Chapter 41 Entering Your Chi Family Genealogy

Chapter 41: Entering Your Chi Family Genealogy

In the past, He Angxiao would have mercilessly said, "Chi Luoxi, you've been tricked again."

—These are fake, knock-off street-stall stuff. Chi Luoxi, how can you be so stupid, so gullible? What would you do without me watching over you?

This world is full of truth and lies, illusions and reality, with treacherous people and tangled interests.

And Chi Luoxi is the most naive and gullible one, with no concept of price or value, can't tell lies from the truth.

Somehow, He Angxiao had developed a strange sense of responsibility, believing it was his duty to help Chi Luoxi spot fakes, help him see the truth of the world, and improve his taste and knowledge.

Previously, he pessimistically thought their relationship wouldn't last long. So He Angxiao considered himself a responsible villain: while possessing Chi Luoxi, he also did his utmost to support him, teach him, and reform him. He thought that way, when Chi Luoxi might one day leave him and face the world alone, he would suffer less harm and fewer tricks.

But only when Chi Luoxi truly left, returning everything he had given him untouched, did He Angxiao, lying on his hospital bed in the overwhelming panic and emptiness of losing Chi Luoxi, suddenly wake up.

He was wrong.

Terribly wrong.

Chi Luoxi had been doing fine before he came along.

Not all lives need to be defined by He Angxiao’s standards of glamour and affluence; there is another kind of inner harmony that belongs to Chi Luoxi alone.

Whether in materially abundant Jiangzhou or in the impoverished, hardscrabble old house in Wushan, whether surrounded by deceit and scheming or in simple, self-reliant tranquility,

Chi Luoxi’s qualities—gratitude, contentment, and a tenacious love for life itself—have never changed.

He is a resilient radish, for sure, able to find his own way to take root and grow in any soil and climate, always facing the sun with his inherent kindness and trust toward the world.

He Angxiao used to be obsessively anxious to change Chi Luoxi, wanting to mold him into a version that better fit his own standards.

He thought that was for Chi Luoxi’s good.

But now He Angxiao no longer thinks that way.

If what Chi Luoxi wants is such a simple and pure world, then why can't He Angxiao create that kind of world for Chi Luoxi, instead of forcing his own survival rules, full of calculations and blurred lines between truth and falsehood, onto Chi Luoxi?

He Angxiao doesn’t understand why he was so fixated on changing the Chi Luoxi that he loved.

He no longer wants to reform Chi Luoxi.

Even if one day Chi Luoxi doesn’t like him, grows tired of him, He Angxiao will never let go.

He can become really bad, stubborn, and unreasonable—as long as he can let Chi Luoxi continue to be himself.

He Angxiao has indeed been way too arrogant, always thinking that what he gave was what Chi Luoxi wanted.

Mansions, fine clothes, famous teachers, luxurious material life—but he overlooked what Chi Luoxi truly valued: the feeling of being respected and trusted, along with care and companionship.

He Angxiao regrets realizing it too late, yet is grateful it’s not too late.

Chi Luoxi is indeed a very grateful person.

Although He Angxiao was very bad—deceiving and threatening him, wanting to control him—Chi Luoxi still remembers that back in Jiangzhou, He Angxiao did buy him plenty of good food and nice clothes, never cutting corners on material things.

Now it was Chi Luoxi’s turn to take care of him. Chi Luoxi’s finances were pitiful compared to He Angxiao’s, but he wasn’t stingy either.

He Angxiao’s clothes and pants fit him quite well.

The military coat, though old-fashioned in style and with a god-awful color, is indeed very warm. The thick cotton is evenly stuffed, providing great wind protection, and the pants are also super warm.

He Angxiao changed and walked out of the bedroom.

Chi Luoxi was squatting by the brazier, poking at the charcoal. Hearing him, he looked up.

With just one glance, Chi Luoxi’s eyes lit up.

He stood up from the ground, circled around He Angxiao, looking him up and down, his face showing admiration and envy: "See, you have to be tall to pull it off."

