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墨書 Inktalez
"However, regarding the new item, we hope that Sun Shopkeeper and Jiang Young Master can keep it a secret for us, and not let anyone know that the item came from us," Li Zhoule requested.
"Not a problem," Sun Shopkeeper immediately agreed. The Jiang Family values integrity in business and would never leak customer information. Moreover, the Li Family and Wen Family are their financial benefactors, so they would never let anyone else find out.
With that assurance, Li Zhoule and Wen Zixia smiled and stood up to take their leave. Sun Shopkeeper kindly saw them to the door. The group did not linger in the county town; after purchasing what they needed, they returned to their village.
Upon arriving at the Li Family, Li Yishu rushed into the Storage Room, closely followed by Wen Ziyu. Meanwhile, Li Zhoule and Wen Zixia needed to settle Wen Zixue before heading to the storage room. Fortunately, Wen Zixue was easily tired and began dozing off on the way. Wen Zixia carried him to Li Yishu's room and laid him down for a nap before joining Li Zhoule in the storage room.
Inside the storage room, Li Yishu and Hanno had already started a "video chat."
Hanno: New and interesting things? I have many things here that you might find fascinating, but some of them might be too novel for people in your world to accept.
Li Yishu quickly wrote with a brush and showed it to Hanno: Is there anything new that our world can accept?
Hanno: Let me think.
Li Yishu: I'm looking forward to it.
Wen Zixia snatched the brush from Li Yishu and wrote: Sister Han, if it's too troublesome, you don't have to bother. We can just refuse Sun Shopkeeper later.
Hanno: It's not troublesome. How about this? Give me some time, and I'll prepare the items to send directly to you.
Wen Zixia: Thank you, Sister Han.
After ending the video call, Hanno began pondering what would be good to send. Her gaze swept around the room—what about a phone? Sending one wouldn't be useful since there’s no signal for calls; it could only serve as a camera or music player, but operating it would be too complicated. Music... music! That’s it!
Immediately, Hanno opened her laptop and searched for music boxes. A variety of beautifully designed and affordable music boxes filled the webpage. She casually browsed through them, eliminating those made of wood or plastic. She focused on crystal and glass music boxes that sparkled brightly to attract ancient people; then she removed those shaped like couples, castles, or pianos. Among the remaining options, she chose a rotating colorful jellyfish crystal ball music box. This music box featured a crystal base supporting an oval glass bubble containing a dazzling blue translucent jellyfish. When powered on, not only did the bubble rotate, but the jellyfish inside also shimmered with changing lights, creating a dreamlike effect. The entire music box cost only one hundred ninety-eight yuan. Just 198! A dazzling crystal music box to take home!
Hanno set down one thing after purchasing the music box. The seller was not in the city, and it would take three hours for the music box to reach her hands. She wrote a note to inform Li Yishu that she would deliver the item later and then left her rental apartment. At that moment, the stalls on the footbridge had already been set up. With Mom Han preparing dinner at home, Hanno was in no rush to return. She strolled around the bridge, buying a string of pearl necklaces, a pair of pearl bracelets, and three rhinestone hairpins. Although she wouldn't be giving these to the Li family just yet, she was simply preparing ahead. On her way back, she passed a stall selling pirated books at the foot of the bridge. In addition to traditional books, there were many printed versions of online novels. Hanno bought thirty or forty books in one go and had the boss tie them up with rope. Carrying one bag in each hand, she returned to her district. Passersby looked at her impressive haul and couldn't help but exclaim: what a strong woman!
The next day was the weekend, and Hanno didn't want to go out; she stayed home playing video games, much to Mom Han's dismay. However, she hadn't found anyone better than Zhou Donghang to introduce as a son-in-law for her daughter, so she could only let Hanno remain glued to her computer as a homebody. Not long after lunch, Hanno received a phone call and began changing clothes to go out. Mom Han immediately perked up and approached Hanno, asking, "Nono, who are you meeting?"
"Liu Zhaoren," Hanno casually replied. "He's off today and asked me to watch a movie."
Liu Zhaoren? Could he possibly have feelings for her daughter? Mom Han frowned slightly. Liu Zhaoren had decent qualities, but he was married before; that alone made him unworthy of her daughter. Yet seeing how Hanno acted around him—much more relaxed than with other men—she wondered if Hanno might be more open to Liu Zhaoren than she thought! Mom Han felt conflicted; should she support this or oppose it?
"By the way, we agreed to grab some skewers, so I won't be home for dinner," Hanno said as she finished putting on her shoes. When she noticed Mom Han's strange expression, she asked curiously, "Mom, what's with that look?"
"What look?" Mom Han rubbed her face and waved her hand dismissively. "Just go already; don't keep him waiting."
Hanno scoffed lightly. "So what if I keep him waiting? No matter how late I am, Liu Zhaoren will just have to wait for me."
