Chapter 4
Chapter 4: The Family Trip
Location: Taiwan Time: 8:13 AM
Then, if I’m going to be unlucky for a hundred years because of that strange cat’s sentence, it’d take me a long time to get over it .
“Prince Chang Ge said that you will live for a hundred years, not be unlucky for a hundred years; how many times do I need to explain it!?” With a “pa,” someone heartlessly whacked my head, making me shrink away from the sidewalk on the spot .
Since that night, several days pa.s.sed again, and soon the morning we were going to board the ship arrived .
“Senior, what are you doing?” Early in the morning, I saw Senior holding a large cardboard box that looked very similar to a delivery package as he walked through the hall into the guest room where he had been staying in for the past few days .
“Restua just helped me send my clothes over . I went to pick them up . ” After entering his room, Senior opened the cardboard box, and inside were a few sets of casual wear and formal clothes, “Since I was continuously called around while I was in your house and didn’t have time to return to the school to get them, I asked Restua to help me send over the necessary items last night . ”
Eh, you actually told Restua to help send you home delivery!
I suddenly had a hard time imagining an Elf calling to make a delivery .
“Why couldn’t he do it? He’s the dorm manager . Whenever the dorm has a problem, he’s the one they look for in the first place . There’s nothing strange about it . ” Senior issued an excuse that was suspected to be quibble .
There weren’t much clothes inside the box . After Senior simply took them out, he stuffed them into a bag nearby, and at the very bottom of the cardboard box was a box of something . On the white box was a gold painted line . Taking out that little box and looking at it for a moment, Senior handed me the box, “These are desserts that Restua gave . ”
Oh oh! An Elf’s desserts!
I took that box and opened it . From inside came a sweet smell, and yet I couldn’t say what kind it was . It felt like a flowery fragrance, but it wasn’t the smell of manmade perfume .
The box was separated into two sides . In total, it contained twelve transparent things that looked very much like jelly .
“These aren’t jelly . They’re a type of Elven dessert made with a special gra.s.s . ” Pulling the zipper in his backpack, Senior added this note .
What kind of gra.s.s can make this sort of transparent thing? Agar?
[T/N: Type of gelatinous substance made from red algae]
But this was actually see-through; it didn’t look like agar at all . Each jelly had different flower petals inside, and some of them were pink fibers .
“The place where Elves live have transparent flowers?” I stared at that transparent petal jelly . The whole thing felt very mystical .
“That’s a flower species unique to the land of ice and snow where certain Elves live . It’s usually rarely seen . ”
Oh, so that’s how it is .
“Are you giving this to me?” Closing the box, I was very doubtful .
“Nonsense, why else would I give you it!?” Senior rolled his eyes at me, then sat down on the bed, “However, since the petals inside are all freshly picked, it’s best to eat them while they’re still fresh . ”
“Oh, this shouldn’t be a problem . We’re going to be riding the car to the ship location later anyway, so everyone will probably be able to finish this quickly in the car . ” It’s still a long ride before we get to the port area, so there’s lots of time to kill .
But speaking of which, it’s already the day we have to leave; how come a certain someone still hasn’t appeared yet?
Just when I had this question, a very familiar array abruptly emerged on the floor of the room, then that person who still hadn’t arrived yet directly leaped out .
“Hey! Yang~Such a coincidence!” Coincidence your head, don’t just use the teleportation array in my room! If my sister, dad or mom sees you, how are you going to explain it, you!?
The five-colored rooster head who suddenly appeared was carrying a big backpack, “When I went back home, I brought along some things on the way . ” He broke into a wide smile, then spiritedly took out a big gift box from behind: “Yang~this can be eaten right away . ”
Looking at the words “cooked seafood cold platter” printed on the gift box, I fell silent .
You’re telling us to eat seafood cold platter in the car, is that it?
“Eh, your cla.s.smate’s here too?”
Just when I was staring blankly at the cold platter giftbox, a certain voice noiselessly popped up all of a sudden . I was completely caught off guard by Ming Yue, who appeared without warning, “When, when did you come?” Scared me half to death .
“Just came by . ” Ming Yue glanced at me, and coldly snorted: “Dad said to hurry up and come downstairs if you’re ready . It’s almost time to leave . He’s already starting the car right now . ”
“Your family has a car?” Unexpectedly, Senior actually asked this question .
“Of course we have, when my dad went on business trips before, it was sent to someone else’s house for maintenance . ” How is it possible for us not to have one? We can still be considered a middle-income household at any rate, “Because no one in our family, not even my mom, knows how to drive a car, whenever my dad goes on a business trip, it’s always put with someone else, and taken it back when he returns . ”
Senior nodded, with a so-that’s-how-it-is kind of expression .
“Yang Yang, what’s that in your hands?” Ming Yue looked at the gift box in my hands .
“Uh, the seafood cold platter that Ziray brought back . I think we’ll have to eat them in the car later . Otherwise, we can’t bring them onboard, right?” Fortunately, the cold platter doesn’t seem to have a lot . Six people should be able to quickly eat them all .
“Who would eat cold platter in the car? You think we’re on a mobile restaurant?” My sister uttered very blunt words .
“Why can’t you eat them? This is delicious . ” The five-colored rooster head issued a tone like my sister doesn’t know how to savor delicious food, “I already ate more than a dozen of them at home . ”
…Turns out this is your leftover gift box?
Speaking of which, does your family always buy this sort of gift box to give away? I’ve honestly never seen it here . It was only after carefully feeling it that I noticed the whole box was still cold up till now . There doesn’t seem to be any signs that the things inside had lost heat .
A natural refrigeration incantation?
