When Su Zimo was in the previous world, he heard his old classmate Du Xin mention the class reunion, but after the snake incident his classmate seemed to deliberately avoid him until the trainers cleared the world. He never mentioned the reunion to Su Zimo again.
Since he didnât mention it again, Su Zimo thought it had nothing to do with him.
But nowâŚ
Su Zimo checked the time on his cell phone and found that it was past nine oâclock in the evening. Entering nightmare worlds every so often really made Su Zimo confused about the time.
To make matters worse, he was still lying in front of the shelf. The glasses on the bridge of his nose had fallen off. They were hanging around his neck because of the chain. Zhang Xiaoqingâs phone was still on the ground, and there was a pain in his back. A sound came from a cell phone that was rarely used.
âSu Zimo, are you still there?â The high school class leader Wan Yuâs voice came again. âTomorrow night weâll meet with our classmates at Qin Yange in Hengze Plaza in Shannan District, Shoushan City. <sup>1</sup> If youâre in Shoushan City now, you must come to participate! Otherwise, it will be more difficult to get together after our old classmates go out and find internships!â
Su Zimoâs accident happened not long after his third year of high school, so after counting the time, his classmates should be in their senior years of university. They would start to leave school for internships soon and continue on their ways.
No wonder they would choose to have a class reunion at this time.
âSorry, I mightâŚâ
Just as Su Zimo was about to refuse, he heard the voice on the other end directly say, âIâll send you the address through text, and Iâll give you a group chat invitation as well. Even if you donât have time to meet, you have to join the group, so the connection between old classmates wonât break up!â
âOkay, Iâll think about it.â Su Zimo didnât nod or shake his head in the end, but after answering, he hung up apologetically and then sighed again.
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âIt seems that you have to sell the goods here.â After returning to An Yu Yi Yu, the ghost umbrellaâs figure appeared next to Su Zimo again. âSelling the ghost tools here seems to have a beneficial effect on your body.â
âWhen youâre in the shop, you seem to be more energetic than in other places.â Every time Su Zimo saw Ghost Umbrella in the store, he felt that his expression would be better than other places, and his speech wasnât as vague and ghost-like.
In fact, it wasnât just Ghost Umbrella. Even when Peng Peng appeared in the shop, he was as lively and energetic as an ordinary child⌠Even though he wasnât a real child.
âThis store is a special place. Although I canât tell you why, when weâre here, our bodies are like balloons. Our bodies are warm and inflated.â Ghost Umbrella then returned to the shop counter and started searching for something on the tablet. âThe little girl you brought back should still be âinflatingâ now. She should be able to show up tomorrow.â
Su Zimo carefully picked up Zhang Xiaoqingâs phone from the floor, put his glasses back on, and then began to carefully check the information about the ghost toolâ
[Ghost Call (Three Stars)]
[Not Available for Sale]
[Description: As a tragic result of a prank, Zhang Xiaoqing, who ended her life hastily after being toyed with by her classmates, is full of resentment, hatred, loss, reluctance, and sorrow. These powerful negative emotions brought forth the ability by the name of âIllusion Palace.â She can create a world she desires in the illusion and can control human senses within the illusion palace, but no matter how perfect the world that she creates is, she is still trapped. She cannot leave, and cannot let go.]
[Special Ability: In terms of daily calling and entertainment functions, the holder has an excellent cell phone assistant. In addition, the ghost Zhang XIaoqing has the ability to control any cell phone within one kilometre, and draws the owner of the other cell phone into the illusion palace that she creates.]
[Limitations: The size and duration of the illusion palace is directly proportional to the spirit and other related abilities of the cell phone holder. As a cost, the holder needs to complete Zhang Xiaoqingâs obsession, otherwise there is danger of backlash.]
Cell phone⌠or Zhang Xiaoqingâs ability was similar to what Su Zimo had experienced in the nightmare world, except that this ability to build an âillusion palceâ was only a miraculous effect for people with cell phones. Of course, given the common characteristic of people carrying cell phones with them nowadays, Zhang Xiaoqingâs ability can be considered very powerful.
