Chapter 183: The Bewildered Store Manager Shali
After chatting for a while, Sister Bai received a message and apologized as she bid farewell to me.
“It’s okay. It’s really close to where I live, just a couple of steps back home, so you don’t have to see me off, Sister Bai. Goodbye~” I pushed Sister Bai gently, encouraging her to leave.
Since she had something to take care of, I certainly couldn’t hold her up; otherwise, I’d feel really guilty.
“Alright… fine then.”
Bai Yu smiled and shook her head, reluctantly leaving in the end.
“You two have a really good relationship,” Senior Ying Shiqian remarked, watching the interaction between Bai Yu and me.
“Indeed, Sister Bai has been the nicest to me at the Witch Academy, and she was the one who brought me to the witch academy back then.” I responded positively to Senior Ying Shiqian’s remark.
However, just as I was about to continue, I was interrupted by Store Manager Shali calling out to me.
“Xiao Han, come here for a moment, I need to talk to you.”
“Huh? Sure, Manager.” I hadn’t expected her to suddenly want to speak with me.
In fact, my interactions with the manager in the bakery weren’t that frequent; sometimes it felt like I had to keep my distance, maybe due to her position or the lack of interaction.
She seemed to care more about Tan Han, perhaps to others, it would look biased since we were in the same club and the president paid more attention to one person. But I understood.
I wasn’t particularly close with Store Manager Shali; I spent more time hanging out with Senior Ying Shiqian and the others.
Moreover, Tan Han seemed to be someone Shali specifically took an interest in, which made her feelings more understandable.
Now, seeing the Thread of Fortune on her, I seemed to understand the reason behind her behavior.
“It’s not convenient to talk here; let’s go to the back.” Shali looked at the situation in the store and eventually led me towards the back door.
Besides the kitchen, the area behind the bakery belonged to the baking club, and I used to wander back here when I was part-time.
“Manager, where are we going?” I silently followed Store Manager Shali, unsure of what she had in mind.
As I quietly trailed behind her, it felt like a good opportunity.
I carefully counted the Threads of Fortune on Shali; although they were tangled in an exaggerated manner, there were only about eight or nine after a closer look.
The most conspicuous one was undoubtedly the one wound around her neck.
I cautiously reached out to flick the thread, and the end of it wobbled slightly under my fingers.
This sensation was peculiar; the Threads of Fortune seemed unaffected by external forces, like wind or clothing rubbing, yet it moved in my hand.
I pinched the end of the thread, and upon pulling, it came out as if peeling an onion.
However, at that moment, Store Manager Shali unexpectedly spoke up behind me.
“Xiao Han, you must be very curious about where I’m taking you, right?”
“Huh? Yes… yes, where are you taking me, Manager? If it’s just something we can discuss privately, we could just find any corner here, right?” I was startled by the response, but quickly adjusted, acting as if nothing happened.
After all, what I was doing wasn’t exactly something I could openly discuss; it was essentially like doing something guilty, right?
“I’m planning to take you to my small treasury; I believe Shiqian and Yihan must have often mentioned it to you, right?”
“Uh? That’s true,” I nodded honestly. The seniors did often mention the manager’s small treasury; they said it had everything, including something called “Extraordinary Knowledge.”
But… why was she suddenly taking me to her small treasury?
“I want to ask you for a favor, Xiao Han. It’s not that I’m being biased; it’s about you joining my baking club…”
“And then?” I looked at the manager as she turned to face me, her tone suggesting she was about to say something but then paused.
At that moment, I noticed the thread of fortune on my hand had gone limp, no longer taut as it had been before.
“Ahem… what was I going to say? Oh, you’ve been in the baking club for some time; I had overlooked you before, and you wouldn’t blame the manager, would you?” At this moment, Shali’s expression was a bit odd, and even her speech had lost its previous assertiveness.
I observed everything closely; the changes in Shali after unraveling the thread of fortune were so significant?
Following the previous statement that began with “it’s not that I’m biased,” the subsequent conversation should have leaned towards me being biased somehow; that would have made more sense.
Since the manager herself had admitted to being biased, then upon reflection, did I receive any unfair treatment before?
If there’s no comparison, there’s naturally no unfairness; if there is a comparison… then there naturally is.
Especially after contrasting with Tan Han…
I constantly reminded myself not to dwell on those presumed privileges; any advantages or kindnesses from others initially came from a place where they hoped to gain something.
Otherwise, I feared my heart would be shattered by imbalance, but I understood that only I could hurt my own feelings. As long as I ignored certain matters or observed with indifference, they wouldn’t concern me.
It seemed that most issues could be resolved this way; in the face of others’ ridicule, criticism, and sarcastic jabs, a simple “oh” as a response usually drove others to frustration.
