Chapter 17: Bad Seed (Part 2)

Chapter 17: Bad Seed (Part 2)

The director sent Xia Man to another welfare home, spreading a bunch of nasty lies to paint him as a bad seed from birth.

Thus, the new welfare home’s director and caregivers looked at him with prejudice.

The feeling of being disliked truly stung.

Only then did Xia Man realize what the director meant by the torture he'd threatened.

Good kids get candy, but the gifted Xia Man got none.

His good-natured gestures, his obedience, his academic excellence—in the eyes of the caregivers, they were all scheming attempts to curry favor.

Xia Man gradually fell into a depression from the icy indifference.

Summer after summer.

Xia Man sat alone on the second-floor windowsill, wondering: if he jumped, would he die, or just throw his back out like the director?

Xia Man dangled his legs and looked up at the sky.

Suddenly, he heard a man and a woman laughing.

He turned toward the sound.

It was Dad Li and Mom Li.

Xia Man still remembered them.

It struck him as ridiculous.

Two years ago, Xia Man had seen the look of wanting to adopt him in their eyes, but after that day, they never came back.

Love, after all, is fleeting.

But Xia Man no longer dared to hope for love.

All he wanted now was to escape this icy prison.

If Dad Li and Mom Li had taken a liking to him once, they could take a liking to him again!

To catch their attention, Xia Man didn’t think twice. He jumped straight off the second floor.

He wouldn't die, wouldn't throw his back out, but it would hurt a lot.

He landed smack in front of Mom Li.

She helped him up, looked him over for a bit, and exclaimed, “Isn’t this the child from that welfare home?!”

Dad Li seemed to recognize him too, looking taken aback. “Isn’t that fate?”

Mom Li smiled. “Back then, Gu Zi smiled at this child. They must have had a good connection.”

Xia Man thought to himself, *Got it.*

But the nosy caregiver came over, worry on her face, as if she were about to point out this product's flaws to the two customers.

Xia Man, desperate, turned away, yanked off the name tag on his chest, and stabbed the pin into the caregiver’s thigh.

The caregiver, startled by the pain, thinking she’d been stung by a bug, maybe even a poisonous one, got so scared she stopped talking and ran straight to the nurse's office.

Xia Man hid the pin and, remembering, called out, “Li Su.”

“Oh my god!”

“He actually remembers Gu Zi!”

And so Xia Man joined the Li family as Li Shuo.

At first, Mom Li treated Xia Man well enough.

But Xia Man could see that all her attention was on Li Su.

His existence was only because Li Su needed a playmate—a brother to keep Li Su company and look after him when they were away.

Xia Man stubbornly rejected Mom Li’s kindness.

He wouldn’t accept it as a product.

And being someone's tag-along? He wanted that even less!

Li Su saw through Xia Man’s stubbornness.

What an idiot.

Xia Man couldn’t understand how anyone could be so dumb.

He was five years old, but his memory was terrible.

Li Su didn’t remember him at all, nor did he show any doubt about his sudden appearance.

Mom Li said that Li Shuo would be his little brother from now on.

Li Su, as if he'd just gotten the best present ever, hugged Xia Man and kept saying “little brother, little brother.”

The welfare home caregiver had mixed up Xia Man’s birth date, and because he was slightly shorter than Li Su, the role of little brother was set without a doubt.

Xia Man knew well how fleeting affection was. He hadn’t come to fit into the Li family; he just wanted to escape his old environment.

His coldness gradually made Mom Li unhappy, but he didn’t care.

She said to treat this place as home, but then made him force a smile.

Yet, when Mom Li stopped liking him, he actually felt upset.

During that time, Xia Man kept wondering if he'd made the wrong choice.

This conflict and awkwardness left Xia Man even more at a loss in the Li family, and Mom Li completely lost her patience with him.

Li Su noticed Xia Man’s unease.

Acting like a big brother, Li Su selflessly gave him everything he thought was nice, with only one goal: making his little brother happy.

Li Su’s kindness toward Xia Man subtly changed Mom Li’s attitude toward him.

By then, Mom Li was already thinking of sending Xia Man back, and Xia Man was scared stiff. But Li Su was so good to him, his clear fondness gave Xia Man the confidence to stay in the Li family guilt-free.

Win Li Su over.

So he had a family.

But Li Su was not someone who needed to be tried to please. On the contrary, Li Su often deliberately played dumb to make him laugh, treating this younger brother, who was actually older, like a baby.

Without having to pretend to be a good child, Xia Man could get the candy and toys he wanted from Li Su.

He didn't get jealous at all that Li Su, despite not being the sharpest, was always rewarded just for eating an extra bite.

Because the way Mom loved Li Su became the way Li Su loved Xia Man.

"If Mom won't feed you, you're really not going to eat? How about this: for every bite you take, I'll let you have the TV for a whole day."

"Mom went to my parent-teacher meeting, so I'll go to yours. I bought you a double-egg pancake wrap—eat up and we'll head to the classroom."

"You need to make friends! Once you do, this handheld console is yours—no, I'll have Mom buy you a new one!"

It was then that Xia Man realized what it meant to receive love without any effort.

There were things some people were born with that he never had.

But in the end, there were still people in this world who loved him.

Loved Xia Man.

No—

Loved Li Shuo.