AEKMEM chapter 44

An Qiao had no idea how complicated Chu Heng’s mood was.

He thought to himself that Chu Heng’s mood had improved after going outside, and his facial expressions were much more varied…

Did coming out for a walk and watching the excitement really have an effect?

This strengthened his resolve to properly prepare the “surprise” for Chu Heng.

As dusk approached, the nine-story “flower tower” in the square became even more dazzling in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Thousands of colorful potted flowers were arranged on a wooden frame resembling a nine-story pagoda. The flowers were stacked densely, forming a “flower tower” nearly ten meters high. Beyond its majestic grandeur, the tower possesses a unique romantic charm — a veritable floral paradise.

The large flower tower, the sea of people in colorful clothing, and the dazzling array of lanterns create a delightful scene, inspiring a desire to join the fun and experience the vibrant atmosphere.

A circle with a radius of five meters was drawn around the “flower tower.”

To “shoot the flowers,” one must use primitive weapons—bows and arrows—from five meters away.

To hit a flower, aim at its designated “hit point.”

Although the flower pots in the “flower tower” appear exposed, they are protected by an invisible, transparent energy shield. Otherwise, if everyone shot arrows at the flowers, they would be destroyed.

This energy shield provides protection and marks the “hit point” for each flower.

It’s not enough to just hit the flower; you must hit its “hit point.”

The closer the “flower tower” is to the ground, the more flower pots are displayed and the more common their varieties and appearances are. The larger and easier the “hit point” of each flower is to hit.

The higher you go in the tower, the more beautiful and rare the flowers become. The “hit point” becomes smaller, the distance becomes farther, and it becomes more difficult to hit the target.

The “flower shooting” activity had been going on for a while. Some spots on the first, second, and third tiers of the “Flower Tower” were empty, but very few remained on the fourth tier and above.

At the very top was a single potted plant: a red rose almost perfect in appearance. It was larger and more beautiful than ordinary red roses, with a color more vibrant than blood. It was incomparably gorgeous and had a far richer fragrance.

An Qiao immediately took a liking to this red rose.

He was unaware of the deeper meaning behind the red rose. After all, unlike this world, the elven world doesn’t assign various meanings to different types of flowers.

An Qiao simply thought the red rose complemented Chu Heng’s deep rose-colored eyes beautifully.

He turned his head slightly to look at Chu Heng beside him. “What do you think of the red rose at the top? Do you like it?”

After all, his goal was to pick all the flowers that Chu Heng liked and give them to him as a “surprise.”

Chu Heng followed An Qiao’s gaze and saw the red rose.

“Of course I like it,” he said with a slight smile. “I like anything Qiao Qiao gives me.”

Since it’s a red rose, he liked it even more.

Originally, as the “beauty” receiving the flowers, he felt a mix of emotions, but An Qiao’s gesture was kind, so he couldn’t refuse.

Now that he knew An Qiao had given him red roses, Chu Heng had completely forgotten everything else.

An Qiao giving him roses meant that he was confessing his feelings!

He knew An Qiao didn’t understand the deeper meaning behind the roses, but that didn’t stop him from being secretly delighted.

The tourists who overheard their conversation gave them strange looks.

At the “flower shooting” event, most couples were taller and more assertive. They would ask which flowers they wanted and actively court the more attractive ones.

These two, however, were doing the opposite.

Before leaving to avoid being recognized, Chu Heng used his mental power to disguise their faces.

To them, their faces appeared unchanged, but to onlookers, they appeared as completely different faces. An Qiao’s face was merely average, and Chu Heng’s was slightly above average.

However, their figures remained unchanged to onlookers.

A few expressive bystanders couldn’t help but look at Chu Heng disdainfully.

They never expected this tall, imposing man to be such a useless gigolo¹“Gigolo” means: A man who is financially supported by a woman in exchange for companionship or romantic/sexual favors..

How dare he have the nerve to have a beauty personally shoot flowers for him?

To others, An Qiao’s face might only be considered handsome, but his proportions and demeanor were absolutely perfect. Wearing a snow-white robe and with his long, silvery-white hair casually cascading down his back, he exuded a cool and aloof aura, and his manner was elegant and noble. He always managed to make people overlook his merely handsome face and appear naturally as a dazzling beauty.

As for his boastful claim of shooting down the red rose at the top of the “Flower Tower,” they didn’t think he was overestimating his abilities. Confidence is a good thing.

However, looking at his slender, snow-white wrists and slightly frail figure, they wondered if he could draw a bow.

“If you like it, that’s good,” An Qiao nodded.

Then he raised an eyebrow. “What other flowers do you like? Point them out, and I’ll shoot them all down and give them to you.”

He implied that if Chu Heng said he liked them all, he would shoot them all down.

This inevitably brought to mind the story of a foolish king who squandered a fortune to win a beauty’s smile.

Chu Heng: “…”.

He felt like he was being showered with a fortune by a “beauty.”

However, An Qiao seemed overly excited, perhaps a little too eager. Naturally, he wouldn’t dampen An Qiao’s enthusiasm and interest at that moment.

He looked up at the “flower tower” and carefully selected eight high-quality flower pots, all of which were located on the seventh or eighth tier. He pointed them out to An Qiao one by one.

With the red rose at the top, the total came to nine.

Nine symbolized long-lasting luck—a very auspicious meaning.

An Qiao casually picked up a snow-white bow from a nearby stall.

To his discerning eye, the bows were all rough and poor quality—too light and unwieldy to be useful. They were barely adequate.

After taking the bow, he also took nine arrows.

Chu Heng, standing nearby, paid 180 star coins with his personal terminal.