Chi Luoxi said proudly, remembering something: "Oh, do you want a hat? When I bought it, I saw many other people buying this coat also got a matching plush hat. It’s really warm, covering the ears. If you want, I can bring you one next time I go down the mountain?"

He Angxiao felt like he now looked like a walking green mailbox.

"...Green?"

"Mm, same color as the coat, they match perfectly!"

He Angxiao: "No."

He would rather freeze his ears than wear a green hat.

The socks felt okay on his feet. Though the fabric was a bit rough, with extra threads and a crooked logo, they were thick enough and had good insulation—soft and fuzzy on the inside of the cotton shoes.

Wearing this country-looking but exceptionally warm and practical outfit, He Angxiao took a few steps around Chi Luoxi’s small room.

Chi Luoxi felt that without those expensive, sharp suits, He Angxiao somehow seemed more down-to-earth, much easier on the eyes, as if he wasn’t such a bad person anymore.

While He Angxiao was getting used to his new look, Chi Luoxi began fiddling with his new phone. He took out his old SIM card and inserted it into the new one.

The signal in the mountains was spotty.

The new phone searched for a signal. Logging into WeChat and sending a message should still be possible, though maybe a bit slow.

As soon as he logged in, the phone started buzzing like crazy, with notification red dots popping up one by one.

Chi Luoxi opened the message list.

The top one was from Hua Ai. He said he had found a place to settle down, a quiet town with beautiful scenery, and asked how Chi Luoxi was doing. He said that when it was convenient later, Chi Luoxi could come visit him.

A few more messages followed, asking why he hadn’t replied.

Chi Luoxi quickly typed a reply, explaining: "Teacher Hua, I haven’t checked messages in a long time. My phone was broken before, and I just got a new one."

The message went out, after spinning for a while, and showed as sent.

After a while, Hua Ai replied, his tone a bit exasperated: "…It’s been over half a month, okay? If He Angxiao hadn’t contacted me to say your phone was lost, I’d have thought you were kidnapped. You’re okay? That’s good to hear."

He Angxiao was kind enough to explain things to Teacher Hua for him?

He continued scrolling down.

Bai Man had also sent him several messages, from even earlier: "Holy shit! Chi Luoxi! You’re really brave! You actually broke up with He Angxiao? He even came to me, asking all sorts of questions. Luckily I’ve already gone abroad, otherwise, I’d be terrified he’d cause me trouble! Are you okay? Where are you now?"

Chi Luoxi read the message and pressed his lips together.

So He Angxiao really did go looking for Bai Man.

But judging from Bai Man's tone, it didn't seem like He Angxiao had actually done anything to him?

Then there was a message from Su Yi, asking where he'd gone, why he'd left without a word, and saying she was worried about him.

Chi Luoxi replied, telling her not to worry, that everything was fine.

And then... Grandma He.

Grandma's profile picture was a blooming peony, very cheerful.

She'd sent a message: "Grandma's been free lately and wants to knit you a blanket. What color do you like?"

That message was from a while ago. He quickly replied, "Grandma, thank you! But I can't receive it right now, so please don't go to any trouble."

Once the message was sent, Grandma He replied, "Are you on another planet? You can't receive it?"

Chi Luoxi: "I've gone back to my hometown, Fog Mountain."

This time, Grandma He was silent for a moment before replying.

Grandma He: "Did you have a fight with He Angxiao?"

Chi Luoxi: "We broke up."

Grandma He: "...That boy can't do anything right!"

Grandma He: "Give me your address, and I'll send it by courier. I've already knitted almost half the blanket."

Chi Luoxi: "Grandma, we can't get courier deliveries here. The mountain roads are too rough, delivery trucks can't make it."

Grandma He: "...Then I'll have He Angxiao take it to you."

Grandma didn't seem to know that He Angxiao was already there with him, so Chi Luoxi could only say okay, thank you, Grandma.

He exited the chat with Grandma and looked at the other unread messages. There were casual greetings from people he barely knew from Chunhui, spam from sellers, system notifications...

