Chapter 21

Underneath the overpass, Xia Zhui, now disguised as a burly man, rested her chin on her hand, boredly fiddling with her phone.

She looked at the fishing rods displayed before her, thinking to herself how much she resembled a randomly spawning merchant NPC in a game. She sold miraculous goods, and whether a customer could find her depended entirely on luck. After all, there was absolutely no one else under this overpass besides her. With fishing prohibited in the Jiang River, there weren't even any anglers around here; would she really be able to sell these fishing rods? Xia Zhui finally grasped the true difficulty of this task.

Bored, she pulled out her phone to check the trending topics. Fortunately, after a few days of settling down, the buzz surrounding "Ms. Xia" was finally fading from the top searches.

However…

"As expected," Xia Zhui murmured, taking a deep breath as she stared at the trending topic about the bamboo dragonfly.

[Doraemon’s Bamboo Dragonfly Appears in Reality]
[Up-loader "Wandering Scenery" Tests High-Tech Product]

Xia Zhui clicked on the trending video, which appeared to have been reposted from the Bilibili site. Without watching it, she went straight to the comments section.

[My God, what am I seeing? Such a small bamboo dragonfly can actually lift a person into the air!]
[Three, two, one, drop the link!]
[Has our country become this powerful? This kind of item can just be bought at a street stall? Which company produced this? Someone claim it!]
[I want that bamboo dragonfly so much, and the temperature-regulating bracelet too. I can’t stand shivering under my covers anymore.]
[The automatic cooking machine is amazing. What is the principle behind it?]
[I bought a bamboo dragonfly too, hahahaha! It’s really fun. I wore it out first thing this morning, and so many people were looking at me.]
[Drop the link, OP!]
[There’s no link. I didn't buy it online; I bought it on the pedestrian street in Jiangchao City. So many people were buying them; I had to squeeze for a long time to get one, and it was only ninety-nine yuan!]
[What?! Ninety-nine?]
[You scared me; for a second, I thought I was living in the Qing Dynasty.]
[When will this be mass-produced? Put it on an online store! I really want to buy one!!!!]
[Isn't this kind of thing unsafe? It’s only ninety-nine yuan. What if there are hidden risks? What if you fall?]
[At ninety-nine yuan, what more do you want? If you feel it’s unsafe, just fly lower. I don’t fly high, just enough to avoid walking. It’s so awesome.]
[I think if you pair it with the temperature-regulating bracelet, you could totally wear Hanfu and go around posing as a flying fairy! Though, having a bamboo dragonfly on your head might look a bit weird? Might need some Photoshop.]
[I’m envious! I’m catching a flight to Jiangchao City right now!]
[Is anyone selling their bamboo dragonfly? I’ll pay 10,000!]
[Not selling, not selling! Even if you offered 100,000, I wouldn't sell. This thing is too much fun, hahahaha.]
[Is the magical glasses mentioned in the video really that good? If so, what are doctors for?]
[We don't know for sure yet; we need a blind person to test it. But if a blind person could really have these glasses, life would be much more convenient. Many blind paths are occupied or poorly constructed, so many blind people don't dare to go out.]
[Has anyone bought the magical glasses? I’m willing to pay a high price. My younger sister is blind and only sixteen. She hasn't seen the outside world for so many years. I really hope she can regain her sight.]
[Does anyone really believe a pair of glasses can restore sight? That’s ridiculous.]
[To the person above, why don't you contact me? I'll mail the magical glasses to you.]

***

Yu Yan woke up early in the morning to check her phone and happened to see that comment. She replied on a whim. She had bought the magical glasses yesterday, after all, since they sounded incredibly impressive. If she didn't buy them now, what would she do if they sold out later? Besides, the glasses weren't expensive.

She waited quietly for a reply. Not long after, the person named "Tamuchi" sent her a private message.

[Tamuchi: Hello, is it true that you are willing to sell the magical glasses to me?]

Yu Yan replied, "It's true. Forgive my presumption, but I feel these glasses should go to someone who needs help. You aren't joking, are you?"

[Tamuchi: I am not. (Image) (Image)]

She sent two photos. Yu Yan opened them; the first was a disability certificate for the blind, and the second was a young girl staring out a window, her eyes vacant. The girl sat obediently in a chair, her hands tightly clasped, looking up at the window as if yearning for the outside world, yet trapped within that small space.

[Tamuchi: This is my sister and her certificate. She lost her sight suddenly due to an accident when she was a child. Our family was in bad financial shape back then, and the doctors couldn't treat her. So many years have passed, and she has basically never left the house. I really hope she can see the light again. Please tell me what price you would be willing to sell them for; I can accept anything. I beg you.]

