Chapter 47: Little Blue Went Traveling? Part 1

Bo Ting blinked, suspecting he was still dreaming. Otherwise, how could he see such an absurd message?

A potted plant going on a trip? No way.

Wait.

The dream from earlier resurfaced in his mind.

He recalled the scene where Little Blue had lively waved its leaves to bid him farewell.

Bo Ting found it somewhat unbelievable.

Had that really not been a dream?

He sat dazed on the bed for a while before pulling out his phone to vent to Mr. Xu. But he had no idea how to phrase it.

Was he supposed to say, “The flower from my part-time job at the flower shop went out to play today?”

That was just too weird.

He stared at his phone for ages before flopping back onto the bed like a sloth, lying there for half the morning.

It wasn’t until noon, when hunger became unbearable, that he got up to heat some xiaolongbao.

The young man in slippers shuffled slowly out of the bedroom. As he passed the living room, he instinctively looked toward the balcony.

Seeing that the big black dog and the calico, boarded with him by Sister Han and Boss Zhu, were still there—and hadn’t dashed off to play too—he let out a slight sigh of relief.

Now relaxed, he wandered over in a daze, pinched Gouzi’s big face, and patted the cat’s head.

The dog and cat stared blankly, finding the human’s actions eerily strange today.

Fortunately, after Bo Ting stared at them oddly for a while, he straightened up and pulled out his long-hoarded treasure—pet canned food!

He generously gave one can each to the two of them.

The aromatic cans were opened and placed before them.

Doudou lifted its dog eyes and let out a “woof-woo,” wondering if the human had run into some major trouble today.

But that didn’t stop Gouzi from digging in.

Its massive head lowered, confirmed the familiar taste, then lunged forward, burying its snout in the can. It chomped away with “woof-woo” sounds, as if afraid the food would be snatched if it slowed down.

Tang Yuan shot the black dog a disdainful glance before nimbly grabbing her can. With a light leap, she jumped onto the cabinet, flicked her soft fluffy tail, and began eating elegantly.

Though Tang Yuan buried her whole head in the can too, her small head made her look less messy than Doudou.

The cans emptied at a visible speed.

Bo Ting propped his chin, admiring the pets’ feast. At last, his true intentions emerged, and a slight smile crept onto his face.

He reached out to scratch Doudou’s ears and said gently,

“If there’s anything you want to eat or drink, just tell Dad from now on.”

“As long as you behave, would Dad hold out on you?”

Bo Ting, who usually strictly controlled the pets’ diets, spoke righteously but couldn’t help adding,

“But whatever you do, don’t think of copying Little Blue downstairs.”

“Going off alone on a trip as a potted plant? That’s way too dangerous!”

The thought filled Bo Ting with worry.

He had learned from Little Blue’s example, fearing Doudou and Tang Yuan might get ideas about sneaking out without permission. That’s why he opened the cans now for a little lesson.

Seeing Doudou and Tang Yuan behave well, Bo Ting nodded slightly, satisfied. He withdrew his hand, stood up, and turned toward the kitchen to heat his own meal.

On the balcony, after Bo Ting left, the gulping sounds gradually quieted.

Doudou lifted its head halfway through the can and gave the calico an inexplicable look, its eyes eerie.

the calico glanced back sideways.

Dog and cat locked eyes for a moment before lowering their heads to eat again, as if exchanging something silently.

…

Thanks to Miss Du’s notice, when Bo Ting went to work that afternoon, he wasn’t panicked to see one potted wildflower missing.

He calmly opened the glass door and reached to unlatch the window.

The flower shop was as usual, filled with a warm atmosphere.

Miss Du had even brought some dolls that morning, instructing him to display them on the shelves.

After setting everything up, Bo Ting stretched lazily, loosened his muscles, and began the day’s key task—watering the flowers.

These wildflowers needed watering once a day and grew vigorously. He’d always wondered if wild varieties were just hardier than cultivated ones.

But after Little Blue’s “trip” last night, Bo Ting realized these pots might… have a bit of an issue too.

He just didn’t know if Little Blue was the smart one, or if Little Purple and Little Red were the same.

Climbing the ladder, Bo Ting poked his head through the skylight and observed the remaining two pots.

Hm?

Maybe it was his imagination.

After Little Blue left last night, these two seemed to have… grown a bit more?

One pot of water wasn’t enough now. He went down to refill it.

