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13.01% Superstars of Tomorrow / Chapter 66: Candy

Chương 66: Candy

Biên tập viên: Tennesh

When Fang Zhao returned the call, that second uncle of his was apparently shaken and could not speak properly. But from his gasps and grunts, it was obvious that he was delighted. He even sent a photograph.

From the original owner’s memory, Fang Zhao remembered that there were four members in his second uncle’s family. His second uncle and aunt and two younger male cousins. In the photograph that was sent, there was one more little girl. During the original owner’s university days, the aunt had given birth to a girl. Now, she was already six.

In the following days, the entire department worked around the clock. Finally, on the 24th, production for the fourth movement was completed. This signified that the virtual projects department’s Memorial Day holiday had begun. On the 25th, Fang Zhao took the entire team out for a big feast, and after that, the members respectively left.

Fang Zhao would not be bringing Curly Hair. Instead, he left the dog in the care of Zeng Huang and Wan Yue.

On Jan 26, Fang Zhao rode in the car of a technical staff who was on friendly terms with Zu Wen as they departed from Qi’an City for Yanbei City. This technical staff was from Yanbei and only went to Qi’an to work. When he heard from Zu Wen that Fang Zhao was also heading back to Yanbei, he suggested he give a lift to Fang Zhao.

However, this staff member’s final destination was different from Fang Zhao’s. The two of them were heading to opposite ends of the city. Fang Zhao politely refused the staff member’s offer of sending him straight to his doorstep and instead called a cab upon arrival in Yanbei City.

"To Kerria Street?"

"Yes."

"It will be a little crowded there. Recently, there have been lots of people, so I will have to drive slower. The charges will be slightly higher," the cab driver explained.

"Understood."

Fang Zhao glanced out the window. Passing by the throes of people strolling through the streets and the plaza, Fang Zhao felt a sense of deja vu. If the world had not gone through an apocalypse, during a large scale holiday, the world would pretty much still be the same. Crowded yet bustling, everywhere filled with festive spirit.

However, that feeling quickly faded away. The 100-Year Period of Destruction had been real, and the New Era had since taken over.

Trains sped along the railways and the sky was filled with flying cars coming and going. There was no returning back to that time, because the world was continuing to progress.

"We have reached Kerria Street!"

Outside, skyscrapers towered on either side. Residential housing was all concentrated together. At least here, the distance between the buildings was larger and the streets below did not appear dusky in broad daylight.

The housing blocks had approximately 100 floors. For every five floors, there would be a passageway that extended outward that had enough space for two cars to fit through. However, cars were not allowed to travel at high speeds along these passageways. Above the passageways, there was a more protruding semi-circular platform that served as a drop-off point. Numbers were written on top, representing the pick-up bay’s number on the building.

"Twenty-fifth floor, stop at the next drop-off point," Fang Zhao told the cab driver.

Fang Zhao’s memory of the address of his second uncle had long since gone fuzzy. However, when he had called a few days back, his second uncle had foreseen the situation and had sent him the address. Fang Zhao just needed to follow according to the written address to find his uncle’s house.

Fang Zhao paid the driver and got out of the cab. He noticed a group of kids running over. Some of the slower ones were red in the face and panting. The lift had a limited capacity, and missing out meant they had to run.

Turning around to look behind him, Fang Zhao noticed a festive car slowly pulling in, landing on the drop-off point that he had arrived at.

Whether it was in Qi’an or Yanbei, it was common to see a bunch of cutely decorated festive cars about everywhere. These festive cars sold candy, which little kids loved.

The festive car wound down its windows to reveal candy of all shapes and sizes. With dazzling multi-colored candy, the waft of sweet fragrance and signature music of the candy-selling festive car, it was little wonder that, wherever such a car was found, it was surrounded by kids.

As the festive car stopped, the kid running at the front rushed over and skillfully ordered his favorite kinds of candy like a pro. The slower kids still running over called out anxiously, worried that their favorites would be sold out.

