Chapter 1: The Gift

Chapter 1: The Gift

Songhai City.

At seven-thirty in the morning, in the dim room, on the soft king-size bed, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly awoke, clutching his head, his body curled like a shrimp.

The pain in his head was as if it were splitting open, as though steel needles were embedded in his brain; his scalp twitched from the agony, even to the point of causing auditory hallucinations and visual illusions—chaotic images flashed through his mind, and his ears were filled with jumbled, meaningless noise.

Zhang Yuanqing knew his old ailment had flared up again.

Trembling, he climbed out of bed, pulled open the nightstand drawer, fumblingly found the medicine bottle, twisted off the cap in urgency, shook out five or six blue pills, and swallowed them whole.

Then he threw himself back onto the bed, panting heavily, enduring the excruciating pain.

After a dozen seconds, the soul-tearing headache subsided and then calmed.

"Hoo..." Zhang Yuanqing exhaled in relief, his forehead drenched in cold sweat.

In high school, he had come down with a strange illness. The symptoms were that his brain uncontrollably recalled every past memory, including forgotten junk information; it involuntarily collected external data for analysis; and his brain's control over his body reached an unbelievable level.

Fortunately, this state couldn't last long before it was interrupted because his body couldn't handle the strain.

It was because of this ability that he effortlessly got into Songhai University—a top-tier prestigious institution nationwide.

Zhang Yuanqing called this state "brain overload." He thought he might be evolving into a superhuman, but because his body couldn't support that evolution, it kept shutting down.

When he told the doctor this theory, the doctor said he didn't understand it, but was greatly impressed, and suggested he visit the psychiatric department downstairs.

In short, the hospital couldn't find the cause. Later, his mother brought back a special medicine from abroad, and the condition finally came under control. As long as he took the medicine regularly, it wouldn't flare up.

"It must be because I didn't sleep well last night—too tired. It's all Jiang Yu'er's fault, insisting on coming to my room to play games in the middle of the night..."

Though he said this, his heart quietly grew heavy, because Zhang Yuanqing knew that the medicine's efficacy was beginning to wane; his condition was getting worse.

"I'll have to increase the dosage..." Zhang Yuanqing put on his cotton slippers, walked to the window, and "whoosh" pulled open the curtain.

The sunlight rushed in eagerly, filling the room.

In April in Songhai City, the spring sunlight was bright, and the morning breeze that greeted him was cool and pleasant.

"Dong dong!"

Just then, a knock came at the door, and his grandmother called from outside:

"Yuanzi, get up."

"No!" Zhang Yuanqing refused coldly, wanting to go back to sleep.

Spring was beautiful, and it was the weekend—wouldn't it be a waste of life not to sleep in?

"I'll give you three minutes. If you're not up, I'll douse you with water."

His grandmother was even more ruthless.

"Okay, okay..." Zhang Yuanqing immediately gave in.

He knew his hot-tempered grandmother was perfectly capable of doing that.

When Zhang Yuanqing was still in elementary school, his father died in a car accident. His strong-willed mother never remarried; she brought her son back to Songhai to settle down and left him in the care of his grandparents.

She then threw herself into her career, becoming a strong career woman praised by all the relatives.

Later, his mother bought her own apartment, but Zhang Yuanqing didn't like that empty, spacious flat and continued living with his grandparents.

After all, his mother left early and returned late, traveled frequently, and devoted herself to work. Even on weekends when she wasn't working overtime, she'd order takeout at mealtimes.

What she said most to her son was, "Is your money enough? If not, tell Mom." A career-driven mother who could meet your financial needs indefinitely sounded great.

But Zhang Yuanqing always smiled and said to his mother, "The pocket money Grandma and Aunt give me is enough."

Oh, and his little aunt too.

The woman who insisted on coming to his room to play games last night was his little aunt.

Zhang Yuanqing yawned, turned the doorknob, and walked into the living room.

His grandmother's apartment, including the shared area, was about a hundred and fifty square meters. When they sold the old house to buy this new one, Zhang Yuanqing remembered the price was over forty thousand per square meter.

Six or seven years later, the property prices in this neighborhood had risen to 110,000 per square meter, nearly doubling.

It was a good thing his grandfather had foresight; if they'd stayed in the old house, Zhang Yuanqing would have to sleep in the living room, since he was grown up and couldn't sleep with his little aunt anymore.

At the long dining table by the living room, the culprit responsible for his headache was noisily slurping her porridge, her pink slippers wiggling under the table.

Her features were refined and pretty, her round, oval face looking quite sweet, with a teardrop mole at the corner of her right eye.

Just out of bed, her fluffy, tousled large waves were loose, adding a touch of languid charm to her.

His little aunt was named Jiang Yu'er, four years older than him.

When she saw Zhang Yuanqing come out, she licked the porridge off her lips and said in surprise:

"Oh, up so early? That's not like you."

"Your mother's doing."

"Why are you swearing at me?"

"I'm just telling the truth."

Zhang Yuanqing looked at his little aunt's beautiful, flower-like face—full of energy, bright, and striking.

They say the night won't let down those who stay up late; it gives you dark circles. But that rule didn't seem to apply to the woman before him.

In the kitchen, his grandmother heard the commotion, poked her head out to look, and after a moment, came out carrying a bowl of porridge.

His grandmother had silver strands mixed in her black hair, and her eyes were sharp—the kind of old lady you could tell had a bad temper at first glance.

Though loose skin and fine lines had stolen her youthful beauty, you could still see she had been quite good-looking when she was young.

Zhang Yuanqing took the porridge his grandmother handed him, took a big gulp, and said:

"Where's Grandpa?"

"He went out for a stroll," said his grandmother.

