Rescuing Peppermint
Xie Dang frowned, his tone grave: "Preliminary assessment: fertilizer poisoning."
"Fertilizer damage? I didn't apply fertilizer randomly!" Lin Jingshang said, feeling wronged.
Xie Dang turned and walked into the living room, taking out a plastic bag with a supermarket logo from the corner. Inside were the ugly towels and slippers the system had delivered yesterday. He pointed to some inconspicuous white powder residue inside the plastic bag.
"It is suspected that the free fertilizer was mistakenly poured into the potting soil."
Lin Jingshang remembered that he had seen a gift from the system at Xie Dang's house yesterday. He casually placed the plastic bag in the corner of the balcony, near the mint tree. It had rained a little last night.
Was it the system's gift that indirectly murdered his mint?!
Lin Jingshang's anger surged to his head: "This damn system! What kind of rip-off stuff is this?!"
Xie Dang took out his phone and started searching: "The most urgent thing is to save it. We need to immediately change the soil, trim the damaged roots, and rinse it with clean water."
Without hesitation, the two of them, without even having breakfast, dug out the leftover potting soil and empty flower pots from their previous succulent planting and began an emergency rescue on the balcony.
"Retain one-third of the root system on the left side."
"Be gentle, this clod of soil is clumped together..."
"tweezers."
"Give."
The flowerpot was filled with fresh soil, and the rescued mint plant was replanted. Only a few healthy leaves and short roots remained, and the two breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Jingshang looked at the bare mint, then at Xie Dang's muddy fingers and focused profile, and the anger in his heart had long since dissipated.
The system always tries to prove its existence in various ways. This time, it almost killed the little life they were taking care of together. It was the two of them who saved the little life from the system's clutches.
Lin Jingshang picked up a small spray bottle and sprayed water on the mint. The water droplets were crystal clear in the sunlight.
"Will he survive?" he asked softly.
"The probability is 67.5%." Xie Dang reported a precise number, paused, and added, "With careful care, it will survive."
Lin Jingshang smiled.
This was the most optimistic guarantee Xie Dang could offer.
After resuscitating Bohe, it was already noon. The two took a quick shower to wash off the dirt and sweat from their hands.
Lin Jingshang, wearing Xie Dang's obviously oversized gray T-shirt, sat cross-legged on the living room carpet, drying his still dripping hair with a towel.
Xie Dang was preparing lunch in the kitchen, and the aroma of the food soon filled the air.
Lin Jingshang's stomach was growling with hunger. He went to the kitchen island. The fried egg was a perfect soft-boiled egg, and the edges of the toast were crispy and fragrant.
"I didn't know you could cook."
He picked up a slice of freshly toasted bread and took a bite.
Xie Dang plated the fried eggs: "Basic survival skills, not up to your standards of deliciousness."
Lin Jingshang recalled his previous comments about the plain porridge he had cooked and felt a little embarrassed: "That time was an accident, this one looks delicious!"
After the meal, Lin Jingshang volunteered to wash the dishes.
Xie Dang sat on the sofa with his tablet, working on his job.
Lin Jingshang came out after cleaning up the kitchen and found Xie Dang asleep on the sofa, with his tablet computer lying to the side.
He tiptoed over, picked up the tablet, and placed it on the coffee table. Xie Dang's pale blue eyes were more pronounced than before; the weekend, disrupted by the system, coupled with staying up late last night, had left him feeling exhausted.
Lin Jingshang picked up the thin blanket that had been folded on the sofa and gently covered him with it.
As he prepared to straighten up, his gaze inadvertently swept over Xie Dang's hand placed at his side. The knuckles were distinct, and although they had been covered in mud not long ago, they were now slightly curled up.
Lin Jingshang extended his little finger and gently hooked it around Xie Dang's little finger.
A simple touch, like a dragonfly skimming the water.
The person in the dream seemed to sense something, and their finger twitched slightly, but they did not wake up, and unconsciously flicked back.
Lin Jingshang's cheeks were burning. He remained squatting in that position for several seconds, carefully withdrew his fingers, slipped back to the guest room, gently closed the door, and leaned against the door panel, his heart still pounding wildly.
In the living room, the person who should have been fast asleep on the sofa had a slight smile on their face.
For the rest of the afternoon, Lin Jingshang stayed in the guest room reading, while Xie Dang, after waking up, did not go to work and instead looked at paper reports in the living room.
In the evening, Lin Jingshang prepared to go home.
