Not a god

Chapter 183 A Day Trip to Shanghai
After wandering around the world of anime for a while, the two little ginger lingered, looking here and touching there.

They had a lot of things they wanted to buy, but they also knew that many of these things would end up in the bottom of a drawer and never be taken out again, and that the items in these pop-up stores were all super expensive.

So, to buy these useless and expensive things, I had to beg my brother for help.

However, their daily quota for being affectionate is limited, so they are conflicted.

Finally, we arrived at a Bandai Tamashii flagship store, where a large screen was showing FGO, featuring the epic showdown between Saber and Rider. It was such a high-energy scene that even a dog would stop and take a second look.

Two little ginger plants stood at the entrance of the shop, staring blankly upwards, as if on a pilgrimage.

On the screen, Saber drew his holy sword.

The two little ginger's eyes gradually brightened.

"EX...Curry Stick!!"

"Oh..." The two little ginger's eyes lit up so brightly they almost emitted laser beams.

Chen Xi stood calmly to the side with her arms crossed. Seeing their expressions, she could already guess what was going to happen next. Sure enough, the two of them were very in sync, holding a Bandai Tamashii Limited 1/1 scale glowing model sword. When they saw the price, it was 1840... It's so easy to make money off the Moon people.

"Look at the materials here, the workmanship, it will definitely retain its value..."

"What? We've never bought this. We don't even have one at home."

"This time we definitely won't play with it for a short while and then leave it in a corner to gather dust. We will definitely take good care of it."

"Please, my best brother in the world, if you buy this, I'm sure I'll improve my ranking by at least thirty places in the next monthly exam..."

Chen Xi looked speechless: "You've already graduated from university, so don't use those old high school clichés anymore."

It's always the same: I spend a lot of money to buy a bunch of useless things, play with them for a bit when I get home, and then throw them aside.

But in fact, the act of consumption itself can bring great satisfaction. The joy of the sense of accomplishment at the moment of purchase is real. There is no need to worry about whether the purchase is actually useful.

Chen Xi was simply enjoying the two little ginger clinging to her and acting cute.

Having two such beautiful and adorable twin sisters who know how to act cute with their brother and love anime... The envious looks on the faces of some otaku around him were enough to make them grind their teeth in envy.

However, when Chen Xi finished paying and Jiang Wanwan came out excitedly with her sword, the object of her envy immediately shifted from Chen Xi to the two little Jiangs.

It seems that in the hearts of otaku, even beautiful girls can't compare to ex-curry sticks.

"Let's go eat. It's almost two o'clock, we must be hungry."

On the way, Jiang Wanwan held the Sword of Excalibur, while Jiang Xiaowan held the Umbrella of Gungnir. They took turns attacking each other, like two chickens pecking at each other.

Occasionally, they would use Chen Xi as cover to poke each other, which looked quite silly on the street.

Jiang Xiaowan said, "Alright, it's my turn to get the Holy Sword."

"No, I haven't had enough fun yet."

"You've had it for a long time."

"No...take my sword!"

They touched Chen Xi's nerves and each of them tapped him on the head.

I had lunch at a well-known, long-established local Shanghainese restaurant.

It was rare for Emperor Yan to encounter a shop where she recognized every single character. She read it out slowly and deliberately: "Old Man and Restaurant... What a strange name."

Little Chenyi followed closely behind her, because she always had food in her hand; Little Chenyi was clearly won over by the food.

Chen Xi said, "It's a centuries-old brand, featured on 'A Bite of China,' and a unit that inherits the intangible cultural heritage of pickling techniques."

"A Bite of China?" Jiang Yan asked, puzzled.

"A food documentary program that specializes in introducing local delicacies."

"so smart!"

He was recommended by someone else, and he almost went into the wrong store just now. There's an old man's restaurant next door. One is called a restaurant, and the other is called a vegetable restaurant. The latter is a fake.

There were two large water tanks in the shop, filled with various aquatic products such as fish, shrimp, and crabs. Chen Xi took Jiang Yan over to order food, while the two little Jiangs ran over to look at the fish.

Jiang Wanwan was a little annoyed: "I didn't expect that we wouldn't be able to go to the beach, and we can only look at seafood here..."

"You can see the sea from Chongdao Island."

Is there a beach?

"It seems not." Jiang Xiaowan looked at the water tank and said, "How about I ask my brother to take us to Zhoushan? It's just a bit far from here."

"But he has work to do... Have you made your choice? I'll choose this Orion."

"Then, I'll choose this big blue crab!"

When Chen Xi came to find them, the two were engaged in a fierce Pokémon battle. They didn't know what method they were using, but one of them was controlling a lobster and the other was controlling a giant blue crab. They were evenly matched.

Both of them got punished.

