She played it well, but she really shouldn’t have played it that big.
Even if she was going to do it, she shouldn’t have gone that far.
Zhao Zhenzhen hugged the wall and silently banged her head against it.
She’d gotten carried away just now and dumped 100 into the hourglass. Only after calming down did she realize that was 100 experience points.
Converted to US dollars, that was a thousand bucks!
…Heartbroken.
A poor kid felt incredibly heartbroken.
Zhao Zhenzhen consoled herself with “I can earn that much again tomorrow, and if it hasn’t been converted to cash, it’s just a meaningless number.”
Then she counted the cash she’d earned today. Her mood finally settled a bit.
Don’t even mention it. Looking back, it was actually pretty funny.
Especially the moment when she’d just finished speaking and Kim Joon-nam immediately yelled “I don’t believe it!”—only to get hit by the falling streetlamp cover.
Kim Joon-nam stared at the lamp cover, completely stunned. He scrambled up and ran.
Then at the corner, he stepped on ketchup, stumbled forward, and slammed his face into a fire hydrant.
The “thud” was so loud that even the passersby winced, feeling phantom pain on his behalf.
Zhao Zhenzhen recalled what had happened and amused herself.
She’d earned over 200 in cash today. She counted out 40 and went downstairs to give it to Mrs. Dalins, asking her to handle all three meals a day for her for the next month starting tomorrow. If it was good, she’d give another 40 next month.
She also clearly explained her dietary requirements, dictating them to Mrs. Dalins directly based on the suggestions under the [Health] section of her panel.
Actually, when a minor international student stays with a host family, the cost of three meals is usually included beyond just rent.
But the original body’s stepmother didn’t want to pay that money. She’d only reluctantly agreed to cover breakfast—she wouldn’t pay for lunch or dinner.
That’s why the original body was malnourished and eventually fainted and was taken to the hospital.
Zhao Zhenzhen tapped on [Fortune Alteration: 1/3 (+)] to see if she could hit the original body’s stepmother and deadbeat dad with 10 dollars each.
Unfortunately, nothing happened.
She thought for a moment, then tapped on [Divination: 0/3 (+)] and cast a hexagram with the question “When can I get revenge on the original body’s stepmother and deadbeat dad?” She got the answer: “It’s not that there’s no retribution—the time just hasn’t come yet.”
She closed it with slight regret.
Probably her abilities weren’t strong enough yet.
Before heading upstairs, she gave Mrs. Dalins a free reading of her [Health] and [Daily Fortune], earning 1 experience point, plus a glass of orange juice and some french fries as thanks.
Zhao Zhenzhen continued studying her new panel.
The panel had no instructions, but some of its contents she knew instinctively.
For example, [Fortune Alteration] and [Divination] were both currently at 1/3 (+).
Zhao Zhenzhen understood the difference between [Fortune Alteration] and [Divination].
The 1 already used in [Fortune Alteration] represented Kim Joon-nam. Until the 100-experience-point hourglass completely ran out, that 1 wouldn’t disappear.
In the short term, Zhao Zhenzhen could only alter fortune two more times.
As for [Divination], she could use it three times a day. As long as Zhao Zhenzhen asked, she’d get a corresponding answer.
But if the question was poorly framed or imprecise, the answer she got would also be vague.
However, the restriction on [Divination] was that she couldn’t ask about major matters.
Exactly how major was off-limits, Zhao Zhenzhen didn’t know—she’d have to experiment to find out. But she knew matters of state couldn’t be calculated.
Similarly, national fortune couldn’t be altered with [Fortune Alteration].
She didn’t have that ability.
If she dared to try, she’d be dead.
As for the (+) button afterward, Zhao Zhenzhen had figured it out through hands-on experimentation.
Plainly put, it was a pay-to-win channel.
For example, the 【hexagram】 readings are fixed at 3 times per day, but if you want more readings, that’s possible too.
— For an extra fee.
Each reading costs 10 experience points.