How bold! It seemed like she had Liu Zhaoren wrapped around her finger. Hearing her daughter's response tilted Mom Han's opinion slightly in favor of Liu Zhaoren; this kind of dynamic between them would make Hanno the head of the household if they ever got married—very good indeed.
"Come back early," Mom Han reminded as Hanno headed out.
"Got it," came Hanno's voice from the elevator as it began its slow descent.
Liu Zhaoren stood at the entrance of their district waiting for Hanno. He wasn't in uniform but wore casual clothes instead; however, his upright posture and strong demeanor made it easy to recognize him as either an active-duty soldier or a veteran. Liu Zhaoren was quite handsome with a tall stature and long legs that were even more attractive than those of Korean stars. Just standing there for a moment had already drawn glances from several girls nearby—some sneaking looks while others stared openly. Hanno couldn't help but smile at this scene.
Liu Zhaoren looked puzzled and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Hanno focused on the buzz cut atop Liu Zhaoren's head and chuckled, "I was just reminded of our middle school reunion when Lin Bin asked you something."
Liu Zhaoren couldn't remember: "What did you say?"
Hanno leaned closer to Liu Zhaoren, mimicking Lin Bin, and asked, "Just got out?"
Liu Zhaoren paused for a moment, finally recalling the joke from back then. He quietly replied, "Yeah, just got out."
Hanno inquired, "How many years were you in?"
Liu Zhaoren answered, "A year and a half."
Hanno asked, "Why did you go in?"
Liu Zhaoren sighed, "I tricked a fool."
At this point, the two exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
Liu Zhaoren chuckled, "That blind guy Lin Bin, does he really think I look like a convict?"
Hanno laughed as well, "Who told you that convicts have such short haircuts too?"
Liu Zhaoren retorted, "But with my demeanor, I clearly have the air of an iron-blooded soldier. Why does he always think the worst of me?"
Hanno chuckled again, "Well, someone used to get into fights and run away from home in middle school. You did a lot of bad things; you were worse than a delinquent. People see you through old lenses, and you just have to deal with it."
Liu Zhaoren shook his head and sighed, "That uneducated guy Lin Bin doesn't know that Wu Xia A Meng said, 'After three days apart, one should look at others with new eyes,' does he?"
Hanno laughed even more and asked, "What about Lin Bin? What is he doing now?"
Unlike Hanno, Liu Zhaoren enjoyed making friends and valued loyalty. Even after graduating for so many years, he still kept in touch with his middle and high school friends, often meeting them for drinks whenever he returned home during holidays.
Liu Zhaoren replied, "After graduating from middle school, Lin Bin was sent to the army by his father. Later, due to his good performance, he was admitted to a military academy for further studies. Now he is a lieutenant. However, he is not in the N Military District; he is stationed in the north. I saw him during the military competition across various districts."
Hanno chuckled, "In the future, you can tease him about his uniform."
Liu Zhaoren laughed as well, "I’ve already teased him before."
The two of them reminisced about other classmates from middle and high school. Among them, some were doing well while others were struggling. What struck them most was the fate of two female classmates from middle school—one had passed away two years after graduation due to illness, while the other had succumbed to alcoholism after a breakup. She had run onto the highway and was hit by a car, dying before she could reach the hospital. Liu Zhaoren and Hanno did not attend her funeral, but Ma Yanli did. Afterward, she called Liu Zhaoren to share what had happened. The girl's parents were devastated; her mother even fainted from crying. She was their only child, and now she was gone—what would happen to them? As they aged, who would take care of them? For a man, she abandoned her parents and her reputation; this woman was truly unfilial.
As they continued their conversation, they arrived at the cinema. Naturally, their tastes aligned, and they chose a hilarious comedy titled "Extreme Challenge." They were both in stitches at the interactions between characters in the film, laughing until they were exhausted. They spent two or three hundred yuan on snacks to recover.
Liu Zhaoren walked Hanno to the entrance of the district: "Hanno."
"What is it?" Hanno asked with a smile.
"I..." Liu Zhaoren opened his mouth but when his gaze fell on Hanno's confused face, he sighed internally. Suppressing what he wanted to say, he smiled and said, "It's nothing; it's late. You should hurry upstairs. Let's go out together again next time."
"Okay. Bye-bye." Hanno turned and entered the hallway but instead of taking the elevator upstairs, she stood behind the railing on the second floor and looked down, making sure Liu Zhaoren wouldn’t notice.
Thinking that Hanno had already gone home, Liu Zhaoren sighed and turned to leave. Hanno also sighed; how long could she keep pretending? She truly hoped their relationship wouldn’t change or deteriorate into lost friendship. But how should she handle her relationship with Liu Zhaoren? Should she be direct?
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