These pants were clearly not going to work. Luckily, Little Dog brought some spare clothes to change into.
Little Dog seemed a bit reluctant to part with the pants.
"Come on, come on. Aren't you glad that no one was hurt?"
Little Dog frowned, "These pants were bought for me by my dad during the New Year's celebration."
"We'll get your dad to buy you another pair."
"Who knows when that will be," Little Dog clearly had no faith in his father.
At this moment, James's phone rang.
"Hello, James? There's a package for you downstairs. Can you come and pick it up?"
A package?
James rarely shopped online; most of the household purchases were taken care of by his sister, Jasmine. She was an avid online shopper but always used her own name and phone number for deliveries, and most of the time, she used her office address.
James went downstairs, and the delivery guy had just arrived.
The package was very light, almost weightless. James guessed it must be some kind of document or advertisement flyer. But who would send an advertisement flyer via express delivery?
James entered the elevator and tore open a small hole in the package. Inside slid out a paper strip about three fingers wide.
To be more precise, this couldn't be called a paper strip. It was a slightly textured yellow mounting paper with some strange symbols drawn on it. Each stroke seemed to contain some deep meaning.
This was quite common in rural areas.
It was like those paper talismans hung in front of rural houses or pasted on doors for protection against evil spirits and disasters.
However, unlike those crude talismans found in rural areas, this paper talisman felt weightless yet seemed to contain some mysterious energy that could not be explained.
It was like genuine jade - its quality became apparent when placed next to ordinary stones.
Even without comparing it to ordinary stones, its unique aura was obvious to anyone who wasn't blind.
"There's writing on the back.
Lavender Vale, Moonlit Lane, No.9 Villa.
James held the paper talisman, feeling a bit puzzled.
Luckily, there was no one else in the elevator, or people might have gotten the wrong idea.
Being a swindler wasn't a good reputation to have.
Especially at such a young age.
As James was lost in thought, something strange happened.
A faint golden glow suddenly emerged from the surface of the talisman. The paper talisman seemed to be driven by some mysterious force and slowly lifted itself up.
With a gentle roll of the golden glow, the talisman suddenly turned into mist and disappeared. The symbols on it seemed to have penetrated James's palm and embedded themselves as a brand in his flesh.
In that instant, James felt an inexplicable absurd sensation throughout his body and mind.
It was as if his body and soul had been electrically shocked at the same time.
In that split second, it seemed like James had entered a strange world or that a strange world had entered his body.
Ding!
The elevator's arrival tone clearly told him that this was the real world.
Looking at his palm again, the brand had already vanished without a trace.
For no apparent reason, that paper talisman floated in his mind with some words written on it:
'24 hours'
James was shocked. What was going on?
The text only lingered in his mind for a few seconds before disappearing completely.
No matter how James tried to provoke or manipulate it afterward, there was no further reaction.
Caught off guard by these sudden changes, James stood by the door for quite some time before finally calming himself down and entering the apartment.
Little Dog, with his simple-minded nature, had already forgotten about his pants. He sat cross-legged on the sofa with a remote control in one hand and potato chips in the other, happily watching a variety show called "Savage Sisters."
It wasn't easy to get into this show without some experience.
As far as James could tell, experience was something Little Dog certainly lacked.
His main focus was probably on the sisters' thighs - their smooth white skin.
Being able to be as carefree and happy as Little Dog was a blessing.
James didn't want to ruin Little Dog's happiness, so he didn't mention the package.
James checked the package again, but there was nothing else inside. This meant that the person who sent him the package only sent him this mysterious paper talisman.
What kind of strange operation was this?
Looking at the sender's information, there wasn't any!
How could someone send a package without leaving their name and address?
Weren't deliveries supposed to be very strict nowadays? How could they be so careless?
James took out his phone and checked the tracking number of the package.
The result showed that there was no such tracking number!
Since even the tracking number couldn't be found, calling the delivery company wouldn't help either. The trail had pretty much gone cold, and it would be difficult to pick up any clues from here.
If he wanted to solve this mystery, he would have to...
Lavender Vale, Moonlit Lane, No.9 Villa.
James silently memorized the address.
Lavender Vale was one of the top three business districts in Nova City, which James was familiar with.
As for No. 9 Villa on Moonlit Lane, it seemed a bit beyond his reach as a child from an ordinary family living in an apartment building.
What puzzled him even more were those words:
24 hours?
What did that mean? Was it hinting at a clue or warning of some crisis?
Or did he have to go to No. 9 Villa on Moonlit Lane within 24 hours?
"Hey, what kind of package was it?" Little Dog casually asked.
"Advertisement flyers," James casually replied.
"Who has the time for that? Those things are too annoying to even use as toilet paper. And they even spent money on express delivery?" Little Dog scoffed.
James didn't respond.
Looking at the time, it was already past 12:30 pm, too late to go out and buy groceries to cook.
James went to the kitchen and cooked two bowls of noodles. Along with the snacks and marinated food Aunt Susan had packed, they enjoyed their meal.
Just one bowl of noodles made Little Dog extremely satisfied with city life.
"Hey, why don't you let me stay in the city? I really don't want to go back to town."
"Feeling itchy again?"
"Listen, if you take me in, I'll be your loyal servant from now on." Little Dog shamelessly begged.
"I'm not used to exploiting child labor. Go back to town and study properly."
"You might as well kill me. Books give me a headache. I don't know if I'm reading them or if they're reading me."
"How about we talk about this with your big sister later?" James said with a half-smile.
