Chapter 22

After Pei Chen and the others finished eating, they said goodbye to An Xiang and went straight home.

The milk tea shop, which had been noisy just moments ago, fell quiet the instant they left. An Xiang cleared the mess from the tables and cleaned the shop inside and out.

A cold moon hung beyond the window. The night was bustling yet lonely.

An Xiang was exhausted by the time she finished working. She curled one hand into a loose fist and rubbed her aching shoulder, then caught sight of An Zimo sleeping on the sofa.

Only when he slept did the boy reveal the innocent clarity that belonged to a child.

An Xiang crouched beside the sofa and gently stroked An Zimo's warm forehead with her fingertips. He noticed nothing, his lashes fluttering as he rolled over with force.

So adorable.

Like a well-behaved little animal.

All her exhaustion vanished in an instant. She bent down and kissed him, wrapped her coat around her son, then gently lifted his small body into her arms and left the apartment with her things in one hand.

The night breeze was cool.

An Zimo woke after being blown by it.

His eyes were bleary, and his mind was still foggy.

The woman's face was close at hand. The thin light from the streetlamp fell across her delicate profile, giving it an inexplicable warmth and beauty.

She smelled nice.

Her embrace was gentle too.

"Is Momo awake?" An Xiang's voice was sweet, not cloying like artificial sweetener, but clear, pleasant, and moving.

"We'll be taking a car home soon. Momo can keep sleeping on Mommy's shoulder."

My son looks super cute when he sleeps!

Mommy wants to hold her baby forever!

But my stomach hurts so much. Periods are so annoying, sob sob sob...

An Zimo stared blankly at her. Under the relentless barrage of her thoughts, he finally became fully awake.

He... was being held by that awful woman!

"Put me down." Perhaps because he had just woken up, his voice sounded hoarse and bubbly, without the slightest bit of intimidation.

An Xiang thought her son might be embarrassed. She chuckled several times and hugged him even tighter. "Is Momo worried that Mommy will get tired?"

"..." Worried about you getting tired, my ass. So full of yourself. Shameless!

An Zimo resisted the urge to roll his eyes and struggled to break free from An Xiang's arms.

An Xiang was far stronger than An Zimo. No matter how much he fussed, she refused to let go.

"Momo, don't worry. You'll always be Mommy's favorite baby." An Xiang wore a serious expression. "Starting tomorrow, Mommy will only feed you."

Her son was a shy, straight-laced little boy.

She couldn't let him get jealous.

An Zimo frowned. What nonsense was this woman imagining?

"Only disabled people need someone else to feed them."

The implication was: I have hands and feet. I don't need it.

An Xiang did not care in the slightest and continued, "And don't worry, I won't add strange men on WeChat."

"Who cares what you do?" An Zimo muttered under his breath. He wished he could grow eight legs and immediately roll off her.

"Being a single mom is hard, but I won't just find some random man to be your stepfather either. What if he hits you while I'm not around..."

An Xiang's little face scrunched up with worry.

The world was chaotic these days. Every so often, horrifying stories of domestic violence would be exposed. Perhaps because she had become a mother, An Xiang could not bear to see children suffer.

They were clearly fresh sprouts newly born into this world. They should not have to endure savage fists.

There was a trace of pity in her thoughts.

If a person's lips could lie, then their heart surely could not.

An Zimo's gaze flickered, and for some reason, he felt uneasy and panicked.

If An Xiang had beaten and cursed him, following the predetermined plot of his previous life, he would not have fallen into such confusion now.

But.

She did not hit him, nor did she curse him. Her personality had changed completely; she was utterly unfamiliar.

Yet the face before him kept forcing him to relive the nightmare of the past fourteen years.

For the first time, he felt that the road ahead was unknown, and he was afraid. An Zimo lowered his head and clenched his lower lip between his teeth, constantly reminding himself: the face before him was real. He had not hated the wrong person. Otherwise, all the hatred he had carried for more than a decade would become a joke.

—Heaven had allowed him to be reborn so that he could take revenge.

—Not so he could accept this ridiculous motherly love and abandon every misfortune of his previous life.

