Chapter 24
“Wow…”
“Wow…”
“Wow…”
The moment they stepped into the flower shop, everyone blurted out “wow” in unison.
Most of the shop owners on Retirement Street were wealthy. You could say they were regular customers of all kinds of plant shops on StarNet Mall!
But honestly—
They had never seen a flower shop this beautiful.
The decor was clearly simple—so why did it look this good? How could it be this good?
It felt like stepping into a fairyland.
Unable to hold back their itching hands, everyone unconsciously reached out to touch the flowers in the exquisite vases. Some younger girls even, when Xie Xingchen wasn’t looking, lightly tugged at the white gauze draping down beside the big grid window.
When the gauze fluttered and brought a breeze, the flowers arranged on the window ledge released an even more elegant fragrance.
So… so good.
A pretty girl stared fixedly at the jasmine bouquet on the window ledge—simple in shape—and her lips parted in shock.
The jasmine there was the result of Xie Xingchen’s careful selection.
He had plucked off every leaf, leaving only small, refined, half-open white buds. Swaying with the wind, they gave off a faint scent.
This scent was different from any flowers she’d smelled before.
It was lighter, softer, more graceful—something you fell in love with without even realizing it.
“Boss, are these flowers a specialty of your planet?” Alice asked softly, pointing at the delicate jasmine.
Xie Xingchen smiled. “Yes, ma’am. Every flower sold in this Earth Trading House is a flower unique to Earth!”
For private planet owners, opening a shop on StarNet to sell their planet’s “specialties” wasn’t strange at all.
In fact, it was extremely normal.
So normal that Alice felt like she’d just asked a pointless question.
She smiled awkwardly and made conversation to cover it up. “Your flowers bloom really well… and the prices aren’t that expensive.”
The little white flower called jasmine she liked was only 199 star-coins a sprig. For something that smelled this good, 199 was absolutely worth it!
Thinking Xie Xingchen was selling ordinary plants, Alice didn’t find the pricing odd at all. After looking around, she only felt the shop was genuinely decent—at the very least, the flower prices were fair.
Since she wasn’t short on money, she casually bought two medium baskets—one jasmine basket and one lavender basket—both arranged in transparent sapphire-blue gemstone containers.
Xie Xingchen sold flexibly. He called them “baskets,” but aside from a few fixed combinations, customers could freely choose the flowers.
Xie Xingchen: What a great chance to charge “basket money.”
A medium basket allowed ten flower stems. Alice didn’t choose a mix; she went with a pure jasmine basket and a pure lavender basket.
Including the container, a medium jasmine basket with ten jasmine stems cost 2,000 star-coins, and the lavender basket cost 3,000.
She placed the order through her terminal and paid 5,000 star-coins.
[Ding-dong! Congratulations, player, you have completed the business quest “Open a Flower Shop.” Reward: 700 EXP.]
[System: Ding-dong! Player level has reached LV2. The system shop has refreshed purchasable items.]
The moment Alice paid, the system prompt sounded.
Having just reached LV2, Xie Xingchen felt indescribably happy.
Without hesitation, he gave Alice a card—a priority purchase card for Earth Trading House.
He handed it to her. The instant Alice received it, the card dissolved into countless flower petals.
The petals swirled around Alice once, drifting softly, then vanished.
Alice: …Eek, this is way too pretty! Who could resist that?!
Her girlish heart was practically bursting.
Seeing her eyes sparkle bling bling with love for the dramatic “magic” effect, Xie Xingchen smiled.
Magic really was a good thing.
Magic special effects were also a good thing.
“Ma’am,” Xie Xingchen said, smiling, “you just received our store’s Priority Purchase Card. With it, you’ll have ten opportunities to buy our products early.”
A “priority purchase” meant: five minutes before a product officially went on sale, holders could buy first. Each person could only buy one unit per product.
This kind of card wasn’t rare for customers—unless it came from a massive, famous store. Then it could be called “valuable.”
Alice was slightly surprised at how solemnly he explained it, but…
After looking closely at the shop, she felt she understood.
A shop this beautiful!
What girl could walk in and keep her hands under control?
So it would definitely become an online hit soon!
And then her priority card would come in handy.
