Chapter 14: 14

The stone in Mo Jingxuan’s heart was let go as the matter of Zhao Lingjun came to an end.

After Xiao Yao decided to divorce, he held a banquet for Xiao Ying, conveniently introducing him to society and announcing the annulment of his marriage at the same time.

With everything moving so fast, Mo Jingxuan’s plans to visit the Mo house were disrupted. He had originally wanted the driver to take Xiao Ying out on the weekend to relax, but with the child being dragged here and there by the housekeeper all week, he never had time to discuss any plans with him. The boy was always so worn out after his many activities in the day that he fell asleep by the time dinner was over, sometimes even before he had finished his meal, and Mo Jingxuan didn’t have the heart to put more on his plate. 

This led to a solid week of little to no communication between Mo Jingxuan and Xiao Ying, and Mo Jingxuan had no choice but to wait until after the banquet to sit down and have a serious talk with Xiao Ying.

The party was being held in the classical courtyard of the Xiao family. There was ancient music being played by traditional, respected musicians, and the atmosphere could not be more peaceful. Unlike in most banquets, no one was mingling to chat with the crowd; instead, everyone was silent, enjoying the rare moment of tranquility.

Xiao Yao and Xiao Ying walked up to a platform once the banquet had gone on for some time, and the music stopped.

Clearing his throat, Xiao Yao took the microphone offered to him and looked down at the people below, “Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to attend the banquet being held by the Xiao family tonight. I will now formally introduce you all, this is my eldest son, Xiao Ying. He is the son born to me by the only person I love, and the sole heir of all my possessions.” Listening to Xiao Yao proudly announce that his bastard son was going to inherit the family, thunderous voices rang out from the audience.

However, they were proclaiming congratulations and praise rather than objections. Even if they disagreed with the decision, what did it have to do with them? They had no voice in the family, and as long as this boy was the next head, it would do them no good to get on his bad side. All they had to do was remember his face and treat him with the appropriate respect.

Motioning for the applause to stop, Xiao Yao went on to say, “There is another announcement tonight, I am happy to say that the Xiao family and the Zhao family have officially divorced. Zhao Lingjun is no longer related to me in any way.” Not caring about the audience’s response to these words, he smiled and handed Xiao Ying the microphone, “Xiao Ying, come and greet your uncles and aunts.”

Feeling the comforting weight of Xuan on his shoulder, Xiao Ying spoke without timidity, “Please advise me well as I learn from now on.”

The people below once again gave a deafening applause, but this time because of the words said by the little child. Lamenting in their hearts, many people could not help but think that the child of a lion was still a lion, no matter how young. To have such composure at his age, he truly deserved to be the heir.

Xiao Yao patted his son’s little head and pressed his palms as everyone quieted down, “As my son said, I will ask you to let him learn from all of you well in the future.” He raised his wine glass to drink before continuing, “I will be taking my son to bed first, he still has class tomorrow. Please enjoy the rest of the banquet and excuse us.”

After he brought Xiao Ying upstairs, Xiao Yao left to see to his guests, and Mo Jingxuan leapt at the chance to talk before Xiao Ying went to bed, “Are you tired, baby?”

Xiao Ying shook his head, “Is something wrong?”

Gushing over him, Mo Hingxuan exclaimed, “Baby is so smart!”

Curious, Xiao Ying grabbed Mo Jingxuan’s hand as he asked, “What’s going on?”

“I need you to accompany me to a place while your father is busy this week.”

Xiao Ying said vigilantly, “What place, why do you need to go there?”

Mo Jingxuan had thought of a reason for wanting to visit his old house earlier and now easily explained, “They have a large vineyard and I have been wanting to go take a look,” there was no way he was going to involve his baby with the problems he had had in his previous life. They were completely separate now.

As he listened to Mo Jingxuan explain, Xiao Ying was sensitively aware that he was being perfunctory and brushing him off. Still, there was nothing he could do about it. As long as he wanted to keep Xuan, he couldn’t throw a fit with him no matter the reason, “As long as you don’t leave, I will take you anywhere you want to go.”