An Zimo fiercely pinched An Xiang's arm. While she winced in pain, he slid out of her arms and jogged ahead, putting some distance between them.

An Xiang covered her arm, which had turned red from the pinch, looking aggrieved. Why was her son so fierce?

Had living deep in the mountains for so long brought out his wild side?

Unable to figure it out, An Xiang hurried after him and tugged An Zimo back to her side.

Her son smelled delicious. She had to keep a close eye on him. What if something suspicious snatched him away and ate him?

She had not even eaten him yet.

In the darkness, An Xiang's eyes gleamed as she swallowed noisily beside her son.

An Zimo felt a chill run down his back and unconsciously quickened his pace. In the end, he went from walking to running, his retreating figure utterly frantic.

An Xiang froze, then hurriedly chased after him. "Son, don't walk so fast. Mommy won't eat you!"

"..."

Hard to say. Very hard to say.

What if she did?

The mother and son chased each other all the way home. By the time they arrived, it was already late at night.

Neither had the energy to keep fooling around. They each climbed into their coffins and fell asleep.

It was the height of spring in May, and the weeds outside the window grew thick and lush.

Unknown wildflowers bloomed competitively in the untended wasteland. With green trees as decoration, it was quite a pleasant sight at a glance.

Yet An Xiang hated this season.

The neighborhood where she lived was already sparsely populated, and no one maintained its trees or streets. Winter was manageable, but once spring and summer arrived, mosquitoes and insects became rampant. With so much grass around, even if the windows stayed shut all day, unknown bugs would still crawl in through the cracks.

An Xiang's blood was sweet, and the basement was cold and damp, so insects loved biting her. She would wake up covered in swollen bites after a single night.

Before, only she had been bitten. After An Zimo moved in, he too unfortunately became food for mosquitoes.

When she woke early that morning and saw the little red bumps on her son's face, An Xiang's heart ached.

She rummaged through a drawer for floral water, grabbed An Zimo, and began applying it to him.

"Today, Mommy will buy you a mosquito net. If that doesn't work, we'll just close the coffin."

Heh.

That even rhymed.

An Xiang's mood inexplicably improved. She screwed the cap back onto the floral water and let out a deep sigh at the weeds outside. "Or we could rent a place in the city." She could make do when she was alone, but now that she had a child, she had to consider his needs.

"If only this place got demolished..." As she spoke, she began daydreaming about demolition compensation again.

An Zimo was much more realistic than she was.

From what he knew, few investors would take over an abandoned project like this. First, it required enormous investment; second, the procedures were complicated. Once losses occurred, they would be difficult to recover. Investors would rather leave the land vacant than casually take on a renovation project. With that money, why not start a new project? If it lost money or something went wrong, they would have to bear it themselves. No one wanted to do something that was both thankless and costly.

An Zimo scratched the itchy mosquito bite on his face and silently went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash up.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

An Xiang did not rush to answer it. Her heart was full of doubts.

She had no friends, and no one had visited her home in years. Deliveries would not come to the door either, so who could be here so early in the morning?

As she was thinking, the doorbell rang several more times in succession. It did not seem like someone had knocked on the wrong door.

An Xiang looked outside through the peephole.

Two young men stood outside. They wore suits and ties, carried briefcases, and looked like salesmen making door-to-door pitches.

"Hello, is anyone home?"

An Xiang remained highly vigilant and did not answer.

"We're from the housing acquisition department. Is now a convenient time?"

Housing acquisition department.

In plain terms, the demolition office.

Why would the demolition office come here so early? Could it be... that her longtime dream was about to come true?

Filled with anticipation and confusion, An Xiang carefully opened the door a crack, keeping the security chain fastened just in case.

She only poked out half her face, gripping the door with both hands as she asked cautiously, "Hello, what can I do for you?"

"Great, someone is home." The young man was delighted. He bent slightly so that he was level with her gaze. "We came this time to sign a housing demolition agreement with you. Would it be convenient for us to come inside?"

An Xiang pinched her thigh hard.

It hurt. This was not a dream.

She swiftly removed the chain and quickly stepped aside to let the two men in.

The two young men who had been about to enter visibly hesitated for half a second upon seeing the ghostly decor before them. They exchanged a glance, then slowly made their way into the living room.

