Chapter 33

They were returning to Jiang City the next day.

An Xiang got up, packed her things, and knocked on An Zimo's door.

"Momo, are you up?"

There was no response from inside. An Xiang waited patiently for several minutes, then pushed the door open herself after confirming there was still no movement.

"Momo?"

There was no one on the bed, and the bathroom door was half-open.

An Xiang walked closer and found him standing motionlessly before the mirror.

"What are you doing?" An Xiang leaned over curiously and saw An Zimo repeatedly fiddling with his upper teeth. One of them wobbled back and forth, looking ready to fall out at any moment.

An Xiang's eyes lit up. She immediately straightened his face and gently wiggled the small tooth beside his front tooth with her finger. She exclaimed excitedly, "Oh my, Momo's losing his baby teeth!"

She was delighted, but An Zimo could not smile at all, because this violated the natural laws of human development.

Generally speaking, children began losing their baby teeth at six or seven years old. A few started earlier, but most were no younger than four. The lower front teeth should fall out first, followed gradually by the other teeth, and the permanent teeth would not be fully replaced until the ages of eleven to thirteen.

He was three years and seven months old. Losing teeth so suddenly at this age meant either illness or mutation, and the teeth falling out were premolars!!

He was not some kind of monster, so it could not possibly be a bodily mutation. Illness was more likely, but... his body did not seem to feel unwell anywhere.

"Don't you think I shouldn't be losing teeth right now?" An Zimo asked calmly, completely unable to understand what she was so happy about.

Faced with his question, An Xiang tilted her head and lovingly stroked his smooth little cheek. "My silly baby, all children lose their baby teeth. This is perfectly normal."

"...My silly mommy! This isn't normal!! Children don't lose teeth this early, much less premolars! This seriously violates the laws of human nature!"

"All right, all right. Hurry up and wash up and have breakfast. We'll return Mr. Pei's clothes and leave afterward."

An Xiang remained completely unconcerned, clearly not taking his loose tooth to heart.

After she left the room, An Zimo opened his mouth wide at the mirror again and cautiously touched the tiny pointed tooth beside his front tooth with his thumb.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

He licked it with the tip of his tongue, his face full of worry.

Could it be that he had bitten too hard yesterday and accidentally knocked his tooth loose? But that was not right either. Human teeth were not supposed to be this fragile.

An Zimo sighed, turned on the faucet, and splashed a handful of cold water over his face.

The icy water immediately cleared his mind. An Zimo forcibly pushed the matter aside, expressionlessly patted baby cream onto his cheeks, then jumped down from the chair and went to the dining room for breakfast.

His tooth was not terribly loose, but it was uncomfortable.

An Xiang had considered that too, so she had specially chosen custard-filled bread and red bean porridge for his breakfast.

An Zimo chewed slowly, unable to taste anything at all.

"Momo, don't dwell on it. Once the old tooth falls out, the new tooth will grow in after about a week." She might need to prepare a teething stick for her son by then.

The hand holding An Zimo's bread trembled slightly, and shock was impossible to hide from his face. "Are you joking?" No matter how fast children grew, there was no way a tooth could grow in within a week!

He deeply believed that the person before him was truly not his mother.

His mother might have had some mental issues, but there was nothing wrong with her brain.

"Believe it or not..." An Xiang puffed out her cheeks and muttered. She finished her bread in a few bites, checked again to make sure she had not forgotten anything, then slung on her bag and left the villa.

An Zimo followed behind her in low spirits.

She was going to return Pei Yizhou's clothes first. This time, the security guards let them through directly, presumably because Pei Yizhou had informed them in advance.

An Xiang arrived at the entrance to Building Seventeen, pressed the doorbell, and waited patiently.

Click.

The door opened from within.

The man standing before her was dressed casually in a white shirt and black trousers. His hair was not styled with wax as it usually was; it was thick and fluffy, with messy ends.

This outfit made him seem somewhat more approachable, though his expression was still distant and indifferent.

Pei Yizhou was not wearing cologne today. The only scent on him came from his blood.

"Good morning, Mr. Pei." An Xiang smiled brightly and cleanly.

"Morning." Pei Yizhou tousled his hair and stepped slightly aside. "Come in first."

