◇ 【064】 Family Flower Base——Home of the Future (1)
"I know 'I'm the best!'" Zhang Cong was a little excited when he heard this. "Those five people are Ackerman, Bain, Catherine, David, and Emily. They're all college students, and all geniuses. Every two months, they travel to other countries to challenge their fellow college students. Later, a TV station in each country even started a special program for them, live-broadcasting their challenges. It's said that the ratings in the United States are quite high!"
Liu Hui felt that this was quite a commotion and became interested. "Tell me clearly, what exactly is going on?"
Zhang Cong knew so much that he didn't know where to begin. "I can't explain it clearly. I'd better search online."
Zhao Rui had already turned on the computer and entered the keywords "every country" and "I am the strongest", and sure enough, a Baidu Encyclopedia popped up.
"Without exception, all members of 'I Am the Strongest' were admitted to university at the age of fourteen. Currently, the youngest is only seventeen... Because they are so outstanding... Each country's university alliance will even make an exception and allow them to enter another university to study or experience life after graduating from one... So almost every one of the five of them has attended at least two universities... So far, they have never lost in their challenges..."
Gu Juan listened and raised his eyebrows slightly. "Never lost" - were those five people really that strong?
"Hmm? There is a news item here that does mention that 'My Strongest Five' intends to come to our ** country." Zhao Rui continued to flip through the web pages.
Zhang Cong said: "I have a video at home sent to me by a classmate who studied abroad. I have watched every episode of their program. The person I admire most is Ackerman. It is not an exaggeration to call him the moving "Bodu Encyclopedia". No matter what question you ask him, he can answer it accurately. Not only that, he is also a boxing master. His kung fu is a combination of some martial arts of our ** country and judo of Sakura country. It is very powerful! However, his character is really..." Zhang Cong shook his head.
"Hearing you say that, I'm really a little worried." Liu Hui forgot about eating for a moment. "To be honest, the impression my university students in China give me is that they're weak and frail scholars who can't even lift a chicken. If they really come to our country to challenge us, can we win?"
"Don't encourage others to be more ambitious and destroy your own prestige!" Zhao Rui disagreed with him, "We are not bad either."
Liu Hui rolled his eyes. "If your tone were more resolute, I would have more confidence."
Zhao Rui was speechless.
Zhang Cong twirled a pen in his hand. "Well, there's no point in us getting anxious here. If they really do come, they'll most likely stop in the Imperial Capital and challenge its students."
What he said made sense, and Zhao Rui and Zhang Cong both nodded.
This incident did cause quite a stir, and for three days straight, I could hear people talking about it on campus. However, afterward, no new news came out about "I'm the Strongest," and the heat of the incident gradually died down.
Gu Juan didn't take this matter to heart because Xi Lang had come out of confinement!
It would be too weird if Xi Lang appeared out of nowhere in the school, so Gu Juan took advantage of the two hours of free time at noon to return home and enter the space.
Xi Lang's aptitude was even better than his. He had already reached the final stage of enlightenment during his first retreat, far surpassing his first trance. A small sun appeared within Xi Lang's dantian. Though its light was dim, its power was not to be underestimated. Once his cultivation reached perfection, this small sun would radiate ever brighter, its power immense.
Gu Juan smiled and said, "Congratulations, old man."
"It's not enough." Xi Lang hugged him, "Xiao Juan, I will become stronger and be your support."
Gu Juan refused to be outdone, "I will also become stronger and become your support!"
Xi Lang curled his lips, "We rely on each other. What is your current level of cultivation? I can't tell."
Gu Juan said regretfully, "I'm only one level higher than you. I just entered the initial stage of fusion two days ago."
"As you said, we seek stability rather than speed." Xi Lang reminded him.
Gu Juan had been practicing for so long that he certainly understood this principle and nodded obediently.
Xi Lang took the initiative to say, "Xiao Juan, I also want to learn how to refine weapons, set up formations, and refine talismans."
Gu Juan was stunned. "Both? My original intention was for you to learn weapon refining and formations. Your spiritual roots are fire, making them well-suited for weapon refining. As for formations, I think you're naturally gifted in this area." Spiritual roots are a prerequisite for cultivation. Without them, one cannot absorb spiritual energy and thus cannot cultivate. He has water spiritual roots, while Xi Lang has fire spiritual roots. "The Immortal Record of the Slaughtering Moon" and "The Immortal Record of the Slaughtering Sun" seem tailor-made for them.
Xi Lang said, "I will focus on learning weapon refining and array formations. When I have free time, I will study talisman refining. As for alchemy, it's enough for you to learn. If I learn it too, it would be a waste of time."
Since he was interested, Gu Juan had no objection and only said, "Don't work too hard."
"I know my limits." Xi Lang's lips caressed the corner of his mouth.
Gu Juan mentioned another thing, "These past two days I've been thinking about whether to send some fruit to your family, but I'm also worried about whether..."