A smile broke out on Fang Zhao’s face as he saw the kids heading to the festive car.

His own memory of his childhood was fuzzy. However, seeing the kids vigorously chasing the car, a few vague memories came back to him. Even though the memories were not that distinct, they were fond memories.

Fang Zhao was about to withdraw from the place and leave it to the kids who only had eyes for the candy. Just as he was about to leave, Fang Zhao spotted a familiar face among the group of kids.

The six-year-old little girl nimbly bypassed two larger kids in front of her and arrived at the window of the car, tiptoeing and making her order. Beaming, the brightly dressed salesperson picked out a few types of candy and handed them over to the little girl.

After receiving the candy, the little girl raised her hand wearing a bracelet adorned with little bears and tapped it at the payment scanner at the window. She turned to leave, but not before raising her head with a reluctant gaze at the little bear-shaped candy that was displayed right at the top.

Festive cars arranged their candy according to the district’s level of affluence. The more expensive candy had less sales here and was displayed higher up.

The surrounding kids would look through the window enviously at the sweets right at the top but could only covet them. They knew that they could not afford it as their families were not that well off.

"I would like one of those."

Used to facing kids, the friendly salesperson looked up when he heard that. Seeing a young man, he stared for a second before a smile returned to his face and he proceeded to pick out the candy that the man had selected.

The little girl who had just bought candy raised her head and immediately exclaimed, "Brother Zhao?"

"Little Bell Fang?" Fang Zhao asked in a low voice.

This little girl was his second uncle’s six-year-old daughter, Fang Ling. When she'd been born, his second uncle and aunt had heard the sound of bells, thus giving her the name Fang Ling. Her nickname was Little Bell.

"That's me!" Fang Ling nodded her head enthusiastically. Her dad had kept showing her a photo of Fang Zhao over the past few days. The photo was taken before Fang Zhao had gone to university. In the past six years, there had been changes, yet Fang Ling guessed who he was at one glance. Maybe she really recognized him, or perhaps it was just the subconscious mind of a child associating a candy-buying person to someone she knew.

The surrounding kids glanced at Fang Ling enviously. So it was Fang Ling’s brother. Fang Ling was so lucky to have someone buy candy for her.

"Hello, here’s your candy." The salesperson handed over the candy sealed in a wrapper over to Fang Zhao.

Fang Ling’s eyes widened. Her eyes seemed to be shining like stars. Then she watched as the stick of candy that she had longed for for such a long time disappear into the the mouth of the cousin she was meeting for the first time in six years.

Seeing the now headless bear candy on the stick and then glancing at Fang Zhao, Fang Ling was dumbstruck.

The salesman in the festive car and the surrounding kids were all stunned as well. Had he actually bought the candy for himself!?

Under the watchful eyes of the surrounding bunch, Fang Zhao calmly proceeded to finish the entire candy.

During the end of days, they'd also had candy. Just... that sort of candy was created as combat supplies. It did not taste good and was as hard as a rock. However as long as it provided enough energy, they liked it. The aim was all about replenishing sufficient energy, and thus they would not complain about how it tasted. As for this sort of candy that was purely meant as a snack, Fang Zhao had not enjoyed one in a long time.

Soft candy wrapped in icing slowly dissolved in his mouth. The lingering sweetness brought about a certain warmth, as if dispersing a cold winter chill.

Actually, Fang Zhao had just wanted a taste and to tease the little kids at the same time. He did not especially like these kinds of things. He cast a glance at the still-dumbfounded Fang Ling before scanning the interior of the festive car and asking the salesperson, "Is that for sale?"

The salesperson turned his head to where Fang Zhao was pointing. A transparent box in the shape of a bear was sitting there, the inside filled with more of the bear candy that everyone had just seen.

"Y-Yes."

"Then I would like that."

"Ah? Oh. Sure!" The salesperson shifted over the box that was nearly half a meter tall. "There are 50 pieces of ‘Little White Bears’ inside. Here, you can count them." On a normal day, the salesperson would have found it hard to sell even one stick of this candy. He had never expected to sell an entire box when he came out today.

Fang Zhao opened the box and eyed the surrounding kids that had not yet dispersed. "If you kids can line up from the shortest to the tallest within ten seconds, I will give everyone one piece."

The gaggle of kids had not grasped the concept of ten seconds, but as soon as they heard the word ‘seconds,’ they starting moving about haphazardly.

"Ten, nine, eight…"

There were kids of similar heights disputing their positions in the line, but upon hearing Fang Zhao’s countdown, put aside their petty squabbles and promptly got into line.

Fang Ling watched the forming procession then glanced at Fang Zhao before shuffling to find her spot in the line and slotting herself in.

The salesperson in the car gaped in astonishment. The rowdy bunch of kids that had been crowding around the window had formed a line in the blink of an eye. The line stretched to the end of the drop-off area before winding back, forming a line in the shape of an "S."

Passerbys in the airspace passage on the 25th floor looked over in curiosity. Some people within the building also opened their windows to take a good look.

"...Three, two, one, times up! It’s time for my inspection."

A grave looking Fang Zhao inspected the line, making the kids nervous. They were afraid that standing in the wrong spot might have destroyed their chance of having the candy.

"Seems fine. Okay, now, starting from the first in line, come and get your candy from me."

After all the 32 kids present had received one piece each, the box still contained 18 pieces. Fang Zhao handed the remainder, including the box, over to Fang Ling.

"For... for me?" Fang Ling was so startled that she nearly dropped all the candy she was holding. "Is it really for me?"

Fang Zhao nodded. "You don’t want it?"

"I do! Thank you, Brother!"

The dumbstruck look on Fang Ling’s face turned to foolish laughter as she hugged the box tightly.

Thus, when Fang Zhao’s second aunt opened the door, she saw two people, one large and one small, with traces of sugar on their lips.


SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO
BeetleBarker BeetleBarker

Unker Ben used to tell me, when one gets too old, one becomes a troll... Guess that explain's FZ's behaviour.

next chapter

Chương 67: You Are Also Children

Biên tập viên: Tennesh

From Fang Zhao’s memory, the original owner of the body had only stayed within his second uncle’s house for only a short period of time. That was after the incident with their original homes. After a short while with his second uncle’s family, Fang Zhao had then stayed in school. In addition, the government had allocated a compensation home for him as well as compensation money. Thus, having grown up together with Zeng Huang and the rest, they all decided to live in the same housing block, and they rarely met anyone else. For this reason, he'd never needed the assistance of his relatives.

The original owner of Fang Zhao’s body had had a rather estranged situation with his other relatives. Perhaps it was due to seeing the situation that Zeng Huang and Wan Yue had with their relatives, or perhaps it was due to Fang Sheng’s influence. The original would rarely visit his relatives. However, in university, his second uncle, who had doubled as his legal guardian, had still helped him quite a bit. Just that, communication between the two of them was not always good, so before university, Fang Zhao started to isolate himself from his uncle.

Before the original had killed himself, he had remembered what his uncle had said. Early on, his uncle had warned him to be wary of Fang Sheng. Because of this, the relationship between Fang Zhao and his uncle worsened. It was also because of this that Fang Zhao became much closer with Fang Sheng. When he changed his number, he also did not inform his uncle. Every year, the only form of communication was through electronic mails. There were some things the original owner would reply to, while other times, he would ignore them.

People always make mistakes. However, some mistakes can be deadly, and regret cannot make things right.

His second uncle had a squarish face with two rough eyebrows sticking high up his head. His face was slightly flush, probably from drinking some wine. It was obvious from his eyes that he was really excited to see Fang Zhao, yet his face had on the solemn expression of a senior. A few times, he opened his mouth as if to say something, but he quickly swallowed the words, as if he was afraid to say the wrong thing.

