CH 37.1

just like that, xiao zhenyun found himself meticulously arranged by his young nephew and soon-to-be niece-in-law, leaving him with nothing to worry about. he couldn’t quite discern who the ‘attentive care’ in the plot was really meant for.

xiao nian seemed to sense something was wrong and during morning reading class, he quietly messaged xiao zhenyun with a question mark.

xiao zhenyun expertly ignored the administrator and opened a chat with si di. he contemplated his words for a moment, but in the end, he only sent six dots.

si di had been elusive lately, always messaging him at peculiar times. surprisingly, this time he responded within seconds: a punctuation of ellipsis followed by a question mark, resembling an underground party’s secret code.

…?

xiao zhenyun: waiting at the airport lounge for my flight, the little pup and chick are following your orders, serving me tea, providing hot water, and blankets. he attached a picture.

si di: i haven’t ordered anything; they volunteered.

xiao zhenyun: oh?

si di: pups, chicks…

si di: what does that make me, a wolf?

xiao zhenyun: the grandma wolf.

si di: …

si di: can’t you say something nice, something i’d love to hear?

xiao zhenyun: i’ll give you a mental grooming when you return.

si di: …

xiao zhenyun: don’t like it?

si di: tsk, i do, but not in that department.

xiao zhenyun: such high demands, you’re a pain.

si di sent a picture of tai ji’s finger pads.

xiao zhenyun: …

after some whispered exchanges between grandma wolf and little red riding hood, he soon disappeared again. xiao zhenyun set down his terminal with a mood now sunny, his patience for tasks finally emerging amidst the mist of rising hot water vapors.

he quietly waited for a while. just five minutes later, si chu couldn’t restrain his energetic doggy-like body any longer, got up, and started strolling around the airport shops. ye feiran followed him, also strolling leisurely.

on average, their visits to a shop, in and out, lasted about two minutes, a hasty, superficial scan of the place. but not long after, the two entered a store and stayed inside for a full five minutes. xiao zhenyun immediately became suspicious, and he followed along in his wheelchair. as expected, he found si chu crouching in front of a display case with transparent covers, chatting and laughing with ye feiran about his preference for the one in the top left corner.

ye feiran lowered his head to read the instructions on the blind box: “…the one you’re talking about seems to be ‘small hidden.’ it’s not in the regular collection. let me see… small hidden, big hidden, color-changing, mysterious hidden???”

he raised his head, revealing the same perplexed and speechless expression that xiao zhenyun had earlier.

in the middle of their conversation, si chu had already gone to the front desk, ordered a whole box, paid instantly, and it was only at times like this that he displayed a bit of the demeanor of a young lord from a prestigious family, swiping his card without looking at the price. he then sat down in the lounge area with his shopping bag and called ye feiran to open the blind boxes together.

just as he opened the box, si chu found xiao zhenyun sitting not far away, watching him with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. si chu immediately felt a bit awkward, perhaps fearing that someone of his age shouldn’t be interested in such things. he shyly put down the paper box, “little uncle…”

xiao zhenyun strolled over casually, lowered his gaze, and picked up one of the blind boxes. he pretended to be completely unaware, carefully reading the small text on it. then, he put it back in its place and lightly tapped the box lid with his well-defined fingers, his misty blue eyes forming a gentle, faint smile. “don’t stand there like a deer caught in headlights. go ahead and open it… it looks really interesting.”

ye feiran immediately handed one to xiao zhenyun. “little uncle, how about opening one too?”

“my luck is usually quite bad,” xiao zhenyun humbly replied.

si chu quickly turned the big box towards him. “nonsense, little uncle, your luck has always been outstanding. don’t take the one feiran touched; it’s already tainted by his bad luck. little uncle, pick one for yourself!”

the peacock behind si chu pecked him resentfully.

xiao zhenyun casually chose a box and only realized later, as he was about to break the seal, that if he opened a hidden figurine right now, wouldn’t it disrupt the story’s progression? however, this box was purchased by si chu and logically shouldn’t contain a hidden figurine. but could it be that his hand was touched by a special buff—making him effortlessly pull a hidden figurine on the first try?

after opening the box, xiao zhenyun realized he had been overthinking it. inside was an utterly ordinary basic model, even a bit ugly—a small yellow duck with a crooked mouth and a skewed eye. it was a far cry from the elegant beauty duck shown in the promotional images. he guessed it must be a defective product, in need of reworking at the factory.

si chu struggled to find compliments but had to resort to changing his perspective. “well… this brand has always had excellent quality control. little uncle, you managed to draw a rare defective one. your luck is…”

xiao zhenyun gave him an expressionless look, and si chu immediately fell silent.

in no time, all twelve boxes from the big set were opened, and predictably, nothing extraordinary emerged. ye feiran patted the disappointed doggy’s shoulder and went straight to the counter to order a second set. this time, xiao zhenyun didn’t join in the unpacking. instead, he went directly to the counter where individual blind boxes were being sold and pondered which one he should get.

perhaps due to this being a new and heavily promoted product, there were seven large boxes filled with individual boxes on display. xiao zhenyun, puzzled, gazed at the trendy and exquisitely crafted plastic figurines. he took a picture and sent it to xiao nian, saying, “pick one.”

xiao nian also seemed puzzled and took a while to reply, eventually circling one with a red ring in the image and sending it back.

while ye feiran and si chu were nearing the end of their second set, xiao zhenyun took the one pointed out by xiao nian and, relying on his completely untested intuition, randomly chose another one before heading to the counter to make his purchase.

