Translator - Kate
Editor - Chubby Dragon
2.12 Old Master Feng: Where’s My White Jade Chess Set?
The muddled Mu Rou subconsciously looked at Ou Yu. Unfortunately, Ou Yu was driving at the moment and couldn’t catch her eyes.
Hao Ritian, inwardly, felt amused. Based on the understanding he gained on Ou Yu yesterday, he could more or less guess the reason for this situation. To be honest, he didn’t really hate Ou Yu’s type of personality and it was actually pretty great that Mu Ziwen had such a father.
It was a pity that Mu Ziwen’s life had completely fallen apart because of Ou Siyang’s one evil act. Now that he was here, he was going to make sure Mu Ziwen’s family was happy. As for Ou Siyang, the chief culprit, family bankruptcy was perhaps not a bad option.
Speak of the devil. Hao Ritian was sitting upright with both his hands flat on his thighs, a simple posture that gave people the impression that he was very well-mannered and well-disciplined. He’d been looking unwaveringly in front him the whole time, so he immediately spotted Ou Siyang who was standing in front of a villa on the right, just ahead of them.
Ou Siyang hadn’t acted any differently when Ou Yu sounded him out, but in Mu Ziwen’s memory, he had once met this student union president face-to-face. Otherwise, with so many students in the school, Ou Siyang wouldn’t have gone out of his way to think up such a malicious plan for a junior. Mu Ziwen’s face had given him a fright. And after determining through a paternity test that Mu Ziwen was his second uncle’s biological son, he had to make a move.
If someone had to take blame, then he blamed Mu Ziwen for appearing and threatening his status with his second uncle. That was what Ou Siyang had thought after resolving to take action.
When he saw Ou Siyang again at that moment, Hao Ritian appropriately displayed a tiny bit of emotion.
Mu Rou, this ‘son’s mood detector’, soon noticed his subtle mood and followed the direction of his gaze to Ou Siyang. Softly, she asked him, “Ziwen, what’s wrong?”
With a sudden change in their environment, she was worried that her son wouldn’t be able to adjust. So, she never let any peculiarity in his mood slip her notice.
Hao Ritian couldn’t help but sigh with emotion in his heart again. He practically had the max level luck in this world. Everyone around him were godsends; Feng Qi, Mu Rou, including Ou Yu. This made completing his task too easy, there was almost no sense of achievement.
“…That’s the president of our school’s student union.” Since it was Mu Rou asking him, Hao Ritian’s answer seemed very normal. He pointed to Ou Siyang with hints of nervousness in his expression.
Ou Yu immediately slowed down. His eyes narrowed and a dangerous look crossed his face, but his voice was cautious as he asked, “Son, do you know him?”
Mu Rou was also aware that something felt off and tentatively asked, “How do you know him?”
Hao Ritian paused for a while before answering, “Once, when I was returning to the dormitory building, we accidentally ran into each other. I almost fell and Senior supported me up.”
Without waiting for Mu Rou to gain a favorable impression of Ou Siyang, Ou Yu spoke up from the driver’s seat, his voice emotionless, “He’s Ou Siyang.”
This was an explanation to Mu Rou.
Coldness flitted in Ou Yu’s eyes. Though, he had already understood the truth from the findings of Feng Qi’s investigation, it was still hard to suppress the anger that rose in his chest when he heard his son say with his own mouth that he had encountered Ou Siyang.
Mu Rou’s reaction was even greater. After learning about Ou Siyang’s identity, hatred and disgust quickly tinged her eyes. She must’ve gone soft in the head for thinking Ou Siyang was quite friendly with her son a moment ago.
She turned her head and warned Hao Ritian, “Stay away from him and don’t believe anything he says. Didn’t you just make a friend yesterday? He’s quite nice, be sure to get along with him more.”
Hao Ritian, “…”
Forget it. He could stay away from both of them.
“Ziwen, do you remember what Mom said?” Mu Rou assumed her son was very fond of Ou Siyang, seeing that he hadn’t answered her. That wouldn’t do at all, and her tone was involuntarily inflected with a touch of anxiety.
