The raise of Maureen Smith and her Good Luck System-Chapter 62 - avoiding sensitive topics

She was immersed in a huge and sad dream, as if she had returned to the day at the spirit hall in her previous life.

Her hands and feet were numb from the cold, and she was shaking from crying.

Maureen vaguely felt herself being half-carried out of the barbecue shop by Liam, she had vomited all over him, he squatted down in front of her, and re-tied the shoelaces that she had messed up.

Then he gave a few instructions to Drake and the others.

The street light outside the barbecue shop shined on the ground, small insects fluttering in the cold air.

The breathed-out air became a white mist.

Tears fell on the ground.

So cold that it was unbearable, the tears flowing into her neck were also cold.

There was an extra scarf around her neck.

Finally, she wasn’t cold anymore.

Maureen hugged the warm utility pole in front of her.

…

Next, Maureen completely lost consciousness.

She fell asleep.

…

What’s strange is that a person who is drunk knows when they’re about to sober up.

Their consciousness starts to gradually clear, yet their body feels as if a mountain is weighing down on it, unable to move.

Their eyelids heavy with exhaustion can only perceive a little flickering light.

Like a jammed movie projector, the only remnants they can remember of the previous night are sporadic scenes.

The hum of an engine combined with a slight swaying made Maureen’s head feel like it’s about to split open.

The sense of weightlessness upon landing twisted her stomach into knots, making it feel like she was about to throw up everything she ate.

…

When Maureen began to regain consciousness in a daze, almost ready to open her eyes, the first thing she felt was the cold.

“What’s going on?”

“Is it colder than yesterday?”

“Has the temperature suddenly dropped by more than ten degrees?”

The incessant cacophony of noise buzzed in her ears, while the seat beneath her was in a constant state of jostling, making Maureen feel as if none of her bones belonged to her.

She fought hard to open her eyes, her consciousness sluggish.

What came into view was a rather dirty car window.

Was she…

in a car?

Kidnapper?!

A chill ran down Maureen’s spine, and she was petrified, instantly snapping to alertness.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Glancing over to her left, she saw Liam lounging by her side, which brought her some peace of mind.

Even if it were kidnappers, with Liam around, someone would surely ransom her off.

Liam, with brows furrowed, lips tightly pursed, was sound asleep, albeit worn out.

He had changed his clothes and wasn’t wearing his noise-cancelling headphones.

Maureen soon realized that the silver headphones were hanging around her own ears.

She took them off.

They were out of battery so she turned them off.

Then, Maureen turned to her right.

An old and run-down yet familiar bus station came into view.

The waiting area still had the wedding “Double Happiness” character posted from last year.

The dust was thick, but the hawking of peddlers and crowd bustling made the scene lively, in a place seemingly worn-out yet brimming with vivacity.

The streets were littered with an array of red, green, and even multicoloured flyers.

The car continued forward, just brushing past many tricycles.

On the rough and uneven gravel ground, after every interval there was a pile of rubbish, the supposedly functional trash bins all along the road appeared merely for show.

A spasm twitched in Maureen’s eyelid, as a sudden wave of familiarity washed over her.

Even the quiet Roasted Meat stall hidden around the street corner felt strangely familiar.

The boss called out in a familiar accent that Maureen recognized: “Roasted meat!

Tasty and cheap Roasted meat!”

It’s almost as if the aroma overflowed.

She was left breathless.

Her heart was thumping non-stop, and she involuntarily pressed her forehead to the cold car window, feeling the temperature difference.

Who knows how long it took, the jolting finally paused.

The car twisted around for quite some time and came to a halt at the entrance of an old, rundown alley in town.

The dark alley was just like what Maureen remembered, the ground covered with moss and filled with water from the recent rainfall.

Looking upwards, there were disorderly, dilapidated tube-shaped buildings, with not many households having their windows closed.

All of them were wide open, with one or two bamboo poles sticking out, faded t-shirts, school uniforms, and dried cured meat haphazardly hung together.

…

She was all too familiar with it.

A few more steps into the alley, and she would reach the small courtyard she used to live in with her grandmother.

In it, there would be several gardenia trees, some pots of sun-dried radishes, and neatly arranged shoes that her grandmother had mended.

Realizing where she had arrived, Maureen’s heartbeat quickened even more.

Her fingers that were touching the car window were slightly trembling.

Some aspects had changed, but most of what she remembered remained the same.

A group of teenagers strutted around, carrying a basketball and heading to a small, less damp patch of land nearby to play.

The car stopped, and the driver announced in the local accent: “We’re here, wake up.

Pay up.”

Only then did Maureen notice there was another car following behind.

Niel, Drake, and Josephine, rubbing their eyes, jumped down looking like they had just woken up.

Liam awoke as well, glancing subconsciously at Maureen beside him.

He yawned, as usual wearing an impatient look on his face.

He pulled out several red bills, handed them to the driver, and then got out of the car, walking around to this side.

He opened the car door in front of Maureen.

Maureen, her eyes reddened and swollen, looked dazedly at him.

At this moment, she felt as if she were dreaming.

Was she in Alice’s wonderland or what?

How did she seem to wake up back in the place where she grew up, when a trip back home would take a train journey of ten or more hours?

But how did she get on the train while she was asleep?

Maureen suddenly remembered the humming sound of taking off and landing when she was deeply asleep— Was it a private jet?

And then there was Liam— these people—

They seemed to have stumbled into her dreams.

Liam stood in front of the car door, holding the door open, waiting for her to get out.

Against the light of the early morning, his red, eye-catching short hair warmed the cold morning fog considerably.

Seeing her standing still, Liam leaned slightly, the corner of his mouth rising, starting to smile,

“What are you blanking out for?”

Maureen got out of the car a little too slowly, while Liam held the car door open for her.

He kicked a plank under the car, just covering the pooled water on the muddy ground.

“Welcome home, little girl,” he said to Maureen.