Zhao Zhenzhen liked all the new features added today, but her favorite was the (+) button next to the experience points.
Previously, she could only convert experience points into cash. But now she could convert cash into experience points!
She topped up the remaining $50 she earned today.
Now her experience points had become 106.
A perfect virtual wallet that never had to worry about being stolen, right?
This was so practical in America.
Zhao Zhenzhen knelt on the bed, pressing her palms together in devout prayer: Hopefully there will be an inventory skill in the future, thank you.
Since she already had an NPC virtual panel, it was perfectly reasonable for her to dream about having an inventory, right?
The afternoon passed quickly. After playing a few rounds of Snake, Zhao Zhenzhen was called downstairs by Mrs. Dalins. It turned out Mrs. Dalins had gone to the community classroom to do crafts.
She had chatted with her friends about Zhao Zhenzhen’s fortune-telling abilities.
This had caught the attention of the neighborhood wives’ circle.
So when someone spotted Zhao Zhenzhen back home, they quickly called each other up and came knocking on her door together.
Mrs. Dalins personally came upstairs to knock on Zhao Zhenzhen’s door, whispering to her, “You can charge a bit more.”
“Huh?” Zhao Zhenzhen thought her $10 per reading wasn’t cheap. But Mrs. Dalins’ life experience was definitely richer than hers, so she humbly asked, “Why? How much do you think I should charge?”
Mrs. Dalins flipped her palm back and forth, whispering, “$20 per session.” She gave Zhao Zhenzhen her advice, “That’s just the price for the reading. If they want magnetic field cleansing, or protective charms and such, those are priced separately.”
She paused, lowering her voice even further, “I went to see a medium before—she charged $200 for just over ten minutes.”
Wow!!
Zhao Zhenzhen, who had just been hesitating whether she was charging too much, suddenly felt that she was an absolute bargain!
Mrs. Dalins continued teaching her, “For some people, especially those with social standing and status—you can’t charge too little. The price reflects their identity and position.”
Zhao Zhenzhen nodded repeatedly.
Lesson learned, Mrs. Dalins!
In her previous life, she had been an ordinary person with a normal nine-to-five job, never coming into contact with this kind of social nuance. Of course, Zhao Zhenzhen also found all this rather annoying.
She never expected Mrs. Dalins to be so knowledgeable!
From upstairs, Zhao Zhenzhen could see five or six people sitting in the living room below, huddled together whispering and laughing. Now that they saw Mrs. Dalins coming down, they all turned their heads to look over.
Upon seeing Zhao Zhenzhen following behind Mrs. Dalins, they stood up directly from the sofa.
Two of the wives even touched their hair and smoothed down their clothes.
“?” Zhao Zhenzhen suddenly felt like she was a princess, with the ladies waiting on her in awe and trepidation.
…Mediums really had that much status here.
Zhao Zhenzhen found it somewhat unbelievable.
“This is the Zhao I told you about,” Mrs. Dalins introduced Zhao Zhenzhen to the wives’ circle with pride.
Zhao Zhenzhen smiled. “Hello, everyone.”
She searched through her memories and found she wasn’t familiar with any of these people.
Occasionally, someone flashed through her memories—they would only give the original owner a cold glance before looking away and continuing on their way.
Complete strangers.
Nothing like how they were acting now.
Mostly they came to have their daily fortune told, wanting to know their lucky color and lucky stone for the week.
These didn’t take much time, and Zhao Zhenzhen quickly finished with five clients, smoothly pocketing a hundred dollars.
Mrs. Victoria was last in line, and like the others, she asked about lucky colors and lucky stones. But after Zhao Zhenzhen finished speaking, she didn’t have the same expression as the other ladies.
She clearly still had something she wanted to say to Zhao Zhenzhen but was hesitating.
“Zhao,” Mrs. Dalins said, “why don’t you take Victoria to your room?”
Zhao Zhenzhen understood. This Mrs. Victoria had private matters she couldn’t discuss in front of others.
