NABC Chapter 138 Days of Hard Work
Chapter 138 Days of Hard Work
Chapter 139 Days of Hard Work
The open-air hot spring has a unique charm. The wind blows along the eaves, and leaves are blown down, drifting into the pool and swirling on the surface.
Xia Li reached out and scooped up a piece, holding it in her hand and examining it from all angles.
The leaves are slender, with slightly yellow edges and a green center.
"Do bamboo shed its leaves?" she asked.
"Yes," Song Che said. "Everything may fall, but it will grow back."
Xia Li placed the leaf on the water's surface and watched it drift away.
"I've never been to a hot spring before." Xia Li thought for a moment. "There is hot water in Hite, but not a pool this big. Most of the time, we shower in our rooms."
"How does it feel?"
Xia Li thought for a moment, "Comfortable."
Song Che smiled. "That's fine then."
The two of them settled down to soak in the water, watching the bamboo, the stars, and listening to the wind.
A burst of laughter came from the opposite bank; people were chatting happily. A few seconds later, someone else spoke on the shore behind them—it was the curly-haired woman from before, talking to another person about children.
Xia Li listened for a few minutes, hearing things like "final exam results," "tutoring fees," and "I'm so angry"; she didn't understand them, but they sounded somewhat interesting.
"What were they talking about?"
"Um?"
"I don't really understand."
"Don't understand what?"
"My child," Xia Li said, "is driven to madness by her grades and tutoring."
Song Che thought for a moment, "That's what mothers talk about."
"Become a mother?"
"Um."
Xia Li remained silent for a while. Becoming a mother is a very normal thing, but she still couldn't think about the process in detail.
"Witches don't have mothers," Xia Li said calmly. "Or rather, they don't know who their mothers are. We were all picked up by the old witch from somewhere, or given away by someone who didn't want us anymore. Nobody ever asked."
Song Che didn't say anything. This story was obviously a children's story, meant to fool kids. It probably wouldn't even fool a child, but it would be just right to fool Xia Li.
However, the witch's mother should be the source of magic, as the witches recorded in the Hit Continent were all born naturally.
Just like Sun Wukong, he absorbed the essence of the sun and moon and sprang from a stone.
After emerging, it descends to become king.
You know what, Xia Li did exactly the same thing.
"Xia Li, actually, in our area, my mother is considered half a mother to you, you know?"
"I know." Xia Li nodded. She had read through the entire process of her boyfriend and marriage, including the etiquette and customs of both sets of parents.
Song Che didn't hear Xia Li talk about anything else, so he stopped talking and stretched out his body to relax in the hot spring.
Xia Li didn't have anything to ask. She imitated Song Che, stretching her arms and bending her legs.
—So comfortable.
The fatigue left my body, but I felt quite sleepy. I felt warm and cozy all over, and I wanted to hug something to sleep.
Xia Li felt sleepy.
She had been playing for too long today and was exhausted. After soaking in the hot spring for a while, she immediately felt sleepy.
She lay on the shore, her head tilted to the side.
"Why don't we go back first?" Song Che suggested. "I'm a little sleepy."
"And Jiang Shuo and Zhang Hanyu—"
"Don't worry about them. They probably just came back from outside, and they didn't play for long this afternoon, so they're full of energy. If they come over and cause trouble, we'll be exhausted today." Song Che could see that Xia Li was sleepy, and he also felt sleepy himself.
At home, he doesn't exercise much except for the walks Xia Li takes him for after dinner. So he often has trouble sleeping at night and feels incredibly energetic. Today he experienced that firsthand and was completely exhausted.
Sleeping—it feels so good!
They soaked for about ten minutes, feeling very comfortable. They could have soaked longer, but Song Che was afraid they would fall asleep in the hot spring.
Back at the hotel, Xia Li fell asleep the moment she hit the bed. She crawled under the covers, wrapped herself up, and the covers immediately turned into a caterpillar, rolling around a few times before going silent.
She's fast asleep.
Song Che wasn't that dramatic. He tidied himself up, turned off the lights, and went to sleep. But today was different from usual; he fell asleep quickly, and after falling asleep, that familiar world reappeared.
I don't know if it's because I'm tired today or for some other reason.
Song Che felt that this dream was more real.
But the things in the dream were too strange and bizarre. It was like this in the neighborhood, it was like this in my hometown, and it was even more outrageous in the hotel. The world in the dream was still a hotel, but it was already dilapidated.
The reason Song Che could recognize the hotel was because he vaguely recognized the bed he was on.
Except for the bed, this hotel was no different from ruins.
