After visiting the museum, it was time for lunch.
Ruan Shiqing took the cubs to have lunch and then went to the Andes Botanical Garden.
On the way to the Botanical Garden, we passed the Parka Palace. Luther stopped at the square of the Parka Palace, lowered the car window, pointed at the magnificent palace and said, "That's the Parka Palace. In the past, the security was so strict that ordinary people could get close to the palace to take pictures. But since the suicide attack, the guards have become tighter, and perhaps ordinary people can no longer get close. At most, they can only watch from a distance in the square."
Ruan Shiqing raised his head and looked around, and saw that the magnificent palace was filled with soldiers armed with live ammunition.
"Do you want to go down? The history of this palace is as long as the Galactic Empire. It was built with the combined strength of the four ancient clans. Is there any palace more magnificent than the Parka Palace?" Luther asked.
"That's enough." Ruan Shiqing held down the eager kid and glanced at Rong Heng lying in 09's arms. He felt that it was too dangerous to just stay here, so he urged, "There's nothing good here, let's go directly to the botanical garden."
Although Rong Heng thought that many people would recognize them, Ruan Shiqing still felt guilty.
It was really unsuitable for a crown prince of an empire who was apparently dead, and four petty wanted criminals, to parade around in the royal palace.
Rong Heng's eyes were always on him. Seeing his nervous look, he guessed what he was thinking.
He hesitated for a moment, then tentatively moved closer, rubbed his arm, and typed again: [It’s nothing, don’t be nervous.]
Ruan Shiqing felt a fluffy and soft touch on his arm. He turned around and met a pair of wet brown eyes.
The tiny cub, with its eyes wide open, trying to comfort him, was really... not credible at all, and instead made people more worried - a snow-white and fluffy cub would always easily arouse people's desire to protect it.
Even if we know that the other party is strong, it is always difficult to avoid the protective instinct that arises automatically when humans face the weak.
Ruan Shiqing smiled at him, and finally couldn't help rubbing his soft head: "Yeah, I know."
Rong Heng narrowed his eyes when he touched him, and when he saw that his expression seemed less solemn, his mind became active again.
He felt that Ruan Shiqing did not seem to reject his closeness.
Maybe because they had been together for a long time in the form of cubs, many small things had become a habit. Even though he knew that he was not a real cub, Ruan Shiqing often subconsciously treated him as Snowball.
This was a wrong signal, as it actually proved that the other party had not become estranged from him because of his concealment.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who was quickly making plans in his mind, took a hesitant and tentative step forward.
He pushed the little fox that had occupied Ruan Shiqing's thigh to the side and successfully climbed onto the other's leg.
During this process, he had been carefully paying attention to the other person's expression. Seeing that he was not unhappy, he finally sat steadily on his legs. Then he stretched his head and pretended to look at the scenery outside the window.
But His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was really interested in the scenery outside the window, so he pretended to be interested for three minutes, then yawned, found a comfortable position and lay down, ready to take a nap.
The little cubs made a fuss for most of the night last night, and I got up early this morning, so I couldn't sleep well at all.
After lying down for a while, he fell asleep.
Most of his face was buried in his belly, with only a pair of snow-white ears exposed.
Ruan Shiqing lowered his eyes to look at him, and flicked his ears lightly with his fingers. The sleeping cub hummed, his ears twitched, and his head buried under his belly again.
So cute.
When the image of the other person's human form emerged in his mind, that face that was always serious and dignified, Ruan Shiqing smiled and pinched the tip of his ear, but thought in his heart, he actually showed it before, he is quite good at pretending.
The way he was playing with the kids yesterday, he actually looked much more mature than them.
The botanical garden is quite far from the museum and it took an hour and a half to get there.
Rong Heng woke up from a nap and just arrived at the botanical garden.
The cubs had already rushed down excitedly, but he shamelessly continued to pretend to be asleep.
Ruan Shiqing really picked him up.
After getting off the car, Rong Heng pretended to open his eyes and pretended to have just woken up. Ruan Shiqing really didn't ask him to get off, so he simply pretended not to know and continued to nestle comfortably in his sweetheart's arms.
At this time, the cubs had already rushed into the botanical garden happily. Standing in the distance, I waved at them and urged them to hurry up.
Ruan Shiqing shook his head and followed him.
The impatient cubs waited for them to catch up and then ran away again.
Unlike the bustling city of steel and concrete, the botanical garden remains undeveloped. Lush trees and colorful flowers can be seen everywhere. The plants in this botanical garden are more numerous than those in all of Sikkim.
