At night, Xu Guangtou sneaked up to his son's bedroom, prepared to scold his son into doing homework. As he peeked inside, he was shocked! Yifan was intently staring at his textbook, something that left his father in disbelief. Only after a few minutes did he finally accept reality. Guangtou smiled, then left without his son knowing.
Approaching bedtime, Yifan brushed his teeth, packed his textbooks, and most importantly; wrapped his new football boots in a plastic bag before putting them carefully inside his schoolbag. He was smiling silly as he jumped into bed, eagerly awaiting for tomorrow.
In his sleep, he dreamed of playing football in his new boots, showing off to Fatty Wang, and also that girl— the mysterious women he met at the bridge. For some reason, Yifan couldn't help but remember her. His heart unknowingly skipped a beat.
.
The local rooster at the farm next door alarmed the civilians awake. Yifan was amongst the people who were rudely awake. Rubbing his eyes, it took him a while for him to remember today's occasion.
Afraid everything that happened yesterday was just a dream, he opened his schoolbag, and found his new pair of boots sitting right at the top in a plastic bag. As he checked his shoes, there was a sign of relief.
"Relax kid. Shoe's going nowhere."
"Yeah. Thank god… Wait—"
"WHO SAID THAT?!"
Alarmed, Yifan jumped up in fright, still clutching the shoes tightly in his chest. He scanned the room repeatedly, but not finding anyone in sight. He lived with his dad for more than a decade, he could tell his voice apart even on a busy street. And he was certain, that voice just then was not his father!
"Who are you?! Where are you?! Come out here or I'll call the police!"
Whilst saying this, Yifan grabbed his massive dictionary, and raised it like a weapon! He shifted on his feet, rotating around to find this mysterious creep, but to his confusion, there wasn't anyone here! His bedroom was on the second floor, so this stalker couldn't be outside. He must be inside!
Feeling scarred, he called out. "DAD. DAD. THERE'S SOMEONE INSIDE! HELP!"
"Tsk. Kid. Stop making a scene. No one would believe you!" A disgruntled voice replied back.
Hearing the voice, Yifan immediately picked up on its direction! And strangely enough, it appears the stalker was… below him?!
Look down, he stared at the pair of boots he was still holding. Ridden with holes and with worn leather, it was a poor man's shoes. He stared at it suspiciously, and a ridiculous thought popped up.
"Wait… t-the shoe can talk?!"
"…"
"You can hear me?!" An old man's voice sounded their surprise, and less than a moment later, a head popped out from inside the shoe, followed by their torso, until the whole figure was within view!
What Yifan was seeing left him in complete shock!
Before his eyes, there was a senior figure floating in the air! He was old and mythical, like a cultivator from eastern novels. In his upper half, he was dressed in some ancient robes, but from waist down, he wore shorts… and knee-high socks with boots! And most importantly…. the figure was no bigger than his palm!
"You?! What are you?! How could you fit inside my shoe?!"
The old man ignored Yifan's question. Instead, his eyes were full of intensity as he floated directly in front of the youth. "Stop! Answer me? Can you hear me? Can you see me???"
Yifan was still shocked from everything, but he managed to nod his head.
At this moment, the mysterious figure was flying energetically in the air. There were even a few drop of tears as he laughed hysterically! "2000 years…. 2000 years! Finally!"
After a few moments, the figure finally calmed down. Posturing himself before Yifan with his hands behind his back, the floating grandpa said: "I am Breaker of Ankles, King of Nutmegs, and Founder of Cuju— Master Panteng!"
Yifan blinked. Looking at the figure that was smaller than his hand, yet claiming to be some kind of ancient deity, his day couldn't really be more surprising that this, could it?
"What about you, kid. Who are you?"
"Em. I'm Xu Yifan. 15 years old."
The floating grandpa nodded his head. "Good name. Good name!" As he said so, he floated around the room, inspecting every inch and corner. He was like a curious cat, constantly asking questions about his surroundings.
"What this strange machine?" "That's my computer"
"What material is this made of?" "Plastic."
"What symbol is that?" "Logo of my school— Guangzhou No.1 High."
Like this, an unsurmountable amount of time passed. It was only the squeaking footsteps of his dad that alerted him of the situation. His dad, Xu Guangtou was coming to his room!
"Quick. Hide!" Yifan managed, before rushing to the door, intending to lock it close. But before he could even touch the door, it swung open, followed by his dad entering in a confused manner.
"Yifan. Is something wrong? I heard you calling me."
The youth in question was frozen on the spot, not knowing how to respond, but the next moment, something even more shocking unfolded. The floating grandpa was hovering barely an inch beside Xu Guangtou, pulling all sort of silly faces. And even gave his dad the middle finger! But it was as though his dad couldn't see the floating deity at all! As if he was invisible!
"Yifan? Hello?"
"Uh. Nothing. Everything's fine." Yifan managed.
Shaking his head, yet a bit suspicious. "Come down soon. I made breakfast. Don't be late for school."
As his dad left, Yifan was left stunned as he stared at the floating grandpa. There was a smug smile on Master Panteng as he glanced back. "See. I told you so! No one would believe you."
Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, there was a realisation. "No one else can see you but me?"
"Yes! You're the first person to see me! That's why I was so pleased! You wouldn't believe how miserable it is to have no one to talk to all these years. It's pure torture!"
Yifan stood as he listened to the old grandpa complaining nonstop. His words flowing continuously like a never-ending waterfall. Even Yifan's normally patient attitude ran thin as he quickly changed clothes, packed his bag, before heading downstairs.
"Hey, where you going?!" Panteng shouted. Surprised.
"School!" He managed.
"Eh. Wait. Don't go so fast. Otherwise, I—"
The next moment, something strange happened. As if an invisible force came out of nowhere, the floating figure was dragged towards the pair of old boots inside Yifan's backpack. Despite Panteng's struggles, he ended up glueing to Yifan's backpack like a magnet to a fridge.
"The hell? What're you doing?!" Yifan said, frustrated.
'Sorry kid. Not my fault. That pair of boot is my prison. I can't go too far away. Otherwise… I get punished!"
"…what kind of ridiculous excuse is this?!"
"Some petty people couldn't handle my awesomeness, so they used such petty tricks for revenge…" There was a sadness in Panteng as he said those words, carrying an immense sorrow.
"Damn. So I'm stuck with you now?!"
"Yifan. Who're you talking to?" Xu Guangtou shouted from downstairs.
"Eh… Nothing!" Yifan lied, though unconvincingly.
As he entered the dining room, dad had already finished his meal, and was currently reading newspaper with glasses on. Yifan didn't say much, only sitting down and ate his cereal like a hungry wolf.
Guangtou felt a strange gaze from his son. Placing down his newspaper. "Is there something on my face?"
From Yifan's eyes, the little deity was sitting on top of Xu Guangtou's shoulder and was busy reading the newspaper! But his dad couldn't feel it at all, let alone see him! Seeing the strange scene, Yifan considered revealing the truth, but remembering what Master Panteng had told him, Yifan could only shake his head.
Finishing breakfast, they went their separate ways. Xu Guangtou headed to his company whilst Xu Yifan began his hour-long walk towards school. On his shoulder, a curious little grandpa was watching everything with astonished eyes, asking him questions along the way.
"What's that building over there?"
"Is China still the world's No.1 superpower?"
"Which emperor is in charge of this era?"
Yifan could only feel a headache as a mosquito was constantly buzzing by his ear. Even when he replied to the deity, a few passerby would cast weird glances at Yifan, leaving him embarrassed.