"No need." An Xiang did not dare look around inside. She obediently extended both hands holding the bag toward him. "I washed your clothes. Thank you."

Pei Yizhou lowered his eyes but did not take them.

Only then did An Xiang notice a small red mole in the center of his eyelid. It could not be seen when his eyes were open, but appeared when he lowered them. Against his jade-like fair skin and cold expression, it somehow made him look languidly sexy.

"Are you checking out today?"

"Mm." Mr. Pei was handsome. As An Xiang responded, she could not help studying his eyes again.

"Is there something on my eyes?" Pei Yizhou raised his gaze again, and that alluring mole instantly disappeared beneath his eyelid. Only his thick, long lashes trembled lightly as he blinked.

He seemed to be smiling, yet there was no curve to his lips.

An Xiang hurriedly looked away and held the clothes out to him again.

Pei Yizhou curled a finger around the bag and accepted it. Smelling the fragrance drifting from her body, he was in an excellent mood.

"I'm going back to the company later. Do you want to come with me?"

"Huh?"

Pei Yizhou explained unhurriedly, "Pei Chen said you're living in Pinshang now. It's on the way." His tone was perfectly casual, but his heart was pounding.

Going back to the company and being on the way were complete bullshit.

Wherever An Xiang was going today, that was where he would be headed!

"Heh."

The faint ridicule, like the buzz of an insect, was nearly inaudible. Pei Yizhou frowned and looked toward the source of the sound.

The color of the little brat's soul was mixed with several streaks of mocking gray.

Pei Yizhou narrowed his eyes. Could this kid... know what he was thinking?

At that thought, An Zimo's expression abruptly changed. He turned his head away and stopped meeting Pei Yizhou's eyes.

Pei Yizhou put aside that strange feeling, his expression returning to normal. "Come in and wait a few minutes. We'll leave once the driver is ready."

"No, no, no, it's fine!" An Xiang waved her hands in a fluster. "We'll just take the resort shuttle back. We won't trouble you."

The resort had a dedicated shuttle to Jiang City. That was what she had taken when she came here. It was free, spacious, and air-conditioned.

"You seem to still owe me a meal."

An Xiang froze at his words.

Pei Yizhou smiled without quite smiling. "Miss An, have you forgotten?"

"..."

Yesterday, it seemed like, perhaps... she really had said she would treat Pei Yizhou to a meal.

An Xiang scratched her cheek, took her son's hand, and slowly shuffled into the house.

"No need to change your shoes. Sit wherever you like."

Pei Yizhou's villa was several times larger than the one she was staying in, and the decor was completely different as well.

An Xiang sat down awkwardly and waited silently for time to pass.

"Have you had breakfast?" Pei Yizhou asked, carrying a plate of toast.

"No, no, I've already eaten." An Xiang hurriedly waved her hands, then lapsed into awkward silence again.

"Would you like to sit across from me?"

An Xiang turned her head and looked over at him blankly.

"I'm eating here. It would be strange for you to sit over there by yourself."

That... was true.

An Xiang pulled her son up and slowly moved to sit across from him.

"Here." Pei Yizhou placed two servings of cut fruit and yogurt in front of them.

It did not seem right to simply watch someone else eat, so she picked up a toothpick, speared a piece of mango, and slowly chewed it.

The two sat facing each other, and the atmosphere was very peaceful.

The food on his plate was still tasteless, but Pei Yizhou could smell a hint of sweetness. That faint sweetness alone was enough to make his body and mind feel content.

—This was the happiest breakfast he had eaten in twenty-nine years.

An Xiang keenly sensed that the man across from her was in a rather good mood. She did not dare strike up a conversation recklessly, so she spent the entire time stuffing fruit into her mouth.

"Zimo isn't eating?"

"He's losing teeth." An Xiang patted her son's little head. "Do you want grapes? Mommy can feed you."

An Zimo shook his head in refusal.

Two-thirds of the breakfast on the plate had already been eaten. Pei Yizhou felt full, so he set down his knife and fork, pulled out a napkin to wipe the corner of his mouth, and smiled. "Don't worry about it. Once the baby teeth fall out, the permanent teeth will grow in quickly."

