It only took an hour by train and another ten minutes by taxi from the school to home. Normally, Fang Jueyu would just take a nap to get through the boring journey, but this time he was deep in thought.
The words his mother, Cao Lan, had said that morning were strange. In all his years, she had never spoken to him in such a serious tone. Could something have happened at home?
But that didn't seem likely. Fang Jueyu had no relatives besides his parents. He had never met his grandparents, neither on his father's nor his mother's side, and in his understanding, they had passed away long before he was born.
As for the family's financial situation, that was another mystery that had puzzled Fang Jueyu for 20 years. He had never seen his parents go to work, nor did he know what kind of work they actually did.
Though they weren't super rich, they never seemed to worry about money. Fang Jueyu had no idea where their money came from.
He had a feeling that this time, when Cao Lan called him home to talk, he might finally get answers to the questions that had been bothering him all these years.
"Son, over here!" As soon as Fang Jueyu stepped out of the station, he saw his father, Fang Huai, waving at him. Even though Fang Huai was his father, no one would doubt it if he told people they were brothers.
Not only that, Fang Huai was taller and more handsome than Fang Jueyu. Sometimes, Fang Jueyu even wondered if his parents were some kind of immortal beings, but he had no proof.
"Huh? Dad, did you buy a new car?" Fang Jueyu asked, surprised, as he looked at the Porsche Cayenne next to his father. Although he didn't know much about cars, he figured this one had to be worth at least a million yuan with all the add-ons. When did his family have that much money?
"What's the big deal? It's just a small, cheap car," Fang Huai casually replied, lifting Fang Jueyu's heavy luggage with one hand and tossing it into the trunk. "Get in."
Feeling bewildered, Fang Jueyu climbed into the car. Everything felt surreal. A Porsche was just a "small, cheap car"?
They lived in a perfectly ordinary apartment complex, with a modest home of 80 to 90 square meters. It was as ordinary as could be, but suddenly Fang Jueyu began to suspect that his family might be far from simple.
Back home, the smell of delicious food immediately awakened his taste buds. Cao Lan had already prepared dinner, waiting for them to return.
"Wife, your cooking is better than ever!" Fang Huai smiled mischievously, giving Cao Lan a kiss. The lovey-dovey display from his parents made Fang Jueyu, still recovering from his recent breakup, roll his eyes.
But he had to admit, his mother's cooking was amazing. As he wolfed down the food, he couldn't help but think that the meals at his university's famous cafeteria were garbage in comparison.
"Eat up. This might be the last time we have dinner together for a while," Cao Lan said, looking at Fang Jueyu with a touch of sadness.
"The last time?" Fang Jueyu froze, setting down his chopsticks. "What do you mean?"
"Hmm," Fang Huai cleared his throat. "Son, you're twenty now. There are some things we should tell you. Let's go to the study."
Fang Jueyu, looking confused, followed his parents into the study.
The room was as clean and tidy as ever, but there was one difference: a small, delicate box sat on the desk.
"Son, there are some things we've kept from you for a long time. We wanted you to grow up as a normal kid, so we didn't tell you. But now, we're planning to leave, and before we go, it's time you knew the truth," Fang Huai said.
"You're not going to tell me you're some kind of monsters, are you?" Fang Jueyu blurted out.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Fang Huai smacked the back of his head. "Your grandfather has gone missing recently. Your mother and I are planning to go to where he was last seen. We're leaving tomorrow morning."
"My grandfather?" Fang Jueyu was stunned. "I thought my grandfather passed away?"
Smack! Another hit to the head. "Who told you he passed away? He's just not on Earth anymore. We've always been in contact, but lately, we can't sense him. We're worried, so we're going to find him."
"Wha... What? Not on Earth?" Fang Jueyu's mind went blank. Were his parents on drugs? What were they even talking about?
"Yeah, this might be hard for you to understand," Cao Lan explained. "But let me put it this way: your father, your grandfather, and I—we're not exactly ordinary people."
"How... how not ordinary?"
"We live for thousands of years, we barely age, and we have powers you can't even imagine."
"Hahaha, Dad, Mom, you've been watching too many sci-fi movies," Fang Jueyu laughed. This wasn't April Fools', right?
"Oh, silly boy," Cao Lan shook her head. "It's no wonder. When your grandfather told your father about this, he nearly wet his pants."
"Shut up! Show some respect in front of the kid!" Fang Huai grumbled. He opened the box on the desk. Inside was a syringe-like object filled with some kind of mysterious liquid.
"This is our family's ancestral heirloom, passed down for thousands of years. Once you inject this into your body, everything will make sense."
"Oh, and if you miss us, just level up your status quickly. Then you'll have a way to contact us. And don't worry about going hungry—we've transferred all of our family's assets into your name. You'll figure it out soon enough."
"Assets? What kind of assets do we even have?" Fang Jueyu asked. "By the way, Dad, where did you even get that car? You didn't rent it, did you?"
"Get lost!" Fang Huai flicked him on the forehead. "Here, take this card. There's a little money in it for you to spend however you like. Not that you'll ever run out."
Fang Jueyu took the black card. It felt different from any card he'd ever seen, and it had a unique, high-end design.
"With this card, you'll get VIP treatment in most major malls across the country. Oh, and if you don't believe me, check how much money is in there."
Fang Huai flashed a mysterious smile. "I've already linked it to your phone."
Curious, Fang Jueyu entered the card number on his computer and initiated a balance check.
A message quickly arrived on his phone, and the string of zeros that followed nearly made his head explode.
"Eight zeros! A hundred million!"
"This... this can't be real, right?" Fang Jueyu was stunned. "Dad... Mom... how much money do we actually have?"
Fang Huai and Cao Lan exchanged helpless glances and sighed. "We don't really know. We have shares in so many companies, and actually, the developer of this neighborhood is part of our family's group too. Honestly, there probably isn't anyone richer than us in this world..."