Chapter 1: Qi Mu was originally named Qi Mu

Qi Mu was originally named Qi Mu. ¹The two “Mu” are different in Chinese, the first means “wood”, and the second means “dusk”.

Before he was born, he had already inherited the fiery and impatient temperament of the Qi family. He insisted on coming out of his mother’s womb at only eight months. As a result, he was a premature baby weighing just four and a half pounds. When Qi Dashan first saw his son, he was startled. The baby was blue and purple all over—could the baby be any uglier?

He only took one look before the nurse carried the baby to the neonatal intensive care unit, where he lay in an incubator, and no one was allowed to see him.

Qiao Jin, just having given birth, asked her husband with a head full of sweat, “How’s the baby?”

Qi Dashan was actually very worried but didn’t want his wife to be anxious, so he said, “He’s fine. He’s a boy, and he’ll definitely be good-looking like you when he grows up.”

Qiao Jin breathed a sigh of relief, her eyelids heavy. “It doesn’t matter if he’s good-looking. As long as he’s healthy.”

Qi Dashan, feeling sorry for his wife, comforted her, “You should rest now. The baby will be fine. The doctors are watching over him more carefully than we could.”

Qi Mu stayed in the incubator for half a month. During this time, Qi Dashan was extremely worried, constantly checking on both his wife and son, while also dealing with a mountain of work at his company. The stress made him lose three or four pounds.

When his son finally came out safely, Qi Dashan looked at the somewhat jaundiced and unattractive child and felt a twinge of disappointment that he didn’t resemble his mother. But he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

That same day, he went to visit a master to seek a name for his son.

The master said Qi Mu had a fiery destiny, with wood giving rise to fire, so he should choose a name with “wood” in it.

Qi Dashan was always decisive and swift in his actions, so he quickly settled on the character “木” (Wood, pronounced “Mu”). “Let’s go with this one,” he decided, “but how can we incorporate Wood fully into the name?” Since there was a lack of Wood, he opted for a name that fully embraced it!

Thus, Qi Mu’s first name was born, named Qi Mu.

However, this name lasted only three months. It wasn’t that Qiao Jin couldn’t bear her husband’s taste, or that Qiao’s father felt the name was too common. It was Qi Dashan himself who was dissatisfied.

For three months at home, Qi Mu kept Qiao Jin restless day and night.

As a premature baby weighing just four and a half pounds, he was as energetic as a little tiger cub—crying when hungry, crying after eating, crying before sleeping, and crying again upon waking up. Qiao Jin’s body had not fully recovered, and being constantly disturbed by his crying caused her to lose her shape.

Qi Dashan, clumsy and unable to help much, felt very sorry for his wife. He could only visit another master to seek some peace of mind this time.

He sought out a more renowned master for this visit.

Upon hearing the name Qi Mu, the master pondered for a moment and said, “Not suitable. Madam has an earth destiny, and wood counters earth.”
Qi Dashan became anxious upon hearing this. “Then what should I do? My son still needs wood.”

The master replied, “Young master doesn’t lack wood; he has a fiery destiny. Wood assists fire, but it’s not just wood that can assist fire; fire itself can assist fire…” The master rattled off a string of explanations that Qi Dashan barely understood—actually, he didn’t understand at all. However, Old Qi was experienced in these matters. He quickly stuffed a red envelope that was about to burst with cash into the master’s hands. The master’s eyes widened in surprise and he immediately gave his approval, “Mu (暮), this character is very suitable for a young master.”

“Mu?” Although Qi Dashan was not well-educated, he still felt that this character was not good. “Doesn’t that mean evening? Are you asking my son to sunset right after birth?”

The master hurriedly added, “Mu refers to the evening sun. The sun is pure fire. It’s too cool in the morning, too hot at noon, but just right in the evening. Also, Mu sounds like wood, which avoids Madam’s earthly destiny and supplements the young master’s fiery destiny perfectly. It’s the most suitable.”

It sounded reasonable, and Qi Dashan accepted it gladly.

As he thanked the master, he made a phone call to his assistant, “Report Liu Zhenjun from West Hutong to me. He’s a charlatan.”

The master was startled, his hand trembling as he held the red envelope.

Qi Dashan turned to the master with a joyful smile, “Master, don’t be alarmed. You are a true master. I won’t report you.”

The master forced a smile on his face but felt cold sweat dripping in his heart: they all say Qi Dashan came from a gangster background; he didn’t seem to be joking about this!

This master probably hadn’t done anything too bad before and had been lucky so far. After Qi Dashan changed his son’s name, life became smoother.

From then on, Qi Mu was known as Qi Mu.

Unfortunately, even this evening sun couldn’t contain him. Since childhood, Qi Mu had shown the fiery temperament inherited from his father—he was like a little firecracker, causing explosions wherever he went.

