Chapter 2: The Gift

  After spending a summer vacation, when I returned to the campus in September, I felt that I had become much more mature. It was really because of those freshmen on campus who were too eye-catching, each and every one of them being enthusiastic and making it obvious that they were new students.

  I curled my lips and secretly thought in my heart: "Go ahead and show off now, just wait until military training starts and see how proud you'll be then."

  "Hey, Shu Ling." A boy passing by suddenly stopped me, "Are you returning to school today?"

  I saw it was him and recognized that he was a colleague from the same department of the student union, so I smiled: "Ah yeah, when did you arrive?"

  "I've been busy for a long time, the minister has a lot of things to do, I'm dead tired." The boy waved the materials in his hand and said, "I'll deliver the goods first, next Saturday I'll invite everyone to dinner, you must come."

  "Alright, I'll deal with you properly later." Seeing someone inviting me to dinner, how could I refuse? I smiled so wide my mouth couldn't close and immediately agreed.

  Looking back on my freshman year of student union life, I still feel like it's right in front of me. If not for the conflicts with some of the high-and-mighty big shots in the student union, I would have definitely gone to compete for a department head position.

  But now...

  I shook my head and didn't think about it anymore.

  Just then, a soft and weak voice of a primary school girl sounded behind me: "Sister, can you help me carry my luggage?"

  I turned my head, looked at her for a while, then looked at the large suitcase in her hand and the two bags on the ground. Finally, I could only surrender under the eager gaze of the little sister: "Which dormitory building are you in?"

  When I offered to help, the little sister's eyes lit up and she said: "I'm in, uh, building 5 dormitory."

  Got it, same building.

  I casually glanced at the new meal card in her hand, on which was written a name - Lu Yin Xue.

  I walked all the way with the elementary school girl to the dormitory building and sent her straight to the door of the dormitory, only then did I say: "Why did you come alone?"

  The little sister scratched her head shyly: "I'm a local, my dad and mom are busy, so I came by myself. Big sis, thank you so much! This is the cookie I baked myself, take it and try some!"

  I didn't stand on ceremony with her either, took the cookies and bid farewell, leaving.

  Back in her dormitory, Zhu Tingting went shopping at the supermarket with the dorm leader, while Shi Qin was squatting in the toilet.

  I flung my backpack onto the bed, rubbed my sore arm and muttered: "What's wrong with Lin Daiyu, I could carry it all by myself on the way here, but now that I'm at school, I suddenly can't carry it anymore, what kind of logic is this."

  "Huh? Shu Ling? What are you muttering to yourself?" Shi Qin just came out and saw me sitting alone in my seat, murmuring to myself, and couldn't help but ask.

  "Hey, nothing much. I met a little girl on the road who couldn't carry her luggage, so I helped her out. She gave me a box of cookies and said she made them herself, want to try some?" I opened the cookies and we both huddled together and ate them all up.

  After eating, I wiped my mouth and thought to myself, this girl's culinary skills are actually quite good.

  Lying on the bed, I opened my phone and saw that the group chat was constantly updating with messages. It's clear that everyone is having a great time chatting.

  Slow Sheep Little Prince: Last year when I went to Rome, I met a foreigner who looked fierce and didn't even apologize after bumping into me.

  Meow: Slowly is really too hard, this speed can still type out so many words.

  Duck Egg General: Haven't seen any foreigners lately? Otherwise, I could ask him about the scenery in Canada.

  Yīn Hún Líng: How did we suddenly start talking about foreign stories?

  Slow Sheep Little Prince: Has my hand speed improved?

  Duck Egg General: Not yet a topic brought out by handsome men @Handsome Men Warrior

  Soul Bell: ??? ??? ???

  Handsome warrior: Blame me for picking my nose

  The girl's fingers: It's like this, the handsome man's aunt came back from Holland and is going to settle down in the country. The handsome man went to pick up his aunt today and happened to mention that he would mail us some gifts.

