Chapter Eleven: Two Fat People in the Family

The old prince's mouth was still agape, his eyes wide with astonishment as he gazed at the young Chinese man before him. Vampires, creatures of shadow, usually haunted the darkest corners of Europe and seldom revealed their true forms to ordinary people. The prince had only heard rumors of them, along with frightening tales of bloodthirsty vampires preying on humans. The sight of Henry’s bloodshot eyes and those teeth glimmering with a pale blue light had truly terrified him.

But now, seeing that such a fearsome vampire posed no threat whatsoever to this remarkable youth, and had in fact been scared off so quickly, the prince became even more convinced that this young man was a messenger sent by Allah himself to save him.

“Oh, my dear Liu from China, you are truly miraculous! Praise be to Allah for sending you to rescue us, lost lambs,” he exclaimed.

“All right, all right, let’s free everyone and leave this wretched place as soon as possible. They could return at any moment,” Liu Yunfei said. As they walked, he deliberately kept behind the old prince and quickly shifted back into his true form.

They reached the engine room, broke the lock with a spade, and the old prince reassured everyone before ordering the crew to set sail for Riyadh at once. When the servants learned that the young Chinese man before them was their savior, and that he was a miraculous envoy sent by Allah, they all bowed in gratitude to Liu Yunfei.

Remembering the beautiful Arab woman resting in the adjacent lounge, Liu Yunfei accompanied the old prince to the nearby room. The woman, having just survived a harrowing ordeal, was in turmoil, feeling bitterly wronged—no man had ever treated her so. She didn’t even care that her black traditional robe was torn, hastily wrapping it around herself as she sat on the small bed, unable to stop sobbing. When a knock sounded, she looked up and glimpsed the old prince and her young rescuer through the porthole. At once, she opened the door and threw herself into the old prince’s arms.

Liu Yunfei felt a pang of disappointment. So she was the old prince’s woman after all—a blossom stuck in cow dung, he thought, sighing inwardly.

“Shalena, my dear child, you’ve suffered so much. When did you come aboard? I had no idea,” the old prince said, tears welling in his eyes, clearly doting on the woman called Shalena.

“Papa, you wouldn’t let me come with you. I stayed home all day every day—I was going stir-crazy. I begged the housekeeper to sneak me onto the ship. Please, don’t punish the housekeeper or the servants. I won’t dare do this again, Papa,” Shalena sobbed, still worried for those who helped her. She seemed a kindhearted girl.

Papa? She called the old prince Papa? Liu Yunfei’s heart leapt. So he had misunderstood; she was the old prince’s daughter—a princess, perhaps. Then he thought, Why am I excited? Do I fancy this girl? I only just met her. Is it attraction or simply lust over her beauty? No, I already have Park Minji. Am I really becoming so fickle?

Though he hadn’t known Park Minji for long, they spent so much time together that he felt deeply protective of her, especially given her tragic past. In his heart, he already considered her his girlfriend—and she saw him as her boyfriend. With each other, they didn’t hide their feelings or pretend to be strong; she would laugh or cry in front of him as she wished.

Thinking of Park Minji, Liu Yunfei felt his regrets fade. “All right, you should head for Riyadh now. It’s getting late. I have to go.”

“Oh no, dear Liu from China! I haven’t properly thanked you, nor has my precious youngest daughter. Please, come to Riyadh with us,” the old prince pleaded sincerely, unwilling to part with such a miraculous person. “Please, wondrous Liu from China, come to Riyadh—I will welcome you with the grandest ceremony our Abdul family has ever seen, and you may choose any of our most treasured possessions as you wish.”

Liu Yunfei was not so selfless—he thought of his busy parents back home and felt tempted. “But I should let my family know. I don’t want my parents to worry.”

The old prince didn’t know how long he’d be gone, but tried to persuade him: “We’re still some distance from Riyadh, and if the kidnappers return, we’re defenseless. Even if I call for naval protection, it would take hours. Where are your parents? We can bring them to Riyadh with us.”

Liu Yunfei considered this and decided it best not to involve his parents for now—who knew what those deranged kidnappers might do. “All right, I’ll just go tell them. I’ll be back soon, and I’ll go to Riyadh with you. But please, no grand ceremony—I don’t want everyone to know my name and face; it would make things harder for me.”

Seeing Liu Yunfei agree, the old prince was delighted. “Very well, whatever you wish. Go quickly and come back soon. May Allah watch over you.” Suddenly, he felt Shalena pinch his arm, and hurriedly added, “Oh, allow me to introduce my most beloved youngest daughter, Shalena, the apple of my eye. Shalena, come thank the messenger of Allah who saved our family—Liu from China.”

“Messenger of Allah, Shalena thanks you,” she said, performing an Arab salute.

“You’re welcome. My name is Liu Yunfei—just call me Yunfei,” Liu Yunfei replied, still unaccustomed to the role of savior and feeling a little shy. Yet, seeing such a beautiful woman look at him with adoration, he couldn’t help but feel a bit pleased with himself. “All right, I’ll be going now.”

Liu Yunfei went up to the deck of the Star Cluster, looked around to make sure no one was watching, then swiftly transformed and soared off on his Somersault Cloud. Upon returning home, he found it was still early. He left a note for his parents, saying he’d gone to visit a schoolmate’s family in the countryside and would be gone for two or three days, telling them not to worry and that he had his phone.

Back in his room, he saw many missed calls on his cell phone, all from classmates—mostly Yu Xiaowei. Checking the messages, he saw that the school term was about to start and Yu Xiaowei wanted to go to school together. Liu Yunfei thought how busy he’d been lately, unsure if he’d have time that day, but decided to call Yu Xiaowei anyway. Another reason was that he dreaded his phone ringing nonstop in Riyadh—international roaming charges were still exorbitant, and his family’s finances were modest. He only had eighty yuan left on his phone card, and who knew how many calls he’d be able to answer in Riyadh.

He picked up the landline and dialed Yu Xiaowei’s number, but the boy’s phone was off. He remembered that many Chinese people turned off their phones at home—maybe to save money or to keep secrets from family. Liu Yunfei knew Yu Xiaowei was one of them—a real penny-pincher.

He searched for Yu’s home number and called. The phone was right next to the sofa, and Yu’s parents were home, the three of them watching TV. Yu’s mother was peeling an apple and lecturing her son. When the phone rang, she pressed the speaker button with her pinky.

As soon as Liu Yunfei asked for “Fat Yu,” he heard Yu Xiaowei’s father gleefully reply, “That’s me, that’s me!”

So, it turned out there were two chubby people in that family.