At one year old, he was unbeatable in the park. At two, he had a group of little followers. By three, he dominated the kindergarten, becoming a well-known figure throughout the area at such a young age.

Even the head teacher passing by his class would casually ask, “Is Qi Mu causing mischief today?” followed by an authentic Northeastern Chinese exclamation, “Aiya ma!”—scared by the large spider Qi Mu held in his hand.

When Qi Mu was promoted to the next class, all the kindergarten teachers said, “Let me take the new class? I’d rather resign.”

Fortunately, at this time, Qi Dashan’s career skyrocketed. His small company transformed into a large corporation, and with its immense scale, the small city could no longer contain it. The company headquarters were established in City B, prompting the entire Qi family to relocate.

When Qi Mu bid farewell to his classmates and teachers, the entire kindergarten lined the path to see him off, tears welling in everyone’s eyes.

Seeing everyone’s reluctance, Qi Dashan was deeply moved. “Son, you’re doing well. Connections are important in society.”

The four-year-old nodded earnestly.

The kindergarten security guard, who clearly understood the situation, nearly stumbled upon hearing about ‘connections’. “Connections… your son is a little devil incarnate, stirring up a carnival as he leaves the entire kindergarten!”

At least the teachers no longer had to choose between resigning and sacrificing themselves!

In City B, Qi Dashan, feeling he wasn’t short on money and unwilling to shortchange his son, especially for future networking (really, not to offend people), enrolled Qi Mu in the most prestigious “elite” kindergarten in City B.

Of course, the kindergarten wasn’t officially named that, but everyone knew—those who could enroll there either had power, money, or both. It was a world apart from ordinary kindergartens.

Facing the transfer of their son, Qiao Jin fretted anxiously. As she packed Qi Mu’s little backpack, she instructed him, “Listen to the teachers, get along well with your classmates, if anyone bullies you, come tell Mommy, and don’t cause trouble.”

Qi Mu nodded, his voice soft and childish, “Mommy, don’t worry. I love kindergarten the most.” Unlike other kids, he found kindergarten truly enjoyable—full of people and lively, with teachers who liked to scream.

Qiao Jin sighed, wanting to give more advice, but Qi Dashan interrupted, “A real man should adapt to this.”

Qiao Jin glared at her husband. Qi Dashan might be a big shot outside, but at home, he was just a pushover. He quickly lowered his voice to comfort his wife, “You need to learn to let go. Our son can’t be pampered; it’ll do him harm in the future.”

Understanding his point, Qiao Jin patted Qi Mu’s little hand reluctantly, saying, “Baby, do your best.”

Qi Mu smiled sweetly, “Okay!” He would do his best, hoping his new classmates weren’t crybabies.

Qi Dashan was a model of rough parenting. On Qi Mu’s first day at kindergarten, he dropped him off at the parking lot and let him walk to the entrance alone.

Although parents weren’t allowed into the kindergarten, most would carefully escort their children to the gate, watching until the teachers took them inside. This was Qi Mu’s first day, so it would have been reasonable for Qi Dashan to escort him to the classroom.

But Qi Dashan didn’t. He believed his son would be fine.

Qi Mu really didn’t have any problems at all when he was born. Back then, he was so blue and purple that he looked terribly ugly. But now that he’s grown up, he’s become cute and lovely.

Actually, those bluish and purplish colors back then were because his skin was too thin and deprived of fresh air. Later on, when he had jaundice, he looked even uglier for a while. But once the jaundice cleared up, he became as fair as tender tofu. His facial features inherited Qiao Jin’s—double eyelids, big eyes, and when he smiles, he’s as adorable as a baby can be. He didn’t look at all like Qi Dashan’s rough appearance, but of course, his personality was exactly like him.

He was delicate in appearance, dressed neatly and cleanly. With a little backpack on his back, he walked properly and cutely. He really looked very likable.

Qi Dashan didn’t leave. Although he didn’t go to see him off, he had to watch him leave. After all, his son was only four years old. If Qi Mu got lost, who else could he blame aside from himself?

One after another, many children came, each led by someone. Suddenly, Qi Mu, who was walking, caught the attention of everyone, and they couldn’t help but look at him a few more times.

Qi Mu was calm and composed. When people looked at him, he smiled back at them, looking every bit like a little angel.

Halfway through, he unexpectedly saw another child walking alone, just like himself.

Qi Mu felt that this was a “fellow” (as his father had told him). So he took a few steps forward and greeted him, “Hello.”

The “fellow” was startled. The small body trembled slightly, but the child didn’t turn around and continued walking straight ahead.

Qi Mu caught up after a few steps, leaned in to look, and exclaimed, “Hey, sister, you’re really good-looking.”