A green screen appeared in front of him and Feng Yongrui scanned the contents.
[The crown prince, Rufus Lockhart von Bexley, is wandering around, lost. How will you help him?]
[Pretend to be a sick child and ask him for money. In return, you'll help give him directions.]
[Pretend to be a noble's illegitimate child who is also lost, and then go along with him.]
[Pretend to be a thief and rob his money. When he chases after you and beats you up, apologize and offer to be friends with him.]
Feng Yongrui looked at the three options in front of him and his lips twitched.
The first one made him feel like a scammer. The second choice made him look a bit stupid. The third choice... was a ridiculous one.
Feng Yongrui weighed the pros and cons and finally chose the second choice. Actually, this choice seemed rather risky, but Feng Yongrui wanted to try this one.
Once he chose the second option, a blue screen appeared in front of him and Feng Yongrui raised an eyebrow. There was detailed information about a child named Harold, who was an illegitimate child from a noble family.
Harold was a pitiful child, really. His mother died when he was three years old and he lived in the annex, watching in sadness as his half-brothers and his birth father lived harmoniously in the main building.
Harold was taught basic knowledge by a few kindhearted servants, but other than the people who brought him food and drinks, he didn't interact much with people. He grew into an introverted child, not confident with himself and becoming resentful of his family.
After several incidents, Harold was accused of trying to harm his newly born younger brother, so his father locked him in the annex and told the servants that he was not allowed to go anywhere for one month.
Depressed and aggrieved because he didn't actually do anything wrong, Harold became rebellious and fled from the house...
This is where he comes in.
Feng Yongrui had to act like he was "Harold".
Looking at the unfamiliar face in front of him, Feng Yongrui de-activated his Invisibility Skill and activated his Shapeshifting Skill. He felt his skin change and remodel itself as he changed into a red-haired boy.
Since Harold was twelve years old, the same age as Lucky, Feng Yongrui didn't have to change his height or body size too much. He simply altered his facial features based on the picture that the system gave him.
When that was done, Feng Yongrui waited patiently in the shadows until he heard the system's reminder. The Crown Prince was here!
Feng Yongrui quickly walked out of the shadows and walked forward, pretending to be in a hurry. Suddenly, he heard a strong voice calling to him.
"Stop."
Feng Yongrui felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest, but he didn't say anything. He turned around to look at the person who just spoke to him...
Feng Yongrui was stunned.
In front of him stood a young boy wearing a cloak. The boy's face was obscured because of the cloak, but Feng Yongrui could see that he looked good.
Feng Yongrui stared at the young boy, but the latter did not say anything. Feng Yongrui was puzzled. Just now, the young boy told him to stop, so why was he so quiet now?
Feng Yongrui opened his mouth to talk, but the crown prince beat him to it and spoke first.
"Hey, do you know where we are?"
Feng Yongrui shook his head quickly.
"No, I'm lost. How about you?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"Well... it's not that I'm lost," the crown prince cleared his throat sheepishly. "I'm just slightly unsure of where to go..."
"Well... since it seems like you know the way better than I do, why don't we go together?" Feng Yongrui suggested.
"Sure, why not?"
The crown prince took off the hood and revealed his handsome face. Just like a fairy tale prince, he had crystal blue eyes, blonde hair, and a handsome face that shone in the darkness.
"My name is Rufus," the crown prince stuck out his hand and Feng Yongrui shook it gently.
"I'm Harold. Nice to meet you, Rufus."
After the warm exchange, though, the two boys fell into complete silence. For Feng Yongrui, he didn't know what to say. He wanted to meet the crown prince so that he could understand this person and think of countermeasures appropriately...
But now, when he was faced with the real crown prince, Feng Yongrui was at a loss for words. How to start the conversation? Err... what topics should he talk about?
As for Rufus, he wanted to talk with the other boy in front of him, but he was afraid that if he started talking, the other party would notice that he was actually lost. Rufus, this person... he had a lot of pride. How could he admit that he was actually lost?
Rufus looked at the boy in front of him -- Harold was shorter than him, so Rufus instinctively felt that he had to be protected. Harold was definitely younger than him, he reasoned, so he had to act like a reliable older brother...
The two boys were immersed in their own thoughts and neither of them spoke up, and then Feng Yongrui heard a "Ding~".
As usual, a green screen appeared in front of him and he read the contents.
[Several members of the Thunder Death Gang are eyeing the two of you because you two look like you have money. What do you do?]
[Wait for them to appear and talk nicely to them.]
[Grab the Crown Prince and run away.]
[Let them try to rob you and heroically protect the crown prince from getting beaten up.]
Feng Yongrui looked at the three choices and the corner of his lips twitched. What was with the third choice, getting beaten up again?
Resolutely, Feng Yongrui chose the second option. As soon as his finger landed on the second option, Feng Yongrui felt a burst of energy in his legs, as if he had the sudden strength to run a marathon.
Feng Yongrui inched closer to Rufus and grabbed the latter's hand, firmly clasping it in his own.
"Hey, what's going on?" Rufus asked, his face frowning in confusion.
Feng Yongrui raised a finger and put it on his lips, telling him to be quiet. He waited for a few seconds and saw three burly men emerge from the shadows. Feng Yongrui immediately understood.
They were those gang members who wanted to rob them!
Without waiting for the gang members to react, Feng Yongrui tightened his grip on Rufus' hand and made a run for it.
The gang members, who were prepared to say some lines before robbing the two kids, were stupefied. When they regained their senses, Feng Yongrui and Rufus were both long gone.
The gang members: "..."
Feng Yongrui did not know how long he ran, but when the power in his legs subsided, he finally stopped running and let go of Rufus' hand. When Feng Yongrui was running, Rufus had been like a doll, dragged behind him and unable to keep up with him.
Now that he finally stopped running, Feng Yongrui turned to look at Rufus, who was huffing and puffing, his cheeks slightly red and sweat coating his brows.
"...A-ahem, sorry about that," Feng Yongrui coughed sheepishly.
"Those people... those people weren't very nice, so I thought it was better for us to run instead of confronting them," he explained.
Rufus wanted to reply, but his lungs were on fire and he had to pant a few times before he could speak properly.
"It's... huff... It's fine... I know you had your reasons..." he muttered.
Feng Yongrui nodded his head and smiled. Thankfully the Crown Prince had no complaints about being treated like a rag doll and getting dragged across half the city, hahaha...
"But still!" Rufus suddenly shouted angrily.
"Dragging me like that and running for your life... You! What kind of monstrous legs do you have, huh?" Rufus burst out in anger, his handsome face twisted into a frown.
Feng Yongrui was shocked and stared at Rufus, not expecting the latter to get upset.
"I, I just wanted to make sure you're okay... Isn't it just running? It's okay, it's better to run like this and get tired rather than let those people beat us and take our money," Feng Yongrui reasoned.
Rufus' face twisted in anger and the rims of his eyes turned slightly red.
"No, no, you're wrong. If we run too fast like this our muscles will be sore tomorrow," Rufus cried, his face filled with grievance.
"By that time, no matter how many expert doctors and masseuses I call, I won't be able to shake off the ache in my legs, and I"ll have to bear with the pain for some time... I think it's better if they rob me instead."
Feng Yongrui: "..."
***