But unlike in the nightmare world, Zhang Xiaoqingâs creation of the illusion palace doesnât seem to be limited by scale and time. After Su Zimo left the nightmare world, the scale and existence of the illusion palace was affected by the abilities of the cell phone holder. That was the biggest limitation of Zhang Xiaoqingâs ability.
The stronger the holder, the stronger Zhang Xiaoqingâs ability, and vice versa.
Peng Peng, who was also a three star, doesnât seem to have any limitations, but the restrictions on his ability to use a piano was actually greater than imagined.
Because âGhost Callâ and âSheet Music of the Deadâ were both not available for sale, Su Zimo put his phone on the counter first, then took out the black umbrella in his bag, and placed them on the counter together.
âWhether itâs a cell phone, a music score, or a black umbrella, these are all called mediums?â Su Zimo asked the ghost umbrella as he took out the other commodities from the nightmare world from his backpack.
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Because when the ghost umbrella possessed him before, he said that he needs to rely on a medium to act within the nightmare world.
âItâs not the same.â Ghost Umbrella put down the tablet in his hand, then raised his eyebrows and said, âThe music score and the cell phone are Peng Peng and the female ghostâs own, so theyâre not mediums, but part of them. But that black umbrella⌠thatâs not mine.â
âNo?â Su Zimo was a little surprised.
âHuman time is a bit hard to remember, but probably before you were born, someone saw me as a lonely, homeless ghost, so they gave me this ghost tool to settle down.â The ghost umbrella glanced at the black umbrella on the counter. âSo it can only be regarded as a medium.â
âLonely homeless ghost?â Su Zimo showed a puzzled expression again.
âIâm not considered homelessâŚâ Ghost Umbrella stroked the flight lines around the corner of his eyes with a bit of confusion. âTo be precise, Iâve forgotten where to return to. Since I came back, I was a lonely ghost with no name and no memory. I didnât remember anything.â
Su Zimo never thought that Ghost Umbrella would turn out to be a ghost with amnesia. He didnât know what he could do for him for a while, so he took the products back to the shelf and places the nightmare brand soap, cheap perfume, and ordinary lipstick on the first shelf. He then put the two one star products, âCell Phone of the Admired, Fakeâ and âCell Phone of the Fake Psychic, Fake,â and the two star product âCell Phone of the Liar, Fakeâ on the top of the second shelf.
Although the products were all from Zhang Xiaoqingâs illusion, they were real products. Su Zimo knew that Zhang Xiaoqingâs ability may not be able to turn fake things into reality, so he felt that the reason he was able to take those things out was probably because of a special circumstance of the nightmare world.
The white cloth strip called âGhost Eyes of the Blindâ was accidentally dropped by the trainer Zhu Zhu. Athough she didnât know the true purpose of the white cloth, it was her possession, so Su Zimo hid the cloth in the cabinet behind the counter until he could meet the trainer who aspired to be a screenwriter.
When Su Zimo finished all of this arrangements, he pressed past the ghost umbrella playing with the tablet and returned to the shop computer. he saw that the shop management system had been updated in real timeâ
[Shop: An Yu Yi Yu (Ayuyuyu)]
[Owner: Su Zimo]
[Life Savings: 572 days (220)]
[Shelf No. 1 Capacity (No Stars): 49/50]
[Shelf No. 2 Capacity (One Star): 7/20)]
[Ghosts in the Shop: Ghost Umbrella, Peng Peng, Zhang Xiaoqing]
[Shop Upgrade Progress: 220/1000]
[Shouhua: 0 Flowers (For Sale, Not Available to Store Members)]
âThe situation in the store is also getting better.â Although the storeâs various information was still very crude, Su Zimo was satisfied with his results. Many things or results canât be completed in a hurry.
