Chen Mo successfully registered at the emergency department. The doctor who examined him was almost excessively thorough, asking about every symptom in meticulous detail. By the time he was finally hooked up to an IV, more than half an hour had passed.
There were four large bottles of IV fluid in total. By the time the last one had finished dripping, the sky outside was already beginning to turn pale.
Chen Mo was in the middle of a brief nap when a nurse woke him. The moment he glanced at the calendar on the wall, he once again felt as though his heart had suddenly stopped.
The heat in his body had receded like a retreating tide, and the weakness in his limbs had also eased somewhat.
As the pain and discomfort faded, he could feel the vigorous vitality of his young body gradually recovering.
It was the middle of September, and the early morning breeze was slightly cool. Sunlight fell across the rooftops of the city’s high-rises as the clouds parted. Outside the hospital, sanitation workers were sweeping fallen leaves from the roadside. The soft rustling was drowned out by the honking of cars in the city’s traffic.
Everything remained the same, yet everything was completely different from yesterday.
After eating breakfast, Chen Mo hailed a taxi.
The driver asked, “Where to?”
“Mingjing Bay.”
“Oh, that’s more than ten kilometers away.” The driver started the meter, glanced back at him, and struck up a conversation with a smile. “Just came out of the hospital this early in the morning? Were you sick?”
“Just a cold.”
“The temperature difference between morning and evening has been pretty big these past couple of days. It’s easy to catch a chill.” The driver was a rather friendly middle-aged man. He asked another question. “You’re still in school at your age, right? If you’re sick, why didn’t your family come with you?”
Chen Mo smiled.
“At my age, I’m already too old to go looking for my parents whenever I get sick.”
“That’s not right.”
The driver showed him a family photo stuck to the dashboard. His voice carried a hint of bitterness, but more than that, it was filled with pride.
“My daughter is about your age. Her grades are pretty good, and she’s taking the college entrance exams next year. Her mother even quit her job specifically to look after her and keep her company while she studies. And she still complains about it. But what can I do? I’m running around outside every day trying to make a living. We’ve got to put food on the table, don’t we? There’s no other way.”
Chen Mo’s gaze passed over the photograph.
“Your daughter is very lucky, then.”
“Lucky? What’s so lucky about it? Our family’s circumstances are only average. She’ll have to rely on herself in the future.”
As he spoke, the driver studied Chen Mo again through the rearview mirror.
“Young man, if you can afford to live somewhere like Mingjing Bay, your parents must be very busy with work. Otherwise, how could they not worry about their child?”
Chen Mo was surprised to hear a note of comfort in the driver’s words. He couldn’t help laughing. “Maybe.”
But he really didn’t need it.
The car drove smoothly all the way to the villa complex.
Chen Mo got out, but when he reached the main gate, he was stopped.
The security guard in the booth looked him up and down, seemingly trying to determine just how much the outfit he was wearing was worth. Only then did he say, “Your information isn’t in the resident database. Please register.”
Chen Mo wasn’t surprised.
Mingjing Bay was enormous. Ever since the day he’d moved in, he’d always traveled in and out by car.
The Yang couple were busy with a thousand things every day. Yang Shule, who had been so upset after learning his true identity that he could barely eat, was already more than enough for them to worry about. It would have been strange if they had remembered such a trivial matter about Chen Mo.
After registering, he entered through the gate.
It took another ten minutes or so to reach the entrance of the Yang family’s three-story villa.
There was quite a commotion outside the door at the moment.
It was exactly the same scene as in his previous life.
The Yang family members, along with the kitchen staff, gardeners, servants, and drivers, numbered more than a dozen people. Right now, they were all gathered at the entrance.
The central figure was about 175 centimeters tall.
He had naturally light-brown curly hair, large eyes, and a few freckles on his face. Even when angry, he still looked every bit like a youthful boy.
“Give it to me!”
He was standing there, so angry that his neck had turned red.
