions, but he was still happy to be noticed. Han Jianmin, who had other things to do, left in a hurry after a quick meeting with Yan Yue. With no more customers in the shop, Lu Lingxi had time to ask about Dahei¡¯s visit to the police station to identify the culprit. s Yan Yue told the story lightly. ¡°Then Dahei didn¡¯t act impulsively, right?¡± Yan Yue¡¯s expression remained unchanged, ¡°How could it be? I¡¯ve been holding Dahei, and Dahei himself has a sense of proportion.¡± Lu Lingxi rxed, squatted down and stroked Dahei¡¯s head, praising, ¡°Dahei is very good. The police caught that bad guy because of Dahei, and Dahei has taken revenge himself.¡± Dahei gave a low bark and nuzzled affectionately against Lu Lingxi¡¯s hands. Yan Yue¡¯s expression was a little bad. The scene in front of him was an eyesore. He coldly red at Dahei, stupid dog! At seven o¡¯clock in the evening, the sky outside was already a little dark. While Lu Lingxi was packing up and preparing to get off work, he discussed with Yan Yue that the time to get off work would be advanced to six o¡¯clock in the future. It was getting dark earlier and earlier, and in winter, seven o¡¯clock was already consideredte. Yan Yue didn¡¯t have any objection to the time of work. He couldn¡¯t guarantee that he would be able to pick Lu Lingxi up from work every day, and it was really not safe to go home toote. When he drove Lu Lingxi home, it was already dark outside and there was no one in front of themunity building. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened and he didn¡¯t turn on the lights. He took advantage of the fact that Lu Lingxi was looking down to unbuckle his seat belt and leaned over to him, cupping his chin and giving him a kiss. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t have time to react, and the tips of his ears turned red at once. ¡°Go to bed early and don¡¯t read toote.¡± Yan Yue patiently admonished. Lu Lingxi nodded, somewhat embarrassed, and without waiting for Yan Yue to say anything else, pushed open the car door and ran down. Dahei quickly jumped out after Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi pursed his lips and stood at the entrance of the building looking at Yan Yue, his eyes curved as he smiled faintly. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes were dark and deep, Lu Lingxi¡¯s smiling face reflecting in his pupils. The corners of his mouth unconsciously hooked and his eyes slowly filled withughter. When Lu Lingxi got home, Wang Shuxiu had already made dinner and was waiting for him. ¡°Hurry up, wash your hands and eat.¡± Wang Shuxiu instructed, casually asking, ¡°Yan Yue brought you home again, why didn¡¯t you call him to join us for dinner?¡± Hearing Wang Shuxiu mention Yan Yue, Lu Lingxi felt inexplicably guilty. ¡°Then I¡¯ll call Big Brother Yan for dinner tomorrow?¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, should I wrap dumplings? He didn¡¯t get to eat the ones I madest time. And I¡¯ll make him some egg-nts with garlic to save you from thinking about it all the time.¡± Wang Shuxiu made a casual remark, but Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help but blush when he heard it. He was afraid that Wang Shuxiu would notice, so he hurriedly ran to the bathroom on the pretext of washing his hands. Yan Yue¡¯s text message came just in time. ¡°What did you eat tonight? Eat more, Xiao Xi, you¡¯re too thin.¡± Lu Lingxi looked at the text message and the corners of his lips curved up into a faint smile. After finishing his meal, he went to the backyard to water the tomatoes like he always did. The tomato seeds collected earlier had all been nted. The tomatoes were growing like crazy because thend had been purified. The whole backyard was crowded with tomatoes. Sometimes Wang Shuxiu was worried where they would get time to eat them all! Wang Shuxiu was able to exchange these tomatoes for other vegetables from her neighbours, saving a lot of food money for the past half a month. After watering, the panel quickly gave a prompt. Satisfy the needs of tomatoes, reward nt heart +10. Immediately following this prompt was another prompt. After collecting a thousand nt hearts, upgrade the system. Chapter 56 The prompt to upgrade the panel was so unexpected that Lu Lingxi was stunned for a moment before he realised that he had already collected a thousand nt hearts. Last night, when the willow ecologicalmunity was formed, the panel rewarded him with 500 nt hearts. Lu Lingxi remembered that he had even taken a look at it at that time, and he was still more than 30 points short of levelling up. Unbeknownst to him, he had actually collected all of them in one day today. A little surprised, but more excited, Lu Lingxi stared at the white panel without blinking, wondering what changes the panel would have after the upgrade. System upgrade sessful, mental scanning range extended by thirty metres, nt evolution activated and a pack of grape seeds randomly awarded. As the prompt appeared, Lu Lingxi had a palm-sized ck package in his hand. Having experienced it once before, Lu Lingxi was not surprised by the sudden addition of something in his hand. He turned it upside down out of habit, thinking that it was already September this year, so if he nted these grapes, he would have to wait until next year. After putting away the grape seeds that the panel had rewarded him with, he focused on the first half of the panel¡¯s prompt. As usual, the panel¡¯s prompt was clear and concise, without any exnation. Lu Lingxi stared at the prompt and read it once more. He understood that the mental scanning range was extended to thirty metres, but what was nt evolution? In view of the fact that the panel¡¯s functions required him to figure them out by himself, Lu Lingxi nced around and picked out a pot of chlorophytum hanging on the balcony. The mental scan spread out and the chlorophytum appeared on the panel. nt name: Chlorophytum nt needs: none nt viability: very high nt status: primary peak nt evolution condition triggered, please select nt evolution direction. A new prompt appeared at the bottom of the panel, followed by different evolution options: 1) Absorb formaldehyde +20% 2) Release oxygen +20%. Lu Lingxi was a little surprised and stared at the two different options for a long time before hesitantly choosing Release oxygen +20%. This pot of chlorophytum was kept at home and there was no formaldehyde to absorb. It was more realistic to release oxygen +20%. After he chose the direction of evolution, the chlorophytum in front of him didn¡¯t seem to have changed, and Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know if it was considered a sessful evolution. After thinking about it, Lu Lingxi scanned the other nts in the house and looked at them one by one. Tomatoes, no. Ca lilies, neither. On the contrary, the same option appeared for a pot of caryophyllum ced in the corner. nt name: Caryophyllum nt needs: none nt viability: very high nt status: primary peak Lu Lingxi looked at the nt status at the bottom and somewhat understood the evolutionary conditions set by the panel. It seemed that a nt had to reach the primary peak before the evolution selection would be triggered. But to his surprise, the evolution of the caryophyllum didn¡¯t have two choices. There was only one evolution direction, Absorb sulphur dioxide +20%. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t hesitate this time and directly chose ¡°yes¡±. Wang Shuxiu cleaned up the kitchen and came out to see Lu Lingxi crouching in the corner, staring at the pot of caryophyllum for some reason. The mobile phone in his room had been ringing for a long time but no one answered. ¡°What are you looking at? Didn¡¯t you hear the phone ringing?¡± Wang Shuxiu walked over and gave Lu Lingxi a strange look. s Lu Lingxi came back to his senses and realised that his phone had been ringing. He was just about to answer it when it had already cut off. Wang Shuxiu looked at the dumb look on his face and couldn¡¯t help but reach out and give his cheek a squeeze, ¡°Don¡¯t you see enough of those in the shop every day? Go take a shower and wash up, I¡¯ll go next door to Auntie Hu¡¯s house.¡± ¡°Auntie Hu?¡± Lu Lingxi was a bit surprised. Wang Shuxiu and the next door neighbours had a normal lukewarm rtionship, usually rarely going to visit each other or something. What time was it? Why would she want to go there? ¡°Where did you put stic bags?¡± Wang Shuxiu wanted to take a few tomatoes, and while looking for the bag, exined to Lu Lingxi: ¡°Your Auntie Hu sold her ce. I heard that the other party saw the environment of our neighbourhood and offered a lot of money. Isn¡¯t your Brother Hu getting married soon? He¡¯s short of money and it¡¯s such a coincidence. We¡¯ve been neighbours for more than ten years, and they¡¯re moving out tomorrow, so I have to go and have a look.¡± Lu Lingxi helped her find a stic bag in the drawer, and Wang Shuxiu picked out a dozenrge tomatoes, muttering casually, ¡°In the past day or two, many people havee to our neighbourhood to inquire about houses, and I¡¯ve met several agents. They all say that the environment in themunity is good, and I don¡¯t know how much this house of our family is worth. But¡­¡± she changed the subject, ¡°the environment in themunity is now really good, and I can¡¯t bear to sell it. Your mom has taken roots here. I¡¯ll save money to buy you something outside.¡± Lu Lingxi took a bite of the tomato, not really caring about the house, ¡°I think it¡¯s pretty good here, and I don¡¯t want to be separated from my mom.¡± Wang Shuxiuughed and casually pped him on the head, ¡°You only say that to make your mom happy. When you get a wife, you won¡¯t say that anymore.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He hadn¡¯t thought about it until Wang Shuxiu mentioned it, but how should he talk to Wang Shuxiu about Yan Yue? He had no thoughts about getting a wife, like Wang Shuxiu had been saying. He was used to being alone before, and Yan Yue was the first person he liked. But if he liked Yan Yue, would Wang Shuxiu like him too? Would Wang Shuxiu mind having a male daughter-inw? ¡°What?¡± Wang Shuxiu saw that his expression was a bit wrong and was amused, ¡°Are you shy?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head and urged Wang Shuxiu to hurry to Auntie Hu¡¯s house as it was almost nine o¡¯clock. He was so bad at changing the subject that Wang Shuxiu wanted to tease him a bit, but when she looked at the time it was really gettingte. While muttering in her heart about how the little bastard lookedpletely ignorant, she hurriedly left. Lu Lingxi washed his hands and went back to his room with some anxiety, wondering whether Wang Shuxiu would mind having a male daughter-inw or not. The phone rang once again; he nced at it and the caller ID showed that it was Yan Yue. s ¡°Big Brother Yan.¡± ¡°What were you doing just now? No one answered the phone all the time.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s voice on the other side of the phone was low, maic and very nice. Lu Lingxi took off his shoes and sat on the bed with his legs crossed, and after some thought answered, ¡°I was watering the tomatoes.¡± Yan Yue never mentioned the changes in the nt nursery, and Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know if Yan Yue had noticed anything. He hesitated whether to tell Yan Yue about the panel. The difference between Yan Yue and Wang Shuxiu was that Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t care about Tiny Garden, but Yan Yue was with him every day. The changes in the nt nursery and the courtyard, and the future evolution of the nts, these things simply couldn¡¯t be hidden. Besides¡­ Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t want to lie to Yan Yue. But he didn¡¯t know how to say it. If he just said that he had a magical panel on him, would Yan Yue think he was lying to him? Lu Lingxi was torn for a long time, but still kept this matter secret for the time being. Hearing about watering, Yan Yue smiled. He knew this habit of Lu Lingxi¡¯s. ¡°Are you tired? I¡¯ll help you water from now on and I can do all the work in the backyard.¡± Yan Yue said in a soft voice. Three months ago, he would never have thought that one day he would use his ability to do manual work to please someone. Sure enough, Lu Lingxiughed, ¡°How will you do it, Big Brother Yan? It¡¯s not like we¡¯re living together?¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t hold back and coaxed, ¡°Xiao Xi, do you want to live with me?¡± Lu Lingxi froze for a moment, somehow thinking of the male daughter-inw again. He spoke with some hesitation, ¡°Big Brother Yan, do you want to tell Mom about us? But I don¡¯t know if Mom will mind having a male daughter-inw.¡± Lu Lingxi said this all of a sudden, but Yan Yue understood what he meant at once. His heart instantly became soft as he remembered the words the young man had said in the morning. He was not lying to him, he wanted to try being with him. The young man might not understand his feelings yet, but his attitude was not perfunctory, he was seriously considering the future, and even the somewhat awkward words ¡°male daughter-inw¡± made Yan Yue feel indescribably happy. He didn¡¯t want to burden Lu Lingxi with anything. These things were for him to consider and solve. Lu Lingxi just had to be happy. ¡°Xiao Xi, don¡¯t worry, leave all these matters to Big Brother Yan, trust me.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Lingxi said obediently. Yan Yueughed silently and decided to tell Lu Lingxi in advance, ¡°Xiao Xi, I bought the house next door to your house and will move there soon. Then we can live together.¡± ¡°Big Brother Yan, you bought Auntie Hu¡¯s house?¡± Lu Lingxi was surprised. Yan Yue nodded, realised that Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t see it, and gave an ¡°en¡±. Lu Lingxi thought of something and said with some excitement, ¡°Then, Big Brother Yan, can we unite the backyards?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The house Yan Yue bought was next door to Lu Lingxi¡¯s house and its address was Building 3, Gate 2. The small backyard that came with it connected to the backyard of Lu Lingxi¡¯s house. Yan Yue¡¯s idea was to remove the fence between the two backyards, so that he and Lu Lingxi could not only see each other conveniently but also live together to some extent. ¡°Can I grow grapes in the yard?¡± Lu Lingxi was struggling with how to distribute the proportion of tomatoes and grapes for next year when Yan Yue offered him such a good opportunity. ¡°Of course.¡± Yan Yue said patiently, ¡°Whatever Xiao Xi wants to nt is fine.¡± All the way to falling asleep at night, Lu Lingxi was excited about this matter. When he thought about it, being with Big Brother Yan every day in the future seemed to make him happier than being able to grow some grapes. Lu Lingxi wrapped himself in the nket and turned over, scratched Dahei¡¯s chin at the head of the bed and whispered, ¡°Good night.¡± Dahei barked, seemingly saying the same thing. Waking up with a start, Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t be bothered to wash his face and went straight to chlorophytum and caryophyllum. After he had chosen the nt evolutionst night, chlorophytum and caryophyllum had not changed. He didn¡¯t know what they would be. Wasst night¡¯s evolution sessful? Lu Lingxi was a little apprehensive and very excited, but when he saw chlorophytum and caryophyllum, he couldn¡¯t help but be a little disappointed. From the looks of them, there was no difference between now and before. The mental scan spread out and the image of the chlorophytum appeared on the white panel. nt name: First-ss chlorophytum nt needs: none nt viability: very high nt evolution direction: Release oxygen +20% When he saw the end row, he finally put his mind at ease. After scanning the chlorophytum, he scanned the caryophyllum, and the evolution was also sessful. Lu Lingxi became curious and nned to go to the shop today to evolve all the nts in Tiny Garden that could evolve. In the evening, he would go to the nt nursery and try there. It would be good if the big willow tree at the entrance of the vige could also evolve. He wondered what the evolutionary direction of other nts was. Thinking of all the strange possibilities of nt evolution, Lu Lingxi washed his face and brushed his teeth, full of motivation, ready to go to the shop right away. Wang Shuxiu came back from the morning market with a bag of egg-nts, saw that he¡¯d gotten up and mentioned, ¡°Remember to talk to Yan Yue about dinner tonight.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He was so focused on going to the nt nursery that he almost forgot about it. Chapter 57 If it were as usual, Lu Lingxi would not have hesitated whether to choose to go to the nt nursery to evolve the nts or to take Yan Yue home for dinner. But now it was different; he subconsciously wanted Yan Yue to make a good impression on Wang Shuxiu. Noticing the egg-nts Wang Shuxiu was carrying, Lu Lingxi hesitated slightly and decisively chose to nod, assuring that he remembered. ¡°Okay, breakfast is on the table, hurry up and eat.¡± Wang Shuxiu said that and went to do other things. Just now at the morning market, Wang Shuxiu happened to run into Brother Feng. Thest time Brother Feng sent her home, Wang Shuxiu had nothing to thank him with, so she sent him two bottles of tomato sauce that she had cooked at home. When she met Brother Feng today, he made a point of mentioning that he had eaten all the tomato sauce. He asked around and Wang Shuxiu seemed to be selling it, so he wanted to buy a few bottles from Wang Shuxiu. How much a few bottles of tomato sauce could be worth? Wang Shuxiu refused to ask for money for them. She originally thought she would find time to send them to Brother Fengter in the morning, but Brother Feng said he didn¡¯t want to bother her and would just go with her. He refused to go inside and was now waiting outside. Wang Shuxiu found four bottles of tomato sauce, and after thinking about it, she went to the backyard to pick some fresh tomatoes. No matter how much she didn¡¯t like Brother Feng¡¯s way of making money, he was still a good person. Although she hadn¡¯t agreed to rent the ce he had suggestedst time, she still had to be grateful to him for his kindness. In the time it took her to do these things, Lu Lingxi had already finished his breakfast and hurriedly led Dahei out the door. ¡°Mom, I¡¯ll go first.¡± Lu Lingxi and Dahei trotted out. As soon as they walked out of the building, Lu Lingxi saw a green pickup truck parked at the door. Xiao Feng leaned against the door with a cigarette and seemed to be waiting for someone. Lu Lingxi had a deep impression of this pickup very well, and an even deeper impression of Xiao Feng. He was still hesitating whether to say hello when Xiao Feng nced at him and nodded faintly. s Lu Lingxi could no longer pretend not to see him and politely said, ¡°Brother Feng.¡± Xiao Feng gave an ¡°en¡± and focused his gaze on Dahei. Lu Lingxi hurriedly nodded, pulled Dahei and ran. He remembered thest time Dahei had bitten Brother Feng¡¯s pants. What if Brother Feng held a grudge against Dahei? When Lu Lingxi, who was running away, identally turned his head, he saw Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng standing together, talking about something. Wang Shuxiu was also carrying two bags to give to Xiao Feng. Lu Lingxi was taken aback for a moment. He remembered that Wang Shuxiu had been rummaging for tomato sauce as soon as she returned and had gone to the backyard to pick some tomatoes. So couldn¡¯t they be in the bags? Howe Mom was with Brother Feng and their rtionship looked pretty good? This question remained until Lu Lingxi entered Tiny Garden. The greenery in the shop cleared away the summer heat he had brought with him from his trot. Lu Lingxi remembered his business and didn¡¯t think about Xiao Feng¡¯s appearance at his doorstep anymore. He took the time to finish cleaning the shop and then started mental scanning. Chlorophytum, fuchsias, Belgian azaleas, cymens¡­ A series of mental scans revealed that the nts that eventually met the evolutionary requirements were less than a quarter of the shop¡¯s nts. Lu Lingxi felt a bit strange. He usually took the same care of these nts, why was there such a big difference? After thinking about it for a long time, Lu Lingxi decided to start the evolution of the nts with chlorophytum. As at home, there were two evolutionary directions for chlorophytum, but Lu Lingxi uniformly chose to absorb formaldehyde +20%. The chlorophytum in the shop were sold for the purpose of purifying the air in new houses, and the stronger the effect of absorbing formaldehyde, the better it was, obviously. Apart from chlorophytum, the evolution of other nts and flowers was as strange as Lu Lingxi had thought. He found that although the evolution of nts was in different directions, they could be broadly categorised into two types, a practical type such as the chlorophytum and an ornamental type such as the Rieger begonia. When he first saw that the evolution direction of Rieger begonia was fragrance +20%, he hesitated for a dozen seconds before choosing ¡°yes¡±. There were a lot of nts in the shop, and although only a quarter of them could evolve, it took Lu Lingxi an hour to evolve them. He divided the evolved and unevolved nts into two batches, intending to sell the evolved ones first in the future, and keep the non-evolved ones for a while to see the situation. Yan Yue came over at the usual opening time and saw Lu Lingxi stepping on a small stool and hanging chlorophytum on the ceiling. The young man¡¯s body was slender; he was tilting his head with his arms raised, and his t-shirt was rising as well, revealing the white skin of his waist. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened; uncontrobly he stepped forward and embraced Lu Lingxi from behind. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± He easily took the chlorophytum from Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand and hung it on the ceiling, but didn¡¯t want to let go, maintaining the position of holding Lu Lingxi. s Lu Lingxi blushed a little, broke away awkwardly and curved his eyes, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re here.¡± Yan Yue could see Lu Lingxi¡¯s shyness; his heart felt itchy, but he didn¡¯t dare to do anything in the shop. He could only reach out and rub the young man¡¯s hair, asking in a low voice, ¡°Why are you here so early today?¡± ¡°Got up early.¡± Lu Lingxi said softly. Yan Yue suddenly smiled, rolled up his sleeves and began to help Lu Lingxi with his work. ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve found a friend to help with the nt nursery to build the greenhouse, so Xiao Xi doesn¡¯t need to worry about it.¡± Yan Yue said casually. An Jie had already gotten over his jetg, and Yan Yue immediately reverted to his capitalist nature, eager to make An Jie work for two people at once. In addition to Dezhi Investment, An Jie was responsible for buying him a house as well as renovating it and had to take over the construction of the greenhouse in the nt nursery. ¡°Will it trouble him?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed. ¡°Howe?¡± Yan Yue affirmed, ¡°He is a professional in this field, just leave it to him. Besides, it¡¯s not like we won¡¯t pay.¡± Lu Lingxi thought that the friend Yan Yue was talking about was specialising in the design and instation of greenhouses, and thought that if they paid for it, it shouldn¡¯t be too much trouble. While the two were talking about the greenhouse over here, An Jie, who was far away at the hotel, couldn¡¯t help but sneeze one time after another. ¡°Who¡¯s thinking of me?¡± An Jie muttered, burying his head in the work. Yan Yue¡¯s entire mind was on Lu Lingxi, and everything else was pushed to An Jie. An Jie was so busy that he wished he had eight hands. The first thing was the house that Yan Yue had requested. In order not to arouse Wang Shuxiu¡¯s suspicion, An Jie hired more than a dozen agents to intensively look at houses in the Hongfu Community. It created the illusion that the neighbourhood had a good environment and that many people wanted to buy a house there. This way Yan Yue wouldn¡¯t look too out of ce if he bought a house there. When you buy a house, you have to renovate it. The original owner had lived there for more than ten years after all, so it was impossible to move in without renovation. While Yan Yue¡¯s request was only to buy one, An Jie couldn¡¯t disregard thefort level of the house. Apart from taking care of the house, An Jie also had to take care of Dezhi Investment. He already had enough headaches to deal with, but then Yan Yue dumped the greenhouse construction on him. If it wasn¡¯t for the generous bonus Yan Yue gave him at the end of the year, An Jie would have quit his job, packed up and left the country. An Jie kept cursing Yan Yue in his mind, but Yan Yue didn¡¯t feel it at all. He was listening to Lu Lingxi talking about seeing Xiao Feng in the morning. ¡°I wonder when Mom got so close to Brother Feng?¡± Lu Lingxi looked puzzled. Yan Yue frowned slightly, suddenly thinking of Ye Kang¡¯s wordsst time. Chapter 58 Yan Yue didn¡¯t have an opinion on Xiao Feng¡¯s attempts. In fact, if Xiao Feng was really interested in Wang Shuxiu, Yan Yue thought it would be good. Xiao Feng was an honourable man, unlike Lu Yishui. Of course, in front of Lu Lingxi, Yan Yue shouldn¡¯t have known Xiao Feng. When Lu Lingxi mentioned Xiao Feng, he made a point of exining, ¡°It¡¯s the creditor that my dad owed money to.¡± Yan Yue made an appearance of realising something and asked, ¡°What are you worried about, Xiao Xi?¡± Lu Lingxi was taken aback for a moment, seemingly wondering what exactly he was worried about. In fact, he couldn¡¯t say. He just had too strong an impression the first time he saw Xiao Feng, so he had fixed him in his mind as a bad guy, and he was worried that he would bully Wang Shuxiu. Yan Yueughed at hisment and looked at Lu Lingxi patiently, ¡°Xiao Xi, you also said they have a good rtionship, so why would you worry about Brother Feng bullying your mother?¡± Thinking about it this way, Lu Lingxi blinked and felt as if he was overthinking it. ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re right.¡± Lu Lingxi looked at Yan Yue trustingly and nodded, ¡°Mom is so strong, she won¡¯t let anyone bully her.¡± When Yan Yue saw this look on the young man¡¯s face, he felt that he was simply going crazy. He had to use all his self-control not to impulsively pull the young man into his arms and hide him from anyone¡¯s sight. Lu Lingxi was unaware of this thought of his and continued earnestly, ¡°Big Brother Yan, do you have time tonight? Mom wants to make dumplings for dinner.¡± There was a hint of expectation in his eyes as he spoke, and a little pride when he mentioned Wang Shuxiu¡¯s dumplings. Yan Yue finally failed to control his desire and reached out to touch Lu Lingxi¡¯s face, nodding, ¡°I have time.¡± Lu Lingxi seemed to be used to Yan Yue¡¯s closeness and blushed a little, but didn¡¯t avoid his touch, looking at him with a clear gaze. Yan Yue smiled faintly and rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair without speaking again. Tiny Garden was doing good business today, and in the afternoon Brother Han brought his friend with him. The other party took a nce at the nts inside the Tiny Garden and paid a deposit on the spot, and both sides agreed to deliver the nts in three days. Lu Lingxi thought that he couldn¡¯t go to the nt nursery tonight, so he would go there tomorrow to evolve the nts. The effect of the evolution would be seen overnight, exactly three dayster. The two of them had a busy day, and as soon as it was seven o¡¯clock in the evening, Lu Lingxi urged them to hurry home. This was not the first time Yan Yue went to Lu Lingxi¡¯s house, butpared to thest time, this time it obviously had a different meaning. Yan Yue was a little nervous, a rare asion for him, and even struggled with what gifts to bring. But thinking about it, if he really brought any gifts, Wang Shuxiu would definitely be suspicious. When the two of them passed by the fruit shop, Yan Yue was going to buy some fruit. Lu Lingxi whispered, ¡°I can¡¯t even eat all the tomatoes at home.¡± The implication was not to waste. Yan Yue looked at him in amusement and also followed his example and whispered, ¡°Isn¡¯t it a male daughter-inw? It¡¯s my first official visit, and I want to make a good impression on Xiao Xi¡¯s mother.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± The tips of Lu Lingxi¡¯s ears reddened faintly. The evening meal was very good, and Yan Yue had to praise Wang Shuxiu¡¯s craftsmanship. The only thing was that during the course of the meal, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t dare to keep adding food to Yan Yue¡¯s bowl like he didst time, looking a little less enthusiastic. Wang Shuxiu noticed it and reminded him several times. s ¡°Xiao Xi, give your Big Brother Yan some egg-nt.¡± Wang Shuxiu pped him, ¡°Aren¡¯t you the one who yelled that Big Brother Yan likes egg-nts with garlic?¡± Wang Shuxiu used to be a little wary of Yan Yue, thinking that he didn¡¯t look like someone who would mix up with them. But after thest meal and the development of Tiny Garden during this time, Wang Shuxiu was genuinely grateful to Yan Yue. Even if she didn¡¯t say it, she knew in her heart that Yan Yue had done a lot of work. The little bastard had lost his memory, had no social experience and was not very educated, so Wang Shuxiu had been worried about what he would do in the future. With Tiny Garden, at least the little bastard would be able to make ends meet. In addition, Yan Yue had the contacts and skills, so the little bastard would have a ce to ask for help if he encountered some problem in the future. With this in mind, she saw that the little bastard seemed a bit distant from Yan Yue, so she reminded him with some discontent. Yan Yue looked at Lu Lingxi with a smile, waiting for his reaction. Lu Lingxi dutifully took the egg-nt with chopsticks and ced it in Yan Yue¡¯s bowl, saying obediently, ¡°Big Brother Yan, eat this.¡± Yan Yue looked magnanimous and with a sincere face said to Wang Shuxiu, ¡°Xiao Xi is very good, very talented in gardening, and the customers love him.¡± What mother didn¡¯t like to hearpliments about her son? Wang Shuxiu was no exception. Hearing Yan Yue¡¯s words, she was very proud. ¡°Xiao Xi readste every night and works very hard. Sometimes he has to be urged to go to bed.¡± Yan Yue gave Lu Lingxi a veiled nce and said right in time, ¡°Xiao Xi is still growing up. Although he has to work hard, he should also pay attention to thebination of work and rest. It¡¯s okay to study, but it¡¯s not good if your body breaks down.¡± Wang Shuxiu immediately nodded, ¡°Yes, yes, shouldbine work and rest.¡± Yan Yue held a dumpling for Lu Lingxi and said seemingly casually, ¡°Xiao Xi is too thin, so he needs to eat more.¡± Wang Shuxiu followed, ¡°Xiao Xi wasn¡¯t this skinny before, but after he was hospitalised a few months ago, he¡¯s been like this since he came out. He eats less and can¡¯t get fat.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Wang Shuxiu and Yan Yue sang in harmony, without needing him to speak at all. Yan Yue¡¯s heart tightened when he heard about hospitalisation, ¡°Hospitalisation?¡± Although he knew it was in the past and the young man was standing in front of him alive and well, he still couldn¡¯t help but nce at Lu Lingxi with worry. Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t notice and continued to speak, ¡°The doctors issued a critical condition notice that time, during the operation it was said that the little bastard¡¯s heart stopped. But in the end he pulled through, just lost his memory and didn¡¯t remember anything.¡± s About Lu Lingxi¡¯s memory loss, Yan Yue probably knew something, but what he didn¡¯t know was that the situation at that time was actually so dangerous. His heart was vaguely scared; he waspletely unable to imagine what it would have been like if something had happened to Lu Lingxi at that time and he hadn¡¯t met the young man. Taking a deep breath secretly, Yan Yue said as if chatting idly about family matters, ¡°There will be blessings if you survive a catastrophe. Xiao Xi will definitely have a smooth and prosperous future.¡± These words really reached Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heart, and she immediately smiled, warmly inviting Yan Yue to eat more. After the three of them had finished eating, Wang Shuxiu rushed Lu Lingxi to sit with Yan Yue. Lu Lingxi wanted to water the tomatoes, so Yan Yue followed him to the backyard. When no one was around, Yan Yue hugged Lu Lingxi tightly and held him in his arms. There was fear rising from the bottom of his heart, and he had to hold Lu Lingxi to be sure that he was really here and not just a figment of his imagination. Lu Lingxi was a little surprised, but more than that, he was afraid that Wang Shuxiu would see him and struggled in earnest. Ignoring his struggles, Yan Yue lowered his head, cupped Lu Lingxi¡¯s chin and kissed him, saying patiently, ¡°Xiao Xi, be good, let me hold you for a while.¡± Lu Lingxi realised something and said, ¡°Big Brother Yan, are you doing this because of what Mom said about me being in the hospital?¡± Yan Yue nodded. Lu Lingxi hesitated a little and whispered, ¡°If it hadn¡¯t been for that hospitalisation, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to meet Big Brother Yan.¡± He thought of the original owner of this body. If that Lu Lingxi hadn¡¯t happened to be hospitalised after an ident, he would have been dead by now, gone who knows where. Although he never understood why that Lu Lingxi had died and he had survived in his body, he was really grateful to the original owner of this body. Because of Wang Shuxiu, because of Yi Hang and other friends, because of his current healthy body, and because of Yan Yue. Yan Yue didn¡¯t hear the deeper meaning in Lu Lingxi¡¯s words but just hugged him tightly, unable to let go. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t struggle any more and reached out to hug Yan Yue, resting his head on Yan Yue¡¯s shoulder. When Yan Yue left in the evening, Wang Shuxiu packed a bag of tomatoes and a bottle of tomato sauce and insisted that Yan Yue take them with him. Yan Yue smiled and took them, looking at Lu Lingxi the whole time. Wang Shuxiu asked Lu Lingxi to see Yan Yue off, and Lu Lingxi obediently followed him out the door. Yan Yue didn¡¯t want to leave, but he couldn¡¯t find a reason to stay any longer. He looked at Lu Lingxi deeply and instructed, ¡°Go to bed early and don¡¯t read toote.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. Yan Yue wanted to do something else, but this was downstairs after all, and Wang Shuxiu was still at home waiting for Lu Lingxi to return. He desperately suppressed his body¡¯s desire, rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair and said softly, ¡°I¡¯ll pick you up in the morning.¡± Lu Lingxi felt somewhat troubled, but nodded at Yan Yue¡¯s gaze. However, Lu Lingxi thought of something, ¡°I have to go to the nt nursery tomorrow night.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Yan Yue said. Lu Lingxi let out a sigh and curved his eyes at Yan Yue. The next night, the two of them went straight to the nt nursery without going home from work. On the way out, the two went to eat beef noodles, thinking they wouldn¡¯t bother Uncle Li at night. By the time they reached the nt nursery, it waspletely dark. Lu Lingxi wanted to see the big willow tree and hesitated not knowing how to ask. ¡°What?¡± Yan Yue saw that he was a little strange. ¡°I want to go and see the big willow tree at the entrance of the vige.¡± ¡°Now?¡± Yan Yue was a little surprised. Lu Lingxi nodded. It would take a night to see if it could evolve sessfully. If he put it off until tomorrow morning to evolve, he would have to wait until the day after tomorrow to see if it had evolved. He was a bit impatient to find out if the big willow tree could evolve. ¡°Wait until I find a shlight to apany you.¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t ask more questions and agreed straight away. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes lit up and he took the initiative to give Yan Yue a hug. Yan Yue was a bit incredulous, and when he reacted, Lu Lingxi had already let go and waited aside with Dahei. Perhaps because of the experience of being struck by lightning anding back to life, the name of the big willow tree as a ¡°sacred tree¡± had spread to several viges in the vicinity in just one day. When Lu Lingxi followed Yan Yue to the willow tree, he saw that someone had tied red cloth strips to the tree. There was also burnt yellow paper underneath the tree, and there was an olddy from the vige with a group of children surrounding the willow tree, talking about ancient times. The mental scan spread and the white panel floated in front of Lu Lingxi. nt name: First-ss weeping willow nt needs: none nt viability: very high nt status: first-level peak nt evolution condition triggered, please select the direction of nt evolution. Lu Lingxi¡¯s gaze swept across the panel and froze when he saw the words ¡°first-level peak¡±. Chapter 59 There were quite a few flowers and nts in Tiny Garden and in the backyard. All the nts were in the primary peak state before they evolved, and only after they evolved would they be a first-level peak. But this big willow tree was already at the first level without evolution, so who knows what it would be after it evolved. As the evolution condition was triggered, the direction of the willow tree¡¯s evolution was shown. 1) Absorb carbon dioxide +20% 2) Soil purification +20% Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes fell on the soil purification. He knew that the roots of nts could absorb, transform and degrade toxic and harmful substances in the soil, and it was obvious that the role of soil purification was more urgent than absorbing carbon dioxide. Through the white panel Lu Lingxi could see that the willow tree had a very well-developed root system that extended in all directions. The deepest roots in the ground seemed to be more than ten metres long, and the longest roots exceeded the range of soil purification and went past Uncle Li¡¯s house. Taking advantage of the fact that Yan Yue¡¯s attention was elsewhere, Lu Lingxi decisively chose soil purification. After solving this matter, he was thinking about going back to the nt nursery to see other nts when a new prompt appeared on the panel. Choose to evolve willows ofmon origin together? Willow ofmon origin? Lu Lingxi thought of the small willow saplings in the nt nursery and simply chose ¡°yes¡±. He was so focused on the panel that he didn¡¯t notice that when he chose ¡°yes¡±, Yan Yue quickly turned his head to look at him and then returned his attention to the children ying under the willow. It was not the first time that Yan Yue smelled the fresh scent of vegetation from Lu Lingxi¡¯s body. This fragrance was usually extremely faint; Dong Zhi had inadvertently mentioned itst time but he only thought that it was because Lu Lingxi had been gardening every day and had been tainted with the scent of the greenery. But there were a few times when this fragrant smell suddenly became fiery; not the aggressive kind of strong, but as if it was surrounding the whole person, all-epassing. It was like the freshness of the green hills after the rain. s Yan Yue¡¯s heart stirred a little, but his face didn¡¯t show the slightest hint. He vaguely guessed that the young man had a secret, but no matter what the secret was, the young man was bing less and less guarded in front of him. In a way, it also meant that the boy was getting closer to him. The fragrance gradually faded, and Yan Yue looked at Lu Lingxi as if he had turned just now, ¡°Finished?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, ¡°Big Brother Yan, let¡¯s go back.¡± Yan Yue hooked his lips and reached out to take Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand. The sky was dark tonight, with clouds covering half of it. There was no moonlight, and there were no street lights at the entrance of the vige, only the faint light of the shlight. An asional viger who passed by couldn¡¯t notice the small movements of the two. ¡°Walk slowly.¡± Yan Yue whispered, afraid that Lu Lingxi might not notice the stones under his feet. Lu Lingxi let out an ¡°en¡±, holding Yan Yue¡¯s hand tightly. Dahei trotted ahead of the two of them, ncing back at them from time to time. When they returned to the courtyard, Lu Lingxi pretended to tidy up the nt nursery and chose to evolve all the nts that could evolve in one go. This was a lot more work than in Tiny Garden, but the good thing was that the nt nursery was divided into different areas ording to the different nts nted, so the nts in the same area could be chosen to evolve simultaneously, saving a lot of time. By the time Lu Lingxi had finished, it was almost eleven o¡¯clock, and Yan Yue urged him to hurry to bed. ¡°If you go to bedte, you won¡¯t grow taller.¡± When Lu Lingxi finished washing up, he ran up to Yan Yue on a whim and stood on tiptoe topare the height difference between him and Yan Yue, saying with some longing, ¡°I want to grow as tall as Big Brother Yan.¡± Yan Yue smiled as he reached out to hug him and raised him upwards, ¡°Is this tall enough?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit too tall.¡± Lu Lingxi said seriously. His centre of gravity was unstable and all of his weight leaned on Yan Yue¡¯s body. From where he was looking, he could already see the top of Yan Yue¡¯s head. Yan Yue cooperated and lowered him down a little, ¡°How about this?¡± Lu Lingxi was now at exactly the same height as Yan Yue, and as their eyes met, Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes shone brightly as he looked at Yan Yue and nodded vigorously. ¡°This tall would be good.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s smile deepened as he moved forward to gently touch Lu Lingxi¡¯s lips. Lu Lingxi blushed a little and tried to step back, but was stopped by Yan Yue. He had wanted to kiss Lu Lingxi for a long time. Having tasted the sweetness of the young man, it was hard to forget this taste. He simply wanted to kiss Lu Lingxi all the time. Although it was not the first time they kissed, Lu Lingxi still had not learned to breathe through his nose and Yan Yue had to stop midway and wait for the boy to catch his breath. He fondly rubbed the young man¡¯s lips, soft like the new leaves on the branches in March, making him reluctant to leave. ¡°Xiao Xi, just grow up quickly.¡± Yan Yue whispered, gently touching Lu Lingxi¡¯s face. Lu Lingxi was panting from his kiss, his eyshes fluttering lightly, his mind wondering about the connection between him growing up and now. Yan Yue looked at his expression and knew that Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t understand. He didn¡¯t exin either, but only smiled faintly, lowered his head and kissed Lu Lingxi¡¯s forehead in a precious and reverent manner. When they went to bed at night, Yan Yue and Dahei slept on either side of Lu Lingxi, left and right. Although Yan Yue wanted to make Dahei sleep on the floor on the pretext that he hadn¡¯t bathed, before he could say anything, Lu Lingxi had already carefully wiped Dahei¡¯s belly and four paws with a towel. Yan Yue held back and had to acquiesce to Dahei sleeping next to Lu Lingxi. The night in September was already a little cold, and Lu Lingxi found a thin quilt from the cupboard. Yan Yue took Lu Lingxi into his arms and the two of them fell into a deep sleep together under a quilt. s The whole vige fell into silence, and no one knew about the changes happening underground. Therge willow tree at the entrance of the vige began to evolve. Its original well-developed root system gradually continued to expand outside in all directions, entrenched underneath almost the entire vige. A few small willow saplings in the nt nursery also began to evolve, their previously thin roots bing thicker and longer, partly rooting deeper underground and partly spreading out in all directions. At the other end of the vige, several small willow saplings looking like mops on the sticks were nted crookedly in the courtyard. They were picked up one morning at the entrance of the vige by Uncle Xu. The old man looked at these willow saplings and didn¡¯t want to burn them, so he came back and nted them in the yard to see if they would survive. The roots of therge willow extended and became entwined with the roots of the small willows. Found saplings ofmon origin, share vitality? The panel surfaced without warning. Lu Lingxi opened his eyes in a daze, choosing ¡°yes¡± and burying his head in Yan Yue¡¯s chest again. There was a slight vibration from the ground, and Dahei, who was sleeping on the bed, opened his eyes and twitched his ears, letting out a bark. Yan Yue was the first to wake up. Dahei was already in front of Lu Lingxi, stretching out his front paw and tugging at him. Yan Yue calmed down and immediately reacted; he also felt a vibration in the ground. ¡°Earthquake.¡± Lu Lingxi was still not fully awake and vaguely said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t bother to say anything; he simply wrapped the nket around Lu Lingxi and ran out into the courtyard, carrying the young man. Dahei followed closely behind the two of them, looking around vigntly. The vibration underground was not obvious, only a slight tremor. They were not the only ones who were awakened. The dogs in the vige began to bark, and one after another lights came on and the whole vige became noisy. Yan Yue didn¡¯t run outside, didn¡¯t go anywhere, just stayed in the courtyard with Lu Lingxi in his arms. Their small courtyard was just off the road, surrounded by tnd. It was alsorge enough that even if the house copsed it would never be able to crush anyone. Staying in the courtyard at this time was the safest thing to do, and running outside was a fool¡¯s errand. The night breeze blew, and Lu Lingxi was finallypletely awake. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Big Brother Yan?¡± Lu Lingxi asked, bewildered as he realised the situation he was in. Yan Yue lowered his head and kissed his eyes, coaxing in a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, it¡¯s probably an earthquake.¡± ¡°An earthquake?¡± Lu Lingxi struggled to get down to the ground. Yan Yue stopped him, ¡°Don¡¯t move, I¡¯ll just hold you.¡± The tremors underground were getting weaker and weaker. It looked like the source of the earthquake was far away enough from them and they were only affected by the ripples and should be fine. Lu Lingxi was still reacting to the news of the earthquake when the white panel floated in front of him. Willow ecologicalmunity extended to one standard unit, bonus power of nature +5 Lu Lingxi blinked, not understanding what had happened. He seemed to remember dreaming about the white panel, as if he was sharing some vitality. Was it not a dream? He looked at the panel with some confusion. The ecologicalmunity of the willows shown on it had changed. From the original vige entrance and the nt nursery it expanded to the whole vige. Six green dots of light, including the big willow tree, kept shing, and far away at the other end of the vige, four more green dots of light appeared, opposite the big willow tree at the entrance of the vige. Ten green dots of light surrounded the entire vige in a circle, and thend inside had all been purified to a white translucent colour. The tremors underground hadpletely disappeared, and Lu Lingxi understood something. It was probably not an earthquake, but the big willow evolving. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Yan Yue lowered his head and kissed Lu Lingxi, ¡°Let¡¯s stay outside for a bit longer and go backter.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little hesitant, not sure if he should take this opportunity to tell Yan Yue about the white panel. He was still undecided when the sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the small courtyard. ¡°Are you all right, child?¡± It was the voice of Uncle Li, who had seen the lightse on over here and hurried over to ask. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Yan Yue replied in a loud voice, carrying Lu Lingxi back inside. ¡°I¡¯ll go and open the door for Uncle Li.¡± He said, dressing quickly, ¡°Xiao Xi isn¡¯t scared, is he?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head, spread the nket to find his shorts and put them on. Yan Yue stroked Dahei, gesturing for him to apany Lu Lingxi, and walked out quickly. Soon the sound of Yan Yue and Uncle Li talking came in. ¡°Scared, right? It¡¯s nothing really, just a bit of shaking. There are always earthquakes here in Fengcheng, just get used to it.¡± Uncle Li had the tone of someone who had been through the storms many times. Yan Yue smiled, ¡°It¡¯s alright. ¡° ¡°It¡¯s good that the child didn¡¯t get scared.¡± Uncle Li said as he entered the house, seeing Lu Lingxi and reassuring him for a long time. Lu Lingxi wanted to say he wasn¡¯t scared, but under Uncle Li¡¯s loving eyes, he could only swallow the words that were on his lips. Chapter 60 Fengcheng was located in the seismic zone of the continental fracture, and every now and then there would be earthquakes. The locals were used to it and no one took it seriously. After Uncle Li left, Lu Lingxi was stuffed back into the quilt by Yan Yue and fell asleep quickly. Although Yan Yue seldom loses sleep these days, he woke up and couldn¡¯t sleep again for a while. After staring at Lu Lingxi¡¯s quiet sleeping face for a long time, Yan Yue leaned over and kissed him, then took his phone to read the news about the earthquake. The earthquakework in China was quite reliable. Although it never urately predicted the earthquake, whenever an earthquake urred in China, the specific report would be released in a few minutes. What surprised Yan Yue was that this time it seemed to be an exception. He looked at the official website of the Earthquake Bureau and some earthquake rted forums for a long time, but couldn¡¯t find any news about the earthquake in Fengcheng. Yan Yue frowned slightly and looked again, and even went to Fengcheng forum. Although it was three o¡¯clock in the morning, there were quite a few people active in the forum. The only thing that was not mentioned was the earthquake in Fengcheng. Yan Yue¡¯s expression became serious. He had a vague suspicion; if the previous vibration was not an earthquake, then what was it? Putting down his mobile phone, he subconsciously looked at the sleeping Lu Lingxi. Out of some intuition, he wondered if the previous vibration had something to do with the young man. With this doubt in his mind, Yan Yue tossed and turned halfway through the night before falling asleep in a daze with Lu Lingxi in his arms. When the sky brightened, Lu Lingxi was awakened by heat. Yan Yue¡¯s embrace was like a furnace, wrapping him up in the nket and holding him tightly. Lu Lingxi gingerly broke free, taking care not to wake Yan Yue. As soon as he moved, Dahei immediately opened his eyes and stood up with his ears twitching. Lu Lingxi smiled and stroked Dahei, making a gesture of being quiet. One man and one dog left the house. Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind was all on the evolved old willow, and after a quick wash, he took Dahei and ran to the vige entrance in a sh. The white panel emerged and the entire willow ecologicalmunity was disyed on the panel. Lu Lingxi zoomed in on the location of the big willow and looked with some surprise at the roots that extended out from it. From the entrance of the vige to the other side of the vige, the entire vige was covered with the willow tree¡¯s coiled roots, which were like countless tentacles that were firmly attached to thend. s As the willow tree was within the scope of the mental scan, its evolved information also appeared on the panel. nt name: Second-ss weeping willow nt needs: none nt viability: very high nt evolution direction: Soil purification +20% Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t really know the difference between a first-ss and second-ss nt just by looking at the panel. But when he stood under the willow tree, he understood a little. The willow tree emitted a majestic aura of vitality, and there was a kind of pureness contained in this vitality. This aura overflowed from the willow tree, faintly like a milky white mist, veryfortable to inhale. Lu Lingxi had a feeling that the willow tree¡¯s life form seemed to have been raised to a higher level than before. It was a very subtle feeling, and he vaguely felt that this was the true meaning of evolution. When Yan Yue came over, he saw Lu Lingxi standing under the willow tree with his head tilted up, and Dahei squatting quietly by his side. He didn¡¯t know if it was just his illusion, but the willow tree in front of him seemed to have grown a little taller. The willow branches were hanging down, the shadow of the tree was shifting, and the pale golden morning light was speckled. Lu Lingxi and Dahei were enveloped by a faint milky white mist, looking as if they had be one with the big willow tree. Yan Yue found his idea unscientific, but he just had the feeling that the young man and the willow tree were in perfect harmony. ¡°Xiao Xi?¡± Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help but call out tentatively. Lu Lingxi turned around, saw that it was Yan Yue and curved his eyes, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re here?¡± Yan Yue said ¡°en¡± and walked over to Lu Lingxi¡¯s side almost as if he waspelled. There was a faint mist surrounding him, soaking into his body like water. He felt his ears and eyes clear for a moment, and his body was indescribablyfortable. The white mist didn¡¯t exist for long and soon dissipated into the air. The wild flowers in the area previously shrouded by the mist seemed to bloom more brightly, and even the grass on the ground rose a little higher. Yan Yue suppressed the doubts in his heart silently and took Lu Lingxi by the hand, saying, ¡°We should go back.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. He had gained a lot from his visit to the nt nursery this time. Not only did the big willow trees and the nts had all evolved, but he also received a reward of five points of power of nature. He had to think about where these five points should be used; he couldn¡¯t waste them easily. For the next few days, Lu Lingxi was busy with Tiny Garden. The order that Brother Han had brought in had beenpleted and the nts that Lu Lingxi sent were all evolved nts. He made an appointment with the other party toe and take care of the nts once a week. Both parties were very satisfied with the deal. s That afternoon, Yan Yue was out of town and Lu Lingxi was alone in the shop counting the seeds he had bought from Taobao when a customer came in. ¡°Little boss.¡± There were a lot of regr customers nearby, and as they became familiar with Lu Lingxi, they slowly changed from addressing him as ¡°Boss¡± to ¡°Little boss¡±. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t care about the name and he was used to the name of Little boss. ¡°Wee.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes, greeting the man. ¡°Your ce is very nice.¡± The man who came was middle-aged, looking to be in his forties. A trace of surprise shed in his eyes as soon as he entered the shop; then he smiled at Lu Lingxi and praised him without hesitation. With the evolution of the nts in the shop, the environment inside Tiny Garden was even better than before. Even standing outside the shop, one could feel the lush greenery inside. Not to mention that just walking into the store, there was a feeling of wandering in the fresh forest, indescribably rxed and happy. Lu Lingxi was still a little embarrassed after hearing too manypliments from customers. ¡°What can I do for you?¡± The visitor seemed to have remembered his business and ced a pot of guzmania he was holding in his arms in front of Lu Lingxi. ¡°Little boss, please take a look, the colour of the inflorescence plete flower head of a nt including stems, stalks and flowers) of this guzmania doesn¡¯t seem right.¡± Guzmania is a perennial evergreen nt native to foreign countries. Healthy guzmania has long ribbon-like leaves, bright, waxy and lustrous. The inflorescences in the leaf clusters are upright and brightly coloured, very beautiful. The pot in front of them, however, was dull in colour andcked lustre, and the base of the inflorescences was even a little faded. The mental scan showed that the guzmania needed light; it obviously didn¡¯t have enough light before. Lu Lingxi took a closer look to make sure there were no other problems and said seriously, ¡°There is nothing seriously wrong with your pot of guzmania, it just might havecked light before. Go back and ce it in a bright ce, make sure the air around it is high in humidity and nurse it for a while.¡± The man looked puzzled, ¡°Didn¡¯t they say that guzmania shouldn¡¯t be exposed to strong light? And you have to shade it in the summer? How do you¡­¡± Lu Lingxi patiently exined, ¡°Guzmania is a nt that likes a warm, humid and sunny environment. To grow well and have gorgeous inflorescences it must have enough light. What it needs to avoid is strong direct light. You can get a gauze curtain to cover it, but don¡¯t block out the light. This will make the inflorescences dull and fading, like the bottom.¡± Lu Lingxi spoke seriously, and the other party listened with an expression of dawning understanding. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°You¡¯re good, little boss.¡± The other party politelyplimented. Lu Lingxi smiled shyly. The other party waited for Lu Lingxi to finish looking at the guzmania but had no intention of leaving. Instead the man walked around the shop. He stood in front of the Rieger begonia with some curiosity and hesitated, ¡°Is this a begonia?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. What the other party looked at was an evolved begonia. Unlike the ordinary begonia, the evolved begonia had fuller flowers and brilliant colour, looking gorgeous and delicate. What was more crucial was that it evolved in the direction of flower fragrance +20%. Just walk up to it and you can smell a faint ethereal fragrance. The visitor seemed to be incredulous; he looked down and sniffed for a long time before hesitantly looking at Lu Lingxi, ¡°Little boss, is this begonia cultivated by hybridisation?¡± Lu Lingxi was taken aback for a moment, but shook his head and exined, ¡°It¡¯s a mutation.¡± He had already thought about it; when he met such a somewhat knowledgeable customer, he would say that the nts had mutated. If the other party asked him about the exact hybridisation process, he would be in trouble if he couldn¡¯t tell them. There was a strange sh in the visitor¡¯s eyes and he made a snap decision, ¡°I¡¯ll buy this begonia.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes, ¡°What kind of pot do you want to pick?¡± ¡°No need, just this stic pot.¡± Lu Lingxi was quite happy to have made a deal. On the other hand, the customer who walked out of the door holding the guzmania and the begonia had a slightly sunken face and a somewhat serious expression. He turned a corner and got into a car that was parked on the roadside. An old man over sixty years old in the back seat of the car seemed to be waiting for him and smiled faintly as he watched him return. ¡°Well? Yongtong, I didn¡¯t lie to you, did I? Don¡¯t look that the shop is small, but the nts inside are all of the highest quality. The little boss is a master in this area, now you have to be convinced, right?¡± The man called Yongtong, whose full name was Xue Yongtong, was the owner of Luxuan Gardening in Fengcheng. Luxuan Gardening and Qiu Tian Gardening had been fighting for years, and Luxuan Gardening had always been on the losing side. But recently, something happened to Qiu Tian Gardening. First, the potted nts sold by Qiu Tian Gardening were returned, which was a big p in the face, and then it was revealed that Qiu Tian Gardening colluded with Lu Hongxin and his father from the Environmental Protection Bureau and made a lot of money on Fengcheng¡¯s municipal greening projects over the years. Xue Yongtong didn¡¯t care much about thetter news. If the gardening business wanted to grow bigger, it was ultimately nts that spoke. Since Qiu Tian got involved with Lu Hongxin and his father, he had not paid much attention to the nt nursery. It was a matter of time before he lost. However, Qiu Tian had been able to dominate Fengcheng for many years, and he still had a real ability in raising flowers. Sometimes Xue Yongtong had to admire Qiu Tian. When he heard that Qiu Tian¡¯s potted nts had been returned twice, he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about it and wanted to see who the person that had gotten in Qiu Tian¡¯s face was. He didn¡¯t expect the other man to be so young; he looked like a child, seventeen or eighteen years old. Xue Yongtong was a little unconvinced when he came there, but now he was full of emotions. He had to admit that the nts in Tiny Garden were really extremely good and the future of the little shop was terrifying. ¡°What are you thinking?¡± The old man saw that he didn¡¯t speak, and asked once again. Xue Yongtong picked up the pot of begonias and looked at the old man, ¡°Elder Qian, can you tell how this pot of begonias was hybridised? The flower shape has not changed, but it is fuller and more gorgeous, and the fragrance is more intense.¡± The old man called Elder Qian looked at it carefully and shook his head, ¡°I can¡¯t tell. It doesn¡¯t look like a hybrid, more like a mutation. Yongtong, you know these things, how can hybridisation be that easy?¡± Xue Yongtong stopped talking and stared at the ¡®mutant¡¯ begonia, but in his heart he decided that it was a hybrid and that the possibility of a mutation was too remote. After all, to mutate was much more difficult than to hybridise. As he stared in earnest, Elder Qian¡¯s interest was also aroused, ¡°Are there more begonias like this in the little boss¡¯s shop? I¡¯ll go and buy a pot for my home too, the scent is really nice. It¡¯s the right intensity, not cloying at all.¡± Xue Yongtong: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Chapter 61 Xue Yongtong was just an ordinary customer to Lu Lingxi, so he didn¡¯t pay much attention to his visit. On the contrary, Xue Yongtong couldn¡¯t stop thinking about Tiny Garden after he returned, holding the Rieger begonia he had bought and studying it, determined to find out what kind of flowers were hybridised to develop it. Elder Qianughed at him for being obsessed. Xue Yongtong was unconvinced, ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious, Elder Qian?¡± Elder Qian¡¯s full name was Qian Yuanzheng. Before retirement, he was the vice chairman of Fengcheng Flower and Wood Association. He was also a famous horticultural engineer, a hardcore nt lover, and has been engaged in research and introduction ofndscape nt species resources for many years. It would be a lie to say that he was not curious, but having worked on flowers and nts all his life, he understood that the wonders of nature were sometimes beyond human imagination. He couldn¡¯t see the slightest trace of hybridisation in this Rieger begonia. It waspletely like the evolution of begonia; yes, not a mutation but the evolution. Elder Qian suddenly thought of something and quickly walked up to the begonia, looking at it carefully again and again. Xue Yongtong was delighted, ¡°Have you found something?¡± Elder Qian shook his head, hesitating for a long time and said deliberately, ¡°This begonia is still a Rieger begonia, not a new species, but more like an evolved version of the Rieger begonia.¡± Xue Yongtong: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Mutated and improved? If not for Elder Qian being his teacher, Xue Yongtong would have scolded the other party for talking nonsense. Elder Qian smiled at his expression. Xue Yongtong was not strictly speaking a true businessman, but rather more of a nt lover. This was what Elder Qian admired about him. Those who engaged in nts without loving them and only used them as a means to make money in the long run were putting the cart before the horse. ¡°After all, Yongtong, the world of nature is full of thousands and thousands of strange nts, full of magic, and that¡¯s exactly what makes our research fun.¡± Xue Yongtong also understood what Elder Qian meant, but he just couldn¡¯t resist, full of desire to know what was going on with this begonia. After holding back for two days, Xue Yongtong showed up at Tiny Garden with a pot of star rock cactus in his arms. Putting aside his identity as the owner of Luxuan Gardening, Xue Yongtong was truly a nt lover and took great care of all the flowers and nts around him. It wasn¡¯t easy to find a nt that was a bit faulty to bring to Tiny Garden. ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little surprised to see him; he was quite impressed with this customer who had bought the begonias. Xue Yongtong smiled and greeted Lu Lingxi before he realised there was another person in the shop. Unlike Lu Lingxi who made people feelfortable when they looked at him, the presence of this extra person was too strong. He looked neither like a customer of Tiny Garden nor someone from Tiny Garden and Xue Yongtong was somewhat unable to guess the identity of that man. Yan Yue nced at Xue Yongtong lightly, and his gaze froze a little; he recognised him as the owner of Luxuan Gardening. Ever since thest incident with Qiu Tian Gardening, Yan Yue had specifically checked the horticultural market in Fengcheng, learning in detail about the various types of rivals that Tiny Garden might encounter. The momentum of Tiny Garden was a little too strong and its nts were so prominent that it was hard not to attract the attention ofpetitors. Yan Yue also hoped to prevent problems before they ur. Judging by Lu Lingxi¡¯s reaction, Xue Yongtong didn¡¯t seem toe for the first time. The young man obviously didn¡¯t know who the other party was. Yan Yue med himself a little; he had been a bit busy the past few days and only today was he able to find the time to apany Lu Lingxi. While he hadn¡¯t been paying attention, the young man really wasn¡¯t at all wary of people. s Yan Yue looked away as Lu Lingxi greeted the man. ¡°Are you satisfied with that pot of begonias? Is there anything I can help you with today?¡± Xue Yongtong¡¯s attention was quickly drawn to the word ¡°begonia¡± and he nodded, ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t know how you grew it, little boss, but the fragrance of the begonia is very special, light and elegant, with a timeless scent that doesn¡¯t dissipate for a long time, very rare.¡± He used several adjectives in a row, obviously very fond of it. Lu Lingxi rxed and turned his eyes to the star rock cactus in his hands. Star rock is a type of cactus, a perennial sulent nt. It has lotus-shaped protrusions covered in areoles and is also known as a seven star cactus. The colour of the star rock is very special, pale grey and somewhat rock-like, and it looks lifeless, but it is very suitable for a potted nt, looking like a finely carved handicraft. It is a very interesting and novel way to decorate windowsills and coffee tables. The star rock in Xue Yongtong¡¯s hands had a very good shape, spreading out inyers like lotus. From the outside, there seemed to be nothing wrong with it, but the mental scan showed that the nt wascking in nutrients. Xue Yongtong followed Lu Lingxi¡¯s gaze and immediately ced the star rock on the cashier¡¯s counter. ¡°Look, little boss, the roots of this pot of star rock seem to be a bit bad, I wonder what¡¯s wrong?¡± Lu Lingxi pinched a bit of soil inside the pot and looked at it, ¡°Are you using the nutrient soil you bought from the gardening shop?¡± Xue Yongtong nodded. Lu Lingxi suggested, ¡°You¡¯d better change the soil. The star rock needs soluble calcium and some other minerals to grow, and the normal nutrient soil contains calcium hydroxide, which is not easily absorbed. On the contrary, it will damage the roots of the star rock. I suggest you use dolomite, which is very suitable for star rock.¡± After hearing Lu Lingxi¡¯s words, Xue Yongtong looked at him with eyes full of appreciation. He naturally knew what Lu Lingxi had said, but when the child spoke so seriously, coupled with his clear voice, if he were a customer, he would have been convinced. ¡°Then let¡¯s change to Baiyun limestone, do you sell it in the shop?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, ¡°Twenty yuan for a pack.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take a pack, no, two packs.¡± Meeting the young man¡¯s bright eyes, Xue Yongtong subconsciously changed his words. He somewhat understood why the Tiny Garden business was good. In the face of the young man¡¯s smile, it was hard for people who entered the shop to walk out empty handed; they had to buy something. Even those like him, who had everything at home and hade a long way to buy two packs of Baiyun limestone. Luxuan Gardening imported a lot of it, and the wholesale price was less than eight yuan a pack. When you looked at it this way, he was simply a loser. Xue Yongtong still couldn¡¯t bear to leave after buying Baiyun limestone. The nts in the shop were too much to his liking. He strolled around as if nothing had happened, eager to lure Lu Lingxi into his nt nursery with a lot of money. After turning around, Xue Yongtong stopped in front of the table with begonias. Four pots of begonias were ced together, with different colours of flowers, very eye-catching. But among these four pots of begonias, only one had the same fragrance as the one he had bought. The others were beautiful nts and full of flowers, but they didn¡¯t have that fragrance. Remembering that Elder Qian also liked that pot of begonias, he held back and said, ¡°I¡¯ll buy this begonia too, little boss, please change it to a better pot.¡± s ¡°Okay, you wait a moment.¡± Xue Yongtong came to the shop and spent money again; sighing, he walked out holding the begonia. He had chosen the most expensive baster pot in the shop, instead of using all kinds of flower pots at home. As soon as he left, Yan Yue put down his notebook and looked at Lu Lingxi who was keeping the ounts. ¡°The customer just now is a regr customer? Why don¡¯t I remember him?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head, ¡°Not really a regr customer, he¡¯s been here twice.¡± Yan Yue remembered that Xue Yongtong had been circling around the pots of begonias and said, seemingly unintentionally, ¡°He seemed to like them a lot.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled, ¡°The ones he boughtst time were also begonias.¡± Speaking of this, Lu Lingxi reacted a little. The begonias this customer had picked out on both asions were evolved begonias. When these begonias were ced together, it was actually difficult to tell the difference at first nce. If the other party could pick them out at a nce, it seemed that his knowledge was not superficial, as Lu Lingxi had thought. In that case, the guzmania fromst time and the star rock from this time seemed a bit strange. Lu Lingxi frowned slightly and Yan Yue looked a little regretful. The young man was naive. Yan Yue was worried that Lu Lingxi would be cheated while he couldn¡¯t see, but he was a bit reluctant to really let the young man understand the dangers of the human heart. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Something feels strange about this customer. He seems to know quite a lot about nts, but some of the questions he asked here seem like he doesn¡¯t know much, and it¡¯s a bit inconsistent.¡± Lu Lingxi said seriously. ¡°Could it be that our begonias are grown too well, and ourpetitors deliberately bought them back for research?¡± Yan Yue suggested, joking on purpose. Lu Lingxiughed when he heard it. In his heart, he stopped being worried. He wasn¡¯t afraid ofpetitors. The begonias had evolved and there was nothing to see. This confident expression was noticed by Yan Yue who itched to reach out and touch Lu Lingxi¡¯s face, ¡°So confident, are you not afraid?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± Lu Lingxi affirmed, ¡°My method is unique.¡± Laughter filled Yan Yue¡¯s eyes as he quickly gave Lu Lingxi¡¯s face a squeeze and whispered, ¡°My Xiao Xi is also unique.¡± Lu Lingxi averted his eyes somewhat unnaturally, the tips of his ears flushing slightly. Yan Yue looked at him with gentle eyes, but in his heart he was thinking about Xue Yongtong, who had a pretty good reputation in Fengcheng¡¯s gardening circles. But people¡¯s hearts are unpredictable, so it was better to keep a close eye on the young man. When it was almost noon, there were no customers at Tiny Garden for the time being, and Lu Lingxi was thinking of asking Yan Yue to settle the ounts, when he received a call from Wang Shuxiu. Wang Shuxiu had been looking at several ces for her future restaurant during this time, but nothing was particrly suitable, either because the price was too high or the location was not good. Today, Xiao Feng called her and mentioned that there was a small storefront near the Hongfu Community that was for rent. The owner¡¯s family was going back to their hometown and the house was waiting to be rented out urgently, so he asked Wang Shuxiu if she was interested. The ce mentioned by Xiao Feng was offered for the right price and the location was convenient, so Wang Shuxiu was a bit tempted and thought she would call Lu Lingxi to apany her to take a look. ¡°Mom, wait for me, I¡¯ll be right there.¡± Lu Lingxi asked Wang Shuxiu for the address, hung up the phone and was about to go out. It was just as well that Yan Yue was there and could stay and watch the shop. Yan Yue was a bit helpless. He deliberately took the time to apany Lu Lingxi, but as a result, he couldn¡¯t follow the young man when he was going out and he had to stay in the shop alone. ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon. Dahei, also stay in the shop, be good and obedient.¡± The first sentence Lu Lingxi said to Yan Yue, while the second sentence was to Dahei. Dahei gave a low bark, rubbing against Lu Lingxi, unwilling to stay. Lu Lingxi patiently stroked his head, ¡°Dahei is obedient.¡± Now that Dahei was growing stronger and stronger, it was inevitable that some people would be afraid if Lu Lingxi took him out during the day, and it was notfortable to wear a muzzle or something all the time. Yan Yue looked at Dahei¡¯s coquettish behaviour with burning eyes and couldn¡¯t describe how jealous he was. Stupid dog! Chapter 62 When Lu Lingxi arrived at the ce Wang Shuxiu mentioned, Wang Shuxiu wasn¡¯t alone. Xiao Feng was also by her side. ¡°Mom, Brother Feng.¡± Lu Lingxi called out with some hesitation. Wang Shuxiu saw him and pped him affectionately, ¡°Little bastard justes over, I¡¯ve been waiting for half a day.¡± Lu Lingxi was a bit embarrassed. He always felt ufortable in front of Xiao Feng. Xiao Feng nodded at him lightly, ¡°The storefront is nearby, I¡¯ll take you there.¡± He didn¡¯t talk much and led the way. Wang Shuxiu dragged Lu Lingxi behind her, asking who was in the shop now and where Dahei was. Lu Lingxi dutifully answered the questions and also wanted to ask Wang Shuxiu how Xiao Feng could be here. But then he thought of what Yan Yue had told himst time, that his mother was so strong that she would definitely not be bullied. He felt as if there was something strange if he asked about Xiao Feng,. Xiao Feng said it wasn¡¯t far, and it was just around the corner. After turning around the corner at the intersection, there was a small two-storey restaurant facing the street. However, only the lower floor could be used; the roof above was too short and the ce there could be barely used as a ce to rest. The owner of the restaurant was waiting for them there, and when he saw Xiao Fenging, his face immediately broke into a smile. ¡°Yo, Brother Feng is here,e and take a break and have a drink.¡± Xiao Feng reacted lightly to his enthusiasm and gestured to Wang Shuxiu, ¡°She¡¯s the one I said was renting your house.¡± ¡°No problem, no problem. I¡¯m absolutely at ease with the people Brother Feng brings.¡± The boss looked at Xiao Feng with a ttering smile. Xiao Feng was not impressed and turned his head to look at Wang Shuxiu, ¡°Do you want to take a closer look?¡± Wang Shuxiu was very satisfied with the ce without having to look at it. She had eaten here before, and the customer flow was indeed quite good. The owner¡¯s craftsmanship was also good. The most crucial thing was that the prices here were very fair. Wang Shuxiu was not someone to dilly-dally, and simply made her decision. ¡°Let¡¯s do it, boss we¡¯ll sign the contract.¡± Once the boss heard that there was no problem, the smile on his face grew even bigger. He stole a nce at Brother Feng, who looked calm, without either joy or sorrow on his face. But the person who could make Brother Feng personally apany her was certainly not an ordinary person. The boss had already offered a lot of discounts on the price and simply included everything in the back kitchen to give it to Wang Shuxiu. He couldn¡¯t take these things with him back home anyway, and it was a waste to lose them. Both sides were sincere and the contract was signed in no time at all. Wang Shuxiu was a little excited with the thin piece of paper in her hand. Having spent half of her life with Lu Yishui and not having a good life, now that she was old she had a future. The contract was ready, and thinking of Xiao Feng¡¯s kindness, Wang Shuxiu wanted to invite Xiao Feng to dinner. Xiao Fengcked interest, ¡°Forget it, it¡¯s just a little thing. Besides, I¡¯m tired of eating out every day.¡± Wang Shuxiu heard his meaning; he didn¡¯t want to eat out. So she didn¡¯t act hypocritically and said, ¡°My cooking is not bad, if Brother Feng doesn¡¯t mind, we can eat at home.¡± s Xiao Feng nced at Wang Shuxiu and nodded, ¡°Fine.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Wang Shuxiu was really happy today. Everyone said that opening a restaurant was hard, but she was not afraid of hardships. She had suffered a lot in her life. When she was a child, her family was poor and there was not enough food. She couldn¡¯t afford to go to school and left early to make a living. Later, when she married Lu Yishui, her life was better, but Lu Yishui was such a jerk, so her life was still hard. Sometimes she felt she couldn¡¯t beat it anymore and only after thinking of the little bastard did she manage to survive. She never thought that when she was getting old, life would start to look up again. Wang Shuxiu waved her hand and said quickly, ¡°Xiao Xi, you can call Yan Yue and we can have lunch together. Tiny Garden will be closed for a while, just to celebrate the opening of our restaurant in advance.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Lu Lingxi was very cooperative; it was rare to see Wang Shuxiu so happy. He was also very happy in his heart. When he received Lu Lingxi¡¯s call, Yan Yue was a little surprised, but more than anything else, he was happy. Whatever Wang Shuxiu¡¯s reasons for calling him for dinner in this situation were, it was in a way an approval of him. He quickly packed up his things, closed Tiny Garden and took Dahei back to themunity, only to find that the person who came to open the door for him was Xiao Feng. The two of them looked at each other, both of them silent. Lu Lingxi poked his head out of the kitchen, his hands still wet and dripping with water, ¡°Big Brother Yan, are you here?¡± Yan Yue looked past Xiao Feng and smiled at Lu Lingxi. Dahei, who was following, gave Xiao Feng a wary re and slowly walked to the corner and squatted down, maintaining a state of being able to pounce at any time. Xiao Feng¡¯s attention shifted from Yan Yue to Dahei; he looked at Dahei with interest. Dogs are highly intelligent, and ck dogs in particr are somewhat extraordinary. He saw that Dahei didn¡¯t look like an ordinary dog but was much smarter. Lu Lingxi saw Yan Yuee in and continued to help in the kitchen with some relief. Yan Yue and Xiao Feng were left in the living room for a while, as well as the Dahei in the corner. Xiao Feng was focused on Dahei, but also looked at Yan Yue out of the corner of his eye. He was somewhat curious about Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi¡¯s rtionship, but he never liked to talk too much, not to mention that he and Yan Yue had amon little secret. Xiao Feng nodded meaningfully at Yan Yue, who hooked the corners of his mouth, and the two reached a tacit understanding. The atmosphere of the lunch was very good. Xiao Feng looked a bit quiet but didn¡¯t spoil the fun. Yan Yue didn¡¯t say much either, but every time he did, he got it just right. Wang Shuxiu, on the other hand, said the most over the course of the meal. She was spirited and quick to speak, and with Lu Lingxi supporting her, always nodding in agreement with whatever she said, Wang Shuxiu felt veryfortable and thought that her family hadn¡¯t been this lively for some years. While Lu Lingxi was happy, Xue Yongtong had a problem with the begonias he had bought. Luxuan Gardening had developed well over the years. In addition to undertaking various greening projects, it also steadily supplied ten percent of Fengcheng¡¯s flower needs. But Xue Yongtong was not satisfied and kept trying to develop new sales channels. Just a year ago, Gao Yongliang, a ssmate of Xue Yongtong¡¯s from university, approached him and offered to cooperate with him. Gao Yongliang had been working in a cosmeticspany abroad for years and had somewhat made a name for himself. This time, he came back to China to start his own business, because he wanted to build his own cosmetics brand with his years of experience. Originally, this kind of thing had nothing to do with Xue Yongtong, but didn¡¯t Xue Yongtong have a nt nursery? Gao Yongliang¡¯s market positioning was spot on. Nowadays, people are pursuing health, including cosmetics, the less chemical ingredients the better, the more natural and nt-containing products the more expensive they are. Gao Yongliang found the right market niche, and Xue Yongtong¡¯s nt nursery became the most suitable ce for him to get raw materials. Xue Yongtong calcted that as long as Gao Yongliang¡¯s cosmetic products were sessfully developed and made a name for themselves, the nt nursery would be a regr supplier to the other side and the annual sales would make up arge part of his profits. The two of them hit it off immediately and started working together right away. However, Gao Yongliang was good at everything, except that he was too picky and had a bit of obsessivepulsive disorder, demanding everything to be perfect. He himself came from a perfume development background, and the new product he wanted tounch into the market also had to be a perfume gship. For this perfume, he had been working on the recipe for half a year and had refined the essential oils of almost all the flowers in the nt nursery, but he had never found a scent he was satisfied with. Only when Gao Yongliang smelled the begonia that Xue Yongtong was holding in his arms was he truly amazed. He pulled Xue Yongtong along with some excitement, ¡°Lao Xue, can you smell it? That¡¯s the smell. Delicate, clear and elegant, but different from the elegance of jasmine, with a dark, ethereal fragrance as the bottom note.¡± s ¡°Lao Xue, you¡¯re good, ah!¡± Gao Yongliang patted Xue Yongtong¡¯s shoulder hard, ¡°Where did you get this pot of flowers? Why didn¡¯t you show it earlier? Where did you nt it in the nt nursery? Can it be grown on arge scale? Is the fragrance stable? This scent will be definitely unique when ites to the market.¡± The more Gao Yongliang praised this pot of begonias, the more helpless Xue Yongtong¡¯s expression became. Finally, when the other party had finished, he said, ¡°This is not grown in our nt nursery, it was bought in another gardening shop. Elder Qian liked it, so I bought a pot for him.¡± ¡°Another gardening shop?¡± Gao Yongliang pondered, ¡°Are they big? Are they mass-producing? Is the flower fragrance stable?¡± Xue Yongtong: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gao Yongliang was not trying to abandon Xue Yongtong, but the scent was just too seductive. He patted Xue Yongtong¡¯s shoulder in a serious manner and said, ¡°Lao Xue, you need to be flexible in business. What is the scale of the other party? Can we cooperate with each other?¡± When he mentioned cooperation, Xue Yongtong got somewhat serious. The various nts inside Tiny Garden shed through his mind and he really started to consider the possibility of cooperating with Tiny Garden. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know that someone was thinking about the evolved begonias and was busy with the opening of Wang Shuxiu¡¯s little restaurant. The former owner of the restaurant left quickly, vacating the ce in less than two days, leaving all the misceneous things inside for Wang Shuxiu. Wang Shuxiu picked and chose, calcting that painting the walls, changing the signboard and buying a new batch of tables and chairs would be almost enough to open. As for the vegetables and fruits for the cooking, Lu Lingxi proposed to buy them from the vige where the nt nursery was located. Ever since the big willow tree had purified thend in the vige, the nts in the vige started to grow like crazy. The beans in Uncle Li¡¯s yard were growing all over the ce, and the day before yesterday Uncle Li even asked someone to send a bag of beans to Lu Lingxi. They couldn¡¯t eat all those beans at home, they grew and grew, it was going to be a disaster. Apart from the beans, there were also cucumbers, egg-nts, potatoes and sweet potatoes. The whole small yard was covered with vines of beans and cucumbers and some of them even reached outside the yard. Uncle Li¡¯s family was not the only one like this. Unlike in the city, basically every family in the countryside grew something in their yards for their regr meals. In the past, because these vegetables were eaten by the family, nothing chemical was used. Although the vegetables were tasty, the yield was not much. This time, who knows what happened, but the yield was many times bigger. What the vige was worried about now was what to do with the vegetables. It was a pity to leave them rot on the ground, but to sell them? There were viges like theirs nearby and no one would buy their vegetables. And if they went far away to Fengcheng, it would not be worth it. Lu Lingxi thought that the vegetables were truly natural and much tastier than those bought in the vegetable market. If a small restaurant wanted to do well, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s skill was one thing, but it was also important for the ingredients to be tasty. When he said this, Wang Shuxiu immediately agreed. But Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t have time to collect the vegetables, and Lu Lingxi thought of Yi Hang. Yi Hang was resting anyway, and usually had nothing to do except go to the nt nursery. Zheng Tan and Bai Yuan had been sent away by their families soon after Lu Lingxi was discharged from the hospital. One went to learn how to repair cars and the other went to learn cooking. Lu Lingxi was busy with the shop and the nt nursery every day, and Yi Hang alone was left with nothing to do. Lu Lingxi spoke seriously, carefully nning these things for Wang Shuxiu. Wang Shuxiu was so happy in her heart that she held Lu Lingxi¡¯s face and gave him a kiss on the head. ¡°Little bastard has grown up and can hold things up in the family.¡± Lu Lingxi moved his face away somewhat ufortably, looked at Wang Shuxiu and smiled faintly. Chapter 63 Soon, after intensive preparations, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s restaurant was going to be open. The day before the opening, Yi Hang drove to Lingshui Vige where the nt nursery was located and asked Uncle Li to collect a batch of vegetables. Lu Lingxi had already spoken to Uncle Li before, and Yi Hang knew him well from his frequent trips to the nt nursery. Uncle Li had already prepared everything before Yi Hang arrived. The purchased vegetables were ced neatly in baskets and piled up in his yard. The vigers in Lingshui Vige were worried about what to do with the vegetables in their fields. When Lu Lingxi said he was going to buy them, the vigers were all very happy. Although Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t want much,pared to letting these vegetables rot in the field, it was already an unexpected profit. Yi Hang brought the vegetables back and Wang Shuxiu packed them up in the afternoon. There was too much to do for her alone, so Lu Lingxi and Yi Hang were here to help, and even Dahei changed his usual quietness and joined the fun, barking from time to time. The three of them stayed busy until the evening, when Yan Yue came over after Tiny Garden closed. Wang Shuxiu was a bit embarrassed to bother Yan Yue but Yan Yue said politely, ¡°We¡¯re all neighbours from now on, it¡¯s only right to help each other out.¡± ¡°Neighbours?¡± Wang Shuxiu was a little surprised. Lu Lingxi interjected with an exnation, ¡°Big Brother Yan bought Auntie Hu¡¯s house next door.¡± Wang Shuxiu knew that the house next door had been under renovation recently, but she didn¡¯t expect it to be Yan Yue who bought it. Yan Yue¡¯s expression was magnanimous, ¡°The smog in Fengcheng is too heavy and there are fewmunities with such a good environment. Although the house is a little old, it doesn¡¯t matter if the environment is good.¡± His reasoning was justified, but Wang Shuxiu felt that something seemed wrong. However, Wang Shuxiu also had to admit that the environment in themunity was really good this year and, as far as she knew, several of the neighbourhood houses had indeed been sold recently. The feeling of strangeness shed by; Wang Shuxiu was too busy opening her restaurant to think about Yan Yue buying a house. Yan Yue faintly hooked the corners of his mouth; he deliberately picked the time when Wang Shuxiu opened her restaurant to announce buying the house. During this time, Wang Shuxiu was too busy to think about other things at all. After a while, the business of the small restaurant would be on the right track and Wang Shuxiu would have time to think about it again but by then she would have already be ustomed to his presence. It was almost ten o¡¯clock in the evening when they were done. The whole restaurant was cleaned up and the tables and chairs were neatly arranged. Wang Shuxiu looked at all this with some emotion, thinking that she would have to get up early tomorrow ande over, so she simply let Lu Lingxi and the others go home first and stayed alone on the second floor to save herself the trouble. Lu Lingxi was a little worried that it was not safe for Wang Shuxiu to stay alone here. Wang Shuxiuughed, ¡°What to worry about? The iron door outside is locked, and there are window guards upstairs, so who can get in?¡± When she insisted like this, Lu Lingxi had to leave with Yan Yue and Yi Hang. When the three of them left, Yi Hang looked at his little Jinbei andpared it with Yan Yue¡¯s car parked next to it with a bitter look on his face. Lu Lingxi was amused by his expression and looked at Yan Yue, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you can go back first, I¡¯ll just take Yi Hang¡¯s car.¡± s Yan Yue gave Yi Hang a silent nce and nodded. The two men and the dog got into the car. Yi Hang looked at Yan Yue¡¯s car through the window with some envy, ¡°When will I be able to afford that car?¡± Lu Lingxi reassured him, ¡°You¡¯re still young, when you reach Big Brother Yan¡¯s age you¡¯ll definitely be able to afford it too.¡± Yi Hang: ¡°¡­Lao San, do you treat me like a child to coax?¡± Lu Lingxiughed as he hugged Dahei. The sound ofughter reached outside the car and Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened as he drove around a corner. Instead of going home, he turned down another road towards the neighbourhood where Lu Lingxi lived. He arrived downstairs one step ahead of Yi Hang and went straight into the corridor to wait for Lu Lingxi to return. Not long after, a voice came out from outside, interspersed with Yi Hang¡¯s shout, ¡°Lao San, I¡¯lle to pick you up tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Lu Lingxi waved his hand at Yi Hang, turned his head and took Dahei into the building. The old-fashionedmunity was not fitted with sound-activated lights but with lights on the walls that needed to be pressed to light up. Lu Lingxi took two steps and fumbled to turn on the light, and when he looked up, he saw Yan Yue standing at the door. The dim light spilled on Yan Yue, making his originally cold brow and eyes look unusually soft. ¡°Big Brother Yan?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little surprised. The corners of Yan Yue¡¯s lips curved into a faint smile, and his eyes seemed to fill with ayer of clear glow. ¡°I wonder if Xiao Xi would mind if I stayed at your ce for a night?¡± Lu Lingxi froze for a moment, and then smiled radiantly. All the way until he entered the house, Lu Lingxi was in a good mood and had a smile on his face. Yan Yue looked at his smiling face and unconsciously got in a better mood. ¡°Very happy?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. He didn¡¯t know why he was so happy to see Yan Yue appear at the door. Yan Yue was so overwhelmed by his smile that he couldn¡¯t help but circle him in his arms and give him a kiss, urging in a hoarse voice, ¡°Go and take a shower and go to bed, you still have to get up early tomorrow.¡± Perhaps because he was nine years older than Lu Lingxi, Yan Yue treated Lu Lingxi like a lover with an extra feeling of taking care of him like of a ¡°son¡±. s Lu Lingxi obediently went to take a shower, and Dahei habitually wanted to follow him in, but Yan Yue quickly stopped him. ¡°Xiao Xi, you wash first, I¡¯ll help Dahei washter.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t think much of it and was quite happy to see Yan Yue getting close to Dahei. ¡°Then, Big Brother Yan, I¡¯ll trouble you.¡± Yan Yue smiled softly and turned his head to look at Dahei with jealous eyes. He had never taken a shower with Xiao Xi. Stupid dog! The two men and the dog finished their showers in turn and were faced with the big problem of how to allocate the beds. Lu Lingxi¡¯s bed was a single bed, so it was a little hard to squeeze in two people, let alone adding Dahei. As a result, Dahei was forced to leave the familiar bed and sleep on a small nket on the floor. Yan Yue hogged Dahei¡¯s former spot, quite literally looking at Dahei down his nose. ¡°Good night, Xiao Xi.¡± ¡°Big Brother Yan, good night.¡± Lu Lingxi buried his head in Yan Yue¡¯s chest and soon fell into a deep sleep. The next day was the opening day of the restaurant, and Yi Hang came to pick up Lu Lingxi early in the morning. He was surprised to find that Yan Yue was actually there and was taken aback for a long time before reacting, ¡°¡­Brother Yan, you¡¯re here early.¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t exin, nodding in acquiescence to Yi Hang¡¯s statement. Lu Lingxi looked at Yi Hang slightly sheepishly, likewise acquiescing to his words. To their surprise, there were actually quite a few peopleing to the small restaurant today. Although Wang Shuxiu did not deliberately advertise the restaurant in the neighbourhood, several of her neighbours who were close to her knew about the opening of the restaurant. They were neighbours for more than ten years and watched how hard it was for Wang Shuxiu all the way. They bought a flower basket early in the morning and sent it to Wang Shuxiu¡¯s ce. In addition to the flower basket bought by the neighbours, Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue each sent two, and Lin Mei brought another one when she arrived. Wang Shuxiu scolded them for spending so much money, but the smile in her eyes couldn¡¯t stop. Just as the auspicious time for the opening was about to arrive, Brother Feng came over with his men and brought six very expensive flower baskets. Twelve flower baskets were ced outside, looking very presentable. The name of the restaurant was given by Wang Shuxiu herself, and it was called ¡®Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant¡¯. When she was young, she thought Xiaohua was a rustic name, but now that she had seen more of the world, she thought that Xiaohua was quite good. It looked unassuming, but it was full of resilience and could take root and blossom no matter how difficult the circumstances were. Little bastard used to say that the wild flowers growing on the ground outside were the same as the famous flowers carefully cultivated in Tiny Garden, there was no difference. Unconsciously, she thought so too. Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant; Wang Shuxiu read these words silently and smiled lightly as her brow smoothened. Chapter 64 The business of Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant was surprisingly hot. Wang Shuxiu was a good cook, keeping the original taste of the ingredients, and the ingredients themselves were fresh and tender; each dish was also a full portion. All this had won the restaurant a good reputation in the surrounding area in just a few days after opening. The poprity of the restaurant and the money it made brought a new problem, theck of manpower. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s previous thought was simple: there were many small restaurants in this area, and it would take time for Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant to gain a foothold, so how many customers could there be when it first opened? It would be enough to have her alone plus Yi Hang¡¯s asional help. But who would have thought that business at the restaurant would be so good that Wang Shuxiu and Yi Hang were both working around the clock and were both a bit too busy? Yi Hang hadn¡¯t even been to the nt nursery recently and Yan Yue had taken over all the work there. ¡°This is not the way to go on.¡± Wang Shuxiu and Yi Hang discussed, ¡°We need to hire someone.¡± Yi Hang straightened his small body, ¡°I¡¯m okay do it alone.¡± Wang Shuxiu chuckled and raised her hand to p Yi Hang, ¡°You¡¯re okay? If you get too tired, your mother will eat me, ah?¡± There was a reason for Wang Shuxiu¡¯s teasing. She and Yi Hang¡¯s mother didn¡¯t have a good rtionship. The two families lived close to each other, and both Yi Hang and Lu Lingxi were the only children in the family, but they got together and didn¡¯t learn anything good. Wang Shuxiu and Yi Hang¡¯s mother had several arguments over whether Yi Hang was seducing Lu Lingxi to behave badly or Lu Lingxi was luring Yi Hang to do wrong things, and almost got into a fight, but the two little bastards still did what they wanted, hooking up and getting along, not affected at all. When she said this, Yi Hang was a little embarrassed and immediately followed to show his loyalty. ¡°Howe? My mom can¡¯t wait for me to be busy all the time. She thinks I¡¯m getting ahead now and wants to find time to thank Lao San.¡± What Yi Hang said was not to make Wang Shuxiu happy, but was true. In the past, before Lu Lingxi¡¯s ident, he, Lu Lingxi, Zheng Tan and Bai Yuan were four little bastards who had been hanging around since junior middle school. The families couldn¡¯t control them, and they were used to living a life of idleness. When the ident happened to Lu Lingxi, Zheng Tan and Bai Yuan¡¯s parents saw that they couldn¡¯t go on like this and sent them away to learn a trade, leaving Lu Lingxi and Yi Hang as the only two out of four brothers. If this was all, it would have been fine, but Lu Lingxi lost his memory and changed his old ways and started to be more sensible. Yi Hang waspared to the mud that couldn¡¯t hold up the wall (worthless). Fortunately, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t forget his good friend; first Yi Hang was approached about the nt nursery, andter about the small restaurant. Never mind this busy time, Yi Hang also felt fulfilled. After Yi Hang had washed away the fancy colours on his face and his clothes also turned back to normal, his mother didn¡¯t know how to thank Lu Lingxi, looking at this. The fact that Yi Hang was busy didn¡¯t scare her. The only thing she was afraid of was that if Yi Hang wasn¡¯t busy anymore, he¡¯d go back to his old ways. They were both mothers, and Wang Shuxiu understood Yi Hang¡¯s meaning. She sighed, ¡°You and Xiao Xi are so sensible that your mother and I have nothing to worry about.¡± Although Yi Hang proved himself capable, Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t really treat other people¡¯s children improperly, and the recruitment of staff for the restaurant was still on the agenda. But the right people couldn¡¯t be recruited all at once. Lin Mei had nothing to do these days, so she simply came along and helped out. s The business of Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant was booming, and Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind focused on Tiny Garden again. After a few days of careful consideration, Xue Yongtong finally took Gao Yongliang to Tiny Garden. ¡°Hello, wee.¡± Lu Lingxi was a bit startled when he looked up and saw the visitor, ¡°You¡¯re here? What can I do for you?¡± He remembered what Yan Yue had reminded him of and stared at Xue Yongtong with some curiosity for a few moments, specting in his mind about the other party¡¯s identity and his intentions foring here this time. Xue Yongtong was a bit embarrassed, to say the least. He was a dignified figure in Fengcheng¡¯s gardening circles, and sneaking into Tiny Garden disguised as a customer was really not very honourable. Facing Lu Lingxi¡¯s clear eyes, Xue Yongtong said with a slight embarrassment, ¡°Little boss, I came here this time to talk to you about cooperation.¡± ¡°Cooperation? What kind of cooperation?¡± Xue Yongtong deliberated on how to speak, but Gao Yongliang couldn¡¯t care less about him and went around inside Tiny Garden by himself. As soon as he entered Tiny Garden, his eyes lit up. There was a popr saying in foreign cosmetic circles that a practitioner who was a chemist was also a knowledgeable botanist. They worked with nts every day and knew what nts were suitable for what fragrances, which nts¡¯ essential oils had what effect, what nt cells could repair the skin and so on. To choose the right thing, you had to understand the nts first. Over time, Gao Yongliang¡¯s appreciation of nts was not at all inferior to Xue Yongtong¡¯s. It¡¯s just that the two looked at nts from different starting points; Gao Yongliang was entirely practical. He looked with some fascination at the pot of geranium in front of him. Unlike the geraniums he had seen in Xue Yongtong¡¯s nt nursery that had already shed their petals, the geranium in front of him was not only in full bloom, but the flowers were bigger and more showy, which meant that this geranium could extract more essential oils. In the nt world, not all nts could produce essential oils, but only nts with balsam nds could do so. The balsam nds of geraniums were distributed on the flowers and a small number of leaves, and therger the flower the more essential oil it could produce. Gao Yongliang somewhat liked the smell of geranium essential oil. The light green liquid was fresh and clear. Mixed with the aromas of rose and peppermint, the smell was not particrly sweet and greasy, more on the neutral side, and could be easily mixed with other essential oils. The most important thing was that it was also very practical for use in cosmetic formtions. It could be used for almost any skin condition, not only for deep cleansing, but also to encourage the renewal of skin cells and repair e marks and scars on the skin. These thoughts shed through Gao Yongliang¡¯s mind, and he decided that he had to convince the other party to work with him. These nts and flowers here were too good to be true, not to mention that this geranium was the best he had ever seen. If it could be grown on arge scale and maintained at this quality, he could imagine how promising it would be in the future. With an eager attitude, Gao Yongliang came up to Xue Yongtong, who had just finished introducing himself and mentioned that he wanted to work with Lu Lingxi to grow the begonias he had bought on arge scale. Gao Yongliang quickly added, ¡°It¡¯s not limited to begonias, other ones are fine too.¡± s Lu Lingxi frowned slightly; the begonias that Xue Yongtong had taken a fancy to were evolved nts, andrge-scale nting was impossible at present. As for the coboration they mentioned, Lu Lingxi wasn¡¯t really willing. He was a little worried that his secret would be discovered. Just because he trusted Yan Yue and was willing to be unguarded in front of him didn¡¯t mean that he also trusted other people and was willing to have his secret discovered. Lu Lingxi¡¯s silence indicated his attitude, and Gao Yongliang immediately suggested, ¡°We can talk about the conditions of cooperation slowly. I hope the little boss can seriously consider this opportunity.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Yan Yue¡¯s voice came from the door. He had just returned from Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant, carrying the lunch that Wang Shuxiu prepared for Lu Lingxi. ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re back?¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes lit up. He wasn¡¯t very good at dealing with outsiders, and even more so, he didn¡¯t know how to refuse. Yan Yue had returned just in time, so he very naturally threw the question to Yan Yue. Yan Yue faintly swept a nce at the two of them, walked straight over and rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair, ¡°Xiao Xi, take Dahei to Dong Zhi for dinner, leave this to me.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. As soon as he left, Yan Yue simply said, ¡°The cultivation technology of Tiny Garden is confidential and we will not cooperate with other horticulturalists.¡± Gao Yongliang was anxious, ¡°Perhaps you can listen to our conditions first?¡± Yan Yue looked at him indifferently, ¡°Perhaps Mr. Gao has been abroad for a long time and doesn¡¯t quite understand the meaning of the Chinesenguage. I¡¯ve said Tiny Garden won¡¯t cooperate with other horticulturalists.¡± Gao Yongliang froze for a moment and finally understood. Yan Yue was adamant and gave Gao Yongliang a problem, so there was no point in staying any longer. Gao Yongliang and Xue Yongtong quickly left Tiny Garden. Yan Yue stared thoughtfully at Gao Yongliang¡¯s back, thinking about this coboration he had mentioned. If there was no Luxuan Gardening, cooperation with Gao Yongliang was not impossible. When he was abroad, he had heard Gao Yongliang¡¯s name and had met him once inadvertently. Later, when Gao Yongliang resigned and wanted to return to China to start his own business, he applied to Dezhi Investment for project funding. However, there was another project that was more promising than his at that time, and Yan Yue¡¯s essence was to make money, not to support the start-up out of goodwill, so he eventually turned down Gao Yongliang¡¯s project. He never thought he would meet Gao Yongliang again. As far as Yan Yue knew, Gao Yongliang¡¯s ideas were good and his ability was also there, but unfortunately, there was Luxuan Gardening in the middle. He thought of the secret Lu Lingxi was hiding, and although he didn¡¯t know what it was, it would probably have something to do with the flowers and nts. The young man didn¡¯t want it to be known, and all he could do was to help Lu Lingxi hide the secret. Chapter 65 When Lu Lingxi returned from dinner, Gao Yongliang and Xue Yongtong had already left. He was secretly relieved. He had thought that Xue Yongtong would be apetitor, but he didn¡¯t expect the other party to be the owner of Luxuan Gardening. He was not exactly a horticultural noob now. There was a local Fengcheng gardening forum on the inte, which referred to Qiu Tian Gardening and Luxuan Gardening as the two leadingpanies in Fengcheng. Thanks to Qiu Tian Gardening, Lu Lingxi was impressed by the name of Luxuan Gardening. Yan Yue looked at him, rxed and a little amused, ¡°Don¡¯t want to cooperate with them?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded honestly. Although Yan Yue had rejected the offer of cooperation, his opinion of Gao Yongliang was not low. ¡°Gao Yongliang¡¯s project is not bad. I¡¯ve read his project description before, he has a lot of ideas.¡± Lu Lingxi actually didn¡¯t quite understand what Xue Yongtong was talking about in terms of cooperation. He was repelled by the vagueness of the words, so he just listened to them in a general way. Yan Yue looked at his bewildered look and patiently exined Gao Yongliang¡¯s project. Lu Lingxi responded, ¡°He¡¯s developing purely nt-based cosmetic products and he¡¯s looking for a nt nursery as a raw material supplier?¡± Yan Yue nodded, ¡°The nt nursery he¡¯s working with should be Luxuan Gardening, but it looks like Luxuan Gardening didn¡¯t meet his requirements. Now he¡¯s taken a fancy to our begonias, so that¡¯s why Luxuan Gardening thought of working with us.¡± Lu Lingxi listened carefully; when Yan Yue said this, the project did seem good. He stole a nce at Yan Yue¡¯s expression and hesitantly asked, ¡°Big Brother Yan, do you want to cooperate with them?¡± Yan Yue guessed what he was thinking and shook his head firmly, ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. Although he didn¡¯t say anything, the subtle expression on his face proved that he was happy with the answer. Yan Yue smiled gently, his heart softening as he said, ¡°Xiao Xi, just do what you want to do, Big Brother Yan will support you no matter what.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes shone brightly as he nodded. He seemed to have made some kind of decision and looked at Yan Yue solemnly. ¡°Big Brother Yan, I have something I want to tell you.¡± ¡°What?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little apprehensive in his heart, but still mustered up the courage to say, ¡°I can see the state of all nts.¡± Yan Yue was a little puzzled, ¡°¡­can see the state of nts?¡± Lu Lingxi had not said anything about it before because he didn¡¯t know how to say it, fearing that Yan Yue would not believe him. Now that he happened to catch Xue Yongtong¡¯s attention and the man wanted to cooperate, Lu Lingxi simply chose to confess. He wasn¡¯t actually sure how to describe what was happening to him, and generalised it as being able to see the state of the nts. But it looked like Yan Yue didn¡¯t seem to understand. Lu Lingxi thought about it and described the existence of the panel in as much detail as he could. This included the upgrades to the panel and the evolution of the nts, as well as the effects of the power of nature. When he finished, Yan Yue didn¡¯t speak for a moment. Lu Lingxi was a little uneasy and whispered, ¡°Big Brother Yan?¡± Yan Yue came back to his senses with a somewhat serious expression, grabbing Lu Lingxi and asking nervously, ¡°Xiao Xi, are you feeling unwell?¡± ¡°?¡± Lu Lingxi looked at him nkly. Yan Yue was vaguely worried, ¡°You said there was something inside you, do you feel ufortable?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little dazed and shook his head, ¡°No.¡± Yan Yue was talking about the white panel, but in fact Lu Lingxi himself didn¡¯t know where the white panel was. He said it was inside him just because he couldn¡¯t find any other more appropriate way to say it. s Yan Yue frowned slightly, still a little worried about Lu Lingxi. However, he had been with Lu Lingxi for a long time, and the young man seemed to be looking healthy except for being a little thin. Subconsciously, Yan Yue¡¯s mind shed back to what Wang Shuxiu had saidst time, that the boy had not been this thin before. Could it be because of the white panel? He made up his mind to take Lu Lingxi for a full examination tomorrow to ensure that there was nothing wrong with the young man¡¯s body. His reaction was quite different from what Lu Lingxi expected. Lu Lingxi was a little unsure of what Yan Yue thought and his eyes wandered to look at Yan Yue, ¡°Big Brother Yan, do you really believe what I¡¯m saying?¡± Yan Yue knew what he was worried about and reached out to hold the young man, hugging him firmly as he looked at him and said seriously, ¡°I believe everything Xiao Xi says.¡± Lu Lingxi froze for a moment and couldn¡¯t help but reveal a bright smile as he meekly said, ¡°Big Brother Yan, I really didn¡¯t lie to you.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Yan Yue believed Lu Lingxi¡¯s words. He had always known that there was a secret in the young man, he just didn¡¯t expect the secret to be this astonishing. But when he thought back carefully on the bits and pieces after meeting the young man, it seemed that the nts grew particrly well where the young man was. Tiny Garden, small courtyard, the nt nursery¡­ Yan Yue couldn¡¯t imagine what the nt heart and the power of nature were, and from the young man¡¯s descriptions, these seemed more like a form of energy. The nt heart was the energy that supported the upgrade of the panel, and the power of nature was a higher level of energy that could bring nts ornd back to life. ¡°Thest earthquake in the nt nursery¡­¡± Lu Lingxi nodded honestly, ¡°It was the big willow tree at the entrance of the vige that was evolving.¡± ¡°A nt evolving? What does it look like after it evolves?¡± Lu Lingxi thought for a moment, ¡°It¡¯s not really a big change, it¡¯s just that the root system is more developed. The whole underground of the vige is filled with the roots of the big willow tree, and the big willow tree has more vitality and a strange kind of energy.¡± Yan Yue listened without speaking, tapping on the desk thoughtfully, an action he was used to when thinking. The young man had a simple mind and no social experience. He thought that if he didn¡¯t tell others, this secret would be kept forever. Little did he know that if the nts kept evolving the way he was saying, sooner orter they would attract the attention of interested people. No one took it seriously now because the current changes were still small enough to attract the attention of others. No, Xue Yongtong had already noticed, which was why he kept staring at the evolved begonias. Fortunately, the change in the begonia was not so prominent that it couldn¡¯t be exined by a nt mutation. What if some other nts changed? Wouldn¡¯t it be unexinable if it was more exaggerated? Yan Yue thought of the changes in the neighbourhood and the changes in the environment of Lingshui Vige. With the smog in Fengcheng being so severe, it was only a matter of time before the changes in these two ces were discovered. The problem now was that with Lu Lingxi¡¯s presence in both ces, there was no guarantee that they wouldn¡¯t be linked to each other. A way had to be found to get the young man out of it. Willow? Evolution? Purification? Yan Yue looked at Lu Lingxi, ¡°Xiao Xi, you said that the power of nature can purify thend, and the purifiednd will slowly expand in scope? The nts on it will also grow like crazy? s Lu Lingxi nodded. ¡°How much power of nature do you have left now?¡± ¡°Five points.¡± Lu Lingxi answered with a puzzled expression. The amount was a little small, but they could give it a try. Yan Yue¡¯s mind was spinning with various thoughts as he looked at Lu Lingxi seriously. ¡°Xiao Xi, listen to me.¡± His expression was serious, and Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help but raise his head and be serious, too. Yan Yue didn¡¯t want to scare Lu Lingxi, but there were some things he couldn¡¯t hide from the young man or solve for him. Some things the young man had to understand for himself. If his condition was discovered, he would either be hailed as the ¡°saviour¡± of the environment or be the object of scientific research. If it was the former, it would be the best case scenario, but if it was thetter, the boy would lose more than just his freedom. Yan Yue didn¡¯t dare to gamble with Lu Lingxi¡¯s safety. If they went along with his idea, the best solution would be for Lu Lingxi to shut down Tiny Garden immediately. They could take Wang Shuxiu and live abroad together, with Lu Lingxi never using any of the panel¡¯s powers again. But now that the changes had taken ce, Yan Yue was afraid the subsequent evolution of the nts was no longer something they could reverse. And he could see that Lu Lingxi really liked nts, and even had a happy attitude towards the evolution of nts and the improvement of the environment, so he was afraid Lu Lingxi wouldn¡¯t agree with his idea. Thinking of this, Yan Yue carefully talked about his concerns. Lu Lingxi frowned slightly and didn¡¯t say anything. He understood what Yan Yue had said. He didn¡¯t want to cooperate with Luxuan Gardening because he was afraid that his secret would be discovered. He was lucky, thinking that as long as he didn¡¯t say anything, no one would find out. He had always felt thatnd purification was a good thing and thought that through his efforts he could purify morend. Yan Yue rubbed his hair and said softly, ¡°The purification of thend and the improvement of the environment is a good thing, but Big Brother Yan hopes that the premise of all this is that there is no danger to you, Xiao Xi.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little uneasy, ¡°Is the change obvious now?¡± Yan Yue shook his head and said soothingly, ¡°The changes now won¡¯t be noticed yet, but if the changes continue, it¡¯s only a matter of time before they are noticed, so we need to prepare early.¡± ¡°Prepare? Can¡¯t the panel be used to purify thend in the future?¡± Lu Lingxi asked, somewhat sullenly. ¡°No, on the contrary, we have to find a way to purify a few more ces. Right now, only the environment of themunity and Lingshui Vige changed, which is certainly very conspicuous whenpared to the entire Fengcheng. But what if there were more anomalies, or even if the whole of Fengcheng had changed? Themunity and the vige would be inconspicuous when they blend in. Xiao Xi, didn¡¯t you say that the power of nature can purify thend? We can find different ces to try it outter, five points of power of nature is almost enough.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s proposal was somewhat unexpected to Lu Lingxi, who immediately nodded vigorously and hurriedly added, ¡°I can find a way to earn more power of nature.¡± Yan Yueughed lightly and assured, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, with Big Brother Yan around, everything will be fine.¡± He spoke with such confidence that Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help but nod trustingly. Yan Yue looked at Lu Lingxi with a gentle gaze and hid another n in his mind. A few more anomalies would reduce the conspicuousness of the changes in the district, but to be on the safe side, an excuse had to be found for these changes in the environment. He thought about the second-ss big willow tree that Lu Lingxi had mentioned. Its hundred-year age, the fact that lightning couldn¡¯t kill it, the fact that it had the reputation of being a sacred tree near Lingshui Vige, the changes that resulted from its evolution; all of this was too suitable to use as an excuse and incidentally to cover up the anomalies of the nts in Tiny Garden. It was just that it wouldn¡¯t be necessary for the young man to know. By the way, there was also Ye Sange. Yan Yue¡¯s mind worked quickly and a thought vaguely came to him. Chapter 66 The evolution of nts is a very mysterious process. In contrast to the few hundred thousand years of human existence, the earliest nts, algal mats, appeared on earth three billion years ago. From the earliest algal mats, to terrestrial bryophytes, lycopods and ferns, to theplex gymnosperms and angiosperms, nts developed in five major stages. Over three billion years, the entire nt world evolved through gic variation and natural selection. From the low level to the high level, from the simple to theplex, new species had been created and adapted to the changing environment, while old species had died out and be extinct. Throughout the evolution of the nt world, it was easy to see that nts did not evolve singrly, but interacted with each other. This kind of influence was very magical, and what Yan Yue needed now was this kind of magic. At seven o¡¯clock in the evening, Yan Yue drove Lu Lingxi around Fengcheng. As the Hongfu Community was in the north of Fengcheng, Yan Yue deliberately chose ces in the east, south and west of Fengcheng to purify the soil. All of these ces were around the key remediation projects that the new mayor had been working on since he took office. This way, even if there were any initial changes, they would be taken by the nearby residents as the effect of environmental remediation and would not cause an instant sensation. At the same time, themon geographical characteristics would hide the special features of the Hongfu Community. Having chosen the general area, the specific purification ces Yan Yue intentionally chose were all the ones where there were willow trees nted. What he had to do now was to remove Lu Lingxi out of possible suspicion, and the fastest way to do that was to find another target of suspicion. As for how people would interpret this target when it was discovered, it was not in the realm of Yan Yue¡¯s concern. Having used up the five points of power of nature rewarded for the willow evolution systemst time, Lu Lingxi felt a bit in a low mood. He leaned against the car window and looked outside. Fengcheng was brightly lit in the night. The daytime smog was hidden by the night, and the car window separated the floating dust in the air. At this moment, Fengcheng didn¡¯t look heavily polluted at all, and under the neon lights, it looked clean. ¡°Unhappy?¡± Yan Yue kept an eye on his mood. Lu Lingxi originally wanted to shake his head, but after thinking about it, he nodded honestly. Yan Yue pulled the car to the side of the road and rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair with his free hand, ¡°Is it because of what I said this afternoon?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head quickly this time. It had nothing to do with Yan Yue¡¯s words, and he couldn¡¯t say why he was depressed. Yan Yue sighed, somewhat regretting that what he had said this afternoon was too serious and scared Lu Lingxi. He gently patted Lu Lingxi¡¯s face and asked seriously, ¡°Do you like nts very much?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. ¡°Do you like evolving nts?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded hesitantly. Although nts evolved in all sorts of directions, most of them still tended to be practical. For example, chlorophytum absorbed formaldehyde +20%, and caryophyllum absorbed sulphur dioxide +20%. He used to think that if nts could evolve in this way, the natural environment would be much better in the future. But now, to avoid trouble, would he have to use the panel as little as possible, and the nts would not be able to evolve as before? Yan Yue saw what he was thinking and said softly, ¡°Xiao Xi, just do what you like, you don¡¯t need to worry about the rest.¡± ¡°But will there be trouble if someone finds out?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little uneasy. Yan Yueughed lightly and deliberately joked, ¡°Xiao Xi, you have sold so many pots, isn¡¯t it a bitte to worry about being found out now?¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Yan Yue looked at him and smiled, ¡°The nts sold by Tiny Garden are all nted in the nt nursery. Even if they are found to be abnormal, people will only suspect that it is caused by the surrounding environment. They will not suspect Xiao Xi for no reason.¡± Lu Lingxi reacted a little, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you are my partner, if there is a suspicion, we both will be suspected.¡± Yan Yue held back a smile and nodded, ¡°Yes, we are aplices, you see, I¡¯m not worried.¡± Seeing such a rxed expression on his face, Lu Lingxipletely calmed down. ¡°However.¡± Yan Yue changed the subject, ¡°We¡¯ll have to consider cooperating with Xue Yongtong.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t understand. Yan Yue patiently exined, ¡°I¡¯ve heard some things about Gao Yongliang before. He¡¯s a bit stubborn in nature, I¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t give up those begonias easily. I am worried that he will pursue the matter to its roots and it will be troublesome then, so we might as well take the initiative.¡± s Lu Lingxi had great trust in Yan Yue and nodded obediently, ¡°Then shall we go and find him?¡± ¡°No, let hime to us.¡± Yan Yue said meaningfully. The consideration of working with Xue Yongtong was not a whim of Yan Yue, but caused by a serious weighing up in the afternoon. The nts of Tiny Garden were a bit eye-catching and it would have been much better if they had been reced by Luxuan Gardening. He was going to be selective in the things he revealed to Xue Yongtong and some of the ¡°truths¡± they showed him. He believed that the best way to keep a secret was to have a mutual interest and, more importantly, Xue Yongtong¡¯s involvement would take half the pressure off Lu Lingxi. In his mind, the coboration with Xue Yongtong was only the first step; he also nned to set up a nt research institute with Xue Yongtong. He remembered that there were many simr institutions abroad, specialising in the breeding of new nt varieties and turning the research results into tangible economic benefits. In the long run, this would be one of the best ways to hide Lu Lingxi¡¯s secret. These ideas were Yan Yue¡¯s preliminary ns, and since Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t want to give up the panel, they would simply make the matter bigger. Only when they had the right to speak would they have enough power to protect Lu Lingxi. The two of them took a circle around Fengcheng, and Yan Yue drove Lu Lingxi to Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant. It was now already past nine o¡¯clock in the evening and there were still three customers eating in the small restaurant. Usually Lu Lingxi came over after six o¡¯clock, but today he waste, so Wang Shuxiu grabbed him and asked, ¡°Have you eaten tonight?¡± Lu Lingxi rubbed his stomach and said honestly, ¡°Something came up in the shop, so I didn¡¯t bother to eat.¡± ¡°Sit down, I¡¯ll go and make you some noodles.¡± Wang Shuxiu disappeared like a gust of wind, and Lu Lingxi turned to say goodbye to Yan Yue when he identally seemed to see Xiao Feng outside. He was taken aback for a moment before looking again, but Xiao Feng¡¯s figure was no longer there. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Yan Yue asked, looking at his open-mouthed expression. Lu Lingxi was a little unsure, ¡°I think I saw Brother Feng.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Yan Yue nced outside quietly, and said with certainty, ¡°Xiao Xi must¡¯ve been mistaken.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Lingxi also felt that he had been mistaken. Outside the small restaurant, Xiao Feng stood across the road with a cigarette in his mouth, looking carelessly at Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant. Ding Er, who was following him, guessed what he was thinking and suggested, ¡°Brother Feng, I don¡¯t seem to have eaten enough tonight, why don¡¯t we go and eat something? It just so happens that Tiger and the others are also inside.¡± s Xiao Feng swept him a cold nce, ¡°It¡¯s alreadyte. If you don¡¯t sleep, don¡¯t let others sleep either?¡± Ding Er immediately understood what he meant. It was not that Brother Feng didn¡¯t want to go to eat, but he disliked Tiger and the others for stayingte and affecting Ms. Xiaohua¡¯s rest. Ding Er felt a bit wronged for Tiger and the others. When Brother Feng said that they shoulde to the restaurant more often, Tiger and the others came from several streets away to eat every day. They started early and finishedte, and then had to make up for it with ate night snack. He thought that after such a long walk, the meal would be almost digested, and it would be the same as not eating at all. As a result, he was also disliked by Brother Feng, which was a bit unfair. Xiao Feng looked at him for a while, extinguished his cigarette and turned to leave. Ding Er couldn¡¯t decide whether he should call Tiger and the others out. But that would be too obvious, and ording to Brother Feng¡¯s nature, he would probably be upset. After a few seconds of hesitation, Ding Er decided to follow behind Xiao Feng, thinking not to forget to remind Tiger and the others tomorrow that they should be early for the evening snack so as not to disturb the rest of Ms. Xiaohua. Xiao Feng didn¡¯t know that Ding Er had so many thoughts. He was pondering over Wang Shuxiu. After years of being an old bachelor, Xiao Feng had never had much intention of starting a family. He thought it was good to be alone. Sometimes his brother back home would call him to advise him to find a considerate wife. Wouldn¡¯t it be better than being single? Xiao Feng didn¡¯t think much of it. He had been doing well over the years, surrounded by many young girls, and his brothers had urged him to find a girlfriend. But not to mention that he didn¡¯t have the patience to coax any young girl, enough to say that these girls were all very entitled. Xiao Feng felt that he should either not look for a girlfriend at all, or find one that was down-to-earth and could apany him in his life. When he first met Wang Shuxiu, Xiao Feng actually didn¡¯t think much. Lu Yishui was an old gambler in his casino, losing a lot and winning a little, but with one advantage, he rarely reneged on his debts. People who are familiar with him knew that Lu Yishui has a capable wife, and with her around, there was no fear that Lu Yishui would not be able to pay back the money. Xiao Feng sometimes heard them joke about Lu Yishui eating soft rice (a man depending on a woman to survive), and Lu Yishui never denied it with a smug expression on his face that said: I have the ability to get money, you can say whatever you like. At that time, Xiao Feng had never met Wang Shuxiu and thought that she was the kind of woman who couldn¡¯t afford to get a divorce because she was too old to work. It was not until once Wang Shuxiu found the card and chess parlour and pulled Lu Yishui to divorce that Xiao Feng realised in surprise that Wang Shuxiu waspletely different from what he thought. The two of them had a fight that time but didn¡¯t divorce. He heard that the son of the family didn¡¯t want them to divorce. Later, Xiao Feng met Wang Shuxiu a few times and slowly came to admire her. It was not easy for a woman to support a family, and Lu Yishui was a puddle of mud. But that was someone else¡¯s family business and it had nothing to do with him. Later he heard that Lu Yishui¡¯s son had had an ident and it coincided with Lu Yishui losing arge sum of money. That was the first time he really saw how spirited Wang Shuxiu was, and the first time he felt sorry for her. When Wang Shuxiu refused to pay back the money for Lu Yishui, Xiao Feng thought it was time to send Lu Yishui to dig for coal, but a rich sucker came to pay back the money for Lu Yishui. Of course, it turned out that Yan Yue was not a sucker at all and deliberately dug a pit for Lu Yishui to jump into. In this way, Lu Yishui was calcted to divorce and also went to the northwest to dig coal. Xiao Feng met Wang Shuxiu again in the small market and didn¡¯t know when started to think about her. Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t look like the kind of woman who would live excessively, and he was not the kind of man to be a womaniser. The two were the right age and had a ready-made son, which Xiao Feng thought was good. His thoughts were clear when he sent the six flower baskets, but the problem was that Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t seem to have any interest in him at all. She couldn¡¯t still be thinking about that thug Lu Yishui, could she? Xiao Feng¡¯s face darkened suddenly as he thought of this. Chapter 67 The restaurant had been open for some time, and Xiao Feng woulde over from time to time to remind of himself. As time went on, Lin Mei could see what he meant. There was no one in the restaurant this afternoon, so Wang Shuxiu sent Yi Hang upstairs to rest while she and Lin Mei chatted, keeping an eye on the shop. The conversation turned to Xiao Feng. Lin Mei had a good impression of Xiao Feng, and had also heard good things about him. He was not the kind of man who wouldn¡¯t take responsibility. ording to Lin Mei, Wang Shuxiu was still young, so she needed to find another man before it was toote. She couldn¡¯t just live alone all the time. Now there was Lu Lingxi to apany her but in a few years Lu Lingxi would marry a wife and have a child. Even if the filial piety came first, it would be his own small family. Could Wang Shuxiu bear to live with her daughter-inw? It was too sad to think that she would be all alone and have no one to talk to when she returned home. Lin Mei was not idly worried, but was really concerned about Wang Shuxiu and couldn¡¯t help but take the initiative to mention Xiao Feng. ¡°Xiaohua, what do you think of Brother Feng?¡± When she said that, Wang Shuxiu understood what she meant. The two of them usually have no qualms about talking, so Wang Shuxiu was frank: ¡°Brother Feng is nice, but it¡¯s not possible for us.¡± Xiao Feng helped out several times, sent flower baskets and got people to support the business every day, and Wang Shuxiu was not a young girl who didn¡¯t know anything. She had long seen what Brother Feng meant. But because she was not a young girl who didn¡¯t know anything, she was unwilling. She had just divorced Lu Yishui and was living a promising life. Lu Lingxi was well-behaved and she didn¡¯t need a man to support her, so why should she find a man to take home and serve? Besides, Lu Yishui had harmed her for half of her life by gambling, so it was not like she was out of her mind to find a man who ran a casino. Wang Shuxiu said it simply and Lin Mei understood Wang Shuxiu¡¯s scruples as soon as she thought about it. Brother Feng was a good man, but his way of earning money was not a serious job and what Wang Shuxiu found the most annoying was that it was from gambling. It seemed that it really was not good. But Lin Mei didn¡¯t give up and immediately changed her choice, ¡°There is a Brother Tan in our neighbourhood street office, his wife passed away several years ago. He has a little daughter. He is a good man, honest and caring. I know the girl well, she is very obedient, not the kind of little girl who makes trouble. What do you think? I¡¯ll introduce you if you¡¯re interested.¡± Before she could finish, Wang Shuxiu pped the table and raised her eyebrows, ¡°Lin Mei, you see that I am too happy with my life and have to force me to jump into the fire again, right?¡± Lin Mei was used to messing with her and pped the table even louder than Wang Shuxiu did, ¡°Ain¡¯t I doing this for your own good? Wait until Xiao Xi gets married and you¡¯ll be disliked by your daughter-inw!¡± ¡°Bah, she dares.¡± Lin Meiughed, ¡°By the way, Xiao Xi is already eighteen, and you haven¡¯t heard him say if he has a young girl he likes, huh?¡± Speaking of this, Wang Shuxiu was a bit worried, ¡°Little bastard looks like he¡¯s never gotten the hang of it. Is it not time yet?¡± ¡°What¡¯s not yet!¡± Lin Mei snorted, ¡°Our little brat is only in his second year, and the day before yesterday he found a letter from a female ssmate in his bag. His father gave him a good beating. I¡¯d say you¡¯re just not paying attention. Maybe Xiao Xi already has one, but you don¡¯t know about it.¡± Wang Shuxiu thought about it for a while. The little bastard¡¯s previous affairs were not mentioned, he had lost his memory and couldn¡¯t remember anything, and she hadn¡¯t seen any young girlse to him, so it seemed that there was none. After he lost his memory, the little bastard was at the flower shop every day, and there was no one around him except Yan Yue, so it was not like he was hiding something. The little bastard was too thin-skinned now, so why doesn¡¯t she ask Yan Yue sometime? She made up her mind to find time to question Yan Yue. Lin Mei talked about other things, and the two of them digressed from the topic for a while. s The sound instion upstairs was not good, and Yi Hang couldn¡¯t sleep for a long time. Wang Shuxiu and Lin Mei were too loud. Yi Hang heard funny things and texted Lu Lingxi. ¡°Lao San, your mother is looking forward to your marriage, when will you find a girlfriend? Do you want your brother to introduce you?¡± Lu Lingxi was watering the nts in the shop when he heard the text message ring, and picked up his phone to see the content of the text message. He was used to joking around with Yi Hang now and immediately replied, ¡°Find one for yourself first.¡± Yi Hang: ¡°¡­¡­¡± There was no one in Tiny Garden now and Lu Lingxi happened to have a little time. He didn¡¯t think much about these things before but now he felt a bit guilty and asked, ¡°What else did my mom say?¡± Yi Hang: ¡°Find you a stepfather.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± This topic was much more explosive than the previous one. Yi Hangughed at his phone, imagining Lao San¡¯s current expression, rubbed his face and continued, ¡°Seriously, I think Brother Feng that Sister Lin mentioned is good, he¡¯s a real man.¡± ¡°Brother Feng? Xiao Feng?¡± Lu Lingxi was simply shocked. Yi Hang: ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡± Lu Lingxi really didn¡¯t know; he knew that Brother Feng and Wang Shuxiu were somewhat acquainted, but when did they get so familiar that Brother Feng was going to be his stepfather? He read the text message sent by Yi Hang back and forth a few times, and felt a little ufortable in his heart. Lu Yishui was not a good person but Lu Lingxi himself could take good care of Wang Shuxiu. Did Wang Shuxiu really want to find another father for him? Far away in a small coal mine in the northwest, Lu Yishui sneezed three times in a row. ¡°Who? Who¡¯s scolding me?¡± Someone behind him kicked him, ¡°Hurry up and work, yesterday our group¡¯s progress was slowed down by you. When I went back to the canteen, all the meat and vegetables were gone, and there was only cabbage left. Lu Yishui, I¡¯m telling you, if you dare to pretend to be sick again today, I¡¯ll beat you up.¡± Lu Yishui strained his neck, ¡°Wang Laosan, have you fucking forgotten the time you gambled with Lao Tzu? You don¡¯t have any love in your heart at all! Was I just pretending to be sick? That was a real illness.¡± ¡°Love? No shit. If you have any fucking love, can you lend me 200,000 to pay off Brother Feng¡¯s gambling debt?¡± When he said this, Lu Yishui remembered Yan Yue. At that time, Yan Yue gave him too much money too quickly and he was so focused on ripping off the sucker that he didn¡¯t notice how he was sent here by Xiao Feng afterwards. Lu Yishui thought carefully and felt that Yan Yue and Xiao Feng had set him up. How else could he have lost more than two million yuan to Xiao Feng in the heat of the moment? More than two million, he couldn¡¯t go back even if he dug the coal until he died here. Lu Yishui was quite unwilling; he still had a son, still waiting for his son to provide for him after he retired. He had to find a way to escape. As Lu Yishui was thinking, the worker behind him got impatient and kicked him. ¡°If you want to work, do it, if not, get lost.¡± Lu Yishui shrank his neck; he dared to say a few words to Wang Laosan who was sent to dig coal with him, but he was too weak to say anything to the serious workers in the mine. s Someone from the outsiders looked at him and gestured, ¡°It¡¯s him, Brother Feng said to take care of him.¡± The man who listenedughed, ¡°How can he be taken care of? He¡¯s just a wimp,zy and greedy, either pretending to be sick or dead. The people who work with him don¡¯t like him and he¡¯s often beaten up privately.¡± ¡°How do you think he could offend Brother Feng?¡± ¡°Who knows? It couldn¡¯t be that he stole Brother Feng¡¯s woman, could it?¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know about Lu Yishui¡¯s current situation; he was still thinking about what Yi Hang said about a ¡°stepfather¡±. ¡°Little boss.¡± Gao Yongliang didn¡¯t bring Xue Yongtong with him this time, he came alone. After being rejected by Yan Yue yesterday, Gao Yongliang was still undeterred. He was a stubborn person, to put it nicely; to put it badly, he was pig-headed. He had been searching for the fragrance of the perfume for half a year, and now that he had found the right scent, it was not his style to give up after just one rejection. He had actuallye over a long time ago and had been waiting for Yan Yue to leave before he appeared. Although he had not dealt with Lu Lingxi much, he still had a basic eye for people after years of work. Compared to Yan Yue, Lu Lingxi was soft-hearted and nice to talk to, so Gao Yongliang hoped to use it as a breakthrough for this cooperation. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t expect Gao Yongliang toe over so quickly and froze for a moment, looking at the door, ¡°Where¡¯s Mr. Xue?¡± Gao Yongliang smiled, ¡°Lao Xue can¡¯te over today, so I¡¯vee here to take a look for myself.¡± Yesterday, Gao Yongliang and Xue Yongtong analysed that it was probably because Xue Yongtong¡¯s identity was too sensitive that made Lu Lingxi so repelled. Gao Yongliang had just heard that Xue Yongtong had disguised himself as a customer to buy flowers from Tiny Garden a few times, and was speechless for a long time. No wonder Yan Yue treated them badly, what do you think Xue Yongtong did? Couldn¡¯t you just show up with a dignified and clear identity? After despising Xue Yongtong for a long time, Gao Yongliang learned his lesson and came by himself. He didn¡¯t mention the cooperation with Lu Lingxi directly, but first looked around the few pots of begonias in the shop. The remaining pots of begonias were all unevolved, and although they had a fragrance, it was faint and far from the scent Gao Yongliang wanted. Xue Yongtong also said that the two pots of begonias at home were probably mutated, and that there would not be many of them, so Gao Yongliang was afraid that it would not be possible to grow them on arge scale. After he looked at the begonias, Gao Yongliang¡¯s eyes were drawn to the violets. The normal flowering period for violets was spring and summer, but the violets in front of him didn¡¯t feel like they were past their prime and were still in full bloom. Gao Yongliang recognised the variety of violet at once. It was a double-petalled pink Cindere with ovepping petals, a bright colour and a strong fragrance. Gao Yongliang couldn¡¯t take his eyes off the nt and looked at it with near fascination. He had seen many violets, all kinds of single and double petals, but he had to say that the violets in front of him were one of the best he had ever seen. Lu Lingxi saw that he was alone and not saying anything, just looking around the shop, and was somewhat curious and went over to Gao Yongliang¡¯s side. Although Yan Yue said that he wanted to work with Xue Yongtong, he told Lu Lingxi not to worry about the details of the cooperation. Of course Yan Yue couldn¡¯t stay by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side all day recently, so he specially instructed Lu Lingxi that if Xue Yongtong and Gao Yongliang came over, no matter what they said, Lu Lingxi should just listen and not give any reply. When he heard Lu Lingxi¡¯s footsteps, Gao Yongliang didn¡¯t turn around, his attention still on the violet in front of him. ¡°Little boss, do you have many violets like this in your nt nursery?¡± Lu Lingxi was a bit startled before realising that Gao Yongliang was talking to him. This violet was just an ordinary variety that had not yet evolved. He hesitated for a few seconds and responded, ¡°Not many, only about a tenth of an acre.¡± Gao Yongliang did some quick calctions. A tenth of an acre was just over sixty square metres, which really couldn¡¯t grow many violets, and even if you bought them all to extract the essential oil, you wouldn¡¯t extract much. He said to Lu Lingxi, ¡°The extract of violets is very precious and its practical effects are extremely extensive. Whether it is used for skin repair and wrinkle removal or for respiratory treatment, it is very effective. Little boss should really be nting more.¡± Without waiting for Lu Lingxi to say anything, Gao Yongliang continued, ¡°I have been to many nt nurseries over the years and the best violet essential oil in the world is currently produced in Egypt and France. It¡¯s a pity that the little boss doesn¡¯t grow a lot of them. If they could be grown on arge scale and all of them maintained this quality, the extracted oil would be definitely good.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little surprised. Gao Yongliang was not quite what he had thought. He could see that Gao Yongliang didn¡¯t seem to mean anything else by saying this, but simply regretted the fact. Lu Lingxi subconsciously asked, ¡°Is the violet essential oil you mentioned really that useful?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± When it came to Gao Yongliang¡¯s profession, he turned into a chatterbox in a second and pulled Lu Lingxi along to exin patiently, ¡°You don¡¯t know, little boss, that the effects of violet oil are not just what I¡¯ve told you. In addition to removing wrinkles and whitening the skin it can also detoxify and nourish the skin, and in addition to having a toning effect on some diseases of the respiratory tract, it can also fight tumours and clear toxins from the body.¡± Here he changed the subject, ¡°I think you shouldn¡¯t limit yourself to just the nt nursery, you need to look at the long term. You can choose to work with me and we can jointly develop pure and natural nt cosmetics. You can also choose to cooperate with some pharmaceuticalpanies to develop simr antitumor drugs.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gao Yongliang smiled, not feeling embarrassed at all, looking at Lu Lingxi expectantly. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help but smile as well and said frankly, ¡°The cooperation with the shop has to be discussed with Big Brother Yan, I have no opinion.¡± Gao Yongliang was a little disappointed, but Lu Lingxi¡¯s willingness to talk to him was a good start. He simply dropped the idea of cooperation for the time being and pulled Lu Lingxi to chat about the nts in Tiny Garden. Although Gao Yongliang was used to looking at these flowers and nts from a practical point of view, he really liked them and really knew no less than Xue Yongtong about them. Lu Lingxi had studied a lot of books in the past few months, but after all, he had only studied for a short period of time, and his theoretical knowledge and practical understanding of nts were still far from adequate. The two talked, and more often than not he listened to Gao Yongliang talking, and also listened with great interest. Until a customer came in, Gao Yongliang was still speaking vigorously. Lu Lingxi was a good listener, quick to respond and knew how to learn by example. Gao Yongliang was only speaking casually, but when he came to the end, he unconsciously became serious. After Lu Lingxi sent the customer away, Gao Yongliang was ready to say goodbye and leave. Although the cooperation didn¡¯t work out, Gao Yongliang¡¯s impression of Lu Lingxi was very good. He smiled and invited Lu Lingxi to visit Xue Yongtong¡¯s nt nursery. ¡°The nts in the shop are very good, but the variety is a bitcking. If you call me sometime, I¡¯ll take you to look inside Lao Xue¡¯s nt nursery. I¡¯m afraid his nts are not as good as yours, but there are so many different kinds. I see that you have somemon flowers here, and he has arge greenhouse there dedicated to growing flowers that are not verymon on the market. It is very interesting.¡± Lu Lingxi was somewhat impressed and embarrassed. ¡°Is it convenient?¡± ¡°Of course, Lao Xue will definitely wee you. He even asked you to point out what was going on with that begonia.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Chapter 68 In the evening, after Lu Lingxi got off work, he took Dahei to the small restaurant. The restaurant¡¯s business was good and Wang Shuxiu was a bit busy. Lu Lingxi washed his hands very consciously to help. After the dinner hour, the number of customers in the restaurant dropped significantly, so everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The fame of Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant was growing in the neighbourhood, and there were many repeat customers every day. Wang Shuxiu herself understood that her craftsmanship was one thing, but the most important thing was the good ingredients. When there was no one around, Wang Shuxiu pulled Lu Lingxi to talk about what to do in winter. The vegetables in the restaurant were all purchased from the vige, and to be frank, these vegetables were not specifically grown for sale, they were just grown by the vigers in their yards for their own consumption. The summer and autumn were fine, but it was going to be October soon, and in two more months the weather would be cold and the vegetables would stop growing. Lu Lingxi wanted to talk to Wang Shuxiu about this before, but he almost forgot about it recently. ¡°Mom, how about we rent a few acres ofnd to build a greenhouse to grow vegetables? Right next to the nt nursery.¡± Wang Shuxiu was a bit hesitant; the cost would be a bit too high. ¡°Will it work?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, ¡°The greenhouse in the nt nursery is already being built, and the manpower is there. I heard from Big Brother Yan that the progress is fast, so it¡¯s not a big deal to build an extra one next to it. Besides, thend in the vige is usually deserted, so they are more than happy to have someone to rent it.¡± Wang Shuxiu counted the money in her hand, ¡°Let me think about it.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t say anything. Yi Hang, watching him from a distance, winked at him. Lu Lingxi instantly remembered what Yi Hang said in his text message and subconsciously looked around. ¡°What are you looking for?¡± Wang Shuxiu asked casually. ¡°Didn¡¯t Brother Fenge?¡± ¡°What would he be doing here?¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t realise what he had said until he finished speaking; his eyes wandered guiltily and he didn¡¯t dare to look at Wang Shuxiu. Wang Shuxiu stared at him suspiciously, muttering in her heart: the little bastard didn¡¯t hear something, did he? ¡°Tell me, why are you looking for Brother Feng?¡± Lu Lingxi stammered, unable to speak, and Wang Shuxiu understood everything at a nce. She was so angry and amused that she reached out and pped him. ¡°Worried that I¡¯ll find you a stepfather? Don¡¯t worry, your mom has just crawled out of the fire pit and has no intention of jumping into it again.¡± She said this, but in her heart she was thinking that even though Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t remember anything, he still couldn¡¯t let go of Lu Yishui. s Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know that Wang Shuxiu had misunderstood, and hesitated for a long time before saying seriously, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s fine for Mom to find someone.¡± After sending Gao Yongliang away in the afternoon, Lu Lingxi pondered this question for half a day. What would Lu Lingxi think if it was the original body owner? Lu Yishui had treated Wang Shuxiu badly, and the original Lu Lingxi must have also wanted Wang Shuxiu to be happy. Although he wanted to take good care of Wang Shuxiu, a son and a husband would still be different, just like for him, Yan Yue and Wang Shuxiu were different. When he said it seriously, Wang Shuxiu was taken aback for a moment, and thenughed. ¡°Little bastard worries a lot. Alright, don¡¯t worry about the adults¡¯ business, you¡¯re hungry, I¡¯ll go and cook you something.¡± As soon as Wang Shuxiu left, Yi Hang came over. ¡°What were you talking about? Look at your bitter look! By the way, where is Brother Yan?¡± He was used to Yan Yue bringing Lu Lingxi over at night. Once in a while Yan Yue wasn¡¯t there and Yi Hang felt a little unustomed. Lu Lingxi stopped thinking about those things and found an empty table to sit down. ¡°Big Brother Yan has something to do.¡± Yi Hang was curious, ¡°What exactly does Brother Yan do? Howe it usually feels like he has nothing to do?¡± ¡°Big Brother Yan has been on holiday recently.¡± Lu Lingxi exined. Yan Yue rarely mentioned anything about his family, and Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know much, he only knew that Yan Yue was a member of the Yan family in Zhongjing. He struggled to mobilise his barren memories from hisst life and couldn¡¯t recall much about the Zhongjing Yan family. But families like this were usually full of arguments and fighting, when all was said and done. Lu Lingxi had listened to Yan Yue¡¯s phone calls a few times and could sense that Yan Yue¡¯s family was not at peace either. Yi Hang didn¡¯t think about it as much as Lu Lingxi did and said with an emotion, ¡°It¡¯s good to be rich.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t say anything, but after thinking about it, he sent a text message to Yan Yue, ¡°Have you had dinner yet, Big Brother Yan?¡± Yan Yue¡¯s text message came back quickly, ¡°I¡¯ve eaten, I¡¯m a bit busy now, be good, I¡¯ll call you tonight.¡± Yan Yue was really busy right now. After a quick reply to the text message, Yan Yue put down his phone and looked at theputer again, his face turning serious, ¡°Continue, you just said that Gao Yongliang¡¯s project had secured an investment from Sequoia?¡± Sequoia Investment was the same kind of venture capitalpany as Dezhi Investment, and the two, aspetitors, had dealt with each other a few times before. ¡°Not bad.¡± The man who spoke in the video was a middle-aged man, somewhat cubby, called Dai Wei. He was the person in charge of Dezhi Investment. He quickly flipped through the information in his hand and affirmed, ¡°Gao Yongliang¡¯s project did pull in investment from Sequoia, but Sequoia didn¡¯t pay much attention to his project and only gave it a C rating, and because Gao Yongliang had pulled in investment almost a year ago without doing anything concrete, Sequoia seemed to be a bit dissatisfied on their side and were considering withdrawing their investment.¡± Yan Yue tapped the desktop a few times and instructed, ¡°You should find someone to move around and find a way to facilitate Sequoia¡¯s disinvestment as soon as possible. We need to follow up on this project.¡± s Although Dai Wei had been mentally prepared when Yan Yue suddenly asked to investigate the progress of Gao Yongliang¡¯s project yesterday, he still had some concerns when he really heard that Yan Yue intended to invest in this project. ¡°Why? To be honest I was really optimistic about this project at first. But considering what Gao Yongliang has done this year, I am a little worried. He wasted a year of Sequoia¡¯s money without bringing in any revenue, and will probably not be making any revenue in the short term in the future. I¡¯m not sure if investing in this project is the right decision. Of course you are the boss,¡± after expressing his opinion, Dai Wei added a timely remark as a conclusion. An Jie, who was sitting behind Yan Yue, was amused by thest sentence and gave Dai Wei a thumbs up. He also had concerns about this investment and wondered why Yan Yue had suddenly pulled out this project that they had already eliminated. Dai Wei nodded to An Jie, and Yan Yue pretended not to see their small gestures as he exined, ¡°Gao Yongliang is a bit nitpicking in his work, but he can also be described as striving for excellence. Through his behaviour this year, I am instead optimistic about the product he is preparing tounch. In any case, we need to be involved in this project by the end of the month.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Dai Wei assured. Wreaking havoc was something he was best at, especially with an old enemy. With the two sides in agreement, Dai Wei felt he had to go and catch up on his sleep first. Anyone who worked all day and all night without sleep couldn¡¯t bear it. He was a little envious of An Jie now that he and Yan Yue were unified in terms of time difference and didn¡¯t have to turn night into day and vice versa all the time like he did. After hanging up the video, An Jieid out the statistical financial statement in front of Yan Yue. ¡°This is the current liquidity we can use, and given that you rated Gao Yongliang¡¯s project as Grade A, I suggest we take at least 51% of the shares.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Yan Yue affirmed, ¡°We must have absolute control of this project. Let Dai Wei go and talk to Gao Yongliang.¡± An Jie was a little curious, ¡°Are you really just optimistic about this project? No other reason?¡± Yan Yue red at him with a smirk, ¡°What do you want to say?¡± An Jie immediately changed the topic. ¡°The house is almost equipped, when are you nning to move out?¡± Yan Yue frowned, considering the best time to move out of the Yin house and announce that he was going to recuperate abroad. He was the only one in Fengcheng during this time, with his grandfather and mother both in Zhongjing. Yin Ya¡¯s progress in Hopewell was not going very well. His grandfather had never agreed to her entering Hopewell, and without his support, Yin Ya¡¯s development could be considered difficult. However, this situation would soon improve, as his father¡¯s suppression of Yin Ya would only provoke Grandpa¡¯s sense of crisis and he would support Yin Ya instead. Yan Yue sometimes felt that Yin Ya was incredibly stupid. Although Grandpa held a simr amount of shares as his father, he had long since withdrawn from the operation of Hopewell and his influence in Hopewell was much less than before. The current Hopewell could almost be described as the Yan family¡¯s Hopewell, so where in the world did Yin Ya get the confidence that Yan Yue¡¯s father would let an ¡°outsider¡± take over Hopewell? To Yan Shihui, Yan Yue and Yan Hai were both his sons, so giving Hopewell to one of them would be like adding meat to his own pot; but not to Yin Ya, he would never even consider the idea of giving it to her. ¡°I¡¯ll go back to Zhongjing some time.¡± Yan Yue decided. Since he had decided to retreat, he would retreat cleanly and wait until Yan Hai and Yin Ya were done fighting. ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re going back to Zhongjing?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little surprised to learn of the news the next day. Yan Yue smiled faintly, ¡°Xiao Xi can¡¯t bear to let Big Brother Yan go?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed, but still nodded seriously. Yan Yue looked at him, his heart softening into a puddle. He took advantage of theck of people to touch Lu Lingxi¡¯s face, exining: ¡°I¡¯ll go back just for a few days and wille back soon. After that, I won¡¯t leave. The house at 202 is almost ready, Big Brother Yan will leave you a card. Xiao Xi, if you see something you like, buy whatever you like and decorate the house.¡± Lu Lingxi was puzzled, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you decorate it the way you like, Big Brother Yan?¡± Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened slightly as he looked at Lu Lingxi and said in a soft voice, ¡°This is Big Brother Yan and Xiao Xi¡¯s home, of course Xiao Xi¡¯s preferences should be the main focus.¡± When he said this, the tips of Lu Lingxi¡¯s ears turned red. He looked at Yan Yue and nodded, blushing. Yan Yue left quickly, and soon returned to Zhongjing with An Jie. Lu Lingxi was a little unustomed to being left alone in the shop. He hugged Dahei and counted the days until Yan Yue returned. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± ¡°Grandma Wang.¡± Lu Lingxi was very surprised, ¡°You¡¯re out of hospital?¡± Several people entered Tiny Garden; the one in the middle was Grandma Wang and two young people were supporting her by her sides. There were also several middle aged men and women, looking at Lu Lingxi and smiling kindly. ¡°Discharged from the hospital.¡± Grandma Wang said loudly: ¡°But my legs are still a bit weak. Where is Dahei? I brought him ribs, freshly steamed.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little bewildered and Grandma Wang smiled, ¡°Xiao Xi, you¡¯re still hiding it but Grandma Wang already knows. If it wasn¡¯t for Dahei, Grandma Wang would still be confused and not know who hit her. You child, you don¡¯t say anything even when you¡¯ve done something good.¡± Grandma Wang pretended toin and gestured at the people around her to hurry up and bring out the steamed pork ribs for Dahei. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know how to face this situation. He thought no one would know about Dahei. Grandma Wang looked at Dahei lovingly. One of her legs was still in ster, and with some difficulty she bent down and stroked Dahei¡¯s head, praising him, ¡°Good Dahei, Grandma Wang really wants to thank you.¡± Dahei seemed to understand her words and squinted his eyes and gave a low bark. The room full of people burst intoughter. Grandma Wang¡¯s son, a tall, thin, middle-aged man, looked at Lu Lingxi gratefully. ¡°Xiao Xi, right? I really don¡¯t know how to thank you for this.¡± Grandma Wang interjected, ¡°Xiao Xi, your Uncle Wang¡¯s job is also to deal with flowers and nts. He works at the Botanical Research Institute, so if you need something, just ask your Uncle Wang.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes lit up and he nodded gently. Chapter 69 Grandma Wang¡¯s son was Wang Chaoliang, a researcher at the Fengcheng Botanical Institute. The Fengcheng Botanical Institute was located next to the Fengcheng Botanical Garden, and although it was not veryrge, it had been developed over the decades. The entire research institute focused on research and development in the fields of ecological environment, modern agriculture, nt resources, and system evolution. It could be described as a sparrow: although it was small, it had all five internal organs. Wang Chaoliang used to be busy with his work and spent a lot of time in the botanical garden or on research trips. Although he had heard Grandma Wang praise the nts of a nearby gardening shop on the phone, he had not had the chance to see the nts that Grandma Wang was talking about because he had been away for the past six months. However, this time he apanied her to Tiny Garden and immediately fell in love with the ce. Grandma Wang stayed for a while and left. After all, the old woman had just been discharged from the hospital and still had to rest more. Wang Chaoliang sent Grandma Wang home and wandered over alone again. ¡°Uncle Wang.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little surprised. Wang Chaoliangughed and said, ¡°I¡¯m suffering from an upational disease, I can¡¯t help but want to see more flowers and nts when I see good ones.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled and didn¡¯t say anything. He found that whether it was Wang Chaoliang, Gao Yongliang or Xue Yongtong, they all had a simr problem. Or maybe people who liked nts were all like that? Wang Chaoliang wandered around the shop, and Lu Lingxi had nothing better to do than to follow him. Although he was a little worried about something being noticed by Wang Chaoliang, what Yan Yue had said earlier was right. Even if someone found something unusual about the nts, the first thing they would think about was the environment, no one would think it was him for no reason. Besides, if Yan Yue said it was okay, it would definitely be okay. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know where the confidence came from, he just believed Yan Yue¡¯s words. ¡°Is this a¡­ chlorophytum?¡± Wang Chaoliang stopped in front of the chlorophytum hanging on the wall and looked a little puzzled. He looked at the chlorophytum that had been evolved, and Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart beat hard for a moment before he nodded. Wang Chaoliang gently checked the leaves of the chlorophytum and smiled at Lu Lingxi. ¡°This chlorophytum is interesting. It¡¯s just an ordinary variety of chlorophytum, yet the width of the leaf surface is about the same as a broad-leaved chlorophytum, maybe even a little wider. Compared to the thin-leaved chlorophytum, this one should be a bit more evolved.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wang Chaoliang hit the nail on the head, and Lu Lingxi was a bit at a loss for what to say. Wang Chaoliang saw that Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t say anything. Thinking it was because the young man didn¡¯t understand, he smiled and exined, ¡°Uncle Wang is studying these things, the mutation and evolution of nts. Xiao Xi, you should know that chlorophytum can purify the air, right?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. Wang Chaoliang said patiently, ¡°The process of air purification by chlorophytum is actually a process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis in nts happens on the green leaves. Generally speaking, therger the surface area of the nt¡¯s leaves, the more photosynthetic efficiency increases. Of course this is only a general situation and other conditions such as even light have to be taken into ount. But chlorophytum has a rtively low need for light and even weak light does not affect its photosynthesis. So, Xiao Xi, you see, this chlorophytum has wide leaves, which means it is more efficient at photosynthesis, and this is one of the more practical directions for the evolution of chlorophytum.¡± s Lu Lingxi only knew before that the direction of chlorophytum evolution was to choose to absorb formaldehyde +20%. He also carefullypared the difference between the evolved chlorophytum and the ordinary chlorophytum. The leaves were wider, but he seldom thought about the reason for this and didn¡¯t know there was such a corrtion. Wang Chaoliang saw that Lu Lingxi was interested in it and was somewhat happy to talk about it for a moment. ¡°The evolution of nts is very interesting. We generally think that nts are unintelligent, but in fact, they are not. In the nt world, nts are constantly evolving through gic mutations, and this evolutionary process is actually the process of their intelligent choice. Xiao Xi, you¡¯ve heard of the Venus flytrap, right? A nt that specialises in eating insects.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. He had seen the article on it in the World¡¯s Magical nts catalogue. Wang Chaoliang smiled, ¡°When ites to flytraps, we have to talk about photosynthesis first. Like other nts, flytraps also obtain nutrients through photosynthesis. However, unlike other nts, flytraps do not receive enough nutrients to survive, and the swamps where they growck the necessary minerals and other nutrients. In this case, the flytraps either cannot survive or must ¡®intelligently¡¯ find alternative ways to obtain key nutrients. It may have started with a flytrap inadvertently capturing an insect and replenishing the missing nutrients. Its gic information recorded this, and it evolved from generation to generation, constantly seeking the best way to feed, to be what it is now.¡± Wang Chaoliang said this with some emotion, ¡°The evolution of nts is very miraculous, and now our research direction includes not only the natural evolution of nts, but also the direction of artificial intervention in the evolution of nts. If you are interested in these, Xiao Xi, the Institute is having a rted lecture at Fengcheng Agricultural University next week, you can go and listen to it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about nt evolution?¡± Wang Chaoliang nodded, ¡°To be precise, it¡¯s a lecture on the direction of artificial selection of nt evolution.¡± Lu Lingxi was somewhat intrigued, and Wang Chaoliang left him a phone number to find him when he went. After wandering around Tiny Garden for the whole morning, Wang Chaoliang left the ce reluctantly, buying the evolved chlorophytum on his way out, saying that he wanted to go back and take a look. After sending Wang Chaoliang away, Lu Lingxi clicked on the white panel. He didn¡¯t know much about the evolution of nts and hadn¡¯t thought about the choice of the direction of nt evolution. However, what Wang Chaoliang said today made him realise that the evolution of nts through the panel was not the natural evolution of nts, but more like a kind of artificial intervention, or evolution selected by the panel. This brought another question to Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind: what exactly is a panel? After thinking about it for a long time, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t have any ideas. He was going to go to Fengcheng Agricultural University next week to listen to the lecture. Artificial evolution of nts made him very interested, and he vaguely felt as if he had touched something. With these things distracting him, Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind turned to the possible evolution of the nts in the shop, and he didn¡¯t have time to think about Yan Yue for a while. At that time, Yan Yue was taking An Jie to the Ye family¡¯s old residence to look for Ye Kang. It was the weekend, and all the children and grandchildren of the Ye family who stayed in Zhongjing had to gather back at the old mansion, apulsory rule from Elder Ye. Hearing that Ye Kang was apanying Elder Ye to greet his guests, Yan Yue wondered if he shoulde back at a different time. The two families were not far away anyway, it was only a matter of a few minutes. He was just about to leave when Ye Kang had already taken the excuse to duck out and looked at them with a surprised look on his face. ¡°Interesting enough, I was worried about finding some excuse to hide.¡± s Yan Yue raised his eyebrows thoughtfully, ¡°A blind date?¡± Ye Kang nodded with a bitter face. He didn¡¯t know what the old man was thinking. Ye Cheng hadn¡¯t even started a family yet, but instead of worrying about Ye Cheng, Elder Ye was worrying about him. It had only been a few days since Ye Kang returned from Fengcheng, and the old man had arranged for him toe here so many times, practically forcing him to hide. An Jie was rather gloating, ¡°Whose girl is it that you¡¯re avoiding so much?¡± ¡°The Li family.¡± Ye Kang had a bit of a headache, ¡°I don¡¯t know what Grandpa thinks. He says that the girls from the Li family are good, he didn¡¯t even bother to ask around. Who would dare to marry a girl from the Li family now?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is she ugly? Tough personality?¡± An Jie had been abroad and didn¡¯t know about this gossip at home. It was Yan Yue who thought of something, ¡°Is it still about Lu Wei¡¯an?¡± Ye Kang nodded, ¡°The Li family has produced a Li Caiying and her personality has reached the point of madness. Now everyone is afraid that the daughters of the Li family are all the same. No one dares to marry them. By the way, Lu Wei¡¯an is alsoing over today, do you want to meet?¡± Yan Yue thought of Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s deceased brother and shook his head, ¡°Forget it, we didn¡¯t have much of a friendship in the first ce.¡± Ye Kang didn¡¯t mind, ¡°It¡¯s okay if we don¡¯t see him, he¡¯s not the same as us anyway.¡± While they were talking, some people came out of the main house. Ye Kang took a look and gestured, ¡°The one in the middle is Lu Wei¡¯an.¡± Yan Yue followed and looked over, his brow furrowing invisibly. Lu Wei¡¯an looked a little thin and not too tall, giving people a very civilised feeling, but what made Yan Yue a little ufortable was that Lu Wei¡¯an looked a little bit like Lu Lingxi. Ever since he found out that the young man had the same name as Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s deceased brother, Yan Yue had always been a bit repelled with the Lu family, and now when he saw that the two of them were even somewhat simr, he felt an indescribable disgust. As if noticing the gaze, Lu Wei¡¯an looked over sensitively. Yan Yue coldly averted his eyes, and Ye Kang smiled, ignoring Lu Wei¡¯an over there and pulling Yan Yue and An Jie into the house. Because of his good physical recovery, Lu Wei¡¯an gradually started appearing in the social circle of his peers. However, with the incident of Lu Lingxi behind him, people¡¯s perception of him was not very good. In a way, Lu Wei¡¯an was also pitiful, but the one who was more pitiful was Lu Lingxi who had passed away. Ye Kang didn¡¯t believe that Lu Wei¡¯an didn¡¯t know anything after all these years. Since he was able to enjoy Lu Lingxi¡¯s contribution with peace of mind, he likely didn¡¯t regard Lu Lingxi as his younger brother in his heart. It was also because of this reason that Lu Wei¡¯an had never been able to blend into their circle, and this was what Ye Kang meant when he said he was not the same as them. ¡°Still grossed out?¡± Ye Kang, as a qualified psychologist, could easily guess Yan Yue¡¯s mind from his expression. He felt that Yan Yue was a bit abnormal whenever it came to the matter of Lu Lingxi, and the fact that the names were the same was purely an ident. ¡°How about¡­¡± he suggested, ¡°let Xiao Xi change his name? Lu Xi and Yan Xi are both quite good, what do you think?¡± Yan Yue nced at him lightly. Ye Kangughed out loud and asked, ¡°How long are you nning to stay this time? Why didn¡¯t you bring Xiao Xi with you? There are still some nice ces in Zhongjing, so you can take Xiao Xi around.¡± This proposal somewhat made Yan Yue feel a little moved. Xiao Xi seemed to have grown up in Fengcheng and had not yet been to other ces. He should find the time to take Xiao Xi outside, and the first stop could be Kunnan. There were primaeval forests there, and many kinds of nts, Xiao Xi would definitely like it. ¡°Thinking of where to go?¡± Ye Kang took one look at his expression and knew that Yan Yue had listened to his proposal. ¡°Kunnan. The climate is good there and there are many nts, Xiao Xi should like it.¡± When Ye Kang heard about Kunnan, he became interested as well. ¡°When are you going? We can go together.¡± Yan Yue acted as if he hadn¡¯t heard these words and changed the subject with a natural look. An Jie squinted his eyes at Ye Kang in amusement and mouthed, ¡°Honeymoon trip.¡± Ye Kang: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Chapter 70 Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s appearance was just an episode. Yan Yue didn¡¯t take it seriously, but when he returned to Yan¡¯s house, he heard a message from the housekeeper. His mother was interested in introducing Yin Ya to Lu Wei¡¯an. Although Yin Ya had half of the Yin family¡¯s blood in her veins, her father had been just a bodyguard for Yin Qinn and had risen to power by falling in love with her. All these years, Yin Ya¡¯s status had always been awkward and it was difficult for her to fit into Yan Yue¡¯s circle. Now, as Yin Ya grew older every year, Yin Qinn began to think about Yin Ya¡¯s future. However, given Yin Ya¡¯s background, it was difficult to find a suitable match. But when Yin Qinn met Lu Wei¡¯an, she came up with this idea. The corners of Yan Yue¡¯s mouth curved up in mockery as he listened. His mother really wanted the best for Yin Ya. He didn¡¯t care much about this news anyway. He had nothing to do with who Yin Ya wanted to marry, and it was even better if Yin Ya could marry into the Lu family. Ye Kang was joking earlier that Yan Hai was probably the only one who would dare to marry the Li family at this time. Now that Yan Yue thought about it, he thought it would be interesting if it was really as Ye Kang said. Seeing that he was in an okay mood, the housekeeper told another piece of news. Yan Shihui wanted to see him. Yan Yue paused, the mockery on his face deepening: ¡°I see.¡± Unlike Yin Qinn, who hadn¡¯t done her motherly duty since he was six, Yan Shihui had somehow managed to do his fatherly duty. Although he had moved out of the Yan family mansion, he woulde back to see Yan Yue from time to time and was very attentive to Yan Yue¡¯s education. Yan Yue believed that when he was young, his father didn¡¯t have the idea of changing his heir. Otherwise, his father would have had the opportunity to raise him to be a fop, ignorant andzy. It was only as Yan Hai and Yan Qian grew up that Yan Shihui¡¯s heart gradually began to shift. Compared to the eldest son who was destined to have everything, the second son and the youngest daughter would be left with nothing after his death. What Yan Shihui probably wanted most was for Yan Yue and Yan Hai to have a good rtionship and for the two brothers to work together to develop Hopewell, so that he could put his mind at ease when Hopewell was handed over to Yan Yue. However, Yan Yue had always hated the existence of Yan Hai and Yin Ya since he was a child, and refused to even y next to them. Yan Shihui could do nothing with Yan Yue, and with it, even Yan Yue¡¯s inheritance rights to Hopewell were shaken. After changing his clothes, Yan Yue went to Hopewell¡¯s headquarters by himself, without taking An Jie. For so many years, Yan Yue had never set foot in Yan Shihui¡¯s new home. Father and son talked about things either in the Yan family mansion or at the Hopewell headquarters. Upon receiving the news that Yan Yue wasing over, Yan Shihui put off all his arrangements for the afternoon. Of his three children, Yan Yue was the most like him, both in terms of personality and behaviour. Yan Shihui himself understood that it was the best arrangement for Hopewell to be handed over to Yan Yue. But the problem was that Yan Yue was too prejudiced against Yan Hai and he could foresee that once he was gone, Yan Yue would definitely suppress Yan Hai until he had no ce in Zhongjing. To Yan Shihui, the palms of his hands were flesh and the backs of his hands were flesh (both were dear). Yan Yue and Yan Hai were both his sons. The reason he had been suppressing Yan Yue all these years was because he hoped that Yan Yue would give in and take a step back to acknowledge Yan Hai as his younger brother. Unfortunately¡­ Yan Yue was too much like him. Even Yan Yue¡¯s temperament was exactly the same as his when he was young. ¡°Father.¡± Yan Yue arrived quickly, standing in front of Yan Shihui with a polite and alienated attitude. Yan Shihui was used to Yan Yue¡¯s arrogance and didn¡¯t take it personally. He carefully surveyed Yan Yue¡¯splexion and smiled slightly, ¡°It seems that Ah Yue has recuperated well in Fengcheng and hisplexion has improved a lot.¡± s The corners of Yan Yue¡¯s mouth curved up in a standard smile, ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Yan Shihui invited Yan Yue to sit down, ¡°What are your ns, Ah Yue? Some time ago you were away and Ah Hai was sent abroad to temporarily take your ce. I was considering if you wanted to return home and experience some time at the headquarters?¡± Returning to the headquarters from abroad looked like a move closer to the centre of Hopewell, but in reality it was nothing more than an overt promotion and a covert demotion. At least there was freedom abroad, but what was there toe back to? No matter what he did, he would be under Yan Shihui¡¯s watchful eye, like a puppet. Yan Yue was a little impatient with this routine and refused: ¡°I want to continue to recuperate for a while. Ye Kang has already contacted a sanatorium abroad for me, and I n to go there in the near future.¡± Yan Shihui was a little surprised at his words, and his gaze couldn¡¯t help but carry scrutiny. Yan Yue¡¯s character was definitely not the type to be obedient, and he had considered many ways to appease Yan Yue. But he had not expected that Yan Yue would actually propose to continue recuperating on his own. ¡°Have you thought it over, Ah Yue?¡± Yan Shihui said tentatively. Yan Yue was calm and collected as Yan Shihui looked at him, ¡°I¡¯ve thought it over.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Yan Shihui had seen Yan Yue¡¯s records from the psychologist, and unlike Yin Qinn¡¯s denial, he knew that Yan Yue really had psychological problems. It wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing if he could take this opportunity to recuperate. Yan Shihui didn¡¯t say anything else and acquiesced to Yan Yue¡¯s decision. Yan Yue didn¡¯t stay at Hopewell for long. His father-son rtionship with Yan Shihui was thin, so they had nothing to say to each other. After leaving Yan Shihui¡¯s office, Yan Yue saw Yin Ya from afar. Yin Ya seemed to be waiting for Yan Yue on purpose and looked at him provocatively. Yan Yue nced at her lightly, looking at her as if he was looking at the air. Yin Ya¡¯s expression was somewhat choked as Yan Yue turned around and got on the elevator, leaving Yin Ya only with the sight of his back. Yin Ya bit her lip reluctantly. What was the big deal about Yan Yue? She had been practically squeezed out of Hopewell by him and Yan Hai. Once she had gained a firm foothold in Hopewell, let¡¯s see what Yan Yue would do then. s Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know anything about these intrigues far away in Zhongjing. As soon as Wang Chaoliang left in the morning, Gao Yongliang came over in the afternoon. Gao Yongliang could tell that Lu Lingxi was interested in the nt nursery of Luxuan Gardening, so he took advantage of the situation to invite him to go and have a look after the shop closed today. ¡°Lao Xue¡¯s crystal orchid is in bloom, doesn¡¯t the little boss want to go and have a look?¡± Gao Yongliang invited enthusiastically. The crystal orchid he was talking about was not an orchid, but a nt of the ericaceae family. This nt was crystal white and had the appearance of a crystal-like pipe. Every year, from May to June, the crystal orchid was in bloom. At the top of the nt, white long bell-shaped florets would be drawn out, apanied by bright white transparent leaves that had degenerated into scales attached to the stem. making everything from the flowers to the leaves of the nt white and transparent. With no chlorophyll throughout its body, the crystal orchid did not photosynthesise, but obtained its nutrients from decaying vegetation. It usually grew at an altitude of 1500-2500 metres, deep in the damp, cold forest, emitting an attractive white glow and swaying slightly in the wind, like a flower of death. Lu Lingxi hesitantly agreed; it was really hard for him to resist this temptation. He had read about the crystal orchid in the World¡¯s Magical nts catalogue before, and this flower was also known as the ghost nt because of its unique habits and appearance. However, this flower only grew in specific climates, and it was difficult to cultivate sessfully artificially when it left its native ce, so it was almost impossible to see this flower in the market. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t expect it to be found inside Luxuan Gardening, and it was even blooming at this time of the year. As soon as Lu Lingxi nodded, Gao Yongliang smiled. There was a saying in China about catering to someone¡¯s tastes, and Gao Yongliang was doing exactly that right now. He had already figured out that Lu Lingxi having a gardening shop proved that he liked nts, and what would quickly bring them closer together was nts. There were a lot of strange nts in Lao Xue¡¯s nt nursery, so if he took Lu Lingxi there to see one kind of nt a day, there would be enough to see for half a year. Gao Yongliang didn¡¯t believe that after half a year he still couldn¡¯t get closer to Lu Lingxi. When he got off work in the evening, Lu Lingxi talked to Wang Shuxiu and followed Gao Yongliang to the nt nursery of Luxuan Gardening. Speaking of which, the nt nursery of Luxuan Gardening was not far from Lingshui Vige; they both were in the same direction. Today was a weekend and there weren¡¯t many cars on the road, so the two of them got out of town without any problems and made their way to their destination where Xue Yongtong was waiting. ¡°Little boss.¡± Xue Yongtong came up enthusiastically to greet Lu Lingxi when he saw him. Lu Lingxi got out of the car and Dahei jumped down after him. ¡°Mr. Xue.¡± Lu Lingxi said politely. Gao Yongliang smiled, ¡°Just call him Uncle Xue, Mr. Xue is too rusty.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lu Lingxi hesitated for a few seconds and called out, ¡°Uncle Xue.¡± Xue Yongtong immediately followed the trend and changed his words, ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± Gao Yongliang was quite happy, ¡°Go go, let¡¯s go see the crystal orchid.¡± He hadn¡¯t forgotten what he had relied on to lure Lu Lingxi over, and with a clear goal in mind, he took Lu Lingxi straight to the crystal orchid. Xue Yongtong helplessly followed behind the two. He had wanted to take them to dinner first. Xue Yongtong¡¯s nt nursery was veryrge, divided into three areas: open-air nting, greenhouse nting and aquatic nting. The crystal orchids were cultivated in the innermost part of the greenhouse. Xue Yongtong strictly simted the native environment in which the crystal orchids grew to encourage their budding and growth. They got into a small electric car; the nt nursery was sorge that most of the movement inside had to be done on the electric car. Lu Lingxi was somewhat curious as he sat in the car, unconsciously spreading out his mental scan. Halfway through the aquatic nting area, the white panel suddenly surfaced and floated in front of Lu Lingxi¡¯s face. nt name: First-ss victoria nt needs: none nt viability: very high nt status: first-level peak nt evolution condition triggered, please select the direction of nt evolution. Lu Lingxi froze for a moment, his eyes falling on the victoria in the pool. Chapter 71 Victoria, a member of the nymphaeaceae family, is an aquatic nt native to tropical regions. This was a description of victoria in the book that had been clearly imprinted on Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind. There were quite a few victorias in the pond, with their leaves spreading out and floating on the water, emerald in colour and seemingly more than three metres in diameter, like giant jade discs. The first-ss victoria caught by the panel was in the centre of the group and was thergest in diameter and a little more intense green in colour. It seems to be in flower at the moment, with a creamy white flower poking out of the water, its petals spreading out inyers,rge and beautiful in shape. The breeze was blowing, bringing a faint fragrance, simr to the scent of white jade orchids. Noticing Lu Lingxi¡¯s gaze, Xue Yongtong stopped the car and said with some pride, ¡°How is it, not bad, right?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded seriously. Seeing that Lu Lingxi was not being perfunctory, Xue Yongtong was very happy. He had been pondering about the begonias recently, which Gao Yongliang jokingly described as going off the deep end. Xue Yongtong ignored Gao Yongliang¡¯s teasing; he and Gao Yongliang were very simr in a way, they both had the same crazy obsessive energy. Only Gao Yongliang¡¯s crazy energy was used in product development, while Xue Yongtong used it in nt cultivation. Whether it was the crystal orchids that Gao Yongliang had used to lure Lu Lingxi intoing here or these victorias in the pond, all of them had taken a lot of Xue Yongtong¡¯s effort. Being able to catch Lu Lingxi¡¯s eye and receive his praise finally gave Xue Yongtong¡¯s heart, which was frustrated about the begonias, a littlefort. ¡°Xiao Xi is lucky to be just in time for the flowering of these victorias.¡± Xue Yongtong smiled as he introduced, ¡°The weather is hot this year, and the flowering period of victorias is a bitte, but most of them have already bloomed nevertheless and there are only a few left.¡± Unlike ordinary flowers, victoria blooms for just three days, and the twilight bloom is magical. On the evening of the first day of flowering, the creamy-white buds peek out of the water, and in a very short time they are in full bloom, emitting a strong fragrance. The flowers of victorias are white in colour at this time and are fresh and elegant. The following morning the flowers close on their own ord and wait until the evening to bloom again. By this time the colour of the flowers has changed from white to a light red and delicate. By the time the flowers open for thest time on the evening of the third day, the colour of the petals will have deepened further, turning from a light red to a deep red, with extraordinary splendour. This was obviously the first day that this first-ss victoria had flowered, and the creamy white flowers against the emerald green jade disks were very refreshing and conspicuous. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes shifted back to the white panel. First-ss victoria, first-level peak, these words easily reminded him of the old willow tree in the vige. He put away the panel with some regret. If an ordinary victoria evolved, it could have evolved secretly. He wanted to know the direction of the evolution of the victoria. But there was too much movement in the evolution of first-ss nts. Thinking about the old willow tree¡¯s earthquake-like disturbance at that time, Lu Lingxi put aside the thought of evolving this victoria. It would not be good if the simrity of themotion attracted attention this time. A look of regret shed across his face, caught by Xue Yongtong. Xue Yongtong pondered for a few seconds and said tentatively, ¡°Xiao Xi, do you like victorias? Uncle Xue will give you some seeds, so you can try to find a water tank to grow one when you get back.¡± Victorias didn¡¯t start out with a diameter of three metres, they grew gradually from seeds, but quite fast, so there was no problem nting them in a water tank. However, Xue Yongtong was not optimistic that Lu Lingxi would be able to grow them, as they were sensitive to temperature and needed a special greenhouse in the winter and it was difficult to get the right temperature for the first time. It took him a lot of effort to cultivate these victorias back then s Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed and refused, ¡°No need.¡± Xue Yongtong didn¡¯t allow him to refuse and insisted, ¡°There are a lot of seeds inside the nt nursery, one pod can contain five or six hundred seeds. Except for a few that are left to grow, many of them are eaten.¡± ¡°Eaten?¡± Lu Lingxi was taken aback for a moment. Gao Yongliang interjected with a smile, ¡°The pod of the victoria is also known as water corn abroad. The seeds are the size of a pea, it¡¯s delicious, Xiao Xi, you can try itter too.¡± Lu Lingxi thought of the lotus seeds and understood somewhat; probably the seeds of the victoria were simr to the lotus seeds. With the victoria attracting his attention, Lu Lingxi was not too surprised when he saw the crystal orchid. But to be honest, the real crystal orchid was much better looking than the picture, clear and transparent in the light, with a kind of dreamy beauty. That evening, it was almost eight o¡¯clock when Lu Lingxi left the nt nursery after watching the crystal orchids. Gao Yongliang drove him back to the city. ¡°How was it? Lao Xue¡¯s nt nursery is not bad, right?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded and said sincerely, ¡°Uncle Xue is very good at growing flowers.¡± This was Lu Lingxi¡¯s honest opinion; Lu Lingxi felt that the good nts growing in Tiny Garden should be more Uncle Li and the panel¡¯s merit. But Xue Yongtong didn¡¯t have a panel and still managed to cultivate the nts so well. That was true skill. Moreover, Lu Lingxi could see that Xue Yongtong really liked nts and spent a lot of effort on them. Just look at the crystal orchid. This kind of nt was very demanding on the environment and was very difficult to bring to the market. Xue Yongtong spent a lot of work and resources cultivating the crystal orchid, purely because he liked it. Then there was the first-ss victoria. The willow tree in the vige had reached its peak state because it was hardy and had been rejuvenated by the power of nature, but the victoria was entirely due to Xue Yongtong¡¯s care. Lu Lingxi spoke seriously, with a sincere expression, and Gao Yongliang smiled faintly. He and his ex-wife were both too busy working on their careers to think about having children. The two of themter broke up and divorced, and he had been alone for many years. Sometimes when he looked at the children of his friends around him and each of them was rebellious, Gao Yongliang was secretly d that he was lucky not to have children. But when he looked at Lu Lingxi, Gao Yongliang suddenly had a thought that it would be good to get married and have a child, and that it would be even better if he could raise a child like Lu Lingxi who was well behaved and sensible. This thought shed through his mind and Gao Yongliangughed out loud, but he didn¡¯t forget to say a few good words for Xue Yongtong. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have any hobbies, he just likes to stay in the nt nursery. When he hears that a nt is good, he is eager to go and see it. I heard him say that he even went to Tiny Garden a few times pretending to be a customer. Don¡¯t be angry, Xiao Xi, he means no harm, he just simply likes it.¡± ¡°I know. Uncle Xue is quite nice.¡± Lu Lingxi understood what Gao Yongliang meant and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly in a smile. He actually didn¡¯t have a bad impression of Xue Yongtong, he always felt that there were no bad people among those who genuinely liked nts. Moreover, the first thing Xue Yongtong wanted to do after discovering the begonias was to cooperate with him, an act that greatly gained Lu Lingxi¡¯s goodwill and showed that the other party was not bad in character. s When he heard Lao Xue being praised as a nice person, Gao Yongliangughed out loud. If someone else had said that, Gao Yongliang probably wouldn¡¯t care, but he was relieved when Lu Lingxi said that. The child¡¯s expression was all on his face and he would not fake it at all. At nine o¡¯clock, Gao Yongliang dropped Lu Lingxi off at the entrance of Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant. He had just parked the car when Yi Hang ran out. ¡°Lao San?¡± Seeing Lu Lingxi in the car, Yi Hang let out a sigh of relief, ¡°Lao San, is your phone out of battery? Brother Yan is about to blow up the shop¡¯s phone.¡± ¡°Big Brother Yan is looking for me? What did he say?¡± Lu Lingxi asked as he got out of the car. His phone was out of battery, and he was so focused on the nts in the nt nursery that he didn¡¯t pay much attention to it. Wang Shuxiu also walked out when she heard themotion, reaching out to poke Lu Lingxi with her finger, ¡°Little bastard¡¯s phone is dead and he doesn¡¯t care. Yan Yue seems to be looking for you for something urgent, he makes ten calls a minute.¡± Lu Lingxi felt a little uneasy; Big Brother Yan was probably getting anxious. ¡°I¡¯ll go charge the phone and call Big Brother Yan back.¡± He was about to leave when he remembered that he hadn¡¯t said goodbye to Gao Yongliang yet, and turned his head to see Gao Yongliang getting out of the car as well. Gao Yongliang looked at Wang Shuxiu and Lu Lingxi with some surprise, unsure of the rtionship between the two. They looked quite alike, but Wang Shuxiu looked a bit too young to be Lu Lingxi¡¯s mother. Lu Lingxi was taken aback for a moment, then reacted and introduced: ¡°Mom, this is Uncle Gao. Uncle Gao, this is my mom.¡± Gao Yongliang smiled and nodded politely to Wang Shuxiu. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m also in the gardening business, sort of apetitor of Xiao Xi¡¯s.¡± As soon as he said that, Wang Shuxiu immediately understood and greeted him with a smile, ¡°Xiao Xi just went to visit your nt nursery, right? It¡¯s sote and you¡¯re still bothering to send Xiao Xi back,e in and have a ss of water before you go.¡± Wang Shuxiu¡¯s attitude was warm, and Gao Yongliang also wanted to get closer to Lu Lingxi, so he nodded with a smile and followed them into the small restaurant. Inside the restaurant, Tiger and the others were not sure what was going on when they saw Wang Shuxiu smiling at a middle-aged man; at the same time they felt wary. They had been eating here for quite some time. Thedy boss of Xiaohua was always polite to everyone, but it was the first time she smiled so brightly. Brother Feng wouldn¡¯t be robbed by this old geezer, right? ¡°Tiger, what should we do?¡± One of the guys asked in a low voice. ¡°How should I know?¡± The man called Tiger was in a bit of a quandary, debating whether to go and inform Brother Feng now or find a ce to prepare to block the old geezerter and warn him not to hit on Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss. As he hesitated, Erfei, the shortest of the bunch, asked, ¡°Do you think we can stille here to eat if Brother Feng gets angry? Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss is so good at her craft, I don¡¯t want to go back to eating pig food anymore.¡± ¡°Fuck off! You just think about eating every day.¡± Tiger kicked Erfei under the seat and made up his mind, ¡°Dapeng, stay and see what¡¯s going on, Erfei and I will go back to find Brother Feng.¡± ¡°Hey, can I stay? I haven¡¯t finished eating yet.¡± Erfei spoke up anxiously. A bunch of people: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t care about themotion at Tiger¡¯s end of the table, she was listening to Gao Yongliang praise Lu Lingxi. In the past, even cats and dogs didn¡¯t like the little bastard, and the neighbours around him had nothing to say about him except that he was rotten to the core. Now it seemed that things had changed. Wang Shuxiu had been hearing people praise Lu Lingxi a lot these days. The neighbours said he was sensible, and Yan Yue¡¯spliments were fine, and now the little bastard was being praised for being capable even by hispetitors. Wang Shuxiu felt better than when she herself was praised, and for a while she looked at Gao Yongliang even more favourably. Chapter 72 After Lu Lingxi said a few words to Gao Yongliang, he went upstairs to find a power source to charge the phone and call Yan Yue. As soon as his phone was turned on, Yan Yue¡¯s call came in. ¡°Big Brother Yan.