Rather, it was Fang Zhao’s second aunt who pulled him over to do some questioning. She asked about his experiences over the past six years and what he was working as.

Fang Zhao went through his memories and selected a few stories to share. Watching the warm smile on his aunt’s face, he felt a sense of regret. If they knew that the original Fang Zhao had committed suicide, what would they be thinking?

"That means you signed a contract with Silver Wing Media and are producing songs for them?" His second aunt thought for awhile before continuing, "Xiao Zhao, don’t mind Second Aunt being long-winded. When composing, make sure you guard your completed works properly. Don’t let yourself be swindled. Be wary of others. A while back, I heard there was an incident with a large company regarding the stealing of songs. Whatever it is, once you complete a song, make sure you make a production record; don't just write it down on a piece of paper. If… I’m saying if by any chance it really gets stolen, even in a lawsuit, at least there will still be your earliest record. If the piece of paper is lost, there is no hope."

Fang Zhao nodded his head. "I know."

Second Uncle could no longer hold back his words any longer and interrupted. "Be especially wary of that Fang Sheng who is always sticking with you guys!" After saying that, both Second Uncle and Second Aunt looked at Fang Zhao, wondering if those words would cause an argument yet again.

"There is no longer any need," Fang Zhao replied.

"What do you mean 'no longer any need'?! One look at that fellow and you can see the bad intentions all over him…"

Second Uncle was still thinking what else to say when Fang Zhao continued, "Fang Sheng is already in jail."

The words that Second Uncle had not yet said remained stuck in his throat.

"Jail?" Second Aunt was surprised.

Fang Zhao gave a simple explanation of Fang Zhao’s song stealing, but he did not mention creating the movements of his series yet. He was still under a strict confidentiality agreement with Silver Wing Media and could not yet reveal it.

Second Aunt sighed. "So the news I heard was about him, huh." 

The news reports on the case regarding Fang Sheng’s thefts were not comprehensive. The reports had excluded his full name, and the main point of the report was to remind other artists to be wary.

Neon Culture had some part in the hushed reports. Fang Sheng was just a lowly employee. If the reports were too extensive, they could hurt the company's reputation. Most people who did not follow the creative industry, after hearing about the matter, did not really care where it happened or who was involved.

"I told you back then to be careful of that fellow. He was a little schemer!" Second Uncle was still mad. His already sharp eyebrows were like knives as they rose up. "If only you had been wary of Fang Sheng, this wouldn’t have happened. It’s a pity you didn’t listen back then."

He had good intentions, he just didn't know how to express himself well to the younger generation. The words that came out of his mouth seemed like a reprimand. Realizing his words were too much, Second Uncle stiffened up and changed the topic. Pointing at the fruit juice on the table, he said, "Have some juice. Yesterday, someone brought it all the way from Muzhou. Don’t you kids love to drink this type…" Second Uncle suddenly remembered that Fang Zhao had already graduated from university and started working. He was no longer the little kid from his memory.

"Don’t mind him. He always has that bad temper. Actually, your second uncle is concerned about you. Although you are no longer a student and have started working, in our eyes, you are still a child," Second Aunt said, smiling at Fang Zhao. It was not looking down on him; rather, it was the kind of concern that elders couldn't help but show. Furthermore, Fang Zhao was the only son left behind by Second Uncle's own brother.

Hearing this Fang Zhao thought, In my heart, you are also children.

Can 45 years be considered old?

Oh, I’m over a hundred years old.

At the same time, his second auntie, who was oblivious to what Fang Zhao was thinking, felt moved. In the six years they had not seen Fang Zhao, he had matured and was much more settled. When she had opened the door and seen Fang Zhao, for a second she had been stunned. Fang Zhao had seemed a little different.

