"Li Qing, do you want to go to the movies this weekend? I found a really good horror film called 'Zhenzi vs. Gourd Kids', and I've heard it's been getting rave reviews lately! I really want to watch it, but I'm scared to go alone. Will you co with , please?"
"Sorry, I have to play Luke this weekend, I can't make it."
Li Qing looked at the ssage on his phone from the woman he'd marked with a heart, feeling a sense of lancholy as she sent back a 'smile' emoji.
He couldn't understand what he might have said wrong for her to send such a deadpan 'smile' emoji, especially when he was busy with serious matters, working hard to earn money for a down paynt.
He actually really liked her, even though she was three years older than him... But as the saying goes, a woman three years older is like holding a gold brick.
"Sigh!"
He heaved a deep sigh and then silently opened his phone browser, skillfully navigated to a particular website, and picked up a tissue from nearby...
to wipe the oil off the corner of his mouth.
He looked at the fiery video clips on a small site on his phone and sighed deeply again.
Today was his thirtieth birthday. People always say thirty marks maturity, but to him, it's just thirty.
In his sowhat cluttered rental apartnt, there was leftover takeout on the table, old posters on the wall, clothes scattered everywhere, and a faintly glowing computer monitor playing a live stream.
This was the typical apartnt of a single man, ssy but with a semblance of order. Li Qing knew where everything was.
Turning back to the live stream on the computer, Li Qing touched his face.
"I'm not bad-looking at all, so why can't I find a girlfriend? It's really..."
To be fair, ever since he was young, there were only two words to describe him.
diocre!
Despite his fair and neat appearance, which is a bonus, and though his friends introduced him to many people, any initial attraction vanished at the talking stage.
Completely gone.
This troubled Li Qing greatly. He consulted many female friends, asked them, and even simulated scenarios.
The unanimous conclusion was that Li Qing had a poor way of speaking, so tough that it could compare to the hardest new alloy.
His words could kill invisibly, dealing max damage to won.
Even his enthusiastic female friends went three days without speaking to him after simulating conversations.
Thinking about this made Li Qing troubled; he wanted to try sothing practical, but it always turned into a ss full of unexpected problems.
At this point, just as he was about to pick up his takeout to eat, his phone suddenly vibrated.
Li Qing paused, looking at the unfamiliar caller ID with so doubt. Who would be calling at this late hour? Did soone rember his birthday?
No, that can't be. His parents disappeared when he was fourteen, and he's lived by himself ever since. To make his life in this gacity more comfortable, he rented out his own apartnts and moved into a small room.
Other than that, no one would know it's his thirtieth birthday today.
Perhaps it was a work-related call.
He couldn't help but answer with a hint of resignation.
"Hello?"
"Bzzz..."
Hearing the static on the line, Li Qing frowned and was about to hang up when a voice suddenly ca through.
"Hello, hello, is this Mr. Li Qing?"
Hearing the lively and amused tone from the other side, Li Qing had a guess.
Probably soone's prank.
Li Qing replied calmly, "Yes, who's this?"
"Ah, congratulations to you! You really are the luckiest person in the world, you know... Oh, oh, first, I want to wish you a happy thirtieth birthday, and also a commoration of thirty years of singlehood, hahaha..."
The voice laughed uncontrollably, making Li Qing scowl, "Is my thirty years of being single so amusing to you?"
"No, no, I'm just thinking of sothing joyful."
"What is it?"
"My wife had a baby..."
Li Qing couldn't stand it anymore, "Do you think I haven't watched movies? Please don't bring these tired jokes to pad your conversation. Don't go overboard; I advise you to calm down!"
Just as he was about to hang up, the voice hurriedly added, "Wait... I haven't finished speaking yet. This is a call that can change your life; don't you want to take the ti to hear it out?"
Li Qing hesitated, finally suppressing his irritation, "Go ahead."
The voice cleared his throat and introduced himself, "My na is Zhuang Xu, and I'm a recruitnt tutor from Gray Magic Academy. Congratulations on eting the qualifications and being successfully admitted to our school... um, I believe the admission notice will soon be mailed to your place..."
"... What the heck, Magic Academy?"
Li Qing was puzzled, wondering why soone would choose now to make such an outrageous claim. This prank call caught his interest.
"Go on, tell why I qualify to enter this Magic School?"
Zhuang Xu's voice turned serious, "Have you heard the legend? If a man maintains his innocence until thirty, he can beco a mage and use magic."
Li Qing was stunned, "What... what the heck?"
"It's true. If a man is still single at thirty, he can transfer to being a mage and learn various magic. Trust , this is your life's turning point, don't..."
Click!
With a blank expression, Li Qing hung up. This lunatic, going out of his way to amuse himself by calling him on this day.
Tap, tap, tap!
Li Qing paused, turning to the window and was startled to see a dark silhouette perched on the windowsill, staring at him with glowing green eyes.
Its head bobbed with each 'tap, tap, tap' sound.
A strange, creepy feeling washed over him, making his skin crawl, and his legs almost gave out.
Gulp!
Li Qing gulped, standing frozen for about thirty seconds, seeing that the figure wasn't moving, he braced himself and moved closer step by step.
When he got closer, Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief and cursed, "Scared half to death!"
It was an owl, but its feathers were entirely black, not a hint of another color. Its eyes were remarkably humanlike, like two black gemstones fixed in place, looking at him with a disdainful gaze.
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