Chapter 1: The Mysterious Blind Box and the Space

“What perfume are you wearing today? It smells so good.” A short man leaned in close to Xu Nian’s ear and sighed in a sickly sweet tone.

In her mind, Xu Nian flipped him off. She took a step back, turned around, and coldly asked, “Manager, didn’t you call me here to discuss the project proposal?”

Seeing her indifferent expression, the manager sneered. “Xu Nian, stop pretending to be so virtuous. Let me tell you straight—whether this proposal gets approved or not depends entirely on you.”

Xu Nian could no longer suppress her anger. This proposal wasn’t just about her; it was the result of three months of hard work by her entire team, involving research and field studies. And yet, this useless man was using it to threaten her.

She strode to the office door, flung it open, and loudly declared:

“Have you even looked in the mirror? You’re a sleazy creep who spends his days harassing women, and now you’re pretending to be some kind of gentleman?

Your mouth stinks, yet you keep getting up close to women. Do you really not notice how disgusted everyone is?

Rabbit-faced, shifty-eyed, sharp-mouthed, and lecherous—you couldn’t be described more accurately.”

“You—you—you—”

“You what? Don’t mistake my tolerance for your shamelessness as a free pass. You think you’re clever, but you’re just blind as a bat.

You’re threatening to reject my proposal just because I won’t let you take advantage of me? Let me tell you, you sleazy bastard—I quit! To hell with you!”

After finishing her rant in one breath, Xu Nian flipped him off again, shot a glare at the manager—whose face had turned ashen—then strode to her desk. She grabbed her phone, slung her bag over her shoulder, and prepared to leave.

Her teammates gathered around, wanting to say something, but in the end, they all chose to remain silent.

Xu Nian smiled, took a big step forward, and walked out.

Stepping out of the office building, she took a deep breath. Ever since she had moved to Jiangcheng, this was the first time she truly felt like herself.

Rubbing her growling stomach, she flagged down a taxi. No matter how hungry she was, she wanted to get far away from that company first—otherwise, it might ruin her appetite.

She casually opened a food app on her phone and started searching for restaurants. A newly opened “Blind Box Food Store” caught her attention.

Since work had always been stressful, her way of unwinding was opening blind boxes.

Upon arriving at the location, she saw that the storefront looked old and worn—completely unlike a newly opened shop. She stepped inside and found the place nearly empty, with just a single dining table.

She was about to turn around and leave when the shop owner walked over.

The only reason she could tell he was the owner was that he was dressed in a bright red robe, which stood out awkwardly against the shabby surroundings. If he wasn’t cosplaying, then he had to be the boss—only an owner could dress so freely.

“Welcome to the Blind Box Food Store, Miss.”

Xu Nian, who had been planning to leave, hesitated. She found this place quite interesting. Since she was rarely this free, she figured she might as well try this new kind of blind box.

“Are you saying… you only have one kind of blind box meal, and it costs 1,008 yuan?”

She looked at the smiling owner. Why did he seem so much like a scammer?

She really wanted to turn around and leave, but her damn curiosity got the best of her. She had to know what kind of food she would get.

In the end, she convinced herself to buy it—telling herself that 1,008 was the same number as her birthday.

The owner led her to a wooden, four-sided pillar and pointed at a protruding button in the middle. “Miss, just press this button.”

Xu Nian followed his instructions. As soon as she pressed the button, she heard a loud clang.

The owner retrieved a wooden box from the serving hatch and placed it on the table.

“Please enjoy your meal, Miss.” With that, he turned around and left the restaurant.

Xu Nian was dumbfounded. What did this mean? Was this one of those ‘sell one meal and call it a day’ businesses?

Sighing, she accepted her fate and sat down. She opened the wooden food box—and inside was just a bowl of plain white porridge.

At that moment, Xu Nian understood why the owner had run away so fast.

Since she had already spent the money, she couldn’t let it go to waste. What if this porridge was something extraordinary? However, after finishing the last spoonful, Xu Nian could confirm—it was just an ordinary bowl of plain white porridge.

Having eaten her meal and with the owner nowhere in sight, Xu Nian had no choice but to leave the shop. Before walking away, she gave the place a negative review on the app, citing it as “extremely unappetizing.”

Back at her small rented apartment, Xu Nian turned on her computer and posted an article on her social media, exposing how a certain manager from a certain company had sexually harassed female employees. She even attached screenshots of detailed text messages as proof.

Since Xu Nian frequently shared articles about intangible cultural heritage, she had a decent following. She believed that many people would take notice of this incident.

After completing everything, she enjoyed a rare early night and was in bed before 10 p.m.

Moonlight filtered through the gap in her loosely drawn curtains, casting a soft glow on her chest as she slept.

In her dreams, Xu Nian felt as if she had entered a mysterious space. Everywhere she looked, there was rich, dark soil. As she walked forward, she discovered a small stream crisscrossing the land, yet its source was nowhere in sight.

She sat by the stream and dipped her feet into the cool, refreshing water. Just as she was enjoying the sensation with her eyes closed, she suddenly felt a tickling on her feet.

Looking down, she was astonished to see a school of fish and shrimp swimming around her. What shocked her even more was their size—many of them were unusually large. It was incredible.

Xu Nian felt that dreaming of such a place must be a good omen.

The next morning, as dawn broke, she woke up feeling refreshed. Recalling her dream, she hummed a tune happily as she got out of bed.

But as the saying goes, joy often leads to sorrow. She accidentally tripped on the bed frame, hit her head, and knocked herself out—only to find herself dreaming the same dream again.

When she opened her eyes once more, she couldn’t help but question—was it really just a dream?

She sat up and focused her thoughts on the space she had seen in her dream. The next moment, she found herself sitting on the very same black soil.

When she concentrated again, she was suddenly back in the living room of her apartment.

Xu Nian was overjoyed—could this be a real space?

Following what she had read in novels, she picked up a pillow and tried tossing it into the space she envisioned in her mind. To her amazement, it worked!

Excited, she spent the entire morning experimenting—throwing things in and retrieving them—until her stomach started growling in protest.

After satisfying her hunger, she finally began to seriously reflect on her life.

Xu Nian’s parents had divorced long ago, each forming their own families. Since childhood, she had lived with her grandmother, relying on each other for support. Three years ago, after her grandmother passed away, she had never returned to that remote mountain village.

Now, she was tired of city life in Jiangcheng. She wanted to return to the village where she and her grandmother had shared precious memories, to live a peaceful life in harmony with nature.

Moreover, with such a miraculous space in her possession, she felt that the village would be a much safer place.

Before leaving, however, Xu Nian wanted to explore and study this space further. She also planned to stock up on supplies to bring back to the village.

Without hesitation, she opened a shopping app and started placing orders at lightning speed, prioritizing fast deliveries so she wouldn’t have to step outside.

The entire afternoon passed in a frenzy of shopping. It wasn’t until the app notified her that her account balance was insufficient that she reluctantly stopped.

In just one afternoon, she had blown through her last 200,000 yuan. If not for the money her grandmother had left her in another account, she might have continued shopping without end.