Everyone turned toward the voice.
By the roadside stood a bespectacled, clean-cut teenage boy, looking at them with confusion.
"Xiao Yang."
Fan Wenxin subtly shifted his body, hiding his injured right hand behind him.
Oliver asked, "Is this your son?"
Fan Wenxin hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes. This is my son, Fan Yang. Today's Friday, so he's on break and just got home."
Fan Yang attended a boarding school. He could return home every Friday and would go back to school on Sunday.
Because of this, he still had no idea what his father had done for him.
And Fan Wenxin had no intention of letting his son know—he didn't want him to worry.
At this moment, Fan Yang walked closer, looking at the three of them with confusion.
"Dad, what are you doing here?"
"Xiao Yang, go home first," Fan Wenxin said hurriedly.
"Dad's chatting with some friends."
He wanted to send Fan Yang away as quickly as possible, afraid his son might notice something was off.
But Fan Yang was perceptive.
From the moment he arrived, his father had kept his body turned slightly away from him, as if deliberately hiding one side.
Moreover, his father's attitude toward these so-called "friends" was overly respectful—nothing like how he treated ordinary acquaintances.
With a frown, Fan Yang stepped forward and forcefully turned his father around.
The next second, he froze.
His father's right hand was wrapped in bandages.
"What happened to your hand?" Fan Yang asked, stunned.
Then, almost instinctively, he glared angrily at Oliver and Mu Xue.
Clearly, he assumed that his father's injury had something to do with them.
Fan Wenxin immediately understood what his son was thinking and panicked.
"Xiao Yang, you're mistaken! I hurt my hand myself at home by accident!"
"Then why didn't you tell me before?" Fan Yang pressed.
"I didn't want you to worry," Fan Wenxin replied quickly.
"The college entrance exam is coming up. You should focus on studying at school and not get distracted by these things."
Since his father had already said this much, Fan Yang could only accept it.
"…Then who are they?" he asked hesitantly, looking at Oliver and Mu Xue.
Now that he had a chance to observe them properly, Fan Yang realized how strange the situation was.
A young man and a young woman—both clearly much younger than his father.
They obviously weren't from the same generation.
Fan Wenxin sighed, then took out a small box from his pocket.
"Alright, I'll tell you the truth," he said.
"Dad asked these two friends for help… to get you a Shiny Stone. That way, your Togetic can evolve, and you'll have a better chance at getting into top universities like Qing University or Beijing University."
Fan Yang's eyes widened in shock.
"A Shiny Stone?! Dad, where did we get the money for that?"
"And even if we had it, why spend so much? Going to a slightly lower-ranked university would be fine too!"
Fan Wenxin shook his head silently, saying nothing.
"I got it cheaply through these friends," he finally said.
"You must train Togetic well—don't waste Dad's effort."
Fan Yang took the box from his father's hands.
Then his gaze drifted back to the bandages on Fan Wenxin's hand.
An indescribable emotion surged in his chest.
Oliver and Mu Xue watched this quietly.
This was the reality most civilian Trainers faced.
To rise above others required enormous resource investment—but ordinary families simply couldn't afford it.
And so the cycle continued.
The weak grew weaker.
The strong grew stronger.
Before long, Fan Wenxin managed to persuade Fan Yang to head home.
"Sorry you had to see that," Fan Wenxin said apologetically.
"Let's get going now. If everything goes smoothly, we should reach the place before nightfall."
Oliver felt a faint sense of heaviness.
If not for his memories from another life—and the system's help—
his own situation might not have been much better… perhaps even worse.
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about," Oliver said calmly.
"Your son is probably still waiting for you to go home. Just take us to the destination—you can leave after that."
"B-But…"
Fan Wenxin hesitated, then nodded. "Alright. Thank you very much."
If possible, he didn't want to stay long in a dangerous Secret Realm either.
As for Oliver and Mu Xue—
seeing how confident they were, Fan Wenxin decided not to keep trying to dissuade them.
Since they dared to enter a Secret Realm on their own,
they must have the strength to back it up.
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