Natalie's magical growth record

Chapter 192 Extra () [New Year] Special gift from the sage of [World] (Part )

clang clang clang,
  As the hands of the clock on the table successfully completed a large circle, a clear and long sound of bells suddenly sounded in the originally silent room.

【It's time to sleep...】

After looking at the time on the clock in front of her, Natalie hurriedly put away the New Year's gift from her previous teacher. She stood up and pulled out the seat, then quickly returned to her bed, ready to take off her pajamas and lie down to sleep.

Dong dong dong,
  However, just as she sat on the edge of the bed and unbuttoned the first button, a clear knock on the door suddenly came to her ears.

"Please come in."

Without any hesitation, Natalie quickly stopped what she was doing and sat upright.

"Natalie, why haven't you rested yet? If I remember correctly, didn't you make an appointment with Teacher Christo to go to Silver City tomorrow? The event has been cancelled?"

Mrs. Arinor then opened the door and came in. She looked at her daughter on the right front with some surprise, who seemed to have not gone to bed yet. After thinking about it, she finally made one more confirmation without feeling reassured.

"No...no, I'm just a little excited and looking forward to what gift the teacher will give me tomorrow..."

Natalie answered truthfully, feeling slightly guilty.

She originally wanted to tell her mother directly that she clearly remembered the agreement, but after looking at the home pajamas she had barely taken off, she finally chose to confess and lowered her head silently.

"Okay, I know you are looking forward to tomorrow's activities, but sleep is also very important. Only if Natalie has a good rest can she participate in activities with the teacher better tomorrow."

Seeing her daughter looking so guilty and acknowledging her mistake, Mrs. Arinor couldn't help but soften her tone and warned her again.

"Okay, Mom."

This time, Natalie did not delay any longer and took off her home pajamas jacket directly in front of her mother...

……

The next morning, down the street from Randall's Arinor home,

"Good morning Natalie, did you sleep well last night?"

Seeing the student happily bidding farewell to her mother and running towards her, Alina couldn't help but smile and wave her hands to say hello.

"Yes, Teacher Alina, what about you?"

"I'm fine too, thank you Natalie."

Feeling the teacher's enthusiasm, Natalie's initial nervousness immediately dissipated for the most part.

So, no longer feeling nervous, she immediately came to the teacher's side and consciously waited for the teacher to activate the [Space Teleportation] magic.

【Are you so impatient this year...】

With a bright smile, Alina stretched out her hand to straighten the student's clothes. Alina immediately withdrew her gaze, skillfully pulled out the card engraved with [Space Teleportation] magic, and injected it with magic power.

[3...2...1! 】

A burst of extremely familiar bright light appeared and disappeared. Alina opened her eyes first and instinctively planned to lead the student towards her mansion.

However, as soon as she took her steps, she slowed down slightly hesitantly.

What appeared in front of her was no longer the stone-shaped double-three-story building in the Olivia Continental style, but a slightly dim light with mottled and old walls. It seemed that there were strips of rather old-fashioned walls on the top. An uninhabited alley with black telephone poles in a modern industrial atmosphere.

【This is…】

Alina was in a daze for a moment, and instinctively had the urge to stay in this world, work hard to make enough money, and take an international flight to return to her hometown.

But in the next moment, she still rationally controlled the thoughts that were rushing through her mind, and instead grabbed the student's hand.

"We are here, our gift is hidden somewhere in this fantasy world, let's go find it together!"

Without giving the students a chance to panic, Alina quickly adjusted her condition, put away the cards without any abnormality, and made an invitation gesture to the students.

"Um…"

Seeing the invitation gesture that was the same as usual, and listening to the teacher's gentle and firm words as always, Natalie, who was still a little uneasy because of the strange environment and dim light around her, regained some courage and spoke a small gesture to the teacher. nodded.

"Natalie still remembers the dream world she experienced with Lady Salister, right? Just like that time, as long as we try to find the gifts hidden here, we can end the adventure and return to the real world." After a pause, The students still seemed very uneasy. Alina thought for a while, quickly organized her words, and added, "It's okay, Natalie, don't be nervous. This is a game I played every year when I was a child. This year it's because my teacher wanted to It was a special surprise for Natalie, that’s why I didn’t tell Natalie before, I’m so sorry.”

