Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Yuanting, fed by the three women, managed to swallow and immediately seized the opportunity to speak before the next bite was offered.

"Grandma, I'll tell you something really scary. Big Bao's mom from the western end of my grandma's village drank pesticide and committed suicide. It was so frightening."

Cheng Nanyi looked at Yuanting, who appeared innocent with his big, guileless eyes blinking as if he was just casually sharing some big gossip.

But he remembered Yuanting telling him before about Big Bao from the eastern end of the village.

The child seemed genuinely afraid of someone around him committing suicide.

"Oh dear, why did she commit suicide?" the grandmother asked, patting Yuanting's curly hair, "There, there, don't be scared."

"Because his dad had another woman outside, so his mom committed suicide by drinking pesticide," Yuanting said with his legs swinging, innocently.

"That's foolish, to throw away her life over a man, not even caring about her child," the grandmother said dismissively, "Such women are not thinking straight, can't live without a man? If it were me, I would have dealt with him first."

"Mom," Aunt Zhu said helplessly, "Mind your words in front of the child."

Aunt Zhu's sister glanced at her and suddenly snorted, "If it were my sister, she might just do something like that. After all, living as a wealthy wife for so long, one’s practical skills tend to..."

Before she could finish, their grandmother smacked her hard on the back, scolding, "Stop talking nonsense, or I'll really hit you. Can't you keep your mouth shut?"

"Hmph," Aunt Zhu scoffed coldly, "At least I never ran off namelessly with a man." Dropping her cookie, she stood up and went into the kitchen.

Aunt Zhu's sister shrugged nonchalantly: "See how petty she is."

Fuming, their grandmother slapped her again, grinding her molars, "Can't you stop provoking your sister? Can't you let me live in peace?"

Yuanting felt the gust from the grandmother’s slaps above his head, realizing she was genuinely hitting hard, no pretense.

Aunt Zhu's sister rolled her eyes, then patted Yuanting's head, "Curly hair, call me 'sister' again, I dare you."

Yuanting: "..."

Can't a handsome guy get some respect?

"Auntie, auntie, don’t mess up the family hierarchy. Don’t you know your own age?" the grandmother glared at her disapprovingly.

Aunt Zhu's sister shrugged, picked up the remote, and stopped talking.

Yuanting sighed to himself; Aunt Zhu's sister was exactly as the rumors described.

Mo Yikai's maternal grandparents had divorced early, and the grandmother raised her two daughters alone. As a family of three, Aunt Zhu's sister was known to be the biggest 'troublemaker.'

The grandmother, working hard for a living, left the care of the younger sister to the older one. The sisters were twelve years apart, making Aunt Zhu more like a mother to her sister.

Aunt Zhu's sister was rebellious from a young age, poor in academics and stubborn in temperament. She was notorious for her bar-hopping and dating escapades, and eventually, after failing to get into college, she ran off with a boyfriend to another city.

Aunt Zhu personally drove to bring her sister back, but Aunt Zhu's sister refused, yelling at her, "You're not my mom, what right do you have to control me?"

Aunt Zhu, who had spent years caring for her, was utterly exhausted and heartbroken by this incident, deciding then to truly stop meddling in her sister’s life.

Aunt Zhu's sister lived with her poor boyfriend for two years before they bitterly split up. She returned alone and opened a women's clothing store locally, managing fairly well.

Over the past two years, their relationship had thawed somewhat, but only in front of their grandmother. Privately, they hardly communicated.

This awkward relationship lasted for many years, never truly resolving even when Aunt Zhu committed suicide.

After Aunt Zhu's death, Aunt Zhu's sister took care of all matters related to Mo Yikai, and Yuanting had interacted with her many times.

Yuanting’s impression of Aunt Zhu's sister, now in her forties, was of a woman obsessed with making money, rejecting romance, with a clear head and stable emotions.

In Mo Yikai's words, the relationship between his mother and aunt was very strained.

Yet, Yuanting had inadvertently witnessed Aunt Zhu's sister crying heart-wrenchingly alone in the cemetery.

The next update about her came two years later when Mo Yikai mentioned that his aunt had sold her shop, house, and car to go abroad alone.

