AGN -Chapter 433 Reflection

Zhao Cheng’an worked very efficiently. Before Shi Dadan could finish all the bread, he had already successfully bought the painting back, and even brought along a staff member—apparently one of the organizers of the exhibition and also a student from the art academy.

The staff member had specifically come to thank Qin Huai for strongly supporting the exhibition and, at the same time, discuss the delivery arrangements with him.

Only then did Qin Huai learn that paintings from exhibitions couldn’t simply be taken away immediately after purchase. This exhibition still had several more days to run. After the Hangzhou exhibition ended, there would be another one in Beiping. Since the exhibition was jointly organized by students from several schools, it would tour the cheapest art museums in each school’s city for a few days.

Of course, if Qin Huai truly loved the painting and urgently wanted it, he could also take it away immediately.

But if he wasn’t in a hurry, they would set a date after the exhibition fully concluded and mail the painting to him.

Shipping included.

There was basically no possibility of student artwork like this being swapped with a fake. Counterfeiting also cost money, and a painting worth 1,800 yuan really wasn’t worth forging.

Qin Huai waved his hand and said he wasn’t in a rush. If mailing was possible, they could just send it directly to Shanshi. After exchanging contact information, he asked them to contact him again before shipping it out so he could reconfirm the address.

As they left the art museum, Qin Huai sighed to Zhao Cheng’an:

“I thought they’d have me add the artist’s contact info directly. Didn’t expect it to be the staff member instead.”

“That depends on the person,” Zhao Cheng’an explained. “Sometimes you can contact the artist directly to negotiate prices. There are even cases where sculptures are priced at 15,000 during exhibitions, then half a year later drop to 10,000 with free shipping because the seller’s desperate. If you’re interested in the artist’s other works and want to see whether there’s anything else worth buying, you can also ask the staff for the artist’s contact information.”

Qin Huai waved his hands repeatedly.

“No need for that. Buying one painting to motivate my little sister to study is enough.”

Qin Huai made it clear he wasn’t a mayfly. He had no interest in “experiencing all aspects of life,” nor any interest in wandering around the art world and spending money just to learn a lesson.

Master Zhou had given Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng’an the entire afternoon and evening off, yet Qin Huai left the museum before 4 PM.

Originally, Zhao Cheng’an had wanted to treat Qin Huai and Shi Dadan to a meal at a western restaurant near the museum. According to him, while the place was somewhat expensive, the food was genuinely good.

But Qin Huai instantly killed the idea with one sentence:

“The 1,800 yuan you greedily pocketed today might not even be enough to cover this meal.”

So the three parted ways and each headed home.

More accurately, Zhao Cheng’an parted ways with the other two. After watching him leave, Qin Huai and Shi Dadan hailed a taxi and went straight to that western restaurant themselves.

It really was delicious.

Under Shi Dadan’s “order one of everything” policy, Qin Huai managed to taste every single dish in the restaurant. In the end, under the admiring gaze of the waitstaff, he left the restaurant burping.

That evening, Qin Huai once again started a group video call to share the shocking news that Zhao Cheng’an was actually a mayfly spirit.

Shi Dadan hadn’t lied to him. Mayflies were genuinely famous among spirits. Even Qu Jing, who was usually taciturn, sighed in amazement: “So there really are mayflies coming to undergo tribulation. I’d only heard about them before—never actually seen one.”

As for information about mayflies, what Luo Jun said was roughly the same as what Shi Dadan had said. Luo Jun himself had never seen a real mayfly either.

“So,” Qin Huai asked curiously, “other than mayflies, what other kinds of special spirits are there?”

That afternoon, after learning that mayflies were the “special spirits” everyone had been talking about, Qin Huai realized that his own understanding of “special” was completely different from how spirits defined it.

Qin Huai had always assumed “special spirits” meant extremely rare or overwhelmingly powerful beings—things like Taotie or Yinglong, creatures that often appeared as villains in mythology dramas, or perhaps obscure beings so niche he didn’t even know their names.

Instead, it turned out to be mayflies.

Mayflies—creatures so famous that most people could even pronounce the characters immediately upon seeing them.

Qin Huai’s question instantly silenced everyone.

Seeing nobody speak, Qin Huai glanced at Shi Dadan beside him, who was currently peeling and eating a bunch of bananas he had bought several days earlier and forgotten about, leaving them slightly blackened. Qin Huai shot him a look that clearly meant:

Did I ask something that difficult to answer?

Shi Dadan didn’t notice. He was busy peeling bananas.

Finally, Qu Jing spoke first.

“Qin Huai, since you suddenly asked like that, I honestly can’t think of any examples right now.”

“The moment you mentioned mayflies, I immediately knew they were a very special type of spirit. But when you ask me which spirits are special… I suddenly can’t form any clear concepts in my head.”

Chen Huihong hurriedly agreed.

“Right, right! Same here. It feels like several names are already at the tip of my tongue, but I just can’t say them. Luo Jun, are you the same?”

“I’m not,” Luo Jun stubbornly replied. “You’re all forgetting because you can’t think of them. I’m forgetting because I’m old.”

