Chapter 12

"Momo, I'm back!"

An Xiang ran up to An Zimo, panting for breath, only then noticing the unfamiliar man standing beside him.

Remembering what had happened at KFC last time, An Xiang immediately grew wary and pulled An Zimo behind her protectively.

"Are you this child's mother?"

An Xiang nodded without saying anything more.

The assistant smiled good-naturedly. "This child was just in danger. Luckily, he ran into us. As his parent, you absolutely can't let him wander around outside alone again. He might not be so lucky next time." After saying that, the assistant hurried after Pei Yizhou.

An Xiang stared blankly at his retreating figure for a long while before realizing what he had said.

Child traffickers?

An Xiang could not help looking at her silent son.

An Zimo stood with his hands behind his back, his sideways gaze avoiding An Xiang's eyes. It was impossible to tell where his dark pupils were focused, and his childish face was filled with indifference.

An Xiang crouched before him and gripped his narrow shoulders, her expression serious. "Was what that uncle said true?"

He said nothing, looking as though he were angry.

An Xiang pursed her lips and scratched her cheek in distress. This time, it had been entirely her own mistake. She had thought the mall would be safer with security around, and she had only left for a little while. She never expected...

"Momo, I won't leave you behind again." An Xiang forced herself to smile. "I promise you."

Promises were what An Zimo trusted least. He could not even be bothered to spare her a glance before turning and walking outside without looking aside.

An Xiang hurriedly rose and chased after him, tightly taking his little hand. The next second, he shook her off. Refusing to give up, An Xiang grabbed it again. After repeating this several times, he finally gave up resisting and let her lead him toward their milk tea shop.

The milk tea shop provided as compensation by customer service was on the third floor of an old apartment building across from the shopping mall. Despite being in such a bustling area, it had been placed in an inconspicuous location.

Following the address to the innermost unit on the third floor, she spotted the sign on the door at a glance.

[A Milk Tea Shop.]

Hm. The tackiest was the classiest. Not bad.

An Xiang entered the password and pushed open the door, both nervous and excited.

Customer service had already arranged every permit necessary to open the shop, and the ingredients and equipment had all been thoroughly prepared. The apartment was only fifty square meters. Four tables stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, while an open kitchen greeted visitors upon entering and connected directly to the counter. It was very convenient.

She was fairly satisfied with the environment, though a milk tea shop in a place like this probably would not get many customers.

She walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator first. A small card fell out.

[Hello, Host. The fresh ingredients needed to make milk tea will automatically be replenished every day. You do not need to purchase ingredients yourself. The property was personally gifted by the Spacetime Administration. We will cover all expenses incurred in operating the shop. All profits earned will be the Host's personal income.]

Below that, the card also read: [Once again, we apologize for the inconvenience caused.]

Things had already come to this. She had already given birth to a son—what good was an apology?

Still, they had been very considerate.

An Xiang looked around. Renting a place like this for a month would probably cost a lot, and she would not have to pay for ingredients, property management, water, or electricity. Since she had made no investment, there was no question of losing money. Even if the location was poor, there was no harm in trying.

An Xiang stroked the brand-new equipment, and an idea suddenly struck her.

"Son, son, come here." An Xiang's eyes lit up as she repeatedly waved all five fingers at An Zimo, who stood in the doorway.

"What?" An Zimo frowned but did not move.

"Let Mommy smell you." As she spoke, she unconsciously swallowed.

The two creases between An Zimo's brows deepened. "No."

"Don't be shy. Let Mommy have a sniff."

Without any effort, An Xiang grabbed her helpless son and bent close to take a deep sniff at his neck.

The sudden closeness made every pore on An Zimo's body prickle open. His face filled with disgust as his little hands pushed at her fiercely.

Milk, mango, and perhaps a tiny hint of mint.

The mixture of those scents was strangely wonderful. An Xiang could not help taking two more sniffs, and that sweet fragrance made saliva flood her mouth again.

She released her son, ran back to the kitchen, tied on an apron, prepared the ingredients according to the scent, and began making juice.

It was An Xiang's first time using these machines, and she was still somewhat unfamiliar with them. After several failed attempts, she finally produced a finished drink. Carefully, she poured the juice into a cup, added a little mint and stirred it evenly, then inserted a straw and took a small sip.

The rich, fresh fragrance of mango blossomed over her tongue, mingled with the aroma of milk. The crisp mint was the finishing touch to the cold drink.

After tasting it, An Xiang's eyes instantly lit up. That was right! This was her son's scent!!!

She carried the juice over to An Zimo, who was sitting in a chair doing nothing but staring into space, and held the carefully mixed drink to his lips. "Try it. It's Mommy's first time making one." She was so excited that the end of her voice trembled.

After running around with An Xiang all day, An Zimo's throat had long been dry. Looking at the brightly colored juice before him, he unconsciously licked his chapped lips and lowered his head for a small sip.

Gulp.

The drink slid into his stomach. It was icy, refreshing, and unexpectedly delicious.

An Zimo hugged the cup and began drinking from the straw in great gulps.

Seeing him drink so happily, An Xiang could not have felt more accomplished.

"Is it good?"

This time, An Zimo graciously nodded.

An Xiang looked proud. "Of course it's good. After all, it tastes like my son."

"...???" An Zimo stopped sucking on the straw.

Not noticing anything strange about his expression, An Xiang puffed out her chest and continued, "This drink will be called Son!! It'll cost eighty-eight!!"

