Bai Ci counted them once more, from the first neatly stacked letter to the last love poem she had just slipped in. There were exactly ten, no more, no less.
In other words, the tenth letter that was supposed to be inside had vanished.
The image of her running into Zhao Yu at the workroom door flashed through her mind. The letter he had been holding had a small blue “2” stamp in the bottom-left corner of the envelope, identical to the stamps on the other envelopes in Hugo's mail carrier bag.
The missing letter must have been taken by Zhao Yu.
Bai Ci gently closed the mail carrier bag, her mind filled with doubts.
What was Zhao Yu trying to achieve by taking a letter? Was there some important information hidden inside? Or was he simply trying to test her, or perhaps deliberately provoke her?
Forget it. Bai Ci pondered for a moment and abandoned the idea of exposing him or taking the opportunity to set him up.
Right now, she was still acting as an NPC to gather clues about the instance. There was no need to let Zhao Yu's minor antics disrupt her rhythm. Besides, if the envelope contained a vital clue that could raise Zhao Yu's evaluation grade upon clearing the instance, it would ultimately benefit her as well.
She turned and walked out of the workroom, heading toward the lobby counter.
Mrs. Ella was organizing the scattered stamps and writing paper on the counter. Seeing her approach, she immediately stopped her work and greeted her with a smile. “Did you put the letter in, Miss Lora? If that boy Hugo finds out you wrote him a letter, he'll be absolutely thrilled.”
A smile appeared on Bai Ci's face as she nodded. “Thank you for the tip, Mrs. Ella. It's already in.”
“By the way, I noticed that the envelopes in Hugo's bag all have a small blue ‘2’ stamp in the bottom-left corner. I was wondering what that means?”
“Oh, you mean that stamp? That's used to identify the mail carrier,” Mrs. Ella explained with a smile.
“Every mail carrier has their own unique number stamp, and Hugo's assigned route corresponds to ‘2.’ Whether it's an outgoing letter or an incoming one, it gets stamped with the responsible carrier's number. If anything goes wrong with a letter—like a wrong delivery or if it gets lost—we can hold the carrier associated with that stamp directly accountable. It makes keeping track of things much easier.”
Bai Ci nodded in understanding. The letter Zhao Yu had taken was clearly one of the letters Hugo was supposed to deliver today.
She followed up with another question. “What if the count is wrong, or if a letter goes missing? Will they still go after the assigned carrier?”
“Of course,” Mrs. Ella said, stopping her work and adopting a more serious tone. “The postmaster counts every carrier's letters before work begins every afternoon. Not a single letter can be missing. If the count is short, they're punished according to the rules—either by sweeping the attic, having their pay docked, or in severe cases, getting fired. But Hugo is a careful boy; he's never made that kind of mistake.”
Zhao Yu had most likely taken the letter to stir up some trouble, perhaps to get Hugo penalized for violating the rules.
Yet, the way he had deliberately flaunted the letter in front of her seemed too contrived. If he wanted to screw Hugo over, he could have just taken it quietly without letting her see it. If he was trying to test her identity, the move was far too childish.
However, since Bai Ci had already decided not to expose him, she didn't press further and changed the subject instead. “Mrs. Ella, I'd like to wait here until Hugo starts his shift since I don't have anything else to do. Would you mind if I chatted with you for a bit? I hope I won't be bothering you.”
These words were exactly what Mrs. Ella wanted to hear.
Mrs. Ella had worked at the post office for many years, mostly dealing with letters and packages. It was rare to find someone like Bai Ci—elegant, polite, and patient enough to listen to her chatter.
Moreover, Bai Ci was Hugo's fiancée and a family member of an old colleague, making her trustworthy. Mrs. Ella could comfortably share some of the gossip she usually kept to herself.
“No bother at all, I'd love the company!” Mrs. Ella waved her hands dismissively, pulling Bai Ci to sit on a chair by the counter and pouring her a cup of warm water. “If you don't mind, let's just chat about whatever. There hasn't been much news in town lately, so we can just talk about the people and happenings at the post office.”