Butler Xu, a man in his fifties, immediately moved the suitcase farther away. He sounded rather helpless.
“Shule, stop making a fuss. You’re still sick.”
A middle-aged man standing two meters away looked angry.
“Let him go! I want to see just how far he’s going to take this.”
“Yang Qian’an, have you lost your mind?” The elegantly maintained woman beside him, wearing a pearl necklace, looked anxious. “The doctor already said he has low blood sugar. He’s never even washed a bowl in his entire life. How is he supposed to live on his own if you make him leave?”
Yang Shule was provoked by Yang Qian’an’s sarcastic remark, and his eyes grew moist. Suddenly, he shouted, “I’m not even your biological son! I have no right to stay here!”
The scene fell silent for a moment.
Zhou Yaoqiong burst into tears on the spot.
“When you were little, you were always sick and constantly taking medicine. We went through so much trouble to raise you to this age, and this is how you repay us? By breaking our hearts like this?”
“Mom…” Yang Shule began crying too. “I heard everything. Chen Mo used me as a condition. He said you couldn’t withdraw the lawsuit unless I left. Dad has been working overtime every day because of the company’s affairs. I don’t want things to be like this. So many people are saying that I stole everything that should have belonged to your son. Fine! I’ll give it all back to him!”
“All right, all right.” As his father, Yang Qian’an placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Just forget about those things people are saying.”
Yang Shule said, “But Chen Mo is your biological son. He can’t stand having me around. You two are going to keep fighting because of me.”
Yang Qian’an replied, “He was just speaking in anger. We’ll naturally explain things to him.”
“That’s right, Lele.” Zhou Yaoqiong spoke gently. “In your parents’ hearts, you two are exactly the same. You’re both our children.”
“We’re not the same.”
Yang Shule shook his head and stepped backward. “I know. Things aren’t the same anymore.”
Halfway through his retreat, Yang Zhi reached out from behind and steadied him.
Yang Zhi, who had already entered the working world, was even taller than Yang Qian’an.
Frowning, he looked at Yang Shule’s tear-streaked face and reprimanded him.
“Look at yourself. What kind of state are you in?”
“What do you know!” Yang Shule punched Yang Zhi’s arm, his eyes turning red again. “It’s easy for you to say that when this hasn’t happened to you!”
What a touching family drama.
An authoritative father, a gentle and tender mother, a silent and dependable eldest brother, and a youngest son who seemed troublesome but was actually always thinking of his family.
Probably anyone who witnessed this scene would think: What a harmonious and happy family this would be if only Chen Mo weren’t here.
Unfortunately, the one thing this world had the least of was what ifs.
Just then, someone suddenly said, “Chen Mo is back.”
Everyone’s gaze turned toward the back.
Only then did Chen Mo step forward.
Yang Zhi, who was standing at the front, instinctively pulled Yang Shule behind him. Perhaps even he himself hadn’t noticed the wariness implied by that gesture. Yang Zhi simply had a clear sense of who was on which side, and the scales were obviously tilted. In his eyes, the younger brother he knew was merely spoiled and used to getting his way. Against someone as difficult to deal with as Chen Mo, he would never stand a chance.
Who would have thought that Chen Mo would simply walk straight past them, ignoring every single person?
“Wait!” Yang Zhi called after him, frowning. “Can’t you see Mom and Dad are here? Don’t you know enough to greet them? And you didn’t reply to my messages last night or answer my calls. What exactly are you trying to do?”
Chen Mo stopped and raised an eyebrow.
He turned around, glanced at Yang Zhi, then nodded toward Yang Qian’an and Zhou Yaoqiong.
“Dad. Mom.”
The Yang couple were both somewhat stunned.
This was actually the first time Chen Mo had called them Mom and Dad since returning to the family.
There was none of the joy of a long-awaited reunion they had imagined, nor any touching emotion from finally recognizing their own flesh and blood.
