Chapter 24

[Good Mommy: Pei Chen, you can bring Momo out now.]

After sending the message, An Xiang sat silently on a bench outside the arcade and waited.

Before long, Pei Chen and An Zimo appeared before her.

"An Xiang, did you settle everything?"

She did not answer. Instead, she went to the little window selling cold drinks by the street, bought an ice cream, and placed it in An Zimo's hand. Bending down, she coaxed him gently, "Momo, sit here and eat your ice cream. Mommy needs to talk to your big brother for a bit, okay?"

An Zimo remained silent. Taking the ice cream, he hopped onto the wooden bench on his own, swinging his little feet and occasionally glancing at them from the corner of his eye.

Once she was sure her son could not hear their conversation, An Xiang pulled Pei Chen to the other end. She looked very different from usual, her eyes carrying a trace of seriousness.

"An... An Xiang, what did you want to tell me?" Pei Chen vaguely sensed something was wrong. His shoulders drew together, and his beautiful phoenix eyes showed obvious nervousness.

"Pei Chen, you're a good boy." An Xiang looked at him and said it with utmost seriousness.

Pei Chen was not happy to hear that. He was instantly dumbfounded.

The damage of "you're a good boy" was no less than that of "you're a good person."

Whenever the female leads in TV dramas rejected some random cannon fodder, they always used that line. It was a universal rejection phrase!

"W-what do you mean?"

"I know you might want to help me." An Xiang lowered her eyes. Golden sunlight flickered over the ends of her smooth black hair. Her nose was small and delicate, and perhaps because she felt at a loss, her white teeth lightly caught her lower lip.

An Xiang was not very good at rejecting people. She kept looking at her fingers as she spoke. "But... but helping too much can make people misunderstand."

"Huh?"

She raised her head and smiled faintly. "I'd be very happy if Pei Chen introduced customers to me. If you often buy milk tea, I'd even give you a special discount just for you. You're welcome to bring your younger siblings too. But there's no need for anything else."

She was very gentle. Even when rejecting someone, she could not bear to use harsh words.

Pei Chen was smart. No matter how tactfully she put it, he could understand what she meant. But subconsciously, he did not want to accept it. Blinking with a bewildered expression, he asked, "An Xiang, are you unhappy with the house?"

Since he was pretending not to understand, An Xiang decided to make it clear. "I met Mr. Pei once at the kindergarten before. He looked so young that I could hardly believe he was already a great-grandfather."

Pei Chen's breathing stopped. His eyes darted about, his unease obvious.

"It's a good thing that you want to help me, but you really don't need to go that far." An Xiang spoke slowly. "I'll figure out the housing matter myself. Pei Chen is still a student, so studying is more important."

Pei Chen felt as though someone had knocked over a rack of seasonings in his heart. His emotions were a mess, and for a moment, he did not know how to respond.

"Then I'll be going now." An Xiang stepped forward and took An Zimo's hand, waving at him. "See you next time."

"...See you next time." Watching that slender figure leave, Pei Chen let out a deep sigh. He sat weakly on the bench and did not recover for a long while.

His intentions in helping An Xiang had not been pure. Compared to her, he was more like a rat crawling through filth, full of ugliness.

She had already noticed, yet she still wanted to preserve his dignity.

Guilt welled up in Pei Chen's heart. His long fingers viciously tugged at the hair on top of his head.

"Keep pulling, and you'll go bald."

A cool voice came from above him.

Pei Chen froze, then abruptly stood up and cried out in disbelief, "Great-Grandpa?"

"Mm."

Pei Chen's lips drooped pitifully as he said weakly, "...I got dumped."

Pei Yizhou raised an eyebrow and, unusually, responded, "By whom?"

"An Xiang." After saying that, he sighed and dropped back into his seat, his eyes full of sorrow.

Pei Yizhou smiled without leaving a trace. He patted Pei Chen's shoulder reassuringly and said unhurriedly, "It's fine. You're still young. There'll be opportunities in the future."