"Your concerns are justified." Xi Lang hugged him and sat on the jade bed. "I know you care about me, and that's why you care about my family. But my family members are very shrewd. Once they notice a change in their physical condition, they will definitely be suspicious. Let's wait until your medical skills become more advanced. Then we can use this as an excuse to send them some nourishing pills."
Xi Lang was much older than Gu Juan, and he was more thoughtful than Gu Juan. Gu Juan trusted and relied on him. "I'll listen to you. We'll just have to wait until we become stronger. Then we won't have to be so timid."
"That day will come." Xi Lang said confidently.
Gu Juan brought him to the treasure room, found a top-grade storage ring and handed it to him, "This is for you. I acknowledge you with my blood."
After Xi Lang recognized him as his master by dripping blood, he found some jade slips for refining equipment and setting up formations and asked him to keep them in the ring. Then he picked out some emergency elixirs, picked a lot of fruits and vegetables for him, and finally dug up a few hundred-year-old ginseng for use.
"This ring can hold anything, except for living things. Fruits and vegetables can be put in the same shape they were when you took them out. It's very convenient."
Xi Lang watched him busying himself, his heart softened, and he picked a strawberry and fed it to him.
"Xiao Juan, there's no need to pretend. I'll tell you if there's anything missing. That way, we can have more opportunities to see each other. You've already started school, so we can only be together one day a week at most."
Gu Juan couldn't help laughing and stopped, "Okay." He looked at his watch, "It's getting late, I should go to school."
"I'll take you there." Although Xi Lang didn't want to part with him so soon, there was nothing he could do. Learning more skills now was all about preparing for the future. He wouldn't relax either, and he wanted to hand over all the work as soon as possible so he could spend more time cultivating.
…
Two days later, Fan Wenbo sent the 3D rendering of the flower base to Gu Juan.
Gu Juan took a closer look and was full of praise. It was almost exactly as he'd envisioned it. He immediately settled the bill with the design company and gave Fan Wenbo a 50,000 yuan red envelope, 20,000 yuan to the associate designer, and 10,000 yuan each to the design assistant. He couldn't help but sigh, "Money flies!" In just a minute, 80,000 yuan was gone.
Then he called the construction company he had already found and made an appointment to meet on Sunday to discuss the details.
After class on Saturday, he flew to the capital and, after negotiating with the construction company, handed over the construction project of the flower base to them.
Lan Na was able to help Gu Juan supervise the work, but every Sunday Gu Juan would still go there in person to see the progress with his own eyes before he could truly rest assured.
Originally, he could only go home on Sundays when he had no classes, but now he was nowhere to be seen even on Sundays. When Xi Lang asked him where he was going, he refused to tell her.
Xi Lang tried to hold it in, but couldn't. He had Gu Juan's class schedule in his hand. Gu Juan had her last class at 4 p.m. on Saturday, in Room 603 of the General Building, and it ended at 6 p.m.
The bell rang for the end of get out of class, and Gu Juan hurried out of the classroom. He was stunned when he saw Xi Lang standing in front of him.
"Old man, why are you here?"
"Tell me, how long has it been since you went home?" Xi Lang asked with a stern face.
Gu Juan felt a little guilty when he heard the resentful tone, "I didn't mean it."
The students passing by looked at them curiously.
Gu Juan pulled Xi Lang and quickly left the complex building.
"Xiaojuan, what on earth are you..."
Gu Juan held his head with his hands, feeling somewhat helpless. "Are you sure you really want to know what I'm doing?"
"Of course." Xi Lang nodded affirmatively. "If I don't know your current situation like this, I'll worry that you might have been tricked into joining some illegal organization, or that you've run into some tough trouble."
"Do older people like to fantasize?" Gu Juan didn't expect that he made Xi Lang so insecure, so he took the initiative to put his arm around his shoulders and said, "Book a flight to the capital at 7 o'clock tomorrow morning. It's rare that I want to give you a surprise - forget it." He also figured it out. His intention of giving Xi Lang a surprise was good, but if it made Xi Lang unhappy, it would not be worth it.
Xi Lang touched his head and smiled. "I don't need a surprise. As long as I can find you at any time, that's enough. Let's go. I'll take you to dinner."
Gu Juan also laughed.
The next day, the two boarded a plane together, arrived in the capital, and then took a taxi to Jixiang Village.
From afar, Xi Lang spotted the six neatly etched characters for "Family Flower Base." Each character emerged from a giant flower, a truly unique sight. However, the road to the entrance hadn't been completely repaired, and some construction materials were piled along the roadside, somewhat diminishing the base's aesthetic appeal.
Gu Juan smiled and said, "You are the Third Young Master of the Xi Family, and I am just an orphan. If I want to be with you, I must have something to show for it. This is the 'betrothal gift' I prepared. Come in and see if you like it?"
"Dowry"? Xi Lang put his arm around his waist and asked earnestly, "Should I be grateful that you think so highly of me, or should I be upset that I'm the one getting married?"
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