Later, news came that a fire had broken out in Mo Yikai's father's house abroad, killing him and his mistress.

At that time, Yuanting was overwhelmed and unclear about the details. Cheng Nanyi had sent people to investigate, but before any news came, Yuanting was reborn.

At this point, Aunt Zhu's sister was twenty-six years old, indeed at odds with her sister as Mo Yikai had described.

In his heart, Yuanting thought, 'Auntie, it's all up to you now. Please don't let me down.'

……

Mo Yikai had been waiting at the roadside for half an hour and was just getting impatient when his father's car finally arrived.

The car window rolled down, revealing the face of Mo Zhao Hua.

"The stuff is in the trunk, get it yourself."

Mo Yikai leaned on the car window and spoke to his father, "Dad, my aunt came over today, which is rare. Are you so busy that you don't even have time for a meal?"

"Your aunt and your mom together would make the meal indigestible for me. I really do have important matters to attend to, no time to talk."

Mo Yikai didn't move but leaned further into the car, sniffing, "Dad, there’s a perfume smell in your car, and it's quite strong."

Mo Zhao Hua's face changed. Before he could respond, Mo Yikai added, "When you come back, get the car washed. Mom hates strong scents; careful she doesn’t scold you."

Mo Zhao Hua: "..." Thanks for the reminder! Useful suggestion.

"Mom was actually looking forward to you joining them for dinner. Maybe buy her a gift and apologize tonight," suggested Mo Yikai.

"Alright, I got it. I never realized you talked this much before."

"This is called being sensible," Mo Yikai retorted with a snort. "Just look at that little blond curly-haired boy, and you'll see how likable your son is."

After speaking, Mo Yikai extended his hand, "For being so sensible, don’t you think you should reward me a bit?"

"…Always up to something, you cunning kid." Mo Zhao Hua opened his wallet and handed him three hundred-yuan bills.

Satisfied, Mo Yikai finally walked to the back of the car, took the stuff from the trunk, and headed home.

Passing by Cheng Nanyi's house, he noticed the car that picked up Cheng Nanyi had returned. Deciding not to go back to his own home just yet, he walked into the courtyard.

The gardener, busy arranging the flower racks, saw Mo Yikai and smiled, "Nanyi and Yuanting went to your house looking for you."

To his house?

Huh, is that little brat seeking his own doom?

Mo Yikai immediately quickened his pace, running towards home.

He had made up his mind today; even if Cheng Nanyi gave him the entire Cheng family's wealth, it wouldn’t matter – he was determined to deal with that kid.

After the kid ran off during gym class, everyone laughed so hard they nearly rolled on the ground. It took a while before he found out the truth amidst the chatter, and by then, the whole class knew... and later, the entire school.

Damn it, he never imagined his fame throughout the school would be because of... daring to eat shit.

His perfect primary school life, about to conclude, was ruined by this shitty incident.

Mo Yikai stormed home, sleeves rolled up in anger. As he pushed open the door, he saw the little kid swinging his legs on the couch. His fiery-tempered grandmother and the aunt who disdained him were feeding the kid and wiping his mouth.

？？？

What kind of fantasy scenario is this?

For a moment, Mo Yikai wondered if he had entered the wrong house.

"Yuan—ting?" Mo Yikai called out menacingly.

！！！！！

Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!!!

Alarm bells were ringing!!!

Yuanting's eyes widened in terror at the sound, and upon seeing Mo Yikai's angry face, he instinctively jumped off the couch.

"Ahhh!" Yuanting screamed, arms outstretched as he ran towards Cheng Nanyi, crying, "Brother, brother, brother..."

Watching the kid bolt like a frightened rabbit, Cheng Nanyi instinctively stood up, his hands hanging by his sides ready to catch the little one, although he didn't move.

Just as Yuanting was about to throw himself into Cheng Nanyi's arms, a sudden thought struck him – there was a safer place than Cheng Nanyi's embrace.

So, Yuanting turned and dashed towards the kitchen.

Mo Yikai's mother had just walked out of the kitchen. In those few meters, Yuanting quickly thought, rushing into her arms might not be ideal. After all, he was a man in his twenties, and hugging her legs didn't seem right either, so...