“Oh… alright.” Zhao Zhenzhen stood up. “Mrs. Dalins, may I use one of the empty rooms upstairs?”
Mrs. Dalins had two more rooms that had originally been rented to international students, but they hadn’t been leased out yet.
“Sure, go ahead.” Mrs. Dalins agreed.
After closing the door, Zhao Zhenzhen sat down across from Mrs. Victoria. “No one else is here now. Go ahead.”
“It’s actually just me being paranoid.” Mrs. Victoria looked a bit embarrassed and glanced quickly at Zhao Zhenzhen—she really was quite young.
But she truly couldn’t find anyone else to ask, so she had to pin her hopes on Zhao Zhenzhen.
Mrs. Victoria took a deep breath and spoke rapidly, “I want to know if my husband is having an affair, and who the other woman is.”
After saying this, she opened her wallet and pressed another 20 dollars into Zhao Zhenzhen’s hand. “I know the rules—one question per reading.”
“I can’t read you for this; I’d need to see him instead,” Zhao Zhenzhen said.
Mrs. Victoria: “He hasn’t gotten off work yet. When he comes home, should I call you? You can come take a look?”
“That works.” Zhao Zhenzhen thought for a moment. “No need to go to your house—I just need to see him in person. Even if we don’t speak.”
“Alright.” Mrs. Victoria nodded. “I’ll figure something out.”
After exchanging phone numbers, Zhao Zhenzhen didn’t go back downstairs. She returned to her own room and continued playing Snake.
Mrs. Dalins, however, after seeing the guest out, knocked on her door out of curiosity.
“These are some cookies they brought.” Mrs. Dalins used that as an excuse, lingering a moment before her curiosity got the better of her. “Zhao, what did Mrs. Victoria ask you about?”
“You don’t have to say it directly—just give me a hint.”
Zhao Zhenzhen thought for a moment. “Romance.”
Mrs. Dalins immediately understood, and satisfied with the answer, she left. Before going, she told Zhao Zhenzhen to come downstairs for more cookies once she finished them.
Zhao Zhenzhen acknowledged her but only ate one piece before stopping.
The cookies were fragrant, but cloyingly sweet.
Mrs. Victoria didn’t call—she only sent a text message: He’s home.
Zhao Zhenzhen got up and went out, pretending to take a stroll.
The old white lady across the street who always liked to stare at her was trimming her flowers. When she saw Zhao Zhenzhen come out, her hands paused for a moment, then she went back to pretending to trim the plants while her eyes kept stealing glances.
Zhao Zhenzhen originally had no intention of acknowledging her, but even after she walked past, the feeling of being watched from behind didn’t go away.
And it was a direct, unblinking stare—bolder because she assumed Zhao Zhenzhen couldn’t see her.
Zhao Zhenzhen stopped in her tracks, turned around, and walked straight toward the old white lady.
Startled by her sudden turn and approach, the old woman frantically tried to cover it up, but her scissors unconsciously sped up, snipping at empty air above the flowers.
Zhao Zhenzhen opened the old white woman’s panel as she approached.
She stopped outside the fence.
The old white woman turned around nonchalantly, trying to face away from Zhao Zhenzhen, pretending not to see her.
“Mrs. Elizabeth.” Zhao Zhenzhen said expressionlessly after quickly scanning the old woman’s panel. “Stop staring at me. I don’t look anything like the child you buried. We just both happen to have black hair.”
Old Mrs. Elizabeth froze. She slowly turned around, clutching her chest with both hands, staring at Zhao Zhenzhen in terror.
She spoke her first words in six months. “I—I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Zhao Zhenzhen had just watched the old woman’s life playback, so she had no good attitude toward her.
In her youth, this woman had lived off government welfare by raising children. But the money barely hit her hands before she spent it on cigarettes and alcohol, with only a tiny fraction actually going toward the kids.