¡± ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s voice reached him, sounding as if Yan Yue was suppressing something, ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± Lu Lingxi gave an ¡°en¡± and exined with some embarrassment, ¡°The phone ran out of battery.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Even though he guessed that the phone was out of battery and knew from Wang Shuxiu where Lu Lingxi had gone, Yan Yue was still uncontrobly worried, calling Lu Lingxi¡¯s phone over and over again, eager to rush back to Fengcheng immediately and tie Lu Lingxi to his side. Hearing the familiar voice on the other side of the phone, Yan Yue suppressed his uncontroble emotions and asked as calmly as possible, ¡°How is Xue Yongtong¡¯s nt nursery?¡± ¡°Very good.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little excited and recounted in detail the various flowers he had seen there, with emphasis on the first-level peak victoria. Yan Yue¡¯s heart tightened as he listened, and before Lu Lingxi could finish he interrupted, ¡°Xiao Xi, you didn¡¯t choose to evolve, did you?¡± Lu Lingxi hummed obediently and said with some regret, ¡°No, I was worried that it would move too much. But Uncle Xue gave me some seeds, we can try to grow them ourselves. I want to know what direction victoria¡¯s evolution is.¡± Yan Yue sighed in relief; it seemed that calling Xue Yongtong Uncle Xue was not even a big dealpared to the fact that Lu Lingxi resisted choosing to evolve the victoria. ¡°Xiao Xi did well.¡± Yan Yue softened his voice and coaxed, ¡°If you want to see the victoria evolve, we can buy one ourselves.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled, ¡°The victoria is too big, there¡¯s no ce to keep it even if we buy it now, let¡¯s wait until the nt nursery has the pond.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Lu Lingxi thought of Dahei being praised again and talked about Grandma Wang¡¯s son. Yan Yue listened carefully, the Botanical Institute? This identity could be used for a while, he quickly nned mentally. The two talked for a long time before Yan Yue finally said lightly, ¡°I¡¯m on my way back to Fengcheng, I¡¯ll be there in about an hour.¡± ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯ve finished with your business?¡± Lu Lingxi said in surprise. Yan Yue smiled and said softly, ¡°No, I want to see Xiao Xi, so I¡¯lle back to stay overnight and return to Zhongjing in the morning.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t say anything for a while; only after a long time did he whisper, ¡°Big Brother Yan, I miss you too.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s heart fluttered and he smiled faintly. The two of them were talking on the phone upstairs, while downstairs in the small restaurant, Wang Shuxiu and Gao Yongliang were also chatting happily. Unlike the men Wang Shuxiu usually met, Gao Yongliang had lived abroad for many years and had a refined temperament, talking in a polite and courteous manner. Even when he wasplimenting Lu Lingxi, he did so in the right way, making people feel he was very sincere. Dapeng looked a little anxious. If Brother Feng didn¡¯te now, Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss would really be abducted by the old geezer. He was chanting it in his mind when Xiao Feng appeared at the door. Wang Shuxiu was taken aback for a moment when she saw Xiao Feng, and then she looked at the few people behind Xiao Feng who were poking their heads in. She understood what was going on in a blink of an eye. s ¡°Brother Feng, you¡¯re here.¡± Wang Shuxiu got up and greeted him. Xiao Feng nodded, casually found a table and sat down, saying, ¡°Stir-fried tomatoes and a bowl of rice.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Shuxiu agreed readily. When Gao Yongliang saw that Wang Shuxiu was busy, he had the good sense to say goodbye. As soon as he left, Tiger wanted to follow him, but was stopped by a faint nce from Xiao Feng. Tiger scowled and sat down obediently. The downstairs became quiet for a while, and only asional movement could be hearding from the back kitchen. Yi Hang looked at Xiao Feng and then at the back kitchen, feeling that something was wrong with the atmosphere. He hesitated for a few seconds and thought of going upstairs to look for Lu Lingxi, but when he was halfway there, he heard that Lu Lingxi seemed to be on the phone, so he thought about it and turned back again. In a short while, Tiger and the others also came out and sat down next to Yi Hang in a crowd. Yi Hang was a bit confused, ¡°Why are you all out? Where is Brother Feng?¡± Tiger red at him, ¡°Are you stupid? Brother Feng is talking to Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss, are we brothers that tactless?!¡± Yi Hang was a bit uneasy and thought about going back to check, but Tiger pulled him back forcefully. ¡°Eh eh, is it easy for us to find a sister-inw who can cook? Don¡¯t be thoughtless, you kid.¡± Erfei reacted most positively, ¡°Yes, don¡¯t get involved in Brother Feng and Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss¡¯s business.¡± Yi Hang thought about it and sat down obediently. Inside the small restaurant, Wang Shuxiu carried a te of tomatoes and ced it in front of Xiao Feng, simply saying, ¡°Brother Feng, this meal is on me. It just so happens that I also have something I want to say to Brother Feng.¡± Xiao Feng didn¡¯t move, ¡°Go ahead.¡± Wang Shuxiu sat down opposite Xiao Feng, smiled and continued, ¡°I understand what Brother Feng means. I, Wang Xiaohua, am not a hypocritical type either. To be honest, you are a good person, capable and righteous, a real man. To be honest, I, Wang Xiaohua, am not very educated, I¡¯m old and have a son, so I¡¯m not good enough for Brother Feng. If I don¡¯t agree, it¡¯s not because I don¡¯t know what¡¯s good or bad. But you know my family¡¯s situation and that bastard Lu Yishui who dragged me down for half my life. I know that I can¡¯t me Brother Feng for Lu Yishui¡¯s gambling, but I can¡¯t look at your way of earning money, I can¡¯t get past it in my heart.¡± Wang Shuxiu finished speaking, and Brother Feng was silent for a moment. She hesitated for a moment and went on, ¡°During this time, Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant has been taken care of by you, and I am indebted to you. If you need anything, Brother Feng, just say so, and I, Wang Xiaohua, will certainly not shirk anything I can do.¡± After these words, the small restaurant once again fell into silence. Xiao Feng fished out a cigarette, looked at Wang Shuxiu and put it back. ¡°I see.¡± He said in a t tone, stood up and walked away without saying anything else. Wang Shuxiu looked at Xiao Feng¡¯s untouched te of tomatoes and sighed, the feeling in her heart a little hard to describe. ¡°Mom.¡± Lu Lingxi came down from upstairs at some point and looked at Wang Shuxiu with some concern. Wang Shuxiuughed and scolded, ¡°What are you looking at, little bastard?¡± She swept her eyes over Dahei and beckoned, ¡°Dahei, this te of scrambled eggs with tomatoes is a bargain for you, Brother Feng didn¡¯t eat a single bite.¡± Dahei gave a low bark and Wang Shuxiu looked as if nothing had happened andughed. When Xiao Feng walked out of the small restaurant, Tiger and the others froze. Why was it so fast? There was not enough time for Brother Feng to say something to Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss, right? Xiao Feng lit a cigarette and nodded towards Tiger and the others, who immediately ran up to him head over heels. s ¡°Brother Feng.¡± There was neither joy nor anger on Xiao Feng¡¯s face, ¡°You guys go back first, I¡¯m going to walk alone.¡± Tiger was keenly aware that Xiao Feng¡¯s mood was not right and didn¡¯t dare to try his luck at this moment, so he immediately nodded. In his mind, he wondered why Brother Feng and Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss hadn¡¯t made a deal. It couldn¡¯t really be that their sister-inw was abducted by that old geezer? What kind of vision did Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss have then? That old geezer was so much worse than Brother Feng. Brother Feng could kill him with one finger. Despite these thoughts, Tiger¡¯s face didn¡¯t show anything as he nimbly pulled the others away. As Erfei walked away, he asked in a whisper, ¡°Can I go and get a packaged dish from Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss? I didn¡¯t get enough to eat tonight.¡± Tiger red at him bitterly, ¡°Eat, you just know how to eat, you can eat yourself to death.¡± Erfei looked at him sadly and didn¡¯t say anything, rubbing his stomach and nostalgically remembering the roasted egg-nts he had only eaten half of in the evening. Then he thought of something else and gave an angry look at Dapeng. When he hade back, it turned out Dapeng had eaten all the roasted egg-nts. Dapeng: ¡°¡­¡­¡± They walked fast, their figures soon disappearing. Xiao Feng looked at their backs, clutching his cigarette and thinking about Wang Shuxiu¡¯s words. When he first started the casino, he was looking for quick money. No matter who lost or won, the casino got a cut. Later on, he started the loan shark business and made a lot of money over the years. Sometimes he thought about ending the business and living in peace for a few years. But he had to be responsible for the people he was working with. What would they do if he quit? Those brothers were uneducated and couldn¡¯t find a serious job. Each of them was supporting their families. The money in his hands might seem like a lot, but it was not much once it was evenly divided, so it wouldn¡¯tst for a few years. But going on like this, Xiao Feng didn¡¯t think it was a good idea either. He thought about Wang Xiaohua¡¯s refreshing words, smiled with the cigarette in his mouth, and slowly made a decision in his heart. At ten o¡¯clock, the small restaurant was almost cleaned up. Wang Shuxiu closed the door and went back home with Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi kept looking at the time all the way, calcting when Yan Yue would return. Wang Shuxiu looked surprised, ¡°Something wrong?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head sheepishly, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°Alright, hurry up and go take a shower.¡± Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t care much and casually urged. Lu Lingxi nodded and went into the bathroom with a change of clothes, then thought about it and ran out to bring his mobile phone in with him. Wang Shuxiu knocked on the door and reminded him, ¡°Why bring your mobile phone with you when you¡¯re taking a shower?¡± Lu Lingxi meekly agreed, but refused to let go of the phone. After taking a quick shower, Lu Lingxi looked forward to Wang Shuxiu taking a shower and going to rest. Wang Shuxiu felt that the little bastard was acting too strange tonight, but she couldn¡¯t find out what was strange. As she went to take a shower, Lu Lingxi received a text message from Yan Yue. ¡°I¡¯m here, next door.¡± When Lu Lingxi saw the content, his heart pounded. ¡°Mom is still awake, I¡¯ll go overter.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t reply to the text message again, squeezing his phone and sitting somewhat restlessly. His gaze always unconsciously turned to the door. He wondered if Big Brother Yan had eaten dinner since he rushed back sote? Where was Big Brother Yan going to stay tonight? Although the next door had been renovated, the basic necessities had not yet been bought, so no one could live there yet. These thoughts popped up one after another, and Lu Lingxi sat in the living room somewhat wistfully, waiting for Wang Shuxiu to go to rest. ¡°Why are you still up?¡± Wang Shuxiu was taken aback for a moment when she saw Lu Lingxi after washing up. Lu Lingxi stammered an excuse and Wang Shuxiuughed, ¡°Waiting to go to the toilet? Hurry up and go, I¡¯m going to bed first.¡± ¡°Good night, Mom.¡± As soon as Wang Shuxiu turned off the light, Lu Lingxi was about to go out. Dahei squatted in the doorway looking at him. One man and one dog locked their eyes. Dahei gave a small whimper and slowly plopped down on the floor. Lu Lingxi whispered, coaxing him, ¡°I¡¯m just going next door, it¡¯s not far. Be good, I¡¯ll give you two chicken legs tomorrow.¡± As long as the chicken legs were offered, it was always a no-brainer for Dahei. Dahei pricked his ears and slowly moved his body to make way. Lu Lingxi watched Dahei with his eyes curved and gingerly walked out, running to the door of 202 in a sh. He had the key to 202 and was about to open the door when Yan Yue already opened it from the inside. Before Lu Lingxi could finish calling out ¡°Big Brother Yan¡±, he was pulled into Yan Yue¡¯s arms. The door was closed and Lu Lingxi was kissed fiercely against it. Chapter 73 When Lu Lingxi washed his face in the morning, he noticed that his lips seemed a little swollen. Remembering what happenedst night, he blushed and averted his eyes, trying to avoid looking at himself in the mirror. He was used to Yan Yue¡¯s usual gentleness, butst night¡¯s Yan Yue gave him the same hot and crazy feeling as that time when he confessed his love in the nt nursery. Lu Lingxi felt like he was suffocating several times, but Yan Yue still refused to let go of him and kept hugging and kissing him. In the darkness, Lu Lingxi looked into Yan Yue¡¯s eyes, shining like the stars in the night sky, and the heat in them seemed scorching. After looking for a long time, he almost had the illusion that he would be swallowed by Yan Yue in one gulp. Fortunately, it waste when the two met, and Yan Yue didn¡¯t stay long and sent Lu Lingxi home before twelve o¡¯clock. An Jie had already booked a hotel, and Yan Yue had to rush back to Zhongjing the next morning. Lu Lingxi thought of this, quickly washed up and sent a text message to Yan Yue. ¡°Big Brother Yan, are you up yet?¡± When Yan Yue received the text message, he was already about to arrive in Zhongjing. He smiled at the content of the text message and sent one back, ¡°Just got up and getting ready to go back to Zhongjing. Xiao Xi, don¡¯t worry.¡± Lu Lingxi looked at the time. It was just a little after seven, so Yan Yue had rested wellst night. He thought of calling Yan Yue when Wang Shuxiu¡¯s loud voice sounded outside, calling him toe out for breakfast. In a hurry, Lu Lingxi only had time to send a text message, ¡°Big Brother Yan, have a safe trip.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yan Yue looked at his phone with a gentle expression, while An Jie, who was driving, shook his head speechlessly. He finally understood what Ye Kang meant when he said that Yan Yue was a bit abnormal towards Lu Lingxi. Driving for five hours back and forth to Zhongjing just to see each other for less than an hourst night; it was true that falling in love made people crazy. After receiving Yan Yue¡¯s reply, Lu Lingxi put away his phone in a good mood and prepared to eat. Wang Shuxiu gave him a bowl of porridge and cast a strange look, ¡°Xiao Xi, what happened to your mouth?¡± Lu Lingxi froze, reacted to what Wang Shuxiu was talking about, immediately lowered his head sheepishly and whispered, ¡°¡­got bitten by a mosquito.¡± ¡°There are mosquitoes?¡± Wang Shuxiu was surprised. This year, apart from early July when there seemed to be mosquitoes, there hadn¡¯t been any mosquitoes in the house since. At first she was worried that there might be more bugs as there was grass outside, but in hindsight she realised that she had worried for nothing. It was almost October now, why were there still mosquitoes? Wang Shuxiu was puzzled for a while but didn¡¯t think too much about it and just told Lu Lingxi: ¡°Go buy a mosquito incenseter and light it in the house at night. Remember not to scratch the itch, and you can¡¯t rub anointing oil on your mouth, just bear it.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, his face almost buried in the bowl. After a busy day, Lu Lingxi received a call from Yan Yue. The other party was on his way back to Fengcheng and was going to find himter. Lu Lingxi was a little surprised, and there was some secret sweetness in his heart. Lu Lingxi was not stupid; he knew what was the reason why Yan Yue was rushing so hard. He wanted to say that Yan Yue didn¡¯t need to work so hard and could take care of things in Zhongjing without worrying, but in the end he gave a soft ¡°en¡± and whispered, ¡°Big Brother Yan, I¡¯ll wait for you at home.¡± This feeling of being valued and taken to heart was so wonderful that Lu Lingxi was a little selfish and began to look forward to Yan Yue¡¯s arrival. For several days in a row, Yan Yue was rushing between the two ces whenever he had time. An Jie simply was about to kneel in front of Yan Yue. Although when they were abroad, they were also busy working and running around several cities and the intensity was actually simrpared to now, when An Jie thought that Yan Yue had turned all his passion for work towards Lu Lingxi, his whole body was not feeling good. He was afraid that one day Yan Yue would suddenly throw up his hands and go off to raise flowers with Lu Lingxi, shifting all thepany¡¯s business onto him. s Not only An Jie, but also Lu Lingxi felt that Yan Yue was working too hard and felt a little uneasy. After Yan Yue rushed back to see him again, Lu Lingxi tried to persuade him that he didn¡¯t have to run around like this. He was in Fengcheng, just waiting for Yan Yue to return from his business, which wouldn¡¯t take more than a few days. Yan Yue raised his eyebrows slightly at his words, wiping his hair with a towel in one hand and cupping Lu Lingxi¡¯s chin with the other, and leaned down to give him a kiss, saying affectionately, ¡°Xiao Xi doesn¡¯t want to see me?¡± Wang Shuxiu had stayed at the restaurant today, so Yan Yue didn¡¯t have to sneak around next door but could appear in Lu Lingxi¡¯s room openly and honestly. He had just taken a shower, wearing only a pair of shorts, and was half-naked, revealing a tight, strong abdomen without a hint of fat. Leaning down just like that, hepletely enveloped Lu Lingxi in his arms. Their skin touched, and the air became ambiguous. Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart pounded; he raised his head to look at Yan Yue and whispered, ¡°I want to.¡± The smile poured out of Yan Yue¡¯s eyes, and his ink-ck pupils were full of Lu Lingxi. He couldn¡¯t help but move over and kiss the young man, grinding delicately. Lu Lingxi¡¯s confessions had always been honest, and this was what Yan Yue liked the most. With the simple words ¡°I want to¡±, Yan Yue felt that the hard work of the past few days was nothing at all. On the contrary, he was even more reluctant to leave the young man and wanted to find all the possible time toe back to apany him. Lu Lingxi closed his eyes and awkwardly responded to Yan Yue¡¯s kiss. After all this practice, he had finally learnt how to breathe during a kiss. His response easily aroused Yan Yue and his breath became unsteady. After the lingering kiss, Yan Yue looked at Lu Lingxi with a fiery gaze, desperately suppressing the impulses in his body and using all his self-control to pull away. Although Lu Lingxi had already passed his eighteenth birthday, he was still too young. There had never been a moment when Yan Yue had wished more devoutly that Lu Lingxi could grow up quickly and reach twenty in one night. ¡°Xiao Xi, just grow up quickly.¡± Yan Yue whispered, looking at Lu Lingxi. It was not that Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t understand anything, like at the beginning; he knew what Yan Yue meant and blushed. Yan Yue smiled faintly, forcing his attention away from Lu Lingxi, and somewhat stiffly changed the subject. ¡°What were you looking at just now?¡± When he came out of the shower Lu Lingxi was reading a book. Yan Yue had asked it casually but Lu Lingxi seemed to be thinking of something, looking somewhat ufortable. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yan Yue¡¯s heart stirred and he asked. ¡°Grandpa Su came to the shop this afternoon and brought daffodils that his students bought for him, with a logo of Tiny Garden.¡± Yan Yue immediately caught the point, ¡°We don¡¯t sell daffodils in the shop, someone is impersonating us.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, but that wasn¡¯t what he was most concerned about, ¡°That pot of daffodils was given hormones. It looked like it was blooming lushly, but in fact it was overdrawn and would die in a few days. I¡¯m trying to find in the book if there¡¯s anything I can do.¡± Having been exposed to this business for some time, Lu Lingxi also knew about some of the crooked ways of the gardening industry. In this industry, not everyone genuinely liked nts, some peoplepletely used them as a tool to make money. This was the reason why Lu Lingxi had a good impression of Xue Yongtong; at least he really liked greenery. He had heard people talk about how some people would inject a growth hormone into the nts they sold in order to make money. The main ingredient of this hormone was phytasein, which could make full use of the growth potential in the nt for a short period of time and make the nt grow rapidly. Generally speaking, a small amount of the hormone could properly enhance the growth efficiency of the nt, and the damage to the nt would not be too great. However, many people didn¡¯t care what the nt could tolerate and would overdose on this hormone to encourage rapid growth. The result was premature overdrawing of the nt¡¯s vitality and death by ageing. In addition to hormones, there was also a kind of brightenermonly used. This brightener was actually a toxic chemical, the main ingredients of which were silicone and paraffin. It was usually applied to the leaves of flowers to make them look more moist, bright and green. However, this brightening agent was very harmful for people, and long-term exposure could easily produce headaches and depression. These were all things Lu Lingxi had heard of before and had never yet encountered. It was only when Grandpa Su brought those daffodils that Lu Lingxi realised that there really were people who discarded conscience in order to make money, and they were disgustingly close to him, even working under the logo of Tiny Garden. Yan Yue didn¡¯t want to worry Lu Lingxi and kissed him soothingly. He didn¡¯t care about the growth of daffodils, his focus was on these people who were using the logo of Tiny Garden. ¡°I¡¯ll find someone to look into this matter, Xiao Xi, don¡¯t worry.¡± s Lu Lingxi nodded; Yan Yue said he was sure to solve this matter and Lu Lingxi had instinctive trust in Yan Yue. But as soon as Yan Yue started looking for someone to investigate what was going on, someone approached Tiny Garden trying to cause trouble. The troublemakers were two strange men, one tall and strong, looking at Lu Lingxi with a fierce look in his eyes. The other one was slightly thinner, with a sallow face. He was holding a pot of dead ca lilies in his arms, following the taller man. Neither of them entered the door, but blocked the doorway of Tiny Garden, half-turned to the street and yelled loudly, ¡°Boss, you are too ck-hearted! Look what kind of flowers you are selling! My wife got poisoned after taking care of this pot every day. When we went to the hospital, we found out that the nt was coated with dichlorvos, just to make the leaves look bright and pretty! Boss, you¡¯ve really lost your conscience for the sake of making money! Let¡¯s ask people around here toment on it, what do you think we should do?¡± It was morning when they arrived and there were a lot of peopleing and going in the street. The men shouted deliberately loudly, and soon the entrance of Tiny Garden was filled with people. The other party came up with a barrage of usations, not giving Lu Lingxi a chance to speak at all. This was Lu Lingxi¡¯s first time encountering such a situation, and he was a little nervous but not too worried. He was sure of Tiny Garden¡¯s nts and his mental scan showed that the ca lily was indeed dead, but through the panel he could also make certain that the ca lily was not sold by Tiny Garden. Dong Zhi pushed his way through the crowd and ran in, ¡°What¡¯s happened? Xiao Xi, is there something wrong?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head, looked at the tall man and said clearly, ¡°This ca lily was not sold by our shop.¡± When he said this, the tall man¡¯s eyes narrowed, and the smaller man behind him rushed out, waving his fist and shouting at Lu Lingxi, ¡°How dare you deny it? Is this a flower pot from your shop? Aren¡¯t these the flowers from your shop?¡± The small man¡¯s movements were so wild that he looked like he was about to hit someone. Before Lu Lingxi could do anything, Dahei gave a low growl and leapt out of the shop lightly, jumping directly onto the smaller man. Dahei¡¯s body was long and thin, but in fact he was quite heavy. As he lunged, the smaller man took a few steps back and fell to the ground. Dahei roared in anger and pressed his front paws onto the man¡¯s face. The man instantly cried out pitifully. ¡°I¡¯m killed!¡± Dahei moved so fast that Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t have time to pay attention. He hurriedly shouted, ¡°Dahei,e back.¡± With so many people gathered outside, it would be hard to say what happened in case Dahei really hurt someone. Hearing Lu Lingxi¡¯s call, Dahei looked down threateningly at the man on the ground, slowly withdrew his front paws and trotted a few steps to crouch beside Lu Lingxi. Dong Zhi secretly gave a thumbs up to Dahei, ¡°Well done.¡± Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei; he knew what the other party meant. The word ¡°ckmail¡± shed through his mind and he whispered to Dong Zhi, ¡°Brother Dong, help me call the police.¡± Dong Zhi nodded. These two people seemed to be deliberately looking for trouble. nts were different from other things, there was no conspicuous marking on them, it was impossible to say if they were sold in this shop. It was best to call the police at this time. s The attention of the surrounding crowd quickly shifted to Dahei because he was such a sight. ¡°This dog is really quick to react and loyal to protect its master, not bad.¡± ¡°It looks like a mutt, not like any purebred dog.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a local dog but it¡¯s quite well raised, shiny and smooth.¡± Listening to these whispers, the tall man took a step back, avoiding Dahei, and shouted at Lu Lingxi sternly, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m calling the police! You¡¯re selling poisonous flowers here and setting up dogs to hurt people, you¡¯ll be going to jail soon!¡± ¡°How dare you talk!¡± Brother Dong said angrily, ¡°What proof do you have that the flowers were bought here from Xiao Xi?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± Someone in the crowd spoke up for Lu Lingxi, ¡°I always buy flowers from the little boss, there¡¯s nothing wrong with them and they are very energetic. You didn¡¯t buy them elsewhere to ckmail the little boss, did you?¡± As soon as the man finished speaking, Tiger squeezed in from outside together with Erfei. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s the matter? Who dares to ckmail the little boss?¡± The two men were blocking Lu Lingxi¡¯s way, and Tiger nced obliquely at the taller man, ¡°Where are you from? Don¡¯t you know that the little boss is Brother Feng¡¯s¡­¡± Tiger swallowed the word ¡°son¡± and reced it with ¡°the person covered by Brother Feng.¡± There was a kind of ruthlessness about Tiger and Erfei that told people not to mess around with them. The tall man took a step back in fear, gritting his teeth and ready to leave. But he was still somewhat reluctant. ¡°You¡­¡± He rushed at Lu Lingxi trying to say something. Tiger took a step forward; the tall man snapped his mouth shut, and someone else squeezed in. ¡°What¡¯s going on here? Who called the police?¡± The tall man said he was going to call the police purely to scare Lu Lingxi. Who would have thought that someone had really called the police. Seeing that the police wereing, the man was in a bit of a bind. Lu Lingxi stepped forward, ¡°I called the police.¡± Hearing him say that, the tall man bit the bullet and yelled, ¡°I also called the police, this shop has set up a dog tomit murder.¡± Lu Lingxi frowned and was just about to open his mouth to exin when the police officer who hade turned his head, saw Dahei and was suddenly happy. ¡°Isn¡¯t this Dahei?¡± Seeing that Lu Lingxi looked puzzled, the man was very friendly and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that Dahei smelled the scent in thest car ident, little boss? At that time we didn¡¯t pay attention and almost missed the clue, butter we solved the case with Dahei¡¯s help. He¡¯s a good dog!¡± He finished and then looked at the tall man, ¡°Is there some misunderstanding? This dog is well trained, obedient and won¡¯t just bite people. What is going on?¡± When he said ¡°what is going on¡± at the end his eyes fell on Lu Lingxi again. Lu Lingxi exined everything from the beginning in a low voice. The policeman got serious, ¡°You guys said that the flowers are poisoned? Which pot of flowers, show me!¡± The tall man turned his eyes and gestured for hispanion to hand the flowers to the policeman. The policeman took the flower and subconsciously wanted to smell it. Lu Lingxi hurriedly warned, ¡°Don¡¯t touch it, there might be dichlorvos on it.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lu Lingxi seriously told them about the hormones and brightening agents, and said at the end, ¡°Some people try to be cheap and don¡¯t buy hormones and brightening agents, but use other agents that are cheaper instead, dichlorvos among them, which is too toxic and more likely to lead to poisoning.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd around him erupted, cursing such unscrupulous ck-hearted businessmen. The man who spoke for Lu Lingxi earlier said loudly, ¡°Little boss, I believe you, you are not a person who would do ck-hearted things.¡± Lu Lingxi was somewhat moved and stated, ¡°All the nts in the shop are here, I can cooperate with the police¡¯s inspection.¡± He looked straightforward, not showing a trace of guilt. Coupled with his good looks, he looked like a very well-behaved boy standing there. The crowd subconsciously sided with him, thinking he wasn¡¯t the kind of person who would do such a thing. The tall man wanted to say something, but the policeman interrupted him, ¡°All right, didn¡¯t you say that someone in your family had been poisoned? This is a serious matter,e with me to the station and we¡¯ll officially open a case.¡± ¡°A case? This¡­¡± The tall man was quite reluctant, dawdling and not wanting to go. He looked askance at hispanion. The short man looked at the police sheepishly and stammered, ¡°This¡­ we are just joking to tease the little boss, actually no one was poisoned, just joking¡­¡± As he said this, the crowd of onlookers immediately understood. The two men were clearly deliberately trying to ckmail Lu Lingxi. The policeman shook his head, ¡°Joking? You jokers alsoe with me to talk about the dichlorvos on this flower.¡± The crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed. The policemanforted Lu Lingxi with a sentence, ¡°It¡¯s okay, we¡¯re just going to talk about the situation.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, not feeling scared. These two had been dead set on Tiny Garden as soon as they arrived, and in connection with the daffodil that Grandpa Su had brought yesterday, he felt that there was someone behind it. Chapter 74 Lu Lingxi went to the police station to exin the situation and came back. The two police officers who received him were very enthusiastic about him when they heard that he was Dahei¡¯s owner. Dahei¡¯s story had spread around the neighbourhood, and from time to time people came to the shop to look for Dahei when they bought flowers. After listening to Lu Lingxi¡¯s ount of what happened, both policemen reassured him that nothing was wrong with the shop and that it was just an ordinary dispute. If the tall man had not shouted that someone had been poisoned and Lu Lingxi had not mentioned the unspoken rules of the industry, the police would not have taken it so seriously. If the poisoned flowers were only made by the tall man to ckmail Lu Lingxi, it would be fine, but if they were really circting in the market, it would not be a trivial matter, and the root cause needed to be investigated strictly. After sending Lu Lingxi away, the police began to question the tall man. When the police looked like they were really serious, the tall man immediately gave an exnation. They had really been ordered to sully the reputation of Tiny Garden. However, the other party just gave them the nt smeared with the brightener. It was the two of them who added dichlorvos. They thought that Lu Lingxi was young and hadn¡¯t seen much, so he would be easy to scare. They put some dichlorvos on top of the brightener in order to ckmail him for more money. The police were relieved to hear that this kind of poisonous flowers were not in cirction in the market. They then called and spoke to Lu Lingxi, asking him if he had offended anyone. The police didn¡¯t know how to control such things, so they could only tell Lu Lingxi to watch out for himself. If the other party really wanted to tarnish the reputation of Tiny Garden, they must have arranged for more than just one group of people, and they mighte back again every few days. If anything happened, Lu Lingxi could always call the police. They would also help Lu Lingxi to keep an eye on it. After thanking the police, Lu Lingxi hung up the phone and thought about what the police said about offending people. The only person he had offended was Lu Hongxin. But Lu Hongxin was still under arrest; so who else was there but Lu Hongxin? Tiger and Erfei stayed at Tiny Garden. They saw that Lu Lingxi had hung up the phone and came over, ¡°Little boss, is everything alright?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, quite grateful to the two. He often saw the two at the small restaurant and knew that they were Brother Feng¡¯s men. But because of his prejudice against Brother Feng, he hadn¡¯t spoken to them much. He didn¡¯t expect them to stand up for him when something happened, so Lu Lingxi was a bit embarrassed. Tiger looked careless, but he was actually very attentive. As soon as he saw Lu Lingxi¡¯s expression, he guessed what the young man was thinking. He didn¡¯t care about these things but was more concerned about what happened to the two people who caused the trouble. Were they looking for death or were there people behind them? The two of them were in this business, and ckmailing people at the door was amon tactic familiar to Tiger. Especially when the two men were yelling outside without entering, it was clear that they were trying to tarnish the reputation of Tiny Garden. Lu Lingxi said what the police had said, and Tiger immediately patted his chest and took the matter on board. ¡°I¡¯ll get a few brothers to keep watch nearby. Any more trouble and they¡¯ll be dead men.¡± Today he and Erfei werete in catching up; if they had been earlier, the troublemakers would have been dragged away as soon as they opened their mouths. s ¡°No, it¡¯s too much trouble.¡± Lu Lingxi immediately tried to refuse. Tigerughed, ¡°What¡¯s the trouble, it just so happens that Brother Feng wants to clear the venue and the brothers have nothing to dotely.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t understand what clearing the venue meant, and when Tiger saw that he didn¡¯t understand, he exined as if nothing had happened, ¡°Brother Feng¡¯s card and chess parlour is closed. He wants to take the brothers to do something else but recently there¡¯s nothing to do, so it¡¯s no trouble at all. If the little boss feels ufortable, just ask Xiaouhua¡¯sdy boss to cook a specialty dish for us.¡± When he said that, Lu Lingxi understood. For a moment he was a little surprised at how Brother Feng had suddenly closed the card and chess parlour. But it had nothing to do with him; meanwhile, Tiger kept insisting, and Lu Lingxi thought about it and agreed to the other party¡¯s proposal. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t hide this matter from Yan Yue and told him about it over the phone at night. Yan Yue had just found out that behind the nts on the market under the logo of Tiny Garden was Qiu Tian Gardening. When he heard that someone dared to cause trouble at Tiny Garden, his eyes shed coldly. Through the phone Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t see Yan Yue¡¯s expression and was talking about Dahei¡¯s heroic performance today. ¡°The man who caused the trouble tried to hit you?¡± Yan Yue asked slowly, squeezing the phone tightly, hiding a raging anger under the calm surface. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t hear any clues, recalled the scene and hesitantly said, ¡°I guess it wasn¡¯t really about hitting me, he probably wanted to scare me. That¡¯s not the point, the point is that Dahei¡¯s reaction was so fast!¡± The topic turned to Dahei again as Lu Lingxi praised him over and over without mincing words. Yan Yue didn¡¯t say anything else and listened very haughtily to Lu Lingxi¡¯spliments to Dahei, adding a few patient praises for Dahei in the middle. After praising Dahei, Lu Lingxi again spected whether it could be a viciouspetition in the industry. But with Brother Feng¡¯s men helping to guard the ce, there was no fear of someone causing trouble. Yan Yue wasn¡¯t really surprised by Brother Feng¡¯s involvement. However, there is always the truth that you can be a thief for a thousand days but you cannot guard against a thief for a thousand days (it¡¯s difficult to guard against a thief for a long time), and this matter needed to be solved once and for all. Yan Yue didn¡¯t intend to tell Lu Lingxi exactly how he was going to solve it for the time being. The two of them talked untilte. Yan Yue saw that it was almost time for Lu Lingxi to rest and coaxed him to go to bed. Lu Lingxi dutifully agreed, and listening to the young man¡¯s voice saying goodnight, Yan Yue smiled and said goodnight, too. As he hung up the phone, his face immediately darkened. Qiu Tian Gardening¡­ s The case involving Lu Hongxin and his father had led to Qiu Tian being taken into custody and the family¡¯s business had fallen into disarray. Qiu Jun was trying to keep the business afloat while trying to get his father out of jail. asionallyte at night he thought about how it all started with Tiny Garden. If it wasn¡¯t for the dog that Lu Lingxi kept, Lu Hongxin wouldn¡¯t have gotten into trouble and the project wouldn¡¯t have been stirred up. When he thought about it, the old grudges were linked together and Qiu Jun couldn¡¯t help but want to get Lu Lingxi into some trouble. Wasn¡¯t the business of Tiny Garden good? Wasn¡¯t it getting more and more famous? He deliberately released a batch of hormone-damaged nts and found a few florists he used to work with to distribute them to the market under the name of Tiny Garden. In addition, he also arranged for a few thugs toe to Tiny Garden every now and then to cause trouble. If the people around Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t believe it once, after a few more visits the reputation of Tiny Garden would likely be tarnished. Qiu Jun¡¯s idea was good, but he didn¡¯t expect to get caught by the police on his first day of making trouble at Tiny Garden. Of course, Qiu Jun wouldn¡¯t have taken the matter of finding the thugs into his own hands, so he wasn¡¯t worried that the matter would involve Qiu Tian Gardening. But before he could rx, he found that the aftermath of the incident waspletely out of his control. That night, someone on Fengcheng¡¯srgest gardening forum broke the news that a batch of hormone-damaged poisonous flowers coated with dichlorvos to make the foliage look green was circting in the Fengcheng gardening market. It took only one day for the rumour to spread throughout the gardening circle and then throughout Fengcheng. For a while, sales in Fengcheng¡¯s flower market were dismal, and the floristsined for days. Just when everyone was scolding whoever had no conscience to do this kind of thing, the evidence gathered by the police after an unannounced visit all pointed to Qiu Tian Gardening. With the confessions of the two men who had caused trouble at Tiny Garden and the testimonies of several florists, it was only fitting that a batch of unsold poisonous flowers was blocked by the police in Qiu Tian Gardening¡¯s nt nursery. Not only did Qiu Tian Gardening lose its reputation in horticultural circles, but it was also cursed by everyone in Fengcheng. Qiu Jun faced jail time and was fined an exorbitant fine. When his family couldn¡¯t afford to pay, Qiu Tian Gardening was resold at a low price. The buyer¡¯s surname was said to be Xiao; he was not from the gardeningmunity. In less than half a month, the dust had settled on the whole thing. Inside the small restaurant, Wang Shuxiu was busy cooking. She had taken a day off to invite Xiao Feng and the others to dinner to thank them for taking care of Lu Lingxi during this time. It was only after Qiu Tian Gardening copsed that Lu Lingxi told Wang Shuxiu about the trouble he had gotten into some time ago. Wang Shuxiu also realised that Xiao Feng had been looking out for Lu Lingxi. She didn¡¯t know how to thank Xiao Feng, who hadn¡¯te to the restaurant since herst showdown with him. After thinking about it, Wang Shuxiu felt that it was inappropriate to thank them in any other way, so she just invited them over for a meal. It was up to Xiao Feng toe or not. When Wang Shuxiu said she would invite them to dinner, Erfei and Tiger were very enthusiastic. The two of them had gotten to know Lu Lingxi quite well over this time and had even eagerly helped out with several trips to the nt nursery to bring the goods. They felt in their hearts that they and Lu Lingxi were a family. Erfei asked Tiger with some excitement, ¡°What do you think Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss will cook today?¡± After saying that he licked his lips and said wistfully, ¡°Actually, Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss doesn¡¯t need to cook anything, just put a bottle of tomato sauce to apany the white rice.¡± Tiger red at him, ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense. The little boss said that Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss¡¯s specialty is steamed pork ribs with glutinous rice, so you have to have a big bowl, right? Right, Brother Feng?¡± Tiger managed to pass the conversation to Brother Feng. Brother Feng nced at him expressionlessly and nodded nomittally. Tiger picked up where he left off, ¡°Brother Feng, what are your ns for the future now that we¡¯ve taken over such arge piece ofnd in Qiu Tian Gardening? It¡¯s not a good idea to follow the little boss in nting flowers, so we¡¯ll bepetitors in the future, right?¡± Xiao Feng didn¡¯t bother to pay attention to him. The nt nursery of Qiu Tian Gardening was in his hands, but in fact only a quarter of it was really at his disposal, the rest was all Yan Yue¡¯s. He had seen Yan Yue¡¯s methods and connections and had no intention of going against him. He would have to find out what he wanted to do with thend in the future but he would see what Yan Yue had to say first. When he saw that Xiao Feng was not talking, Tiger was not discouraged. Anyway, Brother Xiao Feng would have to tell him sooner orter. He was just deliberately trying to get Xiao Feng to talk. Ever since thest time Brother Feng had spoken alone with Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss, Tiger had felt that something seemed wrong with the two of them. Not only had Brother Feng never been to the small restaurant for dinner again, but he had also closed the venue and bought a nt nursery, making Tiger a little confused. But he could tell that Brother Feng still had his heart set on Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t be so concerned about the little boss. This time when Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss invited them to dinner, Tiger had been secretly paying attention to Brother Feng¡¯s mood, but with Brother Feng¡¯s usual expressionless face, Tiger really couldn¡¯t guess what was on his mind. Was he happy or unhappy? Tiger followed Xiao Feng to the restaurant with various thoughts in his head. Meanwhile, at Fengcheng Airport, Yan Yue and An Jie got off the ne in a low-key manner. ¡°Shall we go back to the hotel first or¡­¡± ¡°To see Xiao Xi.¡± Yan Yue couldn¡¯t wait to see Lu Lingxi. Chapter 75 When Xiao Feng arrived at the restaurant with Tiger and the others, it was still early, so when he saw Wang Shuxiu and Yi Hang busy in the kitchen, he washed his hands and went to help. He was so natural that Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t say anything; she could just give in a little and get used to it. When he saw Xiao Feng picking vegetables, Erfei rolled up his sleeves and wanted to help, but was pulled back by Tiger, who scolded Erfei for being a dummy. With a twinkle in his eye, Tiger found an excuse to drag Yi Hang out as well. The group sat on the steps at the entrance of the restaurant, just as they didst time. Xiao Feng looked at the empty small restaurant with his usual expressionlessness, but a smile shed in his eyes very quickly. Ding Er always praised Tiger in front of him, saying that Tiger knew how to behave, and he didn¡¯t praise him in vain. With non-stop movements of his hands, Xiao Feng put the washed rice aside, saying as if inadvertently: ¡°The chess and card parlour has been closed. I n to take Tiger and the others to do something else.¡± Wang Shuxiu¡¯s hands paused; she said nothing. The closure of Brother Feng¡¯s card and chess parlour was not a small matter, and basically everyone in the neighbourhood knew about it. Apart from those who gambled indiscriminately, many of the customers of the card and chess parlour were sensible and went there asionally just for fun. During this time, there was a lot of talk around, with people wondering what had happened to make Brother Feng close the card and chess parlour. Wang Shuxiu was too old to think that Brother Feng had closed it because of those few words she had saidst time, but when she heard the news, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a littleplicated. Now that Xiao Feng said this personally, as if he was reporting it to her specifically, Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t tell what was going on in her heart. She didn¡¯t say anything, and Xiao Feng didn¡¯t say anything else either, so the kitchen was quiet for a while. Both of them worked with their heads down, but instead of looking awkward, there was a sense of tranquillity that grew, creating a feeling around them that was just like thousands of ordinary families. Tiger and the others sat outside for a while and counted when it was time for those inside to finish talking. It would be too deliberate for them to stay outside, so they walked in pretending that nothing had happened. Wang Shuxiu was stir-frying, and Xiao Feng was standing by to help pass the spices or something. Tiger couldn¡¯t tell much from Brother Feng¡¯s face, but looking at the way Brother Feng and Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss were working together, Brother Feng must have been in a good mood. The boss and the sister-inw were working, so Tiger and the others couldn¡¯t stay idle. They started to move tables, set up dishes and so on. What Lu Lingxi saw when he arrived was this lively scene in the small restaurant. Today was a day to thank Brother Feng for taking care of him in the past few days, so naturally Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t miss it. He had thought of closing the shop earlier toe over, but it so happened that two familiar customers hade to Tiny Garden and he had been dyed until now. ¡°Xiao Xi is here?¡± Wang Shuxiu asked as she was cooking. Lu Lingxi nodded and washed his hands to help, but found that Xiao Feng had done all the work he could, and he couldn¡¯t intervene at all. Stunned, he had to go to Yi Hang and apany him to sit in the corner peeling garlic. ¡°Why is Brother Feng helping in the kitchen?¡± Lu Lingxi asked in a whisper. Yi Hang smiled narrowly and said in the same low voice: ¡°Wants to be your dad.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He had some mixed feelings at this point. He hadn¡¯t heard much about thest showdown between Wang Shuxiu and Brother Feng, but he understood the general meaning. Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t ept Brother Feng¡¯s business and sort of shot down Brother Feng¡¯s intentions. Lu Lingxi just didn¡¯t expect Brother Feng to close the card and chess parlour, and at first he didn¡¯t react to it. It was only after a few days that Lu Lingxi had the hindsight to connect it to that conversation between Wang Shuxiu and Brother Feng. Lu Lingxi was a bit uneasy, but felt that Brother Feng¡¯s behaviour was sincere. To him anyway, as long as Wang Shuxiu was happy, it didn¡¯t matter who was his dad. While doing some heavyweight psychological build-up that Xiao Feng might be his stepfather, Lu Lingxi peeled the garlic in earnest. However, before he had peeled two cloves, the mobile phone on the table rang. The distinctive ringing tone made his eyes light up. ¡°Big Brother Yan?¡± It had been a little over half a month since Yan Yue hadste to see him. The young man¡¯s voice sounded with a hint of eagerness, and Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help but feel his expression soften. ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± He said softly into the phone, ¡°Where are you, Xiao Xi? I want to see you.¡± s ¡°I¡¯m at the restaurant.¡± Lu Lingxi looked very happy, ¡°But¡­¡± he said with some hesitation, ¡°Today Mom invited Brother Feng for dinner, do you want toe over, Big Brother Yan?¡± Yan Yue came back this time with the intention of meeting Xiao Feng, but today¡¯s asion was not really appropriate. Suppressing the thought in his mind of wanting to see Lu Lingxi immediately, Yan Yue changed his ns, ¡°Then Big Brother Yan will go to the hotel first and wille to see you in the evening.¡± ¡°En.¡± Lu Lingxi agreed, not daring to say anything in front of Yi Hang, and quickly hung up the phone. ¡°Brother Yan is back?¡± Yi Hang asked as he listened. Lu Lingxi nodded; thinking about how Yan Yue said he wouldn¡¯t leave when he came back this time, he couldn¡¯t suppress the smile on his face. ¡°Are you that happy?¡± Yi Hang looked at him with a puzzled expression. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t say anything; he tried hard to control his emotions, but the corners of his mouth couldn¡¯t be pulled down no matter what. The smile on Lu Lingxi¡¯s face didn¡¯t change until everyone was eating. Wang Shuxiu was inexplicably relieved as she watched him. After the meal was over, Tiger shouted to go singing. Wang Shuxiu had a rare day off from work and agreed with Lin Mei to go out for a stroll. Lu Lingxi was thinking about what Yan Yue said about finding him, so he declined the offer to sing and went home alone. Yan Yue hadn¡¯te yet, and Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t rush him either. The house next door was almost cleaned up and the fence between the backyards had been removed by workers, so that the two backyards werepletely connected. At first, Wang Shuxiu had some concerns, thinking that even if Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue knew each other well, they were still two families, so it was not a good idea to link the yards together. Later, when she heard that it was Yan Yue¡¯s idea, she thought that if Yan Yue didn¡¯t care about it and there was nothing Yan Yue could want from their family, there was no reason for her to say anything. During this time when Yan Yue was away, Lu Lingxi went next door to clean up in the evenings when he had free time. He evolved six or seven pots of chlorophytum and hung them all over the house to ensure that the formaldehyde inside was absorbed cleanly. After the backyards were connected, Dahei was the happiest. In the past, Dahei¡¯s range of activity was only in their backyard, but now that the backyard had doubled in size, Dahei was obviously very excited and often ran around the backyard by himself. ¡°Dahei,e here.¡± After Lu Lingxi finished watering the tomatoes, he purposely washed a tomato and called Dahei. Dahei immediately ran back head over heels, squatting on the ground and wagging his tail at Lu Lingxi slightly. Lu Lingxi smiled and handed the tomato to Dahei, who was about to eat it when a white kitten jumped up on the fence and ¡°meowed¡± in Dahei¡¯s direction. Lu Lingxi smiled; he knew this cat. It was the kitten born to Grandma Yang¡¯s cat upstairs some time ago. It was only two months old, but despite its small size, it was quite bold and often jumped to the first floor to provoke Dahei. When Dahei heard the cat¡¯s meow, he turned his head to look at it and turned back. The little kitten meowed softly again. Seeing that Dahei didn¡¯t respond this time, the little kitten jumped into the backyard and took a few tentative steps in Lu Lingxi¡¯s direction. Its sapphire blue eyes were moist, looking at Lu Lingxi with an innocent expression while it meowed softly. Lu Lingxi was very fond of small animals, and it seemed that small animals liked him too. Whenever he encountered puppies and kittens on the way, they were willing to bark and meow around him. He stroked Dahei¡¯s head soothingly and beckoned the little kitten. The little kitten seemed to understand his gesture, and with a light leap, it used its little paws to step on Dahei¡¯s head, using Dahei as a springboard to burrow into Lu Lingxi¡¯s arms. ¡°Meow.¡± Lu Lingxi held back a smile and stretched out one finger to scratch the kitten¡¯s chin. The kitten let out afortable meow and looked at Dahei from above, waving its paw provocatively. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Dahei always turned a blind eye to the kitten¡¯s provocations, calmly squatting on the ground and continuing to eat his tomato. The little kitten yelped in displeasure, jumped out of Lu Lingxi¡¯s embrace, swatted away the tomato with one paw, jumped on the fence before Dahei could react and turned around to run. s Lu Lingxi was about tough to death. He didn¡¯t know what was wrong with this little kitten that it liked to tease Dahei every now and then. But when he thought about it, Lu Lingxi¡¯s smile disappeared and he frowned slightly. This little kitten seemed a bit too smart and a bit too healthy. Only two months old and already able to jump up and down so vigorously and with a great deal of resourcefulness. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn¡¯t hear the sound of the door closing inside the house. Not long after, Yan Yue¡¯s figure appeared on the balcony. Yan Yue looked at Lu Lingxi¡¯s back greedily, the longing in his eyes nearly palpable. Having not seen the young man for half a month, Yan Yue felt that Lu Lingxi seemed to have lost some weight again. He didn¡¯t know what the young man was thinking that he didn¡¯t even notice his appearance. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± Yan Yue suppressed his emotions and said as calmly as he could. The familiar voice made Lu Lingxi jerk back to his senses. He turned his head to look at Yan Yue with bright eyes, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re back?¡± The corners of Yan Yue¡¯s mouth curled up and he resisted the urge to walk over to Lu Lingxi¡¯s side. He beckoned the young man and led him into the house. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t mind and followed behind Yan Yue. As soon as he entered the house, he was hugged hard by Yan Yue and kissed eagerly on the lips. The long thoughts were condensed into a single kiss, and Yan Yue couldn¡¯t let go of Lu Lingxi. Burning desire rose in his body. Yan Yue endured it and held the young men in his arms, kissing him, unable to slow down for a long time, until Lu Lingxi was dizzy. After the lingering kiss, Yan Yue sat on the sofa still hugging Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi changed his position a little ufortably and leaned against Yan Yue to calm his breathing. Yan Yue hugged him contentedly, one hand gently touching Lu Lingxi¡¯s face, and asked in a low voice, ¡°What were you thinking about in the yard just now?¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s brain was still a little short of oxygen at the moment, and it took him a few seconds to realise what Yan Yue was asking. He tilted his head somewhat hesitantly to look at Yan Yue, ¡°Big Brother Yan, what do you think, if nts can evolve, will animals also evolve?¡± Yan Yue was stunned, ¡°Why did you think of this?¡± Lu Lingxi told the story of the little kitten provoking Dahei, somewhat worried that the little kitten was too smart. Of course the smartest one was still Dahei, and Lu Lingxi sometimes felt that Dahei was exactly like a human except that he couldn¡¯t speak. Yan Yue had never had a pet, but he was so used to Dahei¡¯s intelligence that he didn¡¯t think anything of the little kitten¡¯s reaction. He looked down and kissed Lu Lingxi soothingly on the forehead, knowing that Lu Lingxi was worried about these changes caused by the panel. ¡°Xiao Xi is thinking too much.¡± Yan Yue said patiently, ¡°You also said the kitten was born after the soil was purified. The environment is good, the air is good, the kitten¡¯s range of activity is around themunity, it is normal for it to be healthier than other kittens. As for being smart, a cat¡¯s IQ is already high, so it shouldn¡¯t be an abnormality.¡± Lu Lingxi thought about it and also decided that he might be thinking too much. Chapter 76 Yan Yue found time to meet Xiao Feng the next day. The two of them met at Qiu Tian Gardening¡¯s nt nursery. Qiu Tian Gardening¡¯s nt nursery was simr in size to Luxuan Gardening¡¯s, with a continuousndscape with boundaries that couldn¡¯t be seen. Xiao Feng arrived a step early and leaned against the green pickup truck while waiting for Yan Yue, habitually lighting a cigarette. Xiao Feng had heard of the name of Qiu Tian before. Qiu Tian had been the number one horticulturalist in Fengcheng, and one on the top of the list of wealthy people in Fengcheng, who ended up badly after the sky turned upside down overnight. Xiao Feng felt a bit emotional. He had never been afraid of retribution before; if he earned money from a ck-hearted business, he deserved to die a bad death. But after a few days of leisure and a few meals with Wang Shuxiu, he started to get scared when he saw that a good life was waiting for him. He thought of his elder brother in the northwest, who had been even more ruthless in his fierce days than he was. But when his brother met his wife, Xiao Feng¡¯s sister-inw, he was able to be a good man, a virtuous man and aw-abiding man, and almost became a bodhisattva. Xiao Feng didn¡¯t understand it before, but now he probably understood his elder brother¡¯s mentality. Xiao Feng saw Yan Yue¡¯s car before he finished thinking these thoughts. He narrowed his eyes slightly, put out his cigarette and stood up straight, waiting for Yan Yue toe over. This was not the first time the two had worked together. Last time, they had cooperated to trap Lu Yishui, and this time they worked together to take down Qiu Tian Gardening. While Xiao Feng was happy to work with Yan Yue, he was also vaguely wary of this man. The other party was much more ruthless than Xiao Feng had been at his age. Unlike Wang Shuxiu, as a man, Xiao Feng could see Yan Yue¡¯s intentions towards Lu Lingxi at a nce. He tacitly agreed to pretend he knew nothing, but when he thought of Wang Shuxiu¡¯s temper, he couldn¡¯t help but gloat in his heart. Yan Yue quickly got out of the car, looked at Xiao Feng and said politely, ¡°Brother Feng.¡± Xiao Feng smiled and was equally very polite, ¡°Mr. Yan.¡± Their intersection was Lu Lingxi and Wang Shuxiu, and technically they didn¡¯t have much of a friendship in private. Although they might be family in the future, Xiao Feng would not really be foolish enough to put up a show of being an elder in front of Yan Yue, and seeing how decisive Yan Yue had been with Lu Yishui, he was afraid Yan Yue didn¡¯t care much about the so-called elders. After the initial pleasantries, the two men got down to business: the division of Qiu Tian Gardening. As previously agreed, Yan Yue took three quarters of Qiu Tian Gardening and Xiao Feng took the remaining quarter. Specifically, the seedbeds went to Yan Yue and of the nt nursery, half went to either of them. ¡°What about the mature nts in the nt nursery?¡± Xiao Feng looked at Yan Yue; this was exactly his dilemma. After Qiu Jun had transferred Qiu Tian Gardening to Xiao Feng, Xiao Feng sent someone to take a careful inventory of all the nts in the nt nursery and in the seedbeds, and found that there was arge proportion of nts that were about to mature and needed to be sold. In fact, this was the most valuable part of Qiu Tian Gardening. Due to the poisonous flower incident, Qiu Tian Gardening¡¯s reputation in the Fengcheng horticultural market had fallen, and the florists and municipal units it used to work with had cancelled their cooperation, leaving no channel to sell the nts. Apart from Qiu Tian Gardening, Xiao Feng could only think of Tiny Garden. However, the influence of Tiny Garden was too small and he had little confidence in it. If he couldn¡¯t find a suitable channel in the near future, the nts would be left on their hands. Xiao Feng knew nothing about the gardening market in Fengcheng, so he naturally passed the problem to Yan Yue. Yan Yue was fine with this, he had a n. With the copse of Qiu Tian Gardening, arge part of the Fengcheng horticultural market was left empty. Several of Qiu Tian¡¯spetitors began to take over the market. However, unlike other products, flowers and nts take time to grow and cannot be cultivated in a short period of time. At the critical moment, whoever had sufficient supplies would be able to take over the original market share of Qiu Tian Gardening. Yan Yue had already contacted Xue Yongtong and agreed to sell the no-problem nts in Qiu Tian¡¯s nt nursery to Luxuan as a favour to Xue Yongtong. With these issues resolved, the two looked around and left the nt nursery together. Xiao Feng didn¡¯t ask Yan Yue what he intended to do with the nt nursery, and Yan Yue didn¡¯t ask Xiao Feng about his subsequent arrangements. The two ended this coboration with a tacit understanding and no one said anything more. s Tiny Garden Lu Lingxi was receiving Su Lang. He hadn¡¯t seen Su Lang for some time, and heard from Grandpa Su that Su Lang had been running around outside all the time. Now it seemed Su Lang¡¯s whole body had really tanned a lot. Su Lang was looking for Lu Lingxi for something this time. He carefully ced a flower pot in front of Lu Lingxi. In it, there was a half-wilted seedling, looking in a poor state. ¡°Xiao Xi, please take a look at it for me.¡± ¡°This is¡­¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know the seedling in the flower pot. His mental scan dispersed and a white panel floated in front of him. nt name: Mutated donglingcao nt needs: root damage nt viability: low nt status: primary ¡°This is a wild donglingcao. Does it look different from ordinary donglingcao?¡± Su Lang exined next to him. Lu Lingxi nodded. He had never seen donglingcao but had heard of it. Just by looking at the word ¡°mutated¡± in the panel prompt, he could probably deduce that this donglingcao was different from the ordinary donglingcao. He remembered that the origin of wild donglingcao was far south of the Taihang Mountains, where the climate was harsher, arid and with little rain, and the soil was very barren. So, Su Lang had made a trip to the Taihang Mountains? As Lu Lingxi¡¯s thought shed by, Su Lang was already anxious to ask, ¡°How is it? Will it die?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head. Although the viability of this donglingcao showed to be rtively low, it should be fine. However, he was a little curious as to why Su Lang was so nervous about this nt. As far as Lu Lingxi knew, donglingcao was not a precious nt, and in the eyes of the general public, it was simr to weeds. The only thing that made it special was that in winter, when it was below zero, the nt would condense thin, glittering white cicada-wing-shaped kes of ice in various forms. They are said to be very beautiful and when the wind blows, they will sway in the wind and glisten in the sun. For this reason, the nt is also known as ice grass. Even if the donglingcao in front of him had mutated, it was still essentially a donglingcao, so Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t understand. Although he was wondering in his heart, he didn¡¯t talk much, but carefully dug out the roots of the nt, shaking off the soil at the roots of the seedling, and clearly saw that there was a big crack at the roots. Lu Lingxi exined, ¡°This was not handled properly when it was transnted and the roots were hurt. It will be fine once the roots are nurtured.¡± He moved skillfully to arrange it, and Su Lang let out an obvious sigh of relief. ¡°Xiao Xi, thank you so much.¡± Su Lang said sincerely, ¡°This donglingcao is important to one of our researches, in rtion to the clinical treatment of leukaemia. It is not like other donglingcao, and it took a lot of effort to find it. It would be a shame if it died.¡± Lu Lingxi pondered that this donglingcao was the first mutated nt he had ever seen and it should indeed be rare. But what he was more concerned about was, ¡°Leukaemia?¡± The nt was fine and Su Lang¡¯s mood improved. He said patiently, ¡°Donglingcao may look inconspicuous, but it is actually a very important medicinal nt, and the whole nt can be used as medicine. Rubescensin A can be isted from donglingcao. Previously, it was thought that this substance only had an inhibition effect on somemon cancer cells, but not long ago a study found that it could also selectively kill leukaemia cells and inhibit the activity of leukaemia initiating cells, thus prolonging the survival period of mice carrying leukaemia. We are currently looking for a different donglingcao to study further and want to try to apply the results of this research to clinical treatment.¡± Speaking of his line of work, Su Lang couldn¡¯t help but get excited. Lu Lingxi listened attentively and smiled along with Su Lang. His smile was noticed by Yan Yue who had just entered the door and felt quite jealous. s ¡°Su Lang.¡± Lu Lingxi reacted fastest when he heard the sound, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re back?¡± Yan Yue met his bright eyes and subconsciously smiled. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Lu Lingxi repeated what Su Lang had said word-by-word. Yan Yue¡¯s gaze fell on the donglingcao as he pondered, ¡°Is the effect so good?¡± Su Lang nodded, ¡°The details are still being researched, but from the current experiments with mice the results look very good.¡± That was all Yan Yue asked. The two hadn¡¯t seen each other for a while, and the conversation quickly turned to something else. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t interject and his attention returned to the donglingcao. If Su Lang didn¡¯t mention it this time, Lu Lingxi was on the verge of forgetting about his past life. Leukaemia, bone marrow transntation; it would be great if Su Lang and the others could really develop a special drug that could alleviate leukaemia in the early stage. Lu Lingxi thought of nt evolution and his heart suddenly stirred. Su Lang said that the donglingcao could iste Rubescensin A, so would this substance isted from the evolved donglingcao be a little more effective? Especially since this nt was a mutated donglingcao. If it evolved, wouldn¡¯t the effect be even more different? Lu Lingxi¡¯s gaze was burning as he stared at the donglingcao. He didn¡¯t know how long it would take to raise this donglingcao until it was ready to evolve, and looking at Su Lang¡¯s anxious look he probably wouldn¡¯t leave this donglingcao in Tiny Garden for a long time. Lu LIngxi thought about secretly leaving a portion of the nt behind and subconsciously began to study which would be the best ce to start. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Yan Yue sent Su Lang away and came over to ask. Lu Lingxi was startled violently and asked sheepishly, ¡°Where¡¯s Dr. Su?¡± Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened as he said, ¡°He just left, what are you looking for him for?¡± Lu Lingxi sighed with relief and told Yan Yue somewhat embarrassingly what he intended to do. He whispered, ¡°This kind of mutated donglingcao should be very rare, Big Brother Yan, do you think the effect after evolution will be better?¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t expect Lu Lingxi to be holding this thought, and decisively supported him, ¡°We can raise it to try.¡± When Yan Yue said it in such a confident manner, Lu Lingxi was surprised and couldn¡¯t help but smile with his eyes curved. He carefully took a small portion of the root buds from the root of the donglingcao and found a pot to nt it in. ¡°But,¡± Lu Lingxi thought of something and fretted a little, ¡°what should I tell Dr. Su if it evolves?¡± After all, this donglingcao was secretly left behind. Yan Yue didn¡¯t care much, ¡°By then Su Lang would only be happy, how could he care about this issue?¡± Lu Lingxi thought about it and agreed. After tending to the donglingcao, Yan Yue talked to Lu Lingxi about the arrangements for Qiu Tian Gardening. Yan Yue didn¡¯t hide the matter of Qiu Tian Gardening from Lu Lingxi this time, but omitted some of the details that he didn¡¯t think the boy needed to know. With the nt nursery of Qiu Tian Gardening, Yan Yue had new ns for the cooperation with Xue Yongtong. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t have any thoughts about it, as long as Yan Yue made the decisions. His interests were not there and he preferred to stay in the nt nursery and take care of the nts. Chapter 77 Gao Yongliang¡¯s mood during this period of time could be described as a roller-coaster ride of sadness and joy. First, Sequoia Investment suddenly withdrew its investment in him, which was like a bolt from the blue. Before he could digest the news, Dezhi Investment, which had rejected him before, approached him, saying that it was willing to reconsider the project, but Dezhi Investment must have an absolute controlling stake in Gao Yongliang¡¯spany. Gao Yongliang flew abroad for this purpose and the two sides tussled over the shareholding for a few days before Gao Yongliang finally relented and took 49% of thepany¡¯s shares, while Dezhi Investment took 51%. Having solved the problem of funds, Gao Yongliang returned to China and focused all his energy on Lu Lingxi, spending almost every day in Tiny Garden. After a period of time, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t bear it and agreed to cooperate with him. Not cooperating with Xue Yongtong, but directly with Gao Yongliang. Tiny Garden would be Gao Yongliang¡¯s supplier together with Luxuan Gardening. Yan Yue made it clear in the cooperation that the number of ¡°mutated¡± begonias was rtively small, so Tiny Garden could only provide the quantity for Gao Yongliang¡¯s experiments in the early stage, and thatrge-scale production would have to wait until next year. Knowing that it was true, Gao Yongliang had no choice but to agree. Throughout the cooperation process, Gao Yongliang and Tiny Garden were very happy, but Xue Yongtong was a little bit depressed. In the end, he still didn¡¯t know what was going on with these begonias. He had originally thought that Tiny Garden¡¯s nt nursery was notrge enough and that if they wanted to cultivate begonias on arge scale, they could only work with Luxuan, but he didn¡¯t expect that Qiu Jun would suddenly have an ident and sell off Qiu Tian Gardening with the speed of lightning, and the person who bought it would be Yan Yue. Now it was also Tiny Garden¡¯s nt nursery, and Xue Yongtong had nothing to do with it. What made Xue Yongtong even more frustrated was that he had just owed Yan Yue a huge favour and he couldn¡¯t show his depression, so he could only smile at Lu Lingxi with a kind face and continue to go crazy over the begonias when he turned away. Xue Yongtong¡¯s private depression was unknown to Lu Lingxi, whose entire focus was on reproducing evolved begonias. Under normal circumstances, begonias are propagated mainly by sowing seeds, cuttings and tissue culture. However, as begonias are the offspring of hybridisation, seed propagation is highly variable and has a legacy of instability, so seeds are rarely used for sowing and most begonias are propagated by cuttings and tissue culture. Cuttings method was the most familiar to Lu Lingxi. Select young shoots of about ten centimetres, remove the base leaves, wait until it is dry and insert it into a soil bed. It will take about three weeks to root and grow into a brand new nt. In addition to cuttings there was another fast way of propagation, tissue culture propagation. This method of reproduction was used to reproduce arge number of flower seedlings in a test tube. Specifically, a small piece of tissue from a flower nt, such as a leaf or stem node or flower bud, was cultured in a nutrient medium and, after continuous cutting and propagation, thousands of new nts could be produced in a rtively short period of time. Compared to cuttings, Lu Lingxi was not very skilled at thetter method. Although the nt nursery of Qiu Tian had a corresponding culture room, Lu Lingxi chose to use cuttings in the early stages and slowly multiply the number of begonias. Of course he also gradually began to learn how to use the culture room in preparation forrge-scale propagation in the future. This process was also a bonding process between Lu Lingxi and the workers at the former Qiu Tian Gardening nt nursery. The Qiu Tian Gardening¡¯s nt nursery was toorge to be taken care of by Uncle Li and Yu Xiaojuan alone like the Tiny Garden nt nursery, and workers had to be hired from outside. Yan Yue didn¡¯t make any major changes among the original workers, only dismissing some he felt were unsuitable. The rest were regarded as being skilled and honest. Among them, Lu Lingxi was most impressed by Lu Guoxing. Lu Guoxing was in his forties, with a long face, slightly dark skin and a tall body. He was only an ordinary worker in the nt nursery, but he was the only one who could see that the begonias cultivated by Lu Lingxi were different from ordinary begonias. After Yan Yue investigated Lu Guoxing¡¯s background, he simply promoted him. When Lu Lingxi was around, he was Lu Lingxi¡¯s assistant, and when Lu Lingxi was not around, he was the person in charge of the nt nursery. By the time this series of things got on track, it was already early October. Xiao Feng heard from somewhere that Wang Shuxiu was worried about the supply of vegetables in winter, and after taking Tiger and his men to inspect the vegetable market in Fengcheng, he decided to turn Qiu Tian Gardening¡¯s nt nursery into a vegetable garden, with the greenhouses used for growing vegetables. It was under Xiao Feng¡¯s name, and he had only just begun preparations when several small restaurants near the original card and chess parlour immediately approached him, wanting to cooperate with him. To put it bluntly, they also wanted Xiao Feng to cover them. s After hearing of Xiao Feng¡¯s ns, Lu Lingxi thought of the tomato seeds he had collected and the grape seeds he had been awarded by the systemst time. In general, grapes are grown by taking cuttings or buying seedlings directly. Lu Lingxi had read a book that exined that the grapes produced by the nting of delicious grape seeds were not necessarily delicious, and the actual seedlings grown from the seeds bore fruit veryte, taking about four or five years to bear fruit. But the seeds in his hand were not ordinary seeds, they were rewarded by the system. Considering the effect of growing tomatoes, Lu Lingxi was very sure about the grape seeds. He didn¡¯t know how effective Brother Feng would be at growing vegetables at the beginning, but good seeds should help a little. The tomatoes at the very least would definitely be popr, and the grapes would likely not be bad either. Besides, it was going to be winter soon and the tomatoes in the yard were about to stop bearing fruit. Lu Lingxi wanted to eat the tomatoes and was curious about the grape seeds that the system had rewarded him with, so it would be great if Brother Feng was willing to try them out in the greenhouse. With these thoughts in mind, Lu Lingxi gave some of the seeds, both tomatoes and grapes, to Wang Shuxiu, asking her to suggest that Xiao Feng nt some of them suitably. Wang Shuxiu looked at the seeds on the table, ¡°What does this mean?¡± Lu Lingxi meekly said, ¡°These are the seeds of our tomatoes, which will definitely grow better and taste better than the seeds sold in the market, and the grape seeds I found, which will definitely grow delicious grapes.¡± If it wasn¡¯t for Wang Shuxiu¡¯s sake, he wouldn¡¯t have taken out these seeds. Wang Shuxiuughed a little; the little bastard¡¯s mind was clear at a nce. She pped Lu Lingxi, curving her willow eyebrow, ¡°You do worry a lot.¡± Since Xiao Feng had closed the card and chess parlour, Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng¡¯s rtionship obviously became closer. But the two didn¡¯t rify anything and still got along in a lukewarm manner. Wang Shuxiu thought this was fine and Xiao Feng didn¡¯t seem to be in a hurry, but it was Lu Lingxi who struggled several times in private over whether he should continue to call Xiao Feng ¡°Brother Feng¡± or Uncle Xiao. Lu Lingxi scratched his head and looked at Wang Shuxiu with some embarrassment. Wang Shuxiu smiled and put away the seeds, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll take them to Brother Feng and show them to him. It¡¯s up to him whether to nt them or not.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t say anything, but felt that Xiao Feng would definitely nt them as long as he wasn¡¯t stupid. He had eaten the tomatoes in the backyard and knew what they tasted like. In fact, Xiao Feng was also considering the tomatoes at Lu Lingxi¡¯s house. He thought he would find time to ask Wang Shuxiu where they bought the seeds of the tomatoes so that he would go and buy some too. Tiger sat next to Xiao Feng, pretending to hold a book on vegetable cultivation and pointing out, ¡°We also need to grow some cabbage, beans, garlic sprouts¡­ right, and winter squash. In order to keep the original taste of these crops, it is best not to use pesticides and try not to use some chemical fertilisers to ripen them.¡± He spoke in a serious manner, and Erfeiughed so hard that his stomach hurt as he teased, ¡°You actually can read, Tiger?¡± Tiger kicked him discontentedly, ¡°Fuck off, Lao Tzu graduated from high school, too.¡± The two of them were joking around, but Xiao Feng felt a bit impatient and lit a cigarette, asking, ¡°How is hiring people going?¡± Growing flowers was not the same as growing vegetables, so the original workers of the greenhouse couldn¡¯t be used. Xiao Feng picked and chose a few, Yan Yue came over and picked a few, and fired the rest. There were not enough people to do the job, and the brothers under Xiao Feng didn¡¯t look like they could farm, so they had to hire from outside. When it came to the serious business, Tiger was not vague at all. ¡°I found the people, they¡¯re all from the nearby viges. Dapeng also asked around privately. The people hired are all good at farming and have honest personalities, there¡¯s nothing to cause trouble.¡± Erfeiughed, ¡°Are we still afraid that someone will cause trouble?¡± Tiger red at him, ¡°We¡¯ve be good people now, you know? Don¡¯t fight if you can not fight. You have to convince people with virtue.¡± Everyone: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Even Xiao Feng couldn¡¯t hold back hisughter. ¡°It¡¯s past ten o¡¯clock, get lost and go to bed.¡± After sending Tiger away, Xiao Feng calcted that he would have to buy a few more cars, rent a few more stalls outside, leave a few of his men to keep an eye on the vegetable beds and use a few to run the transportation; the send the rest to the stalls and let them toss and turn. s After a good night¡¯s sleep, Xiao Feng received a phone call from Wang Shuxiu early the next morning, asking him toe to the restaurant sometime. Xiao Feng didn¡¯t dy and went to the restaurant after breakfast. Wang Shuxiu brought out the seeds that Lu Lingxi had given her yesterday. Xiao Feng was happy to hear that they were the seeds of the tomatoes grown in the backyard that Lu Lingxi had specially prepared for him. Wang Shuxiu also exined that the initial seeds for the tomatoes in the backyard had been given to Lu Lingxi by someone, and Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know where to buy them outside. Xiao Feng waved his hand; Lu Lingxi had thought of giving him these seeds, showing his kindness. But what was this packet of grape seeds? Following his gaze, Wang Shuxiu smiled, ¡°The little bastard probably wants to eat grapes. No one has ever nted these seeds, so just leave them alone, don¡¯t worry about them, Brother Feng.¡± Xiao Feng turned the seeds in his hand and didn¡¯t say anything. He had never nted grapes before, but at least it was a gift from Lu Lingxi, so he could find a corner and nt them, it wouldn¡¯t take up much space. It would also improve his image in front of his ¡°son¡±. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know that Xiao Feng was nning to grow grapes but was nting them with the intention of pleasing him. He was now closing his shop and preparing to go to Lingshui Vige with Yan Yue. Before leaving the city, Yan Yue drove him around Fengcheng, deliberately looking for the ces they had purified before. The first ce the two arrived at was the south of the city. A while after the purification Lu Lingxi had alsoe here to have a look, and the changes were not very obvious. But after a month, the changes were somewhat more prominent. Compared to the surrounding area, the nts on the purifiednd grew exceptionally lush, with unknown wild flowers and wild grasses crowding together, looking very vibrant. A few stray cats wandered in the grass and thergest oneyzily in a tree, belly up in the sun. When it heard themotion, the cat nced at them unhurriedly, but its golden pupils widened instantly when it saw Lu Lingxi. Its nose sniffed, it turned over and crouched down to meow affectionately at Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi smiled, and his mental scan spread out to fix on the willow tree where the cat was squatting. The tree in front of him was in the centre of the purified soil, its branches were thick and full of leaves. As the afternoon sunlight hit the tree, it was as if there was fluid jade running through the leaves. Unknowingly, the willow tree had fulfilled the requirements for evolution. The white panel emerged and the form of the willow tree appeared on it. The status in the bottom showed that the willow tree was at its primary peak at this time. Want to evolve immediately? Lu Lingxi chose yes, as the willow tree in its primary peak didn¡¯t make much noise when it evolved into the first-level state and would not feel like an earthquake like when the big willow tree first evolved. As Lu Lingxi confirmed, the willow tree¡¯s roots began to grow slowly. Except for a part of it that went underground, the rest seemed to be extending towards a certain direction. Lu Lingxi was taken aback. The panel status showed that there was no mistake, part of the willow tree¡¯s roots were really extending towards the north, just at an extremely slow pace. Before he knew it, the cat in the tree obviously sensed something and jumped down quickly, meowing again at Lu Lingxi and running away into the grass. Lu Lingxi felt that the intuition of animals was much sharper than that of humans. Taking his attention back from the cat, he told Yan Yue about the change in the willow tree with a hint of confusion, ¡°North? What¡¯s in the north?¡± Yan Yue couldn¡¯t see the white panel and listened to Lu Lingxi¡¯s description thoughtfully. The location of the big willow tree in Lingshui Vige was in the north, as was the other nearest purified soil, and of course the ce where Xiao Xi lived was also in the north. He felt that the choice of the willow tree was exined by one of these three ces, but wherever it was, it seemed to indicate the magic of its evolution, or rather the magic of the panel. He rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair soothingly, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the other purification site. The closest one to here is not far to the north.¡± Lu Lingxi thought of this ce as well and nodded obediently. Twenty minutester, the two arrived at the other purification ce. The purifiednd in the south of the city seemed to be spreading very quickly in all directions because the surrounding development was more backward, with less movement of people and correspondingly less pollution. Meanwhile, the area in front of them was also spreading in all directions, but the extent was smaller than that in the south of the city. Compared to the disorderly area in the south of the city, this ce seemed to have been tended to, with the ground cleared of weeds, leaving only unknown wild flowers of various colours. Under the willow tree on one side, there were a few old men ying chess, and there were also children running around, looking very lively. Yan Yue parked the car on the opposite side of the road, and the two of them didn¡¯t get out of the car. Lu Lingxi¡¯s mental scan had a range of thirty metres, enough to see the state of the willow tree. The white panel surfaced; the willow tree had likewise fulfilled the requirement for evolution. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t hesitate to choose yes, and the panel soon showed that the willow tree¡¯s roots had changed in exactly the same way as in the south. One part was rooted to the ground, and the other part was slowly extending towards the north. At this point, without Yan Yue having to say anything, Lu Lingxi guessed that the two willow trees should be aiming at the big willow tree in Lingshui Vige. He was a little worried that the movement would be too big in the future, but on second thought, at the rate these roots were extending, it would take a few years to reach the big willow tree. Calcting the time, he didn¡¯t need to worry for the time being. Yan Yue listened to Lu Lingxi¡¯s analysis and nodded while driving. A few years would be enough time for Fengcheng to change drastically. By the time the district was integrated into Fengcheng, no one would have guessed that the source would be there. The two of them circled around Fengcheng and all five purified soils expanded well, but not all the willows met the requirements for evolution; only three of them met the evolutionary requirements. The other two trees were also flourishing, but they felt as if something was missing. Lu Lingxi thought about it, and in a sh of intuition, he said, ¡°Vitality, what theyck is vitality.¡± Just like the nts in the nt nursery, some evolved and some didn¡¯t. The ones that didn¡¯t evolve were not because he didn¡¯t take good care of them, but because theycked the vitality to evolve. ¡°Vitality?¡± Lu Lingxi exined excitedly, ¡°Although I can¡¯t see it, I can feel it. I was wrong in the past. The vitality of a nt is not an illusory substance, but an energy. Every stage of a nt¡¯s growth requires a different amount of energy. Just like this willow tree, it has not met the requirements for evolution because it does not have enough vitality, that is, it has not umted enough energy. When it has stored enough energy, it should be able to evolve.¡± Yan Yue nodded thoughtfully, further thinking of the nt hearts and the power of nature. If they were linked in this way, he did feel that the vitality Lu Lingxi spoke of was somewhat like the nt hearts. On the way out of the city, Lu Lingxi was somewhat excited because he figured out the reason why nts couldn¡¯t evolve. He had not been to Lingshui Vige for a few days, as his recent activities were mostly in the nt nursery of Qiu Tian Gardening. The greenhouse in Lingshui Vige had been built long ago, and Yan Yue had even had a pond dug in the middle of the nt nursery. This time, the two of them went to the nt nursery with the intention of filling the pond with water and trying to cultivate some aquatic nts while it was still not cold. When Lu Lingxi talked about the pond, he remembered the first-level peak victoria that Xue Yongtong had. He was a little itchy and couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Big Brother Yan, do you think Uncle Xue will agree if we go to him and say we want to buy that victoria?¡± Yan Yue indulgently rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair. It didn¡¯t matter what Xue Yongtong thought; if Lu Lingxi liked it, he would find a way to get Xue Yongtong to agree. Chapter 78 Under the big willow tree at the entrance of Lingshui Vige, some vigers brought small benches and some brought small stools, gathering in twos and threes, waiting for the vige head to start a meeting. It was already October, but the willow tree carried no hint of withering, its branches and leaves were still lush, with the huge canopy spreading out to the sides and the branches hanging down to cover the sun in the background. Uncle Li carried a little stool and stood close to the willow tree. He didn¡¯t know if it was his illusion. When he was close to the willow tree, he always felt that his whole body was full of strength, and he was not tired after standing for a long time. Uncle Li was not the only one who felt this way. Several old men and olddies in the vige who often came to the willow tree to chat and y chess also had this feeling. It seemed that the bones of their bodies had healed unknowingly, and they could walk a few miles in one go. The vige head still didn¡¯te, so after waiting for a long time, the old men and women started chatting. Some said they could eat two bowls of rice recently, and some said their teeth that had been loosened could bite meat again, and then someone said he had eaten two more corns yesterday. In short, their health was good recently, and it was all because the tree god blessed them. Uncle Li felt amused. He had seen the world when he was young and didn¡¯t believe in the tree god in his heart. But his health had indeed been good recently, and with the resurrection of the old willow tree from the dead, he had to admit that the old willow tree was somewhat extraordinary. With this conflicting psychology, Uncle Li¡¯s attitude towards the old willow tree was somewhat contradictory. When Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue drove over, they saw a crowd of people under the willow tree at the entrance of the vige from afar. Yan Yue was more experienced, ¡°The vige is having another meeting.¡± Lu Lingxiughed when he heard it. He didn¡¯t know when Lingshui Vige had developed the habit of holding meetings under the willow tree at the entrance of the vige. As most of the young people in the vige were working outside, most of the remaining vigers were older people, so every time they had a meeting, they each brought a bench and a mat, and a meeting to talk about one or two small things could often take up an afternoon. Thest time he witnessed such a meeting, he found it quite interesting. When he got out of the car, Lu Lingxi stood on tiptoe and looked towards the willow tree, found Uncle Li in the crowd and waved his hand vigorously, not knowing if Uncle Li could see it. Yan Yue saw his movement and was afraid that Lu Lingxi would run over to the meeting on a whim to join in the fun. The old men and women in the vige all liked Lu Lingxi. On the previous asion when Lu Lingxi was at the meeting, Yan Yue waited for a long time until Lu Lingxi came back, and when he went to the entrance of the vige, he found that the young man was surrounded by several olddies, vying for him to be their granddaughters¡¯ husband. Although Yan Yue knew that Lu Lingxi was extremely likeable, he still had the feeling that his treasure was coveted by others and was upset for half a day. ¡°Xiao Xi, go back inside and be careful of the sun.¡± Yan Yue reminded. Lu Lingxi let out an ¡°en¡± and obediently turned to the small courtyard, helping Yan Yue carry the things he had brought in the car into the house. The two of them were nning to stay in the courtyard for the night, so Yan Yue had prepared a lot of things, including food and drink, a change of clothes, and even a mat for Dahei. Dahei squatted on the ground, eyeing the mat. The mat = can¡¯t sleep by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side. This knowledge made him narrow his eyes, and while Yan Yue was packing his things, Dahei turned and ran out of the house with the mat in his teeth. Dahei shoved the mat directly under the flower pot in the backyard, and pulled two bags of flower fertiliser to cover it. The whole process was watched by Lu Lingxi, who sat on the edge of the bed and was about tough to death, but was afraid that Yan Yue would hear him, so he held his stomach and endured in silence. Yan Yue put away his things and turned around to see Lu Lingxi holding back hisughter until his face was red. He looked like he was about to burst into tears fromughing, and his eyes were wet. Dahei was not in the house, and Yan Yue immediately guessed what had happened. He helplessly took Lu Lingxi in his arms, one hand rubbing the young man¡¯s tummy for him. ¡°So funny?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, shivering withughter as he leaned into Yan Yue¡¯s embrace, exhaling hot air that prated Yan Yue¡¯s t-shirt. The seed of yearning in Yan Yue¡¯s heart seemed to be awakened, quickly taking root and sprouting a vine called desire. He gently rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s stomach, the other hand stroking the young man¡¯s hair as if carelessly. The longing in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes deepened as the vine in his heart twisted and extended. s When Lu Lingxi had almost finishedughing, he tilted his head and was about to say something nice about Dahei when he suddenly met Yan Yue¡¯s eyes. While his expression was slightly startled, Yan Yue had already lowered his head and kissed him. Although he was a little surprised, Lu Lingxi was already used to Yan Yue¡¯s kisses and closed his eyes as usual, but he noticed something was wrong when he was dizzy from being kissed. Yan Yue¡¯s lips left his and worked their way down his chin. Lu Lingxi instinctively tensed up, but quickly dropped his defences for Yan Yue¡¯s kisses and unconsciously let his body soften. ¡°Big Brother¡­ Yan?¡± Yan Yue rolled up Lu Lingxi¡¯s t-shirt and covered the whole body of the young man in his arms. The vige was very quiet in the afternoon, without the cacophony of human voices, with only the cheerful birdsong in the backyard and the sound of Dahei chasing birds. Somewhat unable to control the throbbing in his body, Yan Yue gently nibbled on the young man¡¯s neck, and then followed the beautiful line of Lu Lingxi¡¯s corbone all the way down, dropping countless kisses. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t describe the feeling; it seemed sweet and torturous at the same time. His two hands clenched tightly at Yan Yue¡¯s clothes, and his body curled up unconsciously. As Yan Yue moved, Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart seemed to beat faster and faster. He pushed Yan Yue with some difort, and got in return a punishing bite from Yan Yue that made his heart itch. Since the bottom line had been crossed, Yan Yue simply turned the young man again and again and kissed him all over, pouring his love on him. The wall clock ticked away, chiming the whole hour, reminding Yan Yue that it had been an hour since they hade to the nt nursery. Yan Yue tenderly tidied up Lu Lingxi¡¯s clothes and held him in his arms contentedly. Lu Lingxi¡¯s earlobes were red as if they were dripping blood, and he couldn¡¯t say a word, only feeling Yan Yue¡¯s saliva all over his body. The meeting at the entrance to the vige seemed to have ended, and the sound of people talking came from outside the courtyard. Across a courtyard wall, there seemed to be another world. Until the two of them had eaten their dinner, the tips of Lu Lingxi¡¯s ears were still a little red. Yan Yue looked at him dotingly, with some ingratiation, ¡°Let¡¯s go and fill the pond.¡± After the heat of the morning, the weather had cooled down by now. The two of them walked through the nt nursery; Yan Yue carried the hose with one hand and led Lu Lingxi with the other. The pond that had been dug was not veryrge and for safety was only about one metre deep. Lu Lingxi just wanted to try to cultivate some aquatic nts, like Xue Yongtong, out of interest, not to make money. s In one corner of the pond, Yan Yue had built a three-tiered tform from green bricks. He pulled Lu Lingxi to sit on the top step and unscrewed the hose to release the water. At first they had nned to draw water from the small river behind the vige, but thest time Yan Yue went to see it, the water was too dirty, so he gave up on the idea. The clear water filled the bottom of the pond little by little, and Lu Lingxi took off his shoes and stepped in it, feeling that the water was cool andfortable. Yan Yue condoned his actions and didn¡¯t stop him. Lu Lingxi stepped on the water and sat down next to Yan Yue, whispering, ¡°I want to take a shower with the hose.¡± Yan Yue raised his eyebrows, and Lu Lingxi blushed andined, ¡°Your saliva is all over my body, Big Brother Yan.¡± Yan Yue couldn¡¯t hold back hisughter. His expression was so happy that it made the tips of Lu Lingxi¡¯s ears redden again. In the end, Yan Yue didn¡¯t agree to let Lu Lingxi take a shower with the hose. Although the temperature was still okay now, it was already autumn, what if he caught a cold? ¡°Go back home and wash tonight.¡± Yan Yue insisted, and Lu Lingxi could only reluctantly agree. He couldn¡¯t take a shower, but Dahei was fine with it. When the water in the pond was above his calves, Dahei jumped in with a ssh, shook his fur and started paddling. Lu Lingxi watched as Dahei swam from one side of the pond to the other and back again, ying like a champ, and was really envious. The pond soon filled up with water, and as the silt at the bottom of the pond settled down, the water above became clearer. As Lu Lingxi sat on the steps and yed with the water, a question suddenly urred to him. ¡°Big Brother Yan, the direction of evolution of the big willow tree is to purify the soil. Could the direction of evolution of that victoria be to purify the water?¡± Yan Yue was taken aback and really thought it was a possibility. Lu Lingxi became happy and immediately gave an example, saying, ¡°Like lotus, reed, duckweed¡­ these are all aquatic nts and are much moremon than victoria and are easy to raise. It would be good if they all evolved in the direction of purifying the water.¡± He thought of something after he finished and looked a little regretful, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that the evolutionary direction of the nts is given by the panel. If only I could choose it myself.¡± Yan Yue rubbed his hair, ¡°Maybe it will be possible after the panel is upgraded again.¡± Lu Lingxi thought about it and smiled a little embarrassedly. He seemed to be a little too greedy. The two men and the dog sat by the pond until the evening. The breeze blew, the water sparkled, and the clear light of the moonid a silver glow on the water. Dahei was still swimming around vigorously, and there was a clear sound of insects chirping along the outer courtyard wall of the nt nursery. Lu Lingxi stepped on the water and leaned into Yan Yue¡¯s arms. Water rippled beneath his feet, and he couldn¡¯t help but smile faintly. ¡°Big Brother Yan, I never thought before that days could be this happy, it¡¯s like a dream.¡± Yan Yue hugged Lu Lingxi and kissed him on the forehead. His voice was low but full of certainty, ¡°We will be happy like this every day from now on.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t say anything else, just hummed and took Yan Yue¡¯s hand, their fingers intertwined and sped together. Chapter 79 The next day¡¯s breakfast Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi ate at Uncle Li¡¯s house. The two of them were still asleep when Uncle Li came to the nt nursery to start watering the nts. Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed to get up and see that the time was only six o¡¯clock. Uncle Li had a smile on his face, ¡°Go back to sleep. I don¡¯t get much sleep in my old age, but you¡¯re still growing up.¡± Lu Lingxi was still sleepy after going to bedtest night. But in front of Uncle Li, he was too embarrassed to go back to sleep. Yan Yue followed closely, and the two of them simply helped Uncle Li with the work. When it was seven o¡¯clock, Auntie Li came over to call them to eat. Yesterday, knowing that Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue wereing over, she had purposely prepared oat flour. The first thing she did when she got up early in the morning was to pour water and make oat noodles, rolling them into rolls to steam. Next Auntie Li soaked some sun-dried mushrooms, chopped them and fried them with diced meat, and made a portion of diced mushroom braised meat. When she steamed the oat noodles, she also steamed some potatoes, peeled and mashed them, and mixed them with chilli, oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar to make a cold dish. Now all this was ready, just waiting for them to eat. Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t refuse and followed Uncle Li back home. As soon as they sat down at the dining table, Auntie Li brought up the hot noodles. As Auntie Li uncovered the pot, a strange aroma filled their noses. Lu Lingxi had never heard of oat noodles before, so he looked inside the pot with some curiosity and saw rows and rows of small rolls packed side by side, a bit like the honebs he had seen in a book. The oat noodle rolls that Auntie Li made were very beautiful, each one a finger¡¯s length long and as thin as a willow leaf, light yellow in colour. Pour a spoonful of diced mushroom meat and mix it together and a bite will be simply unforgettable. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t resist eating two bowls, and almost couldn¡¯t put the chopsticks down. Uncle Li was very happy to see him eat and was still persuading him, ¡°Eat more, child. Your Auntie has been in good healthtely, her arms are strong, and the noodles she makes are finer than her usual ones.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled and nodded, but didn¡¯t move his chopsticks; he really couldn¡¯t eat any more. But Lu Lingxi listened to what Uncle Li said and asked with concern, ¡°Auntie¡¯s legs haven¡¯t been hurtingtely, have they?¡± ¡°No.¡± Uncle Li was even happier to talk about it. ¡°It¡¯s been almost a month, right? Your Auntie hasn¡¯t had any pain once. Even thest time it rained it was fine, nothing hurt at all.¡± Auntie Li interjected when she heard this, ¡°It¡¯s all because of the blessings of the tree god.¡± Uncle Li looked at her helplessly, ¡°What does this have to do with that big willow tree?¡± ¡°Of course it has something to do with it.¡± The old couple tussled in front of the guests. Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue looked at each other andughed at the same time. Even if Uncle Li and Auntie Li were tussling, Lu Lingxi could still feel that strong bond between the two. Would he and Big Brother Yan be like that when they got old? When Uncle Li couldn¡¯t better Auntie Li in the argument, he could only give in helplessly and smoothly changed the subject, mentioning the matter of yesterday¡¯s vige meeting. It had to do with the big willow tree at the entrance of the vige. For some time now, as the news of the death and resurrection of the big willow tree spread around the vige, more and more old men and women came to burn some paper and kowtow under the big willow tree or whatever. Who knows what was in the vige head¡¯s heart, but outwardly he had to say that this was a feudal superstition and that people in his vige should not go out and spread it. After talking about the big willow tree, the vige head focused on the river behind the vige. s There was a river behind Lingshui Vige, and it was called the Lingshui River. Speaking of which, the name of Lingshui Vige came from the river here. Upstream of the river was a reservoir, where the waterworks of Fengcheng were built. Because of this, the water quality of the river used to be quite good, and you could often find shrimps or fish in the river. However, since a stic processing factory was built in Songjia Vige, upstream of Lingshui Vige, the water quality of the river had been getting worse and worse. Now the water flowing was dark brown and stank badly. The vige head saw some children ying in the riverst time and after lecturing them, he made it a priority to raise the issue at the meeting, forbidding children from ying in the river and asking all adults at home to keep an eye on them. The children were ignorant; what would happen in case they drank the river water and had an ident? Uncle Li sighed after saying that, a little sentimental. ¡°The water in the river used to be so clear that my mother went to the river to wash her clothes, and after she washed them, they would be dry in half an hour when they wereid on the rocks by the river. Nowadays, I can¡¯t even stand to be near it, not to mention washing clothes.¡± Previously, the vigers didn¡¯t feel it so obviously, but with the increasing improvement of the vige environment, the air here was really refreshing. In contrast, the vigers couldn¡¯t stand the smell of the Lingshui River anymore. As far as Uncle Li knew, the vige head had already gone to Songjia Vige twice to talk, to no avail. ¡°It¡¯s all a ckened conscience making money.¡± Uncle Li said angrily. Lu Lingxi had never seen what the old Lingshui River was like, but when he thought about what he had seen thest time he went there, he seemed to empathise with Uncle Li¡¯s anger. On the way back, Lu Lingxi clicked on the white panel, and the entire Lingshui Vige was disyed on the panel. His attention was focused on the Lingshui River side, and sure enough, the expansion of the purified soil was hindered by the Lingshui River. There seemed to be an invisible barrier in front of it, and the expansion of the purified soil came to a halt. Lu Lingxi could see clearly that the expansion of the soil didn¡¯t really stop, but the Lingshui River flowed day by day, and toxic substances were settling at the bottom of the river. The purification speed of the soil was not as fast as the pollution speed. Under the tug of war between the two, it seemed as if the purification had stopped. Lu Lingxi frowned and told Yan Yue about this phenomenon. The happy mood of yesterday¡¯s visit to the vige had also disappeared with the sight of the pollution of the Lingshui River. Yan Yue saw it in Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes and rubbed his hair, saying nothing. A dayter Yan Yue took the initiative for the two of them to go back to the nt nursery in the evening. ¡°Back to the nt nursery? Didn¡¯t we already go back the day before yesterday?¡± Lu Lingxi was puzzled, packing up his things and preparing to close the shop while thinking about the victoria that was raised at home. The seeds of the victoria usually had to be heated at a room temperature of 25-28 degrees to germinate, and they would basically germinate in a week. Lu Lingxi had already managed to germinate the victoria seeds given to him by Xue Yongtong, and the second young leaf had now grown. At this point, clear water was not enough for the victoria and it needed to be transferred to a tank with silt. He nned to go back and transnt it in the evening. Yan Yue saw that he was distracted and didn¡¯t care, but said mysteriously, ¡°Xiao Xi will know when he goes there.¡± s Lu Lingxi tried to read something on Yan Yue¡¯s face, but after a long time, he helplessly chose to give up. He spoke to Wang Shuxiu, entrusted her to help him change the water for the victoria in the evening, and followed Yan Yue to the nt nursery. When the two arrived, Uncle Li and Yu Xiaojuan were still in the nt nursery. Seeing Lu Lingxiing over, Uncle Li smiled. ¡°The child is going to the pond, right? It¡¯s the first time the old man has seen such a big leaf in his old age. I heard it¡¯s called victoria, but it¡¯s really rare.¡± Victoria¡­ Lu Lingxi looked over at Yan Yue with surprise in his eyes. Yan Yue looked at him dotingly, smiling and not saying anything. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you asked Uncle Xue for that victoria?¡± Yan Yue nodded and deliberately spread his hands, pretending to be regretful, ¡°I wanted to give Xiao Xi a surprise, but Uncle Li said it all, so there is no more surprise.¡± Uncle Liughed loudly as he listened on the sidelines. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes as he looked at Yan Yue, unable to stop the smile on his face. He thought of something else and asked in a flurry, ¡°What did you say to Uncle Xue, Big Brother Yan? Is it that victoria? But how did you recognise which victoria it was?¡± Yan Yue looked at Lu Lingxi¡¯s joy and was in an unusually happy mood. As he pulled the young man to the pond, he avoided exining the circumstances of the matter. ¡°Xue Yongtong owes me a favour, and this victoria is a favour he returned. As for whether it is that victoria or not, it is up to you, Xiao Xi, to see for yourself. But didn¡¯t you say something about vitalityst time? The victoria that I picked is the best of all the victorias, so there shouldn¡¯t be any problems.¡± Provided of course that Xue Yongtong hadn¡¯t lost his eyesight or deliberately lied to him. Lu Lingxi nodded and hurriedly said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s not that first-level peak victoria, as long as we raise it with care, it will definitely evolve.¡± He was very confident about this; with the aid of the panel, evolution was not a problem at all. Because he was so excited, Lu Lingxi ran all the way, the ten-minute journey taking just a few minutes. Yan Yue saw him gasping for breath and was a bit distressed, ¡°Victoria is in the pond and can¡¯t run away, what¡¯s the hurry!¡± Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t pay attention to Yan Yue; his attention was on the huge turquoise jade te in the middle of the pond. The state of the victoria appeared in his mind as his mental scan spread out. The name of the first-ss victoria made Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes light up and he turned on his tiptoes to give Yan Yue a quick kiss on the lips, excitedly saying, ¡°Big Brother Yan, thank you.¡± His rare initiative caused Yan Yue¡¯s eyes to darken. He pulled Lu Lingxi closer to say something in a low voice. Lu Lingxi immediately thought of what had happened the afternoon before yesterday. His eyes wandered and he hesitantly and embarrassedly nodded. Yan Yue saw that he agreed, and the corners of his mouth curled up in satisfaction. From Lu Lingxi¡¯s reaction, he could tell that this victoria should be the one that was at the first-level peak. ¡°Want to choose to evolve?¡± Lu Lingxi forced his attention back from what he had promised Yan Yue and nodded. ¡°Let¡¯se over at night to evolve.¡± ¡°Good.¡± With this matter on his mind, Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t even eat dinner calmly and stopped eating after two bites. Yan Yue pinched his face and said sternly, ¡°Too skinny, you must finish two buns before you can go.¡± On their way to the nt nursery, Yan Yue deliberately went to a famous bun shop in Fengcheng and packed two boxes of buns of various vours, enough for two people and a dog to eat until tomorrow morning. With Yan Yue¡¯s stern face like this, he felt like a strict parent. Lu Lingxi¡¯s upbringing was actuallycking in this kind of parental image. He subconsciously sat up straighter, stole a nce at Yan Yue, and obediently squeezed the bun and ate it. Yan Yue eased his expression and turned to warm up a packet of milk for Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi blinked, and when Yan Yue wasn¡¯t looking, he quickly broke off a smaller half of the bun and threw it to Dahei. Dahei reacted extremely quickly and swallowed it in one gulp, tacitly destroying the corpse for Lu Lingxi and eliminating the evidence. Yan Yue listened to themotion behind him and swept a suspicious nce at Lu Lingxi and Dahei. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and smiled at him tteringly. Yan Yue had no choice but to turn a blind eye to the situation. It was not until it was dark that Yan Yue led Lu Lingxi to the pond. Dahei trotted beside them, burping every now and then. At lunchtime, Grandma Wang sent four chicken legs to the shop, and Dahei ate three of them by himself, which was a bit too much. As a result, in the evening, on top of his normal meal, he helped Lu Lingxi solve the bun, obviously filling himself to the bursting point. Yan Yue coolly swept a nce at him. Deserve it for helping Xiao Xi fool around! Dahei gave a low whimper and halfway through the whimper he hurriedly burped, immediately running aside in shame, embarrassed to follow the two. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Chapter 80 nt name: First-ss victoria nt needs: none nt vitality: very high nt status: first-level peak nt evolution condition triggered, please select nt evolution direction. The evolutionary direction of the victoria was the same as that of the big willow tree, offering two options: 1) Water purification +20% 2) Carrying capacity +20%. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes fell on the second variant. He knew that the victoria had a high carrying capacity; a leaf with a diameter of about 1.5 metres could carry a weight of 60 kilograms. In its native country, it could even be used as a small boat. But for Lu Lingxi, the +20% carrying capacity of the victoria was of no practical use. He looked at Yan Yue inquiringly, who nodded in support of his choice of the first variant. As Lu Lingxi chose to confirm, the white panel disappeared. Yan Yue sensed it keenly, ¡°Confirmed?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. The two of them didn¡¯t go back to the small courtyard immediately, but sat on the steps by the pond like they did the day before yesterday. Lu Lingxi was a little curious, ¡°Big Brother Yan, what do you think the victoria will look like after it evolves? Will it be like a big willow tree with a developed root system or will the leaves be bigger?¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t know much about victorias, but he felt that thetter was more likely than the former. Lu Lingxi was worried when he heard it, ¡°How should I exin to Uncle Li tomorrow if the leaves be bigger?¡± Things that had not yet been determined could make the young man so worried. Yan Yue smiled in his heart as he was about to reassure Lu Lingxi, when his eyes suddenly changed and fixed on the pond¡¯s water surface. With the victoria in the pond as the centre, the surface of the water began to ripple outwards, wave after wave. Lu Lingxi noticed it too, and just as he took a nce, he was pulled by Yan Yue to get up and take several steps back. Considering the movement of the big willow tree when it evolved, Yan Yue was worried that the evolution of the victoria would bring about a small ¡°tsunami¡±. His fears were not unfounded, as the ripples on the surface of the water grew faster and faster, and the tremors grewrger andrger, as the leaves of the victoria began to stretch in all directions, sending waves onto the steps where they had been sitting before. Although he had been prepared, seeing the evolution of the victoria for the first time, Yan Yue still felt a bit of a shock. Even knowing that the evolution of the big willow tree had produced an earthquake didn¡¯t make him feel this way. He realised with unparalleled rity that some irreversible changes were taking ce in this world, and the white panel on Lu Lingxi seemed to be the driving force, or the source, of everything. This realisation caused Yan Yue¡¯s expression to turn solemn, and countless thoughts came to him in a sh, but when he turned his head to look at Lu Lingxi, the young man looked innocent, staring nervously at the water, his thoughts simply focused on the victoria¡¯s evolution, not even realising what this evolution he had brought about meant. In the young man¡¯s eyes, victoria¡¯s evolution = water purification = environmental improvement, with no other messy thoughts at all. Yan Yue watched and suddenly smiled. After the young man had told him about the panel at the beginning, he wondered why the panel had picked the young man out of the billions of people in China, out of the billions of people worldwide? Because the young man liked flowers and nts? Because he loved nature? Not to mention the whole world, there were many people who loved flowers and nts and nature in the whole country of China, why did the panel pick the boy? Yan Yue had never been able to find the answer, but just now, with a feeling of enlightenment in his heart, he seemed to understand. It was because of the boy¡¯s simplicity. No ambition, noplicated thoughts, just using the panel as a handy tool. When he thought it through, the gloom on Yan Yue¡¯s face disappeared and his eyes gradually softened. He reached out and rubbed the boy¡¯s hair with a doting hand, deciding to stop thinking those mediocre thoughts and just let everything go with the flow. s The two of them stayed at the pond until after ten o¡¯clock, and the tremors in the water didn¡¯t stop. The good news was that although the victoria¡¯s leaves had gotten bigger, it wasn¡¯t exaggerated and should be able to fool Uncle Li tomorrow. The bad news was that the water in the pond spilled out quite a bit, so they reckoned they¡¯d have to refill it tomorrow. Lu Lingxi was a little sleepy and let out a small yawn. Yan Yue saw it, held his hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. ¡°Dahei, let¡¯s go.¡± Yan Yue called to the pond. From the moment he saw the pond, Dahei jumped down. Although the movement of the victoria¡¯s evolution was quite loud, Dahei didn¡¯t seem to be afraid, but on the contrary, was excited and yed very happily in the waves. When he heard Yan Yue calling him, Dahei pricked up his ears and slowly swam back to the shore, jumping out of the water with a gentle leap. He calmly shook his body, scattering water droplets all around, squinted at Lu Lingxi and gave a low bark. Lu Lingxiughed, inexplicably understanding what Dahei meant. Dahei probably also felt that he had eaten too much, so he would swim around in the pond to consume what he had eaten, just like humans would go for a walk. Dahei had obviously digested almost all of it and was just telling him so. ¡°Dahei is good!¡± Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head and praised him without hesitation. Dahei barked again and trotted ahead of the two of them. When it was time to go to bed at night, Yan Yue shut Dahei out of the room. He rummaged under the flower pot and pulled out the mat that Dahei had usedst time, signalling that this was where Dahei would sleep at night. Even if it was hidden, it wouldn¡¯t work. Yan Yue¡¯s reason was very good: Dahei was soaked in water, and there was no hairdryer here, so it was not convenient for him to go to bed when he was wet. As for why he had to sleep outside, Yan Yue raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at Lu Lingxi with a hot gaze, the implicit meaning in it very obvious. Lu Lingxi thought of what he had promised Yan Yue earlier and the tips of his ears reddened uncontrobly. Without Lu Lingxi to speak for Dahei, Dahei, aggrieved, carried the mat to the door, lying on it blocking the door, like a ck door god. Yan Yue hooked the corners of his mouth in satisfaction and closed the door. The lights in the room quickly dimmed and in the darkness Yan Yue kissed Lu Lingxi. Just likest time, he turned the young man over and over and kissed him, coaxing Lu Lingxi in a low voice. Lu Lingxi blushed a little and stretched out his hand. Yan Yue¡¯s breathing became heavy as he lowered his head and kissed Lu Lingxi on the forehead, coaxing, ¡°Good boy.¡± After a good night¡¯s sleep. The next morning, Yan Yue got up refreshed, remembering that he had to fill the pond before Uncle Li arrived. It was not yet six o¡¯clock and it was a bit dark outside. Yan Yue gingerly dressed and lowered his head to give Lu Lingxi a very light kiss on the lips. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t feel Yan Yue¡¯s movement at all, and was sleeping soundly curled in a ball under the nket. His exposed body was covered with kiss marks, the sight that almost made Yan Yue lose control again. Yan Yue suppressed the throbbing in his heart and gently opened the door. Dahei immediately got up and squatted in front of him. ¡°Don¡¯t wake up Xiao Xi.¡± Yan Yue whispered. He didn¡¯t know when he had gotten used to talking to Dahei as if he were human. It was as if the notion that Dahei might not understand waspletely absent from his mind. Dahei squinted his eyes, passed by Yan Yue and jumped onto the bed in a sh, quietly lying beside Lu Lingxi. Yan Yue felt relieved and carried the hose towards the pond. When Uncle Li arrived, Yan Yue had already refilled the pond. The victoria had made a lot of noisest night and almost half of the water in the pond had been lost. Uncle Li looked at the victoria in the middle of the pond somewhat strangely and said to Yan Yue uncertainly, ¡°Is this leaf different from yesterday, why does it feel a bit bigger than yesterday?¡± Yan Yue looked at it several times in a very cooperative manner and affirmed, ¡°It is the same as yesterday.¡± Uncle Li wondered if he had misremembered, feeling some self-doubt. s The two of them had almost finished tending to the nt nursery before Lu Lingxi rubbed his eyes and got up. He had gone to bedte yesterday and Yan Yue had tossed and turned him for a long time, so Lu Lingxi was really sleepy. When he looked at the time, it was already after seven o¡¯clock, so Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t go to the nt nursery, washed his face and cleaned up, hugged Dahei and went out with him. The evolution of the victoria had shown him a direction. Just as the purification of thend depended on terrestrial nts, the purification of the water required aquatic nts. It was a pity that the victoria was too big and conspicuous for him to transnt it into the Lingshui River. In case any vigers asked about it, it would not be easy to exin. But there were other aquatic nts apart from victorias. Just as the willow tree was not the only terrestrial nt that could evolve to purify the soil, Lu Lingxi was sure that there were other aquatic nts that would evolve in the same direction as the victoria. He contemted what he could nt in the tank at home, something like the mostmon water nts and some algae such as moss. If these nts could really evolve to do the same thing as the victoria, they could be spread on arge scale in China. This would be much more convenient than promoting victoria. Lu Lingxi suddenly stopped at this thought, called Dahei, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s take a trip to the river.¡± There were usually some water nts growing in the small river, and he remembered thatst time he seemed to have seen a lot of eelgrass growing at the bottom of the Lingshui River. Eelgrass, also known as vallis, was an underwater nt belonging to the aquatic nts, with stolons (a creeping horizontal nt stem or runner that takes root at points along its length to form new nts), mostly growing in streams, rivers, ponds andkes. Thest time he saw the eelgrass at the bottom of the Lingshui River, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t care about it, but just now he suddenly realised that the fact that the Lingshui River was already so polluted and the eelgrass was still alive was proof that the eelgrass had some resistance to the toxic and harmful substances in the water of the Lingshui River. If he transnted some eelgrass from the bottom of the Lingshui River, the direction of evolution might be the same as victoria¡¯s: to purify the water. Lu Lingxi moved as soon as he decided, taking Dahei with him and running all the way towards the Lingshui River. Before the two of them reached the river, they smelled a foul smell from afar. Since he had the panel, Lu Lingxi was very sensitive to this kind of pollution smell and frowned in difort. He ran a few more steps and saw a ck river. The current Lingshui River was not spiritual at all (Lingshui ¨C Spirit Water); it could totally be renamed as the Heishui River (ck Water River). Lu Lingxi endured the odour and dispersed his mental scan, fixing it on a clump of eelgrass at the bottom of the river. He was about to find a wooden stick to pick out this clump of eelgrass when he suddenly nced at the state of the eelgrass on the panel. nt name: Mutated eelgrass Lu Lingxi froze; this was the second mutated nt he had seen, and he didn¡¯t expect toe across it under such circumstances. But what exactly was the meaning of the column on nt needs? Lu Lingxi was a little confused. Chapter 81 nt name: Mutated eelgrass nt needs: cyanide nt vitality: high Lu Lingxi had been staring at this eelgrass bush for a long time. After returning from the Lingshui River, he found a clean bucket of water and kept the eelgrass in it. The panel showed that although this eelgrass had not reached the peak of its condition, it was also quite viable and not dead like the other nts in the river. But this wasn¡¯t Lu Lingxi¡¯s focus; his attention was on the nt¡¯s needs. Cyanide, which Lu Lingxi had already looked up, was specifically a chemical with cyano radical in it and was a highly toxic substance. Exposure to a certain amount of cyanide could cause a toxic reaction, and in severe cases, could lead to death. There were many sources of cyanide in our daily life. Some industrial activities producedrge amounts of cyanide, such as rubber, stic, paint production, gold mining, etc. But at the same time, there were alsorge amounts of cyanide in nature, especially in the living world, for example, in peaches, plums, apricots, loquats and other fruits, of which bitter almond had the highest content. Lu Lingxi could never have imagined that the need of the mutated eelgrass would be such a highly toxic substance. He guessed that the poisonous substance in the Lingshui River should be the cyanide discharged from that stic processing nt upstream. So did the eelgrass produce this mutation because it lived in an environment contaminated by cyanide for a long time, in order to adapt to the environment to survive? While thinking of this, another thought urred to Lu Lingxi. The mutated eelgrass¡¯s need for cyanide was actually a process of nt absorption, so if the mutated eelgrass evolved, couldn¡¯t it increase its absorption of cyanide and solve the pollution problem of the Lingshui River in disguise? It would be even better if the direction of evolution of the mutated eelgrass was to absorb cyanide, it would be like killing two birds with one stone. He was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn¡¯t even notice when Yan Yue returned. When Yan Yue entered, he saw Lu Lingxi staring at a bush of water nts, and his heart softened for some reason. ¡°Xiao Xi, go eat.¡± Yan Yue warmed up the buns from yesterday and gave Lu Lingxi a ss of milk. Eighteen-year-old Lu Lingxi was still growing up, and every time Yan Yue urged him to eat, he would feel like he was ¡°raising a son¡±. Lu Lingxi agreed, washed his hands and obediently sat down opposite Yan Yue. Yan Yue thought of the water nts in the bucket and casually asked, ¡°Where did theye from?¡± After saying that, he realised something, ¡°Xiao Xi, did you go to the river?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, and in order to prevent Yan Yue from mentioning that he had wandered off alone, he hurriedly told his thoughts. Yan Yue listened with more approval at first, but when he heard Lu Lingxi talk about his n to find some cyanide to raise the eelgrass for experiments, he couldn¡¯t calm down at all. What was cyanide? Yan Yue knew it much better than Lu Lingxi. This substance was highly toxic and could be absorbed through the respiratory tract in addition to being taken orally, and could even be absorbed through the skin and seep into the body at high concentrations, causing human poisoning. Where on earth did Lu Lingxi get the nerve to say that he wanted to find some cyanide to experiment with and raise the eelgrass? s Yan Yue¡¯s face darkened as he said categorically: ¡°No. It¡¯s okay to raise eelgrass, but cyanide is absolutely not allowed to be touched. Don¡¯t you know it¡¯s a highly toxic chemical?¡± Lu Lingxi was stunned by his harshness and blinked, looking at Yan Yue and arguing in a small voice, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you smoke, and the smoke from cigarettes also contains cyanide, which is not less toxic.¡± When he said this, Yan Yue simply couldn¡¯t helpughing. In the past, due to insomnia and other reasons, Yan Yue had developed the habit of smoking. But ever since he met Lu Lingxi, he smoked less and less frequently and tried to avoid smoking in front of the young man so as not to form a bad example. It was onlyst time when Ye Kang came over that Yan Yue smoked too many cigarettes and unexpectedly was seen by Lu Lingxi, who kept this in his mind. Yan Yue looked at the young man¡¯s expression, mildly usatory but also a bit sly. Yan Yue felt his heart overfill with warmth and gave Lu Lingxi a smirk-like re, saying without blushing, ¡°I¡¯ve quit smoking.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± There was nothing Lu Lingxi could say to it, so he let out a sullen ¡°oh¡±. Yan Yue looked at him and felt that he was too strict. He couldn¡¯t help but soften andpromise, ¡°Cyanide of high purity is definitely not to be touched, but we can go to the riverter to fetch some water to bring back and raise this eelgrass.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes lit up and he nodded quickly. In fact, even if he really wanted to find cyanide, he wouldn¡¯t be able to; he couldn¡¯t let Yan Yue keep smoking onto this eelgrass to generate cyanide. This image in his mind was so quirky that Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help butugh, and the way he looked at Yan Yue brought a hint of a smile to Yan Yue¡¯s eyes. Lu Lingxi¡¯s appearance changed from his previous well-behaved look, faintly revealing the impishness unique to his age. Yan Yue felt so moved that he couldn¡¯t help but reach out and rub the boy¡¯s hair, thinking that although the boy¡¯s previous obedience was good, it was a bit too sad to think of his suppressed nature. Yan Yue preferred the boy to be a bit more lively, just like now. The two of them unhurriedly finished their breakfast, and then endured the stench as they went to the Lingshui River to fetch a bucket of water, which they put in the trunk and brought back to Fengcheng. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t want to raise the eelgrass in the Tiny Garden shop, so he kept it in the backyard like the victoria. Every day he took care of the clump of eelgrass and carefully recorded the changes in its condition. s As long as Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t touch cyanide, Yan Yue didn¡¯t interfere with his actions. He could understand Lu Lingxi¡¯s thoughts, and while the young man was taking care of the eelgrass, Yan Yue approached Xue Yongtong and proposed that the twopanies coborate to set up a private nt research institute, led by Xue Yongtong. It would be used to study the gic evolution and mutation of nts, develop new nt varieties and turn research results into tangible economic benefits. Research institutes like the one Yan Yue was talking about could be basically found in mostrge ntpanies. To put it in perspective, they were breeding institutes that researched cross breeding of nts and screened new varieties. In the past, simr institutions were led by the state, but with the development of the economy and technology, more and more of them turned to private research. The idea was on Yan Yue¡¯s mind for a long time, but he had never found the right entry point to talk to Xue Yongtong. Therge-scale cultivation of begonias was his original entry point, but after acquiring Qiu Tian Gardening, Yan Yue changed his mind after weighing the pros and cons. This time, the mutation of the eelgrass allowed him to find a new entry point, and he immediately approached Xue Yongtong. In Yan Yue¡¯s view, Tiny Garden didn¡¯t have any roots in Fengcheng¡¯s horticultural circles and was really not suitable to be too eye-catching. He was willing to sacrifice a certain amount of financial gain in exchange for Luxuan Gardening being the forefront, which would fulfil the young man¡¯s wish and also gain space for Tiny Garden¡¯s development. Xue Yongtong was very surprised by Yan Yue¡¯s proposal. He wasn¡¯t looking down on Tiny Garden, on the contrary, Xue Yongtong felt that Tiny Garden was fully capable of getting a research institute of its own. To put it bluntly, this kind of institution was all about one word ¨C money. It wasn¡¯t a problem for Yan Yue to invest in such a small research institute since he had had the money to buy Qiu Tian Gardening. However, Yan Yue offered to cooperate with him, so Xue Yongtong couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit uneasy in his heart. But after thinking about it, he couldn¡¯t think of any harm that would be done to him by a partnership between the twopanies. After a few days of serious consideration, Xue Yongtong, out of some businessman¡¯s intuition, decisively agreed. Chapter 82 From the organisation of the nt research institute to the establishment, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t worry much; it waspletely arranged by Yan Yue. In fact, in Fengcheng¡¯s horticultural circles, this matter didn¡¯t stir up any big sshes, except for the addition of the name of the institution on the website description of Luxuan Gardening. Xue Yongtong originally wanted to make a lot of publicity, but was suppressed by Yan Yue. Seeing that Yan Yue didn¡¯t want to be too high-profile, Xue Yongtong could only choose topromise. After the nt research institute was established, Yan Yue talked to Xue Yongtong about the mutated eelgrass. Xue Yongtong was keenly aware of the economic and environmental value of the nt, but he was so focused on his cooperation with Gao Yongliang that he couldn¡¯t spare any energy for researching the mutated eelgrass, so he had to politely decline Yan Yue¡¯s offer. Yan Yue didn¡¯t care about this; the so-called cooperation was just a cover for Lu Lingxi¡¯s panel, and it didn¡¯t matter if Xue Yongtong was involved in the research midway, as long as the signboard of Luxuan Gardening was put up at the end. However, he took the initiative to mention this to Xue Yongtong, and Xue Yongtong had to ept this favour from him no matter what. Within two days, Xue Yongtong sent Yan Yue two ck pagoda bonsai. Yan Yue put one in 301 and one in 202. Lu Lingxi was amused to see that this kind of bonsai was so different from therge nts cultivated by Tiny Garden. It was an ornamental bonsai specially cultivated and produced, which was worth much more than his nts. However, Lu Lingxi was a little confused as to why Xue Yongtong had suddenly remembered to give Yan Yue a gift. Yan Yue didn¡¯t mention all the twists and turns behind the scenes, but simply stated lightly, ¡°Xue Yongtong heard that I had moved next door to Xiao Xi and gave it as a housewarming gift.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Lingxi had no doubts about this statement at all. Yan Yue and Xue Yongtong had been in touch a lot recently, and they had set up a nt research institute together, so giving two bonsai as a housewarming gift made perfect sense. After looking at the bonsai for a while, Lu Lingxi focused on the nts in the backyard again. Recently, his life had been very regr. Every day he went to work at Tiny Garden, and at night he came home to take care of the nts in the backyard. Apart from the eelgrass and the victoria, the donglingcao that he secretly split from Su Lang¡¯s was also kept at home. These nts were growing well, although neither the mutated eelgrass nor the mutated donglingcao showed any signs of evolution; but Lu Lingxi was in no hurry, watering, fertilising and recording their growth status as usual. s Apart from taking care of these nts, Lu Lingxi also had one more thing to do every day after returning from the nt nursery. He insisted on calling the city¡¯s Environmental Protection Bureau to report the stic processing nt in Songjia Vige for indiscriminately discharging toxic waste water. When Yan Yue saw how serious he was, he privately approached Ye Cheng to mention the matter. Since the new mayor took office, Fengcheng¡¯s main policy agenda was environmental protection. A stic processing nt far from the city was insignificant, but it still could squeeze into the scope. Despite having a lot of work to do, Ye Cheng took note of this small factory mentioned by Yan Yue and gave a special order to investigate. With Ye Cheng on his side, Yan Yue didn¡¯t pay much attention to this matter anymore. Both he and Ye Cheng felt that it was almost inevitable that the stic factory would be shut down and reorganised. But it was almost the end of October, and the stic factory was still open, still discharging waste water into the Lingshui River every day. Lu Lingxi also insisted on making a phone call every day, and finally, after he called again, the Environmental Protection Bureau gave him the feedback that they had sent someone to Songjia Vige to check and understand the situation. If Lu Lingxi¡¯s report was true, the stic factory would be required to shut down as soon as possible. Lu Lingxi was happy and hung up the phone to tell Yan Yue about it. Yan Yue smiled in front of him and praised Lu Lingxi for a long time, but when he turned away, he frowned slightly. It had been almost half a month since Ye Cheng ordered this matter to be dealt with, and the Environmental Protection Bureau had only given its feedback today. Half a month of prevarication and wrangling, it was clear that the new mayor¡¯s environmental protection policy was not progressing smoothly in Fengcheng. But on second thought, this was normal. What the new mayor wanted was political achievements, and what the people below him wanted was profit. Fengcheng was already a heavy industrial city, with steel mills, stic processing nts and porcin factories abound around the city. If all of these were overhauled, Fengcheng¡¯s economy would probably go down the drain. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t think as much as Yan Yue; he simply thought that after the stic processing factory was closed for rectification, without the discharge of waste water, the toxic substances in the Lingshui River would be reduced a bit. As long as the rate of soil purification exceeded the rate of pollution, the purifiednd would continue to expand towards the Lingshui River and would not remain standing still. s Three days after receiving the feedback from the Environmental Protection Bureau, Lu Lingxi received a call from Uncle Li. Uncle Li said that he didn¡¯t know who had reported it but the stic processing nt upstream seemed to have stopped working. Although the river was still a ¡°ck water river¡±, as long as the stic processing nt stopped discharging waste water, the river would be clear again one day. However, there was another problem: the people of Songjia Vige suspected that their vige had reported the incident, and a group of people came to their vige to make trouble. ¡°Is everything alright?¡± Lu Lingxi hurriedly asked. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Uncle Li said proudly, ¡°A bunch of little brats came to make trouble and were blocked by the vige people at the entrance of the vige. Then Song Laosan came to make amends and apologised, and the matter was over.¡± Song Laosan was referring to Song Wancai, the vige head of the Songjia Vige. Compared to Li Dayong, the head of Lingshui Vige, Song Wancai was much more enterprising. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have opened a stic factory in his vige. Songjia Vige, Lingshui Vige and Shigouhe, these three viges were located not too far apart. Among them, Shigouhe was the furthest away from the city, but its development was the best. As there was not muchnd beyond Shigouhe, Qiu Tian and Xue Yongtong both contacted this vige to build their nt nurseries there, which also solved the employment problem of the vigers. Lingshui Vige was sandwiched between Shigouhe and Songjia Vige, with few people and littlend, and the vige head, Li Dayong, had little ambition, so the vige lived quite a sloppy life. The head of Songjia Vige, Song Wancai, was the most active, so he tossed and turned and set up a stic processing factory in the vige. Don¡¯t underestimate this factory; although it was small in scale, it solved almost all of Songjia Vige¡¯s employment problems. Since the opening of the factory, the men of Songjia had been given an extra job, driving tricycles every day to collect discarded stic bottles from the surrounding viges and towns. They collected and sold them to the factory for 10 fen (0.1 yuan) a piece, and if they were diligent they could earn as much as 100 yuan a day. The women of the vige all went to work in the factory, cutting and washing bottles, and they could earn 3,000 to 4,000 a month. This way, the ie of the whole vige went up, and Song Wancai was so happy that he couldn¡¯t care less about the pollution of the Lingshui River. Li Dayong approached Song Wancai several times about the discharge of the waste water, but Song Wancai either avoided seeing him or cried about poverty in front of Li Dayong. Is the Lingshui River important or is the livelihood of the vigers important? Without money, where can the school fees for the childrene from? Who will pay for the rice and noodles? Does it cost money to buy medicine for a headache or a fever? Seeing that the people in Songjia live a good life, why does Li Dayonge here? It¡¯s just a river, what, can¡¯t Lingshui Vige live without it? Li Dayong couldn¡¯t say anything to Song Wancai, so he woulde back with a sigh every time. But he didn¡¯t want to report it; they were all locals and he didn¡¯t want to tear his face off with Songjia. This time, the stic factory was shut down and Li Dayong, happy at heart, also couldn¡¯t help muttering: which brat reported it? Chapter 83 Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue took Dahei to the nt nursery again. Although Uncle Li said on the phone that everything was fine, Lu Lingxi was still a bit worried and wanted to go and see what was going on. When he heard that Lu Lingxi wasing over in the evening, Uncle Li was very touched, and after finishing with the nt nursery hurried back and ordered Auntie Li to make more food for Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue. As soon as Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue entered the vige, they were blocked by Uncle Li. ¡°The food is ready, we are waiting for you.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed that he had to bother Uncle Li again. But Uncle Li didn¡¯t think it was a bother. People were most afraid of loneliness when they were old. His children were both working far away and only coulde back to see their parents during the New Year; sometimes they were too busy to even make a phone call. Although Uncle Li understood that it was not easy to work hard outside, sometimes he really wanted children. Fortunately, there used to be Du Lin who came to the nt nursery from time to time, and Uncle Li treated Du Lin as his own daughter in his heart. Now that Du Lin had gone back home and the nt nursery had been given to Lu Lingxi, Uncle Li was even happier. The child was so good-looking and well-behaved that in Uncle Li¡¯s eyes Lu Lingxi was almost the same as his grandson and he couldn¡¯t wait for Lu Lingxi toe to the nt nursery every day. When they returned home, Auntie Li smiled at Lu Lingxi from afar. She remembered that Lu Lingxi liked to eat oat noodles rolled in a nest, so she took the time to make another pot this afternoon. This time, instead of diced mushroom and meat sauce, she served a pot ofmb stew, which was even more delicious. ¡°Xiao Xi, eat more.¡± Auntie Li lovingly gave Lu Lingxi a big bowl of it and said, ¡°Look at how thin the child is.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled shyly and took the bowl while secretly ncing at Yan Yue, knowing that Yan Yue must have heard it and would probably force him to eat again when they went back. He actually didn¡¯t think he was skinny at all; Yi Hang evenughed at himst time that he was about to pinch the flesh on his face. He also didn¡¯t understand why everyone thought he was thin, as if he didn¡¯t eat properly every day. Uncle Li also nodded and echoed, ¡°A bit thin, a bit fatter would be good.¡± Lu Lingxi stopped talking, lowered his head and started eating. Yan Yue chuckled lightly and gave Lu Lingxi a doting nce, holding another chopstick of food for him. When everyone had almost finished eating, Uncle Li began to talk about the afternoon¡¯s events. The matter was simple: the director of Songjia Vige¡¯s stic factory had encouraged a few kids who worked in the factory toe to Lingshui Vige to demand a settlement. The rash youngsters didn¡¯t expect the vige people, who were somewhat old, to oppose them, so they rushed over as soon as they were urged. As a result, they were seen by Xu San just as they reached the nt nursery. Uncle Li nced at Yan Yue meaningfully when he said this. Regarding Xu San, Uncle Li felt strange at first. Why did Xu San still wander around the nt nursery every day after he was beaten up? Was he waiting for revenge? But after watching him for a few days, Uncle Li could see that something was wrong. Xu San didn¡¯t look like he wanted to do something bad. Rather, he was more concerned about the nt nursery than anyone else, and he was quicker than anyone else to react to anything that happened in the nt nursery. Uncle Li pondered a little and realised something, so he didn¡¯t care about Xu San anymore. As soon as Xu San saw the youngstersing today, he immediately rmed Uncle Li. Uncle Li thought that those guys were going to make trouble in the nt nursery. As soon as the youngsters appeared, half of the vige blocked them. When the two sides had a conversation, they realised that the kids were from Songjia and they were here to ask forpensation. Now the people of Lingshui were furious. Songjia would drain waste water into the Lingshui River every day, so they couldn¡¯t stand the stench and had to walk around the river all the way, and now they righteously came to demandpensation? Telling this, Uncle Li couldn¡¯t helpughing. Lu Lingxi had never seen vige people quarrel, especially vige women quarrel. That was a really powerful sight. A group of olddies, led by Auntie Li, surrounded those rash youngsters and lectured them for two hours, from their grandfathers to the present, one by one, scolding them like their own grandchildren. And whenever the youngsters had a bad attitude, the men of the vige took care of them. Don¡¯t look down at those in Lingshui Vigers who were left behind; they were old but they were born to do farming work. Especially recently they were in good health, so they had no problem scaring those little brats. s In the end, it was Song Wancai who rushed over to apologise before the matter was settled. Lu Lingxi alsoughed as he listened; although he hadn¡¯t seen it personally, but listening to the tone of Uncle Li, he thought he knew that those guys must have gone back in disgrace. He was relieved that no one in the vige had suffered a loss. At the end of his speech, Uncle Li didn¡¯t forget to praise Xu San, ¡°As the old saying goes, a prodigal son returned home is worth more than gold, and Xu San, I¡¯m not sure he can be considered a prodigal son, but he did well today and didn¡¯t disgrace Lingshui Vige.¡± He said this specifically for Yan Yue. The old man was soft-hearted, and even though Xu San was a bad person, he had grown up in front of Uncle Li¡¯s eyes. In the past, Uncle Li had hated him with a passion, but now that he saw that Xu San had changed for the better, he hurried to give him a hand. No matter what Yan Yue did, it was good for Xu San, and Uncle Li privately wanted Yan Yue to do more so that Xu San would not go back to his old ways. Yan Yue understood what Uncle Li meant, smiled and didn¡¯t say anything, but he was actually a bit surprised. He didn¡¯t care much about Xu San, but he didn¡¯t expect the other party to be so concerned. The guy was good to use, and Yan Yue felt that he needed to talk to Xu San again. After they had finished eating and helping Auntie Li clean up, Uncle Li rushed Lu Lingxi to go back to rest. ¡°It¡¯s getting cold, go to bed early.¡± It was already the end of October and the temperature was indeed a bit low. Lu Lingxi agreed and Yan Yue took Dahei outside. The two of them were about to go back to the nt nursery when Dahei sniffed the air and suddenly barked in the direction of the Lingshui River. Lu Lingxi frowned; it seemed that there was something going on at the Lingshui River. Yan Yue made an immediate decision, ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look.¡± ¡°Good.¡± The two of them and Dahei didn¡¯t go back to the nt nursery and turned directly towards the Lingshui River. It was already dark at this time of the year, but the moon was good tonight, the moonlight spreading like water, so there was no need to worry about not being able to see the road. As Yan Yue led Lu Lingxi along slowly, Lu Lingxi thought of something and said with a hint of regret, ¡°I should have gone back to the nt nursery to get a bucket and fetch a bucket of water on the way back.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s eyes were full ofughter as he nodded approvingly, ¡°Xiao Xi is right, we didn¡¯t n well.¡± It was clear that Yan Yue was agreeing with him, but Lu Lingxi just felt that something wasn¡¯t right there. He nced at Yan Yue suspiciously and Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help butugh aloud, reaching out to rub the boy¡¯s hair indulgently. Lu Lingxi slightly turned his head away, but Yan Yue was undeterred, quickly leaned over, cupped his chin and gave him a kiss, coaxing, ¡°What Xiao Xi said was right.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Yan Yueughed even louder. The two of them walked all the way to the Lingshui River. At night, the ¡°ck Water River¡± was flowing slowly. Lu Lingxi looked at the river for a long time but couldn¡¯t see anything, so he hesitantly looked at Dahei. Dahei whimpered, biting at Yan Yue¡¯s trouser leg and dragging him forward. Yan Yue took a few steps, walked to the river and leaned down to take a closer look, his brow furrowing tightly. s ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lu Lingxi looked at his reaction and was about to move forward as well. Yan Yue stopped him quickly; the smell of the river was really unpleasant. He whispered, ¡°Waste water is probably still discharged upstream.¡± Meeting the young man¡¯s puzzled look, Yan Yue exined, ¡°It¡¯s an old trick. Once these small factories are inspected and reported, they pretend to stop working during the day and continue to work at night. No one can catch them.¡± ¡°Then what should we do?¡± Lu Lingxi was a bit anxious. He could imagine that if he reported it again, the other party would definitely not admit it. Besides, even if he reported it, the people from the Environmental Protection Bureau would note to inspect it in the middle of the night. Yan Yue¡¯s expression slightly darkened as he rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair soothingly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll think of a way.¡± His voice was serene and confident, with a calming power, and Lu Lingxi felt relieved. For Yan Yue, whether it was economic development or environmental protection, he didn¡¯t care much about these things himself; it was only because of Lu Lingxi that he was somewhat concerned about the matter of the Lingshui River. In his opinion, with Ye Cheng¡¯s orders and Lu Lingxi¡¯s report, it was enough to shut down the stic factory. Yan Yue had a few thoughts passing through his head, thinking of how to solve this matter. But before he could say anything, Dahei had already let out a ¡°woo¡± towards the vige. Yan Yue had heard all sorts of barks from Dahei, but this was the first time he had ever heard such a sound that almost resembled a wolf¡¯s howl. As soon as Dahei¡¯s bark came out, the whole vige immediately boiled up. Dogs barked from everywhere, as if in response to Dahei¡¯s call. Some stray dogs joined in the fun from across the river and howled along with the others. Dahei nced calmly across the river, tilted his head and gave another howl. He then trotted over to Lu Lingxi¡¯s side, rubbed himself affectionately against Lu Lingxi¡¯s leg and gave a low whimper, as if saying something. After saying that, Dahei nced at Lu Lingxi and ran along the Lingshui River upstream towards Songjia Vige. Lu Lingxi guessed what Dahei meant and felt a little incredulous. He was still at a loss when he saw dogs running out of the vige one after another, following Dahei. Even the pack of stray dogs across the river had not been left behind, following closely behind Dahei. In the rural areas of China, basically every household kept a dog to watch the door. In the past, most of the families kept simple dogs, butter on, as people became richer, they also started to keep pet dogs like the city people. Lu Lingxi now watched as several pugs rushed out of the vige, vigorously paddling their short legs and chasing the big dog in front of them. Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± This time it was his turn to be bewildered. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know what to say and reacted only after a while, ¡°Big Brother Yan, should we follow and take a look?¡± Yan Yue looked a little helpless, but he had a lot of confidence in Dahei. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Dahei knows the measure, nothing will happen.¡± ¡°But Dahei¡­¡± Lu Lingxi was a little worried about Dahei. Yan Yue smiled and affirmed, ¡°Dahei will be more than fine, Xiao Xi has forgotten how powerful Dahei is.¡± Lu Lingxi thought about it and reluctantly calmed down. Seeing that he was still worried, Yan Yue patiently exined, ¡°Dahei and the others are going to make trouble, and no one knows what¡¯s going on in the dark. If we follow them, we¡¯ll definitely be seen by the people over there. Songjia now suspects that it was the people from Lingshui who reported the factory. If they see us, it¡¯ll be troublesome.¡± This exnation convinced Lu Lingxi, and he hesitantly looked at Yan Yue, ¡°Big Brother Yan, do we have to wait here for Dahei?¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t answer immediately, but first touched Lu Lingxi¡¯s face. The wind was a little cold and he said decisively, ¡°Let¡¯s go back, Dahei knows the way.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. The two of them slowly walked back to the vige. The whole vige was in chaos. Someone recognised Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue and greeted them loudly, ¡°Are you also out looking for the dogs?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded unusually sheepishly. The man looked puzzled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but the dogs are all running out like crazy. Even if you close the door, they¡¯ll drill a hole. They can¡¯t be stopped at all.¡± The man finished speaking and tried tofort Lu Lingxi, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, child, I¡¯ve seen your dog. If I see it, I¡¯ll catch it for you.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°Please.¡± After saying a few words, the man wandered away to find his dog. Lu Lingxi followed Yan Yue and slowly walked back. As soon as he took two steps, he heard a small dog scratching frantically at the door in the yard of a house down the road. The man¡¯s voice came out, ¡°If it wants to go out, let it go out, our dog can¡¯t lose its way.¡± The woman shouted back, ¡°What are you talking about? Can¡¯t you hear the people outside yelling that the dogs are running away? Those are big dogs, our dog is only four months old, what if it doesn¡¯te back?¡± Lu Lingxi looked at Yan Yue with some embarrassment. Yan Yue held back hisughter and let Lu Lingxi walk a bit faster, whispering soothingly, ¡°It¡¯s okay, those dogs will probably be back in a while.¡± But Lu Lingxi somehow thought of those little short-legged pugs, and while he felt funny, he was also worried for them. They wouldn¡¯t run away and have no energy toe back, would they? Chapter 84 When Dahei came back, it was already midnight. While Lu Lingxi waited for Dahei anxiously, he was hugged by Yan Yue and fell asleep in a daze. Because of something on his mind, Lu LIngxi hadn¡¯t been able to sleep soundly. When there was a movement outside, he woke up with a start. Yan Yue woke up a little earlier than him and was already getting dressed. ¡°Xiao Xi, go to sleep, I¡¯ll go check.¡± Yan Yue pressed to keep Lu Lingxi from getting up. It was a bit cold outside; it seemed to be windy and Yan Yue was worried that Lu Lingxi might catch a cold. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t sleep but thinking that Yan Yue would bring Dahei in after a while, he agreed andy on the bed waiting for Dahei. The strange thing was that there was no sound after Yan Yue went out, and Dahei couldn¡¯t be heard, so Lu LIngxi couldn¡¯t lie down any longer, hurriedly dressed and went out. For a moment he was a bit stunned. Dahei was back, but it wasn¡¯t just Dahei who had returned. There were more than twenty dogs squatting in the courtyard,rge and small, with Dahei squatting at the front, holding a little puppy that seemed to have been born a few months ago curled up and sleeping soundly. Yan Yue stood opposite them and looked at Dahei, and Lu Lingxi could almost see the blue veins on Yan Yue¡¯s forehead pulsing. Hearing the movement behind him, Yan Yue tried his best to ease his expression, turned to look at Lu Lingxi and said, ¡°It¡¯s cold outside, why is Xiao Xi up?¡± His expression was helpless. Although Lu LIngxi tried his best to suppress it, the twitching of the corners of his mouth still could be seen. Lu Lingxi knew that he shouldn¡¯tugh at this time, but he really couldn¡¯t help it. It was the first time he had seen Yan Yue with such a headache, and his eyes curved as he smiled. ¡°Big Brother Yan.¡± The young man¡¯s tone was cheerful, and this call of ¡°Big Brother Yan¡± carried a hint of being coquettish. Yan Yue had no choice but to indulge him, ¡°Does Xiao Xi want them all to stay?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded and couldn¡¯t help but smile again. Seeing Lu Lingxi nod, Dahei put down the little puppy in his mouth and turned around and barked a few times in a rather serious manner. The group of dogs in the courtyard seemed to understand what Dahei meant and responded. However, it seemed that they deliberately lowered their voices for fear of waking up the surrounding neighbours, so it sounded like a group of dogs was collectively acting coquettish. Lu Lingxi looked at this scene with some curiosity. Dahei had always been a loner. Even when he was at Brother Dong¡¯s pet shop, he didn¡¯tmunicate with other puppies at all. This was the first time Dahei was with other dogs. And could they really understand what each other was saying?¡­ Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind started wandering. Yan Yue looked at the dogs in the courtyard with a strange expression in his eyes, and unexpectedly thought of the question Lu Lingxi asked himst time. nts could evolve, could animals evolve too? Yan Yue felt that this question was a bit of a fantasy at the time, but looking at the scene in front of him, he began to feel uncertain. Dahei deterred the dogs in the yard, turned to Lu Lingxi and barked in a low voice a few times, as if exining something. Lu Lingxi felt that he understood somewhat what Dahei was saying. He was exining where these dogs came from. Some of these dogs were stray dogs nearby, some were dogs that couldn¡¯t go home temporarily because there was no dog hole, and there was also the little puppy that couldn¡¯t be driven away from Dahei¡¯s side. When Dahei was talking about the little puppy, Lu Lingxi even felt that he could hear a trace of helplessness in Dahei¡¯s vice. While Dahei was exining, the little puppy on the ground seemed to have woken up. Its eyes were not fully open and its pink nose sniffed before it squinted and whimpered, moving over to Dahei¡¯s side and going back to sleep under Dahei¡¯s belly. Lu Lingxi was about tough to death. Dahei was a male dog, and the illusion of being treated like a mother dog made Lu Lingxi hold his stomach and almost burst into tears. At dawn, the dogs were finally settled in. Lu Lingxi ¡°ferociously¡± grabbed each of the stray dogs and gave them a bath, then discussed with Yan Yue where they should go. Not all of the stray dogs came back with Dahei, but the ones that did were older dogs, very skinny and probably belonged to the ¡°old, weak, sick and disabled¡± category in the stray dog pack. Lu Lingxi thought that since they had followed Dahei, they didn¡¯t want to remain stray anymore. It was a good idea to keep them in the nt nursery to watch it; they couldn¡¯t eat much anyway. As the nt nursery got bigger and bigger, Uncle Li also suggested that they hire someone to guard it at night. With this pack of dogs, hiring another person would not be a problem. When Lu Lingxi finished speaking, his eyes shone brightly at Yan Yue, who had always been indulgent towards him and naturally nodded in agreement. Although Yan Yue thought it would be more appropriate to have a few wolf dogs in the nt nursery, it didn¡¯t matter if it was these local dogs. He liked this softness of the young man¡¯s heart, and precisely because Yan Yue himself didn¡¯t have it, he was more than willing to protect it. ¡°Big Brother Yan, thank you.¡± Lu Lingxi said seriously. It was as if no matter what he did, Yan Yue would indulge him, making his unconscious reliance on Yan Yue grow deeper and deeper. This dependence seemed to have be a habit and integrated into his life. Yan Yue looked at the boy¡¯s serious look and smiled faintly. The smile poured out of his eyes, and his already handsome face looked even more unusually striking, carrying an indescribable charm. Lu Lingxi looked a little dumbfounded, and the tips of his ears suddenly turned red. He could feel his heart thumping, as if it was about to jump out of his throat the next moment. ¡°What is Xiao Xi going to do to thank Big Brother Yan?¡± Yan Yue asked with a slightly teasing smile. Lu Lingxi blinked; as slow as he was, he knew that Yan Yue didn¡¯t really want his thanks. The smile in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes deepened as he leaned down and kissed Lu Lingxi. When Lu Lingxi woke up again, it was already past nine o¡¯clock. After taking care of the dogs for half the nightst night, Lu Lingxi had overslept for the first time. Yan Yue had already called Dong Zhi and asked him to help put up a sign at the entrance of Tiny Garden that it was closed for the day. Since he didn¡¯t have to go to the shop today, Lu Lingxi simply didn¡¯t rush back to Fengcheng, and after washing and cleaning up, he strolled around the vige. s The story of the vige¡¯s dogs running away and returning in the middle of the night became a hot topic in the whole vige. Under the big willow tree, the vigers gathered in groups, and the subject of conversation was always: ¡°Did your dog run away yesterday? When did ite back?¡± Because of Dahei, Lu Lingxi was also pulled into answering these questions several times. While the vigers¡¯ attention was focused on this matter, a well-informed viger brought another bombastic news. Last night that stic factory in Songjia Vige was surrounded by a pack of dogs, and he heard that hundreds of dogs had besieged the stic factory. All the dogs from several nearby viges went there, and even the dogs kept by Songjia¡¯s families joined the siege. The dogs had a clear division ofbour, with the big dogs picking at the door outside and the small dogs squeezing in through the gaps to cause trouble. Several machines in the stic factory were broken and the people inside were scared enough. ¡°Deserve that! Who let them work in the middle of the night to discharge waste water, isn¡¯t it fooling us?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, they deserve to be scared.¡± Although the people in the vige had some odd expressions when they heard the news, they still felt that the people of Sognjia Vige had made their own bed; even the dogs couldn¡¯t stand to see what they were doing. There were a lot of stray dogs in the area, and the dogs in the vige were not tethered and were allowed to run. The dogs needed water when they were tired of running, and they also needed water when it was hot. The only source of water nearby, the Lingshui River, had been polluted by Songjia, so these dogs had no ce to drink. Didn¡¯t they have the right to make trouble? In the rural areas of China, dogs had always been considered spiritual animals and there were many stories of dogs returning kindness and avenging evil. The older the people were, the more they believed in these stories. They said that the dog king was angry and called on the pack to take revenge. In less than half a day, the story had spread everywhere nearby. The people of Songjia also heard the story. Song Wancai muttered a little in his heart that what happenedst night was quite extraordinary. First, a sound like a wolf¡¯s howl came from the entrance of the vige, then the vige dogs all rioted and ran out of the houses, over the walls and through the holes. When the vige people followed them, they saw a pack of dogs surrounding the stic factory, and the leading dogs were barking at the factory, their voices sounding downright scary. Song Wancai wanted to ask the vigers to drive the dogs away, but the ones in the outermost circle were all dogs raised by the people of the vige themselves. They didn¡¯t fight but they didn¡¯t obey their owners either. The vige people were all tormented by the noise until midnight. ¡°There can¡¯t really be some kind of dog king, can there?¡± Song Wancai was hesitating and wanted to talk to the people at the stic factory about stopping work for a few days. The director of the stic factory, the man called Jin Laoliu, wasn¡¯t a local, and wasn¡¯t happy to hear Song Wancai¡¯s words. He was now distressed enough to stop work during the day; if he stopped work at night, he would go broke. When Jin Laoliu insisted, Song Wancai wavered, gritted his teeth and decided to continue to work. The people of Songjia didn¡¯t believe in extraordinary things, and Yan Yue didn¡¯t think that they could be stopped from working at once. When he and Lu Lingxi returned to the city in the morning, Dahei was left in the nt nursery. Since it had already been started, they should simply do it to the end, once and for all. Lu Lingxi was a bit sad to leave Dahei. This was the first time he and Dahei were separated. He squatted in front of Dahei and stroked Dahei¡¯s head, promising toe and pick him up in a couple of days. Yan Yue looked a bit bitter. Thest time he went back to Zhongjing, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t act so reluctantly. While Lu Lingxi wasn¡¯t paying attention, Yan Yue gave Dahei a fierce re. Stupid dog! s Dahei ignored Yan Yue¡¯s re and rubbed against Lu Lingxi¡¯s palm affectionately. He knew what he was staying for, and he led the dogs that followed behind him, looking very majestic and dignified. Of course the premise was to pretend not to see the little puppy hugging Dahei¡¯s leg. The owners of the little puppy were the same man and woman Lu Lingxi had heard yesterday. He wondered how the puppy, who was only four months old, had managed to run out of the yard. In the morning Dahei followed the scent and sent the puppy back, but the puppy refused to leave Dahei. The auntie in the house looked amused and left the puppy with Dahei confidently. Lu Lingxi finished petting Dahei and then petted the little puppy before finally following Yan Yue back to the city. That night, the stic factory in Songjia really didn¡¯t stop working, and Dahei once again summoned the dogs to surround it. The stic factory was prepared this time and found a lot of poles to snare the dogs. Seeing that, Dahei was so angry that he leapt forward and bit off the nearest pole. The dogs behind him followed suit and soon rushed into the factory, causing havoc. For three nights in a row, Dahei led the dogs to the stic factory. The stic factory also developed; from a set of dog snare poles they turned to buying packs of rat poison and wrapping it in buns, scattering them around the stic factory. But to the surprise of those inside, none of the dogs went to eat the buns. A few who couldn¡¯t resist their cravings were rebuked by the leadingrge dogs. Under the cover of the night, the dogs squatted outside the stic factory, looking as if they were a well-trained army. Now, not to mention the workers inside the stic factory who were lured by the high overtime pay, even Song Wancai, who came with the vigers to disperse the dogs, couldn¡¯t hold on any longer, feeling that the scene in front of him was quite creepy. Some of the timid vigers simply got weak in the knees and said in trembling voices, ¡°These dogs have not be spirits, have they?¡± As soon as Jin Laoliu saw that the situation wasn¡¯t good, he rushed out aggressively, holding up a shotgun that he got from somewhere. Before he could take aim, Dahei¡¯s figure flew out and pinned him to the ground, teeth bared. ¡°Kille¡­ I¡¯m killed!¡± Jin Laoliu yelled like a pig ughtered. The men inside the stic factory cowered and took a step back, no one daring toe forward to save him. Dahei raised his paw and flicked away the shotgun, and a stray dog darted out, took the gun in its mouth and ran away. Dahei narrowed his eyes and looked around for a moment, and the few people who were facing him shivered, ¡°Dog¡­ dog king?¡± Dahei didn¡¯t pay any attention to them, tilted his head and barked, and the dogs behind him followed along and howled. Song Wancai felt he would never forget this night for the rest of his life, the way hundreds of dogs howled together, and the big ck dog at the front of the pack. It was only when it was almost dawn that the big ck dog led the pack to disperse. As soon as they left, the workers inside the stic factory made a fuss about quitting. No one dared to stay any longer. Song Wancai felt his thumping heart and went to find Jin Laoliu, ruthlessly prepared to close the factory. He was really scared. The result was that after searching for a long time and not finding the man, he finally heard that Jin Laoliu had long since fainted from fear and had been sent to the vige clinic. Several surrounding viges knew about what had happened in Songjia. The first thing Jin Laoliu did when he woke up was to shut down the stic factory and leave. He wasn¡¯t prepared to stay in this hellhole. The dogs were not simply dogs, all of them had be spirits! Uncle Li quickly told Lu Lingxi about this over the phone. The old man didn¡¯t know that the legendary dog king was Dahei, so he praised and praised the dog king on the phone. Although Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t reveal Dahei¡¯s identity, he listened to the praise and made up his mind to go to pick up Dahei in the evening and by the way to bring him a box of chicken legs. After hanging up the phone, Lu Lingxi spoke to Yan Yue. Yan Yue wasn¡¯t in Tiny Garden and went to Xue Yongtong¡¯s ce. Gao Yongliang used the essential oils extracted from begonias to make the first perfume, and specially asked Yan Yue to take a look at the samples. Hearing Lu Lingxi say that he wanted to pick up Dahei from the nt nursery in the evening, Yan Yue readily agreed, telling Lu Lingxi to wait for him at the shop and he would be right back. But soon after Yan Yue hung up the phone, the sky suddenly darkened and a heavy downpour fell without warning. There was lightning and thunder for a while, pedestrians took refuge wherever they could and the falling rain soon umted in the street. Lu Lingxi braved the rain to move the flowers ced at the entrance back to the shop and looked at the sky outside with some concern. It was dark before five o¡¯clock and visibility was very low. He was sure he couldn¡¯t go to the nt nursery in this weather but Uncle Li was taking care of Dahei, so he didn¡¯t need to worry. What he was worried about was how Yan Yue woulde back in this heavy rain. The text message from Yan Yue came quickly, saying he was stuck on the road and asking Lu Lingxi not to rush. Yan Yue said he was okay but once he said he was stuck on the road, Lu Lingxi became even more worried. After another nce out of the window, Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t calm down, so he simply moved a wicker chair and sat at the door while waiting for Yan Yue, holding his mobile phone and reading the news. The weather station in Fengcheng was also very surprised by this rain, as there was no warning at all beforehand. No one knew what was going on, but the weather in China this year was very abnormal. The southwest was originally a humid region, but it didn¡¯t rain for the whole summer, and there was a big drought that hadn¡¯t been seen for decades. Fengcheng fared a bit better. Although the temperature was also ridiculously high, there was always a heavy rain every now and then, so it was not quite a severe drought. What was most puzzling was that in the northwest, a region that traditionally suffered from severe drought, this year it actually rained so much that several small-scale floods broke out. With all these news superimposed together, it simply felt like the climate of China was all messed up. Lu Lingxi put away his phone and looked out the window again. The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier, as if a hole had been torn in the sky and someone was pouring water down. The road waspletely empty of pedestrians; asionally a car drove by, but it drove very slowly, passing by Tiny Garden. It had been so long since Yan Yue had texted, and Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know where he was trapped, so he became a bit anxious. He was anxious, but Yan Yue was even more anxious. A car ident had just happened at the intersection not far from the street where Tiny Garden was located. All the cars on the road were blocked there, forming a long line. Yan Yue had both hands on the steering wheel, his fingers gently tapping on the wheel. This was his habitual action when he was thinking, and it was also his subconscious movement when he was annoyed. It was already past six o¡¯clock and Lu Lingxi was still stuck in Tiny Garden. Yan Yue was in a hurry to get to him, just in case something happened to the young man alone. The window of a car side by side with him was slightly opened, and a faint sound of cursing came out. ¡°This damn weather.¡± Yan Yue simply wanted to echo the man¡¯s words when he heard, ¡°This damned, damned weather.¡± When he went to Xue Yongtong¡¯s ce in the afternoon, it was fine and the weather forecast didn¡¯t say that there would be rain this afternoon, so who could have thought that there would be such a sudden downpour. Luckily, the traffic police seemed to have taken into ount the weather conditions today, and the car ident in front of Yan Yue was handled fairly quickly. Soon the cars stuck slowly moved on. Yan Yue breathed a sigh of relief and looked out the window somewhat carelessly, when suddenly his eyes changed and his gaze focused on a car on the opposite side of the road. That car was the one that had been involved in the ident at the corner earlier. The person in the driver¡¯s seat was Yin Ya, whom Yan Yue hadn¡¯t seen in a while, while in the passenger side was unexpectedly Lu Wei¡¯an. Yan Yue could see Yin Ya smiling and talking to Lu Wei¡¯an, and the two seemed to be on somewhat intimate terms. Yan Yue¡¯s gaze was prating; he remembered what the housekeeper had mentioned about his mother¡¯s intentions. He just wondered what the two of them were doing in Fengcheng. In the other car, Lu Wei¡¯an nced somewhat keenly towards the outside. Yin Ya said with concern, ¡°Wei¡¯an-gege, what¡¯s wrong?¡± (¡®gege¡¯ is an elder brother in general, but from a girl to a boy it¡¯s a rather intimate way to address) Lu Wei¡¯an frowned slightly, ¡°It seems like someone was watching us just now.¡± Because of his illness, he was very sensitive to other people¡¯s gazes, and he was sure that it wasn¡¯t an illusion that someone was looking at them just now. Yin Ya didn¡¯t care much, ¡°Maybe they were looking at our car.¡± Lu Wei¡¯an smiled and didn¡¯t say another word, as if he epted this exnation. The encounter with Yin Ya was just a minor incident, and Yan Yue quickly withdrew his attention. The two cars passed by each other across the barrier, and Yan Yue didn¡¯t give the others a second nce, but turned in the direction of Tiny Garden. A quarter of an hourter, Yan Yue finally picked up Lu Lingxi. ¡°Hurry up and get in.¡± Lu Lingxi put away his umbre and jogged to the car; just like that his right shoulder was wet. Yan Yue touched Lu Lingxi¡¯s face uneasily, always feeling that it was a little too cold. He found a jacket in the back seat and put it over Lu Lingxi, asking, ¡°Is it cold?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Yan Yue reluctantly rxed. Now that he had picked up Lu Lingxi, he wasn¡¯t in much of a hurry. The two of them drove slowly all the way, and halfway through they nned to turn to the small restaurant to pick up Wang Shuxiu, only to have Wang Shuxiu say that the rain was too heavy, so they should leave her alone and she would just stay upstairs in the small restaurant. Lu Lingxi faintly heard Brother Feng¡¯s voice in the background and hung up the phone with a somewhat odd expression. ¡°What?¡± Yan Yue asked as he noticed his expression. Lu Lingxi frowned, ¡°Brother Feng is blocked by the rain in the small restaurant.¡± Yan Yue was taken aback for a moment, then reacted to what Lu Lingxi said and couldn¡¯t help butugh inwardly. No matter what, Lu Lingxi was still a child and seemed to have a natural possessiveness towards his mother. Xiao Feng was merely blocked by the rain in the small restaurant, and Lu Lingxi was already on alert, as if Xiao Feng was going to do something. ¡°Don¡¯t like Xiao Feng?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head, ¡°Not really, it just feels weird.¡± Yan Yue smiled and rubbed his hair, notmenting on the matter. The two went to bed early when they arrived home, unaware that on that very night, the continuous heavy rain caused the water level of the Lingshui River to soar, and the ck river water carrying silt began to spread towards the ground on the river side of the vige. The ck water slowly seeped into the ground from Songjia all the way to the Shigouhe, pollutingrge areas of the fields. Of the viges along the Lingshui River, Lingshui Vige was the only one that wasn¡¯t polluted by the river. The roots of therge willow tree were firmly nted at the river¡¯s edge, blocking the infiltration of the river water and slowly absorbing the water little by little without letting ite through. Chapter 85 The downpoursted for a whole day and night before it stopped. Due to the old drainage system, half of Fengcheng City was soaked in water, and many offices were closed for the day. Lu Lingxi called Dong Zhi to ask about the situation, and when he heard that the street in front of Tiny Garden was also flooded, he simply gave himself a holiday too. The situation in the Hongfu Community was fine. Although the drainage in the area was also ageing badly, the lush grass growing on the ground retained arge amount of rainwater. In ces where people couldn¡¯t see, both the trees and the grass were working hard, their roots stretching to absorb and store the rainwater. A resident of themunity came back from a grocery shopping trip andmented about the situation outside. Several of themunities nearby were almostpletely flooded. Thesemunities were both new and old; the old ones were about the same age as the Hongfu Community and the new ones were built in recent years, but the drainage was not very good in either the old or new ones. In the deepest ces the water was said to reach the waist, and in the most shallow it reached the calf. It seemed in the Hongsu Community it barely reached the ankle at most. When it rained heavily several times before, the difference in drainage wasn¡¯t obvious. But as the vegetation in themunity became more and more lush, the dense wall climbers spread from Building 1 in the deepest part of themunity to Building 39 at the entrance of themunity, and the difference in drainage between themunity and several surroundingmunities became bigger and bigger. Everyone knew it was because of the abundance of greenery in themunity, and the fact that the nts could store water was something that even primary school children knew. Some neighbours were gloating. Not far from the Hongfu Community, there was the Liuhe Community. Just some time ago all the greennd in themunity was turned into a parking lot, and the parking space was sold for 100,000 yuan. As a result of this heavy rainfall, the entire car parking was a sea of water, all the cars in it were flooded. Back then, it was not that no one in the Hongfu Community was jealous of the 100,000 yuan, but now no one was talking about the money anymore; instead they were talking about the importance of the environment. ¡°There¡¯s no use having money. Can you buy the environment of ourmunity? You smell the air, it¡¯s definitely of the park standard.¡± ¡°Hey, didn¡¯t you dislike the grass on the ground and the annoying birds chirping outside a while ago? It¡¯s only been a few days and you¡¯ve changed your tune.¡± ¡°Lao Tzu is not a fool, I just said that casually. And even if Lao Tzu is a fool, even fools can tell the difference between a good and bad environment.¡± The man who said that was a bit exasperated, and the people around himughed. After one summer, most of the residents in themunity had fallen in love with the lush, green and vibrant environment. Even though the prices of the houses in themunity were getting higher and higher and there were agents every day trying to get people to sell their houses, few people moved. Of course, this wasn¡¯t the case at the beginning. When they heard that there were people who wanted to buy houses in such a rundown neighbourhood, and the price they paid wasn¡¯t low, many people were excited to sell their houses and went to buy new houses in the newmunities nearby. Who knows whether the people who sold their houses regretted it, but none of those who bought the houses regretted; they all felt it was worth it. Many people also wanted to buy a few more ces to bring their families over to live with them, but unfortunately the housing supply in themunity was very tight now and no one was willing to be a loser and sell their home anymore. These conversations outside drifted intermittently into Lu Lingxi¡¯s ears with the wind, and heughed along with the others as he listened. The line that even a fool likes to live in a good environment struck a chord with Lu Lingxi, but there were many people who were worse than fools as soon as money was concerned. This thought shed through his mind, and Lu Lingxi thought of the people in Songjia Vige. Although the stic factory had closed its doors, the pollution of the Lingshui River had already been caused. Today, when he called the nt nursery, he heard that the water level of the Lingshui River had soared and flooded thend in Songjia Vige. Not to mention other consequences, thatnd in Songjia couldn¡¯t be nted for a while. Thinking of this, Lu Lingxi let out a rare sigh, wondering if Songjia would regret it. s Shaking his head, Lu Lingxi stopped thinking about this matter and returned his attention to the eelgrass in the water tank. After the rainstorm, this eelgrass had actually evolved unexpectedly. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know if it was because he was chanting about the pollution of the Lingshui River every day, but the direction of evolution of this mutated eelgrass bush was really absorbing cyanide +20%. Lu Lingxi focused and with gloves on carefully pulled the eelgrass out of the tank, washed the roots again and cut a portion of the branches from the underground stem with the intention of propagating it. This was a simple and quick method of propagation, so he nned to propagate some of the eelgrass first to see how it worked. Lu Lingxi was so busy that he didn¡¯t even notice when Yan Yue returned. Yan Yue went out in the afternoon when the rain was light, because An Jie was looking for him. As soon as he returned, he saw Lu Lingxi squatting in the backyard, with a row of unused stic pots on the ground. The pots were filled with silt the two of them had dug up from the Lingshui River thest time, ck and smelling foul. Lu Lingxi acted as if he couldn¡¯t smell it, carefully transnting the branches of the eelgrass into the stic pots, then pouring water over them to make sure they were all nted, with a serious look. Yan Yue leaned against the balcony railing and quietly watched Lu Lingxi. Although the young man¡¯s hands were now covered in ck mud and even his face seemed to have been identally smeared a little, and his clothes were a simple t-shirt and pants with a somewhat old jacket over them, Yan Yue just liked the young man now. The feelings in his heart surged fiercely. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes were gentle as he walked over and squatted beside Lu Lingxi. ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re back?¡± Lu Lingxi felt the dark shadow beside him and turned his head to ask with some surprise. He was digging a hole in the mud, and his hands were all ck. Yan Yue smiled faintly at his appearance, reaching out his thumb to wipe away the spots of mud on the boy¡¯s face, and leaned over to kiss him gently. ¡°Xiao Xi, don¡¯t move, let me kiss you.¡± Lu Lingxi subconsciously remained still and then became a little embarrassed. It was difficult for him to move around with both hands up, and he was worried that he might rub the mud on his hands onto Yan Yue¡¯s suit jacket. What Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t understand was: couldn¡¯t Yan Yue feel the stench? How could he still be in the mood to kiss him now? Yan Yue sensed Lu Lingxi¡¯s distraction and slightly leaned away from the young man, raising his eyebrow, ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Lu Lingxi looked a little puzzled, ¡°Big Brother Yan, can¡¯t you smell the stench?¡± Yan Yue was slightly taken aback and thenughed aloud. Afterughing, he took off his jacket and worked with Lu Lingxi. After the two of them had finished nting the eelgrass, Yan Yue washed his hands and rolled up his sleeves to prepare for cooking. In Wang Shuxiu¡¯s absence, he was always in charge of the cooking, which was basically either takeaway or noodles with tomato sauce. Lu Lingxi washed his hands and followed Yan Yue. When he saw the tomato sauce, he remembered the tomatoes and grapes that Brother Feng had nted, and wondered how they were growing. The tomatoes in the courtyard were no longer bearing fruit, so Lu Lingxi simply disposed of the tomato seedlings and turned the ground over again. He was now looking forward to the tomatoes that Brother Feng had nted being avable soon. s Yongchun vegetable greenhouse Tiger took a look around the greenhouse. After a day and night of continuous heavy rain, he was worried about something going wrong with the greenhouse. Brother Feng wasn¡¯t here and Tiger¡¯s nerves were taut. After a look around and making sure there was nothing wrong and no water was leaking anywhere, Tiger finally rxed. After making sure the greenhouse was okay, Tiger went around to the front. Erfei was standing in the truck directing the workers below to move the collected vegetables onto the truck. ¡°Hurry up, hurry up. We¡¯ll have to deliver them in a minute. The wholesale market is going to be open at midnight over there.¡± This was the first crop of vegetables in the greenhouse, basically consisting of green leafy vegetables, all of them looking bright and juicy. Even if Tiger didn¡¯t know anything about farming, he could tell that their vegetables were good and would definitely taste good. The workers in the greenhouse also said that the vegetables were growing well, and that they smelled like vegetables and were not nd at all. Speaking of which, the seeds of these vegetables were all ordinary seeds bought, and they did not use medicine or fertiliser. The only reason why the vegetables were growing like this was because the soil was good. The soil used for nting inside the greenhouse was brought by Brother Feng from Yan Yue¡¯s side, and no one knew where Yan Yue found it. After thisyer of soil wasid down, the seeds basically grew wildly, and the seedlings emerged in a few days. When the harvest came, it was even more surprising, and could be described as a huge crop. Brother Feng was very happy to look at the vegetables in the greenhouse. He had just collected the first crop of vegetables yesterday and took them to Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss and happened to be trapped by the rain in the small restaurant. But Tiger thought that Brother Feng was grateful for the heavy rain and that he would like it to keep on pouring. As soon as he was distracted, he heard Erfei shout, ¡°Wash a tomato for me.¡± Tiger: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Erfei looked at him and smiled slyly, ¡°My throat hurts after shouting for a long time, so I¡¯ll eat one to moisten my throat.¡± Tiger ignored Erfei and his thoughts turned back to the tomatoes. If you could say that the vegetables in the greenhouse grew well, they were still no match for these tomatoes. As they had all eaten the tomatoes from Xiaohua¡¯s restaurant before, they knew that the seeds had been sent to them by the little boss, so they paid special attention to the tomatoes and had found skilled hands to look after them. As the tomato seedlings grew, Tiger was fine but Erfei basically visited them once a day, hoping that they would bear fruit sooner. The tomatoes didn¡¯t disappoint them. The fruits were big and round, red in colour and smelling sweet and sour. The other day Tiger couldn¡¯t resist eating one that was still slightly green, and the taste of just one bite was simply amazing. Thinking about it, Tiger swallowed and shouted, ¡°Wash one for me too.¡± Erfei bit into the tomato and looked at him with a happy smile, ¡°Tiger, you think our vegetables can be sold, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure.¡± Tiger was very confident about this. Their storefront at the wholesale market had been ready to open yesterday, and they specially invited people to see it. But then there was a heavy rainstorm and they had to postpone it for a day. But good thingse in small packages, and as long as their food is good, any day they open is not a problem. Although it was the first day of business for the Yongchun Vegetable Wholesale Shop, as soon as the vegetables that Erfei had delivered were put out, there was a crowd of vegetable farmers outside who came to wholesale. His vegetables were really conspicuous, big and juicy, and they looked good. But these days, everything can be faked, and there are even more fakes among vegetables. Although to the people gathered around the vegetables looked good, the shop was new and they had never dealt with it before, so they didn¡¯t dare to try it first. Some people looked suspiciously at the bright green lettuce leaves and were a bit worried, ¡°You¡¯re not spraying it with something, are you?¡± ¡°How could it be?¡± Erfei said angrily. As he said that, he pinched half a leaf from the nearest lettuce and threw it straight into his mouth without washing it. ¡°See, it looks like it¡¯s been sprayed?¡± After saying that Erfei continued, ¡°Bring a tomato over here.¡± Someone handed over a tomato, and Erfei took out a fruit knife and cut it three times. The whole tomato was neatly divided into six pieces, looking as if it had been measured in advance. Erfei picked up a piece and ate it, squinting his eyes with an expression of enjoyment. Someone next to him smelled the aroma and followed, pinching up a piece, ¡°I¡¯ll try it too.¡± With one bite, this person¡¯s expression changed. It was only a matter of two seconds before he swallowed the tomato in his mouth and said loudly, ¡°Give me a hundred pounds of tomatoes.¡± As soon as he said this, the people around him immediately understood. Although the people around didn¡¯t know each other personally, they were all familiar faces, and they didn¡¯t worry about someone setting up a trap. So they rushed to share the tomatoes, a hundred pounds to one and a hundred pounds to another, and the tomatoes were gone in seconds. With the tomatoes taking the lead, the other vegetables also started to sell. It took just over an hour to sell all the vegetables in the truck that Erfei had delivered. He secretly saved two tomatoes for himself and ate them while thinking that it was more fun than watching the loan sharks. It was a bit tiring, but the money wasfortably earned and solidly spent. The vegetables from Yongchun vegetable greenhouse sold well, and everyone was happy. Xiao Feng thought of gathering people together for a meal, and also to inform them that he and Xiaohua were together, and to recognise Lu Lingxi as his son. But when he chose the time, he found out that Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue had gone to the nt nursery to pick up Dahei and would not be back until tomorrow. ¡°Then let¡¯s change it to tomorrow.¡± Xiao Feng was quite agreeable, ¡°The main thing is to meet my son, we can¡¯t eat without him.¡± Wang Shuxiu¡¯s face turned red and she red at him with her eyebrows raised, snapping, ¡°Where did you get the son?¡± Xiao Feng didn¡¯t worry and said slowly, ¡°The one you gave birth to is my son, whether Xiao Xi recognises me or not, at least I do recognise this son.¡± His words were ordinary and there was nothing sweet about them, but they struck Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heart precisely. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s eyes turned red and she turned away without speaking. Unlike young girls, Wang Shuxiu was at the age when, choosing to find another man, she was thinking not only of her feelings, but also of her child. For her, finding another man after divorcing Lu Yishui was not difficult. The difficulty was in finding one who could really treat Lu Lingxi as his own son. If the other party disliked Lu Lingxi for being an oil bottle (a child from the previous marriage), then she wouldn¡¯t choose to be together even if she thought the other party was good. On the contrary, if a man was ordinary and just really good to Lu Lingxi, Wang Shuxiu might have gritted her teeth and agreed to be with him. It was rare that Xiao Feng was a good man and really treated Lu Lingxi like a son, so Wang Shuxiu felt that when she met such a man, all the suffering she had endured in the previous half of her life was worth it. When she didn¡¯t say anything, Xiao Feng didn¡¯t say anything either. He just walked over and took over the work Wang Shuxiu was doing. Wang Shuxiu looked at Xiao Feng and said, ¡°Then tomorrow don¡¯t look for Tiger and the others, just let the little bastarde and we have a family dinner.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s have a family dinner.