Seeing Yang Siqing ask about it, Zhong Yun said, "Please rest assured, Elder Huang, I've nearly finished with the flowers. They are in the back courtyard, set to bloom just as the International Flower Exhibition opens. There is just one small issue, though."

"What issue?" Yang Siqing inquired.

"There are a few specific points that need attention when caring for these pots of flowers, requiring several specialized techniques. I was hoping Elder Huang could send over a gardener, someone I can teach exactly how to tend to them," Zhong Yun explained.

It wasn't that filming a panoramic video was impossible, but the commentary would become overly complicated. Each type of flower he was cultivating possessed unique characteristics. Moreover, given the tight timeline, Zhong Yun had employed special acceleration methods to force their maturity, ensuring they would bloom precisely during the International Flower Exhibition.

Therefore, they demanded even more meticulous care, including the necessity of giving the flowers "massages" at prescribed intervals.

"I will relay this to him," Yang Siqing replied. Seeing Zhong Yun completely at ease, the knot in his own heart unraveled. He felt a profound sense of relief, his entire demeanor transformed.

"I heard you've found yourself a beautiful girlfriend?" Yang Siqing asked casually.

"You know about that too?" Zhong Yun feigned surprise. "Why don't I bring her out sometime for you to take a look?"

"That won't be necessary," Yang Siqing smiled and shook his head. "With your standards being so high, she must look like a fairy."

So you know my taste is high too? Just a roundabout way of praising your own niece, Zhong Yun grumbled internally.

Yang Siqing stayed for a short while before leaving; he still had a mountain of official duties.

His parents were working overtime. Tianhai was off visiting his master. Chenwen had a date. Liu Yunqi had returned to her hometown. This evening, Zhong Yun was destined to spend his time alone. Just as he was about to find a movie to pass the time, an uninvited guest arrived at his home.

"President. What brings you here?"

The visitor was Gong Yao from the Sculpture Association—someone Zhong Yun never expected to show up at his residence.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you?" Dressed in a flowing, pink, one-piece dress, Gong Yao stood gracefully beneath the moon pavilion. The evening breeze lifted her long hair, making her beauty dazzling.

"I'm delighted you came. Please, come in," Zhong Yun's heart suddenly pounded faster, though his expression betrayed none of it.

Stepping inside, Gong Yao looked around with curiosity. "Zhong Yun, your house has such a unique style?"

"Come, have some tea," Zhong Yun had already prepared a pot.

Gong Yao accepted the cup and joked, "There isn't something strange mixed in there, is there?"

"Don't worry, I loaded it up with everything needed," Zhong Yun replied with solemn seriousness.

Gong Yao covered her mouth and laughed, spilling the tea she held. "Ouch!" she cried out, hastily setting the cup down and shaking her fingers vigorously.

"Are you alright?" The tea had just been poured and was scalding hot. Zhong Yun rushed over and gently took her hand, seeing two of her fair fingers already reddened. Fortunately, the burn wasn't severe.

He led her to the kitchen and held her injury under cool running water. "Does it still hurt?"

Gong Yao bit her lip and nodded pitifully. "It hurts..."

"It seems you’re quite the pampered young lady," Zhong Yun chuckled. "Getting burned by hot water and injured like this—your skin is truly too tender."

"Are you complimenting or insulting me?" Gong Yao pouted, displeased.

"That depends on your interpretation," Zhong Yun felt it was time to stop, withdrew her hand, and walked toward the living room. "Though I don't hold much hope for your capacity to interpret."

"Just say I’m clumsy. Why beat around the bush?" Gong Yao said, frowning again as she took her fingers away from the cool water; the stinging pain returned immediately.

"It seems you possess at least some self-awareness," Zhong Yun gestured for her to sit on the sofa, retrieved the first-aid kit and a clean towel. "You're not entirely beyond saving."

"Hey, why are you always teasing me? I'm your President and your senior!" Gong Yao heavily emphasized the words "President" and "senior." She allowed him to gently blot the water from her hand.

"Senior?" Zhong Yun paused, looked up at her briefly. "I suspect you aren't actually older than me."

"What year were you born?" Gong Yao asked, sounding slightly nervous. She had skipped a grade in middle school; in truth, their ages were quite close.

Zhong Yun took out the burn ointment from the kit and replied casually, "New Calendar Year 20."

The New Calendar was a completely new chronology starting from the year they advanced to Intermediate Civilization, which became Year One of the New Calendar; years before that were designated New Calendar Minus. This year was New Calendar Year 37, and Zhong Yun had just passed his seventeenth birthday.

"Which month?" Gong Yao pressed.

"Are you taking my census?" Zhong Yun snapped back. "January."

"Liar!" Gong Yao huffed. "You were clearly born in November, and you lied to me saying January."

"Huh? How did you know my birthday was in November?" Zhong Yun was about to spray the burn treatment onto her wound when he heard her words. He stopped, turning his head to look at her with confusion.

Gong Yao’s face flushed, her gaze flickering as she avoided his eyes. "Well... well..." She stammered several times without forming a complete sentence. Then, as if suddenly angry from embarrassment, she snapped, "It takes you forever just to put on medicine. Are you intentionally taking advantage of me?" With that, she sharply pulled her hand away.

Zhong Yun was still holding her hand. When Gong Yao suddenly yanked back, the nail of his thumb scraped a layer of skin and flesh from her burned middle finger.

