It was in the Bo Family’s Ancestral House that a young boy carried in a large pot, the object nearly touched the top of the doorway. Two tall green bamboo lay nestled together in its rich and dark soil. Lei carried it into their waiting room for their great-grandmother’s guest. Once Yang Li saw the young boy step into the room, it was there that he approached the boy and took it from their hands and relieved them from the burden.

Right as he took it from the boy’s hands, his nose picked up a lovely scent and once again felt a sensation. Living plants contained qi… it wasn’t a startling discovery but he nodded his head to the boy. “Thank you so much.” It was from one man to another until he turned to his neighbor and thanked them as well.

“It’s no problem, it’s quite good that you’ve grown interested in gardening. At least that’s what it appears to me.” A proud smile formed on Granny Lanfen’s face. She may have slipped out the terms ‘wedding plans’ and ‘date’ out loud, unintentionally or intentionally, but she was still his neighbor, one of the ones who actually enjoyed taking care of plants. .

He wondered how they would feel that the plant was meant for food.

“I think it works well as decoration, I honestly didn’t expect it to be this… long.” Would it fit in his car? He would have to take it home. Yang Li wondered if the small panda creature would think it’s sufficient for them or he still needed to order them some… assuming that the creature stayed for long.

“They grow much taller in forests, young man.” Granny Lanfen informed him, “But this one will still grow one to three feet per year.”

“That’s a lot.”

[ ???: And that’s what she said ]

A weird notification popped up and Yang Li mentally dismissed it in lieu of his search of the Panda’s approval. Said creature was currently sprawled on the table and it gave them a look as they chugged the remnants of tea in his cup and wiped their face with a paw. The Panda floated and flew to the pot and shook their head.”What the heck did you just say? Let’s get going now.”

Despite obviously consuming other food items—they looked a bit happy to see the tall grass. Yang Li turned to the older woman and inclined his head, “Thank you once again for having me over for breakfast.”

There was an expectant look on Granny Lanfen’s face.

To the CEO, it appeared that the older woman was truly eager to hear if the breakfast had gone well. And the word ‘well’ was quite subjective to anyone. He continued, “And meeting your great-granddaughter has been a remarkable experience.” He didn’t exactly want to lie, but he bowed towards Bo Lifen and to her brother, “It was nice meeting you Miss Lifen, and you too, Lei.”

But in the end he still kind of did.

“Likewise.” Bo Lifen bowed at him in sync with her brother. She had at least managed to not say anything about their breakfast together.

The much older woman, Lanfen clapped her hands and beamed, “I’m glad that the two of you got along, perhaps the two of you could meet next time and chat in that polluted city of yours.”

“Granny…” Bo Lifen sounded exasperated.

“It’s true! I don’t know why you guys can tolerate the air there.” The old woman shook her head and placed a hand over her chest, her flair of dramatics didn’t wane with their age. “I feel like my lungs would get clogged by thick dust. Anyhow, enough talk about me, Lifen go see our guest off.” She gave a look at the young woman.

A soft sigh escaped the woman’s lips but she nodded and stepped forward, “I’ll see you off to the gates then, Mister Li.” She opened the door for him and inclined her head. The woman didn’t look or sound happy, but they were eager to get it over with.

“Don’t be afraid to visit me more often, Yang Li.” Granny Lanfen told him as she took her seat. The old woman rubbed her wrists as she said it, they were really the one who probably transferred the plant to its pot.

“I’ll do my best.”

.

.

.

As promised, Bo Lifen walked with him to the gates and opened it for him, allowing the man to carry the pot outside. She didn’t say a word and the atmosphere around them was still… a bit tensed. But neither said anything else and to the both of them, this was surely a one-time meeting, there were no plans laid out to meet in the Bo Family’s tea shop or anything.

But Yang Li wasn’t regretting this.

He wanted to leave quickly and go to his office immediately, the drive back to it would take awhile so he needed to remove himself asap and leave the pot in his home. In a way, he was relieved that no System Notification came up—and he wouldn’t wish to jinx it. But it would be rude of him to not say a word as he left, “Thank you for seeing me off, Miss Bo.”

“It’s not a problem, Mister Li.” This time, her voice held no touch of inflection or any signs of hesitation. She said it simply and even with a small smile on her face. The woman had already recovered from this incident or had managed to truly act like it didn’t happen.

Yang Li simply nodded, he couldn’t muster a smile like hers and began to walk away.

He heard the gates close and he sighed in relief. The man immediately walked back to his home’s direction, lest anything else were to happen. But when he looked at the plant—he could already see that the Panda was nibbling on the top of it. Shamelessly even. It hadn’t even waited for him to carry it back to his home, but he was the only one who could see it.

The creature spitted out the bamboo’s head for a moment and gave them a look, “What are you looking at me for? Keep walking, bub.”

Coughing slightly, Yang Li walked back and ignored the weird way that the creature was consuming the grass. He wanted to ask them a question about the System’s method of finding suitable women for his quests, because he truly had been a tad worried back then. But for now, he let the creature be as they returned back to his home.

Once again, several notifications appeared before him.

[ The Celestial Heavens Have Seen The Display ]

[ One of the Observers ‘Fire Dweller’ is pleased by your kindness ]

[ You Have Been Sponsored With 1000 Charm Points ]