Bella returned to her room and searched several times before finally finding her phone under the bed.
She unlocked it with her fingerprint, and the screen lit up.
Feeling like she was opening a mystery box, she tremblingly tapped on her WeChat and Alipay apps.
Upon seeing the string of numbers, Bella's tense shoulders suddenly relaxed, and she let out a long breath of relief.
Total balance: 9706.83 yuan.
It was less than ten thousand, but in Bella's eyes right now, this string of numbers was a huge sum of money.
She looked through her bills and chat records. Aside from the regular national student subsidies and the school's special scholarship, the bulk of the remaining money surprisingly consisted of small transfers of a few dozen or a hundred yuan each.
The notes were all things like Wednesday tutoring fee and Math tutoring final payment.
So hard-working...
Bella looked at the phone screen, her fingertips swiping past chat boxes where she was still replying with problem-solving methods at two or three in the morning, feeling a bit emotional.
Before her soul went online to take over this body, what exactly did the system make her do? Was it a free-range mode?
She was simply a workaholic. Even though the college entrance examination was approaching, she was still working day and night as a tutor to earn that hard-earned money.
But because of this, Bella confirmed one thing. In terms of studies, the system must have made a one-to-one copy of her state during high school.
To be able to transfer into the school at this critical juncture, it was highly likely that the system had controlled this body to take the entrance exam for S City No. 1 High School before she arrived.
However, as the joy brought by the ten thousand yuan gradually cooled down, an inexplicable sense of incongruity crept into Bella's heart.
Suddenly transferring to an unfamiliar school right before the start of the senior year was very abnormal in itself.
Was the previous school not good? Was the teaching staff not strong enough?
What about her former teachers and friends?
She rubbed her throbbing temples. Her mind was completely empty, unable to find even a trace of past memories.
If she wasn't absolutely certain that this was her own body, she would have thought she had transmigrated into someone else's.
Sitting in her chair, staring blankly at her phone, the device suddenly vibrated.
It was a mass text message from the Academic Affairs Office of S City No. 1 High School:
Senior Year Group Notice
Attention all students: All senior students must report to school on time at 8:00 tomorrow morning.
Special reminder: On the second day after registration, the senior grade will hold a unified Beginning of Term Mock Examination.
Please make the most of the final review time, adjust your schedule, and do not be late.
Bella stared at the words Beginning of Term Mock Examination, feeling a numb sensation spreading across the back of her head.
Help!
Why was there another exam on the second day of school!
She suddenly turned her head and looked at the mountain of review materials piled high on her desk.
In the stuffy air, the sound of an electric drill from the neighbor's renovation was still ringing tirelessly, making Bella's temples throb.
She wiped the sweat from her neck and finally accepted her fate.
Doing practice test papers in this high temperature was purely self-torture. She grabbed her phone and keys, planning to go buy some batteries and an ice cream watermelon to save her life first.
As soon as she pushed open the unit door, the narrow alley of Xia Ba New Village's Tenth Alley looked like a squeezed intestine.
Looking up, the sky was cut into a long, thin strip, completely obscured by densely packed power lines and the colorful clothes and bedsheets hung out by various households.
Her ears were filled with the fragmented noise of daily life: the clanking spin-dry sound of old-fashioned washing machines, the aroma of cooking oil from the range hoods of street-facing residents, and the loud, dialect-heavy arguing of an unknown couple...
Bella stared at the navigation on her phone map, trying to distinguish the directions, when her shoulder was suddenly tapped.
Hey, miss! Do you know where the Ninth Alley is?
A sweating delivery driver, his eyes red with anxiety, straddled his electric scooter and asked loudly.
Bella looked at the crisscrossing alleys, some of which didn't even have house numbers, and shook her head blankly.
I'm also just... not quite sure. You should ask someone else.
Oh, okay, thanks miss!
The driver didn't stop. He twisted the throttle and nimbly darted into a narrow path where even sunlight couldn't reach.
Relying on the navigation, Bella bought a few piping hot mushroom and vegetable buns at a breakfast stall.
Just as she turned a corner, she found herself standing at the entrance of a vegetable market. The thought of the three pitiful eggs in her fridge flashed through her mind. Recalling her cooking skills, which were rusty but could at least cook things thoroughly, she steeled her heart and gripped her phone tightly.
She had over nine thousand in savings, but she had to pinch every penny in this life.
She squeezed into the noisy crowd. Amidst the rising and falling cries of the vendors, she first bought a small bag of rice, patted a watermelon and chose a moderately sized one, then picked out a few potatoes, bought some water spinach, and a little chicken wings.
Bella carried the rice and groceries into a large supermarket.
She first deposited her bags in the lockers and then headed straight for the freezer section without hesitation.
The moment her fingertips touched the cold frame, she was so shocked by the price tags that she silently withdrew her hand.
Forget it, these prices were basically robbery to her right now.
In the end, she only bought batteries. Holding her items, she left the supermarket, followed the direction on the map from earlier, and entered a wholesale supermarket.
Welcome!
The automatic sensor door's greeting sounded in her ears. Bella picked up a shopping basket and began to sweep through the aisles.
She discovered that the brands here were exactly the same as in the real world, and couldn't help but secretly complain:
The author of this novel was too lazy. They couldn't even be bothered to think of brand names and just copied everything wholesale.
However, this actually worked out in her favor.
She just saw Big Pudding ice creams for 0.7 yuan each. What more could she ask for?
Without a word, she grabbed ten of them and tossed them into her basket with a rustle.
Chocliz and Suibian for 3 yuan each?
She wouldn't let those go either, grabbing a large handful at random.
Arsenal for 1.5 yuan, take!
Bright Ice Brick for 3.5 yuan, take!
Northeast Ice Bar, Green Mood, Cornetto...
Bella's basket was soon filled with colorful packaging, radiating a chill.
When her gaze swept over the Ben & Jerry's, Bella's eyelids twitched violently.
She looked away with extreme naturalness, staring straight ahead as she walked, pretending they didn't exist at all.
Hmph, no money... ah no, it's just that this fairy doesn't want to eat anything so sweet today. These foreign brands aren't down-to-earth at all!
After taking just two steps, she still looked back. Should she buy two?
But she already had so many...
Finally, she could only sigh silently. She extended a finger and tapped vaguely through the cold glass, as if bidding farewell to an old lover.
Just wait. In a while, this lord will definitely prepare enough silver to redeem you and take you home to serve me well.
She withdrew her hand, acting chic and decisive, turned around, and plunged headlong into the world of Green Mood.
After checking out, as Bella walked back carrying this large bag of loot, she felt like her arms were going to break.
Sweat rolled down her cheeks and into her neck. She looked at the things in her arms and suddenly smiled.
Who could have imagined that not long ago, she was a fairy whom a wealthy young master burned incense to worship, someone who even needed her meat cut for her?
Ah, life is truly full of unpredictable surprises.