…

After taking the potted flower, the two black-robed members of Rebirth of Fire felt they’d hit the jackpot.

They quickly uploaded their evening findings to the organization’s leader. Mu Feng turned to his companion, who was carefully setting the flower down in the living room, and asked, “How do you plan to handle this flower?”

Normally, Ma O wouldn’t keep anomalous items; he’d sell them off immediately.

Like the Lovers’ Bell before.

Ma O had produced that one, confirmed its curse, and sold it to those fools Lou Xiaoshan and Pang Juan. Those idiots kept reselling it until it blew up.

Mu Feng assumed Ma O would offload this one after the esper side effects wore off—rare as anomalous items were, so were the downsides. He’d even prepared to contact buyers. But Ma O suddenly turned around.

“I kinda like this flower. I’ll keep it for now.”

“We haven’t figured out its properties yet. What if it’s something good?”

It was certain this flower had no attack power so far.

Mu Feng glanced at it and lost interest. Seeing Ma O wanted to study it more, he didn’t press.

“Fine then.”

“Let me know when you’ve researched it and want to sell.”

Ma O nodded casually, looking dismissive.

“Got it.”

“Move aside a bit; don’t block my flower’s light.”

Mu Feng: …

It was just a plant. Really?

Frowning, he stepped aside to let in the light and left Ma O to it.

After all, Rebirth of Fire was full of weirdos. This wasn’t even over the top for Ma O.

But that afternoon, when Mu Feng emerged from the guest room for a break, he was surprised to see Ma O again.

This guy had stood there all afternoon?

Didn’t Ma O have the shortest patience? He’d usually study an anomalous creature, check its properties, and toss it aside.

Was this thing actually good?

Mu Feng walked over instinctively.

“Figured it out?”

Ma O whipped around, a flash of offended irritation crossing his face.

“Not yet.”

“Probably some mental effect.”

“Looking at it makes me feel better.” He smiled faintly.

Mu Feng found it odd, but Ma O looked away.

“Let’s go. What’re we eating this afternoon?”

“I’m starving.”

The man seemed back to normal, making Mu Feng think he’d overthought it. Just an A-level anomalous plant—even if mental-based, it couldn’t affect Ma O that much.

The two changed into low-key clothes and headed out to eat.

After Mu Feng turned away, the blue wildflower on the balcony seemed to sigh in relief, swaying its leaves slightly. It carefully absorbed the blood dripping into the soil.

In a blink, Little Blue Flower doubled in size, then slowly shrank back, excitedly passing the new energy to Little Red and Little Purple at home.

On the rooftop:

In the span of one afternoon, Bo Ting could see with the naked eye that Little Red and Little Purple had grown a bit more than when he’d checked at four o’clock—like they’d snuck some snacks.

Bo Ting: …

They grew way too fast. They hadn’t before.

Had Little Blue been hogging the nutrition from the other two when all three were together, stunting them?

Or… just like in the dream:

Little Blue hunted outside and fed back the energy?

Bo Ting was dying of curiosity.

After noting their sizes, he couldn’t help asking, “Can you contact Little Blue?”

Did flowers have some special way to communicate that an air conditioner like him didn’t get?

Yeah, yeah.

Little Red and Little Purple desperately wanted to greet Bo Ting and explain, but recalling Little Blue’s recent “cuddle” and the “video threat” it suffered, they forcibly held back, pretending to be ordinary wildflowers with no abilities.

—Except growing fast.

Bo Ting waited ages with no response from the two pots, feeling a bit disappointed.

He’d probably overthought it. Maybe they were just hitting their bloom period.

Shaking his head slightly, Bo Ting climbed back down the ladder.

Once the tall, fit human male vanished, Little Red and Little Purple rustled their flowers up and slowly responded to Little Blue out hunting.

They urged Little Blue to stay safe.

The three flowers communed silently across the distance.

Bo Ting lounged in a deck chair with a sigh, wondering what Mr. Xu was up to, when a message from Mr. Xu arrived.

“Was opening day prep super busy today?”

On the flower shop’s final prep day, there should’ve been tons to do. Yet the guy hadn’t messaged right away?

In Xu Qinglai’s memory, Bo Ting usually sent a sticker first thing in the morning to kick off the day’s chat.

But today… it was nearly evening with no word, so he’d messaged first.

Realizing what he’d done, Xu Qinglai frowned slightly.

But he didn’t delete the text on his phone.