Wei Chen untied Gu Liang’s ropes, stood up, and tiptoed toward the window.
Pulling back a corner of the curtain to look down, he estimated they were on the third floor. The window wasn’t locked shut, but there was a security grate protruding outside; climbing down was unrealistic.
The security grate was already rusted and didn’t look sturdy. Even though six-year-old Gu Liang was light, Wei Chen didn’t dare let him sit out there.
Suddenly, the sound of a key unlocking the front door came from the main entrance.
Reacting swiftly, Wei Chen grabbed Gu Liang and tied a knot behind him that looked complicated, but could actually be undone by Gu Liang pulling on it loosely. He then sat back down beside him, holding the rope behind his own back.
“Wake up, stop fucking sleeping! We’ve gotten in touch with those two brats’ families.”
The voice was somewhat familiar. Wei Chen recognized it as one of the two men who had kidnapped them.
Everything was proceeding according to the plot; it seemed this kidnapping ordeal was about to end.
A few yawns came from outside, and someone asked with heavy drowsiness, “How are things going, Mazi? Is the money in place?”
Mazi let out a greasy laugh, “Almost! Don’t rush; our days of wealth and glory are right around the corner.”
Another person seemed to have concerns and asked, “They won’t call the police, will they?”
Mazi cursed, “You coward, what are you afraid of? We’ve kidnapped two kids. When the time comes, we’ll release one first, keep the other until we’re sure there’s no danger, and release him right before we run. That way, they won’t dare do anything to us, right?”
“That’s a great plan! What’s that idiom again… seamless something?”
“Seamless like a heavenly robe! If you lack culture, don’t try to use idioms like others. Shut your trap.”
“Right, right, right! You’re cultured. Show off more in front of the boss in the future, and when you make it big, lead the brothers to fortune, hahahahaha!”
While the kidnappers exchanged empty flatteries, Wei Chen fell into deep thought.
The direction of events was wrong. It appeared only one person could be rescued today, and that person had to be Gu Liang.
“Ah Liang, lean over here.”
Gu Liang seemed not to hear, staring blankly without moving.
“No matter what happens later, don’t make a sound, got it? I have a way. Don’t forget my self-rescue practical class score was better than yours.” Helpless, Wei Chen leaned over himself. “Don’t overthink things, be good.”
That last sentence worked a little. Gu Liang turned his head, and upon seeing nothing in the pitch dark, stuck himself to Wei Chen again like a plaster strip, impossible to shake off.
He couldn’t help it; he was scared. He thought even a brave man like his father would panic in a situation like this, let alone himself.
At this moment, he felt like he was floating in icy seawater with no ground beneath his feet, freezing so hard he might crack. Fragile in spirit, he wanted to cry but didn’t dare, able only to seek his sole reliance.
He lifted his head, his nose brushing against Wei Chen’s cheek a cheek as soft as his own and caught a faint scent of baby cream in his breath.
Gu Liang thought: Yet Wei Chen doesn’t seem scared at all. He’s been protecting me calmly and rationally the whole time, even though he’s two months younger than me.
Wei Chen was his sturdy anchor.
During this brief window, Wei Chen urgently called out in his mind: “2002, get out here!”
System 2002: “Mr. Wei Chen, is something the matter?”
Pinching Gu Liang’s small hand, Wei Chen communicated with 2002: “My Interstellar Coins can be converted into RMB, right? Use the identity of the Gu family to contact these kidnappers. Raise the price to make them release Gu Liang first. Pay them first, and tell them after Gu Liang is released, another massive sum will be given to let me go. That way, they will—”
“Mr. Wei Chen, I cannot interfere with the plot’s progression.”
“Then if I get taken away, how is the female lead supposed to save me?”
System 2002: “…”
Wei Chen continued to persuade: “You call this maintaining the plot, not interfering. Don’t fall into your own cognitive trap; learn to analyze issues from multiple angles.”
System 2002: “I understand… though with you looking like a little kid, saying these words feels really out of place.”
“Just do your job properly.”
About three minutes later, after watching his Interstellar Coin balance drop abruptly, Wei Chen finally heard 2002 say: “It’s done.”
Relieved, he grumbled: “Your efficiency is way too slow.”
“Time for the trade! The boss said someone offered a higher price and told us to release one first.”
“Which one do we bring?”
“Let me call the boss and ask.”
Shortly after, the bedroom door was suddenly pushed open. When the light spilled in, it brought no hope, only deeper revulsion.
“Brats, heads up.” A kidnapper walked over and kicked Wei Chen.
Wei Chen gritted his teeth, staring dead at the kidnapper. But these men were wearing masks, tightly covered, hiding all facial features completely.
Gu Liang didn’t utter a word, leaning on Wei Chen as if he were asleep, though his trembling little body betrayed him.
The kidnapper glanced at the photo on his phone, sneered, and waved his hand. “Take the other one to hand over.”
Gu Liang’s eyes widened when he was picked up, not understanding what was happening.
He saw Wei Chen shaking his head at him, smiling at him. In the dim surroundings, it seemed to light up for a brief second before returning to endless darkness.
