Bo Ting had perfectly adapted to life at the flower shop on his first day as a part-timer.
The shop hadn’t been fully renovated yet. Miss Du busied herself with the decorations, while Elder Wen from upstairs steadily transported flower racks down one after another.
All Bo Ting needed to do was lend a hand from time to time and take good care of the three little VIPs.
That’s right—little VIPs.
He had come to treat the three potted plants, including yesterday’s Little Blue Flower, as full-fledged VIP customers.
After all, Miss Du had said these three pots were the signature attractions of their Beautiful Flower Shop.
Even though she was the only one running the shop, Bo Ting had no idea why she referred to it as “our.”
However, as a friendly neighbor and hardworking employee, he had no intention of prying. He arrived right on time in the afternoon, unlocked the door, and casually tied Doudou up outside.
Turning his head, he surveyed his new workplace territory before enthusiastically giving the entire shop a thorough cleaning—especially meticulously wiping down the pots of his VIP clients.
Bo Ting kept Mr. Xu’s advice in mind and took care not to touch the flower leaves while cleaning the pots.
Even though Little Blue Flower had grown quite a bit taller that day, its petals hanging densely downward, Bo Ting deftly avoided it.
He had to admit, the fitness routine over the past few days had paid off. He never could have managed this angle before.
After perfectly sidestepping and bending at the waist, Bo Ting steadied his old back as he straightened up. He then turned to the next pot.
Little Blue Flower trembled unsteadily twice, as if puzzled. Wasn’t this human praising me the moment he walked in yesterday? Why does it seem like he doesn’t like me today?
The sky is falling!
The resilient wildflower curled up in autistic withdrawal.
After wiping all the pots, Bo Ting’s expression finally relaxed as he prepared to return to the front counter for a short rest. But as he turned his head, he noticed something was off.
Wait, hadn’t that flower been blooming just now?
Why was it wilted now?
He hadn’t touched it, had he?
Bo Ting horrifiedly recalled the earlier details, feeling like a fool.
After hesitantly staring at the yellowed, withered leaves for a long while, he decided to seek help from Mr. Xu.
After all, Mr. Xu had experience raising flowers and knew far more than he did. It was Mr. Xu who had guided him yesterday, too.
The phone rang with a “ding-a-ling.”
Xu Qinglai picked up and heard a somewhat anxious voice on the other end.
The clear, youthful male tone carried a hint of panic, as if some catastrophe had occurred.
Xu Qinglai paused slightly before hearing Bo Ting say, “Mr. Xu, big trouble! On my first day of work, I think I’ve already killed a VIP customer!”
Xu Qinglai was momentarily stunned before piecing together what Bo Ting meant.
That blue wildflower had died?
Heterized plants didn’t seem that fragile, did they?
He pondered thoughtfully, gently reassuring Bo Ting with a few words before saying, “It might just be a minor issue.”
“Send me a video; let me take a look.”
Only after hearing this did Bo Ting realize he needed a targeted diagnosis—his description alone might not be enough for Mr. Xu to judge.
He obediently switched his phone camera to video and aimed it at Little Blue Flower inside the shop.
The other two pots were thriving vigorously.
Only this little wildflower…
It had clearly been the healthiest that morning, but now it looked sickly, limply drooping in its pot.
Xu Qinglai’s expression remained mild, but the emotions in his phoenix eyes, hidden beneath thick lashes, were utterly cold.
Facing the blue wildflower directly, he merely tapped the screen lightly, as if giving a “friendly” greeting.
The wildflower slowly lifted its leaves, only to be caught off guard the next second by a deep, twisted, indescribable tentacle warning it lazily through the screen.
The entity extending the tentacle curled with playful amusement as it softly asked the human, “Little Bo, it seems to have recovered again.”
“Hm?”
“Is that so?”
Bo Ting leaned in close and indeed saw the nearly dying Little Blue Flower suddenly perk up for some reason, its leaves stretching skyward.
Xu Qinglai thought for a moment. “Isn’t its growth progress a bit slower than the others?”
Bo Ting was just about to nod when Little Blue Flower, as if understanding, rustled “shh shh shh” and shot up wildly, its vitality and potential so abundant that it instantly surpassed Little Red and Little Purple beside it.
Bo Ting: …
“Huh.”
“You…”
He hesitated for a long time, ultimately unable to say anything.
This was so weird.
Could a flower really grow that fast?
It didn’t seem normal at all, did it?
They exchanged a glance, and Little Blue Flower twisted its leaves away, gazing intently outside as if performing some solemn photosynthesis.
Bo Ting breathed a slight sigh of relief. Though shocked by the scene, he felt reassured.
“Good thing it didn’t die.”
“I almost thought I’d have to pay compensation on my first day.”
He turned the camera back, practically in awe of Mr. Xu.
The person on the video hadn’t even shown their face—just one look, and he’d diagnosed the issue. The nearly wilted flower recovered in a second.
Mr. Xu was a miracle doctor!
Bo Ting could hardly describe his feelings; he almost wanted to kiss the phone.
Remembering he was straight, he barely restrained himself as he leaned closer.
On the screen, the young man with his full face visible blinked slightly, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Bo Ting.
