novelraw Chapter 122: The Road Home and a Life Surging Wild
Chapter 122: The Road Home and a Life Surging Wild
The second day of the Lunar New Year.
Jiang Ci didn't wake up naturally.
He was jolted awake by the dense series of system notification sounds ringing inside his own head.
[Ding!]
[Ding! Ding!]
[Ding! Ding! Ding!]
He opened his eyes, his gaze still somewhat dazed, staring blankly at the hotel ceiling above.
The next second, he abruptly sat up in bed, all traces of sleepiness vanishing instantly.
System panel!
It was almost an instinctive reaction; he immediately called up that familiar interface.With just one glance.
Jiang Ci froze completely.
On the panel, the number in the [Heartbreak Value] column, which had originally been stuck at "527," had now shockingly skyrocketed to "948."
During the Spring Festival movie season, "Palace Conspiracy," starting from its midnight screenings, officially rolled out simultaneously across all cinemas nationwide.
A "heartbreak storm" sweeping across the entire country had begun.
The system's cold settlement announcement arrived belatedly.
[Heartbreak Value accumulated increase: 421 points.]
[Reward life extension duration: 84 days.]
[Current remaining lifespan: 330 days, 7 hours.]
Three hundred and thirty days.
Jiang Ci stared blankly at this number.
He had just slept through one night.
And his life had been extended by an entire season.
He threw off the covers and got out of bed, walking into the bathroom.
In the few short minutes it took to turn on the faucet and wash up, the notification sounds in his mind continued to ring intermittently.
[Ding! Heartbreak Value +7.]
[Ding! Heartbreak Value +12.]
By the time he changed clothes and was ready to leave the room, the Heartbreak Value had officially broken through the one thousand mark.
[Heartbreak Value balance: 1003 points.]
[Congratulations to the host for achieving the thousand-point milestone. Additional reward life extension duration: 7 days.]
[Current remaining lifespan: 337 days, 7 hours.]
For the first time, Jiang Ci felt that living no longer seemed like something so utterly out of reach.
After packing up, he went to the hotel front desk.
"Hello, Ms. Lin Wan left something here for me."
The front desk staff verified the information and respectfully handed over an envelope.
Inside was a key to an Audi Q7.
Jiang Ci didn't head straight for the highway.
He drove the car into a shopping mall in the center of the capital.
He was no longer that poor student who had to mentally calculate the cost every time he took a taxi.
The mall was bustling with crowds, filled everywhere with the festive joy of the holiday.
Jiang Ci had a clear purpose; he went straight to the health equipment section on the top floor.
A sales assistant enthusiastically approached him.
"Sir, looking at massage chairs? These are all our latest models. They make a very impressive gift for elders."
Jiang Ci's gaze passed over those flashy styles and finally settled on a capsule-style massage chair that looked the most functionally complex and took up the most space.
"This one. Introduce it."
The sales assistant was momentarily stunned, then her eyes lit up, and she immediately launched into an enthusiastic spiel.
"Sir, you have excellent taste! This is our imported flagship model!"
"Full-body airbag wrapping, zero-gravity mode, plus heating functions for the waist and legs. It's particularly effective for relieving lumbar muscle strain and joint discomfort..."
"Just this one."
Jiang Ci directly cut her off.
"Huh?" The sales assistant thought she had misheard.
"Pack it up. Arrange delivery."
Jiang Ci took out his phone, pulled up the payment QR code, his movements smooth and decisive.
"I'll give you the address in a moment."
The sales assistant looked at this young man wearing a mask and hat. His composure and decisiveness made her feel somewhat dazed.
After paying and leaving his mother's home address, Jiang Ci turned and left.
He went to the luxury goods section on the first floor.
He stopped in front of a well-established shop famous for its cashmere products.
He thought of his grandmother.
In the southern small town's winter, there was no central heating. The damp cold could seep right into your bones.
He carefully felt the texture of each scarf, sensing the warmth of the cashmere sliding between his fingertips.
In the end, he chose the softest, thickest pure white cashmere scarf for his grandmother.
Not showy, but warm enough.
The Q7 finally got onto the highway.
The capital's bustling prosperity was completely left behind.
Jiang Ci sat in the car. The B&O sound system was playing "Living."
"I don't want to be crying alone in the future, unable to move forward."
He hummed along softly.
Heading south the whole way.
In his mind, the [Ding!] sounds that had become background music almost never stopped.
[Heartbreak Value +21.]
[Heartbreak Value +9.]
[Heartbreak Value +15.]
Four o'clock in the afternoon.
On the highway exit sign appeared that familiar and heartwarming name.
Jiang Ci turned off the music and rolled down the car window.
A wave of moist air, mixed with the scent of earth and grass, instantly rushed in.
It was the smell of home.
Before driving to the old residential building where his grandmother lived, he habitually glanced at the system panel.
[Heartbreak Value balance: 1505 points.]
[Current remaining lifespan: 370 days, 1 hour.]
Jiang Ci parked the car and had just stepped out of the driver's seat.
A loud, somewhat teasing voice exploded behind him.
"Well, well! If it isn't Xiao Ci!"
Jiang Ci turned around.
A chubby figure, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, was ambling out from the smoky internet cafe across from his grandmother's building.
Liu Jun, his childhood playmate.
Seeing him, Liu Jun's eyes instantly lit up. He rushed over and gave him a heavy punch on the shoulder.
"Not bad, big star! Still recognize me?"
His booming voice instantly attracted people's attention.
Several kids playing with paper cards downstairs all curiously turned their heads to look this way.
Completely oblivious, Fatty Liu hooked an arm around Jiang Ci's neck and continued bellowing.
"Remember back then, when you cried at my place because you couldn't beat the last level of 'Contra'?"
As soon as the words were out.
The few kids who had originally been looking at Jiang Ci with admiration couldn't hold back a "pfft" and burst out laughing.
The cool, aloof demeanor Jiang Ci had carried over from "General Gu" instantly crumbled.
He turned his head and shot Fatty Liu a glare that clearly said, "You just wait, you little punk."
Fatty Liu, a bit slow on the uptake, scratched his head, finally noticing the reactions around them, and gave a sheepish grin.
"Alright, alright, won't keep you from going home. Let's grab a drink sometime!"
After saying that, he gave Jiang Ci's shoulder another firm pat, then turned and ambled back into the internet cafe.
Jiang Ci carried the large and small gift bags upstairs.
Before he could even knock, the door creaked open from the inside.
It was his mother, Chu Hong, who opened the door.
Seeing Jiang Ci, she pulled him inside and then hugged him tightly.
"It's good you're back. It's good you're back."
The aroma of food wafted over.
His grandmother, his aunt, and his cousin Lin Lin, who had just started university, all gathered from the kitchen and rooms.
At the dinner table, no one mentioned the movie. No one mentioned work.
All the conversation revolved around him.
"Why have you lost weight again?"
"Are you not eating properly outside?"
"Are you tired?"
These most simple, heartfelt concerns, like a warm current, completely relaxed Jiang Ci's nerves, which had been tense the whole journey.
After the meal, he brought out the gifts.
When he mentioned he had already arranged for a top-of-the-line massage chair to be delivered directly to their home, the whole family was stunned.
Chu Hong kept chiding him for wasting money.
"You silly child, it's not easy to earn money. Why buy such expensive things! Mom's back is fine!"
But the pride and relief she couldn't hide at the corners of her eyes and brows gave her away.
His cousin Lin Lin was his number one "fan." The way she looked at him now was full of sparkling admiration.
She cautiously leaned over and asked in a hushed voice.
"Brother, is filming really hard? I saw on Weibo... they said your final scene made a lot of people cry."
She treated him like an untouchable big star, even using a slightly respectful tone.
Jiang Ci smiled and ruffled her hair. The lingering sadness from playing his role completely vanished from his heart.
"It's not hard."