Li Shuoxing’s palm failed to hit the gingerbread man.
As soon as he raised his hand, the purple bow tie gingerbread man swooshed into the stove and disappeared.
At the same time, a system prompt popped up in-game.
[System: The mystery gingerbread man has stolen your food.]
[System: The mystery gingerbread man is very proud.]
[System: The mystery gingerbread man makes a face at you.]
Li Shuoxing, who wasn’t angry at the purple bow tie gingerbread man for escaping, was nearly angered to death by the system prompt.
His fighting spirit flared up and he began to think seriously: If all the mystery gingerbread men would come to steal food, then wouldn’t I be able to wait by the food, like waiting for a rabbit?
Li Shuoxing was thinking to himself when he suddenly found the Christmas hat gingerbread man hidden behind the refrigerator. It hesitated for a moment, tugged its red hat down, covering its eyes, then turned around and disappeared.
[System: The mystery gingerbread man feels scared and runs away.]
Li Shuoxing almost lost his breath.
In the blink of an eye, two of the three attracted gingerbread men disappeared.
Li Shuoxing could only look at the last one.
The last gingerbread man with a cane was standing at the farthest point and watching them from afar, as if still assessing the possibility of coming in to steal food.
[System: The mystery gingerbread man is hesitating.]
“Ximu…”
Su Mingqian’s soft voice went inside his ear.
Li Shuoxing looked over at Su Mingqian’s position and found that the little person was gesturing to him to wait, while retreating all the way back to the part of the kitchen farthest from the door.
After Su Mingqian had left the dish, Li Shuoxing looked again at the gingerbread man at the door and found that the cane gingerbread man had finally moved. It walked cautiously towards the clam meat cucumber.
Li Shuoxing waited patiently for the gingerbread man to come to a more open spot.
Closer, closer.
It reached the centre of the kitchen, where there were no obstacles.
Li Shuoxing struck decisively, pressing down directly on the gingerbread man with both hands pressed together!
He held down the gingerbread man.
He felt it struggling under his palm.
Just as he was about to catch the gingerbread man, its red and green stick poked out from under his palm, and it used the stick as a crowbar to pry itself out from under his palm, disappearing in the blink of an eye!
[System: The mystery gingerbread man saves himself in the nick of time.]
[System: It has become its own hero!]
Li Shuoxing: “???”
Over and over again!
Li Shuoxing absolutely refused to believe his own reaction was what made catching that gingerbread man fail.
Instead, he went back to study the event rules and found that both he and Su Mingqian had missed one of them.
“Christmas stockings can slow down gingerbread men…” Li Shuoxing said. “So this means we also have to knit Christmas stockings?”
Su Mingqian pondered, “Since dishes have golden dishes, will Christmas stockings have golden Christmas stockings? For example, being able to drastically reduce a gingerbread man’s speed, create a trap for the gingerbread man or something.”
Li Shuoxing: “…Should we try?”
Su Mingqian said hesitantly, “Let’s try.”
Time was running out for two more tasks. After a brief discussion, Li Shuoxing and Su Mingqian decided that each of them would be responsible for one. Li Shuoxing stayed put and continued to cook in the kitchen, while Su Mingqian went off to collect knitting stocking tutorials and began to knit Christmas stockings.
The two of them prepared separately.
Li Shuoxing cooked a few more dishes and captured 3 more gingerbread men, bringing the total of ordinary gingerbread men up to 15.
At this point, he was getting a little tired of cooking. He couldn’t resist loafing, dropping the food in his hand and sneaking off to the lounge to watch the cub.
In the lounge, Su Mingqian was sitting on the couch.
Next to him was a large box full of woollen balls in all kinds of colours.
A silver knitting needle was in his hand, and a long ginger woollen thread was wrapped around the tip of his needle.
In front of him was a small blackboard, with pictures of knitting stockings separated and pasted on one by one.
He lowered his head to knit a stitch, then raised his head to look.
After knitting a short row, he picked it up and carefully compared it with the picture. After comparing, he didn’t forget to pick up the pen and write down his experience on the notebook he’d prepared nearby.
The sky was clear and the cold snow outside the window hadn’t melted yet. Pale white and light tones spread from the window, neutralising the oily colour of the leather sofa and the flickering sparks of the fireplace.
Surrounded by a painting.
And in the midst of it, Su Mingqian, who focused only on the long knitting needle and the bit of fabric in his hands, enlivened the painting.
Li Shuoxing couldn’t peel his eyes away once he saw that scene.
He turned over in bed, then turned over again, but still hadn’t vented the excitement surging through his heart.
So he secretly turned off his microphone and began to let himself go, rolling over and pounding the bed at full speed.
Oh my god.
Oh my god!
This, isn’t this my dream cub lover?
After his crazy excitement of taking dozens and dozens of screenshots from every angle, Li Shuoxing finally calmed down.
He lay back down, turned on the microphone, and said to the cub, “Cub!”