“Thank you baby!” Pausing, Mo Jingxuan picked up Xiao Ying and continued, “Call the driver and ask him to get the car. If you use the excuse of visiting a classmate’s house to get the homework and say you will come back immediately, the driver shouldn’t disturb your father.” Nodding his head, Xiao Ying complied.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Just like that, the two of them got into the car smoothly and headed to Bowei Mountain Villa, the villa area where Mo’s family lived.

As soon as they arrived at the gate of the villa, the car was stopped outside. Xiao Ying was unable to submit any proof of knowing anyone inside, and the security would not let him pass.

Having no other choice, Mo Jingxuan let Xiao Ying get as close to the villa as possible and tried to extend his consciousness as far as possible. Fortunately, the Mo’s villa was on the outermost row, and he could peer inside with only a little bit of strain.

Everything in the villa was no different than in his previous life, still as flamboyant and magnificent as he remembered, but it no longer had the intimacy and sense of belonging it used to. Instead of the house changing, it was Mo Jingxuan who was different.

Moving his consciousness through the house, he passed the living room, where three people he had never wanted to see again sat quietly.

His father, Mo Zhenhao, had remarried a few months after his mother died, and his new stepmother brought her one-year-old son with her.

His stepmother, Yu Hong, was an actor who never once showed her true thoughts to those around her and refused to give any care to him when he was so desperately alone.

His stepbrother, Mo Heng, was only one year younger than him and the cause of his death in his last life. 

Looking at the large wedding photo hanging above the three of them, Mo Jingxuan raised the corners of his mouth ironically.

In the past, he really had loved this seemingly harmonious family. He had sincerely accepted the mother and son pair who came into his life so unexpectedly. Only when he died did he realize his life had been a lie, an illusion kept up until the end. He had lived like a fool for so many years, selling himself and happily helping count the money.

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Mo Jingxuan looked at the group coldly; if he killed them now……

No, no, no, this was still a society ruled by the law; those thoughts were absurd! At the very least, he should keep his principles as a human, or who knew what he would become as a shadow.

Glancing around the rest of the house quickly, Mo Jingxuan didn’t see himself in any of the places he used to frequent. He was both happy and slightly disappointed, and….the feeling of looking for himself was really….

In the living room, Yu Hong was looking at the man teasing the child in his arms and said in a concerned tone, “Husband, it’s time to call the doctor to come over and change Xiao Xuan’s nutritional supplements. The doctor said to change them every ten days, otherwise the nutrition would be unbalanced and that would easily lead to complications if it gets serious.”

Mo Jingxuan, who had been about to leave, paused as he heard these words. Xiao Xuan—Xiao Xuan—wasn’t that his name? What had happened? He still existed? Why did he need nutrients?

Checking the date, Mo Zhenhao was unsure, “Was it tonight?”

Yu Hong smiled and patted Mo Zhenhao’s hand, “Don’t worry, I remember the date. It isn’t wrong.” She stood saying, “I’ll go up to look at his situation and call the doctor to come by.

Agreeing with his wife’s words, Mo Zhenhao nodded, “You do that then,” and continued to play with the boy in his lap. “Be careful not to get sick though, I don’t want Xiao Heng to catch it.”

Yu Hong scolded, “Don’t talk nonsense, Xiao Xuan is not sick! He is just sleeping, clearly that cannot be caught!”

The play before his eyes really made Mo Jingxuan feel disgusted, were they always so hypocritical? Caring for each other so much on the surface, but each regarding their own interests as most important. It was no wonder that he didn’t see through their schemes in his previous life; they had begun the act so early on.

No longer staying to listen to them banter, he quickly extended his consciousness to the second floor and started going through the rooms he hadn’t previously checked. In the farthest room in the corridor, he found himself lying on a bed with a ventilator hooked up to him. 

