Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
The end-of-term examinations ended during his sister’s cold war. The students dragged their luggage and gradually returned to their homes for the summer break. Within a day or two, the initial crowded school swiftly quieted down.
The students in their fourth year of university bid farewell to their schooling life reluctantly. From now on, they would step into society and say goodbye to their life as a student. Of course, those who did not have enough points would still have to remain in school and study hard for the next semester.
This afternoon, Qin Ze and his roommates were playing games at the Internet cafe and conveniently helped Thin, Wild Waist to rise in her ranks. They had also agreed on a ‘separation meal’ at night. Qin Ze sent his sister a message and said that he would not be home for dinner as he was hanging out with his roommates.
As expected, the message got lost in the deep blue sea. After the misunderstanding, Qin Baobao felt that her brother’s thoughts were very dangerous; and his attitude despicable and intolerable so she did not want to talk to Qin Ze for the rest of summer break.
“Guru, let’s play another round. Invite me,” Thin, Wild Waist messaged Qin Ze privately.
Qin Ze ignored her.
Thin, Wild Waist kept copying and pasting; even through the screen, one could feel her stubbornness.
“I have things on at night,” Qin Ze explained and exited the game.
Qin Ze treated the separation meal at a small restaurant by the road. They ordered a full table of dishes, and everyone had beer except for Qin Ze as his injury had not recovered fully yet.
“It’s good that you aren’t drinking. When we’re all drunk later, remember to carry us back to the dorm.” Li Liang laughed as his glass bumped against Zhao Baliang and Liu Ziqiang’s.
Qin Ze did not have much appetite. He lit his cigarette and squinted his eyes as he puffed.
The four of them joked around and laughed, but their hearts had slight sadness of leaving and reluctance. They still had one year left until graduation, and after their internship, they had a some time left after their internship to complete their theses. However, everyone knew that it was temporary.
After the completion of the theses, everyone would go their separate ways. This semester could be seen as a conclusion to their university life. The most comforting thing was that Li Liang and Qin Ze were locals in Shanghai while Zhao Baliang and Liu Ziqiang chose to stay in Shanghai for their internship, and they might just stay and build their family here.
“Time really flies. In the blink of an eye, it’s time for our internship. Another blink, and we’ll graduate.” Li Liang patted this shoulder and patted that shoulder. He kept saying, “Don’t forget your friends when you become rich.”
When it was Qin Ze’s turn, he changed and said, “If your sister still doesn’t have a boyfriend, hurry introduce her to me.”
Qin Ze told him to get lost.
Time really passed very quickly, and their university life was ending before he could even use the system to the fullest and act cool. He thought… if he had obtained the system a few years earlier, he would have become the number-one legendary character in their school; the oppa1 in the girls’ eyes and the respected brothers in the boys’ eyes.
If the school prince was not Zhang Mingyu, it would have been him—Qin Ze. The school prince, Qin Ze, had held countless waists and hands; the school prince, Qin Ze, had long been the old chauffeur at the pinnacle of life. He need not suffer from Qin Baobao’s mockeries.
When Qin Ze thought of the system, he clenched his teeth in hatred. If it was not for it obtaining energy without a warning, he would not have been misunderstood by Qin Baobao. Just the thought of something like snooping around his sister’s underwear was humiliating.
“Master, you have been awarded a Points Mall voucher. Please accept it.”
Qin Ze was shocked. “System, do you finally know that it was your fault? Is this compensation for me?”
Conveniently, he turned on the Points Mall screen; and the light blue 3D image showed up. On the right-hand corner, there was a voucher icon.
“Master, you’re really the laziest Master I have met.” The system’s voice was filled with reluctance as if it had expected better from him. “After my previous few Masters obtained me, it was as if they had obtained a treasure, and without a fail, all of them started working hard and did their best to improve. In a short time, all of them started anew and achieved great results.
“However, look at yourself. Ask your conscience; have you ever planned for your future? Have you ever put in painstaking efforts and worked hard? Other than flirting with your sister all day and accepting missions passively, what else did you do?”
“I admit if you say that I don’t have the heart to improve, but it’s a pure accusation if you say that I flirt with Qin Baobao.” Qin Ze pointed and opened up the voucher. He cursed, “F*ck!”
His roommates were taken aback, but Qin Ze waved his hands to signal them to ignore him as he was talking to the system. “Excellence in superior culinary skills? What do I need this for? To change my career and become a chef? Besides, isn’t 100 points too expensive? Are you sure you’re not cheating me?”
“Any superior skills will require 300 points. It’s to your advantage, Master.” The system replied, “Please don’t misunderstand. I gave you the voucher not to reward you. I just hope you exchange all your points out. Any government wouldn’t like an account that doesn’t move funds.”
“Superior skills…” Qin Ze looked at his points that were more than 500, and his cheapskate mentality acted up. After a slight hesitation, he chose to exchange for it.
At 7:30 at night, Qin Baobao drove her little red horse and drove to the arrival hall of Hongqiao Airport.
She came to fetch someone from the airport. One of her high school classmates boarded a flight from Beijing and came all the way to Shanghai to depend on her.
At the arrival hall on the first floor, it was filled with tons of people. Most of them were black car chauffeurs and private-hire drivers who refused to queue. They asked everyone they met, “Do you want a ride? Do you want a ride? You don’t need to queue.”