¡± Xiao Feng agreed, but Yan Yue¡¯s shadow shed in his mind. He didn¡¯t know if the family Wang Shuxiu was talking about included Yan Yue, but that was something Yan Yue had to worry about himself. Chapter 86 Xiao Feng and Wang Shuxiu got together thanks to the matchmaker called ¡°Heavy Rain¡±. As the saying goes, heavy rain keeps customers away, but Xiao Feng never thought he would be caught in a rainstorm at Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant. At the beginning of the rain, Xiao Feng hesitated for a few seconds and didn¡¯t leave. For one thing, he wanted to stay with Wang Shuxiu for a while longer, and for another, he didn¡¯t take the heavy rain to heart, thinking that it would stop soon. Who knew that the rain was getting heavier and heavier, with no tendency to stop, and that the water on the road rose above his calves, making it impossible to leave. Not to mention Xiao Feng himself, Wang Shuxiu also did not feelfortable with him leaving, especially since Xiao Feng also intended to return to the vegetable greenhouse. It was dark and rainy and the road wasn¡¯t easy to travel, so Wang Shuxiu stopped him and Xiao Feng naturally stayed. Speaking of Xiao Feng, Wang Shuxiu always realised that it was the existence of the card and chess parlour that made her feel ufortable. Later, Xiao Feng closed the card and chess parlour, plus Lin Mei always whispered in her ear that she should find a man, so Wang Shuxiu¡¯s mind became more amodating. Although she didn¡¯t want to admit that a woman couldn¡¯t live without a man, Lin Mei was right, she was still young and would have no problem living to her 60s or 70s, taking into ount her current physical condition. If she had to be alone for the next 20 or 30 years, it would be a bit bleak to think about. If people who didn¡¯t know the truth thought that she was keeping herself for Lu Yishui, she would die of vomiting blood! Wang Shuxiu figured it out for herself, but she was still a little ufortable with Xiao Feng. Lin Mei didn¡¯t think too much of it and enthusiastically decided to help Wang Shuxiu meet someone else. To be honest, in Lin Mei¡¯s opinion, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s conditionscked a little. Of course, if you said she was in poor condition, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s face was there and no one who saw her could be unhappy. But if you said she was well off, Wang Shuxiu was old, divorced and with a child in tow, and was unemployed, running her own small restaurant, which was no match for someone who had a regr, stable job. Lin Mei was a bit anxious for Wang Shuxiu, but Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t care. On the contrary, when Xiao Feng heard that Lin Mei was helping introduce Wang Shuxiu to someone, he ran to the small restaurant three times a day. He didn¡¯t say anything, but just followed Wang Shuxiu unhurriedly and helped out when he saw any work. Sometimes when there were more customers, or when there were people he knew, Xiao Feng was not shy abouting out to greet them, and people who didn¡¯t know thought that Xiao Feng owned the restaurant. After a while, Lin Mei could see that Brother Feng was interested and that Wang Shuxiu wasn¡¯tpletely unresponsive. The two of them looked good, but they were just short of a little push. Lin Mei pondered that Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heart was probably not settled and Xiao Feng also saw it, so he simply didn¡¯t say anything. He would go to take care of his own affairs every day and when he was done, he woulde to the small restaurant. He washed dishes, cleaned up, and asionally greeted customers, proving by his actions that he was connected to the Xiaohua¡¯s owner. The two of them got along so uneventfully until this heavy rain gave them an opportunity for a breakthrough. Wang Shuxiu was ustomed to being alone at all times. And now there was someone with her when the lightning was shing, helping to close the windows, lock the doors and check if the house was leaking, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heart suddenly settled down and she recognised Xiao Feng from the bottom of her heart. While she was making rapid progress, Lu Lingxi, who was far away in Lingshui Vige, didn¡¯t know that he had a new father and was happily squatting in front of Dahei and teasing him. One dog and one man were ¡°meeting after a long goodbye¡± in an intimate manner,pletely ignoring Yan Yue next to them. It was a rare asion for Yan Yue not to be sour. In fact, he missed Dahei a little bit after not seeing him for a few days. Seeing that Lu Lingxi¡¯s thoughts were all on Dahei, Yan Yue smiled indulgently, opened the trunk, took out the tools from it and began to pack up the things he brought this time. s The two of them came here not only to pick up Dahei, but also to transnt the evolved eelgrass they had propagated to the bottom of the Lingshui River, and to dig up some more eelgrass to cultivate. Lu Lingxi had already tested it at home, and the evolved eelgrass had a remarkable effect on the absorption of cyanide in the water. When hepared the concentration of cyanide in the water before and after the eelgrass was transnted, thetter¡¯s concentration was significantly lower and the water was clearer. This result made Lu Lingxi quite happy, and even Yan Yue was a little surprised. Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind was simple and he just thought that the eelgrass could purify the Lingshui River, but Yan Yue was calcting the huge economic value of it. After the evolution of the eelgrass, Yan Yue had deliberately checked the river records of Fengcheng. ording to the distribution of several industrial areas in Fengcheng, there had to be many rivers facing the same pollution as the Lingshui River. In the eyes of the government, how to solve the pollution was surely a big problem, but in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes, it was quite a big business opportunity. Yan Yue was prepared to take the Lingshui River as a pilot case, and if the purification was sessful, he would seek out Ye Sange to talk about it. By the time Yan Yue finished packing up the things, Lu Lingxi and Dahei were almost done hugging. Lu Lingxi looked at Yan Yue with some embarrassment and stood on his tiptoes to give Yan Yue a kiss on the cheek. Yan Yue smiled and put his big hand over Lu Lingxi¡¯s head, rubbing it dotingly. ¡°Xiao Xi and Dahei stay in the nt nursery, I¡¯m going to talk to Uncle Li about the house.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. The house Yan Yue was talking about was the very same small courtyard where the two lived. When Du Lin had initially transferred the small courtyard to Lu Lingxi along with the nt nursery, the lease contract between her and the owner of the small courtyard was still three years away from expiring. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t think much of it at first, and because he didn¡¯t have any money, he went along with Du Lin¡¯s lease contract at the time. But now, because of the presence of the big willow tree, Lingshui Vige had changed from what it used to be. It would be troublesome in case the other party stopped renting to them. Yan Yue thought that he could simply buy the house and sign a new agreement for thend in the nt nursery behind it, changing the original five-year lease to the maximum of thirty years. It wasn¡¯t difficult to re-sign the contract for thend in the nt nursery, but it was the purchase of the small courtyard that was difficult. Strictly speaking, the transfer of residentialnd in rural China was not allowed, but in fact there were quite a few private transfers, so it depended on the means of each individual. The reason why Yan Yue was looking for Uncle Li was because the owner of the small courtyard was one of Uncle Li¡¯s cousins. The old man had followed his children abroad a few years ago and the small courtyard had been left vacant until Du Lin rented it. At that time, it was Uncle Li who arranged everything, and Yan Yue hoped that Uncle Li would help pull the strings again. The situation with the house was not clear and Yan Yue didn¡¯t want Lu Lingxi to worry about it, so he simply didn¡¯t take him there. As soon as Yan Yue left, Lu Lingxi felt bored. After thinking for a long time and feeling that there was nothing to do in the nt nursery, he secretly took Dahei to the Lingshui River. A small shovel, a bucket, gloves and a mask, Lu Lingxi¡¯s equipment wasplete, all specially prepared for this visit. With the experience of digging eelgrassst time, Lu Lingxi felt that he should not get mud all over his body like he didst time. After carrying the bucket with the evolved eelgrass to the river, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t rush to transnt it, but first took a small shovel to clean up the stones and broken ss in the area where it had to be transnted, and then shovelled the silt nearby for a long time to dig a few suitable holes. s One, two, three, four, five¡­ Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t nt the eelgrass in one ce but distributed it evenly along the river bank. When he finished with thest clump of eelgrass, the white panel suddenly floated out and two lines of green characters were disyed below. Eelgrass ecologicalmunity formed, water purification +50%, bonus nt heart +500 Choose to evolve the nts ofmon origin simultaneously? Lu Lingxi was taken aback for a moment and quickly chose ¡°yes¡±. As he selected ¡°yes¡±, a section of the river appeared on the white panel. The colour of the river was shown as ck and the range was exactly the range where he had nted this eelgrass. With the example of the willow ecologicalmunity, Lu Lingxi was no stranger to new ecologicalmunities. Perhaps it was the difference between solid soil and flowing water, but the eelgrass ecologicalmunity wasn¡¯t directly purifying the underground soil as the willow ecologicalmunity, but rather purified the water with the evolutionary effect +50%. Lu Lingxi was actually satisfied with this. With this eelgrass purifying the water, the roots of the big willow tree should soon be able to extend over, and the purification of the soil would not be limited to this side of the Lingshui River but would continue to spread towards the other side. As he thought about it, Dahei, who had been crouching quietly beside him, suddenly stood up and growled in a low voice towards his back. Lu Lingxi could understand that Dahei was giving a warning. He paused and turned to look over. Not far behind him, a yellow local dog leapt out from the direction of the vige. This dog didn¡¯t look like a dog raised by a family, but like a stray dog. The big yellow dog was obviously very surprised to see Dahei, arching its back and confronting Dahei for a long time before slowly lying down on the ground, showing a submissive attitude. Dahei narrowed his eyes, still looking wary, and didn¡¯t immediately rx. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t quite understand Dahei¡¯s reaction; he remembered that Dahei didn¡¯t have this attitude towards the dogs in the vige. Was there something different about this big yellow dog? ¡°Ah Huang.¡± (Huang ¨C yellow) Two dogs, one ck and one yellow were at a standstill when a young boy, who looked about five or six years old, ran from far away from the vige. He seemed to be calling the big yellow dog¡¯s name. The little boy didn¡¯t notice Dahei until he was running closer and, very surprised, pointed at him and yelled, ¡°Big ck dog!¡± When Dahei met the little boy, his attitude wasn¡¯t as fierce as before, and he quietly crouched on the ground, his eyes bing gentle. When the little boy turned his head and saw Lu Lingxi, his big round eyes opened wide and he asked curiously, ¡°Is the big ck dog your dog, Brother?¡± Perhaps from the sun the little boy looked a bit dark-skinned, but his eyes were big and bright, very energetic. Lu Lingxi nodded and smiled kindly at the little boy. ¡°Dahei,e back,¡± he called. Dahei twitched his ears, got up and trotted over to Lu Lingxi¡¯s side, crouching down in front of him. Lu Lingxi habitually stroked Dahei¡¯s head, and the little boy¡¯s eyes lit up as he excitedly called out, ¡°Brother, you talk to Dahei, can you understand what Dahei is saying?¡± Lu Lingxi was taken aback for a moment, somewhat failing to react to the logic in the little boy¡¯s words. Talking to Dahei = understanding what Dahei is saying? While he was still at a loss, the little boy said excitedly, ¡°I can also, I can also understand what Ah Huang says.¡± Without waiting for Lu Lingxi¡¯s reaction, the little boy said happily, ¡°Ah Huang.¡± The big yellow dog gave a low bark. The little boy¡¯s face bulged and he said to Lu Lingxi, ¡°Ah Huang is a bit afraid of your Dahei dog, Brother, can you make Dahei not bite Ah Huang?¡± His bulging face was so cute that Lu Lingxiughed and nodded cooperatively. The little boy looked even happier, and he leaned to Lu Lingxi¡¯s side unconsciously, looking at his gloves curiously. ¡°Brother, are you ying in the water? Ah Huang said that the water was poisonous and wouldn¡¯t let me go to the river to y. Last time Ah Huang drank the water from the river, his stomach hurt for a long time.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand that was touching Dahei paused and his expression was a little odd, ¡°Did Ah Huang really say that?¡± He didn¡¯t take seriously the little boy¡¯s initial im that he could understand the big yellow dog¡¯s words. Dogs are very clever animals, and generally people who keep dogs for a long time will basically form a tacit understanding, or a unique sense of connection, with them. Dogs can understand their owners¡¯ words, understand their instructions, and even read their eyes, so he assumed that the little boy was talking about these things. Of course Dahei was an exception. In Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart, Dahei was unique. It was only when he heard the little boy say that the river water was poisonous that Lu Lingxi became a little unsure. The little boy nodded vigorously and looked at the big yellow dog. The big yellow dog seemed to be very scared of Dahei and avoided him from afar, barking at the little boy. The little boy blinked and said in a soft tone, ¡°Ah Huang said that he likes you very much, Brother, and I like you too.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and smiled faintly. It was rare for the boy to find someone who believed him and was willing to listen to him talk about Ah Huang, so he sat beside Lu Lingxi and talked non-stop. Ah Huang was not his dog, his grandmother didn¡¯t allow him to have a dog. He had found Ah Huang under the willow tree thest time he was there, the time Ah Huang had a stomach ache. He liked Ah Huang very much. He could understand Ah Huang¡¯s words, but no one believed him, his friends thought he was a liar, and even his mother didn¡¯t believe him. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t have much experience with children, so he just listened to what the little boy was saying. But the more the little boy spoke, the more puzzled Lu Lingxi¡¯s expression became. Now he was beginning to believe that the little boy could really understand the words of the big yellow dog. Perhaps because of Dahei, Lu Lingxi felt that the appearance of another ¡°Big Yellow¡± (analogical to Dahei = Big ck) wasn¡¯t something difficult to ept. But just because he could ept it, it didn¡¯t mean that others could ept it too. After thinking about it, Lu Lingxi rubbed the little boy¡¯s head and said seriously, ¡°In future, don¡¯t tell others that you can understand Ah Huang¡¯s speech.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Lu Lingxi found a reason, ¡°You see I can also understand Dahei¡¯s speech, but this is a little secret between Dahei and me. You can also think of it as a little secret between you and Ah Huang. How¡¯s that?¡± The little boy nodded cluelessly and asked rhetorically, ¡°Is it also a little secret between me and Brother?¡± Lu Lingxi gave an ¡°en¡± and nodded heavily. Chapter 87 When Yan Yue finished talking to Uncle Li about the house, he went back to the nt nursery and didn¡¯t see Lu Lingxi. After a brief thought, he guessed where the young man was. He wandered over by himself and from a distance saw the young man sitting with a small dark-skinned, unruly looking boy. Two big dogs, one ck and one yellow, upied their sides, and the two in the middle were talking head to head, actually looking like they were having a very warm conversation. The corners of Yan Yue¡¯s lips curled up as he walked unhurriedly to the two. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± He just casually nced at the little boy, mostly still focused on Lu Lingxi. ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re here.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled slightly and tilted his head in greeting. Who knows, maybe inparison to the boy and the dog to his left and right being too dark, the fair skin of Lu Lingxi, who was sandwiched in the middle, seemed even fairer. However, this made the red pimple on his neck from some insect¡¯s bite look unusually obvious. ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± Yan Yue whispered, squatting down in front of him. Lu Lingxi touched his neck, not really caring. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just got bitten by a bug.¡± As they spoke, the little boy¡¯s round eyes darted around, the child¡¯s intuition telling him that the new big brother in front of him was focused on the beautiful brother and didn¡¯t have much patience to listen to him. ¡°I¡¯m going home for dinner first, Brother.¡± He stood up, patted his bottom, called Ah Huang and ran away, leaving Lu Lingxi dumbfounded. He hadn¡¯t had the chance to ask the little boy¡¯s name while he had been listening to him talk before. ¡°Who is this kid?¡± Yan Yue asked curiously. Lu Lingxi shook his head, ¡°Haven¡¯t had a chance to ask for a name but¡­¡± ¡°But what?¡± Lu Lingxi thought for a moment but didn¡¯t hide the conversation he had with the little boy. Although he promised the little boy that it was a secret between the two of them, in his eyes, he and Yan Yue were one and the same, and telling Yan Yue wasn¡¯t considered a leak. After he finished, Yan Yue didn¡¯t speak for a moment, only his brow was slightly furrowed as if he was thinking about something. ¡°Big Brother Yan?¡± Yan Yue returned to his senses, looking at Lu Lingxi indulgently, ¡°What do you want to say, Xiao Xi?¡± Lu Lingxi hesitated for a few seconds and said, ¡°The matter of animal evolution that I talked aboutst time.¡± It was not the first time the two of them had brought up this topic, but this time Yan Yue didn¡¯t feel that Lu Lingxi was thinking too much, instead he nodded slightly and agreed, ¡°There is this possibility, but it is not certain yet.¡± Perhaps due to Lu Lingxi¡¯s influence, Yan Yue had recently read a lot of information about the Earth¡¯s ecology, and he realised that he had previously been the one who had thought too simply. nts, animals and humans were all in arge ecosystem and affected each other, and any slight change in any of them would bring about an overall change. Not to mention a variable asrge as nt evolution. As the saying goes, the whole body is affected by one hair; whether it be animals or humans, as nts evolved and the environment changed, they should have all changed with it. As for the oue of the changes, Yan Yue leaned in the direction of the good ones. Take Lingshui Vige as an example; since the evolution of the big willow, the entire vige¡¯s environment had be much better than before. Many vigers reported that they were in good healthtely, eating vigorously and working vigorously, and the old people were not as sickly as before. Yan Yue felt that to some extent, this should be considered evolution. ¡°It¡¯s not a bad thing.¡± He came to a conclusion, ¡°If animals can evolve, humans should be able to evolve too. Whether they evolve to be physically stronger or mentally smarter, the overall trend is good. Of course it would also be good if the direction of evolution was tomunicate with animals, just like Xiao Xi and Dahei.¡± s Hearing his name, Dahei barked calmly, and Lu Lingxi gently stroked his head, feeling that this wasn¡¯t a bad thing either. After the two of them finished talking, Yan Yue helped Lu Lingxi put away the tools and led him back to the small courtyard. Neither of them thought much about the possible evolution of animals and humans. Everything was still just their spection and it wasn¡¯t certain if it was true. Besides, even if humans would eventually evolve, Lu Lingxi, who had the panel, would definitely be the first to do so, so there was really nothing to worry about. After washing up in the evening, Yan Yue hugged Lu Lingxi and held him in his arms, nibbling on the boy¡¯s ear ambiguously and joking, ¡°The old proverb says that when a man achieves the Dao, his poultry and dogs rise to Heaven. Should I hug Xiao Xi¡¯s thigh now?¡± As he spoke, he ran his hand along Lu Lingxi¡¯s waist, and as he did so Lu Lingxi moved his body uneasily, the tips of his ears reddening slightly. Not surprisingly, this night Dahei was once again driven to sleep outside. Yan Yue was now doing this with ease. When Lu Lingxi spoke for Dahei, Yan Yue hugged and kissed him while thoughtfully suggesting to find a ¡°wife¡± for Dahei, so that Dahei¡¯s attention would be taken away from Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The two of them had a good night¡¯s sleep. When they left the next day, Lu Lingxi went to take another look at the Lingshui River. All the eelgrass bushes within the entire eelgrass ecologicalmunity had evolved, and the homologous (of the same origin) nts were all evolving in the same direction. Perhaps it was his illusion, but starting from the location of the eelgrass ecologicalmunity, the water downstream seemed to gradually be clearer. Lu Lingxi found mineral water bottles and drew three bottles of water at different ces, intending to go home and measure the cyanide content of the water. Having done this, Lu Lingxi tried digging up a few more evolved eelgrasses and walked a little way upstream, trying to re-transnt them to the bottom of the Lingshui River to see if another eelgrass ecologicalmunity could be formed. But the results were not quite satisfactory. On the panel, the first eelgrass ecologicalmunity to form showed that its range was not fixed. Like the willow ecologicalmunity, it was slowly spreading in both directions with the current, just not as pronounced as the big willow. Perhaps this was the difference between a first-ss nt and a second-ss nt? After settling the matter at Lingshui Vige, Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue returned to Fengcheng. To his surprise, Wang Chaoliang was waiting for him at the entrance of Tiny Garden early in the morning, looking as if it was some urgent matter. ¡°Xiao Xi, you¡¯re finally here.¡± Wang Chaoliang greeted Lu Lingxi as soon as he got out of the car. Wang Chaoliang¡¯splexion was a little pale, his eyes were bloodshot and the dark shadows below his eyes were very obvious, but his face was indescribably excited. His eyes wide open, he grabbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s arm and pulled it. ¡°Uncle Wang.¡± Lu Lingxi was a bit startled by his stance. Yan Yue looked at Wang Chaoliang¡¯s action a little inhospitably, and pulled Lu Lingxi back silently. Wang Chaoliang also realised that his reaction was too exaggerated, smiled shyly, rubbed his hands and said to Lu Lingxi, ¡°Xiao Xi, I scared you. Uncle Wang is really too happy. You still remember the chlorophytum that I took away from the shop, right?¡± s Lu Lingxi subconsciously nced at Yan Yue and nodded slightly. Wang Chaoliang didn¡¯t notice his actions. He said excitedly, ¡°It¡¯s that chlorophytum! You know it¡¯s different from ordinary chlorophytum. It seems to have a higher degree of evolution, right?¡± Without waiting for Lu Lingxi to nod, he continued: ¡°I have studied it, and the gics of this chlorophytum are very stable. Xiao Xi, do you know what this means? It means that all the new seedlings propagated through this chlorophytum have simr characteristics, and it is no longer an ordinary chlorophytum, but forms a new species.¡± Speaking of this, Wang Chaoliang excitedly pulled out a magazine from his bag, the one of considerable weight in the botanical world. He flipped straight to the first few pages, which carried his research report on the new variety of chlorophytum. Lu Lingxi took the magazine curiously, and Wang Chaoliang scratched his hair in embarrassment. ¡°Uncle Wang¡¯s research results have been approved by the Botanical Garden. I don¡¯t know how to thank you, Xiao Xi. Uncle Wang has nothing else, so he helped you apply for the variety rights of the new type of chlorophytum, which can be regarded as a kind of thanks to Xiao Xi.¡± Seeing that Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t seem to understand what the variety rights of a new nt were, Wang Chaoliang sincerely exined, ¡°The application rights and variety rights of new nt varieties belong to a type of industrial property, somewhat like patent rights, which is a kind of intellectual property. At present, the protection of the state in this area is quite sound, and ording to the regtions, the variety rights of chlorophytum will be 15 years from the date of authorisation. Within 15 years, you will have the exclusive right to propagate, promote and sell this new type of chlorophytum, but you can also licence it to others, it¡¯s up to you. You don¡¯t know much about this, Xiao Xi, and may not realise how great the social and economic benefits of a new variety of nts will be. Make good use of this opportunity to promote the Tiny Garden brand out there.¡± He spoke so quickly that Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t react for a moment. Yan Yue, however, heard and understood what Wang Chaoliang said. In fact, he didn¡¯t know anything about new nt varieties, but that didn¡¯t stop him from understanding what Wang Chaoliang meant. Yan Yue was a little surprised. ording to Wang Chaoliang, a new nt variety could bring huge economic and social benefits, but he gave this up to Lu Lingxi, which made Yan Yue look at him with respect. Lu Lingxi slowly mulled over Wang Chaoliang¡¯s words and his first reaction was to refuse. Although it was true that the chlorophytum had been evolved sessfully by him, he hadn¡¯t actually done anything about it. Instead it was Wang Chaoliang who had been studying it intently all this time. ¡°Uncle Wang, I¡­¡± Wang Chaoliang interrupted him, ¡°Xiao Xi, don¡¯t refuse. If it wasn¡¯t for you, Uncle Wang wouldn¡¯t have done this research. In the end it¡¯s because of you, you deserve it.¡± He was in a hurry to leave after finishing speaking. All this time he had been focused on this research. Today when the magazine was released, he was relieved; now there were still many finishing touches waiting for him. To Wang Chaoliang, financial value was nothing; what mattered in the botanical circle was the weight of your research, not who was richer. As soon as he left, Lu Lingxi looked at Yan Yue nkly, not knowing what to do with it. Yan Yue chuckled, took Lu Lingxi and kissed him on the forehead, and made the final decision: ¡°He¡¯s right, this is what Xiao Xi deserves. Besides, don¡¯t you want to evolve the environment? This is a good opportunity to promote it.¡± Wang Chaoliang¡¯s move took Yan Yue by surprise, but in a way it was also an idental favour to Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi. Yan Yue had just asked An Jie to register a nt technologypany a few days ago. It was originally to facilitate theunch of eelgrass into the market, but now they could also make themselves known with the chlorophytum. If it wasn¡¯t for Wang Chaoliang, Tiny Garden¡¯s chlorophytum would just be an ordinary chlorophytum, but once Wang Chaoliang¡¯s research results came out, Tiny Garden¡¯s chlorophytum became a new type of chlorophytum that absorbed formaldehyde more effectively. Inparison, the social and environmental value was bigger than the economic value. Chapter 88 After a busy day, Lu Lingxi received a call from Wang Shuxiu, asking him toe home early for dinner in the evening. ¡°Brother Feng is also here, let¡¯s have a family dinner.¡± Wang Shuxiu was a little ufortable on the other end of the phone. No matter how spirited she was, she wasn¡¯t used to talking to her son about such things. On the contrary, Lu Lingxi reacted after a moment of being taken aback. He had already prepared himself for this and wasn¡¯t surprised to hear that Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng were together. But what about Yan Yue when their family was eating? Lu Lingxi blurted out, ¡°What about Big Brother Yan, he is alone?¡± ¡°Yan Yue?¡± Wang Shuxiu was a bit surprised, but still said, ¡°If he¡¯s alone, let¡¯s call him to eat together. It doesn¡¯t matter, we¡¯re all neighbours.¡± Lu Lingxi actually regretted it right after he said it, but there was no way to take it back, so after hearing Wang Shuxiu¡¯s words he agreed sheepishly. After hanging up the phone, Wang Shuxiu wondered what it was that seemed wrong. The little bastard was really too attached to Yan Yue. But if she were asked why it seemed wrong, she couldn¡¯t say; she just didn¡¯t feel right. She looked like she had a problem and Xiao Feng asked her halfway through picking vegetables, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Xiao Xi is noting?¡± Wang Shuxiu shook her head, ¡°He¡¯sing, and he¡¯s bringing Yan Yue with him. Do you think he and Yan Yue are getting too close? He doesn¡¯t even forget Yan Yue for dinner.¡± Xiao Feng knew exactly what was going on, but he couldn¡¯t tell Wang Shuxiu. However, he owed Yan Yue a favour, so he helped to exin. ¡°It¡¯s not a bad thing for Xiao Xi and Yan Yue to be close. You said that Xiao Xie has lost his memory and doesn¡¯t remember anything from the past, so it¡¯s normal for him to be close to Yan Yue since Yan Yue is willing to take care of him.¡± This exnation made sense. Xiao Feng¡¯s cryptic speech was, in fact, implying that Lu Yishui was unreliable and Lu Lingxi regarded Yan Yue as an elder in his heart, and it was inevitable that he would have some dependence. Wang Shuxiu thought about it and didn¡¯t say anything else. On the other hand, Lu Lingxi was talking to Yan Yue about this matter with an apprehensive look on his face. He had blurted it outpletely instinctively at the time, and after he had said it, even he felt it was wrong, and he wondered what Wang Shuxiu would think. ¡°Will Mom guess?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little uneasy. Yan Yueforted Lu Lingxi while envious that Xiao Feng had been quick enough and could appear as Lu Lingxi¡¯s family in a fair manner. ¡°If your mom guesses it, I will confess to her.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not good, is it?¡± Lu Lingxi looked a little weird. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s temper was well-known. If Yan Yue dared to confess, Wang Shuxiu might as well grab a frying pan and beat him out of the house. Although Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t say anything, his face looked like Yan Yue was about to be beaten. Yan Yue looked at him andughed. Even though it was the end of the day and there were many people on the road outside, he stretched out his hand to hug Lingxi and leaned over to kiss him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it will be fine.¡± He wasn¡¯t nning to tell Wang Shuxiu too early, thinking to wait for Lu Lingxi to turn twenty, but if Wang Shuxiu knew, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal. Sooner orter there would have to be such a time. Besides, there was Xiao Feng, whose favours were not easy to be owed. s Yan Yue¡¯s attitude was firm, and Lu Lingxi also let go of his heart. The two packed up and went home before six o¡¯clock. At 301, the one who came to open the door was none other than Xiao Feng. ¡°¡­Uncle Xiao.¡± After hesitating for a while, Lu Lingxi called out, feeling a little strange. Speaking of which, although Xiao Feng was in his forties, he had a strong physique due to his constant exercise. He looked lean and firm,pletely different from Lu Yishui¡¯s sloppy and decadent appearance. Lu Lingxi used to be a little afraid of Xiao Feng. Although he didn¡¯t have this fearter, he never thought that one day he would see Xiao Feng standing in front of him in Wang Shuxiu¡¯s floral apron. The contrast was so great that he froze for a few seconds before reacting. ¡°Xiao Xi is back.¡± Xiao Feng looked natural, holding a half-peeled potato in his hand, smiled at Lu Lingxi and then moved out of the way, as if he hadn¡¯t heard the abnormality in Lu Lingxi¡¯s tone. Lu Lingxi entered the house with some embarrassment and Yan Yue followed behind him. Xiao Feng¡¯s eyes swept over Yan Yue and the two exchanged a meaningful look. Yan Yue raised his eyebrow slightly and said nothing. When Wang Shuxiu poked her head out of the kitchen, Lu Lingxi immediately forgot about Xiao Feng and focused on Wang Shuxiu. As Wang Shuxiu greeted Yan Yue in her usual manner, he let out a huge sigh of relief. Luckily, his mother didn¡¯t suspect anything. He had already prepared himself for Wang Shuxiu to beat up Yan Yue all the way. ¡°Hurry up and go wash your hands, you¡¯ll be eating soon.¡± Wang Shuxiu instructed, urging Xiao Feng at the same time, ¡°Where are the potatoes you peeled, Brother Feng?¡± ¡°Will be ready soon.¡± Xiao Feng was very naturally ordered by Wang Shuxiu and showed no temper at all. Lu Lingxi stole a nce at Xiao Feng, thinking that he was really much better than Lu Yishui. The atmosphere of the dinner was good, and Lu Lingxi and Xiao Feng got along very well. Although this wasn¡¯t the first time the four of them had eaten together, with the change in status, Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t help but worry about what Lu Lingxi thought in his heart. After the meal, she finally felt relieved. After eating, Yan Yue went back to 202. While Wang Shuxiu washed the dishes in the kitchen, Lu Lingxi resisted the thought of going to Yan Yue. He was in the backyard changing the victoria¡¯s water when Xiao Feng came up by his side at some point. Lu Lingxi was a little surprised, seeing that Xiao Feng hade to look for him on purpose. ¡°Uncle Xiao.¡± Xiao Feng nodded and suddenly said, ¡°Just call me Brother Feng like you did before if you¡¯re not used to it.¡± Lu Lingxi blinked and smiled, a little embarrassed. Xiao Feng nced at him and his eyes fell on the victoria in the water tank; he seemed to chat casually, ¡°Xiaohua said you¡¯ve lost your memory and don¡¯t remember anything from the past?¡± Lu Lingxi let out an ¡°en¡±. Xiao Feng didn¡¯t speak, quiet for a moment, as if weighing the words he was going to say, ¡°In a few days I n to get the certificate with Xiaohua. Don¡¯t worry about Xiaohua, Xiao Xi, I won¡¯t let her suffer. You are Xiaohua¡¯s son, and in the future you will be my son. I have never been married or had children before, I don¡¯t know how other people be fathers, but I will try to learn to be a qualified father. If you want to, you can call me Dad, if not, you can call me Brother Feng, Uncle or whatever. No matter what you call me, it doesn¡¯t affect the fact that I see you as my son.¡± Xiao Feng had prepared this speech for a long time. Although Lu Lingxi seemed to be well-behaved and understanding and had no objections to him being with Wang Shuxiu, Xiao Feng felt that he should still say these words to Lu Lingxi. He and Wang Shuxiu together wasn¡¯t just about the two of them, but about the three of them, counting Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi was no longer a child, and Xiao Feng was willing to treat him as an equal adult, giving him the respect and freedom of choice he deserved. After saying this, Xiao Feng didn¡¯t wait for Lu Lingxi to say anything, reached out and patted Lu Lingxi¡¯s shoulder, turned around and went back to the house unhurriedly. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know what he was feeling, standing in the yard looking at Xiao Feng¡¯s back, a little lost in thought. He had had fathers, more than one, but Xiao Feng seemed to be different from them. He lowered his eyes slightly as he repeated Xiao Feng¡¯s words in his mind. From the moment Xiao Feng went to look for Lu Lingxi, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heart was beating fast. As soon as Xiao Feng returned, she grabbed him and asked, ¡°What did you say to the little bastard?¡± Knowing Wang Shuxiu¡¯s worry, Xiao Feng smiled and said, ¡°I said we will get the certificate in a few days.¡± Wang Shuxiu was happy to hear this, but her words were still harsh, ¡°Who wants to get a certificate?¡± Xiao Feng looked at her with a smile, ¡°I have already recognised my son, and I even promised him that I would not let you suffer in the future, so can¡¯t you give me a name and a status, Xiaohua?¡± ¡°Bah.¡± Wang Shuxiu red at Xiao Feng, turned away and smiled. s Lu Lingxi stayed in the yard for a while and hesitantly went back to the house. Xiao Feng was sitting in the living room watching TV. Lu Lingxi hesitated for a few seconds and whispered, ¡°Dad.¡± Xiao Feng didn¡¯t react at once, but Wang Shuxiu stood at the kitchen door and heard him clearly. She looked at Lu Lingxi and then at Xiao Feng, both of whom were important men in her life, and her eyes couldn¡¯t help but redden slightly. That night Lu Lingxi stayed next door on the pretext of having something to do with Yan Yue, leaving the 301 space to Xiao Feng and Wang Shuxiu. Who knows what the two of them thought in their hearts but Yan Yue was overjoyed. He rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair and prayed solemnly, ¡°It would be nice if Xiao Feng was here every day.¡± Lu Lingxi heard what he meant and blushed, ring at him. Yan Yue chuckled lightly, his gaze focused on Lu Lingxi, his deep eyes seeming to be full of starlight. The young man¡¯s mind was simple, and all his emotions were written on his face. Yan Yue asked softly, ¡°Xiao Xi is happy?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, thought for a while and said seriously, ¡°Xiao Feng, he¡­ is not like the father before.¡± He tried hard to exin clearly, ¡°He told me that I could call him whatever I wanted, that he treated me like a son whether I recognised him or not, and he told me not to worry, that he would take good care of Mom.¡± When he said this, Lu Lingxi paused; these words seemed very normaling from his mouth, but he just felt that Xiao Feng was different from Lu Yishui and Lu Guangjing. The young man looked puzzled, as if there was something he couldn¡¯t understand. Yan Yue¡¯s heart felt soft and he didn¡¯t notice the strange part of Lu Lingxi¡¯s words for a moment, he just gently swept the young man into his arms and said patiently, ¡°This shows that Xiao Feng attaches great importance to Xiao Xi, and the fact that he gave the right to choose to Xiao Xi also shows his sincerity.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Yan Yue nodded affirmatively. Lu Lingxi fell silent, leaning into Yan Yue¡¯s embrace without speaking again. He thought a little about the past. It seemed he had never had the right to choose. Ever since he was a child, his life had always been arranged by his parents. Going to school, suspending school, staying at home, doing examinations, going to hospital, going home to recuperate; they decided everything for him and all he had to do was obey. No one ever asked him what he thought, and perhaps in their eyes, his thoughts were simply inconsequential. Now that he thought about it, his life before seemed abnormal. Wang Shuxiu, Yan Yue and Xiao Feng, they had shown him with their actions what a normal life was. After figuring this out, Lu Lingxi was very quiet for the rest of the time and showed unprecedented dependence on Yan Yue. When Yan Yue was reading a book, Lu Lingxi read it with him, and when Yan Yue was packing up the documents, Lu Lingxi followed him around like a little tail. Yan Yue smiled and touched his face, coaxing, ¡°I¡¯ll have a meeting first and will stay with Xiao Xiter.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded and didn¡¯t say what he was going to do. Yan Yue had a meeting, so he sat on the sofa beside him and looked at Yan Yue quietly. Yan Yue was simply going crazy. From the start of the meeting, he hadn¡¯t listened at all to what was being said across the video, his mind was all on Lu Lingxi by his side. The young man had no idea how seductive he was with his well-behaved appearance. Yan Yue had no desire to work right now at all; he just wanted to press the young man down under his body. ¡°Boss?¡± In the corner of the video, An Jie noticed that Yan Yue was lost in thought and reminded him in a low voice. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened as he interrupted the man who was making a statement and said in a deep voice, ¡°That¡¯s all for today, if there¡¯s anything, we¡¯ll continue tomorrow.¡± After saying that, he ignored the surprised eyes of the opposite party and turned off theputer. Lu Lingxi¡¯s expression was strange, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯ve finished the meeting?¡± During the meeting Yan Yue was using English; Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t understand it very well, but he did understand thest sentence. Yan Yue didn¡¯t say anything, but turned around and pressed the young man underneath him, doing what he had wanted to do all night. Going to sleep at night, Lu Lingxi rolled up in the nket and wrapped himself into a little fat bear. His body had been covered in Yan Yue¡¯s saliva and after taking a shower, it wasn¡¯t convenient to go back next door to get a change of clothes, so he had to curl up naked under the nket. Yan Yue looked at his moist eyes and his heart softened into a puddle, so he deliberately teased him, ¡°Do you want Big Brother Yan to apany you in wearing nothing?¡± Lu Lingxi blushed and buried himself under the nket, ignoring Yan Yue. Yan Yue chuckled. He really didn¡¯t wear anything and directly scooped Lu Lingxi into his arms together with the nket. ¡°Go to sleep.¡± He kissed Lu Lingxi on the eyes, coaxing him in a low voice. Lu Lingxi blushed and shared half of Yan Yue¡¯s nket. Satisfied, Yan Yue hugged Lu Lingxi tightly in his arms, patting the boy¡¯s back and coaxing him to sleep. Lu Lingxi fell asleep without realising it. He slept until the middle of the night when he was suddenly woken up by the cold. As soon as he woke up, Yan Yue woke up too ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lu Lingxi whispered, ¡°I¡¯m cold.¡± Yan Yue turned on the light and faintly heard that it seemed to be raining outside. There was a bone-chilling cold seeping in through the window, and the temperature inside the house was somewhat abnormally low. He touched the young man¡¯s back and felt how cold it was. Compared to Yan Yue, Lu Lingxi¡¯s body was much thinner. ¡°I¡¯ll go turn on the air conditioning.¡± Yan Yue was a little worried, afraid that Lu Lingxi would freeze and get sick, so he turned on the air conditioner and poured a cup of hot water. ¡°Come on, Xiao Xi, drink some water.¡± Lu Lingxi sat up wrapped in a nket, looking confused, ¡°Is it raining outside?¡± Yan Yue stood at the window, looked and nodded. It wasn¡¯t raining heavily, but the temperature was a little off. He watched as Lu Lingxi finished drinking the water, covered him with the nket and hugged the young man again. ¡°Still cold?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head and buried his head in Yan Yue¡¯s chest, hugging his waist and closing his eyes. At dawn, Yan Yue got up. He had been sleeping restlessly in thetter half of the night, afraid that the young man would freeze and get sick, and had to touch Lu Lingxi¡¯s forehead every now and then. After gently kissing the sleeping boy, Yan Yue got up lightly. He looked out of the window unintentionally and suddenly froze. It was snowing outside. He was a little surprised. Fengcheng was located in northern China, and it was only early November, so how could it suddenly snow? No matter how unbelievable Yan Yue found it, it was a fact that it was snowing outside. He opened the balcony and walked out, and Xiao Feng next door also happened to push open the door ande out. ¡°It¡¯s snowing.¡± Xiao Feng said in surprise. Yan Yue nodded, hiding his astonishment. It snowed heavily for a day and a night, and with the arrival of this snow, the temperature in Fengcheng dropped dramatically. Many greenhouses couldn¡¯t react in time and a lot of growing vegetables and nts were frozen to death. Thankfully, both the Tiny Garden and Yongchun vegetable greenhouses were fine. Xiao Feng even took advantage of the soaring vegetable prices in Fengcheng to make a serious profit. After the snow stopped, Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue went to the nt nursery. Only a few dayster, a thinyer of ice had actually formed on the Lingshui River. The ck colour of the ice ranged from dark to light; starting from the eelgrass ecologicalmunity, the flowing water beneath the ice began to be clear. Lu Lingxi stood by the river for a long time watching it and felt in his heart that it was a good thing that the river was frozen. Without the pollution from the outside world, the eelgrassmunity at the bottom of the river could slowly absorb the toxic substances in the water. This way, when the ice melted next spring, the Lingshui River would almost be restored to its original state. As he watched, he was unaware that the little boy he had metst time suddenly jumped out from behind. ¡°Brother!¡± Perhaps because of the cold weather, the little boy was wearing a lot of clothes and looked like a little ball. Lu Lingxi smiled, ¡°How did you know I was here?¡± ¡°Ah Huang told me, he can smell you, Brother.¡± Lu Lingxi looked around with interest and couldn¡¯t find the big yellow dog. ¡°Where is Ah Huang?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too cold. Ah Huang doesn¡¯t want toe out.¡± The little boy muttered and began toin, dissatisfied about Ah Huang¡¯s abandonment of him. Lu Lingxi had already noticed the ¡°chatterbox¡± nature of the little boyst time and listened patiently with a smile. After rambling on about Ah Huang for a long time, the boy finally mentioned the reason why he was looking for Lu Lingxi. ¡°Brother, I have a secret to tell you.¡± ¡°What?¡± Lu Lingxi cooperated by making a curious expression. The little boy¡¯s big eyes nced around and he whispered, ¡°I found another person who can also talk to dogs.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Uncle Li, it¡¯s Uncle Li who works in the nt nursery down the road. Really, I saw Uncle Li talking to an old dog kept in the nt nursery yesterday.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Chapter 89 Uncle Li had been in a daze for the past two days. He didn¡¯t know what was going on but he suddenly seemed to understand the meaning of the barking of the old dog in the nt nursery. The old dog used to be a stray dog; there were six stray dogs adopted to the nt nursery. Some of them were old, and two of them had been injured and wereme. Whether they were old or injured, these dogs had a hard time surviving outside, even with a pack of stray dogs. Xiao Xi, that child, had a kind heart and kept them all in the nt nursery. They didn¡¯t need to do anything to earn their food, just watch the door at night, guarding the nt nursery. Uncle Li remembered Yan Yue¡¯s words and wanted to hire another person to be on duty in the nt nursery at night and take care of the dogs. The old man wanted to rmend Xu San; he wasn¡¯t afraid that Xu San would cause any trouble. But Yan Yue left in a hurryst time, and Uncle Li didn¡¯t have time to open his mouth. He had been taking care of these dogs for the past two days. Originally, Uncle Li didn¡¯t notice the old dog either. On the day it snowed and got colder, Uncle Li came over early to see if the nts in the nt nursery were okay, and by the way, he got those dogs something to eat. As a result, he was dividing the bones for them when he heard the barking of the old dog who was bald in some ces. Uncle Li didn¡¯t know what was going on but he suddenly felt that this old dog was sighing that the new year wasn¡¯t going to be good and was afraid that the stray dogs outside would suffer again. He felt a little strange. He was obviously used to hearing the barking of dogs, so how could he hear this meaning in it? At first, Uncle Li didn¡¯t take it seriously and continued to divide the bones for the dogs, but the old dog barked again. When Uncle Li heard it, the meaning of the barking changed. The old dog was clearly saying that it was old and couldn¡¯t gnaw too many bones, so just give it something to eat and save these bones for other dogs. Uncle Li paused subconsciously at that time, picked out a few small bones with meat to chew and put them in the bowl in front of the old dog. The old dog seemed to be aware of something, squinted at Uncle Li and stopped barking. Uncle Li was dwelling on it but he didn¡¯t know who to talk to. Was what he heard real, or was there something wrong with his body and he had auditory hallucinations? But he was obviously feeling better and better, and even the vigers were teasing him that he looked a few years younger. The old man pondered for a while, thinking that he was hallucinating, and ruthlessly suppressed this matter in his mind. It snowed heavily for a day and a night and everything was white as far as the eye could see. The experienced old people in the vige were saying that next year was going to be bad; it was only a few months away and it was snowing so hard. Uncle Li thought about the nt nursery and kept watch over it every day. He also found a few old quilts that he didn¡¯t use and put them on the kennel to shelter the dogs from the wind and snow. For two days in a row, every time Uncle Li went to feed the dogs, the old dog didn¡¯t bark, but just quietly squatted on the ground and looked at Uncle Li. Uncle Li remembered thest time he heard the old dog say that its teeth were not good. Although he felt strange, he still unconsciously made some soft things for the old dog to eat every time. Yesterday afternoon, Uncle Li came to feed the dogs again, and the old dog barked tentatively this time. Uncle Li could hear it clearly: the old dog asked if he could understand it. Uncle Li¡¯s hand shook; this time there was no way tofort himself with auditory hallucinations. Luckily, the old man was stable and simply squatted on the ground and talked to the old dog. Converted into human age, this old dog was almost in its seventies. The dog had seen a lot of things in its life, so it and Uncle Li could actually talk quite well together. The man and the dog chatted for a long time, and were watched by Xiao Shi, who came to the nt nursery to look for his mother. s Xiao Shi, whose real name was Dong Xiaolei, was Yu Xiaojuan¡¯s son. He always remembered his little secret with the beautiful brother, so he came to tell Lu Lingxi what he saw. Only then did Lu Lingxi know that the little boy was actually Yu Xiaojuan¡¯s son. Yu Xiaojuan was doing a good job in the nt nursery. Perhaps because the job wasn¡¯t easy toe by and she wanted to repay the kindness, she was very concerned about the nt nursery. Although Xiao Shi was by her side, she never allowed him to enter the nt nursery for fear that he might not know what was important and make a mess there. This was also the reason why Lu Lingxi hade several times but had never seen Xiao Shi. With the secret Xiao Shi had told him, Lu Lingxi returned to the nt nursery with an odd expression on his face. Uncle Li had not yet left and was carrying a pot of broth mixed with rice to feed the dogs. Seeing Uncle Liing over, the dogs lying in the corner stood up and wagged their tails at Uncle Li. He petted the dogs one by one, touching the old dog twice more, and ced the dog bowl in front of them. The dogs were about to gather around to eat when Yan Yue returned from outside with Dahei. As soon as Dahei entered the yard, the dogs immediately scattered. The old dog in the lead pushed the untouched dog bowl towards Dahei and gave a low bark, gesturing for Dahei to eat first. Uncle Li gave Dahei a surprised look; he had kept dogs when he was young and knew that there was a clear hierarchy in the pack. Whether it was for eating or otherwise, the lead dog came first. He knew that Dahei had been raised well by Xiao Xi, that child, and was smooth and shiny, but he really didn¡¯t see that Dahei was so good. He could hear the old dog¡¯s meaning clearly; it was obvious that there was respect and indescribable fear of Dahei. When Dahei heard the old dog¡¯s barking, he responded majestically, then trotted all the way to squat in front of Lu Lingxi. He didn¡¯t eat, and only then did the dogs gather around the food with trepidation. Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head, and Dahei affectionately tilted his head and rubbed it against his palm, barking in a low voice. Lu Lingxi understood Dahei¡¯s meaning and couldn¡¯t hold back a chuckle. Uncle Li looked at him strangely, but didn¡¯t think much of it. The old man had seen a lot of storms in his life and had a good mental capacity, but he wouldn¡¯t think that a human being could understand a dog¡¯s meaning. Seeing Yan Yue return, he was a little anxious. This time when Yan Yue and Xiao Xi came over, the old man took the initiative to rmend Xu San, and Yan Yue had just gone with Dahei to find Xu San. Seeing that Uncle Li was anxious, Yan Yue nodded at Uncle Li, ¡°It¡¯s already been agreed, he starts work tomorrow.¡± Uncle Li was grateful and promised that he would keep an eye on Xu San and not let him do anything wrong. Yan Yue smiled; since he dared to use Xu San, he wasn¡¯t afraid that Xu San would have any crooked thoughts. Uncle Li didn¡¯t know thest time Xu San had been scared out of his wits. Even without Uncle Li¡¯s watch, he wouldn¡¯t have dared to do anything. This time, once he saw Yan Yue with Dahei, Xu San¡¯s legs trembled. When he heard that Yan Yue was hiring him to be on duty in the nt nursery at night, Xu San was ready to agree, but when he heard that he had to take care of a few dogs, he almost fainted. s On the one hand, Yan Yue thought that Xu San was smart and well-informed. On the other hand, he was also trying to sell Uncle Li a favour by scaring and tempting Xu San. Eventually, Xu San agreed. After settling Xu San¡¯s matter, Uncle Li didn¡¯t stay in the nt nursery for long. When he left, he asked Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue to go to his house for dinner, but Yan Yue politely declined, as they had already eaten on their way here. After sending Uncle Li away, Lu Lingxi talked to Yan Yue about Xiao Shi. When Yan Yue heard that Xiao Shi was Yu Xiaojuan¡¯s child, he was very surprised. But what was even more surprising was that Xiao Shi said that Uncle Li could understand the barking of dogs just like he could. There was no way for the two of them to ask Uncle Li about this kind of thing, so Yan Yue thought about it and asked Lu Lingxi to pretend he didn¡¯t know anything. If it was true,pared to Xiao Shi, Uncle Li was much more reliable, and he would certainly not go out and spread the word. The two of them stayed at the nt nursery for the night and went over to the Qiu Tian nt nursery to check on the situation. On the day of the snowfall, Tiger helped to check on the greenhouse, as it was located next to the Yongchun vegetable greenhouse. The begonias cultivated in it were not affected at all and grew well. Apart from individual florists who responded very quickly, many florists were affected by the drastically changing weather, and even the horticultural market in Fengcheng was depressed. However, winter was originally the off-season for green nt trading. Except for a small peak before and after the New Year, the usual transaction volume was much smaller than in summer. Many florists were mentally prepared; flowers and nts were not necessities of life like vegetables, so they quickly adapted to the changes in the market. Tiny Garden had not had many customers recently, so Lu Lingxi was able to focus on the cultivation of eelgrass and the propagation of begonias. He originally nned to take a good rest in winter, but Wang Chaoliang applied for the nt variety right of chlorophytum for him and disrupted his n. Lu Lingxi was grateful for the kindness of the other party, and the promotion of chlorophytum was also a good thing, so he had to add the promotion of chlorophytum to his winter work n. Of course, he was only responsible for cultivation, and the specific promotion was all handed over to Yan Yue. After discussing with Lu Lingxi, Yan Yue went to meet with Xue Yongtong. When he heard that Yan Yue hade to see him, Xue Yongtong was wondering what the matter was. The two of them had just met at Gao Yongliang¡¯s ce a few days ago, and there was nothing else going on in the past two days, right? Could it be that this heavy snowfall had affected Tiny Garden and Yan Yue wanted to ask for his help? Although muttering in his heart, Xue Yongtong met with Yan Yue at the first opportunity. After the initial pleasantries, Yan Yue got straight to the point, ¡°Is there something you need help with, Boss Xue?¡± Xue Yongtong¡¯s thoughts turned and he guessed Yan Yue¡¯s intention, so he said readily, ¡°No problem, we are rted, we should help each other.¡± Yan Yue chuckled, knowing that Xue Yongtong had misunderstood. He didn¡¯t entuate it but just talked about the chlorophytum, especially focusing on the fact that they had applied for the nt variety rights. ¡°What? A new type of chlorophytum?¡± Xue Yongtong was astonished. Yan Yue nodded and handed the research report of Wang Chaoliang to Xue Yongtong. Compared to the difficulty of ayman looking at it, Xue Yongtong was an insider in the circle and understood the value of the chlorophytum almost as soon as he finished reading the report. It was the same as the mutated eelgrass that Yan Yue had mentionedst time, where the environmental and social value was greater than the economic value. Xue Yongtong wasn¡¯t a short-sighted person and was immediately impressed. ¡°What does Mr. Yan mean?¡± Yan Yue said simply: ¡°We¡¯ll promote it together, under the name of Tiny Garden Technology Company.¡± Xue Yongtong hesitated for a few seconds and said decisively, ¡°Good.¡± The two of them agreed on the distribution of benefits and then started the promotion of the new chlorophytum. With Xue Yongtong¡¯s contacts and Wang Chaoliang¡¯s research, the promotion of the new chlorophytum went very smoothly and the eptance among florists was unusually high. With the development of China¡¯s economy, the importance of environmental protection was increasingly valued by people. Chlorophytum that could absorb formaldehyde and other harmful substances became one of the sought-after nts in the gardening market. There were many evolved chlorophytums in Tiny Garden, and Lu Lingxi also released the authorisation to Xue Yongtong. The twopanies joined hands, and under the name of Tiny Garden Technology Company, within a short period of one month, together with the external authorisation plus direct sales, they made a big profit. Thanks to this incident, Tiny Garden Technology Company also was noticed by everyone in the gardening circle. Chapter 90 The sales of the new chlorophytum gradually slowed down in early December, which was also what Xue Yongtong and Yan Yue expected. Although China had legition to protect the rights of new nt varieties, intellectual property rights had always been in an awkward position in the country, and many high-tech patent applications were inevitably ¡°copied¡±, not to mention nts that were not at all difficult to ¡°copy¡±. This was also the reason why Yan Yue had been so liberal in licensing from the very beginning. Instead of waiting for others to buy the nt and cultivate it privately, it was better to act first and licence them directly, and make a profit on the licensing fees. In general, horticulturalists who came through Xue Yongtong¡¯s channels still took care of their faces. They were all members of the circle, and everyone was willing to protect the interests of the circle. After all, the protection of new nt variety rights was themon interest of everyone. Once corrupt industry rules were developed, it was the people in this circle who would suffer in the end. But this recognition was limited to the big gardeners in the circle, and many small gardening artisans didn¡¯t care about it at all in order to make money. With the cirction of new chlorophytum in the market, many small horticulturalists chose to secretly buy it and cultivate it privately, just to save the ¡°authorisation fee¡±. In addition, a number of fake new chlorophytums also appeared on the market. The new type of chlorophytum was not much different from the non-evolved chlorophytum. If you looked closely, you would find that the new type of chlorophytum had wider leaves and grew more lushly. But it was difficult for ordinary people to notice the difference, so there were some small gardeners who sold ordinary chlorophytum under the name of a new type of chlorophytum. In both cases, it was not easy to defend your rights. Xue Yongtong had seen too many such things in this circle and said to Yan Yue with a bitter smile, ¡°It¡¯s okay, we have earned enough, all that is left is to consolidate the market in Fengcheng. Those retailers are not stupid, they know exactly who has the best nts. As long as the retail channels are in our hands, it¡¯s a long term matter.¡± Yan Yue nodded, deeply convinced. When Xue Yongtong saw that Yan Yue understood, he didn¡¯t forget to take credit for himself. Only because Yan Yue approached him, with Xue Yingtong¡¯s position in the circle, were those big horticulturists willing to give face. Otherwise, if Yan Yue went under the banner of Tiny Garden, one could expect that things would not have gone so smoothly. Yan Yue had to admit that Xue Yongtong was right. Any industry is actually dependent on people. Xue Yongtong said those people were willing to uphold the rules of the industry, but if Tiny Garden had no status, these people might be reluctant to ¡°waste money¡±. Even if those big gardeners were too embarrassed to intervene openly in the cultivation of new chlorophytum at the beginning, they could wait until the market was in chaos before taking action. Yan Yue wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about it unless he was determined to catch a few typical cases and defend their rights to the end; but that wouldn¡¯t do any good to Tiny Garden except offending the whole gardening circle. Xue Yongtong spoke smoothly and mentioned the begonias again. It was his good character that made him stick to the bottom line of his conscience, otherwise he would have had nothing to do with Tiny Garden if he had cultivated begonias privately. Of course, good people have good rewards. If he hadn¡¯t stuck to the bottom line, there wouldn¡¯t have been this series of cooperation with Yan Yueter on. Xue Yongtong was right in saying that the reason why Yan Yue dared to work with him time and again was because of Xue Yongtong¡¯s character. In Fengcheng¡¯s gardening circle, Xue Yongtong was one of the few people who didn¡¯t have many ck spots. Yan Yue looked at Xue Yongtong somewhat meaningfully, ¡°I believe our cooperation has only just begun.¡± Xue Yongtong immediately understood the meaning of this, and the two of them looked at each other with a tacit understanding and smiled; no words needed to be said. s Yan Yue didn¡¯t hide the problems encountered in the promotion of chlorophytum from Lu Lingxi. He actually felt very contradictory in his heart. He both hoped that the young man would remain ignorant of the world and that he could shield him from all the storms outside. But he also felt that if he was really responsible for the young man, he should let him see the real world, not the society that he had beautified. Yan Yue sometimes felt that this mood of his was rather like a parent facing a child, trembling and not knowing what to do because he was so nervous. He civilly told Lu Lingxi about the situation they had encountered. Yan Yue thought that Lu Lingxi would be angry when he heard this, but who knew that the young man would listen andfort him in turn. ¡°Big Brother Yan, didn¡¯t you say that the environmental value of this chlorophytum is greater than its economic value? The evolution of nts is not supposed to make money, but to improve the environment. As long as the customer buys an evolved chlorophytum, it doesn¡¯t really matter if it¡¯s bought from us. As for those gardeners who deceive customers with ordinary chlorophytum, customers are not stupid and won¡¯t buy them if they find out they have been fooled. If their reputation is ruined, they will be the ones to bear the consequences in the end, so we need not be angry.¡± He spoke seriously, with aforting look on his face. Yan Yue¡¯s heart softened and he went over and kissed the young man on the forehead, saying gently, ¡°Xiao Xi is right.¡± Lu Lingxi let out an ¡°en¡± and reached out to hug Yan Yue. ¡°Big Brother Yan, you¡¯ve done a good job.¡± He affirmed, nodding vigorously. The corners of Yan Yue¡¯s mouth curled slightly when he heard these words, and the smile poured out his eyes. That night, Xiao Feng wasn¡¯t there, so Yan Yue went back next door after dinner, leaving only Lu Lingxi and Wang Shuxiu, mother and son, at 301. Lu Lingxi stopped Wang Shuxiu, who was about to go back to her room, and put a bank card in front of her. Wang Shuxiu was very surprised, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed and whispered, ¡°The dowry for Mom.¡± Tiny Garden had been making money for the past six months, but Lu Lingxi also owed money to Yan Yue. From the initial 200,000 to the money Yan Yue had paid to buy Qiu Tian Gardening¡¯s nt nursery, Lu Lingxi was keeping ounts. Even though they were together, Lu Lingxi felt that the money had to be ounted for and he couldn¡¯t take advantage of Yan Yue. When Lu Lingxi insisted, Yan Yue had no choice but to agree. Luckily, he had made a profit from his cooperation with Gao Yongliangst time, and with the ie from the new chlorophytum, Lu Lingxi not only paid off Yan Yue¡¯s money, but also had a portion left over. He saved up the entire amount and set up a card with the password being Wang Shuxiu¡¯s birthday. s When Lu Lingxi said it in a straightforward manner, Wang Shuxiu was stunned for a moment. A long timeter she regained her senses and subconsciously pped Lu Lingxi. ¡°¡­who did you learn that from, little bastard? What dowry do I need, save up money for you to get a wife.¡± Wang Shuxiu refused to take the card. It wasn¡¯t easy for the little bastard to make money. He should keep it for his future wife. She had her own small restaurant, which was doing well, so she didn¡¯t need Lu Lingxi to worry about that. Besides, she trusted Xiao Feng¡¯s character; he was not the kind of man who was interested in a woman¡¯s money. Even if she didn¡¯t have money, would Xiao Feng dislike her? Lu Lingxi felt a bit guilty when he heard about marrying a wife but he still looked at Wang Shuxiu seriously, ¡°Dad is very nice, and he also said he would take good care of Mom. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust Dad, it¡¯s just that Mom has suffered all these years. I didn¡¯t know any better in the past and often made Mom sad. Now that I¡¯ve grown up, I want to do something for Mom too.¡± Lu Lingxi told the truth. He knew that Wang Shuxiu had been good to him, and he also wanted to return the favour. When he said this, Lu Lingxi was a little shy and the tips of his ears reddened slightly. ¡°Mom is still young, she can have another child.¡± If Lu Lingxi¡¯s thoughtful preparation of a card had touched Wang Shuxiu, having another child or something had annoyed Wang Shuxiu to no end. She pinched Lu Lingxi¡¯s face and raised her eyebrows, ¡°Your old mom is already forty-two, do you think I can still have a baby?¡± Lu Lingxi blushed but nodded, whispering, ¡°I asked Dr. Sust time, he said it¡¯s possible.¡± Wang Shuxiu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± She simply didn¡¯t know what to say. With such an interruption, Wang Shuxiu had forgotten about the card. Lu Lingxi hurriedly turned and ran away in a sh on the pretext that he had something to do with Yan Yue. As soon as he ran, Dahei immediately followed. One man and one dog were doing everything in unison; Wang Shuxiu watched them not knowing whether to cry or tough, and cursed bitterly, ¡°Little bastard.¡± After cursing, her gaze fell on the card, only to feel her heart calm down. Unnoticeably, the little bastard had grown up. Xiao Feng and Wang Shuxiu¡¯s wedding was scheduled for the end of December. The two had already discussed it and were still going to live in themunity. Although Xiao Feng had his own house, the environment wasn¡¯t as good as in the Hongfu Community, and Wang Shuxiu was reluctant to leave Lu Lingxi. Xiao Feng felt that Yan Yue would not agree to Lu Lingxi moving out with them, so he could just live here. He was honest with himself and didn¡¯t care if people said he lived in a woman¡¯s house, as long as he and Wang Shuxiu had a good life. Because he had to prepare for the wedding and also had to deal with the greenhouse, Xiao Feng was a bit busy these days. When he found out from Yan Yue that Lu Lingxi had prepared a dowry for Wang Shuxiu, he couldn¡¯t help but smile. He thought that Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind was simple and he probably didn¡¯t have any other intentions, and Yan Yue told him about it specifically to back up Wang Shuxiu. Xiao Feng felt that Yan Yue had good intentions towards Lu Lingxi. Once his mind was made up, Xiao Feng went to prepare the bride price. How could his wife spend another man¡¯s money, even if that man was Lu Lingxi? In fact, Xiao Feng had long nned to give all the money to Wang Shuxiu to manage, but when he mentioned it several times, Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t answer even once. Xiao Feng knew what Wang Shuxiu meant, so he didn¡¯t mention it again. He decided that the two of them would soon be married. Wang Shuxiu would not be willing to spend his money before the wedding, but after the wedding it would be logical for her to take care of his money; then Wang Shuxiu would not be able to refuse. Lu Lingxi¡¯s actions reminded Xiao Feng that if there was a dowry, there was also a bride price. Xiaohua couldn¡¯t help but ept it this time, right? After receiving two cards in two consecutive days, Wang Shuxiu had to wonder if the little bastard conspired with Xiao Feng in advance. Lin Meiughed at her, ¡°How many women envy your good fortune, and you still don¡¯t appreciate it!¡± Wang Shuxiu tried to retort, ¡°I have hands and feet, I can earn my own money, I¡¯m not yet too old to move.¡± Lin Mei snorted, ¡°It¡¯s your kind of thinking that spoiled Lu Yishui so he stopped acting like a man. You are strong, you are powerful, you do all the things that men do, why do you need a man? You, too, don¡¯t act too rashly. Brother Feng is different from that soft egg Lu Yishui, he is not the kind of irresponsible man. How do you imagine the picture of you and Brother Feng being married? The picture should be the two of you supporting each other. If you still carry everything by yourself as in the past, what kind of marriage will it be?¡± Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t find the words to refute and felt helpless. ¡°You¡¯re the only one who can say that,¡± she said to Lin Mei. Lin Meiughed, ¡°Admit that I¡¯m right, huh?¡± Wang Shuxiu red at her andughed, not saying anything. Chapter 91 On the first weekend of December, the grapes that Lu Lingxi had been waiting for were finally ripe. In the Yongchun vegetable greenhouse, Erfei was waiting to pick grapes from the vine early in the morning. Xiao Feng, who was also trying to curry favour with Lu Lingxi, deliberately set aside a piece ofnd for growing grapes. The workers in the greenhouse took a look at the grape seeds and privately discussed that Xiao Feng was an amateur. Who would use seeds to grow grapes? It would be next year when the grapes grow, not to mention the fact that it would be at least two years before the fruit was ready. But Xiao Feng was the boss, so if he wanted to nt, they had to nt. After the seeds were nted, no one expected that they would sprout in just a few days. These little shoots then started to grow like they were on hormones. Whereas normal vines sprout in early spring until August/September, these vines were full of fruit in less than two months and were ripening day by day. The entire vegetable greenhouse was aplete sensation. Although the other vegetables grown in the greenhouse were also growing fast, the grapes were astonishing. It was not just that they grew fast. The clusters of grapes looked heavy, withrge, round berries, each one purple and red in colour, looking sweet at the first nce. Some of the workers tried a few of them secretly and felt that they were soft and juicy with a sweet taste and a faint rose aroma lingering in their mouths, giving them an endless aftertaste. Erfei soon shifted his attention from the tomatoes to the grapes. The greenhouse was strictly controlled. Although these workers looked at the grapes with greedy eyes, few dared to steal, which meant that Erfei ate them openly and honestly. Tiger scolded him a few times, did Brother Feng not give him enough food? Couldn¡¯t he wait until they were fully ripe before eating them? It was just a few days anyway. Erfei agreed under Tiger¡¯s pressure, aggrieved, and then he couldn¡¯t stop visiting the grapes ten times a day, waiting eagerly for them to ripen. As soon as the grapes were ripe, Erfei said hello to the people around and started picking them. Brother Feng was also very surprised when he looked at these grapes. He deliberately weighed them. The average weight of the cluster reached 1000g, and the individual berries were more than 10g. Generally, grapes of the same weight on the market were red grapes imported from abroad. Not to mention that the taste of these grapes was more attractive than of the imported ones, the juice was sweet and creamy. Even Brother Feng, who didn¡¯t particrly like grapes, ate a bunch in one sitting. Brother Feng washed his hands and specially instructed Tiger to pick two baskets of good ones to give them to Lu Lingxi and Wang Shuxiu respectively. He didn¡¯t have time to go over today, so he left the job to Tiger. Tiger simply obeyed. Erfei was puzzled and asked secretly, ¡°Can¡¯t you just send them to our sister-inw? Our little brother Xiao Xi will also be able to eat them when hees home in the evening.¡± Tiger red at him speechlessly, ¡°The important thing is not for Brother Xiao Xi to eat, but for Brother Feng to let Brother Xiao Xi give them away. Didn¡¯t you seest time that there were many shop owners around who got on well with Brother Xiao Xi? This is a gesture from Brother Feng¡¯s heart, to earn good points in front of them for Brother Xiao Xi.¡± Erfei really couldn¡¯t understand how Tiger could infer such a profound meaning from such a whimsical remark by Brother Feng. But he had always been used to following Tiger, and whatever Tiger said was what he said. s When Lu Lingxi received the call from Tiger, he was chatting with Elder Su in the shop. The old man hade to see Lu Lingxi today. A few days ago, a student gave him a pot of chimaera cactus. He pondered whether there were any cacti in Tiny Garden and brought it here to show Lu Lingxi how rare it was. When he arrived, Yan Yue had just left and Lu Lingxi was the only one in the shop. The chimaera cactus, also known as the dragon pearls, is a hybrid cactus that had been popr in China for a while, but was now rare in the market. The ¡®dragon¡¯ in the chimaera cactus is a mixed red and green variegated stem. Generally speaking, the parts of the ¡®dragon¡¯ are brightly coloured in red and green and have an oddly twisted shape, the more twisted the better. At the top of the ¡®dragon¡¯ nt are small, round, red-coloured balls, known as ¡®pearls¡¯, which together give it the name ¡®dragon pearls¡¯. ¡°How¡¯s that? Rare, right?¡± Elder Su showed off to Lu Lingxi for a long time. He was now in the mindset of an urchin and whenever he had something good, he wanted to offer Lu Lingxi his treasure. Lu Lingxi looked at the nt for a long time but couldn¡¯t see what the old man was talking about in terms of its ornamental and interesting nature, but stillplimented it over and over again with great enthusiasm. Elder Su was happy and from the chimaera cactus the conversation turned to Su Lang. Lu Lingxi was moved by the thought of the still-growing seedlings of the donglingcao at home and enquired about the progress of Su Lang¡¯s research on donglingcao. Elder Su knew about the donglingcao, so he didn¡¯t hide it from Lu Lingxi when asked. ¡°I heard from Ah Lang that it¡¯s not going too well.¡± The old man said honestly: ¡°Research like this is, to put it bluntly, two words ¡°burn money¡±. Ah Lang and the others are just a charity organisation, and they usually rely on fundraising to keep it going. Small-scale research can still be sustained, but once it gets real, the follow-up won¡¯t be able to keep up.¡± Lu Lingxi listened with some regret. He still remembered how excited Su Lang looked when he talked about the researchst time. In his heart, Lu Lingxi was also hoping that Su Lang would seed in his research. Unfortunately, the donglingcao at home was still in its growth phase and wasn¡¯t at all ready to evolve, so there was nothing he could do to help. Elder Su followed with a sigh, ¡°Last time one of Ah Lang¡¯s former patients came to see him. He seemed to have heard about this research of theirs and was willing to spend money to fund it. But for some reason he was rejected by Ah Lang.¡± Lu Lingxi was just about to ask what was going on when Tiger¡¯s phone call happened toe in, and his attention quickly shifted to the phone. Lu Lingxi was surprised to hear that the grapes they had nted had ripened and were on their way to him. ¡°They¡¯re growing so fast? Are they tasty?¡± ¡°Yes, delicious and extra sweet.¡± Tiger said simply and concisely. Lu Lingxi smiled, hung up the phone and told Elder Su that he was lucky. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°My dad grew the grapes and someone will bring themter.¡± Elder Su was aware of the situation in Lu Lingxi¡¯s family. He was taken aback when he heard the words, but quickly smiled. ¡°That¡¯s great, I won¡¯t leave and wait for them.¡± s The old man and the young man changed the subject to food. Meanwhile, on the other hand, An Jie was showing Yan Yue a PPT that Su Lang had given him. As Elder Su had said, Su Lang¡¯s research reached a bottleneck and they were currently short of money. Su Lang knew that Yan Yue had his own investmentpany, and he and An Jie also knew each other. Out of caution, he didn¡¯t approach Yan Yue directly, but contacted An Jie first and sent him a copy of the information in full ordance with the normal procedure, waiting for An Jie¡¯s side to screen it. An Jie was very surprised to see the information, and after investigating and researching, he approached Yan Yue. ¡°Boss, what do you think? This research by Su Lang and the others is very valuable, and if it seeds the economic benefits are totally immeasurable. I¡¯ve checked it out, and there are quite a few pharmaceuticalpanies in China that are interested in this research, but the person in charge of Su Lang and his team just doesn¡¯t agree. ording to Su Lang, their organisation wants to take the initiative of developing themselves, rather than being reduced to working for a pharmaceuticalpany.¡± ¡°Like you said, it¡¯s valuable.¡± Yan Yue finished reading the information and tapped on the desktop quietly. He had known about this research of Su Lang¡¯s institution for a long time, and if it was really as effective as Su Lang said, it was indeed well worth the investment. Especially since he had received an interesting piece of news, the investment was all the more necessary. An Jie kept an eye on Yan Yue¡¯s expression and immediately asked, ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Yan Yue nodded, ¡°I just received news that Hopewell is nning to open a new biotechpany, and they probably want to cooperate with the Lu family.¡± An Jie immediately understood what Yan Yue meant; the Lu family in Zhongjing started out as a healthcare and pharmaceuticalpany, so it was normal for Hopewell to want to cooperate with the Lu family. What wasn¡¯t normal was that Yin Ya and Lu Wei¡¯an were very close, and some time ago Lu Wei¡¯an hade to Fengcheng to meet Su Lang on purpose. ¡°Is Hopewell also looking at this project?¡± He said tentatively. ¡°There is that possibility.¡± ¡°Then we?¡­¡± ¡°If we can¡¯t eat it on our own, contact the people at N.T. and ask if they¡¯re interested in investing together.¡± An Jie was a bit startled and quickly nodded. Yan Yue closed hisputer. This wasn¡¯t the first time he had dug into Hopewell¡¯s corner. In the past, he was far away from home and his investments were all in high-techpanies and Hopewell¡¯s focus wasn¡¯t there. Every time his digging went quite smoothly. But this time it was different. Judging by his father¡¯s attitude, he probably valued this biotechpany very much. The fact that Yin Ya dared to jump out and act meant that Yan Yue¡¯s father also knew about the project and had his heart set on it. If Yan Yue wanted to dig in smoothly this time, he had to find a strong ally. As for Lu Wei¡¯an, Yan Yue didn¡¯t think he was worth caring about at all. Elder Lu had three sons and nine grandchildren. Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s father, Lu Guangjing, gave up the inheritance rights of the Lu family at an early age, so even if Lu Wei¡¯an tossed and turned, he wouldn¡¯t be able to be noticed by Elder Lu. All he could do was to help Yin Ya with the matchmaking and run errands for his cousins if he wanted to have any sense of presence. Chapter 92 Tiger arrived at Tiny Garden quite quickly, not long after Lu Lingxi hung up the phone. When arge basket of grapes was brought out of the car, Elder Su¡¯s eyes immediately lit up, ¡°Nice grapes.¡± Tiger didn¡¯t know who the old man was, but seeing Lu Lingxi¡¯s familiar attitude with him, he grinned brightly, showing his white teeth. ¡°That¡¯s right, the products produced by our Yongchun vegetable greenhouse are definitely guaranteed high-quality products.¡± Lu Lingxi was so amused by his words that his eyes curved withughter. He invited Tiger and Erfei to sit down and rest. Then he went to the pet shop across the street to deliver some grapes and by the way washed a few clusters for everyone to eat. Soon Lu Lingxi came back with Dong Zhi in tow. Dong Zhi was still holding a few washed grapes in his hand, and as soon as he entered the shop he praised, ¡°How did you grow these grapes, they¡¯re so sweet?!¡± Tiger immediately repeated the sentence he had just said, and Dong Zhiughed. The two of them had metst time at the entrance of Tiny Garden and were not strangers, so they soon started chatting. Lu Lingxi had washed two big bowls full of grapes, and the men ate them while chatting until finishing them clean in a while. The grapes were really ¡°delicious and extra sweet¡± as Tiger hadmented. Some time ago, grapes were on sale, and Lu Lingxi also bought them several times. Who knows if it was because he had a dubious taste, but he always felt that most of the grapes tasted like water, or else they were very sour, and few of them could be described as delicious. But the grapes brought by Tiger were different. The soft flesh of the grapes with the sweet juice was so fragrant and tasty that it made you want to take another bite. He heard from Tiger that the grapes grown were yielding quite a lot and that they would not be able to eat them all just by themselves. Brother Feng was nning to bring a few baskets to the wholesale market tonight to see how they would sell. Dong Zhi was very supportive, ¡°What wholesale market, put them in the front street and they¡¯ll be snapped up in less than half an hour.¡± Everyoneughed. Lu Lingxi reminded Tiger to collect the grape seeds for seeding. Tigerughed and said, ¡°I know. At first the workers in the greenhouse saw that we were using seeds and privately said that we were amateurs, but now no one is saying that anymore and they are starting to ask where we bought the seeds.¡± As soon as he said this, Elder Su became interested and found a small stic bag to put some of the seeds they had spat out and said he would go back and nt them. Tiger sat for a while and then left, not staying in the shop much longer. Elder Su was about to leave as well. Lu Lingxi gave him a big bag of grapes, and the old man wasn¡¯t hypocritical and happily epted it. In a short while, Lu Lingxi had given away half of the basket of grapes that Tiger had brought to him, and several small shops around the area had received his grapes. Lu Lingxi washed a few clusters for Yan Yue to eat when he returned, and packed the rest in a bag to take home tonight. While he was busy tidying up, he picked arge cluster of washed grapes and ced it in front of Dahei. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t feed Dahei while everyone was there just now. Now he was the only one left in the shop, so it didn¡¯t matter. Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head and instructed, ¡°Remember to spit out the seeds.¡± Dahei gave a low bark and obeyed. When Fang Lei found his way to Tiny Garden, what he saw was Dahei eating the grapes while spitting out the seeds. He stood in the doorway, looking at Dahei with a smile in his eyes and felt an unabashed fondness for him. Dahei recognised Fang Lei and barked in a low voice. Lu Lingxi, who was busy behind the cashier, heard it and looked over with some embarrassment. ¡°Wee, what can I do for you?¡± The visitor was a man in his thirties, tall and looking very fit. Lu Lingxi searched his mind to make sure he had no memories of this man; but what was up with Dahei saying he knew him? Fang Lei smiled kindly at Lu Lingxi and his gaze fell on Dahei, ¡°Do you remember me, Dahei?¡± Dahei barked and turned his head to rub against Lu Lingxi¡¯s leg. Fang Lei smiled and stretched out his hand to greet Lu Lingxi, introducing himself: ¡°Fang Lei, from the city police department. I am here to find Dahei this time, I want to borrow him to do me a favour. ¡± City police department¡­ Lu Lingxi probably could guess when Dahei met Fang Lei. But as for doing a favour, he was a little hesitant, ¡°I wonder what kind of favour Dahei can do Officer Fang?¡± What he actually wanted to ask more was whether there would be any danger. s Fang Lei could see Lu Lingxi¡¯s hesitation and was about to speak up to exin when Yan Yue returned from An Jie¡¯s ce and was a little surprised to see Fang Lei. ¡°Why is Officer Fanging over?¡± ¡°Mr. Yan.¡± Fang Lei was worried that he didn¡¯t know Lu Lingxi well, and was instantly happy to see Yan Yue. ¡°It¡¯s a long story, I¡¯m here to ask for Dahei¡¯s help.¡± Fang Lei hade this time for a smuggling case. A few days ago a group of smugglers over the coast had sneaked into Fengcheng, and ording to one of the people they caught, they were smuggling live snakes, including about two sacks of extremely poisonous cobras. The gang was very cunning, and the one caught was only a minor yer among them who didn¡¯t know much. The danger posed by the cobras was so great that the police were strictly ordered to solve the case within a week. Fang Lei knew the approximate location of the gang, but the ce was arge marketce with a lot of traffic. In order to reduce the social impact and also to prevent these people losing their minds and releasing cobras, Fang Lei thought of borrowing Dahei¡¯s nose to try and see if he could find the exact location of the gang. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let Dahei rush in, just let Dahei help us identify the smell.¡± Beforeing to find Dahei, they had already tried it with the team¡¯s police dog, but the marketce had everything, live poultry, seafood, vegetables and spices. The smells were too mixed and the police dogpletely lost direction. Fang Lei then thought of Dahei. Last time during Lu Hongxin¡¯s incident, Dahei left too much of an impression on him. With the attitude of giving it a try, Fang Lei inquired about the address of Tiny Garden and came straight over. He said it very sincerely, and Lu Lingxi also felt that he should help, and at that moment hesitantly looked at Yan Yue. Yan Yue nodded. Fang Lei was from Ye Cheng, and he was willing to help if it wasn¡¯t too dangerous. As soon as Yan Yue nodded, Fang Lei knew that the matter was a done deal. He smiled brightly and assured, ¡°It won¡¯t take too long, I¡¯ll send Dahei back by the time you guys get off work.¡± Lu Lingxi rxed, stroked Dahei¡¯s head and admonished him for a long time. Fang Lei watched with amusement. He had always been curious as to how Dahei was actually trained. He had previously thought that Dahei was Yan Yue¡¯s dog, and it wasn¡¯t umon for rich people to have someone train their dogs, so he didn¡¯t think much of it. Later, when he found out that Dahei wasn¡¯t raised by Yan Yue, but by the owner of a well-known gardening shop, Fang Lei was excited. When he came over to take a look, the rumoured owner of the gardening shop was so young that Fang Lei even wondered if Lu Lingxi was still underage. When he saw how Lu Lingxi and Dahei got along, Fang Lei felt that it was quite exceptional. The boy didn¡¯t treat Dahei as a dog, but as a human being. A man and a dog squatted there for a long time; Fang Lei couldn¡¯t help butugh. Yan Yue walked over and dotingly rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair. The young man stood up with a bit of a blush and looked at Fang Lei, ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave Dahei to you.¡± Fang Lei nodded and said solemnly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Dahei obediently followed Fang Lei away, and Lu Lingxi urged Yan Yue to wash his hands and gave him the grapes that Tiger had brought. Yan Yue was also a little surprised when he saw the grapes; they were really growing too fast. There were no customers in the shop and Lu Lingxi had nothing to do, so he simply chatted with Yan Yue. s He casually asked what An Jie was looking for Yan Yue for, and Yan Yue didn¡¯t hide it from Lu Lingxi. ¡°It¡¯s about that research of Su Lang¡¯s. Their institution is short of money for the research to progress, and Su Lang wants to pull in a venture capital investment.¡± The two had been together for a long time, and Yan Yue had confessed to Lu Lingxi about his life long ago, so Lu Lingxi also knew that Yan Yue had his own investmentpany outside. ¡°Then, Big Brother Yan, will you invest?¡± Yan Yue nodded, looking at Lu Lingxi with a soft gaze, ¡°Doesn¡¯t Xiao Xi want to know the effect of the evolved donglingcao? If the research doesn¡¯t progress, wouldn¡¯t our donglingcao be raised for nothing?¡± Lu Lingxi was keen to let Su Lang¡¯s research progress, but once Yan Yue said this he was worried that Yan Yue had made the decision to invest too hastily, and immediately said, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you don¡¯t need to care about the donglingcao. If this research¡­¡± He didn¡¯t finish, but the meaning was very obvious. Yan Yue smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this research is very valuable for investment. Even Hopewell Group and Lu Ke Group have their hearts set on it. We have to work harder if we want to take it.¡± Lu Ke Group was the property of the Lu family in Zhongjing. Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand, which was about to take the grapes, paused. He hesitated, ¡°Did the people from Lu Ke Group alsoe to Fengcheng?¡± Yan Yue was always watching Lu Lingxi with utmost attention and he noticed the young man¡¯s abnormality almost immediately. ¡°Xiao Xi has also heard of Lu Ke?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, finding an excuse, ¡°I took theirpany¡¯s medicine when I was hospitalised before, and I heard the nurse talk about it.¡± His eyes wandered a little as he spoke. Yan Yue¡¯s judgement of the young man¡¯s expression was like the knowledge of an old movie he had watched countless times. He only needed a bit of a background to know what scene was to follow. Likewise, he only needed a look from Lu Lingxi to know the young man was lying. Yan Yue couldn¡¯t guess what the young man was thinking and continued as if nothing had happened: ¡°People from Lu Ke Group came some time ago and stayed in Fengcheng for two days. The people who came weren¡¯t technically from the group, but from the Lu family.¡± Lu Lingxi let out an ¡°oh¡± and didn¡¯t continue to ask. He reminded himself that he was now Wang Shuxiu¡¯s son in Fengcheng, not Lu Lingxi of the Lu family in Zhongjing. Nothing about the Lu family had anything to do with him, nor did he need to worry about it. As he looked uninterested, Yan Yue naturally would not continue to talk about the Lu family¡¯s affairs. However, Yan Yue had doubts in his mind, wondering why the young man seemed to be concerned about the Lu family. A customer entered Tiny Garden, and Lu Lingxi quickly shifted his attention to wee him. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes followed Lu Lingxi closely, his mind kept recalling the young man¡¯s reaction just now. Northern Suburbs Market When Fang Lei brought Dahei over, the inclothes men from the police station were already scattered all over the market. Inside a nondescript Jinbei car at the entrance of the market, Fang Lei¡¯s men were looking at the smuggler they had caught. Without Fang Lei¡¯smand, Dahei went over and sniffed carefully, remembering the smuggler¡¯s smell. Fang Lei gave Dahei an appreciative look and thought that Dahei was really smart. He pretended to be walking his dog and took Dahei into the market. It was just after noon, and the market was crowded. The noise was so loud that it made people¡¯s heads ache. Dahei walked calmly by Fang Lei¡¯s side, asionally going to the side of the road to sniff around. ces like that were a mixed bag, and it was not a big deal when someone brought a dog here. asionally, people took a look at Dahei, but when they saw that it was just a local dog, they lost interest. The market in the northern suburbs was quiterge, and the outermost part of the market was lined with rows of small houses, used for business, housing and storage, and was very chaotic. It was here that Dahei¡¯s search focused. Halfway around the market, Dahei suddenly paused with a human-like expression on his furry face. He lowered his head and sniffed at the roadside, not barking but gently biting Fang Lei¡¯s trouser leg. Fang Lei understood at once and gave themand quietly. In a small house by the side of the road, four men were ying cards. Under the creaking wooden bed, fourrge woven bags were piled. The men were so absorbed in their game that none of them noticed that one of the bags had bitten open from the inside and a small ck snake, as thick as a finger and as long as a chopstick, had crawled out of it and was gently slithering by the wall in the direction of the door. Dahei at the door suddenly became a little agitated. He wanted to bark but realised that he couldn¡¯t in the present situation. From the squatting position he bowed in a defensive posture. The little ck snake inside the house seemed to have sensed something and hesitantly paused before turning around and crawling in another direction. It turned a little too quickly and its tail was unable to turn around for a while, so it almost tied itself in a knot. As the snake was about to crawl to the corner, the door of the small house was suddenly kicked open and several inclothes men rushed in, directly pouncing on the four men and holding them down. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± The little ck snake froze motionless. A policeman pulled the woven bags from under the bed and was shocked to see the gaping hole in one of the bags, ¡°Team Fang, one of the bags is open.¡± Fang Lei looked grave, ¡°What? Which bag is it? Is it amon snake or a cobra? Ask them about the number of snakes and see if the numbers match up.¡± If any cobras got out, the northern suburbs market would have to be cleared. The policeman who asked the questions obviously knew the seriousness of the problem, grabbed the smugglers he had caught and questioned them in a low voice. At the end he breathed a sigh of relief and reported to Fang Lei, ¡°Team Fang, it¡¯s fine, the opened bag contained ordinary snakes, which are basically not poisonous. And the quantity is also correct, so none should be lost.¡± Fang Lei rxed. ¡°Alright, hurry up and contact the zoo to see what to do with these snakes. Especially those two bags of cobras, they make people panic.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± The men checked again, and no one noticed the little ck snake that secretly attached itself to the bottom of the bed. Dahei crouched in the doorway, staring warily at the bed until everyone had exited the room. Then he slowly walked over to Fang Lei¡¯s side. Fang Lei tried to touch Dahei¡¯s head but Dahei dodged. Some policemen snickered and Fang Leiughed too. ¡°Dahei, how about that? Will you follow us from now on?¡± Fang Lei really liked Dahei, and what happened this time was even more proof of Dahei¡¯s power. His nose was practically a radar. Dahei gave a low bark and tugged at Fang Lei¡¯s trouser legs as he walked outside. Fang Lei chuckled, ¡°Want to go back? Okay, I¡¯ll find someone to take you back first, and I¡¯ll go tomorrow to thank your master.¡± As he said that, he ordered a policeman who had met Daheist time to send Dahei back to Tiny Garden. The policeman happily agreed. Dahei watched Fang Lei order someone to lock the house, took a final look at the small house, and followed the policeman away. Fang Lei also led his people to retreat. Inside the room, there was a soft ¡°pop¡± as the little ck snake couldn¡¯t hold on and fell off the bottom of the bed. After being dizzy for a long time, the little ck snake moved slowly towards the door and slithered northwards through the grass. Chapter 93 Before Tiny Garden closed, the police brought Dahei back. After Lu Lingxi checked that Dahei was unharmed, he politely thanked the policeman who brought Dahei. The police officerplimented Dahei in front of Lu Lingxi, and Lu Lingxi happily took out a bag of grapes for the man to take back to eat. The police officer was very pleased when he saw it. He thought that since Fang Lei could borrow the dog from here, he probably knew Lu Lingxi, so he didn¡¯t refuse too much. Not long after the police left, Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue packed up and took Dahei to Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant. The restaurant had been open for some time and had gained a firm foothold in the neighbourhood. When the people mentioned it, they all said the food was delicious. Thedy boss was a real deal, and the food was clean so that people could eat with confidence. Every day, from noon to night, business was booming. There were also people who came from other ces to eat, and they gave it a thumbs up after eating. A few days ago, Xiao Feng also had a discussion with Wang Shuxiu. After the two got married, they would look at expanding the area of the small restaurant and recruiting a few more people. Wang Shuxiu wouldn¡¯t be so tired then and would just be the boss with peace of mind. Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t say anything, but she was happy to hear it in her heart. Life now was like a dream to her. Half a year ago, she never thought that one day she would live sofortably. When Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue came over, there were still many people in the restaurant. The two of them rolled up their sleeves to help, but Wang Shuxiu stopped them. Business had been good for a while, and the restaurant had just recruited two waiters, so there were already enough people in the kitchen and there was no need for them to add to the mess. ¡°Go upstairs and wait for dinner, I¡¯ve stewed a chicken for you, it¡¯s a tonic for the cold weather. It¡¯s been stewed at noon, I¡¯ll just fry itter.¡± Wang Shuxiu said and went to fry it, sending Yi Hang upstairs as well, so that the three of them could eat together. ¡°Lao San, Brother Yan.¡± Yi Hang brought up a bowl of grapes, greeted them and went to squeeze in with Lu Lingxi. He was so used to being close to Lu Lingxi that hepletely ignored Yan Yue¡¯s ck face. Yan Yue had a sour taste in his mouth. Lu Lingxi and Yi Hang looked the same age, and every time seeing them together, Yan Yue would wonder if he was getting a bit old. Yi Hang didn¡¯t care what Yan Yue thought and pulled Lu Lingxi closer to chat with him. What he talked about was Zheng Tan and Bai Yuan. It seemed that Zheng Tan had a good life. He already liked cars, so learning to repair cars was also a hobby. Bai Yuan was a bit pitiful, though. He had been learning to cook for a few months now and was still practising cutting radishes. He said that his father had enrolled him in a ¡°gold medal chef¡± ss, which took two years toplete, of which half a year was spent on cutting radishes alone. After Lu Lingxi¡¯s ¡°lost his memeory¡±, in Zheng Tan¡¯s and Bai Yuan¡¯s words, he became a lot more boring, plus they were far away, so they would just call and text to ask about Lu Lingxi¡¯s health. The two of them usually chatted with Yi Hang about trivial matters of life, and then Yi Hang passed them onto Lu Lingxi to gossip. As expected, Lu Lingxi was a little surprised to hear that Bai Yuan was still cutting radishes, ¡°To cut radishes for half a year?¡± Yi Hang nodded with quite a bit of sympathy, ¡°Lao Si (Old Fourth) is not as good as me. I have no problem getting my hands on stir-frying now but he is probably afraid of touching a pan.¡± When he said that, Yi Hang¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened, and he pulled Lu Lingxi closer and lowered his voice, ¡°Lao San, how about you let Lao Sie here and follow your mother? It¡¯s much better than learning from a gold medal chef.¡± It was definitely okay for Bai Yuan toe to the small restaurant, but¡­ Lu Lingxi said worriedly: ¡°Will Uncle Bai agree?¡± Yi Hang snorted, ¡°Lao San, are you stupid, this thing must be done before asked, ah, have you forgotten the past,?¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, you really forgot.¡± Yi Hang responded with a sigh, ¡°Lao Er even said to mest time, how nice it would be if Lao San could remember what happened before.¡± After these words Lu Lingxi fell silent; every time something like that was said, he didn¡¯t know how to face Yi Hang. Yi Hang saw that he didn¡¯t say anything and secretly cursed himself for mentioning this sensitive matter. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s not talk about it, even if you can¡¯t remember, it¡¯s fine now. By the way, the old geezer you worked with came over today and gave Sister Xiaohua a bottle of perfume, do you know?¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He didn¡¯t know, but Xiao Feng did. s When Tiger was delivering grapes to the shop in the afternoon, he was just in time to see Gao Yongliange over. Gao Yongliang¡¯s attitude was casual, as if he was unintentionally passing by, which was indeed the case. Thest time they met, Gao Yongliang had a good impression of Wang Shuxiu. Perhaps people have preconceptions; as he met Lu Lingxi first, he subconsciously thought that a mother that could raise a child like Lu Lingxi would definitely not be bad. When he met Wang Shuxiu, although she was different from the gentle woman he had imagined, he was impressed by her unique brightness and cheerfulness. Today he had originally passed by the neighbourhood unintentionally, and then he had a thought of going to Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant. As a man who had lived abroad for many years and had good habits, Gao Yongliang naturally would note empty-handed and brought with him his newly developed perfume. He didn¡¯t expect to be seen by Tiger just in time. Tiger was furious. Brother Feng was about to marry thedy boss, and this old geezer still dared toe and dig in Brother Feng¡¯s corner. He turned and told Xiao Feng about the incident, asking over the phone in righteous indignation, ¡°Do you want me and Erfei to beat him up?¡± Xiao Feng was amused to hear this and scolded him outright, ¡°Hurry up and get back, don¡¯t make trouble for Lao Tzu.¡± ¡°Boss?¡± ¡°Come on, he can look at Xiaohua, but Xiaohua doesn¡¯t look at him.¡± When Xiao Feng said this, Tiger came back to his senses. Xiaohua¡¯sdy boss had fallen for Brother Feng, so what did Brother Feng have to be angry about? While Tiger put the matter behind him, Xiao Feng was thinking about what Tiger said about Gao Yongliang bringing Wang Shuxiu a gift. He had never given Wang Shuxiu a gift, even though he had known her for so long. He hadn¡¯t even thought about it. He was going to give the family property to Wang Shuxiu to spend. There were no these so-called romantic feelings. He thought about it and left the vegetable greenhouse to Ding Er, drove all the way back to the city, found a jewellery shop and picked out a bracelet for Wang Shuxiu. Considering that Wang Shuxiu was also busy in the kitchen every day, Xiao Feng didn¡¯t pick any jade or the like, just in case Xiaohua couldn¡¯t bring herself to wear it for fear of bumping it. Once Xiao Feng arrived at the small restaurant, Yi Hang saw him from the upstairs window. ¡°Lao San, look, Brother Feng is here.¡± Lu Lingxi together with Yan Yue was teasing Dahei when he heard these words and nced out the window. It was really Xiao Fenging over. Yi Hang winked at Lu Lingxi, ¡°Brother Feng definitely brought a gift for Sister Xiaohua. What do you think Brother Feng will give?¡± Lu Lingxi gave Yi Hang a speechless re; how would he know? Yan Yue, who had been stroking Dahei¡¯s head with a carefree expression, also became interested when he heard Yi Hang¡¯s question. The three men and the dog squeezed downstairs in a leisurely manner to see a beautifully carved bracelet on Wang Shuxiu¡¯s wrist. When Xiao Feng saw the three of theming down, he guessed what was going on and couldn¡¯t help but smile lightly. When he smiled, Wang Shuxiu inexplicably felt embarrassed, ring angrily at them, and couldn¡¯t help butugh herself. This incident soon became known to Lin Mei. The next day, when the restaurant was empty, she teased Wang Shuxiu about it. ¡°Come on,e on, let me see your bracelet quickly. Xiao Feng is so cool, he is not afraid of your hand being too heavy.¡± The two were sitting in a corner of the kitchen picking vegetables at the moment. Wang Shuxiu instantly gave Lin Mei a nonchnt re. Lin Mei happily nudged Wang Shuxiu, ¡°Eh, seriously, that Gao Yongliang isn¡¯t really interested in you, is he?¡± ¡°How is that possible?¡± Wang Shuxiu¡¯s hands kept working as she chatted with Lin Mei: ¡°We¡¯re not even close to be the same kind of people.¡± She said it simply, and Lin Mei also abandoned her joking thoughts and sighed. They were really not the same kind of people. Not to mention the other things, that Gao Yongliang and Xiaohua hadpletely different life levels and life experiences. Even if they were momentarily attracted to each other, they simply couldn¡¯t get along without somemonnguage. Don¡¯t think Brother Feng is not as good as someoneing from abroad; what you need to live your life is something real, not what the others think looks good. Lin Mei thought andughed, ¡°The old saying is right, there¡¯s a perfect match for everyone.¡± Wang Shuxiu thought for a while, then nodded. s That evening, Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi went to the nt nursery again. Early in the morning Uncle Li got to know that they wereing and asked them toe to his house for dinner, and Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t refuse. When he took Dahei out of the car, a ck head the size of a thumb slowly poked out from under a yellowing leaf of the big willow tree at the entrance of the vige. The little ck snake that had escaped from the northern suburban market moved out from under the leaves a little. Half of the little ck snake¡¯s body poked up and its golden eyes looked curiously in the direction of the small courtyard. It vaguely felt that there was something over there that seemed to be attracting it, more so than the tree that it had finally found. After waiting for a while, it flicked its tail and prepared to slither over to have a look. The little ck snake had just slipped along the tree trunk to the ground when Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue led Dahei out of the small courtyard. The direction of the two men and the dog was clearly this side of the big willow tree. Halfway down the path, Dahei, who was trotting ahead, suddenly stopped in his tracks and stood in front of the two people, baring his teeth and letting out a threatening low growl. Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue froze and cautiously looked in the direction of the big willow tree. It was dark early in the winter, so Yan Yue shone his shlight around and saw nothing. Dahei arched his back and took a defensive posture. Lu Lingxi could see that Dahei was wary, but he didn¡¯t know what Dahei was wary of. Under the willow tree, the little ck snake looked at Dahei hesitantly, remembering Dahei¡¯s scent. It gingerly turned in a circle and crawled back along the original path to the top of the tree, retreating back under the dead yellow leaves, only poking its head and looking down secretly. Dahei slowly rxed his guard and called out to Lu Lingxi in a low voice. Lu Lingxi understood his meaning and nced at the big willow tree with some confusion, gesturing for Yan Yue to go first. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yan Yue asked. Lu Lingxi whispered, ¡°There seems to be something in the tree that makes Dahei very wary.¡± Yan Yue pondered, ¡°Could it be a snake?¡± Only snakes could hide their bodies in the night. If it was any other animal, they would have discovered it by the shlight. But how could there be a snake here? Lu Lingxi shook his head; he wasn¡¯t at all sure what was going on either. The two of them left the big willow tree with Dahei and turned into the courtyard of Uncle Li¡¯s house. Uncle Li was very happy to see theming and hurriedly sent them to wash their hands and get ready for dinner. The hot pot was set on the table, surrounded by four tes of thinly slicedmb and some other side dishes. As soon as the pot was boiling, a rich aroma filled their nostrils. Everyone was sweating as they ate, and the aroma from inside the house spread out and wafted downwind to the entrance of the vige. On the willow tree, the little ck snake once again poked its head out from under the leaves and looked yearningly at the courtyard of Uncle Li¡¯s house, its saliva unconsciously dripping down. It was already eight o¡¯clock in the evening when the meal was served. Uncle Li had helped Lu Lingxi heat the kang bed when they came over. The fire should be burning brightly at this time of night, and Uncle Li instructed Yan Yue to remember to add more charcoal when they returned. He had already prepared the charcoal right outside the house. Yan Yue nodded, found a hat to put on Lu Lingxi and wrapped a scarf around him, and the two of them held hands as they left the courtyard of Uncle Li¡¯s house. This time when they passed by the big willow tree, Dahei wasn¡¯t as wary as he had been when they came. Yan Yue frowned slightly, ¡°It seems that the thing in the tree is gone.¡± Lu Lingxi let out a sigh of relief. It was the first time he had seen Dahei so wary about something. The two of them went back to the courtyard and were about to enter the house when Dahei, who had been quiet all the way, suddenly barked, arching his back and snarling angrily at the door. Yan Yue stopped in front of Lu Lingxi and gently pushed the door open. In the shlight, a small ck snake, as thick as a finger, kept crawling into the house and stared at them dumbly. Perhaps it was startled by their movement. The tip of the small ck snake¡¯s thin tail flicked on the ground, and Lu Lingxi somehow thought of the way Dahei wagged his tail. ¡°Ssss.¡± The little ck snake hissed. Yan Yue frowned slightly. He felt that he seemed to understand what the little ck snake was saying. Without waiting for Yan Yue to react, the little ck snake nced at the two of them, saw that they didn¡¯t seem to be going to stop it, and continued to slowly crawl towards the inner room. When Dahei saw the little ck snake enter the house, he was a bit grumpy. Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head soothingly, wondering why Dahei was afraid of this little ck snake. Dahei rubbed against Lu Lingxi¡¯s palm and followed him in with his back arched. Inside the house, the little ck snake was struggling to climb up the kang along the edge of the bed. It was halfway up when they entered and suddenly flopped down with a ¡°pop¡±. Dazed and dizzy, the little ck snake went in a circle, twisting and turning as it struggled on towards its destination. This time, just like thest time, the little ck snake also crawled halfway and fell to the ground again. Lu Lingxi & Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± After three consecutive times, even Dahei¡¯s face showed a human-like expression as if he couldn¡¯t bear to look at it. The little ck snake foolishly circled around on the ground and turned towards Lu Lingxi, ¡°Ssss.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s brow furrowed as he stepped forward, picked up the little ck snake¡¯s tail and threw the snake onto the bed. The little ck snake seemed to be veryfortable and moved a little to the kang¡¯s head. It probably intended to make a few happy circles but ended up going around and around and tying itself into a knot that it couldn¡¯t untie. ¡°¡­¡­¡± The little ck snake stayed on the kang in a knot. Yan Yue took hisptop and googled it for a long time but couldn¡¯t find out exactly what species the little ck snake was. The only thing that was certain was that it was a non-venomous snake. When Lu Lingxi came back from washing his face, he saw the little ck snake still trying to untie itself, but unfortunately it wasn¡¯t going in the right direction every time. Dahei squatted aside and watched it, his original vignce long gone, reced by his usual calmness. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help but smile and turned to ask Yan Yue, ¡°Will we leave it here for the night?¡± Yan Yue lowered his head and kissed Lu Lingxi on the forehead, saying deliberately, ¡°I¡¯ll find a box to keep it in. It¡¯ll be good if it can untie the knot before tomorrow morning.¡± After he finished speaking he looked thoughtfully at the little ck snake. To make Dahei react so much, this little ck snake must be not an ordinary snake. However, watching the little ck snake trying to untie itself made Yan Yue have a headache. Even if it was a powerful species, what use could it be if it was so stupid? What made Yan Yue¡¯s head ache even more was that he seemed to be able to really understand what the little ck snake was saying. He and Lu Lingxi had discussed the evolution of animals and humans, and the few examples of ¡°evolution¡± that had emerged so far all seemed to involve the formation ofmunication between humans and animals. But this kind ofmunication was one-to-one, and they weren¡¯t sure if there would be a one-to-many situation. But if it was one-to-one, had he evolved to listen to a stupid snake shouting as it spun around in circles and was getting dizzy? Chapter 94 The little ck snake finally untied the knot by itself before dawn. It looked dizzily around for a long time before its eyes fell on the edge of the cardboard box. With a flick of its thin tail, the little ck snake crawled to the wall of the cardboard box and began to work its way to the top. The cardboard box Yan Yue had found was previously used for flower fertiliser and wasn¡¯t too high, only 60cm. Considering the ¡°intelligence¡± of the little ck snake, Yan Yue felt that 60cm was enough. Besides, there was still Dahei outside to keep watch. Sure enough, the little ck snake spent a long time trying to climb to the edge of the box. As soon as it poked out its head, Dahei, who had been lying next to the box, immediately raised his head vigntly, his ck eyes looking at the little ck snake. The little ck snake hesitated for a long time, then changed direction aggrievedly, and crawled back to the bottom of the box. Dahei¡¯s ears twitched and he calmly closed his eyes and went back to sleep. It was just after six o¡¯clock when Yan Yue woke up. The kang bed beneath him was burning too vigorously, and he had slept ufortably. He quietly sat up and saw that Lu Lingxi¡¯s body was half exposed; apparently the young man also felt roasted. No wonder Yan Yue¡¯s arms felt empty in the middle of the night. After lowering his head and giving Lu Lingxi a kiss, Yan Yue pulled up the nket for him, dressed and went to take a look at the little ck snake. Dahei had long heard Yan Yue¡¯s movements and was lying on the floor quietly watching him. Yan Yue stroked Dahei¡¯s head. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want Dahei to go on the bed, but the bed was too hot and Dahei didn¡¯t want to go on it himself. Inside the cardboard box, the little ck snake was circling around, biting its tail, and when it saw Yan Yueing, it poked its head curiously. Yan Yue looked at it for a long time, then reached out and picked it up by the seven-inch point (seven-inch point is considered a weak ce of a snake, but of course it¡¯s not exactly located at seven inches but depends on the snake¡¯s length). Last night he had been dreaming about this stupid snake and wondered where it hade from. The little ck snake wasn¡¯t afraid of being pinched at the seven-inch point but looked at Yan Yue for a while, and the tip of its tail hooked up slightly, tentatively wrapping around Yan Yue¡¯s wrist. The little ck snake seemed to find that this was a good idea, so it wrapped itself around Yan Yue¡¯s wrist and refused to let go. When Yan Yue released his hand to put it back into the box, the little ck snake bit on Yan Yue¡¯s sleeve and refused to go back. Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Yan Yue had no choice but to let the little ck snake hang on his wrist. The good thing was that this little snake was very obedient. Yan Yue said not to move and it really stiffened its body and didn¡¯t move. If you didn¡¯t look closely, you wouldn¡¯t even notice that the snake was still alive. It was almost seven o¡¯clock when Lu Lingxi sat up, rubbing his eyes. Seeing that he was ready to get up, Yan Yue came over and gave him a kiss and said softly, ¡°Why don¡¯t you sleep a little more? What do you want to eat in the morning? I¡¯ll go and make it.¡± s ¡°Anything is fine.¡± Lu Lingxi put on his sweater and looked down and suddenly saw the little snake on Yan Yue¡¯s wrist. He blinked in surprise and reached out with some curiosity to poke it. The little snake shook its head dully and hesitantly crawled a little in Lu Lingxi¡¯s direction. The smell that attracted it was right here, very pleasant andfortable. Yan Yue then watched as the little ck snake let go of him, the tip of its tail moving a little towards Lu Lingxi¡¯s finger. ¡°Woof.¡± Dahei¡¯s head appeared, his two front paws resting on the edge of the bed as he stood half-upright and looked at Lu Lingxi with a gentle gaze. Lu Lingxi¡¯s attention was immediately drawn to him; he smiled as he reached out to pet Dahei¡¯s head. When the little snake saw Dahei, the tip of its tail, which was stretched out in mid-air, froze for a few seconds and secretly changed direction, wrapping itself around Yan Yue¡¯s wrist again. Yan Yue hooked the corner of his mouth, thinking that this snake wasn¡¯tpletely stupid. Lu Lingxi got up and wanted to go to the Lingshui River to see how the eelgrass had evolved. Yan Yue had emails to reply, so Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t bother him and took Dahei out on his own. It wasn¡¯t yet seven o¡¯clock and the sky was a little dark. Most of the vigers had just woken up. There were noises, dogs barking, chickens crowing, and the whole vige seemed to break out from the silence of the night and be a little bit more alive, full of vigorous vitality and hope. As he passed by the big willow tree, Lu Lingxi paused for a moment. He clicked on the white panel and the roots of the big willow tree kept extending in all directions. Just in the direction he was going, the roots had extended past the bottom of the Lingshui River and continued to stretch across the river. The opposite side of the river was also within the boundaries of Lingshui Vige, but there was no one living there and it was basically some abandonednd. Further over there was a small hill, and Lu Lingxi had no idea what was on the opposite side of the hill. Despite the fact that it was now the winter period of dormancy, the big willow tree was still very much alive. Lu Lingxi tilted his head and looked at the willow tree, which seemed to have grown a little taller, and imagined what it would look like when it evolved again. Perhaps because he was in a daze for a bit too long, Dahei licked Lu Lingxi¡¯s fingers, reminding him not to forget the purpose ofing out. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and smiled, saying to Dahei on a whim, ¡°Let¡¯s run together and see whoes first?¡± Dahei looked at Lu Lingxi with a somewhat indulgent gaze and gave a low bark. As soon as Lu Lingxi started running, Dahei immediately followed but never tried to overtake him. One man and one dog were having fun running, and the dogs in the vige followed them when they saw Dahei. In a short time, a bunch of dogs followed behind Lu Lingxi. These dogs were restrained and didn¡¯t dare to overtake Dahei. A few of them wanted to show off in front of Dahei but just when they ran a bit faster, they were reprimanded by Dahei. From behind, it looked as if Lu Lingxi was being chased by a pack of dogs, running for his life. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The people in the vige almostughed to death when they saw it. They didn¡¯t know why this child, Xiao Xi, was so pleasing to the dogs. Usually when he met the vige dogs, they liked toe up and show their faces in front of him, but this time they simply ran after him. Lu Lingxi himself couldn¡¯t helpughing halfway through the run, especially when Dahei refused to let the dogs run free in order to save his face. He stopped in his tracks in amusement and hugged Dahei and gave him a kiss, thinking that Dahei was just too sweet. One man and one dog walked slowly, and the dogs from the vige dispersed. When Lu Lingxi arrived at the edge of the Lingshui River, he was followed by two or three dogs. s Speaking of which, the development of the eelgrass ecologicalmunity greatly exceeded Lu Lingxi¡¯s expectations. It had only been a short time but through the ice, you could see that the river flowing out of Lingshui Vige was already crystal clear. Across the river, a wild dog broke the ice to drink water and barked excitedly when it saw Dahei. Dahei always appeared calm, unless he thought there was danger. When he heard the dog barking across the river, he only responded in a low voice and squatted quietly by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side. Lu Lingxi found a stone by the river and broke the ice surface, took out the small bottle he was carrying and filled it with water, intending to go back and test it. Through the thin ice, you could hear the sound of the water rushing below, and the green eelgrass stretched in the water, full of strange beauty. Lu Lingxi was in a good mood all morning because of the purification of the Lingshui River. After breakfast he and Yan Yue went to the nt nursery to have a look around. After they carried a few bags of flower fertiliser to put in the trunk, the two of them prepared to go back to Fengcheng. The first problem they faced was what to do with the little ck snake? Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue were not afraid of snakes, but there was still Wang Shuxiu at home, and it would be bad if she was scared. ¡°Let¡¯s leave it here, the nt nursery is so big, it can move around as it pleases. Just tell Xu San to remember to leave some food for it in the corner every day,¡± Yan Yue said. The little ck snake understood Yan Yue¡¯s meaning, and the tip of its tail wrapped tighter and tighter around his wrist, and in the end it even bit Yan Yue¡¯s sleeve, looking like it refused to leave. Lu Lingxi was a bit soft-hearted, ¡°Why don¡¯t you take it back with you?¡± The little ck snake gave a hiss, and Yan Yue took the opportunity to pick it up by its tail. The little ck snake, with its tail held by Yan Yue, tried hard to hook its body around Yan Yue¡¯s wrist but couldn¡¯t reach it. Yan Yue looked at the silly way it was wriggling and was speechless for a long time before agreeing. Lu Lingxi stroked the little ck snake and named it Xiaohei (Little ck), along the lines of Dahei¡¯s name. ¡°From now on, you will be called Xiaohei, remember?¡± Xiaohei hissed and hooked around Yan Yue¡¯s wrist with satisfaction. Under Yan Yue¡¯s gaze, Xiaohei wrapped tightly and became motionless again. Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t immediately notice that there was an extra snake in the house. It was almost the end of the month, and because of her wedding to Xiao Feng, Wang Shuxiu was a little too busy during this time. On Monday, when the restaurant was less crowded, Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng were going to take wedding photos. Originally, Wang Shuxiu felt that these were unnecessary, she was too old to take any wedding photos. But Xiao Feng insisted on taking them, and also took Lu Lingxi with him, saying that he would take some family photos as well. Wang Shuxiu was happy in her heart, so she agreed. At this time, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t go along with him no matter what. Even if he was thick-skinned, he couldn¡¯t tell Wang Shuxiu that he wanted to be added. The studio Xiao Feng had booked was owned by a friend of his and was very famous in Fengcheng. Because of his friendship with Xiao Feng, the owner of the studio personally received them, and even found the best make-up artist and photographer. Xiao Feng and Lu Lingxi both dressed rather simply, changing their clothes and applying a little make-up. Wang Shuxiu was a bit more troublesome, with four or fiveyers of make-up and a styling session. Xiao Feng didn¡¯t rush and sat patiently waiting for Wang Shuxiu to put on her make-up. The owner of the studio apanied him and chatted with Xiao Feng. He said with some regret: ¡°It would have been better if you had taken photos in summer. We could have gone to the beach and taken a seascape series. Now that it¡¯s bare everywhere outside, we can only shoot indoors, so Sister-inw is a bit wronged.¡± Xiao Feng nodded without taking his eyes off Wang Shuxiu, ¡°She is a bit wronged.¡± Wang Shuxiu was halfway through her make-up when she heard Xiao Feng say this and gave him a rather angry look. Xiao Feng looked at her and a smile appeared on his face. The interaction between the two of them was seen by the studio owner, who thought that Xiao Feng had turned from tempered steel into soft fingers. Who would have thought that Xiao Feng would leave a lot of young girls behind and find a divorced woman with an oil bottle. There were rumours outside that Xiao Feng had closed the venue because of this woman. The studio owner didn¡¯t believe it before, but now it seemed to be true. He felt that Xiao Feng was definitely sincere, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have taken a wedding photo and brought his cheaply-gained son with him. At this thought the studio boss¡¯s eyes fell on Lu Lingxi who was sitting quietly aside. He smiled kindly at Lu Lingxi, ¡°Nephew, we¡¯ll take a family photo seriester. This dog is also on board. It just so happens that there is a pet Tang suit in the shop, so let¡¯s give it a festive outfit, too.¡± ¡°En.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded and looked at Dahei with a faint smile in his eyes. Nowadays it was very popr to dress up pets, and Lu Lingxi had even thought about buying an outfit for Dahei, but unfortunately Dahei didn¡¯t like it, so Lu Lingxi let it be. He still didn¡¯t know what Dahei looked like in clothes. The studio owner gave an order and the staff quickly brought in the clothes. Although Dahei looked very docile, the young girls in the studio still didn¡¯t dare to approach him. Lu Lingxi took the clothes and instructed Dahei to put them on. Dahei was very cooperative and put on a Tang suit with red fortune characters on it and a t leather cap from the same series on his head. When he squatted in front of Lu Lingxi, Lu Lingxi was about tough to death, took a dozen photos of him in one go and sent them to Yan Yue. Yan Yue¡¯s text message came quickly, with a big smiley in it. The studio owner jokingly handed over a pair of sunsses, and Lu Lingxi put them on Dahei, clutching his stomach andughing even harder. Even Xiao Fengughed as he looked at this picture. He was very fond of Dahei. Don¡¯t look at Dahei¡¯s docile and harmless look now, he remembered that Dahei almost bit his leg off. He knew how powerful Dahei was when he saw the dogs in themunity trembling in fear at the sight of Dahei. ¡°Okay.¡± The make-up artist¡¯s voice diverted their attention, ¡°The bride ising out.¡± After he finished speaking, everyone looked towards the changing room. Wang Shuxiu had changed into her wedding dress and slowly walked out. For a moment, Lu Lingxi waspletely dumbfounded. He unconsciously curled up the corners of his mouth, thinking that his mother was really good looking now. Over the past six months, Wang Shuxiu had changed quite a lot. Perhaps it was because she didn¡¯t work at the KTV anymore, but she rarely wore those dresses she used to wear; her clothes had be conservative and the world-weary aura around her was basically invisible. After getting together with Xiao Feng, Wang Shuxiu was in a good mood and her career was going well, so she usually looked radiant. With the make-up artist¡¯s efforts and dressed up, she looked stunning just standing there. The studio boss looked speechless for a moment, understanding Xiao Feng¡¯s choice. A smile slowly appeared on Xiao Feng¡¯s face, and his words were brief and concise, ¡°Looks good.¡± Even though she was ustomed to big storms, when Wang Shuxiu heard Xiao Feng say this, she actually blushed like a young girl. The photo shooting began immediately after Wang Shuxiu changed her clothes. After a few photos were taken, Lu Lingxi felt that it was quite a physical job. Both for the photographer and for the bride and groom taking the pictures. He sat aside with Dahei and quietly watched Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng strike various poses under the photographer¡¯s guidance. ¡°Come on, the two of youe closer together, yes, just like that, one reaching out and putting a hand on the other¡¯s shoulder. Okay, ready for the photo.¡± ¡°Good, very good. Now let¡¯s change the pose, the groom smiles at the bride, yes, just like that, don¡¯t stand still.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and looked at the happy smile spreading across his mother¡¯s face, then looked down and sent a text message to Yan Yue. ¡°Big Brother Yan, I miss you.¡± ¡°Good boy, I miss you too. Let¡¯s find some time to bring Dahei and Xiaohei and take a family photo too.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Lingxi looked at the text message and smiled. The photographer called him. ¡°This time we¡¯ll take a group photo. Xiao Xi takes the big dog and sits on the ground. Yes, the dog crouches there. Put on sunsses and smile for the camera.¡± ¡°Okay, just don¡¯t move, we¡¯re taking the picture.¡± As the photographer¡¯s words were said, the three people and the dog in the photo smiled at the same time, their happiness captured forever. Chapter 95 The shooting of wedding photossted from morning until nine o¡¯clock in the evening. At the end of the day, Lu Lingxi felt that his face was stiff. Because they were friends of the boss, the studio copied all the photos for them that night as a souvenir. Of course, the studio would have to retouch the final photos, so Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng would have toe over and pick out the photos. In the evening when he returned home, Lu Lingxi consciously took a few changes of clothes and went next door, leaving space for Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng. Yan Yue had been waiting for him toe over since he heard the movement next door. As soon as they met, Yan Yue pushed Lu Lingxi onto the sofa and kissed him fiercely. The fact that Xiao Feng had taken Lu Lingxi to have family photos stimted Yan Yue. He wanted to go to Wang Shuxiu for a showdown so that he could stand by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side openly and honestly. But when he thought about Lu Lingxi¡¯s age, Yan Yue had to restrain this thought, just wishing that time could pass faster. Yan Yue¡¯s kisses were wild and passionate, and Lu Lingxi was so flushed and confused by his kisses that his body couldn¡¯t help but tremble as hepletely forgot the existence of Dahei and Xiaohei. When Yan Yue finally stopped, Lu Lingxi opened his eyes in disorientation and gasped for breath as he came back to his senses. When this look of his was seen by Yan Yue, Yan Yue felt his heart be a soft mess and couldn¡¯t help but want to kiss him again. Yan Yue was just about to lower his head when Xiaohei suddenly peeked over from the backrest of the sofa on one side and squeezed in between the two of them, shifting left and right curiously to look at them. Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lu Lingxi was stunned for a few seconds, then buried his head in Yan Yue¡¯s chest andughed in a muffled voice. Afterughing, Lu Lingxi nudged Yan Yue, ¡°Big Brother Yan, I want to go take a shower.¡± After a day of changing clothes and putting on make-up, he felt a bit ufortable. Yan Yue grabbed Xiaohei and threw him away, leaning down and kissing Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes, whispering, ¡°Let¡¯s wash together.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t say anything. Although he and Yan Yue had been ¡°helping each other and seeing each other in all sincerity¡±, they had never taken a shower together. Yan Yue knew that the young man was thin-skinned and smiled as he kissed his eyes, taking his silence to be acquiescence. Unlike theyout of Lu Lingxi¡¯s house, Yan Yue had asked the workers to change the two bedrooms into one room when they renovated the house. Except for the master bedroom, the rest of the house was opened up as long as it wasn¡¯t a load-bearing wall, and the entire second bedroom, living room and kitchen were connected together, making it very spacious. Even the bathroom was double the size of the previous one, so it was no problem at all for two men to get there. Yan Yue put away the change of clothes that Lu Lingxi had brought, and saw Lu Lingxi standing there blushing, looking down at the floor. Heughed softly and coaxed, ¡°Xiao Xi, look at me.¡± In front of Lu Lingxi, Yan Yue began to undress piece by piece. He took his clothes off slowly, as if deliberately letting Lu Lingxi see, undoing the buttons on his shirt one by one. As his fingers moved down, he first revealed his firm chest, followed by his muscr abdomen, the area covered by his shirt and the hidden mermaid line¡­ Lu Lingxi only felt his face flush and his heart pound. His blood instantly surged and his body reacted honestly. s The corners of Yan Yue¡¯s lips hooked, and a smile shed in his eyes. He quickly stripped naked and stood in front of Lu Lingxi with raised eyebrows. ¡°Xiao Xi, it¡¯s your turn to take them off.¡± Yan Yue said with a smile in his voice, cupped Lu Lingxi¡¯s chin and gave him a kiss. Lu Lingxi smiled and blushed so brightly as if blood was dripping from his face. His gaze began to wander. Yan Yue leaned over, his right hand sliding under the hem of Lu Lingxi¡¯s shirt inside, tenderly fondling the smooth skin. ¡°If Xiao Xi doesn¡¯t take it off, I¡¯ll just have to do it for you.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± The sound of water wasing from the bathroom. Dahei squatted in front of the TV with a serious look on his face, pressing the remote to tune in to ¡°Animal World¡±. Xiaohei crawled from the corner towards Dahei, aggrieved, not understanding at all why Yan Yue had thrown him away earlier. ¡°Ssss.¡± Xiaohei showed his tongue at Dahei. Dahei ignored him. Xiaohei hesitantly turned around and tentatively flicked the tip of his tail to hook Dahei¡¯s paw. Seeing that Dahei didn¡¯t stop him, Xiaohei slowly moved forward and hooked Dahei¡¯s front paw a little, gaining an inch and wrapping around it. Dahei nced calmly at Xiaohei hanging on his paw, with the same look in his eyes as he looked at the little kitten upstairs who was always teasing him. Xiaohei hissed ingratiatingly and climbed on top of Dahei¡¯s paw, poking his little head and watching TV with Dahei. The theme of this episode of ¡°Animal World¡± was tropical rainforest. Xiaohei got excited watching the familiar scenes and kept on hissing non-stop. This was where he hade from. ¡°Animal World¡± was going on for a long time before Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue finished their shower. Dahei pressed the remote control to change the channel. The local TV station in Fengcheng was showing an old movie, ¡°The Legend of White Snake¡±. When Dahei pressed this station, it happened to be showing White Snake moulting her skin. Xiaohei¡¯s eyes lit up and the tip of his tail happily patted Dahei, reminding him not to change the channel. When Lu Lingxi got dressed and walked out, he saw Dahei squatting in front of the TV watching ¡°The Legend of White Snake¡±. He stopped in his tracks with some curiosity and nced sideways, worrying whether Dahei would be able to understand it. After watching for a long time Lu Lingxi suddenly remembered something, ¡°Where is Xiaohei?¡± s ¡±Ssss,¡± Xiao Hei, wrapped around Dahei, leaned forward, showing himself. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± At night before going to bed, Lu Lingxi plugged the USB stick into theputer to show Yan Yue the photos taken today. In the photos, Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng were standing side by side, and together with Lu Lingxi and Dahei, they were apletely happy family. Yan Yue looked at them, hugged Lu Lingxi from behind and nibbled on his ear, pointing to one of the photos and saying, ¡°There¡¯s still room for one more person in this position, I¡¯ll ask An Jie to put me in tomorrow.¡± Lu Lingxi giggled and turned his head to look at Yan Yue with shining eyes. Yan Yue looked calm, not embarrassed at all, and said, ¡°There¡¯s also Xiaohei, we¡¯ll be all together in a family photo, the family of Xiao Xi.¡± ¡°En.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded seriously and took the initiative to lean over and kiss Yan Yue. In the next few days there was nothing much going on at Tiny Garden. Yan Yue was busy instead and was away from Tiny Garden most of the time. But he woulde back every night before the shop was closed to pick up Lu Lingxi and take him home. Xiaohei was left with Lu Lingxi by Yan Yue. N.T.¡¯s people wereing to Fengcheng and it wasn¡¯t convenient for Yan Yue to take Xiaohei with him. Lu Lingxi wasn¡¯t used to having Xiaohei wrapped around his wrist, and more often than not, he tucked Xiaohei into his coat pocket. Sometimes there were customers and Xiaohei wanted to climb out, and every time he poked out his head, Lu Lingxi would push him back. A few days in a row, Yan Yue left early and returnedte, and Xiaohei was forced to adapt to the new environment of the pocket. This afternoon, Lu Lingxi was alone in the shop when he suddenly received a call from Wang Shuxiu. Xiao Feng¡¯s elder brother and sister-inw who lived far away in the northwest hade over and everyone was having dinner together in the evening. Xiao Feng¡¯s elder brother was called Xiao Hong. He was only two years older than Xiao Feng. Unlike Xiao Feng, who had left his hometown to struggle in Fengcheng, Xiao Hong was guarding his home in the northwest and his career was flourishing. Over the years, Xiao Hong had been looking forward to Xiao Feng¡¯s marriage. He urged Xiao Feng countless times but Xiao Feng didn¡¯t take it to heart. Xiao Hong thought that he would never be able to see Xiao Feng getting married, but one day Xiao Feng actually took the initiative to say he wanted to get married. Xiao Hong was stunned for two full minutes after hearing the news. He grabbed Xiao Feng to ask him twenty times before he was sure that he had not misheard the news and that Xiao Feng was really getting married. Xiao Hong was overjoyed. Wang Shuxiu was only a few years younger than Xiao Feng, no problem, older people know how to appreciate care. Wang Shuxiu had been married and divorced, no problem, having a failed marriage meant she knew more about how to face marriage properly. Wang Shuxiu also had a son, even more no problem, a ready-made son is simply a bonus. Xiao Hong had no problem at all with the kind of wife Xiao Feng chose. As long as Xiao Feng liked her, Xiao Hong would ept his sister-inw. Since setting the date foring to Fengcheng, Xiao Hong had begun extensive shopping preparations. The meeting gift for Wang Shuxiu and the gift for Lu Lingxi, one box on the left and one box on the right, so many that they almost didn¡¯t fit in the car. As soon as he came to Fengcheng today, Xiao Hong called Xiao Feng to have dinner together in the evening and meet the family. Xiao Feng agreed. After hanging up Wang Shuxiu¡¯s call, Lu Lingxi thought about it and sent a text message to Yan Yue. He exined that Xiao Feng¡¯s elder brother wasing over and that they were going to have dinner together tonight, so Yan Yue didn¡¯t have to pick him up. Yan Yue¡¯s text message came back quickly, ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Lingxi put his phone away and got busy, while on the other side Yan Yue held his phone and couldn¡¯t help but feel sour again. When would he be able to have an official name and status like Xiao Feng? Chapter 96 In the evening Lu Lingxi went to meet Xiao Hong with Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng. It was clear that Wang Shuxiu took this meeting very seriously and deliberately went home to change her clothes. The couple went to the best restaurant in Fengcheng, the Baijia House, where Xiao Hong had booked a private room. Since the Baijia House was located in the west of the city, a bit far from the street of Tiny Garden, Xiao Feng drove over early and picked up Lu Lingxi. Before going out, Lu Lingxi considered leaving Dahei at Dong Zhi¡¯s ce, but Xiao Feng said no, take him with you, they are all family members. Besides, Xiao Hong also liked dogs and had a Tibetan mastiff at home and must have brought it with him this time. When Xiao Feng said this, Lu Lingxi hesitated for a while, and then took Dahei, as well as Xiaohei, whom he put in his pocket. When they got into the car, Wang Shuxiu and Lu Lingxi sat together in the back. Dahei squatted at Lu Lingxi¡¯s feet. Xiao Feng nced at Wang Shuxiu from the rearview mirror, smiled without speaking, and drove. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s face looked as if nothing had happened, but she couldn¡¯t help but feel a little nervous in her heart. Although Xiao Feng always said that his elder brother and sister-inw were nice and not the kind of people who would be nitpicking and looking for shorings, she was still apprehensive. She had only ever felt this way when she went home with Lu Yishui to meet his mother. Lu Lingxi sensed Wang Shuxiu¡¯s nervousness and after thinking for a while whispered, ¡°Mom is very beautiful today.¡± What he said was nonsensical but Wang Shuxiu understood. Dahei gave a ¡°woof¡± following him, and Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t help but smile at Dahei¡¯s hairy face. ¡°Little bastard.¡± As soon as she smiled, the tension in her heart dissipated. She intended to live with Xiao Feng and have a solid life with him. It was best if Xiao Feng¡¯s family liked her, but it didn¡¯t matter if they didn¡¯t like her for the time being. As the old saying goes, you can see people¡¯s hearts over time and you will know what kind of people they are after a long time. Wang Shuxiu was in a rxed mood, and the atmosphere in the car seemed to follow suit. Soon they arrived at the Baijia House. Xiao Hong and his wife Zhou Xiaoman had already arrived. The Baijia House was an antique building, and the private rooms inside were small courtyards separated from each other. The environment was very secluded and even if you brought your pets, you didn¡¯t have to worry about disturbing others. Xiao Feng called Xiao Hong as soon as he got out of the car. When they found the private room, Xiao Hong was already standing at the door waiting for them. Although Xiao Feng and Xiao Hong were brothers, they lookedpletely different. While Xiao Feng was lean and fit, Xiao Hong was tall and big, and looked very strong. Xiao Hong, in particr, was more than half a head taller than Xiao Feng, his height reaching a full 1.9 m. He was wearing a fur coat. When he stood in front of the door and blocked it, he truly personalised the saying ¡°one man can hold the pass and ten thousand cannot pass¡±. He spoke in a loud voice, with the characteristic forthrightness of a man from the northwest, and smiled broadly when he saw Wang Shuxiu and Lu Lingxi from a distance, ¡°Sister-inw and Xiao Xi, we are family now, don¡¯t be polite.¡± Xiao Hong¡¯s kind attitude made thest trace of apprehension in Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heart disappear. With her refreshing temperament, she immediately smiled and called out, ¡°Big brother.¡± Lu Lingxi already knew what to do and followed Wang Shuxiu, calling out obediently, ¡°Uncle.¡± Xiao Hong¡¯s face bloomed with joy as he was called ¡°Uncle¡± and heughed. As soon as Lu Lingxi said that, Xiao Hong pulled out a bulging red envelope from his pocket and handed it over. ¡°Here, Xiao Xi, take it and buy whatever you like.¡± The red envelope was visually loaded with money, and the estimated amount was quite a lot, almost to the point that the red envelope was about to burst. This was the first time Lu Lingxi had ever encountered such a situation, and he was a bit overwhelmed. Wang Shuxiu was also stunned. Xiao Feng smiled and said, ¡°Xiao Xi, take it, it¡¯s a small gift from your uncle.¡± s Lu Lingxi looked at Xiao Feng and hesitantly took it, ¡°Thank you, Uncle.¡± Xiao Hong looked even happier and patted Lu Lingxi¡¯s shoulder vigorously, ¡°Good boy.¡± He had so much strength that Lu Lingxi almost fell to the ground from his p. Xiao Hong smiled and weed them toe in, exining to Wang Shuxiu as they walked, ¡°Your sister-inw is not in good health, so I didn¡¯t let here out.¡± Wang Shuxiu hurriedly said that it was fine. She had heard Xiao Feng say that his sister-inw¡¯s health was a bit weak and that his elder brother was treating her like a treasure. When they entered the room, Xiao Feng¡¯s sister-inw, Zhou Xiaoman, greeted them with a smile. Zhou Xiaoman was more than ten years younger than Xiao Hong and looked very young. She didn¡¯t look like a northerner, with a petite figure and a very gentle smile. When she stood next to Xiao Hong, the two of them could be described as ¡°beauty and the beast¡±. As soon as Xiao Hong saw her, the expression on his face unconsciously softened, and even his loud voice was suppressed, spontaneously and automatically changing from rough to delicate, as he introduced them to her in a gentle voice: ¡°Xiaoman, this is our sister-inw, and this is our nephew.¡± Zhou Xiaoman liked Wang Shuxiu and Lu Lingxi very much, smiling at them in a friendly manner, and when she spoke her voice was as gentle as her appearance. They were about to take their seats when a majestic low growl suddenly sounded from the corner of the room. Xiao Hong immediately smiled and exined, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, it¡¯s our Tibetan mastiff. Xiao Baiwan,e here,¡± Xiao Hong called, turning his head. (Baiwan means ¡®million¡¯ and Xiao here is actually the family¡¯s surname, not ¡®Xiao¡¯ for ¡®little¡¯, as in Xiaohei¡¯s name). Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Xiao Feng smiled helplessly. The Tibetan mastiff raised by his elder brother¡¯s family had a very good pedigree and had a rebellious temperament. When he encountered a pack of wolves, he dared to rush at them, but he was given the name Xiao Baiwan by his elder brother, and his momentum was gone. Following Xiao Hong¡¯s call, a huge ck Tibetan mastiff, looking like a small lion, slowly walked out of the corner of the room and stopped at Xiao Hong¡¯s feet. The Tibetan mastiff¡¯s gaze never left Dahei. With a faint hesitation in his eyes, he barked threateningly at Dahei. Dahei had been on guard since the Tibetan mastiff appeared. Hearing the Tibetan mastiff barking, he reluctantly bared his teeth and also gave a low growl. Sparks flew when the two dogs met, and Xiao Hong gave an unexpected ¡°eek¡±. He had noticed the dog called Dahei with Lu Lingxi outside but hadn¡¯t taken it too seriously. It wasn¡¯t that he looked down on dogs without pedigree, but he liked fierce dogs, and Dahei looked too docile for him. But what he didn¡¯t expect was that Dahei would dare to fight with their Xiao Baiwan, their Xiao Baiwai who dared to fight with the wolves and won in the end. What was even more unexpected was that Dahei¡¯s momentum wasn¡¯t weak against Xiao Baiwan at all and even gave the impression of being on par with Xiao Baiwan. This was the first time that Xiao Hong had been blindsided. He looked at Dahei with interest and reprimanded the Tibetan mastiff in a low voice, ¡°Xiao Baiwan, stop making trouble.¡± The Tibetan mastiff known as Xiao Baiwan reluctantly suppressed his hostility, closed his mouth and stopped barking. Dahei gave Lu Lingxi a low bark. Lu Lingxi reached out and stroked his head. Dahei rubbed his head against his palm affectionately and quieted down as well. However, he was always wary of Xiao Baiwan and followed Lu Lingxi every step of the way, as if protecting him. s Xiao Hong found it even more interesting to watch. This dog was definitely not an ordinary dog, but seemed to be specially trained. But generally the dogs that got this kind of training were dogs like Tibetan mastiffs or bull terriers and other fighting dogs; it was really rare to see a simple dog trained like this. He thought so in his heart but didn¡¯t show it on his face, inviting the people to sit down and eat. Xiao Hong had already inquired about Wang Shuxiu¡¯s and Lu Lingxi¡¯s tastes, so he ordered the food exactly ording to their tastes. Within a short time, Wang Shuxiu and Zhou Xiaoman were chatting together, and there was never a shortage ofmon topics between women. Xiao Feng and Xiao Hong were talking to each other as well, asking Lu Lingxi a few questions every now and then. The meal was a happy one, and they really felt like a family. After the meal, three fruit tes were served. Xiao Hong was telling interesting stories about the mine while eating grapes. He was in the middle of his story when suddenly a ck head poked out from across the table. Xiao Hong¡¯s eyes shed, he flipped his hand and flicked the grape out of his fingers. With a ¡°pop¡± Xiaohei, who had just sneaked from Lu Lingxi¡¯s pocket to the edge of the table, was hit squarely in the head by a grape and fell to the floor, all dizzy. Xiao Baiwan rushed over almost immediately, and Dahei got up abruptly, arching his back and baring his teeth to shield Xiaohei. ¡°What is this?¡± Zhou Xiaoman and Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t know what was happening and were somewhat bewildered. Only then did Lu Lingxi notice that Xiaohei had sneaked out, and he rather sheepishly leaned down and picked up Xiaohei, whispering, ¡°It¡¯s my pet, Xiaohei.¡± Dahei and Xiaohei were obviously the names given by the same person. Before Xiao Hong could say anything, Wang Shuxiu had already raised her eyebrows and pped the table, ¡°Little bastard, you¡¯re actually raising a snake.¡± She had been trying hard to pretend to be dignified in front of Xiao Hong and Zhou Xiaoman all night, but the moment she opened her mouth, all of her efforts immediately were wasted. Xiao Feng looked at her andughed, speaking up for Lu Lingxi, ¡°It¡¯s okay for the boy to raise a snake.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Xiao Hong followed up, ¡°It¡¯s good for the boy to grow up being tough.¡± At first, when he saw Lu Lingxi, he thought that the child was a bit too well-behaved, like a girl. But from the look of Dahei and Xiaohei, he seemed to have been blindsided again. The two of them spoke for Lu Lingxi, and Wang Shuxiu, mindful of the current asion, red at Lu Lingxi and didn¡¯t pursue the matter of Xiaohei. Lu Lingxi breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that his mother was not afraid of snakes either; at least Xiaohei¡¯s road was cleared and he was no longer a hidden member of the family. When they finally finished eating, it was already past nine o¡¯clock. Considering that Xiao Hong had driven all day, Xiao Feng asked them to go back early to rest. The family could gather at any time. Xiao Hong and Zhou Xiaoman took Xiao Baiwan back to Xiao Feng¡¯s ce, and before they left Xiao Baiwan didn¡¯t forget to bark at Dahei through the window in a warning manner. Xiao Fengughed and drove Wang Shuxiu and Lu Lingxi home. On the way, Lu Lingxi kept peeking at Wang Shuxiu¡¯s expression. Wang Shuxiu originally wanted to ignore him with a stern face, but she couldn¡¯t help but feel soft at the little bastard¡¯s expression and scolded him with a smile, ¡°That snake isn¡¯t poisonous, is it?¡± Lu Lingxi hurriedly shook his head, ¡°No, it¡¯s not poisonous, it doesn¡¯t bite, and it¡¯s very obedient.¡± Wang Shuxiu poked him with a finger, ¡°Next time you keep these strange things I¡¯ll throw them away.¡± Lu Lingxi agreed ingratiatingly and praised in a small voice, ¡°Mom is the best.¡± ¡°Little bastard.¡± In the evening Lu Lingxi stayed over at Yan Yue¡¯s ce on the pretext that he was looking for him for something. Before he went to bed, he thought of the red envelope Xiao Hong had given him. It actually contained ten thousand yuan. Yan Yue sat on the edge of the bed with Lu Lingxi and counted the money together, and he couldn¡¯t help but smile when he finished. ¡°This Xiao Hong is quite interesting.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, thinking of the Tibetan mastiff¡¯s name again. ¡°He also named his Tibetan mastiff Xiao Baiwan.¡± He didn¡¯t even know what expression to use when he said it, and wondered how Xiao Hong was able to call it that name openly in front of outsiders. ¡°Xiao Baiwan.¡± Yan Yue was taken aback andughed even louder. Chapter 97 Xiao Hong and Zhou Xiaoman stayed in Fengcheng, and one dayter Xiao Feng brought home a carload of stuff. There were specialties from their hometown in the northwest and gifts that Xiao Hong had specially prepared for Wang Shuxiu and Lu Lingxi, all piled up in a messy way in the trunk. Xiao Hong and Zhou Xiaoman were going to spend New Year here with Xiao Feng this time. The two brothers¡¯ parents were gone. In the past Xiao Feng used to go back home, but now Xiao Feng also had the family, so Xiao Hong and Zhou Xiaoman simply came over. Now there were still two months before the New Year, and the two of them nned to go to Zhongjing after Xiao Feng got married. Xiao Hong told Xiao Feng privately that travelling to Zhongjing was the second priority, mainly because Xiaoman wanted to check her body. The two had been married for ten years and had never had children. They had also been checked before, and the doctors all said that their health was fine. But if their bodies were fine, why couldn¡¯t they have a child? Xiao Hong himself didn¡¯t care. If they didn¡¯t have children, then they didn¡¯t have children. It was good to live a lifetime with just the two of them. But Zhou Xiaoman couldn¡¯t get past this hurdle. She felt Xiao Hong was wronged for not having children. ¡°If you and Sister-inw hurry up and have a baby, it¡¯s good. Of course, it doesn¡¯t matter if Sister-inw doesn¡¯t want to have one. Xiao Xi is a very good child and is no different from your own. We big men have big hearts. It doesn¡¯t matter if there are children or not, whether they are biological or not, our wives are the ones who live with us a lifetime.¡± Xiao Feng thought about his elder brother¡¯s advice and shook his head with a smile. He didn¡¯t n to have children when he and Xiaohua got married. Xiaohua wasn¡¯t too young; it was too dangerous to have children at this age. Just like what his elder brother said, Xiao Xi was very good, no different from his biological son. Xiao Feng hadn¡¯t even thought about having a family before, but now that he had a wife and a kid, what else was there to wish for? He didn¡¯t think much about it. On the contrary, when he talked to Wang Shuxiu about his sister-inw at night, Wang Shuxiu thought of something and hesitantly asked him, ¡°Why don¡¯t we have one?¡± Xiao Feng was stunned, not expecting Wang Shuxiu to have this idea. ¡°Is it not enough to have Xiao Xi? What¡¯s the point of tossing and turning at your age?¡± He said it casually and Wang Shuxiu was immediately dissatisfied: ¡°You think I¡¯m too old?¡± Xiao Feng was surprised to learn that women, whether they were 20, 30 or 40, could never hear anyone saying that they were too old. He looked Wang Shuxiu up and down and thought that no one would believe Xiaohua if she went out and said she was in her early forties. But if she had a child, Xiao Feng mused, ¡°¡­is indeed a bit too old.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Xiao Feng didn¡¯t have much experience in coaxing women, but he also knew that his next words would have a bearing on whether he slept in bed or on the floor tonight. ¡°Didn¡¯t we agree before? I will treat Xiao Xi like my own son. Since we already have Xiao Xi, there¡¯s no need to have another one. Xiaohua, you are also at an advanced maternal age, which is not good for your health. Besides, if we have one, what will Xiao Xi think?¡± What he said was all considered from Wang Shuxiu¡¯s point of view. Wang Shuxiu was relieved but instead of the previous hesitation, she felt that she should have a child with Xiao Feng. Xiao Xi¡¯s surname was still Lu. Even though he was good, he was still different from Xiao Feng¡¯s own child. Marriage is like that, the two of them were considerate about each other. Xiao Feng thought of her in every way, and she couldn¡¯t be selfish and think only of herself. When it came to her health, she didn¡¯t know if it was just her illusion, but despite being so busytely, she didn¡¯t feel tired at all, as if she was back to her younger days, being in great spirits. As for Xiao Xi, Wang Shuxiu red at Xiao Feng, ¡°It¡¯s Xiao Xi who told me to have another child. He wants a younger brother or sister.¡± Xiao Fengughed and hugged Wang Shuxiu, ¡°Alright, children can¡¯t be born just because you want them, just let it be.¡± The two reached a unity on this matter and decided not to n anything intentionally. After all, the two were really old and it was hard to say whether they could have children or not. s For several days in a row, Xiao Hong called Xiao Feng and his family to have dinner together in the evening, and Dahei and Xiaohei were there every time; except for Yan Yue, who had not yet been given a ¡°name and status¡± and had to stay home alone. Yan Yue was upset, but there was no way to follow, so he could only turn his depression into work motivation. While Lu Lingxi was out for dinner, he convened a meeting at home with Dezhi¡¯s people. For a while, Dezhi¡¯s senior management called An Jie to ask if Yan Yue had been dumped. Their former workaholic boss had returned and even became more deranged, always preferring to pick meetings at four or five in the morning abroad, in the fancy name of taking care of the boss¡¯s jetg. With this kind of perverted supervision from Yan Yue, the coboration between Dezhi and N.T. went very smoothly. It wasn¡¯t the first time the two had worked together, and although thest coboration had fallen through due to N.T.¡¯s own reasons, the two sides had built up a good mutual trust. This time, Yan Yue invited N.T. to invest in the research and development of donglingcao, and N.T. immediately agreed to it. It must be said that Su Lang¡¯s application documents were very good and quite stimting. Even a fool would think that the project was extremely promising and would definitely make money if they invested. Of course, the premise of all this was that the research was progressing smoothly. In this regard, Su Lang¡¯s colleague, Huo Weiping, the head of the institution, was very confident. He was the one who discovered the usefulness of donglingcao in the pre-treatment of leukaemia, and he himself was quite optimistic about the research on donglingcao. The only problem was theck of money. After Su Lang approached Dezhi Investment, Huo Weiping specially asked his friends abroad to check and make sure that Deji Investment wasn¡¯t a fraud but a real investmentpany. When Dezhi approached N.T., Huo Weiping was even more relieved. The three parties discussed the details of the cooperation several times and were almost ready to finalise the cooperation. The fact that Yan Yue¡¯s progress was going well meant that Huo Weiping had rejected Hopewell¡¯s offer. Whether it was Yin Ya or Yan Shihui himself who sent someone over, Huo Weiping wasn¡¯t interested in their proposals. He had no good feelings towards theserge conglomerates. No matter how good the initial talks were, when the research results came out, they would always have a way to take them for themselves. At that time he would be an ordinary researcher and would have no right to say anything. Compared with thesergepanies, he was more willing to pull venture capital, so that it was clear at a nce who paid and who contributed. Yan Shihui could still be calm about Huo Weiping¡¯s indifference, but Yin Ya was a bit anxious. She was now struggling in Hopewell. If she missed the opportunity to develop biotechnology, she would bepletely excluded from the central circle of Hopewell. Thinking about Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯sst proposal, Yin Ya made up her mind to go back to Fengcheng again. Two dayster, Yan Yue, N.T. and Huo Weiping signed a cooperation agreement, but only a dayter another person in charge of Huo Weiping¡¯s organisation, Zhang Jian, chose to break up with Huo Weiping and took his research materials to Hopewell in Zhongjing. Huo Weiping was furious and worried that this would affect his cooperation with Dezhi and N.T. Who knew that neither Yan Yue nor N.T. cared. This kind of thing was verymon and they were all prepared for it. Hopewell¡¯s actions would only damage its reputation and be a little too short-sighted in the long run, especially for a new biotechpany. Not to mention that the main force behind this research was still Huo Weiping, and Zhang Jian was just helping Huo Weiping before, as long as Huo Weiping didn¡¯t lose his head, the final winner would inevitably be them. And Yan Yue didn¡¯t mention that he still had the trump card ¨C nt evolution ¨C which was something Hopewell couldn¡¯t do anyway. The dust soon settled and Lu Lingxi only knew that Yan Yue had decided to invest in Su Lang¡¯s research, not knowing what was going on behind the scenes. It was only when Elder Su came to the shop and talked about his righteous indignation that Lu Lingxi learned that Su Lang¡¯s organisation had split into two parts and that the other person in charge had reneged on his trust and ran away with their research materials. s Lu Lingxi was a bit busy these days, and Yan Yue was also busy with the coboration. The two of them only talked at night before going to bed, and Yan Yue didn¡¯t even have time to make out with him, let alone talk about such disappointing things. After seeing off Elder Su, Lu Lingxi took out the mutated donglingcao from behind the cashier¡¯s desk. The donglingcao had grown well in the past few days, its colour was lush and very pleasing to the eye, but there was still no sign of evolution. ¡°Why don¡¯t you evolve?¡± Lu Lingxi whispered to the donglingcao. He wasn¡¯t in a hurry before, thinking that it would be good for the donglingcao to evolve slowly. But thinking about what Elder Su had told him, Lu Lingxi began to get a little anxious. Yan Yue didn¡¯t say anything, so Lu Lingxi wondered if Yan Yue was afraid that he would worry. What if Yan Yue¡¯s investment failed this time? It was fine if he lost to someone else, but if he lost to Hopewell, Yan Yue would be ufortable in his heart. These thoughts were messy. Lu Lingxi wanted to do something to help Yan Yue, but he didn¡¯t know what to do. The only thing he could do seemed to be to evolve the donglingcao as soon as possible. But why didn¡¯t the nt evolve? As Lu Lingxi thought about it, the white panel suddenly floated in front of him. nt name: Mutated donglingcao nt needs: none nt vitality: very high The nt is disturbed by the host¡¯s mental interference. Forcibly start the evolution? A small green line at the bottom of the panel caught Lu Lingxi¡¯s attention. After being taken aback for a moment, he reacted quickly. The host should be referring to him, and his mental interference could be referring to his strong desire to make the donglingcao evolve? In any case, Lu Lingxi decisively chose ¡°yes¡±. The host forcibly initiates the nt evolution; deducting the power of nature -5. The nt meets the evolution conditions and begins to evolve. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Since he used up all the power of naturest time, he tried his best but had not collected any power of nature again. Unexpectedly, now he actually owed the panel five points of power of nature at once. Fortunately, donglingcao finally evolved, although the panel didn¡¯t indicate the direction of donglingcao¡¯s evolution. Lu Lingxi carefully put the donglingcao¡¯s flowerpot behind the cashier¡¯s desk, ready to take it home to Yan Yue in the evening. When it was almost time to leave work, Wang Shuxiu called again, talking about dinner together in the evening. Lu Lingxi found an excuse to decline. When she heard that something was going on at the shop, Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t say anything. Lu Lingxi breathed a sigh of relief and sent a text message to Yan Yue, saying that he would be able to go home after work tonight. Yan Yue¡¯s text message came back quickly, ¡°I¡¯ll pick you up.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Lingxi put his phone away and thought about going to see donglingcao. Its look was simply astonishing. The donglingcao, which was still lush and luxuriant at noon, quickly withered in the afternoon, and all of its leaves fell off clean. The white panel floated in front of him as the mental scan spread out. nt Name: First-ss mutated donglingcao nt needs: none nt vitality: very high The panel showed that there was nothing wrong with the donglingcao, but why had all the leaves fallen off? Lu Lingxi looked at the bare donglingcao and suddenly his mind was blessed with a thought. He thought of the reason why the donglingcao wouldn¡¯t evolve. Unlike most nts that fall into dormancy in winter, the unique properties of the donglingcao itself dictated that it would grow in a different form in winter. He had kept it in the shop at a room temperature of over 20 degrees, so it would not have evolved without going through the necessary growth stages. With this in mind, Lu Lingxi simply ced the donglingcao outside Tiny Garden. In a short while, the nt was covered with thin, cicada-wing-like ice kes of various shapes. Unlike the glittering white ice kes Lu Lingxi had seen in the picture, the ice kes in front of him had a hint of light blue, shining under the light with an indescribable beauty. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± As soon as Yan Yue got out of the car, he saw Lu Lingxi squatting in front of the shop looking at something. ¡°Big Brother Yan.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes lit up and he excitedly pulled Yan Yue over to look at the donglingcao. ¡°Look, the donglingcao has evolved.¡± He said, reaching out to poke the ice kes on top of the donglingcao, and as he did so, the ice kes trembled slightly as if they were butterflies spreading their wings. Yan Yue¡¯s lips curled up, forming a soft arc. He rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair and praised without mincing words, ¡°Xiao Xi is really great.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled, ¡°Big Brother Yan, do you think donglingcao looks good like this?¡± ¡°It looks good.¡± ¡°I think it looks pretty good, too.¡± Lu Lingxi said seriously, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that many ces choose to cultivate donglingcao and use it as andscape nt in winter. If there¡¯s no progress on Dr. Su¡¯s side of the research, we can try to work in that direction as well.¡± He spoke in a serious manner, and Yan Yue¡¯s heart suddenly throbbed. Lu Lingxi obviously knew from somewhere that something had happened to Huo Weiping¡¯s institution and used this way to gentlyfort him. Yan Yue felt his heart to be a soft mess; his eyes were warm as he looked at Lu Lingxi, ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll do as Xiao Xi says.¡± Chapter 98 When Yan Yue found out about Lu Lingxi¡¯s forced nt evolution, he pressured him to go to the hospital the next day to have his body checked. This was already the second time Yan Yue had asked Lu Lingxi to have a full body check-up. Thest time was when Yan Yue got to know about the existence of the white panel and dragged Lu Lingxi to have a check-up at once. After half a day¡¯s examination, although there were some results that could take a few days to see, the current situation seemed to be that Lu Lingxi¡¯s body was very healthy and there was nothing wrong at all. ¡°Look, I¡¯ve said it¡¯s fine.¡± Lu Lingxi whispered defiantly. Perhaps because of his experience in his previous life, he was subconsciously repulsed by physical examinations. But his resistance was useless in front of Yan Yue. Yan Yue rubbed his hair, his voice low and doting, ¡°Be obedient and see what the doctor says.¡± Lu Lingxi reluctantly agreed, and Yan Yue looked at him gently, ¡°Next time, no matter what the reason is, don¡¯t turn on the nt evolution forcibly.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. This time he had started the nt evolutionpletely unintentionally; he didn¡¯t know that the panel would be disturbed by his emotions. Next time, if it wasn¡¯t an emergency, he definitely wouldn¡¯t force the evolution without Yan Yue¡¯s instructions. He owed the panel five points of the power of nature and he was heartbroken. The two of them were standing in the hospital corridor talking when Su Lang pushed the door of the office open from inside and saw Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi. Su Lang was a little surprised and quickly greeted them. Yan Yue raised his eyebrows; he didn¡¯t expect to meet Su Lang by such a coincidence. He habitually put one hand on Lu Lingxi¡¯s shoulder in a possessive gesture and smiled at Su Lang. ¡°Why are you guys at the hospital? Xiao Xi is not feeling well?¡± Su Lang saw the checklist Lu Lingxi was holding in his hand. Lu Lingxi shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s just a physical examination.¡± Su Lang suddenly asked, ¡°Or is it about the injury back then?¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t deny it, sort of acquiescing to his statement. ¡°You should havee another day, the hospital is crowded today, and it takes half a day to queue up to pay.¡± ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± What Su Lang said was exactly what Yan Yue was wondering about. The hospital was unexpectedly crowded today and felt like a vegetable market. Su Lang sighed and nodded. ¡°Collective cyanide poisoning. Patients have been sent here one after another since midnightst night, and I heard that they are all from the same vige.¡± Su Lang had ssmates who worked at this hospital, and he came over today for some personal business, just when his ssmates were at their busiest. ording to Su Lang¡¯s analysis, the only reason for such a massive cyanide poisoning would be that the vige¡¯s drinking water had been contaminated, and it was likely that someone had deliberately poisoned it. The hospital obviously thought the same and after receiving a certain number of patients decisively chose to call the police, who were now involved in the matter. Hearing Su Lang mention cyanide, Yan Yue frowned slightly, ¡°Do you know which vige it is?¡± ¡°It seems to be Songjia Vige in the north.¡± Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue looked at each other and probably understood what was going on. The two understood but the police were not sure. After Fang Lei received the call from the hospital, he immediately rushed to the hospital. Directly afterwards, theyunched an investigation into these patients who were hospitalised and the patients¡¯ rtives, but nothing unusual was found. After learning that these people were all residents of Songjia Vige, Fang Lei again led his men to Songjia Vige. ording to Fang Lei¡¯s judgement, this was clearly a case of deliberate poisoning. It was just that he had asked, and although the poisoned people were all from the same vige, there were all kinds of people, so it wasn¡¯t a targeted poisoning, but more like an indiscriminate poisoning. Fang Lei was puzzled, how much of a grudge must there be against Songjia? With this question in mind, Fang Lei rushed to Songjia. In the past few days, the power supply in Song Vige was unstable and there were frequent power outages. The people of the vige would sometimes go to an old well at the back of the vige to fetch water when they needed it urgently. Fang Lei looked around the old well for a long time and ordered someone to collect some water and bring it back for testing. If there was no mistake, this well should be the one that was poisoned. This was also proved by the poisoned patients in the hospital; all the people who had been poisoned had someone in their families toe there to fetch water. Some vigers looked at the old well and felt happy, ¡°Fortunately, tworge water tanks at home were filled up and we didn¡¯te here to fetch water.¡± Fang Lei guessed that it could have been done by people in the vige. Taking advantage of the power outage in the vige, knowing that the vige people were going to use the well, someone deliberately poisoned it. Just before he could say anything, a youngster shouted, ¡°It must be someone from Lingshui Vige. Lingshui Vige is the only one around here who has a grudge against us.¡± s ¡°Lingshui Vige? What¡¯s going on?¡± Fang Lei asked. Seeing that Fang Lei asked, the young man who spoke added fuel to the fire and told them about thest conflict between the stic factory and Lingshui Vige, with emphasis on the strange incident of the dogs surrounding the stic factory. The young people in the vige didn¡¯t believe in the rumours of a dog king and were determined that someone was behind all this, and that it must have been the people of Lingshui Vige. He spoke in graphic detail; from hearing the wolf howl and discovering that the vige dogs were causing trouble until the dogs surrounding the stic factory and them going out to rescue the people there, the plot was simply a series of twists and turns, ups and downs, and for a while even the few policemen around were fascinated. ¡°Is it really true?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s true.¡± The young man patted his chest and assured that everyone in their vige knew about it, and basically everyone in the nearby viges knew about it too, so feel free to go out and ask around, you will definitely not be lied to. The few vigers around him heard this and nodded, following along with the assurance that what the youngster said was true. One of the policemen wanted to continue to ask but Fang Lei interrupted him, ¡°What does the truth or falsehood of the story have to do with this case? We are here to solve the case, not to listen to stories.¡± But what the young man said about the conflict with Lingshui Vige was a clue; he could go to Lingshui Vige and take a look. Leaving the two men to continue checking in the vige, Fang Lei asked for directions to Lingshui Vige and drove there alone. From a distance, he saw a little boy, four or five years old, hiding outside a small courtyard at the entrance of the vige, doing something. A big yellow dog was following the little boy. Not long after, the door of the small courtyard opened and a man in his thirties came out. The little boy¡¯s eyes lit up and he patted the big dog beside him, which lurched forward and blocked the man who had juste out. The man panicked at the sight of the big dog and instinctively tried to run back, but soon there were several more dogs at the entrance to the small courtyard, blocking his retreat. Because of Dahei, Fang Lei was very interested in dogs and subconsciously watched them carefully. He saw that the dogs behind the man seemed to know the man and hesitated to block his way. But the big yellow dog crouched low and growled threateningly. The dogs behind the man looked very afraid of the big yellow dog and didn¡¯t dare to move after the big yellow had growled at them, firmly blocking the man¡¯s way back. The man among the dogs was on the verge of tears. Another old dog came out of the yard. This one didn¡¯t seem to be afraid of the big yellow dog outside at all, barking loudly at the big yellow dog. The two dogs faced each other at a distance, and the big yellow dog moved its gaze from the old dog to the man, bared its teeth, turned around and slowly walked away. The initial interest on Fang Lei¡¯s face turned into surprise. He had the illusion that the two dogs just now seemed to be negotiating. This feeling was too obvious, but how could it be? That big yellow dog looked fierce, so why would it be afraid of an old dog? And why would it retreat? Fang Lei shook his head, thinking that he must have been influenced by Dahei. After seeing such an intelligent dog as Dahei, he seemed to feel that all the dogs around him had be intelligent. When Fang Lei drove past the entrance of the vige, the man who had been blocked by the dog before already ran away, but the little boy and the big yellow dog were still in the same ce. The big yellow dog was barking in a low voice at the little boy, who nodded in a serious manner, as if he could understand what the big yellow dog was saying. s The thought was so absurd that Fang Lei collected his thoughts and refocused his mind on the case. Behind the car, Dong Xiaolei stroked Ah Huang¡¯s head and said seriously, ¡°I see, it¡¯s Dahei who won¡¯t let you scare Xu San, right? Next time Brother Xiao Xies, I¡¯m going to talk to Brother Xiao Xi about it. Xu San is a bad guy, we are not doing a bad thing by scaring him, we are doing a good thing, right, Ah Huang?¡± The big yellow dog barked, seemingly agreeing with Dong Xiaolei¡¯s words. Dong Xiaolei hugged Ah Huang and grinned widely. A wall away from the small courtyard, the old dog squatted on the ground, looked at Uncle Li and barked a few times. Uncle Li sighed. Xu San used to bully Yu Xiaojuan and her son when Yu Xiaojuan¡¯s husband passed away. Xu San would alwayse to Yu Xiaojuan¡¯s house to make trouble. Who would expect the boy, Xiao Shi, to take it to heart and seek revenge when he found a chance. He realised that Xu San was afraid of dogs, so he asked Ah Huang toe and scare Xu San. Uncle Li thought that next time he would have to talk to Xiao Xi. He couldn¡¯t let Xiao Shi do this. It was good to be able tomunicate with dogs, but it had to be used in the right way; Xiao Shi, that boy, couldn¡¯t be allowed to go astray. Fang Lei didn¡¯t know about these things. He drove straight to Li Dayong, the vige chief of Lingshui Vige, and asked what happened during the previous conflict with Songjia Vige. ¡°What happened? It¡¯s been a few months ago?¡± Li Dayong was suspicious and looked at Fang Lei with apprehension. Fang Lei didn¡¯t hide anything from him and directly told him about the poisoning of most of the people in Songjia Vige. Li Dayong, who was honest but not stupid, immediately understood that he suspected them of doing it and immediatelyined about injustice, ¡°We did have some conflicts with Songjia, but the matter was settled long ago. Besides, they were the ones who were in the wrong, and they were the ones who bullied people! It was because they had built a stic factory that was polluting the river behind the vige, and I went to them a few times, but they refused to shut it down. How can this poisoning be med on our vige? Besides, there aren¡¯t many young people in our vige, most of us are old men and women. These people don¡¯t look like people who can go and poison anyone, do they?¡± Li Dayong was afraid that Fang Lei wouldn¡¯t believe him, and as the vige had just counted the insurance contributions, he hurriedly took out the list of contributions and showed it to Fang Lei. From the photos posted it looked like most of the people in the vige were really old people and there were not many young people. Fang Lei took a look at the list and then chatted with Li Dayong for a while. When he reached the entrance of the vige, he saw the little boy again. The little boy stepped on his dog, trying to climb a tree, but now he was hanging on a branch and couldn¡¯t get up, and his face turned red. Fang Leiughed, thinking that this little boy was naughty enough. He stopped the car on a whim and walked over towards the little boy. ¡°Grr.¡± The big yellow dog under the little boy¡¯s feet immediately turned its head and growled at him. Fang Lei wasn¡¯t afraid of dogs, but looking at this dog that was about to pounce if he dared toe any closer, he stopped in his tracks. When Dong Xiaolei heard the movement behind him, he tugged on the branch and jumped down, looked at Fang Lei and the police car behind him, and said curiously, ¡°Are you a police officer?¡± Fang Lei nodded. Dong Xiaolei¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Are you here to catch the bad guy? I know where the bad guy is.¡± Fang Leiughed in his heart and cooperated by asking, ¡°Where is the bad guy?¡± ¡°There.¡± Dong Xiaolei pointed to the courtyard at the entrance of the vige, ¡°The bad guy is there. No¡­¡± He immediately changed his words, ¡°The bad guy just got off work, now there are only good guys here. Uncle Policeman, do you want to catch the bad guy? I know where the bad guy lives.¡± As soon as Fang Lei heard that, he understood that the bad guy in the little boy¡¯s eyes was probably the man he had just scared with his dog. He stifled augh and said, ¡°I¡¯m here to catch other bad guys, this one will have to wait for another time.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Dong Xiaolei muttered with some dissatisfaction but his attention was soon drawn to the other bad guys Fang Lei was talking about, ¡°What bad guys?¡± Fang Lei didn¡¯t take it too seriously and said casually, ¡°Someone in the vige in front of us has been poisoned by drinking water. I¡¯vee to catch the bad guy who poisoned the water.¡± ¡°Poisoned? Is it a stomach ache from drinking water?¡± The people who were sent to the hospital basically had no life-threatening injuries, just stomach pains and physical difort. Thinking about it, Fang Lei nodded. When Dong Xiaolei saw him nod, he immediately shouted, ¡°I know how they were poisoned.¡± His cry was tantamount to a stone-shattering shock. Although Fang Lei didn¡¯t think a little kid knew anything, he still couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°How did they get poisoned?¡± Dong Xiaolei blurted out, ¡°They must have drunk the water from the river; Ah Huang said the water in the river was poisonous and his stomach hurt when he drank it.¡± Ah Huang¡­ Fang Lei¡¯s eyes fell on the big yellow dog on the side. For a moment the corners of his mouth twitched and he was speechless. Chapter 99 Fang Lei didn¡¯t take the little boy¡¯s words seriously at first. Who would listen to a dog? He thought it was entirely a whimsical idea of the little boy, just like something told in many fairy tales. But when he left the vige of Lingshui and returned to Songjia Vige, he unconsciously walked to the Lingshui River. The weather this year was unusually cold and the Lingshui River had long since frozen over. The dark surface of the ice seemed to be bottomless under the sunlight, and Fang Lei knew that this was because the river was polluted. He stared at the ice in a daze, wondering why the words that the boy had said came back to his mind. ¡°Ah Huang said that the water in the river was poisonous and his stomach hurt when he drank it.¡± The words seemed like a magic spell that kept spinning in his head. In a sh of intuition, Fang Lei thought of something and found a tool to cut through the ice to get some water and instructed his men to take it back and test it. The test results soon came out. The water quality in the Lingshui River was the same as that in the well water, the cyanide limit in both exceeded the standard, and even the cyanide content in both was exactly the same. After finding out that the river had flooded several times due to heavy summer rains, Fang Lei guessed what the poisoning was all about. To prove his point, he had the nearby soil and groundwater tested and determined that they were contaminated with exactly the same toxic substances as those in the well water. The so-called ¡°poisoning¡± ident could be said to have been self-inflicted by the people of Songjia Vige, caused by the stic factory that had previously ceased production. After hearing what Fang Lei said, all the people in Songjia were stunned. Song Wancai reacted the most, ¡°It wasn¡¯t poisoned, but we did it ourselves?¡± Fang Lei nodded; he was relieved when the results came out. The social impact of environmental pollution poisoning was different from that of someone deliberately poisoning arge area; thetter could easily cause panic among the people, and if the case couldn¡¯t be solved at once, it could be a big problem. Out of the goodness of his heart, Fang Lei didn¡¯t forget to remind the vigers, ¡°I¡¯m afraid thesends can¡¯t be nted for a year or two, there are too many toxic substances in the soil, and even if they are nted, the harvest will be bad.¡± ¡°What, even thend can¡¯t be nted?¡± As soon as he finished speaking, the vige immediately erupted. Since the stic factory had closed down, people in the vige were discussing whether they should rent out theirnd like Lingshui and Shigouhe, so that they could make some money. Now when they heard that they couldn¡¯t farm thend, the ie would be lost again, wouldn¡¯t it? Fang Lei looked at them helplessly. He was a police officer solving cases, not the one to lead the vigers to get rich. This kind of thing couldn¡¯t be solved by talking to him. ¡°All right, that¡¯s it for this case. You guys pay attention not to go to the well to draw water, and notify everyone in the vige that no one was doing anything criminal behind this case.¡± After saying this, Fang Lei didn¡¯t stay in Songjia Vige much longer. He still had to go back and write a report. After driving out of the vige, Fang Lei hesitated for a few seconds and turned in the direction of Lingshui Vige. For the past two days he had been thinking about that big yellow dog. He should not have believed in this, but for some reason, the words that the little boy said always came back to his mind. And the way the little boy and the big yellow dog got along made him think: what if it was true? Fang Lei drove all the way to Lingshui Vige and saw the little boy and the big yellow dog again from afar. The boy and the dog were squatting in front of a small courtyard by the road, talking about something, and from his angle it really looked like they weremunicating. s Fang Lei thought he must be crazy. Dong Xiaolei was quite happy to see Fang Lei again. He had lost his father a long time ago and his impression of his dad was only from the photos. But Dong Xiaolei felt that his dad should have been like Fang Lei, going around catching bad guys and looking majestic. ¡°Hello, Uncle Policeman.¡± Fang Lei smiled, ¡°Hello, Xiao Shi. What are you doing? Waiting to catch the bad guy again?¡± Dong Xiaolei pouted and shook his head, ¡°The bad guyined to Brother Xiao Xi. Brother Xiao Xi doesn¡¯t let Ah Huang bully people and said he wanted to give the bad guy a chance to correct himself.¡± Perhaps it was because the first time they met Fang Lei was wearing a police uniform, Dong Xiaolei trusted him a lot and wasn¡¯t at all wary. ¡°Brother Xiao Xi is right, bad guys should be punished for their mistakes, but if they admit their mistakes, they should be given a chance to correct themselves.¡± Fang Lei said patiently. He also felt that Dong Xiaolei¡¯s behaviour of letting the dog scare people was inappropriate. If no one controlled him, the boy would grow up to be a real bear kid (bear kids ¨C naughty, ignorant and uneducated children). Dong Xiaolei¡¯s eyes shed, ¡°Then how do we know the bad guy is really admitting his mistake? What if he lies to me?¡± Fang Lei had a bit of a headache with this question; he had never dealt with such a young child before. Were all children nowadays so smart? Fang Lei deliberated, ¡°This depends on the attitude of the bad guy admitting his mistake¡­¡± One big and one small guy squatted there and talked. Dong Xiaolei seemed to be very interested in catching the bad guys, asking questions around the topic. Fang Lei finally found an opportunity to shift the topic to Ah Huang, and Dong Xiaolei immediately became hesitant. After telling the uncle policeman about Ah Huang before, Dong Xiaolei regretted it. Brother Xiao Xi said that this was his secret with Ah Huang and he shouldn¡¯t tell others casually. ¡°Uncle Policeman, I¡¯m going home to eat.¡± Dong Xiaolei got up and ran, with Ah Huang following him in a sh. Fang Lei looked at him with a smile. This kid, ying such a trick on him; he wondered if the adults had instructed him to do so. Fang Lei thought about that crazy idea of his and shook his head. s For several days in a row, Fang Lei came to Lingshui Vige to look for Dong Xiaolei when he had free time. Children in the vige usually didn¡¯t go to kindergarten, they went straight to primary school when they reached the age. Dong Xiaolei was five years old, not yet old enough to go to primary school, and every day he just ran around the vige with Ah Huang. Because his friends thought he was a liar, no one would y with him. Dong Xiaolei didn¡¯t mind either, he had Ah Huang and Brother Xiao Xi, and now he had an extra uncle policeman. Although the policeman uncle looked nice, Dong Xiaolei remembered Lu Lingxi¡¯s instructions not to talk about Ah Huang anymore. But what did Fang Lei do? He got the words out of his mouth without much effort. It was just that Fang Lei still couldn¡¯t believe it. How could peoplemunicate with animals? Was it only such a special case as Xiao Shi or could other people do it too? He had a vague idea that if the police dogs in the team could alsomunicate with people, it would be so convenient to solve crimes and catch thieves in the future. His frequent appearances had long been on Xu San¡¯s radar. Xu San suspected that Fang Lei was a human trafficker and wondered if there were rumours of lost children nearby. But Xu San didn¡¯t tell Uncle Li; instead he quietly kept an eye on Fang Lei. He was hoping that if Fang Lei was really a trafficker, he would jump in and save Xiao Shi at a critical moment and reverse his impression in Xiao Shi¡¯s mind. He would not have to be chased by Ah Huang every day and get scared to death. Everyone had different thoughts, but Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know this. The number of times he came to the nt nursery recently wasn¡¯t much. Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng would soon be married and Lu Lingxi was a bit busy, so he entrusted all the nt nursery matters to Uncle Li and called every day or two. He heard Uncle Li say that the people in Songjia Vige were all right. After being discharged from the hospital this time, the vige people scolded Song Wancai. They all thought it was him who disregarded everyone¡¯s health for the sake of money, and now that something had happened, it was Song Wancai¡¯s responsibility. Lu Lingxi felt that Song Wancai had been wronged. His opinion wasn¡¯t asked when the vige was making money, but he was the one who took the me when things went wrong. Songjia¡¯s case was so big that Fengcheng TV station made a special news feature on the importance of environmental protection. There were rumours in Fengcheng that the city government was going to ban all kinds of small factories in the suburbs, and that it would continue to pay close attention to environmental protection next year. Amidst all these rumours, the purification of the Lingshui River¡¯s situation was on the agenda. Chapter 100 As a heavily industrial city, Fengcheng had many polluted rivers, and the Lingshui River really didn¡¯t rank high among them. It was just that Songjia¡¯s poisoning had be so big that the higher-ups had to make the Lingshui River the first priority for purification. Yan Yue received news that the funds for the management of the Lingshui River had been approved, and now it was up to the Environmental Protection Bureau when to start the external tender. ¡°It should be at the beginning of the year.¡± Yan Yue gave Lu Lingxi an analysis, ¡°Right now the river is still frozen, so it¡¯s impossible to purify it. When the bidding is done at the beginning of the year, the ice will be gone by the beginning of spring and the timing will be right. How about that? Are you sure?¡± He finished, asking with a smile. Lu Lingxi gestured for Yan Yue to look at the windowsill, on which was a pot of aquatic chlorophytum. The water inside was fetched from the downstream section of the Lingshui River, and the toxic cyanide in it had been purified. Lu Lingxi raised his chin with pride and the smile on Yan Yue¡¯s face deepened as he continued: ¡°The scale of purification this time is notrge and it should not be eye-catching to manypanies. At that time if we let Ye Sange say hello, it won¡¯t be a problem to win this project. As long as the effect of eelgrass is outstanding, we will hire someone to promote it and our fame will be out there.¡± Tiny Garden Technology Company now had some name in the circle, and theunch of the new chlorophytum had earned Tiny Garden a good reputation. If the eelgrass could also be a big sess, Tiny Garden¡¯s position would be further consolidated. If simr tenders for pollution control were carried out in the future, they would be able topete for them. After listening to Yan Yue¡¯s ns, Lu Lingxi thought about it and felt that he would have to continue growing aquatic nts in the pond next year. The evolution of the eelgrass was only for cyanide; other water source problems included the excess of heavy metals, eutrophication of water, toxic organic matter deposition, and the eelgrass couldn¡¯t solve all the problems. When he said this to Yan Yue, Yan Yue¡¯s heart moved, ¡°Shall we contract a few more acres ofnd and dig arger pond?¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes lit up; he thought this was a good idea. ¡°We can dig it by the Lingshui River, it will be easy to divert water then.¡± The two of them nned with great enthusiasm for a long time, and the more Lu Lingxi talked, the more excited he became. He simply suggested, ¡°How about we call Uncle Xiao and the others to go to the nt nursery with us sometime? We can also catch fish in the pond to eat.¡± The small pond in the nt nursery was used by Lu Lingxi to raise a lot of fish, both big and small. At first, Lu Lingxi was worried that the victoria would not be able to spend the winter outdoors, so he thought of moving it into the greenhouse, but who would have thought that the victoria, evolved to the second level, would not be afraid of the cold and would grow well inside the pond. Thanks to its presence, the pond didn¡¯t freeze over much, with only a thinyer of ice forming near the edges. This didn¡¯t affect their ability to catch fish. He looked bashfully at Yan Yue after he finished, and Yan Yue nodded with a smile. In the past, whenever Lu Lingxi followed Xiao Hong and the others out, Yan Yue was always alone at home. This time, if they went to the nt nursery, Yan Yue, as the co-owner, could somewhat be counted as part of the family. ¡°Let¡¯s do it on Monday then, there are fewer people in the shop.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s proposal to go to the nt nursery quickly gained the approval of everyone. Wang Shuxiu had never been to the nt nursery before, and she joked with Zhou Xiaoman that this time she was taking advantage of Zhou Xiaoman and the others. The two got along very well over this period of time; with Zhou Xiaoman being gentle and Wang Shuxiu being spirited, they actually unexpectedlyplemented each other. s As they got to know each other, Zhou Xiaoman also began to talk to Wang Shuxiu about the things in her heart. She and Xiao Hong were good in every way, but they didn¡¯t have children. ¡°It would be nice to have a child as obedient as Xiao Xi.¡± Zhou Xiaoman said enviously. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there will definitely be one. I heard from the little bastard that there is a hundred year old willow tree there in Lingshui Vige, which is called the tree god by the locals and is particrly spiritual. This time we¡¯ll go and worship the tree god too, so maybe there will be a child.¡± Zhou Xiaoman didn¡¯t believe in such things before, but because she had no children over the years, she also started to worship the gods. Hearing about the tree god, she immediately nodded. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go and worship.¡± While the two discussed it, Monday arrived. Early in the morning, Xiao Hong took Zhou Xiaoman to the Hongfu Community. He said to Zhou Xiaoman as he parked the car, ¡°Ah Feng said that the environment of thismunity is particrly good, don¡¯t look that the house is dpidated. In the summer all flowers and nts make it look like a park. If you like it, let¡¯s buy a house here too, so we cane and live here in summer and go back to the northwest in winter.