And a message from Mr. Han, also from a few weeks back. Chi Luoxi didn't know how to reply, so he just left it.

Of all the people who reached out to check on him, more than half were connected to He Angxiao.

Chi Luoxi didn't tell Grandma He that He Angxiao was currently staying in his old house on Fog Mountain.

He didn't know how to explain this complicated and awkward situation. He Angxiao was now wearing the green army coat Chi Luoxi had bought for him and was building a fire in the house.

He Angxiao had taken the medicine Chi Luoxi brought back and felt a lot better, and he started fretting about his work again.

Even though they were deep in the mountains with spotty signal, the backlog of emails and matters needing his attention wouldn't disappear on their own.

He Angxiao held his phone with its fluctuating signal strength, replying to a few emails, pacing back and forth.

Chi Luoxi was playing a tower defense game on his new phone, and kept getting Game Over because of the network lag. He glanced up and saw He Angxiao's helpless expression: "Stop pacing around the room, the signal gets even worse. Go to the east end of the yard near the old persimmon tree—sometimes the signal gets a little better there."

And so, on a cold winter afternoon in the yard, under the old persimmon tree with its bare, gnarled branches, a scene unfolded: a tall man in a green army coat and a youth in a white padded jacket, each holding up their phone like two prospectors hunting for a signal.

He Angxiao finally found a relatively stable spot and said to Chi Luoxi, "Baby, come over here, the signal's good."

After handling a few urgent emails, He Angxiao looked at Chi Luoxi, who was completely focused on the game screen.

"Baby, can we try to get an internet line hooked up in this house? This signal is driving me crazy—it lags when you play games or watch study videos."

Chi Luoxi was in the middle of a critical moment in the game, got another lag spike, and was feeling irritated. His fingers tapped rapidly on the screen, his tone stiff: "No need. It's way too remote up here, getting internet hooked up is a huge hassle and costs a ton. If you're not used to it and find it too inconvenient, you might as well go back early. The city has everything you want, with fast internet."

Honestly, deep down, Chi Luoxi also wished the internet was faster. Study videos kept buffering like a slideshow, games weren't enjoyable, and even looking up information was a struggle.

But he couldn't show it.

His goal was to make He Angxiao unable to stand the hardship and isolation here and leave on his own. If he actively improved the conditions, that would defeat the whole purpose.

So he held back.

Even though he wanted it, he couldn't say so.

He Angxiao: "I'm not leaving. I've already decided to settle down in Chi Family Village for good."

Chi Luoxi didn't believe it at all, but he had a nagging feeling that the look on He Angxiao's face when he said it wasn't entirely a joke or just being spiteful.

Chi Luoxi changed his strategy. Instead of spending most of the day at home with He Angxiao like before, after breakfast he'd pack some snacks, tell He Angxiao he was going for a walk, and head out with his little bamboo basket on his back.

Chi Luoxi's walks could be short or long.

Sometimes he just wandered around the village, checking out whose vegetables were growing well, chatting with elderly folks sitting in the sun, and sometimes he'd go a bit farther to the mountain behind the village.

He was deliberately ignoring He Angxiao.

Let him stay alone in that empty old house, with a computer that had no internet, a phone with poor signal, and a life where he had to fend for himself. Let's see how long he could hold out.

He Angxiao didn't seem to have much of a problem with it.

When Chi Luoxi went out, he stayed home.

Because of the bad signal, he'd become much more easygoing. Before, He Angxiao thought the company would fall apart without him, but when he lost contact for two days, he found the company was still running fine—no issues at all.

Riley said she couldn't reach him, so they made decisions on their own.

He Angxiao said, "...Good, keep it up."

Whatever, Chi Luoxi needed him more here.

He Angxiao learned to build a fire and cook for himself.

Soon the villagers knew that Chi Luoxi had a friend from the city staying with him—good-looking and tall. Some aunties or older women would run into Chi Luoxi on his walks by the village entrance or in the fields and ask him out of curiosity.

"Little Xi, that tall guy at your place—did you meet him in the city? Is he visiting?"

