I Tied Up the Travel Check-In System - Chapter 6

After dinner, Luo Junbao went to his room to watch cartoons, while Tang Siqi stayed in the kitchen to clean up with Xu Qianning.

“Siqi, I saw my mom’s WeChat Moments. She and your mom have signed up for a sunset travel group. They’re going out in a few days,” Xu Qianning said with a smile.

Their families had a good relationship, but they had a falling out with their families, and neither of them went home much, so they rarely talked about family matters.

Tang Siqi frowned slightly at the mention of her mother, but still said, “That’s great. My mom is finally willing to go on a trip. I guess she’s letting me go. Why doesn’t my dad go?”

Xu Qianning smiled, “You have so many flowers at home. Your dad must be reluctant to part with his flowers.”

Tang Siqi nodded, “Yes.” At the mention of her father, Tang Siqi sighed, “Xu Qianning, you know, a few days ago I had a nightmare that my dad sent me a box of textbooks for the civil service exam. What do you think that is?”

As she finished speaking, Luo Junbao struggled to drag a package out of the room.

“Tang Siqi, I almost forgot there’s a package for you.”

Tang Siqi walked over, puzzled, picked up the knife on the coffee table, and opened the package. Her expression changed, and the corners of her lips curled up in self-mockery. “It wasn’t a nightmare, it was my dream come true.”

Xu Qianning asked in surprise, “Did your dad really send you textbooks?”

Tang Siqi pulled a note from the box. “Yes, look! This is a note from my dad himself: ‘A sword is sharpened by grinding, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold. Siqi, I hope you work hard and pass the civil service exam this year.'”

Luo Junbao leaned over to take a look. Inside were several thick books.

“Essay writing… real exam questions, that sort of thing. Tang Siqi, what’s this book about?” the curious boy asked.

“How would I know… I don’t want to know.”

A sad background music echoed in Tang Siqi’s mind: the feeling of bitter sand blowing on her face…

She casually picked up the tape on the coffee table and sealed the open box again.

“Leave it here for now. I’ll sell these books on Xianyu later.” Tang Siqi made a quick decision.

Xu Qianning stood by and smiled helplessly, “Your parents do care about you.”

She tried not to add fuel to the fire, so she gently advised.

Tang Siqi lowered her eyelashes and whispered, “They do care about me, but I don’t want to go back to the life they’ve arranged for me: become a civil servant, work in the banking system, marry an honest man, and live a stable life. I don’t know what I want, but I know this isn’t the life I want…”

“I always feel that Uncle Tang is easy to talk to. You haven’t been home for several months and rarely contact them. While your mother is not at home, why don’t you go home and have a good talk with your father and defeat them one by one.”

Tang Siqi shrank her neck and refused like an ostrich: “My father just thought my work was not good enough. Now a few months have passed, and I really haven’t made any progress. The income is not good either. Forget it. Going back will only make him dislike me.”

She raised her head: “Okay, don’t talk about me, what about you?”

Before Tang Siqi asked, she glanced at the bedroom. Luo Junbao went back to watching animation. She lowered her voice and asked: “Are you still in a bad relationship with your family?”

Xu Qianning also lowered her head and sighed: “Hey, you know my situation. At the beginning, I dropped out of school and married far away despite my parents’ opposition and gave birth to Junbao. Later, I divorced despite their opposition and raised Junbao alone. I have been…rebellious things over the years. Too many, and the conflicts with my parents are even deeper.”

Seeing her sad, Tang Siqi couldn’t help but say, “Qianning, I think you’re already amazing. It’s not easy for you to run a business alone and take care of Junbao.”

When mentioning Junbao, Xu Qianning’s eyes became more gentle: “When I just got divorced, I felt like the sky was about to fall, and I felt like I was about to have nowhere to go and couldn’t hold on anymore. It was Junbao who gave me comfort. He is my strongest support. For him, I will be fine. Now, the most difficult days are over, and things will get better and better in the future. Siqi, the same is true for you. The most difficult times will always pass. You paint well, and I believe that one day your parents will accept your choice.”

