Chapter 26: Scheming

April 11, Friday.

Fang Ping told his class teacher that he was taking the morning off via his father’s antique mobile phone.

Liu Anguo appeared concerned. He reminded Fang Ping to rest well and take care of his body.

The Fang Ping now was not the Fang Ping in the past.

This was a Fang Ping who had a chance at being admitted into a martial arts university.

The exams were near. If he had really fallen sick now, Liu Anguo would probably cry.

Liu Anguo had only relented when Fang Ping told him that he was only slightly unwell. After some reminders for taking care of his health, he agreed heartily to Fang Ping taking the day off.

It was only then did Fang Ping’s parents believe that their son really had a shot at succeeding.

The concern shown by his class teacher was almost palpable. Would he do that if their son was a nobody?

Fang Yuan, who had thought her brother a boasting buffoon, had to believe that he really was not joking.

The little girl doubted everything in her life. Would her brother really pass the exams?

Fang Ping did not know whether to laugh or cry at her dubious expression.

…

Soon, his parents left for work and Fang Yuan for school.

Fang Ping was the only one left at home.

It was quiet upstairs, but Fang Ping knew with conviction that the tenant was still at home.

A hardcore otaku!

Other otakus browsed the Web, watched TV or did something else while at home.

The man upstairs, though… Fang Ping could confirm that he did not browse the Web or watch TV.

The Internet connection upstairs had been disconnected long ago, and he had never seen him turn on the TV.

A person like him was probably brewing something fishy while holed up in the house.

Fang Ping had strong suspicions that the man was either hiding behind the window or had his ear pressed close to the carpet, trying to eavesdrop on him.

Fang Ping did not know if martial artists’ had enhanced senses, and whether that included their hearing, so he took caution while at home and rarely spoke words that were out of line.

This included his earlier inspection of the upper floor and his application for a day off, both of which were done systematically without seeming overtly sudden.

He did not search for a window of opportunity at first. He paced around in his home, wore his coat and stuffed the small bottle of drugs into his sleeve, with the lid against his palm.

He experimented a few times on the cups at home until he felt he could pour the liquid out easily. Only then did he exhale in relief.

The drug did not smell like anything, but he did not know if it had a taste.

Fang Ping was worried, so he poured a little from the bottle, mixed it with water, and took a sip.

He flicked the tip of his tongue, ensuring that the water tasted like normal water before spitting it out hurriedly. And then his face broke out into a smile.

Colorless and tasteless… It was better than he had imagined.

Martial artists were still human. Even though their taste buds were more sensitive than most, it would not be so easy to discover that something was mixed in with the water.

Fang Ping did not think that someone would stay vigilant all the time, especially when he was merely a goody-two-shoes student.

He lay on his bed for a while until it was 9 a.m. before getting up and walking towards his kitchen.

Upon entering the kitchen, he lifted the kettle and lamented to himself, “Is there no hot water at home?”

“I can’t take my medicine without hot water!”

He sighed, picked his cold medicine and his glass up, and walked outside.

…

On the second floor.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Huang Bin was rummaging his bags for something. When he heard the knocking, his expression changed.

He quickly stuffed the bags in his hands under the bed, held his breath and stayed still.

“Uncle, are you home?”

The voice came from outside the door. Huang Bin wrinkled his brow. It was that kid again!

Annoyance was shown clearly on his face. He was holing in here because he did not want to interact with people, but this kid had appeared twice in two days.

He entertained the thought of not replying, but then he shouted a reply after some thought, “I’m here! I’ll be right there!”

…

Outside the door.

Huang Bin opened the door, face breaking into a smile. “Don’t you have school?”

Fang Ping rubbed his forehead and said with affected apprehension, “I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been so stressed recently, but I felt dizzy, so I took the morning off.

“Uncle, do you have hot water at home?

“I wanted to take my medicine, but there’s no hot water at home, and it’ll take a while to bring water to boil. That’s why I came upstairs…”

Huang Bin understood with due annoyance.

This kid considered himself a close neighbor, coming to him when his house did not have hot water.

Despite his annoyance, Huang Bin said with a smile, “I have hot water here. Please come in.”

“I’m sorry for troubling you, uncle.”

