Huge thanks to KoshkaHP for the Kofis. Enjoy the Bonus Chapter. Lots of love!

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Deep into the night, the vast playground stood utterly deserted.

Parking, climbing the stairs, and entering the room, Qing Jiyue looked at Tong Zhanyan, as if wanting to say something.

Tong Zhanyan spoke before he could open his mouth, “Get some sleep first.”

Qing Jiyue stared intently at Tong Zhanyan.

The room was too dark; Tong Zhanyan couldn’t make out his expression.

Qing Jiyue’s gaze didn’t linger long. He walked toward the balcony to wash up.

Both soon fell asleep.

After tossing and turning most of the night, Qing Jiyue drifted off quickly. Tong Zhanyan, however, felt no sleepiness.

He’d long heard about the Qing Family Head from Tian Xinqing. If Tian Xinqing knew, surely many others did too. But knowing was one thing; witnessing his own kin go mad while surrounded by so many spectators was quite another.

That thought led Tong Zhanyan to consider cultivation.

There was no complete cure for the frenzy, but long-term consumption of ancient fruits and vegetables could offer some control.

This gave many hope: if they could crack the cultivation puzzle, grow crops with extremely low infection rates, and then plant them on a large scale, might a complete cure become possible?

Tong Zhanyan had known all this for a long time, but he hadn’t given it much thought before. After all, when survival itself was nearly impossible, what energy did he have left to think about anything else?

At this moment, however, he found himself unconsciously pondering what cultivation truly meant to the people of this world.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t know when he’d fallen asleep. When he woke, it was already past ten the next morning.

Today was Saturday.

To his surprise, Qing Jiyue was there too, engrossed in a book.

“Aren’t you going back?” Tong Zhanyan asked.

Qing Jiyue lifted his gaze at the sound. “I already called.”

Tong Zhanyan was speechless.

Qing Jiyue’s voice came again, “Before reporting here, we made a deal. He cooperates with treatment, and I come here to study.”

Tong Zhanyan froze for a moment, then quickly grasped the implication behind Qing Jiyue’s words.

Born into that family, possessing that kind of power, Qing Jiyue was destined to shoulder everything—and that was likely what many people expected to see.

But among those expecting it, his father probably wasn’t included. That man, whose condition was clearly worse than the rumors suggested.

Tian Xinqing had once joked, “Qing Jiyue can’t very well be here to enjoy life.” That remark wasn’t wrong—Qing Jiyue truly was here to enjoy life.

His father traded his remaining time for Qing Jiyue’s next four years of campus life, free from the Qing Family and its responsibilities.

Tong Zhanyan took a deep breath and smiled. “Want to swing by my training room later?”

Qing Jiyue lifted his gaze once more.

Whenever he fiddled with those tomatoes before, Qing Jiyue always liked to watch from the side.

Qing Jiyue closed his book.

“Wait.” Tong Zhanyan hurried off to wash up.

It was a rare day off, and the dormitory building was bustling.

Descending the stairs, Tong Zhanyan didn’t head straight for the training room. Instead, he zeroed in on a trash bin not far ahead of the dormitory building.

After waiting a moment, he seized a gap when no one was around and swiftly moved forward to rummage through it.

The remaining seedlings could be transplanted now.

This was probably the first time in his life Qing Jiyue had been led around to dig through trash bins. His expression was somewhat bewildered.

“Let’s go.” Tong Zhanyan waved, ready to escape the scene.

Qing Jiyue hurried to follow.

With the weekend crowds, Tong Zhanyan took a detour to avoid attention.

The area near the training room remained deserted, much to Tong Zhanyan’s satisfaction.

Upon entering, Tong Zhanyan set down his cup behind the wall of boxes by the door, washed his hands, and slipped on an outer jacket. “Wait here for a moment.”

He turned off the camera.

His livestream was already on autopilot; a few minutes wouldn’t matter.

“You can come in now.”

Qing Jiyue stepped around the box wall.

