Chapter 182: The Dilemma of the Bakery Store Manager
“Ah? Ah?!”
I watched Lina walk away from the audience seats, and I let out two confused exclamations.
As the audience in the arena gradually dispersed, I was left still unable to believe everything that had just happened.
Where is the promised reward?
Where is the promised spellbook?
Where did my spellbook go!
Why is there suddenly so much chaos? According to the normal process, everything should have been wrapped up tomorrow, the rankings announced, and the rewards distributed. I wasn’t even going to dwell on their deliberate choice to not put the spellbook that improves learning efficiency at the top, just to prevent me from competing for first place.
Now, I’ve ended up with nothing!
Aphhemia Academy!
It has to be the elf’s doing; I recognized her voice. So this is how you want to play it, huh?
First, Yao Beijuan, then her teacher, one by one adding to my frustration. I will remember this.
Hehe… This time, I won’t hold back, even without Teacher Ji telling me to.
They enjoy communicating so much, I guess I should interact with them well!
I spent the whole afternoon waiting here like a clown, and someone even turned me into a meme. Is this easy for me?
Am I here just to watch those matches? No, I was looking forward to seeing that spellbook!
The previous rewards had already been announced; now they’re just giving me a delay. Doesn’t that just add to my frustration?
Forget it, I’ll just go back and take some potions. After all, I have nothing planned for tomorrow. I need to properly study that spellbook and prepare to make some big moves.
Originally, I thought I could focus on rune learning and temporarily set aside researching spellbooks, especially since I don’t have any rivals to worry about right now. But I can’t let go of this anxiety—it’s simply impossible.
I might not even sleep well tonight.
But I feel powerless to change this reality.
After I stepped out of the contestant area, I bumped into Sister Bai.
“Sister Bai~ You actually waited here for me~”
Seeing the familiar figure, I immediately threw myself into Sister Bai’s embrace. In this malicious world, only Sister Bai’s generous warmth can give me a sliver of comfort.
“Xiao Han, there are so many people here,” Bai Yu instinctively wrapped her arms around me when she noticed me rushing over.
In Bai Yu’s impression, the previous Xiao Han would never have acted so proactively, but she found this side of Xiao Han particularly adorable. If it weren’t for the setting, she might even want to hold Xiao Han down and let her experience what it means to be under Sister Bai’s care.
“True…”
After closing my eyes to relax for a few seconds, I quickly reacted and stood up.
I noticed that my relationship with Sister Bai had become even closer since I became a girl, but seeing that Bai Yu didn’t seem to mind, I breathed a sigh of relief. It seems she doesn’t take issue with it.
However, I still had the self-awareness to stop this behavior of taking advantage.
“Sigh… I feel so mentally exhausted…”
“Xiao Han, what’s wrong?” Bai Yu sensed the emptiness when I released her embrace and quickly realized my mood was off.
“Well… earlier, everything got messed up. The reward I was supposed to receive tomorrow is now completely uncertain.” After I spoke, I sighed again, lamenting how unpredictable life can be.
“I see, so Xiao Han values this reward quite a lot? Is it because of that spellbook that consumes a lot?” Bai Yu probed.
“No, it’s that the combat competition mentioned by Teacher Ji has a spellbook that can improve learning efficiency. It’s highly likely to be that unrestricted spellbook…”
“I see…” Bai Yu nodded. “Xiao Han, don’t be too upset. Look on the bright side. This time you didn’t get the reward, but future rewards will be even more substantial. There’s no need to dwell on the fact that it wasn’t obtained in just a day or two, right?”
“Since you think that way, then… sigh, I just feel especially busy before. Now that things have slowed down, I have this uneasy feeling.”
“Then that just means you need to rest. The Witch Academy is different from other academies. If you work too hard, it might have the opposite effect. Simply working hard doesn’t mean anything; you need to grasp the right methods.”
“I’m sick of hearing all this motivational talk~ I understand these principles, but knowledge is mostly about rote memorization. There’s really no such thing as a misplaced direction in effort.”
“Let’s not talk about that. Let’s think about what to do with the rest of the day,” Bai Yu said, reaching out to pat my head, her tone very doting.
“True.”
I picked up my phone to check the time; it was still afternoon. According to a normal schedule, classes usually wouldn’t have ended yet, especially since that period is when students truly have their free time.
However, speaking of what to do, I was still somewhat inclined to buy some potions while I had the chance. Originally, I had planned to receive the spellbook tomorrow and use up my potions, which would eliminate the need to waste money on buying more.
This is really annoying; I hate the feeling of my plans being disrupted.
But I also need to consider Sister Bai’s thoughts since I’m with her.
“Sister Bai, do you have any recommendations?”
