181: Chapter 181 System Letter

Everything was recovering. The red dots on the happiness map changed from dark red to bright red, and then from bright red to a flickering warm orange. Lin Feng squatted under the Old Locust Tree, a straw in his mouth, watching those points grow brighter and brighter. The cat squatted beside him, batting at a fallen leaf with its paw; the leaf flipped over and over, like pages in a book. Margaret came out carrying a plate of mushrooms and squatted beside him. "How long have you been watching?" Lin Feng said, "A day." Margaret set the plate on the ground. "What have you seen?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "They're breathing." Margaret looked at the phone screen; those red dots were indeed flickering slightly, brightening and dimming like a heartbeat. She didn't ask why; she knew that sometimes Lin Feng's words didn't need an explanation.

The phone vibrated. It wasn't a call or a text, but a system message. It had been a long time since Lin Feng received a system message; he had thought the system had gone completely silent. He tapped it open to find only a single line: [Host, you still have 23.8 million USD uncollected. Would you like to collect it?] Lin Feng stared at the words and shifted the straw from the left side of his mouth to the right. "No." [The system does not understand. You have already aided twenty-three towns and spent one million USD. Starry Sky Town's telescope has been repaired, Millfield's mushroom night market has opened, Greenfield's Guitar Night has become lively, and Baishi Town's Sound Post Office has become busy. All of these require money. Why do you not collect it?] Lin Feng said, "It's enough." [The system has detected that the funds you currently possess are insufficient to support the renovation of the next town.] Lin Feng counted on his fingers. "Starry Sky Town cost one million, Baishi Town cost fifty thousand, Millfield and Greenfield cost one hundred thousand. That's 1.15 million in total. There's 23.8 million left. It's enough. Enough to fix two hundred towns." [System prompt: Your refusal to collect has resulted in the rewards failing to generate interest. The cumulative interest loss has exceeded three million USD.] Lin Feng said, "I don't want interest." [The system cannot understand.] Lin Feng said, "You don't need to understand. You just need to keep track of the numbers." The system fell silent. After a long time, it vibrated again. [Host, you have changed.] Lin Feng chewed on the straw. "I haven't. I'm still squatting." [You used to squat and watch, now you squat and do. You used to wait for people to come, now you go find them. You used to not speak, now you write notes, make kaleidoscopes, make cups, and make stars.] Lin Feng didn't answer. The cat batted at his shoelace, loosening it; he bent over to tie it. The cat batted it again, and the other one came loose; he tied that one too. When the cat batted a third time, he tied two knots; the cat couldn't budge it anymore and squatted nearby, tilting its head to look at him.

Late at night, Lin Feng sat on the steps in front of the Restaurant. He wasn't squatting, but sitting. Margaret was already asleep, and the Restaurant's lights were out. The cat lay at his feet, eyes half-closed, purring softly. Lin Feng pulled out his phone and scrolled through the happiness map. The red dots were still flickering, just as they had during the day. He set the phone on the step and looked up at the sky. There were many stars, and the moon was round. He remembered the first mission the system had given him—"Within 24 hours, make at least 10 strangers show a sincere smile because of your actions." He had completed it and earned fifty thousand USD. Back then, he had been squatting on a street corner, holding a cup of coffee covered in emojis, handing it to an intern who had just been scolded to tears by a boss. The intern smiled, and he felt as if he had found something. Now he was squatting at the Restaurant's entrance, with no coffee in hand, only his phone. On the phone, twenty-three red dots were flashing, each representing a group of people smiling. He didn't know if he had completed the mission. The system didn't say he had, nor did it say he hadn't. The system only occasionally reminded him to collect the money. He didn't want to; the money was enough. That money wasn't his; it belonged to those who had smiled. He didn't want to collect it because if he did, it would feel like he had earned it himself. It wasn't. It was earned by those smiling people. He was just squatting, watching, and occasionally giving a little push.

