"So if you're not going to sleep, what do you plan to do? In a little while, all the shops on this street will be closed. Are we just going to sit around and chat?"
"Chatting is fine, playing cards is fine, watching TV together is fine... as long as we don't sleep, anything is okay."
Ruan Qiuping wasn't sleepy at all before, but hearing this, he suddenly felt his eyelids grow heavy.
Was this the body's psychological reverse reaction?
"I know, let's go see the sea!" Little Yu Huan's eyes sparkled. "It's a seven-hour drive from here to the seaside. If we leave now, we'll arrive just in time to watch the sunrise."
Ruan Qiuping perked up a bit: "That works. We can get some sleep in the car."
"No sleeping allowed. We need to make up for those 8 hours and 50 minutes," Little Yu Huan said seriously.
"Alright," Ruan Qiuping let out a long sigh.
Immediately after, Little Yu Huan took some coins and went to make a call at the nearby public phone booth.
"I called for a taxi," Little Yu Huan explained when he returned.
Ruan Qiuping narrowed his eyes, spotting something amiss: "Where's your cell phone? When we left, you said you had your phone to let your family know you were safe. Why are you using a public phone now?"
He had been wondering why Little Yu Huan's family hadn't called him after being out for so long.
Seeing that he couldn't hide it anymore, Little Yu Huan admitted honestly: "Before I left, I threw my phone into some bushes... The phone has GPS tracking. If I brought it, we'd be found quickly and couldn't go anywhere."
"But... but I left a message on the phone saying I went out to play on my own and would return after, so they shouldn't look for me..." Little Yu Huan's voice grew softer and softer, almost inaudible by the end.
He grabbed Ruan Qiuping's hand, looking up at him cautiously: "Ruan Ruan, are you mad at me... I'm sorry... I just wanted to go out with you without being caught..."
Ruan Qiuping sighed, ultimately unable to be stern with Little Yu Huan: "...Don't do this again next time."
Little Yu Huan's eyes curved with happiness: "I understand, Ruan Ruan!"
It seemed they still had to wait a while for the taxi to arrive. Just then, a spinning wheel game that was about to close up shop caught Ruan Qiuping's attention.
"Want to play, young man? Ten yuan per spin. If you're lucky and hit the grand prize, you can pick anything from our stall."
"Do you want to play?" Little Yu Huan asked while taking money out of his wallet.
Ruan Qiuping waved his hand: "I wouldn't dare play this kind of game."
Ruan Qiuping turned to Yu Huan, saying with interest: "You play. Let me see how someone lucky enough to counteract my bad luck fares with this kind of game."
Little Yu Huan glanced at the spinning wheel, then whispered to Ruan Qiuping: "These wheels are usually rigged. It's better to play the game across the street."
Ruan Qiuping looked across the street. It was a dice-rolling game with very simple and straightforward rules. Each person got one chance, rolling a six meant a big prize, and rolling three times with a total over fifteen allowed you to choose any prize.
Little Yu Huan played three times and rolled three sixes.
Ruan Qiuping watched in amazement — was this the power of the God of Fortune?
"Ruan Ruan, come pick a prize," Little Yu Huan said with a smile.
Ruan Qiuping looked over the stall for a while before picking up a ring-shaped jade piece with a leaf pattern.
He happened to be lacking a jade accessory. Now he could wear his robe with this accessory for any big events in the celestial realm.
"Good eye, young man. This jade ring is made of top-quality Hetian jade!" The stall owner put the jade in a bag and handed it to Ruan Qiuping.
Whether it was real Hetian jade or not was hard to say, but Ruan Qiuping quite liked this piece of jade.
Moreover, jade ring... Yu Huan...
Ruan Qiuping felt the jade in his hand become even more precious. He wanted to hold onto it carefully, but fearing his bad luck might cause it to get chipped or damaged, he handed it to Little Yu Huan, saying: "Hold onto this for me first. Give it back to me when I leave."
Little Yu Huan carefully put the jade away.
Just then, the car Little Yu Huan had called arrived.
It wasn't an ordinary taxi, but a super luxurious, extended, custom-made limousine.
Little Yu Huan pulled Ruan Qiuping into the car, showing him the TV, snacks, and game consoles inside: "With all these things, we won't feel bored even playing for seven hours!"
But all Ruan Qiuping saw was the long seat beside them that could be used as a bed.
Next, the two began their all-out effort to stay awake.
At 10 PM, both were still energetic and started watching a movie.
At midnight, the movie ended, and both looked a bit tired.
At 1:10 AM, they had reached level 16 in their two-player game. The big boss was pummeling them while they yawned, slowly pressing the attack buttons. Soon, their game characters lay dead in a pool of blood. Game over.
At 1:45 AM, they were still repeating this level, but this time they weren't killed by monsters. Little Yu Huan's eyelids drooped with fatigue, causing his character to fall into water and drown.
At 1:56 AM, the game controller slipped from Little Yu Huan's hands. His head plopped onto the soft backrest, and he fell into a deep sleep.
At 2 AM, Ruan Qiuping, yawning continuously, lay down on the long seat that could be used as a bed, hugging Little Yu Huan, and fell asleep.
At 5 AM, Ruan Qiuping and Little Yu Huan were woken by the driver.
Ruan Qiuping struggled to open his eyes: "The seaside... are we there?"
"When did I... fall asleep?" Little Yu Huan's head seemed to hurt.
"Call your old man," the driver, wearing a hood, handed the phone to Little Yu Huan, saying menacingly, "Tell your old man if he doesn't bring 50 million by tomorrow, I'll chop off your head and mail it back to him."
