Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Magic Plants, Oh Magic Plants, Don’t Be a Mama’s Boy Plant
hours later.
Qian Qi sat in front of the small wooden hut, her head full of "bumps." She took a deep breath of a nonexistent cigarette, exhaling a ghostly puff of smoke with a forlorn look.
By this time, her whole body was drenched in sweat. Large beads of sweat ran down from the corners of her forehead and into her undershirt, making her look like a weathered wheat farmhand.
Despite the rough appearance, it had nothing sexy about it. Instead, it exuded a certain deceptive fragility, especially with her slightly trembling hands adding a sense of the indescribable one could only feel.
"Your frame is too small." The system circled around twice, poking Qian Qi’s thin arm with its lower right corner, "So you’ve clearly grown a lot of muscles from farming, but you still look like a skinny pup."
Qian Qi: ...
Thanks, I’m offended yet again.
After resting for a while, Qian Qi wiped her sweat with a towel and waited for the steam sauna-like heat in the small wooden hut to dissipate before walking in. She then poured the clear green liquid from the evaporating dish into a small bottle.
This was the medicine that could treat spiritual power collapse, and the dosage needed varied with the degree of collapse.
For someone like Sikong Wang’s mother, with her near-fatal S-Class spiritual power collapse, this bottle could only help her maintain partial wakefulness each day. Completely eliminating the collapse would surely require more than just one potion.
Given her current energy, she could only make one bottle per month. But as long as Sikong Wang’s mother didn’t use her spiritual power, it could extend her life for decades without it being an urgent issue.
So, rather than this, the cultivation and planting of the Magic God Grass was becoming the more challenging problem she faced.
"Not to mention the other conditions, in the early stages, you actually need 23 consecutive days of constant fertilizer cultivation. Tell me, how could a C-level Magic Plant, a mighty powerhouse, live such a dainty life?"
Qian Qi cursed while holding the Magic God Grass seed but then suddenly changed her tone to a deep, heartfelt one:
"My dear, when great responsibilities are entrusted to Magic Plants from heaven, it must first suffer its fertilizer, toil its roots and stems, starve its body, deprive it of water, and disrupt its growth. Only then can it break through its limits, abandoning reproductive weaknesses."
"Now, I entrust this great responsibility to you. Since your mother grew so healthily in the Gu Yun Mountain Dungeon, as her offspring, you certainly can grow strong and healthy here as well!"
Qian Qi clasped the seed with both hands, shaking it like a prayer, then casually buried the Magic God Grass seed in the ground, saying serenely, "You’re already a mature seed and should learn to grow on your own, not make me hover around you 24/7. A Magic Plant growing like that will have no future!"
"Don’t be a mama’s boy plant; otherwise, other Magic Plants will laugh at you, and you might have trouble finding a mate! But I can promise you, once you grow up healthily and find a mate who can bear children, I’ll help babysit so you can have some downtime~"
Qian Qi patted the soil, coaxing, "So it’s settled then~ You work hard and grow on your own! Mom’s leaving!"
System: ...
Qian Qi, don’t be so outrageous!!!
After burying the Magic God Grass seed, Qian Qi left the Vegetable Garden Dungeon with the medicine bottle, preparing to find Su Ang, only to discover he was sitting in the courtyard playing a strategy game with a few kids.
Qian Qi observed for a while and noticed Su Ang was going easy on the kids.
"Let me!" She unceremoniously pushed kid B aside, eagerly grabbed a black piece, and sat on the small stool, placing her piece.
Su Ang picked up a white piece, hesitated, but played his usual game with Qian Qi, knowing her unpredictable moves meant he couldn’t take it lightly. Surveying the entire field, he began to strategize brilliantly.
After about ten pieces were played, Qian Qi exclaimed, "Aha! Lost."
"You lost too quickly!" The nearby kids clicked their tongues and shook their heads, "Dummy Qian Qi! Even I saw the trap just now!"
"It’s my first time playing. Isn’t losing normal?" Qian Qi, blushing, promptly messed up the pieces, collected the black ones back in the box, and said, "You guys play by yourselves. I’m taking big brother here with me."
"Blah blah blah, Qian Qi is lying, Qian Qi is stupid!" The kids giggled and continued their strategy game while Qian Qi led Su Ang into the teaching building.
"Did you lose on purpose just now?" Su Ang stared intently at the back of Qian Qi’s head. Though he had set a trap, he doubted that clever Qian Qi didn’t notice it.
"What nonsense are you saying?" Qian Qi pranced forward, chuckling, "I don’t usually play chess; losing is normal, isn’t it?"
Su Ang remained unconvinced. Though unaware of why she deliberately lost, he was certain Qian Qi had done so intentionally.
It was an inexplicable loss, much like her — radiating an elusive sense he couldn’t grasp.
Unknowingly, Su Ang developed a great curiosity about Qian Qi, stemming from the unknown. Like a house cat accustomed to pushing cups off tables, now suddenly discovering the wonders of physics, he wanted to delve into exploring its mysteries, seeking the truth among them.
Even if he might work endlessly his whole life, only to touch her edges.
——
Qian Qi quickly showered with hot water. It was late summer, and the evening was cool; after sweating so much earlier, catching a cold would be easy.
After blow-drying her hair, she ruffled her fluffy, slightly long hair, picked up the mousse setting spray next to the mirror, and transformed her chicly handsome short hair into a successful bedhead look.
Then she happily changed into her sleeveless T-shirt and baggy shorts, shrugged on a fluorescent green leather jacket she had splurged 69 bucks on online.
The system looked at her outfit with difficulty: [Qian Qi, your sense of fashion...]
"Upgraded, I know." Qian Qi examined herself in the mirror, rubbing her chin. "This is the 69 bucks chic, 40 bucks chic-er than the previous 29 bucks."
As a girl, what she wore, what she used, and the money in her bank account comprised her coolness!
And now Qian Qi, had successfully evolved into Qian Qi 4.0, capable of wearing a 69 bucks jacket!
"Let’s go!" Qian Qi swung the door open and shouted to Su Driver waiting patiently outside, "Heading back to Sea City to see Sikong Wang’s mother!"
Su Ang watched Qian Qi’s spirited demeanor, not realizing the corner of his mouth had unknowingly formed a small arc.
But he did realize that these past few hours had been the most relaxed he’d felt in his life.
Whenever he finished a mission and dealt with the media, he would usually stay alone in his room reading, seldom enjoying such leisure without needing to think about other matters.
Especially the children at Bright Orphanage, different from those in other orphanages. This place, for some reason, was filled with an extremely warm and joyful atmosphere, easily drawing people in, gradually forgetting the passage of time.
In his past memories, the word ’orphanage’ was rather cold, filled with sadness, shyness, bullying, and caution, while the Awakened Orphanage bred evil he wished to avoid and couldn’t eradicate, wasting effort.
Here, it was very different.
"Qian Qi," Su Ang followed behind her, his normally cool and indifferent voice melting like ice gradually into water, speaking slowly, "Can I come here often in the future?"
"Huh?" Qian Qi glanced back at him questioningly, then asked a critical question, "Will you bring a black card with you every time you come?"
Su Ang: ...
System: ...
The system slapped itself against the wall with a "bang," [Qian Qi, destined blight in this life.]