Chapter 05-1: This Karma Is Kinda Sweet / Chapter 06-2: So This Is What Picking Flowers Means~

"Y-Young Miss, what are you doing here?" Dog One, Prince Qin's lackey, looked startled. He couldn't understand why Xiangyi, whom Prince Qin had deliberately sent away, was here.

"He brought me here." Xiangyi's expression was cool as she pointed at Ye Fan, the male lead, lying on the ground.

At that moment, without the help of a cheat, Ye Fan was no more than a handsome young man—nowhere near as good-looking as Prince Qin. And since Prince Qin had been at a disadvantage just moments ago, Xiangyi had accidentally beaten up the male lead, Ye Fan.

At her words, Dog One's expression changed. He immediately shouted, "So this man actually dared to kidnap the Young Miss! Beat him to a pulp!"

The thugs immediately started beating Ye Fan, afraid Xiangyi might discover what they were really up to.

How could Xiangyi not know how sly Dog One was? She had no phone, and the people surrounding them all belonged to Prince Qin. Even if she could call the police, no one would dare interfere in the Qin family's business.

In the end, if Xiangyi wanted to get out of this mess, she would have to rely on herself.

"Stop hitting him for a second! This bastard stole something of mine. What if you break it?" Xiangyi called out, stopping them before searching Ye Fan.

At last, she found the unremarkable Flower God Ring in his pocket.

Since it hadn't been activated, the Flower God Ring looked completely ordinary. The others glanced at it and thought nothing of it.

"Ugh, it's filthy. I need to wash it. Keep beating him." Xiangyi looked at the ring, slipped it into her pocket, and then leisurely returned to the bathroom.

She shut the door and locked it in one smooth motion. Muning was covering her mouth, looking utterly distressed.

It was obvious that Muning had heard what Xiangyi said outside. She couldn't understand why Xiangyi had acted that way, but she had to believe Xiangyi had a reason.

"Muning, you have to trust me. This is our only option." Xiangyi knew she was being cruel, but if she didn't do this, they would both die.

Even as the author, in the malicious world she had created, she wouldn't survive past the third chapter without a cheat. Xiangyi was nervous. She was terrified that, despite all her efforts, she still wouldn't be able to activate the Flower God Ring.

But this was their only option. She had to try it with Muning.

"I understand. I... What should I do?" After spending so much time together, Muning chose to trust Xiangyi's decision. Still, she couldn't help wondering how Xiangyi planned to change their desperate situation.

"I need to kiss you."

"Huh?"

Even though Muning had been prepared for anything, she had never expected Xiangyi to make such a request.

Xiangyi herself blushed a little. She hated herself for coming up with such a ridiculous plot, but there was no other way. She could only try to activate the ring like this.

"My... constitution is special. Only a kiss can activate it... But I can't promise it'll work. If it fails, should we jump together?" Xiangyi appealed to Muning's feelings. If they hadn't been written as close friends, she wouldn't have dared say something so outrageous.

But Muning was Xiangyi's good friend, and Xiangyi believed she would agree.

It was a gamble, and Xiangyi didn't like their odds.

Muning didn't answer at once. Instead, she studied Xiangyi for a moment, until she was sure of the sincerity in her eyes. At last, she nodded.

"Okay."

They moved closer. They were both sober, and neither was in love with the other, so kissing another girl was bound to be awkward.

"D-do you want to take off your glasses?" Muning's voice was barely audible. Her face had turned bright red.

This Retribution Is Kind of Sweet

"Oh, right." Xiangyi felt even more awkward. She took off her glasses and reminded her, "We need to kiss for at least a minute."

They leaned closer and finally kissed, clumsily. They were both beginners and terribly nervous, which only made them more awkward. They didn't know what to do next or how to hold themselves...

The fragrance from Muning grew stronger. Xiangyi tried to lose herself in the kiss, and at last, she heard a prompt in her mind.

Flower Cherishing Record System loading...

1%...

5%...

Hearing this, Xiangyi grew even more excited. She pinned Muning against the wall. Muning jumped in surprise, but didn't resist. Instead, she threw herself further into the kiss, treating it as if it might be the last kiss of her life.

She thought Xiangyi just wanted them to feel less alone on their way to the afterlife, to at least experience their first kiss—even if it didn't make her heart flutter...

But as she thought this, her heartbeat quickened as Xiangyi's movements grew more forceful.

System loading: 93%...

System loading: 100%...

At last, Xiangyi heard the system announce that it had reached one hundred percent. She still didn't let Muning go, waiting for the system to speak to her on its own.

Muning was kissed until she was almost out of breath. At last, Xiangyi heard the system speak, a beat late.

System: Flower Fairy detected—Muning. Plant the flower seed?

Xiangyi answered yes without hesitation. She felt a force rise from her dantian, then pass through her mouth into Muning.

