After careful consideration, Shi Jin looked at the delivery boy who was happily organizing the packages and asked, "Can I refuse these deliveries?"
The delivery boy's hand trembled and he looked at Shi Jin before suddenly pressing his forehead and sighing sadly.
"What's wrong?" Shi Jin asked.
"It's nothing," the delivery boy shook his head and sighed, "Of course, you can refuse these deliveries, but because they are international deliveries, you know, right? Generally, rejected deliveries need to be returned to the sender, you know?"
Shi Jin was confused, "Then just return them. Do I need to pay for the postage?"
"First, take a look at where these deliveries are from," the delivery boy beckoned towards Shi Jin. Shi Jin approached curiously and scanned the shipping information on the express delivery slip. His expression gradually turned sour.
"You noticed, didn't you? These packages were not sent from the same place. The sender is quite clever, calculating the logistics speed for each region and managing to deliver all of these packages in one day. If you refuse to accept them, do you think they will really be returned to their original destination? The person who sent you these packages seems to be running around the world."
Shi Jin fell silent, thinking about Fei Yujing's recent travels after dealing with the situation in L country. He couldn't help but sigh with worry and reached out to the delivery man, saying, "Thank you for your hard work. Give me the slip, I'll take these packages."
......
Liu Yong and Luo Donghao were drafted by Shi Jin to help him deliver packages at the school gate. Upon hearing Shi Jin's plight, Liu Yong even went to the sports equipment warehouse to get a small cart for transporting sports equipment.
The three of them huffed and puffed as they loaded the packages onto the cart. Then, they braved the curious gazes of passing students and made their way through the playground, cafeteria, and teaching building to deliver the packages to Shi Jin's dormitory.
When they arrived, Shi Jin's roommates were all there. After pushing the cart to a corner against the wall, Shi Jin apologized, "Sorry, this might take up some space in the common area. I'll organize these things and take them to the storage room soon. They won't be here for long."
His roommates reassured him that it was no problem. Their eyes wandered over to the small cart behind Shi Jin, filled with curiosity and a hint of subtle emotion.
As Shi Jin's birthday was approaching, everyone in the dorm knew about it. On Sunday, when they returned to the dorm, they even had a cake that Shi Jin had specially left for them. The cake tasted great, but what was even better was the pile of gifts that Shi Jin had left on his bed.
With just a quick glance, they saw many things that interested them, such as game consoles, game discs, limited edition albums, and so on. At that moment, Shi Jin was dividing the loot with Liu Yong and Luo Donghao, without even considering inviting them to join in.
It wasn't that they wanted those things, but being treated differently by Shi Jin made them feel a bit strange.
Then, at noon today, Shi Jin received several super cool gun models. It was said that they were birthday gifts sent by his brother, who was also the instructor who led their military training. Boys love gun models, and they couldn't help but envy them. They watched as Liu Yong and Luo Donghao, invited by Shi Jin, played with those models.
And now, Shi Jin received another delivery, and it was a big pile. It's probably another birthday gift sent from somewhere else.
People are truly different. The distance between the young master born with a silver spoon in his mouth and ordinary people like them is just too far. They couldn't help but feel a little envious.
The atmosphere in the dorm room was a bit strange. Liu Yong and Luo Donghao exchanged a glance and ignored it, volunteering to help Shi Jin with the delivery. Shi Jin also wanted to sort these things out quickly, so he left them to help together.
There were more than ten deliveries, and the three of them each opened a few. They quickly opened them all. The biggest box was indeed full of books, but unlike the difficult and high-end books that Shi Jin thought they would be, they were all picture books.
There were various styles from different countries and regions, but the only common point was that each one was very exquisite.
"Wow, these are like works of art," exclaimed Liu Yong as he carefully opened a large picture book that was the size of two A4 papers. "I can't understand any of the words on the cover, what language is this from? But just by looking at the pictures, the content seems easy to understand. This one...hmm, it seems to be about a small tribe's ritual."
Shi Jin was also a bit surprised as he touched the picture books, remembering the famous specialties and unique items that Fei Yujing had given to the previous owner. His mood was a bit complicated.
It was different now, Fei Yujing's gifts were clearly more thoughtful. In the past, Fei Yujing wouldn't have gone out of his way to collect picture books from so many countries and send them all together.
He suddenly understood the reasoning behind Fei Yujing's choice of sending these picture books in a mysterious way. The most representative cultural treasures of each region are undoubtedly the books, music, and historical stories passed down from ancestors. Picture books, with minimal text and stories told through illustrations, are an incredibly useful tool for cultural dissemination, even for those who may not understand the local language.
Was this what he had been thinking? Was Fei Yujing really such a thoughtful person?
"This big box only contains such a small lamp?" Suddenly, Luo Donghao spoke up and pulled out a delicate glass lamp wrapped tightly in cotton and newspaper from another box filled with foam and shock-absorbing materials.
Liu Yong heard a sound and looked over, then exclaimed in excitement when he saw the lamp, "This is the lamp from the picture book! It's the lamp that the tribe uses for worship. The book says that if you sleep under the lamp for seven days, the lamp god will grant one wish for the person who lit the lamp."
"Really?" exclaimed Luo Donghao.
"Absolutely! Come take a look. The lamp is made of precious gems, with seven different patterns on the lamp face, and the lamp post is wrapped with the flower of destiny... This seems to be the switch. Give it a twist," Liu Yong pointed to a flower bud on the base of the glass lamp.