“You’re asking me…? Actually, I don’t really know where to go either. The Witch Academy is vast—so vast that there are places even I haven’t been to—but it’s also small enough that whenever I think of going somewhere, I don’t have a target.”
“Sister Bai, are you entertaining me with your wordplay?” I teased from the side.
“Actually, I’d prefer to hear about what you want to do. You don’t need to say where; just tell me what you want to do, and I can take you there.”
“I see… it’s a pity, though, that I don’t have much time left.” I said regretfully; it would soon be evening. I am someone with a very regular routine, and in just a few hours, I can accomplish many things. However, when I really wanted to do something, it seemed there wasn’t enough time.
“I’m still thinking about the extraordinary powers. After all, Sister Bai, do you realize how long I’ve actually been in contact with extraordinary power? Everything still seems unreal to me.”
“Why are you suddenly feeling melancholic?”
“I’m not! I’m just lamenting. Since you told me to say what I want to do now, I want to go buy some potions, but deliberately going on this errand for something seems silly.” As I said this, I remembered how I previously went to buy potions alone; it felt so out of place at the Witch Plaza.
“It’s alright; it’ll be fine as long as I’m with you. If I’m with you, it won’t feel deliberate.”
“That’s true.”
After leaving the arena, my goal was to buy potions.
Potions are prevalent in the Extraordinary Academy, and Sister Bai knows more about this than I do, having been around for many years. She has experience in everything.
Moreover, when it comes to potions, she mentioned that there will be teaching in future courses, but the teaching will only last until the introductory level of potions, as the academy doesn’t have the obligation to make every student a potion master.
The academy just provides a direction, allowing suitable individuals to discover their own paths, and then they can choose whether to develop in that direction.
If possible, as long as I find a willing mentor, I could formally head in that direction.
It could be said that upperclassmen essentially master potion formulation abilities, but it’s limited to conventional potions.
Sister Bai had chosen to take potions as an elective because she, too, has experienced the benefits of potions and naturally fantasizes about whether she might have a talent for potion formulation.
But unfortunately, Sister Bai said she does not have talent in that area, though even now, she still has a few skills in potion formulation.
Thanks to Sister Bai’s knowledge about potions, I’ve also learned quite a bit myself.
For instance, the refreshing potion I previously thought was great is actually one of the most cost-effective potions. In contrast, the long-lasting memory potion is just a typical one among memory-enhancing potions.
In this aspect, Sister Bai knows more than I do, so it’s worth it for me to learn humbly from her. Thus, while I was gaining knowledge about potions, Sister Bai took the opportunity to buy quite a bit and gave it to me.
In the end, Sister Bai paid for everything. At that moment, I realized how unfathomably deep her wallet was. In the past, I always worried when I spent money, but now I realize how naive I was.
Even if I suddenly became wealthy overnight, I might not match Sister Bai’s richness… I really want to know how upperclassmen earn their money…
Or is it that wealthy people like Sister Bai are just examples?
Unfortunately, Sister Bai is unwilling to share this with me.
The enjoyable process passed quickly, and after buying potions and browsing, there was still plenty of time left.
This was a huge surprise to me; I felt like a lot of time had already passed.
But thinking back, I hadn’t gone out much before. Whenever I did, I either took a slow vehicle and wasted a lot of time on the road. Now that I have a flying license, I can fly directly, which is very convenient and saves a lot of time.
“It seems like it’s still early. Does Xiao Han have anything else he wants to do?”
“It seems not… I’m really not suited to the life of a popular person.”
“If you’re not suited for it, then don’t force yourself. Just understand what you’re doing,” Bai Yu said, shaking her head. She noticed I was still a bit anxious, but such things can’t be changed overnight. “Shall we head back? I can take you.”
“Huh? Are we going back already?”
“But I see you don’t have any intention of continuing, right? I’ve already said not to force yourself. Let’s go. Do you want to show me your dorm?”
“Huh? That… there’s really no need. They don’t really know you, Sister Bai…”
“Then I won’t go in; it’s just to drop you off. Besides, I have my own things to tend to.”
“Huh? If you have things to do, then don’t waste your time with me!”
“It’s fine; it’s not urgent. I believe I can get it done today.”
After Bai Yu finished speaking, she accompanied me as we flew towards my dorm.
But soon, I spotted the bakery across the street from my villa. Is it really true that the bakery seniors are still holding down the fort at this hour?
I remember they got tickets to the arena, right?
I saw them cheering for me in the arena, but unfortunately, I never had the chance to greet them.
Speaking of which, it seems I haven’t gone to the bakery for several days. I remember I am still a member of this club and also a part-time employee at the bakery.
Although I don’t lack money now, the thought of exchanging Secret Silver for cash feels a bit painful. After all, Secret Silver coins can easily be exchanged for money, but money doesn’t necessarily buy much Aoqin. Secret Silver, while common as extraordinary materials, also comes with relative worth—different levels come at higher costs.
