Jasmine was thrilled to hear this, but still a little worried:
"What price will be paid for this?"
In her view, the fact that previous free attempts required no cost does not mean that subsequent wishes will be the same.
Klein adjusted his tall top hat and smiled as he said:
"The penny you pay is the price, and the corresponding changes you have to endure after your Wishes is fulfilled are also the price."
Jasmine nodded, seemingly understanding, and without further hesitation, reached into her pocket, trying to pull out a few pennies to fulfill her wish.
However, her pockets were empty except for a handkerchief.
Having stayed at home for so long, she hadn't touched money in a long time.
Previously, she had walked from her home to the city square, instead of taking a trolleybus.
"I... I... can I go home first?" Jasmine asked, both annoyed and embarrassed.
"Of course, that's your prerogative, but I can't guarantee the ' Fully Automatic Wishing Machine ' will always be here waiting for you," Klein chuckled in Magician's tone. "Sometimes, it can be quite capricious."
Jasmine hummed twice, thanked her, turned around, and jogged off in the opposite direction from the city square.
The more she ran, the lighter she felt, regaining her pre-burn health and transforming back into the vibrant young girl of seventeen or eighteen.
For her, this was a scene that only appeared in her dreams.
Of course, as an ordinary person, after running for a while, she gradually felt tired and had to slow down and start walking slowly.
A cool night breeze blew, and twinkling stars shone through the clouds high in the sky. The trees along the street swayed gently, casting swaying shadows on the ground. Everything was so quiet and beautiful. Jasmine felt her body and mind relax, and all her worries disappeared.
This was the first time she had felt so peaceful since her injury, and a slight smile unconsciously crept onto her face.
After walking for about five or six minutes, she suddenly heard someone calling her name:
"Huh, Jasmine?"
Jasmine turned her head and saw a familiar face; it was her former neighbor, Mrs. Hanmir.
"Good evening, Mrs. Hanmir. It's been a long time. Are you going to the carnival?" Jasmine, who wasn't wearing a scarf, smiled sincerely.
Mrs. Hanmir, a woman with slightly graying hair, looked Jasmine over carefully and said:
"I haven't seen you since you moved away. I heard you were injured in the previous bombing?"
"Yes, but it's all better now," Jasmine nodded emphatically.
She then asked:
How is Julie doing now?
Julie is Mrs. Hanmir's eldest daughter and Jasmine's former playmate.
Mrs. Hanmir's expression immediately darkened:
"She was... she was bullied by the Feysac people and died because of it..."
Jasmine paused for a moment, her sadness mingling with her own experiences.
Once, a Feysac soldier broke into her home and tried to humiliate her, but after seeing her burned face, he simply kicked her and left.
"Poor Julie." Jasmine touched her chest four times clockwise with sorrow and sincerity, drawing stars.
After hearing about her friends' past experiences, she realized that she might actually be considered one of the luckier ones.
After saying goodbye to Mrs. Hanmir, Jasmine walked back to her apartment building.
Once she arrived home, she calmed down and her mood improved considerably. She began to look forward to seeing her parents' expressions when they saw her return to her original self.
They probably won't keep their pain bottled up anymore, pretending nothing's happened. They'll definitely be moved to tears and hug me happily... Jasmine took off the key that was hanging around her neck as a necklace, lost in thought, as she opened the door.
The room was dimly lit; neither the candles nor the gas lamps were lit.
From the bed in the outer room, the sounds of snoring, some loud and some soft, contrasted with the bustling atmosphere of the city square.
They were both asleep... Yes, they work very hard every day... Jasmine gently closed the door, walked to her parents' bedside, and quietly cast her gaze upon them in the crimson moonlight streaming in through the window.
Dad has so many more gray hairs, and his nasolabial folds have become so deep... Mom even sleeps with a furrowed brow, and her face is peeling, dry, and rough... Jasmine realized that she hadn't really looked at her parents' faces in a long time, and had no idea how much they had aged.
Before the war, her father was an accountant with a decent income, enough to rent a townhouse so his wife could stay home and take care of the family. Now, he has to work in a fabric factory doing heavy labor, and Jasmine's mother has also had to leave home to become a textile worker.
Dad's health was getting worse and worse; he was always coughing. However, he had passed the recent government employee unified exam, and once the interview results were announced, he would have a decent job... Mom kept complaining that her eyes and arms were getting worse... Jasmine looked at her parents intently, without waking them.
She had already decided on her second Wishes.
Softly, Jasmine entered the inner room and poured out the last few pennies from her nearly empty piggy bank.
Then, she left the apartment and boarded a trackless public carriage.
She was afraid that if she arrived too late, the " Fully Automatic Wishing Machine " would have disappeared.
At this time, the public carriages were crowded with passengers, most of whom were going to the carnival. Jasmine looked around and, seeing that there were no seats, had no choice but to hold onto the support frame and stand in the aisle, squeezing in with many other people.
A little over ten minutes later, she got off at her stop and turned into the same street she had been on.
When the brass-colored Robot with several pieces of glass inlaid in it came into view, Jasmine silently breathed a sigh of relief and quickly approached.
During this process, she looked around but did not find the Magician named Merlin Hermes.
"Really fully automatic, and he doesn't need to be there?" Jasmine murmured doubtfully.
Without wasting any time, she took out a penny and put it into the " Fully Automatic Wishing Machine ".
"I hope my parents recover their health, and I hope our family becomes wealthy," Jasmine whispered her Wishes, closing her eyes and waiting for a miracle.
The next second, she heard a clinking sound, like coins rolling out of an " Fully Automatic Wishing Machine ".
Jasmine opened her eyes in surprise and looked ahead, only to see that the penny she had just inserted had fallen into the small tray outside the coin slot.
This Wishes can't be fulfilled? Uh, a Wishes can't contain too many things? What I just made was actually two Wishes... Having had her burns healed before, Jasmine didn't suspect that the " Fully Automatic Wishing Machine " was malfunctioning.
She thought about it carefully, then put the penny into the coin slot, lowered her head, and whispered a wish:
I hope my parents recover their health.
This time, she heard a soft tapping sound coming from inside the " Fully Automatic Wishing Machine ":
"Thorough."
When Jasmine saw that the coin hadn't been spat out, she knew her Wishes had been fulfilled, and she couldn't wait to go home and see how her parents were doing.
Suppressing her excitement, she inserted a second penny.
She had originally planned to make Wishes for her family to be wealthy, but when she thought that her father was basically confirmed to become a government employee in City of Limon, and that the family's income would be guaranteed, she couldn't help but have other ideas.
After she turned ten, she realized that she was not pretty at all. This did not mean that the people around her would dislike her or say that she was not good-looking. Rather, it was because two of her playmates were quite beautiful, which made them receive preferential treatment in many situations and experience the kindness of the world.
With such comparisons, Jasmine inevitably dreams of becoming more and more beautiful as she gets older, but as it turns out, dreams are just dreams.
However, this time, her dream might actually come true, because right in front of her is a truly magical " Fully Automatic Wishing Machine " capable of creating miracles.
If I could become beautiful, I could find a wonderful husband and improve my family's situation... Jasmine seemed to hear the Demon whispering in her ear, and uncontrollably closed her eyes, making Wishes:
I want to be very, very, very beautiful.
She used three very to describe her beauty.
As soon as she finished speaking, the "door" of the " Fully Automatic Wishing Machine " opened once again, and a silver-white mask was pushed out and placed on Jasmine's face.
Jasmine snapped her eyes open, just in time to see the mask disappear.
At the same time, she seemed to be connected to something.
She turned around expectantly and came to the shop on the street once again, using the light from the gas street lamp and the glass in the window to see her current appearance.
Jasmine couldn't quite describe the changes in her features and facial contours, only that at that moment, she was completely captivated by that beauty.
Her nose became more defined, her lips fuller, her eyes bigger and more hydrated, and her skin as smooth as milk pudding. She looked almost exactly the same as before.
"This, this is a miracle...?" Jasmine exclaimed sincerely, unable to contain her admiration.
She was so engrossed in admiring herself that it took her a while to pull her gaze away and bow to the " Fully Automatic Wishing Machine."
She then walked briskly towards the public bus stop, attracting a constant stream of glances.
Bang!
A man, so engrossed in looking at her, bumped into a gas lamppost.
Jasmine smiled, said nothing, and boarded the trackless public carriage.
The bus was still quite crowded, and all the seats were occupied.
Just as Jasmine was struggling to find a spot, several men lifted their buttocks, straightened their bodies, looked at her, and laughed:
"Miss, you can sit here."
Jasmine was momentarily stunned, not expecting to receive so much kindness.
She did not refuse, but sat down at the nearest seat and smiled at the man who offered her his seat.
"Thank you."
The man's expression became extremely vivid, and he said modestly:
"That's what a gentleman should do."
Jasmine retained the habits she had developed from being confined at home; she didn't say much, quietly sat down near her house, and got off the carriage.
After walking a few steps, she suddenly felt someone watching her and quickly turned her head to look.
It was a drunken man who was looking at Jasmine with an indescribably disgusting gaze.
Jasmine was startled and hurried toward the apartment, but the men she encountered along the way all gave her similar looks, as if they might turn into wild beasts at any moment.
At that moment, Jasmine felt as if she were walking in the wilderness.