Zilan's Heartache, Evolution Begins!

They returned to the plant room on the second floor—Zilan's private "bedroom."

As the top seller at Yuanming Pet Food Shop, she had enjoyed several upgrades to her living space while Lin Yuan's parents were alive.

Its current location was something of a prime spot—

For one thing, it let her make the most of her power. Every Purple Star Vine grown on the second floor fell within its reach and grew better for it.

For another, it was close to Lin Yuan's bedroom, where she could gradually strengthen his body.

Lin Yuan's parents had been sensitive to heat and cold, but he had been fairly healthy since childhood.

Of course, not every Purple Ghost Orchid could become the heart of a pet food shop. That depended on the trait it awakened.

Most Purple Ghost Orchids awakened Purple Ghost, which could provide growth energy to Purple Star Vines but could not produce valuable flower dew.

Zilan, however, was among the one percent of Purple Ghost Orchids that possessed Purple Dew.

Growing up, Lin Yuan had heard his mother praise, cherish, and admire Zilan more times than he could count.

Even on days when she was too cold to get out of bed, she still insisted on stroking Zilan's petals.

Now, Lin Yuan opened the package.

He looked at the two most important evolution materials.

The Sweet Rain Pearl was a transparent bead about the size of a marble, filled with layer upon layer of bubbles.

It rested in a jade box, as exquisite as a precious piece of jewelry.

The Spirit Treasure Liquid was smaller still: a single drop the size of a raindrop, held in a clear bottle.

Yet it was dazzling. Despite its tiny size, it seemed to have absorbed all the light and spiritual energy around it, like a brilliant sphere of light compressed into a drop.

Both materials had to be handled carefully. He could not touch either one with his hands during Zilan's evolution.

Looking at the two materials, worth over a hundred thousand Alliance Coins, Lin Yuan was struck by a thought: they were worth more than his family had managed to save over all these years.

That made him even more cautious.

He absolutely could not mess this up.

The other materials ranged in value from a few hundred to a few thousand Alliance Coins. Lin Yuan arranged them neatly with just as much care.

Zilan, meanwhile, could sense the surging energy before Lin Yuan and the powerful pull those materials exerted on her.

The drop in particular seemed capable of holding every experience and emotion she had carried through the years.

When her young master had said a few hours ago that he could help her evolve this week, she had taken it for the sort of grand promise young people made.

It was much like the promise she had made to her old masters when she first came to this family and produced her first valuable drop of flower dew: someday, she would produce more dew, better dew, and give the whole family a good life.

That had been her hope for the future, born the moment she gained her new ability.

But after all these years, her old mistress had still died of illness. Zilan had learned something: youthful promises could be crushed in an instant beneath the weight of life and hardship.

It was not that she did not trust Lin Yuan.

After more than a decade of life, everything she had been through had left her unable to trust herself.

She had reached Ordinary Level 10 eight years ago.

She had met the requirements for evolution even then.

Since that time, she had attempted to evolve twice.

Both times, her old masters had invited a breeder to their home to help her.

But on both occasions, the breeders had poured liquids and materials heavy with resentment all over her.

She had hated them.

Both attempts had failed.

For the past two years, she had kept wondering what would have happened if she had forced herself to endure that awful feeling and evolved.

Could she have earned more money for the family?

Would her old mistress have lived longer...?

So when she felt the pull of the evolution energy, her first response was not joy. It was, What if I waste the materials again?

Lin Yuan was still carefully sorting the materials in the order required for evolution.

Living Creature Affinity let him sense Zilan's feelings and hesitation.

He felt the flash of joy that lasted a second or two, followed by a flood of worry and anxiety.

For the past two years, Lin Yuan had seen Zilan's status panel every day.

With her sensitive nature, she often became tangled in tiny details from the past, struggling to let them go.

Lin Yuan knew what she had been through, and he knew what weighed on her heart.

Evolving a pet beast was not just a matter of piling up materials and using them all at once.

The pet beast's state of mind during evolution, and the trust between it and its breeder, were just as important.

More importantly, the pet beast needed the desire to evolve—and the belief that it could.

When Lin Yuan had looked through the information earlier, he had already made up his mind: before evolving Zilan, he needed to help her prepare herself.

