Zhang Zian was used to seeing Wang Qian, Li Kun and Lu Yiyun come to work each morning, it was a bit weird not seeing any of them come in . He had to do everything himself . It was easy for a poor man to live a rich man's life, but very hard for a rich man to live a poor man's life .
After a lot of coaxing, Fina was finally persuaded to visit the retired police dog home with the other elfins . If Fina ever found out that it had been lied to, it wouldn't be pretty .
Many companies had closed for the holidays yesterday, so there weren't as many migrant workers in Binhai City as the other major cities . There were usually long lines outside Li's Supreme Snack Bar for Cat Fanciers, but today, only two or three people were waiting outside .
As there were no customers, Zhang Zian didn't open the shop . He was sweeping the floor, and Pi, following his example, picked up a cloth to clean the table .
"Thank you, Pi, but I'll take care of it . Just go and play . You deserve a day off . " He grabbed the cloth from its hands .
Pi scratched its head and looked around it nervously .
Ever since it arrived at the pet shop, it barely left the second floor . The first floor was a strange new world, it didn't know what to do . Each elfin seemed like it had its own space, which made it feel uneasy and like it didn't belong .
"Go watch TV," Zhang Zian said, after detecting its confusion .
Pi moved closer to the TV, keeping a distance from Old Time Tea, then sat on the floor and stared at the screen .
As per tradition, the TV was airing a special program about the transportation during the Spring Festival, in which crowds of people were wandering train stations and airport terminals . The host was currently talking about highway traffic conditions, and it made Old Time Tea and Pi visualize how many people there were in China .
Old Time Tea moved to the side, closer to the TV .
Pi moved a little bit closer, too . It was much more comfortable to watch TV that way .
The TV reporter walked into the lobby of the train station, it was full of travelers carrying bags . Most of them were playing with their phones .
The reporter interviewed a few random people . The questions were routine, ranging from "Are the tickets expensive?" to "Do you miss home?"
"Is that man reading your novel?" Old Time Tea pointed at a young man in the corner of the screen .
The man was in the background while the reporter interviewed someone else . He sat in a chair, gazing at his phone attentively, which was open to the Qidian app . The cover of Pi's novel was visible .
"Eek!" Pi shouted excitedly . Even though the man only added the book to his library, it was still something to feel happy about .
The camera was only on him for a few seconds before the reporter went to interview someone else .
Pi watched more attentively now, with its neck stretched out .
However, it didn't catch any more glimpses of its novel . It was lucky enough to stumble upon it once, it couldn't hope for more . This also meant that more and more people were reading online novels .
Pi sighed, slightly disappointed .
"Meow! Pi, want to play hide-and-seek?"
Pi turned to see Galaxy sitting behind it, gazing at it with anticipation .
Pi covered its head out of fear . The pain from the last time it played hide-and-seek was still fresh .
Zhang Zian laughed . "Pi, don't worry . Just be careful, and don't be so easily coaxed out by Famous and the others . "
"No . You play hide-and-seek . Don't get me involved . " Famous declined flatly .
"Famous, you admit that you're scared?" Zhang Zian teased .
Famous snapped . "Scared? No, I'm not scared . I just don't want to kill someone playing hide-and-seek!"
"You don't have to make excuses, just admit that you're scared . " Zhang Zian waved his hand .
Famous continued . "You really think I'm afraid? Fine . I'll play . "
"Great . Who's going to be the seeker? Let's play rock-paper-scissors to decide . " Zhang Zian was thrilled, as Famous was playing right into his trap .
Famous looked Galaxy's paws as well as its own, then at Zhang Zian and Pi's hands . It knew that it would definitely lose if they played rock-paper-scissors .
"No way! Let's flip a coin," Famous replied loudly .
Zhang Zian put the broom down and searched his pockets . "I don't have a coin with me . Wait a second . "
He ran upstairs and came back with a coin .
"Okay . Who's calling it?" he asked . He tossed the coin in the air and caught it firmly between his palms .
"Meow! Galaxy will go first!" Galaxy said joyfully .
Famous was quiet because it knew that it couldn't beat Galaxy .
"Nobody's going against Galaxy?" Zhang Zian looked at them . "Okay . Famous and Pi will go, and whoever loses goes against me . How's that?"