His grandfather was a retired police detective. Even in his old age, his life was still very regular: he went to bed at ten every night and woke up at six.

The pretty little aunt drank her porridge and said with a grin:

"After breakfast, Auntie will take you to the mall to buy some clothes."

You're being too nice? Zhang Yuanqing was about to agree when his grandmother shot him a murderous glare and said:

"If you dare go, I'll break your legs."

"Mom, how can you say that?" his little aunt said with a faux-innocent tone. "I just want to buy Yuanzi some spring clothes. What's wrong with that? A nephew is still family, even if he's called 'nephew'~"

His grandmother countered forcefully, "You want your legs broken too?"

His little aunt pouted, lowered her head, and drank her porridge.

Zhang Yuanqing, hearing the mother-daughter standoff, knew that his grandmother must have arranged a blind date for his little aunt again, and his clever, mischievous little aunt wanted to drag him along to stir the pot.

That was how it always went: she'd bring her nephew to the blind date, sit for a few minutes, and her socially brilliant nephew would charm the date. The two men would hit it off, chat about everything from people's livelihoods to global affairs, and she wouldn't have to do a thing.

She'd just sip her drink and play on her phone, and the blind date would think he'd shown enough life experience and knowledge in front of the beauty, feel pleased, and have a great self-image.

Jiang Yu'er had been delicate and adorable since she was little, the pride of the neighborhood—good-looking, sweet, and well-behaved, beloved by elders.

Such a beautiful granddaughter, of course the grandmother had to guard her strictly. From middle school on, she repeatedly admonished her not to date early and not to go out with male classmates.

The younger daughter indeed did not disappoint her; she never had a boyfriend until college graduation. But once she entered society, especially after her 25th birthday at the start of the year, the grandmother began to grow restless.

She thought to herself: I only told you not to date early, not to become a leftover woman! How many prime years does a woman have?

So she gathered her old sisters and scoured far and wide for information on eligible young men, arranging blind dates for her daughter.

"Grandma, she clearly doesn't want a relationship yet. A forced melon isn't sweet." Zhang Yuanqing said, munching on a steamed bun, volunteering himself:

"Why don't you arrange a date for me? My melon is sweet."

Grandma retorted angrily: "You're still young, what's the rush? There are plenty of female classmates in college—can't you find one yourself? Keep causing trouble and I'll spank you."

Grandma was a southern woman, but her temper was anything but gentle; it was especially fiery.

Even Zhang Yuanqing's mother, a career-driven woman, dared not contradict Grandma.

I'm grown up, okay? I've been a craftsman for years... Zhang Yuanqing muttered to himself.

After breakfast, under Grandma's forceful demand, the younger aunt went back to her room to change clothes and put on makeup, going out for a blind date.

The younger aunt put on light makeup, which made her look even more radiant and attractive.

A fluffy round-neck sweater paired with a long coat, light-colored skinny jeans hugging her long, slender legs, perfectly proportioned. The narrow cuffs were tucked into black martin boots.

A simple, forest-inspired style of dress—neither flashy nor gaudy, yet especially delicate.

The younger aunt threw him a "you-know" look, grabbed her bag, and swayed her hips as she headed out:

"Mom, I'm going on my blind date."

Zhang Yuanqing returned to his room and calmly changed into a black T-shirt, a windbreaker, and running shoes.

After a few minutes, he pulled open the bedroom door.

Grandma was cleaning the living room. Seeing him come out, she stopped her work and silently looked at him.

Zhang Yuanqing imitated his younger aunt's tone:

"Mom, I'm going on my blind date too."

"Get back here!" Grandma raised her broom, threatening: "If you dare step out that door, I'll break your dog legs."

"Okay!" Zhang Yuanqing readily returned to his bedroom.

Sitting at his desk, he held his phone and sent a message to his younger aunt:

"To set out but fall before triumph fills heroes with endless tears."

"Speak human language!"

The younger aunt was probably driving; her reply was succinct.

"Grandma stopped me at home. You'll have to go on your blind date yourself."

The younger aunt sent a voice message.

Zhang Yuanqing tapped it, and the speaker played Jiang Yu'er's angry voice:

"What use are you!!"

The younger aunt recalled one voice message and then sent another, this time with a different tone, coquettishly acting cute:

"Good nephew, come here~ Your aunt loves you the most, Mua~"

Hah, women!

A little coquetry and acting cute and you think I'll risk Grandma's wrath? At least send a red packet.

At that moment, a somewhat harsh ringtone sounded. Zhang Yuanqing went to the living room and, under Grandma's watchful eye, pressed the intercom button and said:

"Who is it?"

"Package delivery."

The speaker returned.

Zhang Yuanqing pressed the door release. After two or three minutes, a uniformed delivery guy came up in the elevator, holding a package:

"Are you Zhang Yuanqing?"

"That's me."

I didn't order anything online... He signed for it with a confused look, glanced at the package info: no sender listed, but the address was Hangzhou, Jiangnan Province.

He returned to his room, found a box cutter from the desk drawer, and opened the package.

Inside, wrapped in anti-drop cushioning, was a black card and a yellow envelope.

Zhang Yuanqing picked up the ID-card-sized black card. The material seemed metallic but felt very warm and smooth to the touch. The card was exquisitely made, with faint silver cloud patterns on the edges and a black full moon in the center.

The black moon was printed with great detail, the irregular craters clearly visible on its surface.

What is this? With a puzzled mind, he tore open the envelope and unfolded the letter.

"Yuanzi, I came across something very interesting. I once thought it could change my life, but my abilities are limited and I couldn't handle it. I think if it's you, it should be no problem.

"As brothers, this is my gift to you.

"Lei Yibing!"

...