“little uncle, did you also buy one?” si chu curiously leaned over xiao zhenyun’s shoulder, clearly done with their set and still missing any hidden figurines. he shook his earlobe and said joyfully, “so, little uncle, you like this too? which one are you hoping to get the most?”

‘i like the one with your big head,’ xiao zhenyun thought as he took the paper bag, turning his wheelchair to face si chu. he smiled gently and said, “i see you all having so much fun, so i bought a couple of boxes to join in. it doesn’t matter which one i get.”

the cashier noticed the enthusiasm of these three special individuals for this particular blind box and was generous with his offer. he asked, “hey handsome, did you get any hidden figurines yet?” he raised an eyebrow playfully and teased, “want to try one more box? the next one might be it!”

“no, no, buying these things is too addictive. i’ve already bought too many. having so many figurines is pointless,” si chu looked at xiao zhenyun. “little uncle, your attitude is spot on. just grab a couple, whichever one you get is fine.”

xiao zhenyun gracefully accepted si chu’s compliment, hoping for a bit more kindness in reality. he opened two blind boxes—

both were the basic ones.

si chu and ye feiran had reached the shop’s entrance with their two packages of figurines when they turned around to see xiao zhenyun had picked two more, wearing a stern face as he paid at the counter.

haha, the little uncle was hooked. si chu chuckled and nudged ye feiran with his elbow. ye feiran found it amusing too, watching their reserved and modest elder reveal a childlike side was indeed entertaining.

however, the amusement soon faded as xiao zhenyun, treating the act like a matter of life and death, coldly purchased three more boxes. what made it worse was that he insisted on picking them one by one at the counter, causing the wheelchair-bound cashier to shuttle back and forth between the display and checkout counter, looking utterly drained.

after refusing to buy full boxes for the third time, si chu and ye feiran reluctantly joined in to help xiao zhenyun pay, then retrieved the boxes for him to watch him perform his mechanical, repetitive unboxing.

the cashier’s sales for the day reached an all-time high, thanks to the eccentric payment preferences of the god of wealth, though he couldn’t help but ask, “customer, which one are you aiming for? why not try buying a full box?”

“besides us, has anyone bought this blind box before?” xiao zhenyun asked.

“no, we opened at five, and these blind boxes were just released today. you’re our first customers.”

“alright,” xiao zhenyun received the answer he wanted, lowered his head, and continued unboxing.

cashier: “…”

at that moment, a young couple entered the store, their attention drawn to the mountain of blind boxes piled up next to xiao zhenyun. they stood by, clearly intrigued. the girl leaned in and whispered something to her partner, pointing at the same kind of blind box with a smile.

seeing the potential buyers, the cashier quickly retrieved five brand new full boxes from the storage and neatly arranged them in the vacant spaces made by xiao zhenyun, filling the gaps.

xiao zhenyun, who thought that once he had bought the seven boxes in front of him, there would surely be a prize, fell silent.

he thought about the possibility that they might have arrived a few minutes late, and that the box he wanted had already been bought by another customer. he hadn’t considered the possibility that they might have come a few minutes early, before any customers had purchased the blind boxes, and the one ‘xiao zhenyun’ purchased might be a refill after another customer had bought a box.

“…”

of course… xiao zhenyun paused his unboxing and looked at the affectionate couple who were meticulously calculating a set of coordinates, taking into account lucky numbers, constellations, chinese zodiac signs, and their anniversary, carefully selecting a blind box.

of course, if that little hidden figurine is indeed the one held by the couple, then xiao zhenyun won’t be taking the plane anymore. he’ll immediately hail a taxi and rush to xiao nian’s school, devouring the novel, cover and all, in one go.

fortunately, reality hadn’t yet been so cruel to this tenacious soul.

the young couple lucked out and drew a common item, departing sweetly. xiao zhenyun lifted his head and gazed at the cashier, who shivered under his bloodthirsty stare. “um… are you still drawing?”

“restock.” xiao zhenyun pointed to the only empty slot on the counter, the spot just vacated by the couple.

the cashier had already come to understand this peculiar customer’s ritual for drawing boxes. without further questions or complaints, he reached into the stock and randomly pulled out one, slotting it into the vacant spot.

the next moment, xiao zhenyun selected that same box out again. “i’d like to pay.”

cashier: “…”

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