This section of the floor was reserved for only the servants, and it showed in the size and layout of the room. There was a single, old bed and the machinery to keep his body alive. And that was it; not even a chair could be seen in the small, cramped space. Mo Jingxuan laughed sarcastically, was it because Mo Zhenhao was afraid of catching the so-called sickness he had that he was moved to live in the furthest corner? Or was it because he was ashamed of having an imperfect family to show to the masses?

Mo Jingxuan stared in a daze at his thin and pale self on the bed. Did he really look like this when he was young? Why was he lying here, and was there another Mo Jingxuan? Would this boy meet Xiao Ying? Would Xiao Ying end up falling for him? With so much different, would the ending between the two of them also change?

Suddenly feeling jealous and uncomfortable, Mo Jingxuan belatedly realized that he was actually envious of himself. He didn’t want his baby to leave him for another self, to let Xiao Ying get hurt and suffer because of someone else. His baby belonged to him alone.

Freezing, Mo Jingxuan’s mouth opened in shock. He couldn’t believe his subconscious thoughts; there was no reason for him to think this way? He didn’t even want Xiao Ying’s attention in his last life; why couldn’t he give it to the him of this life?

But before he had time to sort out his feelings, Yu Hong pushed open the door and walked slowly to the bed. She stared at his other self, fixated with a blank expression.

Mo Jingxuan waited patiently for a long time, hoping that this woman would reveal some clue of what was going on to him, but she had no tendency to talk to herself at all, and even after several minutes, he had gained nothing from staying.

He was just about to leave when the Mo family doctor came to solve the mystery for him.

It turned out that his other self had fallen asleep not long ago and hadn’t woken up since. The doctor had tried all sorts of methods, but seeing that nothing was working even after five days, Mo Zhenhao decided to stop spending so much money on a useless son and brought him home to rot on his bed. 

Mo Jingxuan was actually somewhat surprised; he would have thought that his father would have sent him directly to a nursing home. As he thought about his father’s tendency for keeping up his public persona and Yu Hong’s inclination towards acting like a loving mother, though, it became clear.

He watched the doctor turn left and right, bustling around the child on the bed as he hung new nutrients for the boy’s IV drip. He was still confused, not understanding why he was even able to exist in this form in the first place. The day this Mo Jingxuan fell asleep was the same day he was reborn as a shadow…was there a connection between this? And did he have any relation to this body now? Would he die if the body was hurt? Would he return to the body one day? Or would this body sleep like this forever? Experience childhood, youth, the entirety of his life in sleep….

“Xuan, come back, it’s time for you to come back! You said you wouldn’t leave me!” Xiao Ying was still waiting outside the villa and lost his patience waiting for Mo Jingxuan to return; disregarding the driver’s inexplicable eyes, he began to call out angrily.

Mo Jingxuan, whose thoughts were falling into a swirling abyss of no return, suddenly heard Xiao Ying’s voice calling him, and without even thinking about it, he quickly withdrew his consciousness. For him, nothing was as important as Xiao Ying.

“Baby,” Mo Jingxuan called out to Xiao Ying in a low voice while the child paced back and forth angrily.

“You—”

“Shhh….”

Xiao Ying nodded and walked quickly to the car, telling the driver to pull down the middle screen and separated the rear seat and the cab entirely.

“Don’t leave me for so long in the future Xuan, I was scared.” Xiao Ying didn’t ask Mo Jingxuan where he went; he knew he wouldn’t tell him; he could only ask him not to leave him.

Holding Xiao Ying in his arms, although he knew that the boy was a little too possessive, he was still distressed enough to be unable to say anything more. The child’s nape was damp with sweat from his unease of being abandoned, and Mo Jingxuan knew he could never say no to him, “Never again. I will always take my baby with me in the future, I promise.”

Tightly squeezing Mo Jingxuan’s hand, Xiao Ying said seriously, “Remember what you said.”

 

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