Li Chengyi walked along the street, his thoughts gradually becoming clearer. However, his contemplative silence caught the attention of soone beside him.
"What are you thinking about? Work-related matters?" Zhou Xingtong asked softly.
At first, she had felt a bit awkward about Chen Yi-jun trying to set her up with soone. She wasn’t fond of eting people with such obvious matchmaking intent, but she couldn’t resist her friend’s well-aning efforts.
When she saw Li Chengyi, though, she thought... maybe it wouldn’t hurt to get to know him.
He wasn’t particularly handso, but he had a pleasant, constant smile, a decent physique, and an energetic deanor. Chen Yi-jun had also assured her that he didn’t have any bad habits.
Zhou Xingtong was the type of person who went with the flow, often feeling aimless and unsure of what she wanted to do or could do. Without soone setting goals for her, she would likely remain stuck, paralyzed by indecision.
"Nothing much. I was just thinking about my wisteria flowers—I like gardening," Li Chengyi replied casually.
If Chen Yi-jun hadn’t dragged him out for this al, he might not have realized the categorization of dark thoughts so soon. As a result, he was in a rather good mood.
"Gardening? Flowers are... pretty, and, um... they sll nice..." Zhou Xingtong fumbled, trying to contribute to the conversation.
Her knowledge of flowers was limited to the morning glories and wild chrysanthemums growing around her parents’ house. She racked her brain for sothing relevant, but ca up empty.
"It’s okay. I can invite you all to visit the botanical garden soday. Single flowers might not be impressive, but when you see them in large numbers, they can be visually stunning," Li Chengyi said with a smile.
His mood seed to brighten even more, but not for the reason Zhou Xingtong might have imagined. While talking to her, he had once again felt the faint, drifting presence of **envy-fueled dark thoughts** coming his way.
- **Dark Thought (Envy) 0.1**
- **Dark Thought (Envy) 0.1**
- **Dark Thought (Envy) 0.1**
The continuous notifications made it clear how he could obtain these specific types of dark thoughts.
Although his floral armor’s next evolution required jealousy-based dark thoughts, he couldn’t yet absorb them since the wisteria hadn’t fully evolved. For now, they rely dispersed, but at least he had found a direction.
If casual conversations with a pretty girl could generate envy-based dark thoughts, then so of his other ideas might yield even more significant results.
The walk didn’t last long. Despite Chen Yi-jun and Xue Xue’s efforts to give them space, the group soon had to part ways.
"Let’s have another al together soti!" Chen Yi-jun said, waving with her two friends.
Li Chengyi gave a thumbs-up, watching the three leave.
He didn’t need to fake politeness; his face always looked like he was smiling anyway. After the al, he hailed a taxi, went ho, and prepared to rest.
---
At ho, his parents were sitting in the living room, chatting quietly. His sister, Li Chengjiu, stayed in her room, as usual, making no noise.
Recently, she had been spending most of her ti at ho, often alone in her bedroom. No one knew what she was up to.
Li Chengjiu had a fiery temper and many secrets. She associated with a wide range of people, and no one could easily figure out what kept her so busy. It was as if her connections were as complex as a web, even defying Sindra’s investigations.
Li Chengyi, however, didn’t have ti to care about her activities. His current priority was to finalize negotiations for a botanical garden and start transplanting the flowers he needed.
His daily schedule was packed. He trained every morning, handled the botanical garden’s operations at noon—interviewing employees and registering the company—and visited other gardens in the afternoon to absorb floral energy from gladiolus variants, furthering his armor’s evolution.
Life was bustling and productive. Before he knew it, August was already halfway over. The shadow cast by Zhong Ying’s death was also beginning to lift, and his sleep quality had improved significantly.
---
On the afternoon of the 17th, after leaving a small ornantal park on the outskirts of Suiyang, Li Chengyi was about to hail a taxi ho. He had nearly absorbed all the floral energy from the surrounding gladiolus plants, reaching 91% completion. He had visited every nearby botanical garden and greenhouse with gladiolus flowers.
