An unknown amount of time passed.
Sunz slowly regains his consciousness (What happened?... So tired, gonna go continue sleeping… wait.) he feels the blanket on top of him (This is not my blanket.) and his back is lying on top of something hard and cool (…)
Continue to make some small movements before getting all comfortable in this weird bed (If I'm not dead, then might as well go back to sleep.)
…
…
…
Time passed some more until Sunz was able to get out of the sleepy state with his eyes wide open, and the first thing he did was move his hand around, looking for his phone (Fuck me, I guess.)
Give up on finding his entertainment device, Sunz looks at the surroundings, a small room with only a bed and a drawer next to it, a familiar sliding door with wooden floor leads him to make an educated guess (Am I at Grandma Yan's house?)
Sunz then decided to get out of bed and out of the room and into (The Infinite Hallway, well normal this time), suddenly he started hearing sounds, the volume of this should have been heard from inside the other room. *step back into the room*, and it becomes silent.
"What soundproof did she put in this room?"
*walk out into the hallway*
"I guess she must be where the sound is."
Walking through the hallway, the sound started getting louder until he reached a corner with no door on three walls, and when he put his ear on the wall in front of him. The sound on the other side can be heard clearly, and it was people's voices speaking in Chinese.
(Must be invisible wall… ok, fucking brain fog you just put your ear on it dumbass… maybe other walls are invisible?)
*touch the other two walls*
(Nope…maybe-)
As Sunz was thinking, the wall to his right hand slid open, and it nearly gave him a heart attack.
Sunz: Mama!
Standing on the other side of the wall was Grandma Yan.
Yan: Finally awake. Did you have a good sleep?
Sunz: You scared the life out of me, jeez. A little warning, please.
Yan: Guess you did. Come on, follow me.
She led Sunz inside the room, which is the living room, then sat down on the sofa and lowered the volume of the show she was watching on the TV.
"Come and sit down."
Sunz follows her suggestion: Ok, so I'm at your house… any reason why I'm here?
Yan: Please, don't be asking questions when you just wake up. You must be hungry, right?
*snap her finger*
A box filled with different snacks, ranging from cookies, candy, and jelly, appears on the table in front of them.
"Here, enjoy!"
Sunz sigh: fine… *grab a couple of random snacks and look around while eating them* (Clock. Clock. There… 12h30… A.M or P.M)
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, his phone is dropped onto his lap.
Yan talks to Sunz without looking at him: Here is your phone for you to not bother me with unnecessary questions.
Sunz: Umm… thwank kwou. (Time… ok, A.M…)
*go back to his last call with Grace*
(Fuck! It's been nearly 2 days? No way! That is so dumb… was it because of that scene with Grace Alter?... How much should I care about that scene?)
…
*sigh*
(There is nothing I can do about it. I can't control Grace Alter, just hope that she doesn't put Grace in any bad situation.)
Put down his phone and start watching the show Grandma Yan was watching. The show has quite low quality but visible, a lot of the effects are outdated, but it has great costumes. The show seems to be followed a cast consisting of a human monkey, human pig, human with beard, and a monk.
…
Yan: You understand everything they said, right?
Sunz:… yes.
Yan: Don't worry, I did not tell your parents about this. It's not really something for you to hide or… you just forgot that you could speak and understand Chinese.
Sunz: I… I guess so… may I ask, how and why am I here?
Yan: You were sleeping for almost a day, skipping all of your meals and not waking up despite all the solutions. Then I was asked to come over to check on you, just to tell your parents you are normal, just in deep sleep, too deep in fact. Then your parents have to go on a business trip, so you were placed in my care.
Sunz: I see. How long will they be going for?
Yan: You already miss your parents?
Sunz: Probably not yet, I just want to know how long, that's all.
Yan: I see, you don't want to stay at my house. That is understandable.
Sunz: You just read my mind, literally. Since you can read the future, your ability is similar to that of a psychic.
Yan: Think simple. Not everything is complicated. My ability is psychic, but with more tools.
Sunz: ok… does that mean… I was teleported here?
Yan: Such a smart kid.
Sunz: I'm not saying it.
Yan: It is always available for you. Anyway, should be about time.
Sunz: Time for what?
Suddenly his phone started ringing… and it was his mother FaceTiming him. Before he can grab it, the phone floats up to the air and accepts the call.