  Soul Bell: Money, money, money.

  Director, please instruct: Let's have fun, let's have fun, let's have fun.

  Meow: ...... Meow's, the screen peeker is pregnant.

  Director, please instruct: …… I just came up for a quick inspection.

  Handsome Warrior: Come and line up, there are five gifts in total, first come first served.

  Director, please instruct me.

  Meow: I want it.

  Duck Egg General: I I I.

  Soul Bell: I want it too.

  Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf: 1

  Girl's fingers: Ahhh! My speed is actually slower than Slowly's!

  Handsome warrior: lighting candles for the maiden

  Smiling, I turned off the phone and got up to clean up. Not having come back for a summer vacation, the desk was covered with dust, and it couldn't be inhabited without a good cleaning.

  After finishing sweeping, I took another look at myself and found that I still lacked something, so I called the dormitory director to ask them to help me buy one when they came back.

  I had already received the new book at the end of last semester. After a week of ordinary classes, I suddenly received an express delivery message.

  At this time, I had long forgotten what Jiang Zhun said about the gift. It wasn't until after I opened the package in a daze that I found a small card inside.

  Is the wolf-tooth pendant still in good condition?

  I was stunned and looked at the crystal ball decoration in my hand again, suddenly realizing that this was the gift Jiang Zhun had mentioned? But...

  Isn't this something you can buy for 20 or 30 yuan at any street stall?

  An apple-sized crystal ball, inside which is a small white house with a red picket fence and a pointed roof, an apple tree, and two little wolves sitting and standing, their lively eyes gazing out at the world outside the crystal ball.

  I put it on my desk, poked at it a couple of times, and then lost interest, dropping it to do something else.

  Who would have thought, Jiang Zhun's phone call came in the evening: "What are you busy with, little sister?"

  I threw down my pen and said, "Do your homework. You're as idle as a second-generation official's elder brother."

  Jiang Zhun lost his smile: "Are you so against wealth?"

  "You also know you're rich, yet you still try to fool me with this 20-30 yuan street stall stuff." I admit that my mouth is not one to spare people.

  "Street stall goods?" Jiang Zhen was confused, thought for a moment, and then hesitantly asked, "You're not referring to that crystal ball, are you?" He had called today to ask if the express delivery had arrived, but he didn't expect someone to mistake such a high-end item for street stall goods. Anyone would want to roll their eyes at this.

  I didn't catch the sorrow and indignation in his tone, he said seriously: "What else could it be besides a crystal ball."

  Jiang Zhun swore on his head that if someone was in front of him right now, he would definitely give her a slap.

  "This is not street stall goods."

  "Really?" I looked at the crystal ball on the table in surprise and shook my head, "Then you've been cheated."

  Jiang Zhun: "......"

  Realizing I might have misunderstood, I hastily said: "Hey, senior, what's the origin of this thing? Tell me about it."

  Originally, Jiang Zhun was about to hang up the phone, but hearing my pleasant tone, he also calmed down and thought to himself that he was really getting more and more out of touch with age, still losing his temper with a young girl.

  "You should know that foreign divination and China's divination have a big difference. Just like the bell, soul flag and so on are authoritative in China's soul technique, crystal ball is also famous in foreign witchcraft."

  I nodded, this is the most basic knowledge, every soul catcher knows it. But reacting to myself nodding, he couldn't see it either, and hurriedly said: "Uh-huh I know."

  "This crystal ball was dug up by my aunt from an ancient castle, when the owner of the castle was auctioning off his ancestors' things, and it just so happened that this thing was among them. My aunt thought it was small and lovely, so she bought it back and left it at home, never touching it again. This time she returned to her hometown to settle down, and brought this thing back with her. What do you think?"

  "What's going on?" I asked along with the momentum.

  Jiang Zhen was very satisfied with my reaction and immediately said: "I found that it is also a law enforcement instrument."