Starflower

Lu Li would never admit that the most handsome man on Solaris had gotten lost, but that was the truth.

"Little one, did you drop this yellow book or this green book?"

Lu Li crouched down, smiling as he teased the little girl in front of him.

She wore a pale green strapless dress with a little flower pinned to it.

From a distance, someone might even have mistaken her for a plant standing upright.

But the most surprising thing was the Tacet Mark below her collarbone.

To think she had become a Resonator at such a young age. She truly was one of Jinzhou's budding talents.

Looking farther up, he saw that her hair was emerald green as well.

Her fair, delicate little face was especially worthy of praise.

Normally, Lu Li would never use "benevolent" to describe a little girl's appearance.

Yet that was exactly how she looked. As he studied the smile on her face, Lu Li felt soothed.

Her voice was gentle, too. "The green book is mine. Thank you, mister."

"?"

"Who are you calling mister? Call me big brother."

Lu Li held the green book up. The little girl was too short to reach it and could only tilt her face up, gazing longingly at the book.

"Big brother, please give me back the green book."

"That's more like it."

Lu Li returned the green book to her.

The little girl wiped its cover, then carefully put it away after checking that it was unharmed.

Then she looked at Lu Li again, about to thank him, only to freeze when she saw his face.

"Huh? I think I've seen you somewhere before."

Lu Li patted her head. "Little one, are you already learning pickup lines from grown-ups at your age?"

The little girl blinked. "Huh? Pickup lines?"

She hurriedly waved her hands. "No, no, that's not it."

She pulled her Terminal out from behind her and scrolled through it before holding it in front of Lu Li.

Lu Li took a closer look. It was the post featuring his photo with Sanhua that had been uploaded earlier.

"Oh, so that's it. Sorry, I misunderstood you."

"What's your name?"

The little girl smiled. "My name is Verina. It's nice to meet you."

"Verina? Aren't you from Jinzhou?"

That name clearly didn't fit the usual naming conventions in Jinzhou.

"No, I'm from the New Federation."

"Oh, the New Federation..."

Lu Li put on a look of understanding, despite having no idea what country the New Federation was.

Verina said, "Thank you. This notebook is very important to me. As a token of my thanks..."

She rummaged through the little satchel at her waist, then took out a tiny flower shaped like a star.

Then she took out a small container and placed it inside.

"This is for you."

Verina held the Starflower out to him.

But the first thing Lu Li noticed wasn't the flower in her hand. It was the soothing smile on her face.

To Lu Li, Verina's gentle, innocent smile was more moving than the flower she held.

Lu Li smiled warmly. "All right. Thank you for the gift."

Lu Li accepted the container holding the Starflower and examined it closely. It seemed that the flower had yet to bloom fully.

Once Verina saw him accept it, she said, "This flower is called a Starflower. When you grow it, you must make sure..."

"?"

Lu Li suddenly had a bad feeling.

Ten minutes later.

"...And that's everything. Did you understand?"

Lu Li stood stiffly, his eyes vacant.

Could someone tell him why such a young girl knew so much about plants?

And once Verina started talking about them, she simply couldn't stop.

Lu Li hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes, I understand..."

Lu Li voiced the question on his mind. "Verina, do you really like plants?"

Verina smiled. "Yes! Their wonderfully similar yet different characteristics are so interesting."

"Wonderfully similar yet different characteristics?"

"That's right."

Verina pointed at the Starflower in Lu Li's hand. "Look at the two leaves beside the Starflower. What do they have in common, and how are they different?"

Lu Li lowered his head and examined them closely.

"Hmm... what they have in common is that they're both Starflower leaves!"

Lu Li looked utterly confident.

Verina smiled, her eyes narrowing. "That's right. So how are they different?"

Lu Li lowered his head to look again. "Hmm... their... veins... are different?"

Lu Li offered his answer hesitantly.

Verina clapped her little hands. "Exactly right! It looks like you have a talent for botany too, big brother."

She continued, "Every leaf on a plant is different, and no two people or events in life are exactly alike, either."

"For example, some people like eating Lemongrass, and some don't. If someone remembered little things like that about you, you'd definitely be happy!"

Lu Li froze. He saw a holy radiance shining behind Verina.

She was still a little girl, right?

She was every bit a little grown-up.

Just as Lu Li was basking in that lovely moment, someone inevitably interrupted at the worst possible time.

"Ah! I finally found you!"

It turned out that the holy radiance behind Verina had actually been the glow of the flames Chixia produced as she rushed over.

After realizing he was lost, Lu Li had contacted Chixia and the others to show him the way.

Chixia said in surprise, "Huh? Verina? How did you find the time to come to Jinzhou City today?"

Verina wore a warm smile. "Oh, it's you, big sister Chixia!"

"I came to the Antique Bonsai Shop to check on the potted plants I grew earlier."

"And big brother Rongqing had some questions about potted plants for me, so I came over."

Chixia put her hands on her hips. "I never thought you two would run into each other."

Lu Li rushed up to Chixia, took both her hands, and said with deep affection, "Xia, I missed you so much."

Chixia's pretty face flushed slightly, and she grew a little bashful. "Oh, come on, you're being this mushy as soon as you're back..."

Beside them, Verina tilted her little face up. "Wow! So big brother Lu Li is big sister Chixia's boyfriend."

Chixia's face turned bright red at those words, the same color as her favorite chili peppers.

"Verina! Don't say things like that!"

But clearly, what Chixia meant by "don't say things like that" wasn't what Verina understood.

Verina smiled. "I get it, I get it. You're dating in secret, right? I won't tell anyone!"

Seeing that Verina had misunderstood her, Chixia gave a coy huff and shyly buried her face in Lu Li's chest.

Meanwhile, out of Chixia's sight, Lu Li gave Verina a thumbs-up.

Verina said in wonder, "I hardly ever see big sister Chixia looking this shy."

Lu Li asked curiously, "What's big sister Chixia usually like?"

"Big sister Chixia is usually..." Verina smiled. "As warm as a blazing fire, cheerful and easygoing, and always full of energy!"