It is said that this botanical garden preserves the mother plants of the entire empire, both extinct and non-extinct. Although they seem to be everywhere, in fact, every flower, grass, and tree has a number, and it takes a huge amount of manpower and material resources to maintain them.
Even the air in the botanical garden is different from that outside.
From the moment I stepped into the botanical garden, I seemed to feel lighter. No wonder the little ones couldn't wait to have fun as soon as they came in.
Ruan Shiqing followed closely behind, reminding the cubs not to run too far.
The little dragon cub, who was running happily at the front, responded perfunctorily and continued to run forward. As he ran, he looked around with his eyes wide open, his expression full of excitement.
He had never seen so many plants, some of which were much more beautiful than the falling star vines he carefully cultivated at home.
Even the air is filled with the unique fragrance of plants.
The little dragon raised his head, took a deep breath, and happily flapped his bat wings to continue running forward. However, after only running two steps, he bumped into someone head-on.
The rebound force made him fall to the ground. He covered his hurt head and gasped, tears streaming down his face due to the pain.
This guy’s legs are so stiff!
"Are you okay?" A pair of white and slender hands helped him up, and the other party squatted down, as if to check his bumped forehead.
The little dragon cub was not willing to let strangers touch him. He covered his forehead and took a step back, saying in a buzzing voice: "Sorry."
After that, he finally understood the other person's appearance and was stunned for a moment: "You!"
He had a deep memory of the other person's red hair, the one who lived on the same floor as them.
"It doesn't matter." Garland smiled at him and checked his forehead while he was stunned: "Fortunately, you are not injured."
The other party was so polite that the little dragon cub felt embarrassed. After all, he had bumped into the other party on the road. He put his paws behind his back, raised his chin and said proudly: "I am not that easy to get hurt, you don't have to worry."
Seeing his cocky look, Garland's smile seemed more genuine.
Although it was just a dragon cub of unknown origin, the ancient human who adopted him seemed to have raised him very well.
Garland stood up and greeted Ruan Shiqing who was striding towards him: "Hello, nice to see you again. You should still remember me, right?"
Of course Ruan Shiqing remembered him. He was a guest living on the same floor as him. He had met him before in the beauty salon on Julian Street. His long red hair was very iconic.
But when Xu knew that there were five more wanted criminals in his home, he became much more vigilant and subconsciously became wary of this man whom he had met several times.
"Hello." He asked tentatively, "Are you visiting the botanical garden alone?"
"Yeah." The other party seemed to be aware of his vigilance and looked very calm: "I have some research related to plants. This time I came to participate in the academic exchange meeting of the Mechanics Association, and I just took the opportunity to come to the Botanical Garden."
"Are you also here to attend the academic exchange meeting of the Machinists Association?" Ruan Shiqing was stunned for a moment, and his guard was slightly dissipated.
If you attend an exchange meeting, it is normal to meet by chance.
The hotel he stayed in was very close to the venue of the exchange meeting, the Uzbekistan Convention and Exhibition Center. In the past two days, many scholars who attended the conference had checked in. When passing through the lobby, he would occasionally hear a few words. They might have made an appointment with friends for a small gathering, or they might want to travel in Sikkim for a few days. In short, they had arrived.
The other party seemed very surprised: "Are you also?"
He took the initiative to hand over a business card, and his expression became much more enthusiastic: "I am from Agana. Do you know Agana? It is a planet very far away from Sikkim. I heard that the original author of the paper on the material feasibility was invited to this exchange meeting, so I took the trouble to come here."
Ruan Shiqing took his business card, which only had his name and contact number printed on it.
"Mr. Hawthorne, nice to meet you." Ruan Shiqing put away the business card and extended his hand to the other party: "My name is Ruan Qing."
After a brief handshake, Garland seemed very happy to meet a kindred spirit: "I am very familiar with Sikkim, and I have friends here too. Can I go to the convention center with you on the day of the exchange meeting?"
Ruan Shiqing did not refuse and nodded in agreement.
Seeing that he agreed, the other party's smile became brighter. Perhaps because he didn't want to disturb their interest in playing, he took the initiative to say goodbye: "I would like to take this opportunity to observe more plants. I will chat with you later. I will come to see you on the day of the exchange meeting."
After speaking, he waved at the other party and took a step forward.
This little episode was soon forgotten, and Ruan Shiqing continued to visit the botanical garden with the kids.
Garland, who had said goodbye to them, found a secluded corner and sent a short message: [Get me an invitation to the Machinists Association Academic Exchange Conference.]