—Of course, the “flower shooting” activity wasn’t free entertainment. Shooting an arrow cost 20 star coins.

In the interstellar era, cultivating purely ornamental flowers was difficult. Even though Blue Star City is suitable for plant growth, purely ornamental, non-aggressive flowers aren’t cheap. Twenty star coins for a potted plant is practically a steal. Of course, shooting an arrow doesn’t guarantee hitting the flower.

An Qiao took his bow and arrow and stood outside the circle.

Chu Heng noticed that An Qiao’s entire demeanor had changed.

The young man with long, silver-white hair casually drew his bow and nocked an arrow. His slender, perfect figure looked exceptionally handsome with this movement.

The bow was fully drawn.

His long, silver-white hair flowed down his back and was gently lifted by the evening breeze; a few strands brushed against his cheek.

His icy blue eyes narrowed slightly, and a cold, domineering light flashed within them.

In an instant, a silver arrow streaked across the sky like a shooting star.

Thump, thump, thump—

His heart pounded uncontrollably.

In that moment, he felt as if the arrow, like Cupid’s, had been shot straight at him.

It flashed through the air and struck precisely the tiny spot no bigger than a soybean where the red rose stood atop the “Flower Tower.”

The arrow fell, and the young man remained in the same position, as if he were still drawing his bow. Seemingly satisfied with the shot, he turned to look at Chu Heng, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Clad in snow-white robes, he had an elegant and graceful bearing.

The myriad vibrant flowers, dazzling lights, and magnificent sunset all paled in comparison, becoming mere background to him.

Chu Heng was relieved he had used his mental power to conceal An Qiao’s face before leaving.

Fortunately, no one else had seen An Qiao’s true face; otherwise, they would have been consumed by jealousy.

But, in reality, even with his face concealed, countless people were captivated and stared blankly at An Qiao.

**

An Qiao finished shooting the remaining eight pots of flowers in one go, stopping with a hint of lingering satisfaction on his face.

Chu Heng was still somewhat dazed, not yet recovered from An Qiao’s breathtaking archery skills.

He vaguely heard the whispers of the surrounding crowd.

“Hiss! Could he be this year’s ‘Beauty of the Flower Festival’ of Blue Star City?”

“It should be. This year is truly bizarre. That tall beastman got the red rose at the very top of the flower tower, along with several other pots of precious, beautiful flowers. No one else could rival the quality and quantity of flowers he received. He reclaimed the title of ‘Beauty of the Flower Festival’ from him.”

“It’s truly eye-opening. This year’s ‘Flowers for Beauty’ winner is actually a Beastman! Those flowers were shot down and given to him by the elf next to him who looks more like a beauty.”

“The elf beauty may look pale and sickly, but he’s incredibly fierce. He shot down the most difficult flower to hit, at the very top of the flower tower, with perfect accuracy.”

Flowers are given to beauties. The “Flower Shooting” event at the Blue Star City Flower Festival mostly gives brave and competitive beastmen a chance to showcase their strength and charm by “shooting” flowers at beauties. Almost without exception, the person who receives the most and best potted flowers is an extraordinary beauty.

Over time, during the annual “Flower Shooting” event, many people would select the “Flowers for a Beauty” based on the quality and quantity of the flowers received.

More than a month before this year’s festival, there was much discussion and speculation in Blue Star City about who would win the title.

Some said it would be a young lady from a wealthy family, a young master from another family, or a school beauty. Others speculated that it might be an unexpected tourist visiting the festival.

To ensure their chosen beauties would stand out and win the title, many spirited and competitive young beastmen began practicing archery diligently. Fortunately, they shone in the “Flower Shooting” event at the festival, winning the beauties’ hearts.

However, no one expected this year’s “Beauty of the Flower Festival” winner to be so unexpected.

Yin Que, who happened to be passing by and wanted to join the fun, barely recognized Chu Heng from his silhouette because Chu Heng’s face was concealed.

Cand was shocked that the seemingly frail Crown Princess An Qiao possessed such extraordinary archery skills. Seeing Chu Heng win the title of “Beauty of the Flower Festival” made him laugh so hard that he nearly choked. “Hahaha… Beauty Chu…”

He could laugh at this joke for the rest of his life!

Chu Heng suddenly snapped back to reality.

Could “Beauty of the Flower Festival” be referring to him?

An Qiao had clearly heard the whispers around him, and after glancing at Chu Heng, he couldn’t help but smile and chuckle to himself.

At that moment, a staff member carefully placed the top red rose from the flower tower on the ground in front of Chu Heng. “This ‘Elf’s Kiss’ red rose is for you. Would you like us to deliver it to your residence?”

Chu Heng: “…’Elf’s Kiss’ red rose?”

“That’s right. This red rose is an extremely rare, newly released variety called ‘Elf’s Kiss.'”

An Qiao: “?”

You said this red rose is called “Elf’s Kiss”?!

An Qiao’s eyes widened as if he had been struck by lightning.

People here casually use their elf names and even unreservedly call a flower “Elf’s Kiss”!

He had given Chu Heng this pot of red roses called “Elf’s Kiss,” completely unaware.

A thin blush instantly rose on his snow-white face.

Reaching up to touch his burning cheeks, the Elf King could only secretly comfort himself. Thankfully, Chu Heng doesn’t know he’s an elf.

“An Qiao” giving the “Elf’s Kiss” red rose has nothing to do with the Elf King.

You can read the full completed story here with instant full access. ✨

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  “Gigolo” means: A man who is financially supported by a woman in exchange for companionship or romantic/sexual favors.