Bai Chen looked at his dad, trying to hold back tears. He felt the outer corner of his eyes dampen. His heart was hit with a turmoil of varying emotions.
“Why are you just standing there? Come have your breakfast now.” Bai Chang lowered the newspaper to look at his son with a faint smile.
“Yes, dad,” Bai Chen nodded hard twice before walking over to the chair opposite his father and taking a seat. It had been 12 years since he and his dad had met each other face to face and dined together like this.
The boy looked at the warm rice bowls on the table in front of him. Along with them were omelets, eggs stewed with five-spice powder, and steamed eggs. Today’s dishes were the three egg dishes which were his mother’s specialties.
Bai Chen gulped. His throat was dry. He felt hunger rise within him inexplicably. He did not know if it was because of how much he missed his mother’s cooking, or because he had not yet had anything to eat.
But the corners of his eyes made it clear that it was probably the former because they were still damp.
“Dad… where’s mum?” Bai Chen did not start eating right away. He calmed himself down and raised his head to ask his father.
Bai Chang, who had put down the newspaper and was preparing to have breakfast, looked at his only son. “Your mum’s in the kitchen making steamed buns and dim sum. Don’t ask too many questions. Just eat up and go; otherwise, you’ll be late.”
“Okay, dad.” Bai Chen nodded energetically. He started having breakfast. His hand held a long spoon tightly before using it to scoop up one stewed egg and putting it on his rice. He opened his mouth to savour it.
‘What a nostalgic taste. Mum is good at cooking as always,’ he thought while chewing. Bai Chen could feel the delightful taste spreading all over his mouth and the familiarity of it. Though it had been 12 years since he had had such a meal, he had never forgotten.
Ten minutes later, Bai Chen and his dad finished having their meals. He volunteered to do the dishes. Once done, he drew in a deep breath and walked into the kitchen.
Bai Chen opened the kitchen door lightly and looked inside the room, he saw the familiar sight of his mother’s back. She was 45 years old and was wearing a white apron, waiting for the steamed buns and dim sum to be fully cooked.
“Mum…,” Bai Chen called her softly. His heart raced in excitement at seeing his mother again.
Bai Yu turned to look at her son with a smiling face. “What’s going on, little Chen? Hurry up and go to school, will you?”
Just hearing his mother’s voice threw Bai Chen into momentary silence. He stared at her for a long time before smiling at last. “I’ll go right now, mum. But can I take two steamed buns with me?”
“This boy. Didn’t you just have a full meal? But yes, of course, I’ll pack them for you. Please wait for a bit.” Bai Yu looked at her son with a smile before shaking her head slightly. She then put two warm steamed buns into a bag and handed it to Bai Chen.
With a bag of warm steamed buns in his band, Bai Chen walked to the side of his house and placed the bag into his bicycle basket. He then hopped on his bicycle and sped away.
His house was in Xing Seng Business District—a moderate-sized business district with a lot of pedestrian traffic. The economy in this area was good for the whole year, and the majority of residents had their own shops.
As he cycled through the district, Bai Chen was greeted with warm smiles from many people. He liked this atmosphere and was genuinely happy from the bottom of his heart that he had gotten to come back.
After about five minutes of cycling, he reached the main four-laned road. Many cars of various brands could be seen traveling on the road, which was a common sight.
Bai Chen pulled over to look left and right. He could not afford to be careless because he did not want any accidents happening to him.
While looking around, his eyes stumbled upon an unkempt man in a torn black outfit. His hair was so extremely messy that his face could not be seen. This man looked like a beggar through and through.
“I wonder if it’s this man?” Bai Chen speculated. With just a thought, the Life Changing System reappeared.
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[Mission Dashboard]
Mission 1: Feed a mysterious man sitting next to a garbage pile (15 points)
Mission 2: Feed stray cats at the park (10 points)
Further instruction: The order of mission completion is irrelevant. After you are done with the tasks assigned to you, you will be given a chance to receive special skills or items at random. The skills or items will give you a better life!
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This time he only called out the Mission Dashboard. After going through how the system worked, his understanding of it deepened gradually. Bai Chen chose the first mission to see more details.
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[Mission 1: Feed a mysterious man sitting next to a garbage pile.]
Instruction: A mysterious man is sitting next to a garbage pile, feeling hungry. If you give him food, he will be very grateful and admire your kindness considerably.
Reward for success: Win 15 points
Penalty for failure: None
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Bai Chen inspected the mission detail window thoroughly. After seeing a green arrow popping up and pointing towards the man who was sitting next to the garbage pile, he became confident that this was the one.
He parked his bike at the side of the road without hesitation and took out the bag with two Chinese steamed buns. He then made his way towards the mysterious man.
“You’re hungry, right? You can have this.” As he was standing in front of the mysterious beggar-like man, Bai Chen got straight to the point. He bent down a little and offered the man his bag of Chinese steamed buns.
The mysterious man looked up. His eyes, which were completely hidden behind his long hair, glowed with a strange light. He slowly reached out to take the bag.
“Thank you…” he said softly.
“No big deal.” Bai Chen smiled at him warmly. Did this mean his first mission was complete?
End of Chapter 3