What kind of spell is this to be able to be applied on it!?
“Yang Yang, are you guys finished? Come down quickly; it’s time to leave!” Right after we all fell silent, my mom’s voice came from the stairs below: “Remember to turn off the power supply upstairs . The doors and windows have to be locked too!”
“Okay—-”
After replying, I quickly ran back to my room to get my backpack . My sister followed behind me and directly went downstairs: “Senior, Ziray, what are you doing?” After getting my things and coming out, I saw Senior and Ziray standing in front of the guest room that had already been closed, holding a crystal before the door to do who knows what .
“Giving the house some defense mechanisms . ” Watching by the side, the five-colored rooster head answered me like this .
…It can’t be that when we return, we’d see the house turned into a robot wrecking havoc nearby?
“It won’t do that!” Senior directly threw the crystal in his hand at me, “This is an array similar to asking the atmospheric Elves to come over here and guard the house . So as long as the person breaking in isn’t a resident of the house, they will be…and then they won’t ever dare to touch this house . ”
Senior, please don’t mute yourself .
And don’t use crystals to throw at people . It hurts, it really hurts!
I picked up the white crystal that fell on the ground . Completely see-through, it must be very expensive, but even if it’s something very expensive, I still won’t be very happy if you throw it at me!
“Yang Yang, hurry up and come down!” This time it became my sister shouting by the stairs .
“Alright!”
After going out the door, I once again saw my dad’s car at our house’s entrance .
Because of advocacy for the need to give children a lot of s.p.a.ce, my family’s car isn’t that type of little family car but rather a large van, the kind that can carry nine people in total . The car was divided into three rows of seats in the front, middle and back .
“Get in quickly, it’s easy to get into traffic jams during vacation . We have to hurry a bit . ” After my mom piled the backpacks in the back, she rushed the bunch of us kids to the rear seats, herself sitting in the pa.s.senger seat .
From start to end, the five-colored rooster head had been very excited . As soon as he sat down, he looked at the stereo in front with shiny eyes: “Can you put on music?”
“Sure? What do you want to listen to?” After everyone sat down and my dad released the clutch, the car slowly began to slide forward .
“This . ” Taking out a black CD cover from his backpack, the five-colored rooster head pa.s.sed it to the front: “I want to listen to this . ”
Opening the box, my dad put the CD into the car stereo .
The moment the CD was read, a very terrifying, the kind that only electronic floats would have…cheery music of the early decade immediately drifted out .
“Turn it off!” Ming Yue made the first protest .
“What is that sound…” Senior covered his ears and spat out utterly disgusted words .
“Dad, I beg you, please turn it off quickly . ” I simply can’t stand that terrible sound .
Not saying anything at all, a stupefied blank look appeared on Mom’s face .
In less than a few seconds, the music was instantly cut off under my dad’s finger, “Zi, Ziray, I think it’d be better to switch to something else . ” The first one to bear the brunt of it, Dad’s head was full of black lines . Then he took the CD out and returned it to the five-colored rooster head .
“Eh, you guys don’t like listening to this? This is what someone sent me . ” The five-colored rooster head looked at everyone with an innocent expression .
“Eh, you guys don’t like listening to this? This is what someone sent me . ” The five-colored rooster head looked at everyone with an innocent expression .
“We can’t get used to it at all…” What’s with that shrill voice at the beginning just now!? It can’t be that this is music meant for seeing someone off on a journey!?
“Tsk, honestly, when you’re going out to play, you should listen to this sort of music!” Putting away the music at the side, the five-colored rooster humphed .
People usually wouldn’t listen to this sort of music when they go out, right!?
Afraid that he would take out a second disc, my mom swiftly put on another Western alb.u.m . The female singer’s resounding voice quickly washed out the atmosphere of the murder case that almost happened just now in the car .
“Ah, that’s right, it’d be better if we hurry and eat these things . ” I took out the desserts Restua sent and the five-colored rooster head’s seafood cold platter .
“Xiao Yue, there are some small bags in the back for you to put trash in . ” My mom’s first sentence was to take care of the car’s hygiene .
Ming Yue quickly opened the garbage bag .
“This type of dessert can be directly eaten with your hands . ” Senior told us how to eat the Elven dessert .
“Yeah . ” I grabbed a jelly, and unexpectedly, I found that it really wasn’t jelly . It just looked very similar to jelly . The tactile impression I got from my hand was more like a pastry, “Mom, Dad . ” I pa.s.sed the dessert box to the front . Mom chose two, reaching over to feed Dad one .
Handing the dessert box to the others, I took a bite out of that purple-petalled transparent pastry in my hand .
At first, when I started eating it, it was a bit like a cold glutinous cake, but not very sweet . As soon as I bit into it, it instantly melted, and my entire mouth was filled with a strong licorice flavor .
“This is delicious . Yang Yang, which one of your schoolmates bought it? Next time Dad goes on a business trip, I can try finding it . ” Dad gave a high appraisal of the Elven dessert .
Sorry Dad, but I think there’s probably no way you will ever be able to go on a business trip there in your lifetime .
“Uh, I don’t know either . ” With black lines falling down, I could only give an vague answer .
“Chu, try this . ” Biting a blue leaf, Senior pointed to that transparent petal dessert .
There’s a difference in the transparent taste?
Looking at that pastry with faintly-seen fibers, I was a bit doubtful .
“Yang~if you’re not eating it, I’ll eat it . ” The five-colored rooster head swallowed one in one bite, then reached his claw over again .
“No need, I can eat it myself . ” Immediately picking up that transparent petal pastry, I gave the remaining few in the box to the five-colored rooster head .
On closer inspection, that pastry gave off an even more mystical feeling . The petals inside seemed to be frozen, faint enough for you to see the borders and a bit of something I suspect is frost .
Is it okay to give me this kind of rare flower petal to eat? According to light novels, doesn’t this only increase one’s powers by a hundred years if it’s given to martial arts experts?
“So longwinded, are you going to eat it or not!?” Senior gave me a sideway glare .
“I, I was just about to eat it . ” Hastily stuffing that transparent thing into my mouth, less than half a second later, I immediately felt a different taste from last time, correction, it should be that it has no taste .
This pastry was almost tasteless . The whole thing was cool, and from head to toe, I cooled down with it . After I swallowed a bite, there was a bit of an unknown aroma, not very strong but lasted a long time; I felt comfortable and refreshed from head to toe .
“This tastes great…” Not at all like the one just now .
“See, this is different . ” Senior curved into a very faint smile .
“Different?” The five-colored rooster head immediately leaned over, “Yang~You actually ate it! Spit it out!” Tossing aside the empty box, I saw those malicious claws reach toward me .
“I swallowed it down already!” It won’t do if I’m caught! I immediately covered my mouth and escaped to the s.p.a.ce in the back .
“I don’t care, I want to eat a different one too!” Grabbing my pants, the five-colored rooster head, who simply couldn’t be communicated with human words, made an evil declaration .
“Go look for Restua next time . ” It’s not like I was the one who put a different one there!
Completely acting like it was none of their business, Senior and my sister actually opened drinks in the middle seats, not caring whether or not I would be beaten by an a.s.sa.s.sin until I threw it up .
“I don’t have a good relationship with him . ” The five-colored rooster head very sadly said .
What the h.e.l.l does that have to do with me!?
“That’s right, the cold platter should be taken out and eaten first, otherwise they won’t be fresh if left for too long . ” I immediately changed the topic, picking up that still-icy gift box and said .
“That’s right, the cold platter should be taken out and eaten first, otherwise they won’t be fresh if left for too long . ” I immediately changed the topic, picking up that still-icy gift box and said .
The five-colored rooster head’s attention was instantly transferred to the gift box . “Oh yeah, we have to hurry up and eat them . This is delicious . They even sent plates inside . ”
“Eh!” A typical cold platter gift box would send paper plates?
I opened that gift box, then discovered that there weren’t paper plates inside but rather, half a dozen small transparent gla.s.s plates and six little silver forks .
You tell me, which family’s gift box would be so generous! Say it!
“Be careful not to get them on the car . ” Mom turned her head, worriedly saying, “Or else they’ll go bad if they stay there for ten days . ”
…Is this the problem?
There were vacuum packagings inside the gift box, a total of two large bags, more than enough servings for six people to eat .
“One of them is shrimp, and I think one is crab meat . ” The five-colored rooster head tore off the packaging, and the smell of a refreshing seasoning mixed with salad immediately drifted out .
Shrimp? Crab?
“Uh…from the sealed world?” I timidly asked this question .
“Yeah, where else?” The five-colored rooster head answered me in a very matter-of-course tone .
I felt a bit sorry for the people who made the gift box . They must have risked their lives a lot against those seafood to make such a big box .
“What ‘sealed world’ are you guys talking about?” Mom’s question immediately came over .
“Uh, we’re talking about the gift box’s brand!” Taking advantage of the five-colored rooster head having not opened his mouth yet, I made the first move to forcefully cover his mouth to prevent him from explaining what the “sealed world” and the “original world” is .
“How strange, I’ve never heard of this brand . ”
“Ahaha…It’s new . ” I glossed it over with a head full of cold sweat .
Sitting in the middle seats, Ming Yue tore off the other bag, then took a gla.s.s plate . Pouring out the shrimp meat inside, she took the five-colored rooster head’s crab meat, put it in the other half and pa.s.sed it to the front seats again .
“Aiya, this plate’s quality is pretty good . We can wash it and put it in the car later to bring home when we return from the trip . ” My mom obviously liked the little plates that came with the gift box .
Taking the little plate that Ming Yue pa.s.sed out, I carefully looked at it too . The plate was honestly clear, very beautiful . It didn’t really seem like a cheap product .
After dividing the servings among the several of us, Ming Yue handed the two bags left over to the five-colored rooster head: “The remaining half should be enough for you to eat, right?”
…Even my sister realized that the five-colored rooster head had a really big appet.i.te .
The five-colored rooster head grinned and took the bag, directly pouring them in his mouth to eat the seafood inside .
The shrimp meat on the plate tasted a lot like a lobster cold dish . The crab meat was similar, giving me the illusion that we were actually eating at a mobile banquet table right now .
Sitting next to my sister, Senior ate very slowly . In fact, it should be more appropriate to say that he was chewing and swallowing slowly, since he chewed every bite for a long time before swallowing . It felt kind of like a little kid eating .
“Chu…do you believe I would knock your head until you’re unable to think . ” Black eyes glared over from ahead, giving me a very frightening warning .
“Uh, I’m sorry . ” I’m still not planning on becoming brain-dead .
Probably because today wasn’t Sat.u.r.day, there was quite a small number of cars on the highway, but the traffic flow heading south was very big, and there was even the feeling of a traffic jam .
That’s right, in the past, it was also around this time that it became like Kenting . Some of the rather famous holiday resorts would get flooded with people . When we celebrated the New Year last year, our family ran off to the east to play . In the end, we were stuck in a long traffic jam, causing Dad, who was driving the car, to tragically perish on the bed as soon as we arrived at the hotel .
