“To be honest, I’ve never really thought about it,” replied Fang Wei, who lived in an apartment building where even the neighbors weren’t well-known to each other. “I’ve been to your place before, and everyone seemed pretty kind and gentle.”

“Sure, they’re not bad people,” Yun Tutu sighed, “but they just can’t keep their mouths shut, and I can’t keep my temper in check. Our town isn’t that big, and there are only a few spots for government jobs each year. Honestly, I’m not very confident.”

Fang Wei had her own advantages—her family had some connections, which could help smooth things over. Even if she got the job, it wouldn’t be anything special.

After a long pause, Fang Wei spoke up, “Well, you can try this for a while, but don’t forget to keep looking for other opportunities. This line of work isn’t something you can rely on forever. Do you have enough money? I’m staying with my family, so I’m not really spending my savings.”

“Don’t worry about me, I’m doing fine,” Yun Tutu assured her. “Guess what I’m doing right now? Enjoying grilled skewers, spicy crawfish, and ice-cold beer…”

“Are you sure you’re not just hiding in some corner, gnawing on dry bread?” Fang Wei clearly didn’t believe her. Yun Tutu had always been frugal—there was no way she’d suddenly become so generous. Could delivering food really pay that well? She quickly dismissed the thought, figuring that if it did, Yun Tutu wouldn’t be so quick to spend her hard-earned cash.

“Why don’t you video call me? Seeing is believing.” Yun Tutu suggested as she absentmindedly scrolled through their group chat. Some were mocking her, but a few stood up for her.

Zheng Jiayin, for one, was fiercely defending her in the chat, rebuking everyone who made snide comments.

“So what if she’s delivering food? She’s earning her living honestly! What business is it of yours?” one message read.

“You’re just a sales clerk at a fancy store—still a worker like everyone else. Do you really think you’re better than others?” said another.

“What’s wrong with delivering food? I bet most of you here don’t even make as much as food delivery workers. Where do you get off feeling superior?”

Jiang Mingna was also in the mix, helping out: “We’re supposed to support each other as classmates, not use someone’s situation as gossip. Can everyone here say they’ve already found a job?”

“And what’s your salary?” she challenged.

“Enough with the backstabbing. We’ve barely left school, and some of you are already kicking people when they’re down. Don’t you have anything better to do?”

Seeing several classmates defend her, Yun Tutu blinked in surprise. “I guess I have better people skills than I thought. There are actually quite a few people standing up for me.”

“Don’t get too full of yourself,” Fang Wei teased. “Not everyone is like Li Yuehua—most people have a decent sense of right and wrong. Look at the ones making the most noise—they were always the ones huddled together back in school.”

They talked for a while longer before hanging up, but Yun Tutu’s phone kept ringing for the next hour. Some calls were from friends checking in on her, while others were from people trying to help her find a new job. By the time she was done, her crawfish had gone cold, and the skewers had lost their flavor. She forced herself to eat, not wanting to waste them.

After cleaning up, she lay in bed, full but not content. She didn’t feel like scrolling through the meaningless messages on her phone, so she decided to pester Song Song again.

“What do you think will happen to Xiao Ya after we left? You said she’s a refugee—will she survive this disaster?” The thought of the little girl made Yun Tutu regret not packing more food for her.

“With the buns and the dumplings you gave her, she’s not in any immediate danger,” Song Song replied, aware that if it didn’t answer, Yun Tutu wouldn’t let it rest. It had done its research—when girls get stubborn, it can be a nightmare. “The mountain path they took is quite remote, so normally no one would pass by. But in two days, a hunter will find her, and she’ll eventually have a safe place to stay.”

“How do you know that? Can you see the future or something?” Yun Tutu’s eyes sparkled. Crossing Dimensions and sending things and now even predicting the future.

  ”That’s not possible,” Song Song quickly replied, “The plane we contacted before was a small world in the book…”

  ”So it’s a book?” Yun Tutu jumped up from the bed, “Those are all illusory things. My gold won’t become illusory…” Isn’t this a trap for Boss Shen… If that gold nugget I sold is a hallucination…

“Of course not! There are three thousand major worlds and countless minor ones. They all really exist, and so do the things within them, just like in your world.”

Yun Tutu sighed in relief, flopping back onto her bed. “Good, good. The last thing I need is to wake up and find out my gold was just a dream.”

“Are you dreaming right now?” Song Song didn’t quite get it. “There’s no such thing as free money.”

“That was just a metaphor,” Yun Tutu muttered. “You can look it up online if you don’t get it.”

“Do you just expect me to explain everything while you sit back and do nothing?” Song Song complained, feeling a bit indignant.

“There’s nothing I can do about it,” Yun Tutu said with a yawn. “I’m just an ordinary person with limited brainpower. I can’t be expected to know everything.”

“I agree—your brain capacity is quite limited. Maybe one day we can enhance it.”

Yun Tutu quickly wrapped herself in her blanket, eyes wide with alarm. The screen had disappeared, but she still had the uneasy feeling that Song Song was watching her.

Seeing her reaction, Song Song mentally rolled its eyes. Not only was Yun Tutu full of questions, but she also had a serious case of paranoia.

“Think about it: we’ll be traveling through all sorts of worlds. There’s a good chance we could find a way to improve your brain.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant,” Yun Tutu exhaled, relieved. “But I think my brain is just fine as it is…”

“…”

“Oh, one more thing. Can we agree that next time you deduct money from my account, you’ll discuss it with me first?”

“You can also handle the purchases yourself,” Song Song conceded, as long as Yun Tutu kept doing her job.

“Out of all the people in the world, why did you choose me?” Yun Tutu asked, thinking about the infinite possibilities across countless parallel worlds.

“It’s… what you humans call fate.” Song Song wasn’t about to admit that its energy was almost depleted and Yun Tutu was the only suitable candidate nearby. But it couldn’t say that—her fragile human ego might not handle it well. If she quit, it’d be out of options.

“Yeah, right,” Yun Tutu scoffed, glancing at the moonlight streaming through the window. “Song Song, you’re not going to hurt me, right?”