Her personal life was a mess, she had no sense of responsibility, and yet she’d popped out seven or eight children.
She couldn’t even bother to prepare proper food for the kids, let alone clothes.
One day she took one of the children out with her, but ran into some shady friends on the way and got dragged off to drink and party until the early morning before stumbling back home drunk.
She slept until the next afternoon before getting up.
Only then did she realize the child she’d taken out yesterday hadn’t come back with her.
She rushed out to search and finally found the body out in the wilderness.
Those shady friends of hers hadn’t forgotten to bring the child along when they dropped her off. It was her who’d thrown a drunken tantrum mid-journey demanding to get out of the car.
With no other choice, they’d left her by the roadside.
And while she’d gone off to vomit, she carelessly left the child where they were.
The child panicked looking for its mother, tripped, hit its head on a tree root, and passed out.
She was too drunk to think of anything but herself and kept walking, and the unconscious child froze to death.
To cover up her mistake, she buried the child right there in the wilderness. Then she fled home in a panic and ran off with her remaining children.
She’d thought she’d long forgotten the whole thing, but when she saw the original owner of this body—especially since the original owner also had black hair—Elizabeth discovered in horror that she’d always remembered. She’d never forgotten.
Who knows if it’s just old age making people paranoid and prone to wild imaginings.
Either way, Elizabeth had convinced herself that Zhao Zhenzhen was the child she’d killed all those years ago, and that she’d come back for her now.
Her yellow name tag instantly turned red.
Old Mrs. Elizabeth let out a howl. She glared at Zhao Zhenzhen with a mix of viciousness and terror. “Demon! You’re a demon! I knew you were a demon!”
With that, she swung a pair of scissors wildly at Zhao Zhenzhen a few times, then stumbled and fled into the house.
As she ran, she muttered, “He’s come for me! He’s come for me! I knew he would come!”
Zhao Zhenzhen rolled her eyes and shouted at the door Elizabeth had slammed shut. “Stop staring at me! Or I’ll come find you!”
No sound came from inside. She was probably too scared to make a peep.
Having dealt with the old woman who kept spying on her, Zhao Zhenzhen turned and left.
She stood at an angle across the street, covertly watching Mrs. Victoria’s house.
Mrs. Victoria’s husband was searching for something on the lawn. Coming up empty, he turned and shouted into the house, “Victoria, are you sure you lost it here? Could it be somewhere else?”
“I’m sure!” Mrs. Victoria’s voice came from inside. “Look harder!”
The man shrugged and continued searching the grass.
Zhao Zhenzhen seized the opportunity to check the other person’s panel. Within seconds, her features scrunched up.
…Help! My eyes are burning!
Pale, fleshy bodies everywhere—absolutely no aesthetic appeal whatsoever!
And the worst part was that the playback came with sound!
Zhao Zhenzhen felt she’d suffered an on-the-job injury.
European-American style… truly not good-looking at all! All about going at it hard and loud, screeching and hollering—utterly indecent!
…Wow, she never thought she’d live to see the day the words “utterly indecent” would come out of her own mouth.
After fast-forwarding through the video, Zhao Zhenzhen shut off the virtual screen and turned to leave.
As she walked, she called Mrs. Victoria.
The other end picked up immediately, covering the receiver and whispering, “Did you see it? Who was it? What’s their name?”
“…I saw it,” Zhao Zhenzhen said, closing her eyes. “But I don’t know the name. Would some identifying features do?”
Zhao Zhenzhen paused. “It should be someone you know. Because the person was with him in your house… uh…”
There was silence on the other end, but Zhao Zhenzhen couldn’t help shrinking her neck involuntarily.
…She didn’t know why, but she could feel the murderous intent.
“Where in my house.” Mrs. Victoria’s voice was terrifyingly calm.
“Uh,” Zhao Zhenzhen pinched the bridge of her nose, struggling, “everywhere?”
A deep breath came through the phone, followed by Mrs. Victoria’s voice through gritted teeth, “Including my daughter’s room?!”
“…If the pink wallpaper counts, then…”
A muffled scream came through.
Zhao Zhenzhen flinched, shrinking her neck in fright. She looked at her phone, then brought it closer, carefully trying to console her, “They didn’t use the bed, don’t worry! They didn’t use the bed! It was the desk.”
Clearly, that consolation was not reassuring at all. Because another muffled scream came through, accompanied by the sounds of stomping feet and pounding walls.
Zhao Zhenzhen even heard faint voices on Mrs. Victoria’s end—people asking with concern if she was alright and whether she needed help.
“?” Zhao Zhenzhen tilted her head slightly.
The voice sounded a bit familiar. Like she’d heard it somewhere before.
Before Zhao Zhenzhen could sort out her thoughts, Mrs. Victoria shouted into the phone, “I’m fine!”
It startled her too.
“What features? Go on.” Mrs. Victoria asked.
“On her lower back dimples, she has a tattoo of a rose wrapped in thorns.”
The moment Zhao Zhenzhen finished speaking, a clattering sound came from the receiver—it sounded like Mrs. Victoria had thrown down her phone and charged straight out.
The next second, screams and curses erupted from Mrs. Victoria’s house.
Echoing in tandem with the noise coming through the phone.
Zhao Zhenzhen quickly hung up and ducked behind a corner, then cautiously peeked out to watch.
The neighbors in the surrounding area also began to stir.
People started coming out of their houses one by one.
Some suddenly remembered their cats hadn’t come home yet and began looking around, calling out “Mimi.”
Others suddenly felt the urge to exercise and went to their front lawns to stretch, doing high knees in place.
And some suddenly remembered their cars hadn’t been washed and needed washing.
All sorts of activities—everyone was very busy, in any case.
It was just that while being busy, they would “occasionally” glance over at the Victoria household, where all the commotion was happening.
Unfortunately, by the time the screams and curses had started, Mrs. Victoria’s husband had already sprung into the house and slammed the door shut, trying to stop the “battle” inside.
However, judging by the sound of things being smashed and the insults that hadn’t stopped even now, the situation hadn’t improved at all despite Mr. Victoria’s involvement.
“What’s going on?”
A lowered voice came from behind Zhao Zhenzhen, startling her.
She turned around and found that several people had somehow appeared behind her without her noticing.
They were sneaking around behind Zhao Zhenzhen, peering toward Mrs. Victoria’s house just like she was.
“What are you all—?”
“Oh, I was out walking my dog and just happened to pass by here,” one of them said.
Zhao Zhenzhen looked down, then raised her head and stared at him expressionlessly.
…You’re holding a leash and telling me you’re walking your dog?
Where’s the dog?
“Ah.” The man looked down, surprised. “I forgot to bring him out when I left. So what’s going on?”
The dog-walker shifted topics smoothly, jerking his chin toward Mrs. Victoria’s house.
The others also stared at Zhao Zhenzhen with burning eyes.
“I just got here too. I don’t know,” Zhao Zhenzhen shook her head.
They sighed. “We were hoping you might know something.”
“Yeah, what a shame.” Zhao Zhenzhen was speechless, her tone flat.
Just then, Mrs. Victoria’s insults came through clearly.
“That slut! She’s my own sister! My own sister!! Bitch, why don’t you go find someone outside! Why!”
A chorus of “Whoa—” sounded around Zhao Zhenzhen.
Several people excitedly whispered to each other, “I know who she’s talking about! Oh my god, so that’s how it is.”
Someone crossed their arms and clicked their tongue, shaking their head.
As they discussed, Mr. Victoria’s furious voice rang out, “Enough! Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough?!”
“Aren’t the shameless ones you two?!” Mrs. Victoria’s voice rose even higher. “Is there a single spot in this house you haven’t defiled! You didn’t even spare your daughter’s room!”
“You—y-you-you don’t talk nonsense.” The man suddenly lost his nerve, stammering.