Qin Baobao, with her voluptuous front and behind and her long legs, stood amidst the crowd like mesmerizing scenery, attracting the stares from men around her.
Not long later, a huge wave of people came out; and when the drivers saw that, they all rushed forward to get customers.
Qin Baobao stood beautifully, and her gaze kept sweeping through the crowd of people. Finally, she found her beautiful best friend that stood out like a crane amongst chickens. She waved her hand enthusiastically, and her front kept shaking and sparkled under the light.
Amidst the crowd bustling out, Wang Zijin immediately saw Qin Baobao who was tip-toeing and waving her arms frantically. She pulled her detailed luggage and walked over.
Qin Baobao had one hand on her hip, and the other pointed at Wang Zijin. “The heavenly king covers the tiger.”
Wang Zijin laughed warmly. “The pagoda calms the river spirit!”
“No, no. I’ll give you another chance.” Qin Baobao laughed out loud.
Wang Zijin pouted and said helplessly, “Chicken mushroom stew.”
Qin Baobao hugged her best friend, and she giggled, “Tissue1, I miss you so much.”
“Baobao, your figure is getting better.” Wang Zijin pushed Qin Baobao away and sized her up. She teased, “It’s time to find a boyfriend, or are you already nourished by love?”
“Stop teasing me. I’m still leading my single life.”
Qin Baobao drove her best friend out of the airport and onto the highway. It was currently the after-work peak period so the roads were bursting with cars, and the little red horse kept stopping and going.
Through the window, Wang Zijin looked at the dazzling night view crossed with neon lights. She sighed, “I haven’t been to Shanghai in a while.”
Qin Baobao immediately attacked her, “After graduating from high school, you followed your family to Beijing. We haven’t met in five years, right?”
“Am I not back now?” Wang Zijin smiled lightly. “Baobao, is it really okay if I stay at your place? Didn’t you say that you lived with my brother?”
Qin Baobao’s face darkened. “Don’t remind me of him.”
Wang Zijin was taken aback and glanced at her. “Are you guys quarreling? You often praise your brother to me through Weixin. You even said that you wanted to introduce him to me.”
“I told you not to remind me of him,” Qin Baobao said in frustration.
“Okay, okay. I won’t talk about him.” Wang Zijin could not do anything about it. “I’m just afraid that your brother will be against it. Besides, it’s inconvenient with a man there.”
After some serious thought, Qin Baobao really felt that it was inconvenient. A moment of carelessness, and her intimate clothing was used by Qin Ze to do dirty things.
“That’s my house. What opinions can he have? If you think it’s inconvenient, I’ll tell him to move back home. Anyway, it’s summer break.”
“Don’t do it. This way, I will offend your entire family. What would your parents think?”
“Aiya, you haven’t eaten, right? I’ll tell Ah Ze… to go home and cook. I haven’t eaten anyway.” Qin Baobao took out her phone, unlocked it, and passed it to her best friend. “Help me make a call. I only have six points left for my driver’s license. I can’t be caught on the cameras.”
Wang Zijin took the phone and opened the contacts page. She remembered Qin Baobao’s brother was called… Qin Ze, but she could not find his contact.
“Your brother is called Qin Ze, right?”
“Yes…” Qin Baobao paused and suddenly realized. “Little Zeze.”
“Little Zeze…” Wang Zijin tried to hold her laughter back and added ‘Little’ in the search bar. Immediately, ‘Little Zeze’ popped up.
She made the call, and after a few seconds, the call connected. “Sister, what’s the matter?”
The fellow on the other end seemed to be a little shocked.
Wang Zijin pressed her lips together and smiled. “Hello, are you Qin Ze? I’m your sister’s classmate. Baobao is driving the car; she can’t call now.”
“Oh… hello.”
Wang Zijin answered with ‘mm’ before looking at Qin Baobao.
Qin Baobao demanded, “Qin Ze, my classmate will come and eat at our house tonight. Go buy some food. We’ll arrive in an hour.”
“Understood,” Qin Ze said loudly on the other end, “My dear sister, what would you like to have today?”
Qin Baobao said, “Chicken mushroom stew… what about you?”
Wang Zijin thought for a while. “I’m quite used to Shanghai’s food. I’m not picky or allergic to anything.”
“You can decide on the rest. The bigger, the better.”
The call ended.
Wang Zijin laughed. “Your relationship with your brother is so good, unlike in my house.”
Qin Baobao did not reply.
He was not so obedient usually; it was because he had a guilty conscience.
“Actually, we can just eat a meal outside. There’s no need for so much trouble.”
“Absolutely not. The small restaurants don’t serve nice food, and I don’t have enough money for a good meal. Let me tell you, I’m so poor now…”
…
Qin Ze could not help but to end the gathering early. Luckily, his roommates had drunk to their fill; and they stumbled a little as they walked. If they continued drinking, he would really have to carry them back to their dorm.
First, he went to the market to buy ingredients. In the past, he—who had never picked groceries—actually had learned the ability of doing so without a teacher perfectly. He could easily differentiate fresh vegetables even if it was drizzled with water.
At eight in the evening, he rushed home and started cooking.
He just exchanged for excellence in superior cooking skills, and it was useful in such a short time.