Chapter 101

It doesn't matter, since it's all just a dream.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Thinking this way, Chu Tingwu quickly got ready and pulled herself out of the snow, adjusting her posture before continuing downward.

The advantage of a dream is that even if you make a mistake, you won't get hurt or die.

After Chu Tingwu's somewhat clumsy first attempt at "speed" descent, the system outlined a path for her based on her original route, marked with faint glowing dots—

If Chu Tingwu touched these dots during her second descent, she would hear a "pop" sound, like a bubble bursting, accompanied by a triumphant little tune.

Chu Tingwu: "……"

She fell for the second time, rolled three and a half times, and glimpsed a rock just before realizing that in reality, she would have definitely been injured... Then the next second, she felt the scenery around her fade.

Her figure shattered and disappeared, only to reappear at the position of the previous glowing dot.

She had been refreshed.

System: "QVQ"

Chu Tingwu: "……Well done!"

She felt like she had become the protagonist of a snow party-themed DLC for *Super Mario*.

After spending the entire night as the main character of a game, Chu Tingwu got out of bed, opened the door, and saw bright red streamers.

Huh?

They were bought by Zhou Qiang and Aunt Mei… New Year was approaching.

Although she had originally planned to spend the New Year in Chewan City, after encountering so much new knowledge related to skiing and meeting familiar faces in this unfamiliar place, even Chu Tingwu had forgotten about the New Year, thinking she had just arrived in a place where it snowed every day.

It started snowing again outside.

She quickly descended the stairs in three steps, jumped onto Zhou Qiang's back, and realized: "We didn't buy couplets or window decorations."

"Aunt Mei said that since this isn't our own house, it's better not to buy things that might affect the original decor," Zhou Qiang explained, as these decorations would only be up for a day but could leave stubborn adhesive marks on the windows and doors. They weren't too concerned about such formalities. Zhou Qiang carried Chu Tingwu wrigglingly into the kitchen, "After breakfast, we still have to go to the city… Get off me!"

This person has been getting more and more lively lately…

Shikuai also woke up, crawled out of his bed, and darted onto Aunt Mei's shoulder, meowing for her to pick him up.

Zhou Qiang & Chu Tingwu: "……"

Chu Tingwu: "?"

Zhou Qiang: "?" What, are you a cat now?

After breakfast, they counted the items and finished the basic decorations, but they hadn't bought the fireworks yet—because Aunt Mei decided to leave the choice to the two kids.

So they still had to go to the city in the afternoon.

Aunt Mei: "There seems to be an event at the mall. Do you want to go and play?"

Chu Tingwu and Zhou Qiang thought it sounded fine, but they decided to finish their tasks first.

Then, Teacher Zhang took the hands of the two girls and started shopping at the mall—although she couldn't see and walked with difficulty, the kids around her were really reliable, so she didn't have to worry about falling.

Chu Tingwu, who had been dragged from the first floor to the fourth floor but only bought ice cream and played a gacha machine: "……"

So it was you who wanted to shop.

The mall in Chewan City was quite warm, and perhaps due to its famous tourism, they encountered many foreigners along the way, even helping them with some language issues.

There were many entertainment options on the fourth floor, including an indoor ice rink. Chu Tingwu also noticed a VR experience shop next to the claw machine store.

The experience was for alpine skiing, and she and Zhou Qiang took turns playing twice. They soon realized that the game was quite simplistic, lacking realism, and the sensation of high-speed descent wasn't well done. Half of the game was on a fixed route—

"Even if the player chooses the correct path, the game design secretly adjusts some details into mistakes, then guides the player back to the original route…" Chu Tingwu mused, "Who is this game even for?"

Zhou Qiang next to her: "?"

Us?

They left the machine, but there were still many people in line, as VR games aren't something everyone owns, so having the chance to experience them is a treat.

Chu Tingwu could point out the unreasonable design, while Zhou Qiang said, "I'm not good at sports. For someone like me, playing this kind of game probably just feels exciting and tense, without noticing these details."

And in the game design process, such a design is to avoid the trouble caused by players' random operations, simplifying the game flow.

As they chatted, Teacher Zhang listened with a smile—

If her eyes hadn't been blind, she would have liked to try VR herself. The more she felt time slipping away, the more she wanted to experience new things.

