Chapter 16: The Pillar That Holds Up the Sky

Looking at his son’s solemn expression, Qiao Lin and Su Yueling suddenly felt a wave of anxiety.
Confession?
Could it be that their son had done something wrong?
Stolen something from Yunling Mountain?
Under their watchful gaze, Qiao Mian spoke each word with careful deliberation: “Actually, I am the owner of Yunling Mountain.”
“What?” Su Yueling cried out, “Son, are you running a fever?”
“Don’t talk nonsense,” Qiao Lin scolded, eyes narrowed. “You think your mother and I didn’t watch the livestream? That Qiao…”
Wait, Mr. Qiao?
A sudden realization struck him.
Why did that ‘Iron Man’ call himself Mr. Qiao?
He’d boasted to the villagers before, prideful that he shared a surname with Mr. Qiao.
But now, it seemed more likely that Mr. Qiao shared his surname for a reason.
“Optimus Prime,” Qiao Mian called out.
“Mr. Qiao, I’m here,” rumbled the voice from the cab in the courtyard.
Qiao Lin and Su Yueling both jumped in fright.
“Let my parents see what you look like,” Qiao Mian said.
The old truck, which his father often drove for deliveries, answered, “I’ve been waiting for this,” and then, with a whirl of dust,
The battered second-hand truck instantly transformed into a towering, ten-meter-tall Transformer.
Optimus Prime!
He was the bodyguard Qiao Mian had spent a fortune to hire, specifically to protect his parents.
Qiao Lin clenched his fists, struggling to maintain composure in front of his son.
Su Yueling, voice trembling, pointed at Optimus Prime. “This… this is…”
“Hello, ma’am, I am Optimus Prime!” the robot announced, unable to disguise a peculiar excitement.
After so long, he could finally speak openly; it was a relief he’d barely managed to contain.
Su Yueling’s ears buzzed, and everything before her seemed unreal.
Unconsciously, Qiao Lin’s jaw dropped.
A flood of memories rushed through him.
That time he’d driven to another province to deliver goods, taking narrow backroads to save bridge tolls, passing through the Qinling Mountains, the road so narrow half the truck felt suspended in air—yet he’d made it through unscathed.
Another time on the highway, when a sedan swerved suddenly in front of him—before he could react, the truck had dodged on its own.
And all those instances when the truck would play music by itself…
“So it’s a Transformer!”
Qiao Mian gently took the teacup from his father’s hand and sipped slowly.

Twenty yuan for a large bag of jasmine tea.
Better than plain water.
It wasn’t until he’d nearly finished drinking that Qiao Lin snapped out of his daze.
He reached out and tapped his son on the head. “That’s your mother’s tea—why are you drinking it?”
Qiao Mian looked at his father, aggrieved. “Is now really the time to worry about tea?”
“Oh,” Qiao Lin glanced at Optimus Prime, who was pacing back and forth in the courtyard with metallic clanks, and called out, “Hello, Autobot.”
“Hey there, human,” Optimus Prime replied.
“Dad, you know about Autobots?” Qiao Mian grinned.
“You think I don’t watch movies?” Qiao Lin shot his son a look.
Then, turning to his wife, his concern returned.
Su Yueling stared blankly at her son, then reached out to gently touch his face.
“Mom, are you in shock?” Qiao Mian laughed.
“You’re the one in shock. How can you talk to your own mother like that?” Su Yueling changed her caress to a pinch, making Qiao Mian wince with pain.
Seeing his parents gradually return to normal, Qiao Mian finally felt some relief.
Thank goodness he’d spent the past few years dragging them to watch every sci-fi movie he could find, subtly hinting that such things could be real and would one day appear in the world.
Though his parents had always thought he was speaking nonsense, at least their ability to accept the bizarre had improved a little.
“Aren’t satellites supposed to be powerful?” Qiao Lin pointed up at the sky. “Won’t it be spotted like this?”
“No,” said Optimus Prime, “I’m hiding.”
“I thought you spoke English?” Su Yueling asked curiously.
“English?” Optimus Prime recalled the movie scenes he’d secretly watched with them, then shook his head. “We have our own language.”
“And besides, I can speak every language on Earth,” he added.
“You’re really from another universe?” Qiao Lin asked.
“Yes,” Optimus Prime replied, “but it’s not quite like what you’ve seen in the movies. This is our first time coming to Earth.”
“The movies we watched?” Qiao Lin was puzzled.
“Two years ago, to be precise, June 8th, at 8:36 in the evening…” Optimus Prime intoned seriously.
“How do you know?” Su Yueling looked at him with suspicion.
“I’ve always been in the yard. I can see and hear everything that happens here,” Optimus Prime replied.
Qiao Lin and Su Yueling exchanged glances, then both glared at their son.
Qiao Mian looked back, baffled.
Why were they looking at him like that?
He glowered at Optimus Prime in turn.
Optimus Prime scratched his head. “Mr. Qiao, did I say something wrong?”
Qiao Mian scratched his head too, and looked at his parents. “Did he say anything wrong?”

Su Yueling reached out and twisted his ear. “That’s for being this old and still not having a girlfriend!”
This time she really twisted hard!
“Ow, that hurts!” Qiao Mian howled.
Optimus Prime looked back and forth at the family, and then reached up to touch his own ear.
He noticed that although Qiao Mian was shouting in pain, he actually seemed quite happy.
Could this be a human custom?
After some casual family banter, seeing that his parents were regaining their composure, Qiao Mian decided it was time to get to the main point.
He decided to start with his mother.
“Mom, look, so many people want to visit Fantasy Park. How about I take you and Dad to live there for a while?” he suggested.
Su Yueling instinctively refused. “How can we? There are still cherries at home we haven’t sold…”
“Mom, do we really need that little bit of money?” Qiao Mian said helplessly.
“Yeah, what about all the money you’ve made these years?” Qiao Lin interjected.
Qiao Mian admitted sheepishly, “Where would I make money?”
Selling things from the park without permission would be considered cheating—he didn’t dare risk it.
And after realizing how magical the park was, he no longer cared for Earth’s meager wealth.
Even if you had a trillion on Earth, could you buy yourself an Iron Man suit?
“Then what would your mother and I eat over there?” Qiao Lin asked.
“That’s easy,” Qiao Mian said with relief. “Whether it’s from Earth or another world, whatever you want, I can get it for you.”
“But what about family and friends? Can you bring them all?” Qiao Lin pressed.
Clearly, he understood what his son was getting at.
“Of course not,” Qiao Mian replied at once.
He didn’t have any particularly close friends—his best friend had moved abroad ages ago; they’d chatted occasionally online at first, but hadn’t been in touch for two years now.
As for relatives…
His father was an orphan, and his mother, when she married, had fallen out with her family, especially after her beloved grandfather passed away six years ago.
Other relatives only visited on holidays, and there was almost no contact the rest of the time.
As for friends…
He couldn’t possibly bring the whole village, could he?
Qiao Lin looked at his son and said, “You’re worried your mother and I might be in danger because of you, aren’t you?”
Qiao Mian nodded.
Su Yueling fell silent.
“Here’s what,” Qiao Lin said, “go sell the cherries you’ve picked. Your mother and I will talk it over.”