Two days later.
At Su Bailian Studio.
"F-finally... finally completed it!!!"
Su Bailian slumped over the workbench, her expression drained.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and her dark circles were strikingly obvious.
But compared to the exhaustion of body and mind, the main issue was...
Sob, sob, sob!!!
Alicia, you little scoundrel!!!
With a heartrending look, she glanced at the energetic woman sitting nearby, flipping through the proposal.
This dreadful woman hadn't let her sleep for two days and two nights!!!
No wonder she's a super-popular romance novelist who hasn't missed a single update in ten years!!!
Curse it! After this is over, I'm definitely giving all your books bad reviews!
"Heh heh, Su Bailian, as expected of you."
Alicia pushed her glasses up, satisfied with the preliminary proposal. She stood up, looked at Su Bailian, and spoke with a kind smile, "But the details still need some tweaking."
"We'll take it from the love fund."
As soon as these words were spoken, Su Bailian's expression stiffened. She raised her hand, trembling, and said, "That's my money..."
"What do you mean 'your' money? I contributed half of it too."
"B-but I don't earn as much as you do!!! And what about Bo Qi's food?"
"Don't worry, this fat dog needs to lose some weight anyway. I've already prepared its meals for the day."
"Really? Bo Qi only eats steak."
"Relax, what I've prepared is much tastier than steak."
Su Bailian was flabbergasted. How could there be such a person?!
She meekly said, "Leave a little bit for me..."
Alicia chuckled upon hearing this. "Heh heh, don't think I don't know how much money you've been raking in from that rich lady group behind my back."
"Shall I inform Su Muwan that you've been secretly selling photos of Qin Luo?"
"!!!"
Su Bailian immediately quieted down.
Seeing Su Bailian's devastated expression, Alicia smiled in satisfaction before turning her gaze back to the proposal.
A spark of excitement glimmered in her eyes.
Forbidden love between a young lady and her attendant, hmm, another great theme!
Su Muwan... Qin Luo...
Alicia's lips curved upwards.
This weekend, eh... Just let me see what kind of man you've approved of!
Meanwhile, in the dog house.
Bo Qi looked confused at the water-boiled chicken breast in its dog bowl, tilting its head. "Woof?"
....
....
That evening.
At the entrance of the Su Family mansion.
"Miss Su, I'm leaving now."
"Remember to get up, brush your teeth, and wash your face by yourself tomorrow."
Qin Luo had requested a day off to prepare in advance, so he informed Su Muwan.
But still, Qin Luo couldn't help being a bit worried. He looked at Su Muwan, who was smiling, and hesitated, "Miss Su, if you feel too lonely or bored tomorrow by yourself, you can always call me back."
Su Muwan didn't throw a tantrum as usual. Instead, she nodded maturely and, with a smile, pushed Qin Luo away, saying, "Oh, Qin Luo, don't worry and go rest."
"It's just one day away, and I'm not someone who can't do anything by myself."
"So it's fine, go rest without worries!"
Her words were filled with Su Muwan's confident demeanor.
Come on, isn't there a saying that temporary separation is for the anticipation of something even better later?
Besides, I also need to check out that romance teaching plan!
And...
It's just one day without seeing Qin Luo. Would that really be like some tragic death?
Qin Luo felt relieved.
He smiled and left.
Su Muwan, meanwhile, smiled and waved at Qin Luo's retreating figure.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
Zhu Lan, watching from the side, felt a bit concerned and quietly asked, "Miss, Qin Luo has already gone far."
"Oh."
Su Muwan retracted her hand, then took a deep breath and turned back into the house.
Zhu Lan couldn't help but sigh, glancing in the direction Qin Luo had left.
Gurgle...
She saw Qin Luo's distant figure seemingly melt into a puddle and vanish into the shadows.
Zhu Lan: ?
She rubbed her eyes; maybe she was just tired and needed some sleep?
Over at Qin Luo's side.
Since he had leveled up his Shadow Manipulator skill tree, he now had the ability to control shadows, become shadows, and blend into shadows.
He moved through the night, continuously heading toward a certain destination.
He proposed the weekend not for any other reason but because... the thing he needed, Long Dingtian, had already found it for him.
Hmm? Who's Long Dingtian?
Truthfully, Qin Luo had almost forgotten about him. If it weren't for stumbling upon a video of him on TikTok, Qin Luo might have completely forgotten this chairman of the Antique Merchants Association.