"Please don't..." Little Dog's face turned green at the mention of his big sister.
Little Dog's big sister, who was also James's biological sister, was three years older than James. Due to a change in family circumstances, she had left school two years ago and entered society. She now works at a real estate agency.
Little Dog, who was always fearless and reckless, was terrified of his big sister.
If Aunt Susan could be considered a strong woman, then his big sister could be called a strong woman plus.
The women in the James' family were known for their strong spirits and determination.
Aunt Susan's toughness was mostly evident in her words; she never hesitated to speak her mind.
On the other hand, his big sister's toughness was usually hidden but could become fierce when provoked.
Little Dog had never been beaten by his own father, Aunt Susan, or even James, but he had been beaten by his big sister.
Little Dog was notorious for being a troublemaker at school, but his big sister would not interfere unless he crossed a line.
That beating happened because Little Dog had gone too far.
For some unknown reason, he put a snake in a female classmate's bag, scaring her so much that she wet herself on the spot and had to be hospitalized for several days due to a mental breakdown.
This caused Aunt Susan to spend several sleepless days and nights taking care of her in the hospital.
When his big sister received the call, she immediately dropped her work, borrowed a colleague's car, and drove hundreds of miles to the school in town.
She even picked up a vine along the way. As soon as she parked the car at the school, she chased Little Dog around and beat him until he begged for mercy.
After that beating, the girl's parents witnessed it and were too embarrassed to make a fuss. In the end, they settled the matter with some compensation.
Although Little Dog remained mischievous afterward, at least he learned where to draw the line. At the same time, he developed a deep respect and fear for his big sister.
Asking him to tell his big sister that he didn't want to go to school anymore was risky. Who knew if she would beat him up again?
The James' family's discipline was strict; the older siblings had a duty to teach the younger ones, and physical punishment was considered justified.
When it came to his big sister, Little Dog lost his appetite and ate his noodles absentmindedly.
While eating, James's phone rang again.
"Hello? Rosie?" This call was unexpected; it was from Li Hua, his school desk mate. This girl usually blushed when looking people in the eye, let alone calling him. As far as he could remember, this was the first time she had called him.
"Yes... it's me..."
"Are... are you okay?" Rosie stuttered.
"Huh? I'm fine! I'm eating lunch right now." James could sense Rosie's nervousness through the phone.
"Oh, then it's nothing. Bye..."
James looked at the phone with a puzzled expression; the call made no sense whatsoever.
Rosie had never called him before; James thought there must be some significant issue, but it turned out to be just a couple of sentences before hanging up?
To use an inappropriate analogy, it felt like someone had undressed only to reveal a small surprise.
Ding!
A message notification appeared on the screen.
It was from Rosie.
"I just saw the news on my phone. There was a landslide near Silvermist Mountain that buried a bus. I was worried you were on it."
James finally understood; that explanation made more sense.
His desk mate really had a conscience.
However, this incident happened yesterday. How long was Rosie's reaction time?
Had she just seen the news? Was she so focused on studying that she even put in the effort during the holidays?
"I'm fine; I hitched a ride back to the city this morning. Thanks for your concern, desk mate."
After sending the message, James put down his phone and continued eating his noodles.
Little Dog slurped his noodles, wearing a strange smile on his face as he stared at James.
"What's wrong? Can't eat?"
"Wow, big brother, you can really keep your cool. Your face didn't even turn red."
"Why would my face turn red for no reason?"
"Hehe, is she your girlfriend?"
James almost spat out the noodles he had just put in his mouth. Little Dog was trying to act like an experienced person when he clearly wasn't.
Seeing this reaction, Little Dog became even more excited and slammed his chopsticks on the table: "See? That's the sign of a guilty conscience. Big brother, tell me about my future sister-in-law. Is her skin fair? How big is her butt?"
James glanced at the bowl and then at Little Dog's forehead.
"Little Dog, do you believe that I'll dump this whole bowl of noodles on your head?"
"A gentleman uses words, not force. You can't bully me because I'm younger." Little Dog moved back to maintain a safe distance.
"You little rascal, it seems I need to send you back home sooner."
"If you send me back, I'll tell my big sister that you secretly smoke." Little Dog smirked maliciously.
"You telling her won't make a difference..."
Well!
Actually, it would make a difference.
James had to compromise.
He couldn't let his sister find out about this; otherwise, if she became furious and lost control, the consequences would be unimaginable.
James's smoking habit wasn't severe; in fact, he could say that he wasn't addicted at all. The reason he occasionally smoked was due to some troubles on his mind.
Normally, a student wouldn't have much to worry about, right?
On the contrary, James never had any concerns regarding his studies. Despite both his parents being missing, their strong intellectual genes were evident.
This was especially true for James, who had an extraordinary ability - an eidetic memory.
From kindergarten to the present, he had always excelled academically.
While others' successes came from one percent talent and ninety-nine percent effort, James's academic achievements resulted from one percent effort and ninety-nine percent talent.
James had never encountered a worthy opponent in his studies.
In this aspect, he was undoubtedly favored by fate.
His troubles stemmed from his family situation.
His mother mysteriously disappeared, and his father inexplicably left home.
Anyone at James's age would inevitably feel extremely frustrated.
Over the years, James had never confided in anyone nor shown any negative emotions in public.
However, deep within a corner of his heart, there was always a knot that could not be untied by sunlight.
Everyone thought he had accepted his fate, but—
In James's heart, he had never, ever accepted it!