Yuanting slid to his knees and sat at Mo Yikai's mother's feet, clinging to her legs, crying dramatically, "Auntie, Kai is going to hit me, wuwuwu, I'm so scared, please protect me!"

Mo Yikai, standing five meters away: "???"

Damn, is this kid actually playing the victim?

Cheng Nanyi was also stunned for a moment, his fingers curling slightly as he watched Yuanting clinging to Mo Yikai's mother’s legs, his brow unconsciously furrowing.

He felt oddly uncomfortable. Just moments ago, Yuanting was being sweet and seeking his protection, and now, without any hesitation, he had switched to someone else.

Author's Note:

My new works "The Silly Moonlight Always Urges Me to Darken" and "After Rebirth, The True Young Master Forces Me to Bend" are up for collection.

"The Silly Moonlight Always Urges Me to Darken"

The young master of the Zhao family, failing to win the family inheritance, was abandoned in the wilderness, left to fend for himself.

On a night of torrential rain, Qiu Zhuo, holding an umbrella, approached and towered over him.

The young Zhao family heir looked up at the youth descending from the sky, his grip tightening on the knife in his hand.

In the next second, Qiu Zhuo tossed the umbrella aside and dragged the young Zhao heir away like a wild dog.

*

Qiu Zhuo found himself in a novel where the protagonist's family rescued and healed the young Zhao heir. However, when the heir's mortal enemy came looking, they handed him over to save their own lives.

The young Zhao heir barely survived, and after becoming utterly ruthless, he turned into the biggest villain in the book, destroying the protagonist's family.

The Qiu family, mere background characters in the story, were the protagonist’s neighbors with a strained relationship. They ultimately met their doom due to the bullying by the village's tyrant.

After entering the story, Qiu Zhuo realized he couldn’t stand against the tyrant on his own, so he thought of the future villain.

A villain?

What did it matter if he was a villain? As long as he could save his own life, he was willing to serve the villain, even if it meant being a lowly servant.

*

Lying in the wilderness, the young Zhao heir witnessed a divine figure descending.

This deity was a handsome young man with rosy lips and white teeth, rescuing him from a dire situation.

Henceforth, this young man became an obsession in his heart, his untouchable Achilles' heel.

However, his moonlight love was unique, always asking him, “Are you in a good mood?”

"Do you feel like hitting someone today?"

"Do you have a desire to destroy the world?"

After he shook his head, his moonlight love stomped and beat his chest: "When will you finally turn evil? I'm dying of impatience here."

"After Being Reborn, the True Young Master Forces Me to Bend"

Yan Shuo and Cheng Xiao grew up together and were best friends.

But when Yan Shuo was reclaimed by his biological parents to become a wealthy heir, he turned his back on Cheng Xiao, severing ties and refusing to acknowledge their friendship.

Undeterred, Cheng Xiao tried to approach Yan Shuo twice, only to be rejected at the door.

Angered and frustrated, Cheng Xiao accidentally fell off a cliff and was reborn, returning to his eighteen-year-old self.

*

Given a second chance, Cheng Xiao vowed not to let Yan Shuo hurt him again and promptly ended their friendship, out of sight, out of mind.

When Yan Shuo later emerged as the misidentified true heir of a wealthy family, everyone mocked Cheng Xiao for missing out on such a powerful ally.

Cheng Xiao, still harboring resentment, remarked bitterly: "He never needed poor friends like us."

Some people, trying to please Yan Shuo, attempted to teach Cheng Xiao a lesson, only to be kicked out by Yan Shuo himself.

Cheng Xiao snapped irritably, "You don't need to interfere."

Yan Shuo grabbed his arm and pinned him against the wall, eyes narrowed, "Not let me interfere? Then who should?"

When Yan Shuo kissed him, Cheng Xiao felt completely overwhelmed.

"Cheng Xiao, don't even think about leaving me."

Cheng Xiao, terrified, protested, "I'm straight, I'm not into guys."

Yan Shuo's cold fingers caressed Cheng Xiao's face, whispering ominously, "It doesn't matter. Just remember, you're mine."