His eyes immediately fell on the patch of tomatoes.

He followed Tong Zhanyan’s livestream, though he focused all his energy on training and only watched when he had free time.

The last time he’d seen them, the tomato seedlings had been nothing but a patch of green grass. Now, they had grown into a lush forest.

Most delightful was the vibrant vitality they radiated, instantly lifting one’s spirits at a glance.

Tong Zhanyan shed his outer coat and fetched two buckets. “This one’s yours.”

Qing Jiyue was puzzled but accepted it anyway.

Without explanation, Tong Zhanyan led the way outside.

Moments later, he crouched down to gather leaves.

Qing Jiyue watched, then began picking them up too.

“Try to keep them as clean as possible,” Tong Zhanyan reminded her.

Ten minutes later, both buckets were full.

Tong Zhanyan led the way back inside, dumping the leaves on the floor before heading out again.

Though it was the same place and the same task, Qing Jiyue didn’t move.

Tong Zhanyan glanced over. “Already tired?”

The most rewarding part of gardening was watching plants grow and harvesting them, but that time was rare. Most of the time, it was tedious and boring work.

“Will freshly fallen leaves work?” Qing Jiyue looked at the row of trees before her.

“Yes.”

A small white tiger suddenly materialized at Qing Jiyue’s feet, followed by an invisible force that abruptly radiated outward.

The trees shook violently, shedding a torrent of leaves.

Qing Jiyue didn’t give them a chance to hit the ground, gathering them toward himself mid-air.

In mere moments, a massive floating ball of leaves formed before him. He looked at Tong Zhanyan, “Enough—”

Tong Zhanyan stood grinning foolishly, staring at the scene at Qing Jiyue’s feet.

There, his Spirit Beast stood guard, its fur bristling, crouched behind his feet. It radiated an aura that screamed, “If Tong Zhanyan dares to approach, I’ll scratch him to pieces.”

Qing Jiyue swept the ground clean at his feet, placed the leaves there, then recalled his Spirit Beast.

Tong Zhanyan grinned like a maniac, making even Qing Jiyue feel a bit creeped out.

The adorable little tiger was gone just like that. Tong Zhanyan’s eyes brimmed with reluctance. “Let me pet it.”

“No.” Qing Jiyue refused.

Disappointment filled Tong Zhanyan’s eyes.

It took them several trips back and forth to carry all the leaves into the house.

Qing Jiyue finished half a month’s worth of work in one go.

Tong Zhanyan selected the completely dried leaves and carried them to the previous leaf-burning site.

With Qing Jiyue keeping watch this time, efficiency improved significantly.

Three large buckets of leaves yielded only half a bucket of ash.

Back in the house, Tong Zhanyan found a basin and began mixing soil.

Qing Jiyue watched quietly nearby, only moving occasionally when Tong Zhanyan asked for help.

Once the soil was mixed, Tong Zhanyan carried the basin to the seedlings and began repotting them.

Of the eighteen seeds, after removing the bok choy and cherry radish, six remained: two strawberry seeds, two eggplant seeds, and two cucumber seeds.

All three required a minimum three-month growth cycle. Tong Zhanyan wasn’t counting on them for profit; he simply wanted to collect seeds. That way, once this tomato harvest yielded enough for a greenhouse, he could plant them on a large scale.

Seeds were too expensive to buy.

With only six seedlings, repotting took just minutes. Afterward, Tong Zhanyan placed them directly in water before moving on to other tasks.

This time, he’d bought four buckets of soil. Two were for planting the bok choy and other greens, while the remaining two would be used to decompose leaves—so they’d be ready for use in three months.

Seeing Qing Jiyue didn’t seem to mind, Tong Zhanyan didn’t hesitate to put him to work.

He retrieved an empty bucket he’d set aside earlier. Together with Qing Jiyue, they layered soil and leaves until both buckets were full.

After sprinkling water and loosely covering the lids, they placed the soaked seedlings beside the bok choy, completing the task.

