Chapter 49

An Xiang nervously rubbed her palms together. After a long while, she finally replied, "G-Good news, I guess."

"An Zimo's IQ is 150."

An Xiang stared at him blankly. After a moment, she drew out a questioning, "Hm?"

Pei Yizhou patiently explained, "An IQ above 140 qualifies as genius-level."

It took An Xiang a while to process that. In disbelief, she said, "M-Momo is a genius?"

No, that couldn't be right!

Although An Zimo, the male lead in the novel, had indeed been a prodigy among the three races, the plot had now gone off course. The male lead was no longer the original male lead. No matter how hard An Xiang thought, she couldn't see anything genius-like about An Zimo.

He didn't like talking, had no expression, couldn't be bothered to act cute, and only knew how to make people mad.

How was that like a genius?

"Then what's the bad news?"

Pei Yizhou said, "He has a severe psychological disorder. The doctor says it's Emotional Apathy Disorder."

An Xiang didn't understand again.

Pei Yizhou explained once more, "He can't love others, nor can he respond to the love others give him. Trust and being moved don't exist in his world, which is why he treats you that way."

These words gradually dimmed the expression on An Xiang's face.

"So he isn't targeting you alone. He dislikes everyone."

An Xiang once again thought of how her son had looked when she first met him.

He had been filthy and curled up in a corner, facing the unfamiliar people around him with wariness. He had never encountered gentleness in his short life, so how could anyone expect him to offer gentleness to the world?

She always said she would take good care of him and treat him well, yet she had never tried to understand him or get close to him.

"It's my fault." An Xiang pressed her lips together. Maybe from the very beginning, she shouldn't have trusted the system, much less accepted that deal.

"An Xiang, it's no one's fault." Pei Yizhou took two steps closer. "You have your difficulties, and he has his own thoughts. What's happened has already happened. There's no point in assigning blame now."

Pei Yizhou's words brought An Xiang back to her senses.

Momo was still young, and there was plenty of time. Things hadn't reached the point of no return.

"I'll take him to see the doctor once a week. You don't need to worry too much."

An Xiang nodded.

"I still have matters at the company, so I can't stay with you. Contact me if you need anything."

"Mm."

After seeing Pei Yizhou off, An Xiang couldn't help looking toward the tightly shut door of the children's room. She took a deep breath and walked over hesitantly. After lingering outside for a long time, she finally gathered the courage to knock.

"Don't come in."

If she didn't go in just because he said so, wouldn't that be humiliating?

An Xiang forcefully pushed open the door and immediately saw her son sitting on a cushion, playing a game.

She had never bought him a game console. Walking over, she asked, "Did Pei Chen give this to you?" No matter how she thought about it, only Pei Chen would have something like this.

An Zimo gave a quiet affirmative.

An Xiang sat down beside him and found that she couldn't understand anything on the screen. But judging from how quickly his fingers moved, he was probably very good at it.

An Xiang looked at that silent, pretty little face and suddenly felt like it wasn't real.

"Son, y-you really are a genius?"

An Zimo's wrist paused. His movements slowed by half a beat, and the character on the screen died on the spot.

"I... I just think that with my IQ, I shouldn't be able to..." She wasn't smart herself. Giving birth to a child prodigy was far too fantastical. Still, the more she thought about it, the prouder she felt. Hehehe.

An Xiang foolishly laughed to herself for quite a while. An Zimo frowned and quietly shifted farther away before starting a new game.

"Momo, did I hurt you when I hit you that day?"

An Zimo's lowered lashes trembled slightly, but he didn't answer.

An Xiang changed positions, propped her head up with one arm, and lay on her side as she looked at his little face.

"Can you tell me why you ran away from home that day?"

He coolly gave a two-word answer. "Can't."

"Was it... because you couldn't accept your identity?"

There was a slight shift in An Zimo's gaze. That slight change made An Xiang believe her judgment even more.

She sighed and gently stroked his soft hair. "Actually, being a Vampire isn't so bad. You know, Vampires can live for three hundred years. You're so smart that no matter what you do when you grow up, you'll achieve a lot."

An Zimo found it annoying. The thing he least wanted to hear was the word achievement.

His mother in his previous life had constantly talked about achievement and money. An Xiang in this life still couldn't escape the same cliché. But then again, what parent wouldn't get excited after learning that their child was a genius? They would happily sign their child up for classes without caring whether the child wanted to go.

Since he had been exposed, An Zimo no longer wanted to keep pretending. Just as he was about to speak, An Xiang suddenly added, "But what's most important is that you're happy."

The words he hadn't managed to say were instantly swallowed back down.

An Zimo temporarily forgot that he was playing a game. He turned his eyes and quietly stared at the face so close to his.

He didn't see much delight in her eyes, and even Mind Reading didn't pick up the slightest hint of hypocrisy.

—She meant it sincerely.