After saying that, Alina bent down very simply and made an apology with a decent attitude.

Natalie subconsciously wanted to stop her, but at this time, her teacher was already one step ahead of her, taking the lead in completing the apology ceremony and standing up straight again.

"No, it's okay. Teacher, you don't need to apologize. It's okay with me..." After a pause, fearing that the teacher would still feel sorry for it, Natalie hurriedly restrained the flattered emotion that she had just briefly felt and tried to change the subject, "Then Ellie Teacher Na...Excuse me, what do we need to do to find the gift hidden here?"

"How to find..." Alina first pretended to think seriously for a while in line with the student's words, and then replied in time before the student showed an uneasy expression, "Did you see that place with particularly bright lights and noisy sounds? Today It is the last day of the year in this world. If my teacher is here, then he should be celebrating this special day like everyone else here. What we have to do is to celebrate this special day in the most lively place. Find him somewhere and ask him to tell us directly where the New Year’s gifts are hidden.”

"Eh...is this okay?"

Listening to the teacher's completely nonchalant description, Natalie was still a little in disbelief. She couldn't believe that they could solve the test questions given to them by the teacher's teacher so easily.

"Yes, the teacher has done this before, and it is absolutely effective. So, Natalie will treat the next action as a hide-and-seek game, and cooperate with me to search and observe as much as possible. Do you understand?"

"Ok!"

"Okay, next I will tell Natalie what my teacher looks like and what identities he has used to hide himself before. Let's note this information and then start taking action, okay?"

"Ok!"

After receiving a positive response from the student again, Alina did not delay and immediately handed over some information selectively based on her understanding of the teacher.

A few minutes later,

"Are the clothes arranged? Remember, we try not to attract attention during the observation process. After all, I am not sure whether other people in the illusion woven by the teacher this time will have a little will. If it is because of our rash conversation If it causes a bad chain reaction, then we will lose more than we gain."

After receiving affirmative action from the students for the third time, Alina immediately curled her fingers and made the final countdown.

[3,]

[2,]

[1,]

"set off!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly took the student's hand and hurriedly followed the road sign above her head that was not obscured by darkness, and ran towards their first destination.

Bang bang bang bang,

The rough stone paved road beneath their feet occasionally made a swaying rhythm with a sense of age, following the footsteps of the two.

At first, Natalie would always unfortunately fall into the deeply sunken gap between two stone slabs because she couldn't step on the right place, thus slowing down the teacher's running speed. However, as the teacher slowed down his teachings slightly, and From her observations during the trot, she, like her teacher, gradually mastered the trick of running on such uneven roads.

[Left to the left, right to the right, big steps, small steps...]

While Natalie silently recited the coping skills the teacher had just taught her, she worked very hard to change the direction and arc of her steps while maintaining a running state.

Bang bang bang bang,

There was another sound of slates being stepped on continuously. Just when Natalie thought they would never reach the end no matter how hard they walked, she saw the teacher who was supposed to be in front of her suddenly changed direction and turned into a street on their right. .

Natalie was confused for a while, but she didn't dare to think too much about this important moment. She quickly stopped her steps and followed the teacher into the street on her right.

"What's wrong, Teacher Alina..."

After confirming that the teacher was no longer moving forward, Natalie stopped and asked in a low voice.

"Have you noticed the houses with signs and lanterns in front? Those are shops that are responsible for divination. My teacher likes this type of divination very much. Maybe he is hiding in a shop here.

We first pretended that we passed by by chance. If someone came out of the house or there was a light on, I would knock on the door and have a conversation with the excuse of asking for directions, and Natalie would try to show that she was curious about the things around her.

Next, the owner of the house will definitely ask you if you are interested in those things. Natalie, just nod your head, and then listen carefully to his introduction to you, and I will observe him in the process until we confirm his identity.