So today, Teacher Zhang's ice cream was pumpkin flavored with brown sugar.

Chu Tingwu chatted idly with the system in her mind and thought of the legendary "holographic" technology: "Can holographic games really allow the blind to see again and let those who have lost their legs stand and move?"

System: "Yes—you can think of holographic games as 'dream classrooms.' You're basically playing a holographic single-player game every day. Your physical condition doesn't affect your in-game state because, like dreaming, it stimulates brainwaves and creates a realistic experience."

But the system estimated and said, "Based on this planet's technology level, even with my investment and support, it would take at least ten years to create a true holographic game."

If the little one wants to play a "holographic single-player game," it can build one in the dream. If she wants to play a holographic online game… well, the system could upgrade and create dream resonance, pulling people in and erasing their memories when they wake up.

Although the latter sounds like something an evil overlord would do, it just wants to find someone to play with the little one.

Chu Tingwu waved her hand: "No thanks."

She suspected it would take half the night just to explain to people that this wasn't an infinite streaming dungeon.

But while Chu Tingwu put the matter aside, the system didn't forget.

That night, the system had Chu Tingwu test a set of "clothes" in the dream classroom.

System: "Humans love experiencing new worlds and things without leaving their homes—they even watch 4D movies, despite always complaining that the shaking chairs feel like someone is kicking their butt. But they still choose 4D for a better experience."

The system noticed that since the cliff climbing adventure in Sang City, Chu Tingwu had been itching to take on new challenges. She just needed someone to give her a push and a reason to convince herself to continue pushing her limits.

During this time with Teacher Zhang and the others, she seemed even more subdued… and due to her skill development being unbalanced, her body had become abnormal. In this unfamiliar city, she didn't even go parkour anymore. Most of the time, she was practicing basic skiing and playing with the adults and children.

This made the system a bit worried.

A normally mischievous cat suddenly staying still all the time, with no signs of illness, really makes you wonder if it's a mood issue.

Chu Tingwu, who had been filling her days with activities—self-practicing, learning snowboarding basics, often going out with Zhou Qiang to see the sights, play in the snow, try board games, and eat local food—said, "Huh?"

She descended from the mountaintop, constantly adjusting the angle of her snowboard, her gaze mostly on the steep snow slope below. The silver-white snowfield had only a few black or dark brown decorations, with the forest farther away. Since the sky and earth were both white… although it wasn't as severe as snow blindness, Chu Tingwu still felt like the whole world was pure white, and the surroundings seemed to vibrate gently with her movements.

The "clothes" the system had her wear seemed to have wearable devices at the joints of her limbs and on her palms and feet, with a wide-brimmed snow goggles-like device on her head.

As Chu Tingwu experienced the equipment, the system continuously adjusted the data of these devices, striving to ensure that they did not interfere with her activity status.

— After Chu Tingwu finished her training... or rather, her game in the dream, a manager from a wealthy individual arrived at the Yerman Neuroscience Laboratory in America.

The head of the laboratory, after hearing the other party's request, became furious:

"Sir, please inform your boss that we do indeed need research funding, but we are not handymen for billionaires to play house with. If he needs workers, he can find plenty in a factory—not give us blueprints and demand that we rush to produce the instruments he desires!"

It was unclear how this mysterious billionaire had thought to task them with creating equipment... and even invested in the laboratory for this purpose, but for a researcher, this was simply too...

Hmm?

Perhaps out of concern for their capabilities, the blueprints were accompanied by explanations and some easily understandable principles.

However, after a brief look, the head of the laboratory's expression changed. Soon, the discussion in the office grew heated, with everyone arguing passionately around the blueprints and the accompanying explanations.

The manager sipped his coffee, not at all surprised by their reaction. After all, his boss always brought him "surprises." Of course, being called to a neighboring state today also qualified as a shock.

The manager speculated that, although it seemed like the company had a new business, it was likely... related to the young lady.

All of the company's business revolved around that "young lady."

...Such as acquiring Disneyland.

Thinking of this, the manager's hand holding the coffee trembled slightly.

He couldn't help but feel that, in his lifetime, they might actually accomplish this seemingly impossible task. Because the boss had created too many surprises, perhaps in the future, he could even write about negotiating the acquisition of Disneyland in his autobiography.

