How should I give it to you?

Yang Sisi remained silent, as if she was keeping me in suspense, but I didn't care, because I was already used to her deliberately mysterious behavior.

"Michael, do you believe in a magical ability called teleportation?"

I was taken aback at first, then replied, "I'm a fanatical materialist, so don't talk nonsense."

"How about... I perform one for you? Maybe you'll turn around and find me right behind you?"

A chill ran down my spine, and I instinctively turned around, but there was nothing there. I replied, "You must be a ghost that drifted back."

"You're the one with the spirit... Can't you say something auspicious during the New Year?"

"May the Empress Dowager be blessed!"

"His tone is so strange, like a dead eunuch!"

I burst out laughing, and Yang Sisi has that ability; she always manages to bring me joy through her playful banter and witty remarks.

Then, in a very serious tone, she said to me, "Do you believe that I can appear in front of you in less than an hour?"

"Xin, either you're dead or I'm dead, and we'd never meet unless we became wandering spirits..."

"You said it yourself... When I see you later, I'll give you a bottle of poisoned drink and kill you, so you'll learn to be a man of your word."

I got a little creeped out by what Yang Sisi said. I clearly remembered her telling me before that she was going to participate in some New Year's Eve gala and perform a show. Given that, how could she possibly go back to China?

But soon, I went from completely denying it to being half-believing and half-doubting, because Yang Sisi never played by the rules, and she seemed to enjoy doing such things; because she would interpret such behavior as romantic.

I finally spoke up: "Did you study some kind of witchcraft abroad? We're at least tens of thousands of kilometers apart, how can you just come back whenever you want?"

"If you don't believe me, just wait and see... I'm not going to waste any more time with you. Remember to send me a red envelope on WeChat, the bigger the better."

I was stunned for a moment, and she had already hung up the phone... At that moment, I felt that she was playing a prank on me, because in addition to being unpredictable, she was also a girl who liked to play pranks; besides, the vast distance between us made it hard for me to believe that she was not far away from me at this moment. In my mind, because of the time difference, we even had our night and day reversed, so how could she possibly cross this dimension and suddenly appear?

Unless, she had already returned to China several days ago.

...

In the end, I didn't take Yang Sisi's words too seriously. After eating a little something without much interest, I left Jiulongju...

Although I feel lonely, at this moment, I still want to find some of the New Year's atmosphere in the bustling ancient city, so I especially want to immerse myself in the crowd.

Perhaps because of the old lady I saw last night, the empty bottles discarded by tourists also caught my attention. I first found a plastic bag, and then started collecting those empty bottles on the street.

For me, this is a win-win situation. On one hand, it distracts me from my work; on the other hand, by collecting these bottles, I can give them to the old lady next time I see her and exchange them for some free-range eggs… And let me tell you, their free-range eggs are really delicious. So, of all the dishes I just cooked, I only finished the plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

...

After collecting about twenty bottles, I found an open space to sit down, and then I remembered to send Yang Sisi a red envelope. This time, I didn't send too much, just a small envelope with a maximum value of 200 yuan. She seemed to have been waiting for it, and it was accepted instantly.

This behavior made me think she was playing a prank. If she were really in Dali, she would probably be busy on her way, not have time to receive red envelopes. Besides, would her extremely strict parents allow her to run around "randomly" during the Chinese New Year?

So this must be a prank!