Gu Liang was thrown into a burlap sack again, only this time he wasn’t knocked out.
Still, he felt completely dazed and couldn’t grasp the situation.
“Are we all going? Leaving no one to guard that kid?”
“That’s what the boss said.”
“Then lock the door tight. Let’s move.”
“Got it. He’s just a brat anyway, he can’t run.”
Five minutes later, the room reverted to a pitch-black darkness where you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. The main door was locked shut, shutting out any visible light, and even intangible sounds were sealed off.
The world was quiet as if painted in tragic hues, leaving only his own light, steady breathing.
Sitting around waiting for death was impossible.
Using a fruit knife redeemed from the System Mall, Wei Chen destroyed the edge of the bedroom door around the lock, then kicked the door open.
“Thanks for the temporary strength boost, System 2002.”
System 2002: “You’re welcome. It is suggested that after escaping, you head left, run for ten minutes, and pretend to faint. After lying down for three minutes, a kind person will send you to the hospital.”
Examining the main door, Wei Chen puffed out his cheeks upon hearing this. His pale lips gained a hint of luster, finally showing a look appropriate for his age.
Dissatisfied, he asked: “Am I really that fragile?”
“It’s just more convenient this way.”
“Well.”
One hour later.
Pretending to have just regained consciousness, Wei Chen furrowed his brows and let out a faint, uncomfortable sound before slowly opening his eyes. His injuries were already fully healed.
A light mist covered his clear eyes as he looked around the room in confusion. His shrinking posture displayed the panic and helplessness in his heart, making him look utterly pitiful.
System 2002 chimed in out of nowhere: “Mr. Wei Chen, impressive acting.”
“You’re welcome. Want to learn?”
Before he could get an answer from 2002, he heard a familiar, soft, and gentle voice asking:
“Brother, pretty brother, you’re awake! Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
It was the voice that had been chattering in his ear earlier when he was pretending to be unconscious. If he hadn’t known how to control himself, he would have instinctively pulled a painful face.
Wei Chen acted startled and snapped his head over.
A little girl who looked like a sweet rice dumpling was leaning against the bed. She looked only three or four years old, with big round eyes as bright as stars, delicate pink skin, and a bit of baby fat decidedly adorable.
However, Wei Chen didn’t reach out to touch her; he just looked at her without speaking.
Just then, a man wearing dirty construction clothes walked in from outside. Holding several payment receipts in his hand, his expression was somewhat embarrassed, but the moment he saw the little girl, he smiled with gentle warmth.
Seeing the man, the little girl obediently called out “Daddy.” The man patted her head, then turned to look at Wei Chen.
“Little guy, why were you passed out on the street alone? Where are your parents?”
Wei Chen blinked.
Putting on a tearful expression, his long eyelashes trembled as he looked up, eyes brimming with tears. “Uncle, was it you who saved me? Thank you, I managed to escape with my life after being kidnapped.”
“Could I borrow your phone to call my parents now? I remember their phone number.”
As soon as Wei Chen returned home and had his body examined, he was punished by Old Master Wei to kneel in the ancestral hall. His parents had gone to thank their benefactor, so no one came to intercede for him.
A faint scent of sandalwood wafted from the waist-high alter table, smoke curling gently upward. Looking up, tiny embers reflected on the ancestral tablets, inducing a sense of inner peace in the quiet environment.
This wasn’t his first time kneeling. He had knelt quite a few times before for not taking good care of Gu Liang, though it was never for long more like minor scoldings to teach him a lesson. Still, he wondered how long it would be this time.
The Wei and Gu families were long-standing allies. Supposedly, their ancestors had weathered several crises together. The Gu family had provided more assistance to the Wei family, while the Wei family valued loyalty and righteousness above all. This led to a kind of bias: regardless of which child made a mistake, Wei Chen was always the one taking the blame.
Wei Chen recalled how in the novel, generation after generation, the Wei family served like personal imperial physicians to the Gu family. Their medical skills were described as legendary, capable of bringing the dead back to life, having saved many lives in the Gu family.
Gu Liang took over the Gu family business at twenty-four. Old Master Gu had long relinquished power, and his parents traveled the world. Gu Liang worked at the company right after graduation and took full charge of the family responsibilities two years later.
After taking over, he elevated the Gu family to its peak by twenty-seven. In the words of the novel, he was a man holding the lifeline of the global economy.
Thinking of this, Wei Chen couldn’t help but laugh out loud. That’s way too fucking cringe.
However, remembering the description of himself in the book, his laughter died down.
Didn’t I sound pretty cringe too? What “medical genius,” “world’s top all-around doctor,” “no illness he couldn’t cure, only people he didn’t care to treat.”
Indeed, it felt like he wasn’t much better off than Gu Liang.
“Ah Chen!”
Pitter-patter footsteps echoed outside. Gu Liang pushed open the wooden door of the ancestral hall without hesitation, running toward him at full speed.
Before Wei Chen could react, Gu Liang tackled him, causing his head to slam into the table holding the tablets.
Clatter! A whole row of ancestral tablets knocked over.
Numbed to it all, Wei Chen held his sprained neck and stared blankly at the ceiling.