With that, he reminded the emotionally charged laboratory staff: "The boss hopes to have the wearable AR experience equipment and related accessories completed and ready for testing as soon as possible. The time he has given you is very tight. Once the contract is signed, if you fail to meet the deadline, you must consider the consequences."

Although ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‍the manager couldn't understand the principles, he could certainly understand the effect diagrams. Moreover, the boss had provided a very clear effect video—so clear that the manager suspected the boss might have a professional research team. But he had no idea, nor did he know about the funding—perhaps this research team didn't want to do simpler work, which was why they had passed the task to this laboratory.

"A set of AR equipment and connection accessories?" he thought. "If they can achieve that effect, BNN Television's assessment of the social technological level will really have to change..."

-

Chu Tingwu was pounding rice cakes.

Tomorrow was New Year's Eve, and the guesthouse owner had specially brought some New Year's gifts, along with some local specialties, including a large lump of rice cakes. They had also discovered a tool for pounding rice cakes in the guesthouse.

So, Chu Tingwu opened a group video call to livestream the process of pounding rice cakes to Shao Lingwu and Chu Xiao, while Zhou Qiang assisted—

Zhou Qiang: "Don't forget to tip."

If Teacher Zhang were willing to go live, she would definitely receive tips and "red envelopes" from fans. But now, such a prominent streamer like Chu Tingwu was only livestreaming to two people in the group. It would be a bit much not to tip, right?

Though it was a joke, Shao Lingwu sent a red envelope in the group.

Then Shao Lingwu himself grabbed the biggest one, while Zhou Qiang got four dollars and thirty-two cents.

Zhou Qiang: "?"

She threw the tool aside and sent another red envelope herself.

Shao Lingwu once again grabbed the biggest one, and not only did he not lose, but he also made a profit.

Zhou Qiang got four dollars and thirty-three cents.

Chu Tingwu couldn't stand it anymore: "Should I send you one privately?"

She carried the pounded rice cakes out, and as she turned her head, a black cat jumped into the basin.

Shikuai was excited, but Three-Five-Five, who was half-asleep, swatted him down with a paw.

Chu Tingwu: "Uh..."

There was no need to be so fierce; a shout would have been enough to scare him away.

But before she could speak, she noticed that Three-Five-Five gracefully leaped into the basin used for pounding rice cakes, filling it completely.

Chu Tingwu: "=，="

She gently tapped the cat with a hammer, starting to massage the mother cat.

Finally, Shikuai squeezed in as well, resulting in a stacked cat situation where Shikuai was below, only exposing his head, with Three-Five-Five lying on top.

Shikuai: "Meow meow meow!"

Why could Three-Five-Five be hit with the hammer, and not him? He wanted it too!

Chu Tingwu: "=="

Was this Whack-a-Mole?

After calming the dissatisfied black cat, Chu Xiao also joined the video call in the group chat.

His hands were covered in flour, as he had been helping in the kitchen to make wontons.

Meanwhile, Shao Lingwu was busy too—his family was slaughtering a pig for the New Year, and he couldn't help with anything, but to maintain a sense of participation, he stood at a distance, responsible for transmitting the pig's screams to the ears of the others in the group.

Chu Xiao: "…Muted it."

Zhou Qiang: "Why do you still have the custom of slaughtering pigs during the New Year…"

Shao Lingwu covered one ear with his hand, but forgot to cover the microphone, making the sound even louder: "We have a lot of coal mines here, and the older generation has many customs. We need to bring good luck to those who work in the mines during the New Year—ah—what are you talking about there? I can't hear you!"

Chu Xiao raised his hand and used sign language to call him an idiot.

Shao Lingwu: "Are you doing hand seals?"

Zhou Qiang used sign language to mock Chu Xiao.

Chu Tingwu looked at Shao Lingwu: "Don't mind them."

They were both idiots.

Unlike Chu Tingwu and Zhou Qiang, Shao Lingwu and Chu Xiao's families celebrated the New Year with a large group of people—

Shao Lingwu's family had fewer members, but they could hear from Chu Xiao's side that more than one child had come up to him saying:

"Xiao Xiao, Happy New Year!"

But why didn't these kids call him "Brother"?

Chu Xiao: "Happy New Year, Little Uncle, Little Aunt, Third Aunt."

Oh, so it was because your generation was too low.

