Early in the morning, Li Baolong got up. Today was the day of the mock exam; after it was over, winter vacation would begin. At noon, Li Baolong finished his exam and had just stepped out of the school gate when he saw a Xiali car parked there. The door opened, and a burly man got out, a blue dragon tattooed on his arm, exuding an imposing aura. The man looked Li Baolong up and down and said, "Are you Li Baolong?" Li Baolong was startled but still answered, "Yes, I am. What do you want, brother?" The man's face darkened: "You stabbed my brother with a knife a while ago. I was away and only just returned to demand an explanation. What do you say we do?" Li Baolong nervously explained, "Brother, this matter is over. Your brother and his gang beat me with sticks too. Let's call it even."
The burly man sneered, "You're quite shrewd. Here's what we'll do: I won't bully you. You pay my brother a hundred yuan, and we'll pretend this never happened." Li Baolong thought to himself, a hundred yuan is a month's living expenses for an ordinary person, and he absolutely couldn't give that. After a moment's thought, he said, "Brother, my brother is Huang Jian. You must have heard of him, right?" The man was taken aback. "What? You said your brother is Huang Jian?" Li Baolong nodded. "My brother is Huang Jian, who owns a dance hall. His nickname is 'Huang the Great Sword,' and he used to be a formidable figure wielding an iron sword." Upon hearing this, the man immediately laughed. "So you're Huang Jian's brother! What a coincidence! Huang Jian and I are brothers, but we haven't seen each other for several months." Li Baolong continued, "My brother came back from Chengdu last night. He invested in a dance hall there." The man quickly said, "Then that should be right. In that case, let's leave it at that. I'll tell my brother to stop bothering you." Li Baolong quickly thanked him, but the man waved his hand and said, "I'm Hu Zi from Sanqiao, Jianzhou. Just mention it to your brother, and he'll know. Okay, you can go now." In this way, Li Baolong averted a crisis without serious harm.
On the first day of his holiday, Li Baolong went to visit his uncle and aunt. Both were retired and he had been thinking of them. Shortly after he arrived, his cousin Chunhua returned home from get off work.
"Little Baolong, it's been so long since you've come! Have you forgotten about us?" Chunhua said with a smile, playfully scolding him. Li Baolong quickly explained, "Cousin, I've been busy studying. I came to see you all as soon as I had a holiday." After lunch, Li Baolong prepared to leave. Just as he stepped out the door, Chunhua chased after him, saying, "Little Baolong, let's go together."
"Sister Chunhua, where do you work now?" Li Baolong asked. "I work at a beauty salon up ahead. It's just Yuanyuan and me there. The boss rarely comes; he only comes once a week to collect money and restock," Chunhua said. "Then your job must be pretty good," Baolong replied. "The work isn't tiring, but the pay is low, only two hundred yuan a month. I can't even afford to buy clothes," Chunhua sighed helplessly.
A short while later, they reached an intersection, and Chunhua suggested, "Baolong, why don't you sit in my shop for a while and get familiar with the place? Okay, I'll take a look around." Baolong followed Chunhua into the shop. The shop wasn't big, with two cosmetic shelves and a beauty bed behind them. At that moment, a plump, fair-skinned girl came out.
Chunhua quickly introduced, "Yuanyuan, this is my cousin Li Baolong. He's going to be a senior in high school soon and is preparing to take the college entrance exam this year." Yuanyuan smiled and said, "Baolong, I'm a year older than you. I'm 19 this year. I didn't go to high school. I really envy you guys who can go to college. You'll have good jobs after you graduate."
Baolong carefully examined Yuanyuan. The girl had delicate and pretty features, but she was a little plump. Her skin was fair and smooth, and her chest was particularly full, which seemed slightly disproportionate to her height. Baolong realized that his gaze was inappropriate and quickly looked away. At this moment, he noticed that Yuanyuan was a little shy.
Baolong said, "Sister Yuanyuan, it doesn't matter whether you go to school or not. There are 360 ​​professions, and every profession can produce an expert. You can also become a big boss in the future and open the biggest beauty salon."
Yuanyuan smiled knowingly: "You're so good with words, Baolong." The three chatted happily, and Baolong's humorous words made Yuanyuan laugh heartily. Before parting, Baolong promised Yuanyuan that he would treat her to barbecue and watch videos when he had time.
On the night of the full moon, Li Baolong dragged his weary body home. He had just lain down, preparing to drift off to sleep in the tranquil moonlight, when he suddenly caught a glimpse of silver light in the distance. Startled, Li Baolong immediately got out of bed. He saw a silver hairpin on the table emitting a glow, the light flickering in the cool moonlight like a mysterious spirit dancing. Li Baolong was stunned. He carefully picked up the hairpin, as if holding the most precious treasure in the world, staring intently at it, looking left and right, trying to find the cause of this strange phenomenon, but he couldn't discover anything unusual.
Li Baolong had read many story collections and fantasy novels in his spare time, and knew a little about the strange and wonderful tales contained within. Now, curiosity drove him to grab the silver hairpin with his left hand. In an instant, his heart skipped a beat; the silver hairpin emitted a dazzling silver light, so intense that he could barely open his eyes. After flashing a few times, the silver light suddenly vanished, and the silver hairpin disappeared without a trace.
Li Baolong was shocked; his heart pounded, and he frantically searched the room. He turned every corner upside down, even searching the dark space under the bed, but to no avail. In his panic, he took out the secret book his father had left him and quickly flipped through it, hoping to find clues about the missing hairpin, but ultimately he was disappointed.
Li Baolong collapsed to the ground, filled with self-reproach. The silver hairpin was a precious item left to him by his father, carrying his longing and memories of his father, but now it was lost in his hands, plunging him into deep regret and pain.
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