70: Pick up

December 10th, the 21st day of the 10th lunar month, Year of the Snake, Month of the Rat, Day of the Ox.

"Avoid travel?!"

Jiang Ye stared at the three glaring characters on his phone screen and clicked his tongue.

Today was the day to collect Yao Yao's "big gift." In high spirits, he casually checked the perpetual calendar, and his mood instantly soured.

"Superstition is no good..."

Jiang Ye muttered, trying to arm himself with materialism, but that little knot in his heart just wouldn't go away.

It was like having a twitching eyelid before going out—you know it's just from lack of sleep, but you can't help wondering if it's a sign of good or bad luck.

He quickly tapped open TikTok and typed "divination live stream" into the search bar.

He needed to find a "scientific" way to hedge against this bad luck!

After scrolling a few times, he clicked into a live stream that looked like it had a nice atmosphere.

The streamer was a Girl wearing a hood, her full face unclear but her voice gentle, with a starry sky pattern in the background. A sticker on the screen read, "First follow gets one free divination, fans get one divination for a pair of sunglasses."

Jiang Ye couldn't be bothered to queue for a free divination, so he directly opened the gift section and sent in a sports car.

[Brother Ye gifted Tarot Reader Xiao Ai a sports car*1]

A flashy sports car effect swept across the screen, and Xiao Ai's voice immediately filled with surprise:

"Wow! Thank you, my Brother Ye, for the sports car! Good afternoon, Brother Ye! Do you want a divination, brother?"

Brother Ye: [Help me figure out if going out to handle business today will go smoothly.]

"Sure thing, brother! Hold on, I'll draw cards for you right away!"

Xiao Ai's voice turned solemn. She skillfully shuffled the cards, had Jiang Ye silently repeat the question in his mind, then drew several cards and laid them on the table.

Her finger pointed to a main card in the center, and she said with certainty, "The upright card is 'The Chariot'! Great luck, brother! It symbolizes victory, control, and progress. The appearance of the upright Chariot means your travel today is auspicious, and your business will go smoothly! It foretells that you have clear goals, firm will, can overcome all obstacles, efficiently advance your plans, and ultimately achieve success!"

Jiang Ye looked at the card on the screen depicting a warrior driving a chariot. Though he didn't understand it, words like "victory," "control," and "smooth" sounded comforting.

It sounded very "scientific"!

He nodded in satisfaction, flicked his finger, and sent another sports car.

[Brother Ye gifted Tarot Reader Xiao Ai a sports car*1]

"Wow! Thank you, Brother Ye! Thank you, my Brother Ye!"

Xiao Ai's voice grew even more enthusiastic: "Brother Ye is generous! With The Chariot's blessing, you'll be unstoppable! Today, Brother Ye's journey will be all green lights, everything will go as you wish, and success will come swiftly! Your business will go smoothly with divine assistance!"

A barrage of auspicious words washed over him, and Jiang Ye's mood instantly brightened, that little earlier worry completely vanishing.

Humming a tune, he leaped up from the bed and slipped on that worn-out delivery uniform.

Don't ask—it was just for caution's sake. Never underestimate a woman's curiosity, especially a Girl like Yao Yao, full of tricks.

————

Riding his little electric scooter, Jiang Ye headed towards the Marriott Hotel on Qingnian Avenue, braving the cold afternoon wind.

On the way, his mind was still pondering the System.

Although the last "Reverse Tailing" mission was twisty and even landed him in the police station, the reward, the Presence Reduction Halo, sounded incredibly powerful, filling him with motivation to complete the monthly missions.

After returning home that day, he eagerly went to the System interface to take on new missions, planning to push through and farm more magical items—they might come in handy someday.

But the System coldly prompted: [Maximum of 4 monthly missions can be completed per month. host's December 2025 mission quota (2/4).]

Jiang Ye was a bit disappointed but could accept it—it was better than only being able to do two a month.

He glanced at the third mission for this month:

[December 2025 Monthly Mission: Cross-Border Etiquette Consultant]

Mission Content: Choose a culture or subculture you're completely unfamiliar with (e.g., Hanfu Circle, Anime Dance Circle, Cosplay Circle, etc.). Through research (at least 3 reliable sources), summarize 3 little-known, interesting social etiquettes or taboos within that circle. Then, at an offline event, with an attitude of humble inquiry, use your summarized knowledge to successfully engage in a friendly conversation of at least three exchanges with a female member of that circle whose charm value is greater than 80, and gain her recognition that you "know something" about it.

Mission Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆ (Tests learning ability, communication skills, and quick integration ability)

Mission Description: Respect stems from understanding. A gentleman's erudition is reflected in his tolerance and curiosity towards diverse cultures.

