Rebirth 08: Equipment God

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Zhai Da followed Lu Siwen to the third floor of the villa, where her room was located.

Each floor of this building is over 300 square meters. I've been here for so long, but I've only been on the first floor.

As soon as the bedroom door opened, a cat that seemed to have been locked up all along began to fly into a rage, meowing incessantly.

Judging from the way it looks, it seems that it was locked here because it was worried about disturbing the guests during dinner.

Lu Siwen didn't even touch it, but pulled Zhai Da into the room. With a flick of her slender ankle, the rather beautiful doll was locked outside again.

Then he continued his impotent rage, scratching and scratching outside the door.

"Old Wu~ Old Wu~"

I don't understand the language, but it sounds like really harsh insults.
Cats are really strange creatures; once they're inside a door, they want to get out, and once they're out, they want to get back in.

Lu Siwen's bedroom was quite spacious, a room of over 30 square meters, with its own toilet and bathroom, and it was decorated very exquisitely.

A huge, soft bed, a glass cabinet specially for displaying handicrafts, a guitar hanging on the wall, an electronic keyboard in the corner, and bookshelves, a desk, and a computer lined up in front of the window.

It was so clean and tidy that Zhai Da suspected Lu Siwen had come to tidy it up specifically.

Is it normal for a person not to throw two pieces of clothing on the bed?
Lu Siwen led Zhai Da to the desk, let Zhai Da sit in her pink chair, and then squatted down to look for something.

Her otherwise perfectly normal attire was marred by the way her soft breasts were pressed against her knees, revealing a glimpse of her fair skin through the neckline. Zhai Da politely avoided looking at them and glanced around.

It has to be said that Lu Han is quite capable, but he never shows off his skills intentionally, and they only come to the fore when it happens unintentionally.

There was a knock on the door behind them, and it was pushed open before anyone could answer. Qian Yarong peeked in and asked, "Siwen, are you playing with Xiaozhai in the room?"

"Yes, Mom~"

Qian Yarong's smile was a little unnatural: "Well, your room smells like cats, why don't you leave the door open to let some fresh air in?"

He left right after saying that, a bit out of the blue.

Lu Siwen sniffed nervously. Could it really smell?
But I couldn't smell anything.

Then he took out a notebook and placed it in front of Zhai Da.

"After the college entrance exam, Zhai had a lot of free time and secretly wrote some things. Could you take a look at them for me?"

In fact, Zhai Da had already guessed that this would be the case, so naturally he wouldn't refuse.

Lu Siwen explained, "This is a suspense novel. It's based on a strange case from the 'Dongyang County Annals'."

This was completely unexpected for Zhai Da: "Wait... what? Why did you choose this direction? Isn't it a bit too difficult?"

To be precise, aren't you a little out of your mind?
Did she inherit Lu Zetao's "superpowers"?
Lu Siwen was also a little nervous: "Actually, because my grandfather compiled the county annals, we have a complete set of the 'Dongyang County Annals' at home. When I was a child, I would occasionally flip through it, and my grandfather would tell me stories from it."

“But a while ago I walked around the streets of Dongyang for a long time, going through the streets and alleys, and suddenly realized that I couldn’t write good works, probably because I was too far removed from reality. So I thought about whether I could draw material from reality, and then I found this story when I was looking through the county annals.”

"It was in the 1970s, a divorced father was raising a child alone. Later, the child went missing and could not be found no matter how hard he searched. It wasn't until several years later that the case was solved. It turned out that the man's second wife was the culprit. At the time of the crime, the two were just dating. The woman felt that the child was a burden to the man, but she still wanted to be with him, so she tricked him into having the child and killed him."

"Later, during the investigation, the man confessed that he had learned that the child had actually been at home all along, but had been kept in a different way. Later, the man became mentally unstable and always felt that he was having auditory hallucinations, and that he could hear the child's laughter."

Zhai Da felt a chill run down his spine. County annals actually include such things? Wait, that makes sense. If a major case or a wrongful conviction occurs in a place, it is indeed something that county annals would record. Of course, it also depends on the personal habits of the compiler.

However, when these things came out of Lu Siwen's gentle mouth, there was something off about the tone.

"Well, I can only say that the story's prototype sounds pretty impressive, but it must be difficult to write. What are your goals? Publication?"

Lu Siwen said nervously, "If it's well-written, I'd definitely like to try publishing it—not like Dad did, who self-published."

Zhai Da didn't make a judgment, deciding to take a look first and then read it carefully.

Lu Siwen leaned close, wanting to know where Zhai Da's gaze was sweeping, so she could explain immediately if she had any questions.

Zhai has lost a lot of weight. Her profile is more defined and has better contours.

Of course, she was more focused on the matter of "having her homework checked".

She was quite nervous. She knew that she didn't have any outstanding achievements in writing, and she couldn't even be called talented. In her mind, Zhai Da was not much different from the reincarnation of the God of Literature.

Then, an even more tense voice came from behind.

"Hey, do you guys eat oranges? Want some fruit?"

Lu Siwen turned her head and saw that her mother had appeared at the door at some point.

"thanks Mom."

Qian Yarong put down a plate of sliced ​​oranges, looked around, and, unable to find any reason to stay, had to leave again.

After that, the two of them acted much more normally. Zhai Da focused on reading his notebook, while Lu Siwen stepped back and sat on her own bed.

She seemed to be kicking her slender legs aimlessly, but her heart was actually pounding.
When I couldn't calm down, I recalled what Zhai Da had said: the streetlights are not Lu, but Lu.

My heartbeat slowly subsided, but this suppressed calm was not comforting.

Then came the voice from behind: "Want some passion fruit? Passion fruit?"

Lu Siwen turned around and looked at her mother strangely.
You'd think you were on a train, with a salesperson passing by again and again.
Qian Yarong put down the new plate, stood for a while, and when no one paid attention to her, she left.

Five minutes later: "Cherry? I forgot to bring it up with me."

Lu Siwen:
Three in and three out is the limit for a normal person, but it is not the limit for a mother.

After more than ten minutes, Zhai Da finally finished reading the entire content. He turned his head and was stunned when he saw the fruit array lined up like a buffet.

"How is it, Zhai?"

Zhai Da stroked his chin: "Not very good, the suspense is insufficient. For the first 10,000 words, I didn't even feel that this was a suspense novel."

"what?"

Lu Siwen visibly wilted.

But then came the comment: "However, the flaws don't detract from the overall merit. The advantage is that it has a surprisingly strong sense of the era. Considering your past performance, you've made great progress." Perhaps because she had listened to her grandfather's stories since childhood and was always driven around, Lu Siwen wasn't very familiar with Dongyang County in 08, but she knew some interesting details about Dongyang 30 years ago.

Novels don't need to be incredibly realistic; they just need to provide readers with a sense of "realism," not necessarily "complete realism."

Novels that focus on the changes of an era need a "complete picture," but suspense novels only need some "points."

"I suggest shifting the perspective at the beginning. For example, create a suspenseful and terrifying atmosphere in the first few hundred words. For instance, if other children pass by the house and you can always hear them crying, you can explain that later. But the atmosphere needs to be established first."

"This way, no matter what you write later, the main theme will remain the same."

Suspense novels have been a hot-selling trend in the last two years. If revised properly, the sales are hard to say, but there may really be a chance to publish them.

"Mango~ Do you need any mangoes? Fresh mangoes."

Turning my head, I saw Qian Yarong coming in again, carrying a plate.
It seems like they've almost run out of fruit in the house.

Lu Siwen finally couldn't hold back any longer and frowned, saying, "Mom, do you think Zhai Da and I are doing something inappropriate in the room?"

Qian Yarong laughed and said, "How could that be? Eating more fruit is good for your health!"

Watching Qian Yarong's departing figure, Zhai Da suddenly felt that she was still quite charming... ugh! She was just adorably silly.
If you care so much about this kind of thing, why would you dare to send your child abroad?
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Lu Siwen's dream of becoming a writer took on a new possibility from an angle that Zhai Da never expected.

And her university life, it seems, will be heading towards becoming the "Chinese Department of Peking University".

The opportunity to enter this university, and to study Chinese literature in a field that aligns with their interests and aspirations, greatly excited the Lu family of three.

Qian Yarong said she would soon try out "Utopia's" volunteer tutoring service.

When filling out the form, it's easy to check the option, but the difficulty lies in understanding the rules, drawing conclusions, and having a clear understanding of the situation.

Before leaving, Lou En brought up the matter of the "book signing" again, hoping that Zhai Da could take some time to go to Jinling before going to university to meet with readers in person. Zhai Da agreed in principle, but the time was not yet set.

After leaving the Lu family home, I was driven back to Sanmao Residential Area by driver Xiao Wang.

When the champagne-colored luxury car pulled up at the gate, the community security guard raised an eyebrow.

Seeing that it was Zhai Da who came down, it all seemed normal again.

This is the top scholar! It wouldn't be surprising if the county magistrate sent him back someday.

Although he didn't know what the county magistrate looked like.

Just as they were about to leave, the driver, Xiao Wang, got out of the driver's seat and quickly called out to Zhai Da, taking out several boxes from the trunk: "Mr. Zhai, here are some local specialties as a small token of our appreciation."

Zhai Da thought it would be another expensive item like a computer, but it turned out to be three boxes of fruit.

The boxes containing kiwis, cherries, and mangoes were small but exquisite.

Qian Yarong probably felt that it was a bit strange for her to keep sending fruit, and wanted to prove the rationality of her behavior in other ways.

For example, her family has a huge variety of fruit!
Zhai Da carried the fruit and walked downstairs to his apartment building.

As I passed by a certain place, I suddenly stopped and turned to look.

A red banner has appeared on the side wall of the residential area, and I don't know when it happened.

"Congratulations to Zhai Da and Lu Wei, residents of my community, for becoming the top scorers in the provincial college entrance examination."

It seems the community has consciously included Lu Wei as a homeowner; the banner appears to have been hung during the day, and there was even someone writing in the corner.

"The boss is awesome!"

Judging from the handwriting, the student is probably a primary or junior high school student.

Zhai Da smiled to himself, thinking that if this were in later generations, would the next line be a string of "receive"?
Back home, Yu Xiaoli was watching TV when she saw Zhai Da carrying several boxes of things. Curious, she asked, "Weren't you going to visit someone for dinner? Are you taking things with you? Did you bring anything with you when you came over?"

"Yes, I carried a lot of iron."

One bottle contains six iron tablets, and a box contains twelve bottles, totaling seventy-two different iron supplements, which were then given to the Lu family.

Yu Xiaoli took anything she didn't understand as her son's sense of humor.

Just as he was about to go back to his room to see if Lu Wei was there, Zhai Da's phone rang.

It is Wu and Yue.
"Zhai Da has run into a small problem."

"what happened?"

"I was counting down the days to Lu Benqing's respawn point today, only to find out that guy was released early from detention because of good behavior."

"I can't find him now."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Meanwhile, a few intersections away, Maofang Middle School.

There was no one at the school gate late at night, and the small shops along the roadside were closed.

Dongyang has no nightlife; apart from the occasional drunkard, the tranquility here is undisturbed.

A figure with a hunched back passed by.

I glanced inside as I passed the school gate, but didn't pay much attention.

After taking a few steps, he turned back and stood staring at the conspicuous giant banner.

"Warmest congratulations to our students Zhai Da and Lu Wei for winning the title of top scorers in the provincial college entrance examination!"

He had a cigarette dangling from his mouth and his eyes were full of confusion.

(End of this chapter)