“You’re welcome.”

The two of them exchanged some pleasantries while Fang Ping entered the room with his glass in hand.

Huang Bin pointed towards his kitchen. “The kettle’s over there. Do you need my help?”

“No, uncle, don’t. I can do it myself.” Fang Ping waved his hand quickly and eyed the half-shut curtains casually. “The room’s a little dark. Are these curtains not working, uncle?”

“No…”

“Oh, I thought that they were broken.”

Huang Bin was even more speechless. Why did this kid have to meddle in everything?

Then he realized that something was not right after the kid’s reminder. Pulling the curtains shut during the day was indeed quite inappropriate.

Huang Bin did not follow Fang Ping to the kitchen. He walked toward the balcony to open the curtains.

Fang Ping sighed in relief mentally. He had gone through those words a thousand times in his head.

Huang Bin was indeed following his plan to a T. Of course, he had contingency plans in store in case Huang Bin did not want to walk toward the balcony.

Now he saved him the trouble.

Fang Ping did not dally. He entered the kitchen, poured his glass full of water from the kettle, and took the small bottle out from his sleeve, opening the lid and upending its contents into the kettle.

After doing all this, Fang Ping stuffed the lidded bottle into his pocket and walked out, full glass in hand.

When he walked out of the kitchen, Huang Bin had already opened the curtains and was walking in the direction of the kitchen.

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Fang Ping did not panic. The man was a martial artist. It would be troublesome if he had heard his heart beat too fast.

As Huang Bin walked toward him, Fang Ping raised his glass and smiled. “Thank you, uncle.”

“It’s nothing.”

Huang Bin did not talk much. He paused. The kid should be gone after getting the water for himself.

Who knew why Fang Ping did not sense the apparent impatience of the house’s owner, and thus did not have the intention to leave at all.

Fang Ping had no choice. Since there were no security cameras, how would he know when Huang Bin would drink the laced water otherwise?

He could only stay here and watch him drink the water before pouncing on the opportunity.

If he missed the time and did not know when he drank it, all his efforts would be futile.

Even if the man did not have suspicions when he drank the water for the first time, he would definitely be able to sense something was amiss after that.

There would be no second chance.

Plus, Fang Ping would be the prime suspect… that was why he only had one chance.

These circumstances necessitated Fang Ping’s staying here until he saw the man drink the water with his own eyes.

Fang Ping did not care about what the other man thought of him. He held his glass and sipped from it while he took his pills. He asked, “Uncle, are you usually alone at home?”

“Mm. My family is living in the village. I came to work in Sun City alone.”

Fang Ping cursed mentally. Could he not weave better lies? Was he really that stupid?

He claimed that he was working, but he did not find any work. He had rented a house for himself, and he ate hundreds of yuan of food every day. Did he really think that Fang Ping had not seen real working-class people before? Hiding the cursing, Fang Ping showed his sympathy. “Your son must miss you so much.

“I’m like that. My dad returns home late when he goes out for work. Sometimes I miss him when I don’t see him for a day.

“Oh, wait, uncle, can I watch your TV?

“My dad had taken out the intellicard from our TV, saying that I shouldn’t watch TV since I’m already a Senior Three student. I haven’t gotten to watch TV for a long time.”

Huang Bin’s face turned green. This bastard from downstairs had such thick skin!

Asking for water was one thing. Wanting to watch his TV was another entirely.

Was this not intruding?

Considering that the kid was still young and had no sense of how normal human interactions worked, Huang Bin suppressed his impatience and said, “Here…”

Before he even finished speaking, Fang Ping had already walked into the living room, picked up the remote control, and turned the TV on.

As the TV came to life, Fang Ping exclaimed with joy, “Uncle, can I watch TV here for a while?”

“F*ck!”

Huang Bin was close to cursing the kid’s mother internally. He had not even agreed to it, but the kid had already turned on the TV and settled on the sofa. What could he even say to that?

He had wanted to tell him that his TV did not work. What could he say now?

He was playing the role of the good samaritan. Plus there was no one else in his home, so he did not have any excuse to kick the boy out.

What if he said that he wanted to go out soon?

However he did not want anyone’s eyes on him. Now it was the middle of the morning. What if he was followed after he went out?