Luckily, Hao Ritian soon responded to her, “I know.”
Mu Rou carefully observed his reaction and relaxed once she was certain that he was serious.
At that moment, the car was getting closer and closer to where Ou Siyang was standing. With a smile on his face, Ou Siyang held his hand out to flag down the car. Just as he was considering how to greet the woman Second Uncle had brought back, he saw the car speed past, without the slightest intention of stopping from the get-go.
The look on his face stiffened for a second, especially since many people were present, hoping to join in on the fun after hearing that Ou Yu was bringing people back today. He had lost his face in full public view. Anger quickly flashed through his eyes.
Though the car hadn’t stopped, he still saw Mu Ziwen sitting in the back seat. Damn it, how could he be so lucky? He was knocked out and left in Wei Huai, yet was able to escape. As expected, he absolutely shouldn’t have returned.
Nevertheless, he swiftly adjusted the look on his face. He shrugged helplessly under the gazes of several nearby families and joked, “Second Uncle is so anxious, he won’t even give me time to say hello to Second Aunt. Looks like I’ll have to pay a visit in person.”
He did this to find a fitting explanation for why Ou Yu didn’t stop the car. Some people smiled knowingly when they heard how he had intimately addressed Mu Rou, but there were others who didn’t buy it.
The lady who lived next door to his family couldn’t help but laugh when she saw Ou Siyang disgraced. When he turned around to go home, she was unable to help but say to herself, “I heard Ou Yu has a son now. All of Ou Siyang’s schemes will come to naught. Serves him right.”
She had her reasons for not liking Ou Siyang and his family. She just couldn’t stand how awfully pretentious Ou Siyang acted, believing himself to be Ou Yu’s successor. And there were multiple occasions when Mother Ou had flaunted in her presence, causing her to want to retch when she saw her.
However, those people were Ou Yu’s relatives and Ou Yu had never cared about such things. So, no matter how much she disapproved, what was the use?
Now, things were different. Ou Yu, who used to be a bachelor, had made an about-face and carried home a wife and a son. It was only natural for him to leave all his possessions to his own biological son. So, they would have nothing to do with Ou Siyang anymore. Just thinking of how dark Mother Ou’s face would be and how Ou Siyang would no longer have the right to assume airs made her very happy. Even though this matter was not related to anything of interest to her, she was still happy about it.
Back in the car, Ou Yu didn’t care that his actions had disgraced Ou Siyang. After learning what Ou Siyang did to his son, in his eyes, Ou Siyang was no longer that nephew whom he could indulge like before. Instead, he was a virtual stranger to him. In fact, a stranger he had to ruthlessly take care of.
“Why haven’t we arrived yet?” Mu Rou didn’t want to bring up Ou Siyang at the moment and ruin the mood. More importantly, her son was still present. So, she could only raise this question insipidly.
Ou Yu promptly replied, “We’re almost there. The villas here are divided within an outer area and an inner area. What we just passed was the outer area. Once we pass the sign ahead, we’ll reach the inner area and soon be home.”
Not only was the price difference between the inner and outer villas immense, the status difference was vast as well. The identities of those who lived nearby were different. Being able to live in the inner area, by itself, was a kind of a testimony to their capabilities.
One could well imagine the efforts Ou Yu had expended to be able to barge in here and put down roots.
However, Mu Rou didn’t know of these things. When she heard Ou Yu say they would arrive soon, her heart suddenly jumped to her throat and she clasped Hao Ritian’s palm tighter. Ou Yu accelerated, bypassing the enormous sign, and after driving for several more minutes, the car finally stopped in front of a medium-sized villa.
“We’re here. Let’s get out of the car.” He jumped out of the car, then ran to the back to open the door for Mu Rou and his son, so they could get off easily. He couldn’t be more eager.
Mu Rou could still act steady but Hao Ritian was clearly feeling apprehensive. However, it was precisely because she could feel her son’s uneasiness that Mu Rou, instead, calmed down. She had to be her son’s rock, how could she cower from such simple matters?
