Being invisible has its advantages. For instance, Ruan Qiuping had originally planned to sneak past the bodyguards to enter this luxurious villa. He would have had to rack his brains and use every trick in the book. But now, he simply followed Little Yu Huan, strolling in with ease.
However, after entering the main gate, Little Yu Huan didn't go into the villa where the couple and child had just entered. Instead, he went around to the back of the villa and walked into a small wooden cabin.
Ruan Qiuping wanted to follow him in to see what Little Yu Huan was up to, but he was a step too slow. Before he reached the door, Little Yu Huan had already entered the cabin and locked the door behind him.
Ruan Qiuping circled the cabin and found it peculiar that it didn't have a single window.
He thought about teleporting inside, but with his powers reduced to a tenth of their original strength, he was too weak. When he tried to teleport into the cabin, he nearly ended up in the nearby pond instead.
"What is the young master doing in there? Why isn't he going to the main house with Boss Yu and the others?"
Ruan Qiuping was curious too, so he quickly moved closer to listen.
Another person yawned and replied, "He's probably taking a nap. I heard Young Master Yu Huan couldn't sleep for most of the night, and because of tonight's birthday celebration, he had to catch a flight at 5 AM this morning. He must be exhausted now."
So he was just sleeping.
Ruan Qiuping breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought Little Yu Huan might have been confined there.
Estimating that it would be several hours before Little Yu Huan woke up, Ruan Qiuping decided there was no point in waiting around. Since he hadn't had much chance to explore in the two days since he'd descended to the mortal realm, he thought he'd take this opportunity to go out and have a look around.
Ruan Qiuping had planned it all out quite nicely, intending to eat, drink, and be merry in the mortal world to his heart's content.
But he'd forgotten that while in the celestial realm, one could rely on magical powers to get things done, in the mortal world, one couldn't get far without financial power.
The few hundred yuan he had wouldn't even be enough to get him through the nearby shopping street.
Ruan Qiuping was still wearing just a thin shirt. Though he wasn't cold, it attracted curious stares from people bundled up in cotton jackets.
So Ruan Qiuping first used his money to buy a set of warm clothes, then ate some food, and bought a few small trinkets. Soon, his money was all gone.
Ruan Qiuping patted his stomach, which wasn't entirely full, looked at the gradually darkening sky, and meandered back to the villa.
When Ruan Qiuping returned to the small wooden cabin, he didn't see Little Yu Huan. Instead, he saw the smartly dressed little boy he'd seen at the front gate earlier, now pounding furiously on the cabin door.
Seeing that knocking was useless, the boy started kicking the door. The loud thumps were irritating to hear.
As he kicked, he also shouted Yu Huan's name, demanding him to open the door.
"Creak—"
The wooden door opened, and Little Yu Huan appeared with an expressionless face. He looked down at the boy who was half a head shorter than him and said, "Yu Fan, what do you want?"
Yu Fan looked up, his tone quite disrespectful: "Let me in. I want to play inside too."
"No," Little Yu Huan refused.
Yu Fan angrily said, "Is this your cabin? Is your name written on it?!"
"...Young Master... The eldest young master has lived in this cabin since he was born. Why don't we go play somewhere else..." the maid beside Yu Fan cautiously suggested.
"No, I want to play in this cabin!" Yu Fan stomped his foot in anger.
Little Yu Huan glanced at his watch, then said, "The birthday banquet is about to start. I'm leaving now."
With that, he walked out of the cabin and locked the door, standing on tiptoes to reach the lock.
As soon as Little Yu Huan pulled the key out of the lock, Yu Fan lunged forward to grab it.
Little Yu Huan raised the key high above his head and looked down at Yu Fan, asking, "You want it?"
Yu Fan glared at Little Yu Huan fiercely.
Suddenly, Little Yu Huan flung his hand, tossing the key into the nearby pond.
"Go fish it out. If you get it, the key and the cabin are yours," Little Yu Huan said with a smile before walking away alone.
Yu Fan's eyes reddened, as if he couldn't bear the frustration. He suddenly snatched the toy airplane from the maid's hand and hurled it viciously at the back of Little Yu Huan's head—
Then, he saw the toy airplane suddenly pause in mid-air just before it was about to hit Yu Huan, as if it had hit an invisible wall. Then it fell to the ground.
Yu Huan was completely unharmed.
Yu Fan's eyes widened in shock.
Ruan Qiuping sucked in a sharp breath and rubbed his stomach — that toy had hit him hard.
Ruan Qiuping lifted his shirt to look and saw that the area where he'd taken the hit for Little Yu Huan had turned black and blue.
"Ghost!" Yu Fan screamed in terror and ran away as fast as he could.
