Lucian would never admit that the handsomest man in Solaris had gotten lost, but that was exactly what had happened.
"Little one, did you drop this yellow book or this green one?"
Lucian crouched down, smiling teasingly at the little girl in front of him.
She wore a pale green strapless dress with a small flower pinned to it.
From a distance, one might even mistake her for a standing plant.
But what was most surprising was the Tacet Mark beneath her collarbone.
To think someone so young had already become a Resonator—she truly was one of Jinzhou's future blossoms.
Looking further up, her hair was also a vibrant emerald green.
Most remarkable of all was her delicate, fair little face.
Generally, Lucian wouldn't describe a little girl's appearance as "kindly," but in her case, as he studied her smiling face, he felt genuinely soothed.
Her voice was soft and gentle: "The green book is mine. Thank you, uncle."
"Who are you calling 'uncle'? It's 'big brother.'"
Lucian held the green book up high. The little girl wasn't very tall and could only tilt her head up, staring longingly at the book.
"Big brother, please give me back the green book."
"That's more like it."
Lucian handed the book back to her.
The little girl carefully wiped the cover, checking for any damage before tucking it away safely.
Then, she looked up at Lucian again, about to thank him, but froze when she got a proper look at his face.
"Eh? I think I've seen you somewhere before."
Lucian patted her head. "Little one, you're already learning how to flirt with adults at this age?"
The girl blinked. "Eh? Flirt?"
She quickly waved her hands. "No, no, that's not it!"
Pulling out a terminal from behind her, she flipped through it before holding it up to Lucian's face.
Lucian took a closer look—it was a post he had made earlier, a photo of him with Sanhua.
"Oh, so that's it. My mistake, little one."
The little girl smiled sweetly. "I'm Verina. Nice to meet you."
"Verina? You're not from Jinzhou?"
The name clearly didn't fit the usual naming conventions of Jinzhou.
"No, I'm from the New Federation."
"Ohhh… a New Federation citizen…"
Lucian nodded sagely, even though he had no idea which country the New Federation was.
Verina spoke up again: "Thank you. This notebook is very important to me. As thanks…"
She rummaged through the small pouch at her waist before pulling out a tiny, star-shaped flower.
Then, she took out a small container and carefully placed the flower inside.
"Here, this is for you."
Verina held out the starflower to him.
But what caught Lucian's attention first wasn't the flower in her hand—it was her heartwarming smile.
To Lucian, Verina's gentle, innocent smile was even more touching than the flower she was offering.
With a soft chuckle, he said, "Alright, thank you for the gift."
Lucian took the container holding the starflower and examined it closely. It seemed the flower hadn't fully bloomed yet.
Seeing that he had accepted it, Verina said, "This flower is called a starflower. When you're cultivating it, you have to pay attention to—"
A bad feeling suddenly crept up on Lucian.
"—and that's how it's done. Understand?"
Lucian stood there, eyes glazed over, body stiff.
Who could explain to him why a little girl this young knew so much about plants?
And once she started talking about them, Verina just wouldn't stop.
Lucian hurriedly replied, "Got it, got it…"
He voiced his confusion: "Verina, do you really like plants?"
Verina smiled. "Mhm! Their wonderfully similar yet different traits are so fascinating."
"Wonderfully similar yet different traits?"
Verina pointed at the starflower in Lucian's hand. "See the two leaves next to the starflower? What's the same about them, and what's different?"
Lucian lowered his head and studied them carefully.
"Mm… what's the same is that both of them are leaves of the starflower!"
He said this with absolute certainty.
Verina giggled, her eyes curving into crescents. "Exactly! Now, what's different about them?"
Lucian looked down again. "Uh… their… veins… are different?"
He answered hesitantly.
Verina clapped her hands. "Perfect! Big brother, you've got a real talent for botany!"
She continued, "Every leaf on a plant is different, just like how every person and every event in life never repeats."
"For example, some people like eating citron grass, and some don't. If someone remembered these little things about themselves, they'd be really happy, right?"
Lucian was stunned. He could practically see a holy radiance glowing behind Verina.
She was just a little girl, right?
Yet she sounded like a full-grown adult.
Just as Lucian was lost in this heartwarming moment, someone had to ruin it.
"Aha! Finally found you!"
Turns out, the "holy radiance" behind Verina was just the fiery glow from Chixia rushing over at top speed. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel[f]ire.net
After realizing he was lost, Lucian had contacted Chixia and the others to guide him back.
Chixia blinked in surprise. "Huh? Verina? What brings you to Jinzhou City today?"
Verina beamed. "Oh! Sister Chixia!"
"I came to visit Bogu Bonsai to check on the potted plants I've been growing."
"Also, Brother Rongqing had some questions about potted plants, so I came to help!"
Chixia planted her hands on her hips. "Never thought the two of you would run into each other."
Lucian rushed up to Chixia, grabbed her hands, and said with deep emotion, "Xia… I missed you so much."
Chixia's cheeks flushed slightly as she squirmed. "Geez, you're so cheesy as soon as you get back…"
Meanwhile, Verina looked up at them and gasped. "Wow! So Brother Lucian is Sister Chixia's boyfriend!"
Chixia's face turned as red as her favorite chili peppers.
"Verina! Don't say nonsense!"
But clearly, Chixia's "don't say nonsense" and Verina's interpretation of "don't say nonsense" were two different things.
Verina grinned knowingly. "I get it, I get it! You're secretly dating, right? Don't worry, Verina won't tell anyone!"
Seeing that Verina had misunderstood, Chixia let out an embarrassed huff and buried her face in Lucian's chest.
Lucian, meanwhile, gave Verina a thumbs-up where Chixia couldn't see.
Verina marveled, "I've never seen Sister Chixia look so shy before!"
Lucian asked curiously, "What's Sister Chixia usually like?"
"Sister Chixia usually…" Verina smiled. "Is passionate, bright, cheerful, and always full of energy!"