¡± Zhou Xiaoman liked this idea. Although the northwest was her hometown, the environment there had been seriously damaged by mining and gold mining over the years. In the summer, when there was a drought, there was a lot of dust and dirt outside. The doctor had also said that her inability to conceive a child was probably rted to the environment around her. The doctor also cited the fact that there were now more people who were infertile and although there was nothing wrong with their bodies, they couldn¡¯t get pregnant. Why was that? For one thing, the environment was not good, the smog and dust had an impact. Then there was the bad food, such as recycled waste cooking oil and fertiliser-ripened vegetables. These didn¡¯t look like a big deal for a while, but over the years they became a big problem. Thinking of this, Zhou Xiaoman nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s ask around first and see if anyone is selling their house.¡± The two of them got out of the car and went into the house, and Lu Lingxi and the others were all packed up. Wang Shuxiu greeted Xiao Hong and Zhou Xiaoman and invited them to have some breakfast first. She had cooked the cakes in the morning and boiled a pot of porridge. This was the first time Xiao Hong had met Yan Yue. Hearing that Yan Yue was the next-door neighbour and a partner in Lu Lingxi¡¯s gardening shop, Xiao Hong smiled heartily at Yan Yue, saying that he relied on him to take care of his nephew. s Yan Yue smiled politely. Xiao Hong¡¯s figure was really as tall and strong as Lu Lingxi had said. Thinking about the 10,000 yuan red packet, he felt that it was really something that Xiao Hong could do. In front of everyone, Xiao Hong was very warm to Yan Yue. With his back turned, Xiao Hong quietly pulled Xiao Feng and asked what was going on with Yan Yue. This young man didn¡¯t look simple and he didn¡¯t look like someone who needed to open a gardening shop in partnership with Lu Lingxi. Even if Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t notice anything, he didn¡¯t believe Xiao Feng would miss the point, so why didn¡¯t he remind Wang Shuxiu to keep Xiao Xi away from this guy? Xiao Feng smiled wryly and told the whole story. Because Lu Yishui was involved in these matters, Xiao Feng was afraid that Xiao Hong would misunderstand, so he never mentioned it before. Now that Xiao Hong asked, he didn¡¯t hide it anymore. When he finished speaking, Xiao Hong reacted. Lu Yishui in his mine was Wang Shuxiu¡¯s ex-husband and Lu Lingxi¡¯s father?! He red at Xiao Feng with a weird expression, turned his head andughed heartily again. Since Xiao Feng had said that Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi had an unusual rtionship, he didn¡¯t get involved in it. But Yan Yue was ck enough, just like him when he was young. When they finished their breakfast and went out, they saw Xiao Baiwan poking his head out of the car window waiting for them. Xiao Hong was proud, ¡°With our Baiwan around, there¡¯s no need to lock the car when going anywhere.¡± As soon as he opened the door on his side, Xiao Baiwan immediately rushed out and barked at Dahei. Dahei followed Lu Lingxi,pletely ignoring Xiao Baiwan¡¯s provocation. Instead, it was the Xiaohei hanging from Dahei¡¯s head who struggled to lean forward and show his tongue at Xiao Baiwan. ¡°Ssss.¡± Xiao Baiwan let out a low growl of dissatisfaction. ¡°Meow.¡± A white kitten descended from the sky and stepped unceremoniously onto Xiao Baiwan¡¯s head, pped him with its two paws and jumped in front of Dahei. People: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Xiao Baiwan was furious and was about to lunge at the kitten with his teeth bared. Dahei reacted quickly and stepped in front of the kitten. The two dogs were once again pitted against each other. ¡°Xiao Baiwan,e back.¡± Xiao Hong shouted. Xiao Baiwan was a little aggrieved, but obediently retreated slowly. Lu Lingxi let out a sigh of relief, still really afraid that the two dogs would fight. Although he didn¡¯t think Dahei would lose, he was worried that Dahei would get hurt. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Dahei, get in the car.¡± Lu Lingxi beckoned the kitten, who leapt into the air and pped Xiaohei to the ground with one paw before jumping up to the first floor window, looking at Dahei from above, proudly saying ¡°Meow.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Until he got into the car, Lu Lingxi still felt funny when he remembered what had just happened. The little kitten upstairs had an inexplicable possessiveness towards Dahei. He felt that if it were a human¡¯s mentality, the kitten would probably mean that only it could tease Dahei, only it could step on Dahei whenever it wanted, and no one could bully Dahei but it. Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head, and Xiaohei slowly wrapped himself around his hand. Lu Lingxi gently poked Xiaohei with a finger and couldn¡¯t help but smile as he watched Xiaohei stagger from his poke. Although Xiaohei seemed to be of no use at all and even the kitten from upstairs could p it away with a paw, Lu Lingxi felt that if Xiaohei could make Dahei so wary before, Xiaohei would not be useless. But¡­ in the future, Xiaohei would have to eat less; he had gained a lot of weight in just a few days. Yan Yue and he had a tacit understanding. Yan Yue said, ¡°From now on we have to give Xiaohei less to eat. These days he was eating sugar and his teeth are about to fall out.¡± As a snake with a passion for sweets, Xiaohei heard Yan Yue¡¯s words and immediately hissed in Yan Yue¡¯s direction in protest. Lu Lingxi held back hisughter, took Xiaohei and skillfully tied him into a knot, distracting him from the thought of sweets. When they arrived at the nt nursery, it was still early. Uncle Li was very happy to see so many people there and invited them to his house for lunch, but Lu Lingxi politely declined. He usually bothered Uncle Li enough, so it would be too embarrassing for him to bother him any further by bringing people here this time. ¡°Xiao Xi, child, you¡¯re just being too polite with me.¡± Uncle Liined. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°By the way.¡± Uncle Li thought of something and pulled Lu Lingxi to tell him about Fang Lei in a low voice. He didn¡¯t know who Fang Lei was, but he knew that recently there was always someone appearing suspiciously near the nt nursery, and often looking for Xiao Shi to talk to. Uncle Li suspected that someone was trying to get into the nt nursery again and was trying to use Xiao Shi. In addition to this, Uncle Li also suspected Xu San. This man¡¯s behaviour was very obvious, but Xu San actually didn¡¯t say anything to him, and it was only when the old dog noticed that something was wrong that it alerted Uncle Li. ¡°Humph! If Xu San dares tomit the same old mistake, I¡¯ll have Lao Xu break his legs.¡± Uncle Li said indignantly. The old man was grumpy, and Lu Lingxi hurriedly pacified him. He wasn¡¯t worried that someone would try to get into the nt nursery, as Xiao Shi was under Yu Xiaojuan¡¯s strict control and never went into the nt nursery, so no one could ask him to do anything even if they wanted to. Besides, Xiao Shi was so quirky that it wasn¡¯t certain who would coax whom. But ording to the old man, the other party had repeatedlye looking for Xiao Shi, which was a bit strange. Lu Lingxi was worried that the other party might have been thinking of Ah Huang because Xiao Shi had said something. But it could be that he was overthinking it. Who in their right mind would believe what Xiao Shi said? Chapter 101 After parting with Uncle Li, Lu Lingxi privately mentioned to Yan Yue what Uncle Li had told him. No matter whether the man Uncle Li described was after the nt nursery or Xiao Shi, it was still rted to them. Unfortunately, Xiao Shi went to his grandmother¡¯s house two days ago and would not be back for a week, otherwise they could¡¯ve asked Xiao Shi what was going on. Yan Yue didn¡¯t take it seriously when he heard it. Tiny Garden and Luxuan Gardening were now in their ¡°honeymoon¡± period, and with Luxuan Gardening behind them, ordinary gardeners wouldn¡¯t dare to make any moves. As for Lu Lingxi¡¯s concern that the other party had found out the secret of Xiao Shi and Ah Huang, it didn¡¯t matter much. Who would believe the words of a child, and there was no proof of such things. He said it firmly, and as Lu Lingxi listened, he stopped worrying, taking Wang Shuxiu and the others to look around the nt nursery. When the nt nursery was originally nned, it was divided into two parts: greenhouse nting and open-air nting. Now it was winter, the open-air part was bare and there was nothing to see, and all the nts were inside the greenhouse. Once you entered the greenhouse, you were greeted with strikingly lush vegetation. nts of all kinds were growing vigorously and were very pleasing to the eye. ustomed to the winter depression outside, at first nce everyone had a sense of spring flowers blooming and the seasons changing. Zhou Xiaoman took a breath and eximed, ¡°The air is so good in here.¡± The greenhouse was well ventted, and the vibrant green nts inside were full of vitality. A sniff of the air was really refreshing and lung-cleansing, not at allparable to the dry and dusty air outside. Wang Shuxiu was used to the greenery of themunity in summer, and smiling at Zhou Xiaoman¡¯sment, she said, ¡°The environment of ourmunity in summer is simr to this one, and the air is just as good.¡± Xiao Feng nodded in agreement; he had been to themunity several times in summer and the environment was really not worse than here. Zhou Xiaoman had already thought of buying a house in themunity and hearing them say so, immediately looked at Xiao Hong. Xiao Hong smiled and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back and buy a house, in the future we will live in Fengcheng in the summer.¡± Xiao Feng was most happy about this n of Xiao Hong. Xiao Hong was the only family he had left, and Fengcheng and his hometown in the northwest were too far apart. So if Xiao Hong could really live in themunity in the future, it would be much better than before. They chatted as they strolled along the greenhouse, and after looking at the green nts they went to the flower growing area. The greenhouse was kept at a temperature of around 20 degrees and the flowers inside were basically in bloom. The various colours of flowers were very bright and their fragrance was intoxicating. Uncle Li was especially attentive to taking care of these flowers recently. It would be the end of the year soon, and there would be a small peak in sales in the flower market before the end of the year. Last time Uncle Li joked with Lu Lingxi that the size of this year¡¯s red envelopes depended on this sale. Xiao Feng and the others were very surprised to see the entire nt nursery. No one expected Lu Lingxi to manage the nt nursery so well. Wang Shuxiu was happy in her heart; she was relieved that the little bastard was so capable. ¡°Not bad, Xiao Xi has a future.¡± Xiao Feng was restrained in character, but Xiao Hong was forthright in temperament. He immediately patted Ling Xi on the shoulder happily and praised him vigorously. s Lu Lingxi smiled with his eyes curved, intuitively guessing that his shoulders were probably going to be ck and blue. After they had finished looking at the nt nursery, Wang Shuxiu dragged Zhou Xiaoman to worship the big willow tree. The two of them also found some red cloth strips from somewhere and tied them to the willow tree, saying that people in the vige said that like this one could ask for the blessing of the tree god. After eating lunch and resting for a while, Lu Lingxi began to pack up and prepare to go back to Fengcheng. It was when Uncle Li suddenly approached with a wary face, pulled Lu Lingxi aside and whispered, ¡°That man is here again.¡± Lu Lingxi immediately realised who Uncle Li was talking about. He whispered to Yan Yue, who called Dahei, excused himself and left the small courtyard with Lu LIngxi. Hearing Uncle Li say that the man was at the big willow tree, the two simply went to find him. Under the big willow tree at the entrance of the vige, Fang Lei wandered around but couldn¡¯t find Xiao Shi. Only Ah Huang was lyingzily on the ground sunbathing. Fang Lei threw the bones he had brought to Ah Huang, squatted down not far from him and asked, ¡°Where is Xiao Shi, why isn¡¯t he with you today?¡± Through his observation, Fang Lei found that Ah Huang could understand his words. Not the kind of conditioned reflexes that would be trained, but really understood him, just like Dahei did. Ah Huang waved his tail, not meaning to pay any attention to Fang Lei at all. As for the bones Fang Lei brought over, Ah Huang also just took a nce at them and turned its head away. Fang Lei couldn¡¯t help butugh, but he also knew that this dog was very arrogant and only recognised Xiao Shi as its master. Sometimes, when he made Xiao Shi happy, Ah Huang condescended to look at him, as if this was already a great gift. Fang Lei sometimes couldn¡¯t helpparing Dahei and Ah Huang, and he felt that the two dogs hadpletely different personalities. Dahei was stable and reliable, while Ah Huang was a bit big-headed. Thinking about this, Fang Lei felt that he had gone even more crazy recently. He never thought that one day he would actually analyse the personalities of the two dogs like he did with people. Although neither of the two dogs was an ordinary dog, this kind of behaviour was a bit too insane. s Fang Lei waited for a while, but Ah Huang had no intention of eating the bones at all, and Xiao Shi never appeared. He was already sure that Xiao Shi probably had gone somewhere and wasn¡¯ting over, otherwise this was usually the time when Xiao Shi was ying like crazy. His legs were numb from squatting, so Fang Lei simply stood up. He had actually stopped by today thinking he woulde to see Xiao Shi and Ah Huang. Since Xiao Shi wasn¡¯t here, there was no need for him to wait any longer. As these thoughts shed by, Fang Lei was about to leave when Ah Huang, who had been lying down, suddenly stood up and pressed his body to the ground, assuming a submissive stance. Fang Lei immediately turned around, his pupils slightly shrinking as he blurted out, ¡°Dahei.¡± A hint of surprise shed in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes. He nced at the bones on the ground, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing an appropriately polite smile. ¡°Why is Officer Fang here?¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t expect the one Uncle Li was talking about would be Fang Lei, and he was now 100% sure that Fang Lei hade for Ah Huang, or rather for Xiao Shi. He was a bit confused as to where Fang Lei found out the secret of Xiao Shi and Ah Huang. What was even more odd was that he actually believed it, didn¡¯t he? These thoughts flew through Yan Yue¡¯s mind but no slightest trace of them could be seen on his face. Behind Yan Yue, Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head. He was even more surprised by Fang Lei¡¯s appearance. It was a good thing that Yan Yue was half blocking him, so Fang Lei couldn¡¯t see the surprise on his face. Fang Lei¡¯s eyes shifted from Yan Yue to Lu Lingxi and he instantly realised something. He quickly smiled and said in a very friendly way, ¡°I¡¯m here to look for Xiao Shi. The little boss is Brother Xiao Xi that Xiao Shi spoke of, right?¡± From the first moment he saw Dahei, Fang Lei connected the dots. The reason why Ah Huang and Xiao Shi initially attracted his attention was precisely because he had seen Dahei and Lu Lingxi¡¯s mode ofmunication, and then he had a familiar feeling when he saw Xiao Shi and Ah Huang getting along. At first, he didn¡¯t really believe Xiao Shi¡¯s words, but as he got acquainted with Xiao Shi, Xiao Shi revealed more and more. Even though Xiao Shi was very smart, he was after all only five years old and still a child, and was easily trapped by Fang Lei¡¯s words. In Xiao Shi¡¯s narrative, Brother Xiao Xi¡¯s name appeared very frequently. Fang Lei hadn¡¯t thought much about it when he heard the name, but now that he saw Dahei, he suddenly had a bolder suspicion. Xiao Shi and Ah Huang were not the only ones in this world who couldmunicate, Lu Lingxi and Dahei could definitely do so too. While Fang Lei was thinking, Yan Yue had already nodded in acknowledgement of Fang Lei¡¯s words. But¡­ he said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯m afraid Officer Fang has made a trip for nothing. Xiao Shi has gone to his grandmother¡¯s house and is not in Lingshui Vige these days.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay.¡± Fang Lei smiled carelessly, ¡°I just stopped by to see Xiao Shi and was about to go back.¡± He didn¡¯t linger after he finished speaking, nodded to Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi and left. The moment they passed each other, Fang Lei seemed to want to say something, but hesitated and didn¡¯t say anything. Yan Yue looked at his back quietly, his expression thoughtful. Chapter 102 ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± Watching Fang Lei leave, Yan Yue said, turning to Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi nodded and said, ¡°Big Brother Yan, do you think Officer Fang has guessed something?¡± Yan Yue patted Lu Lingxi soothingly, his voice low and containing a kind of reassuring power. ¡°He probably guessed about Dahei by now, and it makes his heart feel itchy. But he also knows that we won¡¯t admit it and there¡¯s not much he can do to us.¡± Seeing that the person who had beening for Xiao Shi was Fang Lei, after his initial surprise Yan Yue was relieved. He had dealt with Fang Lei a few times and knew that the other party was very cautious. No matter what Fang Lei guessed, as long as he didn¡¯t want to be treated like a madman, he definitely wouldn¡¯t say anything out in the open. Lu Lingxi was relieved to hear this; he didn¡¯t want to be in the news because of this. Yan Yue looked at him and chuckled, reminding him, ¡°Xiao Xi, have you forgotten what happened to Xiao Shi?¡± Xiao Shi was ostracised by his friends because he went around the vige saying he could understand Ah Huang¡¯s speech, and now he was called Xiao Shi the liar. Fang Lei wasn¡¯t five years old and would not make the same mistake. When Lu Lingxi thought of this, hepletely calmed down. Although he didn¡¯t understand how Fang Lei could believe the words of Xiao Shi; most people should not believe it, right? But it didn¡¯t matter if Fang Lei believed it or not, as long as he didn¡¯t say anything. The two men didn¡¯t take the matter seriously, but Fang Lei was concerned about it. The day after they returned, Fang Lei came to Tiny Garden along with a big, powerful dog. Fang Lei only touched lightly on the matter of Xiao Shi and the whole time he was advertising this big dog to Dahei. ording to Fang Lei, this big dog was the flower of their police force, specially selected by him from the police dog base and was liked by many police dogs. He thought of asking Lu Lingxi to help take care of her for a while, but of course it would be better if she could stay with Dahei every day. Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He was alreadypletely at a loss for what to say. Lu Lingxi wasughing to death when he realised what Fang Lei meant. Yesterday he still had some alienation in his heart from Fang Lei, but after such an outburst he unexpectedly felt that Fang Lei was quite an interesting person, not like what they thought he was. It was a pity that after Fang Lei¡¯s long and diligent efforts to arrange a date for him, Dahei wasn¡¯t at all interested in the so-called flower of the police force and just squatted quietly at Lu Lingxi¡¯s feet. On the contrary, the big dog brought by Fang Lei looked at Dahei in fear but also wanted to get closer. She looked a little annoyed and kept turning in circles. After drinking four cups of water, Fang Lei saw that the two dogs really didn¡¯t get along and had to leave in regret. Lu Lingxi thought that Fang Lei would give up, but to his surprise, he came back the next day, this time with a different dog. Lu Lingxi & Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± For seven days in a row, Dahei had to go on blind dates with a different dog every day. Fang Lei acted as if he didn¡¯t mean anything, praising Dahei for being a good match for the dog he brought. Lu Lingxiughed so hard every day that his stomach hurt, and when some of his regr customers came to the shop and saw this scene, theyughed and teased Lu Lingxi, saying that it was really time to find a partner for Dahei. In the past few days, Dahei didn¡¯t get acquainted with these dogs, but Yan Yue and Fang Lei did get acquainted. The two of them were not more than a few years apart in age, and with Ye Cheng as their connection, in a few days they got to get along quite well. Fang Lei was very smart and didn¡¯t even mention the question of whether Lu Lingxi and Dahei couldmunicate, and wasmitted to tying a red thread for Dahei and one of his police dogs. Lu Lingxi figured that Fang Lei thought that since Dahei couldmunicate with humans, then Dahei¡¯s children would probably be no worse off. Unfortunately, Dahei wasn¡¯t interested in the dogs Fang Lei brought with him, and no matter what Fang Lei said, he just didn¡¯t care. Lu Lingxi even discussed with Yan Yue in private about what kind of dog Dahei really liked. Yan Yue joked, ¡°That little white cat upstairs?¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Just as Fang Lei was relentlessly bringing different dogs on a blind date with Dahei, Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng¡¯s wedding arrived. On the day of the wedding, Tiny Garden and the small restaurant were closed for the day and everyone went to the wedding. For the wedding Xiao Feng chose a five-star hotel not far from themunity. Wang Shuxiu thought it was too expensive, but Xiao Feng insisted on having a big wedding and marrying Wang Shuxiu in style. s Lin Mei pulled Wang Shuxiu jokingly, ¡°What do men earn money for? It is to make womenfortable. You haven¡¯t even entered his family yet and you¡¯re thinking of saving money for him. Who to save it for?¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Zhou Xiaoman echoed, ¡°When It is time to spend money, you have to spend it, and only when it hurts a man will he feel cherished, otherwise he will never take you seriously.¡± The two sang in unison and Wang Shuxiu could do nothing about them both and just snapped, ¡°Nonsense.¡± Lin Mei and Zhou Xiaomanughed and helped Wang Shuxiu to start changing her clothes and make-up. There were quite a few peopleing today, basically all the friends of the two. Lin Mei looked outside, and a lively crowd filled the entire hall. She came back and sighed, ¡°Brother Feng is putting his heart and soul into it. Xiaohua, your misery hase to an end.¡± Wang Shuxiu smiled at her, her eyes slightly red as she thought of the past. ¡°Yes, the hardships havee to an end.¡± In a room a wall away, Xiao Feng was dressed in a suit. Tiger and Erfei got together and heckled. ¡°Boss is going to carry Sister-inw on his backter.¡± ¡°Carry on his back? He has to carry her in his arms!¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± Xiao Feng was obviously in a good mood, and justughed and scolded at their jokes. Lu Lingxi, dressed in a white suit, sat in the corner looking at them andughing. Yan Yue apanied him and silently reached out his hand under the table and held Lu Lingxi¡¯s. Lu Lingxi froze for a moment, immediately ncing around sheepishly. Seeing that no one had noticed their little move, he squeezed Yan Yue¡¯s hand in reply. The corners of Yan Yue¡¯s lips curved up in a faint smile. ¡°Once Xiao Xi has passed his 20th birthday, we¡¯ll go abroad and get married,¡± he whispered. ¡°Okay?¡± When he talked about getting married, Yan Yue looked as normal as if he was chatting about family matters. Lu Lingxi was taken aback at first and it took him a long time to react. Before he had time to reply, Tiger called out from the doorway, ¡°Brother Xiao Xi, we should go and invite Sister-inw.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Lingxi agreed casually and got up to leave. Yan Yue, however, pulled him back, looking at him with his eyes full of tenderness. Yan Yue¡¯s lips curled up and his voice was low, ¡°Xiao Xi, you haven¡¯t agreed yet? Okay?¡± Lu Lingxi looked at him and the tips of his ears instantly turned red. He quickly said, ¡°Okay.¡± When Yan Yue heard it, his eyes suddenly darkened. As he looked at Lu Lingxi steadily, his inner emotions were surging like waves of the sea. ¡°Brother Xiao Xi.¡± Tiger urged, not knowing what Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue were talking about. Yan Yue reached out and scratched at Lu Lingxi¡¯s palm before letting go of him. There seemed to be a smile in Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes as he red at Yan Yue before he hurriedly followed Tiger. Wang Shuxiu had been ready for a long time and was waiting for Lu Lingxi to take her out. It was Xiao Feng who hade up with the original idea of Lu Lingxi leading Wang Shuxiu in and delivering her to him. In Xiao Feng¡¯s words, this could be regarded as a promise he made to Lu Lingxi in front of everyone. He would take good care of Wang Shuxiu, so that Lu Lingxi could rest assured. s When the wedding march started, Lu Lingxi felt that he was even more nervous than Wang Shuxiu. He didn¡¯t know how to describe theplex of emotions he was feeling now, with happiness, reluctance and all kinds of worries. From the time he was reborn until now, he had been dependent on Wang Shuxiu. Wang Shuxiu wasn¡¯t what he had imagined a mother could be, but she was the best mother he had ever seen. He had thought about taking good care of Wang Shuxiu and staying with her for the rest of her life, but now there was another man to take care of Wang Shuxiu, and they would have a new family and perhaps a new child¡­ But no matter what, Wang Shuxiu was his mother, his blood rtive. Thinking of this Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and whispered, ¡°I wish my mom happiness.¡± Wang Shuxiu took Lu Lingxi¡¯s arm and cursed in a low voice, ¡°Little bastard.¡± The wedding proceeded very smoothly, and Lu Lingxi solemnly handed Wang Shuxiu into Xiao Feng¡¯s hands. Xiao Feng patted Lu Lingxi¡¯s shoulder, and there was a faint smile in his eyes. It could be seen that Xiao Feng was really happy as he took Wang Shuxiu from table to table to toast and blocked all the wine for Wang Shuxiu. ¡°Drink less.¡± Wang Shuxiu squeezed his arm. Tiger loudly heckled, ¡°Sister-inw is now in charge of Big Brother?¡± Xiao Fengughed, ¡°Your sister-inw is right to take charge, listen to your sister-inw from now on.¡± The crowdughed, and Wang Shuxiu alsoughed as she heard it. The wedding was a lively celebration thatsted for a long time, and with Tiger and the others deliberately heckling him, Lu Lingxi got a little drunk. This was the first time in his two lives that Lu Lingxi had drunk. When he finished drinking, he looked fine, sitting there obediently, listening to everyone else¡¯s words, quiet and well behaved. Everyone thought he was fine, but only Yan Yue noticed that something was wrong with him. When no one was looking, Yan Yue touched Lu Lingxi¡¯s face and felt that it was slightly hot, but it should be okay. ¡°How many is this?¡± Yan Yue held up a finger. Lu Lingxi looked dumbfounded for a long time, then grabbed Yan Yue¡¯s finger and counted, saying seriously, ¡°Two.¡± A smile shed in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes, and this time he switched to two fingers. ¡°How many is this?¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s expression looked even more dumbfounded, a bewildered look on his face, ¡°Three.¡± Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help butugh. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes shone brightly as he looked at Yan Yue, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you look so pretty when you smile. I like Big Brother Yan, I want to see Big Brother Yan smile every day.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s gaze was gentle as he promised, ¡°I will smile every day for Xiao Xi to see.¡± Lu Lingxi reacted after a few seconds and slowly nodded. After a while, Lu Lingxi seemed to think of something and said in a low voice with a suppressed tone, ¡°Big Brother Yan, I still have a secret I want to tell you.¡± ¡°What?¡± Yan Yue had a smile on his lips. Lu Lingxi blinked and said in a small voice, ¡°Actually, I already died, and I don¡¯t know why I came back to life. I used to be called Lu Lingxi too, not this Lu Lingxi, but another Lu Lingxi. Can you believe it, Big Brother Yan?¡± The young man¡¯s expression was confused when he spoke, and when he talked about death, his eyes were serious. Yan Yue looked at him and only felt as if his heart was being gripped by something, it hurt so badly. He didn¡¯t care that there were people around, he reached out and took Lu Lingxi in his arms, gently patting the young man¡¯s back and coaxing in a low voice, ¡°Xiao Xi, you are drunk.¡± Lu Lingxi reached out and wrapped his arms around Yan Yue¡¯s waist, burying his head in his chest, and said in a small voice, defending himself, ¡°I¡¯m not drunk, my mother doesn¡¯t let me drink. Neither me nor my elder brother can drink. My elder brother is not well, I have to take care of him.¡± He said this in a somewhat low voice just as Tiger looked over and asked what was wrong with Lu Lingxi. Yan Yue only heard the words ¡°elder brother¡± vaguely. He shook his head at Tiger, ¡°Xiao Xi is drunk.¡± Tiger took a look, ¡°Brother Yan, why don¡¯t you take Xiao Xi and go back first? It will be fine here.¡± This was what Yan Yue had in mind, and when he heard it, he helped Lu Lingxi stand up and said to Tiger, ¡°Say hello to Brother Feng for me.¡± ¡°Okay, no problem.¡± Yan Yue helped Lu Lingxi walk out of the hall. He was afraid that Lu Lingxi would get cold, so he didn¡¯t dare to take him out directly, but first found Lu Lingxi¡¯s coat and wrapped him up tightly before taking him to the parking lot. Lu Lingxi was very well-behaved all the way, following Yan Yue¡¯s side obediently. When the two of them got into the car, Yan Yue helped Lu Lingxi fasten his seat belt. Lu Lingxi opened his eyes wide and looked at Yan Yue without blinking. Yan Yue moved when he saw it, cupped his chin and kissed him, and said softly, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Lu Lingxi pursed his lips and shook his head without saying anything. Remembering Lu Lingxi¡¯s drunken words earlier, Yan Yue was worried and touched his face, coaxing, ¡°Xiao Xi, you can sleep now. I¡¯ll call you when we get home.¡± ¡°En.¡± Lu Lingxi obediently closed his eyes and fell asleep a little while after leaning against the seat. Lu Lingxi slept till the middle of the night. Then he sat up drowsily, rubbing his eyes and trying to find Yan Yue. The next moment he felt himself fall into a warm embrace, someone hugging him from behind and handing him a cup of warm water. Lu Lingxi asked nkly, ¡°Big Brother Yan?¡± ¡°En, I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°I want to go to the toilet.¡± Yan Yue smiled and put the cup of water back on the bedside. Lu Lingxi came to his senses somewhat and broke free from Yan Yue¡¯s embrace to get off the bed. Yan Yue looked at him and pretended to ask casually, ¡°Xiao Xi, do you remember what you said before?¡± ¡°What?¡± Lu Lingxi looked puzzled. He really didn¡¯t remember anything. Yan Yue hid the worry in his eyes and said as if nothing had happened, ¡°Nothing.¡± Chapter 103 After his sleep, Lu Lingxi had forgotten what he had said before, but Yan Yue chewed on those words over and over again. Xiao Xi said he was dead and came back to life, how could he have such a strange thought? Yan Yue sat on the sofa puzzled; another Lu Lingxi, and those vague words ¡°elder brother¡± made him feel unspeakable doubts in his mind. ¡°Big Brother Yan?¡± Lu Lingxi poked his head out of the bathroom with his hair wet and called out to Yan Yue with some embarrassment. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yan Yue immediately returned to his senses and walked over to him. Perhaps it was because of the heat, Lu Lingxi¡¯s white skin was slightly pink and his dark eyes were as clear and moist as if they had been washed with water. He looked at Yan Yue with a bit of a blush as he grabbed the door handle and whispered, ¡°Help me get my pyjamas.¡± Lu Lingxi had just woken up and was still a bit confused, and he was in a hurry to take a shower because he didn¡¯t like the smell of alcohol on him. These days as he spent more and more time living in Yan Yue¡¯s ce, some of his daily necessities including his clothes were gradually brought over. Wang Shuxiu sometimesined in her heart that the little bastard was running to Yan Yue¡¯s ce too frequently, but every time Lu Lingxi used the excuse of leaving space for her and Xiao Feng, Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t say anything. Yan Yue¡¯s house was slowly bing like Lu Lingxi¡¯s home, with everything avable. He was about to retreat after speaking, but Yan Yue watched him motionlessly, his eyes gradually turning darker. The weird thoughts in his mind from before had been quickly suppressed by the surging lust. Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help but open the door, hug Lu Lingxi¡¯s waist and touch Lu Lingxi¡¯s back, as if his body had its own consciousness. Then he closed the bathroom door, lowered his head and kissed Lu Lingxi deeply. The skin under his touch was smooth and warm, like the finest jade. Yan Yue rubbed and rubbed again, until Lu Lingxi¡¯s whole body became soft; his breathing was short and he couldn¡¯t stop gasping. With a slight effort, he picked up Lu Lingxi and pressed him against the bathroom wall. He felt the sweetness of the young man between his lips and teeth, and inexplicably the words of the young man shed through his mind again ¨C actually, I already died. This thought was just a sh; Yan Yue subconsciously moved to the young man¡¯s neck and bit it. He didn¡¯t use too much force, but Lu Lingxi still moaned sensitively. Yan Yue¡¯s heart settled and he licked at the spot he had nibbled. The young man¡¯s body shuddered and Yan Yueughed softly, saying in a hoarse voice, ¡°I love you, Xiao Xi.¡± Lu Lingxi gasped in reply. Yan Yue kissed Lu Lingxi as if hypnotised, and only after he had sucked all sorts of traces of Lu Lingxi¡¯s body and both of them had their release in his hands, did he let Lu Lingxi go contentedly. Although Yan Yue still couldn¡¯t understand what the young man meant by his drunken words earlier, it was enough that Lu Lingxi was in his arms, alive and feeling, a treasure that Yan Yue would always hold in his palms. After that, Yan Yue quickly hugged Lu Lingxi and took a shower with him, and then returned to the bedroom. Lu Lingxi was a little sleepy from all the tossing and turning, so he curled up under the quilt and fell asleep. Yan Yue sat on the edge of the bed and stared at his sleeping face for a long time, then quietly left the bedroom and called Ye Kang. When the phone rang, Ye Kang was about to get ready for bed. When he saw Yan Yue¡¯s name, he was a little surprised and picked up the phone, joking, ¡°Why do you remember to call me thiste at night? Aren¡¯t you with your Xiao Xi?¡± Yan Yue smiled restrainedly and his tone changed, ¡°I have something to ask you.¡± s ¡°What?¡± Ye Kang perked up, thinking that Yan Yue must have something serious to find him sote. Who knew that Yan Yue paused for a few seconds and hesitantly said, ¡°Ah Kang, if a person says that he hase back from the dead and that he is actually another person, what do you think this is?¡± Ye Kang was to hear such a sentence unexpectedly and couldn¡¯t help asking in a daze: ¡°Split personality? ¡°He thought for a while and continued to ask: ¡°Is there anything unusual about this person you are talking about?¡± ¡°No.¡± Yan Yue is very sure. ¡°Then under what circumstances did he say this?¡± Ye Kang asked. ¡°When drunk. ¡± ¡°When drunk?¡± Ye Kang spected, ¡°Could this kind of imagination be a result of too much stress? Who is this person you are talking about? If you are worried, you can bring him to see me. I will take a test to see.¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t say who it was, he just said, ¡°I¡¯ll have him contact you if necessary.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Hanging up the phone, Ye Kang had some suspicions that Yan Yue was talking about Lu Lingxi, but Yan Yue wasn¡¯t willing to rify, so he would not pursue the matter. Besides, he had met Lu Lingxi; the young man was simple and uplicated in nature, it wasn¡¯t like he would have any stress, let alone a split personality. What was going on? The phone call from Yan Yue gave Ye Kang something to think about, and Yan Yue couldn¡¯t sleep for a while when he returned to his bedroom. He didn¡¯t believe Ye Kang¡¯s idea of a split personality, and as for too much stress, it was even more unlikely. Yan Yue had read before that when all other possibilities had been eliminated, the remaining possibility, no matter how improbable it seemed, must be the truth. He repeated the words ¡°back from the dead¡± wordlessly and forcefully suppressed that absurd spection in his mind. Because of this incident, Yan Yue didn¡¯t sleep well all night. When Lu Lingxi woke up early and opened his eyes, he saw Yan Yue standing at the window, staring out and thinking about something. ¡°What are you looking at, Big Brother Yan? Is it snowing outside?¡± Lu Lingxi sat up, wrapped in the nket. Yan Yue turned around and walked up to Lu Lingxi¡¯s side, looking at him with a warm gaze, lowered his head and kissed him on the forehead, softly saying, ¡°Why are you awake so early?¡± Lu Lingxi tilted his head and was a little embarrassed, ¡°I slept too much yesterday.¡± Yan Yue smiled at his words; counting the time from yesterday¡¯s afternoon, Lu Lingxi had slept for almost 17 or 18 hours, so he had indeed slept too much. He reached out and hugged Lu Lingxi, gently touched Lu Lingxi¡¯s neck and said with amusement, ¡°Will you drink in the future? You¡¯re so drunk after drinking just a little.¡± ¡°Never.¡± Lu Lingxi obediently promised. Yan Yue¡¯s heart moved and he casually said, ¡°It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t drink. Xiao Xi, you¡¯re a little chatterbox when you¡¯re drunk, dragging me around and insisting on telling me a secret.¡± He spoke carelessly but his eyes kept watching Lu Lingxi¡¯s face. He saw Lu Lingxi¡¯s expression change slightly, the young man looking at him a little nervously, ¡°What secret?¡± s Yan Yue¡¯s heart softened; although the young man was trying his best to be calm, his eyes were very apprehensive. He was a little distressed and chuckled, ¡°I was going to ask Xiao Xi what the secret was. What kind of person would fall asleep after saying the word ¡°secret¡±, like you did?¡± Lu Lingxi let out a soft sigh of relief and buried his head in Yan Yue¡¯s chest, saying in a small voice, ¡°I forgot.¡± Yan Yue sighed, ¡°Never mind, but remember not to drink anymore in the future.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. Although he said he had forgotten, the only thing that could be considered a secret to him besides the panel was the matter of his rebirth. He himself wasn¡¯t sure which sounded more bizarre, the panel or rebirth. He was willing to confess the existence of the panel to Yan Yue but he didn¡¯t know how to talk about rebirth. He had taken over another person¡¯s body, upied another person¡¯s family and friends. He liked his life now and didn¡¯t want to have any connection to the past. He couldn¡¯t say these things openly to Yan Yue; he was afraid that Yan Yue would think he was selfish, and even more afraid that Wang Shuxiu would be upset if she knew. Yan Yue didn¡¯t say anything else but only patted Lu Lingxi soothingly. He was now basically sure that what the young man had said yesterday was true. The young man¡¯s ignorance of the world, the same name of Lu Lingxi, and that vague ¡°elder brother¡±, the young man¡¯s identity¡­ Yan Yue lowered his eyes, already calcting in his heart. The two of them dawdled in the bed, and it took Lu Lingxi almost half an hour to wash up and dress. He craned his neck and looked at the still visible tooth marks in the mirror, a little embarrassed about how to go home for breakfastter. The ce where Yan Yue bit couldn¡¯t be covered by clothes at all, and it would be troublesome if it was seen by Wang Shuxiu. ¡°Cover it with a band-aid.¡± Yan Yue suggested. Lu Lingxi hesitated and said, ¡°What to say to Mom when she asks? There are no mosquitoes now. ¡± Yan Yue¡¯s eyes lit up with a smile, and he didn¡¯t hesitate to take Xiaohei out of his pocket and shake him, ¡°Just say Xiaohei bit you. ¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Xiaohei understood Yan Yue¡¯s words, crawled on Lu Lingxi¡¯s shoulder, aggrieved, and rubbed against Lu Lingxi¡¯s face. Xiaohei only had two teeth. How could he leave such a big tooth mark? It was a pity that Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t understand his exnation. As for Yan Yue, what a bad guy! As expected, Wang Shuxiu saw the band-aid on Lu Lingxi¡¯s neck at a nce, and when she heard that it was Xiaohei¡¯s bite, Wang Shuxiu immediately became anxious. ¡°Is there any poison, is the bite deep? What do you think you¡¯re doing with this snake, little bastard?¡­¡± She shot all those questions rapidly, then stopped and red around: ¡°Never mind, I¡¯m talking rubbish.¡± Xiao Fengughed, gave Yan Yue a meaningful look and said to Wang Shuxiu, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Xiaohei is not poisonous, he is only a few years old, even his teeth are just growing out. It¡¯s okay.¡± Lu Lingxi immediately nodded obediently and agreed, ¡°Xiaohei didn¡¯t do it on purpose, just ayer of skin was broken. It was Big Brother Yan who was worried about infection, that¡¯s why he had to make me put a band-aid on it.¡± Both he and Xiao Feng said this, so Wang Shuxiu calmed down. But poor Xiaohei was punished by Wang Shuxiu for ¡°biting¡± Lu Lingxi and wasn¡¯t allowed to eat breakfast, so he could only bite the tip of his tail and drool over the milk in the saucer on the floor. It was almost noon on this day when Fang Lei came to Tiny Garden once again. However, he went to the pet shop across the street beforeing to Tiny Garden. After a while, Fang Lei walked in with the big dog that had just been groomed and hurriedly went straight to Dahei. Lu Lingxi was already numb to the scene in front of him. He thought Fang Lei had given up after repeated defeats; who knew the other party was actually getting more and more courageous. He gave Dahei a helpless look, wondering what words Fang Lei was going to say this time to praise Dahei. As one man and one dog squatted there staring at each other, Lu Lingxi simply got busy with his own things. He was about to water a privet at the door when his mobile phone suddenly rang. It was Uncle Li calling. Xiao Shi had wandered off this morning and Yu Xiaojuan was about to go crazy. Uncle Li had called the police and wanted Dahei toe and see if he could help in any way. Lu Lingxi immediately agreed to do so. After hanging up the phone, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t hide this from Fang Lei. He was going to take Dahei to Lingshui Vige to find Xiao Shi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privet As soon as Fang Lei heard this he immediately said, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯te to Tiny Garden today and went to An Jie¡¯s ce. Lu Lingxi was thinking that it was inconvenient to take a taxi, ordinary taxis were not willing to carry pets. With Fang Lei he would be able to get there as soon as possible. After a hurried call to Yan Yue, Lu Lingxi closed the shop and got into Fang Lei¡¯s car. An hourter, the two arrived at Lingshui Vige. The whole vige had been mobilised, and people in the vige had put down their work to help find Xiao Shi. Someone seemed to have seen Xiao Shi being taken away by a strange man, and some vige people had already gone after him. Lu Lingxi found Uncle Li and asked anxiously, ¡°Have you seen Ah Huang?¡± Xiao Shi was basically inseparable from Ah Huang whenever he was in the vige. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t think anyone could take Xiao Shi away from Ah Huang, unless Ah Huang was injured and couldn¡¯t stop it, but then Ah Huang would definitely go to the nt nursery and call for help. This was exactly what Uncle Li was wondering about. He shook his head, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Ah Huang since we couldn¡¯t find Xiao Shi.¡± ¡°Could it be that Ah Huang followed him?¡± Lu Lingxi spected, but he couldn¡¯t rule out that Ah Huang had had an ident. At this time Lu Lingxi could no longer care about hiding his secret. He stroked Dahei¡¯s head and told him to find Ah Huang as soon as possible. Dahei licked Lu Lingxi¡¯s fingers and ran towards the outside of the vige. Soon after, a howl came from outside the vige, and the dogs in the vige stirred up again, dogs of all sizes running out from all the houses, as if they were summoned by something, and heading out of the vige. ¡°What¡¯s going on here? The dog king hase again?¡± Some vigers were surprised. ¡°You remember the big yellow dog beside Xiao Shi, right? Could it be that the big yellow dog found that Xiao Shi was lost and went to the dog king for help?¡± The people in the vige had a lot of imagination and reassured Yu Xiaojuan that with the dog king leading the pack of dogs they would surely be able to get Xiao Shi back. Just now Dahei had run outside the vige before summoning the dog pack, so the people in the vige still didn¡¯t know that the dog king they were talking about was none other than Dahei. The first thing Fang Lei did after arriving was to ask the vige people about the specific situation, and at the same time he also called the nearby police station. Both parties said more or less the same thing, and the people from the police station were also out looking for Xiao Shi right now. As soon as Fang Lei hung up the phone, he saw the dogs in the vige scrambling towards the outside of the vige, and even the flower of the police force he had brought with him ran out with them. Fang Lei was stunned and immediately thought of the ¡°wolf howl¡± he had just heard. ¡°Dog King?¡± Fang Lei said curiously. Lu Lingxi nodded slightly. At the other end of the vige, Uncle Xu opened the bird cage hanging in the tree and said to a starling inside, ¡°Go ahead, you can fly high and see far, help find Xiao Shi boy, okay?¡± The starling understood what Uncle Xu said, pped its wings and shouted ¡°Find someone, find someone¡±, and flew out into the sky. Uncle Xu rxed; he didn¡¯t know if the starling could help, but at least he did his best. Now then, who would have thought that he, an old man halfway to his grave, would one day be able tomunicate with a bird? He thought of what Xiao Shi had said earlier, and wondered if Xiao Shi was not just kidding. If it was true, then he and Xiao Shi would have something inmon. Let¡¯s hope nothing happens to the little boy and he wille back quickly. Chapter 104 While Lu Lingxi and Yu Xiaojuan were looking for Xiao Shi, Xiao Shi was sitting in a small motor tricycle and shouted, ¡°I want to pee.¡± There wasn¡¯t much space in the tricycle; apart from the middle-aged man driving the tricycle in the front, there was Xiao Shi sitting in the back and a woman holding a baby. The woman red at Xiao Shi with some impatience and said in a low voice, ¡°You¡¯ve peed a few times on the way, little boy.¡± Xiao Shi covered his stomach and muttered, aggrieved, ¡°My stomach hurts, I want to pee.¡± The baby in the woman¡¯s arms seemed to have been woken up by his deliberate shouting and began to show signs of crying. ¡°Let him pee if he wants to.¡± The tricycle stopped abruptly on the side of the road and the man in the front got out of the car with a grim face and lifted Xiao Shi to the ground. ¡°Pee quickly.¡± Slowly, Xiao Shi unzipped his pants and peed on a tree by the roadside. A yellow dog leapt out from a distance and Xiao Shi was so scared that he darted behind the man halfway through his peeing. ¡°Uncle, I¡¯m afraid of dogs.¡± The man felt half of his trousers getting wet. He resisted the urge to push Xiao Shi away and yelled at the big yellow dog in front of him. The yellow dog seemed a little afraid of people and ran away quickly. Xiao Shi hugged the man¡¯s leg, his eyes shining brightly as he looked at him, ¡°Uncle, you are so powerful.¡± The man¡¯s gloomy face eased somewhat but when he saw his half-soaked trousers he couldn¡¯t help but get gloomy again. He roughly carried Xiao Shi to the tricycle, ¡°Sit down, let¡¯s continue our trip.¡± Xiao Shi had an innocent look on his face, ¡°Uncle, you said you were going to take me to find my daddy, where is he anyway? Last time Daddy said he was going to buy me Transformers, did he buy them?¡± Before the man could say anything, the woman holding the baby spoke impatiently, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to be good and obedient? Then we¡¯ll take you to your daddy.¡± Xiao Shi said, ¡°Oh,¡± and with a twinkle in his eye, he said loudly, ¡°Auntie, I want some water.¡± ¡°Here.¡± The woman handed him a bottle of mineral water with a cold face. Five minutester, Xiao Shi screamed again. ¡°I want to pee.¡± The woman looked at Xiao Shi sullenly, but there was nothing she could do about it. If she didn¡¯t let him get out of the tricycle to pee, he would make a lot of noise. In order not to wake the baby in her arms, the tricycle had to stop once more. The man stood behind Xiao Shi with a ck face, dreaming of quickly selling this little one. s Xiao Shi dawdled, took off his pants and peed on the tree beside him. After peeing, he slowly began to put on his pants again. Before he could finish putting them on, the man behind him impatiently carried him straight to the tricycle. Xiao Shi took the moment when the door was closing to look out, and Ah Huang¡¯s figure shed across the road. Knowing that Ah Huang had been following him, Xiao Shi obediently sat back down in his seat. Ten minutester, the tricycle turned into a small vige on the side of the road. The vige was called Xigang Vige, located east of Songjia, very far from Fengcheng City and in a very remote location. It was noon meal time and there was basically no one outside in the vige. The woman became alert from the moment they entered the vige, putting the sleeping baby under the seat and keeping her full attention on Xiao Shi. As long as Xiao Shi didn¡¯t scream, from the outside there would be no way to notice that there was a child inside. The little tricycle was specially designed to make it easy for them to take children in and out. The tricycle sped all the way and soon came to a stop in front of an ordinary farmhouse. The man breathed a sigh of relief and called for the people at home to open the door quickly. Usually no one was around at this time of the day, but today, for some reason, the neighbour next door heard the sound of the tricycle and came out to greet them, ¡°Lai San is back?¡± The woman fiercely reached out and covered Xiao Shi¡¯s mouth. The man known as Lai San tried to squeeze out a smile and nodded, ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± The neighbour looked like he wanted to say something else when the door to the small courtyard opened and Lai San¡¯s brother, Lai Si, stood at the door, eximing, ¡°Brother, Sister-inw, you¡¯re finally back, I¡¯m just waiting for you to eat.¡± When Lai Si said this, the neighbour couldn¡¯t continue his conversation. Smiling, he nodded to them and turned to go back into his house. The woman slowly let go of her hand; Xiao Shi¡¯s face was red from suffocation and he was gasping for air. The woman stroked his head and praised, ¡°Good, you were very obedient just now, as long as you stay this obedient, I¡¯ll take you to your daddy.¡± s Xiao Shi blinked and didn¡¯t say anything. Until he entered the courtyard, he behaved very quietly and docilely. Lai Si greeted his brother and said in a low voice, ¡°Brother, did it go well today?¡± Lai San nodded with a sullen face and reached out to carry Xiao Shi out of the car. Lai Si was a little surprised to see Xiao Shi, and after a nce up and down, he said, ¡°This little brat is a bit old and starting to remember things, so I¡¯m afraid it wasn¡¯t a good idea.¡± Lai San grunted; he had a headache from Xiao Shi all the way. It was just that he hadn¡¯t been able to do anything on the road, or he would have beaten Xiao Shi up. When he heard Lai Si say that, he immediately smiled sinisterly, ¡°If we can¡¯t sell him, we¡¯ll give him to Old Yaotou. Didn¡¯t he want to find some little beggars to go to Zhongjingtely? When the timees, if you keep this face and break his legs, he can beg for a lot of money a day.¡± The two men said this in front of Xiao Shi, who stared in horror. Lai Siughed and grabbed Xiao Shi like a hawk grabbing a chicken and threw him into a small shed on the east side, locking the door from the outside. There were three other children in the shed, two boys and a girl, all younger than Xiao Shi. The children cowered in the corner in fear, staring nkly at Xiao Shi. Xiao Shi was originally a bit scared, but when he saw the children, he wasn¡¯t scared anymore. He let Lai San catch him on purpose. He knew that Lai San was a bad guy and wanted to help Uncle Fang catch him. A few days ago, when Fang Lei was visiting Xiao Shi, he casually mentioned that there were many children lost in Fengcheng recently, so he asked Xiao Shi to pay attention and not to run around alone all the time. Xiao Shi was not afraid of anything because he had Ah Huang. Today, he was ying hide-and-seek with Ah Huang when he came across the human traffickers that Fang Lei described. They said they were going to take him to his daddy, so Xiao Shi followed them with a twinkle in his eye. He knew that Ah Huang would follow him, would find the bad guys¡¯ home and bring Uncle Policeman to catch them. The thought shed through his mind and Xiao Shi began to worry about where Ah Huang was now. Had he followed him all the way here? In the middle of his thoughts, a dog barked outside the courtyard and Xiao Shi¡¯s eyes lit up. He peeked through the door and listened for a long time. Ah Huang was going back to find Uncle Li to rescue him. Xiao Shi nodded vigorously; although Ah Huang couldn¡¯t see, he believed in Ah Huang. Soon Uncle Policeman woulde to catch the bad guys. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know these thoughts of Xiao Shi. If he did, he would have to spank him hard. He and Fang Lei had followed Dahei all the way in search of Xiao Shi and were now near Songjia Vige. Dahei smelled the scent left by Xiao Shi here and called out to Lu Lingxi in a low voice. Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head and looked at Fang Lei and affirmed, ¡°The direction is correct.¡± Fang Lei let out a sigh of relief, ¡°Let¡¯s keep going.¡± The two of them got into the car and Dahei ran ahead, followed by seven or eightrge dogs behind them. The police dog that Fang Lei had brought with him was also here, working very hard all the way. In the distance, arge yellow dog ran over, and Fang Lei suddenly braked the car and said sharply, ¡°It was Ah Huang.¡± Ah Huang obviously saw them too and stopped in his tracks, turned around and ran towards Xigang Vige. ¡°Follow.¡± Lu Lingxi and Fang Lei said in unison. Chapter 105 At the entrance of Xigang Vige, Fang Lei parked his car on the side of the road, and Dahei followed Ah Huang into the vige. Although it was less than half an hour since they discovered Ah Huang, the traffickers had always been cunning. If they took advantage of this half an hour to transfer Xiao Shi, they would just show up rashly and scare the enemy. Lu Lingxi looked worriedly in the direction where Dahei had disappeared, praying in his heart that Xiao Shi was still in the vige. He had always regarded Xiao Shi as his younger brother, and because Xiao Shi and he shared a secret, they were even closer. When he first heard that Xiao Shi had disappeared, he and Yu Xiaojuan were actually equally worried, and they only wanted to find Xiao Shi as soon as possible. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will definitely find Xiao Shi, he will be fine.¡± Fang Lei thought of something, ¡°Xiao Shi is very smart, you can see that he gets out of the car every now and then and leaves a mark. He must know that Ah Huang is behind him and is showing him the way.¡± When Fang Lei said this, Lu Lingxi nodded. Although he couldn¡¯t understand how Xiao Shi could still be kidnapped by human traffickers since Ah Huang was following him around. This time when he found Xiao Shi, he must talk to him about it, and it would be best if he didn¡¯t wander off alone in the vige in the future. As the thought shed in his mind, Dahei¡¯s figure had already appeared in sight. From a distance, Dahei called out to Lu Lingxi, who understood that Xiao Shi was still in the vige. He breathed out a sigh of relief and looked at Fang Lei, ¡°Xiao Shi is in the vige, do we have to wait for the police toe?¡± Fang Lei nodded, took the phone and said something. Hanging up the phone he thought for a moment and instructed, ¡°Let¡¯s go around first and see what¡¯s going on, the car will be parked here.¡± Originally Fang Lei was thinking that he could do this alone, and that it would be good for Lu Lingxi to wait outside. But then he thought, who knows what would happenter, with Lu Lingxi following, in case something happened, he could stillmand Dahei and these dogs to interfere, which could be somewhat equal to the force of three or four policemen. When the two of them got out of the car, Fang Lei kept thinking as he walked. His focus wasn¡¯t on saving Xiao Shi alone, but on whether he could follow the trail andpletely break up this human trafficking organization by saving Xiao Shi. Generally speaking, human traffickers have aplete chain of activities from the abduction of children to the sale of them, which is not a matter of one or two people, but a sizeable criminal organisation from top to bottom. In the past, the police used to carry out anti-trafficking activities, but traffickers were vignt and ran away at the slightest hint of trouble. They roamed the country and were used to moving around, and often the police could only catch a few small fish and shrimps after a long time of setting up a trap. It also suddenly urred to Fang Lei that they had acted quickly this time and the traffickers might not be able to react. As long as the police controlled the information not to leak out, they might be able to catch a few big fish. Having made up his mind, Fang Lei took Lu Lingxi and followed Dahei into the vige carefully. It wasn¡¯t yet one o¡¯clock, and the vigers were probably still eating at home. The whole vige was very quiet, and there wasn¡¯t a single person outside. Outside the farmhouse, Ah Huang was standing guard. When he saw Lu Lingxiing, he dug at the wall with some urgency, his intention quite obvious. He wanted to go over the wall and enter. Lu Lingxi tilted his head and took a look. Perhaps because the people there had a guilty conscience, the walls around this house were built higher than those of the surrounding neighbours, almost three metres high, so he didn¡¯t think Ah Huang would be able to climb up. Stroking Ah Huang¡¯s head reassuringly, Lu Lingxi steadied the dogs and looked searchingly at Fang Lei. Fang Lei nodded appreciatively at Lu Lingxi. If there were some robbers inside, he would have rushed in with the dogs. But there was no telling how many little children would be inside, so Fang Lei couldn¡¯t help but be cautious, just in case the traffickers were deranged enough to use the children as shields. He circled around and was wondering how to proceed when the sound of a man and a woman talking suddenly came from inside the courtyard, and there were faint footstepsing towards the door. s At this moment, even if the two of them left, they would not be able to go too far, but the most crucial thing was that if the people inside saw them and became suspicious, there would be trouble. When Fang Lei thought of this, he immediately instructed Dahei to block the door with a few dogs, and when the door opened, before the people inside could react, Dahei and Ah Huang rushed in one after another. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Where did the wild dogse from?¡± The woman¡¯s panicked voice rang out, and the next moment she was thrown to the ground by Dahei. The man, who wasn¡¯t far from the woman, turned and ran, and three or four dogs rushed in, grabbing the man¡¯s legs with their teeth and dragging him to the ground. Themotion in the courtyard soon woke Lai San, who was sleeping, and he immediately realised that something was wrong. The first thing he did was to look for his mobile phone and try to notify the others. ¡°Police, don¡¯t move.¡± Fang Lei appeared at the door. Lai San threw away his mobile phone and with a ruthless face drew a knife from under the bed. Ah Huang stared at him and leaped forward lightly, biting down on Lai San¡¯s wrist. ¡°Ah!¡± Lai San screamed miserably and let go of the knife in his hand as Ah Huang pinned him down, his sharp teeth only centimetres away from Lai San¡¯s neck. ¡°Ah Huang.¡± Fang Lei said in a deep voice, a little afraid that Ah Huang would bite down. Before Ah Huang could bite, Fang Lei quickly handcuffed Lai San and tied him to the bed. In a short while, the man and woman in the courtyard had also been subdued. Fang Lei found two ropes and skillfully tied them together, and took the rags on the table and gagged the two. ¡°That¡¯s done.¡± He pped his hands and looked at Lu Lingxi, ¡°I¡¯ll make a phone call, Xiao Xi, you go find Xiao Shi.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded and turned towards the east side of the house. As soon as Lai San had been subdued, Ah Huang squatted there, barking in a low voice through the door. When Lu Lingxi heard it, he knew that Xiao Shi was locked up inside. ¡°Brother Xiao Xi.¡± Xiao Shi called out excitedly as he peeked through the crack in the door. Lu Lingxi finally calmed down when he heard this voice. When he found the key and opened the door, Xiao Shi rushed into Lu Lingxi¡¯s arms like an arrow. Lu Lingxi hugged Xiao Shi and smiled, but when he raised his eyes to see the situation inside the shed, his smile suddenly froze on his face. Xiao Shi wasn¡¯t the only child inside, there were three other children locked up with Xiao Shi. When he was outside, Lu Lingxi had noticed that the windows in this shed were very small and located high up under the eaves to let in a little light. Now that he opened the door he realised that there was nothing in the shed but arge sponge mat on the floor. In the dim light, three children huddled together, looking at him with some fear. s Realising something, Xiao Shi turned to Lu Lingxi and asked, ¡°Brother Xiao Xi, the police will send all these little brothers and little sister home, right?¡± Lu Lingxi looked at these little faces full of fear and panic and nodded vigorously. Fang Lei came over after making the phone call, saw the situation in the shed and cursed, ¡°Bastards.¡± As a police officer, Fang Lei has personally caught many criminals, robbers, killers¡­ everyone. If he was asked whom he hated the most among those people, human traffickers definitely had to be at the top of the list. Every time a small child was lost, three families were destroyed at the same time. In the past, most of these children were sold to families without children, so that they could at least grow up safely. But now more of them were controlled by criminal organisations that forced them to be beggars in the big cities. In order to beg for more money, some of these children had their legs broken, some had their faces cut and some had been deliberately burnt. Fang Lei dared not imagine what Xiao Shi¡¯s future would have been if they had not found him in time. Letting out a heavy breath, Fang Lei and Lu Lingxi carefully carried these children out of the shed. Lu Lingxi found some food in the kitchen and poured a few cups of warm water for them. The children liked Lu Lingxi more than Fang Lei. Although they were still timid and didn¡¯t dare to speak, as long as Lu Lingxi fed them, they all obediently followed suit and ate. Fang Lei sighed, ¡°I¡¯ve already called my colleagues, they should be here soon. Xiao Shi¡¯s mother has also been informed. Xiao Xi, you can just take Xiao Shi backter.¡± ¡°What about them?¡± Lu Lingxi gestured to the three children around him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Fang Lei said, ¡°These kids were probably all lost in the past day or two, so a check of the police records should be able to find their families.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. After the two of them finished talking, Fang Lei thought of asking what had happened to Xiao Shi. How did he get tricked into being abducted? Xiao Shi pouted discontentedly and said loudly, ¡°I wasn¡¯t tricked into being abducted, I went with them on purpose. I knew they were bad guys, and I wanted to help Uncle Policeman catch the bad guys.¡± Before he could finish speaking, Fang Lei¡¯s face darkened. With one hand, he picked up Xiao Shi and held him down on hisp and pped his ass several times. ¡°What did you say? You went with them on purpose? You knew they were bad people? Do you know that everyone is looking for you, your mother is going crazy?¡± Xiao Shi didn¡¯t get Fang Lei¡¯s praise as he had expected, but got a beating and struggled at once. ¡°I¡¯m helping Uncle Policeman catch the bad guys, I¡­¡± Fang Lei unceremoniously gave him a few more ps, ¡°What can you do before your hair grows? Did the police ask you to help? What if something went wrong?¡± ¡°I have Ah Huang, I¡¯m not afraid!¡± Xiao Shi shouted, his eyes widening, aggrieved. Tears were hanging on his eyshes as he wanted to cry and tried to hold back his tears. ¡°I want Brother Xiao Xi, I don¡¯t want to talk to you!¡± Only after Fang Lei finished pping him did he realise that he had no rtion to Xiao Shi and it wasn¡¯t his turn to punish this bear kid. Hearing what Xiao Shi said, he instantly threw Xiao Shi to Lu Lingxi next to them. Xiao Shi hugged Lu Lingxi and was about toin, but soon found that Lu Lingxi¡¯s face wasn¡¯t good either and he was looking at Xiao Shi with a stern expression. Just now, Fang Lei had acted too quickly, otherwise Lu Lingxi would have spanked Xiao Shi himself. He felt that Xiao Shi was too bold. He was only five years old and dared to be sowless; he had to be taught a good lesson. Xiao Shi immediately changed his response mode, pursing his mouth and asking pitifully, ¡°Brother Xiao Xi, are you going to spank me too?¡± As he said that, he touched his bottom, his other hand clutching tightly at Lu Lingxi¡¯s clothes while he tilted his head back and desperately squeezed out his tears. Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart softened, but he still said seriously, ¡°Do you know you¡¯re wrong?¡± Xiao Shi reluctantly nodded, ¡°Yes, I know, I shouldn¡¯t make Mom worry and make Brother Xiao Xi worry.¡± ¡°And what else? Do you know how dangerous this is?¡± Xiao Shi blinked and eximed, ¡°I have Ah Huang, Ah Huang will protect me.¡± This was the second time Xiao Shi had said this. Lu Lingxi frowned, thinking that this was Xiao Shi¡¯s real problem. Chapter 106 After being arrested, Lai San and Lai Si soon gave a clear ount of their actions. The brothers move around Fengcheng on a regr basis under the guise of making trips on a tricycle for money. When they meet a child who was alone and suitable, the two of them would coax the child, and if they couldn¡¯t coax, they would use drugs. Xiao Shi was lucky. Some time ago, Lai Si had an ident with the drug and Lai San lost half of the money because of it. He was distressed and refused to let Lai Si use the drug again. Otherwise, a shot of anaesthetic would go down, and no matter how smart Xiao Shi was, it would be in vain. With the information from Lai San and Lai Si, Fang Lei immediately separated from his local colleagues and went to arrest several human traffickers around Fengcheng on the same day, and at the same time, followed the trail and caught the buyers during the next contact. Among these people, Old Yaotou¡¯s capture was the most gratifying. It was said that he specially transported little beggars to Zhongjing. Many of the children who fell into his hands were very miserable. In Fang Lei¡¯s words, Old Yaotou was a scumbag. All these things were told to Lu Lingxi by Fang Lei on the phone in the evening. As soon as Fang Lei¡¯s colleagues arrived at noon, Lu Lingxi took Xiao Shi back to Lingshui Vige. Fang Lei knew that Lu Lingxi was concerned about the aftermath of the incident and he also wanted to ask for leniency for Xiao Shi. Fang Lei had known Lu Lingxi for some time, but it was the first time he had seen him angry. He thought that Xiao Shi would be beaten up when he returned. Originally, Fang Lei felt that Xiao Shi deserved a lesson, but after he had caught all these scum and rescued nearly twenty children this afternoon, Fang Lei had to admit that Xiao Shi had done a good deed. Fang Lei vaguely said on the phone that they should give Xiao Shi a chance and not beat him up too hard. He knew that Yu Xiaojuan was one of Lu Lingxi¡¯s employees and that Lu Lingxi could definitely talk to Yu Xiaojuan. Lu Lingxi understood what he meant and couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Xiao Shi is fine.¡± As soon as he brought Xiao Shi back to Lingshui Vige in the afternoon, Xiao Shi was making a fuss about going to find his grandmother. Yu Xiaojuan listened to Lu Lingxi¡¯s words and rolled up her sleeves, but as a result, Grandma Dong stopped her from beating him, saying that it was okay to beat him but Xiao Shi had juste back, let him settle down first and beat him in a few days. Lu Lingxi looked at Xiao Shi¡¯s appearance and thought he would probably be forgiven in a few days. Meanwhile, Ah Huang was praised by Grandma Dong wholeheartedly because of this incident. She bought bones and built a kennel, treating Ah Huang as a great benefactor of their family. There was a lot of fuss all afternoon and it was only in the evening that Yan Yue picked up Lu Lingxi from Lingshui Vige. Lu Lingxi spoke so vividly that Fang Lei couldn¡¯t help but smile as he imagined Xiao Shi and Ah Huang. s ¡°All right, then I¡¯m relieved. After this is over I¡¯ll try to apply for amendation for Dahei and Ah Huang, so that they don¡¯t work for nothing.¡± The so-calledmendation was a kind of a certificate, and Lu Lingxi felt that it didn¡¯t matter whether there was one or not. But this was Fang Lei¡¯s good intention, so he didn¡¯t refuse. After hanging up the phone, Lu Lingxi was still thinking about Xiao Shi. Yan Yue closed the file in his hand and smiled at Lu Lingxi: ¡°What did Fang Lei say?¡± Lu Lingxi sat down next to Yan Yue and said, somewhat distractedly, ¡°He talked about their actions this afternoon, and about Xiao Shi.¡± Speaking of Xiao Shi, Yan Yue shook his head, ¡°Xiao Shi is really too bold this time.¡± This was exactly what Lu Lingxi was most worried about. He felt that Xiao Shi was too bold, overwhelmingly so, because Xiao Shi thought he couldmunicate with Ah Huang. This unusual ability had given him the confidence to do things that he shouldn¡¯t have done at his age. This wasn¡¯t the first time. Previously, Uncle Li had mentioned that Xiao Shi had relied on Ah Huang to scare Xu San. At the time, both Lu Lingxi and Uncle Li¡¯s education was focused on telling Xiao Shi that he couldn¡¯t do bad things just because he had this ability at his disposal. But now, Lu Lingxi felt that what he should teach Xiao Shi more was how to properly understand this ability. Even with Ah Huang around, he wasn¡¯t omnipotent. Hearing Lu Lingxi¡¯s concern, Yan Yue thought for a moment. ¡°It wasn¡¯t as serious as you think, Xiao Xi. It is probably because Fang Lei often goes to Xiao Shi to tell him about solving cases, and Xiao Shi subconsciously idolises the characters in Fang Lei¡¯s stories. Boys will have this stage in their growth, worshipping and aspiring to be heroes, and when he is a little older he will understand.¡± When he said this, Lu Lingxi was a little confused and more curious, ¡°Really, Big Brother Yan, did you have this stage, too?¡± Yan Yue hooked the corners of his mouth and smiled lightly, ¡°Big Brother Yan had one too, did Xiao Xi not?¡± Lu Lingxi subconsciously shook his head; halfway through the shake he thought of something and said hesitantly, ¡°I forgot.¡± Yan Yue noticed his expression; his eyes darkened, he reached out and swept Lu Lingxi into his arms, lowering his head and kissing him on the cheek, ¡°Don¡¯t think about it.¡± s Lu Lingxi hummed in a low voice and found afortable position in Yan Yue¡¯s arms, half lying on the sofa and picking up an illustrated book on flowers. He looked like he was reading a book, but his attention wasn¡¯t focused on it at all as he kept thinking about what Yan Yue said. The longer he lived this life, the more he realised the abnormality of his previous life. This abnormality wasn¡¯t just because he couldn¡¯t go to school and needed to stay home all year, but¡­ Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t want to think about it anymore, put down the book, turned over and hugged Yan Yue¡¯s waist, burying his head in Yan Yue¡¯s chest. His look of dependence satisfied Yan Yue¡¯s heart, and he gently touched Lingxi¡¯s back, his eyes soft like flowing water. The two of them didn¡¯t speak and a faint warmth surrounded them; the only sound in the room was the TV. ¡°The rainy season is upon us, and it is the mating season in the grasnds again!¡± Lu Lingxi puffed out augh, the warm atmosphere from before gone. He looked up from Yan Yue¡¯s arms and saw Dahei squatting solemnly in front of the TV, pressing the remote control to watch ¡°Animal World¡±, while Xiaohei waszily coiled on top of Dahei¡¯s head, nibbling on the tip of his own tail for fun. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes curved and his smile grew brighter and brighter as he watched the two children of his family getting along harmoniously. Yan Yue looked down at him in fascination, wishing only that the young man would always look this happy. The reason he went to An Jie today was to ask him to help him investigate the matter of the Lu family in Zhongjing. He didn¡¯t go back to China often before, and he had nothing to do with the Lu family in Zhongjing, so he didn¡¯t care about the news of the Lu family at all. But from the moment he had that suspicion, he couldn¡¯t wait to investigate the affairs of the Lu family as soon as possible, especially Lu Guangjing¡¯s family. An Jie was very surprised by Yan Yue¡¯smand but didn¡¯tment. The Lu family¡¯s affairs were no secret, and many people in Zhongjing knew about them. Of course, what Yan Yue had asked for was a detailed investigation from 18 years ago, which would take some time. But from the few things that were known so far, Yan Yue could infer the growing experience of the other ¡°Lu Lingxi¡±, the life he didn¡¯t want the young man to experience at all. Remembering the boy¡¯s unusual attention to donglingcao, Yan Yue¡¯s heart softened as he lowered his head and kissed the boy tenderly. ¡°Su Lang¡¯s research is going very well, and they are all treasuring the pot of first-ss donglingcao we sent to them. At the current rate of progress, they will soon be able to test it on mice.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little surprised at how Yan Yue had suddenly brought up Su Lang¡¯s research, but he was still quite happy to hear that they were making progress. ¡°Are we going to start growing it on arge scale?¡± Yan Yue rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s face and said softly, ¡°There¡¯s no rush, they have a small amount raised in theb. We¡¯ll nt it on arge scale after the mice test.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled, ¡°Big Brother Yan, you are investing in Dr. Su¡¯sboratory while working with them in the name of Tiny Garden,pletely moving money from your left pocket to your right pocket, making a profit by the way.¡± Yan Yue looked at Lu Lingxi deeply and smiled lightly, ¡°What Xiao Xi said is true, Big Brother Yan¡¯s business has been going very well since he met Xiao Xi. It seems that Xiao Xi brings prosperity to his husband.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± When it came to cheekiness, he was definitely not a match for Yan Yue. The corners of Yan Yue¡¯s lips curled up, and there was a look of tenderness in his eyes. He gently cupped Lu Lingxi¡¯s chin and lowered his head to kiss him again. The next morning at the meal, Wang Shuxiu also asked about Xiao Shi. Lu Lingxi briefly described what had happened, and Wang Shuxiu sighed after hearing it. It was a good thing Xiao Shi was lucky, otherwise if he hadn¡¯t been found, what Yu Xiaojuan would have felt was really unthinkable. After talking about Xiao Shi, Wang Shuxiu scolded the traffickers for a while. As a mother, Wang Shuxiu had a deep hatred for human traffickers. As she said this, she remembered something and casually poked Lu Lingxi with a finger. ¡°You were almost lost once when you were little too, but ended up being brought home.¡± She spoke vaguely, and Lu Lingxi looked bewildered. Wang Shuxiu seemed unwilling to mention more, ¡°Forget it, it was all in the past. If it weren¡¯t for Xiao Shi I wouldn¡¯t have remembered. Eat, eat.¡± Lu Lingxi gave Wang Shuxiu a puzzled look and obediently lowered his head to eat. After they finished eating, Wang Shuxiu and Lu Lingxi talked about her going on their honeymoon with Xiao Feng. They had been preparing for it before the wedding, and it was Xiao Hong¡¯s suggestion that the two families should go together. They weren¡¯t going far, just a few cities around the area, and by the way they wanted to help Zhou Xiaoman check up on her health. Lu Lingxi had no problem with this. He supported Wang Shuxiu to go out and have some fun while she was young. Now that there was no financial burden on the family, it was time for Wang Shuxiu to enjoy life. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about the small restaurant either, I¡¯ve arranged it with Yi Hang, and Tiger will help out with anything when the timees. Xiao Xi, you just take care of Tiny Garden.¡± Wang Shuxiu said as she gathered the dishes and chopsticks. Xiao Feng very consciously rolled up his sleeves and went to wash the dishes. Lu Lingxi was a bit embarrassed and stood up to help, but Wang Shuxiu stopped him. ¡°It¡¯s just a few bowls, your dad can wash them.¡± Lu Lingxi held back a smile and nodded. Xiao Feng nced at Wang Shuxiu with a smile and acquiesced to the fact that he could wash the dishes. The travel date set by the two couples was the day after tomorrow, and Xiao Hong drove to themunity. One car was enough for four people; the only question was what about Xiao Baiwan? He was so big that he would upy a whole seat and if they took him with them, the car would be a little crowded. Xiao Hong thought for a while, and simply decided not to take Xiao Baiwan with them. ¡°How about it? Is there any problem taking care of Xiao Baiwan?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head. He had no problem but he didn¡¯t know if Xiao Baiwan would have a problem. Chapter 107 The arrival of Xiao Baiwan unexpectedly triggered a series of chicken flying and dogs jumping at home. To put it mildly, Xiao Baiwan and Dahei were a bit of a case of a king meeting a king. Every time he saw Dahei, Xiao Baiwan had to rush up and bark at him. Even though Xiao Hong had told him countless times not to mess with Dahei before, Lu Lingxi guessed that Xiao Baiwan hadn¡¯t remembered it at all and was still the first one to jump on Dahei when he saw him. Lu Lingxi had a terrible headache and couldn¡¯t pull Xiao Baiwan back. He had to wrong Dahei to separate him from Xiao Baiwan, and patiently appeased Xiao Baiwan for a long time before Xiao Baiwan adapted to the environment without Xiao Hong around. ¡°You really don¡¯t have a long-term memory.¡± Lu Lingxi stroked Xiao Baiwan¡¯s head, ¡°Don¡¯t you remember a single word that Uncle told you?¡± Through these days of getting along, Lu Lingxi had already figured out Xiao Baiwan¡¯s essence behind his fierce appearance. The Tibetan mastiff¡¯s IQ is not high. It is considered to be the bottom of the dog ss. Therefore, despite the Tibetan mastiff¡¯s unbelievable fighting ability, it can only be used as a fighting dog, but not as a police dog. Xiao Baiwan personally proved this statement with facts. Although Xiao Baiwan wasn¡¯t sure what Lu Lingxi was talking about, his animal instincts told him that he wasfortable around Lu Lingxi. He affectionately put his two front paws on Lu Lingxi¡¯s shoulders and came over to wash Lu Lingxi¡¯s face with his saliva. This was his way of expressing his closeness to Xiao Hong, but Xiao Baiwan forgot that Lu Lingxi¡¯s body was no match for Xiao Hong¡¯s. The lion-like figure pressed down, and Lu Lingxi was almost crushed, struggling to avoid Xiao Baiwan¡¯s big hairy face. After settling Xiao Baiwan at home, Lu Lingxi went back to Yan Yue¡¯s ce. As soon as he entered the door, Dahei sniffed and rushed up to enthusiastically wash Lu Lingxi¡¯s face again. Used to Dahei¡¯s usual calmness, Lu Lingxi was a little surprised by Dahei¡¯s behaviour. He thought that his previous order to separate Dahei had broken Dahei¡¯s heart, so Lu Lingxi stayed with him, soothing him for a long time. In the evening before going to bed, Lu Lingxi talked to Yan Yue about Dahei and Xiao Baiwan¡¯s behaviour, and Yan Yue¡¯s eyes gradually became weird as he listened andughed softly. Lu Lingxi looked confused, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yan Yue slightly pressed Lu Lingxi under his body, his eyes bright as stars, looking intently at Lu Lingxi, smiling, ¡°Nothing, I think about puppies fighting over the territory.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The smile in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes deepened as he kissed Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes and whispered, ¡°Xiao Xi is mine, they can¡¯t fight over him.¡± He finished kissing Lu Lingxi tenderly, and Lu Lingxi meekly closed his eyes, feeling that Yan Yue¡¯s behaviour was no different from a puppy marking his territory. s Because he went to bedte at night, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t get up early the next day. While he was sleeping, Dahei and Xiao Baiwan were on the verge of tearing down the small backyard. The two dogs confronted each other early in the morning and were trying to tear each other apart in silence with their teeth bared. Xiao Baiwan wasrge in size and Dahei was agile in stance, and neither could get the upper hand. Yan Yue was holding hisptop, checking his emails, and had no intention of interfering with the fight between Dahei and Xiao Baiwan. In Yan Yue¡¯s opinion, one mountain did not allow two tigers. In the past, Dahei and Xiao Baiwan were suppressed and couldn¡¯t fight. Now that they were under the same roof every day and Xiao Baiwan was so stubborn, they couldn¡¯tst long with just Dahei¡¯s concessions and Lu Lingxi¡¯s appeasement. So just let them fight and determine the winner. Yan Yue nced up and saw that the two dogs were fighting but they were still mindful of the situation, not fighting to the point of death, but to the point of winning. ¡°Grr.¡± Dahei let out a threatening growl from deep in his throat. Xiao Baiwan, not to be outdone, red menacingly at Dahei. Just when the two dogs were about to jump at each other again, Lu Lingxi faintly heard amotion outside and shouted as soon as he got up and walked outside, ¡°Dahei?¡± Dahei¡¯s ears twitched; he hid his fierceness, jumped up to the balcony in a few steps and squatted on the ground with a calm look. Xiao Baiwan was a little slower than Dahei in his reaction, still baring his teeth and threatening Dahei. The moment Lu Lingxi came out, he saw the angry look of Xiao Baiwan. Whenparing the two dogs¡¯ appearance, it was obvious that it was once again Xiao Baiwan who had taken the initiative to provoke Dahei, and Dahei had been backing off, obeying Lu LIngxi. Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart softened and he stroked Dahei¡¯s head, hugging him and praising him for a long time. Anyway, Xiao Baiwan was a guest of the family, and it was also appropriate for Dahei as the host to make concessions to Xiao Baiwan. Dahei gave a low bark and Lu Lingxi smiled, scratching Dahei¡¯s chin and whispering, ¡°I like Dahei the most.¡± After praising Dahei, Lu Lingxi had to appease Xiao Baiwan again. Touching his head and scratching his chin had already been used on Dahei, so Lu Lingxi found a smallb and started to smooth Xiao Baiwan¡¯s hair. As a result, as soon as he lifted his hand, he saw a strand of hair being brought down by theb. Lu Lingxi froze for a moment, ¡°Why has Xiao Baiwan started to shed?¡± Yan Yue looked meaningfully at Dahei, who squinted his eyes with an innocent expression and quietly squatted on the ground. Because of Xiao Baiwan¡¯s hair loss, Lu Lingxi deliberately took Xiao Baiwan to Dong Zhi for a checkup. Usually a Tibetan mastiff¡¯s out-of-season hair loss was either a parasitic infection, or suffering from skin disease, or eating too much meat, unhealthy diet,ck of vitamins, protein and other nutrients, resulting in skin resistance decline. Dong Zhi checked everything and felt that Xiao Baiwan was very healthy and nothing was wrong. However, seeing that Lu Lingxi was anxious, he thought about it and instructed, ¡°Let him eat less meat and more vegetables for the next few days first and see what happens.¡± Yan Yue listened to Dong Zhi¡¯s instructions, raised his eyebrows slightly, gave Xiao Baiwan a slightly sympathetic look, and continued to hide the morning fight between Xiao Baiwan and Dahei. s Xiao Baiwan was a big eater, having once set a record of eating half a sheep in one meal. Xiao Hong usually fed him mainly meat, and he would eat a basin of bones at a meal, together with some vegetables and fruits to ensure bnced nutrition. Just like Dahei, Xiao Baiwan also refused to eat dog food and only liked to eat meat. But ever since Lu Lingxi listened to Dong Zhi, Xiao Baiwan¡¯s diet was reduced from a basin of bones to half a basin, and the rest waspensated by some vegetables suitable for dogs. These vegetables were all grown in the Yongchun greenhouse and Tiger made a point of bringing them over every time he delivered them to the small restaurant. Xiao Baiwan was very unhappy about not having enough meat to eat but was unable to express himself to Lu Lingxi, so he could only start the process of eating vegetables every day, aggrieved. Every now and then, when Lu Lingxi was not looking, the two dogs had a fight. Every time they fought, Xiao Baiwan had a few strands of hair bitten off by Dahei. Compared to Dahei¡¯s short hair, which wasn¡¯t noticeable even if it fell out, Xiao Baiwan¡¯s hair loss only became more and more serious in Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes. Lu Lingxi spoke to Xiao Hong on the phone about the incident and Xiao Hongughed: ¡°It¡¯s okay, since it¡¯s not parasites, let Xiao Baiwan eat less meat and more vegetables.¡± Xiao Baiwan was eager toin to Xiao Hong and kept barking into the phone. Xiao Hong was quite satisfied as he listened, ¡°Xiao Baiwan seems to be in good spirits, Xiao Xi has taken good care of him.¡± After hearing this, Yan Yue looked at Xiao Baiwan with even more sympathy. After Xiao Baiwan had been eating vegetables for more than a week, the Lingshui River purification project officially started to invite participants in the tender. The project was small in scale, with only 200,000 yuan allocated to it, so it didn¡¯t make much money at all. However,pared with other environmental protectionpanies, for Lu Lingxi, the growth of the eelgrass cost nothing, and the 200,000 allocated was equivalent to pure profit. With littlepetition, Tiny Garden Technology Company won the project to purify the Lingshui River. Lu Lingxi had read the tender application prepared by Yan Yue, and apart from mentioning eelgrass, there were many scientific terms in it that he couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°What¡¯s the purification factor?¡± He asked, pointing to one of the terms. Yan Yue pretended to think about it, and then spread his arms, ¡°I don¡¯t know either, An Jie came up with it.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Yan Yueughed and exined, ¡°If we only talk about the effects of the eelgrass, I¡¯m afraid that before we finish purifying the Lingshui River, the eelgrass inside will be plucked clean by people with crooked thoughts. By making up some scientific terms like purification factor or something, other people¡¯s attention will be drawn to them, and I guess not many people will pay attention to the eelgrass.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t expect it to be like this; with aplicated expression on his face that he didn¡¯t know what to say. His expression was smart and his thoughts were written on his face. Yan Yue looked at him with his heart itching and couldn¡¯t help but lean forward and kiss Lu Lingxi, whispering: ¡°The market is like a battlefield. Soldiers are never tired of deceit.¡± Lu Lingxi returned to his senses and curved his eyes, ¡°Then should we pretend to put something in the water?¡± Yan Yue raised his eyebrows slightly, ¡°Just pour a bottle of mineral water.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± After the project was confirmed, the two of them took time to take Dahei back to Lingshui Vige. When they got into the car, Lu Lingxi put Xiao Baiwan on the passenger side, and he, Dahei and Xiaohei sat in the back. Strangely enough, ever since Xiao Baiwan had shed with Dahei on the day of his arrival, Lu Lingxi had never seen the two fight again. Although he had always wanted Xiao Baiwan and Dahei to live together in harmony, Lu Lingxi felt that something was wrong. He stroked Dahei¡¯s head and told Yan Yue about his doubts. Yan Yue felt his heart warm up and said soothingly to Lu Lingxi, ¡°Maybe Dahei and Xiao Baiwan sympathise with each other, so they don¡¯t have to fight every time they meet.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t really believe this, but he couldn¡¯t find an excuse to argue with it. He looked suspiciously at Dahei and then at Xiao Baiwan, and remembered something else. ¡°I wonder when Mom and the others will be back. Xiao Baiwan keeps losing his hair and not getting better, and seeing as he eats vegetables every day he doesn¡¯t have much energy either.¡± He was really worried about Xiao Baiwan¡¯s constant hair loss. Although it didn¡¯t look serious, it was definitely a problem if it continued to fall out like this for a long time. A strange smile shed in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes. There was nothing he could do about this problem. Ever since Dahei found out that Xiao Baiwan¡¯s hair loss = Xiao Baiwan eating vegetables, every time he fought with Xiao Baiwan, he would just scratch his hair and do nothing else. Sometimes when Xiao Baiwan didn¡¯t pay any attention to him, Dahei would even provoke him on purpose. As Yan Yue watched, he was amused and felt that Xiao Baiwan had brought it on himself. But in the past day or two, Xiao Baiwan had learnt his lesson and stopped picking fights with Dahei. He seemed to have realised that every time he finished a fight, he would get less bones in his basin, and there was finally an equation between fighting and the amount of bones. Thinking like this, Yan Yue held back a smile and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, in a few days Xiao Baiwan shouldn¡¯t lose his hair anymore.¡± He spoke with such certainty that the feeling that something was wrong in Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart became even more obvious. Chapter 108 When Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue arrived at Lingshui Vige, they were just in time to see Uncle Li carrying bones to feed the dogs in the nt nursery. Before the car could even stop, Xiao Baiwan sniffed and excitedly pawed the car window, looking in the direction of the courtyard. As soon as Yan Yue opened the car door, Xiao Baiwan rushed out like an arrow, his figure as fast as a ck lightning, straight to the bones in Uncle Li¡¯s hands. Uncle Li was startled by Xiao Baiwan¡¯s presence and hesitantly held the basin, not knowing whether to put it down or not. Xiao Bainwan couldn¡¯t take his eyes off of Uncle Li and his saliva was dripping all over the ground. Lu Lingxi ran over immediately, couldn¡¯t help but feel soft in his heart and told Uncle Li to feed Xiao Baiwan this pot of bones first. During this period, Xiao Baiwan was eating vegetables every day, and it was estimated that he was craving for meat. With Lu Lingxi¡¯s words, Xiao Baiwan ate three pots of bones in one breath and ate the dinner of all the dogs in the nt nursery. Uncle Li looked surprised: ¡°This Tibetan mastiff is too good at eating, right? You really can¡¯t afford to raise such a Tibetan mastiff without money.¡± Xiao Baiwan squattedzily at Lu Lingxi¡¯s feet after eating and drinking, and rubbed against Lu Lingxi¡¯s body affectionately like Dahei. Lu Lingxi originally wanted to say that he had eaten too much, but Xiao Baiwan¡¯s big hairy face was really cute to look at like this. Lu Lingxi unconsciously cocked the corners of his mouth and touched Xiao Baiwan¡¯s head like he did with Dahei. After dinner, Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue discussed the idea of going to the river to dig up some eelgrass. There wasn¡¯t much wind this evening, and it wasn¡¯t cold outside at all. After helping Lu Lingxi put on his down jacket, Yan Yue took Lu Lingxi by one hand and carried a small bucket in the other, and slowly wandered with Dahei to the Lingshui River. Xiao Baiwan had been suffocating at home for the past few days, so when he arrived at the river, he took off on his own. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t notice it before, but now he realised that Xiao Baiwan was really fast; in a short while he couldn¡¯t be seen. Lu Lingxi called out from afar to Xiao Baiwan, who ran in a circle and came back. Seeing that Xiao Baiwan was having fun, Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head and said, ¡°Dahei, you should go too.¡± Dahei gave a low bark and squatted calmly by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side. As long as it was outside, he would not leave Lu Lingxi easily. ¡°Good Dahei.¡± Lu Lingxi understood what Dahei meant andplimented him with a smile. While he was talking to Dahei, Yan Yue had already taken out all the tools from the small bucket. Lu Lingxi followed him with the shlight, shining a light on the ice and finding a ce where the ice looked rtively thin. ¡°How about here?¡± Yan Yue nodded as he took a small hammer and knocked. The ice was soon broken and the water beneath had been purified, shining with a sparkling silver glow under the moonlight. As the water surged, the stems and leaves of the eelgrass in the water stretched out in a very graceful manner. The two of them had prepared their tools before they came, picked the eelgrass in the river and shovelled it into a bucket with a small shovel, taking the mud and the nts together. Yan Yue was now very familiar with this kind of work and did it very smoothly. s The two of them didn¡¯t return to the courtyard but walked in the direction of Songjia. Lu Lingxi wanted to test to see if another ecologicalmunity of eelgrass could be formed upstream. If it was possible, then the section of the Lingshui River from Songjia Vige to Lingshui Vige could be purified without transnting too much of the evolved eelgrass. As long as this section of the river was within the entire ecologicalmunity, the eelgrass within it would naturally choose to evolve homogeneously, which would also save the effort of cultivating eelgrass. As they made their way upstream, the water quality in the Lingshui River got worse and worse. The stic factory at Songjia had been dismantled, but the pollution from before had already been caused. The whole river was ck from Songjia onwards; even if the water from upstream kept washing away, it was only a difference in the shade of ck. Especially in winter, ayer of ice was formed on the surface of the river, and all the ck sewage was frozen. The bottom of the river couldn¡¯t be seen through the ice, which was somewhat creepy. They heard from Uncle Li that since thest poisoning, it was as if the people of Songjia had realised the importance of the environment overnight. Even if the city didn¡¯t grant money to purify the Lingshui River this time, the people of Songjia Vige would have raised money to find someone to purify it themselves. They were really afraid. Thinking of this Lu Lingxi stopped in his tracks, ¡°Let¡¯s do it here.¡± He and Yan Yue were now out of the boundaries of Lingshui Vige and about a few hundred metres away from the first eelgrass ecological colony. Yan Yue quickly cut the ice, and Lu Lingxi took a small shovel likest time and cleared away the stones and broken ss near the area where he was going to transnt the eelgrass, and shovelled the silt nearby to dig a few suitable holes. One, two, three, four, five¡­ The eelgrass in the bucket was evenly distributed along the bank of the river. The white panel floated out and two lines of green letters showed below. Eelgrass ecologicalmunity formed, water purification +50%, bonus nt heart +500 Choose to evolve the nts of themon origin homogeneously? Without hesitation, Lu Lingxi quickly chose yes. When the panel floated out, there was a faint scent of grass and leavesing from Lu Lingxi¡¯s body. Yan Yue looked at him with a gentle gaze and asked, ¡°Is it done?¡± s Lu Lingxi nodded, a little excited. His guess was right, this would save them a lot of trouble. As the thought shed, Lu Lingxi was about to put away the panel when he suddenly froze as a new change appeared on the panel. The two eelgrass ecologicalmunities were disyed on the panel together. As with the changes in the big willow treest time, two green dots, onerge and one small, represented different eelgrassmunities. A green line linked the two together, and the newly formed eelgrass ecologicalmunity started expanding in both directions at a speed visible to the naked eye. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as an idea vaguely appeared in his mind. ¡°What?¡± Yan Yue saw Lu Lingxi¡¯s strangeness. Lu Lingxi thought about it and decided to try again. ¡°Big Brother Yan, let¡¯s go back and dig up a few more eelgrass.¡± An hourter, Yan Yue parked the car by the river. This time the two of them were farther away from Lingshui Vige, and if they had to walk, they would probably walk until the early hours of the morning. The two cracked open the ice like before, one, two, three, four, five¡­ Thest eelgrass was nted and a new eelgrass ecologicalmunity was formed. After the panel¡¯s reward prompt, a third green dot appeared in front of Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes. Lu Lingxi vaguely caught a thread and told Yan Yue about his guesses. The two of them went back and forth to Lingshui Vige again and again, from Lingshui Vige all the way to Songjia, forming seven eelgrass ecologicalmunities along the way. When thest eelgrass ecologicalmunity appeared, seven green dots of light lit up on the panel and theplete Lingshui River appeared on the panel. Primary river ecologicalmunity formed, reward nt hearts +1000, power of nature +5. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes lit up and his sight was quickly drawn to the five points of the power of nature. He still owed the panel five points of the power of nature, so he finally had a chance to pay it off. Sure enough, the panel quickly deducted the five points of the power of nature reward, and at the bottom right of the panel, the power of nature marker changed from a red -5 to a green 0. Lu Lingxi smiled and again looked at the Lingshui River. Previously, the panel had shown that the colour of the Lingshui River had been ck, but with the appearance of the green light dots, the ck colour of the river gradually faded away and a light blue undertone faintly appeared. Lu Lingxi guessed that this process was the purification of the Lingshu River, and when the panel showed that the colour had changed back to blue, it meant that the purification of the Lingshui River wasplete. He let out a slight sigh of relief and put away the panel. With the purification of the Lingshui River and the reward of the power of nature, Lu Lingxi had solved two problems in one night, and rxed and fell asleep on his way back. He slept straight to 8 o¡¯clock in the morning. When Lu Lingxi got up, Yan Yue was no longer next to him. He faintly heard Yan Yue talking to Uncle Li in the courtyard, seemingly asking whosend was across the Lingshui River. Lu Lingxi put on his clothes and washed up briefly. He didn¡¯t bother Yan Yue but went around to the courtyard. He intended to go to the nt nursery to have a look. After turning a corner, Lu Lingxi suddenly stopped in his tracks. Not far ahead, Dahei was nimbly biting Xiao Baiwan, easily tearing a mouthful of hair with every bite. Xiao Baiwan roared angrily, but Dahei, with his quick body, didn¡¯t fight Xiao Baiwan hard at all, but kept biting off wisps of his hair. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He seemed to have some understanding of what was going on with Xiao Baiwan losing his hair. The first one to notice Lu Lingxi was Dahei, who immediately stopped halfway through his lunge and moved in Lu Lingxi¡¯s direction with a bashful frown, looking guilty as if he had been caught doing something bad. Lu Lingxi flicked his finger at his head and waved at Xiao Baiwan. Xiao Baiwan rushed over, aggrieved, and Lu Lingxi took a look at Xiao Baiwan. The condition of his body was exactly the same as when he lost his hair a few days ago. This discovery left Lu Lingxi speechless for a long time, and when he thought that Xiao Baiwan had been forced by him to eat vegetables for more than a week, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know whether tough or to cry. He finally understood why he had felt strange about Dahei and Xiao Baiwan getting along before. Dahei twitched his ears and let out a whimper. Lu Lingxi let go of Xiao Baiwan and patted Dahei¡¯s head in amusement. ¡°No more bullying Xiao Baiwan in the future.¡± Dahei nuzzled his head against Lu Lingxi¡¯s palm. Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart was soft, and there was nothing he could do about Dahei. However, he quickly thought of one thing, ¡°Did Big Brother Yan know about this long ago?¡± Dahei shook his head rather righteously, not betraying Yan Yue. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t believe it and scratched Dahei¡¯s chin, ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know, Dahei, you¡¯re just lying to me along with Big Brother Yan.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s lying to you?¡± Yan Yue asked with a smile as he walked over from afar. Lu Lingxi red at him and held out his hand; in his palm was a strand of hair that Dahei had bitten off. Yan Yue stopped, the smile on his face deepened and heughed aloud. Chapter 109 Having found the real cause of Xiao Baiwan¡¯s hair loss, Lu Lingxi rxed the control over Xiao Baiwan¡¯s diet. After eating vegetables for more than a week, Xiao Baiwan finally lived the same happy life as before, eating meat every time until he was full. Out of a desire topensate, Lu Lingxi would asionally add a meal to Xiao¡¯s diet. In a few days, Xiao Baiwan had regained all the weight he had lost, and had even gained some more. In the evening, after Xiao Baiwan took a bath, Lu Lingxi held Xiao Baiwan¡¯s big face and looked at it left and right, turning his head to ask Yan Yue behind him, ¡°Is Xiao Baiwan still a bit thin? Yan Yue¡¯s gaze fell on Xiao Baiwan¡¯s chubby double chin, and he opened his eyes wide and said nonsense, ¡°A bit thin.¡± Lu Lingxi thought for a while and added supper to Xiao Baiwan. Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± As Xiao Baiwan¡¯ weight increased day by day, January came. Tiny Garden had obviously gotten busy. Li Weisheng helped introduce several orders to Lu Lingxi during this period, and a small profit of 30,000 yuan was made from the misceneous transactions. Although with Tiny Garden Technology Company Lu Lingxi¡¯s ie was no longer focused on the sale of flowers in the shop, he still appreciated Li Weisheng¡¯s kindness and wanted to give him a gift for the New Year. ¡°Big Brother Yan, do you think a few pots of flowers is a bit little?¡± Lu Lingxi had little experience in gift-giving and asked Yan Yue for an idea. Yan Yue had met Li Weisheng a few times and could tell that he really liked Lu Lingxi. He probably regarded Lu Lingxi as a child in his heart and wanted the best for Lu Lingxi. It was a good thing that he was old enough to be Lu Lingxi¡¯s father, otherwise Yan Yue would have been jealous again. He thought about it and suggested, ¡°How about adding a set of cosmetics developed by Gao Yongliang?¡± The first link between Lu Lingxi and Li Weisheng was Li Weisheng¡¯s wife, Sister Tian, and since he wanted to give gifts, he couldn¡¯t forget her. The cosmetics developed by Gao Yongliang were high-end and the results were very good ording to the feedback from those who tried them. Plus the fact that some of the ingredients for this set of cosmeticse from Tiny Garden made it even more meaningful. s When Yan Yue said that, Lu Lingxi also felt good and nodded obediently. Having decided on this matter, Lu Lingxi was a little curious, ¡°When is Uncle Gao¡¯s product going to beunched?¡± Yan Yue wasn¡¯t quite sure, ¡°Around the middle of January.¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t know the specific time. Although he had a strong controlling position in the cooperation with Gao Yongliang, he didn¡¯t interfere in Gao Yongliang¡¯s daily research, development and management. Gao Yongliang had set up his ownpany when he returned from abroad, and Yan Yue¡¯s Dezhi Investment was only responsible for investment and regr checking of ounts, but not for the rest. Yan Yue knew that it was mid-January, or thest time he saw Gao Yongliang, that was what he casually talked about. Yan Yue had great confidence in the products that Gao Yongliang had spent more than a year developing. ording to Dezhi Investment¡¯s past habits, they usually selected only one project a year. Now in just six months Yan Yue had selected two projects, both with good prospects. When you looked into it, there was the factor of Lu Lingxi¡¯s involvement in it. As Yan Yue had saidst time, since he had gotten together with Lu Lingxi, he had had a very smooth life, both in business and in private life. It was as if the heavens werepensating him by giving him a big treasure. Thinking of this, Yan Yue hugged and kissed Lu Lingxi, his voice low, ¡°Baby, I love you.¡± Lu Lingxi wasn¡¯t quite used to this name and looked up, blushing a little. Before the products developed by Gao Yongliang wereunched, Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng returned to Fengcheng. The four of them were gone for three weeks. Not to mention that Wang Shuxiu was thinking about Lu Lingxi, she couldn¡¯t leave the small restaurant for too long. They hadn¡¯t been to many ces and had spent two weeks in Zhongjing alone. Xiao Hong and Zhou Xiaoman¡¯s check-ups took a week, and it was only because Ye Kang came forward and said hello to the hospital. Ye Kang also helped them find a super expert who was really busy but was able to free up his time. After reading the results of their tests, the expert also said that their health was fine. It could be that the two of them were under too much pressure to have a child and generally it would not be easy to conceive this way. In the expert¡¯s words, it wasn¡¯t yet the right time and they were told not to rush. The expert¡¯s words were more authoritative than those of ordinary doctors, and as they listened to his unhurried words about how children were all a matter of destiny, that there was no hurry when destiny had not arrived, and that destiny shoulde when they were rxed, Zhou Xiaoman and Xiao Hong let the matter go and went through the famous sights of Zhongjing with great enthusiasm. After that, the four of them went to Haijin for a few days to buy specialties and stroll around the streets, and then it was time to go back to Fengcheng to prepare for the New Year. s It was already evening when they arrived home. Lu Lingxi was habitually half lying in Yan Yue¡¯s arms reading a book, while Yan Yue was answering his emails and from time to time couldn¡¯t help but kiss Lu Lingxi. The two of them were very tired when they heard Xiao Baiwan bark excitedly and run straight to the next door. While Lu Lingxi was still puzzled, Yan Yue had already reacted. ¡°Is it Brother Feng and the othersing back?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little surprised; his mother hadn¡¯t said beforehand that she wasing back today. He and Yan Yue followed; the lights next door were already on, and the excited barks of Xiao Baiwan and the lively voices of people could be faintly heard. ¡°Mom, Dad¡­¡± Lu Lingxi greeted them with a smile. Wang Shuxiu looked at Lu Lingxi happily, cupped his face and gave him a resounding kiss. ¡°Did you miss your mom, little bastard?¡± In front of Xiao Hong and the others, Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed and nodded awkwardly. Wang Shuxiuughed and gave him a p, ¡°What are you blushing for, little bastard, you don¡¯t have a wife, so can¡¯t I kiss you?¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Yan Yue nced at Lu Lingxi with a smile and quickly looked away. While they were talking, Xiao Baiwan had already enthusiastically pounced on Xiao Hong and washed his face with saliva. Xiao Hong hugged Xiao Baiwan and turned him back and forth, saying with a smile, ¡°Xiao Baiwan has gained weight. Now, let him eat less meat and more vegetables this week and follow me to lose weight.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi¡¯s expressions turned odd at the same time. Yan Yue gave Xiao Baiwan a sympathetic look with a smile on his face. Xiao Baiwan¡¯s good days were gone again. Xiao Hong and Zhou Xiaoman didn¡¯t stay much longer. After driving for a long time Xiao Hong was also tired and wanted to go home early to rest. He sent Xiao Feng and Wang Shuxiu home first in order to pick up Xiao Baiwan. After talking and making an appointment toe over tomorrow, Xiao Hong left with Xiao Baiwan. Yan Yue politely greeted Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng and also went back next door. Wang Shuxiu changed her clothes, divided out the specialties bought in Haijin and asked Lu Lingxi to send a portion to Yan Yue. ¡°This is prepared by your uncle.¡± This time when Xiao Hong went to Zhongjing for an examination, Yan Yue made a lot of efforts. Xiao Hong epted this favour and prepared a set of specialties for Yan Yue. ¡°By the way, take this also.¡± Wang Shuxiu fished out another bag from the pile of specialties. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t leave yet, waiting for Wang Shuxiu to finish unpacking. Wang Shuxiu was telling Lu Lingxi about the interesting events of the past few days as she sorted out her things and she spoke very quickly and with great enthusiasm. Lu Lingxi listened attentively and nodded every now and then. He liked the way Wang Shuxiu looked now, calm, confident and good-looking, in the best age for a woman. Sensing Lu Lingxi¡¯s gaze, Wang Shuxiuughed softly. ¡°Little bastard.¡± Chapter 110 As soon as Wang Shuxiu returned, she immediately focused on the small restaurant. During her absence, Yi Hang had taken good care of the restaurant, and the ounts handed over to her were clear and the customer flow wasn¡¯t much different from when she was there. She heard Yi Hang say that some nearby residents wanted to book New Year¡¯s Eve dinner here, not toe to the restaurant to eat, but hoping that the restaurant would make the dinner and send it to their homes. Yi Hang didn¡¯t reply at the time, saying that the boss wasn¡¯t in and that he would have to wait for the boss toe back to make a decision. He took the contact details of all the customers who were interested and gave them to Wang Shuxiu. Wang Shuxiu counted the number of people; there must be more than a dozen. She looked at Yi Hang, ¡°Xiao Hang, what do you think?¡± Yi Hang smiled and cried out ingratiatingly, ¡°Sister, you see the New Year¡­ family reunion, right? Otherpanies have annual leave, let¡¯s also take a few days off?¡± When he said this, Wang Shuxiu smiled and said readily, ¡°Okay, then we will take eight days off from the New Year¡¯ s Eve to the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, so that everyone can rest after working hard for half a year.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Wang Shuxiu¡¯s promise was given so easily that Yi Hang couldn¡¯t believe it and had a ¡°don¡¯t lie to me¡± look on his face. When Wang Shuxiu raised her eyebrows, Yi Hang immediately shouted, ¡°I see, eight days off, right?¡± As he said that, he turned around and ran away, thinking that he would let everyone know first, just in case Wang Shuxiu backtracked because the business was too good. ¡°Little bastard.¡± Wang Shuxiu scolded with a smile, easily seeing through Yi Hang¡¯s little mind. She had no intention to stay open for the New Year. From the bottom of her heart, she was willing to rest at home for a few days in the New Year to keep Xiao Feng and Lu Lingxipany, so it was nothing to earn less money for a few days. But Yi Hang ran away so fast that she didn¡¯t have time to say anything. Wang Shuxiu nned to open a branch after the New Year, and when she went to the branch, Yi Hang would stay here to take care of the business of the small restaurant. She had the money ready to open a branch, and Tiger and the others were helping her to find a suitable ce these days. Wang Shuxiu used to worry that there would be no one to take care of the restaurant after she left, but in the past few days, Yi Hang showed that he had grown up. When she thought back to seven or eight months ago, when Yi Hang and the little bastard were still painting their faces in various colours and their clothes were in tatters with a hole on the left and a patch on the right, Wang Shuxiu felt like it was in a different lifetime. ¡°What¡¯s on your mind, Xiaohua?¡± Lin Mei was looking for Wang Shuxiu for something and when she came over, she saw Wang Shuxiu staring at the ledger in a daze. Wang Shuxiu returned to her senses, ¡°Nothing, I just feel that the days are going too fast.¡± Speaking of this, Lin Mei couldn¡¯t help but feel emotional, ¡°Yes, you see we¡¯ve both known each other for almost ten years.¡± She said as she sat down next to Wang Shuxiu and talked about the matter she¡¯de to discuss, ¡°Xiaohua, you know Pan Liang¡¯s son, right?¡± s Pan Liang was the manager of the KTV where Wang Shuxiu used to work. Wang Shuxiu nodded. Lin Mei sighed, ¡°The child has been diagnosed with leukaemia, and he is less than ten years old. I heard them say that Pan Liang is not going to work now, he is staying at the hospital every day, and the house is ready to be sold to raise money. A few former colleagues talked to me about finding time to go to see Pan Liang. Those who have money can donate some money, and those who don¡¯t have money can contribute some effort. Will you go, Xiaohua?¡± Wang Shuxiu and Pan Liang didn¡¯t part on good terms when she left her job, so her former colleagues didn¡¯t speak directly to her, but mentioned it to Lin Mei, asking her to ask Wang Shuxiu¡¯s opinion. After hearing Lin Mei¡¯s words, Wang Shuxiu was taken aback. ¡°Leukaemia?¡± She quickly said, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Although she and Pan Liang had fallen out in the end, they had gotten along quite well in the previous years. Besides, what goes on between adults has nothing to do with children. Wang Shuxiu sighed as she thought about Pan Liang¡¯s child whom she had met. Lin Mei continued, ¡°They say leukaemia is a terminal disease, and if you can¡¯t find a suitable match, you¡¯re just waiting to die. Doesn¡¯t Pan Liang have several brothers? The old man in their family wanted his grandsons to go to the hospital for a test. If there was a suitable match, it would save a life. As a result, none of Pan Liang¡¯s brothers agreed, and now they have all fallen out with Pan Liang.¡± Wang Shuxiu understood, ¡°Whose child is not their lifeblood? If this kind of thing has some seque, it will be toote to regret it.¡± When the little bastard was born, he was almost taken away by Lu Yishui¡¯s mother who said he was going to save someone¡¯s life. It was also leukaemia. When Wang Shuxiu disagreed, Lu Yishui¡¯s mother stole the little bastard from the hospital, but Wang Shuxiu found out early and recovered him. It had been many years ago, but Wang Shuxiu still felt a pang of fear when she remembered what had happened back then. Thest time she spoke to Lu Lingxi, she vaguely talked about this incident, and she could never forgive Lu Yishui¡¯s mother until she died. Lin Mei didn¡¯t know about Wang Shuxiu¡¯s family and nodded as she listened, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s the lifeblood of anyone¡¯s family.¡± As the two talked about leukaemia, An Jie was also talking to Yan Yue about a simr topic. s ¡°Lu Wei¡¯an was diagnosed with leukaemia when he was seven years old. Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s father, Lu Guangjing, took Lu Wei¡¯an to see doctors from all over the world. When conservative treatment didn¡¯t work, Lu Guangjing listened to the doctor¡¯s advice and had another child, Lu Lingxi.¡± An Jie paused here and said in a low voice, ¡°Lu Lingxi is the child of Lu Guangjing and Li Caiying, but he was not born to Li Caiying. At that time, Li Caiying was busy taking care of Lu Wei¡¯an and hired a surrogate mother at great expense. However, this matter was hidden by the Lu and Li families, and only a few people knew about it.¡± An Jie finished his speech and nced at Yan Yue, who was reading the information in his hands with his head bowed, his expression calm andpletely emotionless. But An Jie knew that Yan Yue was in a bad mood. To say the least, An Jie was a little puzzled by Yan Yue¡¯s behaviour, not understanding how Yan Yue would want to investigate the Lu family in Zhongjing that had nothing to do with him at all. Especially when he found out that Yan Yue¡¯s focus was on another Lu Lingxi. Even if An Jie had thought about it, he would never have guessed the suspicion in Yan Yue¡¯s mind. Yan Yue didn¡¯t care about An Jie¡¯s reaction and was quickly browsing through the information in his hand. An Jie had found someone to investigate in great detail, covering all aspects. His attention was focused on Lu Guangjing and Li Caiying. ording to the investigation, Lu Guangjing was a famous yboy in Zhongjing before he got married, and even after he married Li Caiying, he always had a reputation for being a womaniser. Their initial rtionship wasn¡¯t good, and Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s premature birth was the result of an argument with Lu Guangjing when Li Caiying was pregnant, which led to the ident. After the birth of Lu Wei¡¯an, Lu Guangjing and Li Caiying¡¯s rtionship improved for a few years, but soon Lu Guangjing returned to his old ways. Only when Lu Wei¡¯an was diagnosed with leukaemia did Lu Guangjingpletely cut off outside women and put all his thoughts on his family. During the years when Lu Wei¡¯an was ill, the focus of the Lu family was always on Lu Wei¡¯an. Lu Lingxi was apletely invisible person in the family. He didn¡¯t go to school, he didn¡¯t go out, he didn¡¯t have any social life, and many people in their circle had never even heard of him. He was like a nk sheet of paper, having been indoctrinated by Lu Guangjing and Li Caiying that his existence was for the sake of Lu Wei¡¯an. After eighteen consecutive years of brainwashing, even Lu Lingxi himself likely felt the same way, that his existence was entirely for the sake of another person. Yan Yue closed the information halfway through, no longer needing to continue reading. Whether it was Lu Guangjing, Li Caiying or Lu Wei¡¯an, they had countless opportunities to release Lu Lingxi out of his confinement in the past eighteen years, but none of them did, until Lu Lingxi finally died on the operating table. On June 20, the two Lu Lingxi¡¯s had surgery on the same day and at the same time. One died and the other came to life. So as the young man said to him, had hee back from the dead? Yan Yue thought of this and stood up suddenly. ¡°I¡¯ll go back first, you put this information away.¡± An Jie was taken aback and quickly used the moment to ask, ¡°Boss, there¡¯s another thing. When are you nning to return to Zhongjing?¡± The New Year wasing soon, and ording to Yan Yue¡¯s situation, he had no chance to stay in Fengcheng for the New Year. Even though Yan Yue¡¯s rtionship with his family was no longer good, he needed to go back and pretend at this time. What¡¯s more, in a family like Yan Yue¡¯s, the New Year not only meant family reunion, but also had many other additional meanings. Yan Yue frowned, ¡°Let¡¯s wait a few days.¡± Now he only wanted to see Lu Lingxi immediately. As for returning to Zhongjing, it was best to put it off as long as possible. If he could, he really wanted to pack Lu Lingxi up and tie him to his body, not to be separated for a minute. Yan Yue left as soon as he finished speaking, and An Jie had to put away the information on the table withoutint. Before showing it to Yan Yue, he had already read all these materials. In fact, in An Jie¡¯s opinion, the people in the Lu family were not in the right mind. Whether it was Lu Guangjing or Li Caiying, even Lu Wei¡¯an might not be normal. The only normal person in the whole family was probably the dead Lu Lingxi. Unfortunately¡­ Yan Yue didn¡¯t know these thoughts of An Jie and sped all the way back to Tiny Garden. After parking the car he didn¡¯t get out immediately, but looked at Lu Lingxi in the shop through the car window. The young man was introducing flowers to the customers, with a smile on his face that Yan Yue was familiar with. He recognised that the pot of flowers in front of the young man was called poinsettia, and in the flowernguage it meant blessing and joy. He imagined what the young man would say to the customer; he would very carefully talk about everything from the essentials of flower purchase to the pest control of flowers. For as long as Yan Yue had known the young man, Lu Lingxi had treated every customer with such seriousness. Yan Yue¡¯s heart ached a little. It was one thing to know what kind of life Lu Lingxi used to lead and it was another thing to see it with his own eyes from the information. From the Lu family in Zhongjing to the present, the young man¡¯s nature had remained unchanged. He couldn¡¯t imagine how the Lu family could live with the fact that they had ignored the young man¡¯s existence for the past eighteen years andpletely sacrificed him for the sake of Lu Wei¡¯an. Lu Lingxi felt something vaguely strange halfway through his speech, and when he looked up, he saw Yan Yue outside. He curved his eyes at Yan Yue habitually and called without a sound, ¡°Big Brother Yan.¡± Yan Yue couldn¡¯t sit still in the car and walked into Tiny Garden with big steps. He waited patiently until the customer had bought the pot of poinsettia and left. Ignoring the peopleing and going outside, he hugged Lu Lingxi tightly. ¡°Big Brother Yan, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Lu Lingxi nudged him, asking in a whisper. Yan Yue didn¡¯t say that he had investigated the young man¡¯s past; he just freed a hand to rub the young man¡¯s hair and whispered, ¡°I have to go back to Zhongjing in a few days. I really want to pack you up and tie you to my body and take you with me.¡± Lu Lingxi was taken aback for a moment and smiled, a little embarrassed. Chapter 111 Ever since he knew that Yan Yue was going back to Zhongjing for the New Year, Lu Lingxi wished that time would pass more slowly, very slowly. Although he didn¡¯t say so, his actions unconsciously showed his reluctance to Yan Yue. In the evening, when Yan Yue was taking a shower, Lu Lingxi followed him around like a puppy, handing him a towel at one point and helping him find clothes at another. Yan Yue could almost see Lu Lingxi¡¯s little tail wagging behind him all the time. His heart was so soft that he hugged Lu Lingxi and pinned him against the wall, kissing him fiercely. Lu Lingxi¡¯s gaze was unfocused; he was short of breath as Yan Yue kissed him. His beautiful ck eyes clouded with ayer of mist, his expression innocent and sweet, full of lethal sensuality. Yan Yue grinded his lips uncontrobly, thinking in his heart that he might as well just stay here for the New Year. He really didn¡¯t want to part with Lu Lingxi for a single minute. ¡°Baby, why don¡¯t I¡­¡± Yan Yue hadn¡¯t even finished speaking when Yi Hang¡¯s loud voice sounded from outside. ¡°What are you doing, Lao San? Not home?¡± The voice was so close that it seemed to be only a wall away. Lu Lingxi practically pushed Yan Yue away, not bothering to say anything to him, and ran out in a sh. In the bathroom, Yan Yue looked down at his excited little brother and his face quickly sank. ¡°Yi Hang.¡± Lu Lingxi greeted sheepishly. On the sofa in the living room, Yi Hang was teasing Xiaohei with a biscuit. Seeing Lu Lingxiing out of the bathroom, he was a little surprised, ¡°Lao San, you¡¯re taking a shower?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head in embarrassment and found an excuse, ¡°No, I just brought Big Brother Yan his clothes.¡± ¡°Oh, so is Brother Yan taking a shower? How is Brother Yan¡¯s body, is it as strong as mine?¡± Yi Hang said, raising his arms in a bodybuilding pose. Lu Lingxi blinked and looked at him speechlessly. Yi Hangughed, threw the biscuit in his hand to Xiaohei, excitedly waved at Lu Lingxi and said, ¡°Lao Er just called me, he¡¯ll be back with Lao Si in a couple of days. When that timees, we brothers will have a good get-together, and we¡¯ll hold Lao Si back for theing year and not let him go.¡± He said it as a matter of course; Lu Lingxi sat down next to Yi Hang, still worried that Bai Yuan¡¯s father wouldn¡¯t approve. Yi Hang grinned, hugged Lu Lingxi¡¯s neck and said, ¡°What are you afraid of? Lao Si said that their school is not strictly controlled. Even if he doesn¡¯t go to ss for a while the school won¡¯t find out. Let Lao Si work in the restaurant for a month first. When he gets paid and his father sees the money, he won¡¯t say anything.¡± The two of them were talking when Yan Yue pushed open the bathroom door and saw that Yi Hang¡¯s whole body was about to press on top of Lu Lingxi. His already unhappy mood got even more distressed. ¡°Brother Yan.¡± Yi Hang didn¡¯t know how to read faces and greeted Yan Yue with a smile. Since the backyard of Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi had been united, when Yi Hang was looking for Lu Lingxi, nine times out of ten Lu Lingxi would be with Yan Yue. Over time, Yi Hang had be ustomed to going straight to Yan Yue¡¯s ce every time he came, not treating himself as an outsider at all. Yan Yue nodded to Yi Hang with a smile, and his eyes shed, looking at Yi Hang¡¯s arm. For some reason, Yi Hang felt a chill on his arm and subconsciously took it back and rubbed it. A hint of satisfaction appeared in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes as he sat down on the other side of Lu Lingxi silently. This made it inconvenient for Yi Hang to say anything to Lu Lingxi. Every time he looked up he could see Yan Yue¡¯s profile, and although Yan Yue didn¡¯t say anything, Yi Hang was feeling a little awkward somehow. ¡°Lao San, you¡¯re okay, so I¡¯m going back.¡± After Yi Hang said a couple of sentences, he really couldn¡¯t go on. There was nothing he needed to stay here for, so he simply chose to leave in a daze. s ¡°So quickly?¡± Lu Lingxi was a bit bewildered, Yi Hang hade less than ten minutes ago, just to tell him about Bai Yuan and Zheng Taning back? ¡°Hey hey, it¡¯s gettingte, you guys go to bed early.¡± Yi Hang said as he waved to Dahei and left the backyard, familiarly climbing over the fence. ¡°Big Brother Yan, Yi Hang, he ¡­¡­¡± Lu Lingxi hadn¡¯t finished his sentence when he was already pinned down on the sofa by Yan Yue, who slowly took off his shirt and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Forget Yi Hang, let¡¯s finish what we haven¡¯t.¡± Lu Lingxi blushed and was about to speak when Wang Shuxiu called out again from the backyard. ¡°Xiao Xi, Yi Hang is gone?¡± Lu Lingxi once again pushed Yan Yue away, and Yan Yue¡¯s face instantly darkened. Lu Lingxi stifled hisughter and ran to the balcony, thankful in his heart that Wang Shuxiu never entered Yan Yue¡¯s house and just shouted from the backyard. ¡°Mom.¡± Wang Shuxiu saw that Lu Lingxi was wearing thin clothes and rushed him back. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I just made some tomato sauce for Yi Hang to take back.¡± Since Yi Hang had left, Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t say anything more to Lu Lingxi. It was cold on the balcony and she was afraid that Lu Lingxi would catch a cold. Lu Lingxi waited for Wang Shuxiu to leave before going back to the house, and when he turned around, he saw Yan Yue looking at him helplessly, the upper part of his body naked. Thinking of the previous incidents, although Lu Lingxi knew he shouldn¡¯tugh, he couldn¡¯t helpughing and was unable to stop. Time passed and in a sh half a week had passed. The vour of New Year was already very strong on the streets of Fengcheng, and at this time Yan Yue received a call from Yan Shihui, asking when he would return to Zhongjing. The Yan family¡¯s situation was well known in the upper circles of Zhongjing. But no matter how much Yan Shihui and Yin Qinn disliked each other in private, every year the two of them would go back to the Yan family mansion to spend the New Year together, along with Yin Yongde and Yan Yue. In the past, Yan Yue would have already returned from abroad by this time, but this year Yan Yue had not moved, so Yan Shihui only thought that Yan Yue still remembered the previous events and called Yan Yue to urge him toe home for the New Year. Yan Shihui said lightly, ¡°Ah Yue, the past has passed, and there is no overnight hatred in the family.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Yan Yue replied perfunctorily. Yan Shihui¡¯s face didn¡¯t look good, but he couldn¡¯t get anything else out of Yan Yue. With a sullen face, Yan Shihui hung up the phone, thinking about Yan Yue and feeling a little blocked in his heart. In the six months since Yan Yue returned to China, the overseaspany¡¯s profits had dropped by 20% inparison with the previous year, and two old clients had been poached bypetitors after their contracts had expired. Although Yan Shihui and Yan Hai said that it didn¡¯t matter and that it was just a matter of paying tuition fees and practising, the directors were not so generous at the year-end wrap-up meeting of Hopewell. Yan Shihui knew what the directors meant, and that the directors, led by Yin Yongde, were trying to force him to bring Yan Yue back. He also hesitated in his heart, but after seeing the New Year¡¯s development n that Yan Hai had worked tirelessly on, he became firm in his determination. He knew his son well, and Yan Hai wasn¡¯t as good as Yan Yue, but if Yan Shihui cultivated him carefully for a few years, Yan Hai would be somehow able to take up the reins. Now that Yan Hai had had a little bit of bad luck, if Yan Shihui had transferred Yan Hai back and reced him with Yan Yue, it would be a naked p in Yan Hai¡¯s face. If Yan Hai were to take the plunge and fail, all his hard work would be wasted. s It wasn¡¯t that Yan Shihui was biassed, but people are always habitually biassed towards the weak. Yan Hai couldn¡¯tpare to Yan Yue in anything, so Yan Shihui couldn¡¯t help but think more about Yan Hai. In case he died one day, Yan Yue would swallow Yan Hai without leaving a single bone. Yan Shihui sighed; if only Yan Yue had some brotherly love for Yan Hai, he wouldn¡¯t have to be in such a difficult situation. Yan Yue knew all about Yan Shihui¡¯s thoughts, but he didn¡¯t care about them at all. After receiving Yan Shihui¡¯s call, Yan Yue received another call from his grandfather, Yin Yongde. This time he had to put his return home on his agenda. He could be indifferent to Yan Shihui, but Yan Yue still had feelings for Yin Yongde. After finding an excuse to stay in Fengcheng for another two days, Yan Yue returned to Zhongjing with An Jie in a low-key manner at the end of January. The Yan family home was as cold as ever, and Yan Shihui and Yin Qinn would nevere there until thest day of the year. Yin Yongde wanted to apany Yan Yue but he couldn¡¯t stay at the Yan family home alone. The housekeeper had waited half a year for Yan Yue¡¯s return and had arranged everything in the Yan family¡¯s mansion early to wee him. ¡°Boss, is it always like that here for the New Year?¡± An Jie gestured to the rows of rednterns hanging under the eaves of the house and whispered, ¡°This is really lively.¡± Although An Jie was Chinese, he had always lived abroad. He didn¡¯t know who his biological parents were, and his adoptive parents weren¡¯t Chinese and had no habit of celebrating the Chinese New Year in the past. This was the first time that An Jie had followed Yan Yue back to China for the New Year, and he couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the arrangements in the courtyard. The Yan family¡¯s mansion was an antique style building, and all the arrangements werepletely Chinese, looking very festive. Yan Yue only nced lightly at thenterns, his face expressionless. It wasn¡¯t decorations of the courtyard that made it lively, but people. No matter how brightly the Yan family¡¯s house was decorated, Yan Shihui and Yin Qinn would only stay here for three days at most. Every year, on the fourth day of the first lunar month, they both left in a hurry, leaving Yan Yue to stay here alone until the fifteenth day of the first month. The livelier it was outside, the more miserable it made Yan Yue feel. Yan Yue had thought about it before he came back this time, and he was going back to Fengcheng on the fourth day of the first month. Since Yan Shihui and Yin Qinn didn¡¯t care, he didn¡¯t care even more. After Yan Yue had taken a shower and changed his clothes, Ye Kang came over. He knew early on that Yan Yue wasing back today and deliberately had gone back to the old mansion to wait for him. ¡°What, don¡¯t you want toe back?¡± Ye Kang joked. Yan Yue nodded calmly. Ye Kang was no match for Yan Yue, so he had to change the subject. ¡°Why are you suddenly interested in the Lu family in Zhongjing?¡± Yan Yue had asked An Jie to help him investigate the information on the Zhongjing Lu Family, a matter that wasn¡¯t hidden from Ye Kang. In fact, Ye Kang had also contributed a lot to that pile of information, and there were some things that were too far back in the past that Ye Kang had still helped to find out. Previously, Ye Kang had also asked Yan Yue, but Yan Yue didn¡¯t say anything. Although Ye Kang felt that Yan Yue¡¯s behaviour was inextricably linked to Lu Lingxi, he was unable to link this matter to the young man from Fengcheng. On the contrary, he had just heard the news and was somewhat suspicious if Yan Yue had heard something in advance. Seeing that Yan Yue wasn¡¯t speaking, Ye Kang asked again, ¡°Have you heard something?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The matter of Elder Yin wanting to join hands with the Lu family through marriage.¡± Yan Yue wasn¡¯t impressed, ¡°You mean Yin Ya and Lu Wei¡¯an?¡± Ye Kang shook his head, ¡°The marriage object that the Lu family wants is you. I heard that Elder Yin also has this intention.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s face darkened, ¡°I don¡¯t know about this, but it doesn¡¯t matter if I know. There won¡¯t be any marriage.¡± Grandpa¡¯s intentions were presumably good, but unfortunately Yan Yue didn¡¯t appreciate them. Ye Kang knew that was so, shrugged and remembered another piece of news. ¡°By the way, I found out something else about the Lu family two days ago, but I¡¯m not sure if it was true or not.¡± He didn¡¯t keep listeners in suspense and said straight away, ¡°ording to the rumours in the Lu family, Elder Lu has an illegitimate son and a grandson.¡± Yan Yue frowned, not taking it too seriously. Chapter 112 When Tiny Garden was about to close, Lu Lingxi received a call from Yan Yue. This was already the third time Yan Yue had called Lu Lingxi. Yan Yue didn¡¯t have anything important to say, he just told Lu Lingxi to be safe on his way home. As the New Year was approaching, the security in Fengcheng was a bit chaotic recently, and there were a lot more petty thieves. Near themunity where Lu Lingxi lived, there had been three robberies in just one week. Lu Lingxi obediently listened to Yan Yue¡¯s instructions and said, ¡°I know, Big Brother Yan, I have Dahei and Xiaohei, it¡¯s fine.¡± Hearing his name, Dahei gave a low bark into the phone. Xiaoheizily poked his head out of Lu Lingxi¡¯s pocket and hissed, but Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know what he said. Yan Yueughed across the phone. This time when he returned to Zhongjing, he left Xiaohei at Lu Lingxi¡¯s side. Although Xiaohei couldn¡¯t do anything but eat, he could still show up and scare people at critical times. ¡°Go home early, there¡¯s no need to stay if the shop is empty.¡± He admonished about a few more things, and finally thought of something, ¡°Don¡¯t give Xiaohei any sweets for the next few days, his teeth are really about to fall out.¡± Yan Yue was a bit helpless when he said that. A snake that ate sweets until its teeth ached; Xiaohei really couldn¡¯t go on like this. Lu Lingxi gave an ¡°en¡± and agreed with a smile. After hanging up the phone, Lu Lingxi poked Xiaohei who was biting his sleeve. Xiaohei slowly wrapped himself around Lu Lingxi¡¯s wrist and rubbed affectionately. Lu Lingxi smiled, knowing that Xiaohei had heard Big Brother Yan¡¯s words and was deliberately being coquettish. But Big Brother Yan was right, Xiaohei had a tendency to have caries now, and if he continued to eat sweets, Lu Lingxi was afraid that Xiaohei would be the first snake known to have lost its teeth from eating sweets. ¡°Pouting doesn¡¯t work either.¡± Lu Lingxi whispered, ¡°From today onwards, Xiaohei, you can only drink sugar-free milk.¡± Xiaohei showed his tongue, aggrieved, but unfortunately his protests were not effective at all. After six o¡¯clock, Lu Lingxi packed up and prepared to close the store. Wang Shuxiu called him and asked him to go home directly instead of going to the restaurant. Xiao Hong and Zhou Xiaoman wereing today, and Wang Shuxiu was going home to cook. ¡°What do you want to eat?¡± Wang Shuxiu asked on the phone. The small restaurant had an abundance of ingredients, so Wang Shuxiu could prepare whatever they wanted to eat in advance. ¡°C chicken legs.¡± Lu Lingxi said, looking at Dahei. Wang Shuxiu knew what was going on as soon as she heard it, ¡°Okay, Dahei¡¯s chicken legs are indispensable.¡± Dahei¡¯s ears swished up, but his face still looked calm. Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head, put on his coat and locked the door, then trotted all the way back to themunity. It was the time of the day when office workers were leaving work, and there were quite a few people on the street. Although it was a little dark, the street lights on both sides of the road were lit up, so it wasn¡¯t as unsafe as Yan Yue had said. Besides, with Dahei by his side, Lu Lingxi felt very secure. He always felt that the people around him still treated him like a child; Yan Yue did, so did Wang Shuxiu, and even Dahei felt this way. When he got home, Xiao Hong and Zhou Xiaoman had already arrived, and with Xiao Baiwan making trouble, the house was very lively. As soon as Lu Lingxi entered the door with Dahei, Xiao Baiwan rushed over. He felt a bit aggrieved. Ever since Xiao Hong came back, Xiao Baiwan had started eating vegetables again, and the double chin that Lu Lingxi had raised him to have feeding him several times a day was gone again. s ¡°Our Xiao Baiwan is now so sticky to Xiao Xi that he¡¯s about to change his name to Lu Baiwan.¡± Xiao Hong harrumphed. Lu Lingxi knew the reason for this and smiled a little sheepishly. He didn¡¯t dare to tell Uncle Xiao the truth about Xiao Baiwan¡¯s hair loss, so of course Xiao Hong didn¡¯t know that Xiao Baiwan had a happy life with Lu Lingxi during those few days, not only getting meat every day, but also having a snack at night. ¡°Xiao Xi, go wash your hands.¡± Wang Shuxiu poked her head out of the kitchen and shouted, ¡°Are you hungry? There¡¯s a cake on the table that your uncle brought, so if you¡¯re hungry, eat a piece.¡± Lu Lingxi agreed, took off his coat and went to wash his hands. In the pocket of his coat, Xiaohei poked his head out, staring unblinkingly at the cake on the table, drops of his saliva falling down and wetting Lu Lingxi¡¯s clothes. When the people weren¡¯t paying attention, Xiaohei slithered against the wall in the direction of the table. ¡°Come,e, eat first, there are a few more dishes that will be ready soon.¡± As soon as Lu Lingxi washed his hands, Zhou Xiaoman brought out a pot of chicken drumsticks from the kitchen and ced them in the centre of the table. In a moment¡¯s time, she and Wang Shuxiu had almost finished serving the dishes. The two sisters-inw had prepared a very rich dinner. Wang Shuxiu was a good cook, and all the ingredients used were provided by Xiao Feng¡¯s vegetable greenhouse, so the food was even more delicious, with an endless aftertaste. Speaking of Yongchun vegetable greenhouse, it had only been one month since it opened, and it had already upied a quarter of the sales share of Fengcheng vegetable wholesale market as a dark horse. Even though the supply price of Yongchun vegetables was a few points higher than other vegetable greenhouses¡¯, their vegetables were still snapped up every day as soon as they were delivered. Xiao Feng was preparing to cooperate with severalrge supermarkets in the city these days, supplying vegetables to these supermarkets on a long-term and stable basis. The problem he¡¯d encountered now was that the scale of his vegetable greenhouse was a bit small and there weren¡¯t many different kinds of vegetables. Talking at the dinner table, Xiao Feng wanted to persuade Xiao Hong to simply sell the little coal mine in his hometown and settle in Fengcheng in the future, with the two brothers working together. Xiao Feng didn¡¯t think about it before, but now that he had a family of his own, he felt more and more that there were only a few family members around, so It was best to live together. Besides, Xiao Hong¡¯s coal mine was tooborious, and he had to deal with many people every day and had to take care of every aspect. He also had to worry about the safety of the mine all the time, and if anything happened, it would be a big deal. Xiao Feng said it earnestly and Xiao Hong¡¯s heart moved. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± He didn¡¯t say yes; after all, it was years of hard work and he couldn¡¯t just give up everything. But Xiao Feng was right, there were only two brothers left in the old Xiao family, and it wasn¡¯t a good idea to be apart all year round; it was better to be together. s ¡°But,¡± Xiao Hong took advantage of Wang Shuxiu¡¯sck of attention to ask Xiao Feng in a low voice, ¡°if your elder brother sells the mine, what about a certain someone in the mine?¡± He spoke vaguely, but both brothers knew he was referring to Lu Yishui. Xiao Feng smiled carelessly, ¡°Xiaohua and I are married, and Xiao Xi is now my son, so if he dares toe back and cause trouble, I¡¯ll break his legs. As for the rest, forget it, consider it umting virtue for Xiaohua.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Xiao Hong was satisfied, ¡°If you are a man, you have to protect your wife and family. Our old Xiao family doesn¡¯t have a tradition of letting their wives suffer.¡± ¡°Good what?¡± Zhou Xiaoman red at him, ¡°What are you two brothers muttering about? Have you eaten enough?¡± Xiao Hong immediately turned from tempered steel into soft fingers to Zhou Xiaoman and said patiently, ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything, and I¡¯m almost full. By the way, bring the cake over and share some with everyone, it won¡¯t taste good tomorrow.¡± The cake had been ced on the windowsill by Xiao Feng during the meal, so he stood up and went to bring it. As soon as he took it, he felt that something was wrong; the cake felt a little too light. When Xiao Feng took a look, Xiaohei, wrapped in whipped cream, was eating happily inside the cake. The whole cake was turned with an empty shell on the outside and the inside was basically hollowed out by Xiaohei. Xiao Feng speechlessly grabbed Xiaohei¡¯s tail and pulled him out of the cake. Xiaohei struggled with his head covered with whipped cream. Everyone: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Xiao Hongughed out loud, ¡°It was a bargain for the little snake cub, it knows what a good thing is!¡± This cake wasn¡¯t cheap, it was said to be some kind of pure organic cream. A ten inch cake cost Xiao Hong a little over a thousand yuan. Lu Lingxi took Xiaohei from Xiao Feng with a headache, carried him to the bathroom and washed him for a long time before washing off all the cream on his body. Then he opened Xiaohei¡¯s mouth and looked at it, moving Xiaohei¡¯s teeth. ¡°Just eat it, I won¡¯t care about you if you have a toothache.¡± Lu Lingxi threatened. He was a little curious where Xiaohei had put everything he¡¯d eaten. Although that cake was notrge, it was enough for four or five people to eat. Xiaohei hollowed out the cake into an empty shell by himself, but Lu LIngxi didn¡¯t see any bulging belly at all. Xiaohei hissed and showed his tongue, ingratiatingly swaying left and right around Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi said seriously, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you wag your tail like Dahei, you must tell Big Brother Yan about this.¡± Yan Yue was much more authoritative than Lu Lingxi in Xiaohei¡¯s eyes. As soon as Lu Lingxi finished speaking, Xiaohei¡¯s body stiffened and he quickly coiled his tail up, burying his entire head under it. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± At night before going to bed, Yan Yue received a call from Lu Lingxi. On the phone, Lu Lingxi ruthlessly revealed Xiaohei¡¯s disobedient behaviour. Yan Yue chuckled as he listened amusedly to Xiaohei hiding on the windowsill and emptying the cake and then pretending to be dead. ¡°Wait for me to go back and punish him.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s treatment was simple and brutal. Lu Lingxi heard that and spoke in Xiaohei¡¯s defence, ¡°Punishment won¡¯t be necessary, he will know how bad it is when he has a toothache.¡± Yan Yue guessed that Lu Lingxi would be soft-hearted, a smile appeared in his eyes and he said softly, ¡°Good boy! Now enough about Xiaohei, did you miss Big Brother Yan, Xiao Xi?¡± Lu Lingxi paused and said honestly, ¡°Yes.¡± He was used to being with Yan Yue every day, and when Yan Yue left, Lu Lingxi felt like there was emptiness next to him. Although Dahei and Xiaohei were there, as well as Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng, they were not Yan Yue and couldn¡¯t rece his existence. Yan Yue¡¯s heart suddenly softened. He held the phone and walked to the window, where the rednterns under the eaves had been lit and the courtyard was overflowing with light. Yan Yue imagined the person on the other end of the phone, as if holding Lu Lingxi in his arms through the void. He softened his tone and coaxed in a low voice, ¡°Big Brother Yan misses you too. In a few days Big Brother Yan will go back.¡± Lu Lingxi hesitated for a few seconds and whispered, ¡°There¡¯s no rush, Big Brother Yan, you have things to do first, there¡¯s no need to rush back.¡± It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t understand anything. When he was in the Lu family in the past, every New Year the Lu family was the busiest. He remembered very clearly that year after year, his grandfather would take them to pay respects to their ancestors, to greet the families they knew and to attend one banquet after another to socialise. Except for the ancestral rituals, of course, nothing else required Lu Lingxi¡¯s presence. But when he stayed in the ancestral home, he could see his cousins bustling around every day, without any of the leisurely atmosphere of the New Year. He thought that the Yan family in Zhongjing was simr to the Lu family, so he guessed that Big Brother Yan would have to do all these things. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Big Brother Yan is fine.¡± Hearing the worry in Lu Lingxi¡¯s words, Yan Yue smiled,forting him. The Yan family was sparse, and he never acknowledged the existence of Yan Hai and Yin Ya, so apart from the necessary visits from the first to the third day of the year, there really wasn¡¯t much going on. ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Lingxi agreed; he would be quite happy to see Yan Yue earlier. Yan Yue smiled faintly, ncing at the time; although he couldn¡¯t bear to hang up the phone, it was already the point where Lu Lingxi usually went to bed. Yan Yue resisted the urge to continue the conversation and said, ¡°Xiao Xi should go to bed.¡± ¡°Mm, I¡¯m going to bed then, Big Brother Yan, you go to bed early too.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Listening to the sound of the phone hanging up on the other side, Yan Yue put his phone away, but he didn¡¯t feel like sleeping at all. After half a year, he once again tasted the taste of insomnia. Tossing and turning, unable to sleep, Yan Yue lit a cigarette and stood in front of the window. It had been a long time since he had smoked, and with Lu Lingxi in charge of him in Fengcheng, he had almost given up the habit. If the young man knew that he was smoking behind his back, he would probably give him another solemn lecture on the dangers of cigarettes. Yan Yue thought of the young man¡¯s serious expression and smiled silently, simply stubbing the cigarette he was holding. Outside, the wind blew and whistled. Yan Yue¡¯s mind shed back to what Ye Kang had said this afternoon. Yan Yue didn¡¯t care about the Lu family¡¯s illegitimate son or whatever; he was focused on his grandfather¡¯s wish for him to marry the Lu family. Yan Yue understood what Grandpa meant, wanting to use the Lu family¡¯s strength to consolidate Yan Yue¡¯s position as heir. Not to mention that he didn¡¯t need to rely on any marriage to consolidate his position at all, he had Xiao Xi and he would never marry any woman. Besides, the Lu family¡­ Yan Yue sneered. Although the Lu family split up long ago and Lu Guangjing¡¯s family did not live in the Lu family ancestral home, he didn¡¯t believe that the Lu family didn¡¯t know about Xiao Xi¡¯s situation. Perhaps because Elder Lu had many grandchildren, one more or one less didn¡¯t matter. Yan Yue gently tapped on the windowsill. Refusing this marriage wasn¡¯t a problem for him, but if he simply refused, things would be a bit boring. Yin Ya had been jumping up and down trying to catch a golden husband, hadn¡¯t she? He thought Lu Wei¡¯an would be a good match. Imagining his father¡¯s headache after the marriage between the Yin and the Lu families, Yan Yue hooked the corner of his mouth and had an idea. Chapter 113 The day after he returned to Zhongjing, Yan Yue met with his grandfather, Yin Yongde. Yin Yongde had great expectations for Yan Yue¡¯s return this time. He had always felt that Yan Yue had left Hopewell half a year ago because he was forced to, and that after half a year of hiding his light, it was time for him toe back. When he heard that Yan Yue was nning to continue his ¡°rest and recuperation abroad¡± after the New Year, Yin Yongde was puzzled and somewhat dissatisfied. ¡°You¡¯re going to watch yourself lose the inheritance rights for Hopewell?¡± Yin Yongde said in dismay, hating iron for not being made of steel. Yan Yue looked indifferent, ¡°Grandpa also says it¡¯s just the inheritance rights.¡± The so-called inheritance rights were just like being the crown prince of a country; it was just a nice name. As long as the old emperor was alive, he could change as many crown princes as he wanted. Likewise, his father had controlled Hopewell for many years and had umted a great deal of authority. Even if his grandfather and a group of directors wanted to fight against him, in his father¡¯s eyes it would be nothing more than a nuisance and would not be able to shake his position at all. In the past, his father was still concerned about his grandfather¡¯s presence and the outside world, but now, with his mother making trouble, his father had less and less scruples. Even if Yan Yue came back, he would still be a puppet under his father¡¯s control in every way. Not to mention that when his mother married, his grandfather had diluted half of his shares to her. Yan Yue didn¡¯t want toment on his mother¡¯s behaviour, but there was no denying that she was the so-called ¡®pig teammate¡¯ (teammate or ally that is more of a hindrance than a help). He appreciated his grandfather¡¯s good intentions, but not everyone was as willing to let hime back as Grandpa was. When Yan Yue focused on the words ¡°inheritance rights¡±, Yin Yongde choked and knew that Yan Yue was right. The old man didn¡¯t give up but changed the topic for the time being and said tactfully, ¡°Ah Yue, it is fine if you want to recuperate for a while longer, but you¡¯re not young anymore, so it¡¯s time for you to think about starting a family. Grandpa knows a few girls who are very nice, like the granddaughter of the Lu family, do you want to meet her?¡± ¡°The Lu family?¡± Yan Yue said meaningfully, ¡°Didn¡¯t Mother intend for Lu Wei¡¯an and Yin Ya to be together?¡± Yin Yongde was a little surprised that Yan Yue would know, but then he thought about the fact that the Ye brat had been in Zhongjing all this time, so it was normal for Yan Yue to hear some rumours. He shook his head, ¡°Your mother is too nonsensical, Lu Wei¡¯an is not well, how can Xiao Ya marry Lu Wei¡¯an?¡± In terms of her status, Yin Ya, an illegitimate daughter whose father wasn¡¯t even a part of the circle, was definitely not good enough for Lu Wei¡¯an. But there was the issue of Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s health, and the Lu family had no choice. Even though Lu Wei¡¯an seemed to be fine now and would go out with his family every day to socialise, there was no telling if his illness would return one day. No one who loved their daughters would want to marry them to him. However, Yin Ya wanted to raise her status by marrying Lu Wei¡¯an, ignoring his health condition. When Yin Yongde found out about this, he was furious. He couldn¡¯t scold Yin Ya, so he found an opportunity to scold Yin Qinn. Yin Ya was still young and didn¡¯t know any better, did Yin Qinn not understand either? Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s body was ¡°stitched and mended¡±; if something went wrong one day, he might not be saved. What would happen to Yin Ya then? One of the things Yin Yongde regretted most in his life was that he had pampered Yin Qinn too much and had not bothered to control her when he should have had. In the past, he had only wanted for his daughter to be happy and thought that he would be there to support her when the sky fell. But who knew that this way of thinking would lead to her current temperament. Yin Yongde sighed, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your mother knows now that Lu Wei¡¯an is not good. Besides, there is nothing between Lu Wei¡¯an and Xiao Ya, just young people going out for a few meals. It will fade away after a while.¡± Yan Yue hooked the corner of his mouth and said with a slight hint of mockery, ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that Yin Ya doesn¡¯t think so.¡± Seeing that Grandpa still wanted to continue to persuade, Yan Yue simply said, ¡°Let¡¯s wait until after the New Year to talk about the Lu family, I don¡¯t have much time before the New Year.¡± s When he said this, Yin Yongde couldn¡¯t say anything else. Yan Yue didn¡¯t stay longer with his grandfather and quickly chose to say goodbye. Yin Yongde wanted to have dinner with Yan Yue, but Yan Yue politely refused. Yin Ya and his mother would soon be back from shopping, and Yan Yue didn¡¯t want them to spoil his mood. Yin Yongde could see what Yan Yue meant and sighed silently in his heart. The rtionship between Yan Yue and his mother were getting worse and worse over the years, and apart from Yin Qinn¡¯s problems, Yan Yue¡¯s own personality was also partly to me. If Yan Yue had not been so radical, if he had been willing to treat Yin Ya at least perfunctorily, they would not havee to this stage. It wasn¡¯t until he returned to the Yan family¡¯s mansion that Yan Yue¡¯s gloomy mood improved a bit. When he was in Fengcheng before, he only felt that life passed too fast, but now that he returned to Zhongjing, he felt that time was too slow, and a day was like a year. Seeing An Jie from a distance, Yan Yue walked over and wondered what Xiao Xi was doing now. Fengcheng, Tiny Garden Lu Lingxi was receiving Xue Yongtong and Gao Yongliang. It was almost New Year¡¯s Eve and the two of them had brought a bunch of New Year¡¯s goods to Lu Lingxi. Xue Yongtong had quite a few employees under him and had made a lot of bulk purchases during this period. Apart from the New Year gifts for his staff, he used the rest to give away. The gardeners he cooperated with, friends he usually got along with, seven aunts and eight uncles all got a lot of things. Lu Lingxi¡¯s nt nursery also purchased a lot of New Year goods, but Xiao Feng took care of them all. The vegetable greenhouse and Qiu Tian nt nursery were all in one ce, so Xiao Feng sent them out together easily. Seeing all these things brought by Xue Yongtong, Lu Lingxi was a bit worried. It was too much, and with just a few people at home, it was estimated that they would have to eat them until next year. Xue Yongtong was amused by Lu Lingxi¡¯s childish words andughed out loud, teasing, ¡°Isn¡¯t there still Dahei? If you can¡¯t eat it all, give it to Dahei.¡± He was in a rather good mood recently, but of course,pared to him, Gao Yongliang was even happier. Gao Yongliang¡¯s cosmetics that had been prepared for many years were finallyunched on the market. Relying on intensive advertising and strong public rtions hype, the skin care products named ¡°Botanical Family¡± by Gao Yongliang gained a good reputation and reached a rising sales record as soon as they hit the market. The hard work of the past few years had paid off and Gao Yongliang was ted. As Gao Yongliang¡¯s partner, Xue Yongtong was naturally happy too. Gao Yongliang smiled, ¡°Uncle Gao will give Xiao Xi a big red envelope when the New Yeares.¡± Xue Yongtong chuckled, ¡°Uncle Xue will give one too.¡± Thest chlorophytum cooperation gave Xue Yongtong a taste of sweetness, and Luxuan Gardening took advantage of the momentum of the new chlorophytum to expand its scale a lot. When Xue Yongtong thought about the development over the past six months, whether it was the copse of his rival Qiu Tian, the sessful listing of Gao Yongliang¡¯s cosmetics, or the promotion of chlorophytum, it was all rted to Lu Lingxi. In Xue Yongtong¡¯s heart, Lu Lingxi was simply his lucky star. He only hoped that the new year would go smoothly for Lu Lingxi, that the cooperation between Tiny Garden and Luxuan Gardening would deepen, and that Lu Lingxi would cultivate more new varieties of nts. The two men¡¯s banter made Lu Lingxi smile in embarrassment, and he curved his eyes without speaking. Gao Yongliang thought of Yan Yue and asked, ¡°When will Yan Yuee back?¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°Big Brother Yan said the fourth day of the first month. But he should have a lot of things going on over there, so he may not be able toe back on the fourth.¡± Gao Yongliang and Xue Yongtong were both confused about Yan Yue¡¯s origins. Hearing Lu Lingxi¡¯s vague reference, neither of them asked any detailed questions. If Yan Yue wanted to say something, he would have done so already; but since he didn¡¯t say anything, it was probably not convenient. s The three of them chatted for a while before Xue Yongtong shouted at Gao Yongliang to say goodbye. They wanted to take the opportunity to deliver the New Year¡¯s goods and invite Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue to have a meal, but now that Yan Yue wasn¡¯t here, the meal could only be moved to the new year. Before leaving, Xue Yongtong told Lu Lingxi to close the shop early since he was alone now and to be safe going home at night. Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. After Xue Yongtong and Gao Yongliang left, Wang Chaoliang came over with a pile of New Year¡¯s goods. Unlike Xue Yongtong and Gao Yongliang¡¯s gifts, the New Year¡¯s goods brought by Wang Chaoliang were all made by Grandma Wang, including braised chicken legs, yellow rice cakes and some misceneous fried snacks. Wang Chaoliang looked at Lu Lingxi and smiled, ¡°Uncle Wang borrowed a blessing from you, Xiao Xi.¡± Seeing that Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t understand, Wang Chaoliangughed and gestured to the pile of things on the table, ¡°Don¡¯t look at your Grandma Wang¡¯s age, these snacks are the best in themunity. When Uncle Wang was a child, he looked forward to having these for the New Year. In the past few years, your Grandma Wang thought it was too troublesome and didn¡¯t bother to make them. But this year, she made them especially for Xiao Xi and Dahei to eat, so Uncle Wang could take advantage of it and eat a little.¡± He said it in a funny way, and Lu Lingxiughed along with him. Afterughing, he asked if Grandma Wang¡¯s leg hadn¡¯t hurt in the past few days. ¡°No. Thest time it hurt, it was because she chilled it. It was a cold day and she went to y gateball (a game simr to croquet) and stayed outside for half a day. Even young people can¡¯t stand it, let alone your Grandma.¡± Ever since the car ident, Grandma Wang¡¯s legs were not as strong as they used to be, and she had to pay attention to the wind and rain. Wang Chaoliang had told her several times, but she couldn¡¯t stay idle, either wandering around every day or inviting a group of old men and women in the neighbourhood to y gateball. Wang Chaoliang had no choice but to buy several pairs of knee warmers for Grandma Wang, fearing she would catch a cold. However, due to the leg pain thest time, she no longer dared to take the doctor¡¯s words lightly. When he heard that Grandma Wang was fine, Lu Lingxi rxed. Dahei squatted quietly by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side since Wang Chaoliang came in, his ears perked up with an expression of listening carefully. Wang Chaoliang looked at Dahei very fondly, smiled and said to Lu Lingxi, ¡°Your Grandma Wang also said Dahei understands everything. Let me tell Dahei those braised chicken legs were specially made for Dahei. She put less salt in them. Dahei, if you don¡¯t like them, next time Grandma Wang will change the vour.¡± Dahei¡¯s ears twitched and he gave a low bark. Lu Lingxi listened with amusement, stroked Dahei¡¯s head and said seriously, ¡°Dahei is not a picky eater, he eats everything, much better behaved than Xiaohei.¡± Wang Chaoliang knew that Lu Lingxi also had a snake called Xiaohei, andughed loudly at his words. At the end of the day, before Wang Chaoliang left, Fang Lei walked in with a big bag in one hand and the leash of the ¡°flower of the police force¡± in the other. When he saw Wang Chaoliang, Fang Lei was a bit surprised, ¡°Yo, Xiao Xi has a guest?¡± Wang Chaoliang smiled and nodded to Fang Lei. Seeing that Fang Lei was also here to deliver New Year¡¯s goods to Xiao Xi, he simply chose to say goodbye. He didn¡¯t remember much about Fang Lei, but Fang Lei still remembered him. As soon as Wang Chaoliang left, Fang Lei came up to Lu Lingxi. ¡°This is the family of the victim of Lu Hongxin¡¯s car identst time, right?¡± Lu Lingxi was extremely surprised, ¡°You still remember, Officer Fang?¡± Fang Lei rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair, ¡°What Officer Fang, call me Brother Fang. Your Brother Fang is in this line of work. If I don¡¯t remember anything else, I remember faces very well.¡± After teasing Lu Lingxi, he also teased Dahei, sending the ¡°flower of the police force¡± in his hand to Dahei and jokingly said, ¡°Dahei still remembers our Lisa, right? This year, our Lisa has grown another year, a girl can¡¯t stay in her prime forever. You can¡¯t be irresponsible, Dahei, right?¡± Dahei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lu Lingxi was practically dying ofughter. He thought that after thest incident with Xiao Shi, Fang Lei had forgotten about tying a red thread for Dahei. But Fang Lei remembered and was even going to make such a show before the New Year. Fang Leiughed himself as he said that, stroked Lisa¡¯s head and said seriously, ¡°Xiao Xi, I¡¯m looking for you this time because there¡¯s something I need to trouble you with.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Lend me Dahei for a few days after New Year to help out.¡± Lu Lingxi immediately perked up, ¡°Is there another case?¡± Fang Lei shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s not about a case. You still remember thest time when Xiao Shi was lost, a few stray dogs came to help find Xiao Shi, right?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. Fang Lei smiled and said, ¡°Those stray dogs have now been adopted by the police force. In the past few days, they have all been in good physical fitness and they are smart. They are just disobedient, so we have to use Dahei to educate them.¡± Speaking of which, Fang Lei had good intentions. He heard that Dahei and Ah Huang were both stray dogs before, and wondered in his heart if stray dogs could easilymunicate with people. After meeting those dogsst time, he found that those stray dogs were really smart. Whether they couldmunicate with people or not wasn¡¯t mentioned first but they were particrly good at carrying out Dahei¡¯s orders. When Fang Lei finished the case, he took the dogs back to the police station. After a few days of good food and drink, the dogs were satisfied with everything, but they wouldn¡¯t listen to him. Fang Lei had no choice but to have the idea to use Dahei and let him help train them. Lu Lingxi vaguely guessed what Fang Lei had in mind and was somewhat tempted to say that it was not the matter of the dogs being stray. But it was good that those dogs were adopted by the police force; having food and water was much better than wandering outside. It was better to leave it at that and wait for Fang Lei to discover the truth by himself. He agreed readily, and Dahei obviously had no objections. When Fang Lei had finished his business, he took a look behind Lu Lingxi¡¯s back and saw all kinds of packages, so he knew they were all gifts from others. Xiao Xi was a nice kid, and even without Dahei, Fang Lei liked Lu Lingxi quite a lot. He piled the New Year goods he had brought together with the previous ones and asked Lu Lingxi, ¡°Xiao Xi, you can¡¯t take these things back alone, can you?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded; he was also worried and was thinking of calling Yi Hangter and asking him toe and pick him up. Fang Lei took a big package, ¡°I¡¯ll take you back, it just so happens that I have nothing to doter.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes lit up; Fang Lei smiled and said, ¡°Who made me Dahei¡¯s father-inw.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Chapter 114 Like Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant, Tiny Garden also closed on New Year¡¯s Eve. Lu Lingxi hung a small wooden board outside the door of Tiny Garden, stating that it would officially open on the eighth day of the first lunar month after the New Year. He didn¡¯t want to take such a long break, but Wang Shuxiu said he had worked hard for half a year and needed to take advantage of the New Year to rest. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t want to ignore Wang Shuxiu¡¯s wishes, so he agreed. After a rarezy sleep in the morning, when Lu Lingxi rubbed his eyes and got up, Xiao Feng had already taken Dahei for a run outside. As an energetic dog, Dahei liked to go out to exercise. Unfortunately, Lu Lingxi¡¯s physical strength couldn¡¯t keep up, and Dahei insisted on not hurting Lu Lingxi¡¯s ¡°self-esteem¡±, so, following Lu Lingxi, he could rarely have fun. Only when Yan Yue or Xiao Feng took him out could Dahei run around happily. ¡°Dahei has good stamina and explosive power.¡± Xiao Feng praised Dahei while opening the door. Dahei squinted his eyes, squatted calmly at the door, raised his paws and waited for Xiao Feng to wipe them. Xiao Feng smiled and wiped Dahei¡¯s four paws just like Lu Lingxi did, then said, ¡°Okay, it¡¯s time for Xiao Xi to get up, go see Xiao Xi.¡± Dahei gave a low bark and trotted into Lu Lingxi¡¯s room. Lu Lingxi had just sat up; Dahei stood half-upright with his two front paws on the bed, looking at Lu Lingxi with a gentle gaze. Lu Lingxi had slept well and was in a good mood as he stroked Dahei¡¯s head and casually said, ¡°Went out with Dad?¡± Dahei gave a few short barks and Lu Lingxiughed, saying helplessly, ¡°I see, I¡¯ll go out for a run when the weather gets warmer.¡± He finished with a smile and flicked his finger on Dahei¡¯s head, jokingly saying, ¡°Dahei, you are really bing more and more like Big Brother Yan.¡± Yan Yue had always felt that Lu Lingxi was too thin and not particrly healthy. Apart from urging him to eat every day, he also encouraged Lu Lingxi to get up early and run. Lu Lingxi was forced to stick to it for a while, but when it got too cold, he refused to go out. Yan Yue couldn¡¯t do anything about him and talked several times about exercising. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know when Dahei remembered it, but he was even more concerned with this matter than Yan Yue. After talking to Dahei, Lu Lingxi reached out and pulled Xiaohei out from under the pillow. Xiaohei was not yetpletely awake, dumbly looking at Lu Lingxi before slowly wrapping around Lu Lingxi¡¯s wrist. Lu Lingxi pulled him off by the tail and stuffed him into his pyjama pocket. ¡°Stop it.¡± He patted Xiaohei¡¯s poking out head and got up to go to the bathroom. While Lu Lingxi was washing up, Xiao Hong¡¯s family came to themunity. Xiao Hong also brought a few boxes of firecrackers and said to Lu Lingxi with a smile, ¡°These are all for you, Xiao Xi.¡± Lu Lingxi was a bit curious; he had seen these firecrackers on TV, and Xiao Feng had also brought several boxes a few days ago, but he had never yed with them himself. Xiao Feng took them from Xiao Hong and said casually, ¡°Our family¡¯s already bought quite a lot.¡± Xiao Hong didn¡¯t care, ¡°No matter how many of these things there are, they will be gone after a while. It is only once a year, so let Xiao Xi have a good time.¡± He turned to Lu Lingxi, ¡°Later Uncle will apany you to set off firecrackers. Uncle is the best at this.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. When Zhou Xiaoman heard Xiao Hong¡¯s words, she whispered to Wang Shuxiu, ¡°It has been years since Lao Xiao has made such a fuss. I think this year he¡¯s having the most fun.¡± In the past, with Xiao Hong and Zhou Xiaoman having no children, they plus Xiao Feng were just three people during the New Year. asionally, Zhou Xiaoman¡¯s parents were there, but the couple was old and didn¡¯t like the hustle and bustle, so they went to bed early every year. Xiao Hong felt that the New Year was tasteless; unlike this year when he was happy. Although there were only two more people, the feeling waspletely different. Especially looking at Lu Lingxi, Xiao Hong was simply more attentive than Xiao Feng, buying food, drinks and things for fun, whatever came to mind. He also muttered privately to Zhou Xiaoman that Xiao Xi, this child, was just too obedient. It would be better if he made a little noise and yelled like other children that he wanted this and liked that. When Zhou Xiaoman finished saying that with a smile, Wang Shuxiu alsoughed and said with emotion, ¡°The family hasn¡¯t been this lively for years.¡± s After breakfast, Wang Shuxiu instructed Xiao Feng to post Spring Festival couplets on the door. Zhou Xiaoman was in the kitchen frying croquettes. Xiao Hong watched her for a long time and had nothing to do, so he simply took Lu Lingxi to the vacant lot in themunity to set off firecrackers. ¡°Come, let¡¯s set off a fire tree first.¡± Xiao Hong excitedly lit the firecracker in his hand and pulled Lu Lingxi back a few metres away. He said he had bought these for Lu Lingxi to y with, but the truth was that he was having fun all by himself. Before Lu Lingxi could get close, he was stopped by Xiao Hong, gesturing for him to move farther away. Lu Lingxi simply squatted aside with Dahei and Xiao Baiwan and just watched as Xiao Hong happily lit one firecracker after another. This was much more interesting than watching them on TV. Maybe it was because they were the first to start, the sounds of firecrackers echoed all over themunity. There were children watching from a distance, and when Xiao Hong lit one, they tilted their heads and let out a collective gasp. Xiao Hong had even more fun. The day passed in such a rowdy manner that by the end of the day, the whole neighbourhood was filled with the sounds of firecrackers. From the balcony, half of the sky was filled with light and sparkling fireworks. Lu Lingxi leaned over the balcony and watched. Behind him, Wang Shuxiu and several others were enthusiastically preparing the New Year dinner. ¡°Where¡¯s the garlic you¡¯ve pounded, Xiaohua?¡± ¡°The dumplings should be ready soon.¡± ¡°The stewed meat is a bit nd, add more salt.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the bottle of wine I brought, Xiaoman, where did you put it, we¡¯ll all have a drinkter.¡± A chaotic conversation went on, everyone raising their voices because of the sound of firecrackers outside, and Lu Lingxiughed softly as he listened. He had never known that the New Year could be so interesting. Posting Spring Festival couplets, setting off firecrackers, hangingnterns and making dumplings, all of these things were firsts for Lu Lingxi. He participated in each of these activities with great interest, his only regret being that Yan Yue wasn¡¯t with him. He wondered what Yan Yue was doing now. Would the Yan family be as lively as his home? Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head and whispered, ¡°Dahei, I miss Big Brother Yan.¡± Dahei didn¡¯t bark, he just tenderly licked Lu Lingxi¡¯s fingers. The corners of Lu Lingxi¡¯s mouth curled up slightly and his eyes became warm. When Lu Lingxi was thinking of Yan Yue, Yan Yue was also thinking of Lu Lingxi. At eight o¡¯clock in the evening, the Yan family mansion was quiet. Apart from the rednterns lit up in the courtyard, the entire mansion waspletely devoid of the atmosphere of the New Year. In the dining room, Yan Shihui was sitting at the top of the table, while Yan Yue and Yin Qinn were sitting to his left and right. An Jie sat beside Yan Yue in a somewhat awkward manner, unable to stand the atmosphere here. No one spoke; everyone just ate the food in front of them in silence, and even though the food had been prepared with great care, An Jie still had the feeling that he couldn¡¯t eat. He gave Yan Shihui a cryptic nce and saw only indifference and alienation on his face. Of course, Yan Shihui wasn¡¯t so bad inparison to Yin Qinn who sat opposite Yan Yue with a frown on her face, unable to hide her disgust. s Although An Jie knew that both Yan Shihui and Yin Qinn¡¯s emotions were only directed at each other, looking at the expressionless Yan Yue, he finally had a deep understanding of why the boss had psychological problems. It was hard for a normal person to emerge from such a dysfunctional family environment. Should he be thankful that the boss had not grown up to be a guy with antisocial personality disorder? An Jie silently knocked on the wood in his heart and gave Yan Yue another look with some sympathy. It was obvious that his parents had broken up their rtionship and each had a family, but they had to get together every New Year¡¯s Eve to y a family. They might not feel anything themselves, but to Yan Yue, the New Year time and time again was just a reminder of his embarrassing situation of being abandoned by both parents. ¡°I¡¯m done eating.¡± Yan Yue said as he gently put down his chopsticks. An Jie let out a sigh of relief and almost immediately put down his chopsticks as well, ¡°I¡¯m done eating too.¡± ¡°Why did you eat just this little?¡± Yan Shihui said with concern. Yan Yue said indifferently, ¡°I have no appetite.¡± ¡°Ah Yue, this fish is good¡­¡± Yin Qinn didn¡¯t finish her sentence when Yan Shihui interrupted her, ¡°If Ah Yue doesn¡¯t have much appetite, go back to rest early.¡± ¡°Yan Shihui, you!¡± Yin Qinn red at Yan Shihui with dissatisfaction. Yan Yue didn¡¯t bother to listen to their quarrel; he simply got up and left the dining room. An Jie quickly followed, and behind the two of them, Yan Shihui and Yin Qinn were already arguing. It seemed to be like this every year, Yan Yue thought to himself somewhat mockingly, starting with silence and ending with an argument. ¡°Boss.¡± An Jie was a little embarrassed, not knowing what to say to Yan Yue. Yan Yue, on the contrary, was unconcerned and said straight away, ¡°I will ask the housekeeper to bring you some food.¡± Yan Yue could see that An Jie hadn¡¯t eaten anything at all, and it was natural, not many people could eat in that atmosphere. He looked as if he didn¡¯t care, and An Jie breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°What about you, boss?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give Xiao Xi a call.¡± At this time, Yan Yue only wanted to hear Lu Lingxi¡¯s voice. When the phone rang, Lu Lingxi was halfway through biting into one of the dumplings, only to feel something under his teeth inside. He spat it out to find it was a brand new ten fen coin. ¡°Good for Xiao Xi, a good start!¡± Xiao Feng immediately said. Xiao Hong smiled broadly and patted Lu Lingxi¡¯s shoulder, pulling out a bulging red envelope from his pocket and handing it to Lu Lingxi. ¡°Here, Xiao Xi, take it, this is the reward for eating the coin.¡± Xiao Feng joked, cooperating with him, ¡°Big Brother, do we get it if we eat one?¡± ¡°Yes, everyone.¡± Xiao Hong took out five red envelopes and pped them onto the table, ¡°I¡¯ve got it all ready. Your sister-inw has wrapped up a total of five coins. Whoever eats it will be rewarded.¡± Just as he finished speaking, Xiao Baiwan rushed over like an arrow, holding his small bowl in his mouth. Inside was a dumpling with a broken skin, revealing a coin. Everyone: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Pfff,¡± Zhou Xiaoman was the first to not hold back herughter, and everyone followed suit. Xiao Hong stroked Xiao Baiwan¡¯s head, ¡°Good job, Xiao Baiwan.¡± Xiao Baiwan barked excitedly. In the midst of themotion, Lu Lingxi walked to the balcony with his mobile phone and softly said, ¡°Big Brother Yan.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s voice reached him, unusually clear in the noisy background sounds. ¡°Having dinner?¡± ¡°En.¡± Lu Lingxi happily told him about the coin he had eaten, and about the one Xiao Baiwan got. Yan Yue chuckled at the thought of Xiao Hong¡¯s bulging red envelopes, and Lu Lingxi casually asked, ¡°Have you eaten the dumplings, Big Brother Yan?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even know you could wrap coins in dumplings, do you do it at your home too, Big Brother Yan?¡± ¡°No.¡± Yan Yue said softly, ¡°There¡¯s nothing in the dumplings over here.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll wrap them for you when youe back. I even learnt to wrap dumplings this afternoon, it¡¯s easy.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s voice was warm and soft, and the depression in Yan Yue¡¯s heart from the meal he had just eaten was swept away. He imagined the young man¡¯s smiling face at that moment, and his heart suddenly felt soft. He was iparably grateful that in his deste twenty-seven years of life, he had met Lu Lingxi. Chapter 115 Yan Yue didn¡¯t talk to Lu Lingxi for too long. Although the background of Xiao Xi¡¯s call was as lively as a vegetable market, Yan Yue could easily distinguish the voice of Wang Shuxiu calling Xiao Xi back to eat dumplings. Gently hanging up the phone, Yan Yue stood alone in the courtyard for a long time and all the images of him and Lu Lingxi from their first meeting to the present passed through his mind. Yan Yue unconsciously smiled; the chill in his body faded away, and his expression softened. After thinking about it, Yan Yue didn¡¯t go back to his bedroom but went to find An Jie. He was in a good mood now, and the thought of leaving An Jie alone in his room made him feel guilty. Anyway, he had to go back and eat, so he could just eat with An Jie. An Jie was quite happy to see Yan Yue at first, but soon he got a headache. He didn¡¯t know what Yan Yue had been stimted by, but he had to eat the dumplings with coins wrapped in them. An Jie had a strange look on his face, ¡°Coins can be wrapped in dumplings?¡± Yan Yue patiently exined to him, ¡°It¡¯s a custom, the person who gets the coin is lucky.¡± An Jie didn¡¯t think Yan Yue would believe in something like this, so he looked at him thoughtfully, ¡°Did Xiao Xi get it?¡± Yan Yue gave An Jie an affirmative look. An Jie was speechless for a long time and could only wait with Yan Yue on a hungry stomach to eat the dumplings with coins wrapped in them. Lu Lingxi, who was far away in Fengcheng, didn¡¯t know that Yan Yue was tossing the Yan family¡¯s chef. He was currently setting off firecrackers in the vacant lot in themunity. He and Xiao Hong had spent half a day ying in the morning, and in the evening, after dinner, the whole family went out and set off firecrackers together. Xiao Feng ced a starry sky firecracker on the ground, handed Lu Lingxi a cigarette and instructed, ¡°Be careful, light it up and run.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded; he had already had experience in the morning, but he was still a bit nervous. There were children around him cheering him on, ¡°Go for it, Brother Xiao Xi!¡± Dahei also barked cooperatively and Xiao Baiwan ran around him excitedly. Lu Lingxi smiled a bit shyly as he poked the cigarette and carefully lit the starry sky. With a bang, the firecracker exploded in the air, and countless dots of light lit up, shining like stars in the sky. Lu Lingxi was watching with his head tilted up when he heard a loud bang. He didn¡¯t take it seriously at first, just thinking that someone had lit a firecracker. Who knew that the noises would sound one after another. Xiao Hong said loudly, ¡°It¡¯s spring thunder. Spring thunder hase early this year.¡± ¡°Spring thunder? Is it going to rain?¡± Lu Lingxi asked in confusion. Xiao Hongughed, ¡°It¡¯s not going to rain, it¡¯s dry thunder. It¡¯s just the beginning of spring, where can the raine from?¡± s As the two of them spoke, the white panel suddenly floated out. Lu Lingxi froze for a moment and took the opportunity to look at the panel. A blue river appeared on the panel. As if something had cracked open, the river that had been fixed began to flow slowly, as if it was actually there in front of Lu Lingxi. ¡°Primary river purificationpleted, rewarding nt hearts +100, power of nature +1.¡± Primary river purification? Lu Lingxi immediately thought of the Lingshui River. Somewhat curiously he looked at the blue water image that was flowing in front of him and gently poked it with his hand. The cold touch made Lu Lingxi jolt, and his eyes suddenly widened as he poked it again in wonder. It wasn¡¯t his illusion, he seemed to really feel the coldness of the river water. When he calmed down, there was the vague sound of the river flowing. Lu Lingxi¡¯s interest waspletely piqued and he couldn¡¯t wait to go to the Lingshui River immediately to see what was going on. Lingshui Vige Today was New Year¡¯s Eve, and after the vige head Li Dayong had eaten dumplings, he started thinking about the fireworks in the evening. The vige¡¯s finances were in good shape this year and there was still a little money left at the end of the year. Li Dayong asked several vigemittee members toe up with a n, and the vige simply paid for someone to set off fireworks for half an hour in the evening of New Year¡¯s Eve. The vigers praised Li Dayong for doing a good job. You don¡¯t have to pay for the fireworks yourself and you can watch them for free, what can be better? Originally, Li Dayong wanted to finish the fireworks as soon as possible, but the vigers disagreed. Wait until after the dumplings are wrapped and eaten, otherwise if everyone is busy wrapping dumplings, who will watch the fireworks? Li Dayong had no choice but to set the time at nine o¡¯clock. The vigers all went to bedte on New Year¡¯s Eve anyway, so there was no fear of affecting anyone¡¯s rest. ¡°Ahem.¡± Li Dayong turned on the radio transmitter at home and spoke in a dialect. ¡°Vigers, vigers, the fireworks officially start at nine o¡¯clock in the evening. The fireworks are scheduled to take ce by the river, so those who want to go can go and have a look, but be sure to pay attention to safety. Attention parents with children, no one is allowed to let the children go near the river.¡± ¡°I repeat, vigers¡­¡± As soon as the broadcast was finished, there were vige children mouring to go to the river to watch. Some parents were toozy to go out, ¡°You can watch it standing in the yard, what¡¯s the fuss about going to the river!¡± The children disagreed and rolled around on the ground in their new clothes. The parents, distressed about the new clothes, rushed to grab the little brats. ¡°We¡¯ll go, we¡¯ll go now.¡± There were many children making a scene like this, and in no time at all the river was filled with adults and children scurrying around. s Uncle Li and Auntie Li, dressed warmly, also stood by the river waiting to watch. Uncle Li muttered in a low voice, ¡°You don¡¯t have toe here, you can watch it in the yard at home.¡± ¡°What do you know?¡± Auntie Li was dissatisfied, ¡°Is it to watch the fireworks? It is for fun.¡± While the two of them were arguing, the firecrackers by the river were already shooting out colourful mes, transforming into flowers and other shapes in the air. Peonies, chrysanthemums, phoenixes, starry sky; the vige people couldn¡¯t take their eyes off them. Just as the crowd was captivated by the fireworks, a sudden loud bang exploded on the horizon. ¡°Spring thunder?¡± Uncle Li looked surprised and was about to say that spring thunder hade early this year when a crisp sound faintly rang out behind him. He hurriedly turned around and watched as the ice on the Lingshui River seemed to be slowly cracking, with small pieces of ice falling into the water, making silvery sshes. ¡°The ice has melted, so watch out if you have children in your family!¡± Uncle Li shouted, raising his voice. Some of the vigers gathered around heard this and subconsciously turned to look over. On the Lingshui River, the previously darkyers of ice cracked one by one and fell into the river. As the water rumbled, the ice was quickly washed away, revealing the shimmering silver surface of the water. Under the illumination of the moonlight, the Lingshui River seemed to glow with stars, and the asional ssh of water was transparent and clear,pletely devoid of its previous pollution. Uncle Li took a few steps to the river and watched in surprise as the water returned to its previous unpolluted state, even cleaner than before. Silvery sshes of water stirred, green water nts stretched and swayed with the current, and a fresh water vapour surrounded him. Uncle Li took a deep breath and couldn¡¯t help but reach out and touch the river. The cold river water sent a shiver down his spine, but Uncle Liughed with delight. He had long heard from that child, Xiao Xi, that they had taken over the project to purify the Lingshui River. Although he didn¡¯t know when Xiao Xi had got it done, Uncle Li was convinced that the river¡¯s clear water was due to Xiao Xi. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Someone asked, bewildered. ¡°What else can happen?¡± Uncle Li exined, ¡°The pollution is gone. The government has paid to purify it.¡± ¡°When was it purified?¡± ¡°What do you care about when?¡± Another person next to him replied impatiently, ¡°It¡¯s just purified.¡± ¡°Look how clear the water is, there should be fish by summer, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, the water birds or something should fly back this year.¡± The vigers¡¯ attention was soon drawn to the purified Lingshui River, They had not seen such a clear river in years. In the past, when the stic factory in Songjia didn¡¯t pollute the river, the water didn¡¯t stink as much as when it was polluted, but people didn¡¯t pay much attention to protecting it, and it wasmon to throw stic bags and beverage bottles around. It was only after the stic factory polluted the river that they realised how important the river was to them. Especially after the poisoning of the people in Songjia Vigest time, the vigers of Lingshui Vige were terrified, just in case they were also poisoned at some point in time. ¡°Let me say something.¡± Li Dayong squeezed in front of the crowd and said loudly, ¡°As you can see, the government has spent money to give us the purified Lingshui River. Let¡¯s not talk about the past, but in the future we can¡¯t take environmental protection as lightly as we did before. From tomorrow onwards, no one is allowed to throw stic bags or bottles into the river, and no one is allowed to pour dirty water from their homes into the river. Anyone caught breaking the rules will be fined fifty yuan a time, and at the end of the year, we¡¯ll use the money to hire someone to set off fireworks.¡± At first, some people were not satisfied with the fine and were about to protest. But when Li Dayong said that he would use the money to hire people to set off fireworks, the vigersughed and those who wanted to make a scene stopped. ¡°This is a good idea from the vige head. I¡¯m an old man and Ie to the river every day when I have nothing to do. Who dares to litter, I will keep an eye on you!¡± Uncle Xu shouted loudly. Uncle Xu was a senior in the vige, and if he had said so, then he must have taken it seriously. No one nned to spend fifty yuan to try Uncle Xu¡¯s temper. Everyone agreed that this was a good idea. Everyone would take care of the Lingshui River in the future. Li Dayong breathed a sigh of relief and began to emphasise safety again. Especially if you have little children at home, don¡¯t let them run to the river by themselves; in case something happens, it would be toote to regret. The vigers were talking loudly, and the firework setters couldn¡¯t wait. ¡°It was already ten o¡¯clock, we¡¯ll go back if we don¡¯t set them off.¡± ¡°Set them off, set them off now.¡± Li Dayong hurriedly handed over a pack of cigarettes. He had said it would be over at half past nine, people had been waiting and he couldn¡¯t let them suffer. The next day Lu Lingxi learnt about what had happened in Lingshui Vige. He called Uncle Li in the morning of the first day to pay his respects, and Uncle Li spoke excitedly about the changes in the Lingshui River. Last night Uncle Li felt that he couldn¡¯t see clearly, so he went to the river again early in the morning to have a look. After a night of washing, the ck ice was no longer visible. The clear, bottomless water meandered down from the upstream, asionally sshing in a few small waves. Uncle Li was happy, ¡°Xiao Xi, you have done a good deed, a virtuous deed.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed by Uncle Li¡¯s praise, thinking that he hadn¡¯t actually done anything, it was all the panel¡¯s doing. In his and Yan Yue¡¯s n, the Lingshui River was only the first step. He wanted to see if he could purify several polluted rivers in Fengcheng in this way. But¡­ Lu Lingxi thought of Yan Yue¡¯s words. The purification of the rivers was only part of it. What was more important was the treatment of the emissions of big corporations, and even the adjustment of the industrial structure. If the corporations didn¡¯t pay attention to their emissions, the purification would only reduce losses rather than avoid them. What¡¯s more, if the corporations saw that the purification of the rivers was effective, instead they would pollute the environment even more recklessly. Lu Lingxi hoped that what Yan Yue said wasn¡¯t true; if only everyone could realise the importance of water sources like Lingshui Vige. Chapter 116 The first and second days of the new year passed in a sh. Lu Lingxi felt that he didn¡¯t do anything, just ate and drank, and the time was gone. In the morning of the third day, Yi Hang brought Zheng Tan and Bai Yuan and found Lu Lingxi, saying that they were going out to get together. Zheng Tan and Bai Yuan had been back for a few days, and on the day they came back they went to see Lu Lingxi in Tiny Garden. In the past few days, everyone was busy and there were a lot of rtives in the family. Only today did they free up time and arrange a private room to sing. Lu Lingxi felt quite enthusiastic about this. Although he was not as familiar with Zheng Tan and Bai Yuan as Yi Hang, he also regarded them as friends in his heart. The only depressing part was that he couldn¡¯t take Dahei with him. Yi Hang asked when he booked a private room, but the KTV didn¡¯t allow pets to be brought in. Originally, Yi Hang wanted to change to another KTV, but in time for the New Year, most KTV in the city were full, and it wasn¡¯t as easy to book as usual. ¡°Dahei, be good and stay at home, I¡¯ll be back this afternoon.¡± Lu Lingxi squatted down and stroked Dahei¡¯s head, coaxing patiently. Dahei gave an aggrieved bark and licked Lu Lingxi¡¯s fingers with some reluctance. Yi Hang was okay with it, having gotten used to the stickiness between Lu Lingxi and Dahei, while Zheng Tan and Bai Yuan both watched with the corners of their mouths twitching, trying to remember what Lu Lingxi used to be like. After Dahei was appeased, Xiaohei started causing trouble. Lu Lingxi thought that since he couldn¡¯t take Dahei, it would be fair to leave Xiaohei at home as well. Who knew that Xiaohei would hear Lu Lingxi¡¯s words and bite Lu Lingxi¡¯s coat, refusing to let go. Lu Lingxi tugged at Xiaohei¡¯s tail and wanted to find a biscuit to lead Xiaohei away. Xiaohei hesitantly struggled between the biscuit and Lu Lingxi for a long time, finally slipping into Lu Lingxi¡¯s coat pocket with a look of ¡°can¡¯t be lured by food¡±. Lu Lingxi had no choice but to take Xiaohei with him. When they arrived at the KTV, there were many people waiting to sing in the lobby. There was a lot ofmotion and people kept asking the waiter when someone was going to check out. Yi Hang was a little smug, ¡°See, isn¡¯t it good I booked well in advance, right? Otherwise we¡¯d have to wait half a day too.¡± Zheng Tan had grown quite tall during the half a year they hadn¡¯t seen him. Now he stood a full half head taller than Yi Hang. He smiled and grabbed Yi Hang¡¯s neck, saying in a funny voice like he used to, ¡°Boss is wise.¡± Yi Hangughed and dragged Zheng Tan to the service counter, leaving Lu Lingxi and Bai Yuan standing aside waiting for the two of them. Bai Yuan was a bit bored and looked for a topic to talk to Lu Lingxi, ¡°Lao San, Boss told you about me not leaving after the New Year, right?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded and said seriously, ¡°Yi Hang really wants you toe to the small restaurant and work with him.¡± Yi Hang had also said this to Bai Yuan, but Bai Yuan was a little less confident, ¡°I only know how to cut radishes, can I do it?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Lu Lingxi was quite confident about Bai Yuan, ¡°It is easy. Yi Hang didn¡¯t know anything when he first went there. I didn¡¯t know anything when I first went to Tiny Garden either, and I slowly learned.¡± Bai Yuan felt relieved when he heard that. He was about to speak, but suddenly his face sank and he said quickly in a low voice: ¡°Lao San, look, are those bastards on the opposite side the ones from the parkst time?¡± s Lu Lingxi smiled and looked over, but was at a loss, ¡°Which ones?¡± Remembering that Lu Lingxi¡¯s amnesia had not yet healed, Bai Yuan walked through the crowd, thinking he would take a closer look. But there were too many people in the hall, and when he got there, those few people across the hall were no longer visible. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yi Hang and Zheng Tan returned and looked at Bai Yuan strangely. Bai Yuan whispered that he seemed to have just seen the bastards they had fought with in the parkst time. At that time after the fight, Lu Lingxi was hospitalised and the few of them hid outside for a few days, and when they came back, they heard that those bastards had been arrested. Although they hadn¡¯t suffered any losses, when Bai Yuan thought of Lu Lingxi¡¯s bloodied appearance and the fact that he still couldn¡¯t remember anything, he was filled with anger and felt that it was all those bastards¡¯ fault. After hearing it, Yi Hang¡¯s face also turned ugly and he said hatefully, ¡°I guess it¡¯s the New Year and they¡¯re released.¡± Zheng Tan looked around but didn¡¯t find the people Bai Yuan mentioned. Seeing that the waiter was still waiting aside to take them to the private room, he also whispered, ¡°All right, cut the crap. Lao San almost recovered, so don¡¯t make him unhappy.