Bai Ci listened quietly, occasionally nodding in agreement to prompt Mrs. Ella to speak more. Once Mrs. Ella opened up, she went from talking about the post office's daily trivia to gradually speaking about the postmaster.
“Our postmaster is actually quite a pitiful man.” When mentioning the postmaster, Mrs. Ella's tone softened, and she sighed. “His wife passed away years ago, leaving him with only a daughter. The relationship between father and daughter has always been poor. His daughter has a rebellious streak and frequently argues with him, which is why the postmaster is always frowning. He looks like he's aged more than ten years because of it.”
“But lately, things have changed. The postmaster smiles more often and isn't as quick-tempered as before. I suppose their relationship must have improved.”
The two chatted for a while longer, with Mrs. Ella doing most of the talking about town gossip and post office rumors, while Bai Ci occasionally chimed in, subtly gathering useful information.
Swept up in the conversation, Mrs. Ella even brought up the minor conflicts in the post office and friction between old employees. Her voice was full of nostalgia; it was clear she deeply missed the post office's earlier days.
Before they knew it, the hands of the clock tower reached one in the afternoon. The dull tolling of the bell echoed over the town, reminding everyone that it was time to start their afternoon shifts.
They chatted aimlessly like this, with Mrs. Ella finding the conversation increasingly pleasant. After all, very few people were willing to listen to her ramble about domestic matters. Bai Ci's gentle, understanding nature and excellent listening skills made Mrs. Ella feel incredibly close to her, causing her to unconsciously reveal quite a few details about the post office and the town.
Bai Ci listened quietly, committing the useful information to memory. She occasionally chimed in, maintaining a polite smile throughout.
Time flew by, and soon it was time for the afternoon shift to begin.
As the low toll of the clock tower sounded in the distance, Mrs. Ella reluctantly stopped talking, a trace of regret appearing on her face. “Oh dear, time really does fly. It's already time to start working, and we haven't even finished chatting.”
Bai Ci stood up with a smile and said gently, “It's quite alright. I'll be coming back to bring Hugo lunch in the future, so I can chat with you then.”
“Good, good, then it's a promise!” Mrs. Ella beamed, nodding repeatedly.
As the bell faded, the post office gradually came alive. Lin Wan, Chen Mo, Zhao Yu, and Zhou Kai entered the lobby one after another, gathering in the open space next to the counter. Hugo and Old Tom also emerged from the breakroom and joined the group.
Hugo walked over to Bai Ci, a look of surprise on his face. “Lora, why haven't you gone back yet? Have you been waiting too long?”
“No, I'm doing great here. I've been chatting with Mrs. Ella for a bit, so I wasn't bored at all,” Bai Ci replied with a smile, shaking her head. “Go on, get to work. Don't let me hold you up.”
Hugo nodded and stepped back into the line.
Before long, the postmaster stepped out of his office. He wore a dark uniform, his hair was graying, and the wrinkles on his face were pronounced, yet his eyes were remarkably sharp and energetic.
Since he had Western features, Bai Ci couldn't immediately determine his exact age. Judging by the fact that he had a daughter who was almost an adult, she estimated he was probably in his late forties or early fifties.
He walked up to the group and, without any unnecessary pleasantries, pulled out a notebook and spoke in a serious tone. “Everyone is here. We will now count the letters. Open your mail carrier bags and line up in order.”
When it was Hugo's turn, Bai Ci appeared to be staring at him, but she was actually using a trick she had learned back in school—pretending to look at the blackboard while secretly watching if the dean was passing by the window—to observe Zhao Yu's expression.
She wanted to see how Zhao Yu would react when he saw that Hugo's letter count was still sufficient despite having one taken.
Hugo opened his mail carrier bag, revealing the neatly stacked letters inside. The postmaster bent over and quickly counted them. “One, two... nine, ten.” After confirming there were exactly ten, he checked off Hugo's name in his notebook without the slightest hesitation and turned to the next person.
Faced with this outcome, there was no surprise, anger, or displeasure on Zhao Yu's face. Instead, he raised his eyebrows slightly with a hint of disappointment, as if saying, “How could this be?” or “How boring.”
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