Tuls gripped Xie Jianxun’s hand tightly, as if dazed by his first big commission, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
Ms. Vila smiled as she watched them shake hands and reminded them, “Gentlemen, it’s time to sign the contract.”
“…Oh, right.”
Only then did Tuls remember. He finally let go and signed his name on the commission contract first—one copy for each party—before handing the rest to Xie Jianxun.
Xie Jianxun tilted it slightly to make sure Ela could also see the terms clearly.
There were no major issues, so he signed as well.
Afterward, Xie Jianxun followed Ms. Vila to pay a sum deposited with the firm, covering the platform fees and the treasure hunter’s deposit.
Before leaving, Tuls brimmed with excitement, his hair wax gleaming under the lights.
He put on a serious demeanor, holding back the urge to bounce on his toes as he walked forward. He had to maintain an elite image—no acting childish, Tuls thought.
“The list has been sent to your Light Brain.”
Xie Jianxun operated his Light Brain with his left hand while holding Ela’s with his right. Just half a minute ago, he’d added the treasure hunter Mr. Tuls’s contact code, allowing him to transmit the file directly to his instant messaging window.
Although Mr. Ela wasn’t actually a child, in this form, Xie Jianxun took the initiative to hold his hand to prevent him from getting lost.
Ela, tasting the sweetness of it, was even less willing to let go and openly reached out to hold on.
Tuls nodded, pushing up nonexistent glasses on his nose bridge, then froze for a moment.
He lowered his hand and declared with full gravitas, “Rest assured, boss. I’ll get you all the ordinary materials within the next day or two.”
Xie Jianxun smiled. “Looking forward to your good news.”
Xie Jianxun called a taxi home, while Tuls stood at the entrance of the Treasure Hunting Firm, steadily watching his boss depart.
Only after Xie Jianxun and his assistant’s figures vanished on the other side of the street did Tuls finally exhale the breath he’d been holding.
“I did it! I’m in business!!! Oh god, did you see that? I’m in business!!!”
He tore off his elite facade, raised his hands, and shouted at the sky, “I! Did it! Thank you, heavens!”
Pedestrians passing by the firm entrance stepped back, watching in astonishment as Tuls yelled and danced, kicking his feet in childlike steps, hopping away in the opposite direction—joyful like a wild man who’d gone hungry for three days and finally caught a rabbit.
As he reveled, he thought that, at the very least, he could dip into his savings tonight.
Buy a big portion of prepared beef, order a glass of fragrant liquor, and enjoy a proper feast in his cramped rental room.
May the boss be happy every day and live a hundred years!
Tuls clasped his hands and prayed devoutly.
Not two days later, Xie Jianxun received a mailed package from Tuls. Inside was a compartmentalized storage box containing the materials he’d gathered over this time, accompanied by a note.
Xie Jianxun finished unpacking the outer wrapping and curiously opened the note.
It clearly listed the scientific names and weights of this batch of materials in print, along with Tuls’s flamboyantly scrawled handwritten signature.
At first, Xie Jianxun didn’t recognize it as a signature and thought it was some mysterious code Tuls had left for him. He puzzled over it under the light, head full of fog, for quite a while.
Finally, Ela couldn’t stand it anymore. He walked over and said it was just a signature, though the handwriting was too ugly.
Xie Jianxun set the note down with a complicated expression, deciding to tactfully suggest next time they met that he didn’t need such an elaborate signature.
Just write the strokes clearly and honestly—that’s better than anything.
Yiwen dragged over a stool, and Ela sat on it casually, joining Xie Jianxun to inspect the material quality.
There was quite a lot, and checking each one took a full two hours.
After roughly going through the batch, Ela gave Xie Jianxun an almost imperceptible nod.
“The quality is pretty good,” the round-faced assistant said seriously. “At least he really studied advanced materials science and has a trained eye. He didn’t try to pass off inferior stuff on you.”
Xie Jianxun suddenly felt an itch on his back, something slithering up.
He didn’t need to look back to know who it was. Sure enough, Yiwen’s little probe head popped up from his shoulder, affectionately nuzzling his neck.
Xie Jianxun laughed from the tickle and turned his head to dodge. “Don’t do that, Yiwen.”
The mechanical female voice said gently, “It’s getting late, gentlemen. You should eat. Forgetting to eat is bad for your health.”
Before she finished, Ela grabbed her head and yanked her forcefully off Xie Jianxun’s shoulder. But Yiwen didn’t get angry; instead, she coiled around Ela’s hand coquettishly and huffed, “Don’t be like that, sir. Throwing tantrums means no one will love you.”
Ela said coolly, “I don’t need that kind of love.”
He then coiled the Mechanical Arm into a mosquito coil shape, tossed it onto the sofa, and Yiwen quickly slipped under a cushion. She shyly poked out her electronic eye screen toward Xie Jianxun.
Sure enough, the soft-hearted Little Adventurer would always come pick her up.
“Hard to imagine how you all got by in the previous years,” Xie Jianxun placed her on the dining table, and Yiwen happily wagged. “Fighting right under Idis’s nose, and he doesn’t care?”