The phone vibrated again. [Host, you have one unread message. Sent: 730 days ago.] Lin Feng froze. Seven hundred and thirty days ago was the very day the system had last spoken of its own accord. He thought he had read all the messages, but he hadn't expected there to be an unread one. He opened it. There was only one sentence: "Host, do you remember if you smiled yourself the first time you made someone else smile?" Lin Feng stared at the screen. He remembered. That day, the intern had smiled, and as he squatted on the street corner, the corners of his mouth had curled up. He had smiled, but he hadn't known it. It wasn't until Margaret later said he had smiled that he realized it. He thought he didn't know how to smile, but he actually did. It was just that the smile was so faint he hadn't heard it himself. He put the phone back in his pocket, stood up, walked into the Restaurant, and closed the door. The cat jumped down from the steps, walked back to the shed, curled up on the blue cloth, and closed its eyes. The moon emerged from behind the clouds, casting the cat's shadow on the ground, round like a ball of yarn. The wind blew, and the shadow swayed, but it did not dissipate.

Early the next morning, Lin Feng got up very early. He squatted under the Old Locust Tree, waiting for Old Zhou to deliver the mail. Old Zhou turned the corner into the alley on his bicycle, the chain clinking. He stopped the bike under the tree and pulled a letter from his bag to hand to Lin Feng. "For you." Lin Feng opened it; inside was only a single piece of paper with a single line: "Lin Feng, I'm back." There was no signature. Lin Feng folded the letter and put it in his pocket. Old Zhou looked at him. "Who wrote it?" Lin Feng said, "I don't know. But they're back." Old Zhou didn't ask further; he got on his bike and rode away, the chain clinking. Lin Feng squatted under the tree, waiting. He didn't know who he was waiting for, but he knew someone would come. The cat jumped down from the shed roof and squatted beside him, also waiting. The wind blew, carrying the scent of distant earth, the aroma of coffee, and the light sweetness of mushrooms. Lin Feng closed his eyes and took a sniff. He opened his eyes and saw a figure appear at the end of the road. It wasn't one person, but two. One tall and one short, holding hands. As they drew closer, he could see them clearly. It was Ma Lan and Xiao Ma. Ma Lan carried a bag, her long hair had been cut short, and her face was tanned, but her eyes were still bright. Xiao Ma followed behind, holding a glass cup with a QR code stuck to the bottom. They walked up to Lin Feng and stopped. Ma Lan looked at Lin Feng. "Are you the person who makes people smile?" Lin Feng nodded. Ma Lan pulled a note from her pocket and handed it to Lin Feng. The note said: "My name is Ma Lan. I have been gone for ten years. My brother is still waiting for me." Lin Feng looked at the note, then at Ma Lan. "Your brother was waiting for you, and you've returned." Ma Lan lowered her head. "I'm back." Xiao Ma stood to the side and handed the glass cup to Lin Feng. "This cup is the kind you make. I made it in a bar. My sister's voice is recorded inside. She said into the cup: 'Xiao Ma, I'm back.'" Lin Feng took the cup and scanned the QR code on the bottom. Ma Lan's voice came from the phone: "Xiao Ma, I'm back." The voice wasn't loud, but it was clear. Lin Feng handed the cup back to Xiao Ma. "Keep it."

Lin Feng squatted under the tree, watching Ma Lan and Xiao Ma walk into the Restaurant. Margaret came out from inside and handed them two cups of coffee. They sat on the steps at the entrance, drinking coffee and looking at the sky. Lin Feng squatted beside them, not asking where they had been for the past ten years, what they had done, or why they hadn't returned. He didn't ask because he knew that returning was enough. The cat jumped onto Ma Lan's lap, curled into a ball, and closed its eyes. Ma Lan stroked the cat's head. "Is it waiting for me too?" Lin Feng said, "It's not waiting. It just likes your lap." Ma Lan smiled. She looked down at the cat; the cat's purring came from her lap, muffled, like distant thunder. She listened for a long time, then looked up at Lin Feng. "Is there anything else I can do?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "What can you do?" Ma Lan said, "I can sing. I used to sing in the bars in Baishi Town." Lin Feng pointed toward the church. "There's a Guitar Night over there every Saturday night. You can go and sing there." Ma Lan nodded. She stood up, and the cat jumped off her lap. She shouldered her bag and walked toward the church. Xiao Ma followed, still holding the cup. After a few steps, Ma Lan turned back and looked at Lin Feng. "Thank you." Lin Feng squatted there and nodded. She turned around and continued on her way. Lin Feng watched their retreating figures, and the cat watched too, the tip of its tail twitching slightly.

[Chapter 181 End]