After Zheng Tan returned, he quickly forgot about the orchid on the balcony. At first, he wasn't sure how to give the orchid to Old Man Lan. As it sat there, eventually, it slipped from his mind. It was only Jiao Ma who watered that small pot of orchid regularly. That is, until one day Old Man Lan came knocking, inquiring about it.
Old Man Lan had bumped into Gong Qin during his post-dinner walk, and in the midst of their enjoyable chat, Gong Qin mentioned an incident she encountered on a trip some time ago. To her, a cat taking an orchid only to return it was quite an amusing story. She had not mentioned it while outside, refraining due to Ermao's advice, but it came up when she and Old Man Lan were discussing plants. Accidentally, she let it slip, which sparked Old Man Lan's curiosity, and he went straight up to the fifth floor.