"I'll take Mint back and take care of her; the sun is shining nicely where I am."
Xie Dang did not object. He carefully placed the pot of mint into a paper bag and handed it to him: "Observe the condition of the leaves carefully. If there are any abnormalities, contact us immediately."
"Okay, thank you, Dr. Xie," Lin Jingshang said jokingly as he took the paper bag.
He changed his shoes, opened the door, hesitated for a moment, and then turned back to say, "Um... this weekend, although it started off a bit strange, it went pretty well later."
Xie Dang looked at him and nodded: "Mm."
Lin Jingshang, carrying the fragile pot of mint, stepped into the elevator.
Back in his quiet little apartment, he placed the mint in the best spot on the windowsill.
On Monday, Lin Jingshang arrived at the company half an hour early, carefully took the mint out of the paper bag, and placed it in the most ventilated and sunniest spot on his workstation's windowsill. Thanks to the weekend's efforts, the few surviving leaves did not continue to wilt.
He took out his phone, adjusted the angle, took a picture of Bohe's post-operative condition, and sent it to Xie Dang.
[Lin Jingshang]: Day 1 postoperative observation: The patient's vital signs are stable, and the leaves have not continued to turn yellow. (Attached image: Mint)
After a while, Xie Dang replied.
[Xie Dang]: Received. Continue to observe, pay attention to water control, avoid direct sunlight, and you can supplement with a trace amount of brassinolide to promote root recovery.
Lin Jingshang looked at the unfamiliar technical terms and silently opened a search engine.
Throughout the day, he would go to the windowsill every one or two hours to carefully observe the condition of the mint. His focused attention attracted the attention of his colleagues at the next workstation, who curiously peeked over and asked, "Jing Shang, what's wrong with your plant? Why are you treating it like this?"
"It's nothing, it just almost died before, but we managed to save it."
In the afternoon, Lin Jingshang was revising a plan on his computer when a female voice rang out in the office area: "Excuse me, is Mr. Lin Jingshang here?"
He looked up and saw a well-dressed, professionally dressed woman standing at the entrance, carrying an expensive-looking gift bag, her gaze sweeping across the office area.
He had a bad feeling.
He slowly stood up: "I am Lin Jingshang, and you are?"
The woman smiled professionally, walked over quickly, and placed the gift bag on his desk: "Hello Mr. Lin, I am Amy, the chief consultant of Ultimate Romantic Marriage Planning Company. I have been commissioned by the system to provide you and Mr. Xie Dang with one-on-one relationship optimization consultation services."
In the relatively quiet office area, several colleagues nearby heard it clearly, and several pairs of eyes turned towards it, filled with shock and the excitement of watching the drama unfold.
Lin Jingshang's cheeks were burning hot.
This lousy system! Isn't it chaotic enough already? They actually sent a real consultant to the company!
He suppressed his impulse and lowered his voice: "I don't need any consulting services, please leave immediately!"
Consultant Amy's smile remained unchanged as she took a tablet from the gift bag and opened a PowerPoint presentation: "Mr. Lin, please don't misunderstand. We are highly professional. According to the data analysis provided by our system, your relationship with Mr. Xie is currently in a stable and intimate phase, but there is still significant room for improvement. We have detected a lack of regular, in-depth emotional communication between you, and the frequency of physical contact is also below average..."
The PowerPoint presentation was filled with various charts and embarrassing terms like intimacy and passion index.
Colleagues around him started whispering, and some secretly raised their phones.
Lin Jingshang wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground. He reached out to snatch the tablet: "Enough! Please get out!"
Just then, a cold voice rang out from behind: "What's going on?"
Lin Jingshang turned around and saw Xie Dang standing behind him at some point. His gaze swept over the chattering consultant Amy and the tablet in her hand.
When Amy saw Xie Dang, her eyes lit up, and she immediately switched gears: "Mr. Xie! You've come at the perfect time! I'm a special envoy from the system..."
"Security." Xie Dang didn't even let her finish speaking before directly telling the administrative supervisor who had rushed over, "Please remove this irrelevant person. From now on, no external sales personnel are allowed to enter the office area without my permission."
The administrative supervisor broke out in a cold sweat, nodded repeatedly, and immediately called for security guards to come forward.
Consultant Amy tried to argue: "Mr. Xie, we are system certified..."
“I don’t need any system to guide my personal relationships,” Xie Dang interrupted her, his tone icy.
"Leave now, immediately."
Without further hesitation, the security guards escorted Amy, who was still trying to explain, away from her side.
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