"Sit down, don't be polite." An Xiang welcomed them warmly and hurried to the kitchen to brew a pot of black tea.

The two men did not waste words and got straight to the point. "Here's the situation: this residential area will be demolished soon. We came to discuss demolition compensation with each homeowner. Here is our contract. Please look it over first."

It really was going to be demolished!

An Xiang's eyes widened as she stared at the two contracts for a long time without recovering.

An Zimo, who had just come out of the bathroom, was equally stunned for a moment. Then he curled his lips disdainfully. Someone actually chose to acquire this land? Tsk.

He could not be bothered to get involved. He took a piece of bread from the table and returned to his room while eating it.

"We learned that you own three properties under your name, totaling 1,100 square meters. We will compensate you at a rate of twenty thousand per square meter. Of course, if you do not wish to accept cash compensation, you may exchange it for housing instead. However, the homes will not be available until three years later."

An Xiang was bad at math.

She secretly took out her phone, opened the calculator, and carefully began calculating.

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousand, hundred thousand... millions, tens of millions!

The more An Xiang counted, the wider her eyes became. Her hands holding the phone trembled slightly with excitement.

"Money, money, money! I want money!" she blurted out six words impatiently.

An Xiang had been far too eager. The two men first froze, then lowered their heads and laughed.

Her face immediately reddened. She slowly drew herself in and repeated in a tiny voice, "I... I want money..." Only a fool would refuse money.

Housing was nice, but she did not know whether the location would be good.

Besides, all three properties were being demolished. Where would they live during the three years they waited for the new homes? It would be better to buy a small secondhand apartment near a kindergarten, which would also make it convenient for An Zimo to attend school.

"Do you have any other objections?"

"No!" An Xiang shouted without hesitation. She had seen the news before. Those who became holdouts to fight for more demolition compensation generally did not end well. As the saying went, the wise adapted to the times. People needed to know when to be content, and An Xiang was immensely satisfied with compensation worth tens of millions.

"Very well. Please sign the contract and add your fingerprint. The compensation will be transferred to your bank card within thirty days."

An Xiang could not understand the contract, but she still held it up and pretended to read it for several minutes.

"The new district will soon be demolished and rebuilt, so it would be best if you could move out within a month to avoid unnecessary trouble." In truth, they had come several times before, but they had never found anyone home. The area was remote and sparsely populated, making contact even more difficult.

Fortunately, An Xiang was easy to talk to. Otherwise, they would have had to make several more trips.

After reading the contract, An Xiang carefully signed her name at the bottom and pressed on her fingerprint.

Looking at the contract written in black and white before her, An Xiang felt dizzy and lightheaded, overcome by an intensely unreal, dreamlike feeling.

"I remember this place was supposed to be demolished a long time ago, but the project was abandoned for years. Has someone taken it over again now?"

"No." The young man put away the contract and shook his head. "The real estate company originally in charge of this land went bankrupt long ago. Huaxing Group is the one that bought this plot now."

An Xiang froze when she heard that name.

Of course, she knew the famous Huaxing Group. Not long ago, she had even delivered takeout to their company.

"This entire residential area, including the old district behind it, will be rebuilt. It is expected to take three to five years to complete." The young man could not help sighing. "That president of Huaxing has been involved in quite a few real estate developments these past two years. What ambition..."

His companion grew interested too and casually asked, "What was his name again? I remember the news even aired an interview with him." It seemed to have been a proper interview program. His younger sister, who normally had no interest in the news, had unusually watched it from beginning to end.

"Pei Yizhou, the man leading Jiang City's economy. You don't even know that?"

The two chatted and teased each other before getting up to say goodbye to An Xiang and heading to the next home.

An Xiang closed the door and silently memorized that name.

Holding her laptop, she returned to the sofa and typed the three characters "Pei Yizhou" into the keyboard.

The search results appeared quickly.

Among the dozens of pages of related entries, the most eye-catching was the picture on his encyclopedia page.

The man at the desk wore a suit and leather shoes, his bearing noble and distinguished. He had turned his head to speak with someone beside him, completely unaware that he was being photographed.