Gong Yao immediately cried out in pain, tears welling up. Blood gushed from the wound, instantly dyeing her entire hand crimson.

Zhong Yun was startled, quickly rummaging through the kit for hemostatic agent and spraying it liberally onto her injury. Gong Yao gripped his arm tightly with her other hand; the pain must have been intense, as tears gathered in her eyes.

The bleeding stopped quickly. A small section of tissue had been scraped away, leaving the wound looking gruesome and raw, but it wasn't serious—no hospital visit necessary.

Gong Yao glanced at the injury and nearly fainted, tears streaming down her face. She leaned her head against Zhong Yun's shoulder, weeping heartbrokenly.

"It's fine, this wound will heal in two or three days," Zhong Yun soothed her softly.

"What if it leaves a scar?" Gong Yao's voice emerged thick with congestion. "It will be so ugly, I don't want it. Waaah—" She cried even harder.

Zhong Yun felt a massive headache coming on; he bore some responsibility for her injury. "Let me take you to the hospital."

After quickly bandaging it simply, Zhong Yun took her to a large hospital nearby. While the doctor treated the wound, Gong Yao kept asking, "Will it leave a scar?"

The doctors here were highly professional and showed no impatience. "Don't worry, this is just a minor injury. As long as you are careful, not a single mark will remain."

After leaving the hospital, Zhong Yun drove her back home. Only when he finally returned to his own residence did it suddenly strike him: What exactly did Gong Yao come to see me about?

Gong Yao was merely a classmate in the same association. They only had two classes a week, so they weren't very close. Why would she suddenly show up at his house?

However, he soon pushed the question aside because Yu Daoqing called, saying she wanted him to come over tomorrow to meet someone.

The next morning, just as Zhong Yun was about to leave, his phone rang—it was Elder Huang. "I've already sent the gardener over; they should be arriving at your place any minute now."

Zhong Yun only intended to go out and buy a few things, nothing urgent, so he waited at home. A short while later, the doorbell rang.

Opening the door, he found a girl in her early twenties, quite pretty—a stark contrast to the image of a gardener he had held in his mind.

"Is this the residence of Teacher Zhong Yun?"

The girl was polite, but what she said made Zhong Yun wonder if she had the wrong address. "There is someone named Zhong Yun here, yes, but I'm not a teacher."

"Oh, that’s right, I’m looking for Teacher Zhong Yun," the girl confirmed.

Zhong Yun scrutinized her for a moment. Had Elder Huang not been clear with her? Or was she doing this on purpose? "Did Elder Huang send you here?"

"Yes, he did," the girl replied respectfully, though her deference seemed directed not at him, but because he mentioned Elder Huang.

"Come in," Zhong Yun led her to the back courtyard.

"Is Teacher Zhong Yun not here?" The girl looked around, seemingly searching for the shadow of "Teacher Zhong Yun." Then, a question from her nearly made Zhong Yun spit out his water: "Are you Teacher Zhong Yun’s grandson?"

Zhong Yun’s lips curled into a wry smile; it was utterly ridiculous. He decided to ignore her.

He opened the door to the back courtyard. Under a constructed trellis, about a dozen pots of flowers were arranged.

"Wow, Nine-Star Companion Moon!" Upon seeing the first pot, the girl let out an excited shriek. Nine-Star Companion Moon wasn't widely famous on Dawa. The main reason was how long it had been lost. However, for a professional gardener to recognize it instantly was not surprising.

"Starry Sky Flower!" The girl felt as if her breath might stop. The "Starry Sky Flower" here was nothing like the baby's breath found on Earth. This was an exceedingly rare bloom, known in history as a divine object, only appearing during the agricultural era before being lost due to dynastic changes.

The Starry Sky Flower had a massive plant structure with lush foliage. Historical records claimed it could bloom with thirty-six different colored flowers simultaneously across the single stalk, resembling a myriad of stars scattered across the night sky—hence its name.

This flower had no connection to the Jialan Civilization; the seeds were obtained from Yu Daoqing. It turned out the reason the Starry Sky Flower was lost was because its cultivation method had vanished. If planted incorrectly, it would only grow into an ordinary small tree—it hadn't actually gone extinct, which is why seeds were obtainable.

Zhong Yun had proceeded with a trial-and-error approach, but Xiao Ling was truly extraordinary. After analyzing the Starry Sky Flower seedling, she offered a suggestion: try using the "Miracle Wave" technique, the same method used to revive Yang Siqing’s Crystal Glazed Rose.

It actually worked. The growth of the Starry Sky Flower matched the descriptions perfectly.

Zhong Yun was somewhat surprised that the girl recognized the Starry Sky Flower immediately, considering it was an ancient specimen with no complete photographic records remaining.

"Nine-Layered Lotus!"

The girl felt so ecstatic she was about to faint.

The rarity of the Nine-Layered Lotus was in no way inferior to the previous two. It evolved from the common lotus, and after blooming, its petals always formed exactly nine layers, breathtakingly beautiful—hence the name.

These three flowers were all peerless treasures that existed only in legend. In terms of value, they surpassed even the single Seven Fairies flower in Fei'er Garden.

For a gardener who deeply loved flora, the excitement of seeing these legendary flowers was immense.

Zhong Yun looked at her dreamy, almost ethereal expression and felt a bit speechless. This one, he realized, was a truly fanatical flower enthusiast.

P: Distance has been pulled back again, and the chasers are catching up. Please vote for monthly tickets.