Chu Xiao: "=="

He said that his family had lived in the mountains several decades ago, and his great-grandmother had married a husband, giving birth to his six grandmothers. These six "golden flowers" continued the tradition of marrying husbands, or rather… their family had always maintained this custom of marrying husbands. Few girls married outside, and later, as free love became more common, his sister followed her father's surname, while he followed his mother's.

So, 80% of the people on the video call had the surname Chu.

Chu Tingwu had never seen so many people with the surname Chu—most people in her village had the surname Shen.

Perhaps feeling a bit embarrassed, when he encountered a ten-year-old cousin who was a generation older than him, Chu Xiao took the initiative: "Six Aunt, how did you do on your final exams this year?"

"Six Aunt" quickly disappeared, leaving a large empty space around her.

A nearby old grandmother, whose hair was still black but whose age was evident from the wrinkles, laughed heartily: "Xiao Xiao, go keep your great-grandmother company and play cards. They definitely won't dare to disturb her."

Chu Xiao: "Great-grandmother sent me back, saying it's too boring to play with me, I always win. Grandma, should I put this dish in the fridge?"

The old grandmother: "Just cover it there, I'll use it later."

Shao Lingwu was curious: "Is 'Grandma' the same as 'Grandma' in your dialect? It's a bit unusual?"

Chu Xiao spoke a mix of dialect and standard Mandarin, perhaps because the dialect of their small place, after many years, hadn't been passed down much among the younger generation.

Chu Tingwu & Chu Xiao: "Yes."

They exchanged a glance.

Chu Xiao was still puzzled, while Chu Tingwu seemed to be deep in thought: "I also call my grandma 'Grandma.'"

In their village, only she called her that.

From what Chu Tingwu could remember, her grandmother Chu Shuyi had always had her call her that.

There was a moment of silence on the other end, and Chu Xiao hesitated for a while: "What's the middle character of your grandma's name?"

Chu Tingwu: "Shu? As in 'virtuous' Shu."

Chu Xiao: "……"

Chu Xiao: "……My great-grandmother is named Chu Shuzhen."

In large families, one often can tell the generation by the name, because members of the same generation usually share a middle character that indicates their seniority. Chu Xiao, though following his mother's surname, did not have his name given by a senior family member like other relatives. Instead, he was named with a single character. Most of the subsequent generations also abandoned the old tradition and adopted single-character names.

Of course, there were exceptions, such as those with two-character names, like Chu Zihan, whose ten-year-old sixth aunt was named Chu Zihan.

By convention, people with the same surname should be cousins, but due to the sheer number of family members, some followed their father's surname while others their mother's, leading to a more casual approach to addressing each other, often based on what felt most natural.

Chu Xiao held his phone and pushed open the door to the card room.

Shao Lingwu had also abandoned his "job" of watching the pig slaughtering and had darted up to the rooftop terrace of his family's villa, crouching down and holding his phone tightly.

In the middle of the screen appeared an elderly lady with graying hair.

She wore glasses and was focused on watching the card game.

Most of the people around her were of similar age, except for a younger aunt who was munching on chocolate beans. Seeing Chu Xiao, she turned with a puzzled expression: "What's wrong, baby?"

Shao Lingwu: "Pfft."

Chu Xiao: "Nothing... I just wanted to ask where the genealogy is?"

The elderly lady spoke up: "The genealogy isn't here; it's in the ancestral hall back in the old village. If you want to see it, ask your third great-aunt to drive you there. Oh, are these your little friends? Happy New Year!"

Shao Lingwu and Zhou Qiang both greeted the elders through the screen, exchanging "Happy New Year" wishes, while Chu Tingwu slightly distanced herself, staring intently at the screen as if trying to discern something.

Chu Xiao: "No genealogy is fine. Great-grandma, do you know someone named Chu Shuyi?"

The elderly lady's hand paused on the cards.

The women accompanying her at the card table, her eldest daughter, second daughter, and fourth daughter, were all of considerable age. The fourth daughter hadn't yet reacted, but the eldest daughter, who was also Chu Xiao's great-grandmother, let out a "Huh": "Which 'yi', the one with the 'person' radical?"

"Yes," Chu Xiao wrote the name down, "She lives in Fallen Phoenix City, Shannan Province."

