Chapter 187: Chapter 184: The Seed Germinates
Huo Sining didn’t quite believe in the existence of a lotus variety that bloomed golden and could glow, but Tian Tian’s grandfather’s persistence had made her somewhat doubtful.
After all, the Azure Pearl’s appraisal couldn’t be wrong, and the fact that these seeds could make the Azure Pearl glow proved they were definitely valuable.
Lotus seeds are unlike the seeds of other angiosperms because the lotus seed’s outer shell is hard and robust, preventing moisture and air from entering after the seeds mature. This causes the lotus seeds’ respiration to become very slow, forcing them into a dormant state.
Huo Sining remembered a news report she once read about an ancient lotus seed that was discovered at the bottom of a dried-up reservoir which was being dug out for expansion. These thousand-year-old seeds hadn’t decayed and, after some treatment and cultivation, had astonishingly sprouted and bloomed.
If lotus seeds that had slept for a thousand years could come back to life, there was no reason to doubt whether the seeds in her hands could sprout. The key question was whether these seeds could really produce the golden lotuses as Tian Tian’s grandfather had claimed.
In order to germinate lotus seeds, it was necessary to crack open the anterior end of the seed embryo to allow water and air to enter smoothly.
Huo Sining decided to experiment with one of the seeds, so she took a pair of scissors and carefully pried open a crack at the front end of one of the seeds.
Worried that the seeds wouldn’t sprout after such a long period of dormancy, Huo Sining slowly transferred the Spiritual Energy from the Azure Pearl into the seed before placing it in a porcelain bowl filled with clear water on the windowsill.
After preparing the seed, Huo Sining climbed into bed to turn off the lights and go to sleep.
Stone Gambling was physically demanding and, coupled with the treatment of the Mastiff during the day which nearly drained all her Spiritual Energy, Huo Sining felt utterly exhausted. As soon as her head touched the pillow, she fell deeply asleep and thus did not notice the unusual situation on the windowsill.
The seed, filled with ample Spiritual Energy, seemed to awaken. In the still of the night, its hard outer shell cracked open bit by bit, and a small bulge poked out, slowly growing into a tender sprout tip.
If Huo Sining were awake at this moment, she would have been startled by this bizarre scene.
This sprout, after absorbing all the remaining Spiritual Energy in the seed, grew quickly until it reached two to three inches in length and finally stopped.
The night deepened, and as the tender shoots spread under the moonlight, they slowly began to bloom with threads of golden light.
Early the next morning, Huo Sining woke up from her sleep, got out of bed to leave the house, and her gaze inadvertently fell on the porcelain bowl placed on the balcony. Her eyes instantly sharpened.
It actually sprouted?!
Her eyes lighting up, Huo Sining rushed to the balcony and looked at the sprouted lotus seed with surprise and delight.
She hadn’t expected that in just one night’s time, this Golden Lotus Seed had really germinated, and the resulting sprout was not small at all – about two to three inches long!
Huo Sining stared at the tiny seedling, lost in thought. The sprout was tender green and didn’t seem to be much different from a regular lotus sprout at first glance. How had the Azure Pearl determined these seeds were special?
Huo Sining was conflicted yet certain of one thing – these seeds could definitely grow into lotuses. As for whether they would be golden lotuses, that would have to wait until the lotus flower bloomed from the bud.
In a female dormitory at Di Du Medical University, a girl was huddled in front of the computer watching a video.
“Tang Yinuo, are you still watching this video? Where did you get it from? It’s not searchable online anymore, right?”
A girl saw her roommate watching a video recording and couldn’t help but ask.
The girl being asked had a smile on her face and her eyes were nearly turning into stars, “Of course, this is a special treat from the fan club president of my idol. Ordinary people can’t get their hands on it.”
“What special treat?” Another girl nearby became curious upon hearing this and quickly leaned over to take a look, and laughed after a few seconds.
“I’ve seen this video too. It was all over the news these past couple of days. The main character seems to be the young master of Shengtang Group. I heard he’s young and wealthy, still single, and has a clean reputation just like a monk. Loads of girls on the internet are chasing after him, dubbing him as their idol. Yinuo, don’t tell me you’re a fan of this guy?”
Tang Yinuo laughed, “Naturally, I’m one of the founding members. My idol never makes news headlines. This time he really showed his face big time. I don’t know how many women are crying and begging to marry him!”
The girl beside her snorted with laughter, “I think you should stop daydreaming. After all, he’s the scion of a prominent clan. How could someone like him take notice of commoners like us? Besides, wasn’t there a rumour on the internet that the woman in the video is his wife? He even called her ‘wife.’ I think he’s already secretly married, but he kept it a secret not to ruin the image you fans have of him.”
Upon hearing this, Tang Yinuo turned serious, stamped her foot angrily and retorted, “Don’t you dare slander my idol! He’s already clarified in front of the media the other day that he only knows that woman and there’s absolutely no relationship between them. My idol was just pretending with that woman to subdue a criminal, trying to divert the criminal’s attention!”
At this moment, Wu Jingyi came out of the restroom wearing a light blue dress. She heard the three of them seemingly arguing about something and couldn’t help but interrupt to ask, “What are you guys talking about?”
Tang Yinuo didn’t really like Wu Jingyi, feeling the girl was too pretentious, and usually didn’t bother with her.
However, now was a critical moment to restore her idol’s reputation, so she couldn’t care less. She would enlist any ally she could.
So she abruptly grabbed Wu Jingyi by the arm to the computer, urging her to watch the video, “Wu Jingyi, quick, look at this video. Isn’t my idol very handsome? You can tell that he and the woman beside him definitely have nothing going on, right?”
While Tang Yinuo eagerly asked, she played the video. Wu Jingyi didn’t pay much attention at first, but halfway through the video, she noticed that the man and woman in it looked somewhat familiar.
Suddenly, Wu Jingyi’s body stiffened as she stared unblinkingly at the situation in the video.
This was a video shot with a mobile phone, and due to the pixel and technical limitations of the phone, the image was a bit blurry, sometimes even shaky, so it wasn’t very clear. However, one could still make out the facial features of the people.
Wu Jingyi had a very good memory. That day in the main hall of the clubhouse, she was coerced into drinking by that fat Zhao guy.
Afterward, having had too much to drink, she had to use the excuse of needing to go to the restroom to step out of the private room to get some fresh air.
Unexpectedly, at the door, she saw a man with a commanding presence walking out of the elevator.