Seeing the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum being offered to him, Chrysanthemum Douluo was completely stunned.
The golden, glittering Immortal Herb hovered quietly before him, radiating a warm glow.
Every petal was crystal-clear, brimming with tremendous energy.
Th-this is real?
Chrysanthemum Douluo instinctively reached out and cautiously touched the Immortal Herb.
The feel of it beneath his fingers told him this wasn't a dream!
"Old Ghost~ You..."
His voice was choked with emotion, and Chrysanthemum Douluo couldn't even manage a complete sentence.
He had never imagined that Ghost Douluo would give up the Immortal Herb best suited to himself to obtain this Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum for him.
This was the treasure he'd lost just yesterday!
The Immortal Herb he'd yearned for day and night!
The precious treasure he'd wept buckets over, yet still failed to save!
And now... now it had actually returned to his hands!
"Why are you crying?"
Ghost Douluo turned his face away awkwardly, a faint look of discomfort flickering across his dark face.
"You're a grown man, crying at the drop of a hat like a woman! I hate it when you act like this!"
His hoarse voice wasn't gentle in the least; if anything, it sounded rather harsh.
"Get up already! What kind of look is it, squatting on the ground like that?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo clutched the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum tightly, but his tears flowed even harder.
This time, they weren't tears of sorrow, but of gratitude.
While Ghost Douluo was still awkwardly lecturing Chrysanthemum Douluo—
"Old Ghost!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo sprang up from the ground. Before Ghost Douluo could react, Chrysanthemum Douluo threw himself into his arms without warning!
"Holy shit!"
Ghost Douluo panicked.
What was going on?
Why had Yue Guan suddenly thrown his arms around him?
He hadn't been mentally prepared at all!
"Yue Guan, have you lost your mind?! Let go of me!"
Ghost Douluo's face instantly turned beet-red. He desperately tried to push Chrysanthemum Douluo away, but the other man was holding on tight.
"I won't!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo's nose stung, and his voice came out tearful.
"Old Ghost, you've been so good to me!"
"I... I'm so touched I could cry!"
"Who asked you to be touched?!"
Ghost Douluo was hopping mad. "Let go of me! What if someone sees us?"
Unfortunately, Chrysanthemum Douluo didn't listen at all. Instead, he hugged him even tighter.
The sight left Hu Liena and the other two utterly dumbfounded.
Yan's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Holy crap... They're hugging! They're actually hugging!"
Xie Yue's mouth twitched. "I feel like we've seen something we weren't supposed to..."
Hu Liena was so excited she couldn't speak. She could only tremble and gasp for breath.
But in her heart, she was shouting at the top of her lungs: This is what love is!
Lin Feng, sitting in his rocking chair, also wore an incredibly complicated expression.
Honestly, as someone who'd been transmigrated to this world, what sort of scene hadn't he seen?
But he'd never seen anything like this!
He'd never expected two grown men to put on a show like this...
Lin Feng's eye twitched frantically as he stared at the two Title Douluo embracing each other. He felt like his whole world had gone wrong.
What was going on? He ran a restaurant, not some kind of weird establishment!
And that little fox over there!
Why was her face all red?
She was excited, wasn't she?
She had to be excited, right?!
"Let go already! Senior Lin is watching!"
At the mention of Lin Feng, Chrysanthemum Douluo finally calmed down.
Only then did he reluctantly let go, though his gaze remained tenderly fixed on Ghost Douluo's profile.
"Um... Senior..."
Ghost Douluo's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, and his voice trembled a little.
"What just happened... wasn't what you think..."
"Old Ghost's right!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo hurriedly chimed in. But with his gaze practically glued to Ghost Douluo, he wasn't convincing in the slightest.
"We were just... just too excited!"
Excited about what, exactly?!
Lin Feng ranted inwardly, but on the surface, he merely raised a hand, casually indicating that he wasn't interested in their private lives.
"That's enough. Whether the two of you get along has nothing to do with me."
Lin Feng leaned lazily against his rocking chair, his tone carrying a distinct Don't flaunt your love in front of me sort of impatience.
"This is a restaurant, not a relationship counseling center."
Hearing that, Ghost Douluo's face darkened even further. He wished the ground would open up and swallow him.
Chrysanthemum Douluo, however, didn't mind at all. He simply hugged the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum happily, looking completely satisfied.
Just then, Ghost Douluo suddenly remembered something and whipped around to look at Chrysanthemum Douluo.
"By the way, Yue Guan!"
Ghost Douluo's tone turned serious.
"The person you should really thank for getting the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum back isn't me."
Chrysanthemum Douluo paused, then looked up at Ghost Douluo in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
Seeing his old partner's blank expression, Ghost Douluo nearly smacked him on the head right there and then.
Instead, he merely reached out and jabbed Chrysanthemum Douluo hard on the forehead.
"You idiot!"
The jab made Chrysanthemum Douluo stagger. He pointed at Ghost Douluo with a delicate, orchid-like finger and protested, "Old Ghost, you're bullying me again!"
"Bullying you?" Ghost Douluo snorted. "Your head's so full of flower petals, you can't think straight!"
"Think carefully. Why did Senior Lin reward me with an Immortal Herb?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo blinked, still looking completely lost. "Because you did a good job?"
"Then why was the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum specifically included among the choices?"
"Because... because..." Chrysanthemum Douluo stammered for a long while, unable to come up with an answer.
Ghost Douluo jabbed Chrysanthemum Douluo hard in the forehead again. "You blockhead!"
"Senior Lin must have taken pity on you. That's why he offered to reward me!"
"But why was Senior's reward an Immortal Herb instead of a boost to Soul Power or Martial Soul Evolution?"
"Senior even made a point of including the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum among the choices. Wasn't it because he knew I'd pick it and give it to you?"
"However you look at it, Senior was simply kindhearted enough to use me as a go-between to give you the Immortal Herb!"
"The one who truly wanted to help you was Senior Lin."
Boom!
Those words struck Chrysanthemum Douluo's mind like a bolt of lightning.
He stared at Lin Feng in disbelief.
"Senior... you..."
Lin Feng leaned against the rocking chair, his expression as calm as still water. He neither confirmed nor denied it.
But at that moment, he was truly at a loss for words. Just how had Ghost Douluo come up with such an elaborate story?
He'd rewarded Gui Mei because he wanted to encourage him to take on more of the work for Maple Dye Pavilion.
He'd offered an Immortal Herb because that was all he had on hand!
And using Gui Mei to give the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum to Chrysanthemum Douluo?
Come on. He hadn't even expected Gui Mei to give up the Immortal Herb for Yue Guan!
But that very attitude only made everyone present think Ghost Douluo had hit upon the truth.
Hu Liena covered her mouth, her eyes full of admiration. "Senior really is so kind... Truly... I'm crying..."