It was a bit like the shattered stars in Mengjia City’s night sky, causing Xu Qinglai’s heart to skip a beat.
He imperceptibly furrowed his brow, wanting to pull away from the video and suppress the strange emotion that had suddenly surged.
“Alright.”
“These three pots should perform nicely over the next few days.”
“That’s great.”
Bo Ting nodded sincerely.
Xu Qinglai’s throat felt a bit itchy, but his expression remained gentle. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up the video.”
“I have a meeting soon.”
“No problem, Mr. Xu.”
“I’ll let you get back to work.”
Bo Ting had wanted to thank him more, but since Mr. Xu was busy, he’d let it go.
Work came first.
Yeah.
After confirming, Bo Ting ended the video call and turned contentedly to the three pots in the shop.
The phone beeped twice and went dark automatically.
Xu Qinglai had been the one wanting to hang up, but seeing Bo Ting end the call so decisively made him subconsciously furrow his brow.
For some inexplicable reason… he felt a bit unhappy?
…
The afternoon passed in a flash.
Bo Ting stretched lazily. After watering Little Blue, Little Red, and Little Purple one last time, he locked up the shop and leisurely walked Doudou home.
His fitness efforts were starting to show results these past few days, so he allowed himself a rare moment of relaxation.
But just as he reached the entrance of his building, his phone vibrated.
He instinctively pulled it out.
Strange—it was almost midnight. Who would message him at this hour?
Doudou let out a “woof-woo,” shaking its head curiously to peek over.
Bo Ting glanced at the dog but ignored it. After unlocking the screen, he found a text from an unknown number in his inbox. The content was odd—just a single—”1.”
Did this number mean something?
Or had some buddy drunk-dialed the wrong person?
Recalling how his old department supervisor always got drunk and called people “daddy” at gatherings before he transmigrated, Bo Ting figured it was probably the latter. He glanced at it casually and dismissed it.
Doudou sniffed closer, its eyes showing disdain, but it huffed and withdrew its head.
Neither human nor dog took the message seriously.
Meanwhile, the Resurgence Management Office was in chaos.
The Third Esper Squad had been tracking the whereabouts of the Lovers’ Bell these past couple of days.
But as Lu Jingshan had anticipated, there were no leads for now.
Fortunately, the Lovers’ Bell hadn’t harmed anyone since vanishing, giving the Third Esper Squad some small comfort. Yin Liao and the others were preparing to wrap up the investigation when a major incident erupted.
—”What did you say?”
Lu Jingshan instinctively asked again.
It was so outrageous he nearly cursed. But the facts were undeniable.
Wang Dong twitched his mouth, his tone cautious.
“We just got word from our brothers in Lena City.”
“The private organization that took in Lou Xiaoshan and Pang Juan decided, after learning of their capture, to retaliate against the sole surviving ‘victim’ in this incident.”
This was to demonstrate to the Resurgence Management Office.
That notorious private group had harbored numerous fugitive ability users over the years. Rumors even said its founder was a cold-blooded psychopath.
As a secretive esper organization, they’d hidden well—Lena City’s searches had turned up nothing.
Now, probably because Lou Xiaoshan and Pang Juan were dead, this brainless group had devised a plan to attack the victim as “company” for those scumbags.
Their sense of justice, their logic… it was utterly beastly.
Wang Dong had been incredulous too when he first heard. But Lena City had sent official documents, so he had no choice but to report it to Captain Lu.
Soon… cough, he’d probably have to brief Captain Zheng too.
Lu Jingshan took a deep breath, furious enough to swear for the first time.
Pacing the office with a dark face, he couldn’t help questioning:
“Why retaliate against the victim instead of the Resurgence Management Office? What guts.”
“A bunch of city-state trash!”
“Captain Lu, there’s one more thing.”
“If they’re really planning retaliation…”
Wang Dong paused, feeling despair, but blurted it out:
“The target’s… Taiping Luxury Garden!”
The last victim’s contact info listed Taiping Luxury Garden.
Wang Dong feared some idiot on their side might directly threaten Taiping Luxury Garden.
Lu Jingshan: …
Heh.
Not impossible.
“Forget it.”
“Let’s go find Captain Zheng first.”
“He probably got the news too.”
The two headed upstairs with grim faces.
Zheng Shangyun had indeed received the news.
In fact, he’d gotten firsthand intel.
“That private group called Rebirth of Fire has already sent the first message.”
“See for yourselves.”
Zheng Shangyun showed Lu Jingshan and the others a photo obtained through special channels.
Lu Jingshan took one look.
A familiar number appeared—the external contact for Taiping Luxury Garden.
They must have gotten it from Lou Xiaoshan and Pang Juan’s networks. After all, such groups kept detailed records on members.
“But what’s with this ‘1’?”
Lu Jingshan was baffled.
Zheng Shangyun sneered. “Rebirth of Fire has organized several attacks before. They always send victims a numbered message beforehand.”
“And they kill in the order of those numbers.”
“This time, they held an internal meeting to target the previous loose end. Taiping Luxury Garden, the most recent incident site, is first on their list.”
Lu Jingshan organized his thoughts but found it hard to articulate.
He could only ask weakly, “They didn’t investigate Taiping Luxury Garden beforehand?”