Little Yu Huan paused, turned his head to look.
Apart from the shattered toy airplane on the ground, he saw nothing.
.
"Little Yu Huan!"
Seeing no one around, Ruan Qiuping canceled his invisibility and emerged from behind a decorative rock, bouncing in front of Little Yu Huan.
Little Yu Huan was stunned for a moment, but the moment he confirmed it was Ruan Qiuping, his eyes lit up brightly.
Then, those round, bright eyes of his curved into crescents.
Little Yu Huan stretched out his arms and threw himself into Ruan Qiuping's embrace.
"Ruan Qiuping—"
Little Yu Huan called out Ruan Qiuping's name joyfully.
"Call me Brother Qiuping!" Ruan Qiuping corrected him.
"Ruan Qiuping Ruan Qiuping Ruan Qiuping Ruan Qiuping Ruan Qiuping Ruan Qiuping..." Little Yu Huan called out again and again.
"Why are you in such high spirits today!" Ruan Qiuping couldn't help but laugh.
He seemed like a completely different person from when Ruan Qiuping had been invisible earlier.
"Of course! Because you're here, I've been waiting for you!"
Ruan Qiuping said, "But I came late this time. I thought you might be angry with me."
The last time he'd come, it had still been autumn. This time, everyone on the streets was already wearing cotton jackets.
"How could I be?" Little Yu Huan looked up at Ruan Qiuping with a smile. "A year has four seasons - spring, summer, autumn, and winter - and 365 days. As long as you come on any one of those days, it's not late."
Looking at the innocent, unguarded smile on Little Yu Huan's face, Ruan Qiuping suddenly felt as if his heart had been hit hard by a ball of cotton.
It was warm, soft, and gently made him want to cry.
Oh my, how could there be such an adorable child?
"But aren't you very busy today? I just heard that you have to attend some banquet," Ruan Qiuping said.
Little Yu Huan's smile gradually faded. He looked at Ruan Qiuping with slightly evasive eyes and cautiously asked, "...Were you... listening the whole time? How much did you hear?"
"Pretty much everything?"
Little Yu Huan lowered his head, unconsciously tugging at the hem of his clothes, and asked, "...Then did you also see me bullying someone?"
"How were you bullying anyone?" Ruan Qiuping corrected him righteously, "You were clearly the one being bullied! If I were you, I wouldn't have just thrown the key away. I would have kicked that kid right into the pond!"
The pond looked like it was just knee-deep, so it's not like the kid would have drowned.
Hearing this, Little Yu Huan couldn't help but laugh.
"What time does your banquet end?" Ruan Qiuping glanced at his watch. "You should go now. I'll wait for you here."
Little Yu Huan frowned, seemingly reluctant to part with Ruan Qiuping.
Suddenly, Little Yu Huan seemed to think of something. He grabbed Ruan Qiuping's hand excitedly and suggested, "Let's run away!"
"Run away? Are you planning to leave home again..."
"Not leaving home for good," Little Yu Huan interrupted Ruan Qiuping. "Just skipping this banquet. We'll come back tomorrow."
Ruan Qiuping frowned, hesitating a bit. "Is that really okay? What if your parents worry?"
"I have my phone with me. If they need to find me, they'll call. Ruan Qiuping, I'm seven years old this year. Am I still considered a child?"
"Of course you are. What else would you be if not a child?"
"Then can I, like other children, be a bit willful and mischievous for once?" Little Yu Huan blinked. "...I've never been willful before."
Little Yu Huan tugged at Ruan Qiuping's hand and softly called out, "Brother Qiuping..."
Ruan Qiuping's heart jolted violently, and he nearly lost his composure.
Stay calm, Ruan Qiuping! Don't lose your reason just because of one "Brother Qiuping"! Even though you've always wanted to be called that, even though you've always wanted Little Yu Huan to call you that, even though Little Yu Huan is unbearably cute right now, you can't let a child lead you by the nose. You must stay calm, Ruan Qiuping!
"Brother Qiuping, will you come out to play with me? Just this once, please, just this once..."
"Whoosh!"
Ruan Qiuping suddenly scooped up Little Yu Huan in his arms.
He held Little Yu Huan with one arm, while his other hand slowly brushed the stray hair from his forehead.
He struck a pose, looking handsome and dashing.
With a deep gaze and lowered voice, sounding just like the impossibly cool protagonist from an anime, he said: "Hold on tight, big brother's going to make you fly!"
"How will we fly?"
"Over the wall. For big brother, scaling walls is child's play."
Then they both tumbled to the ground in a heap.
Then they both tumbled to the ground in a heap for a second time.
...
Finally, they crawled out through the dog flap one after the other.