Huh? There's a magic school here.

A week after that day, the leaves on my body turned green again.

My two-legged creature is very happy; it will hug the other two-legged creatures and cheer joyfully.

Perhaps influenced by it, my body began to undergo new changes. On a pitch-black night, a red flower bud sprouted on my body.

I finally understand what the two-legged creatures meant by "sun crystals." They're like small pebbles, but unlike pebbles, they gradually grow larger and emit a soft, faint glow in the dark night.

My friends are very curious about this change in me; perhaps they see their future selves reflected in me.

As dawn broke, the glimmer of light from the flower buds was almost imperceptible under the sunlight. Even so, it still made my two-legged creature let out a scream.

"Ah~ Beretta, look! My little seedling has sprouted flower buds! It's going to bloom!"

The other two-legged creature covered its forehead, looking helpless.

"Alright, alright. Erlinda, can you stop being so dramatic? Sunflowers are meant to bear fruit! Otherwise, where would we harvest sun crystals?"

"Yes, Erlinda. But speaking of which, your seedling is growing better; it was the first to sprout flower buds. I wonder when my Sisi will be able to bloom!"

"It should be soon, since they were all planted in the same batch and are only a few days apart!"

"Yeah, that's true. Let's go, Violet, Erlinda, Beretta! Let's hurry up and have breakfast. The house-elves' cooking skills have improved lately! The egg pancake they made yesterday was really good!"

"Yes, yes. I ate two yesterday. I heard that Principal Andres gave some food magazines as Christmas gifts to the house-elves."

"That's wonderful! I was so sick of eating pumpkin pancakes and French fries last semester!"

"Let's go, let's go. Don't be late!"

The two-legged creatures chattered away, while the rest of us continued to diligently absorb the sunlight.

At first, as usual, we diligently absorbed sunlight and nutrients from the soil to grow. But today I discovered that some of the sunlight and nutrients I absorbed were not actually absorbed by me, but were instead absorbed by the sun crystals.

But I'm not worried, because the sun crystals are part of my body too, aren't they? I'm even happy about it! I want them to grow quickly so I can help my two-legged creature, which seems to really want them.

Since the two-legged creature can't produce sun crystals on its own, I'll give it mine; it will be very happy.

During the same day, Xiaohua, Xixi, and Xiaoyang also sprouted flower buds.

When the two-legged creatures returned from hunting in the evening, they were very happy to see us.

"Hey, Erlinda! Look, the sunflowers are glowing!"

"Hmm, they're not glaring and I can even feel a faint warmth. No wonder they're called sunflowers; the sunshine isn't for nothing!"

"They're more like table lamps, which are much more convenient than table lamps or oil lamps!"

Ten more days passed, and our flower buds grew larger and larger, as did the sun crystals inside.

The two-legged creatures were very happy, but a faint sense of sadness permeated the four of us.

As the sun crystals slowly grow, we gradually realize that the time when flowers bloom is the time when we are about to die.

All the sunlight and nutrients we've absorbed these past few days have been absorbed by the sun crystals, and they even absorb the sunlight and nutrients that were already in our bodies at night.

Although everyone knew their days were numbered, no one spoke. We continued to do everything we could, absorbing the sunlight, gazing quietly at the distant mountains, and watching the two-legged creatures frolic and live their lives.

The first to leave us was Xixi. This frail little friend quietly bloomed one afternoon, without telling us, perhaps to spare us sadness. We only realized Xixi was gone when we heard the sound of sun crystals falling to the ground.

We tried calling out to our companions, but there was no response; we didn't even have time to say goodbye.

That night, the two-legged creature named Wendy was overjoyed because it had obtained more than ten Sun Crystals. The other two-legged creatures were also fascinated for a while, and Wendy generously shared one with each of them. It probably didn't know that Sisi was already dead, because Sisi's body was still green; only we knew it was dead.

In the night, Xiao Yang suddenly woke me and Xiao Hua. We knew that it was dying too.

"Little Seedling, Little Flower. I might not be able to go to the distant mountains!"

After saying this, Xiaoyang's flower bloomed. The same sun crystals scattered all over the ground, their crisp sound waking the two-legged creatures.

"What happened? Did any of you get up and break something?"

"Violai, go back to sleep. That's the sound of your sunflower blooming and sun crystals falling to the ground."

"Oh, I'll pack it tomorrow morning. I'm so sleepy!"

In the end, only Xiaohua and I were left, but we believed that our time was running out.

Little Flower left on the afternoon of the second day, and it made a point of telling me before it left.

Goodbye, my friends. I'm so glad I met you all in this lifetime!

I was very sad when I saw Xiaohua leave, but just as I was feeling sad, a strange feeling flowed through me.

Suddenly I realized that I was about to bloom too. But I hadn't even seen my two-legged creature one last time, I hadn't even watered it. How could I just die like this? I desperately tried to control this feeling, I desperately absorbed sunlight in the hope of living a little longer.

Finally, after more than an hour, my two-legged creature returned. At that moment, I could no longer control myself, and the flowers bloomed.

I felt the sunlight for the last time, gazed at the distant mountains for the last time, and took one last look at my two-legged creature.

Goodbye, two-legged creature! I hope you'll be happy from now on.

"Hey, look! Beretta, the seedling has blossomed! Wow, so many sun crystals!"

Erlinda stepped forward and gathered up the scattered sun crystals, counting them in total—twenty-three in total.

"Alright, we have a herbalism class tomorrow, so we can return the flowerpot to Professor Sprout!"

"Huh? Why are we returning the seedlings?"

"Hey, can't you pay a little more attention? Didn't the professor say that when the sunflowers bloom, their lives end? We can plant new sunflowers!"

"What?! You mean the little seedlings are dead?"

"Yes!"

"Why? I don't want Xiao Miao to die!"

"Alas, just as the sun sets, the sunflower dies after it blooms. This is something no one can change."

"Will you continue planting them in the future?"

"Of course!"

"Then you don't need to return the flowerpot! Just take the sun crystal to exchange for the seeds."