Pei Chen's handsome face turned even paler at those words. His lips trembled as he shakily asked, "Are you saying I'll have more chances to get dumped in the future?"

"..." Pei Yizhou paused slightly. "I meant you'll have chances to date." After saying that, the corners of his lips involuntarily curled upward.

Pei Chen vaguely sensed something was off. His thick brows knitted together. "Great-Grandpa, did you just laugh?"

The hand Pei Yizhou had on his shoulder stiffened slightly. He turned away and gave a concealing cough, his expression returning to seriousness. "No. I'm very sad."

"That's bullshit! You obviously laughed!"

"Why are you so happy that I got dumped?!"

"What kind of person are you?!"

Pei Chen was so agitated that he stomped his feet, rapidly condemning Pei Yizhou like beans spilling from a sack.

Pei Yizhou remained unmoved and suddenly asked, "Do you know where An Xiang's demolished house is?"

Pei Chen was successfully distracted. Rubbing his hair, he thought for two seconds before saying, "I think it's on the land you bought. I didn't ask for the exact location."

"The new district?"

"Mm, I think so."

Pei Yizhou thoughtfully watched the direction An Xiang had left in. Then he lowered his eyes, turned around, and headed toward the company.

The afternoon sunlight was lovely.

Mottled shadows from the trees blocked the rays streaming down, and the air carried the scent of wood. An Xiang slowed her pace and bent down to wipe the cream stuck to An Zimo's face.

"Wasn't Pei Chen trying to help you? Why didn't you take the house?"

He had heard Pei Chen's thoughts earlier.

It would only take three million to buy a house here. Rounded off, it was basically being given away for free. Anyone else would have accepted it.

An Zimo could not understand why his mother, who had always been selfish and profit-driven, would reject such a good opportunity.

"Momo, there's no help in this world that asks for nothing in return."

An Zimo's steps paused, and he could not help looking at her.

Her expression was calm. "Pei Chen is a very good child. Precisely because of that, we shouldn't take it for granted."

An Xiang had always understood life more clearly than anyone.

During those bleak, lightless days, even the smallest kindness was sunlight she could draw from. She would remember it and repay it little by little.

Perhaps Pei Chen had some affection for her.

Whether it was introducing customers to her or deliberately finding an excuse to sell her the house, it was all because of that affection. Yet she was destined to be unable to return it. If she kept taking advantage of his feelings, then in the long run, both of them would only be hurt.

Pei Chen was so smart. She believed that after hearing those words, he would keep his distance and change.

That would be best for both of them.

An Zimo expressionlessly tossed the paper bag in his hand into the nearby trash can, silently cursing An Xiang for being stupid.

To survive in this world, people had to make use of whatever they could and step on whoever they could.

In his opinion, that fool Pei Chen was the perfect target.

The demolition office worked with remarkable efficiency. Within a few days, An Xiang received the compensation payment they had transferred.

She happily held her phone and foolishly smiled at the bank message for a long time. Only after calming down did she realize something was wrong.

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

More than forty million!

Why was the demolition compensation exactly double the amount in the contract?!

An Xiang's face turned pale as panic consumed her.

Could the bank have made a mistake?

Not daring to delay, An Xiang hurriedly called the bank to verify it.

After the customer service agent answered, they only replied with a few words. "We recommend confirming it with the sender."

She pulled out the contract she had signed and called the number listed on it. The person who answered seemed to have expected her call. "This is a reward policy for homeowners who signed the agreement in the first batch. Also, considering the size of your house and basement, your reward is higher than that of other homeowners. There was no mistake, so please don't worry."

An Xiang did not believe it, but no matter how she questioned them, they repeated the same explanation. In the end, they were probably tired of her questions and simply hung up.

She stared blankly at the darkened screen. Once she calmed down, she began to think seriously.