Everyone: “…”

After a long silence, Qin Huai quietly asked: “Mr. Luo… have you gone to the hospital for a check-up recently?”

What he really meant was: Has a doctor checked how much longer you can live? Because the way Luo Jun sounded really did make it seem like he didn’t have much time left.

“What’s the point of getting checked?” Luo Jun said irritably. “Even if they found something, what then? Perform surgery so I can live two extra years? Do you think Qu Jing’s hospital has any doctor bold enough to operate on a 92-year-old man?”

“Qin Huai, stop talking nonsense. Don’t you have a side quest reward that involves a mayfly’s memories?”

“Yeah.” Qin Huai nodded. Since even his own memory seemed to be malfunctioning lately, he quickly reopened the game interface to double-check. “It’s Old Shi’s side quest. I have to make egg tarts for him.”

“How long ago did you get that quest? And you still haven’t made the damn egg tarts? Qin Huai, what exactly is wrong with you? Why are you so slow at everything? Is making egg tarts really that hard? Have you even made them yet?”

“I’m already running out of time here, and all of you are still acting leisurely, like I can survive another ten years or something.”

“That stupid TV drama I watched recently was the same—dragging everything out endlessly. One murderer investigation lasted twelve episodes, and one misunderstanding took six episodes to explain. Do I even have enough life left to hear their explanations?”

“And that novel I’m following too. If the author can write, then write. If not, then quit already. Such a tiny plot point got dragged out for months without being explained properly. What the hell are all of you doing?”

The more Luo Jun spoke, the angrier he became. Judging by his expression, it looked like he wanted to breathe fire through the screen and incinerate everyone present.

“And Chen Huihong too! I asked her to find me a decent cemetery plot, and she still hasn’t found one. Is finding a grave really that difficult? Haven’t you died in previous lives before? Don’t you have any experience?”

“Chen Gong, stop pretending to be dead over there too. Secretly joining the group call without saying a word, huh? Anyone who didn’t know better would think you’re the chairman of some billion-dollar corporation instead of an assistant. CEOs in TV dramas are busy every day and still have time to fall in love. Yet you, an assistant, are apparently so busy you can’t even take a few days off to come to Shanshi?”

“And Qu Jing, you too! You… you can’t even handle medical troublemakers at work and still need me to help you cause trouble. I think you should just quit that lousy job already.”

“Oh, and I almost forgot the Shi Dadan sitting next to Qin Huai. So what if you’re a Dangkang? So what if you successfully passed your tribulation? So what if you’re an auspicious beast? How long have you been out with Qin Huai already? Has Qin Huai completed even a single quest?”

“When Qin Huai was here with us, his quest completion speed was so fast. Ever since he went out with you, sure, he’s triggered a bunch of quests—but he hasn’t finished a single one. Shouldn’t you reflect on that? All you do every day is eat, eat, eat. So what if you have a good appetite? Two of those quests are yours too—why don’t you think of a solution?”

Shi Dadan: “…”

Shi Dadan silently put down the banana, took the phone from Qin Huai, faced the camera, and cautiously suggested:

“How about… I starve myself for two days and then eat the egg tarts?”

Luo Jun said nothing more. Everyone who knew him understood that he was finished venting. When Luo Jun started cursing people out, he didn’t need explanations—he simply wanted to scold someone.

Everyone already knew the old bird had been in a bad mood lately.

After venting, Luo Jun felt refreshed and exited the group call to continue watching TV.

In the end, Chen Gong made a statement, saying that he would work hard to settle his work matters over the next few days, free up some time as soon as possible, and take a long vacation to gather with everyone in Shanshi. After that, the group video call ended.

Qin Huai opened his quest list and reviewed the tasks one by one.

Luo Jun actually hadn’t scolded him unfairly. Qin Huai really had accumulated quite a few unfinished tasks.

The main quest was related to An Youyou. It required him to make three A+-grade pastries capable of triggering buffs, and he had to make them independently. At the moment, Qin Huai couldn’t make even one of them, so it was obviously a long-term quest.

All three side quests had been triggered by Shi Dadan: the Four Happiness Rolls, the egg tarts, and uncovering the truth behind Xu Nuo’s death.

Normally, side quests from spirits who could communicate openly and honestly were the easiest to complete. It was basically like having cheats enabled. Luo Jun’s side quest before had been as cryptic as a riddle game, but whenever Qin Huai didn’t understand something, he could simply ask Luo Jun directly.

But when it came to Shi Dadan, Qin Huai could ask questions—Shi Dadan just couldn’t answer them.

The truth behind Xu Nuo’s death was something Shi Dadan himself wanted to know. As for the Four Happiness Rolls, Qin Huai had made them, but Shi Dadan simply wasn’t satisfied, so the task couldn’t be completed.

But the egg tarts…

After being scolded by Luo Jun, Qin Huai suddenly realized something.

Right.

Ever since receiving the egg tart quest, he had never made egg tarts again.

It seemed he really had gotten tangled up in the recent quests. All of the recent tasks were extremely difficult. Every time he triggered a new quest, Qin Huai subconsciously assumed it would also be difficult and thought he needed to complete the previous quest before even considering the new one.

