Chapter 71

Chapter 71

◎ Fixing the Bug in the Secret Space ◎

As night fell, the clock ticked round and round. By around three in the morning, Meng Qi still hadn’t fallen asleep. His mind was constantly occupied with thoughts of everything that might happen after he left—things that could occur, things that were unlikely, things he could avoid, and things that were unavoidable—all crashing down on him like a surging tide. His brain felt like it was about to explode, and in the end, he couldn’t figure anything out.

Just then, a faint rustling sound came from the door, eerie and unsettling in the darkness, startling him. He immediately perked up his ears to listen. At first, he thought it might be Kuang Hui or Dong Jiaming, unable to sleep, coming out to find something to eat or drink. At that thought, he even absentmindedly licked his lips, suddenly feeling a bit thirsty. But when he listened more carefully, it didn’t sound like footsteps. He jolted upright in bed, no longer thirsty, his heart pounding wildly.

If he could end up inside a book, then maybe ghosts could walk through walls too...

Meng Qi couldn't stay lying down or sitting still; he just wanted to go check it out. As he swung his legs out of bed, he flicked on the ceiling light in the bedroom. Then, creeping to the door, he pressed his ear to it and listened carefully. To his surprise, the sound got louder, like it was coming from right under his feet! Startled, he jumped up, and yanked the bedroom door open.

There was no sign of Kuang Hui or Dong Jiaming anywhere outside the door, but Meng Qi wasn't scared—in fact, he almost laughed.

“Meng Lingzhi, you scared me again! One of these days, I’ll shell you and boil you, and then see how you scare me.” Meng Qi bent down and picked up Meng Lingzhi, who was frantically scratching the door with its front paws. He held it in his palm, staring it in the eye.

But Meng Lingzhi took advantage of Meng Qi being distracted to suddenly lunge forward at him. If Meng Qi hadn't dodged fast, it would've bitten his nose.

Maybe it wasn't a bite; maybe it just wanted a close snuggle. Meng Qi muttered to himself as he moved Meng Lingzhi farther away.

As soon as this commotion started, Ren Baizhi also got lively in its shiny turtle tank, splashing around with its legs. Meng Qi smiled, strolled over, and tossed Meng Lingzhi in with Ren Baizhi. Then, as he scooped up some turtle food to feed the two lively little guys, he mumbled to himself, “Hey, you two, do you want to stay here and live the good life, or come with me to rough it in the mountains?”

Meng Lingzhi and Ren Baizhi just kept munching on the turtle food, completely ignoring Meng Qi.

“It's not like it's suffering, you know. You two belong to nature anyway; being cooped up in this concrete box is the real torture, right? Tall mountains, babbling streams, birdsong and flowers, shady trees—that's the paradise you're dreaming of, isn't it?”

Meng Lingzhi and Ren Baizhi kept chewing, making it look like Meng Qi was talking to himself.

“When you think about it that way, it doesn't seem so bad there. Besides, if others can survive there, why can't I, right? I grew up in the country; our house didn't even have a hot water heater, and when we couldn't afford the electricity bill, we'd go months without turning the lights on... It doesn't seem much better than that place, does it? So I think I'll definitely get used to life there fast—I'm sure I will!”

After eating its fill, Ren Baizhi was the first to pull back into its shell.

Little turtles don't eat much.

But even so, it still ate some. Meng Qi glanced at the turtle food, already half gone, and started thinking about buying more. His thoughts then drifted elsewhere.

Given how remote and underdeveloped that place is, with bad transportation, should he stock up on a few cans of baby formula in advance, just in case? What about diapers? Were they necessary? Should he stock up now or buy them as needed? Where would he buy them? Could he find suitable ones there? And calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, vitamins A, B, C, D, E, F, G—those seemed essential too. He remembered a kid from his village a few years back who hadn’t gotten enough calcium since birth, and his forehead hadn’t developed properly, leaving a big dent that looked terrible. By the time they tried to fix it, it was too late; the doctor said surgery was the only option, which involved implanting a silicone skull plate.

That incident happened when Meng Qi was going through growing pains, also caused by calcium deficiency. His grandparents were so scared they rushed to the pharmacy and bought several boxes of calcium tablets, telling him to take two every morning and evening. He kept at it for over half a year, to the point where he got sick of it... So he remembered it vividly.

With calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, and vitamins A through G covered, should he also bring cold medicine, gastrointestinal medicine, allergy medicine, and so on? Meng Qi fell into deep thought.

Meng Lingzhi, tired of waiting for the next pellet, seized the moment. It darted out, bit Meng Qi’s finger, and then quickly retracted its head—a very agile move. Meng Qi was stunned for a moment. He pinched the spot where Meng Lingzhi had bitten him; it didn’t hurt or itch, and there wasn’t even a red mark. He knew Meng Lingzhi was just reminding him, not trying to bite him for real. So, as he handed over some turtle food, he praised it, “You little clever one, you know how to remind me like this. But next time, don’t pull back so fast, okay? I know you won’t really bite me. I won’t get mad, and I won’t be scared.”

After feeding Meng Lingzhi a few more pellets, Meng Qi pulled out his phone, opened the camera, and pointed it at Meng Lingzhi. “Come on, show the netizens a trick,” he said.

With that, he slowly extended his hand toward Meng Lingzhi.

Then something magical happened. This time, Meng Lingzhi didn’t bite him, nor did it rush to poke its head out like before. Instead, it slowly rubbed its head against Meng Qi’s hand, as if it were acting coy, making Meng Qi’s heart melt.

Just as Meng Qi was basking in the joy of petting the turtle, an even more magical scene unfolded. Ren Baizhi, which had retreated into its shell to rest, also poked its head out. From beside Meng Lingzhi, it started bouncing up and down toward Meng Qi’s finger, clearly eager to get close.