"Mr. Pei told me about your illness, but I don't think you're sick." An Xiang smiled softly. "You just aren't ready to enter this world yet. It's okay, Momo. Mommy will stay with you from now on." An Xiang reached out and gently pulled him into her arms.

Their bodies pressed closely together. Their body temperatures were the same, and their heartbeats seemed to fall into the same rhythm.

Through that completely seamless closeness, An Zimo heard her thoughts more clearly.

[That's great. My son doesn't hate me.]

[He's so smart. Sooner or later, he'll know I'm sincerely good to him.]

[If he's emotionally deficient, then so be it. I'll make up for what he's missing.]

An Zimo's lashes kept fluttering as he raised his head from her arms again.

"Uncle Pei said you came looking for me and almost died."

An Xiang looked completely unconcerned. "Oh, come on, aren't I still alive? It's way too early to talk about dying."

"Then didn't you hit me because you almost died?" An Zimo had heard the anger in her heart back then. Aside from him, everyone here should have feared death. He could understand that slap, so he hadn't taken it to heart. But today, An Zimo was confused again, because An Xiang's thoughts told him that she didn't seem angry because she had nearly died, but for some other reason.

As for what that reason was, An Zimo couldn't figure it out.

"I was just worried about you." An Xiang touched his cheek. "You're so sweet, son. Those bad guys definitely all wanted to eat you." As she spoke, her eyes grew heated, and she swallowed several mouthfuls of saliva in succession.

An Zimo's brow twitched, and he instinctively pulled away.

"Momo, everyone has to take responsibility for their own safety. When you were born into this world, you didn't belong only to yourself. You also belonged to your mother, your father, and your friends. Any irresponsible action will hurt both yourself and others. You're a little man now. You can't act on impulse again and make adults worry about you."

An Xiang's expression was serious and earnest as she said this.

An Zimo suddenly felt that she looked a little like a parent. It was clearly a reprimand, yet it was vastly different from his mother in his previous life.

"Then... will you still make me go with Mr. Pei?" He remembered every word she had said that day. For some reason, he cared a little.

An Xiang froze at first, then stammered out an explanation. "I-I only said that in anger! It's like how all moms tell their children, 'If you leave, don't come back.'"

"Really? I don't believe you."

"Really, really. Believe me." An Xiang anxiously swore to the heavens. After a while, she remembered something important. She slowly lowered her hand, resentment clouding her eyes. "But you said I wasn't your Mommy. You said it first..." If that sentence hadn't hurt her so much, she wouldn't have cared about it for so long.

An Zimo tugged at the corner of his mouth.

He hadn't been lying. Strictly speaking, An Xiang really couldn't be considered his mother.

"So you need to apologize to me."

An Zimo's thick brows drew tightly together.

"No."

"Then I won't make you tasty food anymore." An Xiang was very stubborn. She still had principles when it came to this.

An Zimo seriously thought about the kindergarten cafeteria food, then thought about the food he had eaten at the restaurant that day. No matter how he calculated it, An Xiang's cooking was still the best.

"Sorry." For the sake of his appetite, An Zimo apologized to someone else for the first time.

"Not sincere."

"I'm sorry."

"No subject."

"..." Annoying.

An Zimo took a deep breath. "Mom, I'm sorry."

That was more like it.

An Xiang's face bloomed with a smile. Satisfied, she patted his little head. "All right. You also have to promise me that you won't run away from home again. If you want to go anywhere, you can tell me. I'll definitely take you there."

"Mm." His home from his previous life was already gone. There was no need for him to go back and confirm it again.

An Xiang said Vampires lived for three hundred years. With so much time, he would eventually find a goal for the road ahead.

An Zimo touched his newly grown pointed fangs. Thinking about having to drink blood in the future, he couldn't help feeling repulsed.

"Then I'll make you something delicious. How about sweet-and-sour fish?"

An Zimo glanced at her foot, which hadn't fully healed yet. The image from the surveillance footage of An Xiang falling to the ground surfaced in his mind. He shook his head. "No. I'm not hungry."

"Then... then can we sleep together tonight?" Her plan to cook for her son had fallen through, and she couldn't help proposing another idea.

An Zimo was already so grown up. How could he possibly be willing to squeeze into one coffin with An Xiang? Yet before he could refuse, An Xiang cut him off.

"It's decided! We'll sleep together!" As An Xiang spoke, she picked him up and carried him toward the coffin.

The two lay down in the small coffin. An Xiang tightly hugged her son and closed her eyes.

An Zimo stared blankly for a few seconds before starting to struggle. "It's only five o'clock! Who goes to sleep at five o'clock?"

"It's okay. We're not human anyway." An Xiang yawned and gently patted him.

An Zimo's little face twisted up, and his fierce gaze fell silent along with him.

There was no arguing with that.

He was no longer merely human.

She was in a bit of a bad mood today, so there might not be a second update depending on how things go.

Two hundred red envelopes.