Chapter 20

Pei Chen had completely humiliated himself here.

He stepped forward, grabbed Pei Yan, and ground out through clenched teeth, "Don't ever tell people you're my little brother again!!!"

How could someone get their teeth knocked out?!

Humiliating!!!

When he was that age, he was the one knocking other people's teeth out!

Pei Yan lowered his head gloomily without saying a word, his lips sticking out in a huge pout.

Actually, he had not gained much of an advantage in his fight with An Zimo. Aside from losing a tooth, several clumps of his hair had been torn out, and the skin on his neck was scraped. Too embarrassed to say anything, Pei Yan had relied on his own healing ability to silently endure it through the night.

"Forget it." Pei Chen stretched out his long legs. "It's better than you knocking out someone else's teeth."

Pei Yan looked over, utterly confused.

Resting his cheek on one hand, Pei Chen raised his chin at An Xiang. It seemed like he was speaking to Pei Yan, but also to himself. "I've prepared myself."

"...?"

Pei Yan leaned back, completely stunned.

Was his big brother planning to find him a sister-in-law?

No! No sister-in-law, no sister-in-law! He absolutely did not want to become related to someone like that!

"Here. I didn't put ice in the children's drinks." An Xiang set the juice down in front of them, then handed another cup to An Zimo.

An Xiang looked up at the time. After considering it for a few seconds, she said, "Pei Chen, you and your younger brother and sister can stay for dinner tonight."

The invitation came out of nowhere. Pei Chen's beautiful eyes widened. "Y-You're inviting us?"

"Mm." An Xiang nodded. "You spent quite a bit of time helping me find a kindergarten, and Momo made your younger brother and sister cry yesterday."

Their family was well-off, so they probably would not accept material compensation.

After thinking it over, cooking them dinner herself seemed like the most appropriate option.

"I don't want to—"

"Sure, sure!" Pei Chen cut off Pei Yan's little mouth before he could finish. "But can you cook here?"

"There's a kitchen in the back."

Though the place was small, it had everything it needed.

An Xiang occasionally cooked at the shop. Of course, most of the time she prepared food the night before and brought it along the next day. After all, with a child around, constantly eating takeout was unhealthy.

"You can tell me what you like to eat, and I'll go buy groceries."

Pei Chen's eyes lit up. He raised a hand and volunteered eagerly, "I can go with you and help carry things."

"Forget it." An Xiang rejected him directly. "You can stay in the shop and help me watch Momo. Yanyan and Nuo Nuo need someone watching too. It wouldn't be good if all the adults left."

That was true.

Pei Yan had a bad temper, Pei Nuo cried too easily, and An Zimo looked like a difficult little thorn himself. If they all left, there was no telling what trouble might break out again.

Pei Chen felt disappointed, but he obediently chose to stay.

An Xiang slung her small bag over her shoulder, changed into her shoes, opened the door, and left.

After she left, only one older child and three younger children remained in the little shop.

An Zimo treated them like they were invisible the entire time, focusing intently on the television without even shifting his gaze.

"Only little kids who don't understand anything watch cartoons!" Pei Yan suddenly provoked him. Then he pulled a children's English picture book from his backpack, sidled up to An Zimo with a cheeky grin, and waved it around proudly. "Do you know what this is?"

An Zimo could not be bothered to respond.

"You definitely don't know because you don't go to school." Pei Yan puckered his lips. "I'm the only one in my class who can recite all twenty-six letters. Impressive, right?"

An Zimo glanced over distractedly and calmly spat out a word. "Idiote."

It was French.

Translated, it meant idiot.

Pei Yan did not understand. Tilting his head, he asked, "What did you say?"

An Zimo turned his head and gave him a cold laugh before adding, "Dummkopf."

"What was that?"

An Zimo bit down on his straw expressionlessly. "I was praising you for being smart."

Pei Yan froze. "Really?"

An Zimo nodded.

Pei Yan leaned closer. "Say a few more things."

"Du Dummkopf."

Pei Yan became interested. "What does that mean?"

An Zimo said blandly, "You're very smart."

"Du..." Pei Yan lowered his little head and muttered softly. The word after that was too complicated, and he could not pronounce it no matter how long he tried.