“Whoa—!!” The onlookers made even louder sounds, their eyes bulging like brass bells.
Then Mrs. Victoria sneered, “What, did the desk in your daughter’s room have a switch that got you two more excited?!”
“Whoa—!!”
“…”
Zhao Zhenzhen remained silent amid the chorus of “whoas.”
Her unsociable behavior caught the dog-walker’s attention, and he couldn’t help asking, “Why aren’t you joining in?”
Zhao Zhenzhen glanced at him. “Not interested.”
The dog-walker was shocked, then impressed. “You Chinese people really have high moral standards.”
“…” No, it’s just that I just experienced something far more shocking, and this kind of small-scale, secondhand drama simply can’t move me anymore.
Zhao Zhenzhen glanced at him without saying a word, deciding to let this beautiful misunderstanding stand.
“Zhao?”
Zhao Zhenzhen turned around and saw Kate.
She sat in the car, looking hesitantly between Zhao Zhenzhen and the people around her. “What’s going on here?”
“Nothing.” Zhao Zhenzhen walked over. “Off work this early today?”
That topic made Kate happy. She raised an eyebrow with particular pride and gave a thumbs-up, pointing beside her. “Got lucky today—wrapped up quickly. And the screenwriter even exchanged numbers with me. Zhao, this is all thanks to you.”
Zhao Zhenzhen wanted to say something but held back. She longed to tell Kate that without her own hard work, all the luck she gave her would mean nothing.
Mysticism only adds a touch of brightness to effort, a highlight on top—nothing more.
But whether there will be a beautiful outcome ultimately depends on how much effort the striver themselves has put in.
Still, these principles were surely something they understood better than she did. They were probably just feeling anxious and seeking a bit of external validation and a push, weren’t they?
…Anyway, she was gradually becoming more composed now.
Zhao Zhenzhen simply smiled and nodded, accepting Kate’s praise.
But there was no need to retrieve that pink coffee cup, right?
…Unless she was supposed to wash it and use it for a whole week, until the next week’s lucky color arrived?
I don’t get you people.
“So what happened?” Kate poked her head out, glancing left and right with a thoroughly gossipy expression.
Zhao Zhenzhen skipped over her own part and told Kate only what everyone else had heard.
Sure enough, she also let out a “whoa—”
“No wonder everyone’s… uh,” Kate looked around, choosing her words delicately, “so passionate about life.”
At this hour, when normally not a single soul could be seen in the neighborhood, the neighbors had actually all abandoned their spots in front of the TV and unanimously chosen outdoor activities instead.
She could guess the reason with her heel.
Kate clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Honestly, these people.”
Tell me about it! Zhao Zhenzhen nodded silently.
“Come on, Zhao, let’s head back for dinner.” Kate gestured for Zhao Zhenzhen to get in the car. “But what were you doing out here anyway?”
Kate was a bit puzzled.
Zhao Zhenzhen was vague. “Had something to deal with. But it’s done now. Let’s go back.”
Kate nodded, and had just started the engine when they heard Mrs. Victoria’s voice rise again in fury: “So back then, at the wedding, it was you two! Aah! I’ll kill you!”
A fresh round of smashing and shouting began.
“Whoa…” Kate gripped the steering wheel, staring straight ahead with a perfectly serious face. But her expression was positively dancing with delight.
“…” Zhao Zhenzhen sat in the passenger seat, momentarily speechless.
…The car was so slow.
So slow that even if she got out and walked right now, she’d still get home before the car did.
Zhao Zhenzhen recalled how Kate had clicked her tongue, shaken her head, and said with such a straight face, “Honestly, these people,” and couldn’t help glancing at her.
…Really, everyone was about the same.
They were all members of the “whoa” melon-eating club.
The content of this drama had already been fully exposed through Mrs. Victoria’s shouting; what remained was just the fighting and arguing.
But even so, everyone was thoroughly enjoying the show.
It was only after quite some time that someone belatedly thought to call the police first.