That land belonged to Huaxing Entertainment, and Pei Chen was the grandson of Huaxing's chairman. That meant this matter was very likely related to Pei Chen!!!

It was just after school. Without hesitation, An Xiang decisively sent Pei Chen a private message.

[Good Mommy: Pei Chen, did you have someone transfer twenty million to me?]

[Pei Chen: ???]

[Pei Chen: Sister, do I look like someone who has twenty million?]

[Pei Chen: By the way, can I come over to freeload a meal today? My great-grandpa is inhuman. He cut off my living expenses again.]

An Xiang: "..."

Well, judging by this, he did not seem to be lying.

Other than Pei Chen, An Xiang racked her brains but could not think of anyone else. Pei Yizhou was a possibility, but they did not know each other well. They had no family ties, so why would he give her twenty million for nothing? He might be rich, but it was not as though he ran a charity.

Still unwilling to give up, An Xiang asked again: [It really wasn't you?]

Pei Chen sent her a picture. [Sister, look! If I had twenty million, why the hell would I still be going to school? I'd have run away from home and traveled the world already. Who wants to stay with those old fossils at home every day?]

The image showed his account balance, which only had two digits. It was pitifully shabby, even worse than An Xiang's.

She was speechless for a long while before sighing: [You're such a miserable rich second-generation...]

[Pei Chen: Can't be helped. My great-grandpa is strict with me. Boohoo, I hope he finds me a great-grandma soon. Then I can ask my great-grandma to sneak me extra food. But he's probably frigid, so that's impossible.]

F-frigid?

Thinking of Pei Yizhou's cold, intimidating face, An Xiang vaguely felt that she had learned an incredible secret.

All the possibilities that could be ruled out had been ruled out.

An Xiang sat blankly on the sofa, repeatedly looking at the bank message and confirming the balance.

It was not Pei Chen, and the bank had not made a mistake. That meant... she had really received extra money!!!

Not only could she buy a house, she could also use the rest to take her son out for fun!!

An Xiang could not contain her delight. She excitedly got up and spun around several times, only calming down abruptly when she met An Zimo's icy stare. Scratching her cheek, she smiled awkwardly.

An Zimo could not even be bothered to look at her. Holding his little water cup, he nestled into the soft sofa and watched TV.

"Son."

An Zimo did not want her close. With an expressionless face, he moved to the other end of the sofa to put some distance between them.

"Do you know Greenfield Resort? How about Mommy takes you there to play tomorrow?"

"No."

An Xiang completely ignored his answer, her eyes full of anticipation. "I saw the promotional pictures before. It's especially beautiful there. I heard the investors leased an entire mountain and renovated it." Of course, it was also expensive. One night cost five figures, something ordinary people simply could not afford.

But times had changed. With an eight-figure fortune in hand, An Xiang had successfully joined the ranks of the wealthy.

"Mommy has never gone out to have fun with you before. Once we get back, I'll look for a house and enroll you in kindergarten."

Why was she bringing up kindergarten again? Wasn't it annoying?

The moment An Zimo thought of that little unlucky Pei Yan, he became impatient. He gulped down all his water, wiped his mouth, and flopped down to sleep. With his eyes closed, he said, "Go by yourself if you want. I'm not going."

Going to the mountains in this weather would be exhausting just to think about.

He might carry the great mission of revenge on his shoulders, but he was still only a baby. Wasn't staying home with the air conditioning on and drinking soda much better?

He would not go. Not even if it killed him.

Then the next day.

Wearing a little straw hat and carrying a tiny backpack, An Zimo stood under the blazing sun with An Xiang at the entrance to Greenfield Resort.

An Xiang: I heard you're frigid?

Pei Yizhou: ...

*

Xiangxiang, your son is about to stir up trouble!

A little darling acted cute yesterday, so I'll be writing ten thousand words today. There are two more updates coming.

Red packets for the first two hundred comments. The draw will be at nine tonight.