The Fang Zhao six years back had seemed as though he had drawn himself a circle. He would always distance himself from people and wear a guarded and alienated look. Now, the Fang Zhao in front of them… The feeling couldn't be described, but he was no longer the same as his past self from six years ago. Although still not that that warm, he no longer had that guarded behavior.

At that moment, the door opened. Second Uncle’s eldest son, Fang Yu, and his second son, Fang Qi, came in carrying quite a number of items. Fang Yu was 20 this year and Fang Qi was 12.

Seeing Fang Zhao sitting on the sofa, Fang Yu’s originally smiling disposition faded somewhat.

Second Uncle’s eyebrows spiked up once more. "Why are you only back now? Did you have too much fun playing?!" He was displeased with the behavior of his two sons. He had told them early in the morning to come straight home after buying the stuff, but the two of them only came back at this time.

Twelve-year-old Fang Qi looked at the floor as his dad got angry. Fang Yu, on the other hand, seemed indifferent. Afterall, he was used to his dad’s temperament already.

Probably because Fang Zhao was here, Second Uncle only said a little before stopping. Glaring at the two of them, he said, "Come over, this is your brother Zhao."

"Brother Zhao."

"Brother Zhao."

Compared to Fang Qi’s, there was an obvious dissatisfaction in Fang Yu’s tone.

Second Uncle’s eyebrows shot up again, and he wanted to say something, but he was stopped by a tug from Second Aunt.

Fang Zhao did not mind Fang Yu’s attitude. From his memory, Fang Yu’s attitude was not without reason.

"Oh, right," Fang Zhao took out two boxes from his backpack and handed them over to the two brothers. "Here is your Memorial Day gift. I wasn’t too sure what you guys would like now, so I asked my entire department before picking these out. I tried out my fellow colleague’s version, the sound quality is quite good."

What seemed like a simple transparent case held two bean-sized items. They were shaped like the beak of a bird, part red, part black. The intense clashing combination of fiery red and jet black was eye-catching. For anyone familiar with earpieces, the color scheme would only bring to mind one company.

Fang Yu’s and Fang Qi’s eyes were fixated on the jet-black portion of the earphones. On them was a fiery red "S" shape.

"F-F-F-Fiery Bird earpieces?! F-f-f-for us?" The younger Fang Qi was so excited he'd started to stutter. If he had a tail, it would have started wagging non-stop.

Fang Yu tapped his younger brother on his head. In his heart, he felt disgusted at his brother for his turncoat behavior. However, his own eyes unconsciously kept looking at the earpiece.

Regardless of whether it was music, films, or games, earpieces were indispensable. In the New Era, whether one was young or old, everyone grew up using earpieces for the internet or various electronic appliances. Even if one was not proficient with earpieces, they would at least have a basic understanding.

Second Uncle also knew the name of "Fiery Bird" and told Fang Zhao, "Don’t spend money recklessly!"

Second Aunt clapped Second Uncle on the back, giving him a look that said Keep your mouth shut if you do not know how to speak!

What reckless spending?! His nephew only did this out of kindness, and his own children were on the receiving end. What sort of tone was he using! It was no wonder that, back then, uncle and nephew quarreled often.

"Okay, enjoy your gifts. Fang Yu, go and tidy up your room." Second Uncle waved his two sons off.

"No need, I bought a place in Yanbei," Fang Zhao said.

"When did you buy it? Are you coming back to Yanbei to work?" a surprised Second Uncle asked.

"I just bought it. I won’t be coming back to Yanbei to work, I just bought a place here, that's all,"

Second Aunt could immediately tell what his purpose was. Fang Zhao had bought the place as an occasional lodging for when he returned to Yanbei from time to time.

"Just stay here tonight. We haven’t seen you in six years and we are all very happy to see you. Your second uncle woke up early just to buy groceries to prepare his speciality dishes—"

"Cough!" Second Uncle’s face became redder and he decided to change the topic. After some thought, Second Uncle’s smile faded and he firmly asked, "Little Zhao, have you done your military service?"

