Chapter 372: 372

Chapter 372 New Year’s Eve

Zhang Heng opened his eyes and found that he was back in his bedroom . He was in the same posture as he was before entering the quest, sitting cross-legged on the bed, laptop on his knees . His fingers were in the air, about to click the touchpad . The screen displayed an ‘error 404 . ’

Zhang Heng took a look at the watch on his wrist . In the previous quest, he was transformed into a LEGO figurine and fortunately, he was back to normal once he left the quest . The time on his watch showed 00:05 . Even with the extra 24 hours, only 9 minutes had passed since he started the game . Unlike his previous games, although this one had many battles, the sense of tension was basically nonexistent, and in addition to the LEGO-styled graphics, it was also possible for Zhang Heng to withdraw from the game any time he wished . Hence, it was not so much of an adventure but more of a vacation .

That said, after staying in a world made out of building blocks for a year and a half, Zhang Heng felt an inexplicable urge to dismantle objects around him after exiting the dungeon, one of the side effects of the quest .

It was New Year’s Eve, after all . Although midnight had passed, the street was livelier than usual . Over the years, the city banned people from playing with fireworks, but some still couldn’t help but light them up secretly during the New Year .

It was hard to sleep at this hour, so Zhang Heng opened his door .

Grandpa had returned to his room, but his parents were still wide awake . The TV was turned on, but no one was watching it since the two of them were playing Monopoly on the sofa . Zhang Heng bought this board game box when he was still studying in elementary school, having had to save up for a long time before he had enough money to buy it . However, after graduating, he did not play with it anymore, putting it together with a stack of old clothes . He only found it while doing spring cleaning with his grandpa . Zhang Heng initially planned to donate the set to impoverished children living around the mountainous areas . He did not expect that his parents would play with it .

Mother Zhang cupped her hands and shook the dice in them . To catch the fleeting good luck, she even climbed onto the back of the sofa and let the dice fall from a high spot . As a result, the two were now crawling all over the floor, looking for the ‘lucky’ dice .

“Hey, you’ve come out . Finally… are you done?” Mother Zhang looked at Zhang Heng with a mysterious smile on her face .

“What do you mean by that?”

“It doesn’t matter, I was young once,” Father Zhang said as if he knew very well what his wife just said .

“Ha . ”

Zhang Heng finally knew what they were talking about . The two obviously misunderstood when he went back to his bedroom alone and locked the door behind him . Rolling his eyes, Zhang Heng did not bother to explain the whole thing to them .

After that, Mother Zhang opened her arms wide, “Come, the first hug of the year . It’s reserved for my most important people . Our family’s tradition should never be broken . ”

“Since when did our family practice this tradition? How come I know nothing about it? Besides, the two of you haven’t been back for the past two years . Even if this tradition exists, it should have been broken long ago,” chided Zhang Heng rhetorically .

“Erm… I just thought about it . From this year onwards, this tradition will continue . You can hug grandpa when we are away, and you can hug your girlfriend when you get a girlfriend . Although your relationship with your girlfriend might not last long, she will be your most important person, for that moment at least . Ain’t that right?” Mother Zhang asked .

“Don’t deliberately say something serious and make yourself look cool,” Zhang Heng said .

“Hahaha! See how my son reacts? Do you know what I thought when you looked me in the eye? I had to talk that much just to get you to hug me . Can’t you take the initiative this time?”

Zhang Heng had to walk to his mother after she talked to him .

Just as the two were about to hug each other, Mother Zhang said suddenly, “Well… don’t you need to wash your hands first?”

“I’m just kidding . It’s okay not to wash your hands . I don’t mind . You’re my son, after all . ”

Stamping his feet in annoyance, Zhang Heng finally hugged his mother and father .

“Awesome . Now our family has a New Year tradition . You can pass this tradition on to your future sons and daughters . After that, they can pass it on to their sons and daughters . This will pass on from generation to generation, maybe even spreading around the whole world at some point in the future . It’s pretty cool when you think about it… I will be remembered by everyone as the founder of this tradition . Of course, you have to find a girlfriend first to make it possible . You are capable of getting a girlfriend, right?”

“Mind your own business . ” Zhang Heng bent over, picked up the dice that his parents were looking for a long time, and threw it on the table .

The dice bounced twice and finally stopped on the table .

“Ah, it’s six! It’s six! This is the number that I needed most . In this case, all the shops on this street are mine,” Mother Zhang exclaimed in excitement .

“This doesn’t count! Hengheng threw it… you’ll have to throw again,” Father Zhang objected .

“No, this is the choice of fate!” Mother Zhang insisted .

If embarrassing herself was a skill, Zhang Heng believed his mother must have probably achieved Level 5 .

m

Then, Mother Zhang turned and said, “Why don’t you come play with us? The more players, the more interesting it gets . Anyway, it’s too noisy outside and I don’t think I can sleep tonight . Let’s just stay awake for the whole night . There is a large bottle of Coke in the refrigerator and we can all play Monopoly while we finish it . ”

“I have no problem with that . Can the two of you two stay awake for the whole night?” asked Zhang Heng as he got comfortable on the carpet .

“Psst! My son underestimates me . Back then, when I stayed up late each night to finish my thesis, you were just a cell that my body hadn’t split out . This time, let me show you my skills in this game,” Mother Zhang said proudly .

It wasn’t long before Mother Zhang fell asleep during the second game . She was the one who spoke loudest but fell asleep on the sofa anyhow, pride notwithstanding .

Father Zhang took the dice and a bunch of tightly held game-banknotes from her hand . Seeing his mother fast asleep, Zhang Heng went to the room and brought out a quilt to cover her . After that, the father and son cleaned up the table and divided the Coke between themselves .

“Nothing happened recently, right?” Father Zhang suddenly asked while he cleaned the living room .

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’m talking about your feelings, studies, life, health…” Father Zhang paused, “and you suddenly asked about Greenland and Mr . Time earlier . ”

“But, you didn’t seem to want to talk about your Greenland scientific expedition . ”

“Yes,” Father Zhang went through his hair, “Because nothing actually happened… You know, there are glaciers everywhere, and the impression I got from that place is coldness . ”

“Yes . ” Zhang Heng nodded in agreement .

The two stayed silent for a while, unable to land on a topic to talk about .

“I guess… I’m probably not a very good liar, especially to someone,” Father Zhang was a little embarrassed .

“You have never been a good liar . ” Zhang Heng said, “But it doesn’t matter . Just leave it be if you don’t wish to talk about it . It doesn’t matter . ”

“Maybe next time . Just you and me, father and son . Plan to come to Europe during the summer vacation? I can recommend a few good attractions and bars for you . ”

“Sounds good, we’ll talk about it when the time comes,” Zhang Heng said, “I’m heading back to my room to sleep . Want to keep the light on?”

“Just leave it on . I’ll turn it off later . Good night, son . ” “Good night, Dad . ”

Zhang Heng opened the door…

Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters .