A strangely helpful person

Sunday. On the commercial street, an awkward pair darted in and out of various shops, constantly drawing the gazes of passersby.

Were they a couple? It certainly looked that way—similar in age, both strikingly attractive, and behaving with a certain level of intimacy.

However, upon closer inspection, the woman seemed to be wearing a mask of perpetual impatience, as if she were deeply dissatisfied with the man’s indecisiveness. She would constantly mutter that this wasn’t right or that wasn’t suitable, dragging him out of a shop just as he was about to pull out his wallet.

Throughout their exchanges, the nickname “Xiao Yi” came up frequently. From their conversation, it seemed Xiao Yi was an underage girl—someone they both doted on quite heavily.

“Ah,” the onlookers concluded, “this must be a long-married couple meticulously picking out a gift for their young daughter.”

It was a heartwarming scene, but if Ran Jiuyi knew what the pedestrians were thinking, she would have bristled on the spot.

The reason was simple.

To most people, Sunday was a wonderful day. It represented the one day of rest for workers who had been busy all week. Ran Jiuyi had originally thought the same.

Looking back at the recent past, a short-term commission that was supposed to take three or four days had dragged on for nearly a month due to a series of accidents. During that month, she’d had almost no time to rest. Her only leisure time was forced upon her—a period of recuperation after her battle with the freakish Cheng Ya, because her body had been too damaged to move.

After that, she had immediately jumped into training the “Little Three,” hoping to boost their strength in the shortest time possible. For someone who had been craving a vacation for a long time, this was not a pleasant task. But since she had given her word, no matter how reluctant she felt, Ran Jiuyi would fulfill her promise.

And now, Sunday had finally arrived—the scheduled day of rest. Ran Jiuyi had been looking forward to it; she could finally sleep in.

Then, early in the morning, she was woken up by Meng Shan and dragged out to pick a suitable gift for Yi Ziling.

This explained perfectly why she wore such an irritable expression throughout the shopping trip.

“Ah-Jiu, what do you think of this plushie?”

Meng Shan took a dinosaur-shaped bolster from the shelf and handed it to her. “I think this is pretty good. It should suit Xiao Yi.”

“Not at all, okay?”

After scrutinizing it for a long while, Ran Jiuyi placed the dinosaur back where it belonged. “The bolster is indeed cute, and it feels good to the touch. It would probably be very comfortable to hug while sleeping. But! BUT!”

Ran Jiuyi emphasized her point heavily. “This is too cheap. It’s only a few dozen yuan. Are you really going to give such a cheap pillow to Xiao Yi for her birthday?”

Despite her look of total reluctance, she was taking the selection of Yi Ziling’s gift very seriously. How would one describe this behavior? Tsundere? Most likely.

Regarding her viewpoint, Meng Shan defended himself: “I feel that as long as the gift is appropriate, the value is secondary.”

“That only applies to people who aren’t short on money like me, or people like you who can get cash whenever they want,” she countered.

“But you know Xiao Yi’s family situation; they aren’t wealthy. Rather than a purely symbolic gift, it would be better to give her something expensive that is easy to resell if needed. You have to think this through—this is her birthday, a legitimate opportunity for her to accept high-value assets without feeling burdened.”

“…Hahahaha.”

Hearing this, Meng Shan burst into laughter.

Ran Jiuyi asked irritably, “What are you laughing at? Is something funny?”

“Nothing, nothing. What you said makes sense,” Meng Shan explained. “I’m just marveling at how you look like you hate being here with me, yet when it comes down to the picking, you’re thinking much more meticulously than I am.”

“Well, obviously,” Ran Jiuyi snapped. “I’m unhappy because my rare day off is ruined. Picking a gift for Xiao Yi is a separate matter. She’s a good kid; I can’t just half-heartedly brush her off.”

“Mhm, true enough. So, do you have any ideas? What exactly should we get her?”

“No ideas. If I had ideas, I’d have bought the gift and gone home to rest ages ago.”

It was true. After wandering around with her for so long, Meng Shan had a general idea of her criteria. It had to be exquisite yet not flashy, maintain its value, be practical, and be suitable for a girl…

With so many requirements, finding the right gift was no easy feat. However, Meng Shan was happy to indulge her. As she said, a gift for Yi Ziling could not be a perfunctory affair.

And so, the two of them wandered until the sun hung high at noon, yet to find a suitable present.

Leaning under the slight shade of a bus stop and sipping a drink packed with ice, Ran Jiuyi complained incessantly. “This is killing me. We’ve covered several streets—how is there not a single suitable gift? Why is the market these days full of nothing but cheap, low-quality junk?”

In the 30-degree heat, even during the busy midday traffic, there were only a few sparse people under the bus stop.

“Because it’s cheap. For ordinary people with average incomes, a low price is often the biggest attraction.”

Meng Shan, drinking the same brand of soda, consoled her. “Relax. This city is big; we’ll find the right gift sooner or later.”

“We’ve spent the whole morning and haven’t seen a single thing worth looking at. I have zero confidence in what you’re saying.”

“Then, Ah-Jiu, would you consider lowering your standards?”

“No way. Don’t say useless things, Big Shan.”

“Then there you have it. Stop complaining and keep walking with me. We might just stumble upon it.”

Ran Jiuyi sighed. “You’re right. I guess that’s all we can do. Honestly, if only someone could tell us where to find a suitable gift.”

As she spoke, she addressed the surrounding crowd: “Excuse me, does anyone know a place that sells gifts that are well-made but look simple and unassuming?”

Meng Shan shook his head. “That’s far too broad. How is anyone supposed to answer that? Besides, your standards are so high that even if someone recommended a place, you’d probably be dissatisfied.”

“Excuse me, do you need help? My name is Samuel Ivankayevich Sergeyev. Perhaps I can assist you.”

Just as Ran Jiuyi and Meng Shan were fretting over the gift, a voice interrupted their thoughts.

The two followed the sound and spotted the man named Samuel instantly. He was impossible to miss because he was incredibly conspicuous.

In the sweltering heat of summer, Samuel was wearing a heavy leather overcoat over a full suit that looked stiflingly hot. Not only that, he wore a scarf, gloves, a tie, sunglasses, and a top hat. From head to toe, he was wrapped tightly, revealing not a single inch of skin.

He appeared to have a disability in his right leg, as his right hand leaned on a long cane. His attire didn’t make him look like a modern gentleman; instead, he looked like a private detective from the last century who had to hide his tracks after having his leg broken by the mob.

Furthermore, judging by his voice, Samuel didn’t seem very old—perhaps in his teens—which only added to his strangeness.

“If you wish, perhaps I can help you.”

Seeing no response from Ran Jiuyi or Meng Shan, as if he thought they hadn’t heard him, Samuel repeated himself.

“Hello, Mr. Samuel. I am Meng Shan, and this is Ran Jiuyi. You said you could help us. May I ask how?”

Facing this suspiciously dressed, mysterious man, Meng Shan thought for a moment before engaging him. He knew that both his and Ran Jiuyi’s identities were sensitive. Therefore, for this Samuel to approach them after Ran Jiuyi’s vague inquiry meant he likely had some sort of objective.

So why did Meng Shan talk to him?

The reason was simple: rather than leaving a suspicious character alone, it was better to proactively engage him and figure out his goal. If Meng Shan were alone, he might have watched from a distance first, uncertain if Samuel was a “Transcendent” who might attack on the spot. But with Ran Jiuyi by his side, even if Samuel was a Transcendent looking for a fight, he believed her strength was enough to restrain him.

One might ask: what if Ran Jiuyi couldn’t beat Samuel?

In that case, there was nothing to be done. If a top-tier Transcendent capable of defeating her blocked them on the street while they were totally unprepared… if that happened, Meng Shan would just have to accept his fate.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Mr. Samuel, but this lady beside me didn’t even specify her requirements clearly. So, please answer: why do you believe you can help us?”

Samuel replied, “There is no specific reason. I can simply do such things.”

Ran Jiuyi could guess most of what was going through Meng Shan’s mind. Since Meng Shan was playing the polite, moderate “good cop,” she would take on the role of the hot-tempered, unreasonable “bad cop.”

Having made up her mind, she immediately furrowed her brows and said loudly, “‘No specific reason’? That’s how you answer a question? With an attitude like that, I don’t think you can help us at all.”

Faced with her aggressive stance, Samuel showed no reaction. He simply replied, “Is that so? Perhaps my explanation wasn’t clear enough. If it’s convenient, could we go somewhere quieter to talk?”

This answer was clearly problematic. Ran Jiuyi continued to press him loudly: “You want us to go, so we just go? First, explain one thing: why do you care about our business?”

To this, Samuel said flatly, “No specific reason. You need help, and I happen to have the ability to provide it.”