Christmas Special Chapter

The Christmas special chapter is a side story, a supplement to the main text, and takes place from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day in the main novel.

Those who are interested can take a look; those who aren't can skip it without affecting their reading of the novel's main text.

Merry Christmas to everyone, whether it's a holiday or not.

1. Little Chubby Girl's Christmas Gift

Afternoon of December 24, 2019.

When Shiling's Mother went to pick up her daughter from kindergarten, the teacher saw her, took her to the classroom, and pointed to a large pile of colorfully wrapped gifts in the corner, saying to her, "These are all Shiling's."

"Huh?" Shiling's Mother looked bewildered, glancing at her daughter playing with Coin beside her, then at the teacher. "What's going on?"

The teacher explained, "Today we're having the children exchange Christmas gifts. Didn't we mention this in the parents' group last week?"

Shiling's Mother nodded blankly. Of course, she knew about this activity. Each child prepared a Christmas gift, which would then be randomly distributed today. The teacher's requirement was that the gifts could be handmade by parents and children or purchased, but the market price of purchased gifts should not exceed 100 yuan. The gift she prepared for Liu Shiling was a hardcover picture storybook, priced at 95 yuan, which she bought for 40 yuan after a discount on JD.com, which she felt was a very suitable gift.

Shiling's Mother said in surprise, "Isn't it supposed to be one gift per person? Everyone prepares one, and everyone receives one, so how come Liu Shiling received so many?"

The teacher looked somewhat helpless. "Most of the children in our class have prepared two gifts, one for the activity and one specifically for Liu Shiling. It's not just our class; many children from other classes have also indicated they want to give her gifts."

"Huh?" Shiling's Mother looked at her composed daughter with surprise and doubt, frowning as she said, "That... that's not good, is it? Our Shiling only prepared one gift..."

In her view, even among children, gifts should be exchanged. Especially at Christmas, it feels inappropriate to receive without giving anything in return, as if one owes the other something.

The teacher's expression grew even more helpless. "Shiling returned the favor to everyone; she spent the entire afternoon folding paper..."

Shiling's Mother stared blankly at the gifts. She knew her daughter was popular at kindergarten, but seeing this mountain of gifts made her realize just how popular she was.

Judging from the packaging, you can tell that they are definitely not all handmade items. Some of them might even be gifts worth more than 100 yuan, since these gifts are not the ones the teacher requested for the activity.

In that case, origami and these gifts can't be considered equivalent...

Seemingly sensing her thoughts, the teacher added, "The children all love Shiling's origami. To be honest, if you were to trade it for other gifts, they definitely wouldn't accept it. The origami Shiling folded by hand is exactly the kind of gift they want."

When leaving the kindergarten, Shiling's Mother and her Little Chubby Girl didn't take any gifts with them. They simply couldn't carry that many; even a taxi wouldn't be enough to accommodate them. However, the teacher helped them find a kindergarten van driver to take them there. Shiling's Mother only gave the driver 50 yuan for gas.

After arriving home, the driver helped them carry the large pile of gifts to their house, making several trips with them. So, Shiling's Mother felt a little embarrassed and transferred 100 yuan to the driver WeChat.

What puzzled Shiling's Mother was that her daughter seemed uninterested in the gifts piled up in one corner of the living room. She was kneeling on the living room sofa, staring at the creased and crumpled A4 paper carefully laid out in front of her, lost in thought.

"Aren't you going to open your gift? Don't you want to see what the other children gave you?" Shiling's Mother asked.

"Let's unpack it later, I'm a little tired from moving it," Liu Shiling said without looking up.

Looking at the pile of gifts, Shiling's Mother couldn't suppress her curiosity, so after getting her daughter's permission, she moved a small stool, sat down, and slowly began to unpack them.

She had just unpacked two items when she received a call from SF Express.

After receiving the package and closing the door, Shiling's Mother smiled and said to her daughter on the sofa, "It's a gift from your bald uncle!"

The Little Chubby Girl, who was studying the A4 paper, immediately straightened up, jumped off the sofa, and without even putting on slippers, ran to her mother with her little feet in socks patting on the floor. She tiptoed to take the delivery box, returned to the table, and began to unpack it.

Shiling's Mother brought over a pair of scissors and helped her daughter open the small cardboard box. Inside, amidst the tattered newspapers used for cushioning, was a long wooden box. Inside that box was a pair of chopsticks.

When Xiang Kun had dinner with them last time, he told her that he would send Liu Shiling a pair of chopsticks that he had made himself. He didn't expect that they would be finished and sent so quickly.

Shiling's Mother smiled and said to her daughter, "These chopsticks were made by your bald uncle. Consider this a Christmas present, tsk tsk. It's a pity that our Shiling can't use chopsticks well yet; she can only use a soup spoon..."

Holding the chopsticks, Liu Shiling looked at her Mom Xiang with wide eyes. "These aren't ordinary chopsticks!"

"Oh? Not chopsticks? Or is it a magic wand?" Shiling's Mother teased.

Liu Shiling opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but realized that her mother had already said it. Helplessly, she closed her mouth, picked up her chopsticks, and silently went to the side to play, trying to pick up Coin with them, but of course, she couldn't pick them up at all.

When it was time for dinner, at Liu Shiling's request, her Shiling's Mother washed the chopsticks and placed them next to her bowl.

Watching her chubby little hands diligently practicing picking up various dishes with chopsticks, Shiling's Mother couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Her daughter, who usually hated using chopsticks, started using them eagerly as soon as she saw that they were a gift from Xiang Kun. In the past, no amount of sweet talk or coaxing or cajoling could work on her.

But I must say, those chopsticks were really well made.

When she first saw it, she didn't think there was anything special about it. But now, as Liu Shiling was using the chopsticks to pick up food, she realized that the chopsticks were not exactly the same length and shape as ordinary chopsticks. They were obviously customized to fit Liu Shiling's hand and the way she held chopsticks.

So, although the Little Chubby Girl was still a bit clumsy and awkward when picking up food, she was much more efficient than before.

"Mom, when is Dad coming back?" Liu Shiling asked casually.

Indeed, after they moved to Star City, Shiling's father probably spent less than a week in total visiting.

After a moment of silence, Shiling's Mother forced a smile and said, "He'll be back soon, very soon. He even prepared a Christmas present for you." Actually, she had bought it herself.

The Little Chubby Girl seemed to sense that her mother's mood had dropped after she asked that question. She carefully picked up a piece of green vegetable with her chopsticks and put it in her mother's bowl. "Mom, eat some vegetables."

"Yes, thank you, Shiling." Shiling's Mother looked at her daughter with satisfaction.

After finishing her meal, Liu Shiling returned to her room and began drawing, doing the homework her teacher had assigned for the day.

After a while, she got up and opened the door a crack. She saw that her mother's attention was on the TV series, so she carefully closed the door, returned to the table, took the chopsticks she had just washed from the small box, and placed them on the table.

Then she took a hooded sports jacket that she had just taken from her mother's closet from the bed, put it on, and tied the two sleeves in front of her chest. However, her face was always completely covered by the hood. She had to adjust the angle several times before she could barely see what was in front of her when she tilted her head back.

Liu Shiling turned off the main light in the room, leaving only the desk lamp on. She placed a small Garfield piggy bank next to it, adjusted the angle of the lamp so that the light shone through the piggy bank and projected its shadow onto the distant wall.

After finding the right angle, Liu Shiling, wearing her mother's sports jacket and pulling up the hood as if she were wearing a gorgeous magic robe, walked to the middle of the room, facing the projection on the wall, tilting her head back so that her vision wouldn't be obscured by the hood.

She lowered her voice and spoke in what she thought was a dignified, but actually still childish, tone:

"Evil cat from the abyss! I am the most beautiful... um... that... the cutest... the most powerful... um... magician in the Sunshine World!! I am acting on the orders of bald... um... the great archer of light... the super powerful Monster Hunter Uncle Xiang Kun, to banish you!!"

Liu Shiling raised a hand and pointed to the shadow on the wall. "Now I'm giving you a choice. I have a Coin in my hand. Will you choose heads or tails? Heads? Are you sure? Once you're sure, you can't change your mind! Okay, if it's heads, I'll let you go back. If it's tails, you'll be my pet!"

After saying that, she began to quickly flip a one-yuan Coin on the back of her left hand through her fingers, turning it once from her palm to her thumb, and then it popped up with a "ding".

The Coin tumbled rapidly through the air before falling, where she caught it steadily.

Liu Shiling glanced at it dismissively, then shook her head. "Oh dear, it's a flower. It seems you're destined to be my pet! It's fate!"

Having said that, she tilted her head back, walked to the table, picked up one of the chopsticks, and looked back at the shadow. "Today, I'll use the Lightning Wand on you!"

2. Lao Xia's Christmas "Feast"

It's 6 PM on Christmas Eve.

In an apartment in a residential area of Citong City, Xia Libing was sitting at the table video chatting with her parents who were abroad.

"Xiao Bing, did you receive the Christmas presents your dad and I sent you?" The voice in the video was from her mother.

"Received."

"It's Christmas Eve today. Didn't you go out with friends or colleagues?" Xia's mother asked again.

"No," Xia Libing said.

"Oh my, it's Christmas Day and Christmas Eve, it must be so lively outside..."

"I don't celebrate holidays."

"Xiao Bing ... Your dad and I have been thinking about it, and we're wondering if you should stay in Citong City? It's not that Citong is bad, it's just that you'll be all alone there... Your third uncle and aunt might be able to take care of you in your daily life and work, but you'll be all alone most of the time... At home, you at least have your cousin and Nana to play with..." Xia's mother said hesitantly.

Halfway through her sentence, Xia's father, who was sitting next to her, adjusted his glasses and added, "You still need to interact with more people..."

Xia Libing nodded. "I go back occasionally, and some friends come over too, so it's fine, don't worry."

After ending her video call with her parents, Xia Libing went to the living room to prepare for dinner.

On the table was the fast food she had ordered after get off work, just like any other day.

Just then, my phone rang. I picked it up and saw it was a video call request from my cousin, Yang Zhen'er.

At this time, sending a video request, it's obvious that Yang Zhen'er is definitely going to tempt her with all sorts of delicious food.

So she decisively refused the video call.

I put down my phone, opened the bag and lid of the fast food, and was about to eat when my phone beeped again.

Xia Libing picked it up and saw it was her cousin again, but this time she had sent a pre-recorded video:

"Hehehe, did you see that, Lao Xia? Your favorite crispy pork knuckle, made by Chef Xiang! Mmm~~~ It smells amazing! It must taste fantastic too! Oh my, my mouth is watering! Don't worry, Lao Xia, I'll help you finish it all!"

The video shows a table laden with delicious dishes, including her favorite crispy pork knuckle.

Xia Libing glanced at the video, then at the cold fast food on her table, and her stomach growled "just right."

She looked up at the ceiling for a moment, picked up her phone, opened a food delivery app, and started searching for "pig's trotters"...

3. Gao Yao's singing voice

It was past 1 a. m. on the 25th when I left Tang Baona's house.

Gao Yao drove his car home with his fiancée Bao Ting.

Bao Ting, who usually goes to bed early, was sitting in the passenger seat. She had been chatting happily at her sister's house and was in a good mood, so she was quite energetic. But now that she was in the car, she started yawning repeatedly and wanted to sleep.

Gao Yao, on the other hand, often stays up late with guild activities, and sometimes even runs dungeons until 2 or 3 a. m. when there are version updates, yet he still has plenty of energy.

However, he could tell that his fiancée was very tired, so he didn't say anything and wanted her to rest.

But Bao Ting suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, right, I remember seeing a girl leave a message on your QQ Zone saying how great your singing was, but since we started dating, I don't think I've heard you sing yet?"

Gao Yao chuckled and said, "My singing is all about brute force; there's no technique involved. I can't compare to Xiang Kun or Nana."

Bao Ting urged, "Sing one! Come on, sing me a love song."

Gao Yao still smiled, "I can't sing love songs."

Bao Ting persisted. "Then you can sing anything else, whatever you know, whatever you're good at, just sing it."

"Okay, I'll sing one, but please don't hit me after you listen..."

"Sing it out, sing it out!"

"Wait a moment."

"What are you waiting for? Didn't you say you can't sing love songs? Then what song are you going to sing? Do you need to build up your emotions?"

"We're worried about disturbing others once we get on the elevated road."

"Are you singing 'Qinghai-Tibet Plateau'? Our car has pretty good sound insulation, how could it be disturbing other people?"

After a while, the car drove onto the elevated highway. Gao Yao cleared her throat and drew out a long, drawn-out sound, "Ah~! Ooh~! Ee~!--"

Before he even started singing, Bao Ting was already laughing so hard her stomach hurt.

But halfway through her laugh, Gao Yao opened her mouth, startling her so much that she almost bit her tongue.

"There has never been a savior! Nor has it come from Thrall's Bloodhoof!! To create happiness for the Horde, it all depends on ourselves!!!"

Bao Ting stared in disbelief at her fiancé, who was gripping the steering wheel with both hands, staring intently ahead, and shouting a song. She finally understood what he meant by "miracles happen with great effort."