Ruan Qiuping: ???
Ruan Qiuping looked around and suddenly realized this abandoned factory looked familiar. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was identical to the abandoned factory where he first met Little Yu Huan when he descended to the mortal world.
Ruan Qiuping also examined the hastily hooded kidnapper driver with his black plastic bag "mask."
When they got in the car, there was a partition, so they couldn't see the driver's face clearly. Now, up close, he realized the kidnapper driver's eyes, visible outside the black plastic bag, looked exactly like those of the butcher from the illegal slaughterhouse who had chased them that day.
"Hurry up and give me your old man's number!" the kidnapper said impatiently.
Little Yu Huan recited a string of numbers.
The kidnapper listened to the phone for a while, then lost patience and shouted: "Are you fucking lying to me?! Why isn't this number going through?!"
Little Yu Huan lowered his eyes and said: "He's quite busy. If you try a few more times, it should connect."
The kidnapper paced back and forth, impatiently redialing the number.
When the kidnapper walked further away, Ruan Qiuping whispered to Little Yu Huan: "I feel like this kidnapper looks familiar. We've seen him before, haven't we?"
"It's him, the owner and butcher of the illegal slaughterhouse," Yu Huan paused, then said, "I reported him by name back then. Before he went to prison, he threatened me. I didn't expect to encounter him again when taking a cab."
Ruan Qiuping could almost imagine how things had unfolded.
After being reported, the illegal slaughterhouse owner faced bankruptcy and prison time, harboring resentment against the Yu family who reported him. After getting out of jail, he changed careers to become a luxury car driver, never expecting to pick up the very person he held a grudge against. Suddenly overcome with malicious intent, he improvised a mask by cutting holes in a black plastic bag and decided to become a kidnapper on the spot.
Looking at the whole sequence of events, it was nothing but coincidences.
If they weren't extremely unlucky, how could they encounter such an absurd situation?!
Ah...
Ruan Qiuping let out a long sigh.
He had been thinking that on this trip to the mortal realm, no money was stolen, no car broke down, no pirate ship capsized, no Ferris wheel fell from the sky... not a single decent mishap had occurred, and he was feeling quite pleased. Who knew it was all being saved up for this moment.
The former butcher turned kidnapper tried calling for over half an hour without getting through. Even Ruan Qiuping felt anxious watching him.
Finally, a bright idea struck the kidnapper. He took out his phone and snapped a few photos of Little Yu Huan, sending them to the number.
After a full ten minutes of waiting, the kidnapper's phone finally rang.
The kidnapper discussed the time, place, and money for the exchange with the person on the other end. Then, he walked over with the phone, kicked Little Yu Huan's leg, and sneered, "Come on, cry a little so your dad can hear. He still thinks I'm bluffing!"
As soon as the phone was brought close, Little Yu Huan suddenly smacked it to the ground with his face and shouted loudly, "We're at the previously reported illegal slaughterhouse! Long Ping District, Green Forest Road, Number 305!"
The kidnapper scrambled to pick up the phone and hung up, then roared in anger, "You damn brat, you want to die?! Even if I get caught, I'll beat you to death first!"
Cursing, he lifted a nearby wooden table and swung it violently towards Little Yu Huan's head—
"Bang!"
Little Yu Huan shuddered in fear. Trembling, he opened his eyes to see Ruan Qiuping shielding him, his entire shoulder sunken. Ruan Qiuping was covered in dirt, with crimson blood trickling down from his dusty temple, dripping onto the broken table legs on the ground.
Ruan Qiuping smiled. Even with his diminished powers, he could still manage to break the rope that had bound him.
However, his action further enraged the kidnapper behind him. The man tossed aside the table leg and turned to grab an axe not far away.
"Little Yu Huan, close your eyes," Ruan Qiuping said softly.
"You... you're hurt..." Little Yu Huan's eyes were wide open, tears streaming down uncontrollably, his lips quivering.
Ruan Qiuping wiped his face, glanced at the blood on his hand, then hid it behind his back. Looking at Little Yu Huan, he spoke again:
"Be good, listen to me. Close your eyes."
Little Yu Huan bit his lip and, shaking all over, closed his eyes.
Ruan Qiuping let out a sigh of relief. He watched the man running towards them with the axe, then quickly pressed the invisibility button on his wristband.
The kidnapper was frozen in shock. He watched in disbelief as a full-grown person suddenly vanished before his eyes, almost doubting if he was dreaming.
The kidnapper spun around on the spot, his eyes dazed. He gripped the axe tightly with both hands, holding it in front of him. His heart was pounding, but he still shouted loudly, "You... come out! Stop playing tricks! Come out!"
"If you don't come out, I'll kill this kid fir—"
"Thud!" A sharp pain shot through the back of his head. The kidnapper's vision went dark, and he collapsed unconscious.
Ruan Qiuping tossed aside the wooden stick and pressed the button to deactivate his invisibility.
He walked step by step to Little Yu Huan, crouched down, and began untying the ropes while gently saying, "Little Yu Huan, you can open your eyes now."
Little Yu Huan's eyelashes fluttered, about to open his eyes, when suddenly his body went limp and he collapsed.
Ruan Qiuping was stunned.
What was happening?
Just then, the sound of footsteps grew clearer.
Ruan Qiuping looked up to see the teaching assistant, Qi Yue, walking slowly towards him.
Qi Yue's face was expressionless as he spoke:
"Ruan Qiuping, you've broken the rules."