After ruminating on the topic for a while, he said with a smile, suppressing his annoyance, “It’s nothing. You can watch it for a while if you want to.”

“Uncle, do you like watching football matches? Do you want to watch one together with me?”

“There’s no need. I’m fine with anything.”

Huang Bin sighed internally once again. Fine, he would endure this for a while. This kid had to go to school sometime later.

Did he not say that he had only taken the morning off?

He would only watch till lunchtime at most.

After thinking it through, he sat on the sofa, spacing out with his eyes focused on the TV. He could not do anything else with Fang Ping, an outsider, in his house.

When would this guy drink water?

He would leave immediately after the guy drank some, and come knocking twenty minutes later.

The drug should take effect after twenty minutes, and the guy should be limp even though he had not passed out.

Half an hour of TV later, the man still had no intention of drinking water.

Fang Ping was done waiting. He picked his glass up, got up and said, “Uncle, I’m going to get some more water. I’m super thirsty. I’ll get a glass for you too.”

Fang Ping entered the kitchen without waiting for him to decline.

He did not fill the glasses immediately. He carried the kettle into the living room, poured himself a glass, and filled the glass in front of Huang Bin.

Huang Bin did not want to speak at all. This kid was a little too comfortable in his home. If it was not for his desire to avoid any attention at all, he would have thrown the kid out from the window.

Fang Ping did not care about what the man thought about him.

He glanced at Huang Bin’s glass from the corner of his eye. Fang Ping did not touch the glass in front of him as he continued to focus on the TV, as if he had forgotten to drink, completely immersed in whatever was playing on the TV.

People were easily affected by psychological suggestions.

If there was no water in front of you, you probably would not actively look for water to drink.

However, if there was a glass of water in front of you, you probably would take a sip even if you are not thirsty at all.

Fang Ping was laying out the groundwork for such a suggestion when he poured a glass of water for Huang Bin.

Fang Ping was faring better, as he could divert his attention by watching TV. Huang Bin was not in the mood to watch TV, obviously, so he had nothing to do. Sipping his water could help to ease his boredom.

A few minutes later, Huang Bin moved his body and reached forward for the glass, which he lifted casually.

Fang Ping felt his heart stop beating for a moment.

In order to mask his abnormalities, he muttered at the TV, “Why haven’t they scored? Quick, shoot a goal!”

Actually, Fang Ping was overly careful.

Huang Bin was wary of many people: the Investigation Department, other martial artists, and other people he found suspicious; Fang Ping was not included among them.

He was only a teen, and a student, even.

He had no beef with him. Although he had thought of getting rid of him, he had not made his move, had he?

Why would a kid plot against him under such circumstances?

Anyone other than Huang Bin would have similar thoughts too.

Wang Jinyang had visited Fang Ping’s school. If Fang Ping and the others had treated him to a drink while welcoming him, would he suspect that it was laced?

If he was suspicious of everyone all the time, he would have suffered from paranoia.

That was the reason why Fang Ping’s many measures were unnecessary.

Huang Bin did not suspect a thing. He downed the glass of water naturally, lifting the glass and taking a huge gulp.

Martial artists did not drink like a woman. They did not take small sips.

The glass was half empty after he drank a mouthful.

Fang Ping did not stay for long. He suddenly said, “Sh*t, I seemed to have forgotten to turn off the stove at home. I’m going downstairs now, uncle.”

Huang Bin could not wait for him to leave immediately. He grinned, “Okay. Come visit when you’re free.”

“Thank you, uncle. I’ll come up again when I sort this out.”

“…”

Huang Bin wanted to give himself a slap across the face. Was his brain flooded with sh*t, saying this and f*cking putting his f*cking foot into his mouth when he had known that this kid did not care for social norms? Unfortunately, there was no way to retract his offer.

Huang Bin mustered a few pleasantries before Fang Ping went down.

After he had left, Huang Bin rubbed his temple. His mouth felt dry, so he lifted his glass and took another gulp.

He shook his head, not bothering with Fang Ping, and withdrew the bag from under the sofa where he had stuffed it.

Considering that the kid would come to visit again, he took the package into his room, so that it would not be spotted by the kid.