Xiao Pan

It was six in the morning in the city of Zhonghai.

A buzzing sound was coming out of Xiao Pan's room and the strange sound soon caught the attention of his mother, who was cooking in the kitchen. Putting down the half-sliced tomato, she went to his room, her slippers making a shuffling sound on the floor.

Knock, knock!

His mother knocked on the door.

"Dada! What are you doing there? Go wash your face and brush your teeth if you're already up!"

"Coming!"

Sticking her ear to the door, his mother grew suspicious when the strange sound vanished all of a sudden.

Her son, who was in a good mood, opened the door. Then, he dashed past her like a gust of wind, heading right for the bathroom.

After watching her son enter the bathroom, his mother wiped her hands on her apron, then turned the doorknob and entered Xiao Pan's room.

Nothing looked out of place!

However, his mother was already suspecting that her son was up to something and wasn't convinced. She knew her son too well.

[Searching under the pillow…]

[Found: 14 yuan worth of change.]

Rage level slightly increased!

[Searching under the duvet…]

[Nothing was found.]

Satisfaction level slightly increased!

[Searching the desk…]

[Found: Unfinished homework × 1.]

[Found: Pieces of packaging.]

Rage level increased significantly! Searching efficiency raised by 100%!

[Searching under the bed…]

[Found: Son's stinky socks × 3]

[Found: Mysterious packaging box.]

[Found: Unknown circular toy × 1.]

[Picking up…]

[Accomplished.]

After dragging the smelly socks out from under the bed, the mother walked into the bathroom with the socks in her left hand and the wheel-shaped toy in her right hand.

"Dada! I see you're brushing your teeth."

"@#$%$#…"

Seeing the toothpaste foam covering his mouth, the mother smiled in satisfaction.

She revealed her left hand in a seemingly inadvertent way until her son could see the smelly socks in her hand.

Xiao Pan's teeth-brushing movement paused a little when he saw them.

His mother didn't let her face reveal anything when she said, "I've told you a hundred times: don't stuff your dirty socks under your bed. You never listen."

Xiao Pan nodded. His face looked stiff.

His mother smiled, then took out the yo-yo in her right hand and suddenly asked, "The socks can wait. Dada, shouldn't you explain to me what this thing is?"

Whoosh!

The boy rinsed his mouth and spat out the water in a split second with no pause in between!

He had never spoken so fast before when he replied. "I borrowed that toy from Lele! Mom, please believe me. I only wanted to have a look! I didn't play with it…"

"I see. It's Lele's toy!"

His mother seemed to be convinced.

Before Xiao Pan could heave a sigh of relief, his mother went on. "Sweetheart, can you explain this to me, then? I gave you 100 yuan last night as your pocket money, but why is there only 14 yuan left today?"

Xiao Pan was rendered speechless.

What was he going to do now? He desperately needed an explanation!

Xiao Pan was dumbstruck by his mother's question. An idea struck him when he was at a loss of what to say.

His dad had borrowed 50 yuan from his lucky money and never paid him back…

Sorry, Dad!

"Dad took it!"

Xiao Pan said in a convincing, matter-of-fact tone. "Dad said he didn't have money for cigarettes, so he took my 100 yuan!"

His mother was speechless this time.

Fine!

"Daddy's boy! You lie just like him! There's no need for a paternity test!" thought the mother.

"Alright! I'll get that money back from your dad tonight after he gets off work. As for this yo-yo…"

The mother threw it up and down in her right hand, ignoring the resentful look in Xiao Pan's eyes. "I'll keep it for you for the time being. Next time when I see Lele's mum, I'll return it to Lele for you."

"No! Mum!

"I spent 86 yuan on that limited edition 'Power Silver Max'!" cried Xiao Pan in his head.

Despite his bleeding heart, he had to put on a smile on his face. That was a horrible feeling.

Xiao Pan threw his backpack on and left home in low spirits. He headed for school, ready to spend his day studying.

On his way, he ran into Du Bishu, his classmate.

Du Bishu's name was homophonic to "losing every bet". Allegedly, his mom had come up with the name, so as to warn his dad, who had a gambling addiction.

"Stop gambling! Your son is called 'losing every bet' and you're only giving your money away on the gambling table!"

Because of their young ages, both Xiao Pan and Xiao Du were unable to comprehend the sorrow behind that name when Mrs. Du named her son.

Xiao Du didn't like his name at all.

The reason was simple. The characters of his name contained too many strokes.

Xiao Pan couldn't agree more.

The two boys lived in the same residential area and went to the same class in the same primary school. It could have been called destiny.

Hence, they became a pair of inseparable friends.

"Dada, wait!"

Du Bishu, the quick-witted boy, would show off his yo-yo skills whenever he had the chance.

Xiao Pan was hurt.

He had mastered "Eiffel Tower" and so what?! "If mom hadn't taken away my yo-yo, I would have been able to use that stance after practicing it for a morning."

"I'm a master! Too bad my yo-yo was taken away…"

After showing his friend the "Eiffel Tower" stance he had just learned, Du Bishu didn't see any reaction on his buddy's face, which baffled him.

"What's wrong, Dada? Has your mom told you off again?"

"It's not that…"

Xiao Pan shook his head, then said in a dejected tone. "My mom found out about my 'Power Silver Max'…"

"What?!"

Du Bishu put on an "astonished" look, then pressed a hand on his chest, looking almost too hurt to breathe.

What was that name he heard just then?

Power Silver Max?

The ultimate version of Power Silver was a limited edition yo-yo and only 9,999 were produced worldwide! It was said to have used some material and design that primary students like them couldn't understand and was supposed to have had super long sleep time!

Although they had no idea as to what that special production technology was, the retail price said it all!

The common version Power Silver was sold at 56 yuan only and Power Silver S was 66 yuan. The limited edition Power Silver Max was sold at 86 yuan!

"What a pity! You're the only one in our class with a Power Silver Max! Didn't Li Peng in the other class brag about the Power Silver Max in his class? I wish your mother didn't find out about yours…"

When Du Bishu said these words, he obviously failed to realize one thing.

If only 9,999 Power Silver Maxes were produced worldwide, how could there be more than one in his school?

…

"Junior Boss… are you sure about this?"

Inside Pengda Toy Factory, many staff of the marketing department had gathered around Meng Lang, listening carefully to his strategy on the so-called "yo-yo campaign".

After hearing that the young boss had ordered the factory to make 100,000 "limited edition Power Silver Maxes" and was going to keep producing them, everyone looked like they had just seen a ghost.

What happened to the 9,999 limit?

"Aren't we swindling the consumers that way?" One of the employees was more familiar with the law and raised his hand.

Meng Lang turned his head and gave the man a "you idiot" look, then pointed at the big poster of "Power Silver Max" behind him. "Have you read the number correctly?"

"Limited edition, only 9,999… wait!"

They could see it now!

Behind the fourth "9", there were two more tiny "9"s which could only be seen with a magnifying glass!

Limited edition! Only 999,999!

That would do!