He tucked his phone into his pocket.
「Ji City.」
「May.」
The weather was growing hotter, and the streets were filled with captivating sights, alluring figures occasionally catching Jiang Shu’s eye.
His dad, Jiang Yongyi, had landed a big order. He had to take a custor to the neighboring city and wouldn’t be back for a while.
His sister, Jiang Yanyue, was out shopping at the mall with her best friend.
Jiang Shu strolled through the downtown area, heading straight for his mother’s clothing store.
"Auntie Xu, has your rent gone up too?"
"It has. Everything’s going up except wages. Fewer people are buying clothes now. Anyway, that’s how it is. At least in the shop, I’m sheltered from the wind and rain, which is pretty good. I don’t make much, but it’s enough for our household expenses."
"Yeah, it’s the sa all over. Ever since online shopping took off, nobody cos to our area to buy clothes anymore. By the way, I heard your son is taking the college entrance exams this year, right? What university is he planning to apply to..."
"Oh, my husband and I really don’t mind, as long as our son is happy and goes where he wants. Kids these days aren’t like us back then; they all have their own ideas. As long as he’s happy, that’s all that matters."
"You can’t just say that. If he graduates from a good university, you’ll have an easier life later on. My son did quite well in his mock exams this ti; he says he’s got a shot at the top-tier universities! I think he’s just bragging. He’s usually only in the top ten in his class. How could he get into a top-tier university? Probably just a first-tier one at best."
"Isn’t first-tier enough? I wish my daughter could get into a first-tier university. I used to tell her to take it easy with her studies, that Ji City University was pretty good. It’s close to ho, so she could co back whenever she wanted. But what does she do? Without a word, she skips the high school entrance exam altogether and secures a guaranteed spot at the top high school. Now, I bet she might even make it into a top-tier university, and then she’ll have to go to another city for college. Sigh..."
Hearing his mother’s not-so-humble brag, Jiang Shu, who hadn’t yet entered the clothing store, couldn’t help but want to laugh out loud.
It had to be said, his sister Jiang Yanyue’s existence indeed provided their parents with plenty of bragging rights.
Ever since they were young, if anyone tried to boast about school grades in front of his parents, a re ntion of Jiang Yanyue would instantly overshadow them.
She had guaranteed admission to the top high school in Ji City.
With her academic aptitude, as long as she didn’t falter in high school, a spot in a top-tier university was practically guaranteed.
As for himself... he hadn’t given his parents much to be proud of.
But that was the past; the future would be different.
Sure enough, after his mother spoke, the other woman could only manage a sheepish laugh.
"Mom."
Jiang Shu stepped inside and called out to Xu Lizhi.
"I won’t chat any longer, Auntie Guo. My son is here."
Seeing Jiang Shu, Xu Lizhi’s face lit up. She said a quick word to the middle-aged woman beside her and imdiately walked towards Jiang Shu.
"Who was that just now?" Jiang Shu glanced at the racks packed full of clothes and chatted casually with his mother, asking after the middle-aged woman had left.
"Just a neighbor, a new tenant. She sells children’s clothing. Business is slow for everyone, so we sit and chat to pass the ti when we’re free. Xiaoshu, why didn’t you go to Martial Arts practice today?"
"I got tired of training, so I ca to see you. Business is slow anyway, so I thought I’d take you out. You’ve been working so hard; it’s ti for a break."
Xu Lizhi paused for a mont, then nodded. "Okay."
Business was important.
But business was also never-ending.
As parents, the ti spent with their children always feels insufficient. Especially after opening the store. It earned so money initially, but back then, the children were too young for her to manage both the business and them. Because of this, she still felt a sense of guilt towards Jiang Shu and Jiang Yanyue.
Since her son had taken the initiative to ask, she certainly wouldn’t refuse.
After tidying up a few things in the store and putting all the cash into her bag, Xu Lizhi locked the door and followed Jiang Shu towards the Yingtai Mall.
The first floor of the mall mostly housed jewelry, luxury goods, and high-end costics.
Jiang Shu, acting as if Xu Lizhi had never been here before, subtly guided his mother throughout the first floor.
"Xiaoshu, Yanyan told a few days ago that there are so new Martial Arts movies out. How about we go upstairs and watch one? Just a movie, so your mom can feel trendy too."
"Sure, anything works. I haven’t been paying much attention to movies. Let’s ask Yanyan what this one is called."
Jiang Shu ntally noted the areas where his mother’s gaze had lingered, then pulled out his phone to send Jiang Yanyue a ssage.
Grass-Head Yanyan: "Shocked (doge head)! Watching a movie!!! Jiang Shu, you single dog, what movie are you watching? Co on, which girl are you with... BOO HOO HOO..."
Jiang Shu: "With your mom."
Grass-Head Yanyan: "?!! [Scratches head] Seriously, do you think you’re funny?"
Jiang Shu: "For real."
He raised his phone, took a selfie with his mom, and sent it.
Grass-Head Yanyan: "..."
"Exactly! I knew it. The only person who’d watch a movie with a perpetually single guy like you is Mom. Tsk, tsk, you really lucked out this ti. ’The Martial Arts Epoch’ is the hottest movie in Xia Country right now. It’s filled with top-tier special effects and a star-studded cast of award-winning actors and actresses."
"It’s just a sha Ye Zhenzhen wasn’t born at the right ti. She’s young and only recently beca famous, so she only has a cao for a few minutes. Otherwise, I’d definitely go to the cinema to see her!"
"Low EQ: I’m broke and can’t afford movie tickets. High EQ: My idol was born at the wrong ti and only has a cao, so I’m not watching."
"???"
「In the movie theater.」
The theater was up to eighty percent full. Jiang Shu and his mom sat in a corner.
Soon, the movie officially began.
On the screen, a massive cruise ship glided smoothly over a calm sea.
The cara started with an overhead view, slowly zooming in and tightening its focus.
It followed passengers from the deck into the ship’s interior.
A huge crystal chandelier hung in the very center. The interior was lavishly decorated, and the aroma of food on the tables seed to waft through the screen to everyone’s nostrils.
n and won mingled, surrounded by song and dance, like a paradise on Earth.
Beneath the soothing piano music, not only the characters in the movie but also the audience mbers began to relax.
Ti passed. Outside the cruise ship, the ocean stretched for miles under a high moon.
The cara shifted, descending from the tranquil sea surface, deeper and deeper.
Twenty ters underwater, familiar species of fish foraged among vibrant, thriving coral reefs.
Sixty ters underwater, a pod of orcas swam past.
One hundred and twenty ters underwater...
Two giant deep-sea octopuses were mating.
But after mating, the male octopus did not imdiately leave.
The female octopus also refrained from devouring the male, a behavior that contradicted so scientific observations of such species.
With their eight tentacles spread wide, the two giant octopuses, each five or six ters in size, floated together peacefully, as if nothing had occurred.
In the corner, Jiang Shu, who hadn’t really cared about the movie’s plot, suddenly clenched his fist.
Zheng Yanbo’s words echoed in his ears once more: "So wild animals seem to have entered a fast track for evolution."
At this mont, he finally understood that sentence.
Jiang Shu’s eyes were fixed on the screen, the relaxation he’d felt monts ago completely gone.
These two giant octopuses, very likely, had already... unlocked the genetic lock that had constrained their species for three hundred million years!
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