Chapter 11: A Passionate Welcome

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Chapter 11: A Passionate Welcome

Question: What’s the biggest difference between a parrot and a chicken?

Lord Lin You will tell you: the former can talk!

Although parrots fly more often than chickens, idioms such as “when the chicken flies away and the eggs are broken” (a metaphor for losing everything and gaining nothing) and “when the chickens fly and the dogs jump” (a metaphor for panic and chaos), prove that chickens can, in fact, fly. The only thing chickens lose out on is their inability to speak.

Don’t scoff at that. If every chicken cried out, “Sir, please let me go!” and “I never bathe, I’ve got cancer, and I’m highly poisonous!” before being slaughtered, Lin You doubted that people would still be able to eat them.

So chickens and parrots were definitely different! Lin You the parrot immediately laughed at Second Young Master Mu before struggling through the water toward Young Master Mu, dragging his soaked feathers behind him. He still had to prove that, in addition to talking, parrots could swim too!

Mu Yanming watched Lin You paddle toward his elder brother, one wing slapping against the water, while his elder brother waited patiently with a hand extended toward him. The corners of his mouth twitched violently, and he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. For some reason, he suddenly felt that he had the lowest status of the three living beings present. Even a parrot could look down on him. What kind of life was this?!

“Brother, has this parrot… always been like this?” Mu Yanming asked with some difficulty.

Mu Yanxiao sneered and nodded. “What do you think? If he had been as annoying as you, I would have stewed him long ago.”

Lin You, “…”

Mu Yanming, “…”

They had both been mocked at the same time!

Elder Brother, you sure are something.

Mu Yanming sighed helplessly after being rendered speechless by his brother’s words. Forget it. Ever since we were children, going against my elder brother has always ended badly for me. He seems to be in a good mood today, so I’d better behave.

The spring rain gradually grew heavier. Although they were soaking in the hot spring, it was still uncomfortable to have raindrops falling on their heads. Just as Lin You was about to protest, Mu Four had Mu Five and several staff members bring out a rain canopy and set it up around the small hot spring pool, almost completely covering it. Curtains of water droplets hung from the edges of the canopy, and with the spring rain and beautiful scenery outside, the whole scene was remarkably picturesque.

Lin You was a little surprised when he saw it. It had suddenly become so beautiful. Steam rose from the hot spring as he soaked in it, making him feel as though he were in paradise.

“ Squawk squawk ~ Waiting a thousand years~ The snake spirit is coming~ Rain falls endlessly on the Broken Bridge~ Beauty, there you are~~”

Mu Yanming was drinking the rice wine an attendant had served him. When he heard the hoarse, bizarre song, he immediately choked on his wine and spat most of it out.

“ Cough, cough! My-my God! Is the parrot singing The Legend of the White Snake ?! Brother! When did you let him watch such an old show? I didn’t even know you liked that kind of TV drama!”

On the surface, Mu Yanxiao looked much more composed than his younger brother, but in reality, he had just swallowed a mouthful of steamed dumplings. Fortunately, they weren’t too hot, or he would have burned his mouth and throat. Even so, Mu Yanxiao had to clench his hands beneath the hot spring water to keep his expression from changing. However, Mu Yanming’s question had come at exactly the right moment.

Mu Yanxiao immediately adopted the expression he had been waiting for and said to his younger brother, “You think I have as much free time as you? Every day, you do nothing but eat, sleep, visit prostitutes, and gamble. You never do any serious work and keep getting into trouble. If you could quietly watch The Legend of the White Snake at home every day like Linlin, Grandpa and I could die happy.”

Lin You, “…”

Mu Yanming, “…”

They were being mocked again.

Lin You had been dragged down by Mu Yanming twice now. He immediately flapped his wings, sending up a small splash that disappeared before it even reached Mu Yanming. His mockery, however, showed no sign of stopping.

“Oh~ Master~ You’re joking~ I’ve never visited prostitutes or gambled! I earn my own money to support myself and buy food~ I’m completely different from that guy who does nothing and only knows how to mooch off his elders~~~ Ah, of course, Master, you’re not elderly~ but that makes it even worse~ He’ll be relying on you forever~ squawk! ~ If I had a younger brother like that, I would’ve kicked him out of the family long ago and made him fend for himself~~~ Just like my Little Uncle! Squawk! ”

Mu Yanxiao, “…”

Mu Yanming, “…”

This time, it was finally their turn to be mocked.

Mu Yanxiao had long since gotten used to his parrot’s temper, so he merely rolled his eyes inwardly. He then took a small, delicate bowl from the dinner tray set beside the pool and beckoned to Lin You. There were three scoops of ice cream in the bowl. Although there was no brand name on it, it was definitely the treat a certain parrot had requested, with not a trace of adulteration.

Lin You had already caught the rich, milky sweetness drifting through the air. He flapped his wings excitedly and plunged his head straight into the bowl. Mu Yanming stared in stunned disbelief as the parrot devoured the ice cream as though he wanted to swallow the entire bowl along with it. In his mind, he silently raised the parrot’s threat level another notch.