Ela naturally didn’t speak, but Yiwen huffed, “Idis doesn’t care about that stuff.”
Lunch was takeout as usual, and Xie Jianxun had gotten used to it.
He’d realized no one in this house cooked. The fridge had no fresh food—not even a habit of stocking up.
Yiwen went without saying; the Mechanical Arm couldn’t eat anyway.
Idis holed up in his upstairs workshop all day, rarely seen. Since Xie Jianxun moved in, he’d only met him face-to-face on the first day; after that, he was like a dragon unseen, coming and going without trace.
That left only Ela in the household.
But due to his height limitation, the standardized kitchen setup was like an unreachable mountain for the petite assistant.
So they relied entirely on takeout all day. Yiwen would deliver a portion upstairs to the workaholic as well.
Since moving in, Xie Jianxun hadn’t seen any fresh food besides takeout.
Sometimes Yiwen got lazy thinking up flavors and ordered from the same restaurant for three days straight—nine meals. By the end, Xie Jianxun could tell what lunch was without even entering the place.
His spirits visibly wilted.
The Little Adventurer began to miss Alex’s (his previous boss’s) Golden Fried Rice. The technique hadn’t changed much, but Alex at least added different spices and dried fruits, sometimes varying the meat marinades.
He had to make a suggestion. “I think we need to buy some fresh vegetables.”
Xie Jianxun proposed earnestly, “Otherwise, before One Xiu is ready, I might dry up into jerky first.”
Yiwen draped over the chair back, swishing her tail thoughtfully with a “hmm.”
Ela sat in the chair in front of her, holding a thick tome half his height, reading intently.
Only when he heard Xie Jianxun speak did he peek out from behind the pages.
Truth be told, if the academic book in his hands were swapped for a broad newspaper, and Ela were taller and sturdier, he’d look just like an old-school gentleman reading the news after breakfast.
Ela raised a brow. “You’ll cook yourself?”
Xie Jianxun spread his hands helplessly. “I can tell with my eyes closed which head chef is manning the kitchen at today’s restaurant. Maybe we need a change of pace?”
Yiwen didn’t mind at all and was delighted. “Sure! Xun Xun, take me out. We’ll buy groceries and cook! Too bad Idis didn’t install a cooking module in me, or I could help you cook.”
At those words, Ela laid the book flat on the table and asked, “Do you really need a cooking module?”
His expression turned enigmatic. “I remember there’s a chip in storage. If you want, I can make one for you today and install it.”
Yiwen: “…Forget it. I’m not giving you a chance to touch me with a screwdriver.”
She swam over to Xie Jianxun. “Let’s go, don’t bring this guy.”
Xie Jianxun glanced upstairs. “Should we ask Idis?”
Man, Mechanical Arm, and android paused, chorusing, “No need.”
“…”
Xie Jianxun wondered puzzledly if Mr. Idis was unpopular in this house.
Otherwise, why did his mechanical creations and assistants resist him so much?
…Could his real temper really be rotten enough to anger heaven and man?
While it was still early, Xie Jianxun changed clothes and shoes, then left home with Ela.
Yiwen talked about going out with Xun Xun but ended up staying home. Xie Jianxun guessed that even if she wanted to go, she couldn’t leave Idis alone—probably a pre-programmed command.
Before the elevator doors even opened, a hand reached right under his nose.
Ela said calmly, “Don’t get lost.”
“Alright, alright.” Xie Jianxun was amused and took the assistant’s hand. Luckily, their apparent age gap made holding hands look natural.
He teased, “Did Mr. Ela get lost before? You’re so insecure.”
The elevator descended floor by floor. Unexpectedly, Ela nodded.
His youthful little face fell silent for a moment before he said, “I had no guardian and lived in an orphanage before. Later, a repairman took me out and moved me to a very dark basement.”
He recounted calmly, “At first, I couldn’t find my way home and got lost many times. He never came looking, so I slept outside. Even when I made it back, he’d mock me—lost is lost, or he’d just get another from the orphanage since it was free.”
Xie Jianxun froze.
Ding. The elevator doors opened, and Ela stared ahead, gripping his hand tighter.
Xie Jianxun was silent for a moment before comforting him. “At least you have a home now. Mr. Idis seems like a decent employer.”
Ela pulled his thoughts from the memory and said indifferently, “Yeah.”
He showed no emotional fluctuation, but Xie Jianxun’s heart softened. He shook their joined hands. “What does Ela like to eat? I’ll buy it for you later.”
The kid—no, he wasn’t a kid, but Xie Jianxun still wanted to call him that in his heart—looked up at him without speaking.
Xie Jianxun racked his brains listing dishes. “Um… some snacks would be good. Chocolate? Soft candy? Caramel pudding?”
Ela: “Don’t treat me like a kid. I don’t eat sweets.”
Xie Jianxun: “…”
This guy’s heart was like a rock.
But one trick was guaranteed to work.
Xie Jianxun scooped him up in one go. Ela looked stunned, meeting Xie Jianxun’s innocent gaze as if no mischief had occurred.
Xie Jianxun said, “We’ll buy veggies and go home. I’ll cook and make you a feast.” He winked, his voice soft and upbeat, like singing a lullaby to coax a child.