Looking at those dazzling eyes that shone like a river of stars, An Xiang's throat tightened.

Th-this was the man she had seen at the kindergarten that day!

Pei Chen and the twins' great-grandfather.

No wonder Pei Yan had spoken that way that day. A talented and successful young man like him really was the prince charming of many girls' dreams.

An Xiang closed the laptop and firmly patted her flushed cheeks, which had reddened with excitement.

After a brief daze, she sprang off the sofa and rushed into An Zimo's room. She raised him high with both hands and tossed him into the air.

"Momo, we're rich!!!!!"

Hic.

The bread An Zimo had not finished swallowing was flung straight into the middle of his throat.

A feeling of suffocation immediately struck, and blood rushed upward into his neck.

"Momo, what's wrong?!"

"..." Was this idiot insane?!!!

An Zimo pounded his chest fiercely, grabbed his bottle, and guzzled the milk down. The soft bread slid down his esophagus with the milk.

He was finally free and let out a long breath.

Fuck, I almost died here.

An Zimo's throat hurt badly. Clutching his baby bottle, he silently put some distance between himself and her.

"Momo, Mommy has money now!" An Xiang, completely oblivious to anything unusual, eagerly shared her joy with her only son. "We can buy a crystal coffin three meters wide now!!"

A crystal coffin was every vampire's dream!!

She was about to make it come true!!!

An Zimo said nothing. An Xiang tilted her head and blinked in confusion. "Momo, aren't you happy?" He shouldn't be. Could it be that her son didn't like crystal coffins?

She pondered for a few seconds before suddenly realizing. "Son, do you want a Transformers coffin?!" Boys and girls had different preferences. If he were a girl, he would definitely want to sleep with her in a dreamy, beautiful crystal coffin.

An Zimo rolled his eyes and grimly gnawed on the rest of his bread.

This had nothing to do with boys or girls. What fucking coffin shop sold crystal coffins? Did she really think she was some Western vampire who needed a coffin with gold trim and an upside-down cross?

Ridiculous.

An Xiang impatiently dialed the coffin shop owner's number. The first thing she said when the call connected was, "Hello, I'm An Xiang from the suburbs. Do you remember me?"

Her eyes sparkled. "I'd like to order a crystal coffin. Do you have any?"

"Beep—"

A long dial tone.

An Xiang stared at the disconnected call and fell into deep thought.

Tsk. Of course they wouldn't.

Unwilling to give up, An Xiang tried calling again, only to find that the other party had already blacklisted her.

An Xiang: "..." Disappointed, sad, aggrieved.

She quickly pulled herself together.

Compared to buying a crystal coffin, finding a place to live was the urgent priority.

The demolition office had told her to move out within a month. An Xiang planned to pack up and leave today. For the next few days, she and her son would make do at the milk tea shop while she worked and searched for housing nearby. It would save time and effort, and her son would not have to suffer along with her.

She would not worry about the furniture for now. She only needed to take a few changes of clothes and daily necessities. Once she found a place, she could move over everything usable at once.

She also needed to notify the two tenants.

Both were streamers, living here because they did not want to be disturbed. They were kind and easygoing. The moment An Xiang notified them on WeChat, they replied that they expected to move out within half a month.

All the preparations were complete. An Xiang carefully checked the house once more. Once she was sure she had missed nothing, she turned and left with An Zimo.

Compared with An Xiang, An Zimo was far more enthusiastic about moving out.

He had long had enough of this hellish place and could not wait to get the fuck out.

An Zimo did not have much to carry. A small backpack was enough to hold everything.

He wore a sun hat and carried a backpack over his shoulders, dressed in overalls and a white shirt. He looked serious and adorable.

"Stop dawdling. Let's go," An Zimo urged impatiently.

An Xiang stood at the door, hesitating for a long time. "Do you think we should move the coffin over too?"

"Are you kidding?" An Zimo finally lost his patience. "The milk tea shop is tiny. Where are you going to put your coffin? On my head?!"

...He had a point.

An Xiang was forced to abandon the idea of bringing the coffin.

The two of them returned to the milk tea shop first.

She placed their luggage by the door and began figuring out where they would sleep that night.

