Chapter 7: Your Ice Cream Cone

Chen's Clinic was only a few minutes' walk from Zhang Wei's home; before leaving the clinic, Zhang Wei bowed deeply to the old man.

Old Chen didn't ask for money, and Zhang Wei didn't mention it either, just like every time in the past when he and Bai Guagua fell ill—they always took medicine and ate food, never paying a single cent in the end.

The debt of money is hard to repay, but the debt of kindness is even harder; he could only keep this account in his heart, waiting for a future day.

Chen Yuanqing hesitated for a moment, then said, "You two keep an eye out during this time, and if anything happens, run over to me... Such bizarre things have already occurred, there's no telling what kind of trouble might stir up next."

Zhang Wei nodded and led the little girl away slowly.

In fact, ever since he stepped out of the clinic's door, he had a faint, ominous premonition in the dark.

The sky was still the same sky, but for some reason, he felt as if something had changed; although it was so subtle that it was hard to describe or explain, it was different nonetheless.

It seemed... his footsteps were a little lighter; was this an illusion caused by his head injury?

Bai Guagua diligently draped Zhang Wei's right arm over her shoulder, her small frame seemingly trying to hold up half the sky, which moved him deeply. However, just as they passed a small convenience store, the little girl tugged at him and refused to move.

"Summer is here, the weather is hot, and my mouth is thirsty," Bai Guagua hinted, thinking she was being very subtle.

Zhang Wei sighed inwardly: "I'm injured, my wallet is empty, and I can only go home to drink plain water."

Bai Guagua immediately refused to accept this, her eyes widening as she shouted: "Zhang Wei, do you dare to go back on your word?"

Absorbed Bai Guagua's Resentment, +36.

Seeing the Resentment Value about to break 500, Zhang Wei was amused and intended to tease the little girl a bit more to round it off, but seeing her getting anxious, he decided to let it go and had the convenience store owner take two ice cream cones out of the freezer.

"Is it buy one get one free, boss?"

The owner was clearly speechless and silently shook his head. Whose damn brat is this, wanting a buy-one-get-one-free deal on an ice cream cone?

Absorbed Wang Daoquan's Resentment, +18.

Watching the Resentment Value digits jump rapidly and instantly break 500 points, Zhang Wei slapped down a crumpled ten-yuan banknote with a flourish and waved his hand happily: "Guagua, grab the goods, let's go."

Owner:...

Absorbed Wang Daoquan's Resentment, +3, +2, +1...

"Yay!" Bai Guagua was so happy she couldn't help but lick her lips, holding the two cones high, one in each hand; the conical shells and the spiral three-colored ice cream looked like the Olympic torch...

Plop...

Joy turned to sorrow; the little girl with the bun-face had a slip of the hand, and one cone fell to the ground, rolling around until it was covered in black dust.

Bai Guagua was stunned and instinctively shouted: "Ah... your ice cream cone fell on the ground!"

Damn it... what a divine allocation! Don't you still have one in your hand? Why is the one on the ground mine?

Zhang Wei's face turned black instantly: "Did that cone have my name carved on it?"

"No," Bai Guagua said, looking confused.

"Then why do you claim it's my cone?"

The bun-faced girl blinked, finally realizing what happened, and zipped the hand holding the last cone behind her back, looking as tense as a puppy guarding its food...

Absorbed Bai Guagua's Resentment, +13.

"Fine... fine..." Zhang Wei's heart softened again, and he had to concede helplessly.

Looking at the cone on the ground with some reluctance, and confirming that it couldn't be eaten even if he "picked it up and blew on it," he decided to overcome his gluttony and go home to drink cold water...

Bai Guagua followed behind with her head drooping, feeling down for some reason, not even wanting to eat the highly tempting ice cream anymore—she felt heartbroken over losing five yuan by accident, but since Zhang Wei wasn't eating, she lost her appetite too.

But she quickly thought of a solution...

"Zhang Wei, here!"

Zhang Wei turned around and saw the little girl holding the cone high under the sunlight, asking uncertainly: "For me?"

Bai Guagua nodded firmly: "One bite for you, one bite for me!"

Zhang Wei swallowed involuntarily and looked around nervously—was he really going to share an ice cream cone with a little loli? It seemed a bit shameful.

Before he could make up his mind, Bai Guagua added: "You lick one bite, I bite one bite, okay?"

Damn it, isn't that even more shameful?

Zhang Wei felt an indescribable pain in his gut and felt like grinding his teeth: "You little melon girl, is your skin itching for a beating again?"

In the alley under the summer sun, one chasing and one running, the laughter remained the same; yet across the globe, as billions of humans talked excitedly about last night's incident, certain strange changes began to quietly sprout in dark corners, until they blotted out the sky...

Back home, Zhang Wei lay on the sofa and turned on the TV to see how the news reported the event, but the official media's tone was the same as always—avoiding the important and dwelling on the trivial, only touching upon it lightly.

"... Here, we appeal to the masses of all parties to remain calm and rational, not to believe or spread rumors, and absolutely not to link this event to doomsday theories, let alone provide fertile soil for cults."

"Just talking nonsense."

Zhang Wei turned off the TV; for some reason, he felt an inexplicable restlessness, similar to the feeling when he had fallen into a slump and his grades had dropped day by day some time ago.

Bai Guagua seemed to have become much more sensible all of a sudden, running around the house, pouring water for Zhang Wei, reminding him to take his medicine, and busy washing rice and vegetables in the kitchen, as if she really could hold up half the sky.

"Guagua, you've grown up; I feel I can go in peace now," Zhang Wei said, looking at the little girl with gratification.

"Go where?" Bai Guagua looked confused.

Zhang Wei said irritably: "The underworld, the Yellow Springs, you know?"

Bai Guagua giggled: "Is there good food there? If you go, remember to burn some for me."

... Am I burning for you or are you burning for me? Tsk... how did I end up with such a sharp-tongued girl in my house? Zhang Wei felt unwell; he just wanted a little comfort from Bai Guagua, but who knew he would get such merciless blows in return.

Bai Guagua peeled a few raw peanuts and stuffed a handful into Zhang Wei's mouth: "Eat more, peanuts replenish blood... hurry up and replenish my blood, I'm waiting for you to cook."

Zhang Wei, who had just felt a little comforted, immediately saw darkness before his eyes... what a disaster!

After the meal, the little girl went back to her room to do her homework, and Zhang Wei sat idly on the sofa for a while; having no heart to read, he simply took out the old domestic mobile phone he had scavenged from the second-hand market and piggybacked on someone else's Wi-Fi, only to find that the internet was already in chaos, with information about the "Heavenly Change" flooding everything and crushing all other trending topics!