Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The next day, Saturday, was a beautiful day.

When Chen Mo opened his eyes, he saw only the morning light streaming through the window, accompanied by the chirping of birds and faint sounds of people downstairs. He stared at the ceiling for a while before remembering where he was.

The folding bed was already empty.

On the bedside table to his left was a bowl of white porridge, still steaming slightly.

He sat up and grabbed his phone.

Upon turning it on, he found that it had nearly exploded with messages overnight.

Many people in the school group chat, which he had already muted, had tagged him. Skimming through them, he realized that the video from last night had been shared. Many classmates had gone from guessing and excitement to shock upon discovering his identity.

There were also numerous friend requests from people he didn't know.

Chen Mo glanced over them briefly and didn't accept any.

His finger finally stopped on the two latest WeChat additions.

The top profile picture was a sunflower under a blue sky, with the username: Obsession.

The picture below was a travel photo of a tree standing alone against a backdrop of fiery clouds, seemingly casual yet profound. The username was simply XSY.

Seeing these two profile pictures side by side, Chen Mo gave an ambiguous smile. Yang Shule's hidden intentions felt somewhat genuine and youthful.

Although he didn't know why Yang Shule wanted to add him, he wasn't interested in finding out. He skipped the first one and accepted the second addition.

The reason given was: "I had to leave early. Remember to eat breakfast."

Not accepting would make him seem ungrateful.

After adding the friend, Chen Mo sent a message: "Thanks for the porridge."

The other person responded quickly.

"Woke up?"

"Or am I thanking you telepathically?"

"Arguing so early in the morning. That bowl of porridge cost me two bucks."

"... Isn't it worth only one?"

At that moment, in the old Xi family residence.

The courtyard, a blend of Eastern and Western styles, was filled with the sound of flowing water. The remnants of the banquet from the previous night were being tidied up by busy servants, indicating the event's importance. In the vast living room, an elderly man with white hair and beard held a teacup, gently blew away the foam, and said, "What are you smiling about?"

The person being asked was Xi Siyan, who had changed into fresh clothes after returning that morning.

Unlike the formal attire worn during the banquet or the casual wear he usually donned outside, his white shirt was tailored to fit perfectly, with subtle golden embroidery on the shoulders indicating its value.

Sitting in a pear wood chair, he looked up upon hearing the question. "You must be mistaken."

"I'm not senile yet," the elder said slowly after taking a sip of tea. "Where were you last night? Even your uncle came back to sleep, but you stayed out all night."

If anyone else from the Xi family were here, they would have bowed their heads in fear and apologized.

But Xi Siyan did not. He put away his phone and raised an eyebrow. "I'm almost an adult. Don't try to impose those outdated rules from seventy years ago on me; they won't work."

"Hmph." The elder placed the teacup on the table beside him, expressing his displeasure. "Do you think you can hide anything from me? Wasn't the person on your phone just now from the Yang family?"

Xi Siyan looked back, surprised. "I thought you weren't interested in such matters."

"The Yang family patriarch, Yang Congxian, and I have been friends for decades," the elder said with nostalgia. "Unfortunately, the current head of the Yang family had a tumultuous relationship with his wife, causing a scandal. And now, in middle age, he's dealing with the revelation that his son isn't his own. In contrast, your parents' love has been a source of joy for your grandmother and me."

Xi Siyan found this talk tiresome.

While his parents were indeed loving, it was precisely because of their affection that he grew up in this mansion.

And because the eldest son's life was perfect, the second uncle's wild behavior was particularly disapproved of by the elder.

Though the Xi family had many branches, there were only two sons in the main line. As the only grandson, Xi Siyan had been the hope and pride of several generations since childhood.

Yet sometimes, he seemed less than exemplary.

Mentioning his parents, he frowned. "What exactly did you tell them last night? My mom sent me three pages of sixty-second voice messages. Anyone would think I'd done something terrible."

The elder was also a bit annoyed. "You still have the nerve to bring it up. Your uncle can drink himself to death for all I care. Your mother always feels guilty towards you. With you missing from such an important event last night, she couldn't help but worry that you might be holding a grudge."

Xi Siyan leaned back in his chair.

He tilted his head and crossed his arms over the armrests.

"I just don't like her making decisions without consulting me."

The elder glanced at him, then picked up his teacup again, appearing mysterious. "The Yang family has more than one child. You met another one last night."

Xi Siyan turned his head. "What do you mean?"

The elder said, "The late matriarch of the Yang family helped your mother. She wants you to look after the Yang children, not marry one of them. If you don't like one, fine; if you don't like two, fine. But you should at least act like a good older brother during holidays and important events. You're an adult now, and you treat your mother as if she's a monster."

At this, Xi Siyan sighed. "She never cries in front of you and Grandma."