Her son was small, so he could sleep on the sofa. As for her, she could make do on the floor. She had slept on the floor as a child, after all. Her body was not that delicate.

After a busy morning, the clock hand had already pointed to noon.

An Xiang decided to take her son out for lunch first, then visit the real estate agency that afternoon.

Having made up her mind, she led An Zimo downstairs and casually entered a restaurant.

It was right when students were getting out of school, and the small Chinese restaurant was already packed.

Voices overlapped, footsteps rushed past, and the place brimmed with everyday life.

Their food would take a while. An Xiang downloaded a house-hunting app on her phone, drooped her head, and slowly scrolled through the screen.

Housing prices near Rainbow Kindergarten were even higher than An Xiang had imagined. Her demolition compensation might... not be enough at all.

The more An Xiang looked, the more exhausted she felt. She could not stop sighing.

"An Xiang!"

The sudden youthful voice startled An Xiang.

She hurriedly looked up, stared at the face before her for a moment, then said, "Pei Chen?"

"Hey, what a coincidence." Pei Chen smiled brightly and shamelessly squeezed in beside An Zimo. "You came here to eat too?"

"Mm." An Xiang closed the screen, clearly surprised. "Aren't you in class?"

"I came out to eat. I'm sick of the cafeteria food. Our school is right across from the snack street, so it's not far." Pei Chen propped his cheek up with one hand, his gaze lowering. "I think I saw you looking for a house just now. Are you moving, An Xiang?"

She smiled awkwardly and scratched her cheek. "The place I live might be demolished, so I'm planning to buy a home around here. Settling down would also make it easier for Momo to go to school." But the idea seemed too naïve. How could it be so easy to find an affordable and suitable home?

If it really came down to it, she would close the milk tea shop and renovate it into a home. As for the demolition money, she would save all of it for future living expenses.

Pei Chen immediately caught the worry in An Xiang's expression. His eyes lit up, and he instantly felt that his chance had come.

"An Xiang, I... My friend has several homes. If you don't mind, I can give..." Before he could finish the word "give," he forcibly swallowed the rest of his sentence.

Given An Xiang's personality, she definitely would not accept a house handed to her so casually.

Pei Chen hurriedly changed his words. "I can have my friend sell one to you."

The Pei Family was rich, with houses and villas all over the world.

For his last birthday, Pei Yizhou had generously given him an entire building in the residential complex across from the kindergarten. Sometimes, when he was too lazy to go home, he stayed there.

As the saying went, the first to benefit was the one closest to the water. Once he arranged for the girl he liked to live across the street, would their sweet romance not be within reach?

Pei Chen sat there with his eyes open, daydreaming in broad daylight.

An Zimo shot him a sidelong glance and suddenly spoke. "Will your friend agree?"

The moment those words fell, Pei Chen's smile stiffened.

The friend he called Great-Grandpa probably, most likely, perhaps, very likely would not agree...

"It's fine." Pei Chen was simple-minded and quickly threw his concerns aside. "I'll go back and discuss it with my friend. An Xiang, just wait for my good news."

Without even eating, he slung on his backpack and dashed out of the snack shop. His tall, straight figure disappeared into the crowd in the blink of an eye.

Idiot.

An Zimo sneered inwardly, holding his small spoon as he drank his soup one mouthful at a time.

An Xiang scratched her head in confusion and could not help sighing at his retreating back. "Pei Chen really has a lot of friends."

"..."

An Zimo fell silent. She was an idiot too.

Pei Chen rushed all the way to Huaxing Company. Secretary Zhao did not dare stop him and simply let him charge straight into the chairman's office.

"Great-Grandpa—!"

His voice arrived before he did.

Pei Yizhou, who was in the middle of a conference call, paused mid-sentence and shot Pei Chen a warning glance.

He immediately quieted down, held his head high, stood with his legs together, and obediently waited in front of the desk.

"The construction plans for the new district still aren't complete enough. Tell Little Li and the others to work overtime and redo them. I want them next week." He lightly tapped his Bluetooth earpiece. "That's all for today. Contact me directly if there are any issues."

The meeting ended, and Pei Yizhou removed his earpiece.