"That seems fair . " Famous agreed, and looked at Pi . "You can go first . "
Zhang Zian asked, "Pi, you've never done this before, have you?" Pi shook its head . "You just have to guess which side is facing upward, the side with numbers or the side with flowers . "
Pi blinked, and gestured for them to wait . It went upstairs, and came back with its book . After it flipped the book open, it stretched one finger out as if to say "one . "
Famous snapped . "You're cheating! We agreed that we couldn't use our superpowers . "
"We agreed that superpowers couldn't be used during hide-and-seek . We're just flipping the coin . " Zhang Zian corrected . "Famous, you can use your power if you want . "
"Fine, I lose . " Famous admitted unwillingly . Pi's book had everything in it, including how the coin landed . Famous couldn't beat it if it had the book .
"Eek!" Pi smiled joyfully .
"Now it's just you and me," Zhang Zian said seriously . "I'll give you a chance to back out . "
"I'm not backing out," Famous replied . "I'll let you go first . "
"Okay . "
Zhang Zian threw the coin in the air . The coin whizzed through the air before he caught it between his palms again .
He stared at his hands, as if he could see through them .
"Stop acting weird, you don't have a superpower," Famous complained . "You think I was born yesterday?"
Zhang Zian didn't move . His eyes didn't look up when he said, "The number side is up . "
"Then I guess that the flower side is up . Stop stalling . Move your palm so we can see . "
Zhang Zian moved his palm, and the number side of the coin came into view . He won .
Famous grumbled about bad luck, then closed its eyes . "I'll start counting . Now go and hide! 1, 2, 3, 4…"
"Meow!"
"Eek!"
"Haha! Famous, don't peek!"
Three distinct footsteps ran in different directions, while Famous counted . When it got to 100, it opened its eyes .
It searched the entire first floor, but didn't find anybody, so they all had to be on the second floor .
After landing on the second floor, it tried the oldest trick in the book and shouted at the top of its lungs, "Stop hiding, I can see you!"
Pi didn't fall for its bluff this time .
Famous didn't give up . There were only a few places to hide up here, so it would find them sooner or later .
Remembering last time, it ran straight to the kitchen and opened the fridge . However, this time, it only found fresh vegetables and fruits .
Could Zhang Zian actually be in the freezer?
"Are you inside the freezer? I'll only fall for that trick once . If you're there, you better come out, or I'll seal the freezer with tape!"
There was still no sound from the freezer .
Was Zhang Zian not inside, or was he calling its bluff? Famous hesitated, then opened the freezer .
Cold air spilled out, but there was nobody in the freezer, which was perfectly normal . It'd be horrific to find somebody inside .
Famous was somewhat relieved . It seemed that Zhang Zian hadn't lost his mind .
Just in case, Famous opened all the cabinets one by one and searched inside . It also jumped onto the stove and looked into the ventilation hood . Zhang Zian was nowhere to be found .
Famous considered Zhang Zian as the easiest target . After Zhang Zian read Pi's novel yesterday, it knew Galaxy was good at hide-and-seek . Pi was very competitive and had a magical book, so it was pretty good at hiding, too .
Besides, both Galaxy and Pi were small, so they had many places to hide . Zhang Zian, on the other hand, was much bigger . Famous continued to search for Zhang Zian .
Famous had finished searching the kitchen, and moved onto the bedroom and living room . It searched anywhere big enough to accommodate a large person, such as the closet, under the bed, etc . It didn't find anyone .
Famous was stunned . The storage room was the only place left it hadn't checked . They couldn't all be hiding in the storage room, right?
Either way, it opened the door to the storage room with one last hope .
The storage room was cluttered with a lot of stuff, but none of it was what Famous was looking for .
Famous wasn't willing to admit defeat, especially not to Zhang Zian . It searched the first and second floor again, and still couldn't find them .
When it finished its second search, it asked, "Old Time Tea, did they go outdoors?"
"Nope . " Old Time Tea smiled .
Famous knew Old Time Tea would never lie, but it was weird that it couldn't find anyone .
It even lifted its head to look up Fina's cat tree, and thankfully, Zhang Zian wasn't there . If Famous had found Zhang Zian there, it wouldn't know what to think .
