The Game of Life TGOL

Seniors at UAL University returned to school quite late this year, scheduled for September 6th, so Jiang Feng didn’t need to rush back to Alan City and still had a few more days to prepare.

Professor Li had already resolved the issue of Jiang Feng’s thesis advisor. As a veteran professor in the UAL University Physics Department with over 40 years of teaching experience, Professor Li had mentored many young lecturers and even associate professors who were his direct students. With his intervention, securing a thesis advisor was no trouble at all. It was just a title anyway; the specifics of the thesis would be guided by Professor Li himself.

But September 1st was destined to be an extraordinary day, as Ji Qiran, who had transferred from the city high school to the county high school, received a loving gift from his sister on the first day of school.

A huge cardboard box, quite heavy; Ji Qiran couldn’t lift it on his first attempt.

Initially, Ji Qiran thought his sister was concerned about him doing laundry at school and had generously bought him a small washing machine. He felt a touch moved, thinking that although his sister had beaten him up several times during the summer, she truly loved him.

“Student, what have you got in this box? It looks really heavy, you sure you can carry it alone? If not, go get some classmates to help you!” The dorm guard was very enthusiastic.

The county high school wasn’t large, and the dorm guard’s office was only a few steps away from the dormitory building. Ji Qiran thought about it and realized he would have a hard time moving such a heavy box by himself, so he decided to follow the guard’s advice and go back to the dormitory for reinforcements.

It was dinner time when Ji Qiran went to collect the package, and since it was the first day of school and there was no evening self-study, all five of his roommates were in the dorm when he got back.

Ji Qiran had only planned to grab two strong men to help him carry the package, but the others were curious about what had been sent on the first day of school. Plus, the dorm guard’s office was so close to the dormitory, the whole group ended up going to check it out together.

The dorm guard was surprised to see Ji Qiran bring back five strapping lads all at once, thinking this unremarkable-looking kid had quite the good connections.

“Student, what’s in this box? If it’s possible to carry it separately, you six should split it up. It’ll be difficult to move such a big box without a handle. If you can carry it separately, do that,” the dorm guard suggested, eyeing Ji Qiran’s large cardboard box.

After the short walk he had just taken, Ji Qiran’s mind had cleared. He seriously considered it and realized that given his sister’s style and current financial situation, she probably wouldn’t suddenly become so generous as to buy him a washing machine. The contents of the big box were most likely unwanted items that Ji Yue no longer needed, which took up space but were too dear to throw away, so she sent them all to him in one go.

“Okay, sir, just wait.” Ji Qiran pulled out his dorm key and skillfully began opening the package.

Upon opening the box, everyone was shocked.

A box full of guidebooks!

On top was a colorful array of “Five-Year College Entrance Exam Simulations,” brand new, smooth, and even shiny, causing the six second-year high school students, including Ji Qiran, to feel weak in the knees.

The first thought for everyone, including the dorm guard, was: How many years would it take to finish all these guidebooks?

“Your sister sent you… a box of guidebooks?!” Ji Qiran’s roommate exclaimed, his voice cracking on the last two words.

“It… It shouldn’t be, right? Maybe there’s just miscellaneous stuff at the bottom, and only a few guidebooks on top. That’s probably it. My sister wouldn’t send me a whole box of guidebooks, she’s too poor to afford all these, and I heard guidebooks are expensive nowadays,” Ji Qiran murmured to himself for comfort as he began to remove the guidebooks from the top.

The first stack was the full subject set for the first year high school.

The second stack, for the second year high school.

The third stack, for the third year high school.

The fourth stack, the total review set for the college entrance examination from Five Three.

The Five Three series was on top, with Wang Houxiong and some test papers in the middle, and at the very bottom were a few Xue Jinxing books that came as free extras from the store where Ji Yue had made bulk purchases.

Looking at these familiar books, with names he recognized printed on them, one of Ji Qiran’s roommates couldn’t help but sigh, “I’m glad I only have a sister and no elder sibling.”

Ji Qiran: …

As a second-year high school student who had never written any domestic guidebooks, Ji Qiran’s intuition told him these were no good.

Ji Qiran silently pulled out his secretly kept phone and began to bombard Ji Yue with a barrage of emoticons.

“Are these… easy to do?” he asked.

“Dude,” one of his roommates said with a grave face, slapping Ji Qiran on the shoulder as he resolutely picked up a stack of the guidebooks, “Godspeed. We can only help carry them back for you.”

“Godspeed,” the other four echoed in unison.

…

After finishing a day’s work, Ji Xue thought about getting paid on the 3rd and felt a little thrill.

She had impulsively bought so many guidebooks for Ji Qiran the other day that she was now in an extremely tight financial spot. When she headed home in the evening and went to buy bottled water at the convenience store, she didn’t dare look at the Yi Bao brand and could only afford the Master Kang brand.