Time has eroded this hotel, even more severely than it has in my hometown and my neighborhood.
wrong.
It's not just a matter of time.
Song Che stood amidst the ruins, looking around.
This world —
It's practically the end of the world.
Not a single building was intact; ruins and debris were everywhere.
Based on Song Che's experience in Hitt, these ruins showed signs of battle.
A battle took place here, and the battle shattered everything around it.
Is that really everything?
Song Che looked into the distance, but unfortunately, his view was limited.
However, outside the ruins, he saw a relatively intact area, his own neighborhood, which seemed out of place in the ruins of this world.
Although it was far away, Song Che was certain that the area had not collapsed.
The buildings stood out from the ruins, appearing precarious, like a boulder on the edge of a cliff, ready to fall at any moment.
What's wrong with the world?
Song Che had never taken his dream seriously, since everything in a dream was fake. But the ruins and the apocalyptic scene worried him. Everything here had been ravaged by time, and it seemed like this place was—a long time from now.
Song Che deduced these pieces of information.
He thought about it again.
Could it be that I am a prophet?
Things in your dreams will come true.
Will the real world turn out like this?
It seems reasonable, but it actually has no basis.
There are still bad women in this world; let's speculate.
The wicked woman is the final boss; she destroyed the world.
No, no, that's not right.
Then why did she give herself gold coins and have Tao Xiang perform the blessing?
The Fox King —
A bad woman, someone I know?
Song Che might not recognize her, but Xia Li might.
That wicked woman is also very powerful in magic; she might even be a witch. This place might really be a witch's death star, where witches all come. Although that wicked woman likes to beat up Momoka, she's not truly evil. Therefore, her relationship with Xia Li is—
Song Che made a simple guess.
If this wicked woman is a witch, then there's a high probability that she knows Xia Li. Judging from her hair color, she seems to be Xia Li's sister or something, but strangely—witches don't have twins.
That's Xia Li—her mother?
Song Che shook his head.
He sat on the ruins, utterly bored, so he reached into his pocket—and there he found his phone.
A cell phone in a dream.
He opened it and took a look.
He woke up at just one glance.
Outside the window, it was already daylight.
He opened his eyes in bed, his phone clutched in his hand. He subconsciously looked down at the time on his phone: 8 a.m.
Time in the dream is ————
It was 8 a.m. in the year 9699999903.
"Good morning, Song Che." Xia Li came out of the bathroom. "I'm all packed. Are you going back?"
"—Hmm." Song Che was still pondering what that time meant when he heard Xia Li's words and belatedly realized, "No rush, we'll check out at noon. Did you sleep well last night?"
"I slept very well, but my body aches today." Xia Li rubbed her arm. "My arm hurts, and my lower abdomen and legs also hurt."
""
Song Che moved slightly and realized he was experiencing the same symptoms.
That's because I don't exercise regularly.
He got up to wash up, brushed his teeth, and leaned against the bathroom wall to ask Xia Li, "Do you think that bad woman knows you?"
"Is it the one who bullied Tao Xiang, and the one who kept us trapped in Taixi last time?"
"Yes, the last time I was trapped in Taixi, that was in a dream."
"I don't know her."
"Could it be another witch?"
"It's possible; her magic is very powerful."
"I see." Song Che was at a loss. Xia Li said she didn't know her, so she definitely didn't know her. She didn't have this black-haired woman in her memory. "Okay, I'll just ask casually. I'll see if those two are awake."
77
Song Che washed his face and went out to call Jiang Shuo and Zhang Hanyu.
I didn't pay attention to them last night; I don't know how long they soaked in the water.
When the two came out, they were not in good spirits. Zhang Hanyu's hair was even messier than Jiang Shuo's, which showed that they had been playing games all night.
"Jiang Shuo!"
"What are you doing? It's so early in the morning. I didn't do anything to you."
"You're dead!"
"What do you mean, 'I'm dead or not'? What are you talking about?"
"I told you, you might as well just die." Zhang Hanyu rubbed his eyes. "Today is the last day to play. I have to go home and study. Jiang Shuo deliberately tricked me last night, preventing me from experiencing the joy of the game!"
"Did you do this on purpose?" Song Che turned his head and asked.
"The first part was intentional—I really couldn't beat them later." Jiang Shuo was overjoyed. Needless to say, the second part was also intentional. "Besides, studying is so important. School starts in a few days, and you know there will be an entrance exam. If you don't do well, your homeroom teacher will talk to you."
"Go to hell!"
"You really don't know how to speak politely."
Jiang Shuo followed them downstairs, making sarcastic remarks as he went.