Famous searched the house one more time . This time, it went through everything, even the garbage can in the kitchen . No one was found .
It remembered how it bragged before the game started, and its face burned as if it was on fire .
"Come out! I give up!" Famous shouted .
"Meow! Galaxy has won!" Galaxy ran out of the bedroom as it cheered .
Famous was prepared for Galaxy's elusiveness . "Galaxy, did you see the others?"
"Meow!" Galaxy shook its head .
Before Famous had time to ask more, it heard faint noises coming from the bedroom .
That's weird . How were both of them hiding in the bedroom?
Famous ran into the bedroom . "Pi, where are you?"
"Eek . "
Following the sound, Famous stopped next to the air purifier, and it was vibrating .
Famous remembered how it saw the filter of the air purifier in the storage room earlier, and thought it was a bit odd, but didn't think anything else of it .
"Pi, are you in the air purifier?" Famous asked .
"Eek . " Pi's voice was muffled .
Binhai City's air quality was bad sometimes, so most families owned air purifiers . The second floor of the pet shop was bigger—and since the bedroom and living room were connected—so theirs was in the bedroom . The air purifier was bulky, it wasn't big enough to hide a person, but apparently, it was spacious enough for a young monkey .
Famous spoke to the air purifier, "Did Zhang Zian put you in there? Then, let him be the one to take you out . By the way, where is he?"
There was a knock on the bedroom window .
The window that was on the second floor .
"Hurry, pull me in . I'm falling off . " Zhang Zian's voice came outside the window .
Famous stood up, and looked outside . Zhang Zian was hanging onto the edge of the windowsill . His entire body was hanging in the air, his legs kicking wildly .
"Famous, help me . " Zhang Zian smiled innoently .
Famous smiled back mischievously .
Old Time Tea didn't lie per se . Zhang Zian wasn't outdoors, he went outside the window, hanging onto the windowsill . No wonder he was nowhere to be found .
The building was tall . As he was hanging, his feet were about two to three meters above the ground . The fall wouldn't have killed him, but it might've hurt his ankles .
There was a quiet alley outside the window . Nobody was walking in the alley, otherwise, someone might have called the police .
"Hurry, Famous . Don't just watch . Give me a hand . My fingers are cramping . I can't hold on anymore," Zhang Zian grumbled .
Famous simply replied, "When you decided to do this, didn't it occur to you that your fingers may cramp up?"
This time, Zhang Zian smiled out of embarrassment . "I didn't think about it . "
Suddenly, Galaxy jumped onto the windowsill . "Meow! Zhang Zian, there you are . Hiding outside the window again?"
Famous tried to hide its shock, and failed . "You've done this before?"
"No!" Zhang Zian quickly clarified . "When I played before with Galaxy, I usually just laid on the windowsill since Galaxy is short . You're tall, so I figured that you'd see me if I squatted on the windowsill . That's how I came up with this bad idea . "
"You're unbelievable!" Famous complained . "You knew it was a bad idea, and you did it anyway? What the heck were you thinking?"
"I know, it was stupid . Just pull me in," Zhang Zian begged .
Famous was once again convinced that the hide-and-seek that Zhang Zian and Galaxy played wasn't the same hide-and-seek that normal people played . It went to the storage room to find a strong rope . It tied one end to the bedroom door knob and threw the other end out the window . Zhang Zian caught it and climbed back into the room .
"Famous, did you give up?" He spoke proudly with one hand on his waist, back to his old self .
A silver coin rolled out of his pocket, onto the floor, and landed by Famous' paw .
It lowered its head to look at one side, which was the number side . Then it looked at the other side, which was still the number side .
"What kind of coin is this? Why are there numbers on both sides?" Famous asked .
Seeing his trick discovered, Zhang Zian coughed and said, "It's a magical coin that I bought . "
Famous was too tired to complain . "Please, I'm begging you . Next time, don't ask me to play hide-and-seek . "
Zhang Zian took Pi out of the air purifier . He cleared his throat, obviously satisfied with the turn of events . "This was a successful game of hide-and-seek, a mind-blowing game of hide-and-seek . Well, it's breakfast time . "
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