[T/N: Kenting is one of the hottest tourist spots in Taiwan, famed for its beaches, scenery, etc . ]
That said, last year, who knows whether it was because of bad luck that we got into a traffic jam so bad we were about to die, or because of a chain of car accidents at the very front…There shouldn’t be any problems today, right?
I keep feeling that the almighty celestial beings definitely wouldn’t let me be so lucky, moreover letting me peacefully reach our destination for free with a ten day vacation .
As soon as I thought of this, I suddenly felt the hair rising on my skin .
“Chu, stop it . ”
A sharp pain directly cane from my forehead . For a second, my whole eyes went blurry, and I even forgot what I was thinking about just now . Innocently raising my head with tears in my eyes, I saw that the culprit biting a fork was glaring at me: “If you’re eating something, eat it properly . ”
I’m sorry, it’s all my fault you were unable to properly eat, but if you want to quietly eat something, don’t eavesdrop!
A sharp pain directly cane from my forehead . For a second, my whole eyes went blurry, and I even forgot what I was thinking about just now . Innocently raising my head with tears in my eyes, I saw that the culprit biting a fork was glaring at me: “If you’re eating something, eat it properly . ”
I’m sorry, it’s all my fault you were unable to properly eat, but if you want to quietly eat something, don’t eavesdrop!
“What are you two being so noisy for?” Ming Yue glanced at the two of us, then put the clean plates in the plastic bag, “If you don’t finish eating soon, bacteria will start growing on the seafood . ”
Sitting in the front, Dad and Mom had clearly finished eating too . After switching to the public broadcasting channel, they started to chat every now and then .
Taking a few mouthfuls and rapidly eating the shrimp meat, I leaned across and put the plate in the plastic bag: “It’s a bit stuffy in the car . Do you want to open the windows?” Having just finished eating, there were a lot of different smells in the car, and plus, since it was cold today, everyone had closed the windows tightly; now I suddenly felt like the air inside the car was making me a little sick .
Looking at the middle seats, my sister and Senior were next to the windows, however, my sister made it clear that she didn’t want to open it . Then I turned my head to look at Senior; he was still eating his food .
“Um, Senior, excuse me, let me open the window . ” I didn’t dare to ask him to put his food down and help me open the window to let some air in . I could only shift my position to stretch over and pull open the nearby window myself .
“Wait…” Senior’s words immediately got cut off .
Then I saw the most terrifying scene in history .
The instant I opened the window, the wind outside charged in wildly, then drew back out . Sitting beside the window, Senior didn’t have time to press his head down . His untied long black hair was completely drawn outside with the wind, then a large amount of hair was rolled under the window .
“That hurts!” Pulling the hair that was rolled up by the window, Senior lowered his head and let out a m.u.f.fled sound .
“I, I didn’t mean to!” If we weren’t in the car, right now I would be as far away from Senior as possible, or else I’m sure he would definitely blast off my head .
“Hurry up and pull his hair in, or else more and more will be rolled up!” Sitting in the front seats, Mom immediately took away the plate in Senior’s other hand, allowing him to have two hands to rescue his hair .
“Chu, I’m going to knock off your head!” Forcefully pulling his hair, Senior issued a vicious declaration .
I really didn’t mean to!
“Don’t pull so hard . Your hair’s going to break . ” My sister’s words were obviously a step too late . The hair that Senior pulled with all his might made a subtle sound, and I instantly saw several snapped-off black hair fluttering in the wind .
Uh, they really are so soft and supple, and even seemed to be dancing in the wind .
“Dancing your d.a.m.n head!” Senior swung his arm out and directly gave me a punch .
The entire car interior fell into chaos . I held my nonstop-panging head and tearfully shrank back in the back seats .
“Don’t pull too hard; you couldn’t understand that?” Ming Yue smacked away Senior’s hand that was currently ruining his hair with a “pa” sound, then leaned over to help him pull his hair out from under the window bit by bit: “At a time like this, you have to slowly pull, so that it won’t get stuck further the more it rolls up or break off completely . Isn’t that all you need to do!?” With a few dexterous movements, she swiftly pulled out the hair rolled under the window, apart from the ones snapped off and still tangled on it .
“Thank you . ” Quickly tying his hair, Senior immediately turned around and used his hand to knock my head in revenge .
Having been punched originally, and now adding another whack, I suspect my head had probably already become swollen .
The furious Senior turned back to the middle seats, then plucked out all the broken hair that was rolled under the window .
“Hey, did you guys hear a noise like a firecracker?” The five-colored rooster head, who had been watching the show in the back the whole time, folded up the empty bag in his hand and issued the above words .
“A firecracker noise?” While rubbing my head, I asked the person sitting beside me .
“Yeah, it boomed a couple of times just now . ” The five-colored rooster head answered very naturally .
“It’s probably some people setting off firecrackers for the New Year…”
Before I could finish speaking, Dad, who was in the driver’s seat, suddenly exclaimed, then stepped on the brakes hard .
Completely not expecting this situation, the huge spontaneous braking force made us, who were sitting in the back and didn’t have seatbelts, all fall back, tumbling everywhere and crashing into who knows what with a boom; followed by me hitting my head and my eyes going blurry .
Within the chaos, I heard my mom’s shout and some kind of gla.s.s-crashing-into-gla.s.s noise .
After the car stopped a few seconds later, I fell under the seat and even felt the five-colored rooster head crushing me on top . The whole car seemed to have been hit sideways, because I sensed the car sliding away .
The five-colored rooster head quickly got off me, and I also climbed up from under the seat while shaking my head .