All her acting skills were used on her husband and son.

With this, Xi Siyan seemed to recall something and asked the elder, "Since you can say things like 'act,' why mention last night?"

The old man cleared his throat.

"Your Grandpa Yang specifically came to see me," he said. "He's quite pleased with his grandson who was just recently found. It's fine if you don't want to get involved, but at least be polite to him."

Xi Siyan was first surprised, then he gave a light sneer.

He asked without much interest, "How should I be more polite?"

Before the old man could respond, Xi Siyan suddenly said, "Helping him clean up after a fight, moving a desk to sit next to him, tutoring him in studies, and always being his free chauffeur—does this count as being polite?"

"Be more respectful!" The old man kicked him with his foot. "Don't bully people all the time. I heard from your Grandpa Yang that his grandson is kind-hearted and gentle. You should take better care of him."

Xi Siyan straightened up on his chair and laughed for a while, holding his forehead.

The old man asked him what was wrong with him.

Xi Siyan replied, "Whether he's weak or not, you'll see as we go along."

Xi Siyan got up and left the hall.

The old man shouted behind him, "Where are you going now?"

"Nanshan."

The old man, who had been sitting upright, suddenly stood up and waved to a nearby servant, saying, "Quick, stop that rascal! He's going to race cars again!"

"Calm down, sir," the servant, who had worked in the Xi family's courtyard for many years, gently patted the old man's back and smiled. "Don't worry, A Yan is just going to greet Grandma. He's not going to Nanshan to race; there's some cycling event. This morning, he specially asked me to bring him a set of clothes from his apartment, saying he would spend the night on the mountain tonight."

"Really?" The old man looked skeptical.

The servant chuckled, "Yes, he's just teasing you. He knows when to behave. Don't worry."

Only then did the old man calm down.

He slammed the table and sat down, cursing, "That unruly brat."

The servant couldn't help but smile.

"Only you would scold him like that."

*

Chen Mo left the hospital at nine o'clock and went back to his dormitory to take a shower.

After spending the night in the hospital, he felt like he had absorbed its distinctive smell, making him frown involuntarily.

Even though he was a frequent visitor to the hospital in his previous life and had a friend like Lao Gou working there, it didn't mean Chen Mo was used to hospitals. On the contrary, they always reminded him of unpleasant memories, such as when Li Yunru made a scene at the hospital entrance over a hundred yuan for his medical fees, or when Chen Jianli called him a money-losing burden. Or the day of his leg surgery, when the cold lights overhead made him feel like it might be okay to just fall asleep before the anesthesia took effect.

All these memories made him deeply dislike hospitals, so having a good night's sleep last night was something that surprised him.

After taking a shower, Chen Mo put a towel on his head and brushed his teeth, looking at his face in the mirror.

The genes from the Yang family probably had one benefit: even though he was in his late twenties and now seventeen, his face seemed to have softened a bit, despite only slight changes in his features.

He took his medicine and soon felt sleepy again. Since it was the weekend, he decided to go back to bed and let himself fall into a deep sleep.

When Gou Yiyang called, Chen Mo was still half-asleep.

Covered by the blanket, he said, "You'd better have a good reason."

"It's already one o'clock in the afternoon, my lord," Gou Yiyang sounded incredulous, then hesitantly added, "Didn't the doctor say that although your condition looked serious, you'd be fine after an infusion? Why do you sound so weak? Is your stomach hurting again?"

Chen Mo was annoyed by the noise.

But he noticed that Gou Yiyang was calling him "my lord" again, reminding him of the thirty-year-old Lao Gou from his previous life, who often asked, "My lord, are you still alive?"

Feeling a pang of conscience, Chen Mo decided to be nicer to the young Gou Yiyang.

He checked the time on his phone and put it back to his ear, "Nothing, I was sleeping. What's so special about one o'clock in the afternoon?"

"You forgot, we're going to Nanshan for a cycling trip, remember?"

Chen Mo rolled over in bed.

After a few seconds, "I remember. But I'm still a patient, so I won't go."

Gou Yiyang confirmed, "Really not coming? Not everyone is cycling; some girls from the club are taking the bus directly to the top. It's just a team-building activity. If you're not coming, I'll tell the person in charge."

Chen Mo didn't have any particular feelings about it and hung up after listening to Gou Yiyang's chatter.

Chen Mo originally planned to sleep a little longer, but his phone rang again.

With his eyes closed, he asked, "What else?"

"Xiao Mo." The female voice on the other end made Chen Mo open his eyes.

He sat up in bed, ran his hand through his hair, and, ignoring the cautious silence on the other end, asked directly, "Did you need something?"