An Zimo generously repeated it twice more.

Pei Yan was not stupid. After a few tries, he actually remembered it. Swinging his little legs, he happily patted An Zimo on the shoulder. "I underestimated you. I didn't think you knew English. When I go home today, I'll tell my great-grandpa. If he praises me, I'll forgive you."

An Zimo pressed his lips together and smiled without saying anything.

That last sentence had been German.

Translated, it meant—you're an idiot.

Tsk.

His great-grandpa would not understand anyway. Maybe he really would praise him a little.

Leaning against the soft back of the sofa, An Zimo suddenly felt much better.

After that, Pei Yan stopped making trouble for An Zimo. He sat beside him with Pei Nuo and watched cartoons together.

Pei Chen played games off to the side. The children did not bother one another, and the atmosphere was fairly peaceful. Suddenly, a phone ringtone shattered the silence.

Pei Chen stared at the caller ID for several seconds. He did not even dare think about whether he would lose the game and immediately answered.

"I'm off work. Bring Pei Yan and the others over."

Even through the phone, the man's voice remained cool and pleasant.

Pei Chen scratched his hair into a mess and frowned. "I-I'm not eating with you guys today."

"Mm?"

Pei Chen felt a little guilty. "Someone invited us, and it wouldn't be polite to refuse. I'll take good care of Yanyan and Nuo Nuo, so you don't need to worry, old man."

He asked, "Who invited you?"

"A pretty older sister. Great-grandpa, do you want to come?" Pei Chen mentioned it casually, knowing full well that Pei Yizhou would not be interested.

Sure enough.

He refused decisively. "Then take care of your younger brother and sister. You must be home before nine, finish your homework, and I'll check it when you get back."

Click.

The call ended.

At the same time, his phone screen went dark, showing a total team wipe. The game was over.

Like the shattered crystal in the game, Pei Chen's heart immediately sank to rock bottom.

If Pei Yizhou said he would check his homework, then he would definitely check it. Not finishing it would be one thing, but... he had not done any of it at all!!!

Fuck.

What a pain.

Pei Chen pulled out his homework book, intending to do a few questions at random to muddle through. But the moment he opened it, he went completely blank. He had been in a daze all day and had not understood a single thing the teacher said. He recognized every number on the page, but together, they made no sense at all.

Pei Chen lay on the table, scratching at his ears and cheeks in frustration, pulling out several strands of hair.

"Choose C."

Just then, a soft, childish voice sounded beside him.

An Zimo sat across from him holding his drink, his pink little fingertip pointing at the problem. "First use the angle transformation formulas to simplify this question, then apply the definition of an odd function to get the answer."

Pei Chen was dumbfounded. His huge eyes stared at the homework for a long time without reacting.

He blinked, then looked at the calm-faced An Zimo. He blinked again, then looked at An Zimo again.

Finally, he pinched his own thigh, pushed him away, and impatiently chased him off. "Go, go, go. Kids shouldn't make trouble."

How could a three- or four-year-old brat possibly solve a first-year high school problem?

Either An Zimo was stupid, or he himself was stupid.

Pei Chen grabbed his hair and continued battling his homework.

An Zimo was not in a hurry.

He sipped his drink leisurely, his calculations clicking away in his mind.

After observing Pei Chen these past few days, An Zimo had more or less figured him out.

None of the clothes he wore had visible labels, yet all were made from the finest materials. Combined with the limited-edition car An Zimo had seen at the kindergarten that day, it was obvious his family was not poor. An Zimo had secretly used An Xiang's computer to look up the Pei surname as well. If nothing unexpected happened, Pei Chen was the young master of the Pei Group, the family that ruled Jiang City with one hand.

His family was rich, his connections were extensive, and most importantly, he was stupid.

Who else would An Zimo use if not him?

"Holy shit! It really is C!!"

Pei Chen's shout nearly blew off the roof.

Looking at the answer his best friend had sent over WeChat, he excitedly grabbed An Zimo. "No, how did you know?"

"Does it matter?"

Did it... matter?

Of course it fucking mattered!!!

Could this little brat actually be a genius?

Pei Chen was deeply shocked.