Yu Yan pursed her lips, feeling a heavy heart as she read the reply. These magical glasses only cost one hundred and ninety-nine yuan. She thought for a moment and typed, "Give me two hundred, and I'll mail them to you."

She’d round it up and cover the shipping herself; she didn't intend to be a scalper anyway.

On the other end, a woman with short hair sat quietly on the sofa watching her sister, Cai Luoying, who was sitting in a chair, looking up at the window, seeing nothing. She could only hear the wind and the chirping of birds outside.

Cai Xunyan looked at the message, immediately gripping her phone and typing, "Thank you so much! Please send me your payment code!"

After a long while, the other person sent a photo of the glasses and a payment code. Cai Xunyan had been prepared for the possibility of being blocked and deleted after sending the money, but she was willing to try. She believed there were still good people in the world. Moreover, it was only two hundred yuan, and her sister had a chance to regain her sight. Even if she were cheated, it wouldn't matter—as long as there was a way to help her sister, she couldn't miss it.

Cai Xunyan knew how much her sister wanted to go out and see the world, but she could only lock herself in her room and draw on a sketchpad. Because she couldn't see, the drawings were all crooked. No one else could understand them, but only she knew that they were her sister's vision of the outside world.

Cai Xunyan transferred two hundred and fifty yuan to the person and sent another message.

[Tamuchi: Thank you. The extra fifty is for the shipping fee, thank you for your trouble. My address is...]

On her end, Yu Yan saw the payment notification and sighed, thinking that this "Tamuchi" was far too trusting. What if she had taken the money and not mailed them? Or what if she had just mailed a random pair of glasses? Did this person have no sense of caution?

*Sigh*, she only hoped the glasses were truly effective. Still, she believed that the things the stall owner sold must be the real deal!

Yu Yan packed up the glasses and walked to the courier shop. Once finished, she sent a photo to Tamuchi. The delivery would take about three or four days. Relieved, Yu Yan prepared to head to school.

In a cozy bedroom, Yu Jingshan, who had slept until ten o'clock, felt that his slumber had been exceptionally sound. How to describe it? It was the feeling of being completely well-rested. Yesterday, he had fallen asleep within two or three minutes of lying down—usually, he had to play on his phone for at least half an hour before drifting off. Falling asleep so early was truly miraculous. He didn't know if it was because he was too tired or because of this sleep-learning device.

At this moment, besides feeling refreshed, the most important thing was that he could perceive the new knowledge in his brain. Last night, he had played a math lecture video for the sleep-learning device, and in his dream, he had sat in a chair and studied math for the whole night. It was terrifyingly effective. Moreover, in the dream, he never felt sleepy or drowsy while listening. That teacher even asked questions! It was horrible!

However, the knowledge points the teacher explained last night were still very clear in his mind, as if he had truly listened to a full day of lectures. Furthermore, he didn't feel the usual grogginess that came after dreaming all night. On the contrary, he felt remarkably comfortable. Previously, he would sleep for long periods but still wake up feeling exhausted, sometimes yawning repeatedly. This time was different.

Yu Jingshan touched the sleep-learning device in his hand and sighed, "If it’s really because of you that I slept so quickly and soundly, you are an absolute godsend for insomniacs."

He smiled and got up to wash. Today, he had to find blind or deaf people in the city to test the functions of the magical glasses. At this moment, he didn't know that the video he had posted yesterday had gone viral. His mind was filled only with continuing to test products and making videos.

***

At Jiangchao University, Yu Yan, with a bamboo dragonfly on her head, floated from the school gate like a ghost. None of the passing students could stop themselves from staring; many even gathered around.

"Classmate, how are you flying?"
"It looks like the bamboo dragonfly from the trending topic! My god, you actually bought one."
"Can you sell it to me? I’m willing to pay a thousand."
"How does it feel? Is it good? You bought it on the pedestrian street, right? Ah! Why didn't I go to the pedestrian street yesterday!"
"Trending topic? Let me see," someone said, immediately opening their phone.

Although Yu Yan wasn't quite used to being surrounded, the feeling of not having to walk was just too great! After chatting with the students for a while, she happily floated all the way to the classroom. When Gu Miyue arrived, she said joyfully, "I’m set for my Level 4 exam!"

Gu Miyue tilted her head, "?"

Yu Yan smiled, "You didn't use the sleep-learning device?"

"I recited words in my dream all night yesterday; it was truly amazing. And I feel that since using the sleep-learning device, my energy is much better."

Gu Miyue took a deep breath, "I’m using it tonight."