“ Ahem. Elder Brother, to be honest, I’m really not that bad…” Mu Yanming weakly defended himself. “In any case, I still go to the company every week. Fine, maybe going there is basically the same as not going.”

Under Mu Yanxiao’s stare, Mu Yanming finally fell silent. Even though his elder brother had lost his sight, those dark eyes glaring in his direction still made him shiver.

“Starting tomorrow, follow Mu Two and help manage the company branch. Your golden card will be returned once the company’s profits exceed last year’s by fifty percent.”

Mu Yanming, “!!” He had never expected this! He had only come to soak in the hot springs, yet he had somehow lost his golden card!

Afterward, no matter how sorrowfully Mu Yanming looked at Mu Yanxiao, the latter remained completely unmoved. He even listened happily to his parrot pecking at chicken wings and eating ice cream. The stark difference in treatment left Mu Yanming utterly dejected. He strongly felt that he was worse off than a bird! In the end, however, he only dared to be angry in silence. On top of that, Second Young Master Mu had just received quite a shock.

Although many rotten relatives around him looked down on him, mocked his behavior, and even provoked him and his elder brother, Second Young Master Mu had never believed that his elder brother would harm him. Otherwise, his elder brother would have had a hundred opportunities to kill him seven years ago. Yet in the end, he had done nothing, and his elder brother had even been seriously injured because of it.

Now, Second Young Master Mu looked at the hideous scar on his elder brother’s right arm and secretly clenched his teeth. Forget it. My golden card is gone anyway, and I’ve even been looked down on by a parrot. No matter what, this time I really have to… work hard for three whole months!

If Mu Yanxiao knew that this guy’s great determination would only last three months, he would probably push him straight into the water and drown him. They ate and drank their fill while soaking comfortably in the hot spring.

The two members of the Mu Family and one parrot left the hot spring around two in the afternoon, all refreshed and full of energy. The bitter-faced Mu Yanming was then dragged away to work by Mu Two, who had rushed over.

As for what Mu Five had said, Second Young Master Mu’s status and dignity were apparently worth less than Lord Lin You’s, even though the parrot had only been around for four days. Although everyone still had to show Second Young Master Mu some respect, they had known him for ten or twenty years, so there was no need to worry about preserving his dignity.

“Boss, are you going home or back to the hospital?” Mu One, who had finished handling his task, stepped forward and asked.

Mu Yanxiao thought for a moment before deciding to go straight home. In any case, Dr. Ouyang had already said that he would need a craniotomy if he wanted to regain his sight, and there was no other way. He had no other serious injuries, only a few bruises, so he might as well go home and rest. It would be more comfortable and peaceful there.

Hence, Young Master Mu took his parrot and openly disregarded the doctor’s orders, slowly making his way back to the garden villa.

“Boss! What do you think? I had several of these trees planted here! This one is a chestnut tree, this one is a cherry tree, and that one over there is an apple tree! There are also banana and coconut trees in the greenhouse! I even planted a patch of strawberries and peanuts! It’s all for our Little Six! Isn’t it great?!”

As soon as they entered, Mu Yanxiao heard Mu Three’s ear-piercing, overly enthusiastic report. His mouth twitched slightly each time Mu Three announced another type of tree. By the time Mu Three finished, Boss Mu’s mouth had practically twisted out of shape.

He had never imagined that his once-neat lawn and flower garden would become such a chaotic mess. All he knew was that his home was no longer a garden villa. It had become an “orchard farmhouse.”

Mu Three still wanted to say something, but Mu One kicked him in the butt. Mu Four wiped the sweat from his brow and explained, “Boss, Little Three just wants Linlin to like this place more. Don’t take offense.”

Mu Four’s words lingered in Mu Yanxiao’s heart. Originally, Mu Yanxiao had been a little worried about whether his parrot spirit would like living in a human dwelling. Although the vegetation on his property was already quite lush, it still couldn’t compare with that of a remote, densely forested mountain. At that moment, Lord Lin You stared at the villa in shock with his two black-bean eyes. He anxiously hopped back and forth on Mu Yanxiao’s shoulder several times before beginning to mutter to himself.

“Sitting north and facing south, purple qi comes from the east; great fortune, great prosperity, guardian lions; wealth surrounds you, auspicious light shines everywhere… Damn, aside from the part about relatives and friends that goes against the heavens, this place is practically a treasure trove of good fortune! This is a rebellious setup! No, no. If this feng shui was arranged by my great-grandfather, then he definitely isn’t that kind of person. So it must be designed to encourage the growth of evil things. What about a money tree? There must be a money tree!”

After hearing his parrot spout a string of bizarre feng shui jargon like some fraudulent Daoist, Mu Yanxiao could only listen as Lin You fluttered his wings and flew around the villa, with the startled voices of Mu Four, Mu Three, and Mu Five following behind him.

It wasn’t until five minutes later that Mu Yanxiao could no longer hear the sound of flapping wings. Then Mu One said in a rather subtle tone beside him, “Boss, he, er… Little Six stopped at the money tree. That’s the evil-warding tree Old Master Lin gave to the Elder.”

Mu Yanxiao, “…” He didn’t even know where to begin. No matter who was surnamed Lin, they were all equally annoying!

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