An Zimo casually tossed the empty drink bottle into the wastebasket. The twins beside them had been watching television blankly the entire time and had no interest in their conversation.

After wiping his little mouth clean, An Zimo spoke with a serious expression. "Homework is hard, isn't it?"

"Yeah!" Pei Chen nodded hard. It was more than hard; he was practically being murdered by homework every day.

"Then do you want to stop doing homework?" An Zimo coaxed him patiently.

"Isn't that fucking obvious? What high school student likes doing homework?"

An Zimo placed both arms on the table and leaned closer. "Brother Pei Chen." His gaze was deep, nothing like a child's. He called him brother, but there was not the slightest hint of respect in his tone.

He said, "From now on, I'll do your homework for you. I can teach you the questions you don't know too, and I guarantee your grades will improve. But..."

"B-But?" Pei Chen inexplicably grew nervous.

"You have to pay me tutoring fees every month."

Tutoring fees?

This kid even knew to ask for money??

Pei Chen suddenly began to believe that he was a genius. What normal child negotiated terms with adults? But on second thought, it was not like this brought him no benefits. As long as he got on good terms with An Zimo, getting close to An Xiang would naturally follow, right?

Doing homework was only secondary.

"H-How much?" Pei Chen unconsciously touched his pocket. Though he was from a rich family, he did not control much money each month. Pei Yizhou was strict; if Pei Chen fought or made mistakes, he would not get a cent. Luckily, Xu Chuan spoiled him. If he acted cute and called him grandpa, getting ten or twenty thousand was easy.

"You decide." An Zimo's focus was not on the money. His eyes flickered. "But as you can see, I'm a little baby right now..."

Pei Chen burst out laughing and interrupted him without mercy. "Give me a break. I've never seen a little baby knock out my brother's tooth."

"..."

An Zimo fell silent for a full minute. Pretending he had not heard the mockery, he continued, "Help me get a bank card and transfer the money into it every month. You keep the card, and give it to me whenever I need it. Oh, and if your friends can't do their homework either, they can come to me. Make a group chat, and I'll teach them all together."

Damn!

Why did he suddenly feel so reliable?!

Pei Chen's rationality told him not to trust a toddler so easily, but reality forced him to bow his head.

Sob. Who told him he was worse than even a child?

A sound came from outside the door. An Xiang had probably returned.

An Zimo jumped down from his chair, grabbed Pei Chen's sleeve, and lowered his voice. "Remember, you absolutely can't tell An Xiang. Otherwise, I'll contact your great-grandpa and tell him you have improper intentions toward my mom."

Pei Chen's pupils shook.

This fucking little brat was a demon! Threatening people at such a young age!

Wait.

How did he know Pei Chen had improper intentions toward An Xiang?

Pei Chen could not get an answer. All he saw was the malicious smile at the corner of An Zimo's lips.

An Zimo returned to his chair and continued watching television.

His escape plan had successfully reached its first step. Once he had money, he could use his computer skills to log into underground trading sites. He could first buy himself a fake identity. As long as he had an identity, everything afterward would be much easier.

Life was perfect.

The world suddenly seemed adorable again.

An Zimo stretched lazily and smiled sincerely for the first time.

An Xiang saw that smile the moment she entered. She could not help being surprised. Bending down to set aside the heavy bags in her hands, she said, "Momo looks very happy." Then she looked around. Pei Chen was doing homework, while the twins and An Zimo sat side by side on the sofa. The atmosphere was several times more harmonious than when she had left.

She was even more surprised, followed by immense relief.

Children fighting and playing around really was normal. Maybe she had been too nervous.

Carrying the groceries into the kitchen, An Xiang began considering whether she should send her son to kindergarten so he could experience group life.

Maybe... things would slowly get better.

An. Overpowered Protagonist. Genius Ball. You Know Nothing of My Power. Zimo: Bye-bye, woman. Your son is setting sail!!

*

Pei Yan: Great-grandpa, great-grandpa, let me tell you something. "Du Dummkopf."

Pei Yizhou held out his hand. "Do you know what this is?"

Pei Yan: Five.

Pei Yizhou: No, it's the slap that's about to land on your face.

There are still five hundred red envelopes this chapter. See you tomorrow.