There was only endless awkwardness, silence, and discomfort.
The servants nearby began whispering among themselves.
“Now he knows how to call them Mom and Dad.”
“He deliberately came back to kick someone when they’re down, didn’t he?”
“Do you think Young Master Shule will really leave? It looks like all his luggage has been packed.”
“Sir and Madam won’t let him.”
“Besides, there’s the eldest young master. He’s always doted on this younger brother. He won’t just stand by and let him be bullied.”
…
Chen Mo, who looked like the sort of person who would bully others, turned toward Yang Zhi.
“I’ve greeted them. Is there anything else?”
“Xiao Mo.”
Zhou Yaoqiong suddenly stepped forward and grabbed his arm.
She had been born into wealth and had never suffered hardship in her life. When she first learned the truth, she had indeed been overwhelmed with pain.
The first time she met Chen Mo in the countryside, he had been fighting with his adoptive father. His eyes had been so fierce that he looked ready to kill someone.
He spoke with a strong local accent.
When he carried water in a ceramic jar, his hands were covered in calluses.
Was this really her son?
She had asked herself that question countless times.
But the truth had come to light alongside the company’s crisis and the renewed difficulties in her marriage, which had already been struggling for years.
And the more she compared the two boys, the more thoughtful and endearing the younger son she had carefully raised seemed to become.
He could argue with his parents one moment, then turn around and act spoiled, asking them for this and that the next. He had been pampered and privileged, with an innocent disposition. On Mother’s Day, he would make handmade gifts to cheer her up. He would tease his eldest brother, yet whenever something happened, he would be the first to turn to him for help.
In any case, letting Shule leave home and live on his own was simply out of the question.
Zhou Yaoqiong said to Chen Mo, “Your father and I know you’re very upset. Withdrawing the lawsuit is only temporary, after all. The risks it could bring to the company are difficult to predict. You’re still young, so you might not understand even if we explain these things to you…”
“I understand.” Chen Mo interrupted her. “Running a company isn’t easy. You’re both caught in the middle and in a difficult position. If withdrawing the lawsuit means withdrawing it, then so be it. Li Yunru did raise me for seventeen years, after all. I remember that.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Of course.”
Watching the other person’s visibly relieved expression, Chen Mo maintained his sincerity.
Zhou Yaoqiong thought of something and cautiously continued, “Then… your younger brother. Can he continue living with us in the future?”
“Sure.” Chen Mo nodded. “As long as you’re happy.”
It was as though the person who had been so adamant about his position just two days ago hadn’t been him at all.
Could he be speaking sarcastically?
Just as everyone was silently putting a question mark in their minds, they happened to hear him ask, “Is there anything else you want to ask, Mom?”
That one word, Mom, made Zhou Yaoqiong freeze for a moment.
Only then did she realize how much this child had changed today. It wasn’t just the impression he gave off. Everything he said was considerate and perfectly appropriate, without a single fault. Yet, for some reason, she felt as though a piece of her heart was missing.
“N-No, that’s all.” Zhou Yaoqiong replied.
But just as Chen Mo turned around, Yang Shule, who had been standing behind Yang Zhi, suddenly jumped out again.
“Chen Mo, I’ll move out. I don’t need your charity, either!”
The servants were trembling with fear, ready to deal with Chen Mo, who was supposedly always getting into fights back when he attended high school in his old county town.
Everyone watched as he stopped, seemingly raising a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.
Then he turned around and walked over.
“Chen Mo.” Yang Zhi reached out to stop him.
Chen Mo glanced at the arm stretched across his chest. Rather than forcefully pushing it away, he simply crooked a finger at Yang Shule.
“Come here.”
Zhou Yaoqiong was nervous. “Xiao Mo…”
Yang Qian’an said, “Stop making trouble. If you have something to say, talk it out properly.”
Yang Shule stared at him for a moment. The voices around him gave him enough courage, and he pushed his eldest brother’s arm aside and stepped forward.