¡± Ever since Lu Lingxi lost his memory, they were a bit cautious when talking to Lu Lingxi, just in case Lu Lingxi was unhappy when reminded of his amnesia. Yi Hang did feel that Lu Lingxi had adapted quite well, but what if Lu Lingxi was hiding something inside his heart? It was better not to talk about it. When they stopped talking, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know what to say either. He understood which time in the park Bai Yuan was referring to, the very time this body had been injured. He looked searchingly in the direction Bai Yuan had just told him to look, but there were only a few young girls giggling. Lu Lingxi looked away and by the way pushed the Xiaohei back into his pocket. Who knows what happened, but Xiaohei suddenly got excited and wanted to get out. Now that there were so many people outside, Lu Lingxi would not dare to let him out; it would be bad to scare people. While they followed the waiter to the private room, in another corner of the hall, a young man in his early twenties whispered to the people around him, ¡°Are they the ones who fought with youst time and caused you to get locked up for half a year?¡± The man next to him was dark-skinned and thin. He nodded in reply and said viciously, ¡°Brother Li, it¡¯s them. They fought with us. What bad luck, I just came out and ran into them. I¡¯ll get my brothers and beat them upter.¡± The young man known as Brother Liughed and said, ¡°What¡¯s the point of fighting in the New Year, it¡¯ll be bad if we get into trouble with the police. You go and find out which room they are in, and leave the rest to me.¡± He spoke confidently, and the dark-skinned, thin youth knew that Brother Li had some means, so he agreed at once. s Lu Lingxi and the others didn¡¯t know that they were being watched and were crowding in front of theputer in the room, ordering songs. The three of them, except for Lu Lingxi, were all mic hogs and were rolling around on the sofa fighting over who would sing first. Lu Lingxi looked on in amusement and was hesitant to go up and pull them apart when the door of the room opened and the waiter looked in, seemingly because he had seen them rolling in a ball from outside and was afraid something would happen. The waiter saw that they were fine and retreated. Lu Lingxi was just about to reach out and pull Yi Hang up when Xiaohei in his pocket suddenly poked out, showing his tongue and hissing in the direction of the door. ¡°Xiaohei?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little surprised and reached out to touch Xiaohei, who didn¡¯t wrap up around his wrist like before, but instead bowed his body and assumed an S shape. Lu Lingxi remembered that Yan Yue said that this was the usual action before a snakeunched an attack. Before he could react, Xiaohei¡¯s tail stood up, the muscles of his whole body contracted, and his previously curled body shot out violently. A ck arc streaked across the room; Xiaohei flew to the door and burrowed under the sofa at a speed that Lu Lingxi had never seen before. A dozen secondster, Xiaohei burrowed out from under the sofa, his tail tightly wrapped around another small green-coloured snake. The little snake had a transparent stic bag around its neck, which seemed to be filled with some white powder. ¡°Crap, what is this?¡± Bai Yuan said in surprise. Zheng Tan wanted to go over and take a look, but Yi Hang stopped him, ¡°Don¡¯t move, that green snake is poisonous, look at its head.¡± Zheng Tan stopped in his tracks as Xiaohei slowly let go of the little green snake and waved his tail, looking at the little green snake with the same expression as if he was looking at a biscuit at home. The little green snake cringed back with some trepidation, its instincts telling it that it had met a natural enemy. There was that one snake that fed exclusively on poisonous snakes, the nemesis of all poisonous snakes. Xiaohei held his head high and flicked his tail, and the little green snake removed the stic bag from its neck in a human-like manner. Xiaohei rolled the bag and slithered to Lu Lingxi¡¯s side. Lu LIngxi was a little surprised, ¡°What is this?¡± Yi Hang picked it up, and his face darkened after just one look. ¡°Drugs.¡± The moment the word ¡®drugs¡¯ was uttered, the atmosphere in the room immediately changed. Bai Yuan had an incredulous look on his face, ¡°Is this snake trying to harm us?¡± Zheng Tan gave him a nk look, ¡°What does a snake know, it must be whichever son of bitch is behind it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not right either.¡± Bai Yuan still didn¡¯t think it made sense, ¡°Even if there was someone behind it, he would have to be able to talk to the snake, right? Look at this snake, It was going straight for the sofa, it was clearlying for our coats. Was it trying to stuff it into someone¡¯s pocket? This fucking snake is too smart for that, right? Can you find one that¡¯s smarter than that?¡± Zheng Tan¡¯s gaze fell on Xiaohei on the floor. Bai Yuan: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lu Lingxi frowned slightly. He wasn¡¯t sure until Bai Yuan said so but was the little green snake also an evolved animal like Xiaohei? Did that mean that there was another person behind it? He also wondered if Xiaohei couldmunicate with its own kind, but Big Brother Yan wasn¡¯t there, so even if Xiaohei could, Lu Lingxi would not understand what he meant. While a few people were talking, Xiaohei had already started dripping saliva over the little green snake. Lu Lingxi speechlessly grabbed Xiaohei¡¯s tail. The little green snake was still useful and couldn¡¯t be eaten now. Besides, he was used to Xiaohei eating cakes and drinking milk. If suddenly he had to see Xiaohei swallowing a snake, it would be a bit ufortable. Xiaohei waved his tail in resignation and kept a close eye on his food. ¡°So what now? The bastard who did this to us must have called the police. Let¡¯s go now?¡± Bai Yuan asked as he came back to his senses. ¡°What are we leaving for, we have to find that bastard before we go!¡± Yi Hang said as his gaze shifted to Xiaohei, his eyes flickering, ¡°Lao San, can you get this snake to take the drugs back to the person who raised it? That son of bitch dares to harm us, let¡¯s call the police too, let¡¯s see who¡¯s afraid of whom.¡± Lu Lingxi understood what he meant and stroked Xiaohei¡¯s head, repeating Yi Hang¡¯s words. Xiaohei waved his tail, somewhat reluctant to let his food go. Lu Lingxi had no choice but topromise with Xiaohei, ¡°A piece of cake.¡± Xiaohei struggled a little, and Lu Lingxi whispered, ¡°Two pieces.¡± As he added up to three pieces of cake, Xiaohei dashed out like lightning, whipping his tail and rolling up the little green snake. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Perhaps the two snakes could reallymunicate. He didn¡¯t know what Xiaohei said to the little green snake, but the little green snake obediently slithered ahead and led the way back to its original room. Xiaohei followed behind with the stic bag containing the white powder. Lu Lingxi pretended to go to the toilet and watched from afar as the little green snake and Xiaohei slipped forward one after the other against the wall. asionally someone passed by the corridor but didn¡¯t notice their presence at all. He thought for a while and gave Fang Lei a call, saying he was in a bit of trouble and asking if Fang Lei coulde to the KTV. While Yi Hang said he wanted to call the police against the other party for framing them with drugs, Lu Lingxi was looking for Fang Lei because of this little green snake. With the change in Fengcheng¡¯s environment, especially with the existence of several purified ces, the evolution of people and animals would definitely happen as well. Just because he had not encountered it before, he couldn¡¯t say that this situation didn¡¯t exist. This little green snake was just one example; perhaps there were other evolved animals and humans in ces Lu LIngxi didn¡¯t know about. These people might all be good people, but as long as one of them was a bad person and used evolved animals to do bad things, the harm caused would be greater than average. Lu Lingxi felt he had an obligation to warn Fang Lei. Chapter 117 Lu Lingxi made it sound simple on the phone, but Fang Lei hung up the phone and immediately rushed to the KTV. He knew that Lu Lingxi was not the kind of person to invite trouble, and he had been worried all the way that something might have happened to Lu Lingxi if he had arrivedte. When he arrived at the KTV, he found that the police had alreadye, and the reason for their presence was that someone had reported that people were gathering here to take drugs. In China, the allegations of drug abuse are very serious, and the police officer didn¡¯t dare to neglect the call. After receiving the report, he immediately notified the nearby police station. The police station sent the people very quickly, and they went straight to the room of Lu Lingxi and others, but found nothing. The kids seemed to be in a clear state of mind and didn¡¯t look like they had taken drugs. The four policemen who came to discuss the matter quickly left one policeman in charge of questioning, while the other three went to another room. The police officer receiving the calls had received two calls separately, and the reported location was the same KTV. The second call was sent directly to the four police officers for the sake of saving police resources. The fact that they had found nothing at Lu Lingxi¡¯s room had already given the officers the idea that this was a prank. But to their surprise, they did find a small bag of drugs in the otherpartment. ¡°This is impossible!¡± When the police found the bag of drugs inside the jacket of the sofa, a young man dressed in eye-catching clothes immediately shouted. The young man was none other than Xu Li, who was known as Brother Li. Xu Li had a look of disbelief on his face, as if he had seen something that surprised him. Because the recent shipment was good, he had only kept such a small packet of drugs on him. If it wasn¡¯t to show off Shandian (Lightning) and teach those bastards who dared to mess with his brothers a lesson in the process, he wouldn¡¯t have taken out this bag of drugs. How could it be here again when Shandian had obviously said she¡¯d already delivered it? ¡°Be honest, what¡¯s not possible!¡± The cop scolded angrily, ¡°Are these your clothes?¡± Xu Li shrank back and nodded. Seeing that the policeman was silent, he suddenly reacted, ¡°Shandian, where¡¯s Shadian?¡± He mentioned Shandian, and the few people in the room being checked together knew he was talking about the little green snake. The policeman didn¡¯t know and thought he had missed someone, so he took it very seriously, ¡°Who¡¯s Shan Dian? Where did he go?¡± Xu Li hesitated for a few seconds and whispered, ¡°Shadian is a pet snake that I raise.¡± The policeman was somewhat unconvinced, but several other people testified that Shandian really wasn¡¯t a person¡¯s name, but a snake¡¯s name. The three policemen looked at each other, and the policeman who had previously stayed by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side for questioning brought Fang Lei over. The three policemen in the room were all a little surprised to see Fang Lei. They were not from the same police station but they all basically knew him. ¡°Why is Team Fanging over?¡± Fang Lei smiled and exined, ¡°I originally invited my little brother and a few of his friends to sing, but I didn¡¯t expect to see Xiao Zheng in the room. So I listened to Xiao Zheng¡¯s story and came over to see what was going on.¡± When he said that, the three policemen from before suddenly realised, ¡°So there was your younger brother among those kids just now. Which one was it?¡± ¡°The most well-behaved one.¡± Fang Leiughed. He said it in a serious manner, and the policemenughed, but there was indeed one of the four kids from before who looked particrly well-behaved. Although they didn¡¯t know when Fang Lei had gotten a younger brother, looking at the way Fang Lei talked about his brother, it was obvious that the two of them had a good rtionship. It was a good thing that it was only a false rm, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t have known how to face Fang Lei. s Fang Lei acted as if he didn¡¯t see what they were thinking and only cared about the situation over there. When he heard that a bag of drugs had been seized and they were about to take these people back for a urine test, he waved his hand, ¡°Alright, you guys are busy then.¡± The police officers nodded to him with a smile and took Xu Li and the others to leave. Xu Li was a bit anxious, ¡°Shandian hasn¡¯t been found yet.¡± ¡°It¡¯s such a big KTV, where are you going to find that snake you¡¯re keeping?!¡± A policeman chided. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the snake wasn¡¯t poisonous? Just inform the KTV to be careful.¡± Another policeman said. No one took Xu Li¡¯s pet seriously. Their manpower was already stretched thin, they had just received another call and were all too busy out on the streets to find the little green snake. Besides, the KTV covered such arge area and there were rooms everywhere, so it wasn¡¯t practical to rely on just the four of them to find it. They could only inform the KTV to pay attention. After a few words, the police officers took the guys away and left. Fang Lei¡¯s eyes fell on Xu Li and he frowned thoughtfully. ¡°Brother Fang.¡± Lu Lingxi saw that the police had left and approached him. Fang Lei smiled at Lu Lingxi and fished out a red envelope from his pocket. ¡°Xiao Xi, take it, it¡¯s for you. I was nning to wait for Tiny Garden to open to see you, it¡¯s lucky that I met you today.¡± Lu Lingxi was taken aback for a moment, not expecting Fang Lei to give him a red envelope. While he hesitated, Fang Lei had already stuffed the red envelope into his hands. Lu Lingxi was a bit embarrassed, as he had already received several red envelopes in just a few days after the New Year. He always felt that red envelopes were something only children received, and it was a bit strange for him to receive red envelopes when he was already an adult. After hesitantly putting away the red envelope, Lu Lingxi was about to hint to Fang Lei about the little green snake when Fang Lei suddenly said, ¡°Was one of the people who were just taken away also able tomunicate with animals?¡± Lu Lingxi looked up suddenly and gave Fang Lei a surprised look. From the moment Fang Lei arrived, he hadn¡¯t even had the chance to say anything, and Fang Lei had already guessed it. Fang Lei looked at Lu Lingxi¡¯s expression with amusement, reached out and rubbed his head, asking with a smile, ¡°The one he canmunicate with is a snake?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, simply not knowing what to say. Fang Lei¡¯s heart was beating hard; he had been a police officer for many years, reading people¡¯s words and expressions was basic. Originally he was still confused as to what was going on. How could Xiao Xi be reported as taking drugs? It was inconvenient for him to ask in front of his colleagues, but when he saw the young man called Xu Li and noticed how nervous he was about a snake, Fang Lei figured out what was going on. Two different reporting calls, the former came from the arrested ones, and thetter was made by Lu Lingxi and the others. The ones who were caught were probably trying to frame Xiao Xi with drugs, but Xiao Xi saw through them, and instead set a trap for them. As for how they were framed, Fang Lei looked at Lu Lingxi with a smirk, ¡°Where is that snake?¡± Lu Lingxi nced around and tentatively called out to the sofa, ¡°Xiaohei?¡± From under the sofa, Xiaohei herded the little green snake to slowly crawl out, guarding his food vigntly. Fang Lei had an unexpected expression on his face; he guessed that Xiaohei must be by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side. By now, Fang Lei had already affirmed that Xiaohei and Dahei couldmunicate with people. He remembered that Xiaohei was Yan Yue¡¯s pet, which meant¡­ Fang Lei was so envious when this thought shed. He really couldn¡¯t restrain his curiosity and asked in a low voice, ¡°How do you guys do that?¡± s Lu Lingxi was actually also a little bewildered; at first it seemed like it was natural tomunicate. He felt that evolution was a trend in the future. He didn¡¯t know about other ces, but the number of people who could evolve in Fengcheng would only increase. After thinking about it, Lu Lingxi came up with the idea and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you also keep a pet by your side, Big Brother Fang?¡± This should be the fastest way to develop a tacit understanding, and the chances of being able tomunicate with each other in the future would be greater. Fang Lei smiled and his eyes fell on the little green snake on the ground, ¡°Then I¡¯ll take this little green snake back with me as a pet.¡± He instantly recognised this little green snake as a venomous snake, and quite a dangerous one. Although he didn¡¯t know why the little green snake was afraid of Xiaohei, it certainly couldn¡¯t be left by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side. It would be troublesome in case it identally bit Lu Lingxi. When Xiaohei heard that Fang Lei was going to snatch his food, he waved his tail angrily and hissed at Fang Lei. Fang Lei looked at him with interest, ¡°Xiaohei disagrees?¡± Lu Lingxi looked at Xiaohei speechlessly and exined in a small voice, ¡°The little green snake is Xiaohei¡¯s food, Brother Fang, you can exchange it for a cake or a biscuit.¡± Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± After paying five pieces of cake, Fang Lei finally exchanged the little green snake from Xiaohei. He found a stic bottle and carefully stuffed the little green snake into it, threw it into the car, waved at Lu Lingxi and drove away from the KTV. While he waited for the green light, Lu Lingxi¡¯s words shed in Fang Lei¡¯s mind. In fact, even if Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t say it, Fang Lei was aware of the problem. It might not seem special that people couldmunicate with animals, but just as Xu Li had instructed a snake to frame Lu Lingxi today, there might be others who would use animals to achieve their own goals. Fang Lei¡¯s initial thought was that if police dogs couldmunicate with people, it would be more convenient for them to solve cases. But since he could use animals to solve cases, there would be others who would use them tomit crimes, for the same reason. Fang Lei looked somewhat grave. Although he didn¡¯t understand why Lu Lingxi was sure that there would be more and more people like them, but for no reason he believed Lu Lingxi¡¯s words. He always felt that Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue knew something, but the other party wasn¡¯t willing to say, so he yed dumb and didn¡¯t ask. Anyway, he was friends with Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi, and that was enough. Once Fang Lei left, Lu Lingxi and the others also hurriedly checked out of the room. Zheng Tan and Bai Yuan had long since lost the wish to sing, at first waiting excitedly for the police toe over, andter waiting to see what was going on at Xu Li¡¯s side. After the excitement was over, their attention was again focused on Xiaohei and they kept asking Lu Lingxi where he bought Xiaohei. They also nned to buy a snake to raise. The scene of Xiaohei catching the little green snake was really too attractive. Lu Lingxi honestly said that he didn¡¯t buy Xiaohei, he found him in the nt nursery, and Zheng Tan immediately yelled that he would go to the nt nursery next time, so he might be able to pick one up too. Lu Lingxi actually wanted to suggest that they should also have a pet, so that they might evolve after a while. But Zheng Tan and Bai Yuan wanted to raise a snake that was the same as Xiaohei. Only Yi Hang guessed something and nned to raise a dog when he went back. He liked dogs more. Instead of going straight home, they drove around the streets for a long time in Yi Hang¡¯s little beat-up Jinbei. When they passed by the police station where Fang Lei was, Lu Lingxi took advantage of theirck of attention and used the point of the power of nature he had been rewarded withst time to purify the soil around the police station. There was only so much he could do to help Fang Lei. He hoped that Fang Lei would soon achieve what he wanted. Chapter 118 When Yan Yue received the call from Lu Lingxi, he was bored stiff with the Spring Festival dinner hosted by the Ye family. It was a tradition in the upper ss circles of Zhongjing that the Spring Festival dinner was held every year in the first lunar month, and each time a different family hosted the dinner. This year it happened to be the Ye family. Elder Ye waved his hand and left the matter to his grandsons. As soon as Ye Kang saw that the situation was dangerous, he immediately pretended to be sick and avoided this task. In his words, he didn¡¯t intend to refresh his sense of existence in front of the old man; whoever was willing to do this kind of hard work could do it. In order to facilitate everyone¡¯smunication, the dinner was served in a buffet style. It didn¡¯t take long for Ye Kang to find Yan Yue. Yan Yue was surrounded by many people who were exchanging pleasantries with him, and he seemed to be quite popr. Although everyone present knew that Yan Yue had left Hopewell for the time being, no one was foolish enough to take sides now until the dust had settled. Across the crowd, Ye Kang raised an eyebrow at Yan Yue, signalling that he had made all the arrangements. Yan Yue showed an expression of understanding. The two quietly got rid of the people around them and stood together. Ye Kang looked around, lowered his voice and smiled, ¡°The one circling around Sister Li is Yan Hai, right?¡± Yan Yue nced faintly and gave an indifferent hmph. ¡°He¡¯s quite good at seizing the moment.¡± Ye Kang said meaningfully. There were many people who had heard the rumours of the marriage between the Yin and Lu families, and Yan Hai looked like he was in a hurry, but it had to be Yan Shihui¡¯s idea. ¡°Should we give him a little push?¡± Ye Kang looked at Yan Yue curiously. Yan Yue was about to speak when his mobile phone suddenly vibrated. The familiar name on the caller ID made Yan Yue¡¯s eyes soften. He said a quick word to Ye Kang and took the phone to a corner of the hall, where there was no one around and it was pretty quiet, perfect for answering the phone. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± ¡°Big Brother Yan.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s voice was soft and sticky, with a hint ofziness from having eaten and drunk. ¡°Have you eaten yet?¡± Yan Yue smiled and said softly, ¡°I have eaten, quite a lot.¡± He didn¡¯t really have much of an appetite in the evening, and had only eaten a little. However, in order to avoid Lu Lingxi¡¯s worry, Yan Yue would asionally tell a small lie with good intentions. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t suspect anything and without waiting for Yan Yue to ask he told about the day¡¯s events in great detail. The appearance of the little green snake, the bravery of Xiaohei, and his confession to a certain extent to Fang Lei; Yan Yue listened somewhat tensely, especially when he heard that Lu Lingxi was almost framed for keeping drugs. His face distorted. ¡°Do you know who they are?¡± s ¡°It seems to be people I had a fight with before.¡± Lu Lingxi said somewhat sheepishly and immediately changed to another topic, ¡°I didn¡¯t even know that Xiaohei was so powerful, he can actually eat poisonous snakes.¡± Yan Yue knew what Lu Lingxi was avoiding and considerately didn¡¯t pursue the matter. Speaking of Xiaohei, he was moved in his heart. He had never been able to find out the species of Xiaohei after searching online for a long time before, but if Xiaohei fed on venomous snakes, it was somewhat like the description of a kingsnake. This snake itself wasn¡¯t poisonous, but was naturally immune to snake venom, and its favourite food was all kinds of poisonous snakes. It wasn¡¯t that Yan Yue hadn¡¯t looked up information on kingsnakes at the time, but there were basically no kingsnakes that were as ck as Xiaohei, with no spots or rings of colour, and not quite the same shape. Could Xiaohei be a mutant kingsnake? While this thought shed, Yan Yue cooperated and praised Xiaohei a few times, and then listened to Lu Lingxi who seemed to have turned on the mic, and Xiaohei¡¯s hissing voice sounded. Yan Yueughed and had to praise a few more times. Xiaohei excitedly wrapped around the phone, shook his tail vigorously and hissed. Lu Lingxi sat on the bed with his legs bent, smiling as he poked Xiaohei¡¯s head. Xiaohei had really spent a lot of time with Dahei, even the way he wagged his tail was exactly the same. ¡°By the way, Big Brother Yan¡­¡± Lu Lingxi was just about to say something when the background sound on Yan Yue¡¯s side suddenly became noisy, as if someone was eximing. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lu Lingxi asked worriedly. ¡°Nothing, it seems like someone has had a little ident.¡± Yan Yueforted him in a calm voice. At the entrance of the hall, Yin Ya stood with half of her clothes drenched, leaning into Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s arms, her curves exposed. Her expression was frightened as she looked around with a pitiful look. Yan Yue carelessly swept a nce and hooked the corners of his mouth. Ye Kang noticed his gaze and raised his ss at Yan Yue from afar. Yan Yue raised his eyebrow and smiled, not bothering with what happened next. His goal had been achieved, and it was up to Yin Ya to seize this opportunity. After this slight distraction, Yan Yue¡¯s attention returned to the phone. Lu Lingxi wasn¡¯t too curious about what was happening on Yan Yue¡¯s side; Yan Yue said it was fine, so he treated it as if everything was fine. After talking about Xiaohei, Lu Lingxi mentioned Fang Lei again. Yan Yue was a little sour. Xiao Xi mentioned Fang Lei a little too often this evening. s As soon as Yan Yue hung up the phone, Ye Kang came over. He exaggeratedly brought a ss of water for Yan Yue and said in a pushy manner, ¡°Do you need to moisten your throat?¡± Yan Yue chuckled and nonchntly took a sip of the water,menting, ¡°Good service.¡± Ye Kang gave him a feigned re, then said with a little pride, ¡°How¡¯s that? The person I arranged is reliable, right?¡± Yan Yue nodded; Ye Kang¡¯s arrangement was quite good. No matter how he brought Yin Ya and Lu Wei¡¯an together, anyway, what everyone saw now was that Yin Ya was drenched and held in Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s arms. In light of the rumours of a marriage between the Yin and Lu families, with a little effort, he was helping Yin Ya achieve what she wanted. Thinking about this, Yan Yue found his father through the crowd. His father¡¯s expression looked fine, but Yan Hai¡¯s expression couldn¡¯t hide a hint of impatience. ¡°Yan Hai is anxious.¡± Ye Kang whispered, following Yan Yue¡¯s line of sight. Yan Yue nced at Yan Hai as if nothing had happened, then looked away indifferently, and said, ¡°Father is also anxious.¡± No matter whether he or Yin Ya joined the Lu family in marriage, it would mean that the Lu family would have an excuse to intervene in the fight for Hopewell. Elder Lu wasn¡¯t as easy to talk to as Grandpa, who had too many scruples and was suppressed by his Yan Shihui, only able to oppose him in a small way. Elder Lu, however, had no qualms, and Yan Yue could hardly wait to see the Lu family make a move. Yan Yue was in a happy mood, thinking that he didn¡¯t know whose marriage to the Lu family, his or Yin Ya¡¯s, would make his father feel more blocked. With this piece of gossip, the rest of the evening didn¡¯t seem so boring. Towards the end of the dinner, Yan Yue met his grandfather, but Yin Ya didn¡¯t apany Yin Yongde. Tonight, Yin Ya was following Grandpa in the name of the Yin family. If something happened to Yin Ya, Grandpa would definitely have to deal with it, but Yan Yue didn¡¯t know what agreement the Yin family and the Lu family had reached. Yin Yongde seemed a little guilty towards Yan Yue, ¡°Ah Yue, Xiao Ya, she¡­¡± The old man was full of hope that Yan Yue could marry the Lu family in exchange for the Lu family¡¯s support, and he had even made a deal with the old man of the Lu family to have the children meet formally today and engage them as soon as possible if they were interested. As a result, before he could find Yan Yue, Yin Ya had an ident andpletely disrupted his ns. Yin Yongde was furious, but he couldn¡¯t be ruthless to Yin Ya. In his heart, he suspected that what happened wasn¡¯t an ident but a scheme by Yin Ya. However, he couldn¡¯t tell anyone about his suspicions. Holding back, he felt even more sorry for Yan Yue. Yin Yongde wanted to suppress this matter. There were many new events happening in the circle, and as long as Yin Ya kept a low profile for a while, no one would probably mention it anymore. Even if the marriage between the Yin and Lu families didn¡¯t work out, Yin Yongde would never agree to her marrying a sick boy who could have problems at any time. Whether it was Yin Ya¡¯s scheme or his n to abandon the Yin-Lu marriage, Yin Yongde felt that Yan Yue was the most innocent person in this. But Yin Ya was also his granddaughter, so what could he do? Yin Yongde looked at Yan Yue in embarrassment, unable to say anything for a long time. Yan Yue gently hooked the corners of his mouth; his smile was standard and there was no sign of any discontent at all. As if he didn¡¯t know what Yin Yongde wanted to say, he calmly asked, ¡°Did Mother go home first?¡± Yin Yongde smiled bitterly, ¡°Your mother sent Xiao Ya back. I¡¯m afraid, tonight she won¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°I see.¡± Yan Yue politely interrupted Yin Yongde, ¡°Father has already said that he won¡¯t being home tonight either. I¡¯ve asked my assistant to book a flight for tomorrow at seven, and I¡¯m leaving Zhongjing first thing in the morning. Mother¡¯s luggage will be delivered by the housekeeper. Is there anything else Grandpa wants?¡± He spoke calmly, but Yin Yongde was taken aback, ¡°Ah Yue, you¡¯re leaving in such a hurry?¡± Yan Yue smiled and said ¡°en¡±, and very smoothly pushed Ye Kang forward. ¡°Ah Kang helped me contact a psychologist. The other party¡¯s schedule is very tight and I need to cooperate.¡± Yin Yongde didn¡¯t really believe Yan Yue¡¯s words, but he looked at Yan Yue and then at Ye Kang who wasn¡¯t far away, let out a silent sigh and didn¡¯t say anything else. Yan Yue lowered his eyes slightly, unconsciously rubbing the wine ss in his hand, and likewise didn¡¯t speak again. He understood all of his grandfather¡¯s thoughts, but this was precisely the biggest difference between him and his grandfather. Just as he couldn¡¯t trust his father, he couldn¡¯t trust his grandfather wholeheartedly either. Even though his grandfather had always been clearly supportive of him in the inheritance of Hopewell and had even shown much favour to him in general, Yan Yue knew very well in his heart that in Grandpa¡¯s eyes, he and Yin Ya were both his mother¡¯s children and were in fact the same. The reason for Grandpa¡¯s favouritism towards him was nothing more than the guilt that arose from his mother¡¯s coldness towards him. In essence, there was no difference between how Grandpa saw him and Yin Ya and how his father saw him and Yan Hai. Chapter 119 That night, Yan Yue had insomnia again. It seemed that after he returned to Zhongjing, he never slept well. Holding back the urge to rush back to Fengcheng overnight, Yan Yue casually took a book from his luggage, intending to use it to pass the time. Between the pages, a note with a picture of Dahei stealing a tomato showed up. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes fell on the note and he couldn¡¯t help but smile faintly. He remembered this note, which he had taken away from Xiao Xi¡¯s house when he first went there for dinner. At that time, he had been jealous of Dahei being drawn, imagining that one day Dahei on the drawing would be reced by him. As the thought shed through his mind, Yan Yue smiled and flipped the note over, only to be slightly stunned when he saw the back of the note. He didn¡¯t know when two little people appeared on the back of the note, one tall and one short, standing hand in hand together. Although the figures looked cartoonish, he immediately recognised that one of them was himself and the other was Lu Lingxi. Yan Yue¡¯s heart suddenly raced; the corners of his mouth turned up and the smile was impossible to suppress. He didn¡¯t know when Lu Lingxi had found this note and when he had drawn these two little people, but the happiness Yan Yue felt at this moment made him unable to resist the urge to see Lu Lingxi as soon as possible. Yan Yue touched the little people on the paper reverently and changed his mind, intending to rush back to Fengcheng overnight. An Jie had long been ustomed to his boss¡¯s crazy behaviour and packed his bags in one go. In fact, he and Ye Kang had made a private bet on whether Yan Yue could hold out until the fourth day of the first month before returning to Zhongjing. Now it seemed that he had won, and Ye Kang would have to pay. ¡°Should we let Xiao Xi know?¡± An Jie asked. ¡°No need.¡± Yan Yue shook his head. It was almost twelve o¡¯clock now, and it would be after midnight when they got back. If Xiao Xi knew he was rushing back all night, he might hold back from sleeping and wait for him. Yan Yue didn¡¯t want to torment Lu Lingxi, so it was better to forget about it. There were not many people on the high-speed train at night, and the journey was very smooth. By the time they saw the Fengcheng station, it wasn¡¯t yet two o¡¯clock in the morning. Yan Yue was in a good mood all the way, holding the book from before and looking at the note inside for a long time. He didn¡¯t know how to describe his mood at the moment; he was so happy he was about to explode. Yan Yue knew in his heart that his methods of getting him and Xiao Xi together were not very honourable; to be more precise, he had snatched Lu Lingxi without the young man knowing anything. He had imagined how Lu Lingxi would look back on their time together when he grew up and had his own understanding of the world, but didn¡¯t dare to think about it¡­ until the two little people on the back of the note told him the answer. Yan Yue looked at the note and smiled faintly. Hongfu Community Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know that Yan Yue was about toe back and was sleeping soundly under the quilt. When Dahei closed his eyes and huddled beside Lu Lingxi, he heard a soft noise on the ground, which seemed to be the sound of Xiaohei wagging his tail. Dahei¡¯s ears twitched, he opened his eyes and stood up suddenly. On the floor of the bedroom, Xiaohei excitedly showed his tongue at Dahei, his tail curled around a small snake with red stripes. Dahei squinted his eyes and jumped out of the bed lightly, holding the little red snake with one paw and opening his mouth to bite it. Xiaohei in a hurry stopped Dahei from biting and hissed at Dahei. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The movement of the two awakened Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi rubbed his eyes and sat up, turned on the light and looked at the floor in a daze. Xiaohei eagerly showed his tongue at Lu Lingxi, and his tail curled around the little red snake vigorously, trying to pull it out from under Dahei¡¯s paw and push it towards Lu Lingxi. s Lu Lingxi looked at it nkly, wondering where Xiaohei had found such a snake and what did he mean pushing it in front of him? ¡°¡­Xiaohei, are you going to give it to me? ¡°Lu Lingxi guessed hesitatingly. Xiaohei waved his tail quickly; obviously Lu Lingxi guessed his meaning correctly. Lu Lingxi had a bit of a headache; what did he need a snake for in the middle of the night? And this little red snake might also be a poisonous snake. After thinking about it, Lu Lingxi patiently said to Xiaohei, ¡°I don¡¯t need this snake, Xiaohei, can you send it back to its original ce?¡± Xiaohei spun around on the floor twice, seeming aggrieved, left the little red snake behind and crawled out. The little red snake moved its body and tried to run, but Dahei held it down with his paw. In a short while, Xiaohei crawled in with half a piece of cake left over from the evening¡¯s meal, pushed the cake in front of Lu Lingxi and pushed the little red snake in front of Lu Lingxi as well. Lu Lingxi looked at the cake and then at Xiaohei, and understood what Xiaohei meant in a sh. ¡°You want to trade the little red snake for the cake?¡± Xiaohei waved his tail excitedly. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He didn¡¯t know whether tough or to cry. Just because Fang Lei had promised five pieces of cake in exchange for the little green snake, Xiaohei remembered this and went out in the middle of the night to catch a little red snake and came back to exchange it for cakes. Lu Lingxi crouched in front of Xiaohei in amusement, thinking how to exin it to Xiaohei. Dahei suddenly twitched his ears and barked in a low voice. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes lit up and he no longer cared about Xiaohei. He grabbed his coat haphazardly and pulled open the balcony door, running out in a sh, Dahei followed behind Lu Lingxi quickly, leaving Xiaohei staring dumbly at their backs, somewhat aggrieved. ¡°Big Brother Yan!¡± Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue entered the apartment almost simultaneously. As soon as Yan Yue turned around, he saw Lu Lingxi running in from the balcony, looking at him with his eyes curved in a smile. The smile poured out of Yan Yue¡¯s eyes, and in a few steps he walked over and hugged Lu Lingxi. ¡°Still up sote?¡± ¡°I fell asleep and woke up again.¡± Lu Lingxi meekly exined. ¡°Boss?¡± An Jie pushed the door open with his luggage. Lu Lingxi looked embarrassed and quickly pushed Yan Yue away. ¡°Brother An.¡± An Jie looked at Lu Lingxi with a smile, ¡°Happy New Year, Xiao Xi, Brother An has wrapped a big red envelope for you.¡± Lu Lingxi had been receiving red envelopes so muchtely that he was a little embarrassed when he heard it. ¡°I¡¯m already neen, I don¡¯t need red envelopes anymore.¡± An Jie curved his eyes at Lu Lingxi, gesturing to Yan Yue, and said, ¡°No need to save money for Brother An, just have the boss wrap two red envelopes for me when the timees. The wooles off the sheep anyway.¡± s Lu Lingxi held back a smile and nodded. An Jie didn¡¯t stay here much longer and very consciously left after saying a few words. Looking at Yan Yue, he guessed that if he stayed any longer, his red envelope for next year would be half smaller. As soon as An Jie left, Yan Yue hugged and kissed Lu Lingxi eagerly. Lu Lingxi was so softened by his kisses that he leaned into Yan Yue¡¯s arms. Yan Yue wrapped one arm around Lu Lingxi and patted his back, feeling that he couldn¡¯t get enough of Lu Lingxi. He forced himself to let go of Lu Lingxi and said softly, ¡°Xiao Xi, go back to your room first, I¡¯lle over after taking a shower.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t go back next door but took off his coat and got under the quilt in his pyjamas. Dahei came over, licked Lu Lingxi¡¯s fingers and consciously flopped down on the mat in the living room. In a few minutes¡¯ time Yan Yue had finished taking a shower andy down beside Lu Lingxi with his body still a little wet, encircling Lu Lingxi tightly in his arms. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± ¡°En?¡± ¡°I love you.¡± Yan Yue lowered his head and rested his forehead against Lu Lingxi¡¯s, his eyes focused on Lu Lingxi, his gaze burning with amazing heat. Lu Lingxi blinked and reached out to hug Yan Yue, letting out a low muffled sound. Yan Yue chuckled and moved over to give Lu Lingxi a kiss on the lips, whispering, ¡°Go to sleep.¡± Lu Lingxi obediently closed his eyes. Yan Yue smiled and kissed him on the eyes, reaching out to turn off the light. The room was plunged into darkness, but Yan Yue couldn¡¯t sleep for a while as he held Lu Lingxi in his arms. For the first time, he wasn¡¯t repulsed by the feeling of insomnia; instead he was enjoying the silence almost peacefully. The emotions that had been suppressed over the past few days gradually eased, and the pale emptiness in his heart was filled with the warmth of being with Lu Lingxi. Yan Yue tenderly held Lu Lingxi; his body had no desire to do anything but to embrace Lu Lingxi like this. Lu Lingxi rubbed himself against Yan Yue¡¯s arms and found afortable position. He felt in a daze as if he had forgotten something. What was it exactly? In the next room, Xiaohei was guarding the little red snake, waiting with bated breath for Lu Lingxi to return. He was a little hungry and had already eaten the cake from before. Xiaohei¡¯s gaze fell on the little red snake, and he dripped two drops of saliva. The little red snake stiffened and didn¡¯t move, trying to convey an air of ¡°I am not tasty, don¡¯t eat me¡±. Xiaohei flicked his tail, aggrieved, and held back from eating the snake. The little red snake = cake, if you eat the little red snake, you won¡¯t have any cake; Xiaohei still knew how to calcte. But Xiaohei didn¡¯t understand why Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t want the little red snake. Was it because the little red snake wasn¡¯t as thick as the little green snake? Xiaohei slowly sized up the little red snake, hesitating whether to catch another one. While Xiaohei was waiting, Lu Lingxi slept until seven in the morning, when Yan Yue had already returned from a run outside with Dahei. He entered the door while answering the phone, found a mat by the door and ced it in front of Dahei, letting him wipe his paws himself. ¡°Okay, say hello to Grandpa Su for me.¡± Yan Yue chatted briefly and hung up the phone, smiling as he looked at Lu Lingxi, ¡°Awake?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded in a daze, asking as he dressed, ¡°Is it Dr. Su?¡± ¡°Yes, he told me that theb is making very good progress on the mice and wants to extend it to clinical use.¡± The word ¡°clinical¡± caught Lu Lingxi¡¯s attention and he was a little surprised, ¡°So fast?¡± Yan Yue came over and kissed Lu Lingxi, exining, ¡°It is not a general promotion, but theb wille forward to recruit a group of volunteers to test the new drug. The scope won¡¯t be too big, it is estimated to be just a few dozen volunteers.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded and stroked Dahei as he prepared to go wash his face. Yan Yue helped him squeeze the toothpaste and said smoothly, ¡°I just came back and met Brother Feng, he asked us to go over for breakfastter.¡± Lu Lingxi looked at Yan Yue sheepishly. Yan Yue chuckled and rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair, saying in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Brother Feng said that your mom hasn¡¯t gotten up yet.¡± When he said this, Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help but frown slightly. Wang Shuxiu seemed to be getting up a littlete these days, was she too tired from the New Year? Chapter 120 During the morning meal, Lu Lingxi stared at Wang Shuxiu several times. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s face was rosy and her speech was full of energy. She didn¡¯t look like she was tired from the New Year. Including Yan Yue, there were only four people gathered around the table. Lu Lingxi¡¯s little abnormality was soon noticed by the others. Wang Shuxiu looked at him strangely, ¡°Did I grow flowers on my face? What are you looking at, Xiao Xi?¡± ¡°Are you not feeling well, Mom?¡± Lu Lingxi expressed his doubts simply, ¡°These days Mom has been getting upte, is it because she is tired from the New Year?¡± When he said this, Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng were taken aback at the same time; they hadn¡¯t really realised the problem. Wang Shuxiu thought about it, but it seemed that she was indeed a bit sleepy these days and didn¡¯t want to get up in the morning. But she didn¡¯t take it seriously; it was normal for her to sleep a lot in winter when it was cold. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t care much, ¡°It¡¯s just that it¡¯s cold and I sleep more.¡± Xiao Feng interjected, ¡°Do you want to go to the hospital?¡± Wang Shuxiuughed, ¡°What hospital, I can eat and drink, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± She said it was okay, and it was hard for others to say anything, so the topic at the dinner table turned to Yan Yue. Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t help but feel strange about Yan Yue¡¯s sudden return. She had never heard Xiao Xi say that Yan Yue woulde back so soon before. Hearing Xiao Feng mention it in the morning, Wang Shuxiu was a bit taken aback. Speaking of which, she and Yan Yue had been neighbours for half a year, and she had a very good impression of Yan Yue. The only thing that felt problematic was that Yan Yue hadn¡¯t talked about any girlfriend for all this time. She wondered if there was something wrong with Yan Yue¡¯s health. But whether to talk about girlfriends or not was Yan Yue¡¯s own business. Wang Shuxiu was not particrly gossipy, so she muttered a few words in her heart and forgot about it. Hearing Wang Shuxiu ask about his reason foring back so early, Yan Yue used work as an excuse. In addition to the cooperation with Gao Yongliang, Su Lang¡¯s research was also mentioned. As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heart moved and she thought of Pan Liang. Thest time she went to see Pan Liang with Lin Mei, Wang Shuxiu really felt that Pan Liang¡¯s son Pan Xiaobao was pitiful. He suffered so much at such a young age, but he keptforting Pan Liang that he was fine. This kind of disease was a ck hole for spending money. It had only been a short time since Pan Liang¡¯s son was hospitalised, but they had already spent all their savings and were now spending the money from the sale of their house. Wang Shuxiu was soft-hearted and asked one more question, ¡°Are there any conditions for recruiting volunteers for that research?¡± Yan Yue shook his head, ¡°There are no conditions, but there are different types of leukaemia and not all patients are suitable for this experiment.¡± Leukaemia is just a generic term, and is divided into different types ording to the severity of the onset of the disease. The research in Su Lang¡¯sb had shown that the methylin from the mutated donglingcao had a positive effect on the treatment of M2 acute myeloid leukaemia, and was able to induce apoptosis of the pathogenic protein of this type of leukaemia, with remarkable therapeutic effects. In particr, the strain of mutant evolved donglingcao provided to them by Lu Lingxi, which contained 60% more methylin than ordinary donglingcao, became the most ideal raw material for Su Lang¡¯s research. sYan Yue didn¡¯t know much about these things but he was used to reading between the lines and quickly realised what was going on, so he asked, knowing the answer, ¡°Auntie, is there a patient you know?¡± Xiao Feng listened to Yan Yue¡¯s extremely calm voice calling Wang Shuxiu ¡°Auntie¡± and the corners of his mouth twitched invisibly. However, the way everyone addressed each other in their family had always been confusing, and no one was particr about it. For example, Yi Hang called Lu Lingxi ¡°Lao San¡± and called Wang Shuxiu ¡°Sister¡±, and Tiger called him ¡°Brother Feng¡± and called Lu Lingxi ¡°Brother Xiao Xi¡±. It was Yan Yue who was the most consistent, consciously putting him and Xiao Xi in the same generation. Wang Shuxiu was ufortable at first, butter got used to it after hearing it for a while. She nodded, ¡°Yes, there is a colleague, it is his son, the child is not yet ten years old. He looks really pitiful.¡± Yan Yue understood Wang Shuxiu¡¯s meaning and pondered slightly, ¡°I don¡¯t know much about this either, I¡¯ll get a friend to go and see what¡¯s going on. He is an expert in this area. If it is suitable, he can discuss recruiting a volunteer. And even if it is not suitable he can help look at other options.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Shuxiu nodded. After eating she gave Pan Liang a call and exined the situation. Pan Liang, who received her call, almost cried on the phone. A big man in his thirties choked back a sob and was somewhat incoherent in his gratitude to Wang Shuxiu. Although being recruited as a volunteer didn¡¯t necessarily mean curing the disease, and whether this new drug had any other consequences was anyone¡¯s guess. But for Pan Liang, who was in deep despair, this was undoubtedly a light in the darkness. Hanging up the phone, Wang Shuxiu let out a sigh and gave Yan Yue Pan Liang¡¯s address. The father and son had been in the hospital for the New Year and it happened to be the same hospital where Lu Lingxi had been staying when he had an ident. Yan Yue didn¡¯t dy and made a phone call to Su Lang right away. Su Lang readily agreed toe and the two sides decided on the time of the meeting. Pan Liang was anxious and Su Lang had a few days of rest for the New Year. The time was also tight, and the two sides simply agreed to meet in a few hours. Wang Shuxiu had nothing to do in the morning, so she thought she would go and see what was going on. Since she wanted to go, Xiao Feng naturally went with her. Xiao Feng thought about going to the hospital and having the doctor take a look at Wang Shuxiu. Wang Shuxiu was indeed a bit sleepy these days but if Xiao Xi hadn¡¯t mentioned it, Xiao Feng wouldn¡¯t have noticed. The two of them discussed what to bring over, while Yan Yue turned and saw Lu Lingxi standing with a frozen look on his face. From the moment they mentioned this topic, Lu Lingxi went quiet. Yan Yue understood what was going on and said softly, ¡°Does Xiao Xi want toe along? Meet Su Lang by the way.¡± Lu Lingxi looked at Yan Yue and nodded hesitantly. Although Wang Shuxiu wondered why Lu Lingxi would want to go together, it wasn¡¯t a bad thing, so she simply said that the whole family would go and buy some food and take it with them, just as if they were going to pay a New Year visit. Everyone said that they were ready. They couldn¡¯t take Dahei along; it was not appropriate to take pets to the hospital. Yan Yue looked at Dahei and thought of Xiaohei. It seemed he hadn¡¯t seen Xiaohei since he came backst night. Before, Yan Yue was used to Xiaohei being obedient and didn¡¯t restrict Xiaohei¡¯s activities much. In addition, his mind was on Lu Lingxi since he came back, and he didn¡¯t care about looking for Xiaohei. But It was a bit strange that Xiaohei hadn¡¯t appeared after he¡¯d been back for so long. s¡°Where did Xiaohei go?¡± Yan Yue asked. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He finally remembered what he had forgottenst night; he had left Xiaohei and the little red snake at home. Not bothering to say anything to Yan Yue, Lu Lingxi turned around and ran back to his room, not knowing if Xiaohei was still there. ¡°Xiaohei, Xiaohei?¡± Lu Lingxi looked around the room and saw neither Xiaohei nor the little red snake. He muttered in his heart, the little red snake couldn¡¯t have been eaten by Xiaohei, could it? ¡°Xiao Xi? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yan Yue looked at Lu Lingxi¡¯s strange behaviour and followed him into the room. Lu Lingxi was a bit embarrassed and quickly told him about how yesterday Xiaohei had caught a little red snake from somewhere and intended to exchange it for a cake. Yan Yue chuckled as he listened and couldn¡¯t resist reaching out to rub Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair. ¡°Don¡¯t look for it, Xiaohei has probably eaten it and hides somewhere to digest it.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s face scrunched up; the thought of Xiaohei eating that little red snake made him feel a little bad. Yan Yue¡¯s lips curled up; he smiled as he whispered, ¡°Wait toe back from the hospital. We¡¯ll catch Xiaohei and brush his teeth well.¡± He said it so lightly that Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help but hold back a smile and nod. One of the things Xiaohei hated doing was brushing his teeth, and every time he saw the first hint of brushing, he would hide under the sofa and refuse toe out. It was only Yan Yue who could scare him enough to make hime out, or else Dahei would catch him, but Lu Lingxi himself couldn¡¯t cope with him. As the two of them were talking, Wang Shuxiu came over to tell them that they were ready to go out. As soon as she raised her eyes, she saw the way Yan Yue was looking at Lu Lingxi, and her heart thudded. When her eyes moved to Lu Lingxi¡¯s face, she even had a vague feeling that something was wrong. The two seemed to be a little too close to each other? It was no wonder Wang Shuxiu hadn¡¯t noticed it before. Although Yan Yue was usually on good terms with Lu Lingxi, Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t usuallye to his ce, it was always Lu Lingxi who ran next door to find Yan Yue. Wang Shuxiu was concerned about Yan Yue living alone, so she never came to visit Yan Yue. When they sometimes had dinner together, Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi acted very normal, the kind of friends no different from Lu Lingxi and Yi Hang. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heart felt indescribably odd; she didn¡¯t suspect the two of anything, but she felt that they were a little too close. She used to work in a karaoke bar and she knew that there were men who liked men, but as a normal parent she would not think of her son in this way. Wang Shuxiu paused, and before she could call out the words ¡°Xiao Xi¡±, Lu Lingxi had already turned his head and seen her. Not knowing how long Wang Shuxiu had been standing in the doorway, Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help but look away a little and call out sheepishly, ¡°Mom.¡± Wang Shuxiu pressed down the uneasiness in her heart and smiled, ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Yan Yue changed the subject smoothly, ¡°Talking about Xiaohei, I haven¡¯t seen Xiaohei all morning, I wonder where he¡¯s gone?¡± Wang Shuxiu unconsciously followed what Yan Yue said and thought of Xiaohei; she hadn¡¯t seen Xiaohei all along either. Yan Yue then said, ¡°Xiaohei is probably hiding somewhere. Su Lang should be at the hospital soon. We should also go.¡± He said that and Wang Shuxiu thought of their main task, quickly putting her subconscious doubts behind. Lu Lingxi secretly sighed in relief as Yan Yue gave him aforting look. In fact, Yan Yue was already considering confessing to Wang Shuxiu, but he just needed to find a suitable opportunity. Unlike with Lu Yishui, Yan Yue didn¡¯t intend to use any tactics when dealing with Wang Shuxiu. For one thing, their personalities were different, and for another¡­ Yan Yue nced at Lu Lingxi who could notice that Wang Shuxiu was getting upte recently. Xiao Xi really valued Wang Shuxiu as a mother. When they walked out, Lu Lingxi nced at a notice posted at the entrance of the building. A neighbour on the fourth floor wrote that his family¡¯s small brown snake got lostst night and asked the surrounding neighbours to pay attention to it. The snake was poisonous and he had only bought it a few days ago, so he hadn¡¯t bothered to pull its teeth out. A picture of the little snake was printed in arge format at the bottom of the notice. Lu Lingxi stared at the photo for a long time, confirming that it wasn¡¯t the little red snake fromst night. Yan Yue frowned, ¡°Another snake?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, feeling that this was also the work of Xiaohei. Chapter 121 When Lu Lingxi¡¯s family arrived at the hospital, Su Lang was already there. He had read Pan Xiaobao¡¯s case in advance. The good news was that Pan Xiaobao¡¯s condition was a good fit for Su Lang¡¯s research, but there was another problem: Pan Xiaobao was a little too young and had been very weak for some time, so Su Lang wasn¡¯t sure if the child could pass the medical examination and meet the recruitment requirements for volunteers. Before Lu Lingxi and the others appeared, Su Lang had already spoken to Pan Liang in detail about the risks of the trial. As this was a new drug, they had no prior experience, and the length of the course of treatment and the dosage of the drug was entirely a matter of trial and error. Due to theplexities of the human body, they couldn¡¯t rule out any unknown side effects or after-effects. Before the trial, they would have all volunteers sign an informed consent form and they would be exempt from liability for any idents during the trial. Of course, during the trial, volunteers could discontinue the trial at any time without any reason. No one, including the doctor, had the right to interfere with the volunteer¡¯s choice. The whole trial was free of charge and all expenses were borne by theboratory itself. Su Lang seriously said to Pan Liang, ¡°Although I am confident in ourboratory¡¯s research, many of the risks are unpredictable. If Mr. Pan is not psychologically prepared enough, I would actually prefer to suggest that Pan Xiaobao be treated conservatively first and wait for a suitable bone marrow transnt.¡± Pan Liang was a little hesitant; it wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t know what Su Lang was saying. But he had consulted the doctors and suitable bone marrow wasn¡¯t that easy toe across. Some patients had been waiting for years, and might not be able to wait until they died. And even if they did, for various reasons, the other party might not be willing to donate. ording to the doctors, they had onest option, to have another child. This child had a high chance of being a sessful match for Pan Xiaobao. But what if it didn¡¯t work out? All their energy was already focused on Pan Xiaobao, what about that child? These questions made Pan Liang hesitate. Su Lang didn¡¯t say anything more, but just told Pan Liang to think about it carefully. When Wang Shuxiu came over, Pan Liang breathed a huge sigh of relief. He had so much pressure built up in his heart and he didn¡¯t know who to talk to. His wife was just as stressed as he was, having lost twenty pounds in less than a month, and he couldn¡¯t bear to pass that stress on to his wife. His parents and brothers all were alienated from him because of the matching. Like a drowning man clutching at straws, Pan Liang rambled on and on to Wang Shuxiu about his hesitations and dilemmas, hoping that Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng could help him decide what he should do. The three of them whispered in the corridor as Yan Yue and Su Lang stood at the entrance of the ward talking about the progress of the experiment. Lu Lingxi was the only one who was fine, holding the Transformer he had bought for Pan Xiaobao and sitting gently beside the child. ¡°Brother, have youe to visit me?¡± Pan Xiaobao asked in a delicate voice. Because of his illness, he was now very thin and his voice sounded weak as he spoke. Lu Lingxi nodded and ced the Transformer in his hands next to Pan Xiaobao¡¯s pillow. Pan Xiaobao shed a smile at Lu Lingxi and whispered, ¡°Thank you, Brother, I like it a lot.¡± s Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and tenderly reached out to touch Pan Xiaobao¡¯s face, saing softly, ¡°It¡¯s alright, Doctor Su that Xiaobao saw just now is very powerful, he will definitely cure Xiaobao¡¯s illness.¡± Pan Xiaobao¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Really?¡± Lu Lingxi affirmed, ¡°As long as Xiaobao takes his medicine obediently.¡± Pan Xiaobao nodded vigorously and promised, ¡°I will be good and take my medicine.¡± He said and held up his hand, ¡°Brother, let¡¯s make a promise?¡± Lu Lingxi raised his hand and repeated the gesture Su Lang had taught him before, touching Pan Xiaobao¡¯s thumb with his thumb gently and smiling, ¡°Look, we have agreed that you will definitely be cured.¡± At the door of the ward, Su Lang turned around unintentionally and froze in ce. He looked at Lu Lingxi¡¯s smiling face, and the scene before him ovepped amazingly with the scene in his memory. Su Lang was in a bit of a trance; he had seen the shadow of that boy in Lu Lingxi many times before, but never once had he felt that the two were so simr, it was almost like the same person. And that action¡­ Su Lang closed his eyes slightly; he thought he might be crazy. He actually really thought that Lu Lingxi might be that boy. The same name, somewhat simr looks, and even the same warm feeling the young man gave when he smiled. Su Lang couldn¡¯t say exactly what was going on in his heart; that young man¡¯s death was his demon, making itpletely impossible for him to continue to stay at the hospital. The reason he was so passionate about the experiment was that apart from some vague things like ideals and values, he wanted to atone for his sins in this way. Su Lang had always felt that they, the doctors, needed to take a lot of the me for that young man¡¯s death. If his family carried 60% of the me, the remaining 40% was on the doctors. Without their connivance in disregarding the young man¡¯s health time and time again and acting as aplices, the young man wouldn¡¯t have died on the operating table in the end. ¡°Su Lang?¡± Yan Yue noticed Su Lang being out of breath. He followed Su Lang¡¯s line of sight and frowned slightly. ¡°Sorry.¡± Su Lang withdrew his gaze, somewhat bewildered, ¡°What were we just talking about?¡± Yan Yue gave him a deep look and said, ¡°Theb needs to get the State Food and Drug Administration¡¯s drug clinical trial approval.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Su Lang nodded, ¡°We¡¯ve already submitted the application, but the approval has been dyed from Zhongjing. People suspect that Hopewell is behind it.¡± Yan Yue quickly said, ¡°Leave this matter to me, I¡¯ll find a way.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Su Lang was a little distracted and couldn¡¯t help but turn his head again to look at Lu Lingxi in the ward. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened and he was about to say something when there was a sudden quarrel beside them in the corridor. Perhaps it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate to call it a quarrel, it was more like the doctor lecturing Pan Liang. ¡°How can you, as a parent, be so irresponsible? Ah, testing a new drug? A new drug that has no reputation at all and no guarantee whatsoever, and you dare to let your child try it? Are you Pan Xiaobao¡¯s father or not? Do you understand the seriousness of leukaemia? If there was really any medicine that worked, could the hospital not let you use it?¡± Pan Liang was reprimanded by the doctor and was so embarrassed that he didn¡¯t know what to say. Wang Shuxiu listened with some discontent. Although the doctor had good intentions and was acting in a responsible manner, he had gone too far in saying this about Pan Liang. Pan Liang was just a desperate man looking for help, and in the end, he was just trying to cure Pan Xiaobao. What about him not being Pan Xiaobao¡¯s father? This statement was simply poking Pan Liang in the heart. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s eyebrows went up and she was about to say something on Pan Liang¡¯s behalf, but Xiao Feng hurriedly stopped her. Pan Liang had not yet decided whether to participate in the new drug trial or not, and if he didn¡¯t, he would still have to continue his treatment in the hospital. It was not good to fall out with the doctor. s Su Lang and Yan Yue walked over. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± At the same time, there was another old voice. ¡°Old Director.¡± The doctor stopped mid-sentence, greeting hurriedly. At this moment a tall, thin, somewhat stern looking old man walked over. The old man gave the crowd a serious look and said, ¡°What¡¯s going on here? Is there a problem with the treatment? Or is there some difficulty?¡± He said as his eyes fell on Pan Liang. Pan Liang was the only one in the crowd with a scruffy beard and a haggard appearance, and at a nce he was a family member of the patient. ¡°I am a doctor here. If family members have some questions, you can talk to me about any problems you have, I will definitely help you solve them if I can.¡± ¡°Old Director, it¡¯s not¡­¡± The doctor was anxious to defend himself. ¡°Grandpa Zhao?¡± Lu Lingxi walked out when he heard the bickering outside, somewhat confused by the situation. ¡°Xiao Xi?¡± The old man was a little surprised to see Lu Lingxi, ¡°Xiao Xi, what are you doing here?¡± Lu Lingxi walked over and stood next to Yan Yue, signalling with his actions that they were all together. The old man¡¯s expression softened and he asked again, ¡°What is going on?¡± Pan Liang looked at the old man and then at Su Lang, exining what was going on. He spoke in a confusing manner, but the old man still caught the key point and became interested in the new drug trial Pan Liang was talking about. The old man followed Pan Liang¡¯s line of sight and looked at Su Lang, ¡°Young man, did youe up with this new drug? It just so happens that I also studied these things before I retired, so tell me what the situation is.¡± ¡°Old Director.¡± The doctor from before was a little aggrieved. The old man gave him a look, patted him on the shoulder and instructed, ¡°Xiao Yu,e along and listen to this, we as doctors are most afraid of being stuck in our ways. It is the patients who will be dyed then.¡± As the old man invited everyone to his office, Xiao Feng whispered to Lu Lingxi that he felt there was no need for him and Wang Shuxiu to go there. They could as well use the time to go to the first floor to register and see if they could get in line for a check-up. He had whispered it to Lu Lingxi, but he didn¡¯t know that the old man had sharp ears and immediately said after hearing that, ¡°Don¡¯t bother going to the first floor. I have an old buddying overter, he¡¯s a Chinese medicine doctor, let him check her pulse first.¡± Xiao Feng pondered in his heart that based on the old man¡¯s status, the person who could be called an old buddy by him was probably not simple, so he immediately smiled politely at the old man and followed him to the office. The old man took two steps behind and deliberately walked to Lu Lingxi¡¯s side, smiling, ¡°Xiao Xi also knows him, that¡¯s your Grandpa Zhang, he¡¯ll be here in a moment.¡± Lu Lingxi said ¡°en¡± and remembered something, ¡°Is Grandpa Zhang¡¯s orchid okay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s good. A few days ago, Lao Zhang even said that he would take that orchid for you to take a look at Tiny Garden after the New Year. If he knew you¡¯de to the hospital today, he would definitely havee over with the orchid in his arms long ago.¡± When the old man said that, Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help but smile. As expected, not long after they arrived at the office, ¡°Lao Zhang¡± as the old man called him came over in a hurry. As soon as he saw Lu Lingxi, he first greeted him with a smile and then began toin about the old man, ¡°Look at you, Lao Zhao, you didn¡¯t tell me earlier, if I had known Xiao Xi was here, I would have brought the orchid over for Xiao Xi to see.¡± Elder Zhao shook his head with a smile and gave Lu Lingxi a look that said, ¡°You see I¡¯m right, right?¡± He interrupted Elder Zhang¡¯sint and gestured to Wang Shuxiu, asking him to check her pulse. When it came to serious matters, Elder Zhang immediately became focused. He sat upright at another table and asked Wang Shuxiu to reach out, pressing two fingers to Wang Shuxiu¡¯s wrist. He didn¡¯t speak and no one in the group dared to speak, even Su Lang, who was talking about the new drug trial, subconsciously lowered his voice. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with your body, just that you¡¯re pregnant, so you should take care in the future.¡± With the old man¡¯s shocking words, the whole room was stunned. Chapter 122 Wang Shuxiu¡¯s pregnancy was a big joy, so everyone was happy. Even Pan Liang in his suffering managed to squeeze out a smile and congratted Wang Shuxiu. On the other hand, Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t recover from her state of shock and found it hard to believe. Although she told Xiao Feng she was able to have another child, honestly she didn¡¯t hold much hope for it. She always thought she was too old to have a baby and she never thought she would get pregnant. When she reacted, the first thing she thought of was Lu Lingxi. Although Xiao Xi was quite in favour of her having another child, talking about it and having a real one was definitely not the same. Wang Shuxiu was worried that Lu Lingxi would feel abandoned and thought she should say something to him. When she looked up, Xiao Feng was standing beside Lu Lingxi, with one hand on his shoulder, and both father and son had the same smile on their faces, looking at her with concern. Wang Shuxiu unconsciously felt relieved. With this, the atmosphere in the office improved a lot. Su Lang continued to talk about his new drug trial; Elder Zhao was very interested in it and even Pan Xiaobao¡¯s attending doctor wasn¡¯t as resistant as he was at the beginning. When Su Lang finished speaking, Elder Zhao pondered slightly, ¡°Xiao Su, I would like to go and see your experiments, I wonder if it¡¯s convenient?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s convenient.¡± While Elder Zhao didn¡¯t know Su Lang, Su Lang knew Elder Zhao, an expert in the research of blood diseases in China. If Elder Zhao could give them a little guidance on their experiments, perhaps their progress would be a little faster. Su Lang left a phone number for Elder Zhao, saying that he could call him anytime. Pan Xiaobao¡¯s attending doctor watched the two of them finish speaking, and nodded to Su Lang with some embarrassment. He had gone a bit overboard with his emotional remarks earlier but it was really because they had encountered too many frauds in their department. The more terminal the disease was, the more scammers came to the door, iming that there was some kind of qigong cure, a cure for cancer, a new drug trial or something. The family who didn¡¯t know better took these chatans as life-savers, and as a result, the treatment of the patients was dyed until it was toote to regret. The doctor was passing by and heard the conversation; thinking they were another bunch who wanted money, he just¡­ Su Lang smiled and understood the doctor¡¯s previous concern. He had also encountered simr things in Zhongjing. Besides, theirb really didn¡¯t have much of a name, it was just a private organization, and it was normal to be misunderstood. He was fine, and Pan Liang couldn¡¯t make a decision for a while, so Wang Shuxiu and others said goodbye to Pan Xiaobao and were ready to go home from the hospital. They separated in the car park; Su Lang originally thought of having a meal with Yan Yue, but now he was in a hurry to rush back to theb, so dinner could only continue to be put off. As he was leaving, Su Lang looked at Lu Lingxi and wanted to say something, but hesitated for a few seconds and said nothing. Yan Yue frowned slightly. Su Lang¡¯s behavior was a bit strange. He didn¡¯t like the way Su Lang looked at Lu Lingxi as if he was looking at another person. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Yan Yue said. Lu Lingxi habitually got into Yan Yue¡¯s car. Usually Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t feel anything when she saw this, but today, perhaps because her perspective changed, she always felt that something was wrong. She thought about it and asked Xiao Feng suspiciously, ¡°Do you think Xiao Xi and Yan Yue are getting a little too close?¡± Xiao Feng was taken aback and then smiled. ¡°Yan Yue is not a bad guy. Hasn¡¯t Xiao Xi always been on good terms with him? Why do you ask that?¡± Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t say; it was just a feeling. She suspected that she might be a bit paranoid because she was pregnant and everything she looked at felt wrong. Xiao Feng patted Wang Shuxiu¡¯s hand soothingly and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t like Yan Yue as a neighbour, how about we move back to my ce and Xiao Xi cane along?¡± Wang Shuxiu red at him, ¡°I¡¯m used to living here, so why bother? Besides, Yan Yue is a good guy, I just think he and Xiao Xi are a bit too close. It¡¯s not a big deal, I guess I¡¯m overly concerned.¡± When she said this, Xiao Feng smiled and didn¡¯t say anything more. s They went back to themunity, only to find two police cars parked by the building, and most of the neighbours to the left and right standing outside, gathering in groups to talk. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Wang Shuxiu asked, stopping Auntie Ma from upstairs. Seeing their familying back, Auntie Ma enthusiastically admonished, ¡°Don¡¯t go home yet, let the police see if there are any snakes in the house.¡± She looked at Wang Shuxiu and the others and said, half-exining and halfining, ¡°I don¡¯t know what people are thinking nowadays, what¡¯s wrong with keeping cats and dogs at home? In two buildings near us, three snakes were lost in one night, and all of them were poisonous. I heard that only the snake in Xiao Tian¡¯s house had its teeth pulled out and couldn¡¯t bite, but the other two didn¡¯t have their teeth pulled out and were quite poisonous. At first they put up notices all over themunity to keep an eye out for them, butter they couldn¡¯t find them and called the police. In the New Year, don¡¯t you think this is a toss!¡± Wang Shuxiu listened and couldn¡¯t say anything; the little bastard also had a snake at home. Although it wasn¡¯t poisonous, it wasn¡¯t good to mention it now. Xiao Feng saw that the situation would continue for a while and thoughtfully said to Wang Shuxiu, ¡°Xiaohua, get in the car first and rest, it¡¯s cold outside.¡± Wang Shuxiu thought that she was pregnant and that it would be troublesome to take medicine if she caught a cold, so she listened to Xiao Feng and went back to the car. While the two of them were talking, Lu Lingxi sheepishly pulled Yan Yue and whispered, ¡°Big Brother Yan, let¡¯s go in and take a look, maybe it¡¯s Xiaohei¡­¡± When talking about Xiaohei, Lu Lingxi lowered his voice for fear of being overheard by the people around. Yan Yue nodded, but refused to let Lu Lingxi go in with him, instead asking Lu Lingxi to wait for him outside. What if it wasn¡¯t Xiaohei but a real poisonous snake that had escaped and it bit Lu Lingxi? While Lu Lingxi was insisting, Fang Lei came out from the entrance of the building and his eyes lit up when he saw them both. ¡°You guys live here?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded; Fang Lei smiled, ¡°It¡¯s a coincidence, do you know what¡¯s going on? Someone called the police and said that several small snakes were lost around here¡­¡± He was talking about it, but halfway through he stopped suddenly, looked at Lu Lingxi thoughtfully, and asked in a low voice, ¡°Xiaohei?¡± Lu Lingxi looked embarrassed, not knowing whether to nod or not. Fang Lei was speechless for a long time and called the two of them to follow him in to have a look. Considering Xiaohei¡¯s habits, the three of them went to Yan Yue¡¯s house first. When they entered, everything was normal. Yan Yue called out Xiaohei¡¯s name and saw Xiaohei slowly crawling out from under the sofa, with three snakes by his side. Everyone: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Xiaohei looked at Yan Yue and then at Lu Lingxi, and herded the snakes to crawl to Fang Lei¡¯s side, coiling and hissing. Fang Lei was puzzled and looked at Yan Yue, ¡°What does Xiaohei mean?¡± Yan Yue smirked, ¡°Xiaohei wants to trade these snakes with you for the cake. Or you can catch them yourself if you want to.¡± s Fang Lei didn¡¯t know whether to cry or tough. So Xiaohei still remembered about the little green snake. When he came in, he was carrying a small box to contain snakes. After ten pieces of cake were promised to Xiaohei, Xiaohei helped him drive all three snakes into the box. Fang Lei was quite satisfied, and so was Xiaohei, waving his tail excitedly. Xiaohei forgot that there was still Yan Yue, ready to settle the ounts. When there were no more snakes on the floor, Yan Yue reached out, picked Xiaohei up, opened his mouth and moved his teeth around, saying sternly, ¡°From now on, you can only drink milk, no more cakes or biscuits. If I see you sneaking around catching snakes again, you won¡¯t even have any milk, and you¡¯ll have to eat vegetables with Xiao Baiwan.¡± Xiaohei wilted at the lecture and wrapped around Yan Yue¡¯s wrist ingratiatingly. Fang Lei looked amused and said a few good words in Xiaohei¡¯s defence. Xiaohei had identally done a good deed. Nowadays, it was popr to keep snakes and lizards, which was dangerous and affected the lives of the residents around. In particr, some people liked to keep poisonous snakes and refused to pull out their teeth, so one idental escape would be a problem. Xiaohei scared them this time, andter the police would criticise and educate the owners, urging him to pull out the poisonous teeth, so that the neighbours around could have some peace of mind in the future. Yan Yue let Xiaohei off the hook this time for the sake of Fang Lei¡¯s face, but he still took Xiaohei to brush his teeth again. Xiaohei curled under the sofa and refused toe out no matter how much Fang Lei teased him. Fang Lei soon sent away the snakes he had caught, and one by one the upstairs neighbours returned home. Everyone believed Fang Lei¡¯s words that the snakes were caught in the yard, and the neighbours felt that it was too dangerous to live on the first floor. It was a good thing there was not much grass in winter; if it were overgrown with weeds in summer, it would be impossible to find the snakes for a while. Several families that raised the snakes were lectured by Fang Lei for a long time. Now thew was not perfect and there were no special restrictions on keeping pets or anything. It was okay to raise snakes but it was better to keep non-venomous snakes, and if they kept poisonous snakes, they had to remember to pull out their teeth, being responsible not only for themselves but also for the surrounding neighbours. After settling the snake matter, Fang Lei didn¡¯t stay long and left in a hurry. He was on duty today and was very busy with a lot of things. As soon as Fang Lei left, Xiao Hong, Zhou Xiaoman and Xiao Baiwan came to see Wang Shuxiu. They were very happy to hear the news that Wang Shuxiu was pregnant and bought a lot of things along the way. ¡°Little clothes, little towels, little mats.¡± Zhou Xiaoman spoke to Wang Shuxiu as she sorted them out. Wang Shuxiu looked at the things that upied half of the bed and didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°It¡¯s still early, at least nine months to wait, Sister-inw, you¡¯re in too much of a hurry.¡± (They count pregnancy in lunar months (28 days), so the whole term is ten months.) ¡°Nine months is very soon.¡± Zhou Xiaoman didn¡¯t care what Wang Shuxiu said and went straight to putting the toys she had bought for the baby on the bed. ¡°By the way, with a baby this house will be a bit small. What are your ns?¡± Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng now lived in a small, old-fashioned two-bedroom apartment, which was barely enough for a family of three, but not for a family of four. Especially after the birth of a child, they needed space for a crib, toys and so on. Zhou Xiaoman was thinking even further ahead, ¡°The child will have to go to school in the future, right? If the school here isn¡¯t good, you should look for a house near a good school and buy it. Nowadays, schools are zoned ording to household registration, so you have to n ahead.¡± To be honest, what Zhou Xiaoman said didn¡¯t ur to Wang Shuxiu at all. She had raised Lu Lingxi as a semi-free-range kid and hadn¡¯t thought about such things. Zhou Xiaoman looked at her expression and understood, and smiled all of a sudden. ¡°Your big brother and I have discussed it. We n to sell the mine in the northwest, and the two of us will move to Fengcheng. You and Xiao Feng are just two people, and you¡¯ll definitely be tired of taking care of business with the kids in the future, so your big brother and I can give you a hand. I¡¯ve heard that thismunity has a nice environment, and your big brother stopped by to look at a few houses when he went out two days ago. When the house here is settled, you and Xiao Feng will move there first. The house there isrge, so you can hire a nanny or something and enjoy life.¡± Wang Shuxiu was happy to hear that Zhou Xiaoman was settling in Fengcheng, but she was in no hurry to move, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about itter.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Because of Wang Shuxiu¡¯s pregnancy, everyone was revolving around her during the New Year¡¯s holidays. On the seventh day of the first month, Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue went to Lingshui Vige and brought a lot of things with them. Uncle Li, Xiao Shi¡­ There was also an extra Uncle Xu. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t even know when Xiao Shi got so friendly with Uncle Xu. All he knew was that there was a new starling in the nt nursery that called ¡°Let¡¯s eat¡± when it was time. ¡°Let¡¯s eat, let¡¯s eat.¡± It was noon when they went there. Uncle Li was in the nt nursery looking after the nts, while Uncle Xu, who had nothing to do, helped him. The starling flew over the two men¡¯s heads, reminding them that it was time for a break. Uncle Li smiled and shook his head, ¡°What else does Little Starling know besides eating?¡± ¡°Find people, find people.¡± The starling chirped in a shrill voice. Lu Lingxi and Yan Yueughed as soon as they came in and heard it. Chapter 123 Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue had a meal at Uncle Li¡¯s house at noon, and in the afternoon they slipped away to take a look at the Lingshui River. Last year the two of them discussed the idea of renting a few more acres ofnd by the Lingshui River and digging arger pond. At that time, there were a lot of things to do, so the idea of the pond was never implemented. This time, they nned to stay at the nt nursery for a day and sign the contract to rent thend. Uncle Li had already negotiated everything; the price and the number of years of the lease had all been agreed, and they just needed toe and finalise it. The two of them were going to sign the contract after dinner, but it turned out that the other party happened to go out to visit rtives today and wouldn¡¯t be back until the evening. Lu Lingxi thought that there was no hurry anyway, so they should go to the river first and n how to divert the water easily. The two of them walked slowly, with Dahei quietly following Lu Lingxi. Although it was early spring, it wasn¡¯t cold outside at all, and the sun shone warmly. Before leaving home, Yan Yue had insisted that Lu Lingxi put on a down jacket, but he himself only wore a woollen coat. Lu Lingxi protested for a long time before he managed not to wear the down jacket; it was too hot to wear it. He remembered Uncle Li¡¯s reminder and discussed with Yan Yue whether he should find someone to drill a well, as Uncle Li was worried that there would be a drought in the spring. To put it mildly, Uncle Li wasn¡¯t worrying unreasonably. The weather had been a bit strange sincest winter. At the beginning of Novemberst year, the temperature in Fengcheng suddenly dropped sharply. There was no heating at that time and it was freezing cold at home. Many people were frozen to the point of catching a cold and the cold medicines at the drug stores were wiped out. Then Fengcheng had the heating turned on ten days early, and experienced old farmers said they expected a cold winter. Who knew that it would only be cold for a month in total, and as soon as December passed the weather started to warm up again. After that it didn¡¯t snow for two whole months, and the good weathersted until the New Year. The ice on the Lingshui River melted as soon as spring started, and it looked like ¡°spring was in full bloom¡±. Uncle Li was a bit worried and told Lu Lingxi privately that the weather was going to be very dry. But he couldn¡¯t say for sure and he didn¡¯t know what was going on. In recent years, it seemed God was ying with them like a child, with things changing at the drop of a hat. For example, in Guangdong, where Uncle Li¡¯s son worked, there was a severe drought at the beginning of springst year, and many homes had difficulty in getting water. After a few months of hardships, it started to rain, and the rain didn¡¯t stop, turning into a huge flood. In short, it wasn¡¯t a good thing that the weather was so unpredictable, so Uncle Li thought of building a well to prepare for it. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know much about these things, but he trusted Uncle Li¡¯s judgement. After he said that, Yan Yue agreed. Anything was fine with him, as long as Lu Lingxi was happy. ¡°There¡¯s also the Qiu Tian nt nursery and Dad¡¯s vegetable greenhouse.¡± Lu Lingxi added, and after some thought said to Yan Yue, ¡°Why don¡¯t we pay for a well for the vige too? It¡¯s convenient to dig two together anyway. Just in case there¡¯s a real drought.¡± Tiny Garden and Lingshui Vige had always worked well together, and the residents of the vige also looked after Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi somewhat considered this ce to be his second home, and his feelings for Lingshui Vige were much deeper than those for Zhongjing. He had always wanted to do something to help the vige. It wouldn¡¯t cost much to build a well and it would also be convenient for the vige to get water in the event of a major drought. When Lu Lingxi finished speaking, he looked at Yan Yue expectantly. Yan Yue smiled lightly and agreed, ¡°Okay.¡± Yan Yue himself was used to doing things from the perspective of profit, but he liked Lu Lingxi¡¯s softness and kindness. He rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair in a slightly doting manner and joked, ¡°Xiao Xi is the boss, Big Brother Yan listens to Xiao Xi.¡± Lu Lingxi nced at him angrily with a bulging face, curved his eyes andughed. s The two of them wandered all the way to the Lingshui River, and from a distance they heard the sound of the river¡¯s rushing water. This was the first time Lu Lingxi hade over since the Lingshui River had beenpletely purified. Unlike the blue water flow he had seen on the panel, the Lingshui River in front of him was crystal clear, and under the sunlight, it seemed that even the patterns on the pebbles at the bottom of the river could be seen clearly. Because of the warmth of the day, there was already tender green grass sprouting from the damp soil at the river¡¯s edge. Lu Lingxi squatted by the river and excitedly reached out to touch it, calling Yan Yue toe over to see it together. Last year, when the Lingshui River was at its most polluted, apart from the mutated eelgrass at the bottom of the river, almost nothing was growing along the river, and it was so bare that it was unsightly. The tender green grass in front of him wasn¡¯t yet very conspicuous, but in Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes, it looked better than anything else. ¡°Brother Xiao Xi.¡± Xiao Shi ran from the vige with Ah Huang, calling out Lu Lingxi¡¯s name as he ran. Lu Lingxi smiled, getting up, and Xiao Shi was going to pounce into his arms like a little cannonball. Yan Yue was worried that Lu Lingxi wouldn¡¯t be able to hold Xiao Shi, so he reached out and gently stopped Xiao Shi, taking him into his own arms. Xiao Shi¡¯s mouth deted and he whined softly, ¡°Brother Xiao Xi¡­¡± Lu Lingxi stood by Yan Yue¡¯s side, amused, and stroked Xiao Shi¡¯s face, ¡°Happy New Year, Xiao Shi.¡± Xiao Shi immediately cheered up, showing his teeth in a smile, ¡°Brother Xiao Xi, Happy New Year.¡± Lu Lingxi took out two red envelopes from Yan Yue¡¯s jacket pocket and handed them to Xiao Shi. He had been receiving red envelopes throughout the New Year and finally had the chance to give some. ¡°Here, Brothers give them to you.¡± Xiao Shi blinked and shook his head, ¡°Mom said she wouldn¡¯t let me receive red envelopes from others.¡± Lu Lingxi looked at his little face with a serious expression and smiled faintly, ¡°It¡¯s from Brother Xiao Xi and Big Brother Yan, not others.¡± Xiao Shi happily epted the red envelopes and grinned, ¡°Thank you, Brother Xiao Xi and Uncle Yan.¡± Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lu Lingxi was about tough to death; Xiao Shi was obviously doing it on purpose. He held back hisughter, unable to look at Yan Yue¡¯s expression, and reached out to pinch Xiao Shi¡¯s face. ¡°Little viin.¡± Xiao Shi hugged Lu Lingxi¡¯s arm tteringly and squeezed from Yan Yue¡¯s arms to Lu Lingxi¡¯s. After the lesson fromst time, Xiao Shi had been quite obedient during this period of time. Every day, he either stayed at home or followed Yu Xiaojuan to the nt nursery. When Lu Lingxi called him on the first day of the New Year to say that he woulde to Lingshui Vige after the New Year, Xiao Shi began to look forward to it. Finally, when Lu Lingxi came over, Xiao Shi went to the nt nursery but found no one there. However, Ah Huang sniffed the smell of Dahei and showed the way. s Lu Lingxi apanied Xiao Shi to y by the river for a while until it was almost three o¡¯clock. Yan Yue touched Lu Lingxi¡¯s face. Although it wasn¡¯t very cold outside, after staying out for a long time, Lu Lingxi¡¯s face was still a bit cold. When Xiao Shi saw his action, his eyes twinkled and he said obediently, ¡°Brother Xiao Xi, let¡¯s go back.¡± Lu Lingxi also felt that he had stayed outside for a bit too long, so he nodded at these words. With his back to Lu Lingxi, Xiao Shi made a face at Yan Yue. Yan Yue unceremoniously stretched out his hand and caught Xiao Shi. ¡°Uncle Yan will carry you.¡± Yan Yue focused on the word ¡°Uncle¡±. Xiao Shi wanted to break free, but he couldn¡¯t resist Yan Yue¡¯s strength. He opened his mouth and looked at Lu Lingxi, aggrieved. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know whether to cry or tough. He couldn¡¯t do anything about the two of them. He was about to speak when a dog barked from far away in the vige. Dahei suddenly stopped in his tracks, barked in a low voice at Lu Lingxi and darted towards the vige. Ah Huang followed closely behind Dahei, and Yan Yue frowned slightly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lu Lingxi looked oddly in the direction of the vige and said, ¡°Dahei said that the vige dog was being bullied.¡± ¡°It¡¯s that grey cat, it must be that grey cat.¡± Xiao Shi immediately jumped up, forgetting for a moment his disagreement with Yan Yue and shouting angrily. ¡°What grey cat?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little confused. Xiao Shi clenched both hands into fists and angrily exined to Lu Lingxi, ¡°I don¡¯t know when a big grey cat came to the vige. That cat is so annoying, and it bullies the dogs in the vige. Ah Huang fought with it twice. Every time that big cat couldn¡¯t beat Ah Huang, it ran away, and when Ah Huang was gone, it came back to bully the vige dogs.¡± Xiao Shi, because he couldmunicate with Ah Huang, subconsciously saw himself as being on the same side as the vige dogs. Every time he watched the vige dogs being bullied, Xiao Shi felt the anger of sharing amon enemy. Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue looked at each other; both of them felt that this cat was probably not an ordinary cat; it should have evolved. ¡°Let¡¯s go and have a look,¡± Yan Yue said. Lu Lingxi nodded. The three of them entered the vige and followed the dog¡¯s barking all the way. They soon saw a big grey cat crouching on the roof of a house with its eyes narrowed as it looked down at Dahei. Dahei stared at the cat warily with his back arched. A small white dog that looked familiar happily ran around Dahei, barking provocatively at the grey cat every now and then. The grey cat didn¡¯t bother with the little white dog at all, keeping its eyes on Dahei. On the contrary, Dahei was distracted by the little white dog, and whenever the little white dog left his reach, Dahei would stop it with his paw. The little white dog seemed to think that Dahei was ying a game with it, sticking its tongue out and licking Dahei¡¯s face affectionately as it ran even more happily. The grey cat on the roof heard the sound of Lu Lingxi¡¯s footsteps andzily turned its head to look over. When it saw Lu Lingxi, it gave up confronting Dahei and meowed at Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi met the grey cat¡¯s golden pupils and had a vague feeling that he seemed to have seen this cat somewhere before. Yan Yue reminded him, ¡°Last time in the south of the city.¡± Lu Lingxi recalled suddenly. Thest time he and Yan Yue had gone to the south of the city to see the purification of the soil there, they had happened to meet this cat. At that time, this cat was lying in the sun on a tree and even meowed at him. But the south of the city was a long way away, so how could this cat havee so far to this ce? Dahei saw Lu Lingxi trotting to him, and the grey cat took another look at Lu Lingxi, turned around, jumped and disappeared. ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± Xiao Shi said angrily. Lu Lingxi soothingly coaxed Xiao Shi, who felt even more angry than Dahei, as if he was the one being bullied. ¡°Wait until we catch it next time and teach it a lesson, okay?¡± Xiao Shi nodded vigorously, ¡°We must teach it a lesson, we can¡¯t let it keep bullying the vige dogs.¡± Lu Lingxi agreed with a smile. After coaxing Xiao Shi, the two of them sent Xiao Shi back home. On the way back to the nt nursery, Lu Lingxi talked to Yan Yue about the cat. He remembered that he had also found Xiaohei in the vigest time, and this time the cat was found in the vige. Presumably both had been attracted to the big willow tree. To some extent, animals were much more perceptive than humans. Lu Lingxi thought of this and tilted his head to look at the big willow tree not far away. Through the panel as an intermediary, he had a wonderful connection with the big willow tree. Lu Lingxi had a vague feeling that the big willow tree seemed to be about to evolve once again. Chapter 124 In the evening after dinner Yan Yue followed Uncle Li to sign the contract. It was a bit windy outside and Yan Yue was worried about the weather, so he didn¡¯t let Lu Lingxi go out. Lu Lingxi stayed in the courtyard with nothing to do, so he took Dahei to the greenhouse. The greenhouse was always full of greenery, no matter what the weather was outside. Uncle Li set the temperature of the greenhouse at a constant 20 degrees, and Lu Lingxi felt a wave of warm airing over him as soon as he entered the door. It was veryfortable. He took off his jacket and wearing only a thin V-neck jumper went to the area where the kale was nted. The kale nted in the nt nursery was the ¡®Dove¡¯ series with wrinkled leaves, neatly shaped and beautifully variegated, looking like a peony when in full bloom. This was the time when the kale was in bloom, and the purple-red flowers were bright and eye-catching, like a richly coloured painting unfolding in front of you. Every time Lu Lingxi came to the greenhouse to see this scene, he would be in a good mood. He walked over quickly, not forgetting to call Dahei to follow. Dahei dawdled and seemed to be unwilling to go over for a while, then rushed to Lu Lingxi and whimpered in a low voice. Lu Lingxi looked at Dahei¡¯s rare coquettish behaviour with amusement. Dahei looked like this every time he came here. He beckoned, unmoved by Dahei¡¯s coquettishness, ¡°Hurry up, Dahei,e here.¡± Dahei gave a low bark, and Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help but smile as he listened. He curved his eyes at Dahei and assured, ¡°We¡¯re not eating cabbage today.¡± Dahei barked again and Lu Lingxi held back hisughter and nodded, trying to justify, ¡°Kale is not cabbage.¡± Dahei squatted there with a serious expression, Lu Lingxi clutched his stomach, practically dying ofughter. If the thing that Xiao Baiwan hated the most was eating vegetables, then Dahei had a little bit of empathy with Xiao Baiwan, to put it mildly. He didn¡¯t hate eating vegetables, but he hated eating cabbage. Originally, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know this about Dahei, but once he and Dahei were at Dong Zhi¡¯s ce and Lu Lingxi happened toe across Dong Zhi mixing chopped cabbage into his homemade dog food, saying that cabbage was nutritious and could heal teary eyes, so he could give some to the dog appropriately. Lu Lingxi remembered that, went back and chopped up cabbage for Dahei to eat. How could he imagine that Dahei would act coquettish and cute just not to eat it. Only then did Lu Lingxi realise that Dahei didn¡¯t like cabbage. Later, the nt nursery nted kale, a variant of the edible kale cabbage, which could be used as an ornamental nt as well as eaten. Lu Lingxi wanted to trick Dahei into eating kale, but was surprised when Dahei discovered it at once. Every time he came to the nt nursery after that, Dahei was very wary, especially when he approached the kale. Thinking of this, Lu Lingxi stoppedughing and thought of promising Dahei that he wouldn¡¯t cheat him this time. He was about to say something when Dahei suddenly stood up, growled in a low voice and lunged behind Lu Lingxi. In the flowers, a big grey cat leapt up and jumped lightly onto a shelf. It was the same grey cat that Lu Lingxi had seen before. Lu Lingxi was a little surprised and wondered how it had gotten in. Dahei squatted under the shelf and barked. Lu Lingxi followed Dahei¡¯s voice and saw a half-eaten kale. The grey cat noticed Lu Lingxi¡¯s line of sight and turned to run. Dahei pounced on it as fast as lightning. Only a sharp cat cry was heard, and the grey cat was directly caught down by Dahei in the air. ¡°Dahei.¡± s Lu Lingxi hurriedly stopped Dahei¡¯s next move, walked over and squatted in front of the grey cat. He tentatively stretched out his hand towards the grey cat, who meowed, aggrieved, and stuck out its tongue to lick Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand ingratiatingly. Dahei crouched vigntly by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side staring at the grey cat, but Lu Lingxi could sense that the cat had no animosity towards him. He patted Dahei soothingly and stood up with the grey cat in his arms. ¡°You do know what¡¯s good.¡± Lu Lingxi poked the meat on the grey cat¡¯s belly, took the half-eaten kale and took Dahei back to the small courtyard. An hourter the bathing and feeding of the cat was all done. When Yan Yue returned, he found a new cat called Xiaohui (Little Grey) in the courtyard. Lu Lingxi always had a simple way of naming: Dahei, Xiaohei and Xiaohui. In fact the grey cat wasn¡¯t little at all, but Lu Lingxi felt that in order to establish Dahei as the boss, apart from Dahei, all the others had to have ¡°little¡± in their names. Yan Yue listened indulgently to Lu Lingxi¡¯s reasoning and called the big grey cat¡¯s name tentatively. ¡°Xiaohui?¡± The big grey cat nced at himzily with an arrogant look of ¡°stupid mortal, don¡¯t bother me¡±. Yan Yue¡¯s heart was itchy. It seemed that cats were like that, so arrogant that they ignored everyone. He didn¡¯t care, and walked past the big grey cat towards Lu Lingxi. Xiaohei slowly poked his head out of Yan Yue¡¯s sleeve, and the big grey cat immediately exploded when he saw Xiaohei. He stood on his two hind legs, took a few steps backwards and his two front paws snapped left and right in the direction of Xiaohei. Xiaohei was startled and fell out of Yan Yue¡¯s sleeve, falling to the ground with a ¡°pop¡±. Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lu Lingxi snorted out augh, and even Dahei looked a little dumbfounded. Xiaohei got up from the ground dizzily, biting dumbly on Yan Yue¡¯s trouser leg as he looked at the big grey cat. Yan Yue had realised that Xiaohei¡¯s resourcefulness was all focused in his talent for finding food, and normally he was very dumb. He helplessly bent down, picked up Xiaohei and threw him to Dahei to keep away from the big grey cat. Otherwise, before the big grey cat could do anything, Xiaohei himself would be scared to death. When they went to bed at night, it took Yan Yue a long time to get the big grey cat to sleep in another room. Dahei and Xiaohei were quite conscious, but the big grey cat was so fond of the kang bed that he refused to go out alive or dead. Lu Lingxi was dying ofughter as he hugged the nket. Yan Yue raised his eyebrows, ¡°Is that funny?¡± Lu Lingxi just wanted to nod but quickly changed his mind and was about to shake his head in response when Yan Yue pinned him down and started tickling his waist. ¡°Big Brother Yan¡­¡± Lu Lingxi cried out softly, his beautiful ck eyes clouded with mist fromughter. He gasped and struggled to avoid Yan Yue¡¯s tickling hands, and Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened as he pulled Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand to touch his own active part. Lu Lingxi¡¯s face turned even redder and he tried to pull back his hand, but Yan Yue held it down. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± Yan Yue softly called out Lu Lingxi¡¯s name and lowered his head to kiss him. Ever since Yan Yue returned from Zhongjing on the night after the third day of the New Year, he had stayed with Lu Lingxi only for one night. Then Wang Shuxiu turned out to be pregnant and Lu Lingxi¡¯s whole heart was set on Wang Shuxiu, so he watched over her from morning to night. Yan Yue felt sour in his heart, but he couldn¡¯t show it, so he had to find every excuse to go next door to see Lu Lingxi every day. Now that it was finally possible to enjoy being alone together bying to the nt nursery, Yan Yue was like a traveller walking in the desert and seeing an oasis. He kissed Lu Lingxi hungrily, as if trying to absorb Lu Lingxi into his body fiercely. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± Getting release in his hands, Yan Yue called out Lu Lingxi¡¯s name. Lu Lingxi¡¯s face was as red as a boiled shrimp. He made a clumsy and shy effort to please Yan Yue. Yan Yue was filled with sweetness and hugged and kissed Lu Lingxi again. ¡°Baby, I love you.¡± s Lu Lingxi nodded with a little blush. Yan Yue looked for a tissue to help Lu Lingxi wipe his hands clean, looked down at him and asked, ¡°Let¡¯s confess to your mom, okay?¡± Lu Lingxi was slightly stunned, ¡°Now?¡± Yan Yue moved over and nodded, touching Lu Lingxi¡¯s beautifully shaped lips, softly saying, ¡°I want to be able to sleep with Xiao Xi in my arms every day, to be with Xiao Xi openly and honestly.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little worried, ¡°Mom will be angry, right?¡± He was no longer as ignorant of the world as he had been after his rebirth, when Yan Yue had told him that two men could also be together and that there were many people like them. He had always thought that he and Yan Yue were together like Brother Dong and his girlfriend, but slowly Lu Lingxi realised that they were still different. Although they also liked each other, lived together and led the same peaceful life, outsiders looked at them in apletely different way. He was a little afraid that Wang Shuxiu was one of those who had this different attitude. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, leave it to me.¡± Yan Yue finished, lowering his head and kissing Lu Lingxi deeply. He never regretted approaching Lu Lingxi in the first ce, nor did he regret tying him to his side when Lu Lingxi still didn¡¯t understand anything. He couldn¡¯t imagine what his life would be like now if he hadn¡¯t met Lu Lingxi. In his twenty-eight years of life, the only gift God had given him was that he had met Lu Lingxi. In order for the two to be together, he was willing to fight the gods and the Buddhas. Yan Yue¡¯s attitude made Lu Lingxian feel relieved. He had a kind of unconditional trust in Yan Yue from the bottom of his heart, as if no matter what problems he encountered, he could just leave them to Yan Yue. Lu Lingxi buried his face in Yan Yue¡¯s chest, hugged his waist and said vaguely: ¡°Big Brother Yan, let¡¯s go to sleep.¡± Yan Yue chuckled, stroked Lu Lingxi¡¯s back and coaxed him, ¡°Go to sleep.¡± The next morning, Yan Yue habitually woke up early. Lu Lingxi was huddled in his arms, like a soft and warm little animal, showing a kind of an intimate dependence on him. Yan Yue gently reached out and brushed away Lu Lingxi¡¯s scattered hair from his forehead. Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair was soft to the touch and made Yan Yue¡¯s heart soften into a mess. He couldn¡¯t help himself, lowered his head and kissed Lu Lingxi on the forehead, kissing his way down between his eyebrows and finally pressing his lips tenderly against Lu Lingxi¡¯s. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyshes fluttered as he called out Yan Yue¡¯s name in a daze, squeezed forward and went back to sleep. Yan Yue hugged Lu Lingxi quietly for a while, then got up lightly. As soon as he opened the door, a grey shadow shed by. The big grey cat found the gap and wanted to get inside. Yan Yue reacted extremely quickly and grabbed him, looking at the grey cat full of teeth and ws in his arms with some headache. ¡°Xiao Xi is still sleeping, don¡¯t disturb him.¡± Yan Yue spoke to the grey cat like he was speaking to Dahei. He felt that the cat should be able to understand. The big grey cat¡¯s golden eyes moved; he broke free from Yan Yue¡¯s grip, gently jumping to one side of the windowsill and quieting down. Yan Yue raised his eyebrows; this cat¡¯s performance was quite beyond his expectations. But if this cat didn¡¯t have some abilities, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to dominate the vige for so long. After solving the problem of the big grey cat, Yan Yue washed up and took Dahei for a run around the vige. He had just returned to the courtyard when he received a call from Fang Lei asking if he and Lu Lingxi were at home today. Fang Lei had talked to Lu Lingxist time about borrowing Dahei for a few days, so if they were home, he would go straight to themunity to find themter. ¡°Xiao Xi and I are at Lingshui Vige.¡± Yan Yue said. ¡°Lingshui Vige?¡± Fang Lei immediately said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll go and look for you guys, and see Xiao Shi by the way.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine too, but you¡¯d bettere in the morning, Xiao Xi and I are going over to the Qiu Tian nt nursery in the afternoon.¡± Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi were nning to select a few healthy branches from the big willow tree and transnt the cuttings to the Qiu Tian nt nursery. Originally, there was no rush to do this; it could be done just before the willow tree sprouted. However, the weather had been warming up recently and the grass had already appeared, so Lu Lingxi was worried that the willow tree might sprout early. Last night, he discussed with Yan Yue to go home one dayte ande back after finishing the matter. When Yan Yue said this, Fang Lei agreed immediately. ¡°I¡¯m going out now, you guys remember to take care of my breakfast.¡± Yan Yue chuckled and turned his head just in time to see the big grey cat waving his paw provocatively at Dahei. A thought shed in his mind and heughed, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, not only will you have breakfast, you also have a gift prepared for you.¡± ¡°What kind of gift?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when youe.¡± Yan Yue said meaningfully. Chapter 125 Fang Lei couldn¡¯t have imagined that the gift Yan Yue mentioned would be a cat. Of course, the gift was Yan Yue¡¯s unteral words and the choice still belonged to the big grey cat. Fang Lei looked curiously at the grey cat that was lying in the courtyard, squinting his eyes in the sun. The grey cat lookedzy and very rxed. ¡°You say his name is Xiaohui?¡± As Fang Lei talked to Yan Yue, he intended to reach out to pet the cat. Fang Lei had just stretched out his hand when Xiaohui, who had seemed quite drowsy a moment ago, suddenly waved his front paw. Fortunately, Fang Lei¡¯s many years of working as a police officer counted for something, so he dodged it very quickly. He looked at the cat, who had turned from leisurely to alert in a second, and his tone became a bit odd, ¡°Where did this Master Cate from?¡± Yan Yue was amused by his tone and chuckled. ¡°Picked him up in the vige.¡± He focused on emphasising the words ¡°picked up¡± and added lightly, ¡°Xiaohui even dared to fight Dahei.¡± Fang Lei¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. From Dahei to Xiaohei, those who could be picked up by Lu Lingxi were not ordinary animals. Especially if this cat dared to fight Dahei; it was quite impressive. Unlike other people who liked to keep docile pets, Fang Lei thought it was better for his pet to be more powerful because of his special upation. Of course, it would be better if a pet was as docile in front of the master as Dahei, and even more powerful in front of the enemy. Yan Yue¡¯s words aroused Fang Lei¡¯s interest. He simply moved a small bench, sat in front of Xiaohui and asked Yan Yue for a slice of ham to tease Xiaohui. Xiaohui nced at Fang Lei with contempt, showing no interest whatsoever in the ham he was holding. Lu Lingxi and Uncle Li returned from feeding the dogs and bothughed at the scene in front of them. Uncle Li kindly reminded Fang Lei, ¡°This cat is very fierce, be careful of it scratching you.¡± Fang Lei smiled and waved his hand, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m not afraid of scratching.¡± Uncle Li shook his head helplessly, thinking that he couldn¡¯t understand the young people nowadays. Leaving Fang Lei to guard the yard, Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi followed Uncle Li to the big willow tree. Uncle Li circled around the willow tree and picked out a few branches that were 2-3 years old and instructed Yan Yue to cut them off. These branches would be the cuttings that Lu Lingxi intended to transnt to the Qiu Tian nt nursery. As the power of nature wasn¡¯t easy to obtain and Lu Lingxi¡¯s limited power of nature was used to purify the soil in Fengcheng City, the Qiu Tian nt nursery had not been purified. Initially, when the area was re-nned, Yan Yue had dug up a lot of soil from Lingshui Vige, including some for the vegetable greenhouse. However, this didn¡¯t have asting effect and Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t wait for the purified soil from Lingshui Vige to slowly expand. He was inspired by the eelgrass ecologicalmunity and wondered if he could form a whole newmunity of willow trees over there at the Qiu Tian nt nursery. s After cutting the branches, Lu Lingxi cut them all to 15-17cm, nning to make a trip to the Qiu Tian nt nursery now. He and Yan Yue went back to the small courtyard, where Xiao Shi had brought Ah Huang to see Fang Lei. When he saw Xiaohui, Xiao Shi immediately became nervous andmanded Ah Huang to hurry and chase the cat away. Fang Lei stopped him and asked him what was going on. Xiao Shi angrily told him about the bullying of the vige dogs by Xiaohui. Fang Lei¡¯s eyes lit up after hearing about Xiaohui¡¯s valiant deeds and he made up his mind to lure Xiaohui to follow him home no matter what. When Xiao Shi heard that Fang Lei wanted to keep the grey cat, he was furious. This cat was so bad, always bullying the vige dogs, and Uncle Fang actually wanted to keep it? His little face puffed out in anger while Xiaohui¡¯s golden eyes narrowed and his whiskers curled slightly as he leaped gently onto Fang Lei¡¯s shoulder and squatted there safely, meowing provocatively at Xiao Shi. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know what to say when he saw the scene in front of him. Yan Yue smiled, thinking that Xiao Shi had identally done Fang Lei a favour. If Fang Lei had to trick the big grey cat with that ham sausage, who knows how long it would take. But with Xiao Shi stimting him, the big grey cat looked at Fang Lei with interest and got closer to him. Yan Yue smiled and shook his head, telling Fang Lei that they were now going to the Qiu Tian nt nursery. The nt nursery here had Uncle Li, so Fang Lei could stay here with Xiao Shi. ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay with Uncle Fang, I want to go to the nt nursery too.¡± Xiao Shi immediately drew a clear line with Fang Lei. He didn¡¯t want to be with that bad cat. Fang Lei didn¡¯t know whether tough or to cry when he heard Xiao Shi¡¯s ¡°the friend of my enemy is my enemy¡± words. He reached out and rubbed Xiao Shi¡¯s head, saying with a smile, ¡°Then I¡¯ll go to the nt nursery and have a look too.¡± Xiao Shi looked at Fang Lei, pouting, and Fang Leiughed. Yu Xiaojuan was worried that Xiao Shi would cause trouble for Lu Lingxi and tried to stop Xiao Shi from going to the nt nursery. Lu Lingxi put in a good word for Xiao Shi, thinking that it was time for Xiao Shi to go out and let off some steam since he had been a good boy at home recently. s Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t mind, so Yu Xiaojuan stopped saying anything but still dragged Xiao Shi aside before letting him go and told him not to make any trouble outside. Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi got into the car first; Xiao Shi wanted to go with Lu Lingxi but was carried by Fang Lei into his car. ¡°One car can seat four people. Count Yan Yue, Xiao Xi plus Dahei, there is no space left to squeeze you and Ah Huang.¡± Xiao Shi puffed up in anger and kept quiet, pouting and ring hard at Xiaohui on Fang Lei¡¯s shoulder. From the time they said they were going out, Xiaohui hadn¡¯t moved and looked like he was going to go along too. Fang Lei amusedly carried Xiao Shi to the passenger side and rushed both Ah Huang and Xiaohui to the back. The cat and the dog each upied one side of the car, confronting each other warily. Fang Lei looked in the rearview mirror and shook his head in amusement. The Qiu Tian nursery wasn¡¯t too far away from Lingshui; it was only a thirty minute drive. The first ce they passed when they arrived there was the Yongchun vegetable greenhouse. When Tiger saw Lu Lingxi and Yan Yueing over, he greeted them with a smile. Lu Lingxi entrusted Xiao Shi and Fang Lei to Tiger, and he and Yan Yue went to the nursery. The nursery workers had already dug the holes in advance. They were all experts at nting trees, so there was no need for Lu Lingxi to intervene at all. When thest cutting was inserted, the white panel floated out and a dozen green dots of light shed on the panel, with a green line faintly linking these dots one by one. Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart moved slightly, knowing that the next step should be to form an ecologicalmunity of willows. Sure enough, as the green dots of light were all strung together, he felt a jolt of something in his mind. The soil within the green circle of light seemed to be alive and began to change, turning from light brown to transparent little by little in front of Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes. ¡°Willow ecologicalmunity formed, soil purification sessful, reward nt hearts +500¡± Lu Lingxi breathed a sigh of relief and chose ¡°yes¡± without hesitation to the panel disying the question of whether to choose the nts ofmon origin to evolve homogeneously. He remembered that the first time he tried to establish a new ecologicalmunity after the eelgrass ecologicalmunity had been formed was a failure, and it had not seeded until some timeter. He was a little worried that the same thing might happen with the willow ecologicalmunity, but perhaps because the branches were cut directly from the old willow tree, it seeded the first time. This would also mean that the willow ecologicalmunity could rece the power of nature in the purification of the soil. And different willow ecologicalmunities could also be linked together to form a higher level ecologicalmunity. Lu Lingxi was somewhat impressed. If he established a few more willow ecologicalmunities around Fengcheng before spring began, wouldn¡¯t the entire soil of Fengcheng be purified? Yan Yue guessed Lu Lingxi¡¯s thoughts at a nce and asked in a low voice, ¡°Is it done?¡± Lu Lingxi let out an ¡°en¡±. Yan Yue reached out and rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair, bringing him into his arms and saying softly, ¡°Does Xiao Xi want to just stick willows all over Fengcheng now?¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes widened in surprise and he nodded obediently. Yan Yueughed softly and patted Lu Lingxi¡¯s back soothingly, saying softly, ¡°The improvement of Fengcheng¡¯s environment is certainly a good thing, but we need to take our time. If the change in environment is too sudden, the secret of the panel¡¯s existence will probably be discovered soon.¡± Lu Lingxi understood what Yan Yue was saying and leaned into Yan Yue¡¯s embrace without speaking. After a short while, the pattern on the panel changed again. Two green lights, onerge and one small, lit up, and a light green line extended a little bit from the spot in front of Lu Lingxi to the spot in the distance. The moment the two light spots were connected together, the image of the big willow tree appeared on the panel. nt name: Second-ss weeping willow nt needs: none nt vitality: very high nt status: Second-level peak nt evolution conditions triggered, do you choose to evolve? Chapter 126 The second evolution of the big willow tree within a short period of time took Lu Lingxi by surprise. He was a little hesitant, not knowing whether he should choose to evolve immediately. He still remembered themotion when the tree evolvedst time. The whole vige was like during an earthquake. What if themotion was even bigger this time? But he didn¡¯t want to artificially suppress the evolution of the willow tree either; that would obviously defeat the purpose of the panel¡¯s existence. Lu Lingxi looked at Yan Yue with some difficulty and talked about the evolution of the big willow tree. Yan Yue immediately understood Lu Lingxi¡¯s concern. He pondered a little and said, ¡°Evolution is definitely going to happen, but we need to make some preparations in advance. No one knows how big or small this evolution will be, so it¡¯s best to gather all the vigers of Lingshui Vige outside just in case there are any idents.¡± This was what Lu Lingxi was worried about, fearing that there might be some kind of damage. But what excuse should he find to gather everyone outside? He thought about it and suggested, ¡°On the night of New Year¡¯s Eve, fireworks were set off in Lingshui Vige. Uncle Li said it was quite lively and everyone went out to see it. Why don¡¯t we show it again?¡± Yan Yue thought this was a good idea; not only was it a chance to get everyone together outside, but it would also make a favourable impression on the vigers in the process. And since it was fireworks, the evolution of the big willow tree that would happen at night wouldn¡¯t be noticed in the dark even if there was any movement. The two of them agreed, and Lu Lingxi first made a phone call home. He said that there was something going on at the nt nursery and that he would have to stay in Lingshui Vige for another day. He sent a special message to Elder Zhang, so that Elder Zhang wouldn¡¯te to look for him at the shop tomorrow. After he had finished, Yan Yue also talked to the vige head of Lingshui. In order to add an extrayer of insurance and to make sure that the vigers would be drawn out, Yan Yue offered the vige chief, Li Dayong, to put on one hour of fireworks and two movies. He remembered that there were those open-air outdoor movies, which were very convenient to show. As soon as Yan Yue said this, Li Dayong knew what he meant. A few years ago, Fengcheng held a cultural campaign to the countryside, and its main focus was this kind of open-air movie. Usually, when there was a happy asion in their vige, they would also invite people to show a few movies, and these arrangements were not difficult. Yan Yue paid for the movies and Li Dayong contributed as well, and it was soon decided that the movies would start at six o¡¯clock and the fireworks would be set off between them. Originally, Li Dayong thought that six o¡¯clock was a bit early, as the vigers had probably not eaten yet. But Yan Yue insisted, and Li Dayong couldn¡¯t resist, so he had to inform the vigers that the movies would be shown at six o¡¯clock and that those who wanted to see the movies should eat early today. The two of them couldn¡¯t hide their ns from Uncle Li. Uncle Li listened to the words of thanks for Tiny Garden on the radio and whispered to himself, ¡°How could these two children suddenly think of showing a movie to the vige? They didn¡¯t mean to do that just before they went out.¡± The old dog gave a few low barks and Uncle Li smiled, stretched out his rough hand and stroked the old dog¡¯s head, promising, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll take you to see it tonight.¡± Because they were thinking about the big willow tree, Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue didn¡¯t stay at the Qiu Tian nursery for much longer. After they finished their business, they went to find Fang Lei and Xiao Shi and prepared to return to the vige. When they went there, Fang Lei and Xiao Shi were eating grapes with Tiger. The grapes were just picked and much fresher than those bought in the market. Tiger warmly invited them to eat more and had picked another basket for them to take away when they left. When he heard that Lu Lingxi was nning to go back, Tiger was a bit surprised. Why was he leaving in such a hurry? Lu Lingxi exined that he was just thinking of the nt nursery and that he was relieved to have Tiger to look after it. s Fang Lei was keenly aware that Lu Lingxi seemed to have something on his mind. He quickly nced at Yan Yue but didn¡¯t see anything on Yan Yue¡¯s face. Fang Lei couldn¡¯t help but mutter something in his heart; but then he thought that with Yan Yue around, nothing could happen to Lu Lingxi, so he rxed. When they returned to the vige, Fang Lei learned that Lu Lingxi was nning to show two movies in the vige in the evening. Xiao Shi was overjoyed and even seemed to look at the big grey cat more favourably, not as hostile as at first. ¡°Brother Xiao Xi, will you stay here tonight?¡± Xiao Shi asked, looking at Lu Lingxi expectantly. Lu Lingxi nodded, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go home tomorrow.¡± Xiao Shi immediately grinned, revealing a little missing tooth in the front. Before Fang Lei hade to Lingshui, he just nned to check on Xiao Shi, pick up Dahei and then leave. But the appearance of the big grey cat stopped him from leaving. Now the big grey cat had not yet been tamed, so Fang Lei simply stayed in the vige to join the fun at night. He had been on duty for two days during the New Year anyway, and today was a day off, so he could stay at Uncle Li¡¯s house if it was toote to go home. Until six o¡¯clock in the evening, Lingshui Vige was calm and quiet. It was just getting dark when the people of the vige gathered at the river to watch a movie. Fang Lei watched Xiao Shi to keep him from wandering off, and Ah Huang guarded Xiao Shi¡¯s side vigntly as well. Xiaohui squatted on Fang Lei¡¯s shoulder with an arrogant look on his face, having used this ce as his mobile soft chair for the whole day. When Xiaohui got ufortable, he stretched out his paw to tug on Fang Lei¡¯s hair, reminding him to move around and adjust his position. As soon as the movie started, Xiaohui suddenly became a little restless. He stretched out his paw and scratched Fang Lei¡¯s shoulder several times. Fang Lei was quite helpless: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Master Cat again?¡± Xiaohui narrowed its eyes and looked far away in the direction of the big willow tree, meowing a few times. Fang Lei followed his line of sight and couldn¡¯t guess for a moment what Xiaohui meant. Just like Xiaohui, Ah Huang was also acting a bit off. Xiao Shi hugged Ah Huang and smoothed his fur, then suddenly remembered something and looked up at Fang Lei, ¡°Uncle Fang, where is Brother Xiao Xi? Even Dahei is not here?¡± Fang Lei¡¯s heart stirred and he looked thoughtfully in the direction of the vige. It seemed Yan Yue and Xiao Xi had stayed in the vige and had note out. Standing under the big willow tree, Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue didn¡¯t go to watch the movie, but kept watch over the big willow tree and waited for it to evolve. As Lu Lingxi clicked on the white panel and selected ¡°yes¡±, the huge root system of the big willow tree, which was coiled under the vige, expanded towards the surrounding area at a speed visible to the naked eye. But to their surprise, this time the evolution was silent and there wasn¡¯t the slightest vibrationing from the ground. s Yan Yue guessed, ¡°Is the root system so deep that it can¡¯t be felt above the ground?¡± Lu Lingxi wasn¡¯t sure either, but still said cautiously, ¡°Let¡¯s wait a little longer.¡± They waited until the fireworks were over, the movie ended, and the vigers began to go home one after another. Nothing happened for four hours, and Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t tell if he was relieved or disappointed. He and Big Brother Yan had been apprehensive for so long, but the result wasn¡¯t at all the big shock they had expected, and there was a feeling that he punched with a full force but hit cotton. Yan Yue smiled at his expression and reached out to gather Lu Lingxi into his arms, saying with amusement, ¡°Let¡¯s go back, there should be nothing wrong.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded with a yawn. He had been emotionally tense before, and when he finally rxed, his fatigue surged through his body like a tidal wave. Now he just wanted to go back and get a good night¡¯s sleep. The two of them went back to the courtyard hand in hand. Lu Lingxi followed Yan Yue after washing up with his eyes half closed and soon fell asleep. In a daze, he felt that someone hade outside and Yan Yue had gone out and said something. Lu Lingxi rolled over under the nket and muttered, ¡°Who is it?¡± A soft kiss fell on his face. It was Yan Yue¡¯s voice, ¡°Go to sleep, Fang Lei came over for something and already left.¡± Lu Lingxi subconsciously grabbed Yan Yue¡¯s arm, buried his face in the other party¡¯s chest and fell into a deep sleep. At night, the whole Lingshui Vige was silent. Unbeknownst to the people, the roots of the big willow tree had rooted into the bottom of the Lingshui River and began to recklessly absorb the water inside. Arge amount of river water was stored underground through the roots of the big willow tree, and the roots coiled beneath Lingshui Vige gradually became thicker and thicker. When it was almost dawn, the white panel floated out, and Lu Lingxi woke up suddenly, rubbing his eyes and looking at the two lines of green characters at the bottom of the panel. ¡°The evolution of the third-level weeping willowpleted, the evolution direction is +40% nt water storage.¡± ¡°Willow ecologicalmunity extended to ten standard units, rewarding nt hearts +2000 and power of nature +10.¡± Lu Lingxi tapped on the white panel, and as he moved his finger, the entire area covered by the willow ecologicalmunity appeared on the panel. From Lingshui Vige to Shigouhe Vige, more than twenty green dots of light connected in a circle, and the soil within had all been purified to a white translucent form. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, and before he couldpletely react, a new prompt appeared on the panel. 10,000 points of nt hearts collected, the system begins to upgrade. The panel¡¯s prompt was somewhat unexpected, and Lu Lingxi realised that because of the nt hearts that had just been rewarded, the panel had been upgraded once more. ¡°System upgrade sessful. Mental scan range extended by three hundred metres. Exchange function open. 5000 points of nt hearts can be exchanged for 1 point of power of nature, 5 points of power of nature can start nt evolution. System randomly rewards a pack of soybean seeds.¡± As the prompt appeared, another palm-sized ck package was added to Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand. This wasn¡¯t the first time it had happened, and Lu Lingxi was already very experienced at it. The only thing that surprised him a little was that the panel¡¯s new function could actually consume the power of nature to prompt the nt to evolve. The cost was just a little too high, 5 points of power of nature to prompt one evolution; he was sure he couldn¡¯t afford to part with the power of nature easily. But no wonder that he had 5 points of power of nature deducted thest time he had forced the donglingcao to evolve. At the time he had been surprised but now he thought he had just experienced the new feature of the upgraded panel in advance. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t sleep anymore and simply got up and dressed. Yan Yue was awakened by his movement and said in a muffled voice, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Xiao Xi?¡± Lu Lingxi went over and kissed Yan Yue on his own ord, whispering, ¡°Nothing, the big willow tree has evolved, I want to go and see it.¡± Yan Yue woke up fully, ¡°Wait for me, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± It was still very cold in the early morning, so Lu Lingxi wrapped himself in a down jacket and waited for Yan Yue to walk out together. There was a breeze blowing by, and Lu Lingxi took a deep breath, only to feel that the air outside wasn¡¯t dry at all, but rather had a feeling of wetness after the rain. He spoke to Yan Yue about this feeling, somewhat surprised, and Yan Yue also vaguely felt that there seemed to be a little bit of moisture in the air. He knew that Fengcheng was located in the northern part of China and it had always been dry in winter; not to mention that it had not been snowing this winter, so it was even drier. The two of them walked, thinking of their doubts, and from afar they saw that there seemed to be a man standing in front of the big willow tree. ¡°Fang Lei?¡± Yan Yue raised his eyebrows slightly, ¡°What is he doing there?¡± Lu Lingxi nced at Fang Lei and his eyes were quickly drawn to the greenery in front of the big willow tree. It was still February, but as far as the eye could see, the area around the big willow tree was already lush and green. Clusters of grass had sprouted overnight, their green hues dazzling and their rich vibrancy overwhelming. Chapter 127 Fang Lei had been led to the big willow tree by Xiaohui. He was used to waking up early for exercise and was about to go out for a run around the vige. As soon as he left the house, Xiaohui, who had been following him allst night, dashed in the direction of the willow tree like an arrow. Fang Lei subconsciously chased after him and immediately realised that something was strange. It hadn¡¯t rainedst night, but the ground around the big willow tree was slightly muddy. The wet ground was densely covered with tender green grass that was soft when stepped on. The closer one got to the big willow tree, the more one could smell a pleasingly fresh scent. Fang Lei took a deep breath and felt soothed and refreshed. With a slight raise of his eyebrows, he thought of Tiny Garden. Fang Lei had been to Tiny Garden quite a few times, and every time he went to Tiny Garden, he would have a simr feeling. It was like there was something in the air that could cleanse the mind, and the person had aplete sense of rxation from the inside out. While Fang Lei was lost in thought, Xiaohui had already climbed up the tree, squinting his eyes and lying on the branch with a look of enjoyment. Fang Lei gazed thoughtfully at Xiaohui¡¯s performance, squatted down and pinched the soil. The wet soil had a coolness to it, not like the water that had just been poured in the morning. Lu Lingxi¡¯s name shed through his mind, and his police officer¡¯s instincts told him that the strangeness surrounding the big willow tree had something to do with Lu Lingxi. ¡°Brother Fang?¡± The sound of footsteps from behind him interrupted Fang Lei¡¯s thoughts. He turned around to see Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi appearing behind him. Inexplicably, the suspicion in Fang Lei¡¯s heart was confirmed, as if Lu Lingxi¡¯s appearance was the answer. He smiled faintly and asked as if nothing had happened, ¡°Xiao Xi, why are you guys up so early?¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t sleep, came out for a walk.¡± Yan Yue answered the question for Lu Lingxi. He gave Fang Lei a deep look and stepped forward to casually say, ¡°What about you? Why are you up so early too?¡± Fang Lei shrugged and gestured to Xiaohui in the tree, ¡°Xiaohui was making a lot of noise and wouldn¡¯t let me sleep, so I came out for a walk too.¡± Just as he finished speaking, Xiaohui in the tree looked displeased. He leaped lightly towards Fang Lei with his ws raised. Fang Lei nimbly dodged Xiaohui¡¯s attack with a wry smile on his face that he couldn¡¯t hide. Lu Lingxi chuckled, and the seemingly endless tension that permeated the atmosphere around the three of them suddenly disappeared. Fang Lei stepped on the grass beneath his feet and said with emotion, ¡°Spring hase early this year, it looks like the weather won¡¯t be bad.¡± He intended to draw attention to the strange dampness of the ground, but to his surprise Lu Lingxi shook his head and said seriously, ¡°The weather will not necessarily be good. I¡¯m afraid there will be a big drought.¡± Fang Lei was stunned, ¡°How can it be?¡± Lu Lingxi used the same argument that Uncle Li had used, that there would be a big drought after a warm winter. This was the experience of the old farmers in the fields for many years, and although it might not always be urate, most of their predictions were close. What Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t say was that the evolution of the big willow tree was too sudden this time, and the water storage function after the evolution made him vaguely aware of something. The evolution of nts wasn¡¯t without a pattern; through natural selection they had adapted to changes in their environment. He always felt that the evolution of the big willow tree was in preparation for drought, otherwise he couldn¡¯t think of any use for the water storage function. Fang Leiughed at Lu Lingxi¡¯s statement. Although he had grown up in Fengcheng, he remembered that something like this had been said in nature textbooks or somewhere in the past. But now it was different from the past; with reservoirs regting water use, there shouldn¡¯t be much of a problem even in case of a major drought. ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true.¡± Yan Yue wasn¡¯t as optimistic as Fang Lei and mentioned the great drought in the southwestst year. The topic quickly shifted to the drought, with Lu Lingxi talking about his wish to build a few wells in Lingshui Vige. Fang Lei tried several times to turn the conversation back to the appearance of the mud, only to have Yan Yue turn it back each time quietly. Fang Lei held his breath for a long time, unable to find a chance, and had to give up finally. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t feel Fang Lei¡¯s depression at all and was still discussing with Yan Yue in a serious manner about where in the vige it would be convenient to build a well. Fang Lei smiled bitterly in frustration, forcibly suppressing the curiosity in his heart. No matter what happenedst night, no matter what was going on with the big willow tree, he believed that Lu Lingxi, who was preparing to build a well in advance because he was worried that the drought would affect the vigers¡¯ ess to water, was the Xiao Xi he knew. There was no need to ask questions, as the other party would naturally say what they wanted to say. The three of them looked around the big willow tree for a while, and then Fang Lei followed Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi back to the small courtyard. Xiaohui squattedzily on Fang Lei¡¯s shoulder, seemingly having decided that this ce was his. Uncle Li had been waiting for the three of them in the nt nursery for a long time, and when he saw theming back together, he immediately greeted them and asked them toe and eat. Lu Lingxi nned to return to Fengcheng after eating, as there was nothing more to do in Lingshui Vige and it was time for Tiny Garden to open after the New Year. Uncle Li was a bit sad to see Lu Lingxi go, ¡°It would be nice if Xiao Xi stayed for a few more days.¡± Lu Lingxi also wanted to stay at the nt nursery for a few more days, but Wang Shuxiu was pregnant, and he was thinking about his family. s During the meal, Uncle Li said that he had met Uncle Xu who had gone to the river with his bird in the morning, and that Uncle Xu had noticed that the water level of the Lingshui River seemed to have lowered considerably. Lu Lingxi bowed his head rather sheepishly while Uncle Li discussed with them excitedly whether the reservoir upstream had closed its gates and restricted waterst night. However, Uncle Li talked about another thing. Spring sowing was about to begin soon, and the upstream reservoir was estimated to be opened to release water. At this time of year, many fish would flow into the Lingshui River through the gates. When the Lingshui River wasn¡¯t polluted much in the past, many people in their vige went to the river to fish. Since the stic factory was builtst year, no one had gone fishing, and even if they did, they wouldn¡¯t dare eat it. As soon as the fish got in the river, it would float on the surface of the water belly up. No one was foolish enough to eat it. This year, the pollution of the Lingshui River had been taken under control and it would definitely be lively when the water was released. Uncle Li wanted Lu Lingxi and the others toe together at that time and have fun. This suggestion was immediately supported by Fang Lei¡¯s side, especially Xiaohui, whose eyes lit up when he heard about the fish. He tugged at Fang Lei¡¯s clothes and meowed twice. Although Fang Lei didn¡¯t understand, he guessed what Xiaohui meant and took the opportunity to pet Xiaohui¡¯s head. It was a rare case that he didn¡¯t get a scratch from Xiaohui¡¯s paw. When it was time to go home, Xiaohui hesitantly looked at Lu Lingxi and then at Fang Lei. Although he had been following Fang Lei all day, it was Lu Lingxi who was more attractive to him. But just as Xiaohui was about to jump into Yan Yue¡¯s car, Dahei suddenly rushed out and barked at Xiaohui in warning. This was the first time that Dahei had shown obvious rejection of an animal that appeared next to Lu Lingxi, and his meaning was clear: it was fine to follow Lu Lingxi around for a few days, but there was absolutely no way to follow Lu Lingxi home. After a long time of confrontation between the cat and the dog, Xiaohui narrowed his eyes and retreated to jump into Fang Lei¡¯s car, flicking his tail arrogantly at Dahei from above. Fang Lei watched this scene with an itchy heart and beckoned Dahei. The main purpose of his visit was to borrow Dahei for a few days, and today he could just as well take Dahei with him. As for the grudge between Dahei and Xiaohui, Fang Lei didn¡¯t think it was anything important. He was very enthusiastic, but Dahei squatted at Lu Lingxi¡¯s feetpletely unmoved, just waiting for Lu Lingxi¡¯s instructions. Lu Lingxi actually didn¡¯t want to part with Dahei for a few days, but thinking about what he had promised Fang Lei, he had to squat down, hug Dahei and kiss him, telling him to be good and listen to Fang Lei. Dahei reluctantly licked Lu Lingxi¡¯s face and jumped into Fang Lei¡¯s car. Xiaohui immediately exploded. He estimated that he couldn¡¯t beat Dahei, so he turned around and meowed at Fang Lei, raised his two front paws and pped Fang Lei several times. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lu Lingxi wanted tough to death but couldn¡¯t reallyugh out of concern for Fang Lei¡¯s face, so he clutched his stomach and endured. Yan Yue hooked the corners of his mouth rather unscrupulously; he could imagine Fang Lei¡¯s next days of chicken flying and dogs jumping. If Fang Lei had developed a tacit understanding with Xiaohui in the process of feeding him, even if he couldn¡¯tmunicate with him, Yan Yue felt that Xiaohui would be enough to help Fang Lei solve cases. After sending Fang Lei away, Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi also went back to Fengcheng. Instead of going home, they went straight to Tiny Garden. When they were almost at Tiny Garden, Lu Lingxi received a call from Wang Chaoliang. ¡°Xiao Xi, are youing over today? When does Tiny Garden open?¡± ¡°Uncle Wang? Big Brother Yan and I are on our way to Tiny Garden, we¡¯ll be there soon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll wait for you at the entrance of Tiny Garden, we¡¯ll talkter.¡± Wang Chaoliang had taken half a month off for the New Year and was going on another business trip in a few days. He was now a special researcher at Tiny Garden Technology Company. Although his regr job was a researcher at the Fengcheng Botanical Institute, the institute didn¡¯t object to researchers like Wang Chaoliang working for simr technologypanies outside. After all, the Botanical Research Institute was a clean government institution, and there was not much external profit. The staff had a set sry, which was very poor. This kind of part-time job was considered by the Institute as a means of supporting the family, and thepanies the researchers worked for were usually partners of the Institute. s Wang Chaoliang used to be a bit stubborn and didn¡¯t like this type of cooperation. He had always felt that the Institute¡¯s part-time researchers were putting the cart before the horse, and that it was difficult to determine the source of the results of such coborations. Usually, when simr part-time researchers produced research results, the results were transferred to the market by their named partnerpanies. This was also the default unspoken rule of the Institute. Last time, the chlorophytum that Wang Chaoliang researched came from Tiny Garden, and Wang Chaoliang gave Lu Lingxi the rights to the new nt variety without even thinking about it. Although some colleagues teased him afterwards about whether he had also taken up a job at Tiny Garden, Wang Chaoliang himself knew that he had no intention of taking up a part-time job outside. Yan Yue saw his meaning and said nothing. However, when Wang Chaoliang came to visit Lu Lingxi one time, Yan Yue deliberately took out two samples, the mutated donglingcao and the evolved mutated donglingcao. Wang Chaoliang¡¯s eyes lit up; he knew that this was Yan Yue¡¯s ¡°trap¡± but he still couldn¡¯t resist the temptation. After a few days of itching, he approached Yan Yue with an offer to coborate and became a special researcher for Tiny Garden. Through his contacts, Tiny Garden became a natural partner of the Fengcheng Botanical Institute. Of course, Lu Lingxi wasn¡¯t aware of all these private dealings, and neither Wang Chaoliang nor Yan Yue had any intention of talking to him about them. Lu Lingxi was quite happy to have Wang Chaoliang join Tiny Garden and didn¡¯t take it too seriously when Tiny Garden became a partner of the Botanical Institute. On the other hand, after joining Tiny Garden, Wang Chaoliang was very responsibly concerned about the interests of Tiny Garden. He also thought of Tiny Garden when there was a suitable project in the Institute. Yan Yue had already considered Wang Chaoliang a good person and through these small things respected him even more. The reason why he wanted to work with Wang Chaoliang was for the new variety rights of the evolved donglingcao. The application for new nt variety rights in China was fairly easy but required a request for new nt variety rights, a specification and a photo. The request and photos were not a problem, but the specification had to be issued by a professional. Considering that Su Lang¡¯s research was progressing very well, and that they would sooner orter have to face Hopewell, Yan Yue naturally had to n ahead and keep the raw materials under his control. For this reason, a professional researcher of trustworthy character was essential. It was only after joining Tiny Garden that Wang Chaoliang learnt of Yan Yue¡¯s intentions. He waspletely uninterested in the benefits behind all this, and his whole heart and soul were focused on the research of donglingcao. When Lu Lingxi hung up the phone, Yan Yue could already see Wang Chaoliang¡¯s figure from afar. He was standing alone at the entrance of Tiny Garden, holding arge thermos in his hand. Yan Yue pulled over to the side of the road and Lu Lingxi greeted Wang Chaoliang with a smile. Wang Chaoliang looked at Lu Lingxi and smiled affectionately, habitually starting to look for Dahei behind him. ¡°Dahei didn¡¯te today?¡± Wang Chaoliang was a little surprised; usually Dahei was always close to Lu Lingxi and would never leave Lu Lingxi¡¯s side. ¡°Dahei stays at a friend¡¯s house these days and will only be back in a few days.¡± Lu Lingxi exined. Wang Chaoliang shook his head with a smile and showed the thermos in his hand with a regretful face, saying, ¡°Your Grandma Wang made a pot of bone soup for Dahei. It seems that Dahei won¡¯t be able to drink it.¡± Lu Lingxi was a bit embarrassed. Grandma Wang often made some food for Dahei and was even more attentive to Dahei than he was. He thought about Grandma Wang¡¯s age and wanted to ask Wang Chaoliang to persuade her not to work so hard in the future. Wang Chaoliang noticed what Lu Lingxi meant andughed. ¡°Xiao Xi, don¡¯t be embarrassed, your Grandma Wang has nothing to do at home every day. Having Dahei for her to think about is also a kind of emotional support.¡± While the two of them were talking, Yan Yue had already opened the door of the shop. Wang Chaoliang followed the two into the shop and talked about the purpose of his visit. In a few days, he was going to Kunnan, the ce where thergest primaeval rainforest in the northern hemisphere was located. Right next to it was the Kunnan Botanical Garden, thergest in China. This time, Wang Chaoliang was going to stay there for half a year as part of an exchange programme. He intended to bring his research results on donglingcao there. The research itself hade to an end, with just some information left to sort out before it could be published and new nt variety rights could be applied for. ¡°Kunnan?¡± Lu Lingxi listened with some longing. He had seen a program on TV about the pristine rainforests of Kunnan. With an average annual temperature of about 20 degrees, Kunnan could be considered a paradise for nts. ording to rough statistics, more than 20,000 species of nts had been discovered in the Kunnan Rainforest, and there were still many undiscovered nts in the deeper parts of the rainforest where people could rarely go. The entire rainforest was arge nt base, providing a natural gic treasure trove for the development of nt research in China. Yan Yue felt Lu Lingxi¡¯s desire and his heart fluttered. A year ago Ye Kang had also talked to him about taking Lu Lingxi to travel, and the ce Yan Yue was thinking of going to then was Kunnan. ¡°Does Xiao Xi want to go and see it? We can find time to go and stay for a few days.¡± Looking at Lu Lingxi, Yan Yue said in a soft voice. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes lit up at his words, but then he thought that Tiny Garden was still open for business and Wang Shuxiu was pregnant¡­ He nodded obediently and said, ¡°I want to go, but I can¡¯t leave everyone over here.¡± Wang Chaoliang interjected, ¡°Xiao Xi is worried that there is no one in the shop? You can find a temporary part-time job helper to look after it for a few days. If you go, it¡¯s just as well that I¡¯m in Kunnan, so I can give you a good tour around the botanical garden. Normally, the botanical garden in Kunnan is only partially open to the public, and some nts are not visible to tourists.¡± The temptation of nts was very strong, and Lu Lingxi frowned nervously, ¡°But Mom is pregnant, and I want to stay by her side.¡± Wang Chaoliang was a little surprised, ¡°Xiao Xi is going to have a brother?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded happily and said seriously, ¡°Sister is fine too, I like both.¡± Wang Chaoliang smiled, thinking that Lu Lingxi would only be neen years old this year, and no matter how old he was, he still looked like a child. He himself thought Yan Yue¡¯s proposal was good, taking advantage of his presence at the Kunnan Botanical Garden to take Lu Lingxi for a good stroll. But Lu Lingxi wanted to stay with Wang Shuxiu, so Wang Chaoliang couldn¡¯t say anything. The three of them chatted for a while, but when it was almost ten o¡¯clock and the shop was full of customers, Wang Chaoliang didn¡¯t stay any longer. Lu Lingxi was busy with the customers, and Yan Yue sent Wang Chaoliang out of Tiny Garden. When Wang Chaoliang was leaving, he remembered one thing and confirmed with Yan Yue, ¡°Are you sure that you only want to apply for the new nt variety rights for No. 2 donglingcao and not for No. 1?¡± The so-called No. 1 donglingcao referred to the mutated donglingcao, while No. 2 donglingcao was the mutated donglingcao evolved by Lu Lingxi. Wang Chaoliang had numbered the two samples for the convenience of differentiation, and he was also used to calling them No. 1 and No. 2. Yan Yue raised his eyebrows and nodded. Wang Chaoliang felt strange; since he had studied them, why not apply for both together? If Yan Yue gave up the new nt variety rights for No. 1 donglingcao, it also meant giving up the associated benefits brought by No. 1. However, although Wang Chaoliang had not spent much time with Yan Yue, he knew that Yan Yue always had a purpose in doing things and wouldn¡¯t give up the benefits in his hands without a reason. Since Yan Yue didn¡¯t say anything, Wang Chaoliang didn¡¯t bother to ask any more questions, said goodbye and left Tiny Garden. After Yan Yue sent Wang Chaoliang away, the corners of his mouth curled up as he looked in the direction of Zhongjing and a cynical smile appeared on his face. Wang Chaoliang was well-intentioned, but if he had applied for the new nt variety rights for the mutated donglingcao, wouldn¡¯t Hopewell¡¯s research be in trouble now? It would have been a good thing for Hopewell, as they would have been able to switch research directions earlier and the loss would have been a drop in the bucket. Yan Yue wanted much more than that. Wouldn¡¯t it be more interesting to wait until Hopewell thought it had seeded and then give it a little push? Chapter 128 In the evening, when Lu Lingxi got home, Wang Shuxiu asked about his visit to the nt nursery. This time, Lu Lingxi went to Lingshui Vige and promised to stay for one day only, but it turned out that he stayed for another day. Although Lu Lingxi said on the phone that he was fine, Wang Shuxiu was still a little worried. ording to her past habits, Wang Shuxiu had always treated Lu Lingxi as a free-range kid. In the past, it was because Lu Lingxi was too rebellious and didn¡¯t want her to take care of him, butter on, it was because Lu Lingxi was too sensible and there was nothing she could take care of. Even when Lu Lingxi ran a nt nursery at a young age, Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t worry about it at all. Buttely, who knows what was going on, perhaps because of her pregnancy, Wang Shuxiu had started to worry about Lu Lingxi¡¯s affairs, asking him a few questions from time to time. She asked in detail, and Lu Lingxi also wanted to make her happy, picking out what he could talk about and telling about it seriously. Except for the panel and the evolution of the willow tree, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t hide anything from Wang Shuxiu. ¡°Big Brother Yan said¡­¡± Lu Lingxi mentioned Yan Yue a few times, and Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heart inexplicably thudded. The little bastard started almost every sentence with ¡°Big Brother Yan said¡±; Yan Yue¡¯s name appeared in the little bastard¡¯s mouth a little too often. She remembered herst visit to the hospital and felt that something was wrong. A suspicion grew in her mind, but she didn¡¯t dare to think about it for a while. Wang Shuxiu listened to Lu Lingxi¡¯s story as if nothing had happened and asked as if casually, ¡°I remember that there seems to be only one house over there in the nt nursery where people can live. How do you and Yan Yue live there, Xiao Xi?¡± Lu Lingxi was taken aback for a moment, a little confused about what Wang Shuxiu meant, but he still replied, ¡°Together.¡± Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heart sank, and that uneasy thought became even stronger. She was about to say something when Xiao Feng came out after taking a shower and saw them talking, reminding, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, it¡¯s time for Xiaohua to rest.¡± After all, Wang Shuxiu was too oldpared to a pregnant young girl in her 20s, and had to rest for at least 14 or 15 hours a day. Xiao Feng paid great attention to this and kept a strict schedule for Wang Shuxiu, urging her to go to bed at nine o¡¯clock every night at thetest. When he said this, Lu Lingxi took a look at the time, which was already past eight and approaching nine, and immediately said, ¡°Mom, get some rest, I¡¯m going to find Big Brother Yan.¡± When he finished speaking and was about to leave, Wang Shuxiu almost subconsciously called him to stop him. Lu Lingxi looked at Wang Shuxiu in confusion. Wang Shuxiu remembered Zhou Xiaoman¡¯s words fromst time and asked, ¡°Xiao Xi, what do you think if we change to a bigger house?¡± Lu Lingxi blinked unexpectedly, ¡°Change the house?¡± Wang Shuxiu nodded; the reason was very good. ¡°We¡¯re going to have another family member soon, and there¡¯s not enough room. I think we should move to your dad¡¯s house first, and your uncle and his family will live here. We can change itter when we have a suitable house.¡± Wang Shuxiu¡¯s reason for moving was rational, but Lu Lingxi hesitated without answering. He didn¡¯t want to be separated from Yan Yue, but he couldn¡¯t find any reason to refuse. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t speak; his gaze wandered a little and Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heart sank again. The absurd thought in her heart became clearer. Xiao Feng waited for a long time for Wang Shuxiu to go to the bedroom to sleep. When he came out, he noticed that neither mother nor son was talking, as if they were in conflict. He was a bit surprised, as Xiao Xi would never make Wang Shuxiu angry, so what was going on? He didn¡¯t hear anything from the bedroom either. Xiao Feng smiled and tried to smooth the situation, saying: ¡°Xiaohua is still not sleeping? Xiao Xi should go to bed early too, you still have to go to the shop tomorrow.¡± s As Xiao Feng said that, he winked at Lu Lingxi, who hesitantly looked at Wang Shuxiu and whispered, ¡°Good night, Dad and Mom.¡± He turned around and went back to his room. Even if he was dumb, he noticed that the atmosphere just now wasn¡¯t right. Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t seem too happy. Was it because he was unwilling to move? Lu Lingxi closed the door to his room, and Xiao Feng coaxed Wang Shuxiu to go to the bedroom. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Where did Xiao Xi make you angry?¡± Xiao Feng asked. Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t know what to say. She was only guessing and wasn¡¯t sure if it was what she thought it was. Xiao Feng looked at her expression and spoke for Lu Lingxi, ¡°Xiao Xi has always been sensible. Take your time to tell him what¡¯s wrong, don¡¯t lose your temper in a hurry.¡± Wang Shuxiu sighed and didn¡¯t say anything, pulled up the nket and closed her eyes to prepare for sleep. Xiao Feng gave Wang Shuxiu a worried look, turned off the light andy down beside her. ¡°What do you think of Yan Yue?¡± Wang Shuxiu asked Xiao Feng after lying down for a long time, unable to sleep and turning over. ¡°Why do you think of Yan Yue?¡± Wang Shuxiu had asked this question just a few days ago. Wang Shuxiu sounded a little annoyed, ¡°You know Yan Yue has never had a girlfriend, is there something wrong with him?¡± Xiao Feng¡¯s heart moved and he guessed the reason for Wang Shuxiu¡¯s abnormality. When he didn¡¯t say anything, Wang Shuxiu took it as him agreeing, and since she couldn¡¯t sleep anyway, she simply started talking. ¡°You¡¯ve noticed, haven¡¯t you, that Xiao Xi treats Yan Yue very differently? In the past, I was too busy with the restaurant and didn¡¯t care much. I thought Yan Yue was just about the same as Yi Hang to Xiao Xi. Xiao Xi used to have a good rtionship with Yi Hang, but not as good as he has now with Yan Yue, day and night together, ¡®Big Brother Yan this¡¯ and ¡®Big Brother Yan that¡¯ every sentence. Yan Yue has never had a girlfriend, do you think they¡­¡± Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t say any more and just felt that her heart was blocked badly. It was because the little bastard was usually too obedient, and as a result, when she mentioned moving and the little bastard didn¡¯t say anything but showed obvious reluctance, it made her feel that there was a serious problem. Why was the little bastard reluctant to move? The only reason Wang Shuxiu could think of was Yan Yue. Her mind shed back to thest time Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi had spent time together, and Wang Shuxiu felt even more gloomy. Yan Yue moved next door to her house, Yan Yue didn¡¯t have a girlfriend, Yan Yue left his own business and got a small nt nursery with Lu Lingxi¡­ These things that Wang Shuxiu had previously ignored were now all evidence in her eyes. Wang Shuxiu sat up violently, ¡°No, we must move.¡± Xiao Feng was startled by her and hurried to turn on the lights. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s face was ugly, ¡°How old is Xiao Xi, he doesn¡¯t understand anything, we can¡¯t let him and Yan Yue stay together.¡± Xiao Feng smiled and felt a little sympathy for Yan Yue; but sympathy is sympathy, and the situation was Wang Shuxiu¡¯s biggest worry. He couldn¡¯t let Wang Shuxiu suffer any stimtion, so he immediately took a stand and said, ¡°If Xiaohua thinks it¡¯s inappropriate, we¡¯ll move.¡± ¡°Moving is not enough.¡± Wang Shuxiu¡¯s face was sullen, ¡°It¡¯s not good for the two of them to stay together.¡± s She didn¡¯t know how far Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue hade, and she couldn¡¯t tell from their past dealings, except that they were a little too close. If the two had not yet pierced thatyer of window paper, it was okay, but if they had¡­ Wang Shuxiu was ready to be ruthless. The little bastard would only be neen this year, she couldn¡¯t let him go down this crooked path. She thought about Yan Yue finding the little bastard to cooperate in the first ce, daring to deceive the little bastard who didn¡¯t understand anything. The more Wang Shuxiu thought about it, the more she couldn¡¯t sleep. She wanted to go to Yan Yue and demand an exnation from him immediately. Xiao Feng saw that her face wasn¡¯t right, got up and poured her a ss of water, gently persuading: ¡°Xiaohua, don¡¯t think too much, I think it¡¯s better for you to ask Xiao Xi about this matter. He is not a child anymore, we can guide him, but we can¡¯t decide for him. Besides, you just suspect it. It is not necessarily true, right?¡± Wang Shuxiu took a sip of the water, calmed down a little and red at Xiao Feng discontentedly, ¡°Then if Xiao Xi really¡­ can¡¯t I control him?¡± Xiao Feng shook his head and said patiently, ¡°You should definitely manage, but you have to find the right way. Don¡¯t rush to say anything, first look for clues to see if it¡¯s what you think.¡± Xiao Feng made up his mind to pacify Wang Shuxiu first. She was pregnant and couldn¡¯t be stimted. The best thing to do was to make this a minor issue and let Yan Yue put up with it until Wang Shuxiu had given birth. While Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng talked about Lu Lingxi without sleeping, in his room Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t sleep either, holding his mobile phone and chatting with Yan Yue. Originally, Lu Lingxi nned to go to Yan Yue, but seeing that Wang Shuxiu was in a bad mood, he stayed at home after some thinking. Yan Yue waited for Lu Lingxi and thought something had happened at home, but when he asked, he found out that Wang Shuxiu was unhappy, seemingly because of the move. Yan Yue¡¯s heart thudded. Although Wang Shuxiu¡¯s reason was quite good: after the baby was born, there would not be enough ce for the family; but Yan Yue vaguely felt that Wang Shuxiu might have found out something, otherwise she wouldn¡¯t be so upset because of this small matter. ¡°What else did your mom say?¡± Yan Yue asked. Lu Lingxi thought carefully and felt that Wang Shuxiu hadn¡¯t said anything either. He had been the one talking about things, and it was onlyter when he was leaving that Wang Shuxiu talked about the move. ¡°Nothing more, what I said before was all about the vige.¡± ¡°Big Brother Yan, why don¡¯t I just say I agree to move the next time Mom asks about it?¡± Lu Lingxi sent two text messages in a row, and Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened when he saw the content of the second one. If Wang Shuxiu insisted on moving, ording to Xiao Xi¡¯s nature, he would definitelypromise in the end. Yan Yue endured everything for so long in order to be with Lu Lingxi, not to get farther and farther away from him. Yan Yue lowered his eyes slightly and tapped on the table, looking somewhat thoughtful. It seemed that tomorrow he would have to find Xiao Feng to figure out what Wang Shuxiu really meant. If it was really what he thought, he might as well just confess. In any case, now that Wang Shuxiu had another child, she would pay less attention to Xiao Xi. He thought about this matter while talking to Lu Lingxi for a few more minutes before urging him to go to bed early. Lu Lingxi dutifully agreed, but tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He was used to having Yan Yue and Dahei by his side, so it was a bit ufortable to have no one there at the moment, and it took him until midnight to drift off to sleep. That night, the four people next to each other basically didn¡¯t sleep well. Early the next morning, Lu Lingxi was surprised to find that Wang Shuxiu had actually gotten up early. ¡°Why didn¡¯t Mom sleep more? Is there something wrong?¡± Lu Lingxi asked nervously, rushing over. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Wang Shuxiu shook her head. Lu Lingxi¡¯s expression was so concerned that even though Wang Shuxiu was annoyed, she couldn¡¯t be angry with him. Xiao Feng poked his head out of the kitchen, ¡°Xiao Xi, go and wash up, we¡¯ll be eating soon.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Lingxi obediently agreed. After eating breakfast, Lu Lingxi thought about going to find Yan Yue. Wang Shuxiu was unhappy when she heard Yan Yue¡¯s name, ring at Lu Lingxi and pping the table, ¡°Your dad is here, let your dad take you to the shop.¡± Lu Lingxi was startled, and Xiao Feng looked at Wang Shuxiu helplessly and smiled. Chapter 129 After Wang Shuxiu spoke, neither Lu Lingxi nor Xiao Feng wanted to vite her wishes. Lu Lingxi hesitatingly followed Xiao Feng out of the door, nced back at the next door, and quickly sent Yan Yue a text message. He was naive but not stupid. The atmosphere at home in the morning was a bit off, especially when he tried to go to Yan Yue after breakfast and Wang Shuxiu¡¯s tone immediately sounded unhappy. He vaguely sensed Wang Shuxiu¡¯s rejection of Yan Yue and couldn¡¯t say what he felt in his heart. The road from themunity to Tiny Garden was familiar to Lu Lingxi. He didn¡¯t say much when he got into the car, thinking about Wang Shuxiu¡¯s reaction. If he didn¡¯t speak, Xiao Feng didn¡¯t speak either, and there was silence in the car. In fact, Xiao Feng was driving and thinking about what to say to Lu Lingxi about Wang Shuxiu¡¯s attitude so that Lu Lingxi could be mentally prepared. Actually, Xiao Feng was one of the first people to know about Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue. Even before he fell in love with Xiaohua, Yan Yue had snared Lu Lingxi quietly. Xiao Feng saw that but didn¡¯t care about it untilter when he started courting Wang Shuxiu and Lu Lingxi was likely to be his son. Only then did he start to be concerned about the matter. Xiao Feng had been in society for many years and had seen so many different kinds of people and lifestyles and he didn¡¯t mind two men being together. He was open-minded and had always felt that life was like drinking water, it could be warm or cold, as long as you enjoyed it, the opinions of others were bullshit. Before, he insisted on being single regardless of Xiao Hong¡¯s attempts to persuade him andter he married Wang Shuxiu regardless of everyone¡¯s gazes, proving this point of view. Personally, Xiao Feng felt that who Lu Lingxi was with was his own business, not to mention that even he couldn¡¯t find anything wrong with Yan Yue¡¯s intentions towards Lu Lingxi. He could see that Lu Lingxi was also quite happy with Yan Yue. But even though he thought that, he also understood Wang Shuxiu¡¯s feelings. He knew that Wang Shuxiu and Lu Lingxi had been depending on each other for many years, and since Lu Yishui was unreliable, Xiaohua¡¯s whole heart was on Lu Lingxi. The only thing that a mother hopes for is that her son will have a good life and live in peace. The society now seemed to be open-minded, but the eptance of two men being together was not as high as it seemed. When Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue got together, they could expect to encounter a lot of problems. These were problems that Lu Lingxi wouldn¡¯t have to face if he changed his lifestyle, and from Xiaohua¡¯s point of view it was natural to choose an easier path for Lu Lingxi. With these thoughts spinning in his head, Xiao Feng was about to open his mouth, only for Lu Lingxi to ask first, ¡°Is Mom angry?¡± He was direct in his question, so Xiao Feng told the truth. ¡°Xiaohua is indeed a little upset.¡± Without waiting for Lu Lingxi to ask anything further, Xiao Feng spoke up with deliberation, ¡°Xiaohua thinks that Xiao Xi¡¯s rtionship with Yan Yue is a bit too close and she is a bit worried.¡± Xiao Feng didn¡¯t need to say what she was worried about; Lu Lingxi understood. His rtionship with Yan Yue was no secret to Xiao Feng. Lu Lingxi paused and asked, ¡°Does Mom disagree with me and Big Brother Yan being together?¡± Although Wang Shuxiu was still unsure of Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue¡¯s rtionship, the attitude she disyed was clearly one of disapproval. Xiao Feng didn¡¯t directly admit it, but politely exined Wang Shuxiu¡¯s feelings, ¡°Xiaohua is worried about you. Xiao Xi, you know that this society is not yet very epting of two men being together, and it is inevitable that some people will look at you with prejudice. Your mom is also worried that under such discrimination, you will be in stress. Besides, Xiaohua thinks you are still young and don¡¯t know what you really want. What if you regret itter when you are older?¡± Lu Lingxi listened to Xiao Feng¡¯s words and could understand his mother¡¯s worry, but he didn¡¯t understand what social discrimination had to do with him being in stress. ¡°Why will I be stressed? It¡¯s not like irrelevant people have anything to do with my life.¡± He said it matter-of-factly and Xiao Feng was taken aback and quicklyughed. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s my son!¡± s Originally, Lu Lingxi¡¯s life was very simple, and Tiny Garden, home, and nt nursery formed all of his life. His mind was clear and pure, and things from the outside world couldn¡¯t affect him at all. Xiao Feng was still a little worried about Lu Lingxi, but it seemed that he was overthinking. He patted Lu Lingxi with confidence and said, ¡°Xiao Xi, just make your own decision. Whether it¡¯s your mom or me, we are just giving you a suggestion. It¡¯s up to you to decide how to go in the future.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded vigorously at his words. Xiao Feng didn¡¯t leave immediately after dropping Lu Lingxi off at Tiny Garden but waited for Yan Yue to arrive. Yan Yue appeared not long after they arrived. As soon as he received Lu Lingxi¡¯s text message, Yan Yue guessed what was going on. It was obvious that Wang Shuxiu was beginning to suspect his rtionship with Lu Lingxi. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± Yan Yue looked for Lu Lingxi as soon as entered the door. Lu Lingxi was watering the nts in the shop and smiled at Yan Yue with his eyes curved when he looked up. Seeing that his expression looked okay, Yan Yue somewhat rxed. He nced at Xiao Feng standing aside and the two of them went out of Tiny Garden without a word and chatted at the entrance of Tiny Garden. Lu Lingxi looked at the two men¡¯s backs, thinking what Xiao Feng would say to Yan Yue; probably it was about the morning¡¯s events. In no time, the two seemed to have finished. Xiao Feng didn¡¯t stay much longer at Tiny Garden; Wang Shuxiu was still waiting for him at home. Lu Lingxi watched with bated breath as Yan Yue entered the shop, wanting to know exactly what Xiao Feng had said. Yan Yue smiled at his expression and raised his eyebrows slightly but didn¡¯t keep him in suspense. ¡°Brother Feng said that your mom already suspects our rtionship.¡± This wasn¡¯t really a secret anymore; Lu Lingxi felt that he knew before Yan Yue did. Although he didn¡¯t say anything, the expression on his face clearly said what he was thinking. The corners of Yan Yue¡¯s lips curled up and a smile poured out of his eyes as he continued, ¡°Brother Feng said he was on our side and would find a way to convince your mom.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°But¡­¡± Yan Yue¡¯s tone changed, ¡°Brother Feng wants us to refrain from seeing each other for the next two months first. Your mom is not well and he is worried about her getting irritated.¡± This was exactly what Yan Yue was concerned about. Wang Shuxiu was expecting a child, and while Yan Yue was pleased that the child could divert Wang Shuxiu¡¯s attention, he had to be concerned about Wang Shuxiu¡¯s health. He knew the status of Wang Shuxiu in Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart, so he weighed the pros and cons and had to agree to Xiao Feng¡¯s suggestion. But the good thing was that Xiao Feng meant that after the first three months, when Wang Shuxiu¡¯s health was stable, they would find the right opportunity to confess. ¡°Big Brother Yan¡­¡± Yan Yue knew what Lu Lingxi was going to ask and said in a soft voice, ¡°I agreed.¡± This was the answer Lu Lingxi had expected, and while he was relieved, he felt a little sorry for Yan Yue. If only his mother hadn¡¯t objected to him and Big Brother Yan being together, it would be so much better. s That evening, Wang Shuxiu once again brought up the matter of moving, and Lu Lingxi learned his lesson this time and hurriedly made a statement that he was willing to move. The whole evening Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t mention a word about Yan Yue, and after dinner he also went to his room obediently. Wang Shuxiu looked at Lu Lingxi¡¯s back suspiciously, not very happy in her heart. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Xiaohua again?¡± Xiao Feng noticed Wang Shuxiu¡¯s expression and asked. Wang Shuxiu hesitated for a few seconds and looked at Xiao Feng uneasily, ¡°Do you feel that Xiao Xi is a bit odd tonight?¡± Xiao Feng was stunned, ¡°Where is he odd?¡± Wang Shuxiu frowned, ¡°Xiao Xi usually mentions Yan Yue a hundred times a night, but tonight he didn¡¯t mention him even once, what isn¡¯t odd about it?¡± Xiao Feng was astonished, ¡°Don¡¯t you dislike Xiao Xi mentioning Yan Yue? Why are you still thinking about it when he doesn¡¯t mention him anymore?¡± Wang Shuxiu red at him, ¡°I don¡¯t like it, but don¡¯t you think it¡¯s strange that Xiao Xi is like this? Could it be that he and Yan Yue had a fight, or¡­¡± She wanted to say that maybe Lu Lingxi had seen her point and deliberately distanced himself from Yan Yue. This was what she had hoped for, but when she thought that Lu Lingxi had really done it, she guessed she wasn¡¯t happy either and began to worry about Lu Lingxi again. Xiao Feng looked at her helplessly and felt that a woman¡¯s heart was a needle in the sea (difficult to understand), and that Xiaohua¡¯s nature had be more and more inscrutable since she became pregnant. He shook his head and said nothing. Although Wang Shuxiu wanted to move, she was used to living in themunity and couldn¡¯t move to Xiao Feng¡¯s ce right away. Besides, Xiao Hong and Zhou Xiaoman were living there, so they needed to pack to move to this side. The move was dyed for a few days. In the next few days, Lu Lingxi went to work alone and went home after work, either to stay with Wang Shuxiu or to read a book in his room, without mentioning Yan Yue¡¯s name at home. Wang Shuxiu saw it and guessed that Lu Lingxi was doing it on purpose. Although she didn¡¯t know if Xiao Feng had ¡°tipped him off¡± or if the little bastard himself had seen what she meant, no matter what, as long as Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue were separated, it was good. Wang Shuxiu was slightly relieved, but Yan Yue was having a hard time these days. He knew that Wang Shuxiu was keeping an eye on Lu Lingxi, and as he was busy with An Jie, he didn¡¯t go to Tiny Garden during the day. There were times in the past when he was too busy to go to the shop but Lu Lingxi would always be by his side at night. Nowadays, although they are only separated by a wall, they could only contact each other by text messages. The asional evening phone call or video call had to be made in secret, for fear of being discovered by Wang Shuxiu. Yan Yue realised that he hadn¡¯t actually seen Lu Lingxi for two days and couldn¡¯t resist the urge to see him. ¡°Xiao Xi, are you there?¡± Yan Yue sent a text message. Lu Lingxi was watching TV with Wang Shuxiu when his phone rang and he suddenly tensed up. He pretended to reply to a text message as if nothing was wrong and quickly put the phone away. ¡°Who is it?¡± Wang Shuxiu asked casually. Lu Lingxi faintly froze and said extremely quickly, ¡°It¡¯s Officer Fang, talking about Dahei.¡± It had been almost a week since Dahei had followed Fang Lei. Not to mention Lu Lingxi, even Wang Shuxiu missed him a little. When Dahei was at home, she didn¡¯t pay much attention to him, but when Dahei wasn¡¯t there, Wang Shuxiu always felt that something was missing. ¡°Is Dahei obedient over there?¡± Speaking of Dahei, Lu Lingxi immediately got energised. He nodded vigorously and spoke excitedly, ¡°Dahei is very good. Officer Fang has a lot of stray dogs over there, and they all listen to Dahei.¡± He looked like a different person from the listless boy who was watching TV with Wang Shuxiu just now. Wang Shuxiu red at him and waved her hand, ¡°Come on, go to your room and stay there. This TV series is probably not interesting for you to watch.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled ingratiatingly as he hugged Wang Shuxiu¡¯s arm, knowing that Wang Shuxiu could see his boredom. But he couldn¡¯t be med for this, the plot of a TV drama like ¡®Chinese Style Mother-inw¡¯ was really boring. He remembered that Wang Shuxiu used to dislike watching it too, and had even told him that the plot was illogical. But since she got pregnant, Wang Shuxiu had changed her previous preferences and actually watched it with relish and liked to grab people and tell them about the plot. Xiao Feng would hide just in time, and it was Lu Lingxi who was caught every time. With these words from Wang Shuxiu, Lu Lingxi ran back to his room in a sh. While Wang Shuxiu was watching TV, he made a quick phone call to Yan Yue. The two of them had not seen each other for two days. Although there had been asions before when Yan Yue wasn¡¯t around, this was the first time that they had not seen each other for two days while being just separated by a wall like this. Not only did Yan Yue miss Lu Lingxi, but Lu Lingxi also missed Yan Yue. After the two of them talked on the phone for a while, Yan Yue thought about waiting until Wang Shuxiu was asleep to see Lu Lingxi. ¡°En.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded and agreed, thinking that there should be no problem if they waited for his mother to fall asleep. After making an appointment to meet, the two hung up the phone and Lu Lingxi took a book and read it, but couldn¡¯t focus. He nced at the time every few minutes, hoping that it would be nine o¡¯clock quickly, the time when Wang Shuxiu would go to bed. At five minutes to nine, Wang Shuxiu came over and knocked on the door. ¡°Xiao Xi, I¡¯m going to bed, you go to bed early too.¡± Lu Lingxi pulled the door open and tried to behave as usual, ¡°Good night, Mom.¡± As he spoke, his heart thudded, practically threatening to jump out of his chest. He was a little afraid that Wang Shuxiu would notice something and couldn¡¯t help but get nervous. Luckily, Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t notice his abnormality and only instructed him to go to sleep and left. Lu Lingxi breathed a silent sigh of relief and closed the door to wait for Wang Shuxiu to fall asleep. ¡°Is your mom asleep?¡± ¡°Probably asleep.¡± Lu Lingxi wasn¡¯t sure, ¡°Shall we wait a little longer?¡± ¡°Okay, is Xiao Xi sleepy?¡± ¡°No.¡± Although it was already his usual bedtime, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t feel sleepy at all, but rather unusually excited. Apart from desperately wanting to see Yan Yue, Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart was filled with pleasure and anticipation, as well as the fear of being discovered by his mother, which mixed together to form an unspeakable excitement. It wasn¡¯t until ten o¡¯clock that Lu Lingxi gingerly left the house. He had just pulled open the balcony door when he saw Yan Yue waiting for him in the backyard. The early spring night was still a few degrees below zero, and Yan Yue was holding a heavy down jacket, quickly wrapping it around Lu Lingxi in his arms. ¡°Xiao Xi, I miss you so much.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and seriously said he missed Yan Yue too. The 15th day of the first lunar month was approaching, with a full moon hanging in the sky, the moonlight spilling down like water. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyshes fluttered, as if the moonlight was dancing on them. As if underpulsion, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help but lower his head and gently kissed Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes. Lu Lingxi blinked his eyes and wanted to say something, when on the balcony, Wang Shuxiu pulled the door open calmly. Chapter 130 Yan Yue had envisioned many scenarios in which he and Lu Lingxi would confess to Wang Shuxiu, but they had never included being caught by Wang Shuxiu on a secret date in the middle of the night. It was after ten o¡¯clock and themunity was quiet. Most of the neighbours were asleep, with only the asional light on. Yan Yue knew that Wang Shuxiu had a temper and was afraid that she would make a scene regardless. He didn¡¯t mind, but he was concerned about Lu Lingxi¡¯s situation. Before Wang Shuxiu could get mad, Yan Yue gave Lu Lingxi a gentle push and said in a low voice, ¡°Let¡¯s go back and talk.¡± Lu Lingxi looked at Wang Shuxiu somewhat guitily and walked to Wang Shuxiu¡¯s side with his head lowered and obedient eyes. Fortunately, Wang Shuxiu never thought about making trouble outside. She red at Yan Yue fiercely over Lu Lingxi, turned around and went back inside first. In the living room, Xiao Feng felt a bit helpless. He was counting on Yan Yue to endure for a few months but who could have thought he wouldn¡¯t be able to endure even for a week. The two of them were caught on a date, not because Wang Shuxiu was watching Lu Lingxi, but because of the mother-son connection. Usually Wang Shuxiu was sleepy after nine o¡¯clock and went to bed early, but tonight she was lying in bed tossing and turning and couldn¡¯t sleep. When Xiao Feng asked her what was wrong, Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t tell him, but she had a heavy feeling in her heart as if something was going to happen. Thest time she had this feeling was when Lu Lingxi had an ident in the park. She had been tired after the night shift but she couldn¡¯t sleep with something on her mind always bothering her. Then she got a call from Yi Hang that Lu Lingxi was taken to the hospital and they didn¡¯t know what his situation was. After Wang Shuxiu finished speaking, Xiao Feng didn¡¯t take it seriously. They were all fine at home, what could happen? It was hard to coax Wang Shuxiu to sleep but then they heard Lingxi sneak out the door. Xiao Feng immediately realised something, and his mood at that time was really indescribable. Without waiting for him to think of an excuse for Lu Lingxi, Wang Shuxiu reacted extremely quickly and followed out. As a result¡­ Lu Lingxi obediently followed Wang Shuxiu with a guilty look. Yan Yue nced apologetically at Xiao Feng and followed in with a straight face. He had no intention to keep hiding it. Xiao Feng met Yan Yue¡¯s eyes and quickly understood Yan Yue¡¯s intentions. Although the timing was a bit off, it was already like this, so there was nothing anyone could do. ¡°Mom¡­¡± Helping Wang Shuxiu to sit on the sofa, Lu Lingxi called out in a small voice. His voice was soft and coquettish with a hint of ingratiation, and it broke the awkward silence in the room. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heart softened when she remembered how good he usually was, but when she turned her head and saw Yan Yue, her face immediately sank again and she ruthlessly refused to pay attention to Lu LIngxi. Yan Yue, whose heart ached for Lu Lingxi, met Wang Shuxiu¡¯s angry eyes with an open expression and said, ¡°Auntie, I love Xiao Xi, and I hope you will agree to me and Xiao Xi being together.¡± He said it so frankly that even Xiao Feng was taken aback, not expecting Yan Yue to be so direct right from the start. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s face immediately turned red,pletely furious. Without even thinking about it, she blurted out, ¡°I don¡¯t agree.¡± If she didn¡¯t have a baby in her belly now, she would have gotten up and beat up Yan Yue. What do you mean you love Xiao Xi and want her to agree to the two of them being together? Can two men live together? Can they get married? Can they have children? If they can¡¯t have anything, why should she agree to Xiao Xi being with him? Now Yan Yue seemed to be fine with Xiao Xi, but what about the future? There was no guarantee at all that they would live together, not for a day or two, but for the rest of their lives. Even if they stayed together, what would the neighbours think? What would people outside think? Can she let the little bastard live his whole life with people pointing fingers at him? The little bastard is only neen this year, what does he understand? Her concerns were all normal parental worries, exactly the same as what Xiao Feng had said to Lu Lingxi the other day. When Yan Yue was about to say something, Lu Lingxi already said seriously, ¡°Mom, I like Big Brother Yan and want to be with him. We are the same as everyone else, the same job, the same life. Except that we can¡¯t get married or have children, there is no difference. I know Mom is worried that there will be people pointing fingers at us behind our backs, but they have nothing to do with me, so why should I care what they think? I¡¯m an adult and know what I want, I trust Big Brother Yan and want to try and live my life with him.¡± Since he had been discharged from hospital six months ago, Lu Lingxi had changed his rebellious nature and was all obedient in front of Wang Shuxiu. The only thing he had done against Wang Shuxiu¡¯s will was to refuse to go to school and insist on going out to work. But even in this case, Lu Lingxi¡¯s intention was to ease the family¡¯s burden, not that he really didn¡¯t want to go to school. Wang Shuxiu had already gotten used to Lu Lingxi¡¯s well-behaved and sensible manner, and when she heard Lu Lingxi¡¯s words, her first thought was that the disobedient little bastard was back. But when she turned her head to look at Lu Lingxi, the little bastard¡¯s eyes were clear and his little face had an unusually serious expression,pletely different from the rebellious and disobedient kid she remembered. s Wang Shuxiu was a little speechless for a moment. It wasn¡¯t only Wang Shuxiu who was stunned by Lu Lingxi¡¯s words, but also Yan Yue. He looked at Lu Lingxi tenderly and said solemnly, ¡°I will treat Xiao Xi well for the rest of my life.¡± Even though Yan Yue had many exnations for Wang Shuxiu¡¯s concerns, after a thousand words had gone round and round in his mind, all he could say was this simple sentence. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s expression becameplicated. She had been in society for most of her life, and she could distinguish between true feelings and falsehoods. The effect of Yan Yue¡¯s words was much stronger than some of the nonsense he could have said. She didn¡¯t know what she felt in her heart. The little bastard was standing next to her, saying he wanted to be with a man, with a serious expression she had never seen before. She couldn¡¯t bear to scold the little bastard and wanted to scold Yan Yue some more, but her anger was inexplicably suppressed. Xiao Feng peeped at Wang Shuxiu¡¯s expression and immediately said, ¡°It¡¯s toote, let¡¯s talk about it tomorrow. Xiaohua, you are pregnant now, so you should take care of your body.¡± As soon as he said that, Yan Yue immediately said smoothly, ¡°Xiao Xi has to go to the shop tomorrow, so it¡¯s time to go to bed too.¡± It seemed that because of the confession, Yan Yue didn¡¯t hide his feelings for Lu Lingxi anymore and cared about Lu Lingxi openly. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s anger suddenly surged again. She couldn¡¯t find anything suitable to say, so she red at Yan Yue fiercely and went back to her room angrily. Xiao Feng nodded at Yan Yue with an odd expression, knowing that Yan Yue had done it on purpose and that he had caught Wang Shuxiu¡¯s soft spot. The reason why Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t agree to the two of them being together was because she was worried that Lu Lingxi would have a bad life. When Yan Yue was concerned about Lu Lingxi in front of Wang Shuxiu, there was nothing she could do about him. Once Wang Shuxiu left, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t stay any longer. He smiled soothingly at Lu Lingxi and said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t think about anything, just sleep well.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded hesitantly. The matter looked like it had passed for the time being, and Yan Yue quickly went back next door. Hearing the sound of the door closing outside, Wang Shuxiu let out a sigh. To her, what had just happened was like a second shoe being dropped. The suspicions in her mind were confirmed. Shey in bed unable to sleep, unable to really understand how the little bastard could fall for a man. s ¡°How do you think Xiao Xi fell in love with Yan Yue?¡± Wang Shuxiu pulled Xiao Feng to talk. Xiao Feng had actually thought about this; there were Yan Yue¡¯s calctions on one hand and Lu Lingxi¡¯s character on the other. He thought for a while and said carefully, ¡°It might have something to do with Xiao Xi¡¯s upbringing.¡± In Xiao Feng¡¯s view, Lu Lingxi¡¯s upbringing wasn¡¯t that of a normal child. Xiao Feng had been in society for many years, and the younger brothers under him were basically from families like Lu Lingxi¡¯s. One, there was a father who was addicted to gambling. Second, there was a mother who was busy working to earn money to support the family. Lu Lingxi had been alone since he was young. All Lu Yishui cared about was whether his family had money for him to gamble and didn¡¯t care about Lu Lingxi. Although Wang Shuxiu loved Lu Lingxi, she simply didn¡¯t have enough time or energy to take care of him and could only make sure that Lu Lingxi was well fed and clothed, nothing else. When Lu Lingxi was growing up, the image of his parents was missing. When heter lost his memory, Yan Yue filled the void, appearing in front of him as a calm and reliable figure. At first Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t necessarily like Yan Yue, but simply relied on him and trusted him. But as time went on, Yan Yue was always by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side, like a friend and a family member, and it was all too easy for Lu Lingxi to fall for him under Yan Yue¡¯s conscious enticement. Xiao Feng didn¡¯t know that his guess happened to be true. Although the two Lu Lingxi grew up in different environments, their essence was the same. What he said was vague, but Wang Shuxiu understood it. It was still an evil caused by Lu Yishui. If it weren¡¯t for Lu Yishui being unreliable, how could she leave the child at home alone and go out to work during the day and night to make money?¡­ Xiao Feng persuaded Wang Shuxiu: ¡°Children and grandchildren have their own fate. You think it¡¯s good, but Xiao Xi can¡¯t help it if he doesn¡¯t like it. Xiaohua, why have you worked hard for half your life? Isn¡¯t it just for Xiao Xi to have a good life? He is very happy to be with Yan Yue now. If you have to force them to part, Xiao Xi will be upset. Do you want that? Besides, Xiao Xi is right, what is the difference between them and us? Except that they can¡¯t have children, everything else is the same. You see, my elder brother and sister-inw have no children, but they are still doing well! Xiao Xi is obedient now, Xiaohua, you can¡¯t rely on Xiao Xi to be obedient and force him to do things he doesn¡¯t like, right?¡± Xiao Feng¡¯s words of wisdom made sense to Wang Shuxiu at first, but the more she thought about it, the more wrong it felt. She looked at Xiao Feng suspiciously, ¡°Did Yan Yue give you some benefits?¡± Xiao Feng said calmly, ¡°How is it possible?¡± Wang Shuxiu snorted and calmed down. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it again.¡± Xiao Feng let out a sigh of relief. The fact that Xiaohua could say this meant that she had alreadypromised in her heart, she just couldn¡¯t turn around at once and needed time to slow down. The next morning, Lu Lingxi woke up early and stood guard in the living room. Seeing Wang Shuxiue out, he immediately pestered her, ¡°Mom.¡± He hugged Wang Shuxiu¡¯s arm affectionately, his eyes shining brightly, with a hint of cautious ingratiation. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s heart suddenly softened. Although the little bastard was very close to her after his memory loss, it seemed that he wasn¡¯t very good at expressing his feelings and was rarely as close as other sons were to their mothers. And it was even rarer to see him pestering her like this. She red at Lu Lingxi bitterly, reached out and poked a finger on his forehead, cursing, ¡°Little bastard.¡± Lu Lingxi knew Wang Shuxiu¡¯s temperament. She would be fine once she had scolded someone like that, so he immediately curved his eyes and whispered, ¡°I love you, Mom.¡± ¡°Little bastard! Just saying nice things.¡± Chapter 131 Although Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t bear to be angry with Lu Lingxi, it didn¡¯t mean that she would immediately agree to the two of them being together. Even though what Xiao Feng said made sense, she still had some concerns in her heart, afraid that Lu Lingxi would regret it in the future. She basically didn¡¯t sleep much this night, thinking about what to do with Yan Yue over and over again. Should she acquiesce to Yan Yue¡¯s contact with the little bastard, or temporarily iste the two of them? At breakfast, Wang Shuxiu was a little distracted by the events ofst night. Xiao Feng had been driving Lu Lingxi to the shop for the past few days, and she hadn¡¯t decided whether to do so today when she heard a knock on the door. ¡°Who¡¯sing so early?¡± Wang Shuxiu said casually. Lu Lingxi was the closest to the door, so he ran to open it in a sh. ¡°Big Brother Yan.¡± He didn¡¯t expect to see Yan Yue at the door and called out in surprise, subconsciously turning his head to see Wang Shuxiu¡¯s reaction. Outside the door, Yan Yue was standing with a gentle expression, wearing a well-cut ck coat that made him look very upright. He seemed to have guessed that it would be Lu Lingxi who woulde to open the door, so he smiled at Lu Lingxi, saying softly, ¡°Has Xiao Xi eaten yet?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded nkly, then quickly remembered something and asked nervously, ¡°What are you doing here, Big Brother Yan?¡± Thetter half of the sentence sounded lower and lower as he was afraid that Wang Shuxiu would hear him. Yan Yue chuckled lightly. With a calm expression he nodded politely to Wang Shuxiu past Lu Lingxi and said, ¡°I¡¯m here to pick up Xiao Xi to go to the shop.¡± He spoke in a natural tone, as if nothing had happenedst night. When he finished, not only did Lu Lingxi look astonished, but also Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng were speechless. Yan Yue took Wang Shuxiu¡¯s silence as agreement, and in front of the two parents, he intimately reached out and rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair, saying gently, ¡°Go and put on your coat, I¡¯ll wait for you at the door.¡± Lu Lingxi looked at Yan Yue and then turned his head to look at Wang Shuxiu, put on his coat in a daze and said to Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng, ¡°Dad, Mom, I¡¯m going to the shop.¡± Yan Yue thus took Lu Lingxi away in front of his parents. It wasn¡¯t until Lu Lingxi was out of the door that Wang Shuxiu came back to her senses. She couldn¡¯t believe what had happened just now. How on earth did Yan Yue manage to stand in front of them as if nothing had happened and pick up Lu Lingxi with a straight face! ¡°Yan Yue, he¡­¡± Xiao Fengughed in his heart but didn¡¯t dare to show it on his face. He coaxed Wang Shuxiu instead. ¡°Yan Yue will take Xiao Xi to the shop just in time. Xiaohua, aren¡¯t you thinking of moving? We¡¯ll go over thereter and take a look.¡± Speaking of moving, Wang Shuxiu only then remembered that there was such a thing. She was thinking of moving before mainly to separate Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue. As for the future space for the child in her belly, it was still early for him to be born, so there was not much of a hurry. But¡­ Wang Shuxiu was a little hesitant. She still remembered what Xiao Feng saidst night, Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue were happy together, what was the point in forcing them to separate? Did she still want to move then? As she hesitated so much, Xiao Feng could see her meaning and shook his head helplessly. No matter how hard-mouthed Xiaohua was, in her heart she still put Lu Lingxi¡¯s wishes first. Yan Yue was the winner here. Xiao Feng had to admit that Yan Yue was not bad for their kind of family; he truly personified what was called ¡°thick-skinned and ck-hearted¡±. ¡°Moving is not a matter of a day or two. Big Brother has bought a lot of things these days, it¡¯ll take a while to pack them all. Let¡¯s take a look first.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s take a look first.¡± s Wang Shuxiu was led by Xiao Feng to change the subject, and thenpromised on the matter of moving once again. Of course, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know that his mother had started to hesitate about moving. He was sitting beside Yan Yue, smiling, telling him about what had happened in the shop in the past two days. There were some things he had already told Yan Yue on the phone, but there were some little things he hadn¡¯t had time to talk about yet, and the ten-minute drive was just enough for him to talk about them all over again. At thest traffic light in front of Tiny Garden, Yan Yue stopped the car and waited for the green light. Lu Lingxi was talking to Yan Yue about the interesting story of Dahei over at Fang Lei¡¯s ce when Yan Yue suddenly reached out and took hold of Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand, interlocking their fingers tightly. ¡°Big Brother Yan¡­¡± Yan Yue looked sideways at Lu Lingxi and smiled slightly. He was already handsome. At this time, the winter sun had just risen, and the golden sunlight through the car window gilded Yan Yue¡¯s smile with a lightyer of soft light. He looked at Lu Lingxi with a very focused gaze, his eyes were dark, as if they were rivers of stars in the sky, full of a desperate tenderness. Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart thudded; Yan Yue ignored the traffic on both sides and quickly leaned over to give Lu Lingxi a kiss on the lips, smiling, ¡°I wanted to kiss you when you opened the door this morning, and I¡¯ve been holding back until now.¡± He said it so bluntly that the tips of Lu Lingxi¡¯s ears turned red at once. Yan Yue was in a very good mood, not only because Lu Lingxi was by his side, but also because of Wang Shuxiu¡¯s attitude in the morning. He was certainly not so naive to think that Wang Shuxiu would agree to Lu Lingxi being with him in one night, but he could see that the other party¡¯s attitude had softened and it was now more of a stalemate. Yan Yue knew that aside from all kinds of tricks, the only way he could impress Wang Shuxiu was to be good to Xiao Xi. As a mother, this was what Wang Shuxiu wanted to see most. When the green light came on, Yan Yue let go of Lu Lingxi and turned a corner to the street of Tiny Garden. Yan Yue still had something to do and had to leave after dropping Lu Lingxi off at the shop. Before he left, Yan Yue stopped Lu Lingxi and kissed him for a long time before leaving him reluctantly. ¡°I¡¯ll pick you up tonight and take you home.