After all, Mrs. Victoria had emotionally shouted that she was going to “kill them”—if something actually went wrong, that would be bad.
A shooting incident in the neighborhood would affect property values!
Kate only left when she saw the flashing lights of the police car, tearing herself away with lingering reluctance.
One press on the gas pedal, and they were back at their residence within two minutes.
Mrs. Dalins wasn’t in the kitchen as usual, but was sitting in the living room, phone in hand, chatting away heatedly with whoever was on the other end.
Her eyes were gleaming unusually bright.
“What?!” Mrs. Dalins exclaimed. “Victoria threw a table out?! Good heavens! Surely not the table from her daughter’s room? Oh dear, that really is, that truly is… such a shame.”
Okay. Then. So they were also eating up the drama from Mrs. Victoria’s house over here.
But Mrs. Dalins, before you say “such a shame,” could you maybe tone down that excited smile on your face first?
Otherwise, it really lacks credibility.
Zhao Zhenzhen had a very lively dinner.
Especially when Mrs. Dalins told Kate that Victoria had come to her for a fortune reading today.
Mother and daughter both looked at Zhao Zhenzhen, eyes shining brightly.
“So you went out earlier, it was for Mrs. Victoria, wasn’t it.” Kate was excited.
Zhao Zhenzhen nodded. “She asked me to keep it a secret.”
“Oh, hmm…” The mother and daughter exchanged a knowing glance. “Don’t worry, there’s no need to keep it a secret anymore.”
Wasn’t that the truth?
Zhao Zhenzhen nodded knowingly.
Mrs. Victoria had told her to keep it a secret, but then she went and shouted it at the top of her lungs until the whole neighborhood knew.
Mrs. Dalins was busy with business today. The phone kept ringing even during meals.
Zhao Zhenzhen and Kate washed the dishes together.
Kate still hadn’t forgotten her pink coffee cup.
“You’re bringing this again tomorrow?” Zhao Zhenzhen couldn’t help asking when she saw it.
“No. I’m going to wash it clean and leave it on my nightstand for a week.” Kate said blissfully. “And I also bought a set of pink pajamas!”
In short, she was going to bask in a sea of pink for the whole week!
…Whatever makes you happy.
On Monday, while Zhao Zhenzhen was having breakfast, she showed Kate and Mrs. Dalins the day’s fortune before heading out.
Kate noticed she was empty-handed and gave her a knowing smile, like someone who’d been through it before. “You left your backpack in the classroom?”
“Yeah.” Zhao Zhenzhen nodded.
“Do you want to take the school bus today, or should I drive you to school?” Kate asked.
A honk cut off Zhao Zhenzhen’s reply, and they both looked over. A car had already pulled up by the roadside.
Betty leaned halfway out of the car, grinning and waving at Zhao Zhenzhen.
“Oh, someone’s here to pick you up.” Kate patted Zhao Zhenzhen. “Then I won’t drive you.”
She waved at Betty and drove off.
Zhao Zhenzhen was surprised. “You actually came to pick me up?”
“Of course.” Betty leaned over and opened the car door. “Hurry, get in.”
After Zhao Zhenzhen sat down, Betty said while turning the steering wheel, “I also brought you breakfast. I didn’t know what you like to eat, but I figured since you’ve been here so long, you’d probably miss Chinese food, so I brought congee and pan-fried dumplings.”
Now it was Zhao Zhenzhen’s turn to go “Wow…”
“Thank you!” Honestly, she felt a bit overwhelmed by the kindness.
So thoughtful?!
Betty gave a shy smile and humbly said, “This is all what I should do.”
Before Zhao Zhenzhen could tease her about that “should do,” Betty’s eyes lit up. “Oh, by the way, I heard your neighborhood was quite lively last night?”
“???” Zhao Zhenzhen was shocked.
Wait, in just one night, the news had already spread to their neighborhood?!
Wasn’t this still the 2G era?!