On the corner of the phone screen was him and Grandma Yan sitting on the sofa, while covering the whole screen were his mother and father in what looked like a hotel room.
Mom: There is our Son.
Sunz: Hi Mom. Hi Dad.
Dad: Hi Son.
Mom: Hi Miss Yan. Thank you for taking care of Sunz. I hope he didn't cause you any trouble.
Yan: No need for thanking me. I also want to spend some time with my grandson and don't worry about him. All he did was sleeping, nothing abnormal yet.
Mom: Sunz, make sure to listen to Miss Yan, ok?
Sunz: Ok. So, how long will you two be away for?
Mom: About a week… you missed us already, or did you want to come with us?
Sunz: I don't miss you two yet, but what do you mean coming with?
Mom: This trip is like a business trip combined with a family vacation trip.
Sunz: What? That makes no sense.
Dad: For your mother, a part of this trip is for work, then vacation. While for me and if you were here to socialise with people of our age.
Sunz: I see, *sigh* glad that I did not come. I don't want to meet new people.
Mom: Not because of the sea?
Sunz: I told you, I hate swimming, and I don't want to spend every morning waking up just to go to the beach, then come back for shower.
Mom: It's experience, you won't have those chances in the future.
Sunz: Yeah yeah, you said this many times. Anyway, enjoy your vacation.
Mom: Ok, we'll see you later. Remember to listen to Miss Yan.
Sunz: I got it. Bye Mom! Bye Dad!
Mom and Dad: Bye Son!
Everyone waves their hand at each other, then the call ends. Sunz's phone then levitated down on the table.
Yan: The important thing is out of the way *stand up* follow me, time to feed you.
Sunz: Ok. Can I make a request?
Yan: Anything for you!
Sunz: Can I have anything that is not rice?
Yan: Then it's perfect.
Sunz: Great! *get up and follow Grandma Yan*
…
In the kitchen.
Grandma Yan went to the fridge and took out a 2-layer bamboo steamer and revealed to Sunz his meal.
"Bao buns. How does that sound?"
Sunz: Great!
Yan: Good, just need to reheat them.
Then she just prepares the reheating process manually, and after 10 minutes, the food is ready.
Sunz stare at the buns in the steamer: They all look the same.
Yan: They should be. There are three different fillings, pork, beef, and chicken. I don't know which has which.
Sunz: I mean, I haven't eaten in nearly 2 days *chuckle*, thank you for the food.
*grab one and eat it*
"So good!"
Yan: Great, and we can have some discussion while you eat.
Sunz:… sure, I guess… This is about me being a Hero, isn't it?
Yan: Correct. First is the rule, while you are training under me. Both you and I are not allowed to tell your parents what was going on during the training, only answer you are allowed to tell them is good or bad.
Sunz: Wait, why is it favoring me? Aren't you on my Mom's side?
Yan: Your fortune telling was forced by your mother. This is your decision, and it makes you my client, not your parents.
Sunz: Ok, I understand.
Yan: Second thing, if you agreed to be trained by me. You can leave the agreement anytime you want. Being a Hero is not for everyone, so don't throw your life away. There are other paths.
Sunz:… I understand, but right now… This feels like the perfect path for me, so I would like to be trained by you.
Yan: We'll have to see. Final thing, you will be forced to learn your culture… the world you now know is beyond what normal people know, and there are cultures hidden beyond normal people and normal Hero.
Sunz: Sure… *eat the bao buns* I… I don't know what to expect, so I'll do my best. I hope I don't give you any trouble with these types of answers. I was living an ignorant life until everything started blowing up around me. Forcing me to actually react, paying attention to details, and not be stagnant in one place.
Yan: What you lived was not a life. It was a routine with fragments of a life appearing randomly. But now, everything is reversed. You will now live a life with a routine in it.
Sunz:… *eat the bao buns*
… *eat the bao buns*
… *eat the bao buns*
"I have no idea what the second half meaning is since it feels like the first half. I'm just going to eat the food and leave all the cryptic speaking behind."
Yan: Sounds good to me.
Sunz: So, you have a special training room in this maze-like house?
Yan: For now, just stuff your face, you will need all that energy for training and gardening.
Sunz: Gardening?... I guess doing chores is part of the Chinese's training. They show it all the time in shows.
Yan: Don't worry, my chores won't be that lame, and you might even find it life-changing.
Sunz: Ok!