"Oh, he's really handsome, but he doesn't seem like one of us mountain folk. How long is he staying?"

"Is he getting used to staying at your place by himself?"

Facing these inquiries, Chi Luoxi would say: "Yeah, a friend I met in Jiangzhou. Just visiting, clearing his head—too much stress in the big city."

At first, He Angxiao was still a bit self-conscious and didn't want to go out much. Especially in that eye-catching outfit, he felt like he became the center of attention wherever he went, which made him uncomfortable.

But sometimes, he had no choice.

For instance, when mealtime came and Chi Luoxi was still out walking without his phone.

He Angxiao would cook the rice and prepare the dishes. The weather got cold fast, and he couldn't keep waiting forever. So he had to steel himself and go into the village to look for Chi Luoxi.

When he spotted him, he couldn't bring himself to yell like the villagers, "Come home and eat!" Instead, he walked over under the amused gazes of the aunties, tugged at the sleeve of Chi Luoxi, who was happily chatting, and said, "Food's ready. Let's go home and eat."

The aunt teased He Angxiao, calling him a real homemaker.

After a few times, He Angxiao stopped caring, and when he went out to look for Chi Luoxi again, even though he was still too embarrassed to shout loudly, his expression was much more natural. Sometimes when he encountered enthusiastic villagers asking if he'd eaten, whether he was used to life in the mountains, he could barely squeeze out a smile, nod, and reply briefly.

He Angxiao figured the villagers were pretty much like Chi Luoxi—it really was the village that raised Chi Luoxi.

He Angxiao also went down the mountain to the market with Chi Luoxi.

And even, without Chi Luoxi’s permission, he took it upon himself to have a network cable installed—no small task.

After that, He Angxiao started working just about anywhere.

While stoking the fire in the woodstove, He Angxiao’s phone rang. It was a work video conference.

He answered, the firelight flickering on his face. The partner on the other end of the screen, looking at the background behind him—clearly not an office or any modern setting—asked curiously, “President He, where are you? The background looks quite special.”

He Angxiao kept a straight face, skillfully poking at the firewood with the fire tongs, and calmly replied, “I’m at a campfire. Pretty cool.”

When he was in the vegetable patch in front of the house, holding a small hoe and following Chi Luoxi to pick vegetables, He Angxiao received a phone call, and a neighbor auntie’s goat walked by, bleating.

The other party asked, “President He, are you outside?”

He Angxiao glanced at the vegetables swaying in the breeze: “At my lover’s hometown, getting a taste of country life, relaxing.”

Chi Luoxi was sometimes nearby, either sitting on the doorstep scrolling on his phone, and when he heard He Angxiao’s shameless, blatant lies, he couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Once winter hit the mountains, there was even less farm work, leaving only some cold-resistant winter vegetables that didn’t need daily tending.

Every household was free, and Chi Family Village was small anyway—at most twenty or thirty households, and only a handful of people stayed behind.

Any little thing would quickly spread through the whole village.

Chi Luoxi had become the latest gossip topic for the village aunties.

That day, Chi Luoxi was again strolling to the big locust tree at the village entrance. Several aunties and Chun Dama were sitting there, stitching soles and chatting. When they saw Chi Luoxi coming, they waved him over.

“Xiao Xi, come, come sit! Auntie was just about to tell you something!” The auntie had a loud voice and a smile on her face.

“Xiao Xi, you see, you’re not young anymore. You need to think about getting married, right?”

“How about Li Er’ya from the neighboring mountain? You know her, Old Li’s daughter. She got into a university in the provincial capital, she’s a real college student, and she’s pretty too. Want Auntie to be your matchmaker and sound her out?”

Chi Luoxi’s scalp went numb.

He had some impression of Li Er’ya—they might have played together as kids, but they hadn’t been in touch for a long time.

She was a college student with a bright future.

“Auntie, please don’t joke. She’s a college student; how could I ever be good enough for her?”