¡± Yan Yue instructed in a soft voice. Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. After sending Yan Yue away, Lu Lingxi quickly got busy. Tiny Garden had been closed for a few days during the New Year, and many of its regr customers hade over after the New Year. Although Tiny Garden¡¯s main focus was on the sale of evolved nts such as chlorophytum and begonias, and the retail sales in the Tiny Garden shop didn¡¯t make much money at all, Lu Lingxi still enjoyed being in the shop and receiving all kinds of different customers every day. Not long after Yan Yue left, Elder Zhang arrived at Tiny Garden with his precious orchid in his arms. Elder Zhang was going toe for a long time but either Lu Lingxi or he had something to do, so after much procrastination, both of them finally had time today. As soon as Elder Zhang entered the shop, he called out to Lu Lingxi with a smile on his face, ¡°Xiao Xi,e and see my flower.¡± s Lu Lingxi put down the watering can in his hand and quickly greeted him. Elder Zhang cherished his orchid very much and used the best y pot to raise it. At first, he wanted to use a purple y pot, the most expensive pot avable, but Lu Lingxi stopped him from doing so. Although purple y pots were beautiful and elegant in appearance, they were not particrly good in terms of permeability and water pration. Among all themon flower pots such as y pots, porcin pots andcquer pots, the best pots for water pration and air permeability were y pots. Not only the pot, but also the soil and fertiliser used for the orchid were the best in Tiny Garden. Elder Zhang devoted countless hours of his time and effort to taking care of the orchid, and in Elder Zhao¡¯s words, he probably cared about it much more than he cared about himself. Elder Zhang¡¯s efforts were rewarded. The spring orchid in front of him looked proud and strong, with long and vigorous leaves, shiny and lustrous, very verdant. Lu Lingxi habitually scanned the nt, and the information on the spring orchid appeared in his mind. nt name: Wild spring orchid nt needs: none nt vitality: very high nt Status: primary peak nt evolution condition triggered, please select the direction of nt evolution. Lu Lingxi was a little surprised. When he sold this spring orchid to Elder Zhang half a year ago, the spring orchid had just been saved by him, and its newborn root system was still very weak, so if it wasn¡¯t raised properly it could die. He didn¡¯t expect that after Elder Zhang¡¯s careful care, this spring orchid would reach the evolutionary requirements in just half a year¡¯s time. Lu Lingxi scanned through the evolutionary directions given by the panel. Generally speaking, the evolutionary directions for ornamental flowers were mostly of two kinds: one was more beautiful flowers and the other was more fragrant flowers. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t take the liberty of deciding, but pretended to ask Elder Zhang casually, ¡°Grandpa Zhang, do you prefer orchids that look good or flowers that smell pleasant?¡± Elder Zhang didn¡¯t understand what he meant and said smilingly, ¡°I like both.¡± Lu Lingxi carefully pinched the soil inside the flower pot that was slightly dry, watered it a little and asked, ¡°Which do you like better?¡± Elder Zhang was a bit baffled with this question. He pondered over the beauty of the orchid, which was so pure and graceful, and the fragrance of the orchid, which was so distant and elegant. It was hard to choose. But since Xiao Xi had asked, Elder Zhang gave his answer after a long time ofparison. ¡°It¡¯s better to have beautiful flowers. Your Grandpa Zhao¡¯s nose is not good, he can¡¯t feel the fragrance of flowers that much, but he can still see well when looking at flowers.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t expect Elder Zhang¡¯s reason to be this. He lowered his head in amusement and chose the evolutionary direction of more beautiful flowers while Elder Zhang wasn¡¯t paying attention. After finishing this, Lu Lingxi put away the panel and asked in passing why Grandpa Zhao hadn¡¯te. ¡°Isn¡¯t it because of that donglingcao experiment you guys made, Xiao Xi, it totally hooked your Grandpa Zhao¡¯s soul. These days he doesn¡¯t even go to the flower market anymore, he goes to theb to watch the experiments when he has time.¡± Elder Zhang was half happy for Elder Zhao and halfining that he had left him alone and bored. Lu Lingxi heard what Elder Zhang meant and smiled vivaciously. ¡°Grandpa Zhang cane to Tiny Garden if he¡¯s bored, there are a few camellias blooming in the nt nursery, they are rare double-petal mutated species. I¡¯ll bring one for you next time.¡± Elder Zhang¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard about the mutated species, and he said repeatedly, ¡°Good, good.¡± The old man and the young man got so excited about their conversation that Elder Zhang almost forgot the purpose of his visit. ¡°Xiao Xi, do you have time in May?¡± Lu Lingxi was taken aback, and Elder Zhang smiled and said, ¡°There is an orchid exhibition at the beginning of May at the Kunnan Botanical Garden that brings together famous orchids from all over the world. Your Grandpa Zhao and I have already agreed to go together. If Xiao Xi can go, he cane too. Your Grandpa Zhao has rtives there, and food and amodation are all included.¡± Elder Zhang said that and curved his eyes at Lu Lingxi in a childish manner, ¡°This kind of opportunity to take advantage of your Grandpa Zhao is rare, Xiao Xi muste, don¡¯t save money for your Grandpa Zhao.¡± The old man¡¯s words were funny, and Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help butugh. In his heart he was thinking that Wang Chaoliang was also at the Kunnan Botanical Garden, so perhaps he should really go and have a look sometime. Both the part of the botanical garden that wasn¡¯t open to the public and the orchid exhibition were very rare opportunities, and both happened to be in the same ce, so it would be a pity if he couldn¡¯t use them. Chapter 132 Jinting Hotel Apartment was An Jie¡¯s residence in Fengcheng where he had been living for a little over half a year. Considering the possibility of Yan Yue settling in Fengcheng, An Jie already had a n to buy an apartment in Fengcheng. Early this morning, An Jie received news from Ye Kang that Lu Wei¡¯an and Yin Ya had been meeting frequently these days, and that their engagement would soon be finalised. However, what An Jie didn¡¯t expect was that the one who opposed the matter the most was Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s mother, Li Caiying. Some said that Li Caiying had a big fight with Yin Qinn, using her of deliberately allowing Yin Ya to seduce Lu Wei¡¯an. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± An Jie was a bit confused, ¡°Aren¡¯t they on good terms?¡± ¡°Their rtionship is good, but it depends on the situation.¡± Ye Kang had been following the affairs of the Lu family recently and had analysed everyone in the family from a psychologist¡¯s perspective. He exined, ¡°Li Caiying treats Lu Wei¡¯an like a treasure, and her whole heart is set on Lu Wei¡¯an. In the eyes of outsiders, Lu Wei¡¯an is not healthy and has nothing to offer but the name of the Lu family. But in Li Caiying¡¯s heart Lu Wei¡¯an is perfect, so how can she look at an illegitimate daughter-inw?¡± ¡°What about Lu Wei¡¯an? I heard that he and Li Caiying are very close, so he wouldn¡¯t disobey Li Caiying¡¯s wishes, right?¡± An Jie, followingmon sense, immediately thought about what Yan Yue should do behind the scenes to give Yin Ya a push if she couldn¡¯t pass Li Caiying¡¯s level. Without waiting for An Jie to think more, Ye Kang was already gossiping. ¡°That¡¯s the interesting part. Lu Wei¡¯an is so insistent on marrying Yin Ya that he¡¯s even shed with Li Caiying.¡± ¡°Really?¡± An Jie didn¡¯t quite believe Ye Kang¡¯s words. Yan Yue had previously found someone to investigate the Lu family, mainly focusing on Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s family of three. An Jie, as Yan Yue¡¯s assistant, had also read the investigation materials. The information showed that Lu Wei¡¯an had a good rtionship with his parents, and was especially filial to Li Caiying. He didn¡¯t think that Lu Wei¡¯an and Yin Ya¡¯s rtionship would be so good that Lu Wei¡¯an would disobey Li Caiying¡¯s wishes. Ye Kang didn¡¯t answer his question, but only said in a mocking tone, ¡°If Lu Wei¡¯an wants to get rid of his status as an invisible member of the Lu family, marrying Yin Ya is the fastest way to do so.¡± An Jie frowned slightly; in his heart, he already believed Ye Kang¡¯s words for 70 or 80%. s Different people had different views on what kind of person Lu Wei¡¯an was. Some felt that he was pitiful, some felt that he was innocent, some felt that he was cold-blooded. Ye Kang¡¯s assessment was that Lu Wei¡¯an was selfish. No matter how gentle and helpless Lu Wei¡¯an pretended to be on the outside, at heart he was an extremely selfish man. While Ye Kang and An Jie were talking about Lu Wei¡¯an, Lu Wei¡¯an had just hung up the phone after a conversation with Yin Ya. Just like Ye Kang said, the rtionship between Lu Wei¡¯an and Yin Ya had been heating up rapidly during this period. Yin Ya wanted to be the daughter-inw of the Lu family, and Lu Wei¡¯an wanted to get involved in the Hopewell business through Yin Ya. The two had their own ns and hit it off immediately, like true mandarin ducks. On the phone, Yin Ya¡¯s tone was a little excited. After a few days of grinding from her mother, her grandfather had finally relented and agreed to see Lu Wei¡¯an. Fearing that if they waited, something might go wrong, Yin Ya hastily arranged a time of meeting with Lu Wei¡¯an. Lu Wei¡¯an took note of what Yin Ya said about Yin Yongde¡¯s preferences and thought about what he should say to impress the old man when he met him. While Lu Wei¡¯an was calcting in his mind, Lu Guangjing knocked on his door. ¡°Wei¡¯an.¡± Lu Wei¡¯an hid the calctions in his eyes and calmly looked at his father. More than twenty years ago, Lu Guangjing was the most famous yboy in Zhongjing, handsome, funny and very pleasing to women; otherwise Li Caiying wouldn¡¯t have fallen for him. But Lu Guangjing standing in front of Lu Wei¡¯an was in a decrepit state; his body seemed to be shrouded in a shadow of death and he looked even older than Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s grandfather. Lu Wei¡¯an remembered that his father had not looked like this a year ago. Because of Lu Lingxi¡¯s death, Lu Guangjing¡¯s whole body had copsed. Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s expression was full of concern, but his heart was filled with iparable mockery. Lu Lingxi was already dead, but his father had to look like this. What was he trying to prove? His regret? Guilt? Self-me? Or was he trying to demonstrate how cold-blooded Lu Wei¡¯an was in contrast in front of outsiders? s Lu Wei¡¯an heard his own voice, ¡°Father doesn¡¯t look good, has he not rested well? If my little brother could see it from the other world, he would surely not want to watch Father ruin his body like this.¡± When he mentioned Lu Lingxi, Lu Guangjing sighed and waved his hand at him, ¡°I know my own body. Wei¡¯an, are you preparing to go out?¡± Lu Wei¡¯an nodded. ¡°With that little girl from the Yin family?¡± Lu Wei¡¯an smiled faintly and said sincerely, ¡°Father, I like Xiao Ya very much, I hope you and Mother will agree to me and Xiao Ya being together.¡± Lu Guangjing looked at Lu Wei¡¯an silently and said in a low voice after a long time, ¡°Wei¡¯an, tell me the truth, do you really like Yin Ya or did your grandfather say something to you?¡± ¡°Why would Father say that?¡± Lu Wei¡¯an said in surprise. Lu Guangjing didn¡¯t care about his reaction and said to himself, ¡°Your grandfather has three sons and your father is the leastpetitive one. When I was young, I didn¡¯t want to fight for anything, as the Lu family would give me enough money to spend anyway. Later, when you were in poor health, I had little interest in the family business. Your grandfather took back the shares given to me and built a separate fund for our family. This fund will guarantee all your medical expenses, as well as ensure that you and Xiao Xi will be worry-free for the rest of your lives, but ordingly our family will give up any involvement in the family business.¡± He sighed again as he said this, ¡°You have been smart since you were a child and your grandfather used to like you the most. If you hadn¡¯t been in poor health, I believe, Wei¡¯an, you would have be the pride of the Lu family. You are my son, and I know exactly what you think in your heart. I know you don¡¯t want to stay at home and want to show your grandfather that you have done something. I hope that you want to marry Yin Ya because you like her, not because it will bring you any benefits.¡± Lu Guangjing spoke earnestly, thinking that these words would impress Lu Wei¡¯an. When the news of the marriage between the Yin and Lu families spread earlier, he guessed what Elder Lu intended to do. Who would have thought that Yan Yue wouldn¡¯t go along with their arrangement; instead it was Yin Ya who jumped out. Lu Guangjing really didn¡¯t want Lu Wei¡¯an to get involved in the Yan family¡¯s struggle for power and profit and tried to dissuade Lu Wei¡¯an. Lu Wei¡¯an smiled covertly, ¡°I know Father¡¯s worry. Grandpa didn¡¯t say anything to me, it¡¯s me who likes Xiao Ya and wants to marry her.¡± Lu Guangjing looked at Lu Wei¡¯an with great disappointment. Bitterness flooded his heart as he tried to make thest effort, ¡°Your mother doesn¡¯t like Yin Ya.¡± Lu Wei¡¯an was silent for a few seconds and said in a cold tone, ¡°Apart from Yin Ya, who else does Mother think will marry me?¡± ¡°Wei¡¯an.¡± Lu Guangjing raised his voice. A hint of mockery shed in Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s eyes, and father and son fell silent, no one speaking again. In the living room, Li Caiying had been waiting for Lu Guangjing, and when she saw hime out, she immediately asked him. ¡°How was it? Is Wei¡¯an obedient?¡± Lu Guangjing shook his head in silence and turned away to leave. Ever since Lu Lingxi¡¯s death, he and Li Caiying had spoken less and less to each other until they were almostpletely silent. They used to be able to talk about Lu Wei¡¯an, but Lu Wei¡¯an had be more and more unfamiliar, no longer the elder son he remembered. Now he no longer knew what to say to Li Caiying. His look was noticed by Li Caiying, and Li Caiying immediately turned Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s disobedient rebellion into Lu Guangjing¡¯s fault, saying pointedly, ¡°What do you mean, Lu Guangjing?¡± When Lu Guangjing didn¡¯t say anything, Li Caiying grabbed the vase and smashed it at him. She hated this look on Lu Guangjing¡¯s face, this sorrowful expression of grief. In the eyes of outsiders, it was as if everything was her fault. Wasn¡¯t it just that Lu Lingxi was dead? Was she the one who forced Lu Lingxi to die? When the operation was done, Lu Guangjing had also agreed to it. What¡¯s the result? As soon as the operation went wrong, it all became her responsibility. The vase fell to pieces at Lu Guangjing¡¯s feet, and Lu Guangjing still looked indifferent. Li Caiying¡¯s anger waspletely ignited and she sneered at him, saying in a shrill voice: ¡°Lu Guangjing, do you think you can atone for your sins by looking like this? I¡¯m telling you, don¡¯t think so. Why Wei¡¯an was born prematurely, why he got sick, why Xiao Xi died, it¡¯s all because of you, this is all your retribution.¡± Her voice was sharp, and Lu Guangjing looked at her sadly, as if he had aged another ten years in an instant. Li Caiying was right, this was all his retribution. If he hadn¡¯t done so many wrong things when he was young, Wei¡¯an wouldn¡¯t have been born prematurely, nor would he have gotten leukaemia due to his poor health, and Xiao Xi wouldn¡¯t have had to suffer for so many years, dying on the operating table at the age of eighteen. All these years, he sacrificed Xiao Xi to make it up for Wei¡¯an. He traded one son for the other, and what was the result? This was retribution. Chapter 133 In the evening when Yan Yue came to pick up Lu Lingxi, he kept thinking about Ye Kang¡¯s words. ¡°The Lu family is now like a balloon that is leaking everywhere. They don¡¯t need outsiders to do anything, they will fall down by themselves.¡± Yan Yue understood what he meant. When Lu Lingxi was alive, the rtionship of the Lu family was deformed but maintained a delicate bnce. When Lu Lingxi died, the bnce was shattered and all the ugliness hidden under the bright surface was exposed. Li Caiying¡¯s bias, Lu Guangjing¡¯s indifference and Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s selfishness were all on disy in front of people. No matter what they did now, no matter what they exined, the first thing people thought of when they saw them was the dead Lu Lingxi. This was the reason why Lu Wei¡¯an struggled in social situations and was ostracised in the Lu family. In order to change this situation, Lu Wei¡¯an even went as far as to take the first step by marrying Yin Ya. Although the matter couldn¡¯t be separated from Yan Yue¡¯s calctions, the selfishness that Lu Wei¡¯an showed through this matter still made Yan Yue feel distressed for Lu Lingxi. He didn¡¯t know what Lu Lingxi would think when he heard this, but he had tried to avoid mentioning the news of the Lu family in Zhongjing in front of Lu Lingxi. If he could, Yan Yue hoped topletely iste the Lu family from Lu Lingxi¡¯s life, never to have any more involvement. ¡°Big Brother Yan.¡± Yan Yue saw Lu Lingxi waving to him through the car window. Yan Yue returned to his senses and curled his lips into a faint smile. In front of Tiny Garden, a husky the size of half a human height was rubbing against Lu Lingxi¡¯s leg and wagging its tail. The dog was from the pet shop across the street. Perhaps because Dahei was away for the past few days, the cats and dogs Dong Zhi had over there would run to Tiny Garden whenever they could. This husky ran the most diligently and even ate a lot of the bones that Grandma Wang had prepared for Dahei. It was clear that Lu Lingxi also liked the husky very much. He was ustomed to Dahei¡¯s sensible behaviour and calmness; the dogs that appeared around him in the past were also regted by Dahei. It was rare to meet a dog who would lie on the ground with its belly facing the sky and rush to Lu Lingxi to roll around and be coquettish just to chew on one more bone. When Yan Yue parked the car and opened the door, Lu Lingxi greeted him. The husky habitually tried to follow but looked up at Yan Yue¡¯s expression and shrank back with its tail between its legs. Dong Zhiughed when he saw it, calling the husky while teasing Yan Yue, ¡°The husky¡¯s owner said the dog was crazy and didn¡¯t know how to read people¡¯s eyes. I should have filmed the scene just now and shown it to the owner.¡± Yan Yue chuckled and shook Xiaohei in his hand, ¡°It¡¯s probably Xiaohei it¡¯s afraid of.¡± Dong Zhi alsoughed when he saw Xiaohei who was biting Yan Yue¡¯s cuff. He nced at the time and knew that Yan Yue hade to pick up Lu Lingxi and take him home, so he didn¡¯t stay much longer at Tiny Garden and after a few words dragged the reluctant husky back. Once Dong Zhi left, Yan Yue stopped restraining himself, went over and intimately rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair, ¡°Pack up and let¡¯s go home.¡± As he spoke, Xiaohei slithered from Yan Yue¡¯s hand and climbed to Lu Lingxi¡¯s shoulder, biting Lu Lingxi¡¯s sweater and sliding into his clothes. Lu Lingxi raised his hand and touched Xiaohei, feeling that Dahei wasn¡¯t there and even Xiaohei felt a lot less energetic. He remembered one thing, ¡°Big Brother Yan, are you busy tomorrow? Brother Fang says we can go see Dahei and take Dahei back by the way. ¡± ¡°Is he done over there?¡± Yan Yue asked. Lu Lingxi thought of something funny and nodded, ¡°The training of the stray dogs is almost done. Originally, Brother Fang said that he wanted Dahei to stay for a few more days, but Dahei and Xiaohui fought badly. Xiaohui suffered a loss, turned around and bullied Brother Fang. Brother Fang says he can¡¯t bear it anymore.¡± s Yan Yue imagined the scene Lu Lingxi described and couldn¡¯t help butugh too. The two of them packed up and went home before six o¡¯clock, and Yan Yue made a point of dropping Lu Lingxi off at the doorstep. He used to avoid suspicion and didn¡¯te over much when Wang Shuxiu was at home, but now that his status was different, he went to the door openly. Xiao Feng was the one who opened the door, and he couldn¡¯t help but smile when he saw Yan Yue. In the morning, when Yan Yue had picked up Lu Lingxi, Xiaohua had been dumbfounded for a long time. Now that Yan Yue had sent Lu Lingxi back, Xiaohua would probably be squirming again. ¡°Want toe in?¡± Xiao Feng asked casually. Yan Yue smiled and shook his head. There were some things that couldn¡¯t be rushed and needed to be done step by step. He waved his hand at Lu Lingxi, who gave him a reluctant look and obediently entered the house. In the living room, Wang Shuxiu was listening to the movement at the door with her ears pricked up, and when she saw Lu Lingxi enter, she immediately turned her head in the direction of the TV, expressionless and silent. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes, knowing that Wang Shuxiu always had a hard mouth and a soft heart, and ingratiatingly leaned over, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m home.¡± Wang Shuxiu wanted to remain expressionless, but she couldn¡¯t help but soften her attitude when she saw Lu Lingxi¡¯s smiling face. She reached out to poke Lu Lingxi¡¯s forehead with her finger and said, ¡°Are you hungry? The meal is almost ready, just wait for your father to fry a dish.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded cooperatively even though he wasn¡¯t very hungry. As soon as he nodded, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s attention was immediately distracted as she thought that she hadn¡¯t been to the small restaurant these days after the New Year and she didn¡¯t know if Yan Yue had gone to the small restaurant at noon to bring Lu Lingxi his meal. The little bastard doesn¡¯t eat out every day, does he? She grabbed Lu Lingxi and felt that Lu Lingxi had lost weight again in the past few days. She was so distressed that she immediately put the me on Yan Yue, thinking that Yan Yue had not taken good care of Lu Lingxi. ¡°There is a cake in the fridge that your uncle brought over, you should eat some first.¡± ¡°Uncle and Aunt came over today?¡± Wang Shuxiu let out a sigh and said, ¡°After the 15th your uncle is going back to the northwest. He came over to see your dad for something.¡± s She said it simply, but in fact Xiao Hong came over to find Xiao Feng to discuss the selling of the coal mine in his hometown in the northwest. It was expected that Xiao Feng would have to go back with him. Xiao Feng had originally hoped that Xiao Hong woulde to Fengcheng to join him. Anyway, Xiao Hong wasn¡¯t short of money. If he was willing to work together in the vegetable greenhouse, it would be the best. If not, if he wanted to take a break or do something else, it was fine, too. Xiao Feng had said this several times, but Xiao Hong had never been able to make up his mind. This time, once the news of Wang Shuxiu¡¯s pregnancy came out, Xiao Hong didn¡¯t think much but Zhou Xiaoman was the first to express her desire to stay in Fengcheng. She was also the child¡¯s aunt, and Wang Shuxiu would definitely not be able to bring up the child alone, so she could stay and help out. Zhou Xiaoman¡¯s wishes had always been the direction of Xiao Hong¡¯s actions, and since his wife wanted to stay here, Xiao Hong officially put settling in Fengcheng on his agenda. Wang Shuxiu remembered something else and asked Lu Lingxi, ¡°The old Chinese medicine doctor who looked at mest time, Xiao Xi, you are familiar with him, right?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. Wang Shuxiu hesitated for a moment, then pulled Lu Lingxi and said, ¡°Xiao Xi, can you look for that old Chinese medicine doctor and ask him to take a look at your aunt as well?¡± Speaking of which, Zhou Xiaoman and Xiao Hong had seen a lot of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine doctors all over the world over the years. No matter how the doctors checked, they always said that their bodies were fine, but their fate hadn¡¯t arrived. Both of them almost lost hope after listening to it all these years. This time Wang Shuxiu was pregnant, and Zhou Xiaoman was even happier than Wang Shuxiu herself. Every time she came over, she carried a bunch of things in a big bag. Now Xiao Feng and Wang Shuxiu¡¯s room was full of clothes and toys prepared by Zhou Xiaoman for the unborn child. Wang Shuxiu calcted that there was no need to buy clothes until the child was two years old. Even though Zhou Xiaoman didn¡¯t say anything, Wang Shuxiu could see the envy and sorrow in her eyes. She couldn¡¯t help much with this kind of thing, so she thought she¡¯d find the old Chinese medicine doctor who had helped herst time. The old Chinese medicine doctor who checked her pulsest time was a retired director of the Fengcheng Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. His seniority was so high that ordinary people couldn¡¯t find connections even if they looked for them. When she finished speaking, Lu Lingxi felt that there should be no problem. In the morning, Elder Zhang also asked how Wang Shuxiu¡¯s health was and whether he should check her pulse sometime. He felt that Elder Zhang was so enthusiastic that he would definitely not refuse to take a look at his aunt. Besides, he had a secret weapon, the pot of mutated camellia he kept in his nt nursery, so he could use it to ¡°tempt¡± Elder Zhang, who would definitely like it. As Lu Lingxi said, he called Elder Zhang, who thought that Lu Lingxi was going to Kunnan, so he picked up the phone excitedly and asked Lu Lingxi if he had decided to go to the Kunnan Flower Show with him. Lu Lingxi was a bit embarrassed; he hadn¡¯t decided about the Kunnan Flower Show yet. When he heard that Lu Lingxi wanted to ask him to check the pulse of his family member, Elder Zhang agreed. The two of them arranged to meet at Tiny Garden. Elder Zhang liked the environment of Tiny Garden and had free time, so he woulde there. Wang Shuxiu was quite happy when he hung up the phone. She first spoke to Zhou Xiaoman and then asked Lu Lingxi what the Kunnan Flower Show was all about. As soon as Lu Lingxi said something, Wang Shuxiu immediately pped her hands, ¡°Go, you must go. This is a good opportunity. You can go out and see some ces. By the way, stay there for a few more days and stroll around Kunnan. I heard that the scenery there is good, and it¡¯s time for the little bastard to rx after a hard year.¡± ¡°But Mom is pregnant¡­¡± Lu Lingxi hesitated, ¡°I want to be by Mom¡¯s side.¡± Wang Shuxiu red at him, ¡°There¡¯s your dad, what¡¯s the use for you to stay with me?¡± Xiao Feng finished cooking and was bringing the dishes out when he heard the words and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Wang Shuxiu smiled as she told him about the Kunnan Flower Show, and Xiao Fengughed as he listened. ¡°Xiao Xi, go ahead, go out and have a good time. You don¡¯t need to worry with me at home.¡± Both of them supported Lu Lingxi to go to the Kunnan Flower Show, so Lu Lingxi thought about it and didn¡¯t argue. Xiao Feng heard that the flower show was in early May. Then he and Xiao Hong needed to finish the business in the northwest in April, so that Lu Lingxi and he both wouldn¡¯t be away, leaving Xiaohua alone at home. Especially in the northwest, there was also a certain Lu Yishui, and the selling of the coal mine also needed to be apanied with solving Lu Yishui¡¯s problem. If Xiao Feng was not worried about it in normal times, now that Xiaohua was pregnant, he should be cautious and not let Lu Yishui have the opportunity to make trouble with Xiaohua. Looking at Wang Shuxiu and Lu Lingxi, Xiao Feng felt that he still had to talk to Yan Yue about this matter. Chapter 134 The next morning, Yan Yue appeared at the door of 301 once again at the right time. After yesterday¡¯s experience, Wang Shuxiu was a lot calmer about his appearance. Although she was still seething in her heart, she could only give a silent sigh when she saw the joy in the little bastard¡¯s eyes and acquiesced to Yan Yue¡¯sing to pick Lu Lingxi up from the shop. Since he had promised to apany Lu Lingxi to pick up Dahei, Yan Yue didn¡¯t go to An Jie¡¯s ce but stayed at Tiny Garden. After a busy morning, he was about to take Lu Lingxi to lunch when Yi Hang came over in his little Jinbei. ¡°Huh, why is Yi Hang here?¡± Lu Lingxi looked at the time. It was now lunch time; the small restaurant was crowded and Wang Shuxiu wasn¡¯t here, relying on Yi Hang. How could Yi Hang suddenly drive to Tiny Garden? Lu Lingxi was a bit worried if something had happened in the restaurant when he saw Yi Hang jump out of the car with tworge instion boxes and rush over. ¡°Lao San, hurry up and eat while it¡¯s hot.¡± Yi Hang said as he gestured to the instion boxes in his hands. Lu Lingxi was bewildered, ¡°You¡¯re here specifically to deliver food?¡± Yi Hang nodded and found the table by the door to open the instion box he had brought. ¡°It¡¯s all my craftsmanship, how about you try it? Is there a big difference between it and Sister Xiaohua¡¯s?¡± He said this, but his face had a ¡°just dare say it¡¯s not good enough¡± look on it. Lu Lingxi looked at him and smiled; but he still didn¡¯t understand how Yi Hang could think of bringing him lunch. ¡°It was ordered by Sister Xiaohua. She said that you haven¡¯t eaten well these days and you¡¯ve lost a lot of weight.¡± Yi Hang said and hugged Lu Lingxi¡¯s neck deliberately, ¡°Come, let me see where you¡¯ve lost weight?¡± The two of them were habitually joking with each other. Yan Yue looked at Yi Hang¡¯s affection for Lu Lingxi and felt a bit pained, but he couldn¡¯t say anything and could only interrupt Yi Hang quietly, turning to Lu Lingxi and saying, ¡°Xiao Xi, hurry up and eat, it will get cold in a while.¡± The insted boxes Yi Hang brought had threeyers; the top twoyers contained the dishes he had stir-fried, and the bottom was rice. He smiled and said to Yan Yue, ¡°Brother Yan, you also eat. Sister Xiaohua said that Brother Yan might also be there, so I brought it for two people on purpose.¡± Hearing Yi Hang say that Wang Shuxiu had ordered it, Lu Lingxi smiled with his eyes curved. He knew that his mother was hard-mouthed and soft-hearted, and that her anger was only temporary. Yan Yue was a little surprised, but more than that, he was happy. In any case, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s attitude was softening more and more, which was a good sign. Xiao Feng listened to Wang Shuxiu¡¯s phone call, telling Yi Hang to cook some dishes for Lu Lingxi and send it over at noon, and before she hung up, she added with a stern face that Yan Yue might also be there, so Yi Hang should prepare two more dishes. Xiao Feng smiled and shook his head. Wang Shuxiu turned her head, saw his expression and immediately became irritated, her willow eyebrows raised, ¡°What are you smiling at!¡± Xiao Feng immediately looked sheepish, ¡°Where am I smiling, I¡¯m happy to hear that you care about Xiao Xi.¡± Wang Shuxiu red at him, ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking. I¡¯m not worried about Yan Yue not having food to eat, I¡¯m worried that if Yi Hang brings less, the little bastard can¡¯t bear to eat alone and push some to Yan Yue.¡± ¡°Fine, it¡¯s all for Xiao Xi¡¯s own good.¡± Xiao Feng said, coaxing Wang Shuxiu. Wang Shuxiu said righteously, ¡°It was initially for the good of the little bastard.¡± s Xiao Feng¡¯s heart moved, but he didn¡¯t dare to show it. The more time he spent with Xiaohua, the more he realised how good Xiaohua was. Never mind Xiaohua¡¯s usual yelling, but in fact, she had a tongue as sharp as a knife and a heart as soft as tofu. With all kinds of thoughts going through his head, Xiao Feng¡¯s hands were busy, cracking seven or eight walnuts in one go for Wang Shuxiu to eat. ¡°Here, have a walnut, it¡¯s nutritious.¡± Wang Shuxiu took the peeled walnuts, pouting, and smiled to herself quietly. After having lunch, Wang Shuxiu received a call from Lu Lingxi. Hearing the little bastard say ¡°Thank you, Mom¡± over the phone, Wang Shuxiu snorted and pretended not to understand what Lu Lingxi meant. Only when Lu Lingxi mentioned that he was going to pick up Dahei in the evening, stop by the nt nursery to take a look ande back tomorrow did she say with dissatisfaction, ¡°Don¡¯t get ahead of yourself, little bastard.¡± ¡°Mom.¡± Lu Lingxi called out softly. Wang Shuxiu held her breath and wanted to ignore Lu Lingxi, but she couldn¡¯t help being soft-hearted, so she only said reluctantly, ¡°Come back early tomorrow.¡± ¡°En, thank you, Mom.¡± After hanging up the phone, Lu Lingxi happily reported the good news to Yan Yue. He wasn¡¯t going to the nt nursery just to be with Yan Yue, but he was thinking of going there to bring back the mutated camellia. He had an appointment with Elder Zhang to have his aunt¡¯s pulse checked tomorrow, and Elder Zhang would definitely not ask for money. Lu Lingxi was too embarrassed to ask Elder Zhang to make a special trip to the shop, so he thought he would give the camellia to him. He looked so excited that Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help but smile slightly. Around five o¡¯clock in the evening, Fang Lei drove over. As soon as he entered Tiny Garden, Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue¡¯s expressions turned odd. Fang Lei didn¡¯t need to wonder what they were thinking; he touched the scratches on his face and said helplessly, ¡°Laugh if you want, it¡¯s all Master Cat¡¯s work.¡± Yan Yue held back hisughter, ¡°What exactly did you do to offend Xiaohui?¡± Fang Lei really thought hard about it, ¡°Does it count that I didn¡¯t take his side in his fight with Dahei?¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Yan Yueughed aloud at his words. Speaking of which, despite Xiaohui being unreasonable and bullying Fang Lei, Fang Lei really cared about Xiaohui. Not to mention that Xiaohui was smart and interesting, Fang Lei said that Xiaohui helped solve a case after only a few days by his side. This case was also somewhat rted to Lu Lingxi. It was the punks who nned to frame Lu Lingxi with drugsst time. Fang Lei¡¯s colleagues took them back for questioning, followed the trail and discovered a small gang of drug traffickers in Fengcheng. s It happened that Xiaohui was also there when Fang Lei went to arrest people that day. No one expected that the other party had actually dug a basement under the first floor. If it weren¡¯t for Xiaohui to find the basement and the other party hiding inside, Fang Lei and the others would have to work hard. The case was still under trial and Fang Lei was not at liberty to tell Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue the details. But in his heart, he really considered Xiaohui as his partner. Even if Xiaohui turned around and scratched him every time he couldn¡¯t beat Dahei, Fang Lei wasn¡¯t angry at all. The three of them spent time in the shop until six o¡¯clock and then Fang Lei took them to the police dog base in Fengcheng. The stray dogs that Fang Lei had adoptedst time were kept here. When they entered the base, before Lu Lingxi got out of the car, he saw Dahei leaping out of the kennel, his ck body like a lightning bolt running from afar. Dahei had rarely run at full speed like this in the past, and the distance of several hundred metres was covered almost instantaneously as he rushed to Lu Lingxi. ¡°Dahei.¡± Dahei barked affectionately at Lu Lingxi, standing up and resting his two front paws on Lu Lingxi¡¯s shoulders, excitedly licking his face. Lu Lingxi reached out and hugged Dahei. It was somewhat okay when he didn¡¯t see Dahei, but when he saw Dahei he realised how much he really missed him. Hearing the joy in Dahei¡¯s barking, Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head and promised, ¡°I will never be separated from Dahei again.¡± Dahei squinted his eyes and barked in a low voice. The dog and the man were so happy to be reunited after a long time that even Xiaohei climbed over to join the fun and refused to get off the top of Dahei¡¯s head, making Fang Leiugh. When they came over, the police dogs at the base had just finished training. The stray dogs that Fang Lei had brought along with him were also being trained. Although these stray dogs were a bitcking in discipline, they surprised everyone in terms of understandingmands. In other words, these dogs were very intelligent and could understand almost all themands without any training. Originally, the person in charge of the base was still a little unhappy. He felt that Fang Lei brought these stray dogs over to p him in the face. If it weren¡¯t for his good rtionship with Fang Lei, Fang Lei would have been kicked out a long time ago. As a result, after a few days of training, the person in charge of the base began to be more excited about these dogs than Fang Lei. He was especially fond of Dahei. Several times he discussed with Fang Lei whether he could find Dahei¡¯s owner to ask for Dahei to stay at the base. If it didn¡¯t work, it was okay to find a wife for Dahei, and it would definitely be not bad to have a litter of little ck puppies. Fang Lei looked grumpy as he talked to Lu Lingxi about the matchmaking for Dahei and joked, ¡°Dahei is now the male god in the eyes of the base breeders, of the unattainable kind.¡± Lu Lingxi imagined the breeders with a group of dogs picking out a wife for Dahei, andughed for a long time, clutching his stomach. At night when they arrived at the nt nursery, Dahei refused to leave Lu Lingxi at bedtime. Yan Yue had no choice but to tolerate Dahei sleeping on the bed like he had done at the beginning. Lu Lingxi deliberately heated water and gave Dahei a bath, and then half-hugged him on the bed. Daheiy by his side, looking at him gently and licking his fingers every now and then. Yan Yue looked at the man and the dog sourly, with a feeling that he was a third party interfering. The next morning, the two of them ate at Uncle Li¡¯s house and prepared to go back to the city. Before returning to the city, Lu Lingxi deliberately went to see the big willow tree. After a few days, the whole willow tree hade to life from its winter dormancy, with tender green leaves covering its branches, swaying gently in the wind. Not only the big willow tree, but also for the whole Lingshui Vige, spring hade early, with clusters of green grass sprouting in the fields and corners of the yards, decorating the still monotonous ground and bringing the scent of spring. Uncle Li and Lu Lingxi talked about it, discussing that Lingshui Vige looked like this, and Songjia Vige, just a dozen miles away, still looked grey and barren. Not to mention the willow trees sprouting, there were not even a few weeds growing on the ground. When the vigers said it, they all felt that it was the blessing of the tree god. They noticed that the vegetables and fruits grown in the yardsst year grew very well. This year Uncle Li heard that several households were preparing to tidy up the desertednd and nt whatever they wanted, if not selling the things for money, then for eating at home. He lovingly instructed Lu Lingxi, ¡°Tell Uncle what you want to eat, we can also grow it in our yard.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded shyly and remembered something. After the system opened the evolution functionst year, the vegetables and fruits grown in Uncle Li¡¯s yard were basically ripe, and he didn¡¯t have the chance to see if they could evolve. Then Xiao Feng got a vegetable greenhouse, and although Lu LIngxi had the idea, he never had the time to go. Besides, just like the evolution of nts in the nt nursery, it needed to be watched regrly, and if he went there just once or twice, he might not be so lucky to catch the nts in the period of evolution. He also thought about nting something at home, but there were so many Tiny Garden things going on that the matter was put off. This time it was an opportunity. Lu Lingxi had always thought that as long as it was a nt, no matter what it was, it should be able to evolve. Thinking about the seeds the system had rewarded him with, he intuited that they should be the seeds that evolved. Whether it was tomatoes or grapes, what he nted might be eventually the result of evolution. Chapter 135 At nine o¡¯clock in the morning, Tiny Garden opened its doors as usual. Lu Lingxi habitually cleaned up the shop and put away the bits and pieces on the table by the entrance before finally cing the camellia he had brought back from the nt nursery on the table. Camellia, also known as Mand, is a traditional ornamental flower in China, and is also one of the ¡°Top Ten Famous Flowers¡± (plum blossom, peony, chrysanthemum, orchid, rose, azalea, camellia, lotus, osmanthus, daffodil). With the poprity of camellias in the international flower market, florists around the world developed numerous varieties of camellias in addition to the original species, counting to more than 5,000 species at a nce. The camellias raised by Lu Lingxi were given to him by Xue Yongtong, initially to exchange for an evolved ca lily. Lu LIngxi originally thought it would be good to simply send the ca lily to Xue Yongtong, but Xue Yongtong insisted on trading it for the camellia, and specifically told Lu Lingxi that these camellias were not ordinary camellias, but a rare camellia double-petal mutated variety. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t resist the other party¡¯s intention and was interested in the mutated camellia, so he didn¡¯t refuse anymore. He had seen double-petal camellias before in the nt catalogue. Generally speaking, most of the stamens of this type of camellia are petalised and the number of petals naturally increases, with themon number of petals being around 50. After the flowers bloom, the colour is either red, pink or purple, as beautiful as a brocade, a flower of brilliant colours, bright as the dawn. But the camellia in front of him was a light green colour, with more than 60 petals, and therge petals were clustered together in the shape of a graceful peony, with a long, lingering, elegant fragrance. As soon as he put out the camellia there, an old customer who lived nearby passed by and saw the camellia from outside. His eyes lit up and he immediately came in. ¡°Little boss, are you starting to raise camellias again?¡± The visitor asked, taking a closer look at the table. The residents living in the neighbourhood all knew that the little boss of Tiny Garden was good at raising flowers. In addition to some of the flower varieties that were often sold in the shop, asionally the little boss would also raise a few lessmon flowers. This camellia, for example, was not an ordinary camellia, but was probably a flower that the owner had raised on a whim. Look at the colour of the flowers, look at the shape of the nt, it is a rare ¡°beauty in the bud¡±. The more the visitor looked at it, the more he liked it, and the more he felt lucky. The little boss had just opened the door and the mist on the leaves had not yet dried. Now there must be no one to steal it from him, thanks to his early morning walk around the area. ¡°Little boss, do you sell this flower? You have a few more in the shop, I¡¯ll take them all.¡± The visitor was very proud of himself. Lu Lingxi looked a little embarrassed, ¡°This one is already owned, and the remaining two have been given away.¡± He had a total of three camellia nts, one for Elder Zhang, one for Grandpa Su, and the remaining one Lu Lingxi wanted to put at home so that Wang Shuxiu would be happy with it. When Lu Lingxi finished speaking, the visitor looked regretful. He remembered that he hadn¡¯t seen these camellias in the Tiny Garden shop yesterday, and since the little boss said that he had given them away, it must have been to someone close to him. The man couldn¡¯t ask the owner to give him one, so he had to leave the shop reluctantly. Even before he left, another customer saw the camellia through the ss window and came over. Throughout the morning, no less than seven or eight customers came in for this camellia. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t expect this camellia to be so attractive, and while he apologised to these customers, he also thought about introducing this variant of camellia from Xue Yongtong to enrich the variety of flowers in the shop. He was thinking about it when Wang Shuxiu arrived with Xiao Hong¡¯s family, carrying the lunch they had prepared for him. ¡°Why is Mom here so early?¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s appointment with Elder Zhang was at two o¡¯clock in the afternoon, and it wasn¡¯t yet twelve noon. Wang Shuxiu handed the instion box in her hand to Lu Lingxi and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it because you haven¡¯t eaten yet? Anyway, I have toe, so I¡¯vee early and brought you food by the way.¡± Lu Lingxi remembered that yesterday Yi Hang said that Wang Shuxiu was worried that he had lost weight and curved his eyes, ¡°Have you eaten, Mom, Uncle?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve eaten, little bastard, don¡¯t mind us, hurry up and eat while no one is around.¡± Wang Shuxiu circled around and didn¡¯t see Yan Yue; her heart filled with satisfaction. She had deliberately brought an instion box with her today. If Yan Yue was here, she didn¡¯t believe that he would dare to grab food from Xiao Xi in front of her. Of course, it would be best if Yan Yue wasn¡¯t here. It was one thing for Wang Shuxiu to acquiesce to Yan Yue¡¯s presence by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side, but it was only the case of out of sight, out of mind, and when she really saw the two of them together, it was still very irritating. In addition to the lunch she had prepared for Lu Lingxi, Wang Shuxiu had also brought a box of bones for Dahei. She hadn¡¯t seen Dahei for a while and looked at him with affection. Because of Dahei¡¯s presence, Xiao Hong purposely left Xiao Baiwan at home, just in case the two dogs made trouble and interfered with the old Chinese medicine doctor checking the pulse. Xiao Hong was very grateful for Wang Shuxiu¡¯s kindness. He had also looked up Elder Zhang on the inte and found that his qualifications were deeper than those of the specialists they had seen in Zhongjing; he was a real master of Chinese medicine. Xiao Hong was okay no matter whether he had children or not, but he couldn¡¯t bear the thought of Xiaoman being upset about the child. So as long as he had a chance, he was willing to apany Xiaoman to give it a try. They waited in the Tiny Garden shop for a while, and when it was almost two o¡¯clock, Elder Zhang arrived. After a few greetings, Elder Zhang sat down at the table with a smile on his face and asked Zhou Xiaoman to sit across from him to check her pulse. Zhou Xiaoman sat down in apprehension, and Elder Zhang stretched out two fingers and put them on her wrist, concentrated slightly and asked her to switch to the other hand. When he was done, Elder Zhang didn¡¯t say anything, he just asked Xiao Hong toe over to check his pulse. After the same procedure was done, Elder Zhang asked the two of them about their eating habits for a long time and looked at theirplexions before finally saying that there was nothing wrong with Zhou Xiaoman. It was Xiao Hong who had a little problem. ¡°Really?¡± Xiao Hong and Zhou Xiaoman looked at each other with some disbelief. The two of them had just gone to Zhongjing for a check-up not long ago, and the doctor said that both husband and wife were physically fine, only that the child¡¯s destiny had not arrived yet. So how could Elder Zhang say that it was Xiao Hong who had a health problem? However, on another thought, the previous doctor had never checked out specifically if this problem was the reason why the couple had not had a child for many years. Since Elder Zhang had seen it right away, did it mean that he could cure Xiao Hong? Before Xiao Hong could say anything, Zhou Xiaoman already said eagerly, ¡°Is it serious? Can it be cured?¡± Elder Zhang smiled gently, ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious. I¡¯ll give you a prescription, you should follow it and drink a course of medicine. Let¡¯s see the effect first.¡± When he said this, Zhou Xiaoman immediately rxed and nodded repeatedly, promising to urge Xiao Hong to drink the medicine on time. After Elder Zhang finished writing the prescription, Zhou Xiaoman couldn¡¯t sit still any longer and was thinking of going to get the medicine. There was a pharmacy not far from this street, so Wang Shuxiu simply apanied Zhou Xiaoman to get the medicine. Once they left, Elder Zhang, Xiao Hong and Lu Lingxi were the only ones left in the shop. Elder Zhang gently said to Xiao Hong, ¡°I lied to you just now, your health is actually good, it¡¯s perfectly fine.¡± Xiao Hong & Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Elder Zhang smiled and exined, ¡°I heard Xiao Xi say that you had seen quite a few doctors beforeing to me, and that there had always been nothing wrong with the physical examination, but you have been unable to conceive a child for a long time?¡± Xiao Hong nodded hesitantly. Elder Zhang said, ¡°Some couples are like that. It is rted to your eating habits and surroundings, but also your wife is under too much stress. I¡¯m afraid she is depressed and it is not a matter of a day or two. This will definitely affect her health and her ability to conceive. The main problem for you now is to let go, especially for your wife, so that it will be easy to get pregnant.¡± When Elder Zhang finished speaking, Xiao Hong immediately understood. Xiaoman had been having a hard time in her heart because of the childbirth. No matter how she appeared to look on the surface, subconsciously she still felt that the absence of children was her fault. Xiao Hong had also exined to Zhou Xiaoman that it was not so, but it was hard to say how much Zhou Xiaoman had listened. Now that Elder Zhang had put the me on him, it was easier for Xiaoman to know that it was not her fault than when the doctors said that both of them were well. When Xiaoman was in a better mood, they might actually have a child. Even if they didn¡¯t have a child, it would still be because of him, Xiao Hong, and Xiaoman would at least not have to me herself. Xiao Hong smiled gratefully, ¡°Thank you, Elder Zhang.¡± Elder Zhang waved his hand carelessly, ¡°It¡¯s good that you don¡¯t me me for lying to you.¡± Although Elder Zhang was doing this to untie the knot in Zhou Xiaoman¡¯s heart, he also said that Xiao Hong might have eaten a lot of greasy food recently and had a bit too much fire in his body. The recipe he prescribed was to remove the fire; it would be good for Xiao Hong to drink it for a while and regte his body with it. The three of them just said a few words before Wang Shuxiu and Zhou Xiaoman came back with the medicine. Xiao Hong was afraid of affecting the business of Tiny Garden, so he didn¡¯t stay in the shop much longer. Before he left, he kept thinking about how to thank Elder Zhang. He knew that Elder Zhang was willing to help him because of thepassion of a healer on the one hand, and Xiao Xi¡¯s face on the other. To be honest, if he were to give Elder Zhang money now, he would be looking down on him, but if he gave him nothing, he would feel a bit guilty. While Xiao Hong was worried, Lu Lingxi carried out the light green camellia to Elder Zhang, blushing and saying that he wanted to give this camellia to Elder Zhang. Xiao Hong¡¯s eyes lit up and he eximed in his heart that Xiao Xi had thought of everything. Elder Zhang epted the camellia with a smile. He knew Xiao Xi¡¯s nature; if he didn¡¯t ept it, the child would definitely dwell on this. He and Xiao Xi, the child, were friends despite difference in age, and it could be said in an elegant way that they became friends through the flowers. After Xiao Hong and the others left, Elder Zhang asked about Lu Lingxi¡¯s trip to Kunnan. He really wanted Lu Lingxi to go to the orchid exhibition to see it and gain knowledge, not to mention that he had a few old friends who would also being there from all over China. These old friends of his were not simple, and each one of them was considered to be well-known in some field. He wanted to introduce Lu Lingxi to his old friends, so that they could establish good rtionships with this child. When Elder Zhang asked, Lu Lingxi quickly nodded. However¡­ he was a little hesitant, ¡°Grandpa Zhang, I have a friend who is also nning toe along and I might have to stay with him.¡± Elder Zhangughed, ¡°The more the better, I just like it to be lively. You don¡¯t need to live separately either, your Grandpa Zhao has it all covered.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled shyly and didn¡¯t immediately agree. Regarding food and amodation he nned to discuss it with Yan Yue first. Chapter 136 After Elder Zhang had checked his pulse, Xiao Hong began to drink bitter medicine every day. Zhou Xiaoman was worried that he was having a hard time and took the initiative tofort Xiao Hong, ¡°If we don¡¯t have a child, then we don¡¯t have a child. It¡¯s my fault for thinking too much about it. When Xiaohua has a child, and with Xiao Xi being here, our family will also be busy. In the future, if we settle in Fengcheng, we don¡¯t have to be afraid of being lonely in our old age, no matter if we have children or not.¡± Xiao Hong didn¡¯t show it on his face when he heard her words, but in his heart, he was relieved. In the past few days, he had been thinking about what Elder Zhang said about Xiaoman¡¯s depression. This matter could be big or small. It would be fine if taken care of, but it would affect her health if ignored. Now, no matter what Xiaoman thought, the reason for not having a child was on his head, so Xiaoman was finally less likely to me herself. After a week of drinking Chinese medicine, Xiao Hong calcted that it was time to go back to the northwest. This time, Xiao Feng had to go back with him as there were more things to do. Before he left, Xiao Feng found a chance to talk to Yan Yue and entrusted him with the family and the vegetable greenhouse. He wasn¡¯t worried about anything happening; he was just afraid that if something happened, he wouldn¡¯t be back in time, so there needed to be someone to make a decision. When they left, it was the end of February and the first spring rain since the beginning of spring came to Fengcheng. It was evening when the rain fell, and the thin threads of rain drifted down, crocheting a huge in the air and enveloping the whole of Fengcheng. Because of the darkness, all the shops on the street of Tiny Garden had their lights on. The scattered lights filtered through the ss windows along the street, stringing up the raindrops outside and covering the whole street with ayer of soft bizarre colours. Lu Lingxi stood at the door of Tiny Garden and caught a few drops of rain. It felt very cold to the touch, but there wasn¡¯t much coolness in the air, rather a warm and moist aura. He tapped on the panel in passing and what was disyed in front of him was arge white translucent area. Above the transparent pattern flowed a lightyer of ink-blue water, representing the rainwater that had gathered on the ground. Lu Lingxi remembered that the rain he saw at first was ck, but now it had gradually faded and transformed into ink blue. This meant that there was much less smog over Fengcheng, and the rain was correspondingly much cleaner. ¡°O.¡± Dahei, who had been squatting calmly at Lu Lingxi¡¯s feet, looked sharply in the direction of the opposite side of the street and barked in warning. Lu Lingxi looked there; across the street, the silvery grey husky was crouching in front of the pet shop, looking as if it was eager to rush over. But because of Dahei¡¯s presence, the husky didn¡¯t dare to really rush over and just took a few tentative steps forward. ¡°O.¡± The husky wagged its tail sorrowfully at Lu Lingxi, who couldn¡¯t help butugh. He remembered that when Dahei had just returned, this husky waspletely unafraid of Dahei¡¯s majesty and often rushed to Lu Lingxi head over heels, boldly teasing Dahei in the process. After a few times, Dahei couldn¡¯t stand it any longer and gave the husky a strict lesson. Only then did the husky remember how powerful Dahei was and no longer dared to tease him. Lu Lingxi guessed that the husky might have sensed the panel¡¯s scent and became excited. He didn¡¯t mind and continued to tap down on the white panel. As his fingers moved, the translucent area on the panel continued to expand. Judging from the scope of the purification, the whole street of Tiny Garden was included, and the purified area was still extending towards the surrounding streets. Seeing this, Lu Lingxi was somewhat pleased. After half a year¡¯s effort, about one tenth of the entire Fengcheng City area had been purified. These purified areas were faintly forming a circle, attempting to epass the entire Fengcheng City. He was a little too absorbed and hadn¡¯t noticed until Yan Yue stood in front of him. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± Yan Yue draped the coat over Lu Lingxi¡¯s shoulders, took his hand and frowned slightly, ¡°Why are your hands so cold?¡± Lu Lingxi returned to his senses and put away the panel before realising that he had been standing at the door for too long and his clothes were faintly wet from the rain. He shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s actually not too cold.¡± Before Yan Yue could say anything, Lu Lingxi quickly changed the subject, ¡°Big Brother Yan, are you done with your work?¡± Yan Yue helplessly tightened his grip on Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand and cooperated in changing the topic. ¡°There¡¯s nothing more to do at work, I¡¯vee to pick you up and take you home.¡± Lu Lingxi nced at the time; unnoticeably, it was almost six o¡¯clock. These days when Xiao Feng was away, he had to go back early every day to keep Wang Shuxiupany. ¡°Wait for me to pack up, I¡¯ll be ready soon,¡± he said as he moved the few pots of flowers that were ced at the entrance back to the shop, and Yan Yue rolled up his sleeves and tidied up with him. After the two of them had cleaned up the shop and put away some bits and pieces, Lu Lingxi turned off the lights, locked the shop door and followed Yan Yue all the way to the car. Across the street, the husky looked at Lu Lingxi with bated breath, whimpering repeatedly. Yan Yue opened the window, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that husky?¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a bit lonely.¡± ¡°It seems like it¡¯s been at Dong Zhi¡¯s ce for almost a month.¡± Yan Yue said casually. Lu Lingxi let out a sigh and waved to the husky from the window, exining to Yan Yue, ¡°Its owner has left the country. Brother Dong said he had gone to Africa and wouldn¡¯t be back for three years. He couldn¡¯t take the husky along, so he asked Brother Dong to find another owner for it.¡± As he said this, Dahei suddenly peeked his head over from the rear car seat and looked at Lu Lingxi with a gentle gaze. Lu Lingxi smiled faintly and reached out to scratch Dahei¡¯s chin. He understood what Dahei meant; even though it was due to a special situation, this husky¡¯s owner still abandoned the husky. Dahei was probably thinking of himself and that was why he acted this way. s Yan Yue also seemed to sense Dahei¡¯s mood and freed a hand to pet Dahei¡¯s head. He thought for a moment and asked, ¡°Does the other party have any requirements for the adopter?¡± ¡°Big Brother Yan?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little surprised. Yan Yue smiled lightly, ¡°Ye Kang has always wanted to have a dog. He will being to Fengcheng City in a few days, so it¡¯s the perfect time to find something for him to do.¡± ¡°¡­Brother Ye.¡± Lu Lingxi pondered for a while and felt that Ye Kang was also quite reliable. At least Ye Kang had money and shouldn¡¯t abandon the husky again halfway. ¡°I¡¯ll go ask Brother Dong tomorrow.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Yan Yue thought of Ye Kangpletely identally, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt Ye Kang and the husky were quite a good match. Ye Kang had been looking forward to taking his dog out to car racing at night, and apart from Dahei¡¯s calm nature, only a dog with the husky¡¯s ¡°lively¡± nature would be willing to cooperate with him. Twenty minutester, Yan Yue drove Lu Lingxi to the door. During these days, he picked up Lu Lingxi in the morning and brought him back in the evening, and from time to time, he would wander around in front of Wang Shuxiu. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s attitude had softened more and more; from her initial silence she moved to asionally being able to say hello to Yan Yue. ¡°Big Brother Yan, I¡¯ll go back first.¡± Pulling out the keys from his pocket, Lu Lingxi whispered to Yan Yue. Yan Yue smiled and nodded as he went from Unit 3 to Unit 2. Before he could unlock the door, Xiao Feng¡¯s phone call came. Yan Yue was a little surprised, thinking that Xiao Feng had some problem, but when he picked up, he realised that Xiao Feng was looking for him because of Lu Yishui. This time Xiao Feng followed Xiao Hong back to the northwest, and the two of them spent half a month disposing of the properties under their respective names resolutely. They sold them off, except for two homes that were left behind to facilitate their return to pay respects to their ancestors in the future. The most troublesome was the coal mine under Xiao Hong¡¯s name. It wasn¡¯t that no one was interested in the coal mine, but there were so many people interested that Xiao Hong had to sift through them for a long time. Unlike other properties, Xiao Hong had real feelings for this coal mine. He asked the party that took over to make sure that the workers inside were properly housed and fed, and especially to keep an eye on Lu Yishui. Now that Wang Shuxiu was pregnant, not to mention Xiao Feng, Xiao Hong couldn¡¯t let Lu Yishuie back to torment Wang Shuxiu. In this way, the selling of the coal mine was not about whoever gave more money. In any case, Xiao Feng called Yan Yue just to say that Lu Yishui¡¯s issue had been settled down. Lu Yishui would continue to dig coal in the northwest, but Xiao Feng didn¡¯t want his wages and Lu Yishui could save them. When Lu Yishui was old and could no longer work, he would use this money as his pension. Lu Yihui was Lu Lingxi¡¯s father, so Xiao Feng had to give Lu Lingxi face and leave Lu Yishui a way to live. Yan Yue didn¡¯t question Xiao Feng¡¯s arrangement as long as he made sure that Lu Yishui didn¡¯t appear in front of Lu Lingxi. s After Xiao Feng talked to Yan Yue, he called Wang Shuxiu. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s life was nowfortable, and when Lu Yishui was mentioned, she wasn¡¯t as disgusted as before. She sighed over the phone and didn¡¯t say anything. This is good, Lu Yishui has a decent job, he can keep the money he earns, he can eat and drink and he doesn¡¯t have to burden Lu Lingxi. Wang Shuxiu finally instructed Xiao Feng to hide this from Lu Lingxi, so that the little bastard wouldn¡¯t feel ufortable. This was also Yan Yue¡¯s intention. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know that his mother and Yan Yue were unexpectedly united on the matter of Lu Yishui. After giving Dahei a bath, he habitually hugged Dahei and read a book. The rain outside the window continued to drizzle from afternoon to evening. Lu Lingxi read for a while, talked to Yan Yue on the phone again, and got ready for bed but the rain had not stopped. He stood by the window and watched for a while. Although the rain kept falling, there was no stagnant water in the yards of themunity because the rain wasn¡¯t too heavy. The rain that fell on the ground quickly prated into the soil and was absorbed and stored by the underground hibernating roots. After a good night¡¯s sleep, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t even notice when the rain stopped. He slept until seven o¡¯clock, pulled the curtains open and the spring morning light shone through the window, the golden light floating in the air, making the room warm andfortable. Lu Lingxi unconsciously looked out the window and suddenly opened his eyes wide. In front of Building 3, several willow trees nted in themunity had sprouted green shoots overnight. As the morning breeze stirred them, the graceful branches danced lightly in the air, full of spring colours. He quickly washed up, pulled open the balcony door and ran out. On the ground in the backyard, tufts of grass sprouted from the ground. The golden morning glow, the clear dew, the tender grass, all woven together, put people in a good mood for no reason. It was not only the backyard of themunity. In the morning when Yan Yue picked up Lu Lingxi to go to the shop, all along the way, the willow trees along the street were sprouting new shoots. On both sides of the street, in the crevices of the stones, there was visible grass everywhere, and asionally there were small pink flowers swaying in the wind. The whole city swept away the heaviness of winter and was alive with a vibrant vitality. Chapter 137 In early March, Xiao Hong and Xiao Feng came back from the northwest. The things there were almost dealt with, and the two of them were thinking about home, so they didn¡¯t stay there longer. On the way back, the two of them took turns driving, and Xiao Baiwan squatted quietly in the back seat all the way, guarding the various northwest specialties the two of them had bought. Among them were more than a dozen boxes of air-dried beef that Xiao Feng specially bought, and when Xiao Baiwan smelled the smell of beef, he refused to leave the back seat. After seven or eight hours of driving, the two of them got off the highway and entered the city. The first thing Xiao Hong saw was the willow trees nted on both sides of the street. It had only been a few days since the rain but the new shoots of the willow trees had already grown to finger length. The sun was shining down, the verdant colours were flowing, and the leaves on the trees were vibrant and soothing. Xiao Hong had previously travelled halfway across China, from the northwest to the north, and all that his eyesight saw was dull and grey. How could he have imagined that Fengcheng was already looking green? He couldn¡¯t believe it, so he deliberately opened the window a crack and took a look outside to make sure it wasn¡¯t just his eyes, but that the willows on the roadside were really sprouting new shoots. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Springes so early in Fengcheng?¡± Xiao Hong asked as he told Xiao Feng to look outside. Xiao Feng had been in Fengcheng for more than ten years, and this was the first time he had encountered such a situation. He simply rolled down the window and looked out. Not only were there the willows on the roadside, but as far as he could see, on the road junctions and in the cracks in the masonry on both sides of the street, wherever the soil was exposed, everything was emerald green. He shook his head, a little unsure, ¡°It¡¯s probably because it¡¯s by the sea and the weather is warm this year.¡± It was indeed not too cold this year. There was a breeze blowing on their faces, and although it was still a little cool, it didn¡¯t cut sharply like in winter but was noticeably softer. Xiao Hong took a breath; the air outside the window was crisp and fresh. In winter he hadn¡¯t thought there was much difference between Fengcheng and the northwest, both being northern and heavily industrialised cities, and the wind was blowing simrly. But now, the air in Fengcheng was much fresher than that in the northwest. Xiao Hong closed the car window with some emotion, ¡°The air outside is good, much better than that in the northwest. I heard that a lot of trees were nted in Fengchengst year, so it seems that greening and environmental protection are quite effective.¡± There were other people who felt the same way as Xiao Hong. The change in the environment was not something that couldn¡¯t be seen, it was inly in front of people¡¯s eyes. Anyone who paid regr attention to the weather forecast would have noticed that Fengcheng had had an air pollution index below 50 for a week, with the air quality reaching excellent standards. This change had another effect. ording to statistics from several major hospitals in Fengcheng, the number of asthma patients admitted to hospitals in thest week had decreased by 50%pared to the same periodst year, which meant that half of the asthma patients in Fengcheng had their condition under control during the peak of spring, not because of medication, but because of the improved environment. All of these changes were attributed by the public to the impact of the new environmental protection policy implemented in Fengcheng sincest year, and environmental protection became the hottest topic among Fengcheng people for a while. s Xiao Feng and Xiao Hong chatted about the changes in Fengcheng all the way home, and by the time they arrived it was already past 3 o¡¯clock in the afternoon and almost 4 o¡¯clock. The two parked at the door of Unit 3 and together moved their things to the house. Xiao Baiwan sniffed and didn¡¯t feel the scent of Dahei, jumped out of the car and tilted his head with a sigh of relief. He didn¡¯t expect that a walnut would fall and hit him on the head. On the second floor balcony, the white kitten licked its paw and meowed triumphantly at Xiao Baiwan. Xiao Baiwan growled in anger, but unfortunately the distance was a little too far and growling was simply not enough to deter the kitten. ¡°Xiao Baiwan.¡± Xiao Hong called out to stop him from barking loudly. Xiao Baiwan stubbornly pawed the walnut at his feet, barking at Xiao Hong in a low voice. Xiao Hong raised his head, nced at the cat upstairs and touched Xiao Baiwan¡¯s head soothingly. He didn¡¯t know what was going on; when he went to the northwest this time, it seemed that he could suddenly understand the meaning of Xiao Baiwan¡¯s bark. At first, Xiao Hong thought it was his illusion, but after a while, Xiao Hong felt that something was wrong. It wasn¡¯t an illusion. He really understood what Xiao Baiwan said. Xiao Hong didn¡¯t hide this from Xiao Feng, and Xiao Feng didn¡¯t take it seriously when he heard it. He had seen Lu Lingxi and Dahei asking and answering questions several times when he was at home, and had a vague suspicion that they seemed to be able tomunicate with each other. Now that there was Xiao Hong and Xiao Baiwan, he wasn¡¯t surprised at all. However, after Xiao Hong epted this fact, he found it very interesting and urged Xiao Feng to also have a pet. After raising it for a long time, maybe he could have a spiritual connection with it. Xiao Feng ignored this suggestion; there was already Dahei at home, that was enough. With Xiao Hong¡¯s presence, the little white cat didn¡¯t dare to provoke Xiao Baiwan anymore. It waved its paws at Xiao Baiwan, turned its head and ran back to the house. Xiao Feng looked at this scene andughed a little. He didn¡¯t say that the cats and dogs in themunity were just smarter than usual; they were almost bing intelligent. Xiao Hong finished moving the things and had a few words with Xiao Feng in the yard before taking Xiao Baiwan away. As soon as Xiao Feng entered the house, Wang Shuxiu looked over, ¡°Where¡¯s Big Brother, won¡¯t he eat here tonight?¡± ¡°No, Xiaohua, you are not physically fit, Big Brother is going home first.¡± When Xiao Feng exined this, Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t say anything. She looked at Xiao Feng sorting out the northwest specialties on the floor and casually asked, ¡°Why did you buy so many?¡± Xiao Feng smiled, ¡°Xiaohua, didn¡¯t you sayst time that the air-dried beef from the northwest was delicious? I won¡¯t be going back to my hometown very often in the future, and I always feel that these things bought in other ces are not of the same taste.¡± Wang Shuxiu was happy to hear Xiao Feng¡¯s reasoning, but on the surface she snapped, ¡°How long will we have to eat this?¡± Xiao Feng smiled and gave her a look, ¡°If we can¡¯t finish it, send some to Yan Yue, I heard from Xiao Xi that Yan Yue also likes to eat it.¡± When he mentioned Yan Yue, Wang Shuxiu immediately snorted. Xiao Feng was surprised: Xiaohua hadn¡¯tpletely relented yet. s At half past six in the evening, Yan Yue sent Lu Lingxi home. As soon as Lu Lingxi entered the house, he saw a dozen boxes of air-dried beef piled up on the floor and immediately reacted. ¡°Dad¡¯s back?¡± Xiao Feng poked his head out of the kitchen and said to Lu Lingxi with a smile, ¡°Xiao Xi, take two boxes of beef and send them to Yan Yue as a thank you for taking care of the family during this time.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard this, but instead of going to get the boxes directly, he turned his head to look at Wang Shuxiu first, waiting for her words. Wang Shuxiu snorted and waved her hand with impatience, ¡°Go quickly, don¡¯t dawdle there ande back for dinner.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. When Wang Shuxiu saw that he really took two boxes, she said with a stern face, ¡°We can¡¯t eat it all at home, so you can take two more boxes.¡± Lu Lingxi and Xiao Feng were used to her hard-mouthed, soft-hearted way. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t listen to her and still took only two boxes, saying with curved eyes, ¡°Mom likes beef jerky, so I¡¯ll leave more for Mom.¡± Although she knew the little bastard was trying to please her, Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t help but smile at these words and scolded, ¡°Little bastard.¡± Every time Wang Shuxiu ended with ¡°little bastard¡±, it meant she was in a good mood, so Lu Lingxi ran off in a sh to the next apartment with the two boxes of beef jerky. Ever since Yan Yue had confessed to his family, Lu Lingxi hadn¡¯te over here, and this was the first time he was going there again. Pushing the door, Lu Lingxi put the things on the table and turned his head to look for Yan Yue. ¡°Xiao Xi?¡± Yan Yue heard footsteps, came out of the bedroom where he was changing his clothes and saw Lu Lingxi at once. In surprise he reached out and hugged Lu Lingxi tightly. ¡°How did you manage toe here, Xiao Xi?¡± Yan Yue asked in a soft voice, lowering his head to give Lu Lingxi a kiss on the forehead. Lu Lingxi gestured for Yan Yue to look at the boxes on the living room table. ¡°This?¡± Yan Yue vaguely guessed something but didn¡¯t dare to confirm it. ¡°Dad asked me to send you these.¡± Lu Lingxi said with a smile as he hugged Yan Yue¡¯s waist. He thought it was a good sign; although it was Xiao Feng who had asked him toe over, Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t stop him. Did it mean that he coulde to Yan Yue again in the future as often as before? As Lu Lingxi thought about it happily, Yan Yue also thought of this and raised his hand to rub Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair, asking in a low voice, ¡°Mom isn¡¯t angry?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head, ¡°Mom even told me to take two more boxes.¡± Yan Yue smiled and deliberately looked around, ¡°What about the two more boxes?¡± Lu Lingxi blinked, with a sly expression, ¡°If I really took four boxes here, Mom would definitely be unhappy in her heart without saying anything.¡± Yan Yue chuckled as he listened. Looking into Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes, he couldn¡¯t help but lower his head and kiss him. Lu Lingxi was in a hurry to go back, ¡°Mom told me to go back quickly, she¡¯s still waiting for me to eat.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s been just a short while.¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t let go and said softly, ¡°I haven¡¯t hugged Xiao Xi for a long time.¡± Since Xiao Feng had gone back to the northwest, Lu Lingxi had not spent the night in the nt nursery because he was worried about Wang Shuxiu being home alone. Whenever the two were alone together either in the car or in the shop, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t do anything, mindful of the eyes around, and could only keep holding back his desire for Lu Lingxi. Now that they had the rare opportunity to be alone together, Yan Yue was impulsive and didn¡¯t want to let Lu Lingxi go back. He gently lowered his head and kissed Lu Lingxi¡¯s lips, grinding tenderly. Lu Lingxi was nervous that Wang Shuxiu would be unhappy if he returned backte, but he couldn¡¯t leave Yan Yue, so he opened his eyes and watched Yan Yue kiss him. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes were hot and focused and he felt his heart melting when he looked at Lu Lingxi like this. He lowered his head to rest his forehead against Lu Lingxi¡¯s and said, ¡°I¡¯lle to you tonight.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes suddenly widened and his heart pounded fiercely. ¡°What if Mom finds out?¡± Yan Yue raised his eyebrows and seriously considered, ¡°She¡¯ll beat me up?¡± Lu Lingxi imagined the scene for a moment and nodded, holding back a smile. Chapter 138 It was a quarter of an hourter that Lu Lingxi came home from the next door. Wang Shuxiu sat on the sofa and red at him. Lu Lingxi¡¯s knees felt weak and he snuggled up to Wang Shuxiu¡¯s side. He didn¡¯t know how to be coquettish, he just hugged Wang Shuxiu¡¯s arm affectionately and called out in a soft voice, ¡°Mom.¡± Every time he did this, Wang Shuxiu was helpless. She reached out and bitterly poked Lu Lingxi¡¯s forehead with her finger, saying sternly, ¡°Eat.¡± Lu Lingxi followed Wang Shuxiu like a little tail. The mother and son sat next to each other. Xiao Feng looked at them with amusement and gave each of them a portion of pork ribs, saying in a conciliatory manner, ¡°Come on, try my cooking.¡± ¡°Thank you, Dad.¡± Lu Lingxi said obediently. Xiao Feng smiled, ¡°If Xiao Xi likes it, I¡¯ll continue to cook tomorrow.¡± The father and son deviated from the previous incident in a couple of sentences. Wang Shuxiu knew what was going on, gave them a nce, lowered her head and started eating. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly. After they ate, it was almost nine o¡¯clock in the evening and Wang Shuxiu went back to her room early to rest. Lu Ling also went to his room as if nothing had happened. But he kept sitting at the door listening to the movement outside. Dahei was quietly lying beside Lu Lingxi, his ears perked up. Lu Lingxi guessed Dahei¡¯s thoughts, smiled and stroked Dahei¡¯s head, whispering, ¡°Dahei, are you listening to Mom falling asleep too?¡± Dahei gave a low bark in a suppressed voice. Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed and didn¡¯t say anything more as he stroked Dahei. However, Dahei¡¯s hearing was much more sensitive than his. Had Dahei been therest time, Mom wouldn¡¯t have been able to catch Big Brother Yan and him together. After waiting for a while and hearing no movement outside, Lu Lingxi guessed that Wang Shuxiu should be asleep. Originally Yan Yue said he woulde to him, but Lu Lingxi thought it would be more convenient for him to go to Yan Yue. It was fine if Wang Shuxiu caught him outside, but if Yan Yue was caught in the house by Wang Shuxiu, the consequences would be serious. ¡°I¡¯ming.¡± Lu Lingxi sent a text message to Yan Yue first, and then talked to Dahei quietly. Dahei immediately ran ahead, his four paws stepping onto the ground silently. As soon as Lu Lingxi went out, he saw Yan Yue standing outside waiting for him just likest time. His eyes lit up and the corners of his mouth couldn¡¯t help but curve up. Inside the room, Xiao Feng keenly heard themotion outside and smiled silently. He carefully tucked in the corners of the nket of the sleeping Wang Shuxiu, thinking that it was better for Xiaohua not to know anything. Have a good night¡¯s sleep. The next day Lu Lingxi returned to his room early. Xiao Feng pretended not to know that he had been out all night. When he saw Lu LIngxi, he just asked if he had slept as usual. Lu Lingxi felt so guilty that he almost buried his head in his bowl when he ate. Xiao Fengughed in his heart and shook his head without saying anything. The very next day after Xiao Feng returned, Ye Kang also came to Fengcheng. Just like Xiao Hong¡¯s reaction when he first entered the city, Ye Kang was also surprised by the changes in Fengcheng. Past the highway toll booth, it was like there were two seasons inside and outside of Fengcheng City. On one side it was still as dark as in winter, while on the other side it was already spring. Ye Kang was so surprised that when he saw Yan Yue, he asked if Yan Yue knew what was going on. Ye Kang remembered that the climate in Fengcheng was simr to that in Zhongjing, so he didn¡¯t think there was such a big difference between the two cities. Besides, the change in Fengcheng was limited to the city, and outside it still felt simr to the weather in Zhongjing, which was really strange. Since it was rted to the white panel, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t say anything to Ye Kang. He just said vaguely, ¡°Fengcheng is by the sea, and the weather is warm this year, so it¡¯s probably affected by it.¡± Ye Kang gave him a nk look, ¡°You believe what the experts say, right?¡± Yan Yueughed as he heard it. Ye Kang parked his car at the entrance of Tiny Garden and greeted Lu Lingxi who came out. Yan Yue followed closely by his side. His first concern was that Lu Lingxi wasn¡¯t wearing a coat, just a thin sweater when he walked out. ¡°Be careful of catching a cold.¡± Yan Yue stepped forward and pushed Lu Lingxi back. Lu Lingxi smiled at Ye Kang in embarrassment and meekly called out, ¡°Brother Ye.¡± Ye Kang nodded with a smile and followed the two into Tiny Garden. The atmosphere of Tiny Garden was as good as ever, and Ye Kang took a deep breath, intoxicated. Thest time he had left Fengcheng, what he missed most was the air inside Tiny Garden. Although it was said that the smog in Zhongjing should be less in winter, the moderately polluted air all year round still left Ye Kang with a feeling of breathlessness from time to time. ¡°It¡¯s still such a good environment here, Xiao Xi.¡± Ye Kang sighed from the bottom of his heart. Basically this was a sentiment that everyone who came to Tiny Garden would have, and Lu Lingxi was used to it. Ye Kang thought of something, ¡°The air outside is also good. It¡¯s actually rare to see the blue sky.¡± He wasn¡¯t being sarcastic. Fengcheng was heavily polluted. If Zhongjing was moderately polluted all year round, Fengcheng was heavily polluted all year round. In a year of 365 days, there could be 300 days without seeing the blue sky. Every time China selected the city with the worst environment, Fengcheng was basically at the top of the list. When Ye Kangpared his visit to Fengchengst year, he couldn¡¯t help but feel somewhat emotional. When he finished speaking, Lu Lingxi nodded and said seriously, ¡°You can see blue skies these days, it has been particrly blue for more than a week.¡± The three of them chatted on the topic. Ye Kang didn¡¯t know about the nt evolution and only thought that the improvement in Fengcheng¡¯s air was an effect of the new environmental protection policy; although he wasn¡¯t optimistic about Fengcheng¡¯s long-term future. For Fengcheng, a heavy industrial city, the main pirs of the economy were coal and steel. And it so happened that these two industries were the two most polluting to the environment. Although the new mayor of Fengcheng was mainly concerned about environmental protection, it was not possible for him to leave economic development unattended. He had nted trees everywhere in Fengcheng and shut down a number of small steel factories with iplete formalities, but this was only treating the symptoms but not the root of the problem for the entire environment of Fengcheng. No matter how many trees were nted, as long as Fengcheng didn¡¯t adjust its industrial structure, it would not be possible to avoid pollutionpletely. Besides, the mayor¡¯s term of office was five years. Who knows if the next mayor would focus on the economy or on environmental protection after this one was gone? When Ye Kang spoke about it bluntly, Yan Yue frowned slightly and subconsciously looked at Lu Lingxi. Although Xiao Xi didn¡¯t say it, in his heart he was very concerned about the improvement of the environment. Yan Yue didn¡¯t want Ye Kang¡¯s words to discourage Lu Lingxi. Besides, Ye Kang didn¡¯t yet know that nts could evolve. If the evolution of nts outpaced the rate of pollution in Fengcheng, even if Fengcheng couldn¡¯t manage to avoid pollutionpletely, it could still absorb all the pollution and try to maintain the status quo of blue skies and clear water. s Lu Lingxi, unaware of Yan Yue¡¯s worries, thought for a moment and said, ¡°It would be nice if there were nts that could rece steel or other materials. This wouldn¡¯t affect the economy, but would protect the environment, and there would be no need to worry about pollution.¡± As he said that seriously, Yan Yue thought about the existence of the white panel and raised his hand to rub Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair, saying softly, ¡°We might really be able to find a nt like that if we try our best.¡± Lu Lingxi nced at Yan Yue and nodded vigorously. Ye Kang found Lu Lingxi¡¯s idea interesting, but when he looked at the two men¡¯s expressions, his heart fluttered. Yan Yue¡¯s attitude didn¡¯t look like he was coaxing Lu Lingxi, making a casual remark, but rather there was a vague sense of certainty and seriousness. Ye Kang looked at the two men¡¯s faces, his expression somewhat thoughtful. They chatted for a long time and in the afternoon, Lu Lingxi apanied Ye Kang to the pet shop across the street. Yan Yue had already talked to Ye Kang about adopting the husky, and Ye Kang had agreed. As soon as the three of them entered the shop, the silvery grey husky rushed towards Lu Lingxi like an arrow. Lu Lingxi took a step back and caught it, stroking the husky¡¯s furry head with a smile and gesturing to Ye Kang, ¡°Look, Brother Ye, it¡¯s very obedient.¡± Just as Lu Lingxi finished speaking, Dong Zhi¡¯s girlfriend rushed out from the back angrily, carrying a pair of jeans, and furiously said to the husky, ¡°Stinky Erha (Husky), these are the new jeans I bought!¡± As soon as the husky saw her, it immediatelyid down on the ground belly up and pretended to be dead. Knowing that Ye Kang was the one who was going to adopt the husky, Dong Zhi was afraid that he would have a bad impression of the husky, so he hurried up and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Erha has always been quite well behaved.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s he well behaved!¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s girlfriend said angrily. She didn¡¯t know Ye Kang, but she was familiar with Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue, so she didn¡¯t treat them as outsiders. Furiously, she turned the jeans in her hand to reveal the back and demonstrated that the two pockets at the back of the jeans were scratched to pieces, with strips of denim pping in the wind. She was irate, ¡°I just put a bar of chocte in my pocket and the stinky Erha saw it. I¡¯ve told him he can¡¯t eat chocte, but he still found it and scratched the jeans.¡± The husky on the ground also seemed to know that Dong Zhi¡¯s girlfriend was talking about him, and raised both front paws to cover his eyes, looking as if he had no face to see people. Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He had just praised the husky for being obedient. Ye Kang looked at the husky¡¯s appearance andughed. Unexpectedly he liked this husky, although he could tell from these jeans that this husky wasn¡¯t as obedient as Lu Lingxi had described. But it might be the old saying about love at first sight; he took an instant liking to this husky. ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± Ye Kang asked. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know whether tough or to cry for a moment and replied, ¡°His previous owner was toozy and called him Erha. There¡¯s no formal name.¡± Ye Kang thought that when Dong Zhi¡¯s girlfriend was saying ¡°Erha¡±, she meant the dog breed, but he didn¡¯t think it was really the dog¡¯s name. He thought Erha was pretty good and turned to Lu Lingxi to ask what he thought. Lu Lingxi¡¯s way of naming was always simple: Dahei, Xiaohei, Xiaohui and so on. He stared at the husky and suggested a few names for Ye Kang to choose from, such as Xiaoyin (Little Silver), Xiaohui (Little Grey) and Erha, or else Xiaoqi (Little Wonder) would be fine. Ye Kang & Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go with Erha and don¡¯t bother changing his name.¡± Ye Kang made the final decision. By now Dong Zhi¡¯s girlfriend finally understood that Ye Kang was the new owner of Erha. She looked at the jeans in her hand and somewhat regretfully thought that she should have saved face for Erha. As soon as she put her jeans away, Erha, who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead, immediately got up and continued to circle around Lu Lingxi. Ye Kang smiled, squatting on the ground and stroking Erha¡¯s head. Erha squinted his eyes at him and suddenly pounced on him and enthusiastically licked Ye Kang¡¯s face. Dong Zhi looked happy; although Erha usually acted silly and cheap, and had been lively and yful since he was sent to the pet shop by his original owner as if he wasn¡¯t affected by the abandonment at all, but in fact Erha understood everything in his heart, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have been so enthusiastic towards Ye Kang and tried so hard to please him. The good thing was that Ye Kang was a friend introduced by Xiao Xi, so Dong Zhi felt relieved to leave Erha in his hands and didn¡¯t have to worry that Erha would have to adapt to another home after he had just adapted to one. s Seeing that Ye Kang and Erha were having fun, Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue went back to Tiny Garden. The afternoon passed, and before 6 o¡¯clock, Ye Kang walked back across the road to the shop alone. ¡°Huh, where¡¯s Erha?¡± Lu Lingxi who was talking to Yan Yue turned his head to look and couldn¡¯t help but wonder a little when he didn¡¯t see Erha. Ye Kang said, ¡°Erha couldn¡¯t bear to leave the pet shop, so I let him stay one more day and wille back tomorrow to take him away.¡± What he didn¡¯t borate on was that just as he was about to take Erha away, the ever coquettish Erha suddenly became downcast and looked at Dong Zhi with a look of reluctance. Dong Zhi smiled nervously and whispered to Ye Kang, ¡°Don¡¯t look down at them, they don¡¯t talk but they understand everything in their hearts. They know who has been good to them, and they know how to repay the kindness.¡± Dong Zhi was talking about the pets kept in the shop, and Ye Kang immediately thought of Dahei when he heard it, nodding with emotion. That was why Ye Kang deliberately let Erha stay at the pet shop for one more day to say goodbye to Dong Zhi and the others. As soon as the time passed 6 o¡¯clock, the three packed up and left Tiny Garden together. Yan Yue suggested going to the small restaurant for dinner, a sort of meet-and-greet for Ye Kang. Lu Lingxi also wanted to go and see if Bai Yuan was ustomed to the restaurant, so he nodded in agreement. Ye Kang was curious about the restaurant and agreed too. When the three of them arrived at the restaurant, they saw from afar that the entrance was full of people waiting for a table. It was still early spring, but these people, freezing and with red noses, had been waiting outside for who knows how long. By then the residents in the vicinity of the restaurant had all chosen to pack up and go home, otherwise there would be even more people queuing up at the restaurant than there were now. Because of Wang Shuxiu¡¯s pregnancy, both the expansion and the n to open a new restaurant were halted, which directly led to the restaurant being too small and the need to wait in line for a long time no matter what time of day you came to eat. Luckily, Lu Lingxi had already spoken to Yi Hang in advance, so they didn¡¯t need to wait with other customers downstairs and could just eat upstairs. Ye Kang was a little surprised by the scene in front of him. He had already returned to Zhongjing when the small restaurant opened and he hadn¡¯t eaten here. However, he had heard Yan Yue mention a few times that the ingredients in the small restaurant were purely natural and unpolluted and very fresh, so it was no wonder that it attracted so many people. ¡°Shall we go straight in?¡± Ye Kang nced at the people lining up around him, feeling deep in his heart that if he said aloud they were not queuing, someone would immediately rush out and give him a lecture. Lu Lingxi was amused by Ye Kang¡¯s expression and nodded with a smile, whispering, ¡°It¡¯s fine, the regrs all know me.¡± When the restaurant first opened, Lu Lingxi used toe over after work to help out. At that time, all the residents in the neighbourhood knew Lu Lingxi. Later on, more and more customers came to the restaurant, and ordingly, more and more people knew Lu Lingxi, and they all knew that he was thedy boss¡¯s son, and was also considered the little boss of the ce. After Lu Lingxi said that, Ye Kang exaggeratedly made a relieved expression, and Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi bothughed when they looked at him. Facing the eager gaze of a group of people, the three entered the small restaurant, and Dahei was left in the car outside. There were more and more guests in the small restaurant, and Lu Lingxi also had to consciously stop bringing Dahei in. Although he knew that Dahei was very healthy, had no germs and was clean, it was inevitable that some guests would mind this, and he could only wrong Dahei. Dahei obediently stayed in the car without making a fuss. Ye Kang felt somewhat d, ¡°Fortunately I didn¡¯t bring Erha along, otherwise it would¡¯ve been a headache.¡± Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue looked at each other and nodded in agreement. The three of them went straight upstairs, and Yi Hang found some time toe over and say hello. Lu Lingxi stopped him and asked how Bai Yuan was faring. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lao Si can¡¯t stand bullying.¡± Yi Hang patted his chest and assured, ¡°He¡¯s doing well here, it¡¯s not like he has to cut radishes every day. asionally the master chef is busy and he can even stir-fry a dish. It¡¯s much better than what he used to study from a gold medal chef.¡± When Yi Hang said this, Lu Lingxi also felt relieved. Now that there were many people outside, he couldn¡¯t afford to keep Yi Hang, so he hurriedly said a few words and watched Yi Hang rush off. While the two of them were talking, Yan Yue had already invited Ye Kang to sit down, pouring him a cup of tea. What Yan Yue was holding was a bamboo tea set, and there were quite a few bamboo crafts upstairs. These were all bought by Wang Shuxiu and Zhou Xiaoman while shopping in the past few days. They looked elegant and interesting. Lu Lingxi sent Yi Hang away and sat down next to Yan Yue, who had a small bamboo building model in his hand. Lu Lingxi found it interesting, so he took it and yed with it. Yan Yue looked at him dotingly, ¡°You like it?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, fondled the bamboo building and asked curiously, ¡°Are there really a lot of bamboo buildings like this in Kunnan? Won¡¯t they copse if people live there?¡± Yan Yue chuckled, ¡°How can that be? Bamboo is flexible and tough, it has low density (ratio of mass to volume) and is several times stronger than steel¡­¡± He stopped suddenly when he said this and looked at Lu Lingxi thoughtfully. The author has something to say: If you are interested, you can search for articles about bamboo. Now the use of bamboo is really beyond imagination. There is a kind of bamboo called Gangzhu, which has a tensile strength (maximum stress the material can stand) of 2833 kilograms per square metre and enjoys the reputation of ¡°nt steel¡±. People really use bamboo instead of steel bars in bamboo reinforced cement for buildings. There are many other uses, and it is a treasure all over. Of course this story will be a little exaggerated O(¡É_¡É)O~ Chapter 139 Bamboo, from the Paoceae family, not only has many varieties but also grows rapidly. Some varieties are as low as grass, while others are as tall as trees. Most of them are distributed in tropical and subtropical areas. This was the introduction to bamboo in the Illustrated Book of nts, something that Lu Lingxi had been reading all night. Since Yan Yue had inadvertently mentioned the properties of bamboo during dinner, namely its toughness, flexibility and low density, the three of them had talked about it a little. It was just a casual conversation, but Lu Lingxi had something in mind and started looking for information on bamboo when he returned. In fact, there were many records about bamboo in China. In the early days, bamboo was associated with Chinese calligraphy (bamboo calligraphy pen, one of the oldest calligraphy tools in the world), and was then used in technology, architecture, for tools and musical instruments. Lu Lingxi found quite a lot of information, but only skimmed through the irrelevant parts, focusing on the history of bamboo in the development of construction and tools. ording to the information, bamboo had a long history of use in construction, with skilled craftsmen building a pce using bamboo as early as two thousand years ago. In the south, where bamboo was abundant, bamboo buildings were even the mostmon houses for ordinary people, and there were still people living in them to this day. Lu Lingxi looked at these records and found out that around the 1950s, some buildings in China were actually built with bamboo instead of steel. However, the situation was unique at the time because of theck of steel. It was ast resort, and this method wasn¡¯t widely promoted. However, this also showed that there was a real possibility that bamboo could rece steel. Closing the information, Lu Lingxi remembered what he had said to Yan Yue this afternoon, that he hoped to find some alternative nts to rece steel. At that time, he was actually thinking of trees such as hsienmu. Previously, Lu Lingxi had read in a book that there were several precious trees in nature that were as hard as steel, anti-corrosive, bullet-proof and erosion-proof, that were used as a substitute for metal, sometimes for ships, waterworks, vehicles, special buildings and so on. However, these trees were precious and rare, especially as they were slow growing and not easy to grow, which was not conducive torge-scale promotion. In Lu Lingxi¡¯s view, the biggest advantage of bamboo over them was that it grew quickly and was easy and inexpensive to nt. If bamboo could really rece steel after the proper treatment¡­ just thinking about this possibility made his spirits high and he couldn¡¯t wait to go find some bamboo right away. These thoughts were swirling in Lu Lingxi¡¯s head until midnight when he fell asleep in a daze. When he opened his eyes the next day, Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind was filled with bamboo, so much that he seemed a little distracted all morning. At half past eight, Yan Yue came to pick up Lu Lingxi to go to the shop, precisely as if checking in at work. Usually, Wang Shuxiu treated Yan Yue as air, but today, she actually smiled at him unexpectedly. Yan Yue was a little surprised but his face didn¡¯t show anything. Only when he saw Lu Lingxi¡¯s slow reaction did it dawn on him what Wang Shuxiu¡¯s change in attitude meant. As soon as the two of them left the house, Wang Shuxiu asked Xiao Feng in a low voice, ¡°Did Xiao Xi have a fight with Yan Yue? Why does he look so listless?¡± Xiao Feng didn¡¯t believe that the two would quarrel at all, smiled andforted Wang Shuxiu, ¡°Why would they, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± He then teased Wang Shuxiu, ¡°Besides, isn¡¯t it good for the two of them to fight? Don¡¯t you dislike them being together, Xiaohua?¡± Wang Shuxiu red at Xiao Feng, who shook his head in amusement and said nothing else. Maybe all mothers are like that. Wang Shuxiu said she didn¡¯t want Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue to be together, but if things went wrong between them, she started to worry about whether Lu Lingxi would be unhappy, hoping that Yan Yue could coax Lu Lingxi to be happy. As they say, care is chaotic, and so is worry. s Wang Shuxiu was at home thinking about it while Yan Yue helped Lu Lingxi fasten his seat belt and asked him with a smile, ¡°Is Xiao Xi still thinking about bamboo?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, a little embarrassed, ¡°Big Brother Yan, do you think I¡¯m fanciful?¡± ¡°No.¡± Yan Yue affirmed, ¡°The relevant technology is already avable now, it¡¯s just that we don¡¯t usually care about it.¡± Like Lu Lingxi, Yan Yue had also looked through quite a lot of informationst night. He hadn¡¯t paid much attention to this before, and onlyst night did he realise that recing steel with bamboo wasn¡¯t a crazy idea of his and Lu Lingxi¡¯s, but a direction of development in the international environmental protection industry. Whether it was bamboo reinforced concrete in the past or high-tech research now, the people involved were working hard to put it to practical use. A certain number of pavilions at the World Expo in Haicheng two years ago were the best example of this. Actually, Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue were looking at different information in different directions. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know much about the technology Yan Yue was talking about, but he thought that technology was only one aspect, and the most fundamental thing was the bamboo itself. Yan Yue nodded in agreement, ¡°Xiao Xi is right, the most fundamental thing is the bamboo itself.¡± ¡°Then, Big Brother Yan, should we find a few suitable bamboo nts to try? I still have 5 points of the power of nature.¡± Apart from returning the owed power of nature from the reward by thest panel upgrade, Lu Lingxi still had 5 points left for himself. He had been reluctant to use them, thinking to save them just in case. Now it was just the right time to use them to evolve the bamboo and see what effect it would have. His eyes were eager, and Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help but smile as he watched him. ¡°Good, let¡¯s find a few suitable bamboo nts to try.¡± There are many different types of bamboo, but not all of them are suitable for construction. Generally the mostmon is moso bamboo. Yan Yue spoke to Xue Yongtong and asked the other party to help him find a few bamboo nts. Xue Yongtong, who received Yan Yue¡¯s call, was a bit surprised that Xiao Xi was thinking about bamboo. Although bamboo was mostly found in the south and not verymon in the north, it wasn¡¯t a difficult task for Xue Yongtong to find a few bamboo nts and he readily agreed to do so. In less than two days, Xue Yongtong found the moso bamboo that Lu Lingxi wanted. He deliberately chose a five-year old healthy bamboo and nned to transnt the whole thing to the nt nursery of Tiny Garden. When they received Xue Yongtong¡¯s call, Yan Yue and An Jie were apanying Ye Kang outside to look for a suitable apartment. Ye Kang stayed at Ye Cheng¡¯s house for two days. The first day Erha was able to restrain his nature and act innocent and well-behaved, but by the second day only Erha turned Ye Cheng¡¯s house into a demolition site. Even now Ye Kang didn¡¯t dare to recall Ye Cheng¡¯s expression when he saw the scene at home. He only felt a chill down his back, and Ye Cheng¡¯s face was so gloomy it could scare people to death. Erha probably knew that he was in trouble, so he hid in the bathroom and refused toe out. After Ye Kang finished cleaning up the house, he wanted to go to the bathroom, but he had to go through Ye Cheng¡¯s bedroom and was stabbed countless times by Ye Cheng¡¯s eye knives. Ye Cheng endured for the whole night with supreme fortitude, and the next morning he packed Ye Kang and Erha and kicked them out. Ye Kang was quite gloating when he talked about the incident, and he even made it a point to show Yan Yue and An Jie the photos he took at the scene. Anyone familiar with Ye Cheng knew that apart from being vindictive, he also had a slight obsession with cleanliness. Thinking about the tragedy of the demolition site, it was incredible that he could hold back and didn¡¯t kick Ye Kang and Erha out immediately. ¡°How about this apartment?¡± Yan Yue asked Ye Kang. Ye Kang circled around and touched Erha who was following him, ¡°What do you think, Erha?¡± Erha looked at Ye Kang with big, innocent eyes, and Ye Kang shook his finger at him in amusement, ¡°You¡¯re just pretending.¡± He chose to live in an apartment also because it was a ce where he could keep his dog and there was someone to clean up after him no matter how much Erha tossed and turned; Ye Kang just had to pay for it. ¡°Okay, this is it. Next door is An Jie¡¯s apartment and Erha will have an extra ce to y.¡± The corners of An Jie¡¯s mouth twitched slightly as he heard that. He didn¡¯t really want the ce where he lived to be the ce where Erha yed, as Ye Kang put it. s As they wereughing and joking, Yan Yue received a call from Xue Yongtong. On the phone, Xue Yongtong talked about how he had already transnted the bamboo to the nt nursery and asked when they would go to see it. ¡°So fast!¡± Xue Yongtongughed, ¡°Naturally Xiao Xi¡¯s affairs are top priority.¡± After hanging up the phone, Yan Yue nned to pick up Lu Lingxi and go to the nt nursery with him to have a look, so that they could stay there at night. Before he had the chance to speak to Lu Lingxi, Ye Kang excitedly decided to go with him. Yan Yue had no choice but to bring An Jie with him as well to join the fun. As they had to rush back to the city in the evening, they left after lunch and it wasn¡¯t yet two o¡¯clock when they arrived at the nt nursery. Compared to downtown Fengcheng City, the change in the environment of Lingshui Vige was more obvious. The first thing Ye Kang saw before he even entered the vige was therge willow tree growing at the entrance to the vige. Seen from the road, the big willow tree was towering and majestic, its branches flourishing, its dense wickers hanging down like thousands of green ribbons fluttering in the wind. Ye Kang was taken aback. When he came to the nt nurseryst year, the big willow tree wasn¡¯t so tall. In just over half a year, the big willow tree seemed to have risen by two or three metres. ¡°I remember you saying that this willow tree was struck by lightning once?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Ye Kang joked, ¡°I suspect that it was struck by lightning as a tribtion.¡± Yan Yue nced at him speechlessly, and Ye Kangughed. Ye Kang was obviously more interested in the big willow tree than the newly transnted bamboo. As soon as he got out of the car, he called Erha and wanted to go and have a look at the big willow tree. An Jie had been to Lingshui Vige quite a few times and wasn¡¯t as sensitive to the changes in the big willow tree as Ye Kang was; he was just intrigued by what Ye Kang said and followed along to the vicinity of the big willow tree. Both of them knew the way, and there was no need to worry about them getting lost. Yan Yue confidently left them behind and went with Lu Lingxi to look at the few moso bamboos that had been transnted. Moso bamboo does not require much soil, as long as it is fertile, moist and has good drainage and breathability. The soil in the Tiny Garden nt nursery had been purified and met almost all the requirements for the growth of moso bamboo. When the two went over, Uncle Li was looking curiously at the few lone bamboos. This southern nt, Uncle Li had still seen once in the Fengcheng Botanical Garden a few years ago. He asked Lu Lingxi with a smile, ¡°Does Xiao Xi want to eat bamboo shoots?¡± Otherwise he couldn¡¯t think of a reason why Lu Lingxi would transnt so many bamboos. Lu Lingxi blushed a little at this, and wondered which would sound more funny, the real reason or his desire to eat bamboo shoots. Uncle Li saw that he didn¡¯t speak and thought that he had guessed Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind. The child was thin-skinned; Uncle Li smiled and didn¡¯t continue asking. Uncle Li watched for a while and then went to work. Lu Lingxi clicked on the white panel and the information on moso bamboo appeared on it. nt name: Moso bamboo nt needs: none nt vitality: high Generally, newly transnted nts needed a process of adaptation, and the vitality level of moso bamboo indicated that it was clearly very well adapted to the environment here. Lu Lingxi looked at the panel and considered what to do next. ording to his experience, the panel would show when the current state of the nt fulfilled the conditions for evolution, and since the moso bamboo clearly didn¡¯t meet the conditions for evolution at the moment, he could only consume 5 points of the power of nature to induce it to evolve. The problem was that thest time the donglingcao had evolved he had done it identally, and he couldn¡¯t find any hint on the panel how he could choose the bamboo to evolve. As this thought shed, the panel disyed a line of green text. After receiving the host¡¯s spiritual instructions, consume five points of the power of nature to start evolution? Lu Lingxi was startled but decisively chose yes. Chapter 140 The evolution of bamboo was influenced by Lu Lingxi¡¯s spirit, and the direction of evolution was Strength +20%. As soon as the evolution waspleted, Yan Yue cut a section of the bamboo and sent it to Wang Chaoliang who was far away in Kunnan, so that he could do a mechanical test. Three dayster, Wang Chaoliang appeared at the door of Tiny Garden in a dishevelled state, much to Lu Lingxi¡¯s surprise. ¡°Uncle Wang, you¡¯re back!¡± The clothes of Wang Chaoliang who appeared in front of Lu Lingxi were slightly wrinkled, as if he remained in the same pose for a long time. His hair was also a bit messy and his face was visibly tired, but his eyes were amazingly bright. When he saw Lu Lingxi, he took a step forward excitedly and said quickly, ¡°Xiao Xi, is the bamboo that Yan Yue sent me a new species that you discovered?¡± From time to time, Lu Lingxi would discover and cultivate some new varieties of nts, and both Wang Chaoliang and Xue Yongtong were ustomed to his behaviour and secretly surprised by his amazing talent. Therefore, after receiving the bamboo sent by Yan Yue, Wang Chaoliang vaguely realised something. Instead of doing the test in front of his colleagues, he borrowed theboratory after his colleagues got off work. After a series of tests, although he was psychologically prepared in advance, Wang Chaoliang was shocked by the test results. Out of his responsibility to Lu Lingxi, Wang Chaoliang bought a ticket to the nearest ne and rushed back to Fengcheng. Lu Lingxi nodded softly under the excited eyes of Wang Chaoliang. After the evolution of moso bamboo, its genes would definitely change, which was equivalent to a new nt variety. In view of the fact that the moso bamboos transnted by Xue Yongtong were healthy five-year old bamboos, Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t say that he raised them by himself, he could only ¡°discover¡± them unintentionally. As soon as he nodded, a big stone fell from Wang Chaoliang¡¯s heart. He released his grip on Lu Lingxi¡¯s arm and said with great excitement, ¡°Xiao Xi, your discovery is definitely a big one! The economic and environmental value is immeasurable.¡± When Wang Chaoliang said that, he thought of something, ¡°Xiao Xi, I want to introduce a friend to you, he specialises in bamboo research. If he knew about your discovery he would be overjoyed.¡± The friend Wang Chaoliang was talking about was called Zheng Xinhe, a researcher at the Kunnan Botanical Garden and the deputy director of the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation in China. He was an expert specialising in the study of bamboo. Two years ago, China deciphered the genome code of moso bamboo and published the results in ¡°Nature & Gics¡±. The deciphering work was led and organised by Zheng Xinhe. Because Wang Chaoliang had a good rtionship with Zheng Xinhe, he paid attention to his research from time to time. He knew that Zheng Xinhe was now working to promote bamboo as an environmentally friendly material, and even hoped that bamboo could change the current industrial structure of China and be a new type of industrial resource. Zheng Xinhe had once told Wang Chaoliang that bamboo was simply natural nt steel, and that if the right bamboo could be found, together with the current mature technology, bamboo couldpletely rece the existence of steel. And in Wang Chaoliang¡¯s opinion, this bamboo found by Lu Lingxi was the most suitable bamboo that Zheng Xinhe mentioned, bar none. After spending half an hour introducing his friend, Wang Chaoliang seriously said to Lu Lingxi: ¡°Xiao Xi, you have to realise that this newly discovered bamboo of yours has the potential to change the future structure of industry. If you just promote it as an ordinary nt, then it¡¯s a pity. This friend of mine, Zheng Xinhe, I trust his character wholeheartedly. Only by taking the lead in the development and promotion can he truly maximise the value of this bamboo.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you, Uncle Wang?¡± Lu Lingxi had no doubts about Wang Chaoliang¡¯s words, he just preferred to cooperate with him. Wang Chaoliang hesitated for a few seconds, shook his head with a bitter smile and said frankly, ¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯m not a bamboo researcher, and my knowledge and resources in this area are not as good as Zheng Xinhe¡¯s.¡± He wasn¡¯t being modest, but telling the truth. That said, it wasn¡¯t that Wang Chaoliang was unmoved; since he could see the value of bamboo, he knew how much of an impact this would have if it seeded. If he took the lead, he could foresee great glory in the future, perhaps even the highest glory he could ever achieve in his life. But he couldn¡¯t. As he himself had said, his knowledge and resources about bamboo were not as good as Zheng Xinhe¡¯s, and since Xiao Xi and Yan Yue trusted him, he had to be responsible for them. Wang Chaoliang had said this, and Lu Lingxi knew that the other party was doing it for his own good. He thought about it and said, ¡°I¡¯ll discuss it with Big Brother Yan.¡± s ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve taken a week¡¯s leave, Xiao Xi, you can look for me anytime.¡± Wang Chaoliang gave Lu Lingxi the mechanical test report that Yan Yue had asked him to do, and after a few more words he went back to Grandma Wang¡¯s house. Lu Lingxi quickly gave Yan Yue a call and spoke in detail about Wang Chaoliang¡¯s return. ¡°I know, I¡¯lle back soon. By the way, what does Xiao Xi want to eat for lunch? I¡¯ll bring it to you from the small restaurant.¡± Ever since Wang Shuxiu had intentionally or unintentionally hinted that Lu Lingxi had lost weight again recently, Lu Lingxi¡¯s lunch had been taken care of by the small restaurant. Either Yan Yue went there to pick it up, or Yi Hang took the time to deliver it to Tiny Garden. Lu Lingxi felt that it was too much trouble and once mentioned that he could just eat something by himself. The next day Wang Shuxiu personally cooked the food and brought it to the shop for Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t do anything about Wang Shuxiu, so he could only promise to wait for the lunch prepared for him by the small restaurant every day at noon. ¡°Glutinous rice ribs, right, Dahei wants to eat ribs.¡± Lu Lingxi said obediently. Yan Yue said softly, ¡°Okay.¡± After hanging up the phone, Yan Yue packed up and prepared to go to the small restaurant. Ye Kang very consciously pulled An Jie and followed behind Yan Yue. Yan Yue said kindly, ¡°Preparing to dine out again?¡± Ye Kang wasn¡¯t at all embarrassed to be poked fun by Yan Yue; instead he said bluntly, ¡°You know how crowded the restaurant is, who knows how long it will take to queue. You can¡¯t just care about Xiao Xi and ignore your brothers, right?¡± Yan Yue chuckled at this and gestured for the two to hurry to the car. Erha rushed to the car before everyone else and jumped in, hogging the co-pilot seat. Ye Kang: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Erha didn¡¯t know that he was disliked by his own master and was looking through the window in excitement. After following Ye Kang once in a night car race, Erha had fallen in love with this new activity and had identified the co-pilot seat as his own, jumping there very consciously whenever he saw a car. Ye Kang looked at Erha speechlessly while Yan Yue was amused by his expression. Finally, Ye Kang followed Erha into the car. Half an hourter, Yan Yue dropped Ye Kang and An Jie upstairs at the small restaurant and left, carrying the tworge instion boxes prepared by Yi Hang. s Wang Chaoliang was at Tiny Garden again. He came this time to deliver chicken legs to Dahei. Grandma Wang had braised a pot of chicken legs today and was about to deliver some to Dahei. When she caught such a coolie as Wang Chaoliang, she simply sent him out. Wang Chaoliang looked at Dahei and said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m taking advantage of Dahei again. If it weren¡¯t for Dahei, I wouldn¡¯t be able to eat chicken legs for lunch today.¡± Lu Lingxi was embarrassed to receive the chicken legs from Grandma Wang. Last time he asked Elder Zhang for a recipe for health care, but he had forgotten it in the morning when Wang Chaoliang left in such a hurry. Now he gave it to Wang Chaoliang. ¡°This is the recipe given by Grandpa Zhang, it works very well.¡± Lu Lingxi carefully introduced it to Wang Chaoliang. Wang Chaoliang himself didn¡¯t really believe in these things, but it was Xiao Xi¡¯s good intention, so he happily took it. ¡°I¡¯ll ask your Grandma Wang to make it and drink it ordingly.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded and instructed Wang Chaoliang to make sure to talk to Grandma Wang. He also made a point, bringing up Elder Su as an example. After he told Elder Su about this recipe, Elder Su drank it for a few days and called Lu Lingxi, saying that it worked and that he felt warm qi in his body after drinking it, which was veryfortable. Lu Lingxi said it seriously, and Wang Chaoliang also nodded. Yan Yue came over and saw this scene. ¡°Xiao Xi, Mr. Wang.¡± ¡°Big Brother Yan.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes at Yan Yue. Wang Chaoliang also greeted ¡°Mr. Yan¡± politely. Although he knew Yan Yue well, he wasn¡¯t as close to him as he was to Xiao Xi; it was difficult to get close to Yan Yue as a person. Wang Chaoliang sometimes wondered how Xiao Xi could know someone like Yan Yue. He didn¡¯t mean that Yan Yue was bad, but he was quite different from them, a kind of elite. However, Wang Chaoliang thought it was a good thing that he met Yan Yue, because what he said to Xiao Xi might not be understood by Xiao Xi, and it was Yan Yue who really made the decision. With this in mind, Wang Chaoliang was in no hurry to go home but was going to find time to talk to Yan Yue. Yan Yue saw his intention, opened the instion box and ced it in front of Lu Lingxi, ¡°Xiao Xi, you eat first, I¡¯lle overter.¡± Lu Lingxi watched as Yan Yue and Wang Chaoliang walked to the door of Tiny Garden, chatting in low voices. He couldn¡¯t eat by himself, so he simply put the instion box away and waited for Yan Yue toe back to eat together. Yan Yue turned his head to look at Lu Lingxi; his heart softened and his attention returned to Wang Chaoliang. He interrupted when he heard Wang Chaoliang mention Zheng Xinhe¡¯s name, ¡°Zheng Xinhe is a member of the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation?¡± Wang Chaoliang nodded. The International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation was an independent, non-profit, intergovernmental international organisation. Their aim was to promote the welfare of bamboo and rattan producers and users on the premise that bamboo and rattan resources were sustainable. In recent years this organisation had yed a unique role in environmental and ecological conservation, poverty alleviation and trade promotion through pioneering new applications of bamboo and rattan. If Zheng Xinhe, the man whom Wang Chaoliang spoke of, was the deputy director of this organisation, then the resources at his disposal were indeed innumerable. Yan Yue had already basically approved of cooperating with Zheng Xinhe in his heart; what he couldn¡¯t have imagined was that Wang Chaoliang had actually conceded the promotion of this matter to another person. ¡°You don¡¯t regret it?¡± Wang Chaoliang smiled and shook his head, ¡°You trust me, I have to be responsible for you.¡± His tone was calm; as Yan Yue listened, the corners of his mouth curled up and a sh of appreciation appeared in his eyes extremely quickly. Chapter 141 After Yan Yue and Wang Chaoliang made a deal, Zheng Xinhe arrived in Fengcheng the next morning. He was holding the information passed on to him by Wang Chaoliang and was staring at the data all the way. His mood was like a roller coaster: apprehension, doubt, hope and all kinds ofplicated emotions making him unable to calm down. As the most famous bamboo researcher in China, Zheng Xinhe dedicated half of his life to bamboo research. Zheng Xinhe was born in a small, remote vige in Shuchuan. Behind the vige there was a mixed forest of bamboo and other tree species. At that time, vigers were willing to go to the forest to cut a few stalks of bamboo to build a fence or a pigsty. Zheng Xinhe wondered why people were cutting bamboo instead of trees. The people in the vige couldn¡¯t exin; they just acted on experience. He was told by his family that it would take more than ten years for a tree to grow this high, while it would only take a few months for a bamboo to grow to the same height. It was cheaper to cut down the bamboo, as both trees and bamboo could be used anyway. Zheng Xinhe became interested in bamboo since then, and as the first university student in his vige, he chose to study bamboo at the Forestry University of Zhongjing. Zheng Xinhe had achieved a lot of research results over the years. The more he researched, the more he found that bamboo was simply a treasure. Bamboo could be used for food, clothing, housing, transportation and other purposes. This was especially true in recent years when the ecological damage had been so severe that many woods had been cut down, making bamboo forests, which were fast growing and highly reproductive, the best alternative to woods, consolidating soil and water and absorbing carbon dioxide. People were increasingly aware of the usefulness of bamboo, but this was not enough. Zheng Xinhe had bigger ambitions. He shifted his gaze to the information in his hand and squeezed it hard. He had a vague feeling that this information would probably fulfil his hopes andpletely change the industrialndscape of the entire country. With this fiery thought in mind, Zheng Xinhe met with Lu Lingxi. He already knew from Wang Chaoliang that Lu Lingxi wasn¡¯t very old, but he could never have imagined that the other party would be so young and even look like a minor. Without waiting for Zheng Xinhe to hide the astonishment on his face, Wang Chaoliang smiled and introduced them, ¡°Xiao Xi, this is the friend I was telling you about, just call him Uncle Zheng.¡± ¡°Uncle Zheng.¡± Lu Lingxi was very polite. Zheng Xinhe in front of him looked to be in his early fifties, not very tall, with a slightly chubby figure. Perhaps due to overuse of his brain, there were just a few hairs left on his head, forming a Mediterranean hairstyle (a type of baldness where the hair is gone in the middle of the head but remains on the outside). Hearing Lu Lingxi¡¯s voice, Zheng Xinhe came back to his senses. He suppressed the astonishment on his face and smiled self-deprecatingly, ¡°The younger generation is fearless. Seeing Xiao Xi I realise I¡¯m really old.¡± Although it was the first time they had met, Zheng Xinhe naturally called him ¡°Xiao Xi¡±, following Wang Chaoliang¡¯s example, thus narrowing the distance between them. He had a kind and funny attitude, and Lu Lingxi had a good impression of him. Wang Chaoliang also introduced Yan Yue, who was beside Lu Lingxi, and Zheng Xinhe felt that Yan Yue¡¯s type was more familiar to him. He knew Yan Yue would be harder to deal with than Lu Lingxi, who had little social experience. s After a simple greeting, they quickly started chatting about bamboo. Lu Lingxi knew a lot about flowers and nts, but when it came to bamboo, it couldn¡¯t be said that he didn¡¯t know anything at all, but he just had a general idea. Zheng Xinhe saw that Lu Lingxi was interested in this topic and took the initiative to talk about it. He was an expert in this field and talked about bamboo in a very clear manner. From the deliciousness of bamboo shoots to bamboo for making paper, and the recent rise of bamboo bicycles abroad, he finally got to the main point. He hoped to make use of the properties of bamboo and turn it into a new industrial material that could be used to rece the existence of steel. Speaking of this, Zheng Xinhe, fearing that Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue wouldn¡¯t believe him, deliberately mentioned a technology that was now developed, using high pressure to bond multiple pieces of bamboo together, increasing the density of the bamboo¡¯s internal structure by a hundred times and bringing its strength up to the performance standards of construction materials. The inventor of this technology was none other than Zheng Xinhe, who said with a slight hint of excitement, ¡°I have been seeking to improve this technology, but because of the limitations of the raw materials, the improvements were not obvious. Now with this bamboo that you have discovered, this technology will soon be able to be promoted and applied in practice.¡± Lu Lingxi was infected by his tone and his emotions surged. He believed that Zheng Xinhe¡¯s enthusiasm in talking about all this wasn¡¯t a lie; from the bottom of his heart Zheng Xinhe regarded it as his lifetime work. Zheng Xinhe was even happier to see Lu Lingxi listening attentively, and excitedly continued to speak, ¡°I want bamboo to rece not just steel for construction, but in many other aspects as well. Of course, we may not be able to rece all the steel with bamboo in a short time, but as long as we are willing to take the first step and change people¡¯s habits little by little, we will eventually change the industrialndscape of the whole of China in the long run.¡± At this time, Zheng Xinhe didn¡¯t look as calm as he had when he first appeared in front of them, and there was a fanatical aura all over him. Lu Lingxi saw the shadow of Wang Chaoliang in him, and Wang Chaoliang shook his head with a wry smile, ¡°upational disease, can¡¯t help it.¡± Because of Zheng Xinhe¡¯s frankness, they quickly became familiar with each other. After personally following Lu Lingxi to the nt nursery to see the bamboo, Zheng Xinhe formally brought up the matter of cooperation with Lu Lingxi. He hoped that Lu Lingxi would provide the raw materials and he would provide the technology to jointly develop the new material he named Zhugang (bamboo steel). ¡°How about it?¡± Zheng Xinhe said and looked at Yan Yue. When it came to cooperation negotiations, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t intervene and left it all to Yan Yue. Yan Yue didn¡¯t reply immediately, but pondered for a moment and asked Zheng Xinhe tactfully if he had found a suitable investor. s Zheng Xinhe smiled, ¡°I¡¯ve been in this business for a long time and I know a few people, so don¡¯t worry about the investment, Mr. Yan.¡± He thought that Yan Yue was worried about not finding a suitable investmentpany and was very confident about it. However, Yan Yue shook his head, ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. I hope we will invest ourselves.¡± ¡°What?¡± Zheng Xinhe was taken aback for a moment and subconsciously looked at Wang Chaoliang, asking about the economic situation of Tiny Garden with his eyes. Yan Yue guessed his concerns and smiled gently, ¡°If Director Zheng is worried about funding, you can rest assured about that.¡± Zheng Xinhe gave Yan Yue a deep look, ¡°This investment is not a small amount.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Yan Yue said lightly, ¡°In fact, the Fengcheng authorities have a technology support project right now, and I think we¡¯re a good fit. With the support of the government, the promotion of Zhugang will also be smoother.¡± Hearing that Yan Yue could get on board with the authorities, Zheng Xinhe agreed to Yan Yue¡¯s proposal after only a slight consideration. If they could really work with the government, it could also save a lot of trouble. After the two of them reached an agreement, the matter was settled. The government side of the cooperation was taken up by Yan Yue, and Lu Lingxi began to reproduce the evolved moso bamboo. This point was more rted to Zheng Xinhe than to Lu Lingxi. Generally speaking, bamboo propagation is based on traditional asexual propagation such as nting shoots, nting stalks and nting joints, but Lu Lingxi only had one evolved bamboo nt at hand, so he didn¡¯t know when he would be able to turn it into a forest through traditional methods. As he was apanied by Zheng Xinhe, an expert, Lu Lingxi deliberately vacated theboratory at the Qiu Tian nt nursery to carry out bamboo tissue culture seedling breeding. ording to Zheng Xinhe, through tissue culture seedlings, one bud could propagate at least 10,000 seedlings a year. This method of propagation was fast, had a high multiplication factor and was of good quality, allowing arge number of nts identical to the parental good nt to be obtained in a short period of time for the construction of an artificial bamboo forest. After Zheng Xinhe had carried out the group breeding of seedlings, he asked Lu Lingxi where he intended to create the bamboo forest. He said that the origin of moso bamboo was mostly in the Shuchuan area, and although the bamboo found by Lu Lingxi was a mutated moso bamboo, the growing environment wouldn¡¯t be too different, so it would be better for them to create the bamboo forest in Shuchuan. But Lu Lingxi was reluctant to leave Fengcheng and wanted to create the bamboo forest directly in the suburbs of Fengcheng. When he said this, Zheng Xinhe straight away thought he was fooling around. ¡°Moso bamboo has higher soil requirements than normal bamboo species, and requires sufficient water and humidity conditions but does not tolerate stagnant water. How can this area of Fengcheng be suitable for cultivating a bamboo forest?¡± ¡°The few bamboo nts transnted in the nt nursery are growing well now, the soil in Fengcheng may not be unsuitable for the growth of moso bamboo.¡± Lu Lingxi said seriously. He knew Zheng Xinhe was a bamboo expert, but he was very confident in the purified soil. Besides, if the bamboo forest was really created in Shuchuan, it would be too far away from Fengcheng for many things to be convenient. Because of Lu Lingxi¡¯s insistence, Zheng Xinhe had to follow him on a few trips to the outskirts of Fengcheng to personally measure the soilposition in the vicinity to make sure that the soil was suitable for the growth of moso bamboo. The results of the measurements surprised Zheng Xinhe; not only because the soil was suitable for the growth of moso bamboo, but also because it was rare that the soil was free of any pollution, unlike other soils he had seen that had too many heavy metals and chemicals deposited in them. ¡°This area¡­¡± Zheng Xinhe looked around in confusion; in his mind Fengcheng had always been a heavily polluted area, how could there be such clean soil? He was puzzled by this phenomenon and hesitantly looked at Lu Lingxi several times, but on second thought, thinking of Lu Lingxi¡¯s age, he didn¡¯t think Lu Lingxi would know this and suppressed his doubts without saying anything. ¡°Is it okay for Uncle Zheng?¡± Lu Lingxi looked at Zheng Xinhe staring at the soilposition test results for a long time and couldn¡¯t help but ask. Zheng Xinhe held back his disbelief and nodded. After making sure that the soil nearby was suitable, Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue made a trip back to Lingshui Vige. The two looked at the two small hills to the north of Lingshui Vige. As it was for a bamboo forest, the valley, foothills and hillsides could all be used and there was no need to take up the vige¡¯s arablend. Moreover, the hills were cheaper to rent than the fields used for farming. Lu Lingxi had already looked at them and the two hills were included in the purification area of the willow ecologicalmunity, which was just right for nting the bamboo forest. When he said this to Uncle Li, Uncle Li immediately became worried. ¡°It¡¯s good that Xiao Xi wants to nt bamboo, but can we do it here? It would be bad if they don¡¯t grow and you lose money.¡± ¡°It can grow.¡± Lu Lingxi affirmed, ¡°I¡¯ve checked it.¡± Uncle Li breathed a sigh of relief and took the two to Li Dayong, the vige head. When Li Dayong heard that they wanted to rent the hills to grow bamboo, he first was taken aback for a long time, and the first thing he said in response was, ¡°Can it grow here? Don¡¯t lose money if it can¡¯t grow.¡± After knowing them for more than half a year, Li Dayong regarded Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi as his own vige people. The first thing he thought about wasn¡¯t that renting the hills would generate ie for the vige, but what if they lost money? Knowing that Li Dayong meant well, Yan Yue took the initiative to exin, ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ve asked an expert from Zhongjing to look at it, and bamboos can be nted on thend around here.¡± As soon as he heard that the experts had looked at it, Li Dayong immediately rxed. This was how people in the vige were; they had a kind of blind faith towards the experts from Zhongjing. After the two hadpleted the formalities, Yan Yue entrusted Uncle Li to find some honest and hard-working people in the vige. The bamboo forest needed manpower to maintain and guard it, and relying on just Uncle Li and others was definitely not enough. ¡°Okay, leave this to me.¡± Uncle Li agreed immediately. The money paid for the work in Tiny Garden wasn¡¯t bad, and many people in the vige wanted toe, so recruiting people wasn¡¯t a difficult task. Chapter 142 Throughout March, Lu Lingxi was concerned about the breeding of the evolved moso bamboo. Zheng Xinhe had to go back to Zhongjing and had arranged for some of his students toe over to take care of this matter. At the beginning of April, the temperature in Fengcheng had already reached an average of 25 degrees Celsius. Lu Lingxi once heard one of his students cursing the weather, worrying that it might affect the transnting of the bamboo from theboratory into the soil. After all, the newborn nts had a very high demand for water, and if the soil didn¡¯t have enough water, they could only rely on artificial wateringter. In fact, the number of times it had rained since the beginning of spring throughout northern China could be counted on the fingers of one hand, and there were already signs of drought. The spring ploughing in many ces had been affected, and theck of water was currently the biggest problem in the north. Zheng Xinhe knew all this, and when he spoke to Lu Lingxi on the phone, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little worried. Lu Lingxi wasn¡¯t as worried as Zheng Xinhe. He had visited Lingshui Vige several times and found no signs of drought at all. Because of the water storage function of the third-stage evolution of the big willow, it continuously absorbed enough water from the groundwater and the Lingshui River, and then discharged it to the ground through the root system. Throughout the area covered by the willow ecologicalmunity, the water content of the soil had been maintained at a high level, and there was no shortage of water for the time being. He said this to Zheng Xinhe but Zheng Xinhe didn¡¯t seem to believe it much. Although he didn¡¯t say it clearly, the subtext was that Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t need tofort him like this, he was already prepared for the worst. Lu Lingxi hung up the phone somewhat upset, intending to wait for Zheng Xinhe toe to Fengcheng in a few days to personally take him to Lingshui Vige for a look. He was in a bad mood and Yan Yue could see it at a nce. He put down the file in his hand and waved at Lu Lingxi, asking, ¡°What? Did you have another disagreement with Zheng Xinhe?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head and sat down next to Yan Yue and told him about Zheng Xinhe¡¯s concerns. Yan Yue habitually took Lu Lingxi into his arms, raised his hand to rub his hair and said with a smile, ¡°Xiao Xi is also worried about this? Haven¡¯t we already visited Lingshui Vige and seen that there is no shortage of water?¡± ¡°The problem is that Uncle Zheng doesn¡¯t believe me, he always thinks I¡¯m fooling him. Although Uncle Zheng doesn¡¯t say so, in his heart he must be thinking that if only the bamboo forest had been in Shuchuan, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about experiencing a drought.¡± Lu Lingxi said sullenly. Yan Yue frowned slightly; Zheng Xinhe was a nice person, but he did have some stubborn insistence in certain aspects. There were some things that couldn¡¯t be exined to Zheng Xinhe, like the special circumstances of Tiny Garden, so they had already had a few minor disagreements this month. He kissed Lu Lingxi soothingly on the forehead and said softly, ¡°Next time you encounter this kind of situation, let me talk to Zheng Xinhe.¡± s Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and the corners of his lips curled up, his expression a bit sly, ¡°Big Brother Yan, didn¡¯t you notice that Uncle Zheng always makes a point of calling me every time?¡± Lu Lingxi had a soft temper and was easy to discuss things with, unlike Yan Yue who had such a strong attitude and was quite aggressive in his arguments. Zheng Xinhe always avoided Yan Yue to find Lu Lingxi unless it was necessary to deal with Yan Yue directly. Yan Yue¡¯s eyebrows rose at Lu Lingxi¡¯s words, and he lowered his head to nibble Lu Lingxi¡¯s lips slightly harder, chuckling, ¡°Do you still refuse to go to Big Brother Yan when things get tough?¡± Lu Lingxi pursed his lips and smiled; after a long time he said seriously, ¡°I also want to help Big Brother Yan do something.¡± His words were like a sharp sword, piercing the softest part of Yan Yue¡¯s heart. Yan Yue¡¯s gaze was gentle and he tenderly kissed Lu Lingxi. The two of them lingered for a moment, and Lu Lingxi leaned into Yan Yue¡¯s arms, apanying him as Yan Yue read the information on the table. This time, in cooperation with Zheng Xinhe, thepany behind Yan Yue, Dezhi Investment, didn¡¯t fund the project. It was the Ye family¡¯s investment instead. After he and Zheng Xinhe made a deal, Ye Kang participated in the name of the Ye family. In addition, they were attached to the Fengcheng City government¡¯s science and technology support project, which amounted to a four-way cooperation. This involved Tiny Garden providing the raw materials, Zheng Xinhe providing the technology, the Ye family being responsible for all the funding, and the Fengcheng City government only needing to be their front man. Yan Yue had given Lu Lingxi a detailed analysis of this matter. The prospects of Zhugang were vast, and based on the finished product Zheng Xinhe had made so far, it was only a matter of time before Zhugang reced the existence of steel. In this way, they wouldn¡¯t be facing one or twopetingpanies, but an entire steel industry, and the interests involved would be too huge to be resisted by Tiny Garden alone. Yan Yue discussed it with Zheng Xinhe when they first talked about cooperation, and if the two didn¡¯t have the participation of the Fengcheng authorities and the Ye family, Zheng Xinhe was actually thinking of establishing a rtionship with Shuchuan. He had a lot of contacts in Shuchuan and knew several government people. Just like Yan Yue nned, Zheng Xinhe was also preparing to use the government to be their front man. Lu Lingxi looked at the information and remembered what Yan Yue had said. He raised his head and asked, ¡°Will Brother Ye stay in Fengcheng?¡± s Yan Yue said, ¡°Not necessarily. Elder Ye is very optimistic about Zhugang¡¯s project, so he may not feelfortable just leaving Ah Kang here. Besides, Ah Kang has little interest in these things. Elder Ye may send Ah Kang¡¯s second brother over.¡± ¡°Then won¡¯t other people know about you staying in Fengcheng, Big Brother Yan?¡± It was this that Lu Lingxi was worried about. Yan Yue hugged him and changed his position, not really caring, ¡°Hopewell is in a mess right now, Father can¡¯t care about me for a while. Besides¡­¡± he paused, kissed Lu Lingxi¡¯s earlobe and said, ¡°I have Xiao Xi.¡± ¡°What?¡± Lu Lingxi was somewhat bewildered and confused. Yan Yue chuckled and kissed from Lu Lingxi¡¯s ear to his lips. After the kiss he exined, ¡°Although I didn¡¯t want to admit it, I understood in my heart that I didn¡¯t have the strength topete with my father in the past.¡± Although Yan Yue had initially taken advantage of his illness to quit Hopewell mostly to stay by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side, his awkward position at Hopewell was another reason. Yan Shihui was tantly biassed in favour of Yan Hai, and Yan Yue could only choose to take a step back himself if he didn¡¯t want to directly confront his father. In fact he didn¡¯t have the strength to confront Yan Shihui at that time either. Yan Yue continued, ¡°Xiao Xi, you remember what I said before? When I was a child, my father always groomed me as the heir to Hopewell. As for Grandpa, he always said that Hopewell would be mine in the future¡­ Although I don¡¯t like Hopewell much because of my family, there was no denying that the belief that Hopewell was mine was sort of ingrained in my heart.¡± It was one thing for Yan Yue to dislike Hopewell himself and it was another thing for Yan Hai and Yin Ya to try to rob him of his things. Yan Yue loathed their existence, and even less wanted to acknowledge that Yan Shihui and Yin Qinn had abandoned him for the sake of theirter children. The reason he was fighting for Hopewell was more to prove himself than anything else. ¡°I neither wanted to give up what was mine, nor did I have the strength to fight against my father, so I had to back off and stay away from Hopewell. My original intention was to wait until Yin Ya and Yan Hai fought each other and were both defeated before going back, and I was even mentally prepared that it might take three or five years. But I never thought I would meet Xiao Xi¡­¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s existence was like a gift from heaven to Yan Yue. Not only was he the love of Yan Yue¡¯s life, satisfying the thirst of Yan Yue¡¯s heart, but he also showed Yan Yue a magical world, a future with endless possibilities. Yan Yue wanted what was rightfully his and he wouldn¡¯t give it up, but unlike a year ago, he now had the strength to face his father openly. What Yan Yue said was still a little iprehensible to Lu Lingxi. Yan Yue looked at his ignorant look and his heart felt soft. He hugged Lu Lingxi and seriously said: ¡°Xiao Xi, just know that you are a great help to Big Brother Yan. Without you, Big Brother Yan wouldn¡¯t have the opportunity to cooperate with Gao Yongliang, wouldn¡¯t have donglingcao, wouldn¡¯t have Zhugang and wouldn¡¯t have the courage to challenge his father.¡± Lu Lingxi blushed a little as he heard it and said in a small voice, ¡°These are all the credit of the panel, not mine. Besides without Big Brother Yan, there wouldn¡¯t be Tiny Garden now. I still have to thank Big Brother Yan for that.¡± He said it seriously. Yan Yue smiled slightly and whispered, ¡°No, it¡¯s Big Brother Yan who has to thank Xiao Xi.¡± There were many things that Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know, and Yan Yue hoped that Lu Lingxi would never know for the rest of his life. Chapter 143 Despite the fact that Yan Yue¡¯s preparations for the production of Zhugang had been very low-profile, the Ye family¡¯s investment still attracted the attention of interested parties. Among them was the Lu family in Zhongjing. Elder Lu received the news early in the morning; the Ye family had invested a sum of money in Fengcheng, and seemed to be preparing to build a bamboo products production factory. He was a bit puzzled. The origin of bamboo was mostly the Shuchuan area; even if the Ye family wanted to invest in bamboo products, they should go to Shuchuan, why would they think of Fengcheng? Was it because of Ye Cheng? No, it couldn¡¯t be. The old man himself rejected this thought. Then why? And why bamboo products, what¡¯s the point? As the helmsman of the Lu family, Lu Hengchuan had spent a lifetime in the business world and paid close attention to several old rivals around him. He didn¡¯t think that old man Ye was suddenly interested in bamboo on a whim; he must have found some business opportunity. Lu Hengchuan ordered his people to go investigate what the Ye family had invested in, being so mysterious that they refused to let anyone know. The results of the investigation soon reached Lu Hengchuan¡¯s hands. He first saw that the Ye family had invested in fifteen production lines in Fengcheng. It was said that it was a new technology that could synthesise bamboo into a substitute for steel that met construction standards. This conclusion made Lu Hengchuan a little suspicious. Bamboo to rece steel? Elder Ye was not fanciful, was he? But when he saw the partner of the Ye family, he couldn¡¯t help but be taken aback. Tiny Garden Technology Co., Ltd., Lu Lingxi. The name stirred the old man¡¯s memory. Lu Hengchuan seemed to think of something as he pressed the button on his desk. His assistant quickly knocked on the door and walked in. ¡°Chairman?¡± ¡°Did youpile this information?¡± The assistant nodded respectfully. ¡°What do you know about Tiny Garden Technology Company?¡± Although the assistant was wondering in his heart, he didn¡¯t pause and said fluently, ¡°The predecessor of Tiny Garden Technology Company is a nt nursery called Tiny Garden. The boss is very young and his name is Lu Lingxi. Tiny Garden is mainly engaged in raising flowers and green nts. They have the rights to new varieties of four nts, including the raw materials of the bamboo products invested by the Ye family this time, a kind of bamboo named Zhugang.¡± Lu Hengchuan¡¯s attention was captured by the word ¡°young¡±, and he asked after a moment of silence: ¡°How old is Lu Lingxi?¡± The assistant quickly said, ¡°Neen years old.¡± Lu Hengchuan didn¡¯t say anything else and waved his hand, signalling the assistant to leave first. The assistant closed the door silently, but in his heart he was somewhat puzzled by the chairman¡¯s focus. As a man who had been beside Lu Hengchuan for a long time, he wasn¡¯t unaware of some of the Lu family¡¯s affairs. The member of the Lu family who had diedst year was called Lu Lingxi, and if he had lived until now he would have been exactly neen years old. This was a coincidence but he didn¡¯t think much of it. There were many people with the same name, and Lu Lingxi had little presence in the Lu family when he was alive, so it wasn¡¯t likely that the chairman would suddenly think of him after his death, right? s When the assistant left, the office was once again quiet. Lu Hengchuan¡¯s eyes fell back on the information in his hands. Fengcheng, neen years old, Lu Lingxi. One coincidence was nothing, but three coincidences together, could this be the child from back then? Lu Hengchuan thought about it and made a phone call, instructing his subordinates to help him check this Lu Lingxi. Whether or not Lu Lingxi was the child from back then, there was something fishy about the Ye family working with him. Zhugang? Bamboo that can rece steel? Old man Ye is very ambitious! Lu Lingxi wasn¡¯t aware of these undercurrents in Zhongjing. Early Saturday morning, he received a call from Zheng Xinhe, who had already arrived in Fengcheng. The nts from theboratory would be transnted into the ground in two days, but Zheng Xinhe was still a bit uneasy and wanted toe to Fengcheng to take a look in person. When he heard that both Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue were at the nt nursery, Zheng Xinhe didn¡¯t ask them to pick him up, took a taxi and rushed to Lingshui Vige. The driver was quite enthusiastic on the way, and hearing that Zheng Xinhe¡¯s ent didn¡¯t sound local, he said to him with some pride, ¡°How about it, our Fengcheng environment isn¡¯t bad, right?¡± Zheng Xinhe took a look at the greenery outside and nodded. The driver became more energetic, ¡°Have you been to Fengcheng before? If you had, you would know that the changes in Fengcheng this year have been dramatic. Last year at this time the sky was still hazy, but this year you can see that it has been blue for almost two weeks straight. Even if there was a little smog a while ago, it was quickly dispersed by the wind. The air is really good. I remember seeing the blue sky like this only when I was a kid. I never thought I would catch it again after so many years. Speaking of this blue sky we have to thank our mayor, it¡¯s him.¡± The driver gave Zheng Xinhe a thumbs up as he drove, ¡°Who knows how many small factories the new mayor has shut down despite the pressure. When he first shut them down, those people were still making trouble, wanting to petition and so on. What about now? If anyone dares to make a fuss, the neighbours around will drown them in spittle. What do you think the people want? To be fed and clothed, right, but also to have a good environment and to live a few more years in a good mood, don¡¯t you think so?¡± The driver didn¡¯t need Zheng Xinhe to agree, he just kept talking all the way. Zheng Xinhe didn¡¯t know whether to cry or tough as he listened to the driver talking without expecting him to say a word. The two were halfway out of town when they saw that the road ahead was slightly blocked, half of the road separated. ¡°What¡¯s going on up ahead?¡± Zheng Xinhe asked. The driver took a look and smiled, ¡°Hey, nothing, the sanitation workers are weeding. It¡¯s not strange, the nts grow faster when the environment is better. You didn¡¯t see the section just now, the grass was just weeded a few days ago. The greenery on both sides of the road has grown to a height of a man, and the flowers are so big and fragrant that my son says they look even better than the ones in the park. There¡¯s amunity in the north of the city, you know it, right? It used to be the most run-down kind of oldmunity, and only people with little money lived there, so it was downright poor. Now it¡¯s like an ecological botanical garden, full of birds and flowers, so if you live in thatmunity, you can live for ten years longer. The other day I heard them say that the property price in thatmunity has soared to 20,000 per square metre, while the most expensive one in our area, Shida za, is only 15,000. Do you think everyone who lives there is getting rich?¡± s He changed the topic freely, and Zheng Xinhe smiled as he listened, knowing that the driver was talking about themunity where Lu Lingxi¡¯s family lived. Zheng Xinhe had been there once, and at that time, he was also surprised by the environment inside the district. Although the overall environment of Fengcheng was good now, the environment of thatmunity was still very conspicuous. The time he went there, he did see a lot of agents moving around, but it was said that not many people were willing to sell their homes, and most residents were still in the mindset of waiting for prices to rise again. The driver drove slowly as he chatted with Zheng Xinhe. As they passed the section of road that was separated, Zheng Xinhe saw weeds growing on the side of the road and the sanitation workers busily spreading weed killer. Thinking about something, he asked, ¡°Do you guys think this grass is affecting your lives?¡± ¡°How does it?¡± The driver thought Zheng Xinhe had a strange idea, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a bit more work to cut the grass? The grass that we cut is not wasted, it is all sent to the farms in the western part. In the past, we were worried about the cattle being fed indiscriminately in the farms. But now we know that the cattle and sheep in the farm are eating this pure natural grass, so we can feel better about eating meat and other things. Don¡¯t you think we can kill two birds with one stone?¡± Zheng Xinhe was amused to hear that; he didn¡¯t think it could be like this and couldn¡¯t help butugh along with the driver. The two of them soon left the city, and the driver, probably because he had rarely met an outsider like Zheng Xinhe, excitedly talked to him all the way. When they were almost at Lingshui Vige, the driver gestured for Zheng Xinhe to look ahead, ¡°See, that big willow tree is Lingshui Vige, and there is a nt nursery next to the big willow tree. The flowers raised in it are particrly good.¡± Zheng Xinhe smiled, not expecting Tiny Garden to be so famous. But it was true that he hadn¡¯t seen any signs of drought in Fengcheng along the way. Previously in the city, he could say that the sanitation workers watered the nts on time, but after driving so far out of the city, he could see that the seedlings on both sides of the road were growing well. Even if thend was deserted, the weeds were still lush without anyone watering them. Zheng Xinhe felt strange in his heart, ¡°Has it rained in Fengcheng recently?¡± ¡°Rain? No, it¡¯s been almost a month, and I haven¡¯t even seen any rain.¡± The driver denied it. ¡°It hasn¡¯t rained?¡± Zheng Xinhe looked outside in confusion. When they arrived at the entrance of Lingshui Vige, Yan Yue was already waiting there. Zheng Xinhe couldn¡¯t take his eyes away from his surroundings when he got out of the car. When he hade here before in early March, the vige was full of greenery, much more vibrant than the grey surroundings, but it was still a bit monotonous after all. Now it was different. Many wild flowers that Zheng Xinhe couldn¡¯t name were in full bloom at the entrance of the vige,peting with each other in colours like a mini sea of flowers. ¡°Director Zheng.¡± Yan Yue greeted Zheng Xinhe politely. When Zheng Xinhe saw Yan Yue, he immediately tensed a little, ¡°Where is Xiao Xi?¡± ¡°Xiao Xi is in the nt nursery. Should we go up the hill now orter?¡± Zheng Xinhe was a little hesitant. He was originally worried that the drought in Fengcheng would affect the bamboo propagation, but ording to what he had seen along the way it did seem that there was no shortage of water at all as Lu Lingxi had said, so there was no need to go up the hills anymore. When he hesitated, Yan Yue already saw what he was thinking about, ¡°Why don¡¯t we go to the nt nursery first? It just so happens that Ye Kang is also there, and Director Zheng can ask how the production line is progressing.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yan Yue took Zheng Xinhe to the nt nursery, and in the small courtyard Erha was actively dragging Ye Kang out for a walk. Erha was pretty strong, and Ye Kang was on the verge of being dragged to the ground by Erha¡¯s leash. Ye Kang was a bit frustrated. He had just had a run with Erha in the morning and had only rested for a few minutes, but Erha was listening to the barking outside and wanted to go out again. He thought about how embarrassed he was in the morning when Erha ran in front of him and dragged him when he couldn¡¯t sustain the temp, so he didn¡¯t want to go out again. ¡°Erha, be obedient.¡± When Erha couldn¡¯t drag Ye Kang out, he changed his strategy and jumped onto Ye Kang¡¯s body, licking him and barking, very enthusiastic. Yan Yue saw this scene as soon as he came in. He was a little amused, ¡°Where are Xiao Xi and Dahei?¡± With Xiao Xi around, Erha mostly revolved around Xiao Xi. With Dahei around, Erha didn¡¯t dare to make such a fuss either. Ye Kang had a hard time pushing Erha¡¯s furry head away, nodding politely at Zheng Xinhe and looking at Yan Yue, ¡°Xiao Xi is answering the phone in the back, it seems to be Fang Lei looking for him.¡± ¡°Fang Lei?¡± Yan Yue hadn¡¯t seen Fang Lei for some time. Why was he looking for Xiao Xi? Chapter 144 Fang Lei was looking for Lu Lingxi about the matter of human-animalmunication. He was very busy these days, because he had been asked by his superiors to investigate these matters. At the beginning of the year, Lu Lingxi had warned Fang Lei that more and more people would be able tomunicate with animals in the future. Fang Lei had this in mind, but he didn¡¯t expect to encounter it so soon. Just a few days ago, a case was reported to the police station under Fang Lei¡¯s jurisdiction. The case seemed to be ordinary. A few kids were dominating the school and often bullied another kid in the same ss. The kid who was bullied couldn¡¯t stand it anymore, and after being bullied again, he got a helper to take revenge on the kids who bullied him. If you looked at the case like this, it was not unusual. What was unusual was that the helper the bullied child found was a dog. One boy and one dog cooperated tacitly to teach the little overlords in the school a lesson. As a result, the parents of the students who were taught a lesson called the police, and the police investigated and quickly found something weird. It wouldn¡¯t be a big deal if it was an isted case, but the police stations received several simr cases one after another. These things quickly attracted the attention of the tops, and themunication between humans and animals moved from the shadows to the open. Fang Lei wasn¡¯t at liberty to say much on the phone, but only vaguely reminded Lu Lingxi not to run around with Dahei in the near future. It was still uncertain how the tops would handle these matters; for the time being, they only instructed all those in the know to keep it confidential. ¡°Confidential?¡± Fang Lei let out an ¡°en¡±, ¡°The tops seem to be not too convinced and probably want to invite experts to investigate further. I guess they don¡¯t want to spread the news before they make sure, for fear of not being able to control the impact.¡± After talking about this matter, Fang Lei asked a few more questions about Yan Yue¡¯s recent situation and hung up. He had worked all nightst night and had only just returned to his dormitory. His mobile phone had been confiscated by the tops, just like his colleagues¡¯ phones, and was only returned to him today. Fang Lei knew that he had vited the confidentiality discipline by calling Lu Lingxi, but Lu Lingxi had trusted him before and told him about the animals, and he wanted to warn Lu Lingxi while he had the chance. Fang Lei was just about to catch up on his sleep when Xiaohui, whom he hadn¡¯t seen for a few days, rushed over, aggrieved, lightly jumped onto Fang Lei¡¯s face and meowed angrily. Fang Lei was so sleepy that he grabbed Xiaohui by the neck with his eyes closed and tucked him under the nket, holding him in his arms and coaxing him, ¡°Xiaohui, don¡¯t make trouble, I know you¡¯re tired of eating canned cat food these days, I¡¯ll get you some dried fish when I get up after a good night¡¯s sleep¡­¡± Fang Lei sat up with a start when he spoke of dried fish and asked with an odd expression as he picked up Xiaohui¡¯s neck, ¡°What did you just say, Xiaohui?¡± Xiaohui waved his paws angrily, trying to scratch Fang Lei unceremoniously and meowing. Fang Lei¡¯s expression became more and more odd, he could hear clearly that Xiaohui seemed to be angry. He was angry with him for disappearing for all this time, and angry with his colleagues for only giving him canned cat food. When Fang Lei remembered what he had just called Lu Lingxi about, he couldn¡¯t help crying andughing. Little did he know that once he got home he himself would understand Xiaohui¡¯s meowing and would thus belong to the ones who needed to keep it secret. ¡°Alright, you want to eat dried fish, right? I¡¯ll get it for you now.¡± Fang Lei said and put Xiaohui down, ready to endure the sleepiness to serve Master Cat first. However, once Xiaohui left his confinement, he first jumped up and pped Fang Lei with his paw, then squatted down in front of him, licking his paws and meowing twice. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He now felt that it didn¡¯t seem to be too pleasant to understand Xiaohui, unless he could tolerate Xiaohui¡¯s ¡°stupid mortal¡± tone. After finding the dried fish for Xiaohui, Fang Lei made another phone call to Lu Lingxi. This time the content was simple and clear: he could finallymunicate with Xiaohui, but was it toote for him to change a cat? Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± s Hanging up the phone again, Lu Lingxi turned around and saw Yan Yue. Perhaps his expression was too odd; Yan Yue took a few steps over and said in a deep voice, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head and repeated Fang Lei¡¯s usations of Xiaohui¡¯s evil deeds. Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help but be amused. Seeing Xiao Xi¡¯s bad expression, he thought something was wrong, but it turned out to be about Xiaohui. ¡°Next time we see Fang Lei, let¡¯s bring him some more band-aids.¡± Yan Yue chuckled. Lu Lingxi imagined Fang Lei¡¯s expression while receiving the band-aids and nodded as he held back a smile. ¡°By the way, Brother Fang said that several cases of people being able tomunicate with animals have been discovered recently, and the authorities have requested that these be kept secret.¡± Yan Yue raised his eyebrows slightly, ¡°He hasn¡¯t been in touch in the past few days because he investigated them?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded and asked with some concern, ¡°This kind of confidentiality is only temporary, it won¡¯t stay hidden forever, right?¡± Yan Yue smiled, stroked Lu Lingxi¡¯s head and said soothingly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this kind of thing can¡¯t be hidden.¡± As the environment in Fengcheng changed, there would only be more and more people and animals who couldmunicate with each other, and it would be impossible to keep itpletely secret. Yan Yue believed that there were already journalists with a keen eye who smelled the news. They would see how hard the tops would try to keep it under wraps. By the time the news was out, the number of evolved people in Fengcheng would reach a certain scale. At that time, even if Lu Lingxi was found to be abnormal, he wouldn¡¯t be too conspicuous in this group of evolvers. When Yan Yue said this, Lu Lingxi stopped worrying about it. After the expert group that Fang Lei had spoken of secretly entered Fengcheng, the time hade for the bamboo from theboratory to be transnted to the hills. On the day of the transnt, both Lu Lingxi and Zheng Xinhe got up early. The temperature was too high recently for transnting during the day, so they could only transnt the bamboo while it was still a bit cool in the morning. Zheng Xinhe took his students and a dozen vigers hired by Lu Lingxi up to the hills. Everyone had dug the pits yesterday and today all they had to do was to nt the nts. After a morning¡¯s work, Zheng Xinhe looked at the young shoots all over the hills and said to Lu Lingxi with a certain sense of satisfaction, ¡°In a few months¡¯ time, this will be two bamboo mountains. When the bamboo reaches the required hardness, our production line will be ready to start.¡± Lu Lingxi followed Zheng Xinhe¡¯s gaze; the breeze was blowing and the greenery of the hills filled his sight. Imagining that in a few months¡¯ time this ce would be a sea of bamboo, evergreen all year round, Lu Lingxi felt that all the fatigue from the hard work he had done dissipated. After the bamboo was nted, Zheng Xinhe rushed back to Zhongjing. Before he left, he took a small piece of finished bamboo with him, saying that there was a seminar in Zhongjing and he would go there to promote it. Even Yan Yue was impressed by his desperate energy and told Lu Lingxi privately that although Zheng Xinhe was sometimes stubborn and annoying, he was a really nice person. After the production preparations for Zhugang were on track, Su Lang and Huo Weiping also made a breakthrough in the clinical trial of donglingcao. s Early that morning, Yan Yue received a call from Su Lang, asking if he had time to bring Xiao Xi to their institution for a visit. Yan Yue quickly guessed what was going on, ¡°The clinical trial is working?¡± Su Langughed at the other end of the phone, his tone light, ¡°Mr. Yan has invested so much money in the project, I would be embarrassed to find you if it didn¡¯t work, right?¡± Yan Yueughed along, ¡°When is it convenient toe?¡± ¡°Anytime. Xiaobao is still thinking about meeting Brother Xiao Xi.¡± At the beginning of the year, Yan Yue helped Su Lang get the approval for the review of the clinical study of the new drug. Su Lang and Huo Weiping officially began recruiting volunteers for clinical trials. Pan Xiaobao¡¯s father, Pan Liang, decided to let Pan Xiaobao join the clinical trial after a difficult choice. At first, he was waiting for a suitable bone marrow to be avable from the bone marrow bank while participating in the trial. But as the trial progressed, the leukaemia-causing pathogenic proteins in Pan Xiaobao¡¯s body continued to degrade under the induction of donglingcao methylin, and his condition improved significantly. Seeing that Pan Xiaobao was getting better day by day, Pan Liang was so sure that he put all his energy into testing the new drug. During these days, Pan Xiaobao had suffered a lot. Perhaps it was his illness that made him mature early. Pan Xiaobao was the youngest among the group of volunteers, but he was the most understanding, only asionally saying that he missed Brother Xiao Xi. Previously it was the key stage of the experiment, and outsiders were strictly forbidden from entering or leaving the institution. Now that the experiment had made progress, Su Lang wanted Lu Lingxi toe and take a look. He couldn¡¯t say what he felt in his heart; it seemed to be an obsession. He knew that the two Lu Lingxi¡¯s couldn¡¯t be the same person, but he just couldn¡¯t help but project all the guilt he felt for the dead young man onto Lu Lingxi now. Including when he made progress in his experiments, the first thing he thought of was to have Lu Lingxie and take a look. After he had spoken to Su Lang, Yan Yue put away his phone and frowned imperceptibly. Although what Su Lang said on the phone was an invitation for him toe and have a look, it was Xiao Xi who was mentioned several times. Yan Yue had always felt that Su Lang¡¯s attitude towards Lu Lingxi was a bit odd, not because he suspected that Su Lang had guessed the secret of Lu Lingxi¡¯s rebirth, but because he disliked Su Lang¡¯s attitude of treating Lu Lingxi as a substitute. Although in essence the two Lu Lingxi were the same person. It was just that although Yan Yue didn¡¯t like it, there was no way to keep Lu Lingxi away. Especially knowing that Elder Zhao had also joined Su Lang in their research, Lu Lingxi had to go and take a look. ¡°Grandpa Zhao is very powerful, with him the new drug trials will definitely be sessful.¡± Lu Lingxi said seriously as he sat in the car. Yan Yue hummed and added, ¡°The new drug trial is actually considered a sess now.¡± ¡°Really? Then when will it go into production?¡± Yan Yue thought for a moment, ¡°It depends on the national regtions on the timing of clinical trials, but there is a green deration channel for some special drugs, so it will depend on Su Lang and the others.¡± ¡°Brother Su definitely wants it to go into production as soon as possible. He said before that he wanted to invent a special drug for leukaemia so that many people didn¡¯t have to suffer.¡± Only when Lu Lingxi finished speaking did he realise what was going on and looked at Yan Yue somewhat sheepishly. Yan Yue held his hand quietly and said as if nothing had happened, ¡°Su Lang seemed to have told me the same thing, but Xiao Xi remembered it clearly.¡± His tone was casual, and Lu Lingxi secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Yan Yue didn¡¯t seem to suspect anything. Chapter 145 Su Lang and Huo Weiping¡¯s clinical trial on donglingcao was a sess. Within two days they received news that Hopewell¡¯s clinical trial on donglingcao had also made a breakthrough and Hopewell was preparing to apply for a patent. ¡°That¡¯s not possible.¡± Huo Weiping didn¡¯t quite believe it. Zhang Jian had betrayed him by taking away a batch of research materials, but the research materials the other party took away were notplete. Moreover, their research at that time was based on the donglingcao No. 1, and its medicinal effects couldn¡¯t bepared to the donglingcao No. 2 provided by Yan Yueter. Even if Zhang Jian was a genius, he would never be able to catch up with their research in such a short period of time. Huo Weiping was worried that Yan Yue would be unhappy with his progress when he found out the news and wanted to talk to Yan Yue. Su Lang discouraged him from doing so, thinking that Yan Yue should know more about what was going on than they did. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Huo Weiping¡¯s eyes were full of iprehension. Su Lang thought for a moment and exined, ¡°Brother Huo, we are in the research business ourselves, and you have also said that it is impossible to make any progress based on Zhang Jian¡¯s research. The news released by the other side may not be true.¡± ¡°You say Zhang Jian¡¯s side is releasing false news, then what do they want?¡± Su Lang shook his head; these were only his spections. Huo Weiping didn¡¯t know Yan Yue¡¯s identity, but he knew about Yan Yue¡¯s entanglement with Hopewell. How could it be such a coincidence that they had just made progress on their side and immediately progress was made on Hopewell¡¯s side? He always felt that Yan Yue had something to do with it but he couldn¡¯t tell Huo Weiping about it. ¡°Anyway, just listen to me, Brother Huo, the Hopewell side has nothing to do with us.¡± He said it with conviction, and Huo Weiping thought that Su Lang and Yan Yue had known each other before, so Su Lang should know more about Yan Yue¡¯s way of doing things and slowly rxed. The two held back and no one went to Yan Yue, but Ye Kang, who also received the news, was curious about it. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be worried at all?¡± Yan Yue looked down at hisputer and said casually, ¡°What¡¯s to worry about?¡± Ye Kang stared at his expression with interest, ¡°Let me guess, was it you who arranged the sudden release of the news that Hopewell was applying for a patent?¡± The corner of Yan Yue¡¯s mouth was slightly hooked as he said carelessly, ¡°I only revealed a few words about Huo Weiping and Su Lang¡¯s research progress to Yin Ya through someone. The rest is none of my business.¡± With a slight nod from him, Ye Kang immediately understood. In Hopewell, Yin Ya and Yan Hai were now in a fierce battle. Yin Ya had pinned all of her hopes on the research of the donglingcao, hoping to consolidate her position in Hopewell through theunch of the new donglingcao medicine. If Su Lang¡¯s research progresses were faster than Hopewell¡¯s, or even went on the market earlier than Hopewell¡¯s, all of Yin Ya¡¯s hard work would be in vain. She had no choice but to announce their ¡°sess¡± and even apply for a patent to get the new drug approved and marketed first. Ye Kang thought about this and had another question, ¡°It¡¯s not easy for Yin Ya to hide this from Uncle Yan.¡± Yan Yue nodded and said, ¡°If Father were at headquarters, Yin Ya naturally couldn¡¯t conceal it, but I¡¯m afraid Father is now abroad and the things are beyond his reach.¡± ¡°Uncle Yan has gone abroad?¡± Yan Yue gave a hint, ¡°Yan Hai leaked a business secret and stirred up a big mess, Father is now helping him to wipe his ass. He won¡¯t have the energy to distract himself with home affairs for a short time.¡± His tone was as calm as if he was talking about a small, insignificant matter, and Ye Kang smiled emphatically, having already guessed the cause and effect of this matter. ¡°What do you n to do next?¡± Yan Yue smiled yfully, ¡°It depends on how Yin Ya cooperates.¡± As Yan Yue had predicted, Yin Ya was now desperate. She asked Zhang Jian to prepare the report for the new drug application before Yan Shihui returned to China. The new drug had to be marketed no matter what; it was a matter of whether or not she could get a firm foothold in Hopewell. Zhang Jian was a bit hesitant, ¡°Although the clinical trials of donglingcao are effective, the effect is not too obvious. It is better to wait.¡± ¡°Wait for what?¡± Yin Ya said discontentedly, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that Huo Weiping is already preparing to apply for a patent? Do you know how much we will lose if his side goes public ahead of us?¡± Of course, Zhang Jian knew what it meant to go public a day earlier, but he didn¡¯t have much confidence in his own research. When he was following Huo Weiping before, he was only Huo Weiping¡¯s assistant, and although he felt he was no worse than Huo Weiping, he was still subconsciously a little unsure of himself when it came to Huo Weiping. ¡°Miss Yin¡­¡± ¡°This matter is settled.¡± Yin Ya said simply, ¡°You go and prepare the deration materials, leave the rest to me. We are the only ones who know about the situation with the research. This must be done before Yan Shihui returns.¡± She was resolute, and Zhang Jian agreed. Although the current research on donglingcao wasn¡¯t as effective as he had envisioned, it had some effect on the disease-causing proteins of leukaemia, inducing their degradation and apoptosis. It was a slightly slower effect but it wasn¡¯t against the doctor¡¯s conscience. Zhang Jian convinced himself of this and let out a silent sigh. He soon found out that Yin Ya had gotten in touch with Elder Lu through Lu Wei¡¯an. Elder Lu was probably also optimistic about the donglingcao project and offered to help Yin Ya obtain the new drug certificate. In the meantime, Yin Ya applied to the board of directors for a sum of money to be used for the promotion of the new drug. Although Yan Shihui, who was overseas, knew about all this, he wasn¡¯t aware of the details. He never thought that Yin Ya would be so bold as to deceive the board with a half-finished research. s Time soon reached the end of April, and tomorrow was the day when Lu LIngxi made an appointment with Elder Zhang to go to Kunnan. Lu Lingxi had talked to Tiger in advance, leaving Tiny Garden to Tiger during his absence. Tiger was confident about this, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know these things after dealing with the vegetable greenhouse for almost a year.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes; he wasn¡¯t worried that Tiger didn¡¯t know what to do but he was afraid that Tiger would find it boring to stay in the shop all day. Tigerughed, ¡°This ce is much livelier than the greenhouse, how can it be boring? Besides there is aputer.¡± ¡°Alright, Xiao Xi, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Xiao Feng smiled and said, ¡°Once in a while you don¡¯t have to think about home and the shop, have a good time hanging out, I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°En.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded. He began to pack his things, and Dahei quietly squatted beside him. Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head and Dahei gave a low bark. ¡°Be good, I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Lu Lingxi said soothingly. The drive to Kunnan was a bit too far, so it could only be reached by ne. This made it a bit inconvenient to take Dahei with them. At first, Lu Lingxi was prepared to send Dahei to Kunnan by air, but after reading a few news articles about pet consignment idents on the inte, he dismissed the idea. He would only be gone for a week at most and would be back soon, so he didn¡¯t want to toss Dahei. Dahei didn¡¯t want to part with Lu Lingxi, licking his fingers fondly, his obsidian-like eyes looking at Lu Lingxi tenderly. Lu Lingxi felt his heart softening and couldn¡¯t let go of Dahei as he hugged him for a long time. ¡°Seven days, I¡¯ll be back in seven days at most, okay?¡± Dahei gave a low whimper and consented, aggrieved. s Lu Lingxi quickly packed up his things and ran next door with Dahei. Wang Shuxiu looked at his back. Thinking that Yan Yue was also going to Kunnan, she felt a little unhappy and couldn¡¯t help but be a little worried when she talked to Xiao Feng in private. ¡°Do you think they will¡­ live together?¡± Xiao Feng sighed and didn¡¯t know how to answer this question for a while, and then said after a long time: ¡°Xiao Xi is already an adult, so don¡¯t worry about some things as a mother. ¡± Wang Shuxiu was unhappy, ¡°How can I not worry about it! Two men together, you know¡­¡± She didn¡¯t say more, but the meaning was very clear. During this time Wang Shuxiu had nothing to do; she didn¡¯t have to go to the small restaurant every day, stayed at home and read a lot of information about homosexuality. At first Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t agree with Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue being together, but seeing that there was no way to separate the two of them, she acquiesced and thought she could learn more about the two men being together. This understanding immediately made Wang Shuxiu realise a problem: Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t be in a purely spiritual rtionship. Just as men and women would desire each other physically, so would men and men. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t understand it before; she just subconsciously avoided the issue, but now Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t escape it. As long as she thought of Lu Lingxi living with Yan Yue almost all the timest winter, Wang Shuxiu couldn¡¯t tell what she felt in her heart. After thinking about it, Wang Shuxiu stopped restricting Lu Lingxi from seeing Yan Yue, but sternly required Lu Lingxi toe home at nine o¡¯clock in the evening. Fortunately, she observed that the little bastard didn¡¯t seem to fully understand these things, so she breathed a sigh of relief. It was just that this time they were out¡­ Wang Shuxiu was getting worried again. Xiao Feng couldn¡¯t help Wang Shuxiu, so he listened to Wang Shuxiu tossing and turning all night and hardly slept much. As soon as dawn broke, Wang Shuxiu got up early to prepare breakfast for Lu Lingxi. Their ne is at nine o¡¯clock in the morning, and they had to rush to the airport after breakfast. As soon as there was movement outside, Lu Lingxi woke up too. This was Lu Lingxi¡¯s first time going somewhere, so he couldn¡¯t help but be a little excited and hadn¡¯t slept well all night. ¡°Mom.¡± Lu Lingxi pushed open the door and greeted Wang Shuxiu with a smile, then turned around to go to wash up. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± Wang Shuxiu hesitantly called out to Lu Lingxi. ¡°Mom wants something?¡± Lu Lingxi turned to look at Wang Shuxiu. Wang Shuxiu wanted to say something, but hesitated for a long time before waving her hand and letting Lu Lingxi go wash his face first. While Lu Lingxi was in the bathroom, Wang Shuxiu shoved a small booklet inside Lu Lingxi¡¯s bag with a stern face. She had been thinking about it all night and felt that this was the only way to go. After having breakfast, Yan Yue came to pick up Lu Lingxi. Wang Shuxiu red at Yan Yue with displeasure, looking at him in a particrly unfriendly way. Lu Lingxi said goodbye to Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng, and hugged and kissed Dahei for a long time before following Yan Yue to the car. It took about forty minutes to get to the airport from themunity where they lived. Lu Lingxi was looking for his phone in his bag when he suddenly found a small booklet. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± He looked nkly at the booklet in his hand, and when he saw the few words printed on the cover of the booklet, his face instantly turned red. ¡°What is it?¡± Yan Yue noticed that he was reacting wrongly and looked over. The words ¡°Safe Sex¡± caught his eyes and Yan Yue raised his eyebrows slightly, averting his gaze as if nothing had happened, but the smile in his eyes was getting deeper. Chapter 146 All the way from themunity to the airport, the blush on Lu Lingxi¡¯s face didn¡¯t fade away. He was thinking hard about where this booklet hade from. He had packed his own bagst night and kept it by his bed in his room. In addition to him, only Xiao Feng and Wang Shuxiu could enter the room, but Xiao Feng usually wouldn¡¯t go there. It could only be¡­ Wang Shuxiu. Whenever he thought of his mother putting this booklet in his bag, Lu Lingxi felt blushing beyond belief. It was good he was not at home these days, but how should he face his mother when he returned from Kunnan? Lu Lingxi¡¯s emotions were all written on his face, and Yan Yue¡¯s heart was itchy when he saw it; but knowing that Xiao Xi was thin-skinned, he could only pretend that he hadn¡¯t seen anything and quietly guided Lu Lingxi to talk about other topics. As they were out of the city, the journey went very smoothly and the originally expected forty minutes only took half an hour. When they arrived at the airport, Elder Zhang and Elder Zhao had not yet arrived. Lu Lingxi looked around curiously, finding everything he saw interesting. Yan Yue apanied him, his eyes doting as he looked at Lu Lingxi. He somewhat regretted not taking the young man to different ces earlier. If he remembered correctly, this should be Lu Lingxi¡¯s first time going out. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Lu Lingxi gestured to the security check device in the distance. ¡°A device to check if passengers are carrying dangerous items.¡± Yan Yue took his hand, exining, and finished in a soft voice, ¡°If Xiao Xi likes it, we cane out for a trip once every six months in the future, how about that?¡± As soon as he finished speaking he saw Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes light up as he nodded vigorously. Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help but rub Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair. The young man¡¯s eyes were clear and crystal bright, like the twinkling stars in the night sky, looking at him with such expectation and trust that it made his heart indescribably happy. The two of them were talking when Elder Zhang greeted them from afar, ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± Lu Lingxi turned around and saw Elder Zhang and Elder Zhao walking over together with a smile on their faces. Beforehand, Elder Zhang already knew that Yan Yue was also going to Kunnan together with them and insistiny on covering his and Lu Lingxi¡¯s expenses himself. Therefore, Elder Zhang wasn¡¯t surprised to see Yan Yue, and even when his eyes swept over Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand held by Yan Yue, he had a kind expression on his face. After the four of them met, they quickly received their boarding passes. Their luggage wasn¡¯t too much and boarding went very smoothly. Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi¡¯s seats were thest row of double seats by the window. Yan Yue had just put his luggage away when he saw Lu Lingxi leaning to the window looking out curiously. As the ne took off, the buildings on the ground floor continued to get smaller and smaller, and Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t see anything after looking for a while. Yan Yue had been indulging his behaviour, and seeing that he seemed to have lost interest in the outside, he smiled and stroked his hair, asking, ¡°It¡¯s a three-hour flight, does Xiao Xi want to take a nap?¡± Lu Lingxi gave a muffled ¡°en¡±. He hadn¡¯t slept for longst night due to his excitement, and now that the excitement had worn off and the sleepiness had set in, it was the perfect time to catch up on sleep on the ne. As he said that, he found afortable position on Yan Yue¡¯s shoulder, closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep. As Yan Yue watched him sleep, he instructed the flight attendant to bring a nket. Although the temperature outside was high, it was a little cold on the ne with the air conditioning on, so it would be bad to sleep for a long time and catch a cold. Carefully putting the nket over Lu Lingxi, Yan Yue was quiet for a while. Then he looked at Lu Lingxi¡¯s backpack and suddenly thought of the booklet. Even if Lu Lingxi hadn¡¯t said anything, Yan Yue could still guess what was going on with the booklet. He imagined Wang Shuxiu¡¯s tangled mood, and he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little moved in his heart. Because of his family, Yan Yue didn¡¯t have a deep understanding of the meaning of the word ¡®mother¡¯. It was only after he met Lu Lingxi, and from the rtionship between Lu Lingxi and Wang Shuxiu that he slowly came to understand what it meant. At this time¡­ Yan Yue pulled out the booklet from the bag. He believed that Wang Shuxiu might not like him in her heart, nor might she ept him now, but she still prepared such a booklet. Maybe this is¡­ the heart of a mother! s Yan Yue nced sideways at Lu Lingxi¡¯s sleeping face, stretched out his hand to push away the messy hair on his forehead and touched his face with great affection. He wanted to bow his head and kiss the young man, but he was afraid of being seen by the people around him. Suppressing the impulse in his heart, he rubbed the boy¡¯s lips with his fingers, then smiled softly, retracted his hand and looked at the booklet in his hand seriously. Halfway through the flight, Lu Lingxi woke up in a daze. Feeling the familiar aura beside him, he rubbed against the man next to him dependently and asked vaguely, ¡°What time is it?¡± Yan Yue quickly grabbed the nket that almost fell to the floor due to Lu Lingxi¡¯s movements and covered Lu Lingxi¡¯s body again. He stretched out his hand and touched Lu Lingxi¡¯s forehead, whispering, ¡°There is still an hour, do you want to drink some water?¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head, not feeling thirsty. He opened his eyes nkly, just in time to see the booklet Yan Yue had ced on hisp. The booklet was unfolded, and on the upward page were two naked cartoon figures hugging each other. Lu Lingxi blinked his eyes and almost immediately came to his senses. The blush burned his face once more, and even his neck was red. ¡°Big Brother Yan¡­¡± Lu Lingxi buried his face in Yan Yue¡¯s shoulder with a muffled cry. Yan Yue held back augh and patted his back, coaxing in a whisper, ¡°It¡¯s human nature, there¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of.¡± Lu Lingxi sat up straighter with a frown on his face and said vaguely, ¡°¡­it¡¯s from Mom.¡± What he was embarrassed about wasn¡¯t the booklet, but the person who gave him the booklet. Yan Yue guessed what he was thinking and could no longer hold back a chuckle, earning a disgruntled look from Lu Lingxi in return. He tried hard to suppress hisughter and tried to sound sincere, ¡°I know, this is your mom¡¯s heart, let¡¯s not let it down, okay?¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± All the way to Kunnan, the smile on Yan Yue¡¯s face didn¡¯t disappear. He thought of the shyness mixed with shock on Lu Lingxi¡¯s face, and only felt that the urge in his body was about to be impossible to suppress. If only he and Lu Lingxi were alone now, Yan Yue thought to himself, reaching out to hold Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand under the cover of the luggage cart. As soon as the group of four left the hall, they saw the person who came to pick them up. The man was one of Elder Zhao¡¯s nephews, who looked to be in his thirties, named Zhao Jian. He was very close to Elder Zhao. Zhao Jian had already booked a hotel for them, the one located next to the Kunnan Botanical Garden. He suggested that they should go to the hotel and drop off their luggage before going to a very well-known restaurant near the hotel for dinner. Elder Zhao agreed with a smile on behalf of everyone. Zhao Jian had deliberatelye in a business car to pick up the people. Lu Lingxi was about to get into the car when his mobile phone suddenly rang, and the caller ID was Fang Lei. s ¡°Brother Fang?¡± ¡°Are you in the shop now? I have to go on a business trip for half a month. Can Xiaohui be boarded at your ce for a few days?¡± Fang Lei said as soon as the call was connected. Lu Lingxi reacted with some embarrassment, ¡°Brother Fang, I am now in Kunnan, and the shop is under the care of Brother Tiger. If you don¡¯t worry, just leave Xiaohui to Brother Tiger.¡± ¡°Kunnan? You¡¯ve gone to Kunnan? Yan Yue is with you?¡± Fang Lei seemed very surprised. Lu Lingxi affirmed. Fang Lei smiled, ¡°It¡¯s just a coincidence that the ce I¡¯m going on a business trip is also Kunnan, so I¡¯ll treat you guys to dinner when I arrive.¡± Knowing that Lu Lingxi wasn¡¯t in Fengcheng, Fang Lei didn¡¯t mention the matter of fostering Xiaohui again. Lu Lingxi¡¯s suggestion of Tiger was well-intentioned, but when he thought about Xiaohui¡¯s temper, Fang Lei really didn¡¯t dare to give him to a stranger. After hanging up the phone, Lu Lingxi thought of reporting to his family that he was safe. But when he thought of the booklet, he didn¡¯t know how to speak to Wang Shuxiu. After hesitating for a few seconds, Lu Lingxi pressed Wang Shuxiu¡¯s number, and the other party quickly picked up. ¡°Mom¡­¡± He was interrupted by Wang Shuxiu before he could finish his sentence, ¡°Xiao Xi, you¡¯re here? I see, something¡¯s going on right now, I¡¯ll call you backter.¡± ¡°Oh, okay, Mom.¡± Lu Lingxi said obediently. ¡°What?¡± Yan Yue heard something wrong and asked. Lu Lingxi shook his head, ¡°Mom said she had something going on right now and would call meter.¡± Elder Zhang in the front rowughed at their fuss, ¡°Xiao Xi reminded me, I should also report a safe arrival to my family.¡± As they joked andughed over here, Wang Shuxiu, who was far away in Fengcheng, hung up the phone, took a deep breath and looked up at the old man in front of her, saying with a sullen face, ¡°You¡¯ve mistaken him for someone else.¡± Chapter 147 ¡°You¡¯ve mistaken him for someone else.¡± At the entrance of the small restaurant, Wang Shuxiu stood unhappily, with a very cold expression on her face. Opposite her was Elder Lu, Lu Hengchuan. Lu Hengchuan wasn¡¯t surprised with Wang Shuxiu¡¯s attitude. He looked at Wang Shuxiu with a slightly critical look, and his tone was authoritative, ¡°Whether you admit it or not, Lu Lingxi is still a child of the Lu family. Over the years, the Lu family owed the father and son. You have already divorced Yishui so let¡¯s not talk about it, but Xiao Xi, I hope, can acknowledge his ancestors and the Lu family willpensate him for what he has suffered all these years.¡± What Lu Hengchuan said was reasonable, but Wang Shuxiu almostughed angrily. She rolled her eyes impatiently at Lu Hengchuan and sneered, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you, old man, don¡¯t you have any grandchildren in your family? Running to someone else¡¯s house to grab a grandson, are you that hical? What, your grandsons are incapable of filial piety, and now that our Xiao Xi has reached some sess, you¡¯reing to im your grandson? Why don¡¯t you ask around? Am I, Wang Shuxiu, a person who sells her children? What kind ofpensation can there be? Bah!¡± She scolded him energetically and before Lu Hengchuan could say anything, the assistant behind Lu Hengchuan stepped forward and rebuked her coldly, ¡°How do you talk, you¡­¡± Lu Hengchuan raised his hand to interrupt the assistant¡¯s words, looked deeply at Wang Shuxiu, and said in a low voice: ¡°Do you know what it means for Lu Lingxi to acknowledge his ancestors? What the Lu family can give him is something that you can never give.¡± Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t bother to argue with him and scolded him spitefully, ¡°The Lu family, the Lu family, what is the Lu family, do you think everyone in the world cares about the Lu family? I¡¯m telling you, you¡¯ve got the wrong person, don¡¯t you understand humannguage? Don¡¯t think that I am a woman who is easy to bully? I won¡¯t be bullied by you!¡± As soon as she stood with her arms akimbo, Yi Hang, who had been watching the situation outside the small restaurant, immediately rushed out with the waiters and shielded Wang Shuxiu. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? What¡¯s going on? Is this old man here to smash the venue (deliberately make trouble on someone else¡¯s territory to ruin its reputation)? Several men bullying onedy, how shameless! Lao Si, call Brother Feng and tell him that someone hase to smash the venue.¡± Yi Hang shot a long list of questions, and Bai Yuan, who was following behind, immediately gave an ¡°eek¡± and turned to call Xiao Feng. Lu Hengchuan nced at Yi Hang sharply. Yi Hang felt a bit frightened in his heart, but his face didn¡¯t change at all, and he stared back fiercely. It was noon now, there were a lot of people in the small restaurant, and people were already talking about what was going on. Lu Hengchuan frowned. After all, he was a dignified man and he really didn¡¯t want to argue with Wang Shuxiu in broad daylight. He took a deep breath, endured Wang Shuxiu and Yi Hang¡¯s insolence, and motioned to the assistant to leave first. Before getting in the car, Lu Hengchuan paused and turned to look at Wang Shuxiu, ¡°I wille again. I hope you can think carefully about what is really good for Lu Lingxi.¡± ¡°Juste, do you think we are afraid of you?!¡± Yi Hang eximed. Lu Hengchuan snorted, not taking Yi Hang seriously at all. As soon as he left, Yi Hang immediately came up to Wang Shuxiu and said suspiciously, ¡°Sister Hua, what¡¯s going on, this old man knows Lao San?¡± Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t say anything with a sullen face and kept watching Lu Hengchuan¡¯s car drive away. Yi Hang still wanted to ask something else and Wang Shuxiu waved her hand angrily, ¡°Who knows where this crazy man came from. By the way, don¡¯t tell the little bastard about this matter yet, do you hear me?¡± ¡°Roger that.¡± Yi Hang obediently agreed. s Wang Shuxiu originally came to the small restaurant alone after sending Lu Lingxi away, but now she was not in the mood to take care of the restaurant. After casually exining some things to Yi Hang, Wang Shuxiu called Xiao Feng and said she would go home first. Her business at the small restaurant was done and Xiao Feng didn¡¯t need to rush over. Without waiting for Xiao Feng to ask more questions, Wang Shuxiu hung up the phone. She walked back to themunity by herself. On the way, she thought of what Lu Hengchuan said about acknowledging the ancestors and couldn¡¯t help but scold, ¡°Old bastard.¡± In the past few years, Lu Yishui was so poor that he lived like a piece of trash. Why didn¡¯t he see the Lu family say that they wanted him to acknowledge his ancestors? Now that her Xiao Xi had achieved sess, the old man wasing to say that he wanted topensate. Was she that shallow? Don¡¯t think she didn¡¯t remember that the Lu family had the idea about the little bastard back then. Who knows if someone else has leukaemia now and the Lu family has remembered the little bastard. What a fucking hical family! The more she thought about it, the angrier Wang Shuxiu became, so she went home and drank half a ss of water in one gulp before she slowly got over it. She took a look at the time and was thinking of calling Lu Lingxi when Xiao Feng hurriedly returned from the greenhouse. ¡°Xiaohua.¡± Wang Shuxiu put down her phone, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say it was all right, why are you back?¡± Xiao Feng looked at her carefully for a few moments to make sure Wang Shuxiu was okay before asking with a sigh of relief, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Bai Yuan said that someone had gone to the restaurant to smash the venue, who was so bold?¡± Wang Shuxiu smiled, ¡°With you around who dares to smash the venue? This matter is not what Xiao Yuan said. However, you can help mee up with an idea.¡± She was going to tell him that Lu Hengchuan was looking for Xiao Xi. Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t want to hide this matter from Xiao Feng. Xiao Feng was now Xiao Xi¡¯s father and the family should be a family. She briefly told the story and Xiao Feng was a little surprised to hear it, ¡°Xiao Xi¡¯s grandfather came looking for him?¡± ¡°Bah!¡± Wang Shuxiu said discontentedly, ¡°Xiao Xi¡¯s grandfather died long ago.¡± This was what Lu Yishui had told her when she met him. In fact Lu Yishui had lived for so long without knowing that he had a rich father. Originally Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t know either. Lu Yishui¡¯s mother had kept this a secret and had told Lu Yishui since he was a child that his father was dead. Later, after Lu Lingxi was born, Lu Yishui¡¯s mother suddenly wanted to take Lu Lingxi to Zhongjing, saying that she was going to save someone, but Wang Shuxiu prevented her from doing so, and only during the argument did she learn that Lu Yishui¡¯s father wasn¡¯t dead, but simply disowned Lu Yishui, and that Lu Yishui was an illegitimate child. s Wang Shuxiu and her mother-inw¡¯s rtionship had turned very ugly because of this incident, but they were united in their goal and neither revealed this secret to Lu Yishui. When Xiao Xi returnedter and Lu Yishui asked what happened, the two of them were vague about it. Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t say anything because she knew Lu Yishui¡¯s nature; he was a scoundrel. If he had known that there was a rich father and this rich father¡¯s family was waiting for Lu Lingxi to save someone, he really could have sold his son. As for why Lu Yishui¡¯s mother didn¡¯t say anything, Wang Shuxiu figured out that her mother-inw had been strong all her life, so she was probably afraid that Lu Yishui would acknowledge his father and would look down upon her. ¡°What do you think is going on with the Lu family, why do they suddenly want Xiao Xi to acknowledge his ancestors after such a long time?¡± Wang Shuxiu was puzzled. She didn¡¯t believe that Lu Hengchuan had found his conscience and realised that he had a grandson stranded outside and wanted to acknowledge him. If he wanted to acknowledge Lu Lingxi, he would have done it back then, it wasn¡¯t like he hadn¡¯t seen the little bastard at that time. Even if Lu Hengchuan had no feelings for the little bastard, Lu Yishui was still his son but he hadn¡¯te to recognise him. It was clear that the old man had some calctions on his mind. Wang Shuxiu had no good impression of the Lu family at all. She angrily brought up the incident when her mother-inw wanted to take Lu Lingxi away and said with hatred: ¡°Maybe someone in the Lu family has leukaemia again. The grandchildren at home can¡¯t be tossed, so theye to toss the grandson outside.¡± Although Xiao Feng felt that Xiaohua was speaking out of anger, he also felt that it wasn¡¯t that simple for the Lu family to recognise Lu Lingxi. Just like what Xiaohua said, if they wanted to recognise him, they would have done so long ago, they wouldn¡¯t have waited until now. ¡°Xiaohua, what do you want to do?¡± Wang Shuxiu snorted, ¡°Xiao Xi is my son, he has nothing to do with the Zhongjing Lu family. If theye again, we will call the police.¡± What she couldn¡¯t decide was whether to tell Lu Lingxi about this. ¡°Do you think I should tell Xiao Xi the truth or tell Xiao Xi that Lu Hengchuan is a liar?¡± Wang Shuxiu was now d that Lu Lingxi wasn¡¯t in Fengcheng and she still had time to make up her mind. ¡°Tell the truth.¡± Xiao Feng thought for a moment and said, ¡°Xiao Xi has grown up, Xiaohua, you can¡¯t still treat him like a child.¡± ¡°Then what if¡­¡± Wang Shuxiu was worried what if the little bastard was fooled by Lu Hengchuan and wanted to acknowledge his ancestors? Xiao Feng knew what Wang Shuxiu was worried about and said with amusement, ¡°Xiao Xi is not stupid. He won¡¯t be fooled with the strange appearance of the Lu family. Besides, there is still Yan Yue, with him as the gatekeeper no one can fool Xiao Xi.¡± Speaking of Yan Yue, a thought struck Wang Shuxiu¡¯s mind. On one side, Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng were discussing how to deal with Lu Hengchuan, while on the other side, Lu Hengchuan was in the car going over the information his people had found, thinking about how to get Wang Shuxiu to let go. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Lu Lingxi and Wang Shuxiu were very close to each other, he wouldn¡¯t have thought much of Wang Shuxiu. ¡°Chairman, we¡¯ve arrived at the hotel.¡± The assistant interrupted Lu Hengchuan¡¯s thoughts. Lu Hengchuan let out a sigh and got out of the car slowly. Once he entered the hotel, what caught his eyes was the greenery in the middle of the lobby. Lu Hengchuan looked at the green nts and thought of Lu Yishui and Lu Lingxi, the father and son. It was not that he didn¡¯t know about Lu Yishui being born, but he had many sons, so it didn¡¯t matter if there was one more or one less. When Lu Yishui grew up, Lu Hengchuan took a look at his qualifications and didn¡¯t bother with this son anymore. However, he didn¡¯t expect that Lu Yishui, the mud that couldn¡¯t hold the wall, would be able to give birth to a son who looked like a member of the Lu family and at a young age was doing a good job in business. Lu Hengchuan had always practised thew of the jungle, the survival of the fittest. He gave his sons and grandsons the opportunity to showcase their abilities, but if they were not capable, they couldn¡¯t me him for being left out. Originally, he had no intention of acknowledging Lu Lingxi, but he carefully investigated Lu Lingxi¡¯s cooperation with the Ye family and found that Elder Ye was actually serious. So, Lu Hengchuan had to think more about it. If the so-called Zhugang was true, it would simply change the industrial structure of China and even the world. Faced with such a temptation, no one could remain unmoved. After careful consideration, Lu Hengchuan decided to allow Lu Lingxi to acknowledge his ancestors, as the Lu family was more suitable for cooperation with Lu Lingxi than the Ye family. If Zhugang was a fake and Elder Ye was confused, it didn¡¯t matter. Lu Lingxi was quite talented in gardening and would not lose face for the Lu family. Lu Hengchuan has been strong all his life, and he had always followed his own mind in doing things. He thought that as long as he proposed to let Lu Lingxi acknowledge his ancestors and return to the family, no matter who it was, he would be grateful, but he didn¡¯t expect that Wang Shuxiu would jump out to express her opposition first. This woman¡­ Lu Hengchuan frowned in disgust; he didn¡¯t forget how back then she had rushed to Zhongjing and made a fuss to get Lu Lingxi back. It seemed that this matter had to be discussed in the long run. Chapter 148 When Yan Yue received the call from Wang Shuxiu, he was really surprised for a while. Excluding the possibility that Wang Shuxiu had dialled a wrong number, the only variant was that the other party was looking for him for something. As expected, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s first question was whether Lu Lingxi was with Yan Yue. She had something to say and hoped that Yan Yue could avoid Lu Lingxi. Yan Yue looked in the direction of the bathroom, took the phone and stood on the balcony, saying, ¡°Xiao Xi is not here right now.¡± Wang Shuxiu let out a sigh of relief and told about Lu Lingxi¡¯s origin in a few words. She had nothing to hide from Yan Yue; although she didn¡¯t want to admit it in her heart, Yan Yue could almost be regarded as a half of Xiao Xi¡¯s family. ¡°The Lu family is not a good thing, and I¡¯m not sure what they are nning behind the scenes, but they will definitelye after Xiao Xi. I¡¯ll keep Fengcheng¡¯s side in check, so take Xiao Xi and y in Kunnan for a few more days and don¡¯t rush back yet. If the Lu family finds their way to Kunnan, watch out for them and don¡¯t let them find Xiao Xi.¡± Halfway across China, Wang Shuxiu seriously urged Yan Yue. She and Xiao Feng had discussed the matter, and she was sure that she had to tell Lu Lingxi about it, but not at this time. Lu Lingxi had never been out of Fengcheng before, and it was rare for him to go out, so Wang Shuxiu really didn¡¯t want to bother Lu Lingxi with this mess. She thought she would let Lu Lingxi have a good time for a few days and wait until he returned to Fengcheng to talk about these matters. But she was worried that the Lu family would shamelessly chase Lu Lingxi to Kunnan, so she spoke to Yan Yue first. Didn¡¯t Xiao Feng say that Yan Yue was capable? So she entrusted Yan Yue with the matter of stopping the Lu family. When Wang Shuxiu finished speaking, Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened. His gaze was gentle and focused, like a quiet pool without ripples, calm but full of cold. ¡°I see.¡± His voice was steady, and all his emotions were suppressed in his heart. Wang Shuxiu gave a few more instructions, telling Yan Yue to take care of Lu Lingxi. When Wang Shuxiu hung up, Yan Yue quietly looked at the courtyard, his eyes as sharp as the edge of a knife. He had not expected Xiao Xi to be involved with the Lu family in Zhongjing again. While Wang Shuxiu was worried about the Lu family pestering Xiao Xi, he was worried about how Xiao Xi would feel about this matter. From the time Xiao Xi was drunkst time until now, Yan Yue saw clearly that Xiao Xi didn¡¯t want to have any dealings with the Lu family. The reason he never mentioned the Lu family in front of Xiao Xi was because he didn¡¯t want to upset Xiao Xi. But this matter¡­ Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t know the reason why the Lu family suddenly wanted Xiao Xi to acknowledge his ancestors, but Yan Yue guessed that it was Zhugang that had caused the trouble. He thought that the production of Zhugang would bring the existence of Xiao Xi to the attention of the Lu family, but he had never imagined that the subsequent development would be like this. If only he had known¡­ Yan Yue sighed; there was no such thing as ¡°if only¡± in this world. He was deep in thought when the bathroom door behind him opened and Lu Lingxi ran out wearing a loose t-shirt and with his hair damp. ¡°Big Brother Yan?¡± Lu Lingxi nced out towards the balcony, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing, I¡¯vee out for some fresh air.¡± Yan Yue turned around and looked at Lu Lingxi with a smile, his expression doting and gentle. There was no shadow of the gloomy look he had just had. s Lu Lingxi blinked and immediately believed Yan Yue¡¯s words. He had noticed as soon as he got off the ne today thatpared to Fengcheng, Kunnan was a bit muggy. Zhao Jian said it was because it was cloudy and probably going to rain, and that it would be fine when the sky cleared. Thinking of this, Lu Lingxi also wanted to go outside for some air. He was just about to go out when Yan Yue stopped him. ¡°Don¡¯t go out until your hair is dry.¡± Yan Yue said and went to look for the hairdryer provided by the hotel. Lu Lingxi obediently followed behind Yan Yue and sat cross-legged on the hotel¡¯s big bed, waiting for Yan Yue to blow his hair. Xiaohei slithered over from the pillow and wrapped himself around Lu Lingxi¡¯s fingers. Lu Lingxi picked up Xiaohei in a good mood and asked with a smile, ¡°Awake from your nap?¡± Xiaohei nodded dumbly and waved his tail again in response to Lu Lingxi¡¯s question. This time to Kunnan, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t prepare to bring either Dahei or Xiaohei, but who knew that Xiaohei would actually secretly hide in the luggage, following them all the way to the ne. It was only when Lu Lingxi arrived at the hotel and started sorting out his luggage that he discovered Xiaohei¡¯s presence. It was a wonder that Xiaohei wasn¡¯t discovered by the security check and actually made it to Kunnan without incident. ¡°Little viin.¡± Lu Lingxi poked Xiaohei¡¯s tail and habitually tied it in a knot. Xiaohei hissed twice and struggled to untie the knot. Lu Lingxi looked at Xiaohei and couldn¡¯t help but think of Dahei. ¡°If only Dahei was this small, I could just tuck Dahei in wherever I want to take him.¡± Yan Yue walked back just in time to hear this and smiled, ¡°Next time we drive out on our own, we can take Dahei with us.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, tilting his face to look at Yan Yue trustingly. He had just taken a bath, and his eyes were clear and bright, like moistened gems, with not a trace of gloom visible in them. Yan Yue¡¯s heart trembled as he ran his hand through Lu Lingxi¡¯s soft, damp hair and held Lu Lingxi¡¯s entire body in his arms. His light-coloured shirt was soon stained with water as Lu Lingxi pressed himself against Yan Yue¡¯s chest, listening to the strong heartbeat inside. ¡°Big Brother Yan.¡± He called out vaguely. Yan Yue hummed in a low voice and quietly hugged Lu Lingxi without speaking again. s Because he had an appointment with Elder Zhang to go to the botanical garden early the next day, and because he was tired from running all day, Lu Lingxi fell asleep before ten o¡¯clock at night. Yan Yue kept holding him and kissed him on the lips as he slept, then carefully got up and took his mobile phone to the balcony. Ye Kang, who received Yan Yue¡¯s call, was a bit surprised and joked, ¡°You¡¯re actually calling me instead of holding Xiao Xi at this hour!¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t pay any attention to Ye Kang¡¯s jibe and said straight away, ¡°The Zhongjing Lu family has approached Xiao Xi.¡± ¡°What? The Lu family is looking for trouble with Xiao Xi?¡± Ye Kang immediately got serious. Although he wasn¡¯t very interested in doing business, it didn¡¯t mean that he didn¡¯t understand the twists and turns of it. The prospects of Zhugang were enormous, as evidenced by the fact that his old man at home didn¡¯t hesitate to invest in it. It was only natural that the Lu family wanted to have a hand in it. Inparison to the three investors of Zhugang, the Ye family was too powerful for the Lu family to move; Zheng Xinhe¡¯s fame and mastery of Zhugang¡¯s technology was the main reason for the Lu family to pull the strings; the only soft persimmon to squeeze was Tiny Garden that had little background to back it up. His extraption was not wrong ording tomon sense; even Yan Yue thought so at first. It was just¡­ Yan Yue said solemnly: ¡°Xiao Xi¡¯s father, Lu Yishui, is Lu Hengchuan¡¯s illegitimate son. The Lu family came to ask Xiao Xi to acknowledge his ancestors and return to the family. ¡± ¡°What? ¡°Ye Kang suddenly raised his voice,pletely shocked. ¡°Ah Yue, are you telling the truth?¡± He reacted immediately. The Lu family forced Lu Lingxi to acknowledge his ancestors and return to the family, after all, it was still for Zhugang. It made sense for the Lu family to join in at that time. ¡°What did Xiao Xi say?¡± What Ye Kang is most concerned about now is Lu Lingxi¡¯s attitude. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes were gloomy, and he said calmly: ¡°Xiao Xi doesn¡¯t know yet, it was Xiao Xi¡¯s family who told me. They also don¡¯t want Xiao Xi to acknowledge his ancestors and return to the family.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Ye Kang let out a sigh of relief, ¡°As long as Xiao Xi is unwilling, the Lu family cannot force Xiao Xi to acknowledge them.¡± What he said was true, but the Lu family¡¯s actions had angered Yan Yue. Just as Wang Shuxiu had scolded, with the kind of life their family had been living before, the Lu family didn¡¯t even mention their existence. Now that they saw that there was something to gain, they immediately came up and started talking about acknowledging the ancestors. Lu Hengchuan had been so high and mighty for so long that he thought the whole world was revolving around him. Yan Yue gently tapped on the balcony rail, his voice cold, ¡°Ah Kang, go to An Jie tomorrow and tell him to follow the n to reveal that the form for the donglingcao in Yin Ya¡¯s hands is half-finished. Then report that Sun Li of the Food and Drug Administration has taken bribes, and make a big deal out of it.¡± Just before Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi came to Kunnan, Yin Ya finally applied for approval for the marketing of the new donglingcao drug with the help of the Lu family, and the contractor was none other than Sun Li of the Food and Drug Administration Bureau, who had been a friend of the Lu family for many years. Yan Yue had nned to postpone this matter for some time, waiting for Hopewell to invest more in the new drug before everything exploded, but now Yan Yue decided to move the n ahead. The main target of the attack had also changed from Hopewell to the Lu family. The Lu family had cooperated with Sun Li for many years, and basically all the new drugs they developed were handled by Sun Li. Once Sun Li¡¯s illegal passing of semi-finished new drugs was revealed, coupled with suitable public opinion guidance, even if the drugsunched by the Lu family over the years were not problematic, they would be problematic in the eyes of the public. When the Lu family was in chaos, let¡¯s see if Lu Hengchuan was still in the mood to run to Fengcheng to acknowledge his rtives. When Yan Yue finished speaking, Ye Kang faintly froze. He vaguely felt that Yan Yue¡¯s anger seemed to be a bit beyond expectation. Let him be honest, it was true that the Lu family had done a disgusting job in acknowledging their rtives, but when it came to the fact that the Lu family was digging the corner of the Ye family, the one who was most angry should be the Ye family. Butpared to his reaction, Yan Yue¡¯s hostility towards the Lu family was simply undisguised. Ye Kang immediately said: ¡±Ah Yue, calm down. Now is not the best time to expose the fact that there is something wrong with the Hopewell donglingcao form. Although the Lu family can be hit through this incident, I¡¯m afraid the impact on Hopewell will not be as great as expected.¡± Of course he was willing to harm the Lu family, but looking from Yan Yue¡¯s point of view, Ye Kang felt that there was no need to go so far. Yan Yue lowered his eyes slightly, hiding the coldness in his gaze, and said in a calm tone, ¡°It¡¯s fine, I know what I¡¯m doing.¡± He was so insistent that Ye Kang didn¡¯t say anything else and simply agreed. Hanging up the phone, Yan Yue quietly returned to the room. Lu Lingxi was sleeping, his face serene and peaceful under the warm yellow light of the bedsidemp. When Yan Yue carefullyy down on the bed, Lu Lingxi noticed the movement and spontaneously leaned over, burrowing into Yan Yue¡¯s arms. Yan Yue looked at him and smiled faintly, lowering his head and kissing him on the forehead. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyshes trembled slightly, like the wings of a butterfly. Yan Yue thought he would wake up, but Lu Lingxi only leaned into his arms and went back to sleep. The smile in Yan Yue¡¯s eyes deepened. He was just watching and doing nothing, and his heart was filled with unspeakable sweetness and satisfaction. He thought he would do anything, just for Lu Lingxi to be safe and have a smooth life. Whether it was Lu Hengchuan or Lu Yishui, whoever it was, he wouldn¡¯t let them affect Lu Lingxi¡¯s life. ¡°I love you, Xiao Xi.¡± Yan Yue hugged Lu Lingxi tightly, lowered his head and said softly. Lu Lingxi heard his words in a daze and instinctively responded, ¡°Big Brother Yan, I love you too.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s eyes lit up and heughed silently. Chapter 149 For a few days, Lu Lingxi¡¯s life was very quiet, and Wang Shuxiu¡¯s fear that the Lu family would find Kunnan didn¡¯te to reality. In fact, it was not that Lu Hengchuan didn¡¯t want to go past Wang Shuxiu and contact Lu Lingxi directly, but he was held back by the events in Zhongjing. Three days ago, all the major newspapers in Zhongjing suddenly broke the news that the new drug that Hopewell was preparing to put into production was only semi-finished and didn¡¯t meet the standards for the production of new drugs in China. Apanying this news was the fact that one of Hopewell¡¯s drug developers had reported Sun Li of the Food and Drug Administration Bureau for taking bribes and approving the new drug¡¯s marketing application despite knowing that it wasn¡¯t up to standard. As soon as these two news came out, the entire Zhongjing was in an uproar. Before Hopewell had time to react and start crisis public rtions, Sun Li had been suspended for investigation, and the Lu family, which had a deep rtionship with Sun Li in the past, entered the public eye. Compared with Hopwell¡¯s new drug, which had not yet been listed, the Lu family¡¯s origin was health products and drugs. Who knows how many of these drugsunched by the Lu family were like Hopewell¡¯s new drug and had obtained pharmaceutical qualifications that should not have been obtained. All kinds of suspicions were brewing in private. The first person who jumped out to say that they had used the Lu family¡¯s drugs without any useful effect was followed by the second, the third¡­ Some of these people were arranged by Yan Yue, some were the result of the Ye family¡¯s revenge and some came from other pharmaceuticalpanies fishing in the muddy waters, trying to take advantage of the opportunity to screw up the Lu family. The media, the inte, the newspapers¡­ In just three days, the Hopewell incident fermented into a huge storm amidst all kinds of reports, sweeping the three giants, Hopewell, the Food and Drug Administration and the Lu family and pushing all three to the brink of trust bankruptcy. ¡°Now that the Lu family¡¯s reputation has been tarnished, someone must take responsibility for this.¡± In the Lu family mansion, Lu Chengwen, the eldest son of Lu Hengchuan, looked at Lu Wei¡¯an, who was standing aside, with a knife-like gaze and an obvious intent. If it wasn¡¯t for Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s involvement with the Yin family¡¯s girl, the Lu family wouldn¡¯t be in the situation it was in. After Lu Chengwen¡¯s words, several other people in the hall nodded. They all understood Lu Chengwen¡¯s meaning, which was clearly to take advantage of Lu Wei¡¯an. Speaking of which, no one in the Lu family actually liked Lu Wei¡¯an. In the past, it was fine; they saw Lu Wei¡¯an as a sick and miserable person. Although the family¡¯s confinement of Lu Lingxi was a bit unkind, there was no way to distinguish between right and wrong in such matters, so they couldn¡¯t put the me on Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s head. But once Lu Lingxi diedst year, they no longer saw Lu Wei¡¯an in the same light. This, coupled with the fact that Lu Wei¡¯an was jumping up and down trying to get involved in the Lu family¡¯s business, made the rest of the Lu family even more discontented. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Lu Wei¡¯an had hooked up with Hopewell, they would have joined forces to squeeze Lu Wei¡¯an out long ago, having guessed what the old man had in mind. Now that something had gone wrong, someone had to take the me, and Lu Wei¡¯an was the best candidate to do so. s The eyes of the people in the hall focused on him, and Lu Wei¡¯an, who was in the centre of attention, smiled coldly in his heart, but his face wore the expression of self-me. Although he was the one to pull the strings for the new drug, the entire Lu family was optimistic about the future of the new drug and wanted a piece of the pie. Now, as soon as something happened, they were in a hurry to clear themselves of responsibility. He didn¡¯t believe that those present couldn¡¯t see that someone was deliberately targeting the Lu family this time, otherwise the public opinion wouldn¡¯t have been focused on the Lu family in the incident caused by Hopewell. Lu Wei¡¯an gave Lu Hengchuan a covert nce, more concerned about his grandfather¡¯s reaction than his uncles¡¯ anger. But to his disappointment, his grandfather¡¯s eyes were downcast and expressionless, and Lu Wei¡¯an couldn¡¯t guess what was on his mind. ¡°Wei¡¯an, what do you say?¡± Seeing that Lu Wei¡¯an was silent, Lu Chengwen asked him inly. Lu Wei¡¯an gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, ¡°It was my mistake in judgement that affected the family¡¯s reputation, I will take the responsibility for this.¡± Just as he finished speaking, Lu Chengwen¡¯s eyes lit up and he was about to speak when Lu Hengchuan, who had been silent, coughed, attracting everyone¡¯s attention. Lu Wei¡¯an looked over with an expectant expression, and Lu Hengchuan gave Lu Wei¡¯an with a faint nce and said in an authoritative tone, ¡°Since Wei¡¯an has admitted his mistake, the investigation into the bribery of Hopewell will be handled by Wei¡¯an. You will take care of the rest and try to suppress the impact of this matter.¡± By saying this, Lu Hengchuan was obviously ready to give up on Lu Wei¡¯an. Now regarding the investigation of Sun Li¡¯s bribery, the whistleblower said conclusively that it was someone from the Lu family who was involved and there was the relevant evidence in his hands. Although a discerning person might not believe it if the Lu family put the me on Lu Wei¡¯an, it was a good enough exnation to the public. After hearing Lu Hengchuan¡¯s words, Lu Chengwen quickly agreed. The eyes of the people in the hall fell on Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s face, and Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s fist, hidden in his sleeve, clenched up tightly as he smiled reluctantly at Lu Hengchuan, ¡°I understand, Grandfather.¡± Under the different gazes of the people in the hall, Lu Wei¡¯an didn¡¯t know how he had managed to get out of the Lu family mansion. He nced back. Obviously, the weather was good today, a rare day with high clouds and no smog, but he felt that the whole Lu family was shrouded in a shadow. s Lu Wei¡¯anughed in a low, cold voice. He knew that his eldest uncle and the others didn¡¯t like him because they thought he was too cold-blooded and heartless, sacrificing Lu Lingxi for his own life. But was leukaemia something he¡¯d chosen to have? If he hadn¡¯t been born prematurely, how could he have grown up in poor health and had leukaemia after a cold? He watched others alive and kicking, and he could only lie on the hospital bed. Who knew his pain these years? He was obviously worse than dead, but he had to hold on to survive for the sake of his mother¡¯s obsession. Was this also his fault? Lu Lingxi¡­ Lu Wei¡¯an closed his eyes and expelled the name from his mind. A child who wasn¡¯t even born to his mother; even if his body retained the bloodline of the Lu family, when he was alive, no one recognised him as a member of the Lu family. Now that he was dead, all sorts of irrelevant people were jumping out and using him, Lu Wei¡¯an, of being cold-blooded, selfish andcking affection. It was fucking ridiculous! A bunch of hypocritical viins. Why didn¡¯t they appear when Lu Lingxi was alive? Just because Lu Lingxi died and he survived, all the sins were his? Should he live in Lu Lingxi¡¯s shadow for the rest of his life? Why should he! Lu Wei¡¯an opened his eyes and clenched his fists in hatred. The Lu family¡¯s dark tide wasn¡¯t known to Lu Lingxi, who was far away in Kunnan. Meanwhile, Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t see Lu Hengchuan for several days in a row, and only after watching the news did she know that something had happened to the Lu family. She vaguely felt strange; how could there be such a coincidence? As soon as Lu Hengchuan got into trouble with her, something happened to the Lu family in Zhongjing? She told Xiao Feng of her suspicions, ¡°Yan Yue didn¡¯t do anything, did he?¡± Xiao Feng wasn¡¯t sure either and said, ¡°This is such a big deal, it couldn¡¯t have been done overnight. Yan Yue has only known about Lu Hengchuan for a few days, so he probably has nothing to do with it. Besides, even if Yan Yue did it, it¡¯s not a bad thing. Look at all the hical things the Lu family has done, someone should have dealt with them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Wang Shuxiu said bitterly. She was furious at the thought of Lu Hengchuaning to her door and saying something about wanting Xiao Xi to acknowledge his ancestors. She couldn¡¯t wait for the Lu family to go bankrupt and see what other crazy thing they woulde up with. The two of them talked for a long time, but Wang Shuxiu remembered one more thing, ¡°Do you think we should tell Xiao Xi about the Lu family? The Lu family shouldn¡¯t be able to care about finding Xiao Xi now, right?¡± In the end, she still didn¡¯t want Lu Lingxi to know about this; she thought it would be good if Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know anything like now and was safe. ¡°It¡¯s better to tell Xiao Xi.¡± Xiao Feng persuaded, ¡°In case the Lu family doesn¡¯t give up, it¡¯s better for Xiao Xi to be psychologically prepared in advance.¡± Wang Shuxiu sighed, knowing that Xiao Feng had a point; better safe than sorry. Chapter 150 Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know about Wang Shuxiu¡¯s worries. He was ying like crazy these days, leaving early and returningte. As thergest botanical garden in China, the Kunnan Botanical Garden covered an area of 44 hectares and was home to arge number of precious nts, with 10 special botanical gardens set up ording to different nt species. As the orchid exhibition had not yet started, Lu Lingxi¡¯s itinerary for the past few days revolved around the Kunnan Botanical Garden. With the help of Wang Chaoliang, they were able to visit many precious areas that were not normally open to the public. In a matter of days, Lu Lingxi could be described as turning the botanical garden all over. Today, Lu Lingxi and Wang Chaoliang agreed that the next day he and Yan Yue would follow Wang Chaoliang to the workstation in the primordial rainforest of Kunnan to have a look. After dinner, Lu Lingxi was thinking about going back to the hotel to pack up and set off early tomorrow. Elder Zhang looked at Lu Lingxi lovingly and said with a smile, ¡°Tomorrow, we two old men will not follow Xiao Xi. The old bones are a bit weary. Xiao Xi, you can take more pictures ande back to me and your Grandpa Zhao to show them.¡± As soon as the words left his mouth, Elder Zhaoughed. ¡°I¡¯m getting old, so I¡¯ll have a few days to rest before the orchid show. Xiao Xi, you and Yan Yue have a good time and be safe.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. The field station that Wang Chaoliang had mentioned was located on the edge of the primaeval rainforest in Kunnan, almost at the border of China and quite a distance away from Kunnan City, so even if Elder Zhang and Elder Zhao wanted to go, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t feelfortable with them going along. After listening to Elder Zhang¡¯s and Elder Zhao¡¯s instructions and sending them back to their rooms, Lu Lingxi rushed back to his room to take a shower and start packing the things he wanted to take with him tomorrow. Wang Chaoliang said that there was a possibility that they would stay there for a night and asked Lu Lingxi to bring more clothes. There were other things at the workstation, so there was no need for Lu Lingxi to worry about it. But even though he said so, it was the first time that Lu Lingxi had been to the primaeval rainforest. He couldn¡¯t help but excitedly check the travel guide on the Inte for a long time and deliberately bought a lot of things ording to the guide. ¡°Raincoat, long coat and trousers, rope¡­¡± Lu Lingxi sat on the edge of the bed and carefully went through the items he had prepared, always feeling as if something was missing. What exactly was it? He puffed out his face and went through the items again. ¡°What are you looking for?¡± Yan Yue came out of the shower to see Lu Lingxi sitting on the bed with a troubled look on his face, going back and forth through the things he had prepared. The weather in Kunnan was very hot and Yan Yue was only wearing a pair of shorts, with Xiaohei, who had also taken a bath, lying on his shoulder. As he wiped his still dripping hair, he walked over to Lu Lingxi¡¯s side and leaned down to give him a kiss on the forehead. s Xiaohei was dizzy from the heat in the bathroom, so when Yan Yue leaned over, he immediately fell off Yan Yue¡¯s shoulder andnded into Lu Lingxi¡¯s arms. Lu Lingxi touched Xiaohei¡¯s body and tilted his face up in confusion, ¡°I always feel like there¡¯s something I haven¡¯t bought.¡± Yan Yue raised his eyebrows and took advantage of the situation to sit down next to Lu Lingxi and reached out to hug him. ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡± He carefully went through the things on the bed, remembering the environment of Fengcheng, and smiled, ¡°Did you not prepare mosquito repellent?¡± Lu Lingxi was dazed. It was strange to say that although Fengcheng was now lush with greenery, especially the district where Lu Lingxi lived that was like a small ecological park, mosquitoes were very rare in summer, and mosquito coils and mosquito repellents were hardly used. ustomed to the environment of Fengcheng, Lu Lingxi subconsciously ignored the mosquito repellent when he saw it in the supermarket. He came back to his senses, ¡°What time does the supermarket open tomorrow?¡± ¡°Eight o¡¯clock?¡± Yan Yue didn¡¯t pay much attention either and kissed Lu Lingxi soothingly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Wang Chaoliang definitely prepared it.¡± Lu Lingxi hummed and was about to say something, when Yan Yue¡¯s mobile phone on the table rang abruptly. ¡°Big Brother Yan, who is looking for you? ¡°Lu Lingxi asked casually. Yan Yue looked at the phone carelessly and paused when he saw the caller number. Unexpectedly, it was Wang Shuxiu calling. Thinking of thest time, Yan Yue guessed almost immediately that Wang Shuxiu might want to talk to him and avoid Lu Lingxi. He picked up the phone as if nothing had happened, rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair haphazardly and said, ¡°It¡¯s An Jie, I¡¯m going out to take a call.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, not expecting Yan Yue to be lying to him at all. He watched as Yan Yue walked to the terrace and closed the door again, not thinking anything of it. Through the door Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t hear what Yan Yue was saying, and after he had put the things on the bed away, he started rummaging through Yan Yue¡¯s suitcase looking for clothes. ¡°Huh.¡± Lu Lingxi blinked and inadvertently flipped over the booklet that Wang Shuxiu had slipped him. He had only nced at itst time on the ne, and then the booklet had been stuffed somewhere by Yan Yue. He had thought that Yan Yue had thrown it away and he had not expected that Yan Yue had actually put it away. As the thought shed through his mind, Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart moved and he raised his head to take a quick nce at Yan Yue on the balcony, talking on the phone. From this angle, he could only see Yan Yue¡¯s back, and it looked like Yan Yue wouldn¡¯t be able to finish his phone call for a while. Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart pounded and he secretly opened the booklet almost like a thief. He was actually very curious about the contents of the booklet, but he was too embarrassed to ask Yan Yue what was written in it. s The booklet wasn¡¯t thick, and Lu Lingxi had gone through half of it in a short while. He didn¡¯t know where Wang Shuxiu found it, but it seemed to be a booklet aimed at the homosexual auditory. The statements on homosexuality were all very serious and even the cartoon characters were mainly cute, but Lu Lingxi felt his body getting hotter and hotter, and his face was unconsciously flushed red. When Yan Yue finished his phone call and went back to his room, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t even seem to notice. After seeing what the young man was looking at, Yan Yue raised his eyebrows slightly. Not only did he not bother Lu Lingxi, but instead he took Xiaohei and stuffed him into a drawer, and sat down next to Lu Lingxi by himself. The thin booklet quickly reached the end, and Lu Lingxi was thinking of stuffing it back into the suitcase. When he looked up at the balcony, he didn¡¯t see Yan Yue, and then there was a familiar aura behind him, ¡°Finished reading?¡± Yan Yue asked in a low voice as he hugged Lu Lingxi from behind. Lu Lingxi turned his head suddenly, an indescribable shyness on his face. ¡°Big Brother Yan¡­¡± This time, even his ears turned red. Although Lu Lingxi felt that it was not wrong for him to read the booklet, being caught by Yan Yue as he peeked at it seemed to have an extra hint of indescribable meaning. Before Lu Lingxi could say another word, Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened slightly and his body reacted honestly. He looked at Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes that seemed to be misted and involuntarily leaned over and kissed Lu Lingxi tenderly. Everything was natural. Yan Yue had thought about the trip they were going to take tomorrow and his promise to wait until Lu Lingxi¡¯s twentieth birthday, but he simply couldn¡¯t control the lust that surged through his body, nor did he seem to need to. Just the thought that he could have the young manpletely made Yan Yue shudder with happiness. The night passed quickly, and Yan Yue stayed awake almost all night. Because Lu Lingxiy in his arms, dependent and devoted, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t move for fear of waking Lu Lingxi and disturbing his rest. He held the person in his arms carefully and almost reverently, his heart full of happiness. At dawn at six o¡¯clock, the rm clock setst night went off. They made an appointment with Wang Chaoliang to meet at the entrance of the hotel at six forty-five, which was originally enough time, but looking at Lu Lingxi in his arms, who refused to get up with his eyes closed, Yan Yue was a little worried that they would be toote. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± Yan Yue called out tentatively. Lu Lingxi wrapped himself in the nket and rolled over, trying to go back to sleep with his eyes covered. He didn¡¯t think he had done anything, but he was very sleepy. Seeing him like this, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t bear to toss him, so he hugged him and coaxed him gently, ¡°Why don¡¯t I tell Wang Chaoliang that we¡¯ll go to the field station another day?¡± The mention of the field station aroused a trace of Lu Lingxi¡¯s sanity. He struggled to sit up, rubbing his eyes and saying, ¡°I¡¯m up.¡± Yan Yueughed and kissed him, then helped him get dressed and squeeze the toothpaste. It wasn¡¯t until Lu Lingxi had finished washing his face with his eyes closed that he woke uppletely. Memories ofst night returned to his mind and the tips of his ears reddened again at the thought of some things. At the appointed time, they got into Wang Chaoliang¡¯s car in front of the hotel. Kunnan in the early morning was very beautiful. As a tourist city, 50% of Kunnan was green. There was vegetation everywhere you could see, the golden morning glow spilling over the young green leaves as if the whole city was dotted with countless green gems. When you looked up, the sky was blue and high, and your heart felt opening up at this sight. Out of Kunnan City, without the high-rise buildings around, there was greenery and the scent of flowers everywhere. The picturesquendscape swept past the window, as if a mysterious beauty had been unveiled little by little. Along the way, Wang Chaoliang enthusiastically introduced the scenery to Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi. He had been here for several months and had driven this road countless times, so he was familiar with every ce they passed. At first, Lu Lingxi was still bracing himself to listen to his introductions, butter he was so sleepy that he simply found a ce in Yan Yue¡¯s arms and fell into a deep sleep. Yan Yue moved his arms carefully to make Lu Lingxi feel asfortable as possible. Wang Chaoliang saw Lu Lingxi¡¯s sleepy appearance and was a little surprised, ¡°Xiao Xi didn¡¯t sleep wellst night?¡± Yan Yue smiled, ¡°Xiao Xi was a little excited about going to the rainforest today, so he fell asleep a littlete.¡± Wang Chaoliang smiled and shook his head, thinking that Lu Lingxi was still a child no matter how well-behaved he was. After driving for about an hour, Wang Chaoliang signalled that they were almost there. Yan Yue was thinking of waking Lu Lingxi up when his mobile phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Fang Lei. Yan Yue had heard from Lu Lingxi a few days ago that Fang Lei wasing to Kunnan on a business trip, but he didn¡¯t expect him toe so soon. ¡°Where are you and Xiao Xi? I¡¯ll treat you guys to lunch.¡± Yan Yue sounded regretful, ¡°Xiao Xi and I are out of town, I guess we won¡¯t be back until tomorrow, so we¡¯ll owe you this meal.¡± He really felt sorry. If Fang Lei had called an hour earlier, he would still have had time to change his schedule and Xiao Xi would have been able to sleep more. ¡°That¡¯s fine, we¡¯ll meet when you guys get back, I reckon I can stay for a while longer.¡± The case Fang Lei was working on this time was rather tricky, and he was all ready to struggle with it for a long time. After hanging up the phone, Fang Lei wandered out alone and prepared to find a ce to eat breakfast. After two steps, he suddenly stopped and looked behind him. The alley behind him was bustling with people going to work and school. He took a wary nce and found nothing unusual, but there was always a vague feeling that he was being watched. Chapter 151 The field station of the Kunnan Botanical Garden was located on the edge of the primaeval rainforest. Although it was said to be on the edge, it was also surrounded by towering ancient trees, covering the sky and the sun, with tangled vines and luxuriant flowers everywhere. The ground was slippery and soft from mud and rotting wood, so the car that Wang Chaoliang drove couldn¡¯t get there. They had to park it in a nearby vige and walk on foot. Lu Lingxi, who had slept all the way to the vige, was nowpletely awake and jumped out of the car with his bag on his back, looking with curiosity at this primaeval tropical rainforest, thergest in size, the best preserved and the most biodiverse in China. Wang Chaoliang stood by his side, saying quite emotionally: ¡°Xiao Xi, do you know? More than half of the nts and animals on the earth inhabit the rainforest, and it can be said that the rainforest is the home base of most of the earth¡¯s creatures. It¡¯s a pity that with indiscriminate deforestation everywhere, the area of rainforest on the earth is getting smaller and smaller. In the long run, it¡¯s really going to¡­¡± At the end of the sentence Wang Chaoliang sighed; not to mention other ces, the area of this rainforest in front of them was getting smaller and smaller. Although China was shouting about environmental protection,pared to the economic benefits, the so-called protection was just an empty word. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Without saying anything else Wang Chaoliang called Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi to follow him into the rainforest. Because the nts were too lush, sunlight was rarely seen in the rainforest. After the initial difort, Lu Lingxi quickly got used to the environment inside. As far as the eye could see, apart from the huge trees and intertwining vines, there were algae, mosses and ferns. These normally inconspicuous nts covered trunks and branches of the trees like a thick carpet of green. In addition to this, there were also brightly coloured flowers, and asionally unknown animals rustled by, giving the whole rainforest an aura of mysterious and unpredictable beauty. Yan Yue had no great interest in all this and simply surveyed the surroundings as a tourist. Wang Chaoliang and Lu Lingxi, on the other hand, were different. They walked and watched with great interest, stopping from time to time to take a few photos and chat with each other. Wang Chaoliang was a veteran nt researcher, and Lu Lingxi had a mysterious white panel, so whatever nts they encountered, they could always discuss them, and Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help but feel a little sour. When the two finally separated, Lu Lingxi went to take pictures of two giant trees growing together, while Wang Chaoliang crouched on the ground carefully observing some white fungi. Yan Yue took a bottle of water and handed it to Lu Lingxi, ¡°Are you tired?¡± Lu Lingxi took the water and subconsciously shook his head. The corners of Yan Yue¡¯s lips curved up; looking at Lu Lingxi with a smile in his eyes, he whispered, ¡°Is there any difort in your body?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little confused by his words, and when he reacted, the tips of his ears immediately turned red. However, apart from being a little sleepy in the morning, there was nothing unusual about Lu Lingxi¡¯s body. It was Yan Yue who hadn¡¯t slept much all night, but now he was still in high spirits as usual. Both of them knew that this was the effect of evolution, which brought about not onlymunication with animals, but also an increase of stamina and improvement in their physique. Seeing that the two of them seemed to be talking about something, Wang Chaoliang simply suggested resting here for a while. Yan Yue looked at the time and asked, ¡°Is it still far from the workstation?¡± ¡°Not far, it¡¯s just right ahead.¡± There were too many dangers inside the rainforest, including an unknown number of various poisonous snakes, poisonous frogs and poisonous spiders alone, and many other dangerous animals lurking about. Although the staff had built the workstation inside the rainforest for convenience, they didn¡¯t dare to go too deep. Wang Chaoliang instructed Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue to pay attention to all kinds of poisonous animals and not to get bitten. Although this was the edge of the forest and there were no animals that were too poisonous, not to mention that there were medicines at the workstation, it was better to avoid idents as much as possible. ¡°Other than that, make sure you¡¯re careful not to wander off alone and get lost.¡± Wang Chaoliang cautioned as someone who had been there before, ¡°It¡¯s a huge maze, the trees around are all about the same length and it¡¯ll be troublesome if you get lost.¡± s The three of them rested for a few minutes, and Wang Chaoliang led them on. After a couple of steps, Xiaohei, who had been dutifully wrapped around Yan Yue¡¯s wrist, suddenly burst out of his sleeve, raised his upper body and hissed at the bushes on the left. The next moment, Xiaohei shot out like lightning and plunged headlong into the bush. The only thing that could be heard was a rustling sound inside, as if something was struggling. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Chaoliang asked as he heard themotion and hurriedly turned around. Yan Yue pulled out a dagger and shielded Lu Lingxi, looking warily in the direction where Xiaohei had disappeared, frowning, ¡°There might be a poisonous snake.¡± ¡°A poisonous snake?¡± Wang Chaoliang immediately stopped in his tracks and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t move yet. As long as we don¡¯t provoke, the snakes won¡¯t normally provoke us.¡± But despite saying this, he still fished out the snake medicine he had prepared in advance from his bag. It was best not to be bitten by a poisonous snake, and it was good to be prepared in case you were. While the two of them were talking, there was less movement in the bushes, and not long afterwards Xiaohei poked his head out and excitedly showed his tongue to Yan Yue. His tail curled around a small red snake a few centimetres thick. The little red snake¡¯s body was hanging limply, and it looked like it was already dead. Wang Chaoliang was astonished and looked at Xiaohei with dumbfounded eyes, unable to speak for a long time. He had seen Xiaohei before at Tiny Garden, and of course he knew that Xiaohei was Yan Yue¡¯s pet. But this scene in front of him¡­ he could no longer find the words to describe. Xiaohei slithered ostentatiously in front of Yan Yue, raising his head and swaying left and right. Yan Yue frowned, put away the dagger and picked up Xiaohei, holding a bottle of mineral water and washing him for a long time. Xiaohei resentfully opened his mouth and bit on Yan Yue¡¯s finger. Yan Yue didn¡¯t have any reaction. Xiaohei let go, aggrieved, wagging his tail and struggling to get into Lu Lingxi¡¯s arms. Wang Chaoliang¡¯s expression became odd; he felt that this little ck snake seemed to be pouting, as if it was wronged by Yan Yue and wanted to go to Lu Lingxi toin. He shook his head as the thought shed through his mind, thinking that he was really confused. Yan Yue finished rinsing Xiaohei with water and poked Xiaohei¡¯s head. He didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with Xiaohei strangling the poisonous snake but simply felt that Xiaohei had gotten dirty and needed to be washed. After all, Xiaohei¡¯s favourite ce to stay was either his wrist or Xiao Xi¡¯s arms and he shouldn¡¯t get there being dirty after rolling around. ¡°Ssss.¡± Xiaohei raised his head in protest. In front of Wang Chaoliang, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t say anything, so he could onlyply with Xiaohei¡¯s wishes and throw him to Lu Lingxi. Xiaohei wrapped himself around Lu Lingxi¡¯s wrist tteringly and waved his tail at Yan Yue resentfully. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help butugh. s Ten minutester, they arrived at the Botanical Garden¡¯s field workstation. The workstation was actually three simple houses built in the middle of a clearing in the jungle. Around the houses, there was some equipment that Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t recognise. Stationed at the workstation were two staff members who were about the same age as Wang Chaoliang. They had known beforehand that Wang Chaoliang was bringing people over and were very enthusiastic about Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue, especially Lu Lingxi. Both staff members had read several reports published by Wang Chaoliang before and knew that Lu Lingxi was somehow their colleague and was very good at discovering and developing new varieties of nts. ¡°Lao Wang, show Xiao Xi around, a rare monster flower was found over there a few days ago.¡± One of the staff pointed it out. ¡°Monster flower?¡± Wang Chaoliang first wondered how there could be a monster flower over here, but soon became excited and said to Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go and have a look.¡± The monster flower, also known as the corpse flower, is a fleshy, parasitic nt and one of thergest flowers in the world. Thergest monster flower found so far had a diameter of 1.4 metres and weighed 10 kilograms, giving it the reputation of being the king among the world¡¯s flowers. However, most of the flowers were found in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia, and were rtively rare in Kunnan. Following the guidance of the staff, Wang Chaoliang led Lingxi and Yan Yue all the way to the depths of the rainforest. ¡°It¡¯s okay, this is a ce I oftene to, and there are no dangerous animals.¡± Wang Chaoliang said as he walked, ¡°Besides¡­¡± He jokingly nced at Xiaohei wrapped around Lu Lingxi¡¯s wrist, ¡°With Xiaohei as a bodyguard, there is nothing to be afraid of.¡± Xiaohei seemed to understand that Wang Chaoliang was talking about it and excitedly kept waving his tail and hissing. Yan Yue understood what Xiaohei was screaming and gently raised the corners of his mouth. They had been walking for about half an hour when Wang Chaoliang said, ¡°Don¡¯t look that we seem to have gone far, this is still the edge of the rainforest, and there¡¯s no end to going forward like this.¡± Lu Lingxi looked in the direction Wang Chaoliang was pointing and said curiously, ¡°Has anyone ever been to the middle of the rainforest?¡± This time it was Yan Yue who answered, saying in a deep voice, ¡°This rainforest borders other countries, so there should be smugglers who would risk passing through here.¡± ¡°Not bad.¡± Wang Chaoliang nodded, ¡°Apart from smugglers, there are also drug traffickers, and this part of the border is not very safe. But we don¡¯t have to worry, the workstation has been built for more than ten years and we haven¡¯t encountered smugglers or drug traffickers¡­ it¡¯s here.¡± Before Wang Chaoliang finished speaking, he was already excitedly walking forward. Yan Yue nced around, reached out and held Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand, leading him to follow behind. The monster flower that the staff had spoken of soon appeared in front of them. The so-called monster flower in fact was still just a giant ck bud in front of them, with a mark left by the staff next to it. Wang Chaoliang circled around the bud with some regret, ¡°It¡¯s not time for it to bloom yet, we probably won¡¯t see it bloom.¡± The monster flower blooms only once in a lifetime, and the flowering period is only four days. The buds are sweet-smelling in the early stages of blooming, and then they will emit an irritating rancid smell. On the fourth day of the flowering period, the petals of the monster flower will gradually turn ck and wither, and then be a pool of sticky ck matter within a few weeks. Although Wang Chaoliang couldn¡¯t judge the specific flowering time of the monster flower, neither he nor Lu Lingxi could stay here every day to wait. If they wanted to see the flower bloom, they would definitely have no hope. With regret in his heart, Wang Chaoliang simply squatted on the ground and looked at the flower bud. Although Lu Lingxi was interested in the big monster flower, he really didn¡¯t know what was so beautiful about the bud, so he pulled Yan Yue to look around and take a few photos every now and then. ¡°Bang.¡± Something smashed from afar andnded at Lu Lingxi¡¯s feet. Before Lu Lingxi could react, Yan Yue was already pulling him back a step. The two looked up to see a small yellow monkey squatting on a tree not far away, cupping some unknown fruit in its hand and eager to throw it in Lu Lingxi¡¯s direction. ¡°Zi-zi.¡± The little monkey squeaked loudly. Unfortunately, neither Lu Lingxi nor Yan Yue could understand what it was saying. On the contrary, Xiaohei was angry with the little monkey for bullying Lu Lingxi and crawled out from Lu Lingxi¡¯s wrist to hiss angrily at the little monkey. The little monkey stared at Xiaohei curiously, and then seemed to remember something and squeaked urgently, pointing and jumping ahead as it did so. ¡°What¡¯s it saying?¡± Lu Lingxi pulled Yan Yue and said curiously. Yan Yue stared at the little monkey¡¯s movements in thought, ¡°It seems to be warning of something.¡± ¡°Warning about what?¡± Lu Lingxi took out the binocrs from his bag and looked in the direction the little monkey was pointing. He didn¡¯t see anything but tall trees covering the sky. He handed the binocrs to Yan Yue, who looked around and still didn¡¯t see anything either. ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± Yan Yue frowned slightly and said suddenly. ¡°Huh?¡± Lu Lingxi looked puzzled. Yan Yue pulled Lu Lingxi and exined, ¡°This little monkey is not malicious, you should be able to feel it, Xiao Xi. Since it has alerted us to what¡¯s ahead, for safety reasons we¡¯d better leave here.¡± After he finished speaking, Lu Lingxi nodded obediently and followed Yan Yue along the original path to find Wang Chaoliang. After a few steps Lu Lingxi looked back at the little monkey in the tree, who was hanging from the trunk with one arm and waving its hand at them like a human. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and smiled, and waved at the little monkey too. They were not far away from Wang Chaoliang and soon reunited. Yan Yue said to Wang Chaoliang that he suspected that there was danger ahead and that it was better for them to leave the area. Although Wang Chaoliang found it strange, Yan Yue¡¯s tone didn¡¯t sound like a joke. He cautiously nced in the direction Yan Yue hade from and simply took the two of them back to the workstation the way they hade. The three figures soon disappeared into the dense forest. Not long after they had gone, several men in tough, local minority attire turned out from behind arge tree several people thick and stared maliciously in the direction the three had disappeared. The leader looked to be in his forties, with a thumb-length scar at the corner of his eye. His expression was gloomy, and he asked in a cold voice, ¡°Have you seen what they look like?¡± A tall and strong man in his thirties next to him quickly said, ¡°The little one finally turned his head and I got a good look, but the other two I didn¡¯t see clearly.¡± The leader lowered his eyes, made a gesture of beheading and said in a cold voice, ¡°Follow them, see where they are from, and find an opportunity to finish them off.¡± A man on the right who looked somewhat younger hesitated, ¡°Big Brother, they look like they are tourists who don¡¯t know anything and probably didn¡¯t see us, so why don¡¯t we just not make any more trouble¡­¡± The leader of the group interrupted with a snort, ¡°Didn¡¯t see anything? If they didn¡¯t see anything, why were they in a hurry to go? Xiao Liu (Little Six), don¡¯t forget that Lao Wu (Old Five) was caught and probably said everything he should or shouldn¡¯t have said to save his life. We have been working hard here for many years to have the base we have now. Now other lines are not safe, and there is only one drug delivery line¡­ Just in case, even if that kid didn¡¯t see anything, it¡¯s their bad luck.¡± The leader had the most authority among them, and when he said so, the others had no objection. The tall, sturdy man followed Yan Yue and the others, and the rest of the group turned back into the depths of the rainforest. Before leaving, the leader looked up and gave the little monkey in the tree a fierce re. The monkey squealed and grabbed the fruit in its hand and smashed it at the man¡¯s head. The man¡¯s face was full of anger and his hand immediately reached for the gun at his waist, but considering that the shooting was too loud, he had to endure it. Seeing that he didn¡¯t move, the little monkey became even more pleased with itself and kept finding dried up fruit to smash at them, making faces like a human. ¡°Little beast.¡± The man was furious. The young man beside him hurriedly stopped him, ¡°Big Brother, why bother with an animal.¡± The little monkey seemed to understand that they were scolding it and smashed the fruit with even more vigour. Young man: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Chapter 152 Out of caution, Lu Lingxi and the others quickly returned to the workstation. The staff inside was a little surprised, ¡°Howe you¡¯re back so soon?¡± Wang Chaoliang had already listened to Yan Yue¡¯s ount of what had happened on the way, so he briefly recounted it at once. He had seen how smart Dahei and Xiaohei were, and believed that the little monkey Yan Yue had mentioned was smart enough to give them an early warning. He was worried that the other two staff members wouldn¡¯t believe him, but when he finished, one of them thought about it and smiled, ¡°I know which little monkey you¡¯re talking about. It¡¯s a very clever little fellow and asionallyes to the workstation. But it¡¯s very wary and seldom deals with people of its own ord, so it¡¯s rare for it to give you a warning.¡± There were many monkeys living in the rainforest of Kunnan, but these monkeys lived far away from human gathering ces and rarely appeared in front of humans. The staff at the workstation had only seen them a few times, and the little monkey Yan Yue was talking about was the most lively and daring of them all. Last time, it even exchanged a flower for a loaf of bread, but only after observing them for a long time to make sure they were not a danger. Situations like the one Yan Yue mentioned hardly ever happened. The topic of conversation soon turned to the little monkey, and although Yan Yue found it interesting to listen, he had to interrupt them to ask a question that had been on his mind all the way. ¡°What would the little monkey warn us about?¡± On this point, the staff present had no idea. But from what they knew about the little monkey, it must have been some kind of danger ahead, either a human or arge, dangerous animal. One of the staff members was inclined towards a human. This rainforest, because it bordered other countries, had its fair share of fugitives and drug smuggling ouws venturing out. Fortunately, on the one hand, the rainforest was too dangerous, and on the other hand, the border armed police were very strict, and nothing had happened to this area. However, some time ago, the anti-drug police on Kunnan¡¯s side caught arge overseas smuggling and drug trafficking group apart from several of the main leaders. It might be that they would flee to this area. It was fine if he didn¡¯t say it; but when he finished speaking, not to mention Yan Yue, even Lu Lingxi realised the seriousness of the problem. The staff member exined with a smile: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, because of the unique environment in the rainforest, vision is limited. Except for a little monkey, an average person can¡¯t see far. Besides, there are border armed police patrolling regrly nearby, so nothing will happen.¡± When the other party said that, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t say anything. The rest of the time, he and Lu Lingxi were very conscious of their activities and kept them within a few hundred metres of the workstation, not daring to stray too far away. Not far behind them, the tall, burly man who had followed them all the way here climbed up on the hanging vines and looked through the small binocrs in the direction of Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue. He recognised the workstation of the botanical garden and guessed that Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue were probably the new staff here. It looked like the two probably hadn¡¯t seen anything, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t have remained here. In that case, the tall, strong man was a little hesitant to listen to his boss and make a move while they were alone. As he hesitated, Yan Yue sensed something and looked thoughtfully in the man¡¯s direction. Although he couldn¡¯t see anything, Yan Yue felt in his heart that something was wrong. He took Xiaohei from his wrist and whispered something; Xiaohei hissed in agreement and then burrowed into the grass. Within a few moments, several brightly coloured poisonous snakes slithered out of the grass, driven by Xiaohei in the direction of the man. The man didn¡¯t react at first, but soon realised that something was wrong. A small green snake suddenly sprang up from under him and tried to bite him. The man reacted extremely quickly and jumped down from the tree to avoid the snake¡¯s attack. He was d that he¡¯d managed to dodge the snake¡¯s attack when he felt a stinging pain in his ankle. When he looked down, another small green snake was hanging from his boot, biting him hard. The man knew this snake, amon venomous snake in the rainforest. He hurriedly fished out the antidote he always had in his bag, applied it to the wound and left the area hastily. The man was in such a hurry that he didn¡¯t even notice that he had dropped his binocrs on the ground. As soon as he left, Yan Yue rushed over to the ce where he heard themotion, and his face looked a bit ugly when he saw the binocrs on the ground. Lu Lingxi also saw the binocrs and asked nervously, ¡°Is there any danger?¡± Yan Yue frowned slightly and said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m afraid so.¡± At this time he couldn¡¯t help but start to miss Dahei; in terms of vignce and chasing people, Dahei could beat Xiaohei by a hundred points. Yan Yue sighed, ¡°If only Dahei or Fang Lei were here.¡± Lu Lingxi seriously thought about this idea and privately felt that Dahei was more reliable than Fang Lei. s Fang Lei, who was far away in downtown Kunnan, didn¡¯t know that he was being missed by Yan Yue and sneezed several times in a row. ¡°Strange, could it be that Xiaohui misses me.¡± Fang Lei muttered in his heart. This time he couldn¡¯t bring Xiaohui with him on his business trip and entrusted Xiaohui to a colleague like he hadst time. In order to avoid Master Cat making trouble, Fang Lei also made it a point to exin to his colleague that he shouldn¡¯t feed Xiaohui canned cat food all the time; Xiaohui preferred to eat small dried fish, and the colleague should asionally treat Xiaohui to it. When he thought about it, Fang Lei felt that he really missed Xiaohui. He didn¡¯t know if Xiaohui was obedient during his absence, if he was eating well, and if his colleague had bought Xiaohui dried fish. He looked up and saw a food stall on the side of the road selling crispy dried fish, a speciality of Kunnan. Fang Lei¡¯s heart moved; he went over to the owner and bought half a catty, which would be his snack for tonight. With the dried fish in his hand, Fang Lei wandered back to where he lived. Because he was expected to stay in Kunnan for a short time, Fang Lei and the two colleagues who hade with him didn¡¯t stay in a hotel to save money, but in an old house owned by a local colleague in Kunnan who didn¡¯t live there often. When he returned, his two colleagues were not at home. Fang Lei was about to open the door when he suddenly stopped moving, overwhelmed with the feeling of being watched again, just like in the morning. He nced back and scanned the surroundings alertly, but there was nothing suspicious around him. Fang Lei lowered his head. His intuition of many years of work made him believe that he was not mistaken; someone was really watching him. Could it be rted to the case? The ones who escaped came back to tip off the others? While Fang Lei felt suspicious, he suddenly heard a meow and a yellow tabby cat jumped to the wall of the alley, its green eyes looking straight at Fang Lei, giving him a feeling of being watched. Fang Lei couldn¡¯t help but be relieved that it was just a cat and he was the one who had been a little overly nervous. Fang Lei rxed, thought about it, took out some of the fish in his hand and put it in the corner against the wall, gesturing for the tabby cat toe over and eat the fish. The cat didn¡¯t move at first, and Fang Lei didn¡¯t care. Cats are always wary of people, so when he was gone, the cat would probably dare toe over and eat. He opened the door, thinking that, but before he could enter the house, a grey figure pounced on him and scratched his face unceremoniously. Almost by reflex, Fang Lei took a step back extremely quickly and grabbed the little thing in front of him while it slowed down a bit. ¡°Xiaohui!¡± Fang Lei said in shock. The one he had grabbed was clearly Xiaohui, who should have stayed in Fengcheng. Xiaohui waved his paws angrily, the fur on his body bristling in anger. Unfortunately for Xiaohui, Fang Lei had gained a lot of fighting experience in the process of getting along with him and carried Xiaohui in a position that made Xiaohui unable to scratch his face. ¡°Xiaohui, why are you here and how did you get here?¡± Fang Lei asked curiously. Xiaohui in front of him looked clean and dry, not at all like he had travelled a long way to Kunnan. Fang Lei didn¡¯t believe that Xiaohui could have run from Fengcheng to Kunnan all by himself. Xiaohui meowed twice in anger. s Fang Lei found a small te, put the dried fish in it and ced it in front of Xiaohui, coaxing him, ¡°These fish are all for you. Just now outside I thought Xiaohui liked to eat dried fish, so I gave some to another cat.¡± Xiaohui listened and meowed twice more. Fang Lei smoothed Xiaohui¡¯s fur in amusement and promised, ¡°Okay, all the dried fish from now on will be Xiaohui¡¯s, no other cats will eat it.¡± Xiaohui seemed to be satisfied with Fang Lei¡¯s assurance and squatted down in front of the small te and started to eat the dried fish. Fang Lei was still curious as to how Xiaohui had found his way here, but unfortunately Xiaohui refused to answer this question. But Fang Lei did learn that the tabby cat outside was Xiaohui¡¯s little brother whom Xiaohui entrusted specifically to keep an eye on Fang Lei¡¯s whereabouts when he went out. There were several other little brothers like that, spread out in different parts of the alley. Just now, if he hadn¡¯t made Xiaohui too angry by giving the tabby cat dried fish, Xiaohui wouldn¡¯t have jumped out to settle the score with him. Fang Leiughed and shook his head, rubbing Xiaohui¡¯s bulging belly. Xiaohuiyfortably with his belly facing the sky, meowing a few times every now and then. The mood was perfect when the mobile phone in Fang Lei¡¯s pocket rang. Just as he picked up the phone, his colleague said urgently, ¡°The border police have just discovered the whereabouts of the escaped drug traffickers in the rainforest at the border. The local police have already sent someone there, so we have to hurry up and follow them.¡± Before his colleague could finish speaking, Fang Lei grabbed his car keys and left the house. As soon as he walked out, Xiaohui jumped into the car right behind him. At this time, Fang Lei couldn¡¯t care less about talking to Xiaohui. While driving, he said holding his mobile phone, ¡°I¡¯ll meet you at the police station right away, so tell me what happened first. How did you find the trail? Is it confirmed that it¡¯s the gang?¡± The colleague said: ¡°Only 80% confirmed now, but the binocrs found at the scene weremonly used by the gang. You know that all their stuff is plundered from abroad, the things left when the army retreated and not avable in the country, so there is a high possibility that it is them. As for how it was found, I heard that two tourists in the rainforest found it, and they were also the ones who called the police and contacted the armed border police.¡± ¡°There are tourists in the rainforest?¡± Fang Lei was surprised, ¡°Don¡¯t tourists all go to the Kunnan Nature Reserve? Is there such a thing as going to the jungle?¡± The colleagueughed at this, ¡°Some tourists are bold and don¡¯t want to go to the reserve, they just like to wander around outside. Besides, the two tourists this time weren¡¯t exactly going on their own. There is a botanical garden field workstation in that rainforest and they were with the staff of the station.¡± The botanical garden, the staff, the two tourists, thebination of these words gave Fang Lei a bad feeling. He remembered calling Yan Yue in the morning. Didn¡¯t Yan Yue say they were following a friend from the botanical garden to wander around in the rainforest? It couldn¡¯t be a coincidence, right? Fang Lei¡¯s heart was beating like a drum all the way, and he didn¡¯t even bother to respond when he met up with his colleagues at the police station and was teased about taking his cat out with him. He turned his head to look at the mighty and domineering Master Cat crouching on the passenger side and smiled wryly. It would be convenient if it was Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi, just in time to entrust Xiaohui to them. They sped along the way and soon reached a small vige at the border. The border police were stationed here, and the local police station was also located in this small vige. As soon as he got out of the car, Fang Lei saw Yan Yue. The colleague who hade with him went in to ask about the situation and asked Fang Lei to wait by the car first. Fang Lei took advantage of the situation to rush over to Yan Yue, looking him up and down, ¡°Is everything alright?¡± Yan Yue was taken aback, ¡°Fang Lei, why are you here?¡± Fang Lei said in a low voice, ¡°You still remember the incident at the beginning of the year when someone tried to nt evidence to frame Xiao Xi, right?¡± Yan Yue nodded. ¡°It is that case. The more we followed the trail, the deeper the investigation went, directly leading to a drug trafficking gang outside the country. Now quite a few drug dealers have been caught, and a few big fish got away during the previous arrest, presumably the ones you met.¡± Speaking of this, Fang Lei changed the subject, ¡°What about Xiao Xi? How did you guys meet those people? What the colleague said on the phone wasn¡¯t clear either.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s expression was quite serious, ¡°Xiao Xi and some friends are resting inside. As for the encounter, it wasn¡¯t us who encountered them, it was them who came looking for us.¡± He started with the little monkey warning them, and kept talking about how he felt something was wrong andmanded Xiaohei to drive poisonous snakes to investigate, only to find the binocrs someone had left behind, and finally to the point where they left the rainforest and reported the incident to the police. Fang Lei was stunned as he listened; he immediately lowered his voice, ¡°That¡¯s not what you told the police, right?¡± This was too much like making up a story, a monkey warning them,manding poisonous snakes or something. Yan Yue chuckled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not that stupid.¡± But apart from the Xiaohei part, Yan Yue didn¡¯t hide anything else. He was honest about the warning from the little monkey and he suspected it was from there that he and Xiao Xi were being watched. Fang Lei thought so too, ¡°That group was probably nearby at the time, and if it wasn¡¯t for the little monkey¡¯s warning, you would have run into each other. It¡¯s also a good thing you guys left early, otherwise it would have been dangerous. It¡¯s a gang of desperados. I guess they thought you had seen them and wanted to check what was going on and deal with you when you are alone so that you didn¡¯t give away their whereabouts.¡± Yan Yue nodded. That was what he was worried about, so after seeing the binocrs he made a quick decision to leave the rainforest with the two staff members of the workstation and immediately went to the vige to call the police. Fang Lei reminded, ¡°They¡¯re already on you and Xiao Xi, so you and Xiao Xi should stay in the vige for now and not go back to Kunnan yet. There might be trouble in case there are still their aplices over there. I¡¯ll go back with you guys when this operation is over.¡± Yan Yue gave an ¡°en¡± and agreed. While the two of them were talking, Xiaohui had already jumped out of the car window like an arrow and followed the scent to find Lu Lingxi. ¡°Xiaohui?¡± Lu Lingxi blinked, wondering if he was mistaken. Xiaohui leapt gently into Lu Lingxi¡¯s arms; his furry paws clung to Lu Lingxi¡¯s arm as he meowed affectionately. As he got close, Lu Lingxi recognised that it was really Xiaohui and that he was not mistaken. He hugged Xiaohui in surprise, somewhat in disbelief, ¡°Is Brother Fang also here? But that¡¯s not right, Brother Fang is here on a business trip, how can he bring you along with him?¡± Xiaohui held his head up proudly and nibbled on Lu Lingxi¡¯s sleeve, signalling him to follow him out. Lu Lingxi spoke to Wang Chaoliang and carried Xiaohui out, following Xiaohui all the way to Fang Lei¡¯s car. Fang Lei and the others hade to Kunnan not by ne like Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue but taking turns to drive all the way from Fengcheng to Kunnan. Xiaohui agilely jumped from Lu Lingxi¡¯s arms onto the trunk, gently tapped his paw and crouched there without moving. Lu Lingxi was dazed, ¡°Xiaohui was hiding in the trunk to follow?¡± Xiaohui licked his paws and meowed, sort of admitting it. Lu Lingxi simply didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± When Yan Yue finished talking to Fang Lei, he looked at Lu Lingxi standing alone behind Fang Lei¡¯s car looking at something. The two of them walked over, and when they saw Xiaohui, Yan Yue was surprised to see that Fang Lei had brought Xiaohui with him on the business trip. Meanwhile, Fang Lei guessed that Xiaohui had been hiding in the trunk and said in a weird tone: ¡°Xiaohui, you¡¯ve been in the car all the way?¡± Xiaohui jumped into Lu Lingxi¡¯s arms and refused to pay any attention to Fang Lei. Fang Leiughed and reached out to take Xiaohui, patting his head, ¡°You¡¯re lucky that this car is so broken and the trunk doesn¡¯t close tightly, otherwise you¡¯d suffocate.¡± Meow! Xiaohui angrily scratched Fang Lei. Fang Lei couldn¡¯t do anything, so he had to stuff Xiaohui back into Lu Lingxi¡¯s arms, which resulted in Xiaohui getting even angrier. Meow meow! Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± What a Master Cat. Chapter 153 Fang Lei didn¡¯t stay with Lu Lingxi for long before he was called by his colleagues to prepare for the mission. This time, because of the participation of the border police, therge-scale search was handed over to the border police. The anti-drug police from Kunnan City, in cooperation with the local police, only had to search a fixed area. The area they were going to search happened to be the area around the monster flower, and that was why the local police wanted the workstation staff to cooperate with them and lead the way through the rainforest. After all, the rainforest was full of vines and there were no normal paths, so it would be difficult for first-timers to find the right way by simply relying on directions. Of course, the police exined in advance that the operation would be dangerous, including both dangers from the rainforest itself and from the drug dealers who had slipped through the, and didn¡¯t force the staff to participate. The two staff members looked at each other and hesitated for a few seconds before Yan Yue took the initiative and said, ¡°I¡¯ll lead the way.¡± Compared to the two staff members, who were good at research but over forty years old, the younger and stronger Yan Yue was in better shape and had more physical strength. He had experience in fighting and shooting and was more suited to the search activities in the rainforest than the workstation staff. He wouldn¡¯t need police protection, nor would he be a burden to the police, and could even help them. As for the most crucial issue ¨C leading the way ¨C Yan Yue had already memorised the entry and exit paths after walking back and forth twice. Even if he encountered ces he was not sure of, he had Xiaohei to show him the way, so he didn¡¯t need to worry about getting lost. When he said this, everyone was taken aback for a moment. Fang Lei immediately said, ¡°Yan Yue, don¡¯t try to be brave.¡± Yan Yue smiled, his tone confident, ¡°I¡¯m not trying to be brave, but I¡¯m more suited for the job of leading the way than the others. I¡¯ve been trained inbat and shooting abroad, I don¡¯t need police protection, and I¡¯ve just been near the monster flower in the morning, I still remember how to get there. Let me go.¡± He spoke sincerely, and the leader of this operation gazed at Yan Yue and the other two staff members, and after a long time patted Yan Yue on the shoulder, ¡°Okay, brother, you do it.¡± The police were more willing to take Yan Yue along than the researchers who looked like they didn¡¯t have enough strength to bind a chicken. Not to mention Yan Yue¡¯s better physical condition, Yan Yue¡¯s psychological quality was a cut above the other two. Moreover, in the event of a firefight with drug dealers, Yan Yue¡¯s physical strength would allow him to defend himself, which would be less worrying than taking the other two staff members. When the matter was settled, the leader of the operation found Yan Yue a bulletproof vest. After putting it on, Yan Yue rubbed Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair and said softly, ¡°Xiao Xi is unhappy?¡± Lu Lingxi lowered his head and didn¡¯t say anything. He knew that this operation was dangerous, and he also knew that Yan Yue¡¯s physical condition was better than the other two staff members¡¯, and seriously speaking, it was more appropriate for Yan Yue to go to the rainforest. But¡­ it was because of the danger that he didn¡¯t want Yan Yue to go. Yan Yue knew what he was thinking and assured, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be back soon, it¡¯ll be fine.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded hesitantly and looked seriously at Yan Yue, ¡°You promise?¡± Yan Yue smiled gently, his heart softening as he said in a deep voice, ¡°I promise.¡± s He had just finished reassuring Lu Lingxi when Fang Lei hurriedly ran over with Xiaohui in his arms. ¡°Xiao Xi, take care of Xiaohui for me.¡± Lu Lingxi agreed and reached out to pick up Xiaohui, but Xiaohui easily broke away from Lu Lingxi¡¯s embrace and agilely jumped onto Fang Lei¡¯s shoulder and stopped there, looking as if he was going to follow Fang Lei on the mission. Once again, Fang Lei picked him up and made him stay by Lu Lingxi¡¯s side. Xiaohui: ¡°Meow.¡± Fang Lei was helpless and talked to him, ¡°Xiaohui, be obedient, I will be back soon. When Ie back, you¡¯ll eat dried fish any time you want.¡± Xiaohui¡¯s golden pupils narrowed and he unceremoniously swatted Fang Lei with his paw, meowing loudly. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± One person and one cat couldn¡¯t negotiate, so Fang Lei had to agree to take Xiaohui along. Luckily, since Yan Yue was there, Xiaohui could be considered to be with Yan Yue and it didn¡¯t count as Fang Lei breaking discipline. The group soon left the vige and entered the rainforest. Lu Lingxi, Wang Chaoliang and others sent them to the edge of the rainforest. As they watched Yan Yue¡¯s back disappear, the two staff members looked at Lu Lingxi apologetically; they should have been the ones to lead the way. ¡°Xiao Xi, we¡­¡± Lu Lingxi interrupted them, ¡°Big Brother Yan is physically fit and runs fast in case of danger, it¡¯s most appropriate for him to go.¡± Wang Chaoliang patted Lu Lingxi soothingly and said, ¡°Those drug dealers won¡¯t stop in one ce for long in the rainforest. They were near the monster flower in the morning and they must have left by now. Yan Yue and the others shouldn¡¯t be in any danger.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded vigorously, hoping that it was like Wang Chaoliang had said. They returned to the vige together, and near the entrance of the vige they came across a man dressed in local minority attire sitting by the roadside, holding his foot, seemingly injured. Wang Chaoliang kindly went over and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you twist your foot?¡± The man looked up with a bitter smile and answered honestly, ¡°I was just looking for herbs in the forest and was identally bitten by a snake.¡± They didn¡¯t doubt it; Wang Chaoliang took the initiative to help the man up and asked, ¡°Are you from this vige?¡± The man shook his head and pointed to the mountain in front of him and said, ¡°I am from another vige over the mountain.¡± Wang Chaoliang hesitated and discussed with the man, ¡°Then let¡¯s help you get to the vige ahead to get some medicine, do you think that¡¯s okay?¡± The four of them were either too old and too young to take the man back to the other side of the mountain. The man nodded gratefully and said loudly, ¡°Sorry for troubling you.¡± s While they helped the man to the vige to apply medicine, Yan Yue had already led the police team to the spot where he had found the binocrs. The police quickly dispersed in the surrounding area to try and find more clues. Xiaohui meowed, jumped from Yan Yue¡¯s arms to the ground, ran a few steps to a tree and crouched there, motionless. Hearing his meow, Fang Lei followed him over and searched carefully under the tree, finding a small puddle of coagted ck blood and a small pinch of yellow powder on the leaves. ¡°What¡¯s this? Has someone been injured here?¡± A local colleague came over, rubbed the powder and sniffed it, affirming, ¡°It¡¯s a native medicine we use here, to put on wounds after being bitten by a snake.¡± He carefully picked up the blood-stained leaves on the ground and was even more certain when he saw the ck blood. ¡°Team Wu, a drug dealer was injured, I think it¡¯s the one who lost his binocrs.¡± The man addressed to as ¡®Team Wu¡¯ rushed over and quickly judged, ¡°This man should have been alone and left in a hurry after being bitten by a snake, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have left the binocrs. As for why he came here alone, he should have followed Yan Yue and others.¡± He looked at Yan Yue as he said this, his tone very sure. Yan Yue nodded and didn¡¯t say anything. Xiaohei, who was wrapped around his wrist, hissed twice, and the corners of Yan Yue¡¯s mouth curled up slightly as he listened. Xiaohei was coquettish with him, reminding how useful he was. ¡°So where does Team Wu think this person will go?¡± Yan Yue asked. Team Wu frowned, ¡°He won¡¯t be able to move too easily even if he applied the medicine on his injuries. He definitely won¡¯t be able to survive inside the rainforest alone. He will either find the others or risk going out of the rainforest to recuperate.¡± When he spoke of venturing out of the rainforest, Yan Yue snapped his eyes at him. Team Wu waved his hand, ¡°I know what you¡¯re worried about, Yan Yue, I¡¯ll contact the vige right away and ask them to keep an eye for an injured man. If he didn¡¯t make it out of the rainforest, then with his slow speed, Scar¡¯s group definitely won¡¯t get far. Let¡¯s continue our search, we must not let them escape this time.¡± The group continued to advance towards the depths of the rainforest, and Xiaohui consciously jumped into Yan Yue¡¯s arms. Team Wu looked at Xiaohui and praised him, ¡°This cat is quite amazing. It was the first to find the blood just now, right?¡± Xiaohui meowed and looked at Fang Lei smugly. Fang Leiughed when he heard it and whispered to Xiaohui when Team Wu wasn¡¯t looking, ¡°Got it, Xiaohui is the best, when wee back, Xiaohui will eat a lot of dried fish.¡± Xiaohui: ¡°Meow.¡± Chapter 154 As Yan Yue¡¯s group continued the search, the police officers left behind in the vige received word that a wounded drug dealer might have escaped and lurked around the vige. ¡°Don¡¯t alert the vigers, and don¡¯t miss any suspicious ces. Remember, the other party is a ruthless ouw, make sure the vigers are safe, and be careful that the other party might fight to death.¡± The man in charge instructed. The police officers around him nodded. The case they handled this time had been followed from the beginning of the year to the present. For a full three months, all their energy had been focused on this case. Now they were about to finally close the. As long as these main criminals were caught, this overseas drug trafficking group would bepletely eliminated. But if any of them escaped, no one knew when the other party would resurface again. Therefore, the police were holding back their breath and swore that they would never let any drug dealer get away. As soon as they started their search, the two staff from the botanical garden¡¯s workstation came to the police in a panic, saying that two of theirpanions had been abducted by an injured man who had run off to the rainforest. ¡°What! The drug dealer took two hostages?¡± The man in charge of the left-behind team was very anxious and while arranging for the police to chase after the man, he hurriedly contacted the leader of the team searching in the rainforest. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± The two staff members were regretful. They just showed kindness for a moment. Who knew they would run into an ouw? Just half an hour ago, they met an injured man at the entrance of the vige. The man wore local ethnic attire and was very familiar with the surroundings. They didn¡¯t suspect anything. They took the man back to the vige and gave him the medicine. After the man took the medicine, he said that he wanted to go to the vige on the other side of the mountain. They saw that the man didn¡¯t really feel well and they kindly sent the man to the entrance of the vige. Unexpectedly, the man was much more mobile than he pretended to be. Suddenly he took out a gun and dragged their unsuspectingpanions into the rainforest while they were not paying attention. The twopanions who were held hostage by the man were also familiar to the police. They happened to be the two who came to the police in the morning and said that they had discovered the whereabouts of drug dealers. They also had a friend who was now showing the way for the police in the rainforest. Hearing this, the man in charge of the police force in the vige had a headache. He remembered the very good-looking teenager, especially the warm feeling that the teenager gave him when he smiled. He also remembered the teenager¡¯spanion, a handsome, strong man who talked to them so calmly and didn¡¯t look simple. Not to mention the fact that these men were also friends of Fang Lei, the senior police officer sent from the Fengcheng City side of this joint operation. The handsome man hade forward to show the police the way, and the police thanked him and promised to protect hispanions who were left in the vige. But how long had it been since those words were spoken before the teenager was held hostage by a drug dealer? So how could he exin it to that man? Before he could think of what to say on his side, his men had already contacted the leader of the anti-drug brigade leading the team in the rainforest. ¡°What¡¯s going on? A viger is being held hostage by a drug dealer?¡± The voice of Captain Wu Jiang came over the satellite phone. The local person in charge smiled bitterly, ¡°It¡¯s not our local vigers, it¡¯s the two people who called the police this morning. One of theirpanions is with you, Team Wu, I have no face to talk to him.¡± s ording to the thoughts of the man in charge, had the drug dealer really held local vigers hostage, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry so much. Even if the vigers were held hostage, they might find an opportunity to escape the drug trafficker at some point. They were also familiar with the rainforest and knew how to avoid the dangers there. But the two people being held hostage were both outsiders, one old and one young, and neither had any experience of living in the rainforest, not to mention dealing with the drug traffickers. It would be troublesome if they encountered a poisonous snake or something. Wu Jiang¡¯s face sank as he darted a nce at Yan Yue in front of him and said in a low voice, ¡°Okay, I see. They can¡¯t run far, so hurry up and send someone after them.¡± After hanging up the phone, Wu Jiang thought about it and went up and patted Yan Yue¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Brother, let me tell you something.¡± Yan Yue had a bad feeling in his heart since Wu Jiang received the phone call, and his heart sank when he heard the words. His gaze was fixed on Wu Jiang¡¯s face, sharp like a knife. Wu Jiang was speechless. Fang Lei also realised that something was wrong and immediately stood next to Yan Yue, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yan Yue¡¯s expression was stern and his gaze was grim as he looked at Wu Jiang, but his tone was unexpectedly calm, ¡°Say it, what happened?¡± Wu Jiang was a little embarrassed, but now was not the time to hide it; he told the news he received, focusing on the fact that the police left behind in the vige had been deployed, so Yan Yue didn¡¯t have to worry. The other party had been injured after all, and Wu Jiang suspected that he took hostages on purpose. ording to the other two staff members, the other party was perfectly capable of running away if he wanted to. If the man wanted to kill Lu Lingxi and Wang Chaoliang before running, he could do it easily. But the other party didn¡¯t do it, instead, he took the two of them into the rainforest as hostages. Wu Jiang analysed that the other party must have known that their whereabouts were revealed and that the police started searching the rainforest, so he took the hostages as a bargaining chip. It seemed that for a while Lu Lingxi and Wang Chaoliang wouldn¡¯t be in any danger. He said this both as an analysis and in the hope that Yan Yue would calm down after hearing this. Although Yan Yue appeared to be calm, Wu Jiang was standing close to him and could sense how heavy the pressure on Yan Yue was; it was like a volcano on the verge of eruption. Although he had been mentally prepared in advance, after Yan Yue heard that Lu Lingxi was being held hostage in the rainforest, he still had the feeling of blood running out of his body and his brain being hit with a heavy hammer. He was clearly standing on the t ground, but he had the illusion of falling into the abyss. Anxiety and fear filled his heart, and never before had he felt as panicked as he did now. Even when he heard the news of his parents¡¯ divorce back then, even when his father opposed his return to China after he graduated from university, it didn¡¯t make him feel as deeply powerless as it did now. ¡°Yan Yue, Xiao Xi¡­¡± Fang Lei wanted tofort him but didn¡¯t know what to say. Xiaohei seemed to sense Yan Yue¡¯s emotions and quickly poked his head out of his sleeve, slowly rubbing his body against Yan Yue¡¯s wrist and hissing, showing his tongue. After being rubbed by Xiaohei like this, Yan Yuepletely calmed down. He knew that Wu Jiang couldn¡¯t be med for this matter, and he also needed Wu Jiang¡¯s help in finding Xiao Xi. He said solemnly, ¡°I¡¯m going to find Xiao Xi.¡± Wu Jiang let out a sigh of relief; it was good that Yan Yue had calmed down. He quickly analysed, ¡°The reason why the drug trafficker escaped into the rainforest and his purpose are actually the same as ours. We want to catch the remaining drug dealers, and he wants to meet with them. I can guarantee that as long as we catch the other drug dealers before they meet, your friend will be safe. At that point, whether it¡¯s an ambush or a negotiation, the initiative will be in our hands.¡± His analysis made sense, but it was all based on them getting to the remaining drug dealers first. What if that drug dealer rejoined them first? What if they had escaped the policepletely? What would happen to Xiao Xi at that point? Along the way, Wu Jiang had revealed many of the drug dealers¡¯ past deeds, all of which were cruel and criminal. Yan Yue didn¡¯t dare to imagine how they would treat Lu Lingxi, cursing, beating, or¡­ any picture he could imagine was as if someone was holding a knife to his heart and cutting his flesh, causing him pain to the bone marrow. Yan Yue settled down and insisted, ¡°I¡¯m going to find Xiao Xi.¡± After he finished speaking, he stopped paying attention to Wu Jiang, lowered his head and rubbed Xiaohei on his wrist, asking as if no one else was there: ¡°Xiaohei, how many helpers can you gather?¡± s Xiaohei waved his tail, seemingly in thought, and just as Wu Jiang felt puzzled, Xiaohei suddenly leapt from Yan Yue¡¯s wrist to the ground and slithered into the grass. After a moment of silence, the whole grass suddenly boiled up like water. Only rustling sounds were heard around as countless snakes of different colours burst out of the grass, from the roots of trees and vines, and slithered in all directions. ¡°Snakes, why are there so many snakes!¡± A policeman¡¯s voice rang out in panic. Immediately after his initial disbelief, Wu Jiang shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t move, these snakes won¡¯t attack, no one move.¡± His authority in the team was unmatched, and after he finished speaking all the police officers present restrained the urge to do something and stayed quietly in their ces. They watched as the snakes seemed to bepletely oblivious to them, leaving the vicinity one by one, and in a matter of moments they were gone. ¡°Captain, what the hell is going on here?¡± A policeman came over and asked Wu Jiang. Apart from Wu Jiang and Fang Lei, no one else had noticed Yan Yue¡¯s behaviour. Wu Jiang gave Yan Yue a strange look and said with a sullen face, ¡°How should I know? Keep searching.¡± The policeman who asked the question sighed and went back to continue with his search mission. They had now reached the vicinity of the monster flower and were looking for traces of previous activities of the drug dealers. Xiaohei slowly nibbled at Yan Yue¡¯s pants and crawled back onto his wrist, and Yan Yue stroked his head, waiting for the snakes to bring back news from their surroundings. When he was looking for the drug traffickers, Yan Yue wasn¡¯t ready to expose Xiaohei; he didn¡¯t know how capable Xiaohei was and whether he would be useful in finding people or not. But now that Lu Lingxi was in danger, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t care less about Wu Jiang¡¯s reaction, nor could he think about whether snakes had the ability to find people; he only wanted to use all the power he could to find Lu Lingxi. It was already afternoon, and the rainforest was quite dim because of the tangle of vines. As the sun was about to set, it was getting even darker and more eerie. In order not to alert the enemy, none of the police officers turned on the shlights and continued to search the area in silence. As time passed, Yan Yue¡¯s heart grew more and more anxious, worrying that if he found Lu Lingxi one minuteter, Lu Lingxi would be in more danger. Suddenly Xiaohei, who had been quietly wrapped around his wrist raised his head and showed his tongue quickly. The next moment, Yan Yue looked over to the southeast and was about to say something when a faint gunshot echoed there. ¡°Southeast side, let¡¯s go check it out.¡± Wu Jiang shouted immediately, and Yan Yue was the first to run in the direction of the southeast part. Deep in the rainforest, the man with the scarred face gave the young man beside him a sharp p on the face. ¡°Xiao Liu, if you want to die, don¡¯t drag others with you. Is this a ce where you can shoot?¡± ¡°Big Brother, sorry.¡± The young man covered his face and said in a muffled voice. The scar-faced man had used so much force that half of the young man¡¯s face was swollen. He also knew that he shouldn¡¯t have fired at the moment when the border police and anti-drug police outside were looking for them, but anyone who would find that there were so many snakes at his feet, all of them poisonous snakes from the rainforest, would probably react the way he did. He jumped to his feet and looked at the few snakes scattered on the ground with a puzzled expression, ¡°What¡¯s going on, Big Brother? Why are there suddenly so many snakes?¡± The man with the scarred face grunted, ¡°It¡¯s not your first day here, you know that there are many snakes in the rainforest. Now that it¡¯s dark, they should alsoe out for food. It¡¯s normal for them to feel your smell ande looking for it.¡± ¡°But I applied snake repellent on me.¡± The young man was still puzzled. The man with the scarred face interrupted him impatiently, ¡°Come on, Lao San just contacted us and said he has two men with him, so let¡¯s go and meet up with him as soon as possible. Let¡¯s go.¡± The group of four travelled in the dark towards the northwest. They were very familiar with this part of the rainforest and several potentially dangerous ces had been avoided in advance. ¡°Be careful.¡± The man with the scarred face warned, ¡°There¡¯s a snake not far ahead, it looks like it¡¯s at least arm¡¯s length, so avoid it.¡± The three men following behind obeyed as the young man muttered in a low voice, ¡°Why are there so many little snakes this way.¡± Someone next to him sniggered, ¡°A little snake is better than arge python.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± Scarface suddenly whispered, ¡°Something¡¯s not right.¡± ¡°What?¡± Even before the words left his mouth, they knew what was going on. From behind a fewrge trees as thick as three or four people, heavily armed anti-drug police came out. ¡°Fuck, it¡¯s the cops, run.¡± There were gunshots and chaos all around. Just as Yan Yue¡¯s group ambushed the drug dealers and opened fire, Lu Lingxi was exploring the rainforest in the dark, walking an uneven road. Wang Chaoliang was following him, his nose swollen and his face bruised, his hands tied, and the end of the rope was in the hands of the man they had helped at the entrance to the vige earlier. The man had a gun in his other hand and was pointing it in Lu Lingxi¡¯s direction. ¡°Don¡¯t bezy, walk faster.¡± The man scolded. Lu Lingxi pursed his lips and didn¡¯t say anything, watching out for any poisonous snakes around him while walking as fast as he could. He knew that if he walked slower, it was Wang Chaoliang behind him who would take the beating. From the moment they were held hostage by the man and taken into the rainforest, he and Wang Chaoliang tried to resist. When they encountered a big python, they tried to use the opportunity to grab the man¡¯s gun while he was distracted. Unfortunately, neither Lu Lingxi nor Wang Chaoliang was a fighter, and the man killed the python in a matter of seconds. Afterwards, the man beat up the two of them, but it was mainly Wang Chaoliang who took the beating. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t take many blows, he didn¡¯t know why. A short distance ahead was arge tree, as thick as several people, and Lu Lingxi tried to get around it. Snakes in the rainforest liked to climb up trees, and there was no telling when one would leap from the tree. He was about to take a few steps to his left when an unknown fruit hit him on the head. Subconsciously he looked up, and a rather familiar little monkey crouched on a branch and squeaked at him. Chapter 155 ¡°Why did you stop?¡± The rainforest was dim; the man holding them hostage didn¡¯t see the little monkey, just saw Lu Lingxi stop and immediately scolded him in a loud voice. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t say anything, waved his hand quickly at the little monkey and walked forward with his head down. He still remembered the little monkey¡¯s warning in the morning and was worried that the man might recognise the little monkey. Although the monkey was nimble, the man had a gun in his hand. The little monkey understood Lu Lingxi¡¯s movement and quickly jumped to a nearby tree. It hid behind the dense leaves of the tree. The man walked over, raised his head and saw nothing. The group of three walked forward for a while, and the man thought it was time to contact the boss. He was very familiar with this rainforest, and he could judge the right direction even in the dark. ording to their speed, it would be time to meet the boss in half an hour. He was about to take out the satellite phone from his bag, when suddenly a strong gust of wind hit the back of his head. The man instinctively rolled to the ground as a huge ck shadownded behind him. The man was stunned subconsciously, but Wang Chaoliang reacted extremely quickly and took the opportunity to rush over, desperately pinning down the man who was about to get up. ¡°Xiao Xi, the gun!¡± Wang Qingliang¡¯s mobility was limited, and after shouting, he opened his mouth and bit the man¡¯s arm holding the gun. The man struggled to push Wang Chaoliang away, and his other hand clenched into a fist and mmed Wang Chaoliang¡¯s face fiercely. Wang Qingliang let out a muffled grunt but continued biting and refused to let go. Lu Lingxi had already run up to the man¡¯s side and fought with the man for the gun. The ck shadow that had attacked the man earlier also took the opportunity to make trouble and jumped onto the man¡¯s face, squealing. It was arge monkey half a human size. ¡°Fuck, the beast is looking for death!¡± The man cursed through gritted teeth, stomping his legs in an attempt to overturn the man and the monkey on top of him. In the confusion Lu Lingxi stepped hard on the man¡¯s hand holding the gun. The man had to let go of the gun in pain, and it was snatched away by Lu Lingxi. In the blink of an eye, a few more dark shadows jumped down from the trees. Monkeys of all sizes squealed excitedly, pouncing on the man and scratching or pping him, while a few small monkeys stood in the forefront, baring their teeth, grabbing some unknown fruits and hitting the man hard. The man roared angrily. Lu Lingxi took the gun but he didn¡¯t know how to use it, so he didn¡¯t think much about it and tucked it into the back of his clothes, then pulled a finger-thick vine from the ground that looked very strong. Taking advantage of the man¡¯s inability to get up under the pressure of the monkeys and Wang Chaoliang, he went around, tied the man¡¯s exposed legs together and tied a knot vigorously. ¡°Uncle Wang.¡± Lu Lingxi hurriedly pulled Wang Chaoliang up and untied the ropes around his hands. With the monkeys helping, the two men took the rope and bound the man on the ground, peeling off the man¡¯s socks and stuffing them into his mouth in the process. ¡°There, it¡¯s okay.¡± Wang Chaoliang¡¯s face and mouth were covered in blood, and he wiped it haphazardly, patting Lu Lingxi soothingly. Lu Lingxi looked at him worriedly, ¡°Are you alright, Uncle Wang?¡± Wang Chaoliangughed, ¡°Yes, your Uncle Wang is very tough, this little injury is nothing.¡± s It was only now that the two of them hadpletely stabilised their minds and could talk. Earlier Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart had been pounding so hard that he actedpletely on instinct. Wang Chaoliang was not much better than Lu Lingxi; after all, he was old and had been beaten up a lot along the way, and almost couldn¡¯t hold on under the psychological burden. At least thanks to his usual outdoor work, he was still physically active. He also kept in mind the fact that he had brought Xiao Xi here and had to bring him back intact. Only with this thought did he manage to carry on. The two men looked at the tied man. The man looked quite miserable; his face was swollen and his clothes were torn into strips by the monkeys, revealing bloody marks all over his body. Several small monkeys were still hitting the man, as if they thought it was a fun game. The little monkey in the lead was the one Lu Lingxi knew, and it was squealing while throwing fruits and pointing at the man. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Wang Chaoliang was both happy and puzzled, ¡°Has this man offended the monkeys before?¡± Speaking of which, it was really lucky that he and Lu Lingxi were able to get out of danger. If he hadn¡¯t taken advantage of the man being caught unawares by the sudden attack or without the help of these monkeys, it would have beenpletely impossible for him and Xiao Xi to escape the man¡¯s hands. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t say for sure, but what he was certain about was that these monkeys were the helpers called by the little monkey. But why the little monkey wanted to save him, he didn¡¯t know. ¡°Zi-zi.¡± The leading monkey jumped up the tree and called out to the monkeys. The monkeys on the ground responded, and even the few small monkeys who were happily beating the man also stopped their actions and responded with the same squeak. The little monkey that Lu Lingxi knew squeaked and jumped into Lu Lingxi¡¯s arms, its furry paws hugging Lu Lingxi¡¯s neck as it rubbed against him affectionately. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes curved, his heart feeling unusually soft. He stroked the soft fur of the little monkey. His heartbeat gradually returned to normal. ¡°Uncle Wang, let¡¯s call the vige.¡± The man who was tied up carried a satellite phone with him, which was just right for contacting the vige. Wang Chaoliang immediately went forward to pick up the man¡¯s bag. He had just taken out the satellite phone when the monkeys around him suddenly panicked and fled in all directions to the surrounding trees. A giant, ck-coloured python, as big as a basin in diameter, emerged silently out of the grass, its head held high as it showed its tongue and looked at them with a cold gaze. Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart sank; he stood there, not daring to move. Even the little monkey in his arms was clinging to his body in fear,pletely losing its previous lively appearance. The man on the ground, sensing the unusual atmosphere, craned his neck and saw the python; swinging his body frantically, he tried to move away from it. Just as the two sides confronted each other, the leading monkey suddenly jumped to its feet and provoked the python. After its squeak, a rainfall of fruit thrown by the monkeys hit the python¡¯s body. ¡°Run.¡± Wang Chaoliang gasped, shouted hoarsely and pulled Lu Lingxi to run. The little monkey hugged Lu Lingxi obediently, and in his haste Lu Lingxi only had time to nce back at the monkeys. After a few waves of attacks the monkeys also scattered, as if their previous attacks were creating an opportunity for him and Wang Chaoliang to escape. Just that man¡­ Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t think any further, stumbling all the way and running forward desperately. He didn¡¯t know how long he ran, he only felt that his heart was about to jump out of his throat. ¡°Xiao Xi¡­ let¡¯s take a break.¡± Wang Chaoliang said intermittently, ¡°There seems to be no movement behind.¡± The two men held onto the tree trunk and went limp, panting heavily. ¡°The snake shouldn¡¯t have followed us.¡± Wang Chaoliang looked around in shock. Lu Lingxi, holding the little monkey, also looked around, but nothing could be seen clearly in the darkness. The little monkey held on to Lu Lingxi with both paws and refused to let go. Lu Lingxi knew that the little monkey was probably terrified too as it was the first time it had seen such a thick and long python. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± He coaxed the little monkey like a child, and the little monkey squeaked petntly. ¡°That man¡­¡± Wang Chaoliang started and didn¡¯t say more. Although he hated drug dealers, he only thought of handing the man over to the police, but didn¡¯t think of throwing him to a giant python. Lu Lingxi understood what Wang Chaoliang meant. He hesitated for a long time and finally whispered, ¡°¡­he¡­ he is a bad guy.¡± ¡°Yeah, he is a bad guy.¡± Wang Chaoliang let out a sigh of relief, stroked Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair and said firmly, ¡°He is a bad guy¡­ Xiao Xi, don¡¯t think about it.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded gently. Wang Chaoliang tried to change the subject, ¡°Xiao Xi, look what kind of tree is this? Strange, I haven¡¯t seen it at all before.¡± Wang Chaoliang was talking about the tree that the two of them were leaning against. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t pay attention when he was leaning against it, but when he followed Wang Chaoliang¡¯s line of sight, he realised that the tree was as thick as seven or eight adult men, and he estimated that it would take four or five people to surround it. He didn¡¯t know much about trees and subconsciously spread out his mental scan; the white panel floated out in front of him. nt name: First-ss copaiba balsam tree nt needs: None nt vitality: dead. ¡°The nt is dead, consume the power of nature to save it?¡± s Lu Lingxi was taken aback by the prompt at the bottom. He didn¡¯t expect that this very solid tree was actually dead. Although he had never heard the name of this tree, he believed that the panel couldn¡¯t be wrong. At this time, it waspletely dark, and Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t see the specific situation of the tree clearly. He thought it was probably that the tree had just died, so it looked okay from the outside, but in fact, the problem was in the heart of the tree. He didn¡¯t hesitate and quickly chose ¡°yes¡±. It would take at least a few hundred years for this tree to grow to such arge size, and it was a nt that had evolved naturally. It would be a pity if it died like this. As he clicked ¡°yes¡±, the little monkey in his arms suddenly became excited, grabbing Lu Lingxi¡¯s cor and squeaking, one paw even pointing in the direction of the tree. Lu Lingxi knew that animals¡¯ senses were very keen, and whenever the big willow tree in Lingshui Vige evolved in the past, the animals in the vige would get very excited while the vigers didn¡¯t notice anything unusual. He touched the little monkey¡¯s furry head, and it kept squeaking as it grabbed his finger and pointed at the tree trunk. ¡°What?¡± Lu Lingxi still didn¡¯t understand what the little monkey meant. The little monkey was a bit anxious and simply jumped onto the tree, scratched the bark and searched for a long time. Finally its hand was covered with some light yellow oil-like substance and the little monkey happily brought it to Lu Lingxi¡¯s face. Seeing that Lu Lingxi still didn¡¯t understand, the little monkey jumped to the ground and half-crouched there, stretching out two little paws as if making a fire. Lu Lingxi blinked and said in a sh of intuition, ¡°This can be lit?¡± The little monkey bared its teeth and continued to make several fire-lighting motions, squeaking and jumping into his arms, wiping the oily stuff on its paws onto Lu Lingxi¡¯s clothes. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know whether to cry or tough, grabbing the little monkey¡¯s hand to keep it from moving around. Although they were now away from the python crisis, the only satellite phone that could contact the vige had been lost in the previous escape. Unable to contact the vige and unable to see anything, the two dared not continue walking in the rainforest in the dark. Lu Lingxi simply rxed, held the little monkey¡¯s paw and asked Wang Chaoliang what exactly it was. ¡°Uncle Wang, is it resin?¡± Wang Chaoliang and Lu Lingxi had a simr mentality. Now they could change nothing, so they could just rx and take a rest. Wang Chaoliang came over and carefully looked at the liquid for a long time, shaking his head uncertainly, ¡°It¡¯s not resin. Do you smell it? Does it smell like industrial oil?¡± ¡°Industrial oil?¡± Lu Lingxi smelled it, but couldn¡¯t tell what industrial oil smelled like. Wang Chaoliangughed, ¡°If I could ignite it and burn it, I would know. It¡¯s a pity¡­.¡± Although the light of the fire could give them some peace of mind, it would be a problem if it attracted the other drug dealers. They were running around in a daze just now and they didn¡¯t know where they had gone. ¡°Forget it, safetyes first.¡± Wang Chaoliang suppressed his professional impulse andughed bitterly, ¡°We¡¯ve almost lost our lives, and we¡¯re still thinking about this thing.¡± Lu Lingxi first smiled, then said seriously, ¡°I think Big Brother Yan will definitely find us.¡± It had been a few hours since he and Wang Chaoliang had been taken hostage, and he was sure that Yan Yue must have gotten the news and was now looking for him in the rainforest. As long as they didn¡¯t run into the other drug dealers, they would definitely wait for Yan Yue. ¡°Good, then we¡¯ll wait here for Yan Yue.¡± While the two of them leaned against the big tree in the dark and talked about nts, Yan Yue and his party were standing at the ce where they had encountered the python earlier. ¡°There is a satellite phone and tattered clothes found on the ground. There are traces of human activity directly in front of us, and a trail of a huge snake as well as signs of a human being dragged on the left. The preliminary judgement is that they encountered a giant python, one person was dragged away by the giant python, and the remaining two escaped.¡± Wu Jiang looked around the area and quickly analysed what had happened before. He showed the clothes he had picked up to Yan Yue. ¡°It¡¯s the clothes of a local ethnic minority. We can optimistically estimate that the one dragged away by the python was the drug dealer and the ones who escaped were your friends.¡± Yan Yue knew it was just a possibility, but at this point he was clinging to this possibility like a drowning man. He needed someone to keep telling him that Xiao Xi was okay, that Xiao Xi would be fine. While no one was paying attention, Wu Jiang asked in a low voice, ¡°Those snakes of yours?¡± Yan Yue shook his head. The aura of the python was too strong around here; the snakes were so affected that they hid and didn¡¯t dare toe over at all. ¡°Then let¡¯s look along the traces of activities in front of us first.¡± Wu Jiang decided. Yan Yue nodded and turned to leave when he suddenly heard a monkey squeaking in the tree. He looked over, raising his shlight, and saw a monkey half a human size hanging from the trunk of a tree, baring its teeth at him and screaming. Yan Yue¡¯s heart fluttered as the monkey jumped to another tree and kept leaping forward. ¡°Follow it.¡± Yan Yue instinctively felt that the monkey was showing them the way and took the lead in running after it. Wu Jiang looked at Yan Yue¡¯s back inexplicably and muttered, ¡°First it was a snake, now it¡¯s a monkey, are you guys from the circus?¡± Despite his sarcasm, he called his men and followed Yan Yue. As they went deeper and deeper into the rainforest, Xiaohui, who was squatting on Fang Lei¡¯s shoulder, suddenly meowed. Fang Lei was overjoyed and said hurriedly, ¡°Xiaohui says it¡¯s just ahead.¡± The expression on Wu Jiang¡¯s face became even more bizarre. ¡°Here we are, it¡¯s just ahead.¡± Fang Lei affirmed. The group of people quickly stopped. Because they weren¡¯t sure which two people had escaped, they didn¡¯t dare to make too much noise, for fear that if there was the drug dealer among those who had escaped, the other party would be desperate if he knew the police wereing. Although Yan Yue was anxious, he could only endure and approach slowly. The rainforest at night was quiet and the little monkey was the first to hear their footsteps and squeaked. Lu Lingxi looked over warily and faintly heard the movement of someoneing. He and Wang Chaoliang looked at each other. Holding back the fear in their hearts, Lu Lingxi said loudly, ¡°Who is it? Don¡¯te any closer, we have guns.¡± As he spoke, he took out the gun stuck behind his waist into his hand and struggled to point it at the jungle in front of him. The next moment, Yan Yue¡¯s ecstatic voice came, ¡°Xiao Xi!¡± ¡°Big Brother Yan.¡± Lu Lingxi blinked, then reacted and ran towards the ce where the sound came from with a gun in his hand. The two of them were not far away and it took only a minute or two to run, but this distance was the longest distance in Yan Yue¡¯s life. It wasn¡¯t until he held Lu Lingxi in his arms that he was shocked to realise that he had been holding his breath and seemed to be unable to even feel his heartbeat. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± Yan Yue shakily called Lu Lingxi¡¯s name, shivering as he touched Lu Lingxi¡¯s face and back, as if only this way could he make sure his baby was in his arms. ¡°Xiao Xi¡­¡± ¡°Big Brother Yan, I¡¯m here.¡± Lu Lingxi replied as he hugged Yan Yue. Yan Yue wanted to smile, but unbeknownst to him, his eyes were wet. Chapter 156 Finding Lu Lingxi made the rest feel easier. The group was going to go back to the vige first and then return to the rainforest tomorrow to look for the body of the drug dealer dragged away by the python. Out of caution, both Yan Yue and Wu Jiang had to see the body with their own eyes. The reason why Yan Yue was willing to show the police the way was that the drug dealers had already set their sights on him and Xiao Xi, and he didn¡¯t want to have to worry about the drug dealers appearing in front of them during their days in Kunnan. Now the other drug dealers were either dead or caught, leaving the only one unounted for. With Lu Lingxipletely offending this drug dealer, Yan Yue wanted to make sure that the man was really dead, not leaving a hidden danger that would suddenly explode at some point. After some discussion, in order to avoid getting lost in the rainforest, the group decided to return the way they came. Although they might encounter a giant python this way, their group had a lot of weapons and was not afraid of the existence of giant pythons. Speaking of weapons, Lu Lingxi handed the gun he was holding to Fang Lei, who took it and realised that the safety was on, fortunately, so despite Lu Lingxi¡¯s running and jumping all the way, nothing happened. When he said this, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t feel anything but Yan Yue was the first to be shocked into a cold sweat. He resisted the idea of holding Lu Lingxi in his arms and touching him all over again, and just held Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand tightly, refusing to let go. Lu Lingxi sensed Yan Yue¡¯s nervousness and whispered, ¡°Big Brother Yan, I¡¯m fine, I knew you¡¯d definitelye and find me.¡± His tone was so sure that Yan Yue¡¯s heart was soft and confused, and he wished he could kiss Lu Lingxi right now, rub him into his heart, connect their blood from now on, never to be separated again. Unfortunately, the circumstances were not right, and there was a disruptive third party ¨C the little monkey. ¡°Zi-zi.¡± The little monkey clung to Lu Lingxi¡¯s neck, its attitude towards Yan Yue very hostile. It still remembered that this was the one who had just snatched Lu Lingxi away from it. Yan Yue helplessly smiled bitterly, his attitude towards the little monkey unusually indulgent. It was not only because Lu Lingxi liked the little monkey, but also because the little monkey had saved Lu Lingxi¡¯s life. He had already heard about their escape from Lu Lingxi and was immensely grateful to the little monkey. He reached out his hand as gently as he could to pet the little monkey, but the little monkey didn¡¯t hesitate to knock it away. Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± s Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and smiled, rubbing the little monkey¡¯s fluffy head soothingly. Even though he was still in the rainforest and his surroundings looked dark and shadowy, indescribably eerie in the light of shlights, but walking beside Yan Yue, with the little monkey in his arms, Lu LIngxi waspletely free of his previous fears and was in a very rxed mood. ¡°Stop for a moment.¡± Wu Jiang¡¯s voice sounded in the front, ¡°Something doesn¡¯t seem right.¡± Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi looked at each other, took a few steps forward, stood next to Wu Jiang and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wu Jiang was about to speak when Fang Lei shone his shlight on the grass to his left and suddenly paused. The people followed the light and saw that in the grass, the ck pythony like an ancient beast, its huge body coiled, its head held high as it looked at them coldly. Everyone took out their weapons almost instinctively. The python didn¡¯t move, but nced at everyone indifferently, turned its head and slithered to the depths of the rainforest. As the python left, everyone realised that there was another, smaller python in the grass. The python seemed to be dead, lying stiff and motionless in the grass. The body of a human was ced next to it, and the situation looked indescribably bizarre. Fang Lei and the others had heard Lu Lingxi talk about their previous escape experience, and they faintly guessed something. ¡°It¡¯s the drug dealer.¡± Lu Lingxi affirmed their guess. Wu Jiang sent someone forward to take a look. The big python in the grass was indeed dead, killed by a gunshot. As for the drug dealer beside it, it seemed that he had been strangled. ¡°Animals like snakes have an evil streak, this one obviously came for revenge.¡± ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go back.¡± After this episode, the rest of the trip was without any idents and the group soon walked to the edge of the rainforest. ¡°Zi-zi.¡± A monkey¡¯s call came from the tree overhead, and the little monkey in Lu Lingxi¡¯s arms squeaked. Lu Lingxi knew it was the big monkeying to pick up the little monkey, so he reluctantly squeezed the little monkey¡¯s paw and said softly, ¡°Little monkey, we are going to see each other again.¡± The little monkey squeaked twice and clung to Lu Lingxi¡¯s neck with its other paw. Lu Lingxi¡¯s heart felt soft; he didn¡¯t want to part with the little monkey either. It was just that the little monkey belonged to this rainforest, there were the little monkey¡¯s fellows living here. It lived freely here; he couldn¡¯t selfishly take the little monkey away from here. ¡°Go back.¡± Lu Lingxi whispered. The squeaking in the trees got louder and the lead monkey seemed very anxious, calling urgently to the little monkey. The little monkey looked up and then looked at Lu Lingxi, and slowly jumped from Lu Lingxi¡¯s arms to the tree, squatting on the branch and watching Lu Lingxi quietly. A few monkeys jumped to its side and the leading monkey stroked the little monkey¡¯s head. A group of monkeys crouched there watching Lu Lingxi and his group leave the rainforest and return to the vige. Wang Chaoliang¡¯s colleagues, two staff members from the botanical garden¡¯s workstation, had stayed awake, holding on to wait for Wang Chaoliang and Xiao Xi to be rescued. Hearing the news of their return to the vige, the staff members came to greet them excitedly. At first nce, they almost cried when they saw Wang Chaoliang¡¯s swollen nose and bruised face. They didn¡¯t notice it in the rainforest before, but when they came back to the bright light, the bruises on Wang Chaoliang¡¯s face appeared shocking. Although Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t look as horribly as Wang Chaoliang did, the corner of his mouth was also a bit bruised. Yan Yue hurriedly said goodbye to Wu Jiang and Fang Lei, saying that if they wanted to talk about anything, it would have to wait until tomorrow and that he had to take Lu Lingxi back to rest first. With no more outsiders, Yan Yue stripped Lu Lingxi naked in a few motions, touched his whole body, checking him all over, making sure that Lu Lingxi was fine except for some bruises on his cheeks and arms. s Wrapped in a nket, Lu Lingxi looked at Yan Yue with a bit of a blush and said softly, ¡°Big Brother Yan, I¡¯m fine, it was Uncle Wang who was beaten up all the time.¡± Although it was a bit too much to think so, Yan Yue was really d that it was Wang Chaoliang who had been beaten up. He couldn¡¯t imagine Lu Lingxi¡¯s face being bruised and swollen like Wang Chaoliang¡¯s if he¡¯d been beaten like that. If that was the case, even if the drug dealer was dead, he wouldn¡¯t be able to resist putting a few more bullets into the corpse. Yan Yue thought this and opened his arms to gently hug Lu Lingxi. Because of Lu Lingxi¡¯s injuries, he didn¡¯t dare to exert too much force and was as careful as if he was holding an expensive porcin. Lu Lingxi obediently leaned into Yan Yue¡¯s arms, his soft hair pressed against Yan Yue¡¯s neck, and Yan Yue slightly lowered his head, sniffing the unique fragrance of the rainforest on Lu Lingxi¡¯s body. Lu Lingxi tilted his face up, his gaze dependent and trusting. He moved up and took the initiative to kiss Yan Yue, whispering, ¡°I love you, Big Brother Yan.¡± These words were like a fuse, and the suppressed volcano in Yan Yue¡¯s body exploded with a bang. He fiercely squeezed Lu Lingxi in his arms and couldn¡¯t wait to overtake the young man¡¯s lips, kissing him hard and lingering. The nket on Lu Lingxi¡¯s body slipped off, revealing his white skin, his healthy and supple body full of a thrilling beauty. Yan Yue pinned him down, pouring out all his feelings for Lu Lingxi through the union of their bodies. The anger he felt when he first heard that Lu Lingxi was being held hostage, the anxiety he felt during his search for Lu Lingxi, the ecstasy he felt when he heard Lu Lingxi¡¯s voice, and the reassurance he felt when he finally held Lu Lingxi in his arms, after the dust had settled, the previous ordeals were like a dream, and he only wanted to be with Lu Lingxi for a long time and never be apart again. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± Yan Yue tenderly called Lu Lingxi¡¯s name and rubbed his lips. The corners of Lu Lingxi¡¯s mouth curled up and hefortably wriggled in Yan Yue¡¯s arms, whispering, ¡°Big Brother Yan, I¡¯m sleepy.¡± Yan Yue smiled and kissed him, softly saying, ¡°Then go to sleep, I¡¯ll stay with you.¡± Lu Lingxi closed his eyes with a muffled sound, then he thought of something and opened his eyes to look at Yan Yue seriously, ¡°Big Brother Yan, don¡¯t tell Mom about today, otherwise she will worry.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Yan Yue whispered, lovingly kissing Lu Lingxi¡¯s forehead. Lu Lingxi was nowpletely relieved and fell into a deep sleep in Yan Yue¡¯s arms. By the time he woke up again it was already noon the next day. Although Lu Lingxi had told Yan Yue not to tell Wang Shuxiu about the incident, Yan Yue briefly spoke to Xiao Feng and also said hello to Elder Zhang and Elder Zhao in Kunnan. The orchid exhibition at the Botanical Garden was opening today, and Lu Lingxi had originally agreed with Elder Zhang to return this morning at thetest. Now that he had missed his appointment, an exnation needed to be given. When Elder Zhang and Elder Zhao heard that Lu Lingxi had been held hostage by drug dealers and almost had an ident, Elder Zhang and Elder Zhao were so anxious that they didn¡¯t even want to see the orchid show and had toe to the border to see Lu Lingxi. Yan Yue had to tell them that when Lu Lingxi woke up, he would take him back to Kunnan, so there was no need for the two old men to toss and turn. After the matter with the two old men was settled, Wang Chaoliang came over. Looking at the oil-like substance that Wang Chaoliang ced in front of him, Yan Yue looked puzzled, ¡°What is this?¡± Even with his swollen face, Wang Chaoliang couldn¡¯t hide his excitement, ¡°This is what the little monkey found on a treest night. ording to the little monkey¡¯s reaction, this thing can be ignited. I took the workstation instrument to test it in the morning, do you know what it is?¡± ¡°What?¡± Wang Chaoliang said loudly with a look of disbelief, ¡°This is oil. This stuff burns exactly the same as diesel fuel. It doesn¡¯t need any processing and can be used as diesel fuelpletely straight away. Can you believe it?¡± Yan Yue reacted, ¡± Are you saying that this came out of a certain tree?¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Wang Chaohuo nodded, ¡°This discovery is simply amazing, Yan Yue, you should know what this means.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± It was like Zhugang instead of steel. If it was as Wang Chaoliang said, then this tree that could produce oil would be an even more incredible existence than Zhugang; it was simply an oil mineid out in front of them. Chapter 157 An oil-producing tree was a discovery that made Yan Yue decide to postpone his return to Kunnan. With the development of China¡¯s economy over the years, the importance of fossil energy (non-renewable resources that formed when prehistoric nts and animals died) had be more and more prominent. People¡¯s material standards were rising and the corresponding demand for fossil energy was growing. The problem was that there were not unlimited reserves of fossil energy, be it oil, coal or natural gas. At current levels of extraction, for example, the world¡¯s oil reserves would be depleted in another 40 years, not to mention China¡¯s own oil reserves. To ameliorate the energy crisis, China had been exploring the development of renewable energy sources. This included wind, water and sr energy. There were also efforts in the direction of green nt energy, but this was the first time that a nt energy like the one discovered by the little monkey could be used directly in machines without any processing. After making this decision, Yan Yue quickly called Elder Zhang to exin why he couldn¡¯t return to Kunnan for the time being. Originally, Elder Zhang was still a little upset that he couldn¡¯t see Lu Lingxi, but after listening to Yan Yue¡¯s exnation, he was instantly interested in this tree. ¡°Yan Yue, how did you get this energy fuel you¡¯re talking about? Like peanut and soybean oil extraction?¡± Elder Zhang asked over the phone. ¡°It¡¯s not thatplicated, it doesn¡¯t need to be processed at all.¡± Yan Yue patiently exined, ¡°After collecting the oil, it can be used directly.¡± ¡°Used directly?¡± Elder Zhang was dubious. ¡°This is the current situation, but we still need to collect some samples and do some tests to see.¡± The samples brought back by Wang Chaoliangst night were too small, and a trip to the rainforest would be necessary for further analysis. Yan Yue was already discussing with Wang Chaoliang about entering the rainforest again. Without the drug dealers, the two of them were able to deal with all the dangers except for therge python, which was a bit scary. When Lu Lingxi woke up, Yan Yue had just hung up the phone. Lu Lingxi was confused when he heard Yan Yue say something about a tree that could produce oil. ¡°Xiao Xi is awake?¡± When Yan Yue turned around and saw Lu Lingxi, the corners of his lips raised up unconsciously. He quickly walked over to the bed and brought a change of clothes for Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi used Yan Yue¡¯s help to get into his T-shirt and casually asked, ¡°What¡¯s the oil-producing tree?¡± Yan Yue smiled, ¡°Get up and eat something first, I¡¯ll tell you slowly.¡± When Lu Lingxi finished washing up, Yan Yue had already asked the neighbour to cook arge bowl of rice noodles. He fed the peeled quail eggs to Lu Lingxi and began to talk about Wang Chaoliang¡¯s discovery. ¡°That¡¯s a first-ss copaiba balsam tree.¡± Although it sounded a little incredible, Lu Lingxi still corrected the name of the tree seriously. Yan Yue realised something, ¡°Is that the prompt from the panel?¡± Lu Lingxi put down his chopsticks and nodded. Yan Yue looked at Lu Lingxi dotingly, pulled out a tissue to wipe his mouth, and said softly, ¡°Good, it¡¯s the copaiba balsam tree then.¡± Although he thought the name was a bit awkward, Yan Yue still obediently called it the new name. When he spoke of re-entering the rainforest with Wang Chaoliang to look for some samples, Lu Lingxi blinked and said, ¡°I¡¯ming along too.¡± ¡°No, the rainforest is extremely dangerous, Xiao Xi, have you forgotten the big snake?¡± Thinking of the big snake, Lu Lingxi frowned slightly, but still refused to change his mind. He insisted, and Yan Yue had no choice but to go to Fang Lei to see if he had time to go along, or if he should pay to hire a few locals. Before he could suggest a second option, Fang Lei had readily agreed to follow them on their journey. The group of four got ready and re-entered the rainforest. It waste at night when they returned to the vigest night, and they only had a rough idea of the direction they were heading. Luckily, Xiaohei and Xiaohui knew the way, with Xiaohei leading the way and Xiaohui responsible for guarding. The two cooperated tacitly, and everyone walked smoothly in the rainforest. Because of the clear goal of entering the rainforest this time, they didn¡¯t dy on the road. Even Wang Chaoliang tried his best to restrain the idea of studying nts along the way, and kept urging everyone to go faster. s When they passed the ce where the python had appearedst night, both the drug dealer and the smaller python¡¯s body were gone. It seemed that the python had returned after they had left, and considering the python¡¯s fierceness that was hardly possible to control, they almost trotted away from the ce. ¡°Zi-zi.¡± Just as they were about to return to the copaiba balsam tree, a familiar squeaking reached them. Lu Lingxi followed the sound and looked up, and on the branch above his head, the little monkey was squatting, calling out excitedly to him. ¡°Little monkey.¡± Lu Lingxi said in surprise. When the little monkey heard Lu Lingxi call it, it dangled from the branch and jumped directly into Lu Lingxi¡¯s arms. ¡°Zi-zi.¡± It happily wrapped its two front paws around Lu Lingxi¡¯s neck and rubbed its furry head against his face, looking very satisfied. ¡°Howe the little monkey and Xiao Xi are so close?¡± Fang Lei was a little curious. Yan Yue vaguely guessed it was the attraction of the panel on Lu Lingxi¡¯s body, just as in Fengcheng small animals all liked Lu Lingxi. ¡°You¡¯re the only one here, little monkey, where are the other monkeys?¡± Lu Lingxi asked as he hugged the little monkey. The little monkey seemed to understand, pointing ahead and squeaking. ¡°Here it is.¡± Wang Chaoliang¡¯s voice interrupted Lu Lingxi¡¯s words, and the others hurried to follow him, not paying attention to the little monkey anymore. It was too dark to see clearlyst night, but at this time, at midday, the light was just right. The tree, after being saved by the power of nature, didn¡¯t look like it was dying at all. The tree¡¯s trunk towered, reaching the clouds, its branches and leaves flourished, and a huge amount of vitality overflowed from its body, condensing into a milky white mist, so refreshing that all the fatigue of the journey had disappeared. Wang Chaoliang went to the trunk of the tree and quickly found the presence of oil. From the hole in the tree trunk made by some bugs, oil continued to flow out, solidifying into a gtinous substance on the bark. Wang Chaoliang carefully took the knife and pulled the gtinous substance off without hurting the trunk of the tree. The oil from the small hole flowed out again, and Wang Qingliang hurriedly pressed the prepared bottle to the hole. Along the way, Fang Lei heard them talk a lot about the magic of this kind of tree. Now that he watched the oil flow out with his own eyes, he remembered another thing in amazement. ¡°This kind of tree is magical, but it looks like it is the only one around. It will take several years to raise the seedlings and nt trees when we go back.¡± s The issues he considered were practical, but with the help of the white panel, Yan Yue was not worried about the growth of trees. Besides, from the perspective of a businessman, it was impossible for any business to make money as soon as it got started. As long as thete return rate was high, it didn¡¯t matter if the investment took longer. It was imperative to determine the output andposition of the oil from the copaiba balsam tree. If everything was appropriate, they could start working on the seedling nting. The trunk of the tree was so huge that several people wouldn¡¯t be able to hug it, gathering around it in a circle. The four of them each chose a side, looked for a hole, took a bottle and collected the oily substance from inside. ¡°Zi-zi.¡± The little monkey had been observing Lu Lingxi¡¯s movements, and seeing that he was curious about the oily substance inside the tree, the little monkey couldn¡¯t help but jump and call out, pointing in the direction on the left and chirping excitedly. ¡°To the left? What¡¯s over there?¡± Lu Lingxi asked the little monkey seriously as if he was talking to Dahei. The little monkey¡¯s two front paws stretched out and gestured a long distance. Lu Lingxi pondered for a long time and said tentatively, ¡°Are there trees over there too?¡± There was no telling whether the little monkey understood or not, so it wrapped its arms around Lu Lingxi¡¯s neck and squeaked. The people around them could hear their conversation clearly, and Wang Chaoliang was the most anxious, ¡°Why don¡¯t we go and have a look?¡± Lu Lingxi asked Yan Yue¡¯s opinion, who thought about it and nodded, ¡°Okay, let the little monkey lead the way and we¡¯ll go and have a look.¡± Following the direction indicated by the little monkey, they walked for another half an hour to the left. A small valley soon appeared in front of them, with countless lush copaiba balsam trees filling the valley, and a four or five metre wide river winding through the valley. ¡°This¡­¡± Everyone was speechless for a while, and the little monkey happily jumped to the river, scooped the water and drank two sips. The group of monkeys they had seenst night appeared on the opposite side of the river and squaked at the people across the river. The discovery of the valley of copaiba balsam trees made the people happy. Considering theck of time, they didn¡¯t enter the valley, but just remembered the direction of the valley and returned to the vige by the same route. To Lu Lingxi¡¯s surprise, Elder Zhang and Elder Zhao were waiting for him in the vige, and along with the two old men was another old man with white hair, surnamed Min. ¡°Grandpa Zhang, Grandpa Zhao.¡± Lu Lingxi was taken aback as he saw them. Elder Zhang nervously took his hand, ¡°Let me see, where are you hurt?¡± Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed, ¡°Grandpa Zhang, I¡¯m fine, I just scraped the skin a little.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, Xiao Xi. This is your Grandpa Min.¡± Elder Zhang enthusiastically introduced Lu Lingxi and turned his head to add, ¡°Lao Min, this is Xiao Xi I told you about.¡± Lu Lingxi meekly called out, ¡°Hello, Grandpa Min.¡± Elder Min looked at Lu Lingxi and smiled, nodding gently. After everyone had greeted each other, Yan Yue continued to look at Elder MIn. He had not expected that Elder Min was actually a friend of Elder Zhang and Elder Zhao. If he was not mistaken¡­ whaty before him and Xiao Xi was a huge opportunity. As Elder Zhang spoke, Lu Lingxi realised that Elder Min, Elder Zhang and Elder Zhao had been friends for many years, but all three used to be busy with work, not having much time to get together. Now that they were retired and had free time, they would find time to get together from time to time. This time, it coincided with the Kunnan Orchid Exhibition, and since the old men were all flower lovers, they simply agreed toe to Kunnan together. Lu Lingxi felt sorry that Elder Zhang didn¡¯t go to the orchid show because of him, but the old manughed and said, ¡°The orchid show is going to be open for half a month, so we can go back and see it when we have time. If I didn¡¯te to see Xiao Xi, your Grandpa Zhao and I wouldn¡¯t be able to rx. As for your Grandpa Min, he was attracted by the copaiba balsam tree and other trees that you have mentioned. Your Grandpa Min has been involved in energy research all his life, but this is the first time he has heard of this kind of tree that can produce oil, so he couldn¡¯t sit still.¡± Here Elder Zhang paused and asked, ¡°Xiao Xi, tell me what is going on with this tree?¡± Lu Lingxi told about the results of Wang Chaoliang¡¯s tests and what they had found today. As soon as he finished, Elder Min spoke eagerly, ¡°Xiao Xi, you said you found a whole valley full of these trees.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded, but quickly said seriously, ¡°The valley of the copaiba balsam trees we found is located in the Kunnan rainforest, deep in the rainforest. In order to protect the environment of the rainforest, it is best if the valley is not developed and destroyed.¡± He said it in a serious manner, as if he was afraid that Elder Min would secretly go and destroy the valley. Elder Min smiled all of a sudden, the wrinkles on his face stretching, and one could see that he was in a very good mood. ¡°Yes, yes, Xiao Xi is right, we need to protect the environment of the rainforest. Then, Xiao Xi, what are your ns?¡± Lu Lingxi nced at Yan Yue and said after a moment¡¯s thought, ¡°Uncle Wang has basically determined through testing that the oil from the copaiba balsam tree can be usedpletely in ce of diesel, so Big Brother Yan and I want to try to see if we can transnt the trees sessfully in Fengcheng.¡± ¡°Fengcheng?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded; he already considered Fengcheng as his home and wanted to nt anything good in Fengcheng. Although the copaiba balsam tree was native to the rainforest region and the climate of Fengcheng was quite different, considering the effect of Fengcheng¡¯s environmental purification, it might not be impossible to transnt the trees. Elder Minughed at his reasoning and said, ¡°It would be good if it could be transnted to Fengcheng, so that Fengcheng wouldn¡¯t have to dig coal in the future, and would instead mine this kind of tree oil. It¡¯s environmentally friendly and economically beneficial, killing two birds with one stone.¡± The group chatted for a while longer, with Elder Min¡¯s conversation revolving around the copaiba balsam tree. Yan Yue looked at Elder Min thoughtfully for a few moments, and waited until the others had left to rest before telling Lu Lingxi, ¡°Elder Min was the previous Minister of Energy in China.¡± Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t watch much news and didn¡¯t know anything about how big a position the Minister of Energy was. Yan Yue smiled at his bewildered expression, hugged Lu Lingxi and gave him a kiss, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t understand these things. Xiao Xi just needs to know that this is an opportunity.¡± Chapter 158 Because of the discovery of the copaiba balsam tree, Lu Lingxi and his party stayed in Kunnan for more than half a month. By the time they finished watching the orchid exhibition, packed up and prepared to return to Fengcheng, it was already the end of May and the beginning of June. In addition to the four people who originally came to Kunnan, there were also Wang Chaoliang and Elder Min. In the past half a month, Wang Chaoliang had repeatedly studied and experimented with the ¡°tree oil¡± found in the rainforest. He had finally determined that the sap from the tree Lu Lingxi called a copaiba balsam tree could bepletely used as a substitute for diesel oil, did not require any processing and was easy to produce. In addition, the sap did not contain sulphur andbustion wouldn¡¯t form acid rain to pollute the atmosphere. Moreover, it was also very safe, didn¡¯t explode and didn¡¯t cause major ecological damage if it leaked. Even more importantly, the trees could be nted to restore the ecological environment and at the same time, the oil could be continuously extracted, creating a rare renewable resource. Wang Chaoliang put the report together and it was taken seriously by the Botanical Garden even before it was published. Before they left Kunnan, the Botanical Garden had sent someone to the workstation at the edge of the rainforest with the intention of transnting a copaiba balsam tree to the botanical garden for further research. Lu Lingxi had left all these follow-ups to Yan Yue and Wang Chaoliang, and his whole mind was now on his return home. Beforeing to Kunnan, Lu Lingxi had been looking forward to his first time out, but after spending so much time outside, he missed Wang Shuxiu and Dahei more than anything else, and missed the familiarity of Tiny Garden. On the ne, Elder Min sighed to Elder Zhang in a low voice, ¡°Originally, I came to Kunnan just to see my old friends, but I never thought I would get so much out of it. With this new type of energy, if the things in Fengcheng are well nned, it will slowly reduce its dependence on coal and steel, and the environment will be greatly changed after the economic structure is adjusted.¡± Hearing Elder Min¡¯s sigh, Elder Zhang smiled. Fengcheng¡¯s economic structure needed to be adjusted, but the environment¡­ heughed, ¡°Lao Min, you haven¡¯t been back to Fengcheng for a few years, right?¡± Elder Min wasn¡¯t happy, ¡°What a few years, I haven¡¯t been back just for two years!¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s it.¡± Thinking about the changes in Fengcheng this year, Elder Zhang smiled and said, ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to take a good look at itter, the environment in Fengcheng isn¡¯t what you think it is anymore.¡± ¡°What?¡± Elder Zhang smiled and stopped talking, deliberately trying to keep listeners in suspense. Elder Min red at him bitterly, but his curiosity was aroused. Soon after they took a nap they arrived in Fengcheng. When he first got off the ne, Elder Min didn¡¯t notice anything, but as soon as he left the airport hall, he was stunned. As far as the eye could see, apart from the parking lot in the middle and the surrounding clearly nned traffes, all the other areas were covered with green grass, like a carpet covering the entire periphery of the airport. He nced behind him at the ss facade, the surrounding streetmp posts, the railings separating theing and leaving vehicles¡­ Everywhere he could see, green vines were crawling over the railings, covered in small purple flowers, and the breeze made the flowers smell delicious. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Elder Min looked at everyone in surprise. Elder Zhang was also a little surprised; the surroundings were obviously different again from before he left. But he quickly reacted and said smugly, ¡°That¡¯s what you can see. How is it? Not worse than Kunnan, right?¡± Elder Min was a little incredulous and deliberately looked up overhead. The blue sky was clear and crisp, with white clouds drifting by. Surprisingly, a sunny day in Fengcheng was rare, as far as he remembered. s Before Elder Min finished wondering, An Jie had already driven the car in front of them. Yan Yue mentioned to Elder Zhang in advance that he would arrange for someone to pick them up. They would send Elder Zhang back first, and he and Xiao Xi would be thest to return. Sitting in the car, Elder Min was still thinking about the changes in Fengcheng. At first, he thought that everything he saw was theyout made by the airport staff, but when he got out of the airport, he realised that it was not just the airport, but the entire Fengcheng seemed to be different from what he remembered. As far as he could remember, the stretch of road from the airport to the city was dotted with various small mechanical processing nts. Whenever he passed this stretch of the road in the past, all he could see when he looked up was smog and all he could smell was the pungent smell of tar. When a car passed on the road, because of the dust in the air the car window couldn¡¯t be opened, otherwise the car would have to be washed. But in just two years, not only had the smog disappeared, but all kinds of green nts had grown on both sides of the road. Through the greenery one could still see a mechanical processing nt, but what used to be an iron gate had turned into a sea of vines, full of the small purple flowers Elder Min had seen at the airport. Yan Yue opened the car window, and there was no trace of dust on the road. The faint fragrance of flowers floated, calming people¡¯s mood unconsciously. Elder Min had the illusion that the entire Fengcheng seemed to be wrapped in green floral fragrance, and the closer he got to the city, the more obvious this feeling became. He was amazed all the way, and everyone looked at him and smiled slightly. Yan Yue asked Lu Lingxi in a low voice when no one was paying attention, ¡°The purification of the soil is already this extensive?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded and also whispered, ¡°The weather is warmer and it seems that the soil is purifying faster than it did in winter. And now that there are green nts everywhere, it also speeds up the purification ordingly.¡± In fact, when they left Fengcheng at the end of April, the surroundings hadn¡¯t changed that much. By the time spring bloomed in May, which was supposed to be the season for nts to grow, along with the effect of the purified soil, it was as if the greenery throughout Fengcheng had been given a collective growth stimnt. Half an hourter, An Jie pulled up in front of themunity where Elder Zhang lived. Today happened to be Saturday, and quite a few people had gathered at the entrance of themunity. It seemed the property management was organising a collective weeding by the owners from themunity. Elder Min had already seen quite a few simr scenes along the way and didn¡¯t even bother to be surprised. ¡°What are you doing with all this grass?¡± Elder Min asked casually. Elder Zhang smiled and said, ¡°Send it to the cattle farms in the western suburbs. They¡¯ll drive over here to collect it. A cart of grass only sells for ten or so yuan, much cheaper than if they bought feed.¡± Elder Min: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The three of them got out of the car and in no time at all Lu Lingxi saw the outer walls of the Hongfu Community through the car window. Just like what they had seen in the city, the outer walls of themunity were covered with small purple flowers, with long vines stretching from the outer wall to the closest building, forming a purple corridor of flowers at the entrance. Lu Lingxi had already heard Wang Shuxiu talk about it on the phone, and it seemed that this flower corridor had be a famous ¡°scenic spot¡± nearby, with many newlywedsing to the entrance of themunity to take wedding photos just to use this flower corridor as a backdrop. Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng also took a few photos to catch up with the trend and said that they would take Lu Lingxi along for a family photo when he returned. s After Lu Lingxi finished looking at the flower gallery, he turned around and heard Yan Yue say, ¡°Take a shower and sleep when you get home, I¡¯lle to see you tonight.¡± Because he didn¡¯t know Wang Shuxiu¡¯s attitude towards him, Yan Yue was worried that he wouldn¡¯t be able to see Lu Lingxi when he returned, so he took the time to instruct him. Although Wang Shuxiu looked like she had agreed before they left, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help but feel his heart pounding. Lu Lingxi nodded seriously and reminded in a small voice, ¡°Don¡¯t forget to bring the gift you bought for Mom when youe over.¡± Yan Yue chuckled and lowered his head to give Lu Lingxi a kiss on the cheek, ¡°I know.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed to be seen by An Jie and pushed Yan Yue away and was about to say something when a dog¡¯s barking reached him from outside. Dahei had excitedly run out of the building and put his two front paws on the car window. Behind Dahei, Xiao Baiwan followed suit and also put his paws on the car window. ¡°Dahei, Xiao Baiwan.¡± Lu Lingxi was so happy that he pushed the door open and got out of the car, hugging Dahei tightly and refusing to let go. Xiao Baiwan excitedly rubbed over him, his chubby body squeezing hard as he tried to squeeze into Lu Lingxi¡¯s arms just like Dahei. Lu Lingxi was amused by Xiao Baiwan¡¯s actions and stretched out his arms to hug him as well. ¡°Dahei, I missed you.¡± He looked at Dahei and whispered. Dahei leaned forward and licked Lu Lingxi¡¯s face, his ck eyes looking at Lu Lingxi tenderly as he gave a low bark. The corner of Lu Lingxi¡¯s mouth curled up, ¡°I know.¡± He and Dahei seemed to have endless words when meeting again after a long time. Wang Shuxiu heard themotion and came out, ring at Lu Lingxi, ¡°You¡¯re at the door and still don¡¯t go home.¡± ¡°Mom.¡± Lu Lingxi ingratiatingly went over and took Wang Shuxiu¡¯s arm. Wang Shuxiu smiled. She took Lu Lingxi and turned around to go back to the house, but after thinking of something, she turned back and said after a pause, ¡°Yan Yue, why don¡¯t you alsoe along, Xiao Xi¡¯s uncle is also here, so we can have a meal together.¡± Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The happiness came so suddenly that even Yan Yue was stunned for a moment. Lu Lingxi¡¯s reaction was even more direct as he immediately looked at Wang Shuxiu. Wang Shuxiu casually pped him, ¡°Don¡¯t recognise your mom or what?¡± Lu Lingxi hurriedly shook his head and curved his eyes in a smile. Yan Yue was about to follow him when he thought of An Jie who was still there and who was already prepared to leave sensibly. An Jie waved his hand at Yan Yue through the car window and lowered his voice, ¡°Go for it, boss, I¡¯ll go first, remember to make the red envelope thicker at the end of the year.¡± Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± As Wang Shuxiu said, this meal was the first time Yan Yue was eating as part of Lu Lingxi¡¯s family. When they saw hime in, everyone reacted as usual. Yan Yue was relieved; it meant that Xiao Xi¡¯s family had epted his presence. ¡°Go wash your hands and get ready to eat.¡± Wang Shuxiu urged. Lu Lingxi obediently went to wash his hands and called Yan Yue toe along. The two of them were crammed into the small bathroom, and Lu Lingxi rubbed hand sanitizer onto Yan Yue¡¯s hands, and Yan Yue watched it with the corners of his lips slowly rising up. Lu Lingxi washed his hands clean, and while Yan Yue was washing his hands, he stood on tiptoe and kissed him. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes lit up, as if a me had ignited. As soon as he wanted to kiss Lu Lingxi back, Wang Shuxiu coughed at the door. Lu Lingxi¡¯s body suddenly froze, and the tips of his ears reddened at the thought that Wang Shuxiu had just seen him kiss Yan Yue. Yan Yueughed soundlessly. After the two of them washed their hands, the dinner was on the table. Lu Lingxi chatted about the interesting events on his trip to Kunnan, with emphasis on the copaiba balsam tree. Yan Yue asionally added a few words, and the two of them cooperated very well. Xiao Hong was very interested to hear about trees that could produce oil. He had just finished taking care of all his business in his hometown in the northwest and had nothing to do, so it seemed that nting trees would be a good way out. Of course, it was up to Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue to decide on this matter, but that was what Xiao Hong had in mind. When he mentioned it, Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi looked at each other and readily agreed. There were more and more things to do with Tiny Garden, and he and Xiao Xi were simply too busy. With Xiao Hong¡¯s help, it would be easier for them. ¡°Good.¡± Xiao Hong pped Yan Yue¡¯s shoulder vigorously andughed, ¡°Let¡¯s nt trees well from now on. Regardless of whether we can make money or not, just think of it as improving the environment.¡± Xiao Hong felt that he had more or less destroyed the environment with his coal mine in the past, and now nting trees was a way to make up for it, at least bringing him peace of mind. Xiao Hong pped hard, and Yan Yue endured it silently. Although Xiao Hong looked genuinely happy, there was no guarantee that applying such force was not intentional. Perhaps it was a little warning on behalf of Xiao Feng but Yan Yue acted as if nothing had happened, and Xiao Hong¡¯s eyes shed with a hint of surprise, while Xiao Feng looked at them andughed helplessly. The family finished their meal happily. Zhou Xiaoman and Xiao Hong took the initiative to clean up the dishes. When Lu Lingxi wanted to help, Wang Shuxiu stopped him, ¡°Xiao Xi, your dad and I have something to say to you.¡± Yan Yue knew what Wang Shuxiu was going to say as soon as he heard it. He gave Lu Lingxi a worried look and sat beside him silently. Although he felt that Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t necessarily want him to be present at this time, he knew more than Wang Shuxiu and knew that the news Wang Shuxiu was going to say was not just a simple matter of his origin to Lu Lingxi. He was afraid that¡­ Yan Yue reached under the cover of the dining table and held Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand. Lu Lingxi faintly felt that something was wrong. He looked at Wang Shuxiu and then at Yan Yue, and whispered, ¡°What happened?¡± Wang Shuxiu noticed Yan Yue¡¯s small movements but didn¡¯t stop him, just settled down and slowly said, ¡°Lu Yishui¡­ your father¡¯s rtives are looking for you and want you to recognise your ancestors and return to the family. Of course your mom certainly doesn¡¯t agree.¡± She said it directly, making her attitude clear. Xiao Feng looked at her helplessly; everything the two of them had discussed before was in vain. Yan Yue also didn¡¯t expect Wang Shuxiu to be so straightforward and was quite a bit surprised. On the contrary, Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t feel anything strange, he just subconsciously asked, ¡°Who are they?¡± Wang Shuxiu said reluctantly, ¡°Lu Hengchuan, the man from the Lu family in Zhongjing, is your grandfather.¡± A few simple words were said, but it was tantamount to a thunderbolt in the clear sky, and Lu Lingxi¡¯s face turned white in an instant. Chapter 159 Lu Hengchuan, the head of the Lu family in Zhongjing, was also Lu Lingxi¡¯s grandfather in his previous life. Wang Shuxiu didn¡¯t know too much about the past events of the previous generation. She only knew that Lu Yishui¡¯s mother was a maid for the Lu family back then, and then somehow Lu Yishui was born. At that time, Lu Hengchuan had already married and had children, and Wang Shuxiu¡¯s mother-inw left the Lu family in disgrace and went back to Fengcheng alone. Xiao Feng and Yan Yue already knew everything Wang Shuxiu said but it was the first time Lu Lingxi heard about it. He looked at Wang Shuxiu in bewilderment. He thought he could get rid of his past life but he never expected that he would still be involved with the Lu family after all. Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t tell what he felt, so he pursed his lips and didn¡¯t speak. Yan Yue noticed his expression; his heart ached. Not caring what Wang Shuxiu would think, he reached out and put his arms around Lu Lingxi, whispering, ¡°Xiao Xi, I¡¯m with you.¡± Lu Lingxi returned to his senses and nodded gently. Wang Shuxiu could see that Lu Lingxi¡¯s reaction was a bit off and asked nervously, ¡°Xiao Xi?¡± Lu Lingxi smiled reluctantly, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m fine, what happenedter?¡± ¡°Later?¡± When talking about this, Wang Shuxiu got angry and pped the table hard, ¡°Later, one of the children in the Lu family got leukaemia, and I don¡¯t know what your grandmother thought. There are so many people in the Lu family but none of them was willing toe out to test for a match. But your grandmother had to carry you to save someone¡¯s life. Lu Hengchuan, that old bastard¡­¡± She hadn¡¯t finished. Xiao Feng helplessly poked her gently, reminding her to pay attention to her tone. Wang Shuxiu was a bit unhappy, but continued after a pause: ¡°Lu Hengchuan, who usually ignored your grandmother, actually had the cheek to agree at the time. I chased you all the way to Zhongjing before I managed to snatch you back. Let me tell you, there is no one good in the Lu family, they are all a bunch of selfish bastards. Your mom strongly disagrees with the idea of recognising the ancestors. Lu Hengchuan, that old bastard¡­ Lu Hengchuan wants to be your grandfather, I say no way! It¡¯s either him, or me!¡± Xiao Feng: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He knew that ording to Xiaohua¡¯s temper she wouldn¡¯t be able to hold back her anger. When Xiao Xi was still in Kunnan, Xiaohua was so worried that she couldn¡¯t sleep at night, afraid that Lu Lingxi would be fooled by the Lu family in Zhongjing to go there. After all, they were just ordinary people; the Lu family and they were really two worlds apart. To put it bluntly, there were not many ordinary people who wouldn¡¯t be impressed when arge consortium like the Lu family suddenly came out one day and said they were your rtives and wanted to take you back,pensating you with money, fame and fortune for everything. Even if Xiao Xi was obedient and sensible and didn¡¯t care about money, there was no guarantee that once the Lu family yed the emotional card, Xiao Xi wouldn¡¯t be soft-hearted. Wang Shuxiu was worried about it and swore to Xiao Feng that if the Lu family yed the emotional card, so would she. It was not easy for her to raise Xiao Xi for so many years; when the time came, she would hug him and cry and Xiao Xi would definitely not let her feel sad. As a result, Xiaohua¡¯s tears were nowhere to be seen but her temper was seen clearly. Xiao Feng¡¯s heart felt relieved. Wang Shuxiu also felt a little too impulsive when she regained her senses. But as soon as she saw Lu Lingxi, she thought of the child she had worked so hard to give birth to and raise. The Lu family shamelessly snatched him once and tried to snatch him a second time, so she couldn¡¯t bear it. ¡°Either him, or me.¡± She repeated it again bitterly, ¡°Little bastard, do you understand?¡± Although Wang Shuxiu¡¯s words were brief and rude, Lu Lingxi was just simple but not stupid. He could imagine how difficult it was for Wang Shuxiu back then and how angry she was now. He looked at Wang Shuxiu and nodded with pursed lips, and after thinking about it, he whispered his assurance, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mom, I won¡¯t recognise the Lu family. My family is only you and Dad, Big Brother Yan, Uncle, Aunt, Dahei and Xiaohei.¡± Hearing his name, Dahei, who had been squatting at Lu Lingxi¡¯s feet, immediately straightened up and rubbed against Lu Lingxi¡¯s leg affectionately. Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei¡¯s head, and his heart instantly rxed. It seemed as if after he had said this, all ties with the Lu family had been severed. Not just physically, but more so mentally, Lu Lingxi¡¯s involvement with them in his past life was over. Fromst June to now, it had been almost a year since Lu Lingxi had woken up. Although he tried not to think about his past life, he still asionally saw news of the Lu family online. Every time he would think about the life of the Lu family, his parents in his past life, and¡­ his elder brother. When he was alive, all he could feel was fatigue, not just physical, but mental boundless exhaustion. He knew that his life was abnormal, but he acquiesced to this abnormality. The education of his parents and the expectations of his elder brother made him ustomed to that kind of life, and he never knew how to resist¡­ until he died. Since his rebirth, his life waspletely different from the past. He was ignorant, figuring out bit by bit how to live and learn. He was lucky to have Wang Shuxiu, Yan Yue, Dahei and Xiao Feng by his side. They showed him what family was, what parents were, and what it was like to love someone. Although the rtionship between this body and the Lu family once again made him feel a littleplicated, this time he was not alone. He had his parents, Yan Yue and Dahei by his side. He was Lu Lingxi, but he was no longer the Lu Lingxi of the past. He learned and had the courage to say ¡°no¡± to the Lu family and to his past life. These thoughts were only fleeting; Wang Shuxiu was already smiling with satisfaction, ¡°I knew I didn¡¯t raise you for nothing.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Xiao Feng, ¡°All right, Xiao Xi came back right in time to eat and didn¡¯t have time to rest. Now everything is okay, Xiao Xi, Yan Yue, go to sleep. We can talkter tonight.¡± s The matter on Wang Shuxiu¡¯s mind was solved, and with it, Yan Yue also looked more favourable to her eyes, so she took the initiative to say, ¡°Yan Yue, you take Xiao Xi next door to rest, and remember toe over for dinner tonight.¡± She guessed that there were some things that Xiao Xi would prefer to talk to Yan Yue about. Never mind how Xiao Xi looked now, he must have had some thoughts once he found out such big news. Anyway, she had already talked to Yan Yue, so she could have Yan Yue¡¯s help in settling everything and bepletely at ease. After Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng had said that, Yan Yue obediently pulled Lu Lingxi to his feet, ¡°Then I¡¯ll go back next door with Xiao Xi first.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Wang Shuxiu said with unusual enthusiasm. Yan Yue smiled as Dahei already ran over and used his paws to open the balcony door. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t say anything and followed Yan Yue back next door. After showering and changing his clothes, he was not sleepy for a while, so he hugged Dahei and huddled on the sofa, reading a book. Soon after Yan Yue came out of the bathroom and also tried to squeeze onto the sofa. Dahei and Yan Yue stared at each other for a long time; then Dahei vacated his position, aggrieved, and plopped down on the carpet under the sofa, resting his head on Lu Lingxi¡¯s feet. Lu Lingxi smiled, holding the book, and reached out soothingly to scratch Dahei¡¯s chin. Yan Yue stretched out his arms and hugged Lu Lingxi, kissing his damp hair and his face again as he softly said, ¡°Xiao Xi, do you have anything you want to say to Big Brother Yan?¡± Lu Lingxi was subconsciously about to shake his head, but a sudden impulse came up from the bottom of his heart. He hesitated for a few seconds, looked at Yan Yue with his clear eyes and hesitantly said, ¡°Big Brother Yan, I have a secret I want to tell you.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s heart stirred and he tried to sound as calm as possible, ¡°What?¡± Lu Lingxi took a deep breath and said seriously, ¡°I am actually Lu Lingxi, the Lu Lingxi of the Zhongjing Lu Family.¡± s He had heard Ye Kang and Yan Yue talk about the Lu family in the past, and knew that Yan Yue was well aware of the Lu family¡¯s affairs. He had been hesitant to tell Yan Yue of his origin. Before he used to avoid it, but now he had the courage to face it openly. He thought that Yan Yue would find it strange and ask him what he meant by this statement. Who knew that Yan Yue would lower his head and kiss him, saying just as seriously, ¡°I know.¡± Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes widened suddenly; did Yan Yue¡¯s ¡°I know¡± mean what he thought it meant? When Yan Yue saw Lu Lingxi¡¯s reaction, his heart softened and he smiled tenderly, ¡°Xiao Xi, do you remember the time you got drunk?¡± ¡°The time of Mom¡¯s wedding?¡± Yan Yue nodded, ¡°That time you told me you were going to tell me a secret, so I already knew all about it.¡± Of course, the private investigation didn¡¯t count. Lu Lingxi blinked, unable to respond for a long time. Originally he was the one who was going to tell Yan Yue a secret, but now it was a bit like the other way around. ¡°Then don¡¯t you think it¡¯s strange, Big Brother Yan? Dead and alive again¡­¡± Lu Lingxi asked slowly. Before he could finish, Yan Yue had already interrupted him, ¡°If Xiao Xi hadn¡¯te back to life, how would Big Brother Yan have met you? No matter what the reason is, Big Brother Yan can only be happy.¡± ¡°Then I don¡¯t want to go back to the Lu family, I¡­¡± ¡°I know.¡± Yan Yue kissed Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes and said in a deep voice, ¡°Even if you wanted to acknowledge the Lu family, Xiao Xi, Big Brother Yan would stop you. Xiao Xi, don¡¯t think too much, you have nothing to do with the Lu family now, you have your own brand new life. Everything in the Lu family is in the past, understand?¡± ¡°En.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded forcefully,pletely letting go of his worries. For the time being Lu Hengchuan didn¡¯t know about Lu Lingxi¡¯s attitude. He was now busy dealing with the follow-up of Sun Li¡¯s bribery scandal that had broken out at the beginning of the month. Although the Lu family didn¡¯t hesitate to sacrifice Lu Wei¡¯an and put the me for Hopewell¡¯s bribery of Sun Li on Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s head, the public was not stupid after all, and the reputation of the Lu family was still affected. The incident became more and more intense, directly leading to the suspension of several drugs newly developed by the Lu family in the past year or two, pending a new investigation by the Food and Drug Administration. This alone had resulted in incalcble losses for the Lu family, not to mention the fact that the Lu family¡¯s stock had been plummeting for a month in a row, with the Lu family¡¯s market value evaporating by nearly 20% in the short term. ¡°What did Yan Shihui say?¡± In the chairman¡¯s office of Lu Group, Lu Hengchuan stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, asking his eldest son, Lu Chengwen, who stood behind him. Lu Chengwen frowned and said, ¡°Yan Shihui said he knew about it and that he would deal with this matter.¡± ¡°Deal with it?¡± Lu Hengchuan sneered, ¡°Yan Shihui had a smooth ride for half his life, but he flopped hard with Yan Yue. He thought he had everything under control, but he didn¡¯t even know what Yan Yue had been doing for the past year. Now that Yan Yue bit back and our Lu family was implicated, he wants to take it lightly, saying he would deal with it.¡± The incident of Sun Li¡¯s bribery broke out too strangely, and afterwards, the news couldn¡¯t be suppressed, and Lu Hengchuan suspected that someone was behind it. He followed the clues for nearly a month, and found a lot of participants behind the scheme. There werepetitors of the Lu family and the handwriting of the old man Ye of the Ye family but what surprised Lu Hengchuan most was that there were Yan Yue¡¯s calctions in it, and Yan Yue was the first to make a move. While Lu Hengchuan was shocked, he immediately thought of Yan Shihui. Everyone in Yan Shihui¡¯s inner circle could see clearly that he was simply caught by the woman next to him, thinking that if all his property would be left to Yan Yue, he would wrong hister children, trying to strike a bnce between them. Didn¡¯t he see that Yan Hai wasn¡¯t the right material either? He just suppressed Yan Yue blindly, forcing Yan Yue to make way for Yan Hai. Now Yan Yue daring to act like this meant that he was going to tear his rtionship with Yan Shihui. Yan Shihui thought he could control Yan Yue? Deal with it; he would like to see how Yan Shihui would deal with it. Lu Hengchuan didn¡¯t take Yan Shihui¡¯s words seriously. His Lu family¡¯s losses were all Hopewell¡¯s fault, and Yan Shihui had to give him an exnation anyway. What Lu Hengchuan was thinking about now was something else: how did Yan Yue get involved with Lu Lingxi? Chapter 160 The problems encountered by the Lu family were also encountered by Hopewell, and even more serious than those of the Lu family. After all, the origin of the storm came from Hopewell. Starting from Yan Hai¡¯s ident abroad and Yan Shihui hurriedly rushing abroad, to Yin Ya taking advantage of Yan Shihui¡¯s absence to apply for the listing of the donglingcao new drug, to Sun Li being reported for bribery by Hopewell¡¯s own people, and finally to Hopewell being affected by the failure of the investment; a series of things developed, interlocking and seamless. Yan Shihui had to apud someone who calcted all of this. Especially since this person was his own son, and he had always thought that Yan Yue was recuperating abroad. Inside the new biotechplex of Hopewell, Yan Shihui looked at the investigation data in his hands, his face as gloomy as a stormy sky. He knew that Yan Yue had always been unhappy about his attitude, and he was also on guard against Yan Yue ying some small tricks behind his back, but he never expected that Yan Yue¡¯s intention was not to inherit Hopewell, but topletely destroy it. Did Yan Yue even know what he was doing? This was the question Yan Shihui wanted to ask Yan Yue the most. The loss of foreign clients, the failure of the donglingcao investment, and nearly hundreds of millions of losses were ced in front of Yan Shihui. What really made Yan Shihui angry was that the loss of thetter meant the failure of Hopewell¡¯s transformation and theplete ruin of the biotechnologyplex that Hopewell had invested seven to eight hundred million to build. From the window, it could be seen that the construction site that was still abuzz a month ago was empty. There were half-finished buildings everywhere, scaffolding, cement and sand, all piled up in a mess, entuating the destion of the biotechplex even more. ¡°Work has been halted for half a month,¡± Yan Shihui thought gloomily. With this incident with Sun Li, Hopewell would no longer be able to transform into a biotechpany. In that case, the biotechplex would either have to be sold or the current buildings would have to be demolished and rebuilt into something else. In any case, there was no way to recover the money Hopewell had invested. ¡°Chairman, Madam wants to see you for a moment?¡± The assistant knocked gently on the open door and said softly. A hint of disgust shed in Yan Shihui¡¯s eyes and he waved his hand, ¡°Tell her I don¡¯t have time.¡± The assistant was a little embarrassed, but still nodded. As he listened to the assistant¡¯s footsteps go away, Yan Shihui¡¯s expression didn¡¯t improve in the slightest. He could imagine what Yin Qinn was looking for him for; it was nothing more than hoping that he could help Yin Ya. Just a week ago, Yin Ya had been taken away from her home. As the head of the donglingcao project, she had been asked to assist the police in their investigation into Sun Li¡¯s bribery. Seven whole days had passed and there was no sign of Yin Ya being released, so Yin Qinn looked desperate and had gone so far as to find him. In Yan Shihui¡¯s opinion, that Yin Ya girl was just like her mother,pletely unable to seed and more than likely to fail. Now that he thought about it carefully, there was something wrong with the donglingcao project from the very beginning. The researcher who reported Sun Li was not a neer, but an old man who had been around since the beginning of the project, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have had so much evidence in his hands. It was funny that Yin Ya had been sifting through the personnel but in the end, she missed a spy nted by Yan Yue. It could be said that Hopewell¡¯s current troubles all came from this project, as well as the problems of the Lu family. Thinking of this, Yan Shihui left the half-finished biotech building with a cold face. He didn¡¯t care about Yin Ya¡¯s life or death, but he was concerned about Yin Yongde¡¯s reaction. Especially what would Yin Yongde do when he knew that it was all Yan Yue¡¯s scheme? Whether Yan Shihui wanted to admit it or not, he had lost control of Yan Yue. Whether it was the session to Hopewell or the affection between father and son, Yan Yue didn¡¯t seem to care anymore, or perhaps he had never cared at all. s These disturbances in Zhongjing had not affected Yan Yue¡¯s life for the time being. After a few days¡¯ rest from Kunnan, Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue packed up and prepared for a trip to Lingshui Vige. They were apanied by Ye Kang and Elder Min, who was very interested in Zhugang. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know when Yan Yue had contacted Elder Min, let alone when Yan Yue had given Elder Min a copy of the introduction to Zhugang. It was only when Elder Min approached him and suggested that he wanted to see the moso bamboo that Lu Lingxi remembered that Yan Yue had once said that Elder Min was an opportunity for them. He thought this opportunity referred to the copaiba balsam tree, but could it actually be Zhugang? These thoughts only circled in Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind for a short while before he stopped paying attention and drifted off to sleep with Dahei in his arms. Yan Yue saw in the rearview mirror that Lu Lingxi had fallen asleep and considerately slowed down the car. They had gone to sleep a littletest night, and Lu Lingxi probably hadn¡¯t rested well. ¡°Are we about to arrive, Big Brother Yan?¡± Lu Lingxi asked in a daze. Yan Yue nced at the time, ¡°There¡¯re still a few minutes left.¡± Since the purification of the soil elerated, an entire area had been purified from the downtown toll station to the Qiu Tian nt nursery a little further south. The consequence was that the nts on both sides of the road began to grow wildly,pletely blocking the sight of the vige not far away. If there was a car passing by, it was difficult to tell where they were by just relying on the scenery on the side of the road. Hearing that there were still a few minutes to go, Lu Lingxi became energetic. He was looking out of the window when he suddenly smiled, ¡°Big Brother Yan, look outside.¡± Yan Yue followed the direction Lu Lingxi pointed and saw two three to four metre high wooden pirs in the vegetation by the roadside. At the top of the pirs was arge wooden board with the name of the vige painted on it, indicating where they were. Both the pirs and the board were covered in the green vinesmon to Fengcheng, with small purple flowers dotted all over them, looking wild and eye-catching. ¡°I wonder who came up with that.¡± Lu Lingxi asked with interest. Yan Yue guessed irresponsibly, ¡°Uncle Li?¡± s A few metres away, in the other car, Elder Min likewise saw the sign outside. ¡°This is quite interesting.¡± Ye Kang was a little smug; the sign was his idea. He had run to Lingshui Vige a lot during the month Yan Yue was away. After he became familiar with the people in the vige, he would help to n something from time to time. Not long after the sign, they saw the iconic big willow tree in Lingshui Vige. Despite the fact that Elder Min had adapted to this kind of life surrounded by greenery in Fengcheng over the past few days, the environment of Lingshui Vige still struck him as somewhat unbelievable. ¡°It¡¯s simply a paradise.¡± That was the only thing that came to Elder Min¡¯s mind when he got out of the car. He had been to many ces, big and small, over his years of work and had seen many ces with beautiful environments. The rainforest he had visited some time ago was very nice. But he could say that there was no ce like Lingshui Vige, where humans and nature had blended together perfectly. As far as he could see, quite a few homes had green vines crawling all over the eaves, on the roofs and on the gates. Red enkianthus, colourful gazanias, strings of upright lupines¡­ The whole Lingshui Vige simply looked like it was located in a sea of flowers. As they walked into the vige, the big willow tree stretched out its branches and leaves, blocking out the harsh sunlight. There was a wind blowing, bringing the moisture of the Lingshui River, mixed with the fragrance of the grass and trees, energising and refreshing. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s climb the hills in one go.¡± Elder Min said in high spirits, pointing to two small hills not far away. It had only been two months since the moso bamboo was transnted to the hills in early April, and the two hills that used to be previously barren had already be a sea of bamboo. As far as the eye could see, the hills were covered with seven to eight metre high bamboo, and when the wind blew, the waves of bamboo were like sea waves. From afar, it was as beautiful as a poetic painting, verdant and lush, and close by, it looked like a forest of bamboo flutes. Lu Lingxi knew that bamboo grew fast, but he didn¡¯t expect it to grow so fast. ording to Ye Kang, the bamboos were basically ready to be harvested. Only a few days ago Zheng Xinhe hade over and cut down a lot of bamboo and took it to make samples of Zhugang. ¡°What about the test results of these samples you mentioned?¡± Elder Min asked with interest. ¡°One hundred per cent up to standard.¡± Ye Kang was very confident about this. Elder Min nodded thoughtfully. Ye Kang looked at them and exchanged an extremely quick nce with Yan Yue, guessing that the old man was tempted. Chapter 161 Yan Yue and the others stayed at Lingshui Vige until the evening and had dinner at Uncle Li¡¯s house before returning to Fengcheng. Although Uncle Li didn¡¯t know who Elder Min was, he was very warm to him because he was a guest brought by Lu Lingxi. At dinner time, Auntie Li steamed two pots of oat noodle rolls and boiled a pot of braisedmb soup. The tomatoes and cucumbers in the yard were also ready to eat, and mixed with the kale picked from the nt nursery, it was a cold dish full of colour and vour. Elder Min was very impressed with the food and envied Uncle Li¡¯s small yard. With the things you grow by yourself, you can rest assured that the authentic taste alone is much better than the vegetables that are sold in the market. Although Elder Min has been in politics for many years, his family was from the rural area of Fengcheng and he did a lot of farming work when he was a child, so he was able to talk to Uncle Li about the vegetables grown in his yard. The more they talked, the more they got to know each other, and Elder Min took advantage of the situation to ask Uncle Li about the doubts he had along the way. Since the beginning of spring this year, it had not rained much in northern China. The drought in many ces was severe, and even spring sowing was difficult. Elder Min noticed that in Fengcheng it hadn¡¯t rained for nearly two months, but unexpectedly, Fengcheng couldn¡¯t see any signs of drought at all, and the nts in the ground were all vibrant. When he was in the city a few days ago, Elder Min felt strange, but considering that the sanitation workers would water regrly, he didn¡¯t think much about it. But today he went out of the city and all the way to Lingshui Vige. Looking at the surrounding situation, Elder Min was a bit puzzled. Speaking of this, Uncle Li himself actually found it strange. It could be said that this year was indeed dry. The water level of the Lingshui River was a few centimetres lower than in previous years. However, there was really no shortage of water in the ground this year. Some time ago, when the vige was sowing, the ground was wet, and even watering was not necessary. The people of the vige firmly believed that the tree god blessed them, and the proof of this was that when Yan Yue hired someone to dig a well, the workers inadvertently dug up a section of tree roots several metres thick in diameter underground. The worker who dug the well at the time identally scraped the root and the water that came out of it was actually clear water. This incident caused quite a stir in the vige and the workers filled the already half-formed well overnight and dug it in a different ce. ¡°A tree god?¡± Uncle Li spoke so fantastically that an odd expression appeared on Elder Min¡¯s face. Uncle Liughed and said frankly, ¡°The people in the vige don¡¯t know anything about science, and when they encounter something they don¡¯t understand they like to me it on gods and monsters.¡± Elder Minughed along, but in his heart he remembered the words ¡°tree god¡±. The clear water flowing out from inside the scuffed tree roots was something even Elder Min had heard of for the first time, not to mention the vigers of Lingshui Vige. The sound of the two men chatting was quite loud, and everyone in the same room could hear it clearly. Lu Lingxi winked at Yan Yue, and a knowing smile appeared on Yan Yue¡¯s face. The silent understanding seemed to flow like water entwining the two together, and Ye Kang, who was sitting aside, inexplicably felt as if he had been pushed away by something. Not long after eating dinner, the group prepared to return to Fengcheng. Before leaving, Lu Lingxi went to the nt nursery to take a few pots of evolved daylilies and asked Elder Min to bring them to Elder Zhang and Elder Zhao. There were three pots of daylilies, exactly one for each of them. The daylily was also known as worry-free, and the one Lu Lingxi picked was a rathermon variety of daylily, ¡°Song of Sunshine¡±. It was because of this name that Lu Lingxi raised this variety. After flowering, the ¡°Song of Sunshine¡± was golden in colour, and the petals were blooming like the sunposing a song of life. Elder Min liked it very much at first nce. Perhaps because of his older age, he now liked this kind of brightly colored and vibrant nt more and more. ¡°Grandpa Min will be cheeky enough to borrow a blessing from Lao Zhang for once and ept this pot of daylilies.¡± Elder Min lovingly hugged the flower pot and said with a smile. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes in a smile and followed Yan Yue to the car. s This time, Elder Min brought back not only daylilies but also samples of Zhugang. The next day he called Yan Yue and suggested that he had a friend who wanted to meet Yan Yue and Zheng Xinhe to talk about Zhugang. Anyone who could be called a friend by Elder Min was bound to be no ordinary person. Yan Yue was fine, but Zheng Xinhe got extremely excited after he found out about Elder Min¡¯s background. During Yan Yue¡¯s and Lu Lingxi¡¯s absence, Zheng Xinhe took Zhugang to a number of technological exhibitions. With its novel technology, environmentally friendly raw materials and even lower costs, Zhugang attracted a lot of attention at the various exhibitions. However, as was often the case with new things, although everyone knew it was a good thing, no one was willing to be the first one to try it. Although Zheng Xinhe was not discouraged, a me of anxiety would asionally rise in his heart. Now that Yan Yue had met Elder Min, Zheng Xinhe secretly vowed to seize this opportunity to promote Zhugang. Not to mention Zheng Xinhe¡¯s fist-pumping, Yan Yue also attached great importance to this meeting. He and Zheng Xinhe were thinking along the same lines; in order to sessfully gain recognition for Zhugang as a new alternative to steel, it had to first gain the approval of official authorities. This recognition was not just about winning a few medals at a technology exhibition, but to get an official order, which meant that the other party really recognised the product. Yan Yue checked the files on hisputer onest time and closed it before realising that it was almost ten o¡¯clock. He pushed the door open and saw Lu Lingxi sitting on the carpet with Dahei in his arms watching the video they had made in Kunnan. Xiaohei hissed excitedly with his tail wagging and his upper body twisting. In the video, the little monkey was holding two red fruits, handing them to Lu Lingxi¡¯s mouth. Lu Lingxi smiled at the camera and took a bite from the fruit in the little monkey¡¯s hand, then scrunched up his face. It was so sour he couldn¡¯t even speak. ¡°Zi-zi!¡± The little monkey hurriedly knocked the fruit out of Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand, climbed up the tree in a few steps and rushed to the other monkey that had picked the fruit the little monkey gave Lu Lingxi. Yan Yue heard Fang Lei¡¯sughter in the video, and the sound of Lu Lingxi calling out to the little monkey. He walked over and sat behind Lu Lingxi, hugging him from behind, ¡°Missing the little monkey?¡± Lu Lingxi leaned into Yan Yue¡¯s arms and let out a soft sigh. The little monkey had made a lot of noise when they left, perhaps because it sensed that Lu Lingxi wouldn¡¯t being back anytime soon, so the little monkey hugged Lu Lingxi¡¯s neck and refused to let go. It was only after the big leading monkey jumped down from the tree and stroked the little monkey¡¯s head and coaxed it for a long time that the little monkey let go, aggrieved. Lu Lingxi promised the little monkey that he woulde back to visit it in the Kunnan rainforest when he had time. The little monkey seemed to have understood his words and squeaked several times. Yan Yue slightly curled his lips when he thought of the scene, ¡°We can go there again next year.¡± Woof woof. Dahei barked excitedly. Lu Lingxi amusedly stroked Dahei and assured him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will definitely take Dahei next time.¡± Dahei leaned against Lu Lingxi¡¯s side contentedly, and Xiaohei dragged over the biscuit box vigorously and leaned over as well. The family of four sat on the floor, the little monkey¡¯s squeaking came from the video once again. The time slowly approached eleven o¡¯clock, and Yan Yue carried Lu Lingxi back to the bedroom. When they returned from Kunnan, Wang Shuxiu had agreed that Lu Lingxi would move in with Yan Yue next door. Lu Lingxi¡¯s bedroom was vacated and prepared as a baby room. ¡°Big Brother Yan, in three months I¡¯m going to have a little brother.¡± Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t sleep for a while, so he hugged Yan Yue and said excitedly. Yan Yue lowered his head and kissed him, ¡°I know, go to sleep.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t sleep.¡± Lu Lingxi said softly. Yan Yue¡¯s eyes darkened slightly as he moved over and kissed Lu Lingxi. ¡°Then don¡¯t sleep yet.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± s Early the next morning, Yan Yue first dropped Lu Lingxi off at Tiny Garden, then drove to meet Zheng Xinhe to prepare for the appointment with Elder Min¡¯s friend. ¡°Go for it, Big Brother Yan.¡± Lu Lingxi took Dahei to cheer Yan Yue on. Dahei waved his paw quite enthusiastically. Yan Yue smiled and waved to Lu Lingxi as he drove away from Tiny Garden. When he was about to turn off the street of Tiny Garden, Yan Yue seemed to see a familiar figure. He slowed down the car and looked over. A few passers-by hurriedly walked past. Yan Yue nced around, saw nothing and frowned slightly. ¡°Hoo hoo hoo.¡± In the alley next to the street, Lu Yishui touched his heart that was about to jump out of his throat for a long time. ¡°Bah, bad luck, as soon as I came, I saw Yan Yue.¡± He spat on the ground, cursing fiercely. Lu Yishui couldn¡¯t tell why he ran when he saw Yan Yue; it was simply a subconscious action. In fact, Yan Yue had not done anything to him, but had lent him 400,000 yuan instead. However, Lu Yishui was subconsciously afraid of Yan Yue. Compared to Xiao Feng with his brothers simply beating him up, it was this kind of immovable, unreasonable underhandedness on Yan Yue¡¯s part that gave Lu Yishui the creeps just thinking about it. Of course, now he had found a reason; Yan Yue, the bastard, was actually hitting on Lu Lingxi. Lu Yishui hatefully spat another mouthful of spittle on the ground, ¡°Why should I be afraid of him? I¡¯m rich now, I¡¯m not the old Lu Yishui anymore. I am a member of the Lu family. When the old man Lu dies, Lao Tzu can at least inherit a few hundred million.¡± He repeated this passage several times in his mind, brushed off the newly bought t-shirt on his body, and walked towards Tiny Garden with his head held high. He hadn¡¯t forgotten what the old man Lu had told him, that the prerequisite for admitting him to the Lu family was Lu Lingxi¡¯s promise to acknowledge his ancestors. Lu Yishui felt that this was not a problem at all. Lu Lingxi was not stupid and the rtives as rich as the Lu family wouldn¡¯t be pushed away even by a fool. ¡°Wee¡­¡± Inside Tiny Garden, Lu Lingxi put down the watering can without finishing a sentence. Dahei, who had been lying quietly on the floor, suddenly jumped up and rushed straight to the door, bared his teeth and growled a warning. ¡°Don¡¯te over here, damn dog!¡± Lu Yishui screamed, involuntarily remembering thest time he had been bitten by Dahei. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes widened suddenly as he realised that the person in front of him was Lu Yishui. He and Lu Yishui had only met a few times and it was a year ago. At that time, he didn¡¯t have a deep impression of Lu Yishui as the man¡¯s hair was dishevelled and covered half of his face. Nowadays, Lu Yishui had obviously been carefully groomed and dressed, and Lu Lingxi vaguely found the shadow of his father in his previous life in Lu Yishui¡¯s face. ¡°Little bastard, I¡¯m your dad.¡± Lu Yishui shouted at Lu Lingxi from the doorway, bouncing up and down. Lu Lingxi frowned; he didn¡¯t have any feelings for Lu Yishui, not like he did for Wang Shuxiu. Plus he had already recognised Xiao Feng as his father, so he couldn¡¯t call Lu Yishui the word ¡°Dad¡±. When Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t say anything, Lu Yishui became anxious, ¡°Come here, little bastard,e over and get rid of the dog first, I¡¯m looking for you for something.¡± As soon as he said that, Lu Lingxi immediately reacted, ¡°The Zhongjing Lu family found you?¡± ¡°What Zhongjing Lu family? That¡¯s your grandfather¡¯s family. We are the Lu family, from now on we will be rich people, father and son. Rich people, little bastard, do you understand? This shitty flower shop, you can open as many as you want.¡± Lu Yishui spitefully described the bright future to Lu Lingxi while trying to take a couple of steps inside the shop. Dahei immediately gave a low growl. Lu Yishui shrank back and pointed at Lu Lingxi, shouting, ¡°Little bastard, you unfilial son, you¡­¡± Lu Lingxi interrupted him, ¡°I won¡¯t recognise the Lu family.¡± ¡°What? Little bastard, are you stupid? Do you know how much money the Lu family has? We¡¯ll be rich if you acknowledge it, so much better than you keeping this broken flower shop. Tell me, is it that Wang Xiaohua won¡¯t let you admit it? Wait, I¡¯ll go and find her.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to find Mom.¡± Lu Lingxi immediately shouted. Wang Shuxiu was now almost seven months pregnant. What if she was pissed off and stimted by Lu Yishui? ¡°Little bastard, you¡­¡± Lu Yishui shouted sternly. Lu Lingxi bit his lip and said to Dahei, ¡°Dahei, go.¡± Hearing thismand, Dahei immediately lunged towards Lu Yishui. Lu Yishui realised that Lu Lingxi really meant it, so he hurriedly turned around and ran away, stumbling. Unfortunately, his speed was no match for Dahei and he was easily pounced on by Dahei and pinned underneath, with one of Dahei¡¯s paw pressed against the back of Lu Yishui¡¯s head. ¡°Little¡­ little¡­ little¡­ little¡­¡± Lu Yishui was so scared that he couldn¡¯t speak clearly. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t know what to do with Lu Yishui. After all, he was the father of this body. He knew that Dahei wouldn¡¯t hurt Lu Yishui, at most he would scare him. ¡°Dahei,e back.¡± Lu Lingxi looked coldly at Lu Yishui and said seriously, ¡°Once again, I won¡¯t recognise the Lu family, and you won¡¯t go looking for Mom.¡± ¡°Little ba¡­¡± Lu Yishui rolled over and opened his mouth to scold. Dahei immediately arched his back and prepared to pounce. The word ¡°bastard¡± was swallowed hard by Lu Yishui, who shrank back and dared not speak again. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t look at him and turned around to go back to Tiny Garden. He thought for a while and found Xiao Feng¡¯s phone number. This matter needed to be told to Xiao Feng first. When the call was answered, there was a bit of noise on the other side, ¡°Dad?¡± ¡°Is it Xiao Xi?¡± Xiao Feng¡¯s voice on the phone sounded quite happy, ¡°Xiao Xi, you¡¯re going to have another brother or sister.¡± Lu Lingxi froze and heard Xiao Hong¡¯s loudugh on the other side of the phone, ¡°Aunt is pregnant?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao Fengughed, ¡°Your Uncle is overjoyed.¡± Lu Lingxi was also quite happy. Xiao Feng remembered that Lu Lingxi was looking for him, ¡°What happened, is there something wrong, Xiao Xi?¡± Lu Lingxi felt sorry to spoil the mood saying that Lu Yishui was back at this time, but he was worried that Lu Yishui had really gone to Wang Shuxiu, so he said it anyway. ¡°Dad¡­ is back.¡± Xiao Feng reacted extremely quickly and immediately realised who the ¡°dad¡± Lu Lingxi was referring to was. ¡°He went to look for you?¡± Lu Lingxi hummed, ¡°He said he was going to look for Mom and I was worried¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m with your mom.¡± Lu Lingxi rxed. After hanging up the phone, Lu Lingxi was a little confused as to why the Lu family needed to recognise him. In the past, the Lu family didn¡¯t care about this body, but now why did they have to recognise him? Was it because his elder brother¡¯s¡­ Lu Wei¡¯an¡¯s body was having problems again, so they needed him? The more Lu Lingxi thought about it, the more he thought this was a possibility. He squatted in front of Dahei, stroked him and whispered, ¡°This time I want to be selfish for once.