Finally, if he asks you if you want to try, Natalie will continue to nod, and I will make the final confirmation through what he interprets to you. If this person is not my teacher, then we will leave as soon as possible and go to me. If it is difficult to determine the city center mentioned, then Natalie will take out the pocket watch I just showed you and observe the person's reaction when he sees the pocket watch. Do you understand? "

Alina also lowered her voice and answered quietly.

"Understood!"

After taking some time to understand and confirm her work and making sure that she had not missed anything, Natalie immediately followed the teacher out of the dark area and entered the quiet street with many signboards and hanging lanterns.

During this process, Natalie was occasionally briefly distracted by the gorgeous fireworks that suddenly rose in the sky in the distance. However, seeing the teachers beside her observing her surroundings so carefully, she quietly retracted her thoughts and paid serious attention. Whether the houses on both sides have lights on and whether they are occupied.

Creaking——  After walking through about a dozen houses that simply hung lanterns but no one was inside, they finally heard the sound of a door being pushed open from the inside out in a house near the end of the street.

"Happy New Year, boss, please tell me how to get to the city square. My friend and I made an appointment to meet there, but unfortunately we got lost nearby. Can you tell us where to go? Thank you very much!"

Without a trace of hesitation, Alina hurriedly stepped forward and waved to stop the middle-aged man who was about to return to the house. Based on the customs and language habits she knew, she was a little unfamiliar but her words were clear and her purpose was clear.

"Happy New Year, walk straight through three streets, go through two traffic lights after seeing the big city gate, then turn right, and then you can follow other people..."

"Foreigners? Are you here to experience the New Year atmosphere? You can speak Chinese quite well, better than many foreigners I have seen before!"

The middle-aged man responded subconsciously at first, then looked at the two people with slight surprise, and expressed his true feelings without hiding his doubts and appreciation.

"Thank you, let's go, Natalie, eh...Natalie..."

After politely thanking her, Alina immediately looked at the student next to her, only to find that the other student's eyes were intently examining the wide wooden chairs in the house, with the backrests and armrests connected to form a fan-shaped wooden chair.

She smiled with satisfaction, and just as she was about to urge them according to her hunch, she saw the middle-aged man who pointed the way to the two of them walking over on his own.

"That's the Taishi chair. Little girl, are you curious about this? You have a good eye. Let me tell you, this Taishi chair has a great background. Although its material is nothing special, I spent a lot of money on these chairs. I specially asked someone to get it from the antique market to improve the appearance, as well as the Taishi chair itself. Do you know why it is called the Taishi chair? In ancient times in our country, the word Taishi represented a very powerful official position. How powerful was it? Do you know the emperor And the prime minister? This grand master represents..."

The middle-aged man was talking nonstop. Seeing that not only the little girl in front of him was listening attentively, but also the beautiful lady who came to ask for directions before was also listening very attentively. He couldn't help but talk more and more energetically.

After introducing the Taishi Chair, he saw that the two foreigners seemed to still have some unfinished business. The middle-aged man couldn't help but feel more satisfied. After confirming that both of them were willing to continue listening, he immediately warmly invited the two of them into his shop.

"I'm sorry, our fortune teller just went home for the Chinese New Year two days ago. I could have asked him to look it up for you. Although I do know a little bit about this business, but to tell people the truth, To read the fortune teller, you must rely on a professional fortune teller. Okay, you guys should take a look first, and I'll make you a cup of tea. Wait a minute!"

With that said, the shop owner hurriedly set up the seats and motioned for the two of them to sit down. Then he trotted to a room covered by a simple curtain at the side of the shop hall, tinkering with tea sets and preparing to entertain the guests.

"Teacher Alina, how are you? Is he your teacher?"

After the hospitable shop owner completely disappeared from the other side of the curtain, Natalie looked at her teacher with a slightly restrained voice and asked in a low voice.

"The personality he showed just now is not very similar, but I can't be sure because my teacher is also good at pretending. Let's observe for a while."

Alina answered truthfully.

Seeing the student's uncontrollable expression of disappointment, she thought for a moment and finally added: "But the fortune teller he mentioned just now, well, it's the professional fortune teller in the store who is responsible for telling people's fortunes. Care. Although this is just my personal conjecture, the fact that all the nearby shops are closed and only this one is left with people can explain some problems. Therefore, when the boss comes back, we try to guide the conversation to that I’m a fortune teller, let’s see if I can get some useful information from the boss’s mouth.”

"Ok, I see!"

As a result, Natalie regained her fighting spirit and continued to think about the next questions she could ask before the boss came back.

About two or three minutes later, the shop owner returned to the hall and placed two cups of steaming tea with a vaguely sweet smell in front of the two of them.

"Try, try the Chinese tea brewed with authentic mountain spring water. Although it may be quite different from the tea you have over there, believe me, drinking this tea is also good for your body!"

With that said, the shop owner enthusiastically pushed the two paper cups towards the two of them.

"Very fragrant tea, thank you."

She politely closed her eyes and smelled the long fragrance of the tea in the cup. Alina then lowered her head and followed the etiquette she knew. She stretched out her right hand gently, holding the cup body tightly with her first two fingers, and holding the bottom of the cup with her middle finger. He slowly brought the tea cup to his mouth.

"Three dragons protect the cauldron? I'm an expert, you know. Speaking of which, my fortune teller is also very particular. Every time he drinks tea, he must strictly follow the standard steps, such as preparing tea, warming utensils, pouring tea, Shake the incense, warm the cup... I heard what he said, and I can't remember if it was in this order. In short, there are many steps. I once wanted to learn some of them, but I saw that the steps are so complicated and demanding. Just gave up..."

The shop owner was about to continue describing the various difficulties he encountered while studying at that time, but as he spoke, he suddenly fell silent again, because he found that the little girl sitting next to the beautiful girl had shown obvious confusion and confusion at some point. Uneasy, this made him feel that he was very derelict in his duty, and he felt a little sorry.

"I understand, I understand, because when I first started studying Chinese culture with my teacher, I didn't quite understand the meaning of some complicated etiquette, but your culture is indeed very interesting, such as the Five Elements of Bagua, Qimen Dunjia, the Five Metaphysical Techniques, and so on. The chronology of the sixty-year cycle of the heavenly stems and earthly branches... These are all very interesting to me." At this point, Alina paused briefly, and first used the gesture of drinking tea to tactfully look at the students to give some comfort, and then stopped showing off. Wei Wei withdrew his gaze and continued to the shop owner, "Of course, what I am most interested in is the divination in your culture. Well, I'm sorry, according to you, fortune telling seems to be more appropriate. I heard that some fortune telling in China It seems that the method does not require the use of props, and you can directly judge a person’s fate by observing his appearance and palm lines, is that right?”

"Yes, yes, there is indeed such a saying. I didn't expect you to even know this. It seems that the teacher who teaches you China really likes Chinese culture. This is our honor." He looked up and down again in surprise. For this fair-skinned girl with a straight nose, blond hair and purple eyes, the shop owner finally did not ask about the doubts in his heart and continued to answer the other party's question, "The two fortune-telling methods you just mentioned are called fortune-telling. And palm reading. Face reading is about looking at a person’s face. By observing the shape of a person’s facial features and facial expressions in a natural state, one can infer a person’s personality and life experience. Palmistry is, as you just said, looking at the lines on a person’s hands. , to determine a person’s life trajectory by observing the trend of the lines on his hand. Do you understand if I introduce it this way?

"I can understand it, it's very easy to understand." Alina nodded quietly, then quickly selected the corresponding language and emotional response, approached the shop owner in front of her, pointed at herself, and asked curiously, "Then you can help me Do you want to read fortune telling or palm reading? Before I came to China, I was actually very curious about this aspect of things. Now that I have met a professional like you, can I have the honor to experience authentic Chinese fortune telling? "

"Girl, you are really good at talking. Although I occasionally do fortune telling for guests, it is only when our fortune teller is not around. How about I give you our fortune teller's business card? If his vacation is over, you are still there. Here, you can come back here with this business card, and I will greet you in advance, sir, what do you think?"

The store owner thought about it and finally came up with a compromise plan that would neither miss out on business nor cause trouble to both parties.

"Okay, this is exactly what I expected. Thank you, Mr. Boss."

