The two finished their intimate moment and were ready to return to their rooms. Liu Chen also prepared to put away the camera.
At this moment, Vice Principal Luo received a phone call.
"The first year has already started, so it's very difficult for you to get in now. Hey, brother, it's not about money, but you're suddenly stuffing in over ten people who didn't make the cut for key universities. It's too much of a hassle, the principal's side...
Look, last year it was twenty thousand per person, and this year the price is a bit...
Alright, let's meet halfway. Thirty-six thousand each, I'll take all sixteen of them."
After the call ended, Vice Principal Luo put his arm around Xue Miao's slender waist and playfully flicked her nose.
"When the money arrives, I'll take you shopping in Hong Kong, okay?"
The recording ended.
Liu Chen patiently waited for Vice Principal Luo and Xue Miao to return to their room before emerging from the bamboo grove. Fortunately, he had a disposable mosquito repellent sachet from the system, which saved him from becoming a mobile food source for the mosquitoes.
Holding the evidence in his hand, Liu Chen felt a great sense of relief.
However, she had no intention of reporting it directly. She planned to play this video at Xue Miao's engagement ceremony. With her improved memory, she gradually recalled that in her previous life, Xue Miao had married the son of a high-ranking official within the local education system.
Counting the days, it seemed her engagement ceremony was during the National Day holiday. In that case, Xue Miao was quite daring, about to get engaged in a few days, yet she dared to meet her lover for a tryst today.
She returned to the hotel lobby first, where there was a 24-hour convenience store. After buying two bags of snacks and drinks, Liu Chen leisurely headed back to the villa.
Upon returning to the room, she saw Teacher Lai sitting at the desk looking at something on her laptop. The other three were sitting by the coffee table, engrossed in a game of Dou Dizhu.
Liu Chen greeted them and went into her room. She took a shower and stepped into the bathtub, which had a stone chaise longue carved into it.
Lying on it, the tiny water jets massaged her shoulders, waist, and legs, making her close her eyes involuntarily to savor the moment. Her entire body felt relaxed.
After her bath, wrapped in a towel, Liu Chen stood on the warm tiles and sat in front of the dressing table, blowing her hair. She thought that once her new house was ready, she would definitely install underfloor heating!
After drying her hair, she went back into the room. Teacher Lai was already asleep on one side of the bed, and Mi Zhuzhu was sleeping in the middle. Perhaps because the underfloor heating was too warm, Mi Zhuzhu had pushed the quilt off and it was now under her backside. She was snoring loudly.
Changing into her pajamas, the busy and rewarding day came to an end.
---
The next day, Teacher Lai took the four of them to a nearby pond to fish. After catching some fish, they had the owner help them prepare a sour fish dish. In the afternoon, with Liu Chen's participation, Mi Zhuzhu swept the board, winning all the pocket money from Ren Mo and Lai Jielun. In the evening, everyone sat in the living room watching the National Day Gala.
The following day, the five of them quietly stayed in their rooms, catching up on sleep. After all, the busy and fulfilling senior year of high school would begin in two days.
However, Teacher Lai wasn't taking it easy either. With the four children sleeping nearby, Teacher Lai patiently worked on lesson plans amidst the snoring. According to Lai Jielun:
"My mom has assigned us eighty-one volumes of homework. By the time of the college entrance exam, I think I'll be numb from testing."
He was then severely beaten by Lai Jing, who brought him water.
Liu Chen sometimes admired Lai Jielun. Knowing the danger, he still charged ahead. What a fearless spirit!
On the last night, a light drizzle began to fall outside, the raindrops falling like a curtain. Liu Chen stood by the window and opened the sliding door a crack.
The scent of fresh grass after the rain mingled with the drifting rain, and Liu Chen felt a slight dampness on her nose. At that moment, she suddenly thought of Ren Yu.
Taking out her phone, their QQ chat was still from before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
After a moment's hesitation, Liu Chen sent a "Happy National Day."
The other side didn't reply for a long time. Liu Chen lowered her eyelids, looking at the moon in the outdoor hot spring outside the door. Raindrops fell on the hot spring, making the moonlight tremble slightly, like her heart.
---
The result of opening the door to the wind late at night was that Liu Chen's eyes and nose were red when she woke up the next day to check out.
"Achoo!"
A sneeze marked the beginning of Liu Chen's cold.
By the time they returned to C City, Liu Chen's eyes were as red as a rabbit's. Lai Jing wanted to take her to the hospital, but Liu Chen refused. Tomorrow was the last day of the holiday and also the day of Xue Miao's engagement ceremony. She had to go back and transfer the video to a USB drive, and figure out the equipment at the engagement venue for tomorrow.
Things were a bit tight, but nothing could be delayed.
With two hundred and twenty lottery tickets now accumulated, Liu Chen rummaged through the system's prize pool for a long time. Finding no cold medicine, she dragged her tired and heavy body to a nearby pharmacy to buy a box of Baijiahei.
After buying it and going upstairs, the familiar staircase felt infinitely extended. Each step felt like it had doubled in height.
By the time she finally reached home, Liu Chen was already sitting at the entrance, unwilling to get up. Touching her forehead, it was a little hot, but bearable.
She opened a white pill from the Baijiahei and swallowed it directly, sitting on the floor tiles waiting for the medicine to take effect.
Liu Chen found it a bit funny thinking about it. In her previous life, she could endure a fever of 39 degrees and complete an exhibition. Now, with just a slight fever on her forehead, she felt so tired she didn't want to stand up.
Fortunately, the Baijiahei was quite effective, and her head felt less heavy. Liu Chen then stood up, went into her mother's room, opened the laptop, and copied the video from the camera's memory card to a USB drive.
After a cursory wash-up, she climbed into her princess bed. Liu Chen fell asleep clutching the USB drive in her hand without even covering herself with the blanket.
At 8:30 the next morning, Liu Chen woke up, not from sleep, but from being scared awake. She hadn't paid close attention before; the alarm clock drawn from the system turned into a small metal octopus when it was time.
It would climb onto your back and start massaging your shoulders to wake you up...
So, in her groggy sleep, Liu Chen felt something suddenly grip her shoulders and woke up with a start. After carefully reading the alarm clock's instruction manual, she breathed a sigh of relief.
And she resolved that in the future, if possible, she wouldn't use this alarm clock again. It was truly terrifying.
However, the effect was remarkable. The sky outside was already bright. She took out a bag of cosmetics, applied them, and transformed into the image of an office worker with sallow skin and a scattering of freckles.
Putting on a wig and mask, changing into a shirt and loose-fitting suit pants, Liu Chen then took a taxi with the USB drive to the Century Grand Hotel, where Xue Miao's engagement ceremony was being held.
Liu Chen had worked a part-time job here in her previous life. Glancing at the welcome sign at the hotel entrance, it was the Lily Hall.
Wow, a big deal. This hall was quite large, able to accommodate thirty tables, and had a massive projector screen.
Tapping the USB drive in her hand, Liu Chen skillfully slipped into the preparation room of the Lily Hall through the back door.