He unhurriedly fastened the cuff that had slipped loose, placed his hands on the keyboard, and tapped at it now and then.

"Great-Grandpa." Pei Chen knew the man was busy and did not want to ramble, so he blurted out everything at once. "Can I sell one of the homes in Lijing Jiangshan?"

Pei Yizhou's brows drew together slightly as he abruptly raised his eyes. "Sell a house?"

Pei Chen blinked frantically in panic. "Sell it, sell it to my friend. Their home is about to be demolished, and they can't find a place right now. Besides... Lijing Jiangshan is close to our school, so we can keep each other company every day."

"Bullshit." Pei Yizhou's face turned cold as his thin lips calmly uttered two words.

Pei Chen froze, then said, "Please don't use foul language. I'm still a minor."

After typing the final period, Pei Yizhou carefully saved the document and snapped his laptop shut. His gaze was intimidating. "Tell me properly. Who are you selling your house to?"

Pei Chen stubbornly refused to change his answer. "A friend."

Pei Yizhou asked, "How much do you plan to sell it for?"

Pei Chen had never had much concept of money. He shut his eyes and thought for a long while before tentatively naming a number. "Th-three million?"

Pei Yizhou laughed.

He had been angered into laughter.

He leaned lazily against the soft office chair, clasping his hands together as his fingertips slowly rubbed against each other. His mockery was unmistakable. "Pei Chen, I think your brain is full of water. Even when the real estate market was at its worst, homes in Lijing Jiangshan sold for one hundred thousand per square meter. And now you want to sell one for three million?"

Lijing Jiangshan was now in a school district. Both its location and surroundings were the best. Its prices had risen again and again, and ordinary people simply could not afford to live there.

Yet he wanted to sell it for three million. If that was not water in his brain, what was?

Pei Chen lowered his head and drooped his shoulders, not daring to speak.

"What kind of woman has you so captivated?"

Pei Chen's voice buzzed faintly. "A pr-pretty woman."

Pei Yizhou was speechless.

He knew Pei Chen was obsessed with looks, but he had not expected it to be this bad.

"I heard she's divorced and has a child?"

Pei Chen hurriedly corrected him. "She's not divorced! Great-Grandpa, don't say nonsense!"

Pei Yizhou: "..."

The kid had his eye on someone's wife!?

At such a young age, he wanted to be the third party? Freedom in love did not mean this kind of freedom.

Pei Yizhou felt his temples throbbing. He could not help pressing them hard with his fingertips to ease the pain.

After a moment, he let go and looked at Pei Chen again. "How about this? Invite this girl out. I'll talk to her alone."

The words came so suddenly that Pei Chen could not help suspecting his intentions. His expression immediately turned wary. "What are you going to do? You're not going to throw five million at her and tell her to leave me, are you? I'm telling you, no way! Don't even think about it!"

"..." His tone paused. As though he had suddenly thought of something, he asked, "...Were you the one who bought those domineering CEO novels hidden in my study?"

Fuck!

He had been found out!

Pei Chen's face turned red, and he did not dare make a sound.

"Don't worry. Even if our family has plenty of money, we don't throw checks around carelessly." Pei Yizhou had no interest in his grandson's personal hobbies. He spoke slowly, each word low and deliberate. "I only want to know whether this lady is worth it. If she truly has any difficulties, I naturally won't be stingy." The man lowered his eyes, lying without changing expression.

Pei Chen was far too simple-minded. To put it bluntly, he was stupid.

Pei Yizhou usually did not restrict the child's freedom, but if someone truly wanted to use him or deceive him, then as an elder, he would not stand by and watch.

What kind of woman, and what kind of methods, could make his foolish great-grandson this infatuated?

She was not even divorced, and she had a child.

It was simply unbelievable. Completely absurd.

Pei Chen: I'm just a tool in the way of your romance, sob sob.

By the way, once An Xiang buys a crystal coffin and the male and female leads do unspeakable things inside it, would that make it the legendary... hearse???

The author has never been through demolition, so housing prices are not based on reality. I'm just making it all up.

This chapter combines two updates. Red packets for the first five hundred readers of this chapter, and there will be another update tonight.