Zhang Hanyu had to go back in the morning. Her parents were very strict, and it was already considered extremely disrespectful for her to stay out all day and night. If she didn't go back soon, she would be finished.
The rented car was right next to us, and the driver was waiting for us.
After putting away their equipment, the group got in the car and headed back. They realized they'd have to wait a long time before they could ski again.
A long time from now, we might not be able to play together anymore.
At that time, I guess I would have finished the college entrance exam and then gone to university. Since the universities were in different places, I wouldn't be able to have fun.
As the car drove back, Zhang Hanyu remained by the window, not saying a word, just looking outside.
Jiang Shuo sat next to her, unusually quiet for a moment, but less than ten minutes later he started muttering again, "Are you really okay going back? Or should I tell your parents that I insisted on dragging you to play?"
"You've said more." Zhang Hanyu didn't turn around.
Why?
"They think you're a bad influence on me."
Jiang Shuo choked for a moment, "How did I corrupt you?"
Zhang Hanyu finally turned to look at him, her eyes filled with weariness. "Aren't all parents like this? Let's not talk about this. I don't want to talk about my parents."
Jiang Shuo opened his mouth, not really wanting to argue. Sometimes he wanted to comfort Zhang Hanyu, saying that strict parents were a good thing, but Zhang Hanyu's parents were a bit too strict. He didn't know the specifics, but after spending time with Zhang Hanyu, he found that she was a girl who was both strong and fragile.
The car wasn't going fast. The driver was playing an old song. He was a man of experience, and he listened to the kids chatting without saying a word, keeping quiet.
The car continued driving, and a different song was played. The driver hummed along for a couple of lines, but his tune was even worse than Jiang Shuo's.
Jiang Shuo whispered to Zhang Hanyu, "Our master has a very unique singing style."
Zhang Hanyu closed his eyes but nodded.
After driving for about an hour, we entered the city. The streets began to bustle with activity; shops were open, people were buying groceries, and children were darting around on bicycles. The driver honked twice, and the child glanced back before riding even faster.
Zhang Hanyu opened his eyes, looked outside, and sat up straight.
"Have we arrived?" Jiang Shuo asked.
"It'll be there soon," the driver said. "Your neighborhood is just a short walk from the next intersection."
The car turned into a familiar alley, lined with buildings on both sides, with quilts hanging on the security windows. Zhang Hanyu's building was at the very end. The car stopped downstairs, and she got out, standing by the roadside to wait for them to get their luggage.
Jiang Shuo handed her her ski equipment, "Are you sure you don't need us to take you up?"
"No need." Zhang Hanyu took the ski equipment. "Let's go."
She turned and walked inside, but stopped after a couple of steps and looked back.
"What?" Jiang Shuo asked.
"Let's hang out together after the exams," Zhang Hanyu said. "All three of you have to come—I said it, no arguing with me."
Zhang Hanyu turned and walked away.
His figure looked somewhat tragic.
The car door was closed, and the car was restarted.
The driver was quite responsible, taking Jiang Shuo and Song Che to their doorsteps. Song Che paid the remaining balance and then took Xia Li upstairs.
As soon as I sat down on the sofa, Green Bubble sent me two red envelopes.
One was posted by Zhang Hanyu, and the other by Jiang Shuo.
The two of them said almost exactly the same thing.
One of them said, "Song Che, is the amount calculated correct? I'll make up the difference if it's less."
Jiang Shuo said, "Che, don't tell me anything, just make sure you don't suffer the consequences."
The two friends were quite discerning about money.
Song Che didn't lose out at all; in fact, he made a little profit, as the expenses were less than he had initially budgeted.
But Song Che was too lazy to argue. He would just treat them to drinks or a meal next time.
Being too calculating makes one appear insincere.
The house wasn't so cold anymore, so Xia Li hugged her book and read on the sofa.
Song Che has also started reading. He has finished all his recent part-time jobs and hasn't taken on any new ones. Now he can focus on his studies.
The 100-day countdown rally is just around the corner.
Song Che clearly knew his own level and his family's level. He had to seize the opportunity of the college entrance examination and abandon his previous laziness and impetuosity.
I want to continue my relationship with Xia Li.
At least we need to be able to live a good life.
Song Che didn't want the girl he liked to suffer with him.
Xia Li is a good girl.
But he wasn't exactly a good person.
He's just an ordinary boy, like many others, but not as lucky. He's lucky, so he has to seize that luck.
We can't make Xia Li wait another hundred years.
Xia Li had once risked her life to save him, stood by his side, believed him, and searched for him without hesitation. He wanted to do his best to try again.
—Respond properly to this foolish witch's expectations.