Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring! The fast and familiar sound of the alarm clock woke Tom up from bed.
"Hmm... hmm?!" Tom groggily got up from bed, his hair messy like a bird's nest. He walked to the end of the bed, adjusting the alarm on his phone that was charging on the chair to remind him later. All these actions were automatic, pure muscle memory. The ringing of the phone only awakened the owner's body, while his soul remained in a trance.
"I think I had a really long dream last night..." Tom pursed his lips, trying to remember the strange and vivid dream from the previous night, but he found that the dream was quickly evaporating like liquid nitrogen spilled from a sealed jar.
By the time he paused the alarm and found his slippers, he had no recollection of last night's dream, just a vague memory that he had gone to Scotland to study and had found a local girlfriend.
Tom chuckled to himself: Well, there's everything in dreams!
But he couldn't help but shiver as he removed the electric blanket: there was a cold wave in the city, and it was freezing. A week ago, he had to turn on the air conditioner to cool the house, but now he had to turn on the air conditioner to heat the house, and it was always the air conditioner and the electricity meter that suffered, one running and the other spinning, but it was the energy from his wallet that was being spent, don't you see how scarce it is?
Of course, Tom was an experienced veteran and had seen much before. He had been to the city before, spent a few months here, and was well acquainted with the weather, so he asked for three things as soon as he arrived: an electric blanket, an electric heater, and a dehumidifier.
To be honest, he was a "northerner" and didn't feel very comfortable with the capital's climate: it was so humid that he always came home in summer with a layer of water on the bedding, making him wish to travel to the desert. It's better to go to Egypt, they say it's drier there. With the humidity, Tom was eager for the sand to leave him dry.
Thinking of Egypt, of the desert, something stirred in the back of Tom's mind, but he couldn't remember clearly. Last night's dream had left him confused.
Worse than the humidity, in winter there was no heating, and the winter experience was so bad that many people relied on the air conditioner to keep warm. It was only when he arrived in the capital that he realized the air conditioner could produce heat...
He shivered and placed his legs in front of the heater to feel some warmth. Then, he didn't rush to get out of bed. He put his pants, socks, and a shirt in front of the heater, intending to wait until they were warm before putting them on.
Putting on warm and cozy clothes gave him a sense of comfort, and the day officially began.
Tom glanced at his phone: seven twenty, plenty of time. He immediately sat at his desk, first flipping the kettle switch to boil water and then connecting his [Follow the Moon - Sweet Rain] themed mechanical keyboard to the computer. The keyboard was great in every way, except that it glowed too much at night due to its luminous function, so he unplugged it from the computer before going to bed.
After turning on the computer, he closed the writing interface that he forgot to close the night before and opened the Genshin Impact icon in the top left corner of the screen.
Hara-kami Activation: monthly card collection, resin synthesis, shipment settlement, visit log.
Great! My good friend, have you come to deliver the Primogems again today?
Solid as gold (√)
Knight's Dawn (√)
Tension Loading (√)
Thunderfield Exploration (√)
Daily quest completed.
Tom switched the character controlled by Tartaglia to one whose affinity level was not yet at its maximum, and after collecting the rewards from the daily quests, his kettle started boiling. Tom ground some coffee beans and prepared a cup of black coffee to awaken his senses.
While waiting for the coffee to cool, he made several forays into sacred artifact dungeons and obtained some exceptional artifacts. Once he completely exhausted his stamina, he logged out. Today's Genshin Impact gameplay had come to an end, but he remembered that he needed to use his stamina one more time before going to bed.
Tom took his coffee cup and began sipping small sips of coffee that was no longer hot. At that moment, his peripheral vision caught sight of a peculiar-looking bracelet on his desk: it was black and brown, resembling a braided rope.
"Did I buy this at some point?" He reached out for the bracelet, but before he could touch it, the electric kettle next to his feet exploded. The lid and hot water splashed everywhere, but fortunately, thanks to the thick pants he was wearing, the hot water and fragments didn't harm him. One could say he was lucky in that incident.