A moment later.
At the Antique Merchants Association.
Long Dingtian, fully recovered and radiating abundant energy, respectfully approached Qin Luo: "Master Qin!!!"
"Hmm..."
Qin Luo glanced at Long Dingtian and raised an eyebrow. "Reached the Foundation Realm?"
Long Dingtian was originally the illegitimate son of Long Aotian, the head of the Long family, and related to Long Jiuxiao, the family's dragon prince.
Unfortunately, he was born unable to practice martial arts and was disowned by Long Aotian.
Before, Qin Luo had slapped him around a lot, curing his crippled physique.
Long Dingtian was extremely grateful to Qin Luo. He nodded and said with gratitude, "Thanks to Master Qin's treatment, I was able to start practicing again."
"Although I'm still far from Long Aotian's level, I believe that one day..."
He clenched his fists, his eyes filled with the flames of vengeance.
"No need to say more."
Qin Luo nodded slightly. "Just follow Miss Su. Taking over the Long family will only be a matter of time."
"Understood, Master Qin!"
Long Dingtian took a deep breath, then looked at the hooded man beside him: "Long Yi, bring Master Qin the item he requested."
With that, Long Yi brought over a peculiar wooden box.
Long Dingtian introduced, "Master Qin, here is the Sky Dream Tree seed you asked me to find."
Click, the box opened.
Qin Luo raised his gaze.
There, a perfectly round, crystalline seed lay quietly in the box. The surface of the seed was faintly etched with star-like patterns, emanating a gentle glow.
Just standing there, Qin Luo could clearly sense the boundless vitality flowing within it.
Seeing that Qin Luo was very satisfied, Long Dingtian seized the opportunity to continue, "Master Qin truly is extraordinary, knowing about such a rare plant as the Sky Dream Tree."
"The Sky Dream Tree is an extremely rare plant that can only grow in special energy environments."
"Legend has it that its seeds come from the depths of the stars, containing cosmic power!"
Long Dingtian passionately explained, "When the Sky Dream Tree blooms, it releases a powerful energy pulse, attracting the surrounding energies to converge, creating a spectacular, dazzling flower!"
"At that moment, simply being nearby can greatly enhance one's cultivation speed!"
"Harvesting its fruit can also yield valuable rare medicinal materials for alchemy!"
At this point, Long Dingtian shook his head regretfully and said, "It's just a pity that the Sky Dream Tree's bloom only lasts for a single night, and its beauty is fleeting. Coupled with its demanding growth conditions, it becomes even more precious, known as the 'Miracle of Dreams.'"
"However..."
Long Dingtian added, "There are also rumors that the Sky Dream Tree symbolizes eternity and miracles, regarded as the embodiment of love and hope."
"In the past, people liked to make vows under ancient Sky Dream Trees."
Having said that, Long Dingtian realized he might have overstepped and quickly bowed to Qin Luo with a smile, "It's my intrusion, Master Qin. You, being such a great person, must naturally use the Sky Dream Tree for cultivation and alchemy."
Qin Luo's hand froze, then silently closed the box and stowed it away in his system space.
Long Dingtian and Long Yi beside him couldn't help but marvel.
Truly Master Qin!
They couldn't even see where he put the item with such speed.
Qin Luo glanced at Long Dingtian and said coolly, "This matter of mine, you are not to mention it to anyone."
"Understood, Master Qin!"
Swish!
Qin Luo left, heading to his next destination.
Long Yi whispered to Long Dingtian beside him, "Chairman, for this Sky Dream Tree seed, you have indeed paid quite a lot..."
Before he could finish.
Long Dingtian shook his head and said, "Ai, Master Qin's great kindness to me, I will never forget. These matters are insignificant."
"Moreover..."
Long Dingtian reproached himself, "It's just a pity that my strength is too weak, otherwise it wouldn't just be a single seed I could offer Master Qin."
"But now that I've told Master Qin the method to make the seed bloom and bear fruit, I'm worried about Master Qin doing it alone..."
"That won't be an issue."
Long Dingtian watched Qin Luo's retreating back, a confident smile blooming on his face: "Master Qin... he's absurdly strong..."
Long Yi nodded, suddenly thinking of something, and exclaimed in surprise: "Then wouldn't Miss Su be even stronger?!"
"You've got it."