But I wasn’t going to treat the manager like that.
“It’s okay; thank you, Manager, for helping me during my difficult times. I really don’t mind the rest,” I casually replied.
Then I discarded the thread of fortune I had unraveled from the manager. I wasn’t sure what the difference was between this fortune and that which clung to me; if it could entangle Store Manager Shali, it could very well entangle me too.
But soon, I realized I couldn’t get rid of it; at this moment, it followed me just like that previous thread of fortune.
“You think that way, huh? We haven’t had many members in the baking club before; I thought being a hands-off manager for too long meant I had failed to fulfill my responsibilities. Recently, new enthusiastic members joined, seemingly all because of you and Tan Han, which made me afraid to promote the club like before. I’m genuinely worried I won’t manage it well.”
As Shali spoke, she led me to a place I had never been before.
“Wait.”
Shali stopped in front of a wall; at a first glance, this wall looked normal, just a side wall in the depth of the corridor.
But since Store Manager Shali stopped here, it indicated something was hidden.
I didn’t wait for the manager to act and used Spirit Vision to see through the wall; it was indeed not a regular wall but seemed like some kind of alchemical item?
It was large, about the size of a door, or perhaps it was a door integrated into the wall?
Behind this door was a vast space; it wasn’t that there was a hidden room behind the wall, but the door led to an overlapping space, where even if seen from behind the wall, it still appeared as a wall.
The key was that it could only be accessed through this door.
It felt somewhat like the entrance to the Street of Elegance, but there were noticeable differences.
As Shali took out her magic wand and pointed it at the wall, the illusion of a door materialized on its surface.
I had already seen how this worked using Spirit Vision; it was like watching a magic trick I already knew. Yet, the instant it was revealed still felt somewhat stunning.
“This time, both you and Tan Han made it to the finals in the new student competition; I genuinely did not expect this, especially in the first match where you faced Tan Han, which was a huge surprise to me.”
“I also found the events at the arena today quite unexpected, but Tan Han is still the one I brought to the Witch Academy, so I want to ask you for a favor.”
“A favor?”
I looked at Store Manager Shali, an unsettling thought crossed my mind, especially regarding what she said about bringing Tan Han to the Witch Academy.
She couldn’t be asking me to go easy on Tan Han in the upcoming competitions… but that didn’t seem right. Most people think Tan Han would outweigh me, so maybe she wanted me to lend Tan Han a hand? Or to avoid internal conflict over who would come in first?
I quietly waited for the manager’s words, trying to discern whether this plea came from her heart or was influenced by the threads of fate.
“Yes, the upcoming exchange competition among over twenty academies is a rare event in the history of our academy. Although it feels a bit rushed this time, you can’t deny that so many academies are participating.”
“So…” I prompted further.
“So… Xiao Han, you are currently the only new student who can stand beside Tan Han. I would like to ask you, if possible, to lend Tan Han a hand in the exchange competition.”
“Um… ahem, hahaha, Manager, what are you talking about?” I coughed quietly and then laughed awkwardly, surprised that the plot was aligning with my predictions.
“And what about me?”
“Xiao Han, I’m sorry. I know that this exchange competition is critically important, but it’s a competition among academies. Tan Han is the most likely candidate to emerge as the winner from our Witch Academy. If there’s no internal conflict between you two, and if you lend her your support…”
“Manager… but what about me?” I leaned against the wall, gradually sliding down into the corner between the ground and the wall, and then emphasized again.
“Xiao Han, I think I’ve made myself very clear…”
“Why can’t I win the championship? Actually… I may not be that inferior to Tan Han, right?”
“But your matchup against her…”
“I only used a standard consumption spellbook, you know, the most commonly used one is the Fireball Spell. But, Manager, if you were paying attention to my matches, you’d at least know that my spellbooks don’t stop there. I have high-consumption spellbooks too, and I didn’t even use those means.”
I directly interrupted Store Manager Shali, eager to see how astonishing she could get with her words.
Then I was curious about what compelled Shali to say such things.
“But your magic source…”
“Has already reached over seven hundred. You don’t need to worry about that.” I smiled as I interrupted her again.
Then I stood up, feeling a new idea forming within me.
To be honest, I actually had a good impression of Shali; I wanted to believe this was due to the interference of fate, similar to what Tan Han had once said to me.
In the end, didn’t she still come to apologize to me?
I figured at this moment, the manager would have nothing else to say, perhaps contemplating other methods to persuade me, or considering using forceful means?
However, compared to that, I was more interested in trying something different.
“Store Manager Shali, I’m just an ordinary person; I know you care a lot about Tan Han. But you should understand what you’re doing right now; you are stifling the aspirations of a new student, just like Tan Han, who has the same ambition and hope to be first.”