System: Flower seed planted. Flower Master, please wait patiently.

System: Congratulations, Flower Master, on successfully planting your first flower seed. You have obtained 100 Spiritual Power.

System: Congratulations, Flower Master, on receiving Flower Fairy Muning's first kiss. You have obtained 100 Spiritual Power.

System: Congratulations, Flower Master, on activating the Flower God Ring. You have obtained an interdimensional space.

A jumble of sounds rang out in Xiangyi's mind. She let out a breath of relief, nearly bursting into tears.

Muning couldn't take any more of Xiangyi's forceful kissing. She gently pushed Xiangyi away, her face flushed as she avoided her gaze.

"Xiangyi, could you be a little gentler?" she reminded her, still speaking in that same soft voice. But when she looked up, Xiangyi was beaming with joy—and then suddenly vanished right in front of her.

The next second, Xiangyi reappeared, a faint smile on her face.

"Did you just disappear?"

"Yeah. I went to get us some help." Xiangyi smiled at Muning. She made a grabbing motion with her right hand, as though holding something.

No matter how hard Muning looked, she couldn't see anything in Xiangyi's hand.

"I forgot you couldn't see it. Anyway, we can go out now." Xiangyi paused, then took Muning by the arm and led her out.

The bathroom door opened. Prince Qin had already come around and was sitting outside. When he saw his sister Xiangyi leading Muning by the hand, he flew into a rage.

"Xiangyi, are you trying to die?!"

"Prince Qin, do you really think you can do whatever you want?" Xiangyi didn't bother to be polite. Though they were siblings, they looked and acted nothing alike.

Muning stood nearby, anxious and uneasy, afraid that Prince Qin might turn on them and attack without mercy.

"You've really got some nerve! I'm taking Muning today. What are you going to do about it?" Prince Qin shouted. Xiangyi only gave him a cold smile and said, "Hua Nu, go!"

A chill swept through the room, and the temperature began to drop. Prince Qin watched Xiangyi's theatrics and was about to speak, but his body went completely numb. A moment later, he collapsed to the floor, unable to control himself.

Prince Qin stared in disbelief. The others looked terrified and backed away, wondering if Xiangyi had brought in some kind of expert.

Xiangyi smiled and made a sweeping gesture. In an instant, the blond thug closest to her flew across the room. She snapped, "Get out!"

Seeing how murderous Xiangyi looked, the others exchanged glances, then quickly fled.

Xiangyi knocked Prince Qin unconscious again. Then she addressed the empty air. "Hua Nu, thanks for your help."

After listening to something, Xiangyi continued helplessly, "We can't kill him. Even if he deserves it, the family won't let me get away with it... What? You killed them all? Hua Nu, I really regret bringing you out!"

Muning grew even more uneasy as Xiangyi muttered to herself. She thought Xiangyi had been hit in the head and gone mad.

But from Muning's unseen perspective, Xiangyi was talking to a beautiful woman in her thirties.

This beauty was the servant Xiangyi had brought out of the Flower God Ring. Her real name was unknown, but everyone called her Hua Nu.

Hua Nu's true form was a rose. She was breathtakingly beautiful, with a tear mole beneath her right eye. Having lived for over ten thousand years, Hua Nu had long since become a spirit, but no matter how many years passed, she still couldn't bring herself to like humans.

"Shouldn't you explain things to the little girl beside you?" Hua Nu reminded her again. Xiangyi turned her gaze and saw Muning looking worried. After a moment's thought, she decided not to tell Muning about her two cheats. Instead, she explained the change in a way that made sense in this world.

"Sorry for scaring you. I awakened an ability."

Muning nodded, still half-convinced. Her face had already been red, and she now thought of that bizarre awakening ritual.

Xiangyi didn't dwell on Muning's feelings. She crouched and channeled Spiritual Power into Ye Fan, who had been unconscious. He came around.

When he saw Prince Qin lying unconscious on the floor, Ye Fan's expression changed dramatically. He seemed to think Prince Qin was dead.

Xiangyi saw the dazed look on Ye Fan's face, then glanced at Muning, looking so delicate and helpless. She had no choice but to instruct him again. "Ye Fan, take Muning home first. I'll handle things here."

After thinking it over, she decided to clean up the mess herself.

She was the one who had caused all this. Now that she had taken Ye Fan's cheat, he was of no use to her. Rather than suffer alongside her, he might as well go enjoy a good life.

As for how to handle this, Xiangyi had already thought of a solution.

Seeing how hard Xiangyi was trying for her, Muning stepped forward and took her hand. "Xiangyi, I'll stay and keep you company."

Xiangyi was touched. She couldn't help thinking that she had done an amazing job creating her protagonist: kind and gentle, with every virtue of a pure-hearted heroine. Then she thought of how Muning would be bullied in all sorts of ways because of her author's twisted sense of fun, and regretted her own recklessness.