Chen Yan arrived during dinner, casually pulled up a chair and sat down, then started eating. After finishing, she poured herself some tea, rinsed her mouth, swallowed it, asked what they wanted to eat that night, and then got up and left.

When they left, they packed two portions of pickled food, saying they were for Douzi and Ms. Yin. However, pickled food has a high alcohol content, and most people wouldn't like it, so it's clear that it would end up in her stomach anyway.

"..."

Afterwards, Chen Xi took them for a stroll around Yu Garden. The scenery was so-so, or rather, if they wanted to see this kind of garden, there were better options.

After venting her energy, Chen Yi started to feel unsteady again, constantly rubbing her eyes.

Chen Xi picked her up, wiped the sweat from her back with a tissue, and she quickly fell asleep in his arms.

There were goldfish in the garden pond. Two little gingers went over, leaned on the railing, and pretended to reach out to feed them. The goldfish all came over, looking silly.

"Be careful not to fall," Chen Xi warned.

The two were having so much fun that they ignored him.

There were also young ladies in ancient costumes in the garden, wearing very beautiful Hanfu, accompanied by a photography team, probably there to take pictures.

There are also many elderly people who are part of a tour group here.

There were very few locals, but there was a high school couple, though they didn't look like locals; they were probably from the area near the lake and sea.

"It's so hot..."

"If you keep saying it's hot, it will only get hotter."

The sun was blazing, and three or four o'clock was the hottest time of day. Suddenly, a breeze rose in the woods, bringing some coolness.

The tourists exclaimed with delight:
"So refreshing..."

"It's much cooler now."

"It's been so hot lately, all because of this spiritual energy resurgence..."

However, Chen Xi sensed that the wind carried spiritual energy, so it was a wind that was blown by someone.

He held the sleeping Chen Yi in his arms, looked around, and finally saw three little old men dressed in ancient costumes at a pavilion.

When they saw Chen Xi looking over, they bowed to him. Although they didn't know who they were, Chen Xi returned the bow.

Then, the three figures slowly disappeared, as if no one except Chen Xi had noticed them. The tourists only felt that the summer heat in the forest had dissipated considerably.

Sunlight filters through the gaps in the trees, dappling the surface of the pond, where the leaves are bathed in a golden glow.

After cooling down considerably, Yiyi slept even more soundly in her arms. Chen Xi looked at her adorable face and lowered her head to rub her nose against her daughter's smooth cheek.

After waiting for a while, when they arrived at the City God Temple and saw the three City God statues, Chen Xi finally realized who the three people from before were.

They probably knew that Jiang Wanwan was just here for sightseeing, and that coming in front of her would only spoil the Emperor's mood, so they just greeted her from afar and left.

"Brother, where are we going later?"

"so boring."

"This place isn't fun."

"It's not interesting at all."

Chen Xi sensed that the three City God statues seemed to show unease and a hint of fear on their faces. It was indeed boring; there wasn't anything interesting here. But that's how City God temples are—people come to burn incense or to tour; children would definitely find it boring.

Chen Xi stretched out her merciless iron hand and tapped each person on the head: "Keep your voice down. You can't make a lot of noise once you're in the temple. The staff will kick you out in a bit."

When did Yiyi fall asleep?

"Just now in the garden."

Where is Jiang Yan?

"There was free incense at the entrance, so she took one and went to offer it."

Emperor Yan has an attitude of wanting to get involved in everything, with a grilled sausage he bought sometime ago dangling from his mouth and three incense sticks in his hand.

She first observed how others lit incense, then casually stuck it into the incense burner, clapped her hands, and left. Chen Xi felt that her loser-like demeanor was becoming increasingly pronounced.

After taking a nap, Chen Yi woke up. She was probably still a little groggy and didn't want to get off her father. She clung to his neck without saying a word. Chen Xi carried her for a while before she regained her energy and was willing to get down and walk.

There are many street vendors around the City God Temple area, offering a wide variety of delicious food, but also many shady establishments. Generally speaking, if you have to queue, the food won't be bad.

In the evening, I went to the Bund to watch a light show. The road to the Bund was incredibly crowded, like a zombie apocalypse. But once we got to the riverbank, the crowds thinned out considerably.

The scenery here is quite nice. There's endless prosperity on the other side of the river, while here are historical sites. The light is just right. Two little gingers, armed with weapons, are starting a new round of imperial city PK. Little Chenyi really wants to play with her mothers, so she runs over and babbles.

Emperor Yan stood by the river, gazing at the buildings across the river. She held a bowl of fermented rice dumplings in her hands, and the wind blew through her black hair. She seemed to be deep in thought.

She is actually very quick-witted and eager to learn, even more so than Jiang Wanwan, and she has a lot of questions every day.

Asking questions like "What is this?", "What is that?", "How is this made?", "How are buildings constructed?", "How are clouds formed?", is either asking common-sense questions or simply being stupid.