“Manager, when you brought this up with me, I should have been furious, but you’re the manager, and I respect you. Wanting me to give up my path was already impossible. You brought me to your small treasury; your intentions are quite clear, right? And I understand your intentions.”
At this moment, I took the initiative, and my words left Store Manager Shali feeling somewhat flustered.
However, all of this was just my fabrication; what path I walked? What about killing aspirations? This was all made up. I didn’t yearn for these things; after all, all honors are superficial. When I learned of the script’s existence, I knew competing for these things had already lost its meaning.
Even if those were fake, my understanding of the extraordinary and the power I possessed were not fake.
Of course, I was serious about the manager’s small treasury. Under the influence of the seniors, I truly became interested in it.
Especially that so-called “Extraordinary Knowledge”!
Actually, I also had a piece of extraordinary knowledge, but right now I didn’t know what it could do. I only knew it was “asleep” within me, and I didn’t dare to touch it, fearing it would cause me trouble. With the unknown, caution is always wise.
“Manager, there’s only one thing in your small treasury that I find appealing.”
“What is it?” At this moment, Shali inquired, but she quickly guessed the answer.
“‘Extraordinary Knowledge’.” I smiled as I said, “You care a lot about Tan Han; I believe you can do many things for her, right? ‘Extraordinary Knowledge’ is just an item in the end; if you give it to me, I would willingly help Tan Han, even happily.”
I said this to the manager; it was also a way for me to gauge the value of “Extraordinary Knowledge” in her eyes. The previous Sister Bai and I discussed it like a flood beast. However, now that I had encountered the second piece of “Extraordinary Knowledge,” I wouldn’t mind seeing how important it was in someone else’s heart.
“This… this is not possible…” At that moment, Store Manager Shali’s face was filled with entanglement and struggle, “Let’s pick something else; I have many magic sources and spellbooks! High-consumption spellbooks! The Excessive Consumption Spellbook! Yes! The Excessive Consumption Spellbook! That’s the most important reward this time! I can give it to you in advance!”
“Manager, you’re being too distant. That’s a one-sided reward from the Witch Academy, while this is an exchange competition held by so many academies. The rewards can’t be calculated like this.” I gently denied Shali’s proposal with a smile.
At this point, Shali seemed a bit deranged, reminiscent of Tan Han during that time, which only reinforced my belief in the situation.
I watched the tightening Threads of Fortune. At this moment, Store Manager Shali truly resembled a puppet on strings.
But lacking that thread around her neck now felt somewhat absurd and ridiculous.
“Manager, ‘Extraordinary Knowledge’ is merely a collection in your hands, but it can unleash greater value in mine.”
“No… no… that’s for Tan Han… what am I saying…”
“Oh… so…” Hearing Shali’s almost incoherent words made me feel a bit regrettable; it seemed this really was meant for Tan Han. Was this considered a future script I discovered for myself?
“Then Manager, if you give this to me, I will help Tan Han, and I will also find another piece of ‘Extraordinary Knowledge’ to repay Tan Han in the future. Manager, you know my strength, and I will have the ability to find it again.” I continued, “I can sign a contract. Otherwise, I will return the piece of ‘Extraordinary Knowledge’ you give me to Tan Han.”
“A contract?” It seemed this aspect struck a chord with Shali.
“Yes, Manager, a contract. We can sign a contract; may I get a glimpse of that so-called ‘Extraordinary Knowledge’? Once I see it with my own eyes, we will sign the contract, and the terms will be just as I said earlier: with me assisting Tan Han, I believe no one will stand against us in this exchange competition, right?”
“Sure! But you must keep your word!” Shali replied with her words tangled, as if she had made a great resolution. Yet, her actions betrayed her promises as she moved directly to the large safe at the back of her small treasury.
I followed the manager into her small treasury; though it was called small, the interior was surprisingly vast!
Various items filled the room; as the manager said, there were magic sources, spellbooks, alchemical items, extraordinary items, and so many things that it left me dazzled, including a safe dedicated to storing Aoqin and Secret Silver coins.
The interior of the safe was fully visible to my Spirit Vision.
However, I shouldn’t be dawdling here; I had more important tasks to accomplish, specifically unlocking the Threads of Fortune.
When everything was untangled, I assumed the manager would also experience some miraculous change, right?
“Huh? Xiao Han, what are you doing behind me?” Shali asked, noticing my unusual behavior.
“Oh, it’s nothing; just seemed to be a loose thread, so I was helping you get rid of it.”
“A loose thread? Impossible! My clothes were custom-made not long ago; there shouldn’t be such a mistake with loose threads!”
As I pulled the Thread of Fortune loose from her right arm, her hand fumbled with the safe’s switch, pausing her actions.