She patted Muning on the shoulder and continued, "It's all right. I'm one of the Qin family's heirs, after all. At worst, they'll kick me out. Once I've sorted this out, I'll come see you."

Xiangyi made it sound easy. She still couldn't face the whole Qin family, but with the Flower God Ring, she wouldn't be completely helpless.

Muning still seemed reluctant, so Xiangyi gave Ye Fan a look. Ye Fan immediately tried to persuade his younger sister, Muning. At last, the two of them left.

Xiangyi started cleaning up the scene. She wiped away Muning's and Ye Fan's fingerprints, then left her own in their place.

And to keep the Qin family from retaliating against Muning and Ye Fan, she had Hua Nu destroy the surveillance cameras, leaving no loose ends.

So when the Qin family arrived, Prince Qin had become a truly living corpse. The family blamed Xiangyi, thinking her ability had gone out of control, and sent her to the notorious Baichi Sanatorium...

There, Xiangyi finally accepted that she had transmigrated into her own novel and began getting used to the world.

On a night when no one was watching, Xiangyi finally entered the Flower God Ring's interdimensional space for the second time.

Unlike her first visit, which had lasted only a few seconds, this time she could properly greet the people inside the ring.

The Flower God Ring's space wasn't very large—just over a hundred square meters. Inside stood a simple little house and a patch of empty farmland, like some odd farming game.

As if sensing Xiangyi's arrival, three people came out of the house.

There was Hua Nu, whom Xiangyi had taken out to deal with Prince Qin; Little Grass, a loli who looked about ten; and, last of all, a woman in traditional white robes.

"Flower Master, you're finally here." Hua Nu was so excited to see Xiangyi that you'd think they hadn't seen each other in decades.

To make the male lead likable and hardworking, Xiangyi had originally set it up so that a month passed inside for every day outside. That way, he could spend his free time farming, growing flowers, and building up his wealth.

So while Xiangyi had been outside for three days, three months had already passed inside the Flower God Ring.

Seeing Hua Nu so excited, Xiangyi immediately apologized. "Sorry, something came up outside."

Hua Nu looked a little angry, as if she'd just remembered something. "This old servant saw everything. Humans today are exactly as they were ten thousand years ago!"

Everyone inside the Flower God Ring could sense what happened outside, so they knew how difficult things had been for Xiangyi these past few days—including how she'd been sent to a place called Baichi Sanatorium.

Xiangyi didn't take it to heart. She'd treated everything as if she were just following the novel's plot, and had pretended to be crazy for three whole days. If she hadn't kept reminding herself that this was a fictional world, she probably wouldn't have made it through so smoothly.

But this proved that the character she'd created for herself—second only to the male lead in status—had worked. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gotten off so lightly.

"Hua Nu, you seem to have insulted me too. Anyway, who's this beautiful lady...?" Xiangyi pretended to be casual. Even now, she hadn't dared look directly at the woman in white.

As the author of the novel, she obviously knew who this woman was. But as the ring's current owner, she still had to formally meet her.

"Flower Master, this is Lady Huangquan, the Flower God."

Only then did Hua Nu remember to introduce them. Xiangyi glanced from the corner of her eye, not daring to look too closely. The woman wore white, with black hair and red eyes. She was breathtakingly beautiful and coldly elegant.

"The Flower God?" Xiangyi asked again. That one glance had nearly made her lose her soul. Thankfully, the Flower God Huangquan had lost her cultivation, so she didn't have the dazzling aura Xiangyi had imagined.

Even so, her beauty was the very height of human perfection. The campus beauty, Muning, whom Xiangyi had met a few days earlier, couldn't compare to her. Xiangyi didn't dare look, afraid she'd be captivated if she did.

"Yes. It all began tens of thousands of years ago..." Tears welled in Hua Nu's eyes as she began to recount that distant past.

The Flower God Huangquan was the daughter of Peach Blossom Immortal Venerable and the Mother of the Heavenly Dao. She was so beautiful that wars broke out wherever she went.

Who could have known that not only the Underworld King, but even the new Immortal Emperor, would fall for Huangquan? The war reached the Peak of the Other Shore, where Huangquan lived. At that crucial moment, Peach Blossom Immortal Venerable and the Mother of the Heavenly Dao vanished without a trace. Huangquan would rather die than submit, so she dismissed all the flower people and hid inside the Flower God Ring with Hua Nu and Little Grass.

Time passed, and they stayed in the Flower God Ring for ten thousand years, until Xiangyi appeared and the ring was activated.

The story was detailed, as if many details had filled themselves in when the novel became a real world. For instance, Peach Blossom Immortal Venerable and the Mother of the Heavenly Dao hadn't even been part of Xiangyi's original design.

Once Hua Nu had explained the situation, she said earnestly, "The Flower God wants to return to the upper realm. She needs your help, Flower Master."