While speaking, Alina quickly reached out and took the small and simple business card.

[Shi Xun (Guisan)...]

Alina glanced at the name mentioned on the business card without leaving any trace, and immediately slightly outlined the corners of her mouth. When she noticed that the boss was far away, she put away her smile without showing any abnormality, and bowed seriously to the shop owner: "I'm sorry. I have wasted so much of your time, the time agreed upon by my friend and I is coming soon, please allow us to leave first."

"No problem, no problem, hurry up and go to the appointment, don't let your friends worry!"

After saying that, the shop owner also bowed politely and sent the two of them outside the door.

"Okay, let's go to the city square first as planned. Also, Natalie's performance just now was also great. Without Natalie's excellent cooperation at the beginning, we might not have found my teacher. It’s not that easy. So, relax, and everything will be fine next!”

Listening to the door behind her being closed again, Alina immediately took a deep breath, switched languages ​​to face the students, and added the encouragement and affirmation that had been inconvenient to say before.

Natalie felt a burst of joy when she received the teacher's praise and smiled sincerely.

But the next moment, she remembered that their mission had not been completely completed, and she silently put away her smile, and made some more confirmations to the teacher uneasily: "So the fortune teller mentioned by the boss just now is the teacher's teacher. ?"

"If my guess is not wrong, then it is the correct answer."

"Really? Awesome!"

Hearing the teacher's words of affirmation again, Natalie couldn't help but feel a burst of joy and excitement.

Because confirming the identity of the teacher's teacher means that they can quickly find the teacher's teacher, and quickly finding the teacher's teacher means that they can quickly get the gift and leave this strange world!

Thinking like this, Natalie couldn't help but speed up her pace.

Seeing the students cheering and cheering like this, Alina fell silent for a moment, but soon she suppressed all her nostalgia and reluctance, put away her business card, and followed the students.

boom boom-

However, just as the two of them jogged to this street, a clear but slightly harsh roar suddenly came from behind them.

Hearing the familiar sound of a motorcycle starting up, Alina stopped in time and looked behind her.

The shop owner who had entertained them before quietly slowed down, took off his protective helmet, and shouted from behind: "Wait a minute, you have said before whether you want to go to Wangjiangmen Square. My home happens to be near Wangjiangmen, okay?" I’ll take you to the first intersection after the city gate!”

"Hey, why are you so embarrassed? We have time, we are not in a hurry, and today is also a very important day in China. You should go home early to reunite with your family!"

After looking at the motorcycle, which was not large in size and packed with stuff inside, Alina quickly withdrew her gaze without any signs of abnormality and politely declined.

"It's okay, it's okay, I told you to drop by, it won't be any trouble!"

"Well, please allow me to express my gratitude to you again!"

After bending down and saluting to express her gratitude, Alina immediately looked at the students beside her and told them in the common language of Olivia continent the good news that the boss was willing to take them directly to the city center.

"Really? Thank you so much, Mr. Boss!"

Natalie first subconsciously expressed her joy and gratitude in the common language of Olivia continent, but then, realizing that she did not understand the language of this world, she lowered her head in shame and carefully retreated behind the teacher.

"Thank you, Natalie, just tell Mr. Boss like this!"

Sensing the student's abnormality, Alina hurriedly turned around and taught the student simple Chinese.

"Okay, I'll trouble you then."

After talking to the students, Alina turned back to the shop owner who was patiently waiting aside, and nodded slightly to the boss.

"Then get in the car!"

"it is good!"

So, Alina immediately carried Natalie into the car without any delay, and then quickly sat down herself.

"Have you sat still?"

"Yes!"

With Alina's affirmative answer, the stationary motorcycle once again made a loud but slightly harsh roar.

"This feeling is really nostalgic..."

Feeling the biting cold wind constantly blowing in her ears, and watching the surrounding streets and houses rapidly sweeping back and shrinking, Alina couldn't help but move her lips with emotion, and sighed in pure English.

Glancing at the students in front of her who seemed confused and unsure, Alina quickly gathered her thoughts and concentrated on admiring the surrounding streets that were different from her hometown, but quite modern...

(End of this chapter)