"Oh my God!" He startled, but he wasn't surprised at all. That electric kettle was something his father had bought for $19.90 with free shipping, and he had been using it with fear. Now he could only say it was the second stroke of bad luck.
He sighed and got up to clean up the mess on the floor. However, due to that little incident, he set aside the matter of the bracelet. But amidst all the chaos, the bracelet was also quickly swept away and ended up in his backpack.
Once he finished cleaning the floor, Tom hurriedly packed his computer and mouse into the backpack, quickly went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, washed his face, and rushed off to work.
He mounted his bicycle and pedaled to the metro station entrance. At this point, he was already drenched in sweat. The bike was too tough! Never buy a bike online with gears, the riding experience is even worse than a shared bike.
Once he secured his bicycle, Tom ran to the metro station and caught the train that would take him to the office. While sitting in the train seat, he tidied up his clothes a bit, unzipped his jacket slightly to let the heat escape, and kept some distance between his down jacket and his sticky neck due to sweat.
At that moment, he saw an advertisement in the metro.
"If you listen closely, you can hear the whispers of the past..."
"We've come to see Albus Dumbledore."
"That's my brother."
"Our world is crumbling, torn apart by Grindelwald's hatred."
It was the trailer for Fantastic Beasts 3! Tom looked up, he hadn't expected Warner Bros to advertise here.
"In this installment, there is a change of actor for Grindelwald," Tom looked at the screen and saw Mads Mikkelsen's face, feeling somewhat impressed. Although he doesn't have the same style as Johnny Depp, he fits the image of Grindelwald perfectly.
Huh? Tom was drawn to a particular shot.
"Dumbledore has something for you," Newt pulled a magic wand out of his coat and handed it to Jacob, a muggle.
"Is this a joke? How can a muggle hold a wand... wait... muggle, a wand?" Tom sank into his thoughts, realizing that he had forgotten something important again.
By then, the trailer was nearing its end, and the camera zoomed out to show Jacob in the Hogwarts auditorium, having lunch with young wizards.
"Where did you get that?"
"It's my Christmas gift."
The trailer concluded.
The guy sitting next to Tom, who was also fascinated by the trailer, said to his friend, "What the hell is Warner doing? How can a muggle hold a wand? And a muggle entering Hogwarts, isn't that absurd? It seems like they're ignoring the Statute of Secrecy."
Tom felt the corners of his eyes moistening, and tears welled up uncontrollably, surprising the guy who was mocking him, "What's wrong with this guy? How can he cry watching a trailer?"
Tom also realized his inappropriate behavior. He quickly opened his backpack, searching for a tissue to wipe his tears, but when he opened the backpack, he saw the bracelet again in front of him.
Tom was stunned, even his tears stopped.
"Are you alright?" The guy next to him pulled out a pack of tissues from his pocket and handed it to Tom.
"Thank you," Tom wanted to say something more, but the metro had already arrived at the station. He quickly took one tissue, returned the rest to the guy, and hurriedly got off the metro.
Then, he continued with his work routine.
Receiving tasks, completing tasks, moving on to the next task... An endless cycle, his life was like a pay-to-win online game, where those who don't spend money are the paying players.
"Tom, are you free for lunch?" While Tom was fixing the pH machine in the laboratory, the lab director entered and called out to him.
"Can we have lunch together?" It wasn't a question; Tom didn't have another choice.
In the company cafeteria, he and his boss ordered a plate of spicy Chongqing noodles and then found two empty seats in a corner of the cafeteria.
"Tom, regarding the confirmation issue we discussed earlier, after considering it, I believe the chances of you becoming a permanent employee here are not very high. However, if you're willing to sign on as a third-party employee, the approval chances are very high..."
"Will I receive thirty galleons per month as salary?"
"Galleons?"
"Oh, no..." Tom corrected himself, not realizing he had suddenly uttered a strange currency.
Aside from that small incident, the conversation was pleasant overall. Although he didn't have the status of a permanent employee, Tom wasn't seeking it. He simply enjoyed the work environment without overtime or days off in this company.