Thinking that, Alice happily thanked Xie Xingchen and left.
But the moment she stepped out of the shop, a group of young people who looked like students walked right in.
In a good mood, Alice stepped aside to make space, letting the students enter first.
Who would’ve thought they weren’t here to shop—but to cause trouble?
“Long time no see, Xie.”
Four students stood in front of Xie Xingchen, cocky like street punks.
Xie Xingchen was full of question marks. The joy of leveling up was instantly diluted by the irritation of seeing a cockroach.
Why were these “classmates” so hauntingly persistent?
He had deleted all their contacts because he never wanted to see them again, and yet…
What bad luck.
On his grand opening day, he didn’t want to use force. They weren’t worth it anyway.
He couldn’t even be bothered to roll his eyes. He just gave a perfunctory response:
“Hello, customers. If you want flowers, pick them yourselves.”
To Xie Xingchen, that was already giving them face.
But the reason idiots are idiots is because they…
don’t understand human language.
Seeing his attitude, they actually got even more arrogant.
Like ungrateful people who ate your rice then smashed your bowl, they were practically nostrils-up.
The ringleader, Wei Zeming, smiled without warmth. “We heard our old classmate opened a flower shop. We came to support.”
Then he scanned around and pretended to be troubled. “It’s just… I don’t get it. You’ve become a planet owner, yet you’re running a shop here selling ordinary plants?”
When he said “planet owner,” he ground the words out through clenched teeth.
Since childhood, he had dreamed of owning a cultivation planet. That lifelong wish—something he could never achieve—had been achieved so easily by the person he looked down on most?
Owning a habitable planet before even officially graduating—this achievement would look incredible even in the school’s history.
Hearing him, Xie Xingchen was stunned.
Villains these days were… this naïve and simple?
You came to pick a fight without even doing basic research?
Did IQ basins like this really exist in real life?
Yet these four “classmates” proved with their existence that yes—an IQ basin could indeed exist in a prestigious academy.
Alec sneered. “We thought you were doing pretty well. Turns out you’re just like this. Who knew you’d end up so miserable after leaving school.”
Alvin nodded along. “Yu Cheng is already a Level 4 cultivator, and you’re here selling ordinary plants.”
Finally, Meng Tongtong went for the throat. “I feel sorry for Teacher Ni. Her favorite student hasn’t even graduated and is already falling this low.”
Their sarcastic tone was disgusting.
Even the customers around them frowned.
What was wrong with selling ordinary plants?
There were countless shops selling ordinary plants on StarNet—go pick fights with all of them if you’re so capable.
“What school are you from? Your manners are awful.”
“You’re so young—how can you talk like that?”
“Your words are nasty, your character is worse. And you call yourselves classmates? On his opening day you come to sabotage instead of congratulate. Aren’t you ashamed?”
The crowd’s murmurs rose—but the shameless four weren’t affected at all.
In fact, the more people condemned them, the more excited and proud they became, as if they were being applauded.
Xie Xingchen: moron.jpg
Xie Xingchen smiled: 🙂
“So when you say ‘falling low’… do you mean I already got my diploma early, or that I became a planet owner?”
The moment he said it, the whole place went silent.
Then laughter exploded.
His jab landed perfectly, and the four almost died of rage.
Why had they come?
Because they had heard that the unpopular Xie Xingchen had bought a habitable planet and become a planet owner.
So when they learned he opened a shop and planned to sell “planet specialties,” they came intending to ruin his business.
Who knew Xie Xingchen would strike their sore spot so precisely?
They were stung and stubbornly snapped back, “So what if you’re a planet owner? What’s so great about that?”
Xie Xingchen smiled and shrugged. “Right—just a planet owner. Nothing special.”
The more he said it, the more it hurt.
What’s so great?
Heh. It’s very great.
Otherwise why were they so jealous?
Jealousy burned. They forced themselves to act tough.
“As if nobody has a private planet. Yu Cheng will become a planet owner soon too. You’re not the only one. Don’t act like you’re amazing.”
Xie Xingchen rolled his eyes so hard it was almost rude. His handsome face was filled with speechless disbelief.