But it was so small, and next to the big Meng Lingzhi, it looked like a ping-pong ball next to a soccer ball. Its bouncing was especially comical, making Meng Qi laugh out loud for a good while. Of course, he quickly captured the scene on video, later including the part where Ren Baizhi rubbed against his finger.

No wonder more and more people were getting into pets. Playing and fooling around with them like this visibly reduced worries. Meng Qi felt his mind and body relax several times over. Sleepiness crept in, and he felt like he could just lie down on the floor and doze off.

He had registered for a video app before, and though he hadn’t uploaded any new content recently, his persona as a wealthy man had already been established and had gone viral. Every day, quite a few netizens left him messages. Some kindly praised Meng Lingzhi and Ren Baizhi for being cute and well-behaved, while others simply called for Meng Qi to come back online and keep posting about his pets, telling him not to forget his eager fans.

Now that he had finally captured something interesting and was eager to show off, he naturally wanted to post it quickly and wait for the netizens’ compliments. Such cute and clever turtles deserved to be praised to the skies.

Editing the video took only about ten minutes. He adjusted the colors a bit, checked for any spots that might reveal his privacy and needed blurring, replaced the background audio with a lighthearted, popular internet song, and then uploaded and sent it—all in one smooth motion.

Within a minute of the review being completed, his comment section was flooded by enthusiastic netizens:

—: That hand! Stop petting the turtle and come pet me!

—: What window did God close for the rich? Nice feet, nice hands, and even nicer turtles—so jealous!

—: Whoa, even a second 3D model couldn’t produce such perfect hands, right? Love it! “Excited” But I love those two little turtles more—they look so blissful “Hug”

—: First time seeing a turtle with a coy expression, so amazing “Shocked” Are they really not turtle spirits?

—: Reply to the above: Animals aren’t allowed to become spirits after the founding of the nation, so I think they are turtle spirits too! But I bet the blogger won’t admit it “Proud”

—: Hey, wait? Is the blogger in West City too? Pretty close to me. Wonder if I’ll get a chance to run into you “Shy”

Just as Meng Qi was getting into the comments, he suddenly saw one like this. His heart leaped into his throat. He thought, “I never revealed where I am—how did this netizen figure out I’m in West City?”

When he first registered for this video app, his intention was to avoid being seen by people around him. If this was how it turned out, he might as well be delivering himself right under their noses. How dramatic.

Was it too late to delete the account now?

But he couldn’t bear to. He really needed this “secret space” to vent his emotions.

With this anxiety, Meng Qi replied to a netizen’s comment for the first time: “Maybe we’ve already run into each other “Smile” Curious—how did you know I live in West City?”

Maybe if he knew the reason, he could find a fix.

—: Gotcha! A live blogger! So happy! “Jump” Answering for the above: That’s because you haven’t turned off the ‘Nearby’ feature. They probably found you in the nearby category “Serious”

Meng Qi had never used this kind of video app before and didn’t know that to keep his location private, he first had to turn off the nearby feature. After the netizen’s reminder and explanation, he felt he had learned something. He immediately went to disable the nearby option and also turned off any other settings that might expose his privacy. Only after doing all that did he feel relieved and return to browsing the comments.

To his surprise, the netizen who had kindly explained things had become a target of criticism.

—: Mind your own business! Why teach the blogger that? How am I supposed to secretly follow their updates now!

—: Exactly! What if the blogger comes to my hometown and I don’t even know “Fuming”

—: Blogger, don’t listen to them. Don’t turn off the nearby feature. Turning it off hurts your traffic, and then how will you grow followers and sell stuff “Serious”

—: The blogger is already rich—do you think they’ll sell stuff?

—: Plenty of rich people sell stuff. Even a fly’s leg is still meat “Hmph”

—: Don’t tell me you wouldn’t sell if you were making millions a day?

...

Seeing the comments veering off-topic into areas he didn’t care about, Meng Qi quietly exited the comment section. He then searched online for how to disable all privacy settings on the video app, followed the steps, and breathed a sigh of relief. He thought, “Good thing I posted this video now. If I had posted it after I ran off to the mountains, I’d be exposing myself in no time, no need for anyone to search for me.”

After saying goodnight to Meng Lingzhi and Ren Baizhi, Meng Qi finally fell into a deep sleep. Even though he knew there was a big hurdle to face tomorrow, it didn’t stop him from dreaming.

The next morning, after breakfast, Meng Qi planned to take a taxi back to the Meng family home. But just as he was about to act, his phone rang—it was Meng Kaize. As soon as Meng Qi answered, Meng Kaize said urgently on the other end, “Bro, come down quick! I’ve got something great to show you!”

“You’re downstairs?” Meng Qi asked as he headed down.

Meng Kaize said smugly, “Yeah, I’m here. Hurry up and come down.”

What could get Meng Kaize, who grew up in a wealthy home, so excited? Meng Qi couldn’t help but feel curious.

When he got downstairs, Meng Qi finally understood why Meng Kaize was so excited—he had gotten an off-road vehicle, accompanied by two burly, brawny men dressed head to toe in black, with bulging, sinewy arms exposed. They looked like they were bursting with combat power, the kind of people you don't mess with.

Without needing to guess, these two were clearly the bodyguards Meng Kaize had hired with his own pocket money.

Meng Qi raised an eyebrow, feeling like taking a picture and sending it to Kuang Hui, telling him that Meng Kaize’s fifty thousand yuan was well spent—if he were to hire him instead, he’d have to charge only a tenth of the price.

"Author's Note"

I’d like ten of these bodyguards, please! Seriously, rent them out and let them make me money every day!!