Chapter 18: The Drift of Novel Obsession

Miner was tapping the table absentmindedly with one hand, his head tilted slightly upward, a smug satisfaction brimming in his eyes. The conspicuous black mole on his chin only made his cocky demeanor more pronounced, nearly making Qiao Mian laugh out loud.

Memories of this guy flooded back to him. Back in high school, Miner once wore a brand new watch, claiming his dad had brought it from abroad. He cherished it so much he wouldn’t let anyone touch it. Later, when another classmate bought the exact same model, everyone discovered it was sold at a local stationery shop for eighteen yuan eighty cents apiece.

“You’re really something,” Qiao Mian said with a smile.

“So what are you up to now?” Miner crossed one leg over the other. “I heard you dropped out in your second year of college?”

Bad news really does travel fast.

Seems like everyone who knows me has heard by now.

Qiao Mian shook his head inwardly. “I’m doing a bit of farming at home,” he replied.

Raising dinosaurs and pythons counts as farming, right?

Jiang Minwen, sitting nearby, pricked up her ears, a hint of displeasure on her face. Her aunt had told her this blind date was with someone from the Tobacco Bureau—how had he turned out to be a farmer?

“Pigs or chickens?” Miner boomed. “Neither is easy these days. I was just in the countryside for inspections recently—the villagers kept pouring out their grievances.”

Qiao Mian kept silent, as if Miner had hit a sore spot.

Miner shook his head with regret. “You did well enough in school. Capital Science and Technology University isn’t bad. Why didn’t you stick with it?”

“Everyone has their own path,” Qiao Mian replied perfunctorily.

Just then, someone called his name from the doorway. Miner, who had been eager to offer more “guidance,” had to leave reluctantly. “I’m off. If you need anything, just ask.” He waved, not even bothering to leave his number, but sneaked a glance at Jiang Minwen before he left.

Qiao Mian couldn’t help but purse his lips.

From their conversation, Jiang Minwen had pieced together part of Qiao Mian’s background: a university dropout, now farming in the countryside.

No wonder he looked so rustic.

As expected, her aunt was unreliable. Just last month, she’d tried to set her up with a widower, and now it was a farmer who hadn’t even finished college.

She was just about to find an excuse to leave when the man opposite her suddenly stood up.

“What’s going on?” Qiao Mian communicated with Zero in his mind.

“The Berserkosaurus evolved, got into a real fight with Kong, and Bumblebee can’t hold them back,” Zero replied coldly.

Qiao Mian muttered a curse, pulled out a hundred-yuan bill, and handed it to the waiter. “Pack up my meal. I’ll pick it up later.”

With that, he instructed Zero to contact Drift directly, preparing to leave at once.

Seeing this, Jiang Minwen snorted in annoyance. “Leaving without even a word? How rude!” Still, she hesitated, then followed him outside. Was he really going to take the food with him? As if she cared for his leftovers! Besides, she was dieting and skipping dinner anyway.

Qiao Mian hurried to the entrance, only to see Miner lingering outside the restaurant, chatting with a few others. When Miner noticed him, he stopped mid-sentence and called out, “Hey, Noodles, where you off to?”

“Urgent business,” Qiao Mian replied, not breaking stride.

“Need a lift?” Miner dangled his Toyota key.

“No, thanks.” Qiao Mian glanced across the street.

The van had disappeared.

In its place was a sleek, blue-black, unplated sports car.

“Is Drift messing with me on purpose?” Qiao Mian cursed under his breath.

The sports car let out two sharp beeps, drawing the attention of many passersby.

Qiao Mian strode toward the car, expression stern.

Miner, about to say more, froze as he watched Qiao Mian approach the flashy car. He stared in disbelief as the door popped open and Qiao Mian climbed into the driver’s seat.

“What kind of car is that?” he asked someone nearby.

The man’s eyes were already wide as saucers. “No way, that’s a Bugatti Veyron! Starting price, twenty million! Even the super-rich are showing up here!”

Miner was stunned: Twenty million?

Jiang Minwen, overhearing, was equally shocked. “So Aunt wasn’t lying?”

No wonder he wore cheap clothes but carried himself with such poise!

People mocked him for farming, but he didn’t care in the slightest.

That’s real composure!

He must have had a real emergency and simply forgot to say goodbye.

A rural household registration is actually a big deal these days—it’s hard to get.

She took out her phone, planning to ask her aunt for his WeChat contact, when someone nearby called out, “Are you Miss Jiang?”

“Who are you calling Miss!” Jiang Minwen glared at the plain-looking man, growing angrier. “Didn’t your mother teach you any manners?”

“I’ve been waiting for you a long time…” The man half-raised his hand.

Already upset at missing out on a golden opportunity, Jiang Minwen snapped, “Get lost!”

“What’s her problem?” the man muttered as he walked away.

She watched him get into a black BMW and suddenly realized she might have made a mistake.

How did he know her last name was Jiang?

Her phone rang suddenly—it was her aunt.

“Hello… what… waited for me… drives a BMW?”

After hanging up, she remembered something, hurried back into the restaurant, and only then realized she’d confused table 9 with table 6.

…

“Didn’t I always tell you to keep a low profile? Why are you drawing so much attention all of a sudden?” Qiao Mian snapped, sitting in the speeding car.

“You said we had to go back as fast as possible,” Drift replied with injured innocence. “And speeding up to 160 is even more high-profile, you know.”

“Did I ever say go up to 160?” Qiao Mian retorted.

“But you said it was urgent,” Drift explained. “Besides, I heard your conversation just now.”

“What?”

“To better understand Earth culture, I’ve read many novels. My behavior should have boosted your reputation. In your terms, this is called ‘showing off and slapping faces’!” Drift said proudly.

“Do I really need that?” Qiao Mian’s voice rose, full of disdain. “Only the weak need to show off in front of ordinary people!”

Drift pondered this. “I see.”

“And you’re just increasing the risk of exposure,” Qiao Mian folded his arms.

“No one saw me transform, and there were plenty of luxury cars around today,” Drift argued. “It’s nearly dark—people can barely see anything.”

“Transform back before we reach the village,” Qiao Mian said, not wanting to argue further with this Transformer addicted to web novels.

“No problem,” Drift replied. “Hold on, I’m going to accelerate!”

Qiao Mian leaned his head against the seat back.

Even though Drift’s antics increased his risk of exposure, it wasn’t an insurmountable problem. Besides picking up his parents to bring them to the park, he planned to stay out of sight for a while.

He’d sever ties with Earth for a time, waiting until he grew strong enough to be completely unafraid of the outside world. Then, the whole planet would become his private garden.

That would probably take a very long time.

But he didn’t care—time was something he had in abundance.

Half an hour later, Drift turned into another entrance to the underground passage.

…