Luo Donghao looked at Shi Jin and asked, "Can we?"
Shi Jin looked at the exquisite and ancient glass lamp in his hand, stood up, and twisted the flower bud. With a soft click, the glass lamp lit up and the gemstone beads inside began to spin. The light shone through the seven different colored lamp faces, projecting seven hazy abstract paintings. Music emanated from the lamp, complementing the gentle rotating light and the images on the lamp faces, as if telling a distant story.
"This is so beautiful! This gift is amazing, it's like bringing a legendary tale from a foreign land right in front of you. Shi Jin, who gave you this gift? The creativity is just incredible!" Liu Yong exclaimed in excitement.
On the other hand, Luo Donghao had other thoughts. He glanced at the other opened boxes and said, "I wonder if everything in these boxes is from the illustrations in the books."
Liu Yong was taken aback, then immediately crouched down to rummage through the contents of the other boxes. An hour later, everyone in the dormitory stared dumbfounded at the various exotic items arranged on the table, unable to find the words to express their amazement.
"Amazing, they're all here! And there's even a music CD attached to each picture book, turning the stories into reality," murmured Liu Yong, looking at Shi Jin and asking, "Who sent you these gifts? This person is... so romantic."
Romantic? Even someone like Fei Yujing, who prioritized interests above all else, could have a day where he was praised for being romantic.
Shi Jin's mind was a bit blank as he looked at the exquisite picture books and the corresponding gifts, and said, "The person who sent the gifts is my second brother. He... because of his profession, he's always traveling around the world, so he can buy some interesting things."
"These things are probably not something you can just buy." Luo Donghao regained some sense and objectively said, "These things are almost like works of art, and you can't get them without putting in some effort. Especially that glass lamp, the gems on it are all real, and the design is very ancient. It feels like a collectible from somewhere."
"Maybe." Shi Jin was a little distracted, with some things in his mind wanting to overflow, making him absent-minded.
Realizing this, he was startled and pinched himself to clear his mind, shaking off the memories and emotions that wanted to surge out, and looked at Liu Yong and Luo Donghao with a smile, saying, "My second brother always gives me some impractical things, and I have to specially organize a cabinet for them. It's too troublesome."
Liu Yong couldn't take it anymore and pounced on him, grabbing his neck. Enviously and jealously, he exclaimed, "Don't be ungrateful for your blessings! These gifts are so amazing, others would kill for them! By the way, how many brothers do you have? Seems like there are quite a few of them!"
Shi Jin quickly begged for mercy, saying, "Not many, just five... Alright, alright, I will appreciate these gifts with a grateful heart. Please help me pack them up, I still need to take them to the storage room."
Liu Yong exaggeratedly wailed at the mention of the storage room, muttering that art pieces shouldn't be stored there. He then released Shi Jin and carefully packed everything back into the box.
......
That night, Shi Jin couldn't sleep well. He had a dream where he slept under a lamp for seven days and finally met the blurry-faced Lamp God. He devoutly made a wish, "I want to be with my brother and father forever."
The earnest voice of a child making a wish echoed in his mind. Shi Jin suddenly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a moment before sitting up. He checked his phone and saw that it was almost time for morning training. He rubbed his face, got out of bed, and headed out.
At noon, the security guard called Shi Jin out again. "Here, a package for you. You were in class and I couldn't reach you, so I signed for it."
The security guard was very kind, but Shi Jin felt a bit overwhelmed. There were several boxes, and the sender was Shi Weichong. Shi Jin was puzzled. How did Shi Weichong manage to prepare so many gifts in the semi-closed environment of the psychiatric hospital?
Suddenly, Liu Yong appeared out of nowhere, holding a small cart and grinning at Shi Jin. "I knew you were here to pick up a delivery. Look, I've brought the cart for you."
"Thank you, you're such a thoughtful friend," replied Shi Jin gratefully.
Silently, Shi Jin began to move the packages into the cart.
Back in their dorm room, Liu Yong rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Alright, let's see what kind of birthday gifts Shi Jin received today! Birthday boy, you get to open the first box!" He handed Shi Jin a craft knife. Shi Jin's eyebrows twitched as he grabbed the knife and dragged the closest box towards him, casually tearing it open.
"What is this... a notebook?" Liu Yong asked, puzzled.
"Obviously, it's a notebook," Luo Donghao chimed in, having joined them halfway through.
Shi Jin hesitated for a moment before picking up the top soft-covered notebook and flipping through it.
Liu Yong leaned in, testing the waters. Seeing that Shi Jin didn't object, he focused on the first page with only one line of writing and read aloud, "To my younger brother, Shi Weichong... Wait, Shi Weichong, why does that name sound familiar?"
Luo Donghao furrowed his brow, then suddenly realized something. His eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Shi Jin. "You... you're Rui--"
Shi Jin already knew things were not looking good. He quickly covered his notebook and reached out to grab Luo Donghao's shoulder, saying, "There are still several boxes left, can you guys help me unpack them all?"
Luo Donghao received the hint and immediately shut his mouth. He glanced at their dormmates who were seemingly watching them and silently swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth. He also took the opportunity to tap Liu Yong, who was still pondering and muttering the name Shi Weichong, and diverted his attention to another topic.
A little frog who likes reading. Hope you liked this chapter, and thank you for your support! Coffee fuels my midnight translation binges.
Give me feedback at moc.ebircssutol@tibbir.