If Fang Zhao had enlisted for the military, there was no doubt someone would've informed his friends and relatives to prevent having uncontactable family events in the event of an accident. According the the information in the government records, Second Uncle would've received a notification, as he used to be Fang Zhao's legal guardian. He used to wonder if Fang Zhao had replaced his contactable personnel with someone else. He'd asked Fang Zhao about it a few times back when Fang Zhao had been in university but was ignored. Today, finally seeing Fang Zhao, he could not help but ask.

At the mention of this matter, Second Aunt also became serious.

"I haven’t, but I will not be serving this year. My schedule is still a little tight," Fang Zhao replied.

"If it is like this, then it’s okay. When the time comes, let Second Uncle know if you need any help. I have two classmates that I am close to who are working in the military. Every year, they will need those clearing their military service. Xiao Yu decided in spring that he was going to serve his military service too. He is in year three of university and is more than 20 years old. As his contact personnel, I hope to arrange for Xiao Yu to be sent to my friend’s division." Second Uncle shared his own plan. 

The place he hoped to arrange for Fang Yu to go was not an easy or comfortable place. It was a relatively newly opened planet and mineral resources were not the main priority. They were still busy with construction, so military service personnel would likely be sent to help with the construction there.

"Military service is to toughen him up, so a little hardship is fine. It's just that we would worry about other stuff." Having cleared their military service before, Second Uncle and aunt were both very clear what it was like. With someone to assist, a little suffering was manageable, and when training, it would polish one’s temperament, which went a long way and helped even after the service was completed. What they were most afraid of was that the atmosphere among that batch would be bad and the place he got posted to would have little security, making it easy to be bullied. Fang Yu was not a very smooth person, and it gave them conflicting thoughts. Considering the impulsiveness of young people that age, there was no telling what sort of unpleasant events could occur.

Although Second Uncle knew people who were in the military and his old classmates were willing to help, when it came to arranging for a person to be transferred to their division, they were totally helpless.

When it came to military service, people in the New Era always had two responses. Find people or find money. Money had already been collected, and Second Uncle’s family had spent recent times finding someone who could mediate and hopefully help get Fang Yu a posting at Second Uncle’s old classmate’s division.

Fang Zhao sighed in his heart. The way people in the New Era saved up money to obtain favorable postings was like how people before the apocalypse saved up money to buy a house. Some families started having a target and saving up even before their children were born.

"Have you decided on the place to go?" Fang Zhao asked.

"Yes. The place I told you about just now. It would be best if he could go there," Second Uncle said.

"You don’t have to continue finding anybody for the time being. Let me see if I can settle the matter with Fang Yu." Fang Zhao sent a text to Duan Quanji. As he did not know if Duan Quanji was busy, he only sent a short text. Fang Zhao asked, "What is Fang Yu’s student ID, Personal ID, and the place you want him to be sent to? Which divisions are your classmates assigned to?"

Second Uncle was a little too stunned to react, but his Second Aunt’s reaction was quick; she replied immediately.

Beside them, Fang Yu, who had originally decided to head back to tidy up his room, stood rooted to the ground and looked in Fang Zhao’s direction. He did not understand whether Fang Zhao was just talking big or if he really had the means, but as the matter concerned him, Fang Yu also listened in.

Duan Qianji could not have been very busy, as she returned Fang Zhao a text a few moments later.

"Xiao Zhao, Second Uncle understands that you wish to help, but with regards to this matter, a lot of things are not as simple as you think they are…"

Second Uncle had not yet finished speaking before Fang Zhao handed over a serial number.

"This serial number is Fang Yu’s military assignment number. Check it out and see if it matches."


SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO
BeetleBarker BeetleBarker

Hey everyone! We have hit our first Patreon community goal so two extra chapters will be released today! Big shoutout to all the patreons who made this possible especially Shelwyn for helping me promote it!

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