“Yu Cheng becoming a planet owner—what does that have to do with you four? Stop being ridiculous. Don’t talk like you’re about to become planet owners, okay? Have some self-awareness. People like you—forget planet owners, you won’t even become estate owners. Go wash up and sleep. In dreams, anything is possible.”
“Pff—”
“HAHAHAHA—”
“This guy is hilarious!”
The crowd burst out laughing. Even Ni Kunqi, who had returned from a stroll, laughed out loud.
The laughter turned the four students’ faces from red, to green, to purple, to black—like a shifting rainbow, loudly proving how “scheming” they weren’t.
So expressive, so bad at words, and they still wanted to play villain?
Xie Xingchen: 🙂 May all villains be like this!
Their fingers trembled as they pointed at Xie Xingchen, too furious to speak.
Xie Xingchen calmly shrugged and mimicked their sarcasm: “You should leave soon. Don’t get too angry—if you anger yourself into illness, you’ll have to pay for treatment yourself.”
Truly—killing with words.
The four came to stir trouble and nearly got word-induced heart attacks.
Just as they were about to explode into something physical, a familiar cough sounded nearby.
A bad feeling rose. They stiffly turned their heads—and saw Ni Kunqi.
Their faces instantly turned paper-white.
Then with a shriek, they fled, scrambling away like rolling tumbleweeds.
Xie Xingchen: ?
What even was that?
His feelings were complicated.
He turned and suggested tactfully, “Teacher, do you think our school should be stricter when recruiting students? At least test IQ?”
Ni Kunqi shot him an annoyed look, but the corner of her lips still lifted.
“Honestly,” she sighed, “your mouth is sharp.”
Xie Xingchen didn’t care. “They’re just weak.”
Meaning: it’s not that I’m strong—it’s that they’re too weak.
Ni Kunqi poked his forehead helplessly. “You. You’ve improved only recently. In the past you’d get played around with.”
Xie Xingchen fell silent.
Right. These idiots were so easy to deal with now—yet in the past, the original owner had been fooled in circles.
Sigh… the original really was a tragic fool.
“Sorry for disturbing everyone’s shopping because of personal issues!” Xie Xingchen apologized to the customers watching the show. “To make it up to you: today, the first 100 customers will get 20% off, and each order will include one Priority Purchase Card.”
That made Alice—who had been about to leave after watching—turn right back around.
She looked thrilled. “Boss, if I buy again now, can I get another priority card too?”
Before Xie Xingchen could answer, Alice squeezed through the loophole:
“I got the earlier card as a special reward, so this new reward should include me too, right? Otherwise… isn’t that kind of unfair?”
Xie Xingchen thought it over. It wasn’t a big deal. More discounts could count as extra benefits for his very first customer.
He nodded. “Of course.”
Alice smiled in satisfaction.
With clear purpose, she immediately added to cart the most eye-catching, pinkest, prettiest bouquet on the window ledge—pink-diamond carnations.
After adding it, Alice cleverly set delivery to one week later, then ran to the virtual counter, paid an extra 10 star-coins, and chose to carry it away in the virtual world.
Xie Xingchen was mildly surprised. “Miss Alice, you actually like pink-diamond carnations more?”
He wasn’t saying that for no reason.
Alice had bought flowers twice. Only this time did she pay the extra 10 for a virtual checkout—so which flower she loved most was obvious.
What was surprising was: she liked pink-diamond carnations, but her first purchase had been jasmine and lavender.
Alice blushed and buried her face in the carnation bouquet. “Because jasmine smells too good… I couldn’t resist buying jasmine first.”
Xie Xingchen: Got it. Another girl who got hooked by the carnation’s looks—but still couldn’t let go of jasmine’s scent.
Alice wasn’t lying. Even though the holo-mall’s realism couldn’t match reality, smelling the jasmine still made her feel genuinely comfortable—and that comfort made her order instantly.
As for lavender?
That was for her younger brother.
Her brother liked blue and purple, so she bought him a lavender basket.
Another swirl of petals—Alice received her second priority card.
Even though Earth Trading House was still just a newly opened little shop, Alice’s sixth sense told her she should stockpile these cards early.
So before leaving, she asked quietly, “Boss, do you also do a three-day opening event where you give priority cards?”
Her question was sly. It sounded like an innocent question—but it was actually guiding him into doing a three-day card giveaway.
At first Xie Xingchen didn’t realize it. He thought she was genuinely asking about opening promotions. He answered “Yes,” and only then did he understand what she was doing.
Alice beamed. “Really?! That’s amazing! Boss, how many card spots are there for tomorrow’s early buyers?”
And Alice wasn’t the only clever one.
Many customers had browsed and also sensed Earth Trading House had potential.
Even if the priority card wasn’t very useful right now, if you saved them up, maybe it’d become a treasure in a few years—so they all pricked up their ears.
Xie Xingchen laughed, helpless. Seeing everyone so eager, he thought for a moment, then spoke sincerely to all of them:
“Alright, I won’t play tricks. Tomorrow and the day after will be the same as today: the first 100 customers who spend in my shop will get one priority card, okay? And the ‘day’ will be counted from midnight—once midnight hits, the quota refreshes.”
Sincere. No gimmicks.
Alice was happy. The eavesdropping crowd was happy too.
Everyone generously bookmarked and followed Earth Trading House, set reminders for future purchases, then checked out and left satisfied.
The virtual counter—something Xie Xingchen had thought would be useless—unexpectedly proved helpful on opening day.
A lot of customers who bought pink-diamond carnations, red roses, and lavender actually paid the extra 10 and carried their flowers around the virtual world.
Even Xie Xingchen hadn’t expected that.
Ni Kunqi sighed, exasperated. “You—when it’s time to be clever, you’re not. Isn’t it obvious? Your flowers look great, so people will gladly spend a bit extra to show off.”
For those who could afford flowers, 10 star-coins was nothing.
Pay 10 more to carry flowers around StarNet and flex for ten hours—huge profit.
Xie Xingchen: Uh… I really don’t understand you space people.
Ni Kunqi continued, “Have you ever thought about uploading your planet’s plants into the system’s decoration space?”
Xie Xingchen blinked. “Upload into the decoration space?”
Ni Kunqi nodded. “Yes. After uploading, you can sign a contract with the system. Then you can set your own price: minimum 0 star-coins, maximum 1000. If you want to price above 1000, the mall must review it. And of course, profits are split 55–45 with the mall.”
Xie Xingchen suddenly understood.
No wonder the decoration catalog had so many items—customers uploaded them!
The poor wage slave inside him was moved.
But… not now.
He needed to prioritize his quest first.
Even without business experience, he knew: monopoly business is best business.
He needed to finish his quest, so early on he had to ensure his flowers stayed exclusive. After he lit up the system compendium, he could upload to decoration space anytime.
With that decision made, Xie Xingchen felt steady.
Looking at the flowers that would bring him endless star-coins, his smile was dazzlingly sweet.
Many customers who had been lured in by the fairy-like decor were now dazzled into a daze.
They spent generously, followed and bookmarked, and bought the “crazy expensive” flowers—at least, expensive in Xie Xingchen’s eyes—without blinking.
Though the shop had just opened, business was great. In just one morning, Xie Xingchen sold a large amount of flowers.
And running a StarNet Mall shop was even more convenient than he’d imagined.
After testing it personally, Xie Xingchen discovered the shop didn’t need staff at all. As long as he preset stock, prices, blacklist/whitelist rules, customers could buy on their own.
He and Ni Kunqi were still standing here only because they wanted to observe operations—and also socialize with other Retirement Street shopkeepers.
After three to four hours in the shop, Xie Xingchen invited his teacher to the small garden outside the door to sunbathe.
“Xingchen, your decoration is really nice.”
Holding a cup of rose tea—something Xie Xingchen hadn’t even started selling yet—Ni Kunqi sighed as she basked in the sunlight. “This is life.”
Xie Xingchen, dressed in an elegant white three-piece suit, smiled calmly. He lifted his own flower tea and took a slow sip.
To match the shop, he had specially chosen white today.
But maybe because his youthful aura was too strong, he didn’t look like a tall, handsome prince in white.
He looked more like a pampered noble young master.
But no matter what he looked like, he was beautiful—so beautiful that simply sitting in the garden drinking tea was enough to lure countless people into the shop to buy flowers.
Suddenly, a cry of surprise rang out.
Xie Xingchen looked in that direction—
and almost wanted to gouge his own eyes out.
Couldn’t people just drink tea nicely? Why was curiosity so strong?
Xie Xingchen felt like his luck was terrible today.
Setting down his cup, he sighed. “Teacher, my trouble is here again.”
He hoped the “uninvited guest” would just leave quickly.
But if someone was called an “uninvited guest,” they were never easy.
Ni Kunqi said leisurely, “Aren’t you quite evolved now? Still afraid of an uninvited guest?”
Xie Xingchen sighed again, smiling bitterly. “It’s not about fear. I just don’t want him to ruin my mood.”
Every time he saw the Fu brothers, he felt awful.
He truly didn’t want to relive the original owner’s messy past.
But fate disagreed. Every time he met them, unpleasant memories surfaced on their own.
Speak of the devil, and the devil arrives.
The very existence that ruined his mood came running over, face full of grievance.
Xie Xingchen: I’m the one who should feel wronged.
Fu Yunsen stopped by the railing. He glanced at Ni Kunqi and didn’t dare throw a tantrum. He just looked at Xie Xingchen, aggrieved, as if he wanted to speak but didn’t know how.
Xie Xingchen kept drinking tea coldly.
Fu Yunsen finally couldn’t hold it in. “Xie Xingchen, can’t you see I’m here?”
Xie Xingchen pretended not to hear, and poured more tea for himself and his teacher.
Fu Yunsen looked even more wronged. “Xie Xingchen, how did you become like this? You weren’t like this before!”
Xie Xingchen, who had planned to ignore him, slammed the teapot down hard.
His gaze turned cold. “Didn’t I tell you not to bother me if you see me again? You’re grown—do you not understand human language? We’re done, understand? We’re done!”
Fu Yunsen pouted. “I don’t believe you’re this petty. You used to be so generous and good to me. Sure, I was wrong this time, but I’ve thought about it carefully. My mistake wasn’t that big. We can still be friends. What you said before hurt me, but considering you were emotionally unstable then, I won’t hold it against you.”
Xie Xingchen’s head hurt. His stomach turned.
How could someone be so stubbornly self-centered?
Not very harmful—yet extremely insulting.
What kind of constitution did he have? Why was he always surrounded by different species of idiots?
Ni Kunqi, having heard his muttered thoughts clearly, couldn’t hold back and laughed.
Her laughter made Fu Yunsen obediently shut up.
Fu Yunsen was terrified of Ni Kunqi. She never gave him face. If she caught him doing something wrong, she would scold him until he bled internally.
In contrast, she liked Xie Xingchen. Even when he made mistakes, she didn’t scold him.
With Teacher Ni present and clearly biased toward Xie Xingchen, Fu Yunsen was forced to behave.
Just as Fu Yunsen was about to “retreat” and come back another day to keep “persuading” Xie Xingchen, Xie Xingchen stopped him.
Xie Xingchen brought him into the private decoration space that every shop had. He was about to speak—when Fu Yunsen cut in excitedly.
Looking around like a child in a secret room, Fu Yunsen exclaimed, “Wow! Xingchen, you’re so smart! You even thought of using the decoration space as a secret room. Now I won’t have to be scared of Teacher Ni! Are you bringing me here to apologize? If yes, hurry up. Even though I’ll definitely accept your apology, you still have to do the ritual seriously.”
Xie Xingchen: ?
Who said I was apologizing to you?
Which eye saw that?
If your eyes are useless, you might as well sell them. New eyes are worth money.
Xie Xingchen almost laughed from anger. His lips twitched into the faintest curve.
Seeing him “smile,” Fu Yunsen smiled too.
But the next second, Xie Xingchen’s expression turned cold.
Like the calm before a storm—stillness hiding violent waves.
Fu Yunsen had never seen him like this.
Xie Xingchen had never been this serious—only because he needed to wake up a stubborn “bear child” who refused to understand words.
“Fu Yunsen,” Xie Xingchen said, “you’re not a child anymore. Can you stop running away from reality?”
Fu Yunsen wasn’t happy. His eyes even watered, yet he still argued. “How am I running away from reality?”
Xie Xingchen didn’t budge. “You hurt Xie Xingchen in the past, so Xie Xingchen doesn’t want to be friends with you anymore. So… can you stop clinging to me? Let’s part ways. From now on, whether we live, die, get sick, or grow old—none of it should have anything to do with each other. That’s the best outcome.”
Fu Yunsen felt awful hearing that. He regretted it.
He regretted treating the friend who was best to him that way.
He had thought Xie Xingchen would be his best friend forever, always unconditionally tolerating him.
But now, that friend seemed to be gone.
He tried to keep him. “Can’t we be best friends again?”
Xie Xingchen rejected him flatly. “No.”
What friend? More like a full-time babysitter.
The Fu family weren’t good people. The kindest one was actually his ice-faced ex-husband. Fu Yunsen looked cheerful and childish, but he was cold-hearted inside.
Children could be innocent—but children could also be cruel.
Fu Yunsen was the cruel kind.
So Xie Xingchen had to be decisive, hoping he’d finally stop.
But reality proved Xie Xingchen had underestimated how destructive a “bear child” could be.
Fu Yunsen had far less shame than expected. Xie Xingchen even started cursing, and the bear child still went “I’m not listening, I’m not listening!”
Xie Xingchen: increasingly irritable.jpg
Why was it the space age, and yet he still had to suffer through the poison of Qiong Yao Auntie melodrama?
At the critical moment, thank goodness Ni Kunqi stepped in—otherwise Xie Xingchen would’ve been stuck dealing with that maddening nuisance even longer.
“Teacher, I sincerely thank you,” Xie Xingchen said, exhausted.
Ni Kunqi gave him a sympathetic look and offered a practical suggestion. “In the future, just come online less to watch your shop.”
Wave after wave like this—she was getting tired just watching the drama.
Xie Xingchen nodded deeply.
When Ni Kunqi logged off for something, he immediately ran off too. He didn’t even dare to log back in when he received a message from little Randy—afraid that logging in would trigger another ridiculous plot.
He, Xie Xingchen, only wanted to farm. He didn’t want dog-blood drama.
Earth Trading House’s flowers were either stunningly beautiful or wonderfully fragrant.
So even though it had just opened, business wasn’t bad.
At 8 p.m., Alice returned home. Meanwhile, with the delivery time she had set, the courier arrived right on schedule.
She took a metal delivery box from the delivery robot. The moment she opened it, a pleasant fragrance rushed out, as if she’d stepped into a garden.
After returning the plant-special metal box to the courier robot, Alice followed the instructions: she poured an appropriate amount of clean water into the vase and added a few drops of premium nutrient solution.
Under the light and shimmering water, the transparent sapphire basket shone dazzlingly, making the jasmine and lavender look even more radiant.
“How many leaves am I supposed to trim?”
Staring at the jasmine—full of leaves—Alice asked the question of her soul.
Leafless jasmine looked prettier, yes, but it would also die faster.
But if she didn’t trim the leaves, it looked like weeds (…).
“Sis, what are you doing?”
The moment he entered, seeing his sister holding scissors and hesitating, Alice’s younger brother Vincent asked curiously.
Hearing him, Alice exploded. “Why are you back? Is your school on break?”
Vincent shook his head honestly and boldly confessed. “No. There’s still class tomorrow. I just don’t want to go.”
Alice immediately forgot about jasmine and focused on Vincent skipping class.
But—
“Sis, I haven’t slept for almost three days and nights. I feel like I can only sleep after coming home. Please take pity on me. If I can’t sleep, you’ll lose your brother,” Vincent pleaded pitifully.
Alice deflated. Knowing his insomnia, she had no good way to handle him. She just smacked him twice lightly, not really hitting hard.
“Only this once. Next time, no. Since you’re back, go sleep. I bought you a lavender basket. The boss said it helps sleep. It’s also your favorite purple. Put it in your room later.”
She handed him the lavender basket—this family’s tragic idiot—and chased him into his room.
Whether it was the flowers or the comfort of home, the moment Vincent lay down, he felt sleepy.
Slowly, his eyelids drooped.
In the end, he slept so hard he drooled.
When Alice came to check at midnight: ?
Joke. This is “can’t sleep”?
Did this brat lie just to skip class?
Someone who hadn’t slept in three days and nights could come home and sleep like a pig?
Feeling tricked, Alice was furious.
But the brother wasn’t picked up from the trash.
She swallowed her anger and decided to settle accounts tomorrow.
The next day.
With sunlight shining onto his bed, Vincent finally woke up, unable to hide from the brightness.
In less than a minute, he was fully awake.
And then he was confused.
Could home actually cure his insomnia?
Otherwise how could he not sleep at school, yet sleep like a pig at home?
Vincent got up baffled—only to be greeted by a beating from his sister.
Honestly, even if he had a hundred mouths, he couldn’t explain this one.
After a good scolding-and-smacking session, Vincent got a little exercise, then ran back to sleep again.
Not sleeping for three days and nights couldn’t be repaid with one night’s sleep.
After several more hours, Vincent finally woke around four or five.
He had thought that after sleeping so much in the morning, he wouldn’t sleep at night.
But once he returned to the bedroom—he slept like a pig again.
For three days at home, he ate well and slept well. When it was time to return to school, Vincent felt reluctant to leave.
Before he left, Alice told him to take the lavender basket back to his dorm.
Holding it, Vincent kept a straight face on the way in. But the moment he entered the dorm, his expression cracked.
“Seriously… I’m a guy. Why is she making me bring a flower basket to school?”
He didn’t dare complain in front of Alice, so he only dared to mumble after closing the dorm door.
Luckily lavender wasn’t one of those overly “girly” flowers, or else the idol-image-obsessed Vincent would’ve tossed it before even entering campus.
The First Academy’s dorm conditions were excellent: three students shared a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment, ensuring everyone had private space.
Each bedroom was small, only about five square meters. But small had its perks—after Vincent brought the lavender in, within half an hour the entire room filled with lavender fragrance.
Vincent scratched his head. “No idea where Alice bought this… but it smells pretty good.”
Even better than the expensive aromatherapy he’d bought.
That day Vincent didn’t leave his room. Maybe it was his imagination, but he felt unusually efficient.
Homework that normally took him forever—he completed calmly today.
More importantly, he could even take a nap at noon and actually fall asleep!
At that thought, Vincent couldn’t help looking at the lavender in the gemstone basket by his bedside.
He thought for a long time, then…hugged it and knocked on the next door.
“What? I’m doing homework.”
Vincent: “Nothing. My sis bought me a lavender basket. Using it makes me feel good, and I do homework faster. Don’t say I’m not a bro—borrow it for half a day.”
With a clunk, the roommate opened the door and took the lavender with a flattering smile.
“Aiya, you’re too kind! What can I even say! Thanks, bro.”
Then with another clunk, he shut the door.
Vincent wasn’t surprised. He kicked the roommate’s door once.
“You better be careful. If you damage the flowers, I’ll break your head.”
Roommate: “Got it, stop nagging.”
After lending it out, Vincent’s homework efficiency dropped sharply.
Three hours later, unable to bear it, Vincent knocked again and coldly took the lavender back—while his roommate stared at it with reluctant eyes.
“Vincent, lend it to me for one more hour! I’m almost done!”
“Just one hour! One hour, one hour!”
“Vincent, please! Next time if I buy premium plants, I’ll buy you one too—just lend me this treasure!”
Vincent: Premium plants?
Alice said those two baskets cost only 5,000 star-coins total!
There were 20 stems in total—average just over two hundred per stem.
How could a flower that cheap be “premium”?
Vincent was stunned.
After a long while, his face turned strange. He took a sprig of lavender to the academy testing lab and paid for a test.
The report showing 2% green matter content scared him half to death.
Vincent: !
What the hell—was the shop owner running a charity?!
Two baskets with 2% green matter, sold for only 5,000?!
![After Waking Up I Inherited the Earth [Interstellar]](https://i1.wp.com/panda-translations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/20220822190944_300_420.jpg?resize=151,215 "After Waking Up I Inherited the Earth [Interstellar]")
