Chapter 122: Chapter 122: Triggering a New Level 2 Task
Henry Stark pulled out the glass. The shard stuck in Shadow’s paw was the size of a fingernail.
When Mrs. Thorne saw it, her heart ached. "So it was a piece of glass. No wonder Shadow hasn’t been moving for the past two days."
"What’s wrong?" Thorne, who had just returned from a nearby delivery, saw them gathered around Shadow. He leaned in and asked worriedly, "Did something happen to Shadow?"
Mrs. Thorne tugged on Thorne’s sleeve and said anxiously, "Honey, Shadow had a piece of glass stuck in his paw! Henley’s friend found it!"
"I was wondering why he wasn’t moving these past couple of days!" Thorne slapped his thigh and looked at Renee Jennings gratefully. "Miss, thank you so much!"
"It’s nothing." Renee Jennings waved her hand. "Do you have a restroom? I need to wash my hands."
"Yes." Mrs. Thorne led her to the restroom and then returned to whisper with Thorne.
When Renee Jennings came out of the restroom, she saw Mrs. Thorne holding out a red envelope. "Miss, thank you. If it weren’t for you, Shadow would have probably been in pain for another night. This is just a small token of our appreciation. Please don’t refuse."
Renee Jennings gently pushed Mrs. Thorne’s hand back, smiling. "I just happened to notice it. There’s no need for a red envelope. Just give us a twenty percent discount."
Mrs. Thorne quickly said, "No, no, no, you must take the envelope, and we won’t give you a twenty percent discount on the beef noodles... we’ll give you a ninety percent discount!"
"Really, there’s no need." Renee Jennings waved her hands repeatedly and jogged out of the beef noodle shop.
Seeing this, Henry Stark smiled and asked, "What’s wrong?"
Renee Jennings explained, "The owner wanted to give me a red envelope, but I wouldn’t take it."
Mrs. Thorne came to their table and said to Henry Stark, "Henley, please get the young lady to accept the red envelope. If we had taken Shadow to the vet for a check-up, it would have easily cost several hundred, maybe even a thousand."
Renee Jennings shook her head firmly. "I really can’t accept it."
’This beef noodle shop is a small business. The red envelope must have at least two hundred in it. How many bowls of beef noodles would they have to sell to earn that back?’
"Mrs. Thorne." Henry Stark took the red envelope. "I’ll accept it on her behalf."
"That’s more like it." Only then did Mrs. Thorne smile, satisfied.
Seeing this, Renee Jennings’s eyes widened slightly as she looked at him in surprise. "Why did you take it?"
After Mrs. Thorne left, Henry Stark explained in a low voice, "I’ll put it under the bowl later."
Renee Jennings’s eyes curved into crescents as she gave him a thumbs-up. "Leave it to you."
When Mrs. Thorne was clearing the table, she found the red envelope under the bowl. Looking at the two figures in the distance, she had a look of fond exasperation on her face. "I really don’t know what to do with you two!"
**
When Renee Jennings got home, she saw Zane and Jasmine drawing in the living room.
"Auntie!"
"Auntie’s back!"
The two greeted her obediently before lowering their heads to continue drawing.
Seeing how focused they were, Renee Jennings walked over and asked, "What are you drawing?"
"It’s homework from our teacher," Jasmine answered softly.
Zane explained, "I’m keeping Jasmine company while she draws."
Renee Jennings reached out and gently pinched his little cheek, smiling. "Jasmine gets to have such a good big brother. I’m so jealous."
The little boy’s cheeks flushed from the praise. "Auntie, don’t you have a big brother?"
"Nope," Renee Jennings said. "I only have one big sister, and that’s your mom."
Zane blinked his dark, clear eyes and asked curiously, "Auntie, do you wish you had a big brother?"
Renee Jennings thought for a moment before replying, "I think having a big brother would be pretty nice."
"Then how about..." Zane bit his lip, mustering his courage. "Auntie, how about I be your big brother?"
Hearing this, a broad smile spread across Renee Jennings’s fair face. "Really?"
"Really." Zane nodded seriously.
"Okay," Renee Jennings agreed with a grin.
"Then from now on, I’ll be Auntie’s and Jasmine’s big brother," the little boy declared with a solemn expression.
Renee Jennings reached up and ruffled his hair. "Alright, you two take your time drawing. I’m going to take a shower."
By the time she got out of the shower, Diana Jennings had already taken the two little ones to bed.
Rhea Dempsey was sitting on the sofa watching TV. When she saw Renee come out of the bathroom, she asked, "Your dad made lamb dumplings tonight. Want some?"
"I’m not hungry." Renee Jennings sat on the armchair to the side, yawning as she dried her hair.
"You woke up so early this morning. Go to bed early tonight," Rhea Dempsey said.
Renee Jennings nodded. "I know."
She sat for a moment longer, then got up and went to the bathroom to blow-dry her hair.
Rhea Dempsey also turned off the TV and went back to her room.
Dalton Jenson was propped up against the headboard, reading a book with his reading glasses on.
Rhea Dempsey pulled back the covers and lay down, but she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
Dalton Jenson glanced at her. "Can’t sleep? Want me to read to you for a bit?"
"No, I’m not in the mood," Rhea Dempsey said impatiently.
Hearing this, Dalton Jenson put his bookmark in and set the book down. "Why are you in a bad mood? Tell me about it."
Rhea Dempsey sat up and sighed. "I just don’t think it’s a good idea for Renee, Diana, and the two kids to all be crammed into one room."
"So what’s the plan?" Dalton Jenson frowned. "They can’t exactly squeeze in with us, can they?"
Rhea Dempsey shot him an annoyed look. "I was thinking, maybe we could rent an apartment in the complex and sleep there at night."
"That could work." Dalton Jenson had no objections.
Rhea Dempsey sighed again. "But there are no vacant apartments in the complex."
Dalton Jenson: "Yeah, so... what’s the plan?"
Rhea Dempsey: "..."
She grabbed a pillow and smacked him with it. "All you ever do is ask me ’what’s the plan?’ Can’t you use your own brain for a change?"
"Alright, I’ll think about it at work tomorrow." Dalton Jenson hugged the pillow and lay down. "Let’s get some sleep."
Rhea Dempsey: "..."
She rolled her eyes. "I give up on you!"
**
The next morning, Renee Jennings was awakened by a series of notifications from the system.
[System 009: Congratulations on completing the Level 1 hidden mission: Rescue the owl. Reward granted: Snake Dictionary.]
[System 009: Congratulations on completing the Level 1 hidden mission: Uncover the truth of the buried body. Reward granted: Hippo Dictionary.]
[System 009: Congratulations on completing the Level 1 mission. Current Level: Level 2. Your level-up rewards have been issued: Pangolin Dictionary, 100 points, one million cash.]
[System 009: Congratulations on completing the Level 2 hidden mission: Rescue the abused macaque. Reward granted: 50 points.]
The system sent four notifications in a row.
Renee Jennings was still half-asleep and thought she was dreaming.
She frowned and mumbled, "Why am I only getting the notifications now for things I completed a few days ago?"
[System 009: Good morning, Miss Jennings. The system was undergoing an upgrade for the past few days and was unable to send notifications.]
Renee Jennings rolled over. "Why did you go for an upgrade without saying anything?"
[System 009: Apologies. I will inform you next time.]
Renee Jennings was fully awake now. "Does a system upgrade affect my ability to redeem things from the store?"
[System 009: During a system upgrade, only the dictionary library is accessible.]
Renee Jennings: "Alright, just make sure you tell me before the next upgrade."
[System 009: Understood.]
[System 009: New Level 2 mission triggered: Collect the wishes of two small animals. Mission Reward: Rabbit Dictionary. Time Limit: 10 hours. Mission Penalty: Ten thousand needles to the heart.]
Renee Jennings: "..."