Today, Zhang Guanghang was off work, so Ji Xue couldn’t show off her romance and decided to go home with Ji Snow.

As soon as Ji Yue got hold of her phone in the changing room, she saw the avalanche of emoticons from Ji Qiran and knew that the guidebooks must have arrived.

“Xue, did the tutoring books you bought for your sister arrive yet? We bought from the same store, and I checked that the store ships from Guangdong Province. Your sister should have received hers before my brother did, and he got his today,” Ji Yue said as she and Ji Xue left Taifeng Building.

“My sister doesn’t have a mobile phone, so even if she received them she wouldn’t be able to tell me,” Ji Xue replied.

“Then whose address and phone number did you provide?” Ji Yue pressed on.

“The address is her school’s, and the phone number is her class teacher’s,” answered Ji Xue.

Ji Yue glanced at the time, “It’s only just past 10 p.m., her class teacher probably hasn’t gone to bed yet. You should give her a call to check. After all, it’s an item worth several hundred, maybe a thousand. If there is any damage or something wrong, you can contact the seller right away to return or exchange the goods, otherwise it will be difficult to handle if too much time passes.”

Ji Xue thought that made sense, so she took out her phone, found her sister’s class teacher’s number in her contacts, and dialed.

“Hello, may I speak with Mrs. Fan? I am Ji Xia’s older sister, I was just wondering…” Ji Xue’s words trailed off, and she froze in place.

Ji Yue took a couple of steps and then realized that Ji Xue had stopped and was standing still, her face wearing an expression of utter astonishment. Ji Yue looked at Ji Xue, a bit puzzled.

“This can’t be, this…”

“Where is she now? Do you have any news of her? I thought she was still in school, studying. She told us she was staying in town to work over the summer, she never came home and still hasn’t returned!” Ji Xue grew anxious and extremely agitated, “She didn’t even ask us for high school tuition. She hasn’t asked for living expenses either. I always thought, I…”

“Yes, I appreciate it. Please, if you could contact her classmates and inform me immediately if you get any news about her.”

“I understand, this is our responsibility, but our family… thank you for your help, I appreciate it,” Ji Xue concluded the call.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Yue was a bit stunned.

“I… my sister… Mrs. Fan…” Ji Xue was so frantic she was almost incoherent, on the verge of tears.

“Calm down, let’s not stand in the middle of the road, let’s go to the side and talk slowly,” Ji Yue pulled Ji Xue aside, “What happened, what’s wrong with your sister?”

“Mrs. Fan said that my sister has already graduated.”

Ji Yue: ???

╭(°A°`)╮

“Graduated? But isn’t your sister supposed to take the middle school exam next year?” Ji Yue was shocked.

“I always thought she would take the exam next year, we… my family… I’ve rarely been home these past few years, and she’s always stayed at the school dorm. We actually… there have been so many things at home in recent years, I… when I casually asked her over the New Year, she told me she was taking the middle school exam next year, I…” Ji Xue found herself unable to finish her sentence.

There were always too many things to handle at home, and too many people to worry about. They had become accustomed to neglecting Ji Xia.

Neglecting Ji Xia’s life, her grades, her interests, and even her thoughts.

Ji Xue didn’t even know why Ji Xia had lied to them.

Ji Yue tried to organize her thoughts, “So, you’re saying that your sister may have run away from home more than two months ago, but you all have never noticed.”

Ji Xue nodded despondently.

“She doesn’t have a mobile phone; or rather, she may have one but you wouldn’t know.”

Ji Xue nodded again.

“Does she have an ID card?” inquired Ji Yue.

“Yes, we got her one when she started junior high. She’s always kept it on her,” Ji Xue was close to crying.

“You should report this to the police. Quick, call your mom and tell her to go to your local police station and file a report,” Ji Yue suggested, as she felt there was no other option.

A minor, a junior high girl with an ID card, previously in possession of a script from True-False Academy, has been missing for more than two months; if Ji Xia had enough money, she could have made it all the way from Guangdong to Beiping by now.

“Also, tell your mom to get in touch with her classmates or your relatives. With your sister’s age and her running away from home, even if she was brave and had stealthily saved up some money, she probably wouldn’t dare to do this unless someone was with her or egging her on.”

Ji Xue could only nod.

“Do you need to go home?” asked Ji Yue.

“Yes!”

“Then you should check for train tickets now and see if you can get one for tomorrow. Mrs. Wang will definitely give you time off if you talk to her, or I can talk to her for you. If you’re short on cash, call me, I… I can ask Jiang Feng to lend some,” Ji Yue almost forgot she too was penniless.

“Alright,” Ji Yue took Ji Xue’s hand and said softly, “Let’s go back and pack, and if you can leave, we’ll leave tomorrow. Don’t panic, panicking won’t help with some things.”