Chapter 16

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Wake up!”

“Hello?”

“Chen Yu? Wake up!”

“Hey!!”

As if breaking free from a deep quagmire...

Chen Yu, who was deep asleep, gradually regained his senses and opened his eyes, only to see a blurry face in his field of vision.

“Chen Yu! Talk to me! What’s going on with you?”

Chen Yu?

Who’s Chen Yu?

Where am I…

After being in a daze for quite some time, Chen Yu recovered from his confusion, stood up abruptly, and turned around. “Sister Qi?”

“Are you alright?” Sister Qi waved her hands in front of Chen Yu’s eyes. “Do you need to visit the hospital?”

“What… what happened to me?”

“You fell into a coma!”

“Coma?”

“Or maybe I should say you fell asleep.” Sister Qi knitted her eyebrows. “But it’s no different from a coma. I’ve been calling you for a couple of minutes, but I couldn’t get you to wake up. Are you suffering from any diseases?”

Rubbing his swollen temples, Chen Yu vaguely understood what had happened to his body.

Because of the curse, everything was reversed.

For others, sleeping would alleviate fatigue.

But for him, sleep would only make him even drowsier.

On the field yesterday, he had taken a small nap when the principal was babbling. But that tiny nap he’d taken while standing hadn’t had that much of an effect on him.

It was after a night’s sleep in bed that the danger of the curse manifested.

Evidently, if nobody woke him up, he would very well sleep until death…

“This is horrible.”

At that thought, Chen Yu grabbed Sister Qi’s hands and shook them forcefully. “Thank you for saving my life. As a token of my gratitude, feel free to order me about.”

“…” Sister Qi was speechless. “What the heck was that? What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing. Maybe I was too tired because I stayed up late last night to train.”

“I think you’re a little strange. Why don’t you go to the hospital for a checkup?”

“Nah. I’ll be more careful in the future. This will never happen again.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Absolutely!” Chen Yu nodded forcefully, loosened his grip on her hands, and said, “Sister Qi, please leave me for now. I need to put on my pants…”

After Sister Qi left the room, Chen Yu immediately grew solemn. He grabbed his phone and set an alarm for 6 o’clock in the morning.

Another one for 7 o’clock.

Another one for 8 o’clock.

And another one for 9 o’clock.

He also adjusted the volume to the maximum.

So that even if he overslept, he would still wake up.

Otherwise, it would be really f*cked up if he slept all the way to his death…

After setting the alarms, he looked at the time and discovered that it was already 10:30 in the morning. He quickly changed his clothes, walked out of his bedroom, and took a quick wash in the bathroom.

Then, he went downstairs and greeted Sister Qi, who was sitting on the boss’s chair. “I’m sorry. Something unexpected happened. I’m already late for work on my second day in the office.”

“What happened just now was really scary. I almost called the cops.”

“It won’t happen again.”

“Are you sure that you don’t need a checkup at the hospital? I’ll pay for your bill.”

“That isn’t necessary. I understand my own body.”

“In that case… there’s breakfast in the kitchen upstairs. Go ahead and have your breakfast, then come down and look after the shop when you’re done. I have to go ask about schools for you.”

“I’ll look after the shop while I eat. Feel free to go about your business, Sister Qi.”

“Will do.”

Sister Qi nodded, stood up, put on a silk scarf and a hat, and left in a hurry.

Chen Yu breathed a sigh of relief and forcefully slapped his drowsy head. Then, he went upstairs, brought down the food that his lady boss had left him, placed it on the counter, and started eating.

Regular people would starve to death if they didn’t eat.

But he would die of “overeating” if he didn’t eat.

Hence, three meals per day were indispensable.

“Creak——”

A few bites in, the door of the shop was pushed open.

A familiar figure walked inside.

Messy beard, around 40 years of age, wearing an old tuxedo.

It was the customer that Sister Qi scolded yesterday.

“Hello.” Chen Yu swallowed the food in his mouth and said, “What kind of cigarettes do you want to buy?”

“I want cigarettes.” The middle-aged man grabbed a pile of banknotes from his pocket and shook it.

“I know that you want cigarettes. I’m asking you what kind of cigarettes you want?”