The first thing I saw was that Senior and Ming Yue, who were in the middle seats, had been thrown to the side too, and then the airbags in front had popped up . The view outside the window really was sideways . All the cars nearby had also stopped . It looks like we probably didn’t hit anything or got hit, because I didn’t sense us being hit .
The second thing I saw was that Senior’s shrimp plate, which was originally in Mom’s hand, had fallen on the stereo, and then a large ma.s.s of shrimp salad speckled on the front gla.s.s .
Ah! It’s time to wash the car .
This was my first impression .
Chapter 4: The Family Trip.
Location: Taiwan Time: 8:13 AM.
Then, if I’m going to be unlucky for a hundred years because of that strange cat’s sentence, it’d take me a long time to get over it
“Prince Chang Ge said that you will live for a hundred years, not be unlucky for a hundred years; how many times do I need to explain it!?” With a “pa,” someone heartlessly whacked my head, making me shrink away from the sidewalk on the spot
Since that night, several days pa.s.sed again, and soon the morning we were going to board the ship arrived
“Senior, what are you doing?” Early in the morning, I saw Senior holding a large cardboard box that looked very similar to a delivery package as he walked through the hall into the guest room where he had been staying in for the past few days
“Restua just helped me send my clothes over . I went to pick them up . ” After entering his room, Senior opened the cardboard box, and inside were a few sets of casual wear and formal clothes, “Since I was continuously called around while I was in your house and didn’t have time to return to the school to get them, I asked Restua to help me send over the necessary items last night . ”.
Eh, you actually told Restua to help send you home delivery!.
I suddenly had a hard time imagining an Elf calling to make a delivery
“Why couldn’t he do it? He’s the dorm manager . Whenever the dorm has a problem, he’s the one they look for in the first place . There’s nothing strange about it . ” Senior issued an excuse that was suspected to be quibble
There weren’t much clothes inside the box . After Senior simply took them out, he stuffed them into a bag nearby, and at the very bottom of the cardboard box was a box of something . On the white box was a gold painted line . Taking out that little box and looking at it for a moment, Senior handed me the box, “These are desserts that Restua gave . ”.
Oh oh! An Elf’s desserts!.
I took that box and opened it . From inside came a sweet smell, and yet I couldn’t say what kind it was . It felt like a flowery fragrance, but it wasn’t the smell of manmade perfume
The box was separated into two sides . In total, it contained twelve transparent things that looked very much like jelly
“These aren’t jelly . They’re a type of Elven dessert made with a special gra.s.s . ” Pulling the zipper in his backpack, Senior added this note
What kind of gra.s.s can make this sort of transparent thing? Agar?.
[T/N: Type of gelatinous substance made from red algae].
But this was actually see-through; it didn’t look like agar at all . Each jelly had different flower petals inside, and some of them were pink fibers
“The place where Elves live have transparent flowers?” I stared at that transparent petal jelly . The whole thing felt very mystical
“That’s a flower species unique to the land of ice and snow where certain Elves live . It’s usually rarely seen . ”.
Oh, so that’s how it is
“Are you giving this to me?” Closing the box, I was very doubtful
“Nonsense, why else would I give you it!?” Senior rolled his eyes at me, then sat down on the bed, “However, since the petals inside are all freshly picked, it’s best to eat them while they’re still fresh . ”.
“Oh, this shouldn’t be a problem . We’re going to be riding the car to the ship location later anyway, so everyone will probably be able to finish this quickly in the car . ” It’s still a long ride before we get to the port area, so there’s lots of time to kill
But speaking of which, it’s already the day we have to leave; how come a certain someone still hasn’t appeared yet?.
Just when I had this question, a very familiar array abruptly emerged on the floor of the room, then that person who still hadn’t arrived yet directly leaped out
“Hey! Yang~Such a coincidence!” Coincidence your head, don’t just use the teleportation array in my room! If my sister, dad or mom sees you, how are you going to explain it, you!?.
The five-colored rooster head who suddenly appeared was carrying a big backpack, “When I went back home, I brought along some things on the way . ” He broke into a wide smile, then spiritedly took out a big gift box from behind: “Yang~this can be eaten right away . ”.
Looking at the words “cooked seafood cold platter” printed on the gift box, I fell silent
You’re telling us to eat seafood cold platter in the car, is that it?.
“Eh, your cla.s.smate’s here too?”.
Just when I was staring blankly at the cold platter giftbox, a certain voice noiselessly popped up all of a sudden . I was completely caught off guard by Ming Yue, who appeared without warning, “When, when did you come?” Scared me half to death
“Just came by . ” Ming Yue glanced at me, and coldly snorted: “Dad said to hurry up and come downstairs if you’re ready . It’s almost time to leave . He’s already starting the car right now . ”.
“Your family has a car?” Unexpectedly, Senior actually asked this question
“Of course we have, when my dad went on business trips before, it was sent to someone else’s house for maintenance . ” How is it possible for us not to have one? We can still be considered a middle-income household at any rate, “Because no one in our family, not even my mom, knows how to drive a car, whenever my dad goes on a business trip, it’s always put with someone else, and taken it back when he returns . ”.
Senior nodded, with a so-that’s-how-it-is kind of expression
“Yang Yang, what’s that in your hands?” Ming Yue looked at the gift box in my hands
“Uh, the seafood cold platter that Ziray brought back . I think we’ll have to eat them in the car later . Otherwise, we can’t bring them onboard, right?” Fortunately, the cold platter doesn’t seem to have a lot . Six people should be able to quickly eat them all
“Who would eat cold platter in the car? You think we’re on a mobile restaurant?” My sister uttered very blunt words
“Why can’t you eat them? This is delicious . ” The five-colored rooster head issued a tone like my sister doesn’t know how to savor delicious food, “I already ate more than a dozen of them at home . ”.