Perhaps feeling a bit melancholic as well.
When Wei Chen was rushed to the hospital, Gu Liang felt so guilty and aggrieved that his spirit was completely crushed. Shoulders slumped, he didn’t even dare look at Wei Chen, only following along beside the ambulance stretcher.
Wei Chen even had to comfort him, telling him no bones were broken and it was no big deal.
In his mind, however, he thought: Being such a troublemaker, no wonder your wife runs away in the future. Tsk, serves you right.
The little guy was cute right now big eyes, small round face, looking like a chibi character straight out of a manga. Lacking artistic flair, that was the only way Wei Chen knew how to describe him.
He was quite curious about what Gu Liang would look like when he grew up.
In the novel, the description of adult Gu Liang went like this: Beneath the soft bangs on his forehead were deep, mesmerizing eyes capable of drawing people in, shining like cold stars above his high bridge. His lip contour was naturally vivid, with sharp and sculpted features carved like a masterpiece.
Recalling it once over, even with his neck sprained and immobile, Wei Chen couldn’t help wanting to rub the goosebumps on his arms.
“What are you doing! Stop moving around!”
His arm was restrained by a soft palm. Gu Liang glared at him fiercely, having regained his usual arrogance in no time.
Wei Chen let out a sigh of relief. He had genuinely been worried earlier that Gu Liang would be traumatized; otherwise, he’d have to be the one coaxing him.
“Got it.”
After experiencing the kidnapping incident, both families tightened their supervision over the two boys. Things only relaxed slightly once they entered middle school.
Neither Gu Liang nor Wei Chen ever heard any news about the person who had saved them. Driven by curiosity and gratitude, Gu Liang had asked his parents and tried to search for information.
Wei Chen, on the other hand, didn’t care much, casually enjoying every day free of plot points.
He remembered that in this “running away with the baby” romance novel, the male and female leads reunited in high school. However, Gu Liang mistook the wrong person at the time because the jade pendant given by his parents ended up on the female lead’s younger sister. Thus, he constantly treated the younger sister as the person who had reported to the police and saved him as a child.
Then, the female lead fell in love with Gu Liang, kicking off a cycle of emotional and physical torment. Later, Gu Liang was drugged at a family succession banquet and slept with the female lead. Furious, the two went through two months of intense angst and drama.
Heartbroken after the younger sister sowed discord, and inadvertently discovering she was pregnant, the female lead ran away with the child.
Later, she returned with the kid, leading to another wave of angst and drama before they finally ended up together.
The plot was clichéd and melodramatic; Wei Chen didn’t even know where to begin criticizing it.
Looking at the youth beside him sitting properly and doing homework, Wei Chen felt troubled. Could this kid, whom I watched grow up, really turn into such a brainless, domineering person when he grows up?
Gu Liang was indeed spoiled a bit too much by both families, acting like an unruly young master and showing early signs of a future overbearing president. But as exaggerated as the novel made it out to be? Surely not, right?
He couldn’t help sighing with the heavy heart of an old father.
“What’s wrong?”
Gu Liang nudged him with his elbow. “What are you thinking about, sighing like that? You aren’t in a puppy love, are you?”
“Huh?” Wei Chen froze for a moment before snapping back. “What did you just say?”
“I said you aren’t secretly dating someone, are you? Why are you sighing just like Chen Youming?”
Gu Liang scowled, leaning his entire face over and narrowing his eyes as if inspecting him for any flaws.
Wei Chen’s breath caught slightly, and he began spacing out again.
Gu Liang was truly starting to show signs of the description in the novel. His face was as handsome as if carved by God, though it still carried a touch of childishness, not yet fully matured.
Time flew by so fast, it felt like the blink of an eye. Perhaps in the very next instant, the plot would begin.
Wei Chen knit his brows. His usually calm and tranquil heart felt as though a ripple had stirred across its surface.
Seeing that Wei Chen ignored him, Gu Liang assumed it was a tacit admission that he was keeping secrets, and his temper flared instantly. “You’re really in a puppy love? Who is it? I’m going to tell Aunt Chen.”
This childish brat’s bickering hadn’t changed one bit. Wei Chen relaxed internally, letting out a relieved smile.
His peach blossom eyes curved up, the outer corners carrying a touch of charm.
“Gu Liang, you’re already in middle school and still snitching? Still think you’re an elementary student?” Wei Chen rested his chin on one hand, his handsome face wearing a lazy, roguish expression.
Quite a few girls turned red in the face looking at him.
Sweeping his gaze past them, Wei Chen thought to himself that he didn’t have any strange preferences, so how could he possibly date a bunch of little girls?
However, his words took a different turn.
Shifting his tone, he teased loosely: “Besides, even if I were secretly dating, there’s no way I’d tell you. Even if I told Chen Youming, I wouldn’t tell you.”
Future overbearing president Gu Liang raised an eyebrow, asking through gritted teeth: “Are you sure?”
“Su… Fuck! Gu Liang, are you crazy?!”
The consequence of running his mouth was a round of “campus violence” the kind witnessed by the whole class.