“Let’s go back,” Tong Zhanyan said, opening the livestream and leading the way toward the door.

Before leaving, he glanced back.

Inside were two plant stands. Under the lamp on the right stand, near the door, sat a 4×5 grid of cups holding thriving tomato seedlings.

The left stand also had a lamp in the same position. Beneath it, industrial crates propped up by two trash bins held a 3×4 arrangement of bok choy and cherry radish seedlings.

They weren’t growing as vigorously as the tomatoes, but they still looked reasonably healthy.

Next to them were the six seedlings he had just repotted.

He had also elevated those six, so the light could reach them.

The entire setup was quite rudimentary, especially against the backdrop of the pile of water and soil containers and the battered, waiting flower pots.

Still, Tong Zhanyan was generally satisfied.

Crops only care about whether the soil is loose enough, the sunlight is ample enough, and the water and fertilizer are sufficient enough. They don’t care about the beauty of the environment.

The live stream audience, however, didn’t share this sentiment.

Having witnessed this countless times before, they still couldn’t help but twitch their lips when Tong Zhanyan’s little room finally reappeared after hours of waiting.

While others treated their plants like treasures, practically encrusting pots with diamonds and gold,

Tong Zhanyan, on the other hand? Industrial bins, clothes racks, trash cans—they even suspected those cups were scavenged from the garbage.

Where else would he get so many?

On the way back, as Tong Zhanyan suggested, grabbing dinner at the cafeteria before heading back, a figure came into view far below the dormitory building.

Gu Yinfeng.

He had been waiting there for a while.

Qing Jiyue halted. “You go ahead.”

Gu Yinfeng had already spotted Qing Jiyue and was striding toward him. His strikingly handsome, androgynous face was etched with worry.

Tong Zhanyan glanced at Gu Yinfeng, then at Qing Jiyue, and turned to leave.

He’d completely forgotten Qing Jiyue had a fiancé.

One sharp and piercing, the other infinitely gentle—they were quite a match.

“Tong… Tong Zhanyan…” Tian Xinqing jogged up and slapped Tong Zhanyan’s shoulder. “What were you thinking about? I called you so many times, and you didn’t hear me.”

“Where’s Su Yanran?” Tong Zhanyan snapped back to reality, only to find Tian Xinqing nearby.

“In the dorm. I came to buy lunch.” Tian Xinqing followed Tong Zhanyan toward the cafeteria. “By the way, there’s something I want to discuss with you.”

“What is it?”

“Well…” Tian Xinqing hesitated. “Truthfully, I never wanted to study here. My dad forced me to come.”

Tong Zhanyan raised an eyebrow. Why was Tian Xinqing suddenly bringing this up?

”He’s afraid I’ll run away, so he froze all my cards. He only transfers money every Saturday at a set time.“

”So?“

”I saved up some money,“ Tian Xinqing said mysteriously. ”I plan to run away during the summer break after sophomore year.” “

Tong Zhanyan understood. This was likely the solution Tian Xinqing had racked his brain to devise—one that wouldn’t hurt his pride.

Sure enough, Tian Xinqing continued immediately, ”He’ll check my cards. Could I leave the money with you? Just for two years.“

Tong Zhanyan remained silent.

”Just two years,” Tian Xinqing pleaded.

“I’m not short on money right now.” Tong Zhanyan halted his steps.

Tian Xinqing paused.

“Thank you.” Tong Zhanyan felt a warmth in his chest. He was grateful to have friends like Tian Xinqing and Su Yanran. “I’m sorry, I still can’t tell you exactly what I’m busy with, but I can say it’s related to the assessment. I will definitely stay.”

Caught off guard, Tian Xinqing flushed with embarrassment before his expression twisted. “You… you’re not seriously planning to assassinate the Devil King, are you?”

Tong Zhanyan choked.

“You guessed it,” Tian Xinqing quickly distanced himself.

Tong Zhanyan pressed his hand to his forehead. Could he be any more outlandish?

He’d thought Tian Xinqing was the reliable one.