The auntie listened and said, “That’s true. You’re a good kid, honest and hardworking. But your family lacks elders to help, your house is old, your education isn’t high, and now you’re staying at home without a proper job—it really is hard to find a partner.”

Yeah, he really wasn't great marriage material by those standards.

Chi Luoxi dodged that bullet, but He Angxiao wasn’t spared.

That day, Chi Luoxi and He Angxiao were stopped. The aunties and uncles asked He Angxiao how many people were in his family, what his parents did for a living, how old he was, whether he was married, what he did in the city, how much he earned a month, and whether it was stable.

He Angxiao was a little caught off guard: “I’m twenty-seven. It's just my grandma and me. My parents are divorced. As for work, sometimes I’m in the office, sometimes I travel around. And I've got a partner.”

It sounded like a city worker who grew up with his grandma and had an unstable job.

“Oh, Xiao He, look, you and Xiao Xi are the same—good-looking, but your family situations, well, neither is great.”

“… Li Er’ya from the neighboring mountain used to like Xiao Xi when they were kids. She’s a college student now, isn't that great. I told Xiao Xi to go for it, but he didn’t want to.”

He Angxiao clued in that they were setting Chi Luoxi up.

He Angxiao said, dripping with sarcasm, “Chi Luoxi told me before that he wants to find someone from the city, not a mountain girl.”

Chi Luoxi stared wide-eyed at He Angxiao.

The auntie said, “Xiao Xi, you’ve been to the city and your standards have risen, but city girls have high demands too. They probably won't want a guy from the mountains. It’s better to find someone who knows your background and can live a stable life.”

He Angxiao, being a total instigator, added, “Chi Luoxi insists on a city person…”

Chi Luoxi covered He Angxiao’s mouth, shutting him up, and dragged him away.

Chi Luoxi was furious.

Until they entered their own yard, Chi Luoxi put his hands on his hips: “What were you babbling about just now? When did I ever say I wanted to find a city person? He Angxiao, now what will the villagers think of me? They’ll think I’ve gone to the city and forgotten my roots.”

He Angxiao, having been dragged by Chi Luoxi, had a button on his army coat popped open and his hair was a bit messy.

“How will they see you? Let them see however they want. Are you really thinking of getting married? To that Li Er’ya or some other mountain girl?”

Why did He Angxiao act as if he had the right to interrogate? What kind of relationship do we have? What right did he have to tell me who I can marry?

A wave of defiance rose up in him.

Chi Luoxi deliberately said, “Of course I want to get married! So what? You love your freedom, so you wouldn’t understand. My grandfather said I should bring someone back in the future, someone to be added to our family tree.”

He Angxiao was eaten up with jealousy.

Chi Luoxi was seriously considering marrying someone else.

So maddening!

He Angxiao thought about how his proposal fell through—he could have married Chi Luoxi too, but now Chi Luoxi would definitely refuse.

That afternoon, He Angxiao didn’t say a word to Chi Luoxi. He locked himself in the bedroom, doing god knows what.

Chi Luoxi ignored him too, doing his own things.

For dinner, Chi Luoxi cooked himself—simple potato rice with a few bits of cured meat, very fragrant. He dished up two bowls, took one to the fire, and left the other on the table.

He Angxiao didn’t come out for dinner.

Chi Luoxi ate his rice, stewing over the afternoon, getting angrier by the minute. How could He Angxiao say that? What right did he have to interfere?

After dinner, Chi Luoxi read a book in the room, played on his phone for a bit, and when he was about to wash up and go to bed, he realized He Angxiao wasn’t home.

The bedroom door was ajar, empty inside.

Chi Luoxi thought maybe he'd gone? But his stuff was still here.

He didn't ask, but pretty soon He Angxiao caved and texted him: Went down the mountain.

Chi Luoxi stared at those three words for a few seconds.

The frustration and unease from the afternoon’s argument instantly melted away, leaving only a hint of disappointment.

See, he knew it.

Someone like He Angxiao—how could he really put down roots in this poor mountain village? It had only been a few days, and he was already fed up. Saying he was going down the mountain probably meant he was heading straight back to Jiangzhou.