Next, he planned to search other areas—flower shops, university gardens, and even roadside green spaces. Bit by bit, he would gather what he needed.
As he tapped his ride-hailing app, a sharp ringtone interrupted him.
The distinctive sound was set for important calls from his company. The mont he heard it, he knew it was work-related.
The caller ID displayed Song Ran’s na.
He answered imdiately. "Hello, Brother Song?"
"We found her," Song Ran’s voice ca through. "Your sister’s contact—the one nad Marianne—we’ve tracked her down."
"Go on!" Li Chengyi’s expression turned serious.
"Marianne. Full na: Marianne Xilian. She’s from a small country called Libiru. Her background is complex. In so countries, she’s been expelled for public safety violations. She also has a criminal record for violent offenses in Baixing. However, due to the cold war between Baixing and our country, she provided intelligence to us, helping obtain classified Baixing information. As a result, she was granted political asylum and allowed to live here legally."
Song Ran continued, "She currently works as a design director at Hongli Corporation, a company specializing in sports, martial arts, and fitness products. However, she’s likely just a figurehead; there’s no record of her designing anything."
"Why would my sister associate with soone with a criminal record like her?" Li Chengyi asked, puzzled.
"Your sister spent so ti in training at the underground black market, testing various flying instrunt prototypes. She probably t Marianne there. Your sister has talent, but her temper has caused several companies to reject her," Song Ran explained.
Li Chengyi frowned. He had personally seen Marianne pressuring his sister to agree to sothing.
What could Marianne want from Li Chengjiu? Her flying instrunt talent seed like the only viable answer.
But why?
---
"Got it. Please keep an eye on her for ," Li Chengyi said. "And tell the team—I’m treating everyone to milk tea this month."
"Will do," Song Ran replied with a laugh.
Their company had a habit of drinking milk tea daily. It wasn’t a small expense, but Li Chengyi, flush with his recent earnings, could afford it.
After sending a generous red packet to Song Ran, Li Chengyi hung up, deep in thought.
Marianne’s complex identity and her brazenness in a strict country like theirs indicated a dangerous, lawless nature. She likely had even darker secrets hidden from public records.
---
His thoughts turned to his lack of stealth capabilities. Without a floral armor ability to mask his presence, investigating covertly was risky. He needed to prioritize finding a concealnt-focused flower language.
This brought his mind back to the small white flower in the Mist Street Dead End—a mysterious high-level skill as captivating as a magnet. Completing its evolution and unlocking its powers would take ti, but the prospect filled him with both anticipation and impatience.
Sighing, he returned to his app and hailed a ride.
---
Elsewhere, on Qingyun Road’s bar strip, a white electric scooter stopped at a bar called "Azure Cloud Lounge." The driver was a sleek, poised woman with long black hair, wearing a cropped black sweater, gray flared pants, and shiny silver beads adorning the outer sides of her thighs.
Behind her sat a petite, baby-faced girl with soft black hair, dressed in a high school uniform. Her innocent eyes sparkled with youthful energy.
"Go ahead. I’ll call a taxi to pick you up later," the older sister said coldly.
"I’ll be fine, sis. It’s just a classmate’s birthday party," the younger girl replied, exasperated.
"Call when it’s over," the older sister insisted.
"Got it, got it..." The girl hopped off the scooter, grumbling about her overprotective sibling. She quickly disappeared into the bar with a group of classmates.
The elder sister hesitated for a mont before driving off. She had work to do and had only stopped by to drop her sister off.
---
Ti passed quickly. By the ti the party ended, the bar strip was quieter, with fewer people lingering. Students left in small groups, so on bikes, others hailing rides.
But the baby-faced girl never reappeared.
---
Behind the bar, a discreet kitchen door creaked open. Two teenage boys erged, carrying a black bag. In the dim light, one of them wore a dark gold bat-shaped earring.
"What now? Hurry up and figure it out!" snapped the boy with the earring, his voice thick with panic.
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