Chapter 304: Chapter 304: What Youth Doesn’t Wear a Flower?
"Wake up! Everyone, come down and look! The flowers in the garden have bloomed!" Shen Yibin shouted excitedly. A chaotic racket echoed from upstairs. A moment later, Xia Shixuan, still in her pajamas, was the first to charge down, followed by the other three girls. They watched this garden every day and had been anticipating this moment for a long time.
"Nnngh!" The noise had also woken up Hah’Er and Maphario. As the four girls gathered around the few morning glories and snapped pictures, a bleary-eyed Hah’Er appeared at the top of the stairs with Maphario in tow. The moment Maphario saw the blooming flowers, he became incredibly excited, SQUEAKING and CHITTERING to urge Hah’Er to hurry down.
And so, Hah’Er appeared before everyone, his fur a complete mess. He looked so adorable that no one could resist the urge to give him a good ruffle. Shen Yibin and the four girls pounced, grabbing Hah’Er for a thorough tousling. Afterward, the sight of the thoroughly disheveled Hah’Er made them laugh so hard they nearly bent over.
The only one who didn’t participate was Maphario. His attention was completely focused on the morning glories. He SCAMPERED over to them, propped up the little A-frame ladder, and climbed to the top. Stretching out his neck, he gently sniffed the flowers’ fragrance, closing his eyes to savor the reward for his many days of hard work.
Besides the morning glories, the China asters and cinerarias also had little buds dotting their stems, looking like they would bloom very soon. The enormous bud on top of the sunflower was even more striking. However, judging from the sunflowers’ height and leaf shape, they were a dwarf ornamental variety. The flowers would likely be beautiful, but expecting them to produce lots of plump sunflower seeds was probably unrealistic.
The corn stalks had already grown taller than the sunflowers. If not for fear of hurting Maphario’s feelings, Shen Yibin would have been tempted to break one or two off for a taste. The stalks looked incredibly sweet. He hadn’t tasted anything like it in years, not since he left his hometown after elementary school.
The eggplants and soybeans were also growing with great vigor, looking much sturdier and more lush than any you’d find in a farmer’s field. Trellises had been set up next to the cucumber vines, and the bamboo supports were already starting to bend under their weight. The peanut plants’ oval leaves RUSTLED in the gentle breeze. Sunflower seeds were out of the question, but these peanuts alone would be enough to keep Maphario fed for a good while. The watermelon vines had already crawled over half the sandpit and were about to invade the peanut patch. Maphario’s Happy Farm was a picture of vitality.
’Whoa, I was so focused on the flowers I didn’t even notice.’ It was only now that Shen Yibin realized just how eye-popping Xia Shixuan’s pajamas were. He didn’t dare stare, quickly nudging her arm. "Hey, you ran down here wearing *that*? Don’t you think that’s a little inappropriate? Why don’t you hurry up and get changed?"
"What’s there to be scared of? It’s not like there are any strangers here. Or... are you saying you don’t like it?" Xia Shixuan had never known the meaning of the word "shy." She stood boldly in front of Shen Yibin and did a little twirl. "So, Boss? Do I look good?"
’I’ve decided. I’m making fortifying congee for breakfast. How is a guy supposed to handle this kind of temptation?’ But the worst was yet to come. Xia Shixuan suddenly leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Boss, are you too shy to look with everyone around? In that case, how about I come to your room tonight for a private show? I have plenty of other styles. I can try them on for you one by one, what do you say?"
"I’m going to make breakfast!" Shen Yibin finally couldn’t take it anymore and fled in disarray. He had to splash his face with cold water several times before he managed to calm down.
Even when it was time for breakfast, Maphario was too reluctant to leave the garden to come upstairs. Hah’Er ended up bringing his food down to him. The two of them just sat there in the little farm, eating together. Shen Yibin also wolfed down his meal in a few bites and hurried back downstairs. Looking at the pair, it seemed there would be no morning exercise today.
’This color, the shape of these petals... they’re so much prettier than the ones I saw at the flower and bird market. Maphario really is amazing,’ Shen Yibin marveled.
"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!" Maphario chittered. He suddenly scrambled up the A-frame ladder, reached out a paw, and carefully gripped the vine to pull a flower closer. Then, with a little NIBBLE, he bit through the stem, plucking a purple morning glory.
’Huh? What’s he planning to do?’ Shen Yibin watched the little creature, curious. ’Is he going to give that flower to someone?’ He watched as Maphario, holding the stem in his mouth, scrambled up Hah’Er’s leg and onto his shoulder. Then, he took the morning glory and tucked it behind Hah’Er’s left ear.
"BWAHAHAHAHA!" Shen Yibin and the girls howled with laughter. The scene was just too absurd. A splotch of purple amidst a blob of black and white—it was absolutely hilarious!
"Huh?" Hah’Er couldn’t understand why everyone was laughing so hard. Clutching her stomach, Xia Shixuan pulled out a small mirror and held it out to him. "Take a look at yourself!"
Hah’Er stared into the mirror for a long time. Not only did he fail to see anything amiss, he actually seemed quite satisfied with the flower. He even adjusted its position slightly to make it more prominent.
"I can’t... I have to get a picture of this for Weibo." With trembling hands, Shen Yibin snapped a photo and posted it online with the caption: "Who’s more handsome, my Hah’Er wearing a flower or C Luo wearing a flower?"
A famous photo of C Luo from years back, featuring a pink flower tucked behind his right ear, had made countless people cry with laughter. Shen Yibin deliberately sought it out and posted it side-by-side with Hah’Er’s picture. The post instantly blew up with countless retweets and comments. The entire comment section was flooded with "Hahahahaha," a clear sign that the netizens were just as amused by Hah’Er.
"Definitely Hah’Er! I’m changing my profile picture to this right now."
"Bwahahaha, C Luo is handsome, but he’s got nothing on Hah’Er. Changing my pfp +1!"
"Hah’Er-with-a-flower is the best!"
It wasn’t just retweets and comments. Some people with way too much time on their hands started finding all sorts of flowers from who-knows-where. They tucked them behind their own ears, snapped photos, and posted them online, all scrambling to cosplay the two "flower boys."
In no time, "#WhatBoyDoesntWearFlowers" became a trending topic. The follower counts for both Shen Yibin’s account and the Yunzhong City Tourism Ambassador account began to skyrocket once again.
After posting, Shen Yibin still felt like he wasn’t done. He decided to take a few more pictures of Hah’Er from different angles. But just then, he felt something wasn’t quite right. ’What’s tugging on my clothes?’
He looked down to see Maphario, another morning glory held firmly in his mouth, currently climbing up his clothes toward his shoulder.