Getting out of the car with Hao Ritian, Mu Rou’s expression appeared natural. One wouldn’t be able to tell that till just a moment ago, she had been nervous.
It wasn’t easy to get the two of them here. Ou Yu fervently wished to obtain their approval and also hoped that they would like it here. Quickly rubbing his hands behind his back, Ou Yu fawningly asked Hao Ritian, “Ziwen, how about Dad show you your room? See if you like it?”
Hao Ritian subconsciously looked at Mu Rou. When Mu Rou nodded in encouragement, he responded to Ou Yu with a, “Mn.”
Ou Yu was beyond delighted. His son had actually spoken to him, albeit just one word. But he would surely speak more and more afterwards. He simply wanted to howl at the sky to express his excitement at this very moment.
Trying to stifle his urge to howl, Ou Yu hung a smile on his face and entered the house with the mother and son. Knowing his son’s special situation, Ou Yu had given a day off to all the servants .
The villa had two floors. Ou Yu had chosen this villa, which wasn’t overly large, because he had been living alone. If the villa was too big, the spaciousness would only serve to make him feel more lonely. But now that it was welcoming an additional two masters, it would definitely become more lively.
Ou Yu walked ahead, showing them the way, and led his son to a door on the second floor where he had prepared the room for him. He pushed the door open, then looked at Hao Ritian with a bit of uneasiness and anticipation, “Come in and have a look, this will be your room from now on. See whether you like it or not. If there’s something you don’t like, I’ll change it.”
Mu Rou and Hao Ritian entered and raised their eyes to take it in. The main colour of the room was sky blue and the interior was clean and tidy. A bed, a wardrobe, a desk, a bookcase and a computer were all there, placed in very reasonable positions. The room appeared extremely spacious, pleasing those who saw it. One could envision that the person who had put the room in order had put in a lot of thought to it.
“Do you like it?” Seeing his son only looking but not making a sound, Ou Yu felt a little worried. This was his first time doing something for his son as a father, of course he hoped to satisfy him as much as possible.
This time, without Mu Rou’s urging, Hao Ritian answered Ou Yu’s question on his own accord, “I like it.”
He didn’t appear very habituated to speaking when he answered. He was somewhat shy, yet also somewhat happy that Ou Yu had taken such pains to do this. Though it was so faint that people who weren’t familiar with him wouldn’t be able to tell, it was truly there.
Ou Yu, who’d been holding his breath the whole time, suddenly let out a huge sigh of relief, his face covered with a smile so wide that it looked a little ridiculous. However, Mu Rou could see his feelings from that look, and her expression couldn’t help but soften as well.
Following that, Ou Yu very enthusiastically showed the mother and son around the villa, familiarizing them to the place they would be living from then on as quickly as possible.
After the moving company had moved all of their things from Mu Rou’s rented apartment, they once again went through a busy spell. After that, they finally settled down in their new home.
To their surprise, when night fell, Qin An, who they had met the previous day, took the initiative to come to their house and—true to his words—brought his favourite video games to play with Hao Ritian. Ou Yu and Mu Rou were pleased to see this. Ou Yu even led them to the game room in person and personally prepared some deserts and fruits so they could play as they wished.
Qin An didn’t understand the meaning of modesty. After thanking Ou Yu, he actively acted like the turtledove that took over the magpie's nest. He installed the game disk, adjusted it, then sat next to Hao Ritian on the floor with a ‘plop’, throwing him one of the video game controllers, “Come on, let’s play a game. Do you know how to play? If not, I’ll teach you!”
He was full of confidence as he said this. He’d already become very proficient at this game and though he didn’t dare say he was the absolute no.1 at it, he was still an expert.
Hao Ritian, who was passively holding the video game controller, “…”
Since he wasn’t good at declining, he had no other choice but to accept.
With the sound of music accompanying them, the curtains rose on a sharp and fierce battle. Qin An complacently prepared to carry Hao Ritian, already picturing Hao Ritian in his mind worshipfully calling him ‘Big Bro’.