¡± Without any preamble, Dahei couldn¡¯t understand the meaning of Lu Lingxi¡¯s words. He just barked in a low voice and stretched out his tongue to tenderly lick Lu Lingxi¡¯s fingers. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes in a smile. ¡°I know, I will always be with Dahei and Big Brother Yan.¡± Chapter 162 Xiao Hong was the only one Xiao Feng told the news of Lu Yishui¡¯s return for the time being. Xiao Hong cursed as soon as he heard it: ¡°That bastard Zhou Laosan.¡± Zhou Laosan was the one who took over the northwest coal mine and promised to keep a good eye on Lu Yishui and never let hime back to disgust people. Xiao Feng said soothingly, ¡°Zhou Laosan can¡¯t be med for this. It¡¯s clear that Lu Yishui coulde back because the Lu family found him and Zhou Laosan could do nothing about it. It was also a matter of time; the Lu family was anxious to make Xiao Xi acknowledge his ancestors. Xiaohua didn¡¯t relent, so they could only put the idea in Lu Yishui¡¯s mind.¡± To be honest, whether or not Lu Yishui came back was actually of little consequence. Xiaohua was happy with Xiao Feng, and Xiao Xi had Yan Yue to protect him. Lu Yishui couldn¡¯t do anything even if he came back, it was just disgusting. There was only one thing Xiao Feng couldn¡¯t figure out: why was the Lu family so eager to find Xiao Xi? Could it really be like what Xiaohua said, that the child who had leukaemia back then had a health problem again? ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Xiao Hong also understood that Lu Yishui could do nothing but bring some trouble. ¡°Let¡¯s wait for Yan Yue toe back and ask him what he is going to do,¡± Xiao Feng said. Solving Lu Yishui was not a problem, the problem was that Lu Yishui¡¯s identity was sensitive and he had to take into ount Xiao Xi¡¯s feelings. Now that Xiao Xi had lost his memory and couldn¡¯t remember anything but it would be bad if he remembered something one day and disagreed with their actions. Xiao Hong knew what Xiao Feng meant, so he didn¡¯t say anything else. After the two brothers finished discussing the matter, Xiao Feng thought he would tell Xiaohua about it when he got home. When they returned from the hospital, they saw Lu Yishui waiting at the door of Building 3, dressed like a dandy. ¡°Lu Yishui?¡± Wang Shuxiu got out of the car with her seven-month belly, looked at the familiar figure in front of her and said in an odd tone. ¡°Xiaohua!¡± When Lu Yishui heard Wang Shuxiu¡¯s voice, he immediately turned around with his head held high, eager to show off his new self. But when he got a good look at Wang Shuxiu, the smug expression on his face instantly froze and turned into lividness, ¡°Wang Xiaohua, you¡¯ve actually cheated on me!¡± Before he finished speaking, Xiao Feng followed out of the car and stood next to Wang Shuxiu, half-supporting her and looking at Lu Yishui with a smirk. ¡°¡­Brother Feng.¡± Lu Yishui, even if he was stupid, realised what was going on and choked back all the words that came to his lips, recing them with a phrase in a jittery voice. ¡°Brother Feng.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Xiao Hong parked his car and walked over. Lu Yishui recognised Xiao Hong at a nce. The memories of the mine shed through his mind, his legs went weak and he said with a self-deprecating smile, ¡°Nothing, nothing.¡± ¡°Lu Yishui, what are you doing here? We are divorced.¡± Wang Shuxiu¡¯s tone was cold. Lu Yishui remembered what the Lu family had ordered and the lure of money momentarily overtook his fear of the Xiao brothers. He said ingratiatingly, ¡°Xiaohua, I came back because I have something good for you. I¡¯m rich now, forget about the past when you followed me to suffer, I¡­¡± Meeting Xiao Feng¡¯s gaze, Lu Yishui immediately changed his words, ¡°No, you and Brother Feng are good together, I¡­ I don¡¯t mean anything else, I just want Xiao Xi to have a good life too. Do you think Xiao Xi has a future in Fengcheng, and how much money can he make by opening a little shitty flower shop? Let me tell you that I found my dad. He is not dead, he is a rich man, he has money. If Xiao Xi follows me, he¡¯ll be my dad¡¯s grandson. What else to worry about, Xiaohua, don¡¯t you think?¡± After he finished speaking, he looked at Wang Shuxiu, who snorted, ¡°What rich man, isn¡¯t it just the Lu family in Zhongjing? I¡¯m telling you, I don¡¯t care about it.¡± ¡°Xiaohua, you can¡¯t be like this, you¡¯re living a good life with Brother Feng, you can¡¯t leave our son alone.¡± Lu Yishui said anxiously. ¡°Bah.¡± Even though Wang Shuxiu was pregnant, her temper had not softened at all, so she took her bag and smashed it against Lu Yishui¡¯s head. ¡°Do you care about your son? Are you fucking in charge of your son? You are making Xiao Xi jump into the fire pit. Do you know why the Lu family wants to take Xiao Xi back? They have a child with leukaemia in their family, and they¡¯re after Xiao Xi. Lu Yishui, you old son of a bitch¡­¡± Wang Shuxiu¡¯s beat him happily, but Xiao Feng was afraid for her and rushed forward to hug her, coaxing, ¡°Xiaohua, take it easy, you still have a baby in your belly.¡± s Lu Yishui was dizzy from being hit, and when he reacted and was going to habitually curse back, he met Xiao Feng¡¯s gaze and was instantly discouraged. ¡°Xiaohua, this can¡¯t be possible, right?¡± ¡°Fuck off. Who cares if it¡¯s possible or not, I say he won¡¯t acknowledge them.¡± ¡°Xiao¡­¡± Lu Yishui still tried to exin. Xiao Feng had already let go of Wang Shuxiu and asked him lightly, ¡°Xiaohua told you to leave, didn¡¯t you hear her?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave, Brother Feng, I¡¯ll go right away.¡± Lu Yishui saw that Xiao Feng¡¯s expression was not right, so he dared not stay any longer and turned around to run. ¡°Bah, you bastard, you don¡¯t look like a prince even when you¡¯re wearing a dragon robe.¡± Xiao Hong scolded with contempt. Xiao Feng told him at the hospital that Lu Yishui had gone to look for Lu Lingxi, and he thought that Lu Yishui was probablying to look for Wang Shuxiu as well. The result was that after only a few words, Lu Yishui, that soft egg, ran away. He didn¡¯t even look like a fucking man, not worth a hair on his sister-inw¡¯s head. Xiao Hong had just finished cursing when he heard Wang Shuxiu ask, ¡°When did that old bastard Lu Yishuie back?¡± Xiao Feng supported Wang Shuxiu and said, ¡°It¡¯s just the past day or two, I guess the Lu family has just found him.¡± ¡°No, let¡¯s hurry up and warn Xiao Xi! What if the old bastard goes to Xiao Xi to make trouble?¡± Xiao Feng was helpless, ¡°He has already gone to Xiao Xi and was scared away by Dahei.¡± When Wang Shuxiu heard that Lu Yishui had already looked for Lu Lingxi, she became even more furious and said hatefully, ¡°Xiao Xi should have just let Dahei bite the old bastard.¡± ¡°Fine, fine, tomorrow let Xiao Xi take Xiao Baiwan with him. If Lu Yishuies again, Dahei and Xiao Baiwan will each take a bite each.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± Xiao Feng, having coaxed Wang Shuxiu, called to ask when Yan Yue would be back. Xiaohua¡¯s belly was getting bigger and bigger, so they had to get rid of Lu Yishui as soon as possible, or else he might pop up again sometime. When he received Xiao Feng¡¯s call, Yan Yue already knew from Lu Lingxi that Lu Yishui was back. ¡°I¡¯m going to pick up Xiao Xi from Tiny Garden first, I¡¯ll be backter.¡± ¡°What are your ns for Lu Yishui?¡± Xiao Feng asked on the phone. Yan Yue sneered, ¡°This is simple, just make him not have any wish toe and cause trouble.¡± Xiao Feng guessed what Yan Yue had in mind, ¡°I¡¯ll find someone?¡± ¡°No need, this time let¡¯s take Lu Yishui to y a big game.¡± Yan Yue said indifferently. It was just too easy to deal with Lu Yishui, a few random chess and card parlours would hook Lu Yishui¡¯s soul. However, considering Lu Hengchuan¡¯s character, Lu Yishui must have had people by his side. It was just the right time to pit Lu Hengchuan in the process. ¡°Yan Yue, do you know why the Lu family wants to recognise Xiao Xi and take him back?¡± Xiao Feng asked. He was not sure, but Yan Yue understood that the Lu family valued Lu Lingxi¡¯s business potential. Although Lu Hengchuan had no intention of transforming, he was determined to expand the Lu family¡¯s business empire, and the value shown by Lu Lingxi was exactly what the Lu family needed. s Under this premise, Lu Hengchuan was determined to have Lu Lingxi back to the family. Considering Wang Shuxiu¡¯s opposition, Lu Hengchuan naturally thought of Lu Yishui. Although the investigation showed that Lu Lingxi seemed to have lost his memory and didn¡¯t remember the existence of Lu Yishui, the psychologist analysed that Lu Lingxi might not necessarily not remember, but had simply buried this memory deep in his heart. Bloodline attraction is a very peculiar thing. In the past, Wang Shuxiu tried to divorce Lu Yishui many times, but all these attempts were thwarted by Lu Lingxi, which proved that Lu Lingxi had deep feelings for Lu Yishui. If one approached Lu Lingxi through Lu Yishui, it would be much better than the Lu family directly stepping in. Due to various considerations, Lu Hengchuan didn¡¯te to Lu Lingxi directly, but sent someone to find Lu Yishui to bring him back to Fengcheng. Unfortunately, Lu Hengchuan didn¡¯t know that the soul inside Lu Lingxi¡¯s body had been changed. Not to mention one Lu Yishui, even if ten Lu Yishuis came over, it would be useless. Yan Yue hung up the phone after speaking to Xiao Feng, and then called An Jie, instructing him to find the contact person of the Aogang Casino in Fengcheng. As the casinos in Hong Kong had be more and more reliant on maind customers over the years, the casino managers had arranged contacts in all major cities in the maind, specifically to find ¡°fat sheep¡± and lure them into a trap. In the past, Lu Yishui was just a small fry nowhere near this level, but now Lu Yishui was at least the illegitimate son of the Lu family, so his status was sufficient, and it depended on his luck how much he would lose. Lu Hengchuan dared to use Lu Yishui to disgust them, now let him have a taste of being disgusted himself. An Jie¡¯s actions were very efficient, and he helped both sides make a connection that evening. Lu Yishui only felt that his new friend and he had simr personalities and hobbies and were very lucky to meet each other. When his new friend inadvertently mentioned gambling for tens of millions at the Aogang Casino, Lu Yishui¡¯s face turned red with excitement. This was something he hadn¡¯t even dared to think about before, but now he was rich, he was Lu Hengchuan¡¯s son, and he could afford to gamble like this. What¡¯s tens of millions of dors? When the old man Lu dies, his inheritance will be worth hundreds of millions. At first, Lu Yishui remembered what Lu Hengchuan had ordered him to do and besides, he still had Lu Hengchuan¡¯s two assistants following him. But after his new friend got rid of the assistants and took him to an underground casino in Fengcheng to y and win a hundred thousand, Lu Yishui couldn¡¯t remember anything else, all he could think about was gambling! Gambling! Gambling! For several days in a row, Lu Yishui disappeared, and Lu Lingxi was so busy that he couldn¡¯t remember him at all. Although Tiger had taken good care of the shop during his absence, many of his regr customers recognised Lu Lingxi alone and waited for him to return. These days, Lu Lingxi was very busy. After sending another regr customer away, Lu Lingxi made a quick phone call to Yan Yue. Yan Yue went to Elder Min¡¯s friend to sign a contract today. This was the first order that Zhugang had signed, an order from the Ministry of Energy. Lu Lingxi looked at the time and thought that Yan Yue should also be finished, so he wanted to ask Yan Yue if his day had gone well. ¡°Xiao Xi.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s voice was smiling; he was in a good mood from the sound of it. Lu Lingxi was in a good mood too, ¡°Big Brother Yan, are you finished?¡± ¡°En, I¡¯ve just signed the contract, I¡¯m going back now, what do you want to eat for lunch?¡± Lu Lingxi thought about it, ¡°Let¡¯s go eat beef noodles, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve eaten them.¡± ¡°Okay, wait for me to get back.¡± Yan Yue hung up the phone and was about to drive when his phone rang once again. The caller was Grandpa. Yan Yue paused and epted the call. He had been waiting for this call for a long time. Chapter 163 When Yin Yongde called Yan Yue, he was already in Fengcheng. He didn¡¯t say much on the phone, except that he wanted Yan Yue toe over for lunch. Yan Yue agreed. After hanging up the phone, Yin Yongde coughed a little while leaning back in his chair. He had been suffering from a slight health problem for the past few days, and he had been forcing himself to keep from coughing so that Yan Yue wouldn¡¯t hear it over the phone. In the past, he had taken good care of his health, but from the time of Yin Ya¡¯s ident, he found himself a little out of shape. When Yan Shihui passed on the information he had collected on Yan Yue, the blow was so heavy that Yin Yongde¡¯s bodypletely copsed. He didn¡¯t want to admit it but he had to ept the fact that Ah Yue didn¡¯t trust him anymore. He should have known a long time ago that Ah Yue¡¯s temperament was exactly the same as his when he was young. How could his grandson tolerate that girl Xiao Ya smugly pressing down on his head? Yin Yongde had looked at Qinn and at Yan Shihui and felt that they were too unfair towards Ah Yue, but it was his turn to be unaware that he got carried away with his authority. He had softly agreed to Xiao Ya going to Hopewell and he had supported Xiao Ya in the meeting of the board of directors. Even if he never had the idea of letting Xiao Ya rece Ah Yue, his actions gave a signal to the people around him that Ah Yue¡¯s position had been shaken. And that blind date with the Lu family¡­ Yin Yongde smiled bitterly. It was he himself who had pushed Ah Yue away from him step by step. The housekeeper knocked gently on the door, interrupting Yin Yongde¡¯s thoughts. He looked embarrassed as he whispered, ¡°Youngdy is making a lot of noise in her room.¡± The youngdy the housekeeper was referring to was none other than Yin Qinn. When Yin Yongde returned to Fengcheng this time, he had forced her toe with him. Hearing that Yin Qinn was making a fuss, Yin Yongde said coldly, ¡°Let her make a fuss, she is fifty years old and has no brains at all.¡± Realising that Yin Yongde was serious, the housekeeper quietly left. In the study, Yin Yongde sighed, regretting once again in his heart that he should not have been so arrogant in his treatment of Qinn when she was young. Now that she was in her fifties, she was still living in her own world, letting her mood prevail. He could still look after Qinn while he was alive, but once he was gone, what would happen to Qinn? Could she rely on Xiao Ya or on that man eating soft rice (living at the expense of a woman)? She listened to that man in everything. No matter how much Yin Yongde left for Qinn, the things would probably be gone in two days. Without him to protect her, without her possessions, relying only on Xiao Ya, would Qinn still be able to livefortably? Yin Yongde shook his head. He had recently be more and more acutely aware that he was getting old and didn¡¯t have much time left. No matter what he had nned before, things had now gottenpletely out of hand. Whether it was Hopewell, Qinn or Ah Yue, he had to make a choice. With a long sigh, Yin Yongde left the study. He had made countless choices in his lifetime, but none of them had ever been as difficult as the one he was making now. Holding on the railings, he walked down the stairs step by step. There was the movement of a car in the courtyard; Ah Yue had arrived. ¡°Grandpa.¡± Yan Yue stood politely in front of Yin Yongde. Because he had gone to sign a contract in the morning, he was dressed very formally today, his well-fitted suit setting off his slender body and handsome appearance. s Yin Yongde didn¡¯t say anything for a while, but just quietly looked at Yan Yue. Since when did Ah Yue spend less and less time back in China, preferring to stay abroad more and more? In fact, there had been signs of this for a long time, he just couldn¡¯t see it. He smiled bitterly in his heart, ¡°Ah Yue is here. The kitchen has prepared all your favourite dishes today. Let¡¯s eat first, Grandpa has something to say to you after we finish eating.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yan Yue had always said very little in front of his family, and after agreeing, he had nothing more to say. Yin Yongde¡¯s heart was bitter, but he didn¡¯t know what to say. He used to feel that Qinn and Ah Yue were bing increasingly alienated, but in fact, so was he and Ah Yue. The two of them finished their meal in silence and walked from the dining room to the study. Yin Yongde looked at Yan Yue, ¡°Ah Yue, you¡¯ve heard about Xiao Ya¡¯s matter, right?¡± He asked in a roundabout way, and Yan Yue lowered his eyes slightly, hiding the sneer within. It had been a month since Yin Ya¡¯s ident, and he didn¡¯t believe that Grandpa didn¡¯t know what he had done. He looked calm and said directly, ¡°If Grandpa wants to talk about Yin Ya¡¯s bribery incident, I¡¯m afraid I knew about it before anyone else.¡± As Yan Yue¡¯s words were said, the atmosphere in the room instantly chilled. It was as if the air had be stagnant and pressed heavily on the body. Yin Yongde was caught off guard by Yan Yue¡¯s directness. He gave Yan Yue a deep look and sighed, ¡°Ah Yue, you have grown up.¡± These words contained too many emotions, bitterness,plexity, relief¡­ Yin Yongde didn¡¯t use Yan Yue, nor did he ask any questions, he just calmly recounted, ¡°After Xiao Ya¡¯s ident, Qinn was very upset. Although she was not a good mother to you, Ah Yue, she loves Xiao Ya to her bones.¡± These words were full of irony to Yan Yue¡¯s ears. He didn¡¯t say anything, and it seemed that Yin Yongde didn¡¯t need Yan Yue to say anything as he continued, ¡°During this time, Qinn has thought of many ways to get Xiao Ya out. But Xiao Ya¡¯s case is a big deal, and it involves drug safety, which is very important to the authorities. Once Xiao Ya is convicted of bribery, she will be sentenced to at least three years in prison. A few days ago, Qinn approached Shihui, hoping that he could help Xiao Ya. Shihui made a condition that he wanted all of Qinn¡¯s shares in exchange for Xiao Ya¡¯s freedom.¡± Yin Qinn had approached Yan Shihui in the hope that he could find someone to take the me for Yin Ya. After all, Yin Ya had only been in Hopewell for a short time, and as long as a senior official came forward and admitted that Yin Ya¡¯s actions were at his instigation, Yin Ya¡¯s charges could be mitigated on the grounds of her being just a puppet. Yin Qinn has already found a candidate, and if they wanted money, she had plenty of it. But the chairman of Hopewell was Yan Shihui, and Yan Shihui had to cooperate in this matter. If Yan Shihui were to break the case, Yin Ya would get another charge in addition to the bribery charge. Under such circumstances, Yan Shihui could easily take advantage of the fire to rob; but Yin Qinn couldn¡¯t refuse his request for Yin Ya¡¯s sake, no matter what. s As he spoke, Yin Yongde nced at Yan Yue, who looked as usual, his face revealing neither his thoughts nor his emotions. Yin Yongde hoped that Yan Yue would say something, but he waited for too long without any result. He sighed, gave up on guessing Yan Yue¡¯s thoughts and continued, ¡°Your father has 35% of the shares in Hopewell, and Qinn and I have a total of 35%, of which 15% are under Qinn¡¯s name. I said that both my 20% and Qinn¡¯s 15% should be yours. No one can take them away from you. Xiao Ya has done something wrong, she should take the responsibility for what she has done. She can¡¯t take what is yours, Ah Yue.¡± Thest few sentences Yin Yongde said were categorical. He said directly, ¡°I have already found awyer to transfer all the shares in my name and Qinn¡¯s name to you, Ah Yue. Ah Yue, you can just sign itter.¡± When he heard this, a look of surprise appeared on Yan Yue¡¯s face for the first time. In fact, beforeing here Yan Yue had envisaged what Grandpa would say to him, and the matter of Yin Ya was a topic they couldn¡¯t avoid. Of course, Grandpa had to make a choice, and it was obvious that between him and Yin Ya, Yin Yongde would have to give up one of them. Whether it was him or Yin Ya, Yan Yue had already prepared himself. What surprised him was not that Grandpa had chosen him, but that Grandpa¡¯s behaviour was less ambiguous than ever before and even a little too straightforward. Noticing the look on Yan Yue¡¯s face, Yin Yongde¡¯s expression becameplicated. He looked at Yan Yue with a bitter smile as he said in a low voice. ¡°Ah Yue, your grandmother died early, and I only have one daughter by my side, Qinn, and I have spoiled her. She has been arrogant and capricious since she was a child. She didn¡¯t know how to take care of other people¡¯s emotions since she was young, and she grew up smoothly all the way. When she and Shihui fell outter, I felt sorry for her and inevitably indulged her a little more. She found that man and gave birth to Xiao Ya, and she didn¡¯t do her motherly duty to you. I saw all this, but I was too soft-hearted to do anything about her. Over the years Qinn has grown older, but her temper is still the same as when she was young. I can protect her while I am alive, but what if I am gone? What will happen to your mother since that man is so unreliable?¡± In the past, Yin Yongde felt that no matter what, Yan Yue was Qinn¡¯s son and there was no overnight hatred between mother and son. What¡¯s more, he firmly believed that Ah Yue would inherit Hopewell. At that time, Qinn would hold 15% of the shares in her hands, and Ah Yue would take good care of Qinn in both public and private. But he never expected that what Ah Yue wanted was not to inherit Hopewell but to destroy Hopewell. Without Hopewell tying Ah Yue, relying only on the shallow mother-child rtionship between him and Qinn, and Qinn having that kind of temperament, it was hard to say how much Ah Yue would protect Qinn. Yin Yongde knew in his own heart that things had gotten out of hand and that the only person both Qinn and Xiao Ya could rely on in the future was Ah Yue. If he took a step back now, it would be for the good of Qinn and Xiao Ya in the long run. As long as Ah Yue took over the 35% shares, he would have to protect Qinn in the future. As long as Qinn was well off, Xiao Ya wouldn¡¯t have to bear any major grievances. As the thought passed through his mind, a hint of imperceptible pleading appeared in Yin Yongde¡¯s tone, ¡°Ah Yue?¡± Yan Yue was silent for a moment and said, ¡°I will set up a fund for Mother, enough to feed and clothe her. As for the beneficiaries of the fund in the future, Mother will designate them herself.¡± By saying this, he was clearly agreeing to Yin Yongde¡¯s arrangement. Yin Yongde let out a sigh of relief and smiled openly for the first time in days. It took only a few minutes for the two men to talk and sign the agreement. Thewyer had been waiting in the next room, and Yin Yongde had even found a notary. After everything was done, Yan Yue was ready to leave. Yin Yongde called out to him before he walked out, ¡°Ah Yue¡­ I heard you have someone you like?¡± Yan Yue nodded, not meaning to hide it. Yin Yongde smiled reluctantly, ¡°He¡¯s called Lu Lingxi, isn¡¯t he¡­ You should bring him home sometime so that Grandpa can meet him.¡± Yan Yue paused and nodded, ¡°Okay.¡± As soon as Yan Yue walked out, Yin Yongde leaned back in his chair with a bitter smile. It was all the evil done by Qinn and Shihui. If it wasn¡¯t for the influence of his parents, how could Ah Yue be reluctant to start a family and fall for a man? If it was in the past, Yin Yongde could still take charge, but now¡­ would Ah Yue listen to him? Yan Yue, who walked out of the study, didn¡¯t care what Grandpa thought. He never felt that the family would be an obstacle between him and Xiao Xi. He hadn¡¯t thought so before, and he didn¡¯t think so now. He didn¡¯t leave immediately, but turned in the direction of the third floor. Although Grandpa didn¡¯t say it clearly just now, he hoped that Yan Yue would see his mother. Yan Yue understood what Grandpa meant, and Yin Qinn was his mother anyway. He would ensure that his mother had no worries about food and clothing as his grandfather wished, but that was all. At the door of the room on the third floor, Yan Yue didn¡¯t reach out to knock. The sounds of heavy objects crashing on the floor, interspersed with his mother¡¯s angry curses, continued toe from behind the door. Yan Yue was silent for a moment, then turned and left. ¡°Hey, An Jie?¡± After leaving the Yin family mansion, Yan Yue contacted An Jie as soon as possible. ¡°Boss, something happened?¡± ¡°Contact Chen Xiuyuan for me, I want to sell my shares of Hopewell.¡± Chapter 164 Without alerting anyone, Yan Yue sold all the 35% of shares of Hopewell that he had. The buyer, Chen Xiuyuan, was the thirdrgest shareholder of Hopewell after the Yan and Yin families. He already held 10% of the shares and with the 35% transferred by Yan Yue, he surpassed Yan Shihui and became thergest shareholder of Hopewell. The negotiations between Yan Yue and Chen Xiuyuan took less than a week. It was only when the dust had settled that Yan Shihui and Yin Yongde reacted. This move by Yan Yue shook not only the whole of Hopewell, but also the whole of Zhongjing. When Ye Kang¡¯s grandfather found out about the incident, he made a special call to ask Ye Kang if he had known about it in advance. Ye Kang said righteously that he didn¡¯t know and that Yan Yue had kept him in the dark as well. Elder Ye snorted. He didn¡¯t say whether he believed it or didn¡¯t believe it, but before he hung up, he casually mentioned, ¡°Ah Yue is a ruthless man.¡± Ye Kang was also concerned about it. The negotiations between Yan Yue and Chen Xiuyuan were arranged by An Jie, but in fact Ye Kang did know about it from beginning to end. At first, Ye Kang was shocked by Yan Yue¡¯s behaviour. He knew that with these 35% shares, Yan Yue would be able to enter Hopewell strongly andpete with Yan Shihui. In a few years¡¯ time, when Yan Yue had established a firm foothold in Hopewell, it would be difficult for Yan Shihui to strike a bnce. Once Yan Shihui was old enough to retire, Hopewell would be Yan Yue¡¯s domain. So how could Yan Yue be willing to sell his shares? Of course, Ye Kang could also understand these actions from Yan Yue¡¯s perspective. Yan Yue had no desire to inherit Hopewell; his own business was doing well, so instead of returning to Hopewell to fight with Yan Shihui, he could support Chen Xiuyuan to trample down the Yan family¡¯s power in Hopewell. In particr, Ye Kang knew that Yan Shihui had always regarded Hopewell as his belongings. Now that Yan Yue had stepped out, Hopewell had changed from Hopewell of the Yan and Yin family to Hopewell of the Chen family, which, from Yan Yue¡¯s point of view,k couldn¡¯t be better. Yan Yue didn¡¯t ask what Ye Kang thought. He was now waiting for his father and grandfather¡¯s reaction. The first to contact him was Grandpa. On the phone, Yin Yongde was silent for a long time and only said, ¡°Ah Yue, it¡¯s good if you don¡¯t regret it.¡± Yan Yue never felt that he would regret this decision, but there was no need to say these words now. Realising that Grandpa had no intention of continuing to talk about Hopewell, Yan Yue took the initiative to say, ¡°I have arranged for An Jie to prepare the fund with the money from the sale of the shares, and when the fund is sessfully set up, the relevant documents will be sent to Mother.¡± ¡°Just take care of those things, Ah Yue.¡± Yin Yongde didn¡¯t know if he was relieved or not as he sighed, ¡°Ah Yue, I¡¯m already old and won¡¯t worry about the unnecessary things anymore. After all these years of hard work it¡¯s time to raise flowers and nts and spend my old age in peace.¡± In this way, Yin Yongde assured Yan Yue that he wouldn¡¯t interfere in Yan Yue¡¯s affairs. Yan Yue paused and said, ¡°I see, thank you, Grandpa.¡± As promised, Yin Yongde didn¡¯t make any statement about Yan Yue¡¯s sale of Hopewell¡¯s shares, and not only did he live in deep seclusion himself, he also took Yin Qinn with him to prevent Yin Qinn from talking nonsense outside. Since then, Yin Ya stayed behind bars, Yin Yongde and Yin Qinn disappeared from the social scene in Zhongjing and the influence of the Yin family was quickly eliminated. When people couldn¡¯t dig up the news about the Yin family, all their attention was focused on the Yan family. Surprisingly, however, the Yan family didn¡¯t make any statement about it either, except that those who were interested noticed Yan Shihui¡¯s low-key hospitalisation and Yan Hai¡¯s mouring on private asions to expel Yan Yue from the Yan family. As long as Yan Shihui and Yin Qinn didn¡¯t divorce, Yan Yue would be the rightful heir to the Yan family. Yan Hai, an illegitimate son of Yan Shihui, was simply making a joke of himself. Yan Yue didn¡¯t care at all about Yan Hai¡¯s mour. He didn¡¯t care what his father¡¯s reaction would be either. His attention was all on another matter. In the middle of June, the explosive news spread in Fengcheng. Previously, people meeting would say ¡°Have you eaten?¡±, ¡°How¡¯s the shopping?¡±, ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± Now the greetings of all shapes and sizes were unified into ¡°Have you heard?¡± Almost everyone who was asked answered ¡°Yes¡±. Some others looked even more mysterious, ncing around and whispering, ¡°Not only have I heard, I¡¯ve seen it, my neighbour¡¯s son canmunicate with their dog, I¡¯ve seen it with my own eyes.¡± ¡°So can my ssmate¡­¡± ¡°My cousin¡­¡± ¡°My colleague¡­¡± Various forums were abuzz with spection about human-animalmunication. Everyone popped up with countless ¡°my ssmate¡±, ¡°my cousin¡±, ¡°my colleague¡±, ¡°my neighbour¡± but no one dared toe forward and say ¡°me¡±. Everyone was waiting for the government to take a stand on the matter. s As the scope of the soil purification in Fengcheng grew, the natural environment of the city changed dramatically. As a result of this subtle change, more and more people found that their health was getting better, their legs were getting nimbler and their minds were bing more active. It used to take a long time to learn something, but now they could learn it quickly. But this was not enough to surprise people; after all, the changes were gradual and little by little, and even when some people noticed them, they didn¡¯t pay much attention to them. But human-animalmunication was different; the change was tangible and visible. Starting from the first person who discovered that they couldmunicate with animals, there were slowly the second, the third¡­ more and more people discovered that they had this amazing ability. Most of the people who got this ability were very low profile; only a few of them unted it in a high-profile manner, and they were invariably invited to cooperate with the investigation by the expert team that was stationed in Fengcheng. Originally, whether high-profile or low-profile, the relevant news was still suppressed without revealing even a hint. But just recently, the contents of the expert group¡¯s investigation suddenly spread throughout Fengcheng with wildfire-like speed. Although they had called the major TV stations, newspapers and the inte to suppress this news, some websites with servers abroad were beyond their control. Overnight, rumours about evolution, about human-animalmunication were like a stone dropped into water, causing countless ripples in Fengcheng. ¡°What do you all say, how can this matter be handled?¡± In the Fengcheng City Government, the experts in charge of investigating the matter of human-animalmunication gathered together. The leader of the group, Zhu Xiaowei, ced the information he had collected on the table and looked at the people around him. He knew that everyone here was an expert in various professions, and any one of them would be a big name outside, so he should have been more polite in his tone. But now the situation was urgent, and he really couldn¡¯t care less. From mid-April, when the expert team moved to Fengcheng, to mid-June now, in nearly two months, they had secretly investigated arge number of instances of human-animalmunication. If one was a coincidence, two were exceptional, then with all the examples in front of them, they had to admit that this was not a coincidence, but the evolution of a group of people. Although some of them were initially ufortable with the idea of ¡°evolution¡±, after much research, even the most conservative and stubborn experts epted the idea of evolution. ording to statistics, since the beginning of the year, the poption of Fengcheng improved its physical fitness by an average of 20%, generally reaching the level of good athletes. The team of experts researched all the schools, colleges, universities and enterprises in Fengcheng, and then referred to the hospital attendance data to reach this startling conclusion. They found that Fengcheng¡¯s residents had be smarter, stronger and even more positive and kind in character. In the past year, the crime rate in Fengcheng had decreased by 35%pared to the past, and people were showing a more confident and positive attitude towards the outside world. For experts, physical evolution was only part of the story, but what was even more incredible was the ability of people and animals tomunicate. This ability tomunicate with animals, like a legendary ¡°genie¡±, had been given to humans and had opened up many possibilities for future development. s Whether it was the evolution of the body or magical abilities, the experts agreed that this evolution was linked to the changes in the environment of Fengcheng, or even that the changes in the environment of Fengcheng were the direct cause of the evolution. What the expert group wanted to explore was why these changes had urred in Fengcheng. Was there something special about Fengcheng? Could these changes be extended to the whole country? If it could be extended to the whole country, what were the conditions required? Was it possible for all people to evolve? There were too many questions that needed answers, but finding answers in just two months was an impossible task. While the group of experts was working intensively on the investigation, there was also disagreement about whether the story should be made public. Some experts were conservative, believing that releasing the news would cause social unrest. How could evolved and unevolved people live in harmony? It would be better to wait until the experts found the cause of evolution before announcing it, so that everyone would have hope to evolve and it wouldn¡¯t cause too much psychological imbnce. Another part of the experts believes that as the number of evolved people grew, the whole thing simply couldn¡¯t be kept under wraps. Instead of waiting for the people¡¯s imagination to run wild, it would be better to give it a proper official lead. Neither side could convince the other, but the overall trend was towards the conservative side gaining the upper hand. After voting again and again andmunicating with the authorities, the group decided to suppress the news. It was also decided to dispel the rumours that had been floating around in society about human-animalmunication, arguing that the so-called ability tomunicate with animals was simply a conditioned reflex that had developed over time through pet ownership. But just as they were about to dispel the rumours, the news suddenly leaked and the group had to face the current problem. Should they firmly deny the story, or should they go along with it and make public what they had investigated so far? After Zhu Xiaowei asked, the deputy leader of the group was the first to take a stand, ¡°There¡¯s no point in keeping things under wraps now. On the contrary, it will cause bad publicity. It¡¯s better to just go public.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s better to wait a bit.¡± Another expert countered, ¡°We can see how the situation outside develops first, and choose the direction after we get a feel for the news.¡± His opinion represented the majority of people, who subconsciously still wanted a conservative and low-key solution to the matter. The expert group remained quiet and the authorities didn¡¯t give any exnation. After two days of chaos and confusion, there was a sudden frenzy of pet adoptions. No one knew who had this idea first but after looking at several colleagues around him who had acquired the ability, the person found that all of them were nature lovers and animal lovers, usually friendly and caring towards people, and would often feed stray dogs, cats and so on. And coincidentally, the animals theymunicated with were all abandoned stray animals. These animals were more intelligent and easier tomunicate with. With this news, the stray animal problem that had gued Fengcheng for years was immediately solved. There was no need for s to promote the behaviour of ¡±don¡¯t abandon, don¡¯t give up¡±, and no one would ever abandon unwanted pets in Fengcheng. Existing stray animals had also been adopted one after another and were properly taken care of. Hot on the heels of this rumour was another rumour that pets kept at home for long periods of time also tended tomunicate with their owners. For this reason, the Fengcheng pet market was almost overwhelmed by the crowds, and the demand for all kinds of pets greatly exceeded the supply. Chapter 165 The pet craze in Fengcheng had not yet faded when there was a wave of tourism. Although the mainstream media in China had suppressed reports on the changes in Fengcheng, people on business trips, tourists, those who had inadvertently passed through Fengcheng and those who were inextricably rted to the residents of Fengcheng had all learned about the changes in Fengcheng from various sources. One passed to ten, ten passed to hundred. The rumour mill was full of gossip. Some said that Fengcheng City had been transformed by alien technology, others said that Fengcheng City was a mythical holy ce of cultivation¡­. No matter how ridiculous the rumours were, the core content inescapably was the improvement of the human body caused by the environmental changes in Fengcheng. For this reason, waves of people flocked to Fengcheng to see this legendary city for themselves. Peng Jing was one of the first visitors to arrive in Fengcheng. Two years ago, Peng Jing graduated from the University of Science and Technology in Fengcheng and returned to her hometown. Although she had left Fengcheng, her four-year university career still made her feel a strong affection for the city. Of course, no matter how her memory embellished it, Peng Jing remembered that the sky in Fengcheng was always grey, the water was ck and the air was full of floating dust. In spring, summer, autumn and winter, there was dirt everywhere when the wind blew, and there was no way to avoid it. The professor at the university told her that this was a pain of a heavy industrial city that couldn¡¯t be avoided, and that unless the industry was transformed, the environment would only continue to deteriorate. For this reason, Peng Jing gave up the opportunity to stay at the university after graduation and returned home to be a junior high school teacher. She thought the environment in Fengcheng would always be like this, but since the beginning of spring this year, it seemed that everything had changed. Peng Jing found that many of her ssmates who stayed in Fengcheng had suddenly taken up a new hobby ¨C the hobby of taking photos of themselves. The photos they took were of their neighbourhoods, their workces, or just a casual shot on the road. In all of them, the sky was as blue as if it was washed, and there was always rich and vibrant vegetation in the corners of the photo. Peng Jing heard her friend Keke, who stayed at the university, say excitedly that Fengcheng was now a very different ce from before. The sky was blue, the water was clear, there were all kinds of green nts everywhere you looked, and the whole city was like arge botanical garden. Keke¡¯s descriptions attracted Peng Jing, especially coupled with the mysterious evolutionary abilities Keke mentioned. Peng Jing immediately bought a ticket to Fengcheng, intending toe and experience everything Keke had told her about. From the moment she left the airport, Peng Jing felt that her eyes were not enough to see. The flowers and nts outside were clearly more appealing to women than to men and the camera in Peng Jing¡¯s hand didn¡¯t stop clicking on the way. She felt that she no longer knew this city at all, the city surrounded by greenery. The taxi driver treated Peng Jing as if she was a first-time visitor to Fengcheng and exined everything to her with enthusiasm all the way. Peng Jing listened with a smile on her face, and a sense of pride welled up in her heart. Half an hourter the driver dropped Peng Jing off at the entrance of the University of Science and Technology, and charged her two yuan less. ¡°It¡¯s not easy for a young girl to go out, just round it down to zero.¡± ¡°Thank you, mister.¡± s Peng Jing said goodbye to the driver, and when she turned her head, she heard her best friend Keke¡¯s greeting. ¡°Peng Jing¡¯s here!¡± Peng Jing ran over happily. Keke was standing in front of the school in a green dress, waving to her and holding a ginger kitten in her arms. ¡°So cute.¡± Peng Jing saw the kitten at a nce. She cautiously stroked the kitten and asked excitedly, ¡°Keke, can youmunicate with it? Is it that mysterious ability you told me about on the phone?¡± Keke puffed out augh and shook her head, ¡°Her name is Naiyou (Cream) and I just got her. You remember, right? There used to be a stray big ginger cat behind our dormitory, and Naiyou is the child of the big ginger cat. A few days ago, the cat was adopted by the head of our department, and I had a hard time snatching up Naiyou. Naiyou and I are still at the stage of getting to know each other, and we haven¡¯t developed that kind of ability yet. But it doesn¡¯t really matter if we get the ability. You see how cute Naiyou is. I was honestly hoping for that kind of ability at first, but after a few days of raising her I really like her, so it doesn¡¯t matter if we have it or not.¡± Keke nudged the little kitten¡¯s nose and said affectionately, ¡°Naiyou, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Naiyou: Meow~ Peng Jing looked at the little kitten¡¯s well-behaved appearance and her heart simply melted. Keke took her arm, ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll take you to the university to take a stroll and see the new appearance of our school.¡± ¡°What¡¯s new about it?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out when you go.¡± Keke decided to keep listeners in suspense. Fengcheng University of Science and Technology had been green before, and now the environment was better than ever. Peng Jing looked around all the way; teaching buildings, office buildings, dormitory buildings, ygrounds, almost everywhere her eyes could see was covered with lush greenery. Keke said, ¡°Everywhere you go now is green and the ssrooms are cool. We haven¡¯t turned on the air conditioning at all this year, and the logistics director is overjoyed to save a huge amount of money on electricity.¡± Peng Jing smiled and took a deep breath, enthralled, ¡°The air is so beautiful.¡± Keke nodded, ¡°Now that the air is better, there are more students doing morning exercises. There are hardly anyte sleepers, everyone rises early and either works out in the yground or runs around the school, living a healthy life. Attendance in the first period has really improved.¡± The two of them were walking and talking when they heard a chirping sound above their heads. Peng Jing subconsciously looked up and opened her mouth wide in surprise. Above their heads, arge flock of birds circled and flew past, disappearing in the grove ahead. Peng Jing could see clearly that the flock just now consisted of different birds. Some of the birds she didn¡¯t recognise but there were also parrots, starlings, magpies and others. It seemed that, roughly estimated, there were thousands of them. ¡°Here we are.¡± s Keke pulled Peng Jing around the rockery, directly towards the grove. In front of the grove, Elder Xie, the head of the school¡¯s maths department, wasughing, talking to a parrot that was perched on his shoulder, ¡°Xiao Li, take the group to fly once more.¡± The parrot known as Xiao Li pecked at Elder Xie¡¯s ear and with a clear chirp, the flock of birds in the grove followed, circling Elder Xie in the air and flying back into the woods. Peng Jing was simply stunned. Keke smiled and said, ¡°How¡¯s that? Elder Xie is now a new spectacle in our school. Every day when he doesn¡¯t have ss, hees here to entertain the birds. He is happy and everyone is happy to watch him. Don¡¯t look at the many birds there, they all have owners. Even a few humble little sparrows have been imed by the first-year students. I don¡¯t know how they can tell the difference. Every day at noon, they make a special effort toe and feed the birds carrying little cups marked Sparrow One, Sparrow Two and so on.¡± Peng Jing imagined this scene and couldn¡¯t stopughing for a long time. She looked around with emotion, ¡°It¡¯s only been two years since I graduated, and everything has changed so much. How do you think it all happened?¡± Keke stroked Naiyou in her arms and said seriously, ¡°I don¡¯t know how it all happened, but I love the change. It¡¯s not about the rumours of evolution and abilities out there; just this environment is enough to make me thankful for it all. I wish I could do my best to protect the environment now and not let it be ruined once again at the hands of our generation.¡± Keke¡¯s thoughts were also those of most of Fengcheng¡¯s residents. The social unrest that the expert group had feared didn¡¯t happen, and no conflict had risen between evolved and unevolved people. As for the ability of people tomunicate with animals, people who didn¡¯t have it just had an envious attitude and looked forward to having it one day in the future. Compared with this ability, everyone was more concerned about the environment of Fengcheng. Everyone understood that whether it was evolution or ability, the improvement of the environment was the prerequisite for everything. Everyone spontaneously and voluntarily began to protect the environment around them. Without the supervision of the environmental protection department, all the small steel mills in the suburbs that had substandard emissions stopped working. The owners and employees of these mills were also the beneficiaries of the environmental changes in Fengcheng, and they enjoyed the benefits of this change in a tangible way. Some of them were already nning to shut down their mills and open farmhouses. ording to the magical changes in Fengcheng, it would inevitably be a tourist destination for the whole country and even the whole world. While everything was flourishing in Fengcheng, the busiest and most chaotic party of the city was the police. Because of the influx of tourists, the police in Fengcheng had to suspend all their holidays and go on duty to maintain order. As a heavy industrial city, Fengcheng had no previous experience of receivingrge numbers of tourists. It was only after the first few days of confusion that everyone slowly got used to it. A few dayster Yan Yue received a call from Fang Lei. ¡°Yan Yue, I¡¯ve really been screwed by you.¡± Fang Lei scolded Yan Yue while holding the phone between his shoulder and his ear and frying small fish for Xiaohui in a pan. After a week of working overtime and being on call 24 hours a day and unable to leave the station, Fang Lei finally managed to get a day off and was able to go home to see Xiaohui, Master Cat. As expected, Xiaohui scratched him twice as soon as he saw him, in retaliation for being left behind for a week. Fang Lei held Xiaohui and coaxed him for a long time. Not even bothering to take a shower, he first hurriedly gave Xiaohui a bath and then started to fry him some fish to eat. Now in the gap of frying fish, Fang Lei finally caught Yan Yue to scold him a bit. ¡°Where have I screwed you?¡± Yan Yue decisively refused to admit anything. He smiled as he listened to Fang Lei¡¯sints and changed the topic, ¡°I heard that because of the influx of tourists, Fengcheng has started nning to strictly check temporary residence permits and limit the length of stay of tourists. Have you received any news?¡± Fang Lei gloated a little, ¡°Yan Yue, you don¡¯t have a Fengcheng household registration yet, do you?¡± In the foreseeable future, the Fengcheng household registration would be a much more valuable existence than the Zhongjing household registration. Yan Yue chuckled, ¡°It was inconvenient before, but now it¡¯s just the right time to move my household registration over and transfer it with Xiao Xi.¡± ¡°Then you have to hurry up, I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be easy after a while. The temporary residence permit is sure to be checked in the future. As for the tourists¡¯ stay time, this has not been decided. The tops pressed down the proposal, I guess, afraid of tourists making a fuss.¡± Of course, if there were still so many tourists, the authorities would eventually ruthlessly limit the length of stay, otherwise Fengcheng would definitely not be able to bear it. Let¡¯s just say that there was no ce to stay in Fengcheng now, every hotel and rented apartment were full, so any more people would really have to set up tents on the streets. Fang Lei had a headache just thinking about this scenario. It would be them, the police, who would be suffering. As the thought shed through his mind, he gritted his teeth again. This time he was really screwed by Yan Yue. Yan Yue listened to the sound of Fang Lei gritting his teeth and hung up the phone with a smile. To be honest, it was a bit risky for him to release the expert group¡¯s investigation information, but it was really the best way to muddy the waters. If he let the expert group suppress the matter and slowly investigate it in secret, he couldn¡¯t help but worry that Xiao Xi¡¯s identity would be exposed. Although he had already made quite a few arrangements sincest year, it was better to disrupt the pace of the expert group to be safe. Now that the nation¡¯s attention was focused on Fengcheng, the expert group was no longer as leisurely as before and had to find a reason for the change in Fengcheng as soon as possible. And Yan Yue had already prepared that reason for them. Chapter 166 The tourism boom in Fengcheng continued, but after the initial days of excitement, the people of Fengcheng could already look at the events around them calmly. Take Wang Shuxiu as an example; she no longer listened to Dahei¡¯s every bark, asking Lu Lingxi what it meant. Lu Lingxi and Dahei let out a sigh of relief at the same time. Yan Yue looked amused and discussed it with Lu Lingxi, ¡°Does Xiao Xi want to go back to Zhongjing with me?¡± Lu Lingxi thought about it for a while and nodded. Although he had grown up in Zhongjing, he was not familiar with it, so it would be good to go back and have a look. After his recent experiences, Yan Yue now wanted to tie Lu Lingxi to his waist and take him along wherever he went. When he heard that Lu Lingxi was willing to go to Zhongjing, he reached out and took Lu Lingxi into his arms, kissed him on the ear and rested his chin on Lu Lingxi¡¯s shoulder, saying, ¡°Although the environment in Zhongjing is not as good as that in Fengcheng, some tourist attractions are still good, so we can go and have a look.¡± ¡°Can we go climb Hongye Mountain?¡± Lu Lingxi suddenly asked. Yan Yue smiled, ¡°Of course.¡± Lu Lingxi grabbed Yan Yue¡¯s hand and said, ¡°I¡¯ve never been anywhere in Zhongjing since I was a kid. The only time I could go on a trip was when the school arranged a spring trip for us in the third grade, and the destination at that time was Hongye Mountain. But on the first day of the spring trip I had an ident and missed the event. Then¡­ I stayed home and never went out again.¡± Now when it came to the past, Lu Lingxi no longer had any psychological barriers. He had made up his mind to say goodbye to the past once and for all, and wouldn¡¯t have anything to do with the Lu family again. However, Lu Lingxi felt a bit weird. The Lu family had even sent Lu Yishui to make him acknowledge them, but he had only met Lu Yishui once and never seen him again, and there was no news from the Lu family either. It was so strange. When he was quiet and didn¡¯t say anything, Yan Yue reached out and covered his hand, softly saying, ¡°Then let¡¯s go and climb Hongye Mountain a few times.¡± Lu Lingxi curved his eyes, ¡°Climbing once is enough. By the way¡­¡± he looked at Yan Yue curiously, ¡°Big Brother Yan, do you think it¡¯s strange that it¡¯s been almost a month and neither the Lu family nor Lu¡­ Dad has reappeared? ¡° ¡°Lu Yishui?¡± Yan Yue¡¯s tone was subtly odd but Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t notice it. Yan Yue¡¯s arms tightened, ¡°Probably the Lu family has something else tripping them up right now.¡± A few days ago, the Lu family in Zhongjing Lu Yishui stood in front of Lu Hengchuan, shrinking his neck and with his head drooping. Lu Hengchuan looked at him fiercely, his face grim, feeling his breath stuck in his throat, suffocating him unbearably. In all these years, the Lu family had never been so humiliated. It was simply a disgrace. A month ago, Lu Yishui had patted his chest and promised that he could bring Lu Lingxi back to the Lu family. What happened? Instead, they received the news that Lu Yishui had secretly run away to Aogang Casino to gamble without his assistant¡¯s knowledge and lost 100 million yuan and was detained there. The Lu family originally didn¡¯t want to take the me for Lu Yishui, but they couldn¡¯t resist the shamelessness of Lu Yishui, who pretended to be crazy and shouted everywhere that Lu Hengchuan was his father and had just recognised him back to the Lu family. Everyone in the entire Aogang Casino, including the guests, knew about it now. By word of mouth, the whole city of Zhongjing was watching the Lu family as a joke. Lu Hengchuan was furious, but he couldn¡¯t help but swallow the bitter pill of Lu Yishui and pay back the money he owed. Just thinking about it made Lu Hengchuan feel sick to his stomach. One hundred million happened to be all the cash that Lu Group could draw out right now. The Lu family had already been hurt by the involvement with Hopewell, and now it was even worse as there was no telling when the money chain would break. Lu Hengchuan didn¡¯t believe that this was a coincidence at all. He suspected that someone was deliberately targeting the Lu family. ¡°How dare youe back!¡± Lu Hengchuan shouted angrily. Lu Yishui smiled apologetically, ¡°Dad, I¡­ you¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Lu Hengchuan yelled, ¡°You actually used the Lu family¡¯s name to gamble, you! You¡­¡± Lu Yishui argued in a small voice, ¡°I was originally your son, it doesn¡¯t count as borrowing the name of the Lu family, right? Besides, when Dad passes away one day, won¡¯t I still have a share of the inheritance? It will be worth hundreds of millions. Think of it as spending it on me in advance now, and give me less when the timees. I promise I won¡¯t fight with my brothers.¡± He said it shamelessly, and Lu Hengchuan¡¯s face turned red with anger, ¡°Get lost!¡± After one sentence, Lu Hengchuan clutched his heart and copsed softly. s The news of Lu Hengchuan¡¯s hospitalisation was suppressed carefully. The Lu family¡¯s stock had fallen very hard due to the impact of Hopewell. Now the most important thing was to seek stability and not to have any more bad news break out. If the news of the hospitalisation of the Lu family¡¯s patriarch, Elder Lu, was to break out at this juncture, investors¡¯ confidence would be dented and the Lu family¡¯s shares would suffer another round of plummeting. The Lu family had kept the news under wraps, and Lu Hengchuan even wanted to send Lu Yishui back to Fengcheng, so that he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about him. However, Lu Yishui was afraid that if Lu Hengchuan suddenly died, he wouldn¡¯t be able toe back in time to divide the inheritance, so he refused to leave and insisted on staying by Lu Hengchuan¡¯s side to serve him. Lu Hengchuan was disgusted by his own son and was afraid to let him go out and say anything, so he had to keep him by his side. He couldn¡¯t care about Lu Lingxi¡¯s affairs in Fengcheng anymore. Of course, the news of Lu Hengchuan¡¯s hospitalisation could be concealed from others, but not from the Ye family. The Ye family in turn told Yan Yue about it. Yan Yue didn¡¯t expect Lu Yishui¡¯s killing power to be so great, and was as relieved as he was surprised. The sins that Elder Lu hadmitted when he was young had to be repaid now when the time came. These things Yan Yue didn¡¯t intend to tell Lu Lingxi. He always remembered his wish when he first met Lu Lingxi, his hope to protect Lu Lingxi in his arms and never let him know the dark side behind the scenes. He especially didn¡¯t want Lu Lingxi to know these rotten things about the Lu family. After taking care of some matters in Fengcheng, Yan Yue took Lu Lingxi to Zhongjing. Of course, Dahei was definitely going toe along, apanied by Ye Kang and Erha the demolition expert. After getting used to the environment of Fengcheng, when they returned to Zhongjing, they felt a bit ufortable. Ye Kang joked, ¡°It¡¯s easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality. Although it¡¯s about the environment, that¡¯s also true. I wonder if the change in Fengcheng is a special case, or can it be replicated throughout the country?¡± Lu Lingxi was an expert on this issue, and he said with certainty, ¡°It can be replicated all over the country.¡± ¡°Xiao Xi is so sure?¡± Ye Kang teased casually. Lu Lingxi was startled, but Yan Yue had already rified for him, ¡°Fengcheng didn¡¯t start out like this. First it was a few ces in the city, and onlyter did it expand to the whole city.¡± He finished, rubbing Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair, and Lu Lingxi obediently lowered his head and stopped talking. Yan Yue was much more cautious than Lu Lingxi when it came to the panel and Lu Lingxi¡¯s identity. Although Ye Kang was his trusted friend, Yan Yue had no intention of telling Ye Kang either. Ye Kang didn¡¯t hear anything suspicious and said with interest, ¡°Then at the speed of Fengcheng¡¯s expansion, it will take a few years until the changes reach Zhongjing, right?¡± Behind Ye Kang¡¯s back, Lu Lingxi secretly made a ¡°four¡± gesture. Yan Yue chuckled and reached out to pinch Lu Lingxi¡¯s face. The two of them had actually discussed this issue. ording to the expansion rate of Fengcheng¡¯s soil purification, it would take four years to expand from Fengcheng to Zhongjing. But if several purification points were formed in Zhongjing and both sides expanded together, the time could bepletelypressed to two years. Lu Lingxi still had four points of power of nature and he had agreed with Yan Yue that he would use all four points when he came to Zhongjing this time, to speed up the purification on the Zhongjing side. Of course, the ecologicalmunities formed by evolved nts were more effective, but it would easily reveal Lu Lingxi¡¯s identity. Until there was a suitable excuse, Yan Yue wouldn¡¯t allow Lu Lingxi to do so. They quickly settled down in the Yan family mansion. It was simple; Lu Lingxi was going to stay with Yan Yue and Ye Kang did not want to go back to the Ye family, so he said hello to the old man and stayed here, as there was a room for him to stay in anyway. The only two who needed to be worried about were Dahei and Erha. Dahei was fine, he had always been obedient and sensible, unlike Erha with his lively nature. Just a short timeter Erha had already gnawed a table leg in the living room like a chicken leg. The housekeeper looked depressed, and the stupid dog was still acting cute with him, covering his eyes with his paws and peeking at his reaction. He looked away speechlessly and Erha actually went around to his other side. Housekeeper: ¡°¡­¡­¡± s Lu Lingxi was afraid that the housekeeper would get angry and secretly called Erha to his side. Erha pounced over with great enthusiasm, and when he was growled at by Dahei, he immediately flopped onto the floor with a wilted look. Lu Lingxi held back hisughter and took them both outside to the small garden. Although it was his first time here, the structure of Yan family¡¯s house was simr to that of the Lu family¡¯s old mansion, and Lu Lingxi found his way to the garden after just thinking a little. Speaking of which, he didn¡¯t like this kind of big house; one would always have a feeling of emptiness when living in it. Especially when he thought that Yan Yue had lived here alone since he was a child, without his family; that must have been even more lonely than he had been in the Lu family. With all sorts of thoughts running through his mind, Lu Lingxi took the two dogs for a walk around the garden. By the time he returned to his original spot, Yan Yue was already standing there waiting for him. ¡°Do you like it here?¡± Lu Lingxi paused and shook his head honestly. ¡°I don¡¯t like it either.¡± Yan Yue took Lu Lingxi¡¯s hand and walked around the small garden, saying as he walked, ¡°My grandfather wished for the family to live together in harmony back then, but it turned out that his wish came true only for a year and then my parents¡¯ rtionship was dered broken. They had separate rtionships outside but couldn¡¯t move out because of my grandfather¡¯s presence and were forced to live together. When my grandfather died, they couldn¡¯t wait to move out and I was the only one who stayed. When I was young, I didn¡¯t know any better and kept this house in the hope that my parents woulde back. Later, I became sensible and when I went to school abroad, I didn¡¯t like it more and more, and I didn¡¯t likeing back.¡± As Lu Lingxi listened, he gripped Yan Yue¡¯s hand hard. Yan Yue smiled and kissed him on the forehead. ¡°Actually the house is fine. Think of the Ye family, arge family would be quite happy living here together.¡± Lu Lingxi thought for a moment, ¡°We¡¯re quite happy now too.¡± Yan Yue was taken aback, and thenughed aloud. Chapter 167 Yan Yue met Yan Shihui the day after he returned to Zhongjing. Without the smoke of spections from the outside world, the expressions of the two people who met were very calm. Yan Shihui looked at Yan Yue deeply for a few moments, as if he didn¡¯t know him. Yan Yue gazed at him openly, letting his father look at him. Now, no matter what Yan Shihui thought, Yan Yue no longer cared. After a long silence, Yan Shihui was the first to speak. ¡°What are you doing back here?¡± Yan Yue slightly hooked the corner of his mouth, ¡°I heard Yan Hai say that he wanted to expel me from the Yan family. I came back to move my household registration out so that my father wouldn¡¯t be embarrassed.¡± His tone was mocking and Yan Shihui endured it, ¡°Are you ming me for being biassed?¡± Yan Yue shook his head unexpectedly, ¡°I thought so when I was a child, butter I felt it didn¡¯t matter.¡± Yan Shihui stared at Yan Yue¡¯s expression, trying to determine what he was really thinking. In the past, Yan Shihui didn¡¯t care what Yan Yue thought, but now that he wanted to know, he could no longer read Yan Yue¡¯s mind. He had the feeling that his authority had been upset, and this was not the first time. From the time Yan Yue stayed in the country without his knowledge to the time he suddenly sold his shares from the Yin family, Yan Shihui was angry. He was angry that he had lost control of Hopewell, but he was even more angry that he had lost control of Yan Yue. From childhood to adulthood, Yan Shihui¡¯s life has been smooth sailing. The only time he failed was his marriage to Yin Qinn. After that, whether it was life or business, he never tasted failure again. Regarding Yan Yue, it was not that no one had warned him. But Yan Shihui was used to controlling everything, and he surely could control his son. What he didn¡¯t expect was that it was the son he felt he could control who gave him a fatal blow. Yan Shihui said in a cold voice: ¡°You sold the shares of the Yin family to Chen Xiuyuan and you don¡¯t have any guilt in your heart? You just watched the foundation your grandfather had worked so hard to build for years destroyed in your own hands?¡± ¡°What is there to feel guilty about?¡± Yan Yue met Yan Shihui¡¯s gaze, his eyes icy, ¡°Father knew full well what Yan Hai¡¯s qualifications were and still thought of putting Hopewell in his hands. Wasn¡¯t this destroying Hopewell? Since Father doesn¡¯t care about my grandfather¡¯s efforts, what do I care about?¡± ¡°After all is said and done, you are still ming me for being biassed.¡± Yan Shihui said angrily. Yan Yue paused and the corners of his mouth rose, ¡°Really not. It¡¯s just that it¡¯s my own business whether I want something or not, and I don¡¯t like it when others snatch it from my hands. Since that¡¯s the case, then why not just leave it to no one?¡± Yan Shihui finally understood what Yan Yue had in mind. ¡°How long have you been nning this?¡± ¡°What about Father? How long has Father been nning?¡± The two men went toe-to-toe, and for the first time Yan Shihui felt as if he had never understood his son clearly. After Yan Yue left Yan Shihui, he met Yan Hai outside. He didn¡¯t even bother to give Yan Hai a nce, treating the other man as if he were air. Yan Hai was furious but he didn¡¯t have the guts to catch up with Yan Yue and say something. Apart from daring to shout a few words behind his back, he was used to being as meek as a quail in front of Yan Yue. Looking at Yan Yue¡¯s back from a distance, Yan Hai wondered why he suddenly thought of Yin Ya. Once Yin Ya hadughed at hisck of courage in front of Yan Yue, but what happened? Yin Ya was so arrogant, and now she was put in jail by Yan Yue and couldn¡¯t get out. When Yan Hai thought of this, a chill suddenly ran up his back. He shook his head and rushed into the office. When he saw his father, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Dad, what¡¯s Yan Yue doing here?¡± Yan Shihui¡¯s attitude towards Yan Hai had cooled down considerably, ¡°Where have you been again?¡± s Yan Hai boasted, ¡°Dad, didn¡¯t you want to go to Fengcheng to getnd? I¡¯ve asked around and found out that there¡¯s a lot of vacantnd in Fengcheng, but it¡¯s all on the outskirts. The onlynd in the city that can be developed is in the south. The infrastructure there is backward and many residents are just waiting for demolition.¡± As word spread about the wonders of Fengcheng, along with the tourism boom, there was also an investment boom. Of all the various investments, real estate was clearly the most lucrative. Manypanies in Zhongjing were already nning to go to Fengcheng to acquirend, and Hopewell was no exception. Yan Shihui valued this opportunity very highly and saw it as a chance to make aeback. Having lost his position as a major shareholder, if he wanted to sit firmly as the chairman, he had to take the shareholders to make money so that he could gain support. Yan Shihui didn¡¯t feelfortable handing over such a big task to Yan Hai. However, Yan Hai was stubborn and very active during this period, using a group of fox friends to snoop around, just to make Yan Shihui look up to him. He said it with aplomb, and Yan Shihui became interested, ¡°The south of the city? The part where the underground is rumoured to be emptied?¡± Yan Hai nodded quickly and immediately exined, ¡°It used to be a matter of the underground being emptied, but who cares about that now. I heard that people and animals can evolve after living in Fengcheng for a long time, and now everyone is rushing to buy houses in Fengcheng. What does it matter if the ground is emptied, just put more cement in the foundation, the cost will definitely be recovered.¡± It was obvious that Yan Hai had put in a lot of effort, and he was right on the money. Yan Shihui had consulted a professional before and the advice he received was to pad the foundation with more cement in the emptied area. Yan Shihui had made up his mind and was ready to go all out for the first development project in the south of the city, so he couldn¡¯t miss this opportunity. There were many people who thought the same way as Yan Shihui. Fengcheng was now a big golden pie, and everyone wanted to take a bite out of it. It had only been two days since Yan Yue had returned and he had heard a number of familiar names ready to enter the real estate sector in Fengcheng. He gave Ye Kang a call, ¡°How¡¯s it going? Did you convince the old man?¡± The Ye family was one of those who were optimistic about the real estate market in Fengcheng. With their strong capital and the natural backing of Ye Cheng, it was foreseeable that if the Ye family made a move, nopany would be able topete with them. Elder Ye returned the favour by inviting Yan Yue to invest with him, but Yan Yue refused. Not only did he refuse, he also advised Ye Kang to convince Elder Ye to abandon the n. Ye Kang was puzzled, but Yan Yue didn¡¯t exin much. Out of his trust in Yan Yue, Ye Kang followed him back to Zhongjing. He had some authority in front of the old man now, so he had to try to convince him to give up the n. When he received the call from Yan Yue, Ye Kang firstined about his grandfather¡¯s stubbornness for a long time before finally saying, ¡°Grandpa has probably loosened up. He values your attitude, and a word from you is much better than a long speech from me. But Ah Yue, why on earth aren¡¯t you optimistic about the development of the Fengcheng property?¡± Yan Yue evaded the question as he always did, ¡°You¡¯ll know when the timees.¡± ¡°Fuck off!¡± Ye Kang was clearly not satisfied with his answer. Yan Yueughed. When it came to his n, Yan Yue had no way to exin it clearly to Ye Kang. There was only one reason why he was not optimistic about Fengcheng¡¯s property development; the underground of Fengcheng was so full of intertwined willow tree roots that there was no way to dig up the soil to build the foundation. Through the white panel, you could see that the roots of the willow trees underground in Fengcheng were all connected together. It was like a woven from the roots, firmly enveloping the ground of Fengcheng. s Of course, unless one had a white panel like Lu Lingxi, no one would know that the underground of Fengcheng was such a peculiar sight. The reason why Yan Yue reminded Ye Kang was that he didn¡¯t want the Ye family to fail in their investment, and he also hoped that the Ye family would give the ¡°opportunity¡± of thend in Nancheng to Hopewell. Yan Yue had received information that Hopewell was very interested in the real estate market in Fengcheng and had collected a lot of information about thend in the south of the city. Thend was indeed the most suitable piece ofnd for development in Fengcheng at the moment. Without thepetition from the Ye family, Hopewell would have a good chance of securing that piece ofnd with all its efforts. This oue was exactly what Yan Yue wanted to see. He didn¡¯t calcte all this simply for Hopewell to lose money, but to draw out the existence of the big willow tree. The longer the expert team stayed in Fengcheng, the more they investigated, the more likely it was that Lu Lingxi¡¯s identity would be revealed. After all, whether it was the anomalies in their residentialmunity, or the anomalies in Lingshui Vige, or the particrity of Tiny Garden¡¯s nts, these traces could always be linked together by the interested parties if they investigated them carefully. If only one of those things was rted to Xiao Xi, it would be fine, but all of them could be linked to Xiao Xi. Although the expert team might not be able to find any evidence as long as Xiao Xi refused to admit it, Yan Yue was still worried that Lu Lingxi would be targeted by the government in the future. If he wanted to rule out Lu Lingxi¡¯s suspicion, he had to find someone or something more suspicious toe out, and the existence of the big willow tree fulfilled the conditions perfectly. The changes in Lingshui Vige, the special nts in Tiny Garden, the beautification of themunity, the changes in the whole of Fengcheng could all be counted on the ¡°tree god¡±, the Big Willow Tree. The root system under Fengcheng City was perfect proof of this, not to mention the fact that these roots were extending in the direction of the north where the big willow tree was located and would soon be connected to the big willow tree¡¯s extended root system. When Yan Yue first took Lu Lingxi around to purify the soil in Fengcheng, he specifically looked for the ces that had willow trees nted, just so that one day they could be linked to the big willow tree, and things were clearly progressing better than he had expected. There were too many twists and turns behind all this, and Yan Yue had no way of exining them clearly, nor did he intend to talk to Ye Kang about them at all. Anyway, when Hopewell started thend development, everyone would know about it. Since Elder Ye¡¯s attitude had already rxed, Yan Yue also put his mind at ease and focused on having fun with Lu Lingxi. The two of them went around almost the whole of Zhongjing, even climbing Hongye Mountain twice. That day Lu Lingxi had a sudden whim and asked Yan Yue if he wanted to go with him to see the ce where he used to go to school. ¡°Primary school?¡± Lu Lingxi nodded shyly; technically he hadn¡¯t graduated from primary school yet. Yan Yue also thought of this and hugged Lu Lingxi, ¡°If Xiao Xi likes to go to school, we can see if there is a suitable school.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I like going to school either.¡± Lu Lingxi shook his head, ¡°In the past, I didn¡¯t have the opportunity to go out, so I hoped I could see the outside world through school. Now I feel that life is quite good and I don¡¯t need to change anything by going to school anymore.¡± He had no memories of this body, but when he talked to Yi Hang, he heard Yi Hangin about having too much homework at school and being scolded by the teacher for not finishing it. Lu Lingxi imagineding home every night to do his homework and thought it was better not to go to school. Yan Yue guessed what Lu Lingxi was thinking and couldn¡¯t help but be amused in his heart. However, he had always indulged Lu Lingxi, and everything was fine as long as Lu Lingxi was happy, so it really didn¡¯t matter if he went to school or not. Chapter 168 Lu Lingxi¡¯s primary school was located in Jing¡¯an District of Zhongjing, and at this time of the summer holidays, there were no students at the school, so it was very quiet. The two of them were stopped at the entrance of the school by the old man who was guarding the door, and Lu Lingxi greeted him, saying that he was a former student here and hade back for a visit. He and Yan Yue looked neat and didn¡¯t seem to be bad people. The old man looked at them warily for a few moments, asked Lu Lingxi¡¯s name again, and let them in. ¡°Thank you, Uncle.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled and thanked him, pulling Yan Yue and running inside in a sh. The old man looked at Lu Lingxi¡¯s smiling face and smiled too, thinking that this child was quite likeable. But this name felt a bit familiar, as if he had heard it before. Where exactly was it? The old man¡¯s memory was failing him. He seriously wrote down the words ¡°Visitor Lu Lingxi¡± on the ckboard at the entrance and went back to his booth to read the newspaper. A few minutester, the headmaster of the school personally delivered Lu Guangjing to the school entrance. Lu Guangjing had approached the school some time ago with the intention of donating an indoor stadium, and the school was very weing of donations, so the headmaster personally apanied Lu Guangjing on several visits to the school. The school was not aware of the Lu family¡¯s affairs; they had only heard vaguely that a child from the Lu family had attended school here eleven years ago but hadter dropped out for health reasons. Now that that child had passed away, the family wanted to do something tomemorate that child. ¡°Mr. Lu, don¡¯t worry about the stadium, I¡¯ll call you when I¡¯ve made arrangements on my side¡­¡± The headmaster suddenly closed his mouth halfway through the sentence. He noticed that Lu Guangjing seemed to have seen something and was staring, deathly pale, at the small ckboard hanging on one side of the wall, looking somewhat lost. The headmaster followed him and saw the words ¡°Visitor Lu Lingxi¡±. He was slightly stunned. Wasn¡¯t this the name of the child who had died in the Lu family? While the headmaster was stunned, Lu Guangjing had already turned to him in a daze and said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯ll leave first.¡± The headmaster wanted to ask what was going on with this Lu Lingxi, but he felt that it was a bit ugly for him to get too curious since Lu Guangjing¡¯s son had passed away. After sending Lu Guangjing away, the headmaster couldn¡¯t hold back and asked the old man at the door who this Lu Lingxi was. The headmaster¡¯s face immediately went white as soon as the old man described the young man. His age matched up, as did his previous experience of going to school here, and it went without saying that he had the same name and surname. In the end, the headmaster was so scared that his legs went weak as he muttered in his heart that he had seen a ghost in the daytime. Meanwhile, Lu Guangjing closed his eyes, feeling that God was reminding him to remember to atone for his sins all the time. In recent times, the name ¡®Lu Lingxi¡¯ sounded very frequently in the Lu family¡¯s old house. Even though Lu Guangjing didn¡¯t live there, he heard rumours in the old house about his father¡¯s other son and grandson. Lu Guangjing didn¡¯t care about business matters. He just asionally thought of the child with the same name as Xiao Xi. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder: if Xiao Xi hadn¡¯t had an ident a year ago, what would he have been like now? Unfortunately, there were no ¡°what ifs¡± in this world. Halfway in the car, Lu Guangjing opened his eyes and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to Li¡¯s house.¡± sThe driver simply took a turn, giving Lu Guangjing a sympathetic look while the man was not paying attention. The servants at home were saying that Mrs. Lu had gone crazy. She was mad at the eldest young master and was now taken away by her parents. The driver thought that if the boy in his family dared to be so unfilial in the future, he¡¯d definitely break his legs. The driver thought he was being stealthy, but his nce was still noticed by Lu Guangjing. Lu Guangjing smiled to himself; the driver was new and didn¡¯t know about the previous affairs of the Lu family. If he knew, he wouldn¡¯t have sympathised with him, but would have scolded him for deserving it. When he arrived at the Li family¡¯s house, Li Caiying¡¯s elder brother, Li Yao, was there. His attitude towards Lu Guangjing was not polite, ¡°What are you doing here? I¡¯ve arranged for awyer to send you a letter. Caiying wants to divorce you, so get ready.¡± Lu Guangjing whispered, ¡°I won¡¯t divorce, it¡¯s my responsibility that Caiying has be what she is now, I¡­¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter now who is responsible,¡± Li Yao interrupted him. ¡°I know my sister well, she has problems with her personality and is too obsessive. Back then when you were having an affair, I advised her to get a divorce, but she insisted on having a child to tie you down. When Wei¡¯an was born prematurely, her spirit was not quite right. When Wei¡¯an became ill, Caiying felt sorry for Wei¡¯an and all her motherly love was given to him. All these years, the Li family only watched Caiying revolve around Wei¡¯an but didn¡¯t realise that her spirit was bing more and more unstable. By the time it broke now, it was already toote.¡± He said that, giving a somewhat mean nce to Lu Guangjing, ¡°Now don¡¯t say that you want to take care of Caiying. To be honest, I don¡¯t trust you. No matter how many mistakes Caiying has made over the years, when she married you, she wanted to have a good life with you. But what about you? I don¡¯t want to talk about what happened back then, but had you paid more attention to Caiying¡¯s emotionster, she wouldn¡¯t have be like this.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to exin.¡± Lai Yao added, ¡°I know you¡¯re sad that Xiao Xi died.¡± He paused and said, ¡°¡­Xiao Xi was a good kid, and now it can be regarded as Caiying¡¯s retribution.¡± Li Yao sighed, and Lu Guangjing¡¯s heart trembled, ¡°Wei¡¯an¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention Wei¡¯an to me.¡± Li Yao coldly averted his eyes, ¡°Caiying wronged Xiao Xi, but she has never wronged Wei¡¯an in the slightest. Since Wei¡¯an feels that his life was worse than death all these years because Caiying¡¯s obsession forced him to live, then the Li family has nothing more to say to him.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°Alright, you can go now.¡± Once again, Li Yao interrupted Lu Guangjing¡¯s words and instructed the housekeeper to send Lu Guangjing out. The Li family no longer wanted to have anything to do with the Lu family. After sending Lu Guangjing away, Li Yao turned and went to Li Caiying¡¯s room. The doctor said that Caiying had just fallen asleep after being sedated. Lai Yao looked at his sister¡¯s pale, thin face and let out a deep sigh. He didn¡¯t know how Caiying had gotten her life into this mess. The elder son she had given her heart and soul to was a white-eyed wolf, and the younger son who was well-behaved and sensible had died early. The man she had held onto all her life was a wimp, and she was paranoid and severely insane in her middle age. If she had known this day woulde, would she have still looked at Lu Guangjing back then and insisted on marrying into the Lu family? There was no one left to give an answer to Li Yao¡¯s question. Lu Guangjing stood at the entrance of the Li family¡¯s house and took onest look, hunched over and got back into the car. Caiying had gone mad, Xiao Xi had died, and Wei¡¯an had been sacrificed by the Lu family as a scapegoat. Lu Guangjing hade to Li Yao to see if Li Yao could find a way to save Wei¡¯an but Li Yao¡­ Lu Guangjing couldn¡¯t me Li Yao for being heartless; after all, Caiying had been stimted by Wei¡¯an. The previous quarrel between Wei¡¯an and Caiying shed in his mind, and Lu Guangjing shrank back in his seat wearily. He was really unaware that Wei¡¯an had actually been living his life in resentment for so many years. He and Caiying had put so much thought into Wei¡¯an, but in the end it turned out that they had selfishly forced Wei¡¯an to live, that they had wronged him. Lu Guangjing really didn¡¯t know what had gone wrong. Why had Wei¡¯an turned out to be like this? He still remembered how well behaved Wei¡¯an was as a child and how good his rtionship with Caiying was. But in the blink of an eye, nothing was the same as he remembered. sWhen Lu Guangjing arrived home, the house was empty and no one was there, and even the maid had gone somewhere. He sat hunched over on the sofa and looked at the family portrait hanging on the opposite wall¡­ Soon he would be the only one left in the family. Not far from the Lu family¡¯s house on the street, Lu Lingxi looked at the Lu family¡¯s house from afar. He had lived there for eighteen years, yet the house still felt unfamiliar. Yan Yue bought a cup of lemon tea from a roadside cold drink shop and handed it to Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi looked away, took the lemon tea and suddenly said, ¡°Big Brother Yan, let¡¯s go back to Fengcheng, I miss Mom.¡± Yan Yue raised his hand, stroked Lu Lingxi¡¯s hair and said softly, ¡°Okay.¡± The two of them talked to Ye Kang, went home and packed their things quickly, and drove away from Zhongjing that afternoon. The highway from Zhongjing to Fengcheng was full of cars and the traffic jam was very bad. Yan Yue casually said, ¡°We should have taken the high speed train back.¡± Dahei immediately barked, reminding of his existence. Lu Lingxiughed, scratched Dahei¡¯s chin soothingly and made a call to Wang Shuxiu. ¡°Mom, Big Brother Yan and I are on our way home. There¡¯s a bit of traffic on the highway, it¡¯ll probably be night before we get home.¡± ¡°Why so soon? Didn¡¯t you n to spend a few more days in Zhongjing?¡± Wang Shuxiu was a little surprised. Lu Lingxi held the phone and said seriously, ¡°I miss Mom.¡± ¡°Little bastard.¡± Wang Shuxiu scolded with a smile, ¡°What do you want to eat when youe back tonight? I¡¯ll make it for you.¡± ¡°¡­glutinous rice ribs.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After hanging up the phone, Wang Shuxiu used her big belly to send Xiao Feng to go buy ribs quickly. If it was anyter there would be no good ribs. Xiao Feng took his wallet and prepared to go out, instructing Wang Shuxiu as he was leaving, ¡°Xiaohua, stay at home and don¡¯t worry about anything, wait for me toe back to wash the rice.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Wang Shuxiu red at him. Xiao Feng smiled and touched Wang Shuxiu¡¯s stomach, feeling the baby¡¯s movements under his palm. He looked at Wang Shuxiu very tenderly, ¡°Xiaohua, what do you want to eat? I¡¯ll buy it too.¡± ¡°The fridge is full of food, don¡¯t buy anything.¡± Wang Shuxiu stopped him. Xiao Feng smiled and went out, thinking that Xiaohua liked to eat the miso pork from the shop in front of the street. It so happened that Dahei was also going to be back, so Xiao Feng decided he would go and buy some pork for the evening. Xiao Xi liked glutinous rice and lotus roots, and Yan Yue seemed to like the braised pork sold in the same shop. Xiao Feng would get some, as well as¡­ He kept walking, figuring out what to buy, all the family¡¯s favourites. The family? Xiao Feng smiled silently. When the child in Xiaohua¡¯s belly was born, they¡¯d just go to take a family portrait again. This time, Yan Yue would also be called and, by the way, there was Xiaohei who had lost a tooth recently. As if by a tacit agreement, Lu Lingxi was also talking to Yan Yue about having the family photo taken again. ¡°We¡¯ll do it when the little brother is born. Big Brother Yan, Dahei, Xiaohei, we¡¯ll all go together.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yan Yue surely didn¡¯t mind, and Xiaohei poked his head out of Lu Lingxi¡¯s bag when he heard his name, contentedly tying himself in a knot around Lu Lingxi¡¯s wrist. The traffic ahead restarted and Yan Yue¡¯s lips curled up as he smiled at Lu Lingxi, stepping on the gas and driving in the direction of home. Chapter 169 After Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue returned to Fengcheng, their life was the same as before. They spent most of their time at Tiny Garden, and every few days they would visit the nt nursery. Taking advantage of the fact that the current household registration policy in Fengcheng was not too strict, Yan Yue moved his household registration over to the house in themunity without any problems. Lu Lingxi also moved his household registration out of his home and settled with Yan Yue. The day he got his household registration, Yan Yue looked at its contents with satisfaction. The column for the head of the household was filled in with his name, followed by Lu Lingxi¡¯s name as the family member. ¡°Xiao Xi, we are now a family.¡± As soon as he got into the car, Yan Yue couldn¡¯t help but hug Lu Lingxi, smiling at him and lowering his head to kiss him fervently. Lu Lingxi blushed a little; there were many people outside the household registration office and he didn¡¯t know if he should push Yan Yue away. In fact, he was happy in his heart. It was hard to describe the happiness he felt when he saw his name and Yan Yue¡¯s name side by side on the same household registration book. Yan Yue couldn¡¯t stop himself from kissing Lu Lingxi greedily. Finally, his sanity prevailed and he reluctantly let go of Lu Lingxi when someone passed the car. He tenderly tidied up Lu Lingxi¡¯s messed up hair and discussed, ¡°Shall we treat Ah Kang and the others to a meal at noon, as a celebration?¡± ¡°Celebration?¡± Who knows what Lu Lingxi thought about but the tips of his ears turned red all of a sudden. Yan Yue was so softened by the look on his face that he moved over, grabbed Lu Lingxi and kissed him several times. ¡°That¡¯s it then, I¡¯ll call Ah Kang and Fang Lei and the others.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded with a red face and added after a moment¡¯s thought, ¡°Let¡¯s call Yi Hang and the others as well.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The ce for the meal was chosen in the new branch of the small restaurant. Lu Lingxi called Yi Hang first and asked him to reserve a private room. The new branch of the small restaurant had opened not long ago, and although the floor space was several times that of the first restaurant, it was still crowded with customers and was always full whenever you went there. With the increase in visitors to Fengcheng, the fame of Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant had even spread outside the city. There were customers who came from afar and who waited a long time just to have a meal at Xiaohua¡¯s Home Cooking Restaurant. When he received Lu Lingxi¡¯s call, Yi Hang readily agreed. In particr, Lu Lingxi¡¯s reason for inviting him for dinner made him unable to hold back hisughter. Speaking of which, Yi Hang had really never thought that Lu Lingxi would like men. Even when Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi went everywhere together at the beginning, Yi Hang didn¡¯t suspect anything. It was only when Lu Lingxi took the initiative to confess to him that it dawned on Yi Hang. No wonder Yan Yue had a displeased look on his face whenever Yi Hang approached Lu Lingxi. After settling on a ce for dinner, Yan Yue informed An Jie and the others. When they heard that he and Lu Lingxi were going to treat them to dinner, everyone was enthusiastic. Even Fang Lei, who was the busiest, promised to be on time and not to dy the meal. Yan Yue smiled as he hung up the phone and looked at Lu Lingxi, ¡°We¡¯ll go over first.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. When the two of them arrived, Su Lang, who lived the closest, was already there. He was alone in the room, holding his phone and reading something. Hearing the sound of the door opening, Su Lang put away his phone and looked over with a smile, ¡°Why are you so slow?¡± ¡°The street is full of people and the traffic jam is terrible.¡± Yan Yue exined. Su Langughed, ¡°I go out on my bike now, it¡¯s much faster than driving.¡± s Yan Yue¡¯s heart stirred; the idea of riding a bicycle was a good one. Xiao Xi could sit in the front and he could hold Xiao Xi in his arms all the time. He was thinking whether he should go and buy a bicycleter, when Su Lang started talking about the business, ¡°By the way, I¡¯m going to go to N.T.¡¯s headquarters next week to apply for a foreign patent for the donglingcao medicine as well.¡± Some time ago Su Lang had already applied for a domestic patent for the donglingcao medicine in the name of Tiny Garden Technology Company and was now preparing for the official production. Their research team was so ambitious that they wanted to apply for the foreign patent too. Yan Yue naturally didn¡¯t object to this. Lu Lingxi listened and asked, ¡°How is Xiaobao doing now?¡± Su Lang smiled, his eyes gentle, ¡°Xiaobao has almost recovered and will be able to live like an ordinary person in the future.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Lu Lingxi was a little surprised. Su Lang¡¯s eyes shed strangely when he saw Lu Lingxi¡¯s smile, but the strangeness quickly disappeared without a trace. Fang Lei and Ye Kang arrived one after another, and everyone got together, joking and chatting. Su Lang watched Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi holding hands across the table, picked up the phone and deleted a few photos in it. The background of the photos was the primary school in Jing¡¯an District, Zhongjing, where Lu Lingxi was standing at the entrance with Yan Yue, talking to the old man who was guarding the door. Su Lang didn¡¯t tell anyone about it but he happened to have been in Zhongjing a few days ago. For some reason that was hard to exin, he took an afternoon off to go to that primary school in Jing¡¯an District. He never expected to meet Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue at the entrance of the primary school. At that moment, Su Lang thought a lot. The familiarity he faintly felt in Lu Lingxi, his inexplicable closeness to Lu Lingxi, and Lu Lingxi¡¯s abnormal attention to donglingcao¡­ Many questions haunted his mind and the answer was about toe out, but Su Lang didn¡¯t dare to think about it further. He hurriedly left that primary school and left Zhongjing to go back to Fengcheng. He sometimes wondered if he was dreaming, but the photos in his phone reminded him of the reality of his memories. Su Lang didn¡¯t contact Yan Yue for several days in a row, not knowing whether he should share his doubts or not. When Yan Yue called today, Su Lang suddenly felt relieved when he looked at Lu Lingxi¡¯s smiling face. It didn¡¯t really matter if the answer was what he had in mind; Lu Lingxi was happy and that was enough. s Time passed in a sh, and it was soon the end of August. Amongst all the news in Fengcheng, the local people were most concerned about the demolition and renovation of Nancheng. News of several major consortia in Zhongjingpeting for the Nancheng project were at the forefront, with the Ye family and Hopewell the most likely winners. The two families had been going head-to-head at every turn, fighting all the way from Zhongjing to Fengcheng. In early September, the Fengcheng government¡¯s auction for the Nancheng demolition and renovation project officially began. Yan Shihui brought Yan Hai to Fengcheng personally. Elder Ye of the Ye family was also present at the auction, and he nodded at Yan Shihui from afar, with the look of a man who was bound to win. ¡°Dad?¡± Yan Hai called out nervously. Yan Shihui waved his hand, ¡°This kind of auction is fair, whoever pays the most money will win. Even if the Ye family does something secretly, once we have the money in ce, Ye Cheng can¡¯t take us down.¡± He was so confident that for this project he had not only syphoned off all the liquidity that Hopewell had, but had also mortgaged all his shares in Hopewell to secure arge loan,rger than ever before. He knew that several of hispetitors were strong, but he absolutely had to win the project. The auction soon began. Hopewell, the Ye family, the Li family¡­ more than a dozenpanies,rge and small, all tried to win the project, and the bids on the entire project soared. As the amount becamerger andrger, one by one, somepanies withdrew from thepetition, and finally only Hopewell and the Ye family were left topete. Ye Kang was a little nervous; he had grown up in the Ye family seeing a lot of such scenes, but this time the situation was special and he was always mindful of Yan Yue¡¯s warning, afraid that the Ye family would fall if they were not careful. ¡°Three billion.¡± Elder Ye said quietly as he raised his card onest time. Ye Kang¡¯s heart beat wildly and he immediately looked in Yan Shihui¡¯s direction. From his perspective, Yan Shihui¡¯s face looked a little bad. Although everyone knew that this piece ofnd was worth a lot of money and could definitely earn it backter if it was operated well, it was important to know that three billion was not the entire investment of this project but just the money for a piece ofnd in Nancheng. Thepensation for demolition and relocation at ater stage was an unpredictable bottomless pit. To be honest, based on the Ye family¡¯s strength it was already a bit strenuous now, and Ye Kang suspected it would be even more strenuous for Hopewell with its financial situation. Just as Ye Kang focused on Yan Shihui, the eyes of the whole room basically were on Yan Shihui too. Yan Shihui took a deep breath; the amount of money in thepetition for the project had far exceeded his expectations by now, and the funds in his hands were no longer enough for this bid. Yan Shihui gave a veiled nce at Elder Ye, who still looked as if he was winning. He wondered if Elder Ye had some inside information, such as the rumours of a ¡°capital relocation¡± that were secretly circting in Zhongjing. After a few seconds of hesitation, Yan Shihui decisively raised his card and offered a higher amount than the Ye family. The eyes of the audience shifted back to Elder Ye. A hint of cunning shed in the old man¡¯s eyes and he made a gesture of giving up. Not surprisingly, Hopewell took thend. Yan Shihui nodded at Elder Ye with a sense of satisfaction. Without a word, the old man dragged Ye Kang straight out of the venue. In the eyes of the people around, it was more like the old man was angry at losing thepetition. Outside the venue, Elder Ye got into his car slowly and narrowed his eyes at Ye Kang, ¡°I did such a big favour to the Yue kid, how is he going to thank me?¡± Ye Kang felt that he was simply going to be scared to death by the old man. Sniffing somewhat helplessly, he said, ¡°What does Grandpa want?¡± Elder Ye had some regrets; he had always been quite optimistic about Yan Yue. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that the Yue kid doesn¡¯t like girls, your little cousin has just graduated, she is quite a good match for the Yue kid.¡± Speaking of this, Elder Ye suddenly gave Ye Kang a suspicious look, ¡°Ah Kang, you¡¯ve been avoiding dating, you don¡¯t like boys too, do you? Who do you like? Ah Yue? Or that assistant next to Ah Yue? You don¡¯t like that cop, do you?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Ye Kang turned his head with a distorted expression; that was why he was hiding and wouldn¡¯t go home. The old man was thinking of catching him for a blind date all the time, and once he objected, there was no telling who the old man would matchmake him with. Ye Kang almost woefully rolled out of the car and hurriedly told the old man that he was going to find Yan Yue. The old man sighed, ¡°Actually, Ah Kang and the Yue kid are quite a good match, it¡¯s a pity that someone else has gotten to him first.¡± The driver who had been silently acting as a background: ¡°¡­¡­¡± After the bidding was over, the development of Nancheng was quickly put on the agenda. Yan Shihui gritted his teeth and borrowed another sum of money, speedily relocating a third of the residents within the development area. With all eyes on him, Yan Shihui shovelled the first spade of soil and the engineering team soon followed, digging ording to his directions. One metre, two metres, three metres, four metres, when the digging reached five metres, the excavator suddenly came to a halt. The driver poked his head out and gestured to the ground, ¡°Something doesn¡¯t feel right.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yan Shihui asked when he saw it stop. The next moment, a torrent of water rushed up into the sky, and the mud faded away, revealing the gnarled roots that looked like a dragon beneath. A bad feeling arose in Yan Shihui¡¯s heart, ¡°Try digging around.¡± The team spread out to the surrounding area, and for thousands of metres, the ground was full of roots several people thick, like a dragon lying in the dark brown soil in endless coils. Before Yan Shihui could think of a solution, the news had already spread. The entire city of Fengcheng was immediately shaken, and countless crowds of people came to the scene. The expert group sent people to secure the scene as quickly as possible and began further investigations. As for Yan Shihui¡¯s project, who would care? While the eyes of the whole of Fengcheng were fixed on Nancheng, Lu Lingxi¡¯s family was in the midst of chaos. Ten months (meaning lunar months) into her pregnancy, the child in Wang Shuxiu¡¯s belly was finally about to be born. ¡°Quick, I¡¯ll take Xiaohua to the hospital first, Xiao Xi, you pack up and follow.¡± Xiao Feng carrieded Wang Shuxiu and hurriedly ran towards the car. Everything just started and he was already covered in sweat. Lu Lingxi nodded as he darted around to sort out the things he had prepared beforehand. Clothes, towels, baby nkets, diapers¡­ ¡°What else?¡± He asked nervously, rushing to Yan Yue. Yan Yue checked against the list, ¡°Is there a milk bottle missing?¡± ¡°Huh? Right.¡± Lu Lingxi hurriedly searched for the bottle. The family had prepared four baby bottles alone. They were of different sizes and models. He simply took them all with him so that they could use whichever one the doctor ordered. After a lot of fussing, the two of them arrived at the hospital with a big bag and a small bag. Wang Shuxiu was in good condition and had already been sent to the delivery room. Lu Lingxi was apprehensive and nervous, ¡°Is Mom going to be okay?¡± ¡°She will definitely be fine.¡± Yan Yue¡¯s voice had a calming power. Lu Lingxi breathed a sigh of relief and gently leaned into Yan Yue¡¯s arms as he waited for the new life to be born. Chapter 170 Someone once said that the most beautiful sound in the world is the cry of a newborn baby. Lu Lingxi didn¡¯t have much insight into this before, but when the nurse held the bathed and wrapped baby in front of him and he listened to the baby¡¯s little monkey-like cry, Lu Lingxi felt his heart melting. He and Yan Yue were at a loss for words when the nurse smiled, ¡°The baby is very obedient, weighing four kilograms fifty grams. Where is the baby¡¯s father?¡± The baby¡¯s father was too busy fussing around Wang Shuxiu at the moment to even look at the baby. ¡°Where do you feel ufortable, Xiaohua? Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat? Or do you want to take a nap first?¡± Although the birth went well, Wang Shuxiu¡¯s body was a little weak because of her age. Until Xiao Feng mentioned it, she didn¡¯t feel hungry, but now she did a little. But before eating, Wang Shuxiu thought about the baby, ¡°Where¡¯s the baby?¡± The nurse came in with the baby in her arms, followed by Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue carrying the chicken soup. Wang Shuxiu gently held the baby and looked at it carefully for a long time before looking up and smiling at Lu Lingxi, ¡°He looks almost exactly the same as Xiao Xi when he was little.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Lu Lingxi moved over and looked at the little red monkey. Wang Shuxiu nodded, her gaze tender as she looked at the baby. Although her hair was messy and her face was a little pale, in Xiao Feng¡¯s eyes, Xiaohua seemed to look at her best. The family of four was secluded in the hospital room, all focused on the newborn baby, and no one paid any attention to the various rumours circting in Fengcheng. A few dayster, when Wang Shuxiu was discharged from the hospital with the baby in her arms, Lu Lingxi learnt that something had gone wrong with the renovation project in Nancheng and the situation underground in Fengcheng waspletely exposed to the public. At the expert group¡¯s station in Nancheng, the group leader Zhu Xiaowei distributed the underground exploration report in his hands to the group members. ¡°Thetest exploration report is out, and what can be confirmed so far is that the entire underground of Fengcheng is covered with coiled and gnarled roots of willows, tangled together like arge.¡± This was simply an incredible thing. One expert looked puzzled, ¡°ording to the tests of the age of the willows on the ground, the oldest willows have only been nted for ten years, and more have been nted for a few years or even a year. How could their roots be so developed?¡± Another expert interjected, ¡°Is it evolution?¡± ¡°What about the water storage? How can you exin the fact that the willows¡¯ underground roots are full of water?¡± ¡°Do you remember the abnormal weather in Fengcheng? It hasn¡¯t rained much since the beginning of spring, yet it¡¯s not dry at all, the soil ispletely moist when you dig it. Could it be rted to the water storage in the willow trees¡¯ roots?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, several of the surrounding cities are in a state of drought, but Fengcheng is the only one that doesn¡¯tck water. We¡¯ve been unable to find the cause, but now it really seems to be rted to the water storage of the willow trees¡¯ roots.¡± ¡°But why do the willow trees store water? Have they be conscious and sense the approach of drought in advance? Note that not only one willow tree is like this, but all the willow roots we found are like this, which is already in the realm of group consciousness.¡± Several of the experts expressed their opinions; this was the first time they had encountered such a situation. After their search for the cause of Fengcheng City¡¯s overall evolution had stalled, the discovery in Nancheng was like a ray of light. ¡°Group leader, a new discovery.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°A map of the underground alignment based on an echo detector.¡± ¡°Look, although Fengcheng City is covered with roots underground, several of the main roots have been expanding towards the north.¡± ¡°North? What¡¯s to the north?¡± ¡°Do you guys still remember that vige? Lingshui Vige, the one where the whole vige has evolved. They have a hundred year oldrge willow tree in the vige, could it be rted to this willow tree?¡± In the past, when the expert group investigated, they focused on the people and didn¡¯t pay too much attention to the nts in Fengcheng. This time the discovery in Nancheng drew all their attention to the nts they had overlooked in the past, especially the countless green willows nted on both sides of the roads. The expert team rushed to Lingshui Vige almost immediately and brought in the most famous botanist in China. After carefully studying the form of the big willow tree and the green willows nted in Fengcheng, the other side affirmed two things. Firstly, tracing the roots back to their origins, therge willow tree in Lingshui Vige was the mother tree of most of the willows in Fengcheng, which could exin why the underground root system was expanding towards the north. Although the scientificmunity had not yet found a theoretical basis for this, the avable experiments proved that there was conscious transmission between homologous nts. Secondly, he believed that therge willow tree in Lingshui Vige was already a higher-level evolutionary form. The other willows in Fengcheng had evolved more in ¡®imitation¡¯ of the Big Willow. This group evolution might also be the reason for the evolution of Fengcheng as a whole. In response to the group¡¯s question about the cause of the willow¡¯s evolution, the botanist interviewed the vige elders and concluded that it was rted to the willow¡¯s resurrection from the dead a year ago. Perhaps the lightning strike created a special cirction of energy within the willow, or perhaps some magical substance entered the willow through the lightning. In short, there must have been an external cause that prompted the Big Willow Tree¡¯s mutation. And this was also consistent with the timing of the changes in Fengcheng. These exnations gave the group a direction, and the group focused almost entirely on deciphering the secrets of the willow tree. In this way, the whole of Fengcheng knew that the Big Willow Tree in Lingshui Vige was the key to human evolution, and for a while Lingshui Vige reced Nancheng and became the focus of attention in China. sUncle Li called Lu Lingxi andined that the arrival of the expert group had disrupted the normal life of the vige. ¡°There are troops everywhere, the whole Lingshui Vige is surrounded. It¡¯s not even convenient to go out and buy a barrel of oil. Only after the vige head told them did they send each family two barrels of oil and a bit of rice and flour or something.¡± What Uncle Li described was exactly the reality of the current situation in Lingshui Vige. Because of the importance of the big willow tree, the government had stepped in to take over the vige and no outsiders were allowed to enter. There were rumours that the vigers were originally going to be moved out, but the vigers objected collectively and the proposal was scrapped. Lu Lingxi also applied for an entry permit because the nt nursery was in the vige. However, he felt a bit guilty. Under the pretext of watching the baby at home, he hadn¡¯t been to Lingshui Vige recently. Uncle Li stepped in to deal with the nt nursery. In fact, at the very beginning the expert group also approached Lu Lingxi. ording to the investigation, all the green willows nted in Fengcheng City came from a ce called the Qiu Tian nt nursery. And nearly a year ago, something happened to the person in charge of the Qiu Tian nt nursery and it was resold to Tiny Garden. The expert team followed the trail and found the address of Tiny Garden, originally wanting to ask Lu Lingxi what he knew. As a result, before Lu Lingxi could say anything, the big willow tree caught the group¡¯s attention. By the time the expert group found out that Tiny Garden¡¯s nt nursery was located in Lingshui Vige, they ruled out Lu Lingxi¡¯s suspicion and decided that he was just a lucky guy. Uncle Li also knew about this and was very understanding of Lu Lingxi¡¯s reluctance to go to the nt nursery. The two talked on the phone for a long time before Lu Lingxi hung up the phone. ¡°What¡¯s the news?¡± Yan Yue asked him when he finished. Lu Lingxi shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s still the same as before, all kinds of research on the big willow tree. But when Uncle Li heard that someone was proposing to move the big willow tree to Zhongjing, the vigers were privately cursing.¡± Yan Yueughed, ¡°Such a proposal is simply impossible to realise, it¡¯s obvious at a nce, this person just pretends not to understand it. There is no shortage of such people at all times, but there is nothing anyone can do if the Great Willow Tree doesn¡¯t want to leave.¡± He said it in a funny way, and Lu Lingxi couldn¡¯t help butugh along with him. The roots of the Great Willow Tree covered the entire northern suburbs; it was not something that could be relocated with a single word at all. Yan Yue thought about it and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to Lingshui Vige sometime, it¡¯s a bit strange to keep avoiding it like this.¡± Lu Lingxi nodded obediently. Since the two decided to go, they didn¡¯t dy much, and the next day they talked to Uncle Li and drove to Lingshui Vige. Even though Lu Lingxi had an entry and exit permit, they still went throughyers of checkpoints on the way before finally entering Lingshui Vige. Knowing that Lu Lingxi wasing, Uncle Li was most happy. Some time ago, Auntie Li had sewn several sets of clothes for the baby. Because of the arrival of the expert group, these clothes were still at home. Auntie Li said several times that if the baby didn¡¯t wear them now, he would outgrow them. Uncle Li smiled and called Lu Lingxi, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go home for dinner first.¡± Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue waited until closing Tiny Garden beforeing here, just in time for the evening meal. The two didn¡¯t refuse and followed Uncle Li to his house. As they passed by the big willow tree, Lu Lingxi took a look from afar. There were a lot of people around the big willow tree and the vigers were not allowed to go near it. In the past, Xiao Shi used to climb the willow tree and tease Ah Huang with a branch, but since the arrival of the expert group, these actions had been banned. It was said that the expert team was very nervous about the willow tree, and even if it dropped a leaf, it had to be collected like a treasure. After dinner, Lu Lingxi visited the nt nursery and stayed in the vige for the night. In the middle of the night, Dahei suddenly barked urgently. Lu Lingxi woke up in a daze; Yan Yue had already gotten up, opened the door and let Dahei in. sXiaohei got out from under the pillow and hissed at Yan Yue. Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi looked at each other and said quickly, ¡°Earthquake.¡± The two of them didn¡¯t bother with anything else, hurriedly put on their clothes and went out. Lu Lingxi called home while walking, eager to warn Wang Shuxiu. Before the call was connected, a huge tremor came from the ground. Lu Lingxi grabbed Yan Yue to stand still. The white panel suddenly floated in front of him. nt Name: Third-ss weeping willow nt needs: none nt vitality: very high nt status: Third level peak nt evolution conditions triggered, do you choose to evolve? Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Xiao Xi?¡± Yan Yue saw that he didn¡¯t look right and called out in a low voice. ¡°It¡¯s probably not an earthquake, it¡¯s the big willow tree that¡¯s going to evolve.¡± Lu Lingxi said looking at Yan Yue, not sure if he should choose to evolve. There were researchers everywhere outside now, in case¡­ while he was still hesitating, a bigger tremor came through and there were thick roots poking out of the ground, firmly locking the house behind the two. ¡°¡­it¡¯s not evolution, it¡¯s an earthquake.¡± Yan Yue frowned. Lu Lingxi¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as the lights in the vige lit up in turn. Wang Shuxiu¡¯s voice came from the phone, ¡°Xiao Xi, it¡¯s an earthquake, where are you guys?¡± ¡°Mom, we¡¯re outside, it¡¯s safe now, Dahei warned us in advance.¡± Wang Shuxiu breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Feng had already packed up and stood with the child in his arms. She didn¡¯t have time to say anything else and hurriedly hung up the phone. Knowing that Wang Shuxiu was fine, Lu Lingxi felt relieved. The vibrations were still going on underground, and Lu Lingxi looked at the white panel floating in front of him and decisively chose ¡°yes¡±. He had been worried that the evolution of the big willow tree would attract the attention of the researchers, in case someone suspected that he and Yan Yue had appeared too coincidentally. But now with the earthquake as a cover, no one would suspect that the earthquake was artificially manipted, right? As Lu Lingxi chose ¡°yes¡±, the white panel changed again. The green prompt faded and the entire underground of Fengcheng City appeared in front of him. From the panel, he could see that the roots of the big willow tree had once again extended and had reached deep into the urban area of Fengcheng, entwining with the roots of the willow trees underneath Fengcheng. The green font surfaced, ¡°The evolution of the fourth level weeping willow has beenpleted, and the willow ecologicalmunity has been extended into a standard urban unit, rewarding the nt hearts +20,000 and the power of nature +20.¡± Without waiting for Lu Lingxi to express his surprise, another line of green font surfaced, ¡°Collect 100,000 points of nt hearts, purify a standard ecological city, meet system upgrade criteria, evolve the system into the heart of the.¡± The green font disappeared, and a faint blue light radiated from Lu Lingxi¡¯s body, gradually coalescing into a football-sized blue orb of light in the air. Lu Lingxi looked at the orb of light in surprise, and Yan Yue suddenly asked, ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Can you see it, Big Brother Yan?¡± Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lu Lingxi calmed down, ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful.¡± The orb of light in front of him emitted a luminous light blue glow. The inside of the orb was not static; countless colourful dots flowed around, like a river of multicoloured stars. In the centre of the orb was a world the size of a fist, in which the four seasons changed and everything grew, a realistic simtion of the¡¯s way of working. Lu Lingxi carefully stretched out his hand and touched the orb in front of him. The orb of light dispersed, the colourful spots of light re-entered his body, and the small world in the centre slowly sank into the ground in front of him. Lu Lingxi grasped Yan Yue¡¯s hand and closed his eyes. A magical feeling lingered in the hearts of the two of them. They seemed to hear the sound of water flowing through the ground, infiltrating thend. The green grass began to sprout and colourful flowers bloomed around. Water flowed through many ces, from teaus to basins, from valleys to deserts, the entire seemed to be slowly awakening, and the chronic diseases of human activities were slowly healed. The world became alive again, restored to a healthy vibrancy. The two opened their eyes again and it was already dawn. The golden sunrise was glowing on the horizon. As the light spilled down, Lu Lingxi felt as if something had changed, but he couldn¡¯t describe it clearly for a moment. Yan Yue held his hand tightly, and the two of them interlocked their fingers, smiling at the same time. The vibrations underground in the middle of the night had long since stopped, and peace had returned to the outside. Lu Lingxi called home and knew that everything was fine, the little baby had slept through the night and didn¡¯t even feel them tossing and turning. In the morning he and Yan Yue went to have breakfast at Uncle Li¡¯s house to find out that the earthquake detected in Fengchengst night was Level 7, but because the big willow tree roots slowed down the vibration, the tremor manifested was less than Level 4. It was said that there were no casualties and very little material damage in the whole of Fengcheng, with only a few houses that were too dpidated copsing. After this earthquake, the Great Willow Tree was put on a pedestal, but all this had nothing to do with Lu Lingxi anymore. His and Yan Yue¡¯s life was the same as ever, Tiny Garden, Lingshui Vige and home, three points in a circle, with the asional visit to the Qiu Tian nt nursery. Zhugang, copaiba balsam trees, evolved begonias, Tiny Garden Technology Company under their name were going well, and the past that had once troubled them was left far behind. Whether it was Hopewell and the Yan family or the Zhongjing Lu family, they gradually faded out of the sight of the media and werepletely removed from Lu Lingxi¡¯s and Yan Yue¡¯s lives. Three monthster, on New Year¡¯s Eve. Lu Lingxi¡¯s family got together enthusiastically. Wang Shuxiu and Zhou Xiaoman sat in the living room watching TV while waiting for dinner. Xiao Feng and Xiao Hong were busy in the kitchen, and Yan Yue was in the backyard setting off fireworks, holding Lu Lingxi in his arms. Bang! The sky was full of stars exploding in mid-air, and countless gorgeous spots of light scattered around. Lu Lingxi quickly rose on his toes and kissed Yan Yue. The corners of Yan Yue¡¯s lips curled up as he unbuttoned his coat and hugged Lu Lingxi into it. ¡°Xiao Xi, I love you.¡± ¡°I know, Big Brother Yan, I love you too.¡± The two figures melted into one, their moment of happiness caught in eternity. Chapter ex1: Extra 1 At seven in the morning, Fang Lei and his colleagues finally broke through the suspect¡¯s psychological defences after a day and night of interrogation and managed to get a confession. The office resounded with quiet cheers; everyone had been working overtime for a week for this case, and many people were living and eating at the police station, including Fang Lei. Now that the case was solved, everyone was ted. Listening to the cheers of his colleagues, Fang Lei breathed a sigh of relief. He rubbed his bloodshot eyes, poured the cold coffee on the table into the sink, and packed his things to go home. He hadn¡¯t been back for a week and could barely imagine what a fuss Xiaohui would make. Fang Lei was going to send Xiaohui to Lu Lingxi¡¯s ce this time, but Xiaohui refused, so Fang Lei had no choice but to fry arge pile of fish and put it in the fridge, asking his neighbour to feed Xiaohui on time. When he was about to leave, his mind full of Xiaohui, a new colleague stopped him, asking, ¡°Team Fang, why don¡¯t you stay here to sleep before going back?¡± Before Fang Lei could say anything, another colleague interjected with a smile, ¡°You think Team Fang is a loner like you? Team Fang has a little beauty at home. If Team Fanges homete, he is guaranteed toe tomorrow with his face covered in scratches.¡± Apart from this new colleague, the other people in the office had all seen the power of Xiaohui andughed at the colleague¡¯s words. Fang Leiughed as well and walked to the door just as he heard the colleague who first spoke up behind him ask in a sympathetic tone, ¡°Team Fang¡¯s girlfriend is so impressive?¡± He was answered by another burst ofughter. Fang Lei shook his head helplessly and drove back to his apartment. When he passed by the morning market, Fang Lei got out of the car specifically to buy two catties of fresh small yellowtails. He reckoned that the fried fish in the fridge hadn¡¯t been eaten yet, but it had been there for a week and was no longer fresh. There was no choice before, but now that he was back, he had to give Xiaohui something good to eat. Fang Lei returned to his apartment with the small yellowtails in his hand, and as soon as he entered the door, a grey figure pounced on him. Fang Lei nimbly caught Xiaohui with one hand and held him in his arms. ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± Meow~ Xiaohui cried out angrily, waving his ws, trying to scratch Fang Lei. Fang Lei threw the fish he had bought aside and freed his hand to touch Xiaohui¡¯s ears and then pinched the skin on Xiaohui¡¯s neck. Xiaohui¡¯s anger was not as great as it was at the beginning. Fang Lei made his sure shot move, rolling over Xiaohui and rubbing his bulging belly. Xiaohui stretched his limbsfortably and meowed coquettishly. Fang Leiughed and carried Xiaohui into the bathroom. He had been at the police station all week and had to wash up properly when he got home. Especially since Xiaohui hadn¡¯t had a bath for a week either, and Xiaohui particrly loved to be clean, so they just as well could wash up together. Meow~ Xiaohui jumped out of Fang Lei¡¯s arms and onto the sink, pawing at his special cat shampoo. Fang Lei took off his clothes in a few movements, grabbed Xiaohui and said, ¡°You¡¯re not happy when I go to work but look at all the things you use. None of them are cheap. If I don¡¯t go to work how can I feed you?¡± Xiaohui discontentedly broke free and squatted aside meowing. Fang Lei was amused and scratched Xiaohui¡¯s chin, ¡°You mean you caught a mousest time to feed me? First of all, I don¡¯t eat mice, and secondly, mice are worthless. They can¡¯t feed you even if you sell them.¡± Meow~ Xiaohui waved his paws, proving his status in a stern manner. Fang Lei immediately raised his hands andpromised, ¡°I know, Xiaohui is the boss in the family, I am dedicated to serving Master Cat Xiaohui.¡± Meow~ s Xiaohui was satisfied and waved his tail at Fang Lei, signalling that he could take a bath. Fang Lei couldn¡¯t do anything about Xiaohui, so he didn¡¯t bother to look for a special basin for Xiaohui and directly turned on the shower, tested the water temperature and stood under the water with Xiaohui in his arms. Perhaps because of the evolution, Xiaohui didn¡¯t reject bathing and even liked it a little, but only if you served himfortably. After a painful lesson, Fang Lei had learned how to give Xiaohui a bath while scratching him. Xiaohui meowed in enjoyment. Fang Lei mixed some more water with the cat shampoo, rubbed it for a long time, rinsed it off, wrapped Xiaohui in a big towel and put him on the sink. ¡°Be good and wait, I¡¯m going to take a shower.¡± After taking a bath, Xiaohui calmed down and squatted on the sink with his head tilted, watching Fang Lei unblinkingly as he took a shower. Fang Lei washed quickly, and after he was done, he casually put on a pair of shorts and left the bathroom half naked with Xiaohui in his arms. After wiping and blow-drying them both in one go, Fang Lei pinched Xiaohui¡¯s nape, put away the hairdryer and asked him, ¡°What vour of fish do you want to eat?¡± Ever since Xiaohui had shown his dislike for canned cat food, Fang Lei¡¯s skill in handling fish had improved by leaps and bounds. Deep fried, crispy, steamed¡­ all sorts of vours were at his fingertips. During the New Year, Fang Lei went home and showed his cooking skills to his rtives. Of course, he didn¡¯t dare to say that his skills were practised on Xiaohui. Meow~ Xiaohui shook his fur and cried out softly. ¡°Crispy? No problem.¡± Fang Lei skillfully handled the yellowtails he bought in the morning, and Xiaohui squatted beside him contentedly, meowing every now and then. When the processed yellowtails were in the pan, Fang Lei grabbed Xiaohui and moved him away from the frying pan. After thest time when Xiaohui was naughty and almost got burned by the oil, Fang Lei always remembered to keep Xiaohui at a distance from the frying pan. There was an aromaing from the pan and Xiaohui meowed excitedly. Fang Lei looked at him indulgently. It was a rare moment when Xiaohui would act like a cat, not Master Cat. Fang Lei flipped the yellowtails in the pan over and his phone rang. ¡°Mom?¡± Fang Lei cocked his head and pressed the phone with his chin while staring intently at the yellowtails in the pan. ¡°Leizi, you have a day off today, right? It¡¯s just as well that Mom has made an appointment for you with a girl, so go and meet her. The girl is a teacher, very polite and gentle, good-looking, and does not mind your profession. I¡¯ve made an appointment with her, at noon at the steakhouse near your work. She¡¯s wearing a floral dress and has long hair, remember to go!¡± Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± s He didn¡¯t know whether to cry or tough. ¡°Mom, I have something else to do today.¡± ¡°What to do? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going out with Xiaohui to fight and grab territory? Look at you. Xiaohui is a cat who doesn¡¯t understand anything, do you not understand anything either? You¡¯re following him when he fights!¡± Fang Lei¡¯s mother was also a policeman before she retired, but unlike Fang Lei, who was a member of the criminal police force, she used to belong to the street police, so she was very eloquent. The olddy¡¯s mentioning of this matterpletely undermined Fang Lei. Thest time the olddy arranged for Fang Lei to go on a blind date, the result was that Fang Lei waste, giving the reason that he had lost his cat and had been looking for it for a long time. Onlyter did the olddy realise that it was not Xiaohui who had been lost, but Fang Lei who had followed Xiaohui into a fight. During that time, Xiaohui had not yet consolidated his position as the king of the cats in the neighbourhood, and every now and then a wild cat woulde and pick a fight. Fang Lei was worried, so he followed Xiaohui every time he fought. Fang Lei was happy when Xiaohui won, but when Xiaohui lost, he woulde back and scratch Fang Lei to vent his anger. The olddy remembered this incident very well, and every time she talked about it, she had to embarrass Fang Lei. Fang Lei felt a bit helpless. In fact, he had nothing to do, he just subconsciously rejected blind dates. In the past few years, Fang Lei had been busy with work and had never had a real girlfriend. It was not that he was not serious, but the nature of his work was special and he would often forget everything when he got busy. Sometimes he had to go on business trips that were confidential and no one could contact him. After a while, the girls who were interested in him couldn¡¯t ept his work and all backed out. In the past, the olddy didn¡¯t care; men after thirty are still as fresh as flowers. But when Fang Lei passed his 30th birthday, not only did he be more and more indifferent to having a family, but he also got a cat and behaved as if he wanted to live his life with Xiaohui forever. The olddy couldn¡¯t sit still any longer and started to introduce Fang Lei to some girls. Fang Lei¡¯s time off was basically wasted on blind dates, but none of them worked out. After a lot of failures, Fang Lei got a bit repulsed by dating. Besides, Xiaohui was very concerned about his territory; once he realised that a stranger was trying to encroach on his territory, he would be alert and furious. It could be said that half of Fang Lei¡¯s previous blind dates failed due to the nature of his work, and half failed due to Xiaohui. The olddy also knew Xiaohui¡¯s destructive power. After sessfully suppressing Fang Lei¡¯s resistance, she warned him, ¡°Don¡¯t take Xiaohui with you. I told the girl that you have a cat, and she also likes small animals. Her family has a dog. I heard that it is an evolved animal just like Xiaohui. Although cats and dogs don¡¯t get along well, those things can be considered in the future. You need to meet the girl and coax her to stay first.¡± Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He was distracted for a moment, and the little yellowtails in the pan were burning. Xiaohui waved his paw angrily and meowed to remind Fang Lei. Fang Lei hurriedly turned off the fire and took out the fish to soothe Xiaohui. The olddy couldn¡¯t hear Fang Lei¡¯s voice for a long time, so she tapped the microphone, ¡°Leizi, say something, are you going or not?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll definitely go. Mom, I have something to do, I have to hang up now. It¡¯s that steakhouse near the office, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯ve got it down, at noon sharp.¡± He hung up the phone quickly as he said it, then touched Xiaohui¡¯s ear and apologised, ¡°It¡¯s a bit mushy. Now it¡¯s toote to go out and buy fish, Xiaohui, you eat the side that is not mushy and not eat the other side.¡± Meow~ Xiaohui waved his paw unhappily but still ate the fish in a picky manner. Fang Lei looked at the time. It was only eight o¡¯clock; he could still sleep for a while. He waited for Xiaohui to finish eating the fish, washed the te, cleaned up the kitchen, grabbed Xiaohui and went to the bedroom. ¡°Don¡¯t make a fuss, Xiaohui, be a good boy, I¡¯ll take a nap for a while.¡± Fang Lei had set his rm clock for 11 o¡¯clock and fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. Xiaohui squatted by the pillow and looked at Fang Lei with his head cocked, then jumped off the bed with Fang Lei¡¯s phone in his mouth, hid the phone behind the sofa in the living room and finally pressed a small pillow on top of the phone to make sure the rm clock on the phone didn¡¯t sound too loud. After doing this, Xiaohui jumped back onto the bed, crouched down by the pillow and licked his paws. He tilted its head, his golden pupils reflecting Fang Lei¡¯s sleeping face, and a momentter Xiaohui curled up into a ball and slept next to Fang Lei. The rm clock went off at 11 o¡¯clock. With a pillow and a door between them, Fang Lei didn¡¯t hear it at all. Xiaohui wagged his tail a little smugly when thendline at his bedside suddenly rang and the old Mrs. Fang called over specifically to urge Fang Lei to go out. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He hung up the phone, grabbed Xiaohui and said helplessly, ¡°Where¡¯s the phone? Where did you hide it?¡± Xiaohui meowed angrily. Fang Lei helplessly took Xiaohui in his arms, turned him belly up and rubbed his belly, patiently coaxing, ¡°I¡¯m just going out for a meal. I¡¯ll be back soon, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m leaving Xiaohui behind. You see, even if I find a girlfriend, it¡¯s just one more person to serve Master Cat in the future. Someone to fry little fish for Xiaohui while I¡¯m away, wouldn¡¯t Xiaohui like that?¡± Meow~ Fang Lei had a bit of a headache. Choosing between Master Can Xiaohui and the olddy was troublesome. But no matter what, he had to go to meet at noon. Sess or failure was another story, he couldn¡¯t leave the girl alone at the restaurant. ¡°I¡¯m going to go, Xiaohui, I¡¯ll be backter. I¡¯ll keep frying you fish in the afternoon.¡± He looked at the time and saw that it was gettingte and there was no time to coax Xiaohui. Casually changing his clothes, Fang Lei fished out his phone from behind the sofa, stroked Xiaohui¡¯s head and closed the door before Xiaohui could swing his paw. Meow~ Xiaohui yelled angrily, grabbing the pillow and biting it for a while. From under the pillow, a green pendant carved into the shape of a kitten that Fang Lei had bought on hisst business trip to Kunnan fell out and somehow rolled to Xiaohui¡¯s side. A faint green light shed, and Xiaohui on the bed was gone. Instead, a young man who looked seventeen or eighteen, naked and fair-skinned, with grey cat ears and a cat tail, was lying there biting the pillow. Meow~ Chapter ex2: Extra 2 For a full minute, Xiaohui chewed the pillow, looking around in shock, unable toe back to his senses. Meow~ He meowed tentatively and moved his front paws. The furry paws were gone and turned into human arms. A little confused, Xiaohui tried to crouch on the bed habitually, but found it difficult with his two human legs, especially since his tail was still in ce, making it very ufortable to press it down while squatting. Xiaohui waved his tail and jumped off the bed like before, but failed to get his bnce right and fell to the floor. Meow~ Xiaohui yelled angrily; it hurt too much to fall like that. He was about to vent his anger on Fang Lei, but soon realised that Fang Lei had left him alone in the house and had gone out on his own. Xiaohui waved his hand angrily and held onto the edge of the bed, struggling to stand up on his two legs. He didn¡¯t feel it when he was a cat, but now that he didn¡¯t have the soft fur on him, the floor was a little cold. Xiaohui learnt to stand on the floor like Fang Lei; his two legs were long and strong enough to support his body weight. The only trouble was that he wasn¡¯t quite used to standing or even walking on two legs. Xiaohui cocked his head and wagged his tail, struggling to keep his bnce, and took a few tentative steps walking along the edge of the bed. Meow~ Xiaohui¡¯s voice was dripping with the delight of discovering something new. The world he could see as a human was not the same as from a cat¡¯s perspective. He nced around curiously. Everything around him was both strange and familiar. He took a few more steps, tilted his head and stopped in front of the dressing mirror. Was that him there? Xiaohui was a little confused. Why had he turned into a human? This was something that Xiaohui had never thought about at all. Most of what he thought about in his daily life were things rted to food, territory, and Fang Lei. When he couldn¡¯t eat the dried fish, he was in a bad mood and scratched Fang Lei. When a wild cat encroached his territory, he was in a bad mood and scratched Fang Lei. When Fang Lei left his cat at home and went to work, he was in a bad mood and scratched Fang Lei. When he lost a fight with Dahei, he was in a bad mood and scratched Fang Lei. What should he do now? Find Fang Lei and keep scratching him? Xiaohui blinked, tilted his head, thought for a while and decided to follow his instinct to find Fang Lei. He jumped onto the bed and subconsciously went to the window that Fang Lei never closed in spring, summer, autumn or winter, leaving a gap for Xiaohui to enter and exit. But soon Xiaohui realised that he was now in a human body and could no longer climb out of the window. Meow~ Xiaohui waved his tail in dissatisfaction, feeling that turning into a human was not good at all. He jumped off the bed again and waved his tail to keep his bnce as he walked to the door of the living room. Wait a minute! Xiaohui saw Fang Lei¡¯s police uniform hanging at the entrance and looked down at his naked body again. He remembered that Fang Lei didn¡¯t grow hair on his body and had to wear this thing called clothes whenever he went out. Xiaohui thought about it, reached out and twisted his hand to pull the shirt down. He looked at the trousers for a long time and pushed his legs into them like Fang Lei did every morning when he got dressed. Meow~ Xiaohui stumbled and almost fell over. He pulled the trousers up, but they got stuck at the tail. Xiaohui twisted his head and tucked his tail into the trousers. Fang Lei¡¯s trousers were a bit too big for him, so with his tail tucked in it couldn¡¯t be seen from outside. Xiaohui twisted his body and felt ufortable, and habitually got angry with Fang Lei. After putting on the trousers, Xiaohui put on the police jacket and walked barefoot to the door. The ce where Fang Lei lived was a single apartment belonging to the police station, so it was a good thing that there was no one around at noon and no one noticed Xiaohui¡¯s abnormality even after he had walked all the way outside the apartment. He stood by the road and sniffed, catching Fang Lei¡¯s scent. ¡°Taking a taxi?¡± A taxi pulled up to the side of the road and the driver asked, poking his head out enthusiastically. Xiaohui looked over nkly and the driver froze andughed as he took in Xiaohui¡¯s appearance, ¡°Where did you get your cat ears, young man? They look like real ones. The clothes aren¡¯t yours either, are they? You stole it from your parents? That¡¯s no good, you can¡¯t wear a police uniform indiscriminately, you¡¯ll be punished.¡± While the driver was talking, Xiaohui had alreadye up, pulled open the door and sat inside. He used to ride in Fang Lei¡¯s car a lot and was very familiar with it. ¡°Yo, get in, where are you going?¡± Xiaohui: Meow~ Driver: ¡°¡­¡­¡± sOne man and one cat stared wide-eyed at each other, and then Xiaohui patted the steering wheel and pointed towards the front. The driver responded, ¡°Is that to go ahead?¡± Xiaohui: Meow~ The driver¡¯s face immediately showed sympathy. The poor guy looked like a handsome young man but couldn¡¯t talk and could only learn how to meow like a cat. His gaze fell on Xiaohui¡¯s bare feet and he shook his head, ¡°Young man, you don¡¯t even wear a pair of shoes when you go out. It¡¯s not cold in May, but it¡¯s notfortable to step on the ground with bare feet.¡± Xiaohui followed the driver¡¯s line of sight and looked at his own foot, with a small green de of grass between his white toes, picked when he had just stepped on it at the side of the road. His mood instantly brightened and he smiled slightly at the driver. Meow~ Driver: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Relying on Xiaohui¡¯s directions all the way, the driver managed to deliver Xiaohui to a steakhouse not far from Fang Lei¡¯s work. Xiaohui was about to push open the door without waiting for the car to stop, when the driver hastily pulled him back. ¡°Wait, young man.¡± Although Xiaohui would only meow, the driver had already imagined countless pictures of Xiaohui being abandoned by his family. He had no idea what Xiaohui was doing here, and considering that the police station was not far ahead, the driver was more than eager to get Xiaohui there. Xiaohui had already seen Fang Lei through the car window and he turned angrily and pped the steering wheel, signalling the driver to let go of him. The driver guessed, ¡°Is there your family down there?¡± Xiaohui: Meow~ sThe driver pulled over and Xiaohui angrily jumped out of the car. The driver felt worried, thought for a while and chased after him. On the other side of the road, the sign of Youmeng Steakhouse was huge, and behind the glossy floor-to-ceiling ss window, Fang Lei was sitting, talking to a long-haired girl in a floral dress. Xiaohui rushed to the ss window and meowed angrily at Fang Lei inside. Fang Lei felt something and subconsciously turned his head to meet Xiaohui¡¯s eyes. He recognised the clothes on Xiaohui almost immediately, and then thought of something and said in astonishment, ¡°Xiaohui?¡± The girl opposite Fang Lei followed Fang Lei¡¯s line of sight and smiled faintly, ¡°Kids these days are quite funny, look at the cat ears, they look like they¡¯re real.¡± Cat ears¡­ Fang Lei couldn¡¯t sit still, couldn¡¯t care less what to say, so he just stood up and hurriedly ran out. As soon as he ran out of the steakhouse, the driver happened to catch up with Xiaohui and stopped him to ask what was going on. Fang Lei was anxious and thought the driver was going to do something, so he rushed up and pushed the driver away, holding Xiaohui in his arms. Meow~ Xiaohui scratched Fang Lei angrily, the cat ears on his head cocked up in fury. ¡°Xiaohui.¡± Fang Lei was sure that the young man in his arms was Xiaohui, and a million questions shed through his mind. How did Xiaohui turn into a human? When did he be human? How did he find his way here?¡­ Before Fang Lei could find answers to these questions, the driver he had pushed away yelled, ¡°You are this young man¡¯s family? Is this how you take care of him? He can¡¯t speak and you dare to leave him outside alone, without even wearing shoes?¡± Hearing this, Fang Lei realised he had made a mistake. He nodded at the driver somewhat apologetically, ¡°Sorry for the misunderstanding just now.¡± Noticing that Xiaohui had no shoes on his feet, Fang Lei straddled and picked him up. Xiaohui was still angry and nonchntly reached out to scratch Fang Lei again. Fang Lei was helpless; he couldn¡¯t spare his hands to touch Xiaohui¡¯s ears now, so he could only whisper and coax, ¡°Xiaohui, don¡¯t make a fuss, behave.¡± Meow~ Fang Lei nodded, ¡°It¡¯s my fault, I shouldn¡¯t have left Xiaohui alone at home, let¡¯s go back now, okay?¡± Meow~ ¡°Good, let¡¯s go back and fry the little yellowtails.¡± Meow~ The two of them kept talking to each other, and the driver looked at them and took pity on Fang Lei. It seemed that this young man really thought he was a cat, and by the look of his family member, he was ying along with him, treating him like a cat. He kindly said, ¡°Should we take the young man to the hospital?¡± Fang Lei froze and smiled, ¡°Thank you, Xiaohui is not ill.¡± As he said it, he walked to the car with Xiaohui in his arms and put Xiaohui on the passenger side, then pulled a hundred yuan out of his wallet and turned to hand it to the driver, ¡°You sent Xiaohui here, didn¡¯t you? I¡¯m really sorry for your trouble.¡± The driver didn¡¯t want to ept the money, but Fang Lei insisted on giving it to him, so he had to take it. When he was ready to find the change, Fang Lei had already gotten into the car, nodded to the driver and drove away. ¡°Eh, looking for your change.¡± The driver¡¯s voice was blown away by the wind. Fang Lei held the steering wheel with one hand, stroked Xiaohui¡¯s ears with the other and smiled, ¡°Not angry anymore?¡± Meow~ Xiaohui twisted his body, feeling very ufortable with the pressure on his tail under his buttocks. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Fang Lei asked. Xiaohui scratched his trousers, simply half-kneeled on the passenger seat and took them off. He had only Fang Lei¡¯s police jacket over his body, his long bare legs were exposed, and his snow-white butt with his grey tail waving at Fang Lei was revealed. Fang Lei mmed on the brakes and stopped on the side of the road, almost having an ident. He instinctively took off his t-shirt and wrapped it around Xiaohui¡¯s waist. Xiaohui waved his tail in discontent and meowed at Fang Lei. Fang Lei was helpless and said softly, ¡°I know the tail is ufortable. Let¡¯s go home, you¡¯ll take it off there, okay? Bear with it a little longer, just a little longer.¡± Meow~ Fang Lei immediately promised, ¡°Okay, from today onwards I¡¯ll never leave you behind again.¡± As Xiaohui was in this state now, Fang Lei really didn¡¯t feelfortable leaving him alone either. Meow~ Xiaohui reluctantly epted the presence of the t-shirt, and Fang Lei breathed a sigh of relief as he restarted the car. It was not too far from here to the apartment, and Fang Lei always felt as if he had forgotten something. But it didn¡¯t matter what he had forgotten, the problem was how to take Xiaohui back to the apartment when he arrived. If his colleagues saw him, how could he face them in the future? Fang Lei¡¯s problem didn¡¯t bother him for long. He looked at the door of the apartment building in front of him, and suddenly a faint green light shed. As soon as Fang Lei turned his head, his police uniform fell to his seat. Under the police uniform, Xiaohui¡¯s furry head was revealed. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Perhaps because maintaining his human form had consumed a lot of energy, Xiaohui fell asleep soon after turning back into a cat. Fang Lei parked the car, opened the door and carefully carried out Xiaohui. Xiaohui was curled up in a ball in his arms, with a small green de of grass stuck in his toes. Fang Lei touched Xiaohui¡¯s nose in amusement and carried him back to his apartment. Just as he entered the door, the olddy¡¯s phone call came, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, Leizi? Halfway through the meal, you disappeared. You didn¡¯t even say goodbye to the girl, what¡¯s the matter with leaving her alone in the restaurant? Also, the girl said, you left with a young man, where is the young man?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Fang Lei just knew he had forgotten something. He was a bit apologetic, ¡°Mom, it was a bit of an ident, I didn¡¯t mean to. Something happened to a friend¡¯s brother and I was in a hurry to get back to deal with it and forgot.¡± ¡°A friend¡¯s brother?¡± Fang Lei nced at Xiaohui in his arms, ¡°A friend¡¯s brother, no different from my own brother.¡± When the olddy heard there was an ident, she was reasonable, ¡°Then you should call the girl and exin. Even the money for the meal was paid by the girl herself.¡± Fang Lei nodded helplessly and promised to find an opportunity to invite the girl to dinner again. After soothing the olddy, Fang Lei watched Xiaohui sleeping soundly. There was nothing to do for a while, so he simply took off his clothes and hugged Xiaohui to catch up on his sleep. The cat and the man slept until the afternoon, when a faint green glow shed and Xiaohui reverted to his human form. He moved habitually, lying on Fang Lei¡¯s body like before, his limbs stretched out, his face buried in Fang Lei¡¯s neck, purring and continuing to sleepfortably. In his sleep, Fang Lei felt pressed down by something and subconsciously reached out to touch it. The touch felt strangely smooth. Fang Lei was taken aback and then his palm had touched a fluffy tail, with a warm, soft and supple convex under it. He opened his eyes suddenly and grey cat ears brushed against his face. The human Xiaohuiy on top of him naked with his eyes closed. After his consciousness cleared, Fang Lei found that he was shamefully hard. Chapter ex3: Extra 3 Noticing the reaction of his body, Fang Lei tried to push Xiaohui away with some embarrassment. As soon as he moved, Xiaohui instinctively wrapped himself around him, meowing and pouting unconsciously. Fang Lei felt more and more embarrassed as Xiaohui pressed on him too tightly. He tried to tell himself that Xiaohui was a cat and he was not a pervert, at the same time regretting the way Xiaohui used to be when he was a cat, when Fang Lei could pick up him one-handedly and put him aside; unlike now. After a while, Xiaohui woke up. He hadn¡¯t realised that he had be human again and stuck out his tongue to lick Fang Lei¡¯s neck like a cat. Meow~ Fang Lei¡¯s body froze; he felt his hard-on was about to explode. Meow~ Xiaohui twitched his ears in displeasure; something poked ufortably under his soft stomach. He got up nimbly and knelt on Fang Lei¡¯sp, looking curiously at the ce that had been poking him. Meow~ Xiaohui reached out his hand and grabbed it. Fang Lei reacted by catching Xiaohui¡¯s hand. Meeting Xiaohui¡¯s angry stare, he said, somewhat woefully, ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower.¡± Without waiting for Xiaohui to make another move, Fang Lei pushed Xiaohui onto the bed, jumped off the bed and rushed into the bathroom as if fleeing. Embarrassed at his body¡¯s confused response, he turned on the cold water and stood under it. Meow~ Xiaohui followed him angrily. What Fang Lei had just done, that is, pushing Xiaohui away, had greatly trampled Xiaohui¡¯s dignity as the boss of the family. Fang Lei was so preupied with his thoughts that he didn¡¯t notice Xiaohui entering the bathroom. Only when Xiaohui jumped into his arms as usual did he react. Xiaohui was shocked by the cold water and meowed. Fang Lei turned off the water quickly, and Xiaohui shivered from the cold and squeezed his whole body into Fang Lei¡¯s arms, grabbing him and scratching him angrily twice. The two of them were naked, and Fang Lei tried not to think about what Xiaohui looked like right now as he turned on the hot water and rinsed Xiaohui. When the warm water poured on his body, Xiaohui purredfortably, his previous anger swept away. He waved his tail, grabbing Fang Lei and rubbing against him affectionately. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Damn it, he was getting hard again. ¡°Xiaohui, I want to take a shower, you go out first.¡± Fang Lei said to Xiaohui in embarrassment. Meow~ sXiaohui grabbed Fang Lei¡¯s waist, tilted his head and looked at Fang Lei with dissatisfaction, twitching his ears. He also wanted to take a bath. Fang Lei was a bit helpless. He had no problem bathing Xiaohui when he was a cat, but now that Xiaohui had be a human, it would be inconvenient for him to bathe Xiaohui. The problem was that Xiaohui didn¡¯t understand this at all. He stood proudly in front of Fang Lei as if he was a cat. His gaze fell on the bathing gel that Fang Lei usually used and he pointed at it excitedly. Meow~ Fang Lei looked at the shower gel and out of the corner of his eye noticed the cat shampoo on the side, sincerely hoping that Xiaohui would change back into his cat form. While he hesitated, Xiaohui scratched him angrily. Fang Lei looked at Xiaohui with a bitter smile, trying to visualise him as a cat. ¡°Bow your head.¡± He squeezed the shampoo a few times and rubbed it into bubbles to start washing Xiaohui¡¯s hair, carefully avoiding the grey cat ears for the water not to get in them. Xiaohui closed his eyes and was very obedient. After his head was washed, he raised his face and waited for Fang Lei to wash his face. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Even though Xiaohui turned into a human, he was still Master Cat. Maybe it was because Xiaohui was young, but when he became a human, his skin was very fine and white, with a light pinkish fine porcin lustre under the hot water. Fang Lei was very good at bathing cats, but it was his first time bathing a human. After he had finished washing Xiaohui¡¯s face, he squeezed the shower gel onto the bath sponge and wanted Xiaohui to wash himself. But as soon as he showed a hint of his intention, Xiaohui got angry. Fang Lei felt that even in the year he graduated from the police academy and almost got discovered as an undercover agent he had not been as tormented as he was now. Looking at Xiaohui¡¯s righteous face, Fang Lei repeated ¡°Xiaohui is a cat¡± a dozen times in his mind before he could barely manage to finish the bathing process without any distractions. But then Xiaohui had a new request. Meow~ Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Scratching Xiaohui while bathing him was a habit, and Xiaohui had actually retained it even after turning into a human. Fang Lei tried to reason with Xiaohui, ¡°You don¡¯t have any hair on your body now, how can I scratch you?¡± Xiaohui looked down at his naked body and then at Fang Lei¡¯s, and stretched out his finger to poke Fang Lei¡¯s abdominal muscles, going down along his abs. Fang Lei hurriedly grabbed his hand and said expressionlessly, ¡°I¡¯ll scratch.¡± Xiaohui: Meow~(¨R¨Œ¨Q)/~ After spending a whole hour, Fang Lei finally finished giving Xiaohui a bath. He found a big bath towel and wrapped Xiaohui in it, coaxing him, ¡°You go out first, I want to take a shower.¡± Meow~ sXiaohui protested, dissatisfied and perched lightly on the sink, with his tail waving behind his butt, wiggling his two long legs, watching Fang Lei unblinkingly as he used to do, waiting for him to take a shower. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The feeling of being watched waspletely different from being watched by a cat. Even if he had thick skin, he couldn¡¯t ignore Xiaohui¡¯s gaze, so he hurriedly washed himself without even using shower gel and then haphazardly pulled a towel to wipe himself. Fang Lei wiped off the water and put on his underwear, and after thinking about it, he found another pair and handed it to Xiaohui, ¡°Xiaohui will wear mine first, and I will take you out to buy new ones tomorrow.¡± Xiaohui waved his tail and was a bit reluctant, but Fang Lei couldn¡¯t watch Xiaohui run around the house without wearing anything. He patiently coaxed Xiaohui, ¡°You¡¯re not a cat now, you¡¯re a human being, you have to learn how to wear clothes and be good.¡± Meow~ Xiaohui reluctantly stretched out both legs; Fang Lei saw what he meant and consciously bent down to put Xiaohui¡¯s underwear on, only for it to get stuck at the tail. Although Fang Lei¡¯s underwear was a bit too big for Xiaohui, it was stretchy and wouldn¡¯t fall down, but Fang Lei couldn¡¯t fit the tail into it. Fang Lei looked at the ce where it was stuck and went to find a pair of scissors. As soon as he approached Xiaohui, Xiaohui burst out and jumped into Fang Lei¡¯s arms with a meow. Although Xiaohui had be a human, his cat nature had not changed. When Xiaohui was a stray cat, he had been caught by naughty children and had his tail cut with scissors, and he had a deep fear of scissors. Fang Lei felt sorry, hugged Xiaohui and coaxed him for a long time. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay, it¡¯s just cutting a hole in your clothes.¡± Xiaohui furiously scratched Fang Lei, who helplessly indulged him. In the end, he found a new pair of underpants and cut a hole in the back, recing the one on Xiaohui. The new underwear he found was a ck triangr one, and Xiaohui¡¯s tail poked out of the small hole in the back. Xiaohui pulled at the underpants and seemed to find them amusing as he jumped off the floor with his tail wagging. Meow~ When Fang Lei came out after cleaning up the bathroom, Xiaohui was squatting on the chair in front of the fridge drooling at the small dried fish in the fridge. The fridge door was wide open and Xiaohui seemed to be a little scared of the cold air inside. Fang Lei looked at the time and saw that it was already evening. He went over and touched Xiaohui¡¯s ears, took out the dried fish that had been frozen in the fridge for a week and asked, ¡°Is Xiaohui hungry? I¡¯ll re-fry the dried fish from before, so we¡¯ll make do for tonight.¡± He went to the kitchen and poured some oil into the pan, turned on the fire, and Xiaohui went over to him again. Xiaohui hid behind Fang Lei, sticking close to him and looking at the frying pan in front of him. Fang Lei¡¯s body stiffened and he struggled to rx. The fried fish returned to the pan was heating up very quickly. Xiaohui, who couldn¡¯t use chopsticks, grabbed it with both hands and meowed when it was too hot. Fang Lei looked amused and tore the fish into small strips for him, found a paper towel to clean Xiaohui¡¯s hands and fed him patiently. Meow~ Xiaohui, who had eaten his fill, slouched on the chair like a cat, puffing out his little belly and purring at Fang Lei. This was his habit when he was a cat; he liked Fang Lei to rub his tummy when he was full. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Meow~ Xiaohui urged, and Fang Lei had no choice but to put his hand over Xiaohui¡¯s belly and rub. Xiaohui stretched out his tongue in satisfaction and licked Fang Lei, ignoring Fang Lei¡¯s suddenly stiff expression and coquettishly leaning into his arms and rubbing against him. This move expressed Xiaohui¡¯s liking. Meow~ Fang Lei paused and chuckled, ¡°I see, Xiaohui is the boss in the family.¡± Meow~ Fang Lei was helpless and assured, ¡°Xiaohui is the only one, there will be no one else in this family.¡± Fang Lei had gone on a blind date at noon still thinking that if that girl was suitable he could have a rtionship; he was indeed not young and should consider the issue of having a family. But ever since he found out that Xiaohui had turned into a human, Fang Lei had stopped thinking about it. It would be better if Xiaohui had turned into a human fully, but Xiaohui still had cat ears and a cat tail, and no one couldn¡¯t say when he would turn back into a cat, so Fang Lei couldn¡¯t feelfortable with an outsider in his life. Although it was true that people and animals lived in harmony nowadays and almost every household had a pet, Fang Lei had never heard of anyone whose pet could turn into a human. Just as Lu Lingxi had hidden the fact that Dahei couldmunicate with people back then and didn¡¯t want Dahei to be studied, Fang Lei also didn¡¯t want Xiaohui to be discovered and taken away for the so-called scientific research. Fang Lei stroked Xiaohui¡¯s ear, ¡°For your sake, I¡¯m going to be a bachelor for the rest of my life.¡± Xiaohui didn¡¯t understand what a bachelor was, but understood what Fang Lei was saying about no one else in the family. This meant that Xiaohui¡¯s territory wouldn¡¯t be taken over by anyone else, and Fang Lei was his alone. He meowed happily, enthusiastically hugged Fang Lei and licked him again. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Chapter ex4: Extra 4 Fang Lei took a week¡¯s leave from work. He couldn¡¯t take Xiaohui with him to the police station, so he could only take leave to stay at home with Xiaohui, at least to give Xiaohui some basic knowledge of life. Of course, as a cat, Xiaohui was good in every way, but as a human, Xiaohui needed to master a lot more. It was also fortunate that Fang Lei had just finished the case at hand, otherwise the leader wouldn¡¯t have granted him leave. ¡°This is money.¡± Fang Lei leaned against the head of the bed, pulled out various banknotes from one yuan to one hundred yuan from his wallet andid them out in front of Xiaohui to teach him to recognise them. ording to what he knew about Xiaohui, Xiaohui would definitely not stay at home obediently, and he couldn¡¯t guarantee that the people Xiaohui met would be good people like the driverst time, so he could only teach Xiaohui what the money was first. ¡°Xiaohui, whatever you want, you can exchange it for money,¡± he said, picking up a one yuan bill. ¡°This is the smallest money.¡± Then he picked up a hundred yuan note, ¡°This is the biggest money.¡± Xiaohui squatted opposite Fang Lei; he still didn¡¯t like the ¡°sitting¡± position as it tended to squash his tail. He stared curiously at the banknote in Fang Lei¡¯s hand, tilted his head and waved his tail, meowing. Fang Lei nodded, ¡°You can exchange money for anything.¡± Xiaohui¡¯s eyes lit up and he pulled a hundred yuan out of Fang Lei¡¯s hand, meowing. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Fang Lei. He held back a smile and stroked Xiaohui¡¯s ears, ¡°No, you can¡¯t exchange this hundred yuan with Yan Yue for Lu Lingxi. Money can only be exchanged for things, not people. Besides, didn¡¯t we just agree that there would be only two of us at home and no one else?¡± He was just joking, but who knew that Xiaohui twitched his ears and threw away the money, suddenly jumping into his arms. Fang Lei was stunned and firmly hugged Xiaohui for a while. Meow~ Xiaohui leaned over and pressed his forehead against Fang Lei¡¯s, sticking out his tongue and licking Fang Lei¡¯s lips. Fang Lei¡¯s heart trembled and he was about to push Xiaohui away, but he hesitated when he heard the meaning of Xiaohui¡¯s meow clearly. Xiaohui didn¡¯t understand the joke he had just made and simply thought that Fang Lei was upset by Xiaohui¡¯s behaviour, so heforted him by licking him. Meow~ Xiaohui stopped moving after licking and looked at Fang Lei expectantly, signalling that it was Fang Lei¡¯s turn to lick. ording to the inte, in the world of cats, only cats with good and close rtionships were allowed to groom each other. Previously, Xiaohui treated Fang Lei as a servant who served him, but now he reluctantly regarded Fang Lei as a kindred spirit. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The sudden ringing of the phone rescued Fang Lei. Whoever it was, Fang Lei was grateful to the caller. But soon Fang Lei regretted this thought. On the phone, the old Mrs. Fang made a final decision, ¡°Leizi, I heard that you took a week off from work. The girl you met today is also on holiday these days, so since you have a day off, tomorrow just have a meal with her to get acquainted with each other. Don¡¯t leave after dinner, go for a stroll around. It¡¯s a deal, I¡¯ll tell the girl first, and you can call her to agree about a ce.¡± Fang Lei: ¡°Mom, I¡­¡± ¡°Alright, the TV series is about to start, I won¡¯t talk anymore.¡± The olddy hung up the phone, leaving Fang Lei alone with a headache. He was thinking of inviting the girl for another meal as a kind of reparation, and by the way, to make it clear that he had no intention of looking for a girlfriend for the time being, so as not to dy her. But he didn¡¯t expect the olddy to be in such a hurry and arrange the meeting for tomorrow. He looked at Xiaohui helplessly; he didn¡¯t feel safe leaving Xiaohui at home, but he was also worried that if he took Xiaohui with him, Xiaphui might turn back into a cat at some point. He hesitated for a long time and discussed it with Xiaohui, ¡°Tomorrow I¡¯ll send you to Xiao Xi, okay?¡± Fang Lei had many friends, but if there was anyone who could ept the fact that Xiaohui had turned into a human being without any problems, it was only Lu Lingxi. Meow~ Xiaohui immediately became vignt and expressed his dissatisfaction with Fang Lei¡¯s arrangement. When Fang Lei saw that it wouldn¡¯t work, he chose topromise. ¡°Then tomorrow I¡¯ll invite a friend over for a meal, okay?¡± Meow~ Fang Lei exined, ¡°Just an ordinary friend, it¡¯ll be just dinner.¡± Xiaohui reluctantly nodded, agreeing. Fang Lei let out a sigh of relief, thinking that taking into ount the enthusiasm of the olddy, it was better to talk to the girl as soon as possible. Otherwise, there was no guarantee that the olddy wouldn¡¯t do something without his knowledge. Although it was a risk to invite the girl home, this was his home turf and he could find a way to trick her in case Xiaohui turned back into a cat. Fang Lei found the girl¡¯s phone number, and when he got through, he first apologised for his behaviour today, and then politely said that his brother was not feeling well and it was not very convenient to go out. If the girl didn¡¯t mind, he wanted to invite her over for a meal as an apology. Perhaps it was because Fang Lei¡¯s profession as a police officer gave people a sense of security, so the girl didn¡¯t refuse and agreed toe. Fang Lei thought about the problems he might encounter tomorrow and felt that there was nothing missing, so he rxed and continued to exin various things to Xiaohui. After one night of hard work, he taught Xiao Xiaohui how to recognise the amount on the banknotes. Xiaohui didn¡¯t know how to count, but was able to tell by the colour of the banknotes. Fang Lei also took Xiaohui to re-demonstrate how to use the electrical appliances in the house, including the mobile phone he was now using. Although Xiaohui was smart when he was a cat and basically knew how to use them all, there was a difference between his paws and his hands after he¡¯d be a human. These were the basics; the most crucial thing was for Xiaohui to develop the habit of wearing clothes. Fang Lei found all his own clothes, trousers, t-shirts, jackets and pulled Xiaohui to try them all on. The good thing was that except for his tail, which was a bit of interference, Xiaohui didn¡¯t seem to be averse to wearing clothes. Fang Lei thought about buying Xiaohui some oversize trousers that were popr nowadays, so that Xiaohui could hide his tail, as well as a hat, and yes, he needed to buy a mobile phone for Xiaohui. As he made his ns, he looked at Xiaohui, who was tossing and turning on his bed, enjoying himself, and had the feeling he was raising a son. Meow~ Xiaohui rolled over, shrunk into a ball like a cat and clung to Fang Lei¡¯s thigh. Fang Lei was a little ufortable and tried to move; Xiaohui pped him unhappily. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± A son probably wouldn¡¯t be that grumpy. After 11 o¡¯clock in the evening, Xiaohui couldn¡¯t hold it any longer and pulled Fang Lei to sleep. Fang Lei had slept all afternoon and didn¡¯t feel sleepy, but Xiaohui was making a lot of noise, so he had to follow Xiaohui to sleep. Before going to bed, Fang Lei found two t-shirts to sleep in, one for Xiaohui and one for himself. But Xiaohui refused to wear it and took off his underwear as well, lying naked on Fang Lei¡¯s body, stretching his limbs and meowing. Fang Lei was going crazy and grabbed Xiaohui to stop him from moving around, ¡°Sleep.¡± sXiaohui bit Fang Lei¡¯s neck, dissatisfied, and continued to rub against him. Fang Lei had to hold Xiaohui tightly in his arms, with his legs mped around him, confining Xiaohui¡¯s movements. The two were cuddled together in an unprecedentedly intimate position, and Fang Lei clearly felt that while he was getting hard, so was Xiaohui. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Xiaohui pouted ufortably and followed his instinct to lick Fang Lei¡¯s neck. Meow~ Fang Lei understood the meaning: Xiaohui was in heat. He tried to brainwash himself with ¡°Xiaohui is a cat¡±, but the soft lips and tongue on his neck reminded him that Xiaohui was not a cat now but had turned into a human. Even though Xiaohui still had cat ears and a cat tail, Fang Lei was sure that anyone who saw Xiaohui now would think that Xiaohui was a human. Meow~ Xiaohui urged in difort and Fang Lei awkwardly had to release him. Xiaohui immediately wrapped himself around Fang Lei without needing anyone to teach him and grabbed ¡®Xiao Lei¡¯ with both hands through Fang Lei¡¯s underwear. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± It¡¯s going to break! ¡°Xiaohui, let go.¡± Fang Lei gritted his teeth. Xiaohui was obviously inexperienced. Fang Lei felt that if he kept on being grabbed by Xiaohui he would have to go to the doctor tomorrow. Meow~ Xiaohui didn¡¯t listen to Fang Lei¡¯s words; instead he grabbed tighter. It was as if he suddenly understood what was going on and moved his hands up and down over Xiao Lei. Fang Lei no longer knew whether it was enjoyment or torture. In order to avoid the tragedy of Xiao Lei breaking in Xiaohui¡¯s hands, Fang Lei had to grab Xiaohui¡¯s hand and instruct him how to regte his strength. After the ¡°sweet¡± torture, Xiaohui looked at Fang Lei with shining eyes and excitedly grabbed Fang Lei¡¯s hand to touch Xiao Hui. Meow~ Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Adhering to the principle of giving as much as receiving and helping each other, Fang Lei sessfully solved Xiaohui¡¯s problem. His experience was much richer than Xiaohui¡¯s. Xiaohuifortably hugged Fang Lei and licked him everywhere, leaving countless tooth marks on Fang Lei¡¯s neck, slobbering all over Fang Lei¡¯s body. Fang Lei had no choice but to carry Xiaohui to take another bath, but Xiaohui was not happy and left countless drool stains all over his body again. Meow~ Fang Lei understood that this slobbering by Xiaohui was an interaction between cat mates. Technically speaking, Xiaohui was not just licking but marking him as his possession. He marked Fang Lei¡¯s body, announcing to Fang Lei and to other cats that Fang Lei was his and no one was allowed to steal him. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± No matter what Fang Lei thought, Xiaohui finished marking him and happily fell asleep on top of Fang Lei. Fang Lei hugged Xiaohui helplessly and unconsciously fell asleep too. The next morning, Fang Lei went to the vegetable market and bought a lot of hot pot ingredients. Although he had practised his cooking skills, he was only good at cooking fish, and everything else was just a bit too ordinary. Considering that Xiaohui might not like to eat hot pot, Fang Lei also bought several catties of fresh small fish, preparing half of them to be fried for Xiaohui and half to be cooked in a fish soup for Xiaohui. When he went out in the morning, Xiaohui had not yet woken up. But when Fang Lei returned to the apartment with his hands full, he saw the apartment door wide open and Xiaohui squatting in the doorway wearing only ck underwear, waving his tail and looking at him. Fang Lei was startled and hurriedly looked around to see if anyone had seen Xiaohui. He rushed inside and was about to close the door when Xiaohui jumped into his arms, angrily using him of the evil he had done by leaving Xiaohui alone at home. Fang Lei had no choice but to use his magic trick, wrapping one arm around Xiaohui and rubbing his tummy with the other. Meow~ Xiaohui was soforted by the rubbing that he couldn¡¯t remember what he was angry about a minute ago. Fang Lei looked at Xiaohui with amusement and prepared to go to the kitchen to wash the vegetables. Xiaohui followed obediently. When the vegetables were washed, Fang Lei looked at the time and pulled Xiaohui back into the bedroom, finding two pieces of his clothes and asking Xiaohui to wear them. ¡°Good boy, when someoneester, make sure you hide your tail. Also, when you are about to turn back into a cat, hide back in the bedroom and don¡¯te out, remember?¡± Meow~ Fang Lei stroked Xiaohui¡¯s ears and coaxed patiently, ¡°Just for a little while, I¡¯ll give you fried little fish to eat at noon.¡± Xiaohui cocked his head and looked at Fang Lei for a moment, magnanimously agreeing to his mate¡¯s request. Meow~ It was almost eleven o¡¯clock when Lin Jing found Fang Lei¡¯s single apartment ording to the address he had given her. She had a very good impression of Fang Lei, practically falling in love at first sight. Although it was strange to her that Fang Lei was not married when he had such good conditions, she could understand it considering Fang Lei¡¯s profession. The only thing that concerned Lin Jing was the cat-eared boy from yesterday. She probably guessed that the boy was Fang Lei¡¯s brother, and her heart was not veryfortable. After all, she had been left in the restaurant by Fang Lei on her first meeting with him, which was a bit humiliating, to say the least. Lin Jing stood at the door and was about to knock when Xiaohui inside the house suddenly exploded. He smelled a nasty smell at the door, exactly the same as the smell Fang Lei had on him yesterday after he had left him behind. Meow~ Xiaohui angrily went to Fang Lei who was frying fish for him. Fang Lei didn¡¯t understand why Xiaohui was angry again, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Xiaohui was about toin when there was a knock on the door. Fang Lei stroked Xiaohui¡¯s head, ¡°Stop it, a guest ising.¡± sHe guessed that it was Lin Jing, so he turned off the fire and opened the door. Xiaohui followed behind Fang Lei angrily. As soon as Fang Lei opened the door, a gentle smile appeared on Lin Jing¡¯s face. The next moment, the smile froze on her face as Xiaohui squeezed into Fang Lei¡¯s arms from behind, hugging Fang Lei and giving him an affectionate lick. Meow~ Lin Jing: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Xiaohui swept a haughty nce at Lin Jing, full of hostility at her presence. Fang Lei could do nothing about Xiaohui; he could only smile helplessly and step aside to invite Lin Jing in. Lin Jing walked in silently, her eyes darting around the room. Fang Lei¡¯s apartment was very clean and Lin Jing¡¯s impression of him was a little better. Of course, it would have been better if there wasn¡¯t that weird cat-eared teenager. ¡°Sit down for a while, we¡¯ll have hot pot for lunch, it¡¯ll be ready soon.¡± Fang Lei was very polite. Lin Jing smiled, ¡°Do you need my help?¡± ¡°No, no need.¡± Fang Lei excused himself as he set the fruit on the coffee table in front of Lin Jing. Xiaohui swept the entire fruit te into his arms. Meow~ Lin Jing: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The corners of Fang Lei¡¯s mouth twitched; he nodded at Lin Jing in embarrassment, grabbed Xiaohui and went to the bedroom, closed the door and whispered, ¡°Remember what we talked about in the morning?¡± Xiaohui scratched Fang Lei angrily; he felt more righteous than Fang Lei. Fang Lei had topromise, ¡°It¡¯s just an ordinary friend having a meal, we¡¯ll send her awayter. Be good and don¡¯t make trouble.¡± Meow~ Fang Lei nodded, ¡°I promise.¡± After theymunicated again, Xiaohui¡¯s attitude towards Lin Jing was a little better. Of course his hostility was still there, but Xiaohui felt he was adult enough to tolerate his mate preparing food for his rival. Xiaohui¡¯s hostility was so obvious that Lin Jing felt it all too clearly. She had been a little ufortable, but upon closer observation she realised that Xiaohui couldn¡¯t speak, only meow. She didn¡¯t think of anything else but that Xiaohui was not quite right in the head. Looking at the cat ears that Xiaohui was wearing on his head, she could see that Xiaohui was thinking he was a cat. When she thought of this, Lin Jing felt a little sympathy for Fang Lei and became a little more tolerant towards Xiaohui. When Fang Leiid the table and invited her to eat hot pot, she even smiled and gave way to Xiaohui. ¡°Xiaohui doesn¡¯t eat hot pot.¡± Fang Lei said as he held up a small fish and carefully picked out somerger bones before tearing it into small strips and cing it in Xiaohui¡¯s bowl. Meow~ Xiaohui meowed at Fang Lei. Fang Lei felt helpless and nodded politely to Lin Jing, indicating that Lin Jing should eat first, and turned to hold the small fish and feed it into Xiaohui¡¯s mouth. Lin Jing: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Seeing that Fang Lei himself couldn¡¯t be bothered to eat and just kept picking out the bones and feeding the fish to Xiaohui, Lin Jing finally couldn¡¯t help but smile and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t Officer Fang hungry?¡± Fang Lei casually said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m used to it, let me feed Xiaohui first.¡± Lin Jing felt a vein throb on her forehead as she watched Xiaohui, who didn¡¯t feel self-conscious at all, meowing and eating. After finally waiting for Xiaohui to finish eating, Lin Jing thought it was her and Fang Lei¡¯s turn to eat slowly, but it turned out that Xiaohuizily leaned on Fang Lei and squeezed into Fang Lei¡¯s arms in front of her, with the look of a pampered cat. Meow~ Xiaohui gave Lin Jing a provocative look and turned his head to lick at Fang Lei¡¯s neck. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Jing almost couldn¡¯t keep the smile on her face as she put down her chopsticks and said as softly as she could, ¡°I¡¯m full.¡± Fang Lei sighed; there was really no way to me Xiaohui, so he could only nod apologetically at Lin Jing and said straightforwardly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my brother isn¡¯t very sensible. This time I invited Miss Lin toe over to apologise for what happened yesterday, and to tell her that my profession is too dangerous and I don¡¯t know when something will happen, so I don¡¯t want to drag others down. Miss Lin is very good and deserves better.¡± He said it politely, but Lin Jing still turned red and interrupted him straight away, ¡°Is it because of him?¡± Lin Jing pointed at Xiaohui. Fang Lei froze; to some extent it was because of Xiaohui, but it was certainly not what Lin Jing thought. But his hesitation was taken as an admission by Lin Jing, who was instantly aggrieved. The anger from yesterday when she was inexplicably left in the restaurant also surged, and she blurted out, ¡°What¡¯s good about a psycho!¡± Fang Lei¡¯s face darkened slightly, ¡°Miss Lin, Xiaohui is not sick.¡± After saying that Fang Lei felt this matter was his fault and eased his tone, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, this matter is my fault, I¡­¡± Before he finished his sentence, Lin Jing suddenly stood up. Without waiting for Fang Lei to react, Xiaohui had already jumped down nimbly and stood in front of Fang Lei, blocking him. Meow~ Xiaohui narrowed his eyes angrily and yelled at Lin Jing, looking as if he was about to pounce and bite her at any moment. In Xiaohui¡¯s view, Lin Jing¡¯s actions were a threat to Fang Lei and he had to stand up to protect his mate. Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Jing left the apartment in a rage, throwing the words, ¡°Don¡¯t exin to me, wait until you exin to your mother.¡± As soon as she left, Xiaohui immediately jumped happily into Fang Lei¡¯s arms. Driving the enemy away from his territory was a victory for Xiaohui, and he waved his tail proudly at Fang Lei with a look that begged for praise. Meow~(¨R¨Œ¨Q)/~ Fang Leiughed helplessly, looking at Xiaohui with a gaze full of indulgence. ¡°Still want to eat the fish?¡± Xiaohui rubbed his stomach, thinking that he had just consumed a lot of energy while confronting the enemy and could eat another small fish. Meow~ Fang Lei led Xiaohui back to the dining room. Half an hourter after eating and drinking enough, Fang Lei received a call from the olddy. He was already mentally prepared. As expected, the olddy first scolded Fang Lei, saying that he had made a girl cry and was simply too much. When Fang Lei felt that the olddy had almost scolded him enough and was about to take a break and drink some water to moisten her throat, the olddy suddenly said, ¡°Are your father and I some kind of old-fashioned people? If you say you like men, you like them, what can¡¯t you say to the family? You are living with someone and your father and I are still kept in the dark, are we outsiders? Are you worthy of your father and I raising you for so many years?¡± Fang Lei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Mom, no, I¡­¡± Fang Lei didn¡¯t know how to exin it for a long time. The old Mrs. Fang took a sip of water and continued heatedly: ¡°You what you! What are you trying to say? It¡¯s not that you¡¯re deliberately hiding it from us? Then what is it? Are you ashamed of yourself? Are you afraid that people around you willugh at you? Who do you think you¡¯re living your life for? It¡¯s important to livefortably yourself, what do you care what other people think, can they live your life for you?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Fang Lei simply admitted his mistake, ¡°Mom, I was wrong.¡± He had given up on the idea of exining and the olddy grunted, ¡°So what if you know you are wrong?¡± Fang Lei immediately promised, ¡°I¡¯ll find time to take him home to see you guys.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± The olddy hung up the phone arrogantly. Fang Lei shook his head andughed as he held the phone. Meow~ Xiaohui watched Fang Lei answer the phone and immediately squealed coquettishly. He had eaten two more fish and also fished out a lot of noodles from the hot pot. He had overeaten a little and was rolling around on the bed with his belly up. Fang Lei sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed Xiaohui¡¯s tummy. Xiaohui squintedfortably and rolled into Fang Lei¡¯s arms, hugging him and licking him all over again. Fang Lei looked at Xiaohui indulgently, thinking that it was actually not bad to be like that. Chapter ex5: Extra 5 July was usually the time when the heat began in summer. But with the improvement of the Earth¡¯s environment over the years, the climate had been regted by the extensive coverage of vegetation, so even at noon there was shade from trees and a cool breeze wherever you went. In a small city near the Tamakan Desert, Lu Lingxi stood on the side of the road in a simple white cotton t-shirt and khaki shorts, his body straight and slender. His ck travel bagy at his feet, and Dahei was lying quietly on top of it. Lu Lingxi was reading a text message, asionally shifting his gaze to look at Dahei. The passage of time had removed the childishness from his face, and his youthful profile was gentle and calm. He stood there, like a finely carved jade, with an inner light that made it impossible to look away from him once you took a nce. ¡°Brother! Brother Dahei!¡± The sound of a child¡¯s voice reached him from behind. Yan Yue, dressed in the same way as Lu Lingxi, came out from a fast food restaurant on the roadside. He was holding a little kid of about three or four years old on one arm and carrying a pile of cold drinks in the other hand. The little kid was a bit excited when he saw Dahei and stretched out his arms to greet Dahei from far away. When Yan Yue bent down and let go of him, the kid immediately ran happily to Dahei¡¯s side, hugging Dahei¡¯s neck and refusing to let go. Lu Lingxi finished texting and smiled as he bent down and stroked the little kid¡¯s head. ¡°Does Xiaorui¡¯s tummy still hurt?¡± Xiaorui beamed and said in a milky voice, ¡°If Brother and Brother Dahei kiss me, it won¡¯t hurt anymore.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled and leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. Xiaorui happily turned his face to look at Dahei, ¡°Brother Dahei, here!¡± Yan Yue walked over and shook his head in amusement, not knowing who Xiao Xiaorui had taken after. Wang Shuxiu was spirited, Lu Lingxi was gentle, Xiao Feng was restrained, but Xiao Xiaorui had been sweet-talking since he was a baby, coaxing everyone around him into a daze. He looked at Lu Lingxi with the cold drinks in his hand, ¡°What does Xiao Xi want to drink? Orange juice or mango juice?¡± Lu Lingxi picked the orange juice and passed the straw to Yan Yue¡¯s mouth without drinking it first. Yan Yue lowered his head and took a sip. Meeting Lu Lingxi¡¯s smiling eyes he couldn¡¯t help but reach out and touch his hair. ¡°Who were you chatting with now?¡± When he asked, Lu Lingxi remembered something, ¡°It¡¯s Xiaohui, he quarrelled with Brother Fang and ising to us.¡± Yan Yue had an odd expression, ¡°Fang Lei would quarrell with Xiaohui?¡± Lu Lingxi also found this somewhat unlikely, but that¡¯s what Xiaohui said in his text message. ¡°I told him the address of our hotel. He said he would go immediately and would probably arrive in the evening.¡± Yan Yue said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll book another room. I guess Fang Lei will being after him.¡± Speaking of which, both of them were a bit curious to know why Fang Lei had quarrelled with Xiaohui. Ever since Xiaohui had magically turned into a human four years ago, Fang Lei had lived a life of being bullied by Xiaohui in various ways. Of course it was the same before Xiaohui had turned into a human. ording to Lu Lingxi¡¯s understanding, Fang Lei was very indulgent towards Xiaohui, and Auntie Fang and Uncle Fang were also very fond of Xiaohui, so he couldn¡¯t think of any reason for Fang Lei and Xiaohui to quarrel at all. When the two of them couldn¡¯t think of a reason, Yan Yue picked up his travel bag and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go first, we¡¯ll know when Xiaohuies over tonight. Didn¡¯t Xiao Xi want to see an oasis? There¡¯s one not far from the town.¡± When they were in Kunnan a few years ago, Yan Yue promised Lu Lingxi that he would take some time off every year to apany Lu Lingxi to travel. The two of them had visited quite a few ces in the past years, and this year they had set their sights on a desert oasis. Usually, wherever they went, Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi always travelled by car, taking Dahei and Xiaohei with them. This time there was also Xiao Xiaorui. They were afraid Xiao Xiaorui wouldn¡¯t be able to stand riding in the car for a long time, so the three of them, plus one dog and one snake, had to give up their self-driving trip and choose public transportation. The good thing was that in the past few years, the pet craze had been on the rise all over the world, and everywhere you went, you could see people with all kinds of pets. For example, Dahei had a unique boarding pass once he passed through security. As for Xiaohei, he hid in Yan Yue¡¯s pocket every time he went through customs. Yan Yue rented an open-top jeep, and Lu Lingxi sat in the back with Xiao Xiaorui in his arms, while Dahei jumped on the passenger side. Yan Yue smoothly put sunsses on Dahei¡¯s face. The car started and Dahei posed against the wind, very stylish. There was a car passing by and a shiny golden retriever was looking through the back window. The golden retriever saw Dahei and gave a soft bark; the driver in frontughed and nodded to Yan Yue, saying, ¡°Buddy, my girl fell in love with your young man at first sight. How about bing inws?¡± Yan Yue: ¡°¡­¡­¡± s Lu Lingxi, who hugged Xiao Xiaorui, was about tough to death as Dahei barked at Lu Lingxi, aggrieved. Lu Lingxi hurriedly stroked Dahei¡¯s fluffy head, but still couldn¡¯t stopughing. This was not the first time he had encountered this situation;pared to him and Yan Yue, Dahei was too popr. Every time he went out, he encountered a few flirtatious attempts, clearly illustrating what it meant to be a heartthrob. Yan Yue habitually declined politely, ¡°Sorry, our family¡¯s dog is also a girl.¡± Dahei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Driver: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lu Lingxi lowered his head and stifled hisughter until his stomach hurt. Yan Yue obviously could have found other reasons to refuse, but he loved to tease Dahei like this. The other driver regretfully left. Dahei whimpered and Lu Lingxi hurriedly adjusted his expression tofort Dahei. Half an hourter, they saw the desert por forest far ahead of them, and thergest desert in China, the Tamakan Desert, slowly unfolded in front of the two of them. Speaking of which, the Tamakan Desert was not only thergest desert in China, but also the number one mobile desert (desert that tends to move in the direction of the winds) in the world. The entire Tamakan Desert covered a vast area of 330,000 square kilometres, ounting for 4% of China¡¯s total area. In the past, the Tamakan Desert was known as a no-go area for people, with 13 sandstorm days throughout the year, little rainfall and high evaporation. Few nts could survive here, except for the desert nts such as desert por. Because of the desert¡¯s barrenness andck of water, the animals that lived here were also extremely rare and upied zones abandoned by humans. asional travellers appeared here, but only for a short time. But everything changed four years ago; or rather the whole world had been undergoing various changes since four years ago. The source of the earliest changes appeared in Fengcheng, the heavy industrial city in the north of China. As if overnight, the city that was full of smog and pollution and was always at the bottom of the various environmental awards in China had disappeared. The Fengcheng that appeared in the media and news was a city of beautiful hills and clear blue skies, with lush greenery filling the streets and alleys. The whole city seemed to be blessed by the god of nature, and people, nature, and animals lived in harmony, just like the city of elves in myths and legends. First, crowds from all over the country flocked to Fengcheng, and then crowds from all over the world flocked to Fengcheng. All at once, the eyes of the entire world fell on Fengcheng. Whether it was governments, scientists or ordinary humans, everyone wanted to know: was the change in Fengcheng City unique? Could other ces be like Fengcheng City? This frenzied anticipation reached its peak with the first appearance of the Great Willow Tree in Lingshui Vige to the public. The government, the media, scientists, ordinary people, everyone identified the Great Willow Tree as the cause of Fengcheng¡¯s changes, and cities all over the country asked to transnt and nt seedlings of the tree. With no one daring to destroy the tree and the people of Fengcheng not agreeing to move the Great Willow Tree, Lu Lingxi¡¯s Tiny Garden Technology Company rose to prominence. All the seedlings nted in his nt nursery were the Great Willow¡¯s seedlings that had been evolved and upgraded. The government chose to cooperate with Tiny Garden at the first opportunity, and the seedlings were transported to each city like a treasure, with the best gardeners selected to take care of them, in the hope that the miracle in Fengcheng would be replicated elsewhere. The results didn¡¯t disappoint. With the sessful transntation of the big willow seedlings, the environment in various ces gradually began to improve. Although both Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue knew that the heart of the yed a role, in the eyes of everyone, all this was the grace of the Great Willow Tree. Now, other countries couldn¡¯t sit still, and China weed the most frequent diplomatic missions in history. Every country in the world sent envoys to China, and all kinds of economic and military cooperation wereing to China. The various technologies that had been kept secret in the past wereunched in China, and the resources and energy were left to China to choose. All countries had only one condition; they hoped that China would agree to transnt the seedlings of the Great Willow Tree. For all the countries of the world, the existence of the Great Willow Tree did not only mean a change in the environment, but also the evolution of mankind. In this race for survival where China was leading the way, no one wanted to be the one to be eliminated. If the Chinese government was the biggest winner of the Fengcheng transformation, then Tiny Garden was the second winner after the Chinese government. With the export of the seedlings of the big willow tree, Yan Yue had sessfully promoted Zhugang and copaiba balsam trees. In fact, apart from making money, the existence of the bamboo and copaiba balsam trees was more like a kind of guidance. They were a reminder to mankind that nts were rich in energy and that the tens of thousands of nts on earth were the greatest treasure trove for mankind. Protecting the living environment of nts was also protecting humans themselves. In less than four years, seedlings of the Great Willow Tree had been nted all over the world, including, of course, the Tamakan Desert. Since the first seedling of the Great Willow tree survived here, the originally deste desert had gradually taken on a new lease of life. Although it was mainly thanks to the transformation of the¡¯s heart, it was undeniable that the willow trees¡¯ root system¡¯s ability to store water had yed a great role in the desert. Oases began to appear at the edge of the desert and were gradually advancing towards its centre. Some experts predicted that within twenty years the entire Tamakan Desert would be an oasis of life. The changes of the past few years shed through Lu Lingxi¡¯s mind as he looked out of the car window in fascination. ¡°Brother, Brother.¡± Xiao Xiaorui noticed that Lu Lingxi¡¯s attention was not on him and shook his arm to remind Lu Lingxi of his presence. Lu Lingxi looked at Xiao Xiaorui and smiled gently, stroking Xiao Xiaorui¡¯s soft hair and saying, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Xiao Xiaorui blinked and said loudly in a milky voice, ¡°I like Brother the most.¡± Lu Lingxi agreed, ¡°I also like Xiaorui the most.¡± ¡°Ahem.¡± ¡°Woof.¡± Yan Yue and Dahei protested at the same time. Lu Lingxi giggled and went over to give the man and the dog a kiss on the cheek. Xiao Xiaorui got anxious, ¡°I want it too, I want it too.¡± Lu Lingxi smiled and hugged Xiao Xiaorui, giving him a big smooch on the cheek. Xiaohei peeked up from Yan Yue¡¯s wrist, aggrieved, and hissed in Lu Lingxi¡¯s direction. Without waiting for Lu Lingxi¡¯s reaction, Yan Yue had unceremoniously suppressed Xiaohei¡¯s request. Xiaohei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The three of them, the dog and the snake, spent the afternoon strolling around the oasis, and Lu Lingxi also bought quite a few desert por crafts. Originally Yan Yue wanted to apany Lu Lingxi to stroll around the neighbourhood at night and rent a tent to watch the sunrise in the morning, but Fang Lei called to say that he and Xiaohui would be arriving soon. Yan Yue had to pull the reluctant Xiao Xiaorui into the car, ready to rush back to the hotel where they were staying. ¡°Brother, I want to stay in a tent tonight.¡± Xiao Xiaoruiined with his mouth deted. Lu Lingxi hugged him and fed him some water before exining, ¡°Brother Xiaohui ising to see you, don¡¯t you want to see Brother Xiaohui?¡± Xiao Xiaorui shook his head honestly and added, ¡°Brother Xiaohui likes to pinch my face every time and even steals the little dried fish I leave for Meow Xiaohui to eat.¡± Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± After four years of getting along, Lu Lingxi actually felt that even though Xiaohui had turned into a human that looked like an adult, his personality was stillpletely childish. Every time they got together, Xiaohui liked to tease Xiao Xiaorui, often switching between cat and human forms to confuse Xiao Xiaorui, simply full of bad taste. However, because of Fang Lei¡¯s indulgence, Xiaohui was able to retain his nature to the fullest extent, happily following Fang Lei and having Fang Lei clean up the mess no matter what he did. Lu Lingxi coaxed Xiao Xiaorui for a long time and as soon as they returned to the hotel, they saw Fang Lei in front of them holding Xiaohui, who had turned into a cat. Yan Yue raised his eyebrows, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Xiaohui?¡± Fang Lei was serious: ¡°This will save one person¡¯s airfare.¡± Yan Yue & Lu Lingxi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± s The truth was that Xiaohui was quarrelling with Fang Lei and refused to change back into his human form. He squatted in Fang Lei¡¯s arms, puffy with anger. His eyes rolled around; he chose a target and aimed to pounce towards Xiao Xiaorui. Xiao Xiaorui didn¡¯t like Brother Xiaohui, but he was extremely fond of Meow Xiaohui. Xiao Xiaorui remembered that Meow Xiaohui liked to eat dried small fish, and every time he saw Meow Xiaohui he would take out the dried small fish he had specially saved and give it to Meow Xiaohui to eat. This time Xiao Xiaorui didn¡¯t have any dried small fish with him. He struggled to find it for a long time, piling up all the souvenirs Lu Lingxi had bought for him this afternoon in front of Xiaohui. ¡°Meow Meow, these are all for you, I¡¯ll ask Daddy to fry you little fish to eat when we get home.¡± Meow~ Xiao Xiaorui hugged Xiaohui and gave him a big kiss before turning to discuss with Lu Lingxi, ¡°Brother, can I sleep with Meow Xiaohui and Brother Dahei at night?¡± Lu Lingxi held back a smile and looked at Fang Lei, whoughed helplessly. Looking at Xiao Xiaorui and the cat-shaped Xiaohui ying together, Yan Yue took the opportunity to satisfy his and Lu Lingxi¡¯s curiosity, ¡°Did you quarrell? What happened?¡± Fang Lei sighed, ¡°As you know, I was injured in a case some time ago. It was not a big deal, but Xiaohui took it to heart and went to take revenge for me without saying a word, solving the case in the process. Fortunately, he was fine, but what if something had happened?¡± Xiaohui had run to Fang Lei with great enthusiasm to im credit, but to his surprise, Fang Lei was not only unhappy, but grabbed him and gave him a lecture. In his anger, Xiaohui wanted to leave home but was caught by Fang Lei just as he arrived at the airport. Still angry, he turned back into a cat and refused to pay any attention to Fang Lei the whole way. This was exactly what Xiaohui would do. Yan Yue patted Fang Lei sympathetically and suddenly frowned, ¡°Fang Lei, why is there a lipstick mark on your cor?¡± Fang Lei was stunned and was just about to ask what lipstick mark, when Xiaohui on the bed twitched its ears and pounced angrily towards Fang Lei. Meow~ Yan Yue winked at Fang Lei, hugged Xiao Xiaorui with one hand, pulled Lu Lingxi with the other, and left the room with Dahei behind him. The moment the door closed, Xiaohui had already changed back into his human form, angrily pulling Fang Lei to sniff around. Fang Lei chuckled, smoothly wrapped his arms around Xiaohui and lowered his head to kiss him. ¡°Yan Yue lied to you, there is no lipstick mark.¡± Xiaohui: ¡°¡­asshole!¡± Fang Lei gently pped Xiaohui¡¯s butt, ¡°No swearing.¡± As soon as Xiaohui got excited, the cat ears and cat tail that had been put away appeared again. Fang Lei familiarly touched Xiaohui¡¯s tail, which was the most sensitive part of Xiaohui¡¯s body. Xiaohui blushed, waved his tail and bit Fang Lei¡¯s neck hard, saying viciously, ¡°Bite you to death.¡± Fang Lei kissed him indulgently and said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry, I know you are worried about me, but you should know that I will be worried about you too.¡± Xiaohui didn¡¯t say anything and wrapped his arms around Fang Lei¡¯s neck with force. Fang Lei smiled, hugged Xiaohui tenderly and asked, ¡°Are you hungry?¡± Xiaohui nodded obediently, ¡°I want to eat grilled fish.¡± ¡°Good, put on your clothes and let¡¯s go eat grilled fish with Yan Yue and the others.¡± In the next room, Xiao Xiaorui was ying with Dahei. Lu Lingxi red at Yan Yue, ¡°Big Brother Yan is lying again.¡± Yan Yue smiled faintly and kissed Lu Lingxi on the forehead, saying gently, ¡°I would never lie to Xiao Xi.¡± The corners of Lu Lingxi¡¯s lips curved up and he interlocked his fingers with Yan Yue¡¯s, saying seriously, ¡°I know.¡± Their eyes met, and the two simple words ¡°I know¡± were better than all the sweet words in the world. THE END I hope you enjoyed it (those who didn¡¯t enjoy it but read 175 chapters of it anyway¡­ I don¡¯t know, go reflect on your life or something) ?? I will certainly miss Xiao Xi, Yan Yue, Dahei and others. Thank you, Blood, my favourite reader, for your constant support! And thank you everyone whomented and said all those nice things. I hope you¡¯ll enjoy some other stories on this site ?? If you liked the story, please leave a review on Novelupdates. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!