After hearing this, Tang Siqi felt a mixture of emotions. Xu Qianning said that she was lucky to have Junbao when she was in trouble. For her, she was lucky to have Xu Qianning as her best friend when she was most confused.

Although Xu Qianning’s business was doing better, she still had a son to support. After clearing the dishes, Tang Siqi returned to her room and couldn’t help but think: If only I could make more money painting, I could help Xu Qianning even more.

But being a full-time artist wasn’t easy. She’d been doing it for a few months, and her Weibo followers had barely reached three digits, with almost no interaction. She didn’t know how many of them were fake followers. Without a name recognition, it was hard to get commissions. A few days ago, she finally got a job for an ancient-style illustration, but she stalled on it.

Tang Siqi sighed. You can’t get fat in one bite, so she decided to write a review of the old-fashioned antique shop she’d checked in at today.

She opened her phone and looked at the various antique items in the antique shop that she had taken photos of. Tang Siqi couldn’t help but feel the urge to draw illustrations for them.

Light brushstrokes, warm colors, sunlight streaming into the store, posters from the 1920s and 1930s, stamps from the 1950s, enamel cups from the 1960s, thermoses from the 1970s, glass marbles from the 1980s, comic books from the 1990s, and an old man sitting among the sundries, polishing an old-fashioned camera with a faint smile on his face.

She didn’t know how long she had been busy painting, but it was already late at night when she finished. She yawned, stretched, posted the review and illustrations on the review website, and then took a shower and went to bed.

The next morning, Tang Siqi was awakened by the vibration of her phone.

She picked up the phone in a daze and saw that it was only 8 o’clock! She was usually the kind of person who could sleep until 12 o’clock.

Just as she was about to go back to sleep, the phone buzzed again.

Tang Siqi had no choice but to unlock it and light up the screen.

[Congratulations to the host! Your online post about the old lady’s noodle stall has received 55 likes, 20 shares, and 65 replies as of 8:00 AM. The system rewards you with 50 gold coins, bringing your total wealth to 50 gold coins.]

[Congratulations to the host! Your online post recommending the uncle’s antique shop has received 20 likes, 8 shares, and 30 replies as of 8:00 AM. The system rewards you with 27 gold coins, bringing your total wealth to 77 gold coins.]

[Congratulations to the host! You have mastered the garlic peeling skill, rewarded with 10 gold coins, bringing your total wealth to 87 gold coins.]

[Congratulations to the host! Through practicing painting, you have improved your painting skills. Your comprehensive ability has been assessed and has been upgraded to level 2. You can now browse and purchase level 2 items in the gold mall.]

Tang Siqi’s sleepiness instantly faded.

What the heck!

She was so engrossed in painting yesterday that she didn’t notice the system notification pop-up. When she woke up today, the review system had rewarded her with 87 gold coins!

Yesterday, 10 gold coins could have bought 5 kilograms of crayfish, and today she’d been rewarded with 87 gold coins!

What a huge win!

Tang Siqi thought she heard the sound of gold coins falling. At this rate, wouldn’t she soon become a rich woman?

It’s a pity that gold coins can’t be directly exchanged for RMB, otherwise… Hehehe!

However, she didn’t expect that after two days of continuous drawing, the system could actually upgrade her. She first clicked on her personal page to check her level.

[Host Name: Tang Siqi, Age: 25, Blood Type: O, Zodiac Sign: Libra

City: Shanghai

Status: Fair

Survival Skills: Very Poor

Social Skills: Very Poor

Other Skills: Poor (Only a little drawing skill)

Coin Count: 87

Level: A “Little Loser” Who Occasionally Goes Out”

Tang Siqi: …

The ability description hasn’t changed at all, just the level has gone from a “Little Loser” who stays at home to a “Little Loser” who occasionally goes out…

How can she be a “Little Loser”!

