Chapter 115: So Embarrassing
Kuang Biao’s suggestion couldn’t be more considerate.
But Huai Yu snorted, “No way. I have my principles. I won’t date anyone under 18.”
Then she added, “I’m conservative by nature, so I’m not into cross-species relationships either.”
Kuang Biao didn’t buy it!
His bamboo leaves rustled noisily. “Look around—within a ten-mile radius, can you find a bamboo more knowledgeable than me? Why are you being so picky?”
Then he switched to an impassioned, low voice, “Life… should have no limits.”
Such a mouthful of nonsense!
Are there even other bamboo stalks within ten miles?
Huai Yu sighed weakly. “But I want a boyfriend who can fetch water, do laundry, build a house, and handle chores for me…”
“Tsk!” Kuang Biao gave a knowing nod. “You’re inexperienced, huh? If the perks are good, who wouldn’t want to do all that? What matters is irreplaceability in a boyfriend, understand?”
“Look at me: tall and slim, humble and well-read, and I can even grow bamboo shoots for you!”
“In the future, I’ll take care of you!”
He was genuinely trying to sell himself, but Huai Yu was as firm as iron, “I still don’t want you!”
“How old are you anyway? Six? Eight? If people found out I was dating a kid, I’d be laughed to death. So embarrassing.”
Kuang Biao: …
He angrily shook his bamboo leaves. “Human ages mean nothing to plants—ow!”
That last yelp came from Big Cub and Second Cub poking him again in annoyance.
Kuang Biao bobbed his head: “Hmph! I may not be in charge now, but one day, you’ll all be calling me Master!”
Huai Yu, meanwhile, crouched down and opened her arms to Big Cub and Second Cub: “Good babies! Mama’s sweethearts! I haven’t had time to see you lately—are you full? Want something fresh to eat today? Did Kuang Biao bully you because you can’t talk?”
“Ah ah ah…”
The two round-eyed little ones looked at her, then flapped their wings and dove into her arms, chirping:
“Ah ah ah…”
“Ah ah ah…”
It sounded like they were complaining about her absence, making Huai Yu feel really guilty.
Only then did she notice how their spiky feathers had become smooth and soft. In just a few days, they’d gone from spiny sea urchins to shiny, slick pufferfish.
No longer prickly at all.
Huai Yu delightedly patted their smooth heads, feeling the slight bumps on top, and couldn’t help but say with pride, “You’ve grown up!”
Then she pulled over a basin beside her: “Look! Fresh pea shoots. Try them and see if you like them?”
The once-tender (now not-so-tender) pea shoots—usually part of Huai Yu’s own meals—were offered up. She had already numbly downed a bag of nutrient fluid today, but watching Big Cub and Second Cub poke curiously at the greens, her mind drifted to a steaming bowl of instant noodles.
Ugh… Why am I suddenly so hungry? So craving!!!
Really, really want to eat some—sob sob sob…
Isn’t food production starting to recover? No one’s making instant noodles anymore? There has to be sour-and-spicy noodles, right? Why don’t the grain stores carry sweet potato noodles? I’d even take luosifen…
Damn it!
Why does my memory work like this? Forget the important stuff, but remember all these cravings so clearly! Who arranged this memory loss?! So annoying!
Big Cub and Second Cub, who spent their days digging up grass and bamboo shoots, lived a diet of pure, polluted nature. Now, the moment they poked at the pea shoots Huai Yu brought, their once-smooth feathers stood up like steel needles again!
Poke poke poke…
They stretched their necks, wings swept back, poking the basin so hard it clanged. When Huai Yu came to her senses, not only were the shoots gone—her stainless steel basin had several smooth holes punched in it.
One of the babies was still futilely chasing the last little green leaf stuck to the basin, poking holes but never catching it.
So it jabbed even harder.
Huai Yu: “…”
Great. Her stainless steel basin had turned into a stainless steel strainer. Now she had an extra colander at home.
Maybe next time she should just scatter the food on the ground? If chicks can peck from the ground, there’s no reason her babies need tableware, right? She had to be a fair and just parent.
In short, after three days indoors, she’d already ruined two towels, one basin, and one pile of laundry that probably wouldn’t show any color even if washed.
But it didn’t matter. As a rich lady with thousands of points, it was time to start browsing secondhand clothing stores in style.
She also had to think about one thing—should she tell Boss Tang about Keta Rō’s abilities?
If it weren’t for Zhou Qian’s situation, she would definitely have reported it, since Keta Rō wasn’t really hers to begin with.
She’d even planned to head to the trading market.
But now…
The spider venom that the hospital couldn’t neutralize even with all its serums and fusion potions—Keta Rō could suppress it with just a few pills… That kind of power was too rare, too dangerous.
She didn’t dare tell Boss Tang anymore.
The sun was setting. The evening light reflected off the solar lamp, casting a hazy glow. Huai Yu crouched by the pond, scrubbing laundry while deep in thought.
But after thinking for a long time, she still hadn’t decided.
She sighed and picked up the clothes. The murky brown stains hadn’t faded at all, not to mention the old dried bloodstains.
Forget it, forget it—out with the old, in with the new!
Though she was heartbroken over the effort she’d spent scrubbing, she just tossed the clothes onto the grass by the pond—after a day or two in the sun, they’d dry. She could use them to line Keta Rō’s house.
But just as she turned around, she saw Keta Rō quietly standing beside her, holding a fresh Houttuynia stem in his front paws, munching away. A small pile of powder had already accumulated beneath his back legs.
—Clearly, he’d been there a while.
