Even though I did nothing, I still deserved a pat on the back

"Adventure. Anya wants to go."

"We're not going on an adventure. We're going shopping."

Richie had been sprawled on the couch and had only just fallen asleep when their conversation woke him.

With his feet on the couch, he draped himself over the backrest and watched Anya cling to Twilight's leg, demanding an adventure.

Watching it in two dimensions on a screen really couldn't compare to the visual impact of seeing it in person.

Utterly exhausted, Richie was about to close his eyes. He looked at everything before him with satisfaction.

Nice, nice. Really nice.

Elegant, elegant. Truly elegant.

Twilight frantically shook his leg, which Anya was clinging to, but didn't dare shake her off for fear she would fall and hurt herself.

Watching Twilight grow increasingly helpless and verge on giving in to Anya, Richie stood on the couch and called to the pair by the door, ready to leave:

"Father, Richie wants sunflower seeds. Could you buy Richie some on your way home?"

As though something had occurred to him, Richie added, "Oh, right. Richie also wants a silent atomic bomb."

Twilight's brows drew together slightly. Sunflower seeds, sure. But what on earth was a silent atomic bomb?

Anya was puzzled too. Where had her big brother learned so many strange words?

Just as Twilight was about to ask, Richie seemed to think of something else and imitated the signature grin of Anya, the queen of spectacle:

"Heh heh heh. If they don't have one, could Father buy me a silent land mine instead?"

Twilight thought to himself, Why does a little kid keep wanting such dangerous things?

Anya lifted her adorable little face too. "Anya wants a silent pistol. Anya wants peanuts. Anya wants to go on an adventure with Father."

Twilight pressed a hand onto Anya's head. "No, no. If you come out with me, Anya, you have to behave. Otherwise, you'll stay home with Richie and watch the house."

Twilight took Anya out.

Exhaustion swept over Richie. Unable to hold out any longer, he flopped onto the couch and fell asleep again.

Early the next morning, Richie slowly woke up in his bed.

Sunlight streamed gently through the window, caressing his little face.

Richie stretched and hopped out of bed.

Another happy day. Time to happily slack off, elegantly slack off.

But Richie's dream of happily and elegantly slacking off was soon shattered.

After breakfast that morning, Twilight hauled both of them over to study.

Anya stood across the table. "No-Anya doesn't want to study!"

Richie loathed studying just as much.

In real life, he had been the model child other parents held up as an example. His parents took his perfect scores and first-place rankings for granted and never considered his feelings.

But if he did even slightly poorly or made the smallest mistake, his parents would either beat him or berate him.

Now that he had entered another world and finally escaped reality, there was no way he wanted to study.

Though Richie's reaction wasn't as intense as Anya's, he looked every bit as uninterested in studying.

Twilight stood with his hands on his hips, nursing a headache. Could he still return them? Neither of these kids seemed very promising!

Twilight explained, "To prepare for the entrance exam, I need to know where you both stand academically."

Anya opened her big green eyes wide. "Anya can pass the exam without studying. All Anya has to do is listen to other people's hearts."

Richie knew what Anya meant. She intended to pass the exam by listening to other people's thoughts.

What Anya didn't know, however, was that the questions would be difficult on exam day. All the children there would be crying inside, and their thoughts would interfere with hers, leaving her barely able to pass.

Twilight frowned, a book in his hand. "You're not planning to cheat, are you? Fine. If you can't get into the school-"

Twilight looked thoughtful, as though he had come up with a good solution.

Richie didn't know how difficult Eden Academy's exam would be, but his status as a perfect test subject and his innate high intelligence should be enough to get him through it:

"Richie can pass the exam without cheating. Father, Richie doesn't need to study. Just make Anya study hard."

After Richie finished chuckling, Anya's face darkened. "Anya can definitely pass the exam too."

Anya clenched both fists, ready for action.

Even Richie, who couldn't hear other people's thoughts, was confident he could pass. Anya could definitely do it too.

Anya refused to be outdone.

Twilight got dressed, put on his hat, and prepared to leave. "Forget it. I'm going out for a bit."

Anya followed right behind him. Standing at the door, Twilight pointed sternly at her. "I'm not taking you with me today!"

Richie sat on the couch nearby, enjoying the show. He knew Anya was destined to stay home today.

He had no desire whatsoever to go out. After all, something thrilling was about to happen.

Richie quietly watched the two play hide-and-seek, one desperately hiding and the other searching in irritation.

Meanwhile, he sat on the couch, cracking the sunflower seeds Twilight had bought yesterday and laughing his head off.

"Father, you're finding Anya more slowly than last time."

"Last time, I'd only cracked one sunflower seed. This time, I cracked two before you found her. Ha ha ha!"

"Father, where's Anya?"

"Ha ha ha! Elegant. Truly elegant."

Watching the show up close from the couch, Richie couldn't have been happier.

In the end, Anya and Twilight's farce concluded with Anya trapped inside the house.

Richie watched Anya shut the front door. No matter what she tried, she couldn't open it again, and in the end, she could only glance at him.

Anya and Richie both draped themselves over the back of the couch, bored.

They exchanged looks and chuckled.

Richie and Anya scampered into Twilight's room, their feet pattering.

Richie wasn't about to rummage through anything himself. He simply kept his eyes fixed on the combination-locked case and waited for Anya to open it.

Muttering, "Bombs, bombs," Anya opened the case and glanced at Richie.

They had agreed on this long ago. Richie had promised Anya that he would protect world peace with her.

Anya willingly called Richie her big brother.

The two reached an understanding and teamed up to make trouble for their father.

Anya let out a startled cry and looked at Richie excitedly. "A Secret Communicator!"

Kneeling on the floor and muttering, "Secret, secret," Anya began fiddling with it.

Richie figured it was a telegraph transmitter. From his memories, he seemed to know how to use it too.

Zhang Si had come from the modern world and had only seen things like this in over-the-top dramas about the war against Japan. His eyes lit up at his first encounter with one. Interesting.

After Anya finished playing with the transmitter, Richie couldn't resist having a go himself.

Anya sent: "Twilight is here! Come and catch me!"

Richie sent: "Twilight is here! Everybody, out of the way."

The two children closed the case and wiped the sweat from their foreheads, both wearing expressions that said, Even though I did nothing, I still deserved a pat on the back.

After making trouble for their father, Anya and Richie didn't forget to tidy up the room they had messed up, so Twilight wouldn't notice when he returned.

Just then, Anya knelt on the floor and looked at Richie, her eyes brimming with tears.

Anya's face twisted with misery, and Richie braced himself as though facing a formidable enemy.

Was Anya about to cry?

Twilight wasn't here. What should he do?

More importantly, the bad guys would be here any minute!!!