âItâs just the beginning. With more high star ghost tools in the store, it means that there are more ghosts hiding in the store. When the time comes, youâll need a right hand man like me to stay in the shop and suppress the ghosts.â Ghost Umbrella said, and cast a look at Su Zimo. âOf course, if the boss is unwilling to leave me, he should find some reliable ghosts to do the suppression job within the shop.â
âJust stay here to suppress them.â Su Zimo yawned sleepily. âI have to go to sleep.â
Staying up late was nothing important for malicious spirits, but for Su Zimo, who tried to live a healthy life, it was taboo.
After opening the back door of the shop and returning to his new bedroom on the second floor, Su Zimo didnât fall asleep immediately. He worked hard to persist until he was done cleaning, completed the homework from Su Hewen on his tablet, and then fell asleep after watching the news for a while.
The next morning, after Su Zimo and his family had their usual breakfast, he instructed the maid, Ye Ning, to investigate Zhang Xiaoqing, Hua Xiaowan, Wen Xiaoyu, and Lin Zheâs informtaion. He told her that those four had attended high school together when a suicide occurred.
After hearing the information he provided, Ye Ning nodded and left silently.
âMaster.â
Just as Su Zimo was considering what to do with the new day, Housekeeper Mu held the manorâs phone in front of him.
âItâs Mr. Fang Qin.â Mu Feng seemed to be equally surprised by the caller. After all, they had only experienced a nightmare world together not long ago. âI also found this call in the address book. Itâs a call you need to answer in person.â
âOkay, thanks for the trouble.â Su Zimo smiled and took the call from Mu Feng, then sat down on the sofa in front of the French windows. âHey, is this Grandpa Fang?â
The voice of the old man on the other end of the phone was very energetic. After he left the nightmare world last time, he was delayed for a few days because he opened a small shop in Shoushan City. After he was no longer busy, he called Su Zimo and wanted to invite him to Hong Kong to the newly opened shop.
âSmall shop?â Su Zimo just remembered. Although he knew that Grandpa Fang and his Grandpa were old friends, and there were special experiences between them, he still didnât seem to know what Grandpa Fang did.
In other words, the Elder Fang who wanted him to come over should be a retired old man who took leisurely Tai Chi lessons in the park at his age.
âYeah. Itâs open in the Hengze Plaza in Shannan District of your home. Unfortunately, when choosing a place, that stinky old man from your home couldnât even speak, otherwise I wouldâve asked him for a discount.â Although the old man said that, he still had an emotional tone. âItâs a newly opened shop called Qin Yange, which usually sells some home-cooked dishes. But since I want to welcome the Su family head, this old man must let you taste my craftsmanship. The chef in the store is still a little silly after learning.â
âElder can just call me Zimo.â
âOkay, then Iâm deciding to make this agreement based on my age. If itâs convenient for you, how about tonight? Are you free? Will it bother you? Grandpa Fang inviting you to have a delicious meal?â Although the old man said that he would make a decision, he still cautiously questioned Su Zimo.
Listening to the inquiry on the other end of the phone, Su Zimo smiled and responded to the old man he met in the nightmare world, and said without hesitation, âOkay, we have an appointment.â
The old man on the other end of the phone sounded very happy, as if the grandson who he hadnât seen in a long time suddenly said that he was going to visit, so Su Zimo was also a little happy.
When Su Zimo hung up, he rememberedâŚ
Shannan District?
Hengze Plaza?
Qin Yange?
Dinner?
Isnât this really such a coincidence?
Su Zimo suddenly felt that there was a force in the dark urging him to go to the class reunion. However, Su Zimo really wanted to talk to Elder Fang Qin about his grandfatherâs past, and felt that it wasnât strange to run into a classmate. After all, classmates arenât jackals, tigers, or panthers. <sup>2</sup> He didnât need to hide.
In addition, Su Zimo didnât want to refuse the old manâs kindness, so he asked Ye Ning to prepare a car for his evening trip.
Footnotes
<ol>Qin Yange is a banquet hall, (Qin from Qin dynasty, Yan for banquet, and ge for court/pavillion). I kept these names in pinyin for convenience. They donât flow well otherwise. An idiom meaning cruel or hostile people.</ol>