Huai Yu was surprised. “Keta Rōu, did you come to keep me company?”
Keta Rō stopped chewing. His antennae curled slightly, as if answering.
In that instant, Huai Yu’s heart melted! “Keta Rō!!!”
Still squatting, she hugged him tightly, stroking his smooth, colorful shell. She made a solemn promise, “Don’t worry. I’ll keep your secret safe. I won’t tell anyone!”
“And… would you be willing to live with me forever? Even if your original owner Gao Ming comes back—if you’re willing, I’ll go to the city and ask how to meet him!”
Huai Yu’s resolve was firm, “Even if it takes a thousand points, I’m willing!”
Keta Rō said nothing. He simply spread his wings silently, then bent his antennae.
—Whatever that meant, Huai Yu chose to believe it meant yes!
She laughed, lifting Keta Rō into the air and twirling around joyfully—
“Keta Rō!”
“Did I ever say thank you? Thank you so, so much!!!”
Suddenly, Keta Rō dropped the Houttuynia he was holding, and it landed with a splat right on Huai Yu’s face.
…
By the time she finished cleaning up, it was dark.
Huai Yu lay in bed staring at the dark ceiling, too lazy to even turn on the light.
After zoning out for a while, she finally rolled over and switched on the solar lamp.
Under the bright light, the three books of “spiritual sustenance” at her bedside stood out sharply.
But Huai Yu looked at them with suspicion.
When she didn’t have the books, she had to find things to do or she’d get too bored and time would drag.
But ever since buying them, she’d barely read a few pages—and chaos had ensued.
These books… were cursed!
She sat up and decided to finish them quickly, then sell them off for something luckier.
But just ten minutes in, the sunflower had only just sprouted before she drifted off again. When she woke, she heard a broadcast outside—
[Today is May 2, 2066. Clear skies. Air mutation index: 7. Temperature: 15–28°C. The next week will be stable. We wish everyone a hardworking Labor Day…]
Huai Yu, still groggy, slowly processed—
Wait… so Labor Day actually means labor?
Then… is the Hongsheng trading market closed too? What about Jinyuan Residential? What did Boss Tang say again?
If you had more land assigned at home, you didn’t have to do volunteer labor. But as far as she knew, most people used their points to get better homes—because with climate instability, land yields were low…
Even in suburban Jinyuan, barely anyone had much land. (Does a pond count?)
She suddenly remembered the lotus roots she bought and the vegetable garden she hadn’t tended—so she rushed out to check.
—Wait! She remembered something else.
Hadn’t she fished a big black fish from the mountain and left it in a puddle? She hadn’t seen it in days!
Could it have escaped?
But a fish can’t dig or fly—how would it escape? Could something else have eaten it?
But it was huge!
With the Rose Corridor nearby, even wild rabbits avoided the area…
She was annoyed. The first fish she’d caught was sold to that annoying aunt. The second, which she’d planned to finally eat, got delayed again and again—
Now it was gone. She hadn’t even tasted a single scale.
Reluctantly, she went to the puddle under the barnyard grass tree and looked around. The water was now crystal clear—definitely a sign the fish had been gone a while.
Looking toward the pond ahead—
Hiss—
She gasped!!!
That black fish was a predator—it would eat the fish fry and shrimp she’d just bought! In hindsight, it might’ve been better if something had eaten it…
She sighed, went back in, grabbed the fish trap, and decided to set it in her own pond again.
The black fish was strong, but in water, the nylon net should hold.
Better than letting it wreak havoc in the pond!
Then—She stared at the other barnyard grass tree.
It was “short” only in comparison to the other one that filtered water. If a weed in a rice paddy grew this big, farmers would cry.
One had been accelerated, the other had been purified. This time…
After some back-and-forth, she decided to give it more purification power.
She’d invested so much already—she couldn’t bear to switch plans, even though she still had 15kg of seeds.
Maybe it was because she hadn’t used this power recently, but the flow of energy felt smoother than ever.
The tree’s branches swayed happily, and Huai Yu could clearly sense its joy—but she didn’t know what the effect was.
Whatever it was, as long as it didn’t act like that tree, it was fine.
Even if it had the same function, two trees competing might filter the pond faster!
With that hope, she poured in more power than usual.
After half an hour, Huai Yu was so drained she clung to the trunk, unable to stand.
But the tree showed no visible change.
“No way…”
This was the first time her power had zero visible effect—its mutation level didn’t even decrease. It stayed at an annoying-but-acceptable level.
Huai Yu stared at her palm—if she hadn’t felt the energy surge so clearly, she’d think she lost her powers.
She hugged the tree. “Did you change at all…?”
Its flat, straw-like leaves rustled joyfully—definitely some kind of effect.
But what?
She didn’t know.
She circled it twice, then gave up for now.
Passing the other tree, its leaves sat still and obedient, water droplets rolling off with perfect grace.
So well-behaved. So humble.
But the other tree still hadn’t shown any change—hmph, it must be mocking me!
Huai Yu raised her head high and walked away without looking back.
She still had to pick more rose petals! Keta Rō liked medicinal herbs—but loved unfamiliar ones even more.
After days of neglect, her jars were full again. But the bright-colored marbles like Shi Long Rui were rare now—most were plain.
Huai Yu tried a few, but since she wasn’t hurt and didn’t plan to be, she couldn’t test their effects.
Now, she had to go collect petals or leaves from the Rose Corridor for Keta Rō!
If regular weeds worked wonders for him, then surely the famed Rose Corridor would have some effect, right?