Mission Reward: [Temporary Expert Halo (one-time use)] or 30,000 yuan in cash. (After use, the first three sentences you speak in a conversation about an unfamiliar field will sound exceptionally knowledgeable. After that, you're on your own.)

Putting aside everything else, just the examples in the description—"Hanfu Circle," "Anime Dance Circle," "Cosplay Circle"—made Jiang Ye's heart itch a little.

Once his funds were a bit more substantial, he could indeed go deep to "appreciate" the Girls in these circles. It would surely be a different charm, another kind of "battle" scene.

He'd note this mission down for now and think about it in a few days.

Lost in thought, the little electric scooter soon arrived near the Marriott Hotel.

Jiang Ye found an inconspicuous spot to park on the side of the hotel, adjusted his mask, and walked into the lobby through the small delivery side door, head lowered.

Yao Yao had sent a WeChat message in the morning saying the gift had been delivered to the hotel's storage locker, along with a pickup code.

Although the message was sent two hours ago and she should have left by now, Jiang Ye's intuition told him this Girl wouldn't give up so easily.

Entering the lobby, he was about to head in when a concierge nearby frowned slightly, reached out to stop him, and pointed to the delivery cabinet not far away:

"Courier, just put the delivery in that cabinet over there. The guest will pick it up themselves."

Jiang Ye clicked his tongue, nodded in acknowledgment while quickly scanning the entire lobby out of the corner of his eye.

As his gaze swept over the lounge area, his heart skipped a beat, and his eyebrows instantly shot up.

Damn! Just as expected!

On a sofa near the floor-to-ceiling window, a familiar figure in a beige down jacket, jeans, and snow boots was hunched over her phone, seemingly scrolling through videos, but the corner of her eye was clearly glancing towards the storage lockers from time to time!

This woman really hadn't left!

Her curiosity was heavy enough—just how obsessed was she with this Buddy?

Jiang Ye remained calm, quickly walked to the row of smart storage lockers as directed by the concierge, found the corresponding locker number, and entered the pickup code Yao Yao had sent.

With a "beep," a medium-sized door on locker number 8 popped open, revealing a beautiful paper bag printed with the Versace logo.

Just as he reached for the paper bag, the female voice he had anticipated sounded beside him:

"Excuse me, courier... was someone else asking you to pick this up?"

Jiang Ye didn't turn around, replying as he pulled out the paper bag, "Yeah, what's up?"

Su Ning, standing nearby, pursed her lips, a flicker of disappointment crossing her face: "This is a gift I sent to my friend, so I wanted to make sure."

The moment Jiang Ye took the paper bag out of the locker, a new prompt immediately flashed on the System panel in his mind:

[Received a gift from Su Ning: One Versace men's shirt, System assessed value: 27,800 yuan. Triggered 1000% cashback, obtained 278,000 yuan!]

[System account balance: 278,000 yuan!]

An indescribable sense of exhilaration shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!

280,000! Awesome!

Added to his previous balance, his personal assets now steadily exceeded 350,000!

Jiang Ye suppressed his inner excitement, feigning surprise as he turned to look at Su Ning: "Huh? Miss? It's you again?"

Su Ning was taken aback by the greeting, carefully looked at Jiang Ye's exposed eyes and brows, then realized and also seemed surprised: "Delivery Courier? It's you?"

"Yeah, right, it's me."

Jiang Ye nodded, shaking the paper bag in his hand: "The gentleman from before called me directly, asked me to pick it up, and then deliver it to... well, to the Conrad Hotel."

"Conrad..."

Su Ning unconsciously repeated it, the expectation in her eyes clearly dimming as she let out a disappointed "oh."

Conrad was another five-star hotel—her plan to stake out the big brother had failed again.

"Miss, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now? I need to hurry and deliver it." Jiang Ye said, making as if to leave.

"Hey, wait a minute, courier!"

Su Ning quickly called him back, a hint of difficulty and pleading on her face, "Could you..."

Jiang Ye nodded understandingly, with an "I get it" expression: "Got it, keep it secret, right? Just say I haven't seen you, the item was picked up directly. Don't worry, I'm tight-lipped."

Su Ning was taken aback, then relaxed slightly: "Mm, thank you."

Her mind was a bit chaotic—disappointed at not seeing Brother Ye's true face, yet somewhat relieved her secret stakeout hadn't been discovered. Her feelings were complicated.

"Mm, I'm off."

Jiang Ye responded, said no more, and quickly turned and left, carrying that valuable paper bag.