Chapter Twelve: My Parents Visited Me in a Dream Last Night

Li Changqing smiled, just as he remembered. At first, his eldest sister wasn’t like this at all; she was gentle and kind. But everything changed when their parents fell gravely ill.

Their parents had always hoped Li Changqing would inherit the bun shop, insisting that this was a family craft passed down through generations and mustn’t be lost. Yet the previous Li Changqing was determined to become a detective. After their parents passed away, he left home in the midst of his sister’s anger to pursue his detective dreams.

His sister, once full of youthful vitality, shouldered the burden of the bun shop, raised their young sister, and carried the weight of the massive debt of eighteen thousand Lang coins incurred during their parents’ illness.

Later, with the help of the ghostly Tang Xiaoyu, Li Changqing managed to earn some money and sent five hundred coins home each month. Still, the relationship between him and his sister remained strained.

Li Qingxue, accustomed to seeing her second brother turned away, chuckled, “Sit down, second brother. I have to work on my exercises, or sister will scold me.”

Li Changqing sat beside her, gazing at his sister who was both familiar and strangely distant in his memory, unsure of what to say.

But his worry was unnecessary.

This sister, after all, was quite the chatterbox.

Though she claimed she had to do her homework, she kept chatting with him.

“Second brother, how’s the detective agency business lately? Have you solved any big cases?”

“Oh right, have you met Detective Fumosi yet? He’s your super idol!”

“Someone said there was a haunting at the girls’ dorm recently, so the school hired a detective. Guess what—it turned out those students just didn’t want to go to classes and pretended the dorm was haunted. The principal was furious.”

“I won first place in the campus singer competition not long ago!”

Outside, the street was slowly growing dark.

From within, Li Lin called, “Come in for dinner.”

“Let’s go, time to eat! Sister’s cooking is amazing. Second brother, you only come home once a month—you’re missing out.”

They entered the kitchen at the back. Under the dim yellow light, one could see the rolling pin, flour, and bun filling already prepared.

Unlike the bun shops of his previous life, this one was spotless and tidy.

On the narrow wooden table, four dishes and a steaming soup were laid out.

“I’ll serve the rice,” Li Lin said, her face still cold. Since Li Changqing left home to pursue detective work, he hadn’t seen her smile.

“Eat,” Li Lin said, her voice stern.

The three sat around the table. The food was excellent—comparable to many chefs, perhaps even better.

Seeing her second brother and sister silent, Li Qingxue grinned, “Second brother, you haven’t been home in ages, so you probably don’t know, right? Lately, two handsome guys have been pursuing sister. They come every morning to buy buns, secretly competing to see who buys more.”

“That’s good news!” Li Changqing was surprised, but quickly slipped into character, speaking in the tone and manner of the previous Li Changqing. “Sister, it’s about time…”

Li Lin quietly ate. “I’m not considering that right now. If I marry, who will run the bun shop? Unless you’re willing to take over…”

“Sister, I have a dream…”

The bun shop barely made money, and he desperately needed funds to buy materials for practicing talismanic arts.

“That’s enough. I’ve heard it a million times,” Li Lin shot him a cold glance. “By the way, Mom and Dad visited me in a dream yesterday. They told me to remind you to eat more—just look at how thin you’ve become.”

“They also told me to tell you: once you’ve indulged your detective ambitions, come home and inherit the bun shop. It’s been passed down for hundreds of years, it can’t end with you. I’m bound to marry someday, and with our family’s situation, we can’t expect someone to marry in and run the shop.”

“And they said you should dress warmly, especially with the weather getting colder at night…”

Li Qingxue giggled, “Sister, how come every time second brother comes home, Mom and Dad visit you in a dream and not me? Next time, can you ask them to visit me?”

“You and your endless chatter. Eat your vegetables,” Li Lin glared at her.

“Ahem,” Li Changqing nodded. “Alright.”

Despite her cold demeanor, Li Lin’s harsh words hid a soft heart.

“By the way, second brother, since you’re a detective, do you know anyone who writes songs?” Li Qingxue asked. “There’s a songwriting competition at school, and if you place in the top three, you get bonus points when applying to university. I want to enter, but it has to be an original song…”

From their earlier conversation, Li Changqing had learned his sister loved singing and was probably quite good at it.

“I don’t know any songwriters, but…” Li Changqing thought for a moment. “I’ve heard a lot of beautiful songs elsewhere. Maybe one could work.”

Qingxue ate as she spoke, “Second brother, it’s an original competition. Songs you’ve heard elsewhere don’t count—unless nobody else has ever heard them.”

“I guarantee no one but me has heard it.”

“What’s it called?” Li Qingxue blinked expectantly.

Li Changqing considered carefully. “It’s called ‘A Thousand Songs.’ Let me sing it for you once.”

“Gently looking back, the nights that once belonged to us.”

“You still are the one, gifting my heart with radiant sunshine.”

“Tears flow foolishly, hoping for understanding and forgiveness.”

“Tomorrow morning, I leave you—the road may be lonely and long.”

“…”

Li Qingxue listened in astonishment. “Is this song usable?”

“Of course. I promise no one has ever heard it.”

Li Changqing couldn’t help but wonder if entering this song in a high school original songwriting contest would be considered overwhelming the competition.

Qingxue hurriedly fetched pen and paper and asked Li Changqing to write down the lyrics and teach her the melody.

With lyrics and melody, the school’s music teacher could handle the arrangement. Most contestants only needed to prepare their melody and lyrics; the school would help with a simple arrangement.

Finishing her meal in haste, Qingxue sat with the lyrics, humming the tune.

She sang far better than Li Changqing.

“Second brother, this song might win me a top-three spot!”

Qingxue’s face was bright with joy.

“Mm,” Li Changqing nodded. As for whether she’d achieve a good result, it wasn’t certain. It depended on the quality of the other contestants’ songs.

Besides, the song’s classic status and appeal in his previous world were shaped by countless influences. Whether it would resonate here wasn’t guaranteed, but it surely wouldn’t be bad.

After dinner, Li Changqing took out ten thousand Lang coins and placed them on the table. “Sister, take this.”

“What are you doing?” Li Lin’s expression changed slightly, frowning. “Five hundred coins is enough. If you give me everything, what will you eat?”

She counted out five hundred coins and forced the rest back into Li Changqing’s hands. “Enough, take it back.”

“I…”

Li Lin spoke in a low voice, “Mom and Dad visited me in a dream and told me not to spend all my money at once. You need to save up—you never know when you’ll need it. Your detective job is unreliable.”

Li Changqing nodded, putting the money away. He resolved to return once he’d saved up eighteen thousand coins and pay off the family debt in one go.

“I should head back now. If I wait any longer, the buses will stop running.”

“Be careful on the way.”

Qingxue beamed, “Second brother, remember to come to my competition at school next month.”

“Of course. I’ll definitely be there.”