An Zimo remained silent.

Neither of these two seemed to realize that a child his age should not be losing teeth.

Pei Yizhou pondered for a moment, then nodded and said something similar to An Xiang's words. "Around a week or so."

If An Xiang alone thought that way, it was simply a lack of common sense. But if even Pei Yizhou thought so, that was shocking.

An Zimo could not speak. He drew in a deep breath of cold air.

These two... were they serious?

Ding.

His phone notification sounded. Pei Yizhou glanced at the screen, rose from his chair, and said, "The driver is here. Let's go."

"Okay, okay, okay." An Xiang quickly stood up. Just as she was about to follow him, she heard Pei Yizhou say, "There's still lots of fruit. You can pack it into a box and eat it on the road."

She had long since polished off the box of fruit Pei Yizhou had given her earlier. An Xiang blushed and hurriedly waved her hands. "No, no. I'm full."

"All right." Like a gentleman, he picked up the backpack on the sofa for her and headed straight outside.

An Xiang was too embarrassed to take it from him. Holding her son's hand, she followed close behind him step by step.

Pei Yizhou was very tall, but he did not look particularly muscular.

His figure was straight, and he deliberately slowed his pace to match An Xiang's.

"President Pei."

When they were only a few steps from the parking space, the special assistant hurried over to greet them.

Pei Yizhou handed the belongings over.

The special assistant accepted them, then swept his eyes over An Xiang and An Zimo following behind him.

Pei Yizhou had always been alone. Even at business dances, he refused to bring a female companion. Apart from Secretary Zhao, who handled work at the company, Pei Yizhou barely interacted with anyone in private, much less women.

The special assistant stared at An Xiang and An Zimo in profound shock.

Then he suddenly remembered—

Wasn't this the girl they had encountered at the mall before?

Back then, he had been shocked for a long time because the child looked so much like Pei Yizhou.

"Please." Pei Yizhou personally opened the rear door for them.

She let An Zimo get in first, then climbed in herself. Pei Yizhou followed right after.

The rear of the car seated four people, so it did not feel crowded.

Once the special assistant took the front passenger seat, Pei Yizhou raised the partition, deliberately blocking off the gazes from the front seats. Then he took two bottles of water from the mini-fridge and placed them on the small table before them.

"Does Zimo go to kindergarten?" he suddenly asked.

An Xiang shook her head. "I'm planning to let him go after I find a new place and get settled."

Finding a home...

Pei Yizhou's expression flickered. Not long ago, he had specifically asked the demolition office to give An Xiang double the compensation. That money would be enough to buy a small apartment near Rainbow Kindergarten.

Pei Yizhou wanted An Xiang to live in his residential complex even more, but if he brought it up abruptly, it would definitely arouse suspicion.

"Mr. Pei, what would you like to eat for lunch? You can pick anywhere you want. I can treat you." She was rich now; she could absolutely afford one meal!

An Xiang spoke boldly. Pei Yizhou's lips curled up as he smiled meaningfully. "Anywhere?"

"Mm! No problem! We can go anywhere you want!"

An Xiang did not notice anything strange at all. With tens of millions in her possession, she was not afraid of anything.

Beside her, An Zimo sighed deeply and shook his head at that foolishly sweet face. He could not be bothered to interfere, so he rested his chin on his hand and looked out the window.

—Idiot.

—She's going to get carried off sooner or later.

Momo really was going to lose his teeth!

Vampires lost their fangs between the ages of three and four, after all. Eating was more important! The sharp teeth would grow back in about a week. When they first started losing teeth, they itched terribly, which was why An Xiang wanted to prepare a teething stick for her baby.

For the extras, I might write about seven-year-old Momo traveling back to when Mommy was little and seeing her pitifully lose her teeth with no one to take care of her. Why did I suddenly think of an extra?

Momo: I didn't expect to suddenly change species after being reborn either (:з"∠).

Don't be fooled by Momo wanting An Xiang to have a second child right now.

Later on—

"Who the fuck are you? Get lost, you dog of a man."

"Criminal, don't even think about my mom."

Pei Yizhou: ?? You didn't say that back then.

**

Two hundred red packets, and there's another update.