The elderly lady slowly placed her cards down: "There are so many people surnamed Chu, and many with the same name in the world, but Fallen Phoenix City... I do indeed remember one. She would be about sixty-seven this year, turning sixty-eight after the New Year."

Chu Tingwu: "Sixty-six."

The elderly lady: "Hmm?"

Chu Tingwu: "My great-grandmother passed away last year."

The elderly lady: "Oh... passed away..."

She pursed her lips and then relaxed them, her fingers pressing on the card table. She turned her head to stare at the screen, then adjusted her glasses, unable to hold back: "Passed away... so early..."

"How come," she opened her mouth, saying, "how come she left so early again?"

Decades ago, it was the same—leaving without a glance back. Shannan Province, not far away at all, Fallen Phoenix City, yet the letters sent back never included her address, as if she was still sulking over the family's disapproval of her distant marriage.

The firecrackers outside hadn't stopped, their loud popping making people irritable.

The elderly lady couldn't hold back her tears, though she turned her head away.

Chu Tingwu leaned her head on Zhou Qiang's shoulder.

Three-Five-Five nestled in her arms, and even though Shikuai didn't understand, he squeezed in too—if Three-Five-Five had it, he wanted it too!

Then the system controlled the seagull drone, pressing its cold head into the little one's arm.

The group sorted out their generations through the phone—

Chu Shuyi was the youngest sister of Chu Shuzhen's generation and the only one of her siblings to survive to adulthood.

According to the family order, Chu Tingwu should call Chu Xiao's mother "cousin," and correspondingly, Chu Xiao would have to address her as "cousin aunt." She wasn't the youngest; after reordering the generations, she would be the "fourth cousin aunt."

Chu Xiao: "..."

Was it too late to find a time machine and rewind back downstairs?

Going to the winter camp had unexpectedly gained him an elder; he hadn't seen that coming.

Chu Tingwu had to call the elderly lady "great-grandmother."

After she called out, the elderly lady seemed very pleased, giving Chu Xiao a push: "Send me your fourth aunt's account, I'll send her a red envelope."

In their tradition, the first time a child addressed someone, everyone had to give a big red envelope.

She no longer played cards, instead pulling Chu Xiao along, using him as a human phone stand, introducing Chu Tingwu to everyone through the screen: This is your great-aunt, second aunt, fourth aunt, and Chu Xiao's grandmother is the third aunt, along with their husbands and children—though most of these cousins were old enough to be Chu Xiao's parents. Of course, below the older siblings were younger brothers and sisters, and below them were nephews and nieces.

Finally, Chu Tingwu was added to the family group, seeing the number in the group's name: 116.

Chu Tingwu: "=o="

Just three days ago, she had felt the lack of blood relation with her half-sister MuMu... and now she had gained a whole new group of "relatives" with whom she shared no actual blood ties, yet they would now interact as kin.

On the other side, the great-grandmother and a group of aunts, as well as older siblings, were still scolding her unreliable father through the screen, with Chu Tingwu having to mediate.

As for Chu Xiao, his generation was too low for him to interject.

Finally, the conclusion was reached: no contact with the father, and after the New Year, they would go to Fallen Phoenix City to offer incense and paper money for Chu Tingwu's great-grandmother.

The brothers and sisters had their own parents to inform, so understanding the situation was enough. After all, among the children of her generation, only Chu Tingwu shared the same surname with them, and she had been raised by her great-grandmother personally, feeling a closer psychological bond.

After hanging up, the dialect-tinged voices seemed to linger in Chu Tingwu's ears. Though she hadn't grown up there, like Chu Xiao, she could understand most of it.

Finally, the relatives agreed on a meeting time, and Chu Xiao finally escaped downstairs.

In the group chat: "..."

Chu Tingwu: "Nephew?"

Chu Xiao: "My phone only has 50% battery left, I'm hanging up."

No, no, no.

Chu Tingwu decided not to tease her cheap nephew further: "We're about the same age, and you're even older than me—let's just stick to our original generation."

Chu Xiao nodded.

Some "uncles and aunts" were still in elementary school and couldn't participate, but the fourth aunt was already earning money!

Chu Xiao: "?"

Before Chu Xiao could speak, Chu Tingwu: "My phone has 90% battery left, we'll hang up first."

Heh.