"..." Are you fucking robbing people!!!!

An Zimo nearly spat out everything he had just drunk.

An Xiang was very satisfied with the milk tea shop. After trying things out that day, she decided not to sell milk tea after all, but juice instead. Juice was easier to make than milk tea, and all the humans walking the streets were her juice ingredients!

[The taste of blood really is blissful.]

[Even if I can't drink human blood, with this skill, I can remember their flavors and turn them into juice.]

[From now on, I won't have to drool over my son anymore.]

An Xiang was beside herself with excitement.

At her side, An Zimo watched her strangely the entire time.

What did she mean by turning them into juice? Did "them" mean humans?

His mom was not a cannibal, was she?

An Zimo... started to panic.

An Xiang was very satisfied with the milk tea shop. As for when to open it, she would consider that later.

That afternoon, they finally returned home after finishing their day's errands. The mall had already placed everything she bought in the parcel lockers. There was quite a lot, and An Xiang had to make three trips before retrieving it all.

Only one large box remained. An Xiang carried it into An Zimo's room and casually placed it on the bed.

When An Zimo came out of the bathroom, he immediately spotted the square box that had appeared in his room.

He glanced toward An Xiang, who was busy in the living room, then withdrew his gaze and shut the bedroom door. After hesitating, he stepped forward and opened the package.

A cool red-and-white mech lay quietly inside the plastic case. An Zimo held the box in his hands, lowered his lashes, and slowly bit down on his lower lip with two pearly white teeth.

His fingers tightened around the box again and again. The calm in his eyes was gradually consumed by madness. Finally unable to endure the resentment in his heart, he viciously tore off the protective wrapping and roughly yanked the toy out.

The toy in his hands relentlessly stimulated his nerves, reminding him of every misfortune he had suffered.

Hate.

Hate.

He hated it so much.

An Zimo lost control. In a few quick motions, he dismantled the mech piece by piece. Finally, he slammed its head viciously against the floor, then raised his foot and stomped on it again and again, venting all his fury.

The poor toy had already been badly damaged by his assault. Just as he was about to continue, the door opened, and a woman's gentle voice drifted in.

"Momo has already started playing with his toy?"

The floor was a complete mess, with mech parts scattered everywhere. The most pitiful of all was the head beneath An Zimo's foot, dull and gray, covered in scratches.

He neither looked up nor moved, standing rigidly in place like a statue.

An Xiang stepped forward and put away the cardboard box, paying no attention to the badly damaged toy on the floor. "When I went to buy this today, it had already been sold out, so I had to go to another store. That's why I was delayed. I didn't tell you all day because I wanted to surprise you."

An Zimo was not even four years old yet. He had lived in the village since birth. Though he was at an innocent age, he had never had anything fun to play with or anything good to eat. If someone gave him a gift, he would definitely be happy.

Thankfully, he did not hate it.

"A surprise?" Hearing her words, An Zimo bent down to pick up the head from the floor. "What surprise?" His head hung low, and his eyes beneath his lashes were utterly indifferent.

Unable to see his expression, An Xiang tidied up while earnestly explaining to her son, "When someone receives a gift without knowing beforehand, they'll be very happy. That's a surprise." Unfortunately, she had never received a gift or been given a surprise in all her life.

"I don't understand. What's there to be happy about?" An Zimo said coldly, casually tossing the toy to the ground. He climbed into the stroller and curled himself beneath the blanket, wrapped up tightly without a gap.

An Xiang froze for a moment, then set down what she was holding and walked over. Firmly, she pulled the blanket away, exposing that little face completely to her view.

She had to admit that An Zimo was an exceptionally exquisite and beautiful child. Although his skin had grown somewhat rough from living deep in the mountains for so long, and carried a faint highland flush, none of that diminished his cuteness.

Yet that beautiful little face had never held a smile.

"Momo, are you unhappy?" She gazed deeply at him, her eyes clear as if they could see straight through him.

An Zimo pressed his lips together and avoided An Xiang's gaze, unwilling to have any unnecessary contact with her.

"Is it because... because I nearly lost you while buying the toy today?" An Xiang cupped his face and asked uneasily, "Or... or is it that you actually don't like living with me?"

She received silence—an even more wordless answer.

An Xiang felt deeply discouraged, though it was also what she had expected.

After all, no son in the world would be willing to accept an irresponsible mother. Perhaps he would never accept her, not even until the day she died.

At that thought, An Xiang's eyes quickly turned sore and red. Sitting by the bed, she could no longer hold back and began to sob.

Her crying was so sudden and inexplicable that An Zimo, who had been raging moments ago, stared at her in stunned confusion.

"Why... are you crying?"

An Xiang sniffled and wiped away her tears, forcing back the tremor in her voice as she solemnly took his hand. "Son, even if you... even if you don't like me, you still have to live with me." She sniffed. "There's nothing we can do about it. You're still a baby, after all."

After saying that, she looked regretful and let out a deep sigh.

"..."

"..."

An Zimo's brow twitched sharply. Was this a fucking provocation?

Fine. Then he would accept that provocation and show her whether a baby could live without an adult!

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Today's vampire mommy was boo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo.

Son: She's being passive-aggressive, passive-aggressive, passive-aggressive.

Momo actually had severe psychological problems. Next, he might have to figure out how to make money on his own...

*

Random red envelopes. See you tomorrow.