As a result, when the egg tart side quest appeared, Qin Huai’s attention had focused entirely on the shocking revelation that Zhao Cheng’an was actually a spirit, instead of the fact that the quest was literally about making egg tarts.

The side quest [Delicious Egg Tarts] had been triggered after Shi Dadan ate the egg tarts made by Qin Huai and Master Zhou.

But after that, Shi Dadan had never eaten Qin Huai’s egg tarts again.

Shi Dadan was still reflecting on himself.

“What Luo Jun said to me actually wasn’t wrong either. During this whole period, I’ve been the only one by your side, Xiao Qin, and I really haven’t provided much help. I’ve just been eating all the time and never thought about how to help you complete my quests.”

“I think the idea of starving myself for a few days is pretty good. Honestly, I’ve been eating way too well lately—I’ve gained more than ten jin already. Back in Guangdong Province, although I could occasionally go to Guixiang’s house for a good meal, it wasn’t often. Guixiang’s getting old now and doesn’t have the energy to cook that much anymore. I eat a lot, and I know making a meal for me is exhausting for her, so usually I just ate whatever.”

“And I’m kind of fat too. At home, my wife keeps a close eye on me and doesn’t let me go out binge eating, so I usually eat at home.”

“As for our family cook’s skills… well, my wife likes lighter food.”

“Now that I think about it, this really is my fault. After coming out here, I’ve been too focused on myself. I never thought about your quests at all, Xiao Qin.”

“Yep, that’s settled then. Starting now, I won’t eat anything! I’ll starve for two days! No, maybe two days isn’t enough—then I’ll starve for three!”

“After three days, I’ll eat the egg tarts and Four Happiness Rolls you make, Xiao Qin. Maybe then the quest will be completed.”

“Old Shi, this isn’t your fault. It’s mine.”

Qin Huai looked straight at Shi Dadan and spoke with complete seriousness.

“You’ve already helped me as much as you possibly could. It’s just that my abilities aren’t good enough yet, so I couldn’t make satisfactory Four Happiness Rolls. Naturally, you wouldn’t be satisfied.”

“And you don’t need to starve yourself before eating them either. I don’t want to complete side quests by harming your health. I’m already very happy that you’re willing to help me. These are my quests, not yours. You have no obligation to help me at all.”

“Besides, I never helped you with anything either. You awakened through your own ability. When I first met you, you had already awakened.”

“Actually, after thinking about it just now, this really is my problem. Ever since getting the egg tart side quest, I haven’t made egg tarts for you even once.”

“Can you still eat any now?” Qin Huai asked.

Shi Dadan nodded vigorously.

“As long as it’s within five egg tarts, I can definitely still eat them. More than that, I’m not sure.”

“That’s enough. I only made pastries for a little while this morning anyway, so I’m not tired. And it’s still early—only a little after seven. There’s enough time to make puff pastry.”

“I just don’t know if the temperature’s suitable. The kitchen at home isn’t a low-temperature room… forget it, I’ll just lower the air conditioner temperature.”

“Old Shi, what kind of egg tarts do you like? The normal plain kind, or ones with random toppings like caramel, durian, mango, blueberry, or corn?”

Qin Huai counted on his fingers all the fancy egg tart varieties he knew.

“Anything is fine.”

Shi Dadan gave the standard answer people always give when asked what food they like.

“Really, anything is fine.”

Shi Dadan smiled honestly, and even his tone sounded especially sincere and simple-minded.

“As long as you make it, Xiao Qin, I’ll like it.”

“Even if you made iced Americano-flavored egg tarts, there… there must be a reason behind it!”

Qin Huai: “……”

That level of blind trust really wasn’t necessary.

Iced Americano egg tarts? What kind of hellish cuisine was that? It sounded like something Ou Yang would enjoy.

Qin Huai absolutely wasn’t slandering Ou Yang, because Ou Yang had genuinely done something similar before.

Last week, Xiao Ou’s handmade lemon tea shop launched a new drink:

Iced Americano Peach Sparkling Handmade Lemon Tea.

Just reading the name alone was enough to make one’s vision darken.

In the entire week after launch, exactly one cup had been sold.

According to insiders, Luo Jun was the one who ordered it through delivery.

Luo Jun then used an alternate account to post a 1,619-character negative review. It received over 300 likes—all from businesses Luo Jun had previously scolded. The criticism was so vicious that Ou Yang directly shut down delivery services and became depressed for three days.

As for how Qin Huai knew Ou Yang had been depressed for three days…

Qin Huai followed Ou Yang’s alternate Weibo account.

For three consecutive days, Ou Yang posted:

“Is Iced Americano Peach Sparkling Handmade Lemon Tea really that unacceptable to worldly society?”

“Such a creative beverage—why does nobody appreciate it???”

In a way, Luo Jun had contributed to the well-being of the local residents.

“Don’t worry, I won’t make that,” Qin Huai said.

“Then today I’ll make the same ordinary egg tarts as last time.”

“Old Shi, help me get a coat from the room please. Sixteen-degree air conditioning is way too cold.”