…Turns out this is your leftover gift box?.
Speaking of which, does your family always buy this sort of gift box to give away? I’ve honestly never seen it here . It was only after carefully feeling it that I noticed the whole box was still cold up till now . There doesn’t seem to be any signs that the things inside had lost heat
A natural refrigeration incantation?.
What kind of spell is this to be able to be applied on it!?.
“Yang Yang, are you guys finished? Come down quickly; it’s time to leave!” Right after we all fell silent, my mom’s voice came from the stairs below: “Remember to turn off the power supply upstairs . The doors and windows have to be locked too!”.
“Okay—-”.
After replying, I quickly ran back to my room to get my backpack . My sister followed behind me and directly went downstairs: “Senior, Ziray, what are you doing?” After getting my things and coming out, I saw Senior and Ziray standing in front of the guest room that had already been closed, holding a crystal before the door to do who knows what
“Giving the house some defense mechanisms . ” Watching by the side, the five-colored rooster head answered me like this
…It can’t be that when we return, we’d see the house turned into a robot wrecking havoc nearby?.
“It won’t do that!” Senior directly threw the crystal in his hand at me, “This is an array similar to asking the atmospheric Elves to come over here and guard the house . So as long as the person breaking in isn’t a resident of the house, they will be…and then they won’t ever dare to touch this house . ”.
Senior, please don’t mute yourself
And don’t use crystals to throw at people . It hurts, it really hurts!.
I picked up the white crystal that fell on the ground . Completely see-through, it must be very expensive, but even if it’s something very expensive, I still won’t be very happy if you throw it at me!.
“Yang Yang, hurry up and come down!” This time it became my sister shouting by the stairs
“Alright!”.
After going out the door, I once again saw my dad’s car at our house’s entrance
Because of advocacy for the need to give children a lot of s.p.a.ce, my family’s car isn’t that type of little family car but rather a large van, the kind that can carry nine people in total . The car was divided into three rows of seats in the front, middle and back
“Get in quickly, it’s easy to get into traffic jams during vacation . We have to hurry a bit . ” After my mom piled the backpacks in the back, she rushed the bunch of us kids to the rear seats, herself sitting in the pa.s.senger seat
From start to end, the five-colored rooster head had been very excited . As soon as he sat down, he looked at the stereo in front with shiny eyes: “Can you put on music?”.
“Sure? What do you want to listen to?” After everyone sat down and my dad released the clutch, the car slowly began to slide forward
“This . ” Taking out a black CD cover from his backpack, the five-colored rooster head pa.s.sed it to the front: “I want to listen to this . ”.
Opening the box, my dad put the CD into the car stereo
The moment the CD was read, a very terrifying, the kind that only electronic floats would have…cheery music of the early decade immediately drifted out
“Turn it off!” Ming Yue made the first protest
“What is that sound…” Senior covered his ears and spat out utterly disgusted words
“Dad, I beg you, please turn it off quickly . ” I simply can’t stand that terrible sound
Not saying anything at all, a stupefied blank look appeared on Mom’s face
In less than a few seconds, the music was instantly cut off under my dad’s finger, “Zi, Ziray, I think it’d be better to switch to something else . ” The first one to bear the brunt of it, Dad’s head was full of black lines . Then he took the CD out and returned it to the five-colored rooster head
“Eh, you guys don’t like listening to this? This is what someone sent me . ” The five-colored rooster head looked at everyone with an innocent expression
“We can’t get used to it at all…” What’s with that shrill voice at the beginning just now!? It can’t be that this is music meant for seeing someone off on a journey!?.
“Tsk, honestly, when you’re going out to play, you should listen to this sort of music!” Putting away the music at the side, the five-colored rooster humphed
People usually wouldn’t listen to this sort of music when they go out, right!?.
Afraid that he would take out a second disc, my mom swiftly put on another Western alb.u.m . The female singer’s resounding voice quickly washed out the atmosphere of the murder case that almost happened just now in the car
“Ah, that’s right, it’d be better if we hurry and eat these things . ” I took out the desserts Restua sent and the five-colored rooster head’s seafood cold platter
“Xiao Yue, there are some small bags in the back for you to put trash in . ” My mom’s first sentence was to take care of the car’s hygiene
Ming Yue quickly opened the garbage bag
“This type of dessert can be directly eaten with your hands . ” Senior told us how to eat the Elven dessert
“Yeah . ” I grabbed a jelly, and unexpectedly, I found that it really wasn’t jelly . It just looked very similar to jelly . The tactile impression I got from my hand was more like a pastry, “Mom, Dad . ” I pa.s.sed the dessert box to the front . Mom chose two, reaching over to feed Dad one
Handing the dessert box to the others, I took a bite out of that purple-petalled transparent pastry in my hand
At first, when I started eating it, it was a bit like a cold glutinous cake, but not very sweet . As soon as I bit into it, it instantly melted, and my entire mouth was filled with a strong licorice flavor
“This is delicious . Yang Yang, which one of your schoolmates bought it? Next time Dad goes on a business trip, I can try finding it . ” Dad gave a high appraisal of the Elven dessert
Sorry Dad, but I think there’s probably no way you will ever be able to go on a business trip there in your lifetime
“Uh, I don’t know either . ” With black lines falling down, I could only give an vague answer
“Chu, try this . ” Biting a blue leaf, Senior pointed to that transparent petal dessert
There’s a difference in the transparent taste?.
Looking at that pastry with faintly-seen fibers, I was a bit doubtful
“Yang~if you’re not eating it, I’ll eat it . ” The five-colored rooster head swallowed one in one bite, then reached his claw over again
“No need, I can eat it myself . ” Immediately picking up that transparent petal pastry, I gave the remaining few in the box to the five-colored rooster head
On closer inspection, that pastry gave off an even more mystical feeling . The petals inside seemed to be frozen, faint enough for you to see the borders and a bit of something I suspect is frost
Is it okay to give me this kind of rare flower petal to eat? According to light novels, doesn’t this only increase one’s powers by a hundred years if it’s given to martial arts experts?.
“So longwinded, are you going to eat it or not!?” Senior gave me a sideway glare
“I, I was just about to eat it . ” Hastily stuffing that transparent thing into my mouth, less than half a second later, I immediately felt a different taste from last time, correction, it should be that it has no taste
This pastry was almost tasteless . The whole thing was cool, and from head to toe, I cooled down with it . After I swallowed a bite, there was a bit of an unknown aroma, not very strong but lasted a long time; I felt comfortable and refreshed from head to toe
“This tastes great…” Not at all like the one just now
“See, this is different . ” Senior curved into a very faint smile
“Different?” The five-colored rooster head immediately leaned over, “Yang~You actually ate it! Spit it out!” Tossing aside the empty box, I saw those malicious claws reach toward me
“I swallowed it down already!” It won’t do if I’m caught! I immediately covered my mouth and escaped to the s.p.a.ce in the back
“I don’t care, I want to eat a different one too!” Grabbing my pants, the five-colored rooster head, who simply couldn’t be communicated with human words, made an evil declaration
“Go look for Restua next time . ” It’s not like I was the one who put a different one there!.
Completely acting like it was none of their business, Senior and my sister actually opened drinks in the middle seats, not caring whether or not I would be beaten by an a.s.sa.s.sin until I threw it up
“I don’t have a good relationship with him . ” The five-colored rooster head very sadly said
What the h.e.l.l does that have to do with me!?.
“That’s right, the cold platter should be taken out and eaten first, otherwise they won’t be fresh if left for too long . ” I immediately changed the topic, picking up that still-icy gift box and said
The five-colored rooster head’s attention was instantly transferred to the gift box . “Oh yeah, we have to hurry up and eat them . This is delicious . They even sent plates inside . ”.
“Eh!” A typical cold platter gift box would send paper plates?.
I opened that gift box, then discovered that there weren’t paper plates inside but rather, half a dozen small transparent gla.s.s plates and six little silver forks
You tell me, which family’s gift box would be so generous! Say it!.
“Be careful not to get them on the car . ” Mom turned her head, worriedly saying, “Or else they’ll go bad if they stay there for ten days . ”.
…Is this the problem?.
There were vacuum packagings inside the gift box, a total of two large bags, more than enough servings for six people to eat
“One of them is shrimp, and I think one is crab meat . ” The five-colored rooster head tore off the packaging, and the smell of a refreshing seasoning mixed with salad immediately drifted out
Shrimp? Crab?.
“Uh…from the sealed world?” I timidly asked this question
“Yeah, where else?” The five-colored rooster head answered me in a very matter-of-course tone
I felt a bit sorry for the people who made the gift box . They must have risked their lives a lot against those seafood to make such a big box
“What ‘sealed world’ are you guys talking about?” Mom’s question immediately came over
“Uh, we’re talking about the gift box’s brand!” Taking advantage of the five-colored rooster head having not opened his mouth yet, I made the first move to forcefully cover his mouth to prevent him from explaining what the “sealed world” and the “original world” is
“How strange, I’ve never heard of this brand . ”.
“Ahaha…It’s new . ” I glossed it over with a head full of cold sweat
Sitting in the middle seats, Ming Yue tore off the other bag, then took a gla.s.s plate . Pouring out the shrimp meat inside, she took the five-colored rooster head’s crab meat, put it in the other half and pa.s.sed it to the front seats again
“Aiya, this plate’s quality is pretty good . We can wash it and put it in the car later to bring home when we return from the trip . ” My mom obviously liked the little plates that came with the gift box
Taking the little plate that Ming Yue pa.s.sed out, I carefully looked at it too . The plate was honestly clear, very beautiful . It didn’t really seem like a cheap product
After dividing the servings among the several of us, Ming Yue handed the two bags left over to the five-colored rooster head: “The remaining half should be enough for you to eat, right?”.
…Even my sister realized that the five-colored rooster head had a really big appet.i.te
The five-colored rooster head grinned and took the bag, directly pouring them in his mouth to eat the seafood inside
The shrimp meat on the plate tasted a lot like a lobster cold dish . The crab meat was similar, giving me the illusion that we were actually eating at a mobile banquet table right now
Sitting next to my sister, Senior ate very slowly . In fact, it should be more appropriate to say that he was chewing and swallowing slowly, since he chewed every bite for a long time before swallowing . It felt kind of like a little kid eating
“Chu…do you believe I would knock your head until you’re unable to think . ” Black eyes glared over from ahead, giving me a very frightening warning
“Uh, I’m sorry . ” I’m still not planning on becoming brain-dead
Probably because today wasn’t Sat.u.r.day, there was quite a small number of cars on the highway, but the traffic flow heading south was very big, and there was even the feeling of a traffic jam
That’s right, in the past, it was also around this time that it became like Kenting . Some of the rather famous holiday resorts would get flooded with people . When we celebrated the New Year last year, our family ran off to the east to play . In the end, we were stuck in a long traffic jam, causing Dad, who was driving the car, to tragically perish on the bed as soon as we arrived at the hotel
[T/N: Kenting is one of the hottest tourist spots in Taiwan, famed for its beaches, scenery, etc . ].
