How Could a Good Student Not Have a Pair of Glasses?

(Thanks to two wonderful big brothers, 1770 and Chang'an Wang Jin, for their tips.)

Mrs. Smith was no longer in Greenwich. Before Christmas arrived, she had already gone to Old Manor for a holiday.

Love Smith had not gone with his wife for two reasons: first, school was still in session; second, he needed to wait for his son and Bella to leave together.

"By the way, Dad, where are the things I bought?"

Mr. Smith glanced up at the rearview mirror and said, "Your mother took them to Old Manor. As you requested, she gave them all to your House-elf."

Love had always respected his son's decisions. He did not think of his son as merely a child. As a university professor, he had seen far too many geniuses who possessed enough wisdom at a young age to resolve and handle their own problems, so he did not find his son's maturity particularly strange.

Besides, his son was a wizard. As long as he did not want to destroy the world, he could do whatever he liked. Why should parents interfere so much and make their child resent them?

He might as well spend that time enjoying some alone time with his wife.

This hands-off parenting attitude gave Jon a great deal of freedom in life.

Could they imagine the joy of a life where his parents never restricted what he did and supported everything he wanted to do?

No, they could not possibly imagine that kind of joy.

"By the way, Dad." Jon rubbed the ring on his hand. "How much allowance do I have left?"

"No one has touched your allowance. It's all still in your account."

Mr. Smith turned the steering wheel and drove into their garage. Only after parking did he ask, "What do you need it for?"

"I want to have a Christmas present customized for myself."

Jon did not explain further.

Once Bella arrived at her uncle's house, she used the Floo Network to go home on her own. She usually traveled alone, while Jon and Mr. Smith still needed to decorate the house before heading to Old Manor.

After all, it was Christmas. They had to put up at least some decorations.

Jon did not need to help with decorating the house. There were only a few ribbons, and Mr. Smith could handle them himself. While his father was having dinner, Jon took his wallet and went out alone.

Jon's neighborhood was fairly close to Greenwich University, and the business district nearby was quite prosperous. It was especially lively during Christmas.

But that kind of bustle held no appeal for Jon.

He had lived through Double Eleven.

After walking along the street for a while, Jon entered the Customization Shop, carrying a Candy Cane in his hand. The place looked as though it had no customers at all.

This shop had been open for many years. Its owner was an elderly Chinese person with excellent craftsmanship. Jon had often come here to play when he was very young, and he had watched the old man making things even then, so he remembered him clearly.

As the name suggested, a handcrafted shop could make anything, as long as the request was reasonable.

Jon had actually come to replace the frame of his monocle and turn it into a proper pair of glasses.

He was not shortsighted, but wearing a monocle was truly strange. The wizarding world was advancing too, and monocles had been obsolete for a very long time.

Pushing open the door to the customization shop, Jon walked to the counter and woke the old shopkeeper, who had been dozing behind it.

"Grandpa Jin, Merry Christmas."

The old shopkeeper was not angry at being woken by Jon. Older people always liked children, and as an old acquaintance, he was fond of Jon as well.

"Did little Jon come especially to wish Grandpa a merry Christmas?"

The old man put on the glasses hanging from his chest, then squinted at Jon through them.

"No." Jon gently shook his head. "I came this time because I'd like you to make me a glasses frame."

He took out the monocle from his pocket and gently placed it on the silk mat atop the counter.

"Oh, this is a very old style. Is it an antique from your family's collection?"

The old shopkeeper put on the gloves beside him and carefully held the lens's supporting frame.

"What would you like the new frame to look like? Do you just want simple maintenance? I have many frames here for you to choose from."

Jon did not have any particular ideas.

He only wanted an ordinary pair of glasses. They did not need to look especially good; they only needed to be ordinary enough.

"You really know how to make things difficult for an old man!"

The old shopkeeper chuckled and pushed over a small box containing frames that fit the lens size. "Come on, look through these frames. Is there one you like?"

Jon looked through them and picked out a frame, but it was not ordinary at all. It was amber-colored and carved with patterns. Most importantly, the part that held the lens had a small clasp that could be pried open, so the lens would not be damaged during installation.

Although the lens did not look like much, several Magic arrays had been engraved around its outline, and it was filled with a gel refined from Magical plants from the Forbidden Forest. None of that could be seen from the outside, but its interior was truly exquisite. If it were damaged, Helga would have to repair it personally, and it would not be fixed anytime soon.

That was why Jon had taken a liking to this frame at first glance. The longer he looked at it, the more he sensed something unusual about it.

So...

"How much is this frame?"

Jon held the Brown Frame in his hand, turning it over as he played with it. He released a faint trace of magic power, probing into the frame from his fingertips.

There was no reaction. That wisp of magic power seemed to merely go around inside the frame before randomly dissipating into the air.

Just as expected.

The old shopkeeper had not expected Jon to pick this one in the end.

"This frame is fairly ordinary. I thought you would choose that black one."

Jon smiled and replied, "At my age, black really does not suit me. This amber one is more appropriate."

"You do have a good eye, but this frame is not cheap."

"It's fine. I brought money."

Jon shook the wallet in his hand. "But I'll also have to trouble you, Grandpa Jin, to fit it with another lens."

"Of course, of course." The old shopkeeper moved quickly. He had already taken out a round lens and begun grinding it to match the one Jon had brought.

The only advantage of a handcrafted shop was that Jon could watch the whole time, keeping an eye on his lens to make sure it was not damaged. As for the frame that had to be taken apart, he did not care much about that.

If there had not been a suitable glasses frame, he had brought along a piece of suitable Magic wood to order a frame from here.

But since there was a suitable one, that was naturally for the best.

The old shopkeeper's craftsmanship was practiced and skilled, and the lens was soon finished. After all, it was only a plain lens and required little effort.

After waiting for two hours, Jon finally put on his new glasses.

"They really do make me look like a good student."

He said as he looked at himself in the mirror.