What was that saying? ‘Imagination is beautiful, reality is cruel’?
Just three minutes later.
Qin An held the controller in his hands, a dull look on his face as he stared at the screen. He lost? Are you kidding me? An expert like him lost so quickly?
exm?
His head turned, making a clunking noise, and Qin An stared at Hao Ritian in confusion, “You’ve played this game before?”
Hao Ritian didn’t speak, he just fiddled with the controller in his hands. But in Qin An’s eyes, he was permeated with the air of an expert.
He couldn’t believe it and rolled up his sleeves, “Let’s play another round. I was just careless.”
Another burst of sharp game music started, but unfortunately, not only did the outcome not change, it ended even quicker than the previous time.
Qin An was the type of person who became more high-spirited, the more you hit him. Thus, for some while afterwards, the sounds in the game room never stopped. By the end, no matter how reluctant Qin An felt to admit defeat, he still collapsed on the ground and tried to cup his hands in obeisance to Hao Ritian, “Big Bro, this little brother bows to your superior skill.”
Someone was being called ‘Big Bro’, but the position was completely reversed.
Silently, Hao Ritian accepted this address, while secretly saying in his mind, a cypher like you want to crush me? Wait till your next life.
It was late and the two college students still had school tomorrow. With time on her mind, Mu Rou came to the game room and was greatly gratified in her heart to see the two boys getting along in harmony.
“Alright, you two should eat now. You can play again after dinner.” Mu Rou clapped her hands, snapping the two boys engrossed in the game to attention.
Qin An jumped up from the ground at once and scratched the back of his head, “Thank you, Auntie Mu.”
My Rou smiled sincerely, “No need to be polite. Treat this as your own home from now on and feel free to come here anytime you like.”
Because of Mu Rou’s words, it ultimately developed into Qin An unexpectedly staying overnight. At first, he wanted to share the same bed as the Great God. Sadly, he was firmly rejected by him, and so, had to miserably go to the guest room.
That’s right. After the course of countless games locked in battle, Hao Ritian had become a Great God in Qin An’s heart. Even when he didn’t speak, in Qin An’s eyes, he was brimming with loftiness of someone who ‘disdained speaking with mortals’. The hole in his brain was so big, it was beyond saving.
After freeloading in the guest room beside Hao Ritian’s room for an evening, the two were woken up by Ou Yu and Mu Rou the next day, then sent to school by a driver.
As soon as the boys left, Ou Yu dragged Mu Rou to the Civil Affairs Bureau. Standing outside the Civil Affairs Bureau, Mu Rou was still muddled and only realised after catching Ou Yu stealing glances at her that, ‘Ah, she was getting married with Ou Yu’. Sure enough, Monday was Monday. She was between laughter and tears inside.
However, Ou Yu was looking forward to this so much and she had already agreed. Besides, they’ve even moved. It would be far too unreasonable of her to refuse now. Still, she felt a little helpless, “We didn’t even bring our household registration book…lets…”
The second Ou Yu realised that Mu Rou wasn’t refusing to marry, his eyes brightened and he scooped out the booklets he had stealthily put into his pockets with a ‘swoosh’, “I brought them.”
Mu Rou, “…”
No wonder he had been lurking and sneaking around like a ghost last night. So, he was rummaging for the household registration booklets?
“…Let’s go then.” She held her forehead. She really had nothing to say.
With her heart both speechless and helpless, Mu Rou maintained that subtle frame of mind as she completed the registration with Ou Yu. When the two red books were in her hands, she regained her sense of reality. She and Ou Yu were now husband and wife?
It was twenty years late, still, a marriage certificate was finally at hand. Mu Rou sighed with sorrow in her mind, but suddenly jumped out of her skin when she glanced at Ou Yu to find tears shimmering in his eyes. However, she could not deny that it caused her heart to soften.
Maybe her impulsive decision was not bad at all?!
On the way home, Ou Yu reported to Mu Rou, “I set the date of the banquet on Saturday since Ziwen will be home for the weekend. Meanwhile, he can use this week to adjust. What do you think?”
