Chapter 27: The Lucky Stone Delivery

“I may talk big, but I never lie. You have to trust me, master.” The little bug remained unchanged, finding the word ‘master’ amusing.

Fang Yuan raised a hand to his forehead, feeling as though his good mood for the day had been swept away by the bug’s persistent ‘master’.

“Master, today I want to eat soup dumplings, from the shop across the street. I smelled them yesterday and my stomach’s been hungry all night,” the bug pleaded.

In the end, Fang Yuan compromised, though his mind automatically blocked out the word he didn’t care to hear.

Manager Xue was truly exemplary. Fang Yuan had risen early, and on his way out, passing through the lobby, he saw Manager Xue smiling warmly at him.

For some reason, seeing someone smile at him now made Fang Yuan’s liver tremble. He could only reassure himself that he was overthinking it.

The soup dumpling shop was right across from his apartment. As Fang Yuan glanced toward it, Manager Xue immediately approached.

“The dumplings across the street are quite authentic. I have breakfast there every morning. You should give them a try,” Manager Xue said, his smile unwavering, so much so that Fang Yuan felt exhausted just looking at him.

“They smell delicious. I’ll head over. Would you like to join me?” Fang Yuan asked politely.

“No, I’ve already eaten today. I won’t intrude on your meal,” Manager Xue replied, addressing Fang Yuan as ‘Mr. Fang’ with every sentence, making Fang Yuan uncomfortable.

“Just call me by my name from now on—it sounds better,” Fang Yuan insisted, not wanting to hear those formalities any longer.

“Alright, from now on I’ll call you Fang Yuan,” Manager Xue said, evidently delighted by the suggestion, grinning as he watched Fang Yuan enter the dumpling shop.

It seemed the shop really was popular—so early in the morning, and the owner was already busy and sweating. The moment the dumplings finished steaming, they were snatched up.

The poor bug could only swallow its drool, waiting over ten minutes for Fang Yuan’s turn.

To be honest, the dumplings were truly delicious—worth the wait. Normally, with Fang Yuan’s temperament, he would’ve left after five minutes, but today he lingered.

After breakfast, Fang Yuan checked the time—it was still early. He decided to stroll around the neighborhood for some exercise. He always felt sore all over, as if he’d worked a whole day, every time he woke up.

After eating, it was good to stretch. Though it sounded like something an old man would do, Fang Yuan didn’t mind. As long as his body felt comfortable, that was enough.

“Fang Yuan, you have a package!”

Manager Xue called out loudly as Fang Yuan exited the dumpling shop, holding a package addressed to him.

Seeing the black parcel, Fang Yuan didn’t need to guess—it was from the same sender as last time.

Suddenly, Fang Yuan lost all interest in his walk. He took the package and headed upstairs. He didn’t want to open it in front of others—who knew what it was this time?

“How were the dumplings?” Manager Xue asked from behind.

“Just as you said—authentic. Too many people, though. I’ll try going earlier tomorrow and hope it’s less crowded.” The dumplings really were good, so Fang Yuan planned to eat breakfast there for the next few days.

“That’s good, that’s good,” Manager Xue repeated, though Fang Yuan had no idea what he meant by it.

Since there was still time before his appointment with Pei Xi, Fang Yuan returned to his room and opened the package. Just like last time, there was no sender’s name—only his own.

Inside was a small black box wrapped in gold foil.

Last time, Fang Yuan had liked the box and wanted to keep it, but after discovering what was inside, he threw it away without hesitation.

He hoped this box wasn’t just recycled.

What could it be this time?

Opening the box, he found an oval object, about the size of a pigeon’s egg. Unsure what it was, Fang Yuan didn’t pick it up.

“Master, what is this? It looks like some animal’s egg,” the bug speculated, thinking it resembled a bird’s egg.

But the egg was colored like granite, almost like an ancient fossil. Fang Yuan instinctively felt repelled by its mottled appearance.

“There’s a note.” Next to the mysterious object, Fang Yuan saw a piece of paper.

“Master, quick, see what it says!” The bug, due to some innate limitation, couldn’t read a single word. This amused Fang Yuan for a while, until the bug grew annoyed and Fang Yuan relented.

“Lucky stone,” the note read, bold and clear.

Damn it, what nonsense—a lucky stone.

Even if he were reincarnated as a girl, nobody would be foolish enough to carry this thing around.

Fang Yuan was nearly amused by the sender’s intelligence—was this a joke for children?

“The sender must have been sent by the heavens to make people laugh,” Fang Yuan declared.

“Do you think the note is wrong?” the bug asked curiously, never having seen a lucky stone before.

“What do you think? It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Fang Yuan couldn’t help but laugh. Yesterday he’d thought the sender must be a person of great importance, but today he felt they were as childish as a three-year-old.

“Look, there’s more writing on the back,” the bug said, spotting more words on the reverse side of the note.

“Pei Xi. It really is Pei Xi,” Fang Yuan laughed aloud in exasperation.

“Did Pei Xi send this to you?” the bug asked, envious.

Fang Yuan immediately pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

“Hello, Fang Yuan, you received my package? Don’t mention it—it was a gift I received some time ago. They say it’s a lucky stone passed down through generations. If you keep it with you, it’ll bring you good fortune. I hope today is filled with luck for you.” On the other end, Pei Xi had finished breakfast with Grandpa Pei and hurried into her room when she saw Fang Yuan’s call.

At that moment, Grandpa Pei was basking in the sun on the beach outside, saying he needed to sun away the bugs on him.

Indeed, he needed to. The places where locals lived weren’t the kind most people could endure. Never mind bathing, even drinking water was scarce.