Chapter 9: Spent Half My Savings, My Heart Aches

“Sir, rest assured. Our Liu Laosan Spirit Stone Shop has been in business in Rongcheng for thirty years. Every spirit stone we sell is guaranteed in quality. Every customer who has shopped here once has nothing but praise for us.”

The beautiful sales clerk chattered on, boasting about her shop to Lin Li. Lin Li listened quietly, nodding from time to time and responding politely.

In truth, although this was Lin Li’s first time buying spirit stones, he had done his homework and looked up quite a bit of information about Liu Laosan Spirit Stone Shop online.

After some investigation, he found that the shop’s reputation was indeed very good, which was why he chose to buy his spirit stones here.

“Alright! Fifty thousand it is. Give me ten spirit stones.” This beautiful sales clerk was truly eloquent! Lin Li thought to himself that if he didn’t interrupt her, she would probably keep going for another ten minutes.

“Ten?” The beautiful sales clerk, who had been singing her shop’s praises to the high heavens, immediately shut her mouth upon hearing Lin Li’s words.

She had assumed a young customer like him would buy at most one or two stones, but she hadn’t expected him to ask for ten right off the bat. This was the biggest sale she had made in the last two months.

“Sir, please wait a moment. I’ll write up the order for you right now.”

The beautiful sales clerk was very efficient. In no time, she had the order ready and led Lin Li toward the cashier.

“Sister Li, please help this gentleman process the payment.” The beautiful sales clerk handed the order to a cashier in her early forties at the counter.

“Sir, will you be paying by card or mobile?” The cashier took the order, glanced at it, and asked Lin Li.

“Card, please.” Lin Li pulled a bank card from his pocket and handed it over. The cashier took the card, operated the machine quickly, and handed the terminal to Lin Li to enter his PIN.

“Sigh, half of my entire net worth is gone just like that.”

After entering his PIN and pressing the confirmation button, the machine began to spit out the receipt. Watching the paper slowly emerge, his heart couldn't help but ache.

Just a few days ago, Lin Li had been thinking about how to live out the rest of his life securely with his one million in savings and the rent from the apartment he had leased out.

But now! Who would have thought that a single purchase would wipe out half of his total savings? Life is truly unpredictable!

My heart hurts!!!

Afterward, having completed the payment, Lin Li followed the beautiful sales clerk back to her counter.

He watched as she took out an exquisite gift box and unlocked the glass display case with a key.

She reached in and picked up the spirit stones, each the size of a pigeon egg and crystal clear, placing them into the box.

Before long, all ten stones were packed. Lin Li took the box with a blank expression and, accompanied by the clerk’s enthusiastic farewell, left the shop known as Liu Laosan.

After the beautiful sales clerk saw Lin Li off, her colleagues immediately swarmed around her, congratulating her with envious eyes for landing such a big order.

“Five hundred thousand... I never thought I, Lin, would ever spend five hundred thousand in one go in this lifetime.”

Walking out of the shop, Lin Li looked at the beautiful gift box in his hand and muttered to himself.

He then hugged the box tightly to his chest, scanned his surroundings to ensure no one was following him, and walked briskly toward the street. He hailed a taxi and headed home.

…………

“Click.”

“Bang.”

The door opened and closed. Lin Li kicked off his shoes in the entryway, walked into the living room in his slippers, and gently placed the box of ten spirit stones on the coffee table. He then leaned back and collapsed onto the soft sofa.

“Whew...”

He let out a long breath, feeling much more relaxed.

Although Rongcheng’s public safety was quite good, it was his first time spending five hundred thousand on something so valuable, so he couldn't help but feel a bit anxious, fearing he might be robbed.

Now that he was home, the tension he had felt along the way finally subsided.

“Ring-ring...”

Because he had barely slept the night before, Lin Li was feeling drowsy. Just as he was about to doze off on the sofa, his phone rang.

He pulled it out of his pocket and saw the name of his college classmate, Zhang Dawei, on the screen.

“Hello...”

“Lin Li, what are you doing?”

“Nothing much.”

“You’re playing games, aren’t you?” His classmate knew him well enough to know that after graduation, Lin Li hadn’t looked for a job but instead planned to be a complete slacker, mostly staying home to play games.

“Not playing games. I didn’t sleep well last night, so I’m planning to catch up on some rest. Is there something up? If not, I’m hanging up; I’m so sleepy.”

Zhang Dawei heard the sleepiness in Lin Li’s voice and quickly got to the point. “Next week is my birthday. I’ve invited the other classmates who stayed in Rongcheng to get together. You’d better show up too...”

It had been half a month since graduation. Although many classmates chose to leave Rongcheng—either returning to their hometowns or heading to other cities to make a living—some had chosen to stay and work locally.

Among them was Zhang Dawei, who had been quite close to Lin Li during their university years.

“Alright, send me the time and address on WeChat later.” Lin Li had no reason to refuse Zhang Dawei’s invitation.

“Sure, see you next week then... Don’t stay up too late playing games; it’s bad for your health.” Zhang Dawei reminded his friend before hanging up.

*Sigh, it’s not like I stayed up late playing games last night...* Lin Li muttered to himself as he looked at the disconnected phone.

Exhausted, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep right there on the sofa.

It was now July. The arrival of midsummer caused the city’s temperature to rise gradually.

The noisy chirping of cicadas was about to become the city’s primary melody.

A gentle breeze blew through the balcony into the living room, brushing against the hair of Lin Li, who was fast asleep on the sofa, and caressing the exquisite gift box containing the spirit stones on the coffee table.

The gears of fate turned slowly. This ordinary young man, who had intended to live a mundane life in this parallel world called Blue Star, was about to begin his path of cultivation.

…………

(End of chapter)