There wasn't much else to say. Just wait for the Human Resources department to arrive to discuss the details and find ways to slack off at work in the afternoon. He barely managed to make it to the end of the workday, but he couldn't go home immediately. He had to attend a date arranged by his family.
Tom had exchanged a few words with this girl through WeChat before, and everything seemed fine. So they agreed to meet and have dinner together in the city center at six in the evening. But to his surprise, Tom waited in front of the metro station for over an hour, and she still hadn't shown up.
Tom stood there at the metro entrance like a fool. He couldn't help but take out his phone and send a message.
[Where are you?]
"I just got home, I'll be there soon."
"Okay, take care on the way. I'll wait for you in front of the metro."
"I'll be there in half an hour."
Tom: Seriously? Are you planning to ride the metro from the first station to the last?
But here he is, so there's nothing he can say, just patiently wait. Looking at the time on his phone, which was almost eight o'clock, Tom grew anxious. He hadn't written 8,000 words of his novel today! Would he have to suspend the update? When readers opened their phones and saw, "Oh! The novel I'm following has been suspended!" wouldn't they be disappointed? So, ultimately, it was better not to post a suspension request.
That's right, Tom is also a part-time internet writer, writing Dragon Clan fanfiction, and he wrote a fanfiction titled "The Restart of My Direct Life: Dragon Clan's Opening Match," which was well-received. As he didn't want blades, he took out his phone, fiddled with its tiny screen, and tried to write on it.
At eight o'clock, the girl finally appeared.
Tom looked up and saw a fashionably dressed girl, with makeup that gave her a six-point look, slowly approaching him.
"Let's go, let's eat." Without waiting for her to say anything, Tom spoke first, he just wanted to quickly finish this date and go back home to write.
The girl paused for a moment, frowned, and accepted rather coldly.
When they arrived at the restaurant Tom had previously booked, out of courtesy, he handed the menu to the girl to order first.
"I'm not going to order anything, I'm on a diet today," the girl said as she handed the menu back.
Tom: ???
If you're on a diet, why did you arrange a date at a restaurant?
But Tom, after standing in the cold wind for two hours, was very hungry, so he decided to order a combo for himself.
Before the dishes arrived, the girl directly addressed the topic: "What is your current annual salary? Can you cook? Do you do household chores?"
Tom frowned, feeling that things weren't that simple. Although asking these things during a date wasn't unusual, he felt that something didn't add up. It took him two seconds to realize: Does it mean that I earn money, I cook, I do household chores? Then what would you do? Lie down and open your mouth, expecting to be taken care of without doing anything?
"I don't have a high salary, but I can cook a little and do household chores," he responded calmly, 'It's true, my salary isn't high, but income from writing novels isn't considered a monthly salary.'
Upon hearing that he didn't have a high salary, the girl immediately lost interest. She leaned back in her chair and picked up the tea cup that had been served at the restaurant. "My ex-boyfriend was around your age and earned a million per year. You'll have to work harder."
Tang Mu: ?
Tom: What? Is it something to be proud of to have been played by a rich heir and then dumped, and finally seek someone else?
"There's no comparison. I'm curious, why did you break up with your ex-boyfriend? He was so good." Tang Mu said strangely, emphasizing the word good.
The girl rolled her eyes, "I just didn't feel anything anymore, that's all. But let's not talk about him. I think I need to make one thing clear in advance, I believe we need a bride price for the wedding, according to our customs, it's 188,000 in cash. Of course, this is only to test your sincerity. In the end, that money will be considered my dowry, and I'll take it. It's not that I'm interested in your money..."
Tom felt a strong headache.
However, the girl kept talking nonstop. "Furthermore, if we get married, I need a house and a car. It's a basic necessity..."
"Let's eat first," Tom said with a forced smile. He felt that this was absurd. Couldn't they do something better with their time instead of wasting it on dreams?
Tom opened his backpack and prepared to take out his wallet to pay the bill and leave. At that moment, he saw the familiar family bracelet once again in his eyes.