Ch. 68 - A Senior's Thoughtful Gesture

By the time I stumbled back to my room, it was way past midnight.

Too tired to even shower properly—still carrying that faint incense scent—I crashed onto the bed and fell into sleep.

When I finally woke up, it was nearly noon.

"Ahh~"

A massive yawn escaped as I squeezed out a single, sparkling tear, lids still shut.

"Already this late?"

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand: 9:30, pushing ten.

The bakery should be in full slacker mode by now.

One solid sleep-in later, and yeah, I still felt groggy—but a quick wash-up perked me right up.

Into a fresh dress, a speedy rinse, and boom: another day charged with energy!

Last night, I'd vaguely promised Bai Yu something about a flight license, but exhaustion blurred the details.

Since she hadn't hounded me yet, it wouldn't cramp my money-making plans.

I'd learned the hard way what "money burns fast" meant—a single meditation session had nearly nuked my savings.

And that was with success on the first go; most folks blew way more chasing it. The thought alone stung.

Time to hustle harder for cash!

Before dipping into transcendence, part-time baking felt plenty cushy. Now? Pocket change evaporated.

Headache city.

On the walk, I checked my phone: the text I'd fired off to the seniors last night, flagging a late start today.

They'd replied almost instantly—at 2 a.m.—but I'd missed it. Night owls, those two.

My internal clock hadn't caught up yet; one late night, and I'd slept till forever.

Even now, a yawn lingered.

I hadn't explained the why behind my delay, though. Better clear it up in person—first meditation attempt and all; they'd get it, I was sure.

The reminder hit my stomach: starving. Fingers crossed they still had bread on offer, even the plain stuff. Senior's dark experiments? Hard pass.

The shop was predictably dead when I arrived.

"Senior, reporting in~"

I nudged the glass door open, tossing out the polite hello on autopilot.

With me gone, Ying Shiqian handled the front.

No sign of Tang Yihan—probably tinkering with desserts in the back again.

Fingers crossed: no culinary disasters this time.

"Oh, Yuehan~ Mornings without you are pure torture."

She bolted over the second she spotted me, acting like we'd been apart for years.

"Huh? It's not been that long, has it? Come on, Senior."

"Absolutely it has! That Tang Yihan—she recreated yesterday's nightmare, claiming she'd changed the ingredients. It tasted even worse!" Ying Shiqian poured it all out to me, venting like I'd uncorked a dam.

It left me squirming with secondhand embarrassment; what could I even do about her woes?

"What nightmare? How does my masterpiece turn into that in your mouth?"

A figure emerged from the back then—Tang Yihan herself, drawn by the commotion.

"Yuehan's here. I saw your message last night—everything okay?"

"Ah... yeah, nothing major. Tried meditation yesterday, and it threw off my schedule. My body's not used to late nights yet, so I slept through the morning."

"Meditation, huh? It does drain you. Feeling lost? Don't worry—freshmen all start that way. Just keep at it; it'll come with time."

She pieced it together from my words, her tone shifting to gentle reassurance.

"Right? Like I said, grab those books on meditation and rituals. Better safe than sorry—prep never hurts."

Ying Shiqian jumped in, backing her up.

"Thanks for looking out, Seniors. Yeah, it does feel overwhelming. Meditation's all about that spark of insight." I played along; my shortcut method might not even count as proper meditation, and I had no clue what others experienced.

Different paths, same destination—no harm there. Like me now.

As I spoke, I slipped into the break room to clock in and change.

Time for joyful part-time shifts!

Or... slacking time, really.

"Yuehan~ Time to chat again~ You mentioned trying meditation yesterday. As a fellow bakery member—and your senior—I have to look after you. This is extra from my restock; consider it a gift~"

Ying Shiqian ditched her usual lounging vibe, sidling right up—though it made sense. With the lull, I was her only option for conversation.

She clutched an ornate little box, her "I've been planning this" gleam making it seem like buried treasure.

That box looked familiar—intimately so. Wasn't it just like the incense case from yesterday's shop?

Bigger than mine, sure.

"A gift? For me?" I watched her set it on the counter and slide it over.

"Mm~ Top-quality incense, all of it. Not a ton, but it's my love for you that counts~ Don't even think of refusing."

Before I could blink, Ying Shiqian snagged my hand—thrusting the box into my palm amid my wide-eyed surprise.

"But taking a gift like this for free feels... off." I hesitated, the words tumbling out awkwardly. I'd seen the price tags on incense firsthand; this box dwarfed the one I'd bought, easily running several hundred dollars.

"It's fine—consider it my investment in getting you into meditation sooner."

"I appreciate the gesture, really..." As she spoke, I cracked open the case. The incense inside came in generous packaging, much more than yesterday's.

This haul had to cost at least a thousand!

More than I'd scraped together at the bakery so far.

"You have to take it~" Ying Shiqian pressed on relentlessly, oblivious to my discomfort.

"But I've already managed meditation."

"Sorry, what?"

"I said I've already succeeded at it. Why else would I pull an all-nighter yesterday?" I met her incredulous stare, stressing each word.

Truth be told, watching her expression cycle from fond pride to bafflement, then outright shock—and finally, to that wounded, jilted look—was downright entertaining.

Ahem... no, mortifying!

I'd never planned to hide it anyway. What good is talent if you don't show it off? How else would anyone peg you as a prodigy?

In my limited understanding, the transcendence world ran on merit: prove your worth in the hierarchy, and you'd unlock resources and access the unknown.

Translator's note: You know, there's an old Chinese saying, "Being rich is meaningless if you don't show it off.

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