That said, last year, who knows whether it was because of bad luck that we got into a traffic jam so bad we were about to die, or because of a chain of car accidents at the very front…There shouldn’t be any problems today, right?.
I keep feeling that the almighty celestial beings definitely wouldn’t let me be so lucky, moreover letting me peacefully reach our destination for free with a ten day vacation
As soon as I thought of this, I suddenly felt the hair rising on my skin
“Chu, stop it . ”.
A sharp pain directly cane from my forehead . For a second, my whole eyes went blurry, and I even forgot what I was thinking about just now . Innocently raising my head with tears in my eyes, I saw that the culprit biting a fork was glaring at me: “If you’re eating something, eat it properly . ”.
I’m sorry, it’s all my fault you were unable to properly eat, but if you want to quietly eat something, don’t eavesdrop!.
“What are you two being so noisy for?” Ming Yue glanced at the two of us, then put the clean plates in the plastic bag, “If you don’t finish eating soon, bacteria will start growing on the seafood . ”.
Sitting in the front, Dad and Mom had clearly finished eating too . After switching to the public broadcasting channel, they started to chat every now and then
Taking a few mouthfuls and rapidly eating the shrimp meat, I leaned across and put the plate in the plastic bag: “It’s a bit stuffy in the car . Do you want to open the windows?” Having just finished eating, there were a lot of different smells in the car, and plus, since it was cold today, everyone had closed the windows tightly; now I suddenly felt like the air inside the car was making me a little sick
Looking at the middle seats, my sister and Senior were next to the windows, however, my sister made it clear that she didn’t want to open it . Then I turned my head to look at Senior; he was still eating his food
“Um, Senior, excuse me, let me open the window . ” I didn’t dare to ask him to put his food down and help me open the window to let some air in . I could only shift my position to stretch over and pull open the nearby window myself
“Wait…” Senior’s words immediately got cut off
Then I saw the most terrifying scene in history
The instant I opened the window, the wind outside charged in wildly, then drew back out . Sitting beside the window, Senior didn’t have time to press his head down . His untied long black hair was completely drawn outside with the wind, then a large amount of hair was rolled under the window
“That hurts!” Pulling the hair that was rolled up by the window, Senior lowered his head and let out a m.u.f.fled sound
“I, I didn’t mean to!” If we weren’t in the car, right now I would be as far away from Senior as possible, or else I’m sure he would definitely blast off my head
“Hurry up and pull his hair in, or else more and more will be rolled up!” Sitting in the front seats, Mom immediately took away the plate in Senior’s other hand, allowing him to have two hands to rescue his hair
“Chu, I’m going to knock off your head!” Forcefully pulling his hair, Senior issued a vicious declaration
I really didn’t mean to!.
“Don’t pull so hard . Your hair’s going to break . ” My sister’s words were obviously a step too late . The hair that Senior pulled with all his might made a subtle sound, and I instantly saw several snapped-off black hair fluttering in the wind
Uh, they really are so soft and supple, and even seemed to be dancing in the wind
“Dancing your d.a.m.n head!” Senior swung his arm out and directly gave me a punch
The entire car interior fell into chaos . I held my nonstop-panging head and tearfully shrank back in the back seats
“Don’t pull too hard; you couldn’t understand that?” Ming Yue smacked away Senior’s hand that was currently ruining his hair with a “pa” sound, then leaned over to help him pull his hair out from under the window bit by bit: “At a time like this, you have to slowly pull, so that it won’t get stuck further the more it rolls up or break off completely . Isn’t that all you need to do!?” With a few dexterous movements, she swiftly pulled out the hair rolled under the window, apart from the ones snapped off and still tangled on it
“Thank you . ” Quickly tying his hair, Senior immediately turned around and used his hand to knock my head in revenge
Having been punched originally, and now adding another whack, I suspect my head had probably already become swollen
The furious Senior turned back to the middle seats, then plucked out all the broken hair that was rolled under the window
“Hey, did you guys hear a noise like a firecracker?” The five-colored rooster head, who had been watching the show in the back the whole time, folded up the empty bag in his hand and issued the above words
“A firecracker noise?” While rubbing my head, I asked the person sitting beside me
“Yeah, it boomed a couple of times just now . ” The five-colored rooster head answered very naturally
“It’s probably some people setting off firecrackers for the New Year…”.
Before I could finish speaking, Dad, who was in the driver’s seat, suddenly exclaimed, then stepped on the brakes hard
Completely not expecting this situation, the huge spontaneous braking force made us, who were sitting in the back and didn’t have seatbelts, all fall back, tumbling everywhere and crashing into who knows what with a boom; followed by me hitting my head and my eyes going blurry
Within the chaos, I heard my mom’s shout and some kind of gla.s.s-crashing-into-gla.s.s noise
After the car stopped a few seconds later, I fell under the seat and even felt the five-colored rooster head crushing me on top . The whole car seemed to have been hit sideways, because I sensed the car sliding away
The five-colored rooster head quickly got off me, and I also climbed up from under the seat while shaking my head
The first thing I saw was that Senior and Ming Yue, who were in the middle seats, had been thrown to the side too, and then the airbags in front had popped up . The view outside the window really was sideways . All the cars nearby had also stopped . It looks like we probably didn’t hit anything or got hit, because I didn’t sense us being hit
The second thing I saw was that Senior’s shrimp plate, which was originally in Mom’s hand, had fallen on the stereo, and then a large ma.s.s of shrimp salad speckled on the front gla.s.s
Ah! It’s time to wash the car
This was my first impression