Chapter 244: Proposal 7
Shi Lan helped Yan Huoshui to his feet. She noticed his white pants were dusty and began patting them clean.
His tail emerged to help her, sweeping the dust off his pants. Then, like a mischievous pixie, it took the opportunity to flick back and forth against the back of her hand. Shi Lan saw this, grabbed his tail, gave it a few good squeezes, and cleaned it in the process.
Her gaze couldn’t help but drift to the roses in his arms. ’He’s been holding them this entire time. Isn’t he going to give them to me?’
Yan Huoshui noticed her gaze and explained, "The base of this bouquet is quite thick and heavy. I was worried you’d get tired, Lanlan."
Shi Lan took it and tested its weight. It was indeed quite heavy. But this was his proposal, after all. She cradled the bouquet in her arms for a moment before using her chip to take a photo of the two of them, as well as one of the words spelled out by the drones in the sky.
She suddenly mumbled in frustration, "Oh no, I forgot to take pictures to remember the moment."
The shadow that had been in Yan Huoshui’s eyes during his confession had vanished completely. He explained patiently, "It’s alright. The venue was already set up with all kinds of cameras to record everything. They were prepared."
"I’ll send you a copy later, Lanlan."
It wasn’t just Shi Lan; for a moment they had both longed for so dearly, they couldn’t possibly hide their desire to preserve it. They would absolutely have it recorded to savor and reminisce over and over again.
Hearing this, Shi Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The hot air balloon was still ascending when an orange-red feather drifted down through the air.
Shi Lan caught it in her palm. Looking up, she saw Mu Tangfeng perched on the edge of the nearby Sky Garden. His broad wings were still unfurled, and he swung his legs nonchalantly. His polished black leather shoes gleamed, as flashy as he himself was at that moment.
The hot air balloon stopped at the entrance to the Sky Garden. He scoffed, "Still not as fast as flying."
However, he was sharp enough not to go over and disturb the pair. His own proposal was up next, after all, and he had no desire to provoke Yan Huoshui right now.
He stood silently to the side. Yan Huoshui shot him an indifferent glance and ignored him, his attention on the bouquet in Shi Lan’s arms.
"Lanlan, the bouquet is too heavy. Let me hold it."
"It’s fine. At a time like this, I should be the one holding the bouquet, of course. It doesn’t feel heavy at all."
Shi Lan shook her head. It felt more meaningful for her to be the one holding her proposal bouquet. She lowered her head slightly to inhale their scent. The roses were vibrant, and their fragrance was lovely.
Yan Huoshui’s expression softened as he caressed her hand. He then led her on a tour of the Sky Garden.
This was one of the Capital Star’s unique attractions. The Sky Garden was built 160 meters up in the sky, and thanks to the Capital’s climate, the flowers planted there could bloom all year round.
Having been prepared for the proposal, the Sky Garden was decorated especially romantically today.
Shi Lan looked up to see a riot of blossoms in stunning clusters. Heart-shaped balloons drifted among the flowerbeds high in the air, drones scattered petals from above, and clouds floated all around them. In the distance, the sky was a magnificent, smoky purple.
It was as beautiful as a scene from a dream.
Shi Lan curiously pinched a small cloud that drifted by. She cupped it in her hand, and it quickly dissipated into a few wisps of water vapor, leaving a damp trace on her palm.
"How can you touch clouds here?"
’In her experience, it was rare for clouds to form at just over a hundred meters high.’
Besides, these clouds were perfectly shaped—white, soft, and fluffy like cotton, just like clouds in a cartoon.
She was so surprised and fascinated that she even felt an urge to open her mouth and take a bite.
Yan Huoshui watched as she actually took a bite of a cloud. A laugh, both amused and helpless, escaped his throat. "Lanlan, those clouds are artificial. How do they taste?"
Shi Lan blushed and smacked her lips. "There’s not much flavor."
"If they’re artificial, they should be edible, right?"
’At least she was finally considering whether they were clean or not. But such a tiny bite probably wouldn’t do any harm.’
"It’s fine. A lot of kids who visit as tourists get curious and try them too."
’Kids?’
Shi Lan’s cheeks grew even warmer. ’Her behavior just now really had been childish.’
A glint appeared in Yan Huoshui’s eyes. He copied her, opening his mouth to taste a piece of cloud himself. "You’re right, there’s not much flavor."
She looked up at him, and his red eyes were filled with doting indulgence. It seemed that no matter what she did, no matter how childish, he would happily join in.
Now that they had both eaten a cloud, Xiao Du, who had never witnessed such a thing, grew restless in her sea of consciousness.
Shi Lan sensed its excitement and let it out. It perched happily on her shoulder, poised to strike, before launching itself—the entire mushroom—straight into a cloud.
CRUMPLE!
Shi Lan heard the sound of crushed flowers and grass. Looking down, she saw Xiao Du tumbling across the lawn, rolling for more than ten meters before landing in a flowerbed.
"Pfft."
As its master, Shi Lan let out a shameless laugh. Cradling the heavy bouquet, she immediately chased after it.
Yan Huoshui’s gaze fell on the green mushroom nearby. It had a rather peculiar shape, with green vines wrapped around its body and a small, light-green sprout growing from its cap.
The moment he remembered it was Lanlan’s spirit body, its strangeness transformed into an irreplaceable cuteness in his eyes.
Mu Tangfeng’s pupils contracted as well. He craned his neck, staring at it with undisguised curiosity.
’So the little mushroom is back.’
Shi Lan walked over and picked up her spirit body. "Xiao Du, are you alright?"
Xiao Du shook itself, flicking off bits of grass, and replied in her mind, ’Hehe, I’m fine, Master! That was so much fun!’
’The clouds are cool and feel so nice. I want to play some more!’
"Alright, alright. Go ahead."
Shi Lan let it run free, patting its chubby little cap. Just as she was about to pull her hand back, a small vine quietly coiled around one of her fingers, seemingly begging for affection too.
’I almost forgot, there’s another spirit body here.’
She gave the little sprout on Xiao Du’s cap a pat as well. Its leaves instantly turned pale pink and curled up shyly, just like a touch-me-not.
In her mind, Xiao Du started bickering with it for her affection. ’She’s *my* Master.’
’Don’t you understand first come, first served? How dare you try to charm her right in front of me, the original?’
The two spirit bodies muttered incomprehensibly to each other for a moment before Xiao Du seemed to relent. ’Fine, you’re right. She’s our Master. We’ll protect her together.’
’But you have to remember, I’m the boss, and you’re number two.’
’That’s more like it.’
The little vine couldn’t speak yet, but Shi Lan could vaguely understand their conversation through Xiao Du. She curved her lips in amusement. Seeing that the two spirit bodies had stopped arguing and gone off to play together, she left them to it.
Yan Huoshui walked over, his eyes on the mushroom that had resumed pouncing on clouds. "Is your spirit body named Xiao Du, Lanlan?"
Shi Lan nodded. As for Xiao Hei, she kept him a secret for now, since having more than one spirit body went against the common understanding that a Beastman could only have one.
"It’s so cute."
He commented sincerely, looking at it through the same love-tinted lens he used for Shi Lan.
"It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a non-animal spirit body."
In the Beastman worldview, animal spirit bodies were considered superior. A plant-type like Xiao Du was definitely an aberration. To them, it was as strange as if an ordinary drinking glass at home suddenly mutated.
But one couldn’t help but love the person and everything connected to them.
And Shi Lan, who saw Xiao Du as her own child, adored it even more. The mention of her spirit body was enough to open the floodgates.