dognovel Chapter 68 The Gift of Time and Water
Chapter 68 The Gift of Time and Water
Dinner ended quietly in a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere.
"Sister, this is a gift that Shihua and I prepared for you."
Shi Shui had just drunk some wine and was now slightly tipsy, so his voice was soft and sweet from the alcohol. His already fair cheeks were now slightly flushed. He took out a flat box that he had been hiding behind his back, his hands trembling slightly as if he were nervous.
"What gift?" Bai Li's eyes lit up with surprise.
She leaned forward slightly and took the gift from Shi Shui's hands.
Shi Hua skipped over, a smile on her face, and said mysteriously, "Sister, you'll know once you open it!"
Bai Li never imagined that the two little ones would prepare a gift for her.
The gift felt just the right weight in my hand, neither too light nor too heavy.
Its flat shape makes it look like the thickness of a book at first glance, but its length and width are much larger than a book.
The gift was neatly wrapped in kraft paper, with a painting on it that was clearly done by Shi Hua, with colorful flowers blooming freely on the paper.
Bai Li couldn't bear to ruin the beautiful artwork on the packaging, so she turned around and softly called out, "Ahe, could you get me a pair of scissors?"
He took the scissors from the maid and cut along the edge of the packaging.
As soon as it was opened, a rich fragrance wafted out.
The gift box was filled with brightly colored dried flowers, layered upon each other, with the gift quietly hidden beneath them, the fragrance of the flowers rich and intense.
Bai Li gently parted the dried flowers and took the gift out of the box.
—It's a vinyl record.
It's not just an ordinary vinyl record; the middle part is covered with small flowers of various colors. Each flower seems to have been carefully selected and perfectly inlaid on the record, making it exquisite and unique.
"What is this?" Bai Li's eyes were full of doubt.
"I recorded them." Shi Shui's ears also turned red, and she said somewhat embarrassedly, "They are all songs that are suitable for listening to in the summer."
Shi Hua quickly chimed in, "Xiao Hua also helped out; I was the one who put all the flowers on."
Shi Shui had been struggling with what gift to give for a long time.
I searched online for a long time and found a wide variety of recommendations on Red Book, saying that girls like jewelry, bags, cosmetics, or perfume as gifts.
But in his mind, Bai Li seemed to have everything she needed, and he felt that no gift he bought was worthy of her.
Moreover, ordinary gifts cannot express all his emotions.
After much deliberation, he realized that singing seemed to be the only thing he could offer.
Shirai likes listening to music and has a record player.
So, after much hesitation, Shi Shui finally took the time to commission this special vinyl record.
For some reason, he didn't want to give gifts that would eventually be used up.
Food is ingested, cosmetics are discarded after use, perfume dissipates into the air after being sprayed, and any jewelry or bag will gradually become old over time.
But the song won't.
As long as Bai Li continues to listen to songs, he will always be able to hear the songs he recorded. This is his little secret wish: the songs will live on forever, and so will his emotions.
"When autumn comes, I'll record an autumn song for you," Shi Shui said with a smile.
Bai Li couldn't help but chuckle: "Are you going to record songs for me every quarter?"
"Yes, that's the plan," Shi Shui replied earnestly. "We've signed a lifelong agreement. I'll sing for my sister for the rest of my life, until I can't sing anymore."
"Shihua will do the same!" Shihua waved her little hand excitedly.
Bai Li really liked the gift; anyone would be happy to receive such a thoughtful present.
No wonder I haven't seen the two little ones at home lately; they've been secretly going out to prepare gifts.
Nowadays, there are very few places where vinyl records can be made, and it's unknown how much effort Shi Shui went through to find one.
Shi Shui took a deep breath, as if she had mustered up a great deal of courage, and confessed, "Sister, there's one more thing. The owner of the voice chat room has been arrested, and all the money has been returned. All the money I earned before is in this bank card, and I wanted to give this bank card to you as well."
Shi Shui said he would repay Bai Li, and he truly meant it.
In fact, the money he recovered was enough to cover his mother's medical expenses, but Bai Li's kindness was priceless in his heart.
Without Bai Li, there would be no him as we know him today, nor his healthy mother.
So, no matter how he thought about it, he didn't know how to repay it.
—I always feel like I owe them something.
It was an indescribable sense of guilt.
Bai Li doesn't actually need Shi Shui's money right now, but she deeply understands Shi Shui's inner struggle and perseverance, so she will accept the money.
Before accepting it, I checked with Xiao Hao again.
Xiao Hao had previously mentioned that money spent on virtual gifts for members of the opposite sex is non-refundable. The money Shi Shui is giving him now might include some of the money he spent on virtual gifts in the voice chat room.
The money was returned to her, but what about the cashback she received? Will it be deducted from her account? But how would it be deducted? She'd already spent all the cashback.
If something goes wrong after accepting the money, and it turns into a messy, unmanageable debt, that would be terrible.
Xiao Hao, sensing the host's concerns, immediately offered his own explanation: "Back then, we couldn't return it, but now that the source of this money is untraceable, the host can accept it now."
"Then I'm relieved." Only after receiving Xiao Hao's permission did Bai Li accept the bank card.
When Shi Shui saw Bai Li take the bank card away, she let out a deep breath, instantly feeling relieved as if she had been freed from immense pressure. A relaxed smile appeared on her face: "Sister, thank you. I will live well and work hard to earn money."
[Shi Shui's favorability +2]
[Shi Shui's Favorability: 69]
Bai Li, who received the favorability points, was stunned for two seconds.
Can I receive Shi Shui's favorability points now?
Her eyes shone even brighter.
That means...
Xiao Hao said with a congratulatory tone, "Shi Shui's appearance score has returned to above 80 points!"
Perhaps it was because the burden in her heart had finally been lifted, and the psychological effect would be reflected in her body. In any case, Shi Shui, at that very moment, her appearance score returned to the acceptable range.
Xiao Hao then sighed regretfully, "The favorability score during the period when the appearance score is below the standard cannot be counted."
Bai Li silently replied to Xiao Hao in her heart: It's okay.
Gaining favorability points isn't particularly difficult for her now.
The group of good-looking streamers at the training base occasionally generate a few points of goodwill.
The objective of needing ten members of the opposite sex to achieve a favorability score of 20 or higher has already been achieved.
What we lack now is someone with a favorability rating of 50.
Jingye and Ying Xiangyang count as two, so there were originally three short.
Now that we've added Shi Shui, we only need two more!
Shi Xiaoshui! The best gift tonight is yourself!
and many more.
Bai Li confirmed Shi Shui's favorability rating with Xiao Hao again.
"You mean 69 points?"
"Yes! I was almost in love with it, but I'm still in the appreciation stage."
"That's good."
That's perfect!
Bai Li secretly rejoiced.
She wants a favorability score of 50 or higher, but not 70 or higher. If everyone wanted to be like Ying Xiangyang, they would just jump straight into the realm of liking.
Shirai really didn't know how to deal with it.
The emotional entanglements of everyone involved would create a terrifying scene comparable to a battlefield, and just thinking about it sent chills down her spine.