Su Mingqian, who was suddenly interrupted, was a bit confused. “Huh?”
Li Shuoxing was super formal. “Cub, I have a request for you.”
Su Mingqian: “Huh?”
Li Shuoxing: “Don’t sit in the lounge to knit stockings. Come to the kitchen to knit stockings. With you beside me, I feel like I’ll have immense power!”
Su Mingqian: “???”
It’s just this, do you have to be so serious?
Su Mingqian was very puzzled.
He didn’t ask more questions, but silently satisfied Li Shuoxing’s request. He first moved a small stool to the kitchen, then put his tools into the kitchen. Finally, he didn’t forget to bring Xingxing, who was sitting on the sofa, over as well, and placed it right next to him.
Li Shuoxing, who had been watching from the beginning to the end, had ascended to a higher level of the soul.
With the cub by his side, he returned to the intense production work, until—
“Ximu…” Su Mingqian suddenly called out.
Li Shuoxing asked, “What’s the matter?”
Su Mingqian pointed in front of him. “A light screen popped up, and it says that knitted stockings can be upgraded.”
Li Shuoxing took a closer look and sure enough, the system had played a new trick.
[System: Congratulations, the stockings you made triggered the random task [Golden Blessing].]
[System: If you are willing to put a small piece of gold into the Christmas stocking, the stocking will have a 50% chance of turning into a golden Christmas stocking.]
[System: Do you want to spend 10 contribution points to buy a piece of gold to put into the Christmas stocking? Yes/No]
Li Shuoxing swept a glance, and even finally felt a sense of relaxation.
After cheating the liver was cheating Krypton.
The system had played this routine so many times, how could he not guess it?
As for guessing it and continuing to be caught in the routine or whatever, let’s not discuss that yet…
Take things as they are.
With only 10 contribution points, there was a 50% chance of upgrading the Christmas stocking. It was a good deal no matter how you looked at it.
Without a word, Li Shuoxing Kryptoned.
A small piece of gold appeared in Su Mingqian’s hand.
Su Mingqian put it into the Christmas stocking.
In an instant, a golden light burst out of the stocking and shone for a full minute. Then the ginger Christmas stocking was wrapped with many golden threads, looking much more luxurious than before.
Upgrade successful!
Li Shuoxing was a little excited and tapped on the Christmas stocking.
[Name]: Golden – Christmas Stocking
[Note]: This is a Christmas stocking that has been blessed with gold. Gold conquers the world with its charm, and of course, conquers gingerbread men as well. Throw this stocking at a gingerbread man. Once hit, the gingerbread man has a 50% chance of being bewitched by the gold and stunned for 3 seconds. Number of times this stocking can be thrown (5/5).
When he saw the golden Christmas stocking skill, Li Shuoxing only had one thought in his mind.
Our momentum is steady.
The mystery gift is in my hands!
The two were back at work, Li Shuoxing actively cooking and Su Mingqian still knitting stockings.
Halfway through, Li Shuoxing made a golden chicken soup. Once again, two mystery gingerbread men were attracted, an old friend with a purple bow tie and a new one with a flower dress.
When the two gingerbread men showed up at the same time, the golden stocking took off.
Li Shuoxing directly took the stocking and threw it at the purple bow tie.
He aimed accurately, but just as the stocking was about to reach the purple bow tie, it jumped forward abruptly, dodging the stocking.
The system prompt appeared at the same time.
[System: The mystery gingerbread man dodges your attack.]
[System: The mystery gingerbread man mocks you.]
Li Shuoxing: “???”
He couldn’t believe it.
He took the stocking that had automatically returned to his hand and threw it a second time.
This time, he calculated how fast the mystery gingerbread man was moving, and accurately hit the purple bow tie.
Then, a second prompt from the system popped up.
[System: The golden Christmas stocking hits the mystery gingerbread man, but has no effect.]
[System: The mystery gingerbread man spits on you.]
Li Shuoxing: “???”
He didn’t believe in evil.
He was ready to throw a third time.
But before he actually threw it, another pair of stockings flew through the air.
Su Mingqian threw a stocking and it hit the purple bow tie.
[System: The golden Christmas stocking effect has started. The mystery gingerbread man is stunned for three seconds.]
Good chance!
Li Shuoxing quickly reached out and squeezed the purple bow tie gingerbread man.
Almost immediately, cheerful game sound effects rung in his ears. A transparent plastic bag and a purple ribbon appeared, wrapping up the gingerbread man. At the same time, a more detailed description also appeared in front of Li Shuoxing.
[System: The mystery gingerbread man is captured. The mystery gingerbread man’s information has been unlocked.]
[Name]: Mystery Gingerbread Man – Purple Bow Tie
[Note]: The acrobat of the mystery gingerbread man generation is agile and lively.
Li Shuoxing gave the wrapped gingerbread man to Su Mingqian who then gave it to Xingxing.
It was a shame. It took a bit too long to catch this one, and the flower dress one that appeared at the same time had disappeared.
But it didn’t matter. Anyway, there were still 10 hours until the 25th.
Taking down the mystery gingerbread men, absolutely not a problem!
Li Shuoxing and Su Mingqian continued to work hard.
Their non-stop production made collecting very fast. At 3pm, the two had collected 25 ordinary gingerbread men and 3 mystery gingerbread men, easily completing the courtyard skin task and 30% of the mystery gift task.
Four pairs of golden stockings had accumulated, enough to capture the 7 remaining mystery gingerbread men.
Su Mingqian was a bit tired after working hard all afternoon.
He got up from the small bench and moved around the house. He glanced carelessly out the window. Only then did he realise that the sky was getting dark. The snow was falling again, and the fine white particles were floating in the sky with a kind of lonely wantonness.
Su Mingqian watched the snow for a while, and suddenly thought:
I wonder if Xingxing will feel cold?
He went back into the kitchen, and the clattering sound still continued, pots and pans flying together.
He bent down, went through the big boxes, and finally chose purple and yellow.
He first used the purple to weave the main body of the scarf, then used the yellow to weave two small stars in the corner of the scarf.
The scarf was short and he weaved it quickly.
After ten minutes or so, the purple star scarf was wrapped around Xingxing’s neck.
Su Mingqian held up the doll to admire it for a moment. He couldn’t resist lowering his head and rubbing against it.
So cute…
He said this in his head.
Christmas will be here soon…
He thought again, and his eyes couldn’t help but fly lightly towards the kitchen.
In a moment, Su Mingqian said, “Ximu.”
He got a quick response.
Li Shuoxing: “Huh?”
Su Mingqian: “I’m a little tired. I’ll go back to my room and rest for a while.”
Li Shuoxing: “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cub, you go rest. I’ll make some more golden food.”
Su Mingqian then got up, calm and collected, pretending there was nothing wrong as he carried the entire toolbox into the room.
He closed the door and began to quietly prepare…
A busy day.
A gruelling day.
A tough day.
But this day finally came to an end. With Li Shuoxing’s painstakingly persistent efforts, at 23:55 that night, he finally caught the last mystery gingerbread man.
Li Shuoxing cried tears of joy.
I’ve been lying in bed for a whole day.
I haven’t left the bed except to eat and go to the bathroom!
My back is breaking, my arms are breaking, my waist is breaking.
I did it. I finally did it!
I said, as long as you work hard, there’s nothing you! Can’t! Do!
He held the tenth mystery gingerbread man and saw multi-coloured fireworks suddenly explode in the dark night sky, embellishing the cold world with colourful splendour. At the same time, there was the system’s wonderful prompt sound.
[System: Congratulations on completing the [Mystery Gingerbread Man Hide-and-Seek] task.]
[System: Congratulations on obtaining Mystery Gift Ă— 1]
[System: Please open it with your lover before you go to bed.]
The beautifully wrapped gift went into Li Shuoxing’s package.
Li Shuoxing was excited to share it with the cub, but when he looked around, he suddenly realised… the cub wasn’t by his side?
He felt a little strange, and his excitement cooled a little. He searched the house for a while, and soon locked on to the bedroom.
The bedroom door was shut, but not closed tightly. A thin slit of penetrating light beckoned to Li Shuoxing.
Perhaps the silence of the night had affected Li Shuoxing.
At this moment, he didn’t directly call out to Su Mingqian, but instead peeked through the crack of the door. He saw Su Mingqian standing in front of a Christmas box, holding a long scarf in his hand.
The long scarf in his hand was brown and mixed with some red wool. It was fluffy and thick. Just looking at it, he felt very warm.
The scarf was folded and put into the large Christmas box.
Su Mingqian then put a small card into the box.
Li Shuoxing could guess what was written on the card without needing to read it.
A warm current rushed into Li Shuoxing’s heart, soothing his heart and emotions.
Without making a sound, as he had come, he quietly retreated out and returned to the lounge. He waited until he heard the sound of the door opening and Su Mingqian coming out from the room before he spoke quickly, “Cub, come over here. The system’s cashing in the reward. Let’s open the package together!”
Su Mingqian agreed and went to the lounge.
They placed the gift on the table. Two people, four hands, pulled the bow on the gift together.
The moment the bow came apart, the package naturally disappeared, leaving only two pieces of paper in the shape of Santa’s gift bag on the table.
Li Shuoxing tapped on the pieces of paper.
[Name]: Santa’s Wishing Card
[Note]: Obtained from the Christmas event. Before you go to bed, write your wish on the card, and Santa will grant it.
Li Shuoxing took one for himself and gave the other to Su Mingqian.
They both lowered their heads and wrote their wishes. Both their wishes were simple and straightforward.
Li Shuoxing wrote, “I hope the cub will recover soon or get more information from reality.”
Su Mingqian wrote, “I hope Ximu can really receive my gift.”