Her illustrations are still appreciated online, right?

Tang Siqi didn’t bother arguing with the system. Now that she had gold coins, and the system just told her she could buy level 2 items, she had no idea what she could buy.

She quickly opened the gold coin mall. Previously, level 1 items had been fresh food like vegetables and fruits, as well as some takeout food from stores, while level 2 items included some furniture and daily necessities, and she could even redeem them for appliances.

But… they were really expensive!

After the initial excitement, Tang Siqi immediately noticed that the gold coin requirements for the corresponding items skyrocketed as her level increased.

A drum washing machine costs 50,000 gold coins, a latex mattress imported from Thailand costs 13,000 gold coins, and even a well-known brand rice cooker costs 7,000 gold coins.

She can’t afford it…

Tang Siqi, clinging to a last glimmer of hope, sifted through the sale items.

Surprisingly,today’s sale items are all desserts!

A 6-inch Black Forest cake is 10 gold coins, an 8-inch cherry mousse cake is 15 gold coins, and a 10-inch double chocolate cake is only 20 gold coins.

What a deal!

Although you can only redeem one of each item, you can tell by the pictures how delicious it is. Looking at the list, you can even choose a cake from Shanghai’s super-hot cake brand, Mod!

Their 6-inch Black Forest cake sells for 300 yuan!

This is a huge win!

With the experience of previous redemptions, she now has gold coins on hand. Instead of being stingy and waiting to redeem items when she arrives, she can just click to redeem.

Unexpectedly, a message popped up on the system.

[We’re sorry, but the system has detected that the host has accumulated excess fat around their waist and abdomen due to long-term inactivity. This means they can’t redeem items in the cream cake category. To unlock this category, please reach the top step count on WeChat Moments for a week.]

Tang Siqi was stunned. There was something she couldn’t redeem!

The system actually disdained her extra fat around her waist and wouldn’t let her eat cake!

Ugh!

This was unbearable!

It was just for reaching the top step count on WeChat Moments!

Wouldn’t she just walk every day from now on?

Unable to redeem food today, Tang Siqi continued to look at limited-time sales for home goods.

There were several items on sale, and one caught Tang Siqi’s eye.

[A high-end children’s adjustable desk and chair with matching lamp and desk set is on sale for a limited time, only 120 gold coins!]

She immediately fell in love with this children’s desk and chair set. Although she couldn’t afford it compared to the other items on sale, she still wanted to redeem it.

Her room used to be Junbao’s bedroom, but since she moved in, Junbao has had to share his room with his mother, squeezing out his play space. He’s been confined to the living room for games, writing, and drawing.

The living room’s lighting is dim, and Tang Siqi worries it might be bad for Junbao’s eyes. She feels bad about it and wants to buy him a desk and chair set, but even the better ones online cost thousands of yuan, and those with eye-protection reading lights and bookshelves are even thousands more.

This set is thoughtfully designed, with adjustable height, so Junbao can use it even when he’s older.

However, she only has 87 gold coins on hand, so if she wants to redeem them, she needs to earn 33 more quickly. Limited-time sales sometimes start at midnight, sometimes earlier. She’s already experienced the pain of procrastinating and losing orders before, and she can’t miss out on this set again.

With no tasks currently available, she’s reposted her previous comments forum posts to more platforms and given herself the same username she used on Weibo: Yiqi Sees the World.

She originally registered on Weibo to get more orders, but since she became a full-time artist, she rarely posted her works on Weibo, so the number of fans there is only a little over 100. After posting the content of her posts on various platforms, she also posted pictures of her paintings of Chen Po Noodle House and Uncle Antique Shop on Weibo as a record of her works.

She hopes to increase her exposure so that she can get more gold coins when the system settles accounts next time.

[Congratulations, you have a new task: please go to the Colorful Parent-Child Park in Minhang District to experience 5 amusement facilities and check in. The completion time limit is 3 hours.]