An Elementary Schooler's Troubles (Part 2)

Since elementary school, Liu Shiling has always been the focus of attention for teachers and classmates. Even though she is usually very low-key and not very sociable, she is still like the brightest star in the night sky, and her uniqueness and excellence cannot be hidden.

Strictly speaking, starting from her last year of kindergarten before elementary school, she was already a unique and popular child among her peers.

Liu Shiling not only has excellent academic performance and knowledge of everything from plants and animals to astronomy and electrical appliances, but also possesses core abilities that others do not have.

From origami and Coin flipping in kindergarten, to later skill development in drawing, singing, dancing, and magic, to DIY electric toys and computer equipment, and then to repairing and modifying devices such as smartphones, smartwatches, VR/AR glasses, and home game consoles, her various "skills" have been continuously improving with age and grade level.

Many of his "skills" are beyond the reach of even elementary school teachers, let alone his peers, who admire and respect them.

For example, once the school's multimedia room purchased a new type of holographic projection equipment, which malfunctioned on its first use. When the teacher was about to contact the manufacturer's after-sales service and technical support department, Liu Shiling, who was just in fourth grade at the time, raised her hand and said, "Let me see." Without waiting for the teacher's reply, she went up to the front of the class, used a multi-functional screwdriver from her pencil case to remove the equipment panel, fiddled with it for half a minute, turned it back on, operated it a bit, and it worked normally.

Liu Shiling even explained the accompanying instruction manual to the stunned teacher, showing her how to operate it quickly and easily, and how to troubleshoot minor malfunctions herself. When asked why she knew so much about this newly launched holographic projection device, she casually mentioned that she had one at home, which greatly surprised her teacher and classmates.

Of course, they would be even more surprised if they knew that the core technology came from the commercial version of the holographic projection equipment of "Universe Technology" and that Liu Shiling had already been in contact with more than five engineering prototypes during the research and development stage.

Later, the school's database was hacked, and the broadcast content was altered to play a prank. Liu Shiling, a fifth grader, quickly fixed the situation and also identified the suspect—a junior high school student who had graduated from the same elementary school. This student was secretly taking revenge on a teacher he had a conflict with years ago.

Liu Shiling also helped the school improve its basic network protection functions, introduced more reliable service providers to the school, and popularized some basic network security knowledge for the teachers.

Liu Shiling also participated in various national-level physics and astronomy knowledge competitions for primary school students, and achieved good results in all of them.

The school leaders and teachers, whether or not they had taught her, all knew of this all-around genius girl.

Students who are well-liked by teachers and have outstanding grades are usually not popular with most of their classmates, but Liu Shiling is an exception.

Moreover, both boys and girls adore her. Boys like her not only because she's cute and pretty, but more so because she always knows the latest electronic products, tools, and top-of-the-line games, and has amazing DIY skills. She's an "idol" in the eyes of boys—they all want to consult her on how to choose the latest game consoles, VR devices, and smartwatches. And if there's a minor problem with the equipment, she can pinpoint the fault with just a couple of questions, which is almost magical.

Liu Shiling not only possesses a variety of "skills" and "talents," but she also frequently brings the latest electronic products to school to share and allow everyone to "try them out." She also often obtains trial codes for many top-tier games, which she then gives away for free to her classmates and posts in the class group chat.

In addition, Liu Shiling usually only played with Zhang Xiaoman and maintained a polite distance from others. Every day after school, unless there were school activities or tasks, she would go home as soon as possible. At most, she would occasionally play games online with her classmates. Therefore, to most of her classmates, Liu Shiling was shrouded in an unapproachable mystery.

After leaving the school, Liu Shiling and Zhang Xiaoman got into a black sedan that looked rather inconspicuous by the roadside. This car was the latest affordable model launched by an independent car company invested in by "Universe Technology". However, this car was naturally very different from the ordinary mass-produced version and was far from being as plain as it looked.

As soon as she got in the car, Zhang Xiaoman greeted Yang Zhen'er, who was driving, "Zhen'er!" As a child from a single-parent family, her mother was busy with work and often couldn't pick her up on time. So, at Liu Shiling and Yang Zhen'er's request, she would ride in Yang Zhen'er's car when her mother didn't come to pick her up.

In fact, according to Liu Shiling's own wishes, the two of them could have easily taken the bus home by themselves, and there was no need to worry about safety at all, but Yang Zhen'er righteously refused.

"Little Bell, are Xiao Mei and Da Lu coming over tomorrow? Where are you planning to go? I'll give you a ride," Yang Zhen'er said.

"No need, Sister Fairy, I'll take them to play by myself. They're all in the city, so don't worry," Liu Shiling said. Actually, not long after starting elementary school, she tried calling her "Zhen'er," but after a while, Yang Zhen'er insisted that she stick with "Sister Fairy" because it sounded more natural and intimate.

"That won't do. Little Bell's friends are my friends, and Little Bell's guests are my guests. As the hosts, of course our 'Zhen Dang Man' duo must all be there!" Yang Zhen'er said.

Zhang Xiaoman whispered, "Zhen'er, I'm going out with my dad tomorrow."

"Oh? Then I definitely can't be absent!" Yang Zhen'er said decisively.

However, Yang Zhen'er was absent the next day. It wasn't that she overslept or forgot about it, but rather that she had a special mission that required her, Tang Baona, and Little Apple to travel to Europe. Yang Zhen'er, who had never carried out a "mission" before, almost jumped for joy when she heard the news. Of course, she wouldn't miss this opportunity, so she could only ask one of her company's female assistants to help her today.

In fact, Liu Shiling doesn't need anyone watching over her. Putting aside her own strength, there's nothing on this planet that can threaten her, just with the omnipresent Alice.

However, Xiao Mei and Da Lu's parents felt comfortable sending their two children over by plane on their own because Shiling's Mother, Yang Zhen'er, and Tang Baona had given their assurances, so there definitely needed to be an "adult" watching over them.

So, after picking up Xiao Mei and Da Lu at the airport, Liu Shiling had her female assistant video chat with Xiao Mei's mother and Da Lu's uncle to confirm that they had been picked up. Then, she secretly had Alice pretend to be the "Old Fairy Sister" and call her to tell her that someone else was coming to take over and that she should go back to the company.

Following Yang Zhen'er's instructions, the female assistant dropped off the three girls in an old district of the city and then left.

Liu Shiling skillfully led her two friends through the streets and alleys, taking shortcuts in the old city, and soon arrived at a seemingly secluded and inconspicuous old shop.

The old shop was a dessert shop. Although it was in a remote and inconspicuous place, there was a long queue at the door, which meant that the business was very good.

Liu Shiling didn't queue up. Instead, she led Da Lu and Xiao Mei through a side door and into the kitchen. An elderly woman who was arranging for someone to prepare sweet soup saw her and her face immediately lit up with a wide smile, "Oh my, Little Bell, what brings you here to see Grandma today? Are you on holiday?"

"Yes, I just finished my final exams yesterday, so I don't have to go to class these two days. Grandma Qi, I brought my friend over to eat your sweet soup," Liu Shiling said with a smile.

"Alright, alright, please have a seat. Grandma will cook for you herself. Is the taste the same as before?" the old lady said happily. "Where are your pretty sisters? Why didn't they come with you? I haven't seen them in so long, I miss them terribly."

"They're away on a business trip, I'll come with them next time. I'll have my usual order, and one of the other two bowls will be the same as mine, and the other one without mango pieces," Liu Shiling said, as she and her two companions found seats and ordered three more snacks.

Xiao Mei sat on a small stool with her knees together and her toes tapping lightly on the ground. Her hands tapped lightly on the table like she was playing the piano. She was clearly looking forward to what she was going to eat, while Da Lu kept taking pictures from the left and right with his mirrorless camera.

The two companions she met in Star City, although they had some conflicts and disagreements at the beginning, have now become Liu Shiling's best friends outside of her partners under the "Super-Sensing Item System" after going through some things together.

The three of them, along with Zhang Xiaoman who joined in third grade, have a QQ group called "Egg Pie Protection Association." They spend their days chatting, joking, playing games, and copying homework in the group—of course, mainly Zhang Xiaoman copies Liu Shiling.

After the sweet soup and snacks were served, Xiao Mei immediately started eating without hesitation, and Da Lu also put away his camera and joined in. As for Liu Shiling, she watched them eat for a while with a smile before starting to eat her own food—she really enjoyed seeing the amazed expressions on her friends' faces when they tasted the food she recommended.

"Little Bell, how do you always find so many delicious restaurants?" Xiao Mei said with some admiration. Every time she and Da Lu came to visit Liu Shiling, they would be taken to eat all sorts of delicious food. They could eat at more than five different restaurants a day, and each time they came, they would eat at different places, rarely repeating the same thing.

"The most outrageous thing is that she even took us to find food when we went to Star City and Ye City," Da Lu said with a smile. Xiao Mei still lives in Star City, Da Lu now lives in Ye City with her uncle. Her two friends have also come to visit her before.

"Hehe, the only things you should never miss are good food and friends," Liu Shiling laughed.

In the years since "Uncle Bald" left, Liu Shiling and her sisters initially learned how to cook delicious meals together. However, after tasting a lot of failed attempts, they started asking Alice to build a cooking machine that could automatically cook food, preferably one that could simulate some of "Uncle Bald's" signature dishes.

But after trying for a long time, the "omnipotent" and "invincible" Alice failed. Although she knew all of Xiang Kun's cooking recipes and details, the dishes made with the cooking machine always lacked that little bit of something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

So Liu Shiling and her sisters started "street hopping" everywhere, trying out different foods in the city. Every time Yang Zhen'er, Tang Baona, or Little Apple took turns picking her up from school, they would go to different places to find delicious food.

Then, if they find a place with decent food, they'll subtly try to persuade the restaurant to improve its flavors to suit their tastes. They'll then use various methods to help promote the restaurant and provide all sorts of assistance. Basically, as long as they make a promise, the restaurant's business will boom, because creating online buzz and establishing trending foods is effortless for Alice.

This is why Liu Shiling and her sisters receive warm hospitality and VIP treatment at the shops they "mark," with no need to queue and exclusive "secret menus."

After finishing their sweet soup and snacks, Liu Shiling and her two friends continued along the shortcut and soon arrived at an anime mall. They went to look at merchandise related to Xiao Mei's two favorite anime series, and also checked out some of the latest game peripherals that "Soaring Dragon Interactive Entertainment" was about to launch. Although Liu Shiling got firsthand development information, it was a different experience to look at the actual products and browse the stores with her friends.

After visiting the anime mall, they went to the nearby electronics market to look at various photography equipment and expensive lenses. These were things Da Lu liked; she especially loved taking photos and used them as her art source material. Now, her paintings and Liu Shiling's paintings are two extremes. Her paintings are becoming increasingly realistic, while Liu Shiling's paintings are becoming more and more fantastical, depicting various things that cannot be seen in the real world. However, both of their paintings are of very high quality, which makes Xiao Mei, who has always struggled with drawing and considers herself clumsy, very envious.

Actually, after browsing the anime and electronics mall, they only bought four matching phone cases together. They didn't buy anything else; they were just happy browsing and enjoying the sights.

At noon, they went to a rather upscale-looking Western restaurant. Xiao Mei and Da Lu were a little worried that it might be too expensive, but Liu Shiling waved her hand and said, "Don't worry, this restaurant is owned by Sister Laoxian."

The reason Yang the Third bought the restaurant was simply because when they came to eat there, they kindly suggested some customized dishes. However, the restaurant considered itself very high-class and refused to cooperate with them. Not only did they refuse, but they also threatened to prevent them from eating there again. So, Yang the Third was furious and launched a financial offensive, buying the restaurant outright and making them change the menu according to their requests.

And indeed, it proved that after changing the menu, the restaurant's reputation improved dramatically, and business boomed.

Hearing her two companions praise the food, Liu Shiling looked at the food on the plate in front of her with some melancholy. Although the flavor was adjusted according to her and her sisters' requirements and tasted much better than before, it was still far inferior to the food made by "Bald Uncle".

It's already 2025, when will Uncle Baldy finally come back?