Chi Luoxi curled his lip and tossed his phone aside. Good riddance. It was quieter this way. He’d be more at ease alone anyway.

The next day, Chi Luoxi got up as usual, lit the fire, made breakfast, ate alone. Staring at the empty main hall, he suddenly felt the house was way too big and way too quiet.

Over the next few days, He Angxiao’s trips down the mountain became noticeably more frequent—sometimes to buy supplies in town.

Chi Luoxi suddenly felt his earlier judgment might have been completely wrong. Instead of shrinking back because he couldn’t adapt, He Angxiao seemed to be thriving, like a duck to water.

What surprised Chi Luoxi even more was that He Angxiao had somehow budded up to the village chief.

For several days in a row, he went to the village chief’s house, staying for most of the day. Who knows what they were scheming. Sometimes the village chief would walk him out, and the two would stand at the door, pointing at and discussing the bumpy, muddy dirt road at the village entrance.

It didn’t take long for his premonition to come true.

That day, before Chi Luoxi even entered the village, he saw several professional-looking construction vehicles parked on that dirt road—ones he’d never seen in the village before. The vehicles were marked with a road-and-bridge company logo, and several people in reflective vests, carrying measuring instruments, were walking back and forth, taking measurements, driving stakes, and marking spots.

The village chief was there too, surrounded by a crowd of curious villagers, all buzzing with excitement and chatter.

Chi Luoxi walked over. An aunt he knew grabbed him immediately.

“Xiao Xi, that city friend of yours is something else!”

“Yeah, yeah! He says he’s going to build a road for our village—connecting every household, so it’ll be much easier for us to get down the mountain.”

“That must cost a fortune! Xiao Xi, what exactly does your friend do? Is he that rich?”

The villagers chimed in all at once.

Standing in the crowd, hearing all this, looking at the professional construction vehicles and busy surveyors, Chi Luoxi quickly ran home.

He Angxiao was going to build a road for their village?

Now everyone in the whole Chi Family Village—from eighty-year-olds to toddlers just learning to run—knew that the friend from the city who always loafed around in an army greatcoat was actually a big tycoon.

When Chi Luoxi got home, he saw He Angxiao sitting on a small stool in the yard with a laptop in front of him, clearly in a video meeting.

On the screen was He Angxiao’s special assistant, Riley.

Riley was reporting, speaking fast. Midway through, she looked at He Angxiao on her end: “Boss, forgive me for asking, but I think I’ve seen you wearing that same coat in several consecutive meetings with partners. Do you only own that one coat? Should I send you some change of clothes?”

Riley actually suspected her boss had suffered a broken heart and was holed up in some remote mountain, transforming from a fussy urban elite into a disheveled vagrant.

He Angxiao didn’t flinch. He brushed off his army greatcoat. “Nonsense. I have two. I rotate them.”

Riley: “…………”

Chi Luoxi: “…………”

Riley seemed a bit taken aback by that answer. After a two-second pause, she continued her report.

By the time He Angxiao finally finished his video meeting, he saw Chi Luoxi staring at him.

He raised an eyebrow, regarding him unhurriedly, as if waiting for him to ask.

Chi Luoxi walked over. “Why are you building a road for our village? Do you have too much money to burn?”

He Angxiao looked up at him. The sunset’s glow landed on his handsome profile, casting a soft golden edge. But the words he said were as irritating and shameless as ever: “I told the village chief, ‘If I donate a road, can I get myself into your Chi family tree, right next to your name?’”

Chi Luoxi: “… And then?”

He Angxiao smirked victoriously. “The village chief agreed. Ha. I’ve taken that spot. Let’s see where Li Er’ya or any Li Da’ya can squeeze their names in now.”

Chi Luoxi: “…………”

Author’s note: Little Luobei: What a ridiculous man.

President He: How come the company didn’t collapse without me?

-----------------------

President He bustled around all day, only to find out that the world kept spinning without him.

President He really has become the village daughter-in-law in Chi Family Village.