“Any special flavors recently?” The middle-aged man leaned against the counter, glanced at Chen Yu’s breakfast, and then looked at the packs of exquisite cigarettes in the cabinet.

“No.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“But I remember that there were some a few days ago.”

“They sold out after I came.” Stuffing another spoonful of rice into his mouth, Chen Yu slurred, “So, what flavor do you want?”

“I’ll… get a Harbin pack. I like the sensation of this cigarette.”

“I bet it’s mainly because it’s cheap…” Chen Yu thought, but he didn’t say anything. He reached out to grab the red-and-black-colored Harbin cigarette pack from the cabinet and said, “That’ll be 948 dollars. Cash? WeChat pay? Alipay?”

“Cash.” The middle-aged man licked his rough thumb and carefully counted nine hundred-dollar banknotes. “Kid, I’m your shop’s regular customer. I usually buy Harbin for 900 bucks. Call your boss if you don’t believe me.”

“Shhrlp!”

Chen Yu didn’t take his offer. Instead, he immediately put the cigarettes away and continued eating.

Middle-aged man: “…”

Chen Yu: “Munch munch munch…”

Middle-aged man: “…”

Chen Yu: “Munch munch munch…”

The two looked at each other.

One was frozen in place, and one was chewing incessantly.

“What are you doing?” The middle-aged man frowned.

Chen Yu: “Munch munch… our tiny shop doesn’t make much money. Nothing is discounted at our place.”

“You! You dare provoke an old customer? Aren’t you afraid that your boss will cut your pay?”

“I’m not paid.”

Seeing that he could do nothing to change Chen Yu’s mind, the middle-aged man curled his lips and reluctantly pulled out another hundred-dollar banknote. He placed the ten banknotes on the counter and said, “Fine then. Here you go. Not like I’m lacking that little amount of money.”

Chen Yu took the money, gave him his change, and handed him the Harbin cigarette pack.

The middle-aged man opened the cigarette pack, lit one, and enjoyingly took a deep exhale: “Ffff…”

Then, he pretentiously took out another cigarette and handed it to Chen Yu. “Kid, want a puff?”

“Sure.”

Chen Yu really did have the mind of a thief.

Was he even a person if he let this opportunity slip by?

With vigor, he twisted his waist and put force on his heels as he snatched over the cigarette with his right hand as swiftly as a sudden clap of thunder and stuffed it into his mouth.

“?”

Before the middle-aged man could even react, Chen Yu had already picked up the lighter on the table and lit up the cigarette.

Chen Yu: “Thanks.”

Middle-aged man: “…”

“Ffff, puff…”

[Subjected to an attack by malignant gases: Vigor +20]

“Eh? This cigarette…”

Chen Yu quickly spit out the cigarette. Carefully inspecting this stick of “Harbin,” he was a little surprised.

He’d had Red Pagoda Mountain before.

He’d also had lots of the ashes in Sister Qi’s ashtray.

Furongwang, Lesser Panda, Yunyan: there were all kinds of brands.

Usually, one puff would give him 13 to 16 points of Vigor.

Even when you reached the butt of a cigarette, one puff was worth at least 18 points.

But this stick of Harbin…

“Ffff.”

[Subjected to an attack by malignant gases: Vigor +22]

“Puff…”

“Ffff.”

[Subjected to an attack by malignant gases: Vigor +23]

“This cigarette…”

Chen Yu was pleasantly surprised. “Holy moly! Dang, this cigarette is amazing!”

“Told ya…” The middle-aged man regretted his actions. But he was the one who’d offered him a stick. Hence, he couldn’t really say anything about it. Going with the flow, he said, “Otherwise, why would I like this cigarette? It’s really simulating.”

“I agree. This cigarette is really something.” Mouthful after mouthful, Chen Yu puffed on the cigarette again and again.

He was gaining a lot of Vigor.

And the cigarette itself was cheap.

This price-performance ratio was really neat...

“Kiddo, what kind of cigarette do you smoke?” The middle-aged man squinted his eyes, wanting to earn back what he’d lost. “Give me a stick.”

Chen Yu: “I don’t smoke.”

Middle-aged man: “…”

“Puff…” Chen Yu exhaled smoke from his nostrils, expertly puffed out two smoke rings, and said, “Is there a problem?”