To be honest, Su Duan wasn't sure if he actually had flowers or not.

The Poria actually belongs to the fungi kingdom and doesn't have flowers. Not only does it lack flowers, it doesn't even have leaves. It looks like a bare black potato, and when split open, the inside is filled with white mycelium.

When Su Duan gained consciousness, he found several slender leaves on top of his head. Other than that, every part of him looked exactly the same as an ordinary poria - the outer skin was the same black, the inside was the same white, and the living environment matched the habits of poria.

Most plants that gain consciousness have their own extraordinary characteristics. After comparing himself to all the plants closely related to poria and finding that the shape of his leaves was more or less a bit different from all of them, Su Duan stopped worrying about the question of his species.

He was probably just a mutated poria, which was why he was fortunate enough to gain consciousness under the favor of the Heavenly Dao.

Su Duan didn't have a strong desire to investigate. He had no trouble accepting that he looked a bit different from others of his kind. The only thing that troubled him a little was that even after several thousand years, he had never grown a single flower bud.

Logically speaking, since he had leaves, flowering should have been a matter of course. Even if Su Duan didn't intend to pollinate with other plants, seeing other leafy plants blooming one after another, unfurling gorgeous or ordinary petals, while he alone didn't show any signs at all, he couldn't help but wonder if there was something wrong with him.

But there was no use in being anxious about this kind of thing. Su Duan waited and waited, until he fell into slumber along with the earth, and there was still no sign of flower buds forming.

If he couldn't even bloom, how could he pollinate?

Su Duan secretly thought that if Qin Zhi found out that he couldn't even bloom, he probably wouldn't want to be his partner anymore.

He was so focused and engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice that Qin Zhi, who was holding him, had slowly opened his eyes.

"Duan Duan... are you awake?"

Only when he heard a hoarse call from above his head did Su Duan subconsciously raise his head and meet Qin Zhi's gaze.

Qin Zhi lowered his eyes and stared straight at him. His gaze was unusually dark, surging with something that made Su Duan afraid to approach.

Su Duan stared blankly at Qin Zhi, not answering his question, like a chipmunk frozen in place after being frightened by the thing pressing against him, ready to flop over with a push.

Qin Zhi let out a soft sigh, leaned closer to him, and said softly in his ear, "I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

Although he spoke words of apology, his hoarse voice revealing desire and his arms tightening around him showed no signs of repentance at all.

Su Duan felt his face grow even hotter. Not only his face, but his whole body started to heat up from Qin Zhi's words. He pursed his lips and reached out to push against Qin Zhi's muscular shoulders.

As a result, not only did he fail to push him away, but Qin Zhi grabbed his wrist with his other hand, gently but firmly holding it and not letting go.

Su Duan, like a fish pressed on a chopping board, pleaded in a small voice to the chef wielding the tools, about to scale him to make fish soup, "Let go of me, you're so hot, I don't feel well."

He was so hot, he must have caught it from Qin Zhi. Now his head was starting to feel dizzy again, the speed of spinning was getting slower and slower, and it looked like it was about to stop spinning.

This time, Qin Zhi seemed like a different person. He was not at all considerate like before, refuting Su Duan for the first time, "Duan Duan's body is even hotter than mine, how can you blame me for making you uncomfortable?"

Su Duan: "..." Is that so?

Seeing him looking like this, clearly aware of the danger but still acting foolishly, Qin Zhi found it a bit funny and distressing, but more than that, an uncontrollable desire to make this person his own rose from the depths of his heart.

Actually, he wasn't completely talking nonsense. Su Duan's body was indeed terribly hot. Even if it was contaminated by his body heat, it shouldn't be hot to this extent.

Suddenly thinking of a certain possibility, Qin Zhi's eyes darkened and he reached his hand down to explore.

Su Duan: !!!

...Huh?

He bloomed?!

No, humans don't seem to call this blooming... but for him, it's the same thing.

Su Duan was immersed in the novelty of blooming for the first time and secretly asked the system in his heart, "System, system, since I can bloom now when I'm human, will I be able to bloom after I transform?"

The system said, "This system is not sure either. The system is only an auxiliary system with limited authority. Sorry, host QAQ."

Su Duan said, "It's okay, I'm just, um, too surprised."

Su Duan excitedly communicated with the system in his mind for a few sentences. In Qin Zhi's eyes, he looked completely shocked silly.

-- He had only lightly touched him.

Seeing that Su Duan remained motionless for a long time, Qin Zhi felt a bit regretful that he shouldn't have teased him like that. Obviously, he could have just brushed off the abnormality on his body with some excuse like a natural reaction. With Su Duan's simple appearance, he probably would have believed whatever he said.

How could he lose control for a moment and lay hands on him?

And deliberately touching that kind of place, now even if Su Duan was stupid, he should be able to tell that his intentions were impure.

Qin Zhi thought that it was probably because it was really too hot. He woke up from a feverish dream, and then was stimulated by the prey in his arms that looked very squeezable. He couldn't hold back for a moment, bared his fangs at the prey, and then opened his mouth -- and tasted a bit.

As a result, he tasted trouble.

"Duan Duan." Qin Zhi retracted the overly exposed emotions in his eyes and loosened his arms that were locking the person in place, trying to make amends, "I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

Only then did Su Duan come back to his senses. His jet-black eyes turned half a circle, shining as if there were little stars in them.

Qin Zhi: "..." Looking like this, it didn't seem like he was scared.

Realizing that there weren't many negative emotions in Su Duan's gaze, Qin Zhi's breathing suddenly quickened.

He suddenly realized that if Su Duan reacted to him, did that mean he wasn't completely uninterested in him--

The courage that had just shrunk a little suddenly swelled back, and in just a few seconds, it expanded who knows how many times.

He tightened his arms that had loosened a bit, leaned down, and pressed against those pale lips.

Su Duan's eyes widened, and he heard an abrupt mechanical sound in his mind:

[Ding, the healing value for the healing target Qin Zhi has increased by 1 point. Currently, the total healing value for the target is 91. Host, please keep up the good work!]

Author's note:

Su Duan: Unexpected fortune (⊙v⊙)?

Qin Zhi: I'll give you a bit more if you actively kiss me (·ω·)

Su Zheng: ......Breathing rate gradually disappearing.jpg