Ela was quiet for a beat, then asked softly, “Have you ever been in a kitchen?”
Xie Jianxun guaranteed confidently, “Of course! Er… just once. But no worries, I’ve seen others do it—it’s not hard. I can definitely manage.”
Ela held back, saying nothing in the end, and nestled on his shoulder like a tamed little animal.
Xie Jianxun bounced him lightly, thinking smugly, See? Softened right up.
Lacking experience, they took a ride to the nearest large wholesale market. It was past the morning peak, so the place had only scattered people.
It was Xie Jianxun’s first time entering such a lively, everyday spot. Like a country bumpkin, he looked around everywhere, his gaze lingering on the fresh produce stalls.
He’d imagined wholesale markets as watery floors, fishy air, and muddy footprints everywhere.
Unexpectedly, it was surprisingly clean.
He saw a small bright yellow oval Mecha poke out from under a stall, head straight for him, stopping at his shoe tip.
Xie Jianxun halted; it halted too.
In the standoff, Xie Jianxun stammered, “…What does it want?”
Ela: “It’s telling you to lift your foot. You dirtied the floor it just cleaned.”
Xie Jianxun quickly stepped aside and watched the cleaning Mecha wipe away the half-shoeprint, then roam aimlessly searching for more dirt.
“Good thing it has no speakers,” Xie Jianxun mused. “Otherwise, it’d probably yell at me to get lost.”
Ela reassured him, “That would get it complained about.”
Unsure what to buy, they wandered from one end to the other, finally getting a bag of shrimp, some green onions, two beef steaks, and a bunch of lettuce.
When checking out, Xie Jianxun paid generously and stored the ingredients in his Light Brain, completely unaware that bargaining was even an option.
He felt a sense of novelty and said to Ela, “Do we have pots at home? Oil, salt…”
Ela calmly tugged at his sleeve and pointed to a familiar-looking back figure behind a nearby vegetable stall, who was bending over to pick out discounted frozen chicken wings.
“Isn’t that your Treasure Hunter?”
Xie Jianxun looked closely. The man wore a brown coat faded from too many washes, with his pants tucked into short boots and a round hat on his head that looked like it was from a bygone fashion era. There was no resemblance at all to the suit-clad Mr. Tuls.
But his height and silhouette matched perfectly!
Xie Jianxun took a step forward and called out, “Mr. Tuls?”
He had assumed the man either wouldn’t react to the name or would turn around to look.
But unexpectedly, the figure didn’t even turn his head. He suddenly straightened up and bolted toward the exit!
Xie Jianxun froze for a moment and watched as the man ran like a thief who had just been caught—except he was the thief in this scenario!
The Little Adventurer gaped in shock. “Was that him? Why’d he run?!”
Ela had already taken off running and gestured for him to follow.
One person dashed through the aisles between the stalls like the wind, with the other two trailing right behind him, drawing stares from all the vendors.
Unfortunately, the figure quickly slipped out the exit and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Xie Jianxun came to a stop. Up until then, he had been holding back his speed—the market floor had been polished too smooth by the cleaning Mecha, and running felt like slipping on ice!
He hadn’t gone all out to avoid face-planting right there.
By then, Ela ran up to his side, not even out of breath. “He got away?”
Xie Jianxun hesitated. “That was Tuls, right? Why would he run?”
Ela pointed to his Light Brain and suggested, “Call him and ask.”
Xie Jianxun thought that made sense, so he dialed Tuls.
The call connected instantly, and the voice on the other end was exactly the same as before—polite and gentlemanly. “Boss, is something the matter?”
Xie Jianxun heard no trace of panting, nothing to suggest the man had just sprinted.
He hesitated. “I just saw someone who looked a lot like you. He ran off as soon as he heard my voice…”
Tuls sounded puzzled. “He ran? Boss, I’m in the Central Business District right now. Do you need me to come over?”
He analyzed calmly, “It was probably some paranoid fugitive who bolted at the slightest noise.”
Xie Jianxun was convinced. After all, the last time they met, Tuls had been in a crisp high-end suit, hair slicked with pomade, exuding elite professionalism—exactly what Xie Jianxun had imagined for a professional Treasure Hunter.
Nothing like the brown-coated figure from today.
“Okay, never mind, just checking,” Xie Jianxun said casually. “Any progress on the rest of the materials?”
Tuls replied, “For the remaining rare materials, I’ve decided to check the Black Market. There’s one just opening up now, and I know the entrance. Don’t worry, Boss—I’ll get every single item without fail.”
Xie Jianxun was deeply touched and issued an order. “Great, keep an eye out. Where are you now? I’ll come find you, and we can check out the Black Market together. I want to see it for myself.”
Tuls: “…”
He reported an address with some difficulty, then hung up. Ela glanced at him. “You’re getting sneaky.”
The Little Adventurer shook the Light Brain, feeling like there was still some mischief bubbling up in his head.
“I didn’t lie at all. I really am curious about the Black Market, right? Come on, let’s go meet our Mr. Tuls, who’s still supposedly in the Central Business District.”