He stopped what he was doing.

Turning around, he stroked Zilan's petals. "Zilan, don't worry."

"I know failing to evolve twice made you lose some confidence in yourself."

"But that wasn't your fault. Those two breeders made the mistake. They didn't choose the path that suited you best."

"Your fragrance is pure and gentle, and your flower dew is sweet and fresh. That all comes from the warmth and generosity in your nature, and from the love with which you've watched over our family."

"They wanted to evolve you into a Purple Grudge Orchid. That isn't you."

"You were right not to betray your heart or the fire inside it."

Lin Yuan could clearly feel Zilan's emotions settling as she heard him.

She seemed a little more resolute, too.

"The materials I've prepared will help you evolve in the direction that suits you best."

"I know you've always wanted to evolve. It was one of Mother's wishes, too. She wanted you to be healthier and stronger."

"And you want to evolve because you want to give more to this family and bring us more happy surprises."

"You can feel how strongly the materials I've prepared are drawing you in, can't you?"

"I've only just awakened my talent, and I've never evolved another pet beast. But if you trust me, I can help you evolve into the form that suits you best."

"And I need your help. I need you to trust not only me, but yourself."

"Believe you weren't wrong to hold fast all these years. Believe you deserve a better future. Believe you can evolve, and above all, believe you can become the version of yourself that suits you best."

Lin Yuan spoke softly.

Yet his words swept deep into Zilan's heart.

She had not expected her young master to understand her better than she had imagined.

After all, without a contract between them, a veil still separated their minds and spirits.

His words were simple, but she heard more than Lin Yuan's voice in them. She heard an echo of her former mistress: the same gentle way of speaking, the same quiet passion, the same hope for a better life ahead.

Zilan's flowers swayed vigorously.

Yes! I believe in you, and I believe in myself!

Lin Yuan heard the feeling and the words in her heart, and the corners of his mouth lifted.

"Then let me finish preparing. We'll start in a little while!"

At that moment, Lin Yuan noticed something else. The compatibility between Zilan and the hidden evolution path had been 99%. Now it was 100%!

He did not know what difference that one percent would make.

But right then, he understood with sudden clarity that a pet beast's state of mind during evolution could, to some extent, determine the direction of its future.

He continued measuring and preparing the materials according to the evolution path's instructions.

Half an hour later.

"Zilan, I'm going to pour this bowl of prepared nutrient solution into your pot," Lin Yuan said. "Tell me right away if anything feels wrong."

The nutrient solution was not difficult to make. He had only needed to grind and process the supplementary materials, then mix them into a portion of Spirit Spring Water.

But at every step, Lin Yuan had checked the information on the panel at least three times before proceeding.

As the liquid slowly poured in, Lin Yuan could clearly feel Zilan's overall condition improving.

Her buds, once a little shriveled, grew fuller, and the purple of her flowers deepened.

The effect was immediate!

Even without Zilan telling him, Lin Yuan could see from her condition that he had made no mistakes in this first step.

Another half hour or so passed.

Once Zilan's condition had stabilized, Lin Yuan picked up the two precious materials.

"Zilan, I need to put these into your two flower buds at the same time, one in each. As soon as I do, close your petals around them and slowly absorb their energy."

"Understand?"

Zilan's stems trembled slightly to show that she did.

Even that basic nutrient solution had made her feel as though most of the damage from producing too much flower dew over the years had been repaired.

It also showed her that the young master before her had not been making empty boasts.

Before, her trust had come mostly from her unconditional faith in this family. Even if she was only his first test subject, she had been willing to take the risk.

Now her trust had a solid foundation.

She believed in Lin Yuan more than ever.

Lin Yuan carefully picked up both materials. First, he tilted the jade box holding the Sweet Rain Pearl to an angle that would let the bead roll out easily.

Then he opened the bottle of Spirit Treasure Liquid.

At the same instant, he placed the two materials precisely into Zilan's two flower buds.

Zilan immediately closed her petals.

The two open flowers became two tightly furled buds.

At that moment, the energy in the plant room seemed to surge with a roar.

Before their eyes, the Purple Star Vines began to grow rapidly...