Yang Shule said, “I’ve never thought I owed you anything. If you’re going to hit me today…”
The rest of his words caught in his throat.
Because Chen Mo had merely straightened his collar.
Chen Mo was half a head taller than him. When he rested both forearms on Yang Shule’s shoulders, he looked completely relaxed. Lowering his head slightly, he said, “How could this be charity?”
Yang Shule’s eyes widened in shock. He frowned.
“What are you doing?”
Chen Mo appeared not to be moving, but in reality, he had already restrained Yang Shule’s attempts to resist.
His tone was casual and unhurried.
“Let’s just say I wasn’t thinking clearly before. We’re all one family, so why make distinctions between you and me, right? You can stay in this house for as long as you want. You were born later than me, so you really are my younger brother. I was just being narrow-minded as your older brother. Don’t take it to heart.”
Yang Shule seemed utterly shocked. He slapped Chen Mo’s hands away.
Chen Mo shrugged and looked around at everyone.
“Was that apology not sincere enough?”
Everyone else: “…”
Chen Mo continued on his own, “Looks like everyone’s satisfied. So can you stop bothering me now? I really just want to go back and catch up on some sleep. I’ve been up all night, and my mental state honestly isn’t great. I can only keep my temper under control for this long. Let’s all put up with each other a little, okay?”
At last, Chen Mo was able to withdraw from the strange atmosphere and leave.
He opened the door, went upstairs, took a shower, and went to sleep.
He slept very deeply.
The bed was soft, the air conditioner was set to a comfortable temperature, and the faint sound of the humidifier was soothing.
He slept peacefully until midday.
When the knock on the door sounded, he had just opened his eyes and was staring blankly at the ceiling.
“Young Master Mo, it’s time for lunch,” the servant called.
When Chen Mo opened the door, he was still tying the belt of his bathrobe.
As he walked out, he said, “Don’t call me that. It sounds awkward.”
The female servant responded quietly.
The person who claimed he wasn’t used to being called a young master didn’t seem to realize that, at that moment, he looked every bit like someone born into a wealthy family.
With his slippers dragging against the floor, his bathrobe hanging loosely open, and one hand running through his freshly washed, slightly messy hair, he yawned as he walked. He looked more like the owner of this villa than anyone else.
He descended the spiral staircase and casually took a seat at the dining table.
“Broad daylight, and you haven’t even changed your clothes.”
Chen Mo looked up at the person who had approached and sneered.
“Anyone listening would think you were my father.”
Yang Zhi was dressed in a formal suit, apparently having finished his meal and preparing to leave. He sat down opposite Chen Mo and looked at him, as though trying to figure out what had suddenly brought about this change in his behavior.
“You wouldn’t want Dad to have to deal with you personally.”
Chen Mo had been at odds with Yang Zhi for years and knew him all too well.
“Don’t try to scare me with him. Besides, he’s probably feeling guilty toward me right about now.”
As Chen Mo spoke, his phone chimed.
He glanced at it and chuckled.
“See? The compensation payment came right on time.”
Yang Zhi ignored his seemingly indifferent attitude and said, “Tomorrow’s Sunday. Shule has invited some classmates over to the house.”
Chen Mo picked up a piece of broccoli from his plate with his fork.
“Why are you telling me this?”
Yang Zhi had heard some of the recent rumors circulating at school and had originally intended to remind Chen Mo not to make a scene when the time came.
But for some reason, his gaze dropped, and he suddenly noticed a small bruise around the needle mark on the back of Chen Mo’s hand.
Yang Zhi froze.
“What exactly did you do last night?”
“Last night?” Chen Mo smiled lazily. “I was cultivating my mind and nurturing my character. What else did you think I was doing? Otherwise, why do you think there are still two people sitting at this table right now?”
The servant standing nearby and serving the dishes didn’t dare make a sound.
She only had a vague feeling that the balance of this household was about to be overturned.