“What’s up? Do you want to go see the bakery? I can accompany you,” Bai Yu said when she saw me gazing at the bakery below.
“Huh? But Sister Bai, don’t you have your own things to deal with?”
“I do have things to do, but nothing has started yet, so it’s equivalent to having no tasks at the moment.”
“Huh? It can be like that? I really do want to check it out. It seems there are quite a few people down there. Since the school started, more customers have appeared in the bakery.” I gently descended with the broom at the shop entrance.
As soon as I stepped down, I caught sight of the busy Ying Shiqian inside through the glass.
Even when I pushed the door open, making the bell ring, she was so preoccupied she didn’t notice me coming in.
“Ying Shiqian! Still busy?”
“Mm… Huh? Xiao Han? Aah! You came here? I missed you so much since we haven’t seen each other in a few days!” Ying Shiqian exclaimed, trying to rush over, but I stopped her with a hand.
At this moment, Sister Bai silently retracted her hand, pretending nothing had happened.
“It’s only been a few days. I saw you cheering for me at the arena, you know?”
“Really? I thought you didn’t see us! We got a bit of an offside position.”
“Mm? Xiao Han actually has time to come to the bakery?” At this moment, Tang Yihan came out from the back door, carrying a large piece of cake to cut for serving.
“Huh? Just came back. I saw you all busy on the way and thought I’d come check it out. You don’t mind, do you? I haven’t come to help you these days; it’s been especially busy.”
“Busy is expected. After all, you’re the contestant representing your class, you can’t afford to hold us up just to help us. Now, Xiao Han is a dark horse of this generation; you and Little Tan are both prime candidates for the championship now.”
“Yeah! Just thinking that both the first and second place of this class are members of our bakery club makes me excited!” Ying Shiqian chimed in.
“Huh? Are you really Xiao Han?”
At that moment, another senior who was shopping for desserts had confirmed this unbelievable fact!
Meeting the champion contender of this year’s new student competition at a random bakery is definitely a moment to capture!
“Really! This is the first time I’ve seen you from this close. Can I get your autograph? Or can we take a picture together?”
“Count me in! I also want to take a picture.”
Once the first person recognized me and asked for a joint photo, the other seniors in the shop rushed over to join in.
“Wait, let me join too.”
At this point, Bai Yu saw me being surrounded by so many people and squeezed her way in, swatting away a few wandering hands and standing protectively behind me.
This commotion went on for quite a while before it finally settled down.
I looked at the Polaroid photo they gave me as I was leaving, feeling a bit dazed, but it turned out to have Sister Bai in it.
“Sister Bai, I didn’t expect you to join in on the fun.”
“It’s nothing. Next time, if you meet those seniors, you should learn to say no; their intentions might not be that pure.”
“I know.”
Just as I was about to say something in rebuttal, a familiar voice interrupted me at the entrance of the store.
It was Store Manager Shali.
“I was wondering why it was so lively in the store; it turned out to be you, Xiao Han. It’s been several days since I last saw you. The moment I arrived, I see so many people gathered. Thankfully, I didn’t come with Little Tan; otherwise, can you imagine how packed it would be?”
“That’s true,” I nodded. Tan Han herself is quite a conversationalist, and that kind of charisma is something I can’t compare with; she is indeed more popular than I am on the academy’s forums.
But I couldn’t help but notice something flash past the moment Shali entered, prompting me to unlock a deeper layer of my Spirit Vision ability.
However, upon using this vision on Shali, I was immediately startled by what unfolded before me.
The originally faint shapes suddenly burst forth in a surreal golden hue—these were slender threads that quickly brought to mind what they were: the Threads of Fortune, the kind weaved by Tan Han!
But unlike the one wrapped around me, the threads on the store manager seemed to twist and tangle, attempting to bind Shali close, even cruelly resembling something that wanted to dismember her. Yet in reality, Shali seemed unaffected. Or was she really unaffected?
I asked myself this but found no answer.
All I knew was that the current impression of Store Manager Shali felt like that time with Tan Han, being dragged along by fortune.
The Threads of Fortune appeared not to belong to Shali; one end tautly extended into the distance until it vanished.
This scene genuinely sent chills down my spine.
Could it have been Tan Han’s doing?
Or was it perhaps what Sister Bai mentioned about the consequences of getting too close to Tan Han?
It seems necessary for me to inquire about this next time I meet Tan Han.
As I gazed at the tangled threads of fortune binding her, a thought crossed my mind: I wonder if I could untangle this?
After all, I also possess a thread of fortune; I can interfere with it. But the one on Shali doesn’t belong to me.
However, with my Spirit Vision, I gained an understanding of the concept of Threads of Fortune and should be able to perceive their existence. I should… be able to touch it, right?