Zhou Yaoqing's breathing quickened, but her tone remained gentle, "Xiao Mo, are you not coming home today? Auntie cooked your favorite red date and black chicken soup."

Chen Mo curled his lips, thinking of the clay pot he had knocked over on the day he moved into the dorm, and said, "I don't like black chicken soup."

There was a moment of awkward silence, "Is that so? Then what do you like? I can ask Auntie to make it for you."

Chen Mo didn't want to continue this conversation.

He asked directly, "Do you need something?"

"No, no, it's just that we haven't seen each other in a long time," she said. Feeling Chen Mo's reluctance, she added, "Mom heard you were sick, right? Was it the Xi family's child who took you to the hospital?"

Here it comes.

Chen Mo thought with an expressionless face.

Chen Mo: "Who said that, Yang Shule?"

Zhou Yaoqing: "He just mentioned it in passing..."

Chen Mo didn't bother to listen any further and hung up the phone.

Until three in the afternoon.

At a square five hundred meters from the entrance of No. 1 High School, a bus was parked by the roadside, waiting quietly.

A group of men and women, numbering over ten, stood in small clusters, but the atmosphere felt somewhat strange.

The crowd was basically divided into three groups.

One group led by Sun Xiaoya and another led by Yang Shule were facing off, while the rest were not involved.

Gou Yiyang saw him from afar and walked over, surprised. "Weren't you not coming?"

"Got bored in the dorm, so I came."

Chen Mo didn't want to say he didn't want to listen to Zhou Yaoqing's half-hearted melodrama and even less did he want to be repeatedly urged to return home.

He looked at the crowd gathered nearby and tilted his head. "What's going on?"

"I don't think you'd want to know." Lao Gou, always at the forefront of gossip, said mysteriously, "Let's just say after last night, Sun Xiaoya and Yang Shule have completely fallen out. Wherever these two are together, there'll likely be chaos."

At this moment, someone noticed Chen Mo.

The atmosphere inexplicably relaxed.

Some who had interacted with him recently greeted him. "Young Master Mo, you're participating too?"

"Weren't you just sick? The back part of Nanshan is all uphill, can you ride?"

Chen Mo replied, "Not riding. Didn't you say the bus goes straight to the top?"

"The club's primary rule is that no outsiders can participate in activities," said Yang Shule, who had been staring at Chen Mo since he arrived. He looked somewhat listless today, but his gaze was filled with gloom. He looked at Lao Gou beside him. "Gou Yiyang, shouldn't you ask everyone's opinion if you're breaking the rules?"

There was silence.

While they said no outsiders, it wasn't usually that strict. This club, which gathered many well-known students from the school, had people fighting to get in, hence the rule to prevent accidents caused by bringing outsiders.

No one expected Yang Shule to suddenly raise an issue.

Last night seemed like a turning point. How low-key Yang Shule used to be, now he was openly showing his disagreement with Chen Mo.

Chen Mo stopped Lao Gou and glanced around. "This has nothing to do with Lao Gou. If you have an issue, find someone who matters and then we can talk about the rules."

Sun Xiaoya mocked Yang Shule from the side. "Exactly. Accusing others of special treatment, weren't those few behind you brought in by you?"

Someone from Yang Shule's group couldn't stand it anymore.

"Sun Xiaoya, that's going too far."

"Shule was just reminding us to follow procedures. If you can't handle it, leave. We've never liked girls anyway; you're always causing a fuss."

Sun Xiaoya's group was all girls.

Their faces immediately turned cold.

"You're so great, aren't you? Don't you know how greasy you are?"

"If you want to discuss things, attacking girls makes you feel superior?"

"Trash!"

How the scene escalated to near chaos left many confused.

"What's going on here!" This angry shout came from Qi Lin.

He and Xi Siyan walked over from the other end, quickly pulling apart two people who almost started fighting. He scanned the crowd. "Have you all gone mad? Sun Xiaoya, what's happening?"

Sun Xiaoya pointed at Chen Mo. "Can he participate?"

"Chen Mo was invited by me." Qi Lin frowned, puzzled. "I reported it in advance. The activity fees are split evenly, and his share will come from mine. Who has a problem with that?"

Some people exchanged glances and lowered their heads.

Beside him, Chen Mo asked Lao Gou, "Does he have that much authority?"

"He's the vice president of the club."

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow. "Oh."

At this moment, Chen Mo noticed Xi Siyan's gaze sweeping over them before casually withdrawing. His voice was not loud but clear enough for everyone to hear. "Anyone else have an issue? If not, everyone get on the bus. Those causing trouble today need to register with Qi Lin; you won't be coming next time."

The group hesitantly moved towards the bus.

Lao Gou put his arm around Chen Mo as they walked to the bus. "Don't doubt it; he's the president. It's his word that counts."