The topic change was quick but Mu Rou’s response was just as quick. After all, Ou Yu had already told her earlier that he would hold a banquet to introduce her and their son to a few of his friends and partners. If it were the past, Mu Rou definitely wouldn’t have wanted to make such great fanfare, but now, she thought differently. Ou Yu was delivering the opportunity to assert sovereignty and position right in front of her, how could she refuse?
She wouldn’t refuse if only for her son, not to mention, she could even ruthlessly slap Ou Siyang’s face. Not only would she not refuse, she was even going to perform well.
“Sure. It’s your call.” Mu Rou smiled without stating an objection.
Ou Yu became happy, but hesitated for a moment, glancing at Mu Rou several times. When Mu Rou was about to ask him what the matter was in bewilderment, he finally opened his mouth to tentatively ask her, “Now that we’ve received our certificates, when do you think is appropriate to hold our wedding?”
Caught off-guard by this question, Mu Rou blushed and replied with some annoyance, “Holding a wedding at our age? Our son is so big, there’s no need to go through the trouble.”
Ou Yu became anxious and stepped on the brake, causing the car to stop abruptly. He twisted his body to look directly at Mu Rou, face-to-face. Quickly, he asked her, “How can you say it’s troublesome? A wedding is a once in a lifetime event, how can we not hold one? Besides, in what way are you old? You still look quite young…”
Mu Rou didn’t came over her, but without waiting for Ou Yu to continue persuading her, she retorted, “You’ve already done it once, so there’s no need to do it again.”
She regretted her words the instant she said them. She didn’t want to revive old quarrels and she also knew that Ou Yu had been forced into it. Since she had chosen to get married to him, she wanted to live a good life with him from then on. What was the point of saying this now?
Who would’ve expected Ou Yu to not only not be angry, but even be joyous? His hands bypassed the car seat to grasp Mu Rou’s hands. Surprised and delighted, he asked, “You’re jealous?”
Although she had returned, Mu Rou always appeared to have compromised only for her son’s sake, which made Ou Yu’s heart sink. However, her reaction now gave him a sense of realness. He felt he still had some place in her heart.
Mu Rou tried to withdraw her hands but wasn’t able to pull them away. Outside, a traffic police officer had already come over and tapped their windshield. Ou Yu discontentedly withdrew his hands to draw the windshield down, and was then slapped with a fine, and an admonishment from the traffic police officer to quickly drive his car away.
Ou Yu, “…”
He miserably paid the fine, and then had no choice but to drive away under the traffic police officer’s watchful gaze.
Once the figure of the traffic police officer faded into the distance behind them, Mu Rou burst out laughing. She honestly couldn’t help it.
“Ahem.” Ou Yu coughed in embarrassment, but still doggedly explained, “AnAn, my marriage with Gu Qing was just an agreement. We only received a certificate for it and a wedding wasn’t held. Believe me, I only want to have a grand wedding with you.”
What he spoke was the truth. It was precisely due to these various actions of his that the Gu Family didn’t attach importance to him. Though their dissatisfaction with him was never concealed, he hadn’t cared about that.
Mu Rou, whose lips still carried remnants of a smile, became dumbfounded. Her heart jumped, and thumped against her chest, one after another, each beat hurried and intense, leaving her bewildered.
When Ou Yu repeated his question once more, Mu Rou flusteredly replied, “Let’s revisit this situation again, later.”
This time she didn’t flatly turn him down, so Ou Yu accepted it with some satisfaction. The person herself had returned and their married status had been set, what fear should he have that a wedding wouldn’t be held?
Hao Ritian smoothly survived a week of school, during which Ou Siyang actively sought him out using his status as his cousin. However, each time he was constantly hindered by Qin An into returning. Hao Ritian didn’t expect Qin An to be so dependable at such key moments.
Feng Qi visited him once as well. After Feng Q’s departure, Qin An grumbled on and on about the difference in Hao Ritian’s treatment between the two of them, hurting his ears with how noisy he was. However, after Qