Muddled, Zhong Yun heard someone call his name. He looked up dazedly and saw a woman's face—it was their class monitor.

"Zhong Yun, we're leaving tomorrow. You need to pay your fee."

Seeing his half-asleep state, the monitor frowned, thinking: Always sleeping in class, no wonder his scores are always at the bottom.

"Fee? What fee?" Zhong Yun cleared his head slightly.

Chen Wen, sitting in front of him, noticed the disturbance and spoke to the woman. "Monitor, I'll cover his fee." He pulled out a card and swiped it on the transaction device in the monitor's hand.

The female monitor glanced at the device, confirmed the transfer, and left with a look of utter disdain for Zhong Yun.

By now, Zhong Yun was fully awake. Instead of asking Chen Wen how much he paid, he inquired, "Is the class having some kind of event?"

"You don't know?" Chen Wen gave him a strange look. "No wonder your grades are worse than mine. You must not be listening in class at all."

Black lines formed on Zhong Yun’s face. Poor grades were the perpetual pain in his heart. Back on Earth, he used to rank in the top ten of his class. To have dropped to dead last here was truly humiliating.

"Didn't I take a month of sick leave? How would I know?"

"Oh, right." Chen Wen recalled the detail.

"Tomorrow is the highly anticipated day of the Academic Excursion." He spoke of anticipation, yet his expression was utterly indifferent.

"Oh, it's the Academic Excursion."

Zhong Yun suddenly understood. The Academic Excursion could be considered a perk for students, right? Twice a year, seven days each time, organized by the school. Usually, they visited famous scenic spots.

For students, this was genuinely something to look forward to: getting away from parental restrictions, no studying required, just pure fun.

More importantly, it was a chance to openly ask out someone they admired.

Students here are so fortunate. Zhong Yun remembered that during his six years of primary and secondary school on Earth, the school had never organized a single field trip. He couldn't help but feel intensely envious of the students here.

Zhong Yun asked, "Where are we going this time?"

"Fenghua City."

—————————————————————————————————————

At Zhong Yun’s house, the door was suddenly thrust open. Zhong Pingjiang and Yun Rong rushed in, both breathless and visibly anxious. Without stopping, they sprinted straight to the backyard.

Seeing the pot of "Nine Stars Accompanying the Moon" sitting there perfectly intact, they finally let out a sigh of relief.

They carefully moved the flower onto the living room table, then sat down on one side, holding their breath, daring not to exhale too deeply, as if afraid they might accidentally disturb the delicate bloom.

The "Nine Stars Accompanying the Moon" exuded a captivating aura. They watched silently, neither willing to speak. After a long while,

"Have you found out clearly? Is this… really the one you mentioned?" Yun Rong asked her husband softly, still feeling as though she were dreaming.

"I saw the panoramic image; it can't be wrong."

Zhong Pingjiang hesitated, still unable to be entirely certain, as the whole situation seemed too incredible.

Today, he had managed to strike up a conversation with the manager who loved horticulture. When he tentatively mentioned the "Nine Stars Accompanying the Moon," the manager was genuinely startled.

"I didn't expect you'd heard of this lost masterwork as well."

Zhong Pingjiang's heart skipped a beat. Feigning nonchalance, he casually mentioned he had seen it online by chance.

The manager chuckled, "Of course, you couldn't have seen the actual specimen."

"The 'Nine Stars Accompanying the Moon' is actually cultivated from the seeds of (Mā Lán). Legend says could yield a whole series of varieties, but regrettably, they were lost when the Jialan civilization vanished."

This manager was truly knowledgeable; very few people knew this detail. In fact, he was the Vice President of the Mingzhou Floral Association.

Zhong Pingjiang displayed just the right amount of surprise. Years in the corporate world had honed his exceptional emotional intelligence, ensuring he wouldn't reveal himself in such a delicate situation. Still, his heart hammered several beats faster.

Scarcity creates value—this was a universal law. Since the cultivation method for "Nine Stars Accompanying the Moon" was lost, its value was self-evident.

He had an instinct that his son might have grown something extraordinary.

"The last recorded appearance of the 'Nine Stars Accompanying the Moon' was several decades ago at an exhibition on Freedom Star. However, it was mysteriously stolen afterward. The incident caused a huge stir, but they never found out who stole the 'Nine Stars Accompanying the Moon'—it remains an unsolved cold case."

"So it must be worth a fortune," Zhong Pingjiang steered the conversation along the manager's thread.

The manager shook his head, a trace of regret on his face. "It's priceless, even if you have the money."

"But a few days ago, Fiel Garden bought a 'Seven Fairies,' which is from the same series as the 'Nine Stars Accompanying the Moon,' and I heard they paid two hundred million Omni-credits for it."

"The 'Nine Stars Accompanying the Moon' is even more precious than the 'Seven Fairies,' certainly no less than two hundred million."

Hearing "two hundred million Omni-credits," Zhong Pingjiang’s head spun. He worked in a bank and handled sums larger than this daily, but when those two hundred million might become his, no one could remain composed.

If I had two hundred million, I could achieve my dreams. Zhong Pingjiang felt blood rush to his temples.

Having learned the true worth of the flower in their backyard, Zhong Pingjiang could wait no longer. He requested leave from the manager and, stepping on the accelerator to the floor—a speed he never usually exceeded 200 km/h—drove home.

At the front gate, he nearly collided with his equally frantic wife. She had learned the value of the "Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon" from her cousin, a notorious flower enthusiast, and rushed home with the same sentiment as her husband.

The couple exchanged a look; their hearts connected, rendering words unnecessary.

"That stupid Xiao Yun, leaving something so valuable just lying in the backyard! What if it gets stolen?" As a member of the sales planning department in a major corporation, Yun Rong had a strong sense of risk management.

Zhong Pingjiang gave a wry smile. As an assistant manager in the administrative department, he thought he had seen a lot, but facing billions in potential wealth, he still couldn't keep his composure.

And a huge question arose in both their minds: what exactly had happened to their son?

No one knows a child better than their parents. They were perfectly aware of Zhong Yun’s inherent capabilities, and the IQ test results from their school days remained a painful memory.

Their greatest hope was that their son would get into an ordinary university, secure a stable job afterward, find a conventional girlfriend, and live a peaceful life. They dared not harbor any grander ambitions.

Yet now, he had cultivated a legendary, lost flower valued at hundreds of millions of Omni-credits. This stark contrast left them utterly bewildered. Especially the stark red 'D' evaluation grade on the notice sent by the school last semester still flashed before their eyes.

Could it be that we overlooked some kind of talent within our son?

They waited anxiously for their son to return from school, desperate to understand everything.

But they were a little late. Just as Yun Rong was about to call her son to urge him home, his recorded message played in the house: "Dad, Mom, today is the Academic Excursion. I won't be back for a week. If anything is urgent, please call me."

The couple looked at each other, surprised that at such a crucial moment, their son was away on a trip. He was probably already on the plane now; they would have to call him later.

With no other choice, they could only wait patiently.

Yun Rong suddenly asked, "Husband, what should we do with this flower? Should we really sell it?"

Zhong Pingjiang slowly let out a breath. "We must sell it, but we have to ask Xiao Yun first, since he grew the flower."

Yun Rong suddenly grew excited. "With this money, we can realize our dreams!"

"Mm."

Zhong Pingjiang paused, then asked, "What channel should we use to sell it for the best outcome?"

Yun Rong considered for a moment. "To maximize profit, an auction house would be best. However, that would expose Xiao Yun and might bring a lot of trouble."

"Then there’s only…"

"The black market."

They spoke in unison.

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