Chen Xi learned from Jiang Xiaowan that she used to be like that too, like a curious child. It seems that many of her questions have never been answered since she was a child, and have been accumulating until now.

She looked at the opposite bank, deep in thought, probably pondering some elementary school question again. Chen Xi asked:
"What are you thinking about?"

She pointed into the distance, towards the brightly lit Lujiazui financial district across the river:
Why do some people live in places like that, while others can only live in dilapidated rural areas?

"..." This is not a question you should be asking right now.

Chen Xi asked, "Are the meatballs delicious?"

"This is super delicious! Boss, would you like to try it? You have so many delicious things here, and they're all so cheap."

"If it tastes good, eat more."

Chen Xi didn't answer her, and she didn't dwell on it. She said she saw shared bikes over there and asked if she could ride one for a while.

"Hi, can I take your picture? I'm a street photography blogger..."

Just then, a trendy-looking guy with a camera appeared and started chatting with Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan didn't know what the other person did, so he quickly looked at Chen Xi. Chen Xi asked, "A street photography blogger? How many followers do you have?"

"This is my account. These are all photos I took before. You can take a look."

"Wow, 400,000 followers! What kind of camera is that?"

"Sony Z8, the lens is..."

Chen Xi also has a camera at home. Although he mostly uses it to take pictures of Jiang Wanwan, he has studied equipment and photography for a while. Recently, he used it to take pictures of Yiyi outdoors, but he felt that it was too bulky to take it out and follow Yiyi around to take pictures. He wants to get a pocket camera.

This blogger came looking for Jiang Yan, but somehow ended up chatting with him. After a long conversation, he suddenly remembered that he had originally come to take a picture with the girl from earlier.

He asked again.

Jiang Yan rejected him.

"Okay, excuse me."

"Could you take a picture of us together?" Chen Xi called out to him, "But don't post it on social media."

"Oh, sure."

"how much is it?"

"We're not accepting any more, but there won't be any follow-up payments."

"Take a good picture."

"It's covered."

Chen Xi called over the two adults and one child playing with the Holy Sword and Gungnir. Then the photographer discovered that this family was so good-looking that they could be photographed immediately without any post-production. They didn't even need to create any entertainment effect; just posting the photos online would probably get them countless likes!

"Dude, can I...?"

"No."

"All right……"

Chen Xi could sense a person's character, so after saying no, she knew the other person was someone who wouldn't break their promise.

After taking the picture, I directly transferred it to Chen Xi's phone using a card reader.

The background of the scene is Lujiazui, the most prosperous area in Shanghai, across the river, and the Oriental Pearl Tower. Chen Xi is holding her daughter, with two little ginger dogs on either side, and Yan Di is also standing to the side.

He wanted to give the other person money, but they said no, it wasn't necessary.

Have fun! There are plenty of interesting places to visit in Shanghai!

"Okay, thanks bro."

It was already 10 p.m. when we got back to the hotel. The two little rascals, whose physical strength was about the same as that of geese, collapsed onto the bed as soon as they got back to the hotel.

"Take a shower before sleeping?"

"I feel like I can't move anymore..."

Jiang Wanwan habitually buried her face in the pillow. Generally speaking, after a tiring day, she needed to replenish her brother's energy. However, what she smelled was not her brother, but a hotel laundry detergent smell. Only then did she realize that she was at home.

After walking all day and being exhausted, I still can't replenish my brother's energy when I get back. That's so awful!

However, she had anticipated this situation and was prepared for it.

In her suitcase were her super-sized clothes, which her brother had thrown into the washing machine a few days ago but she had stolen. She always prepares one or two of these items in advance when she goes on a trip.

But now I'm so tired I can't even move. I'm like a salted fish; even turning over is too tiring.

"Xiao Wan, I'm so tired. Go and get our secret weapon."

"But I'm so tired too..."

"Aren't you the Lord of Fengdu? How come you're tired after just a stroll around the streets?"

"Go get it, I've already called you 'sister'."

"Then I'll let you be the older sister for a day. Go on, go on."

"I do not want."

Jiang Wanwan suggested, "How about rock-paper-scissors?"

"But I don't want to move, I just want to lie down right now..."

"Then after we say three, two, one, we make the hand gesture, come on, three, two, one... what did you come up with?"

I'll play scissors.

"I played rock, you lost."

"...I misspoke, I actually offered steamed buns."

"Then I'll play the scissors."

"You are clearly a stone..."

Chen Xi glanced at the two lazybones lying side by side on the bed. They could play games that he couldn't understand for half a day.

He couldn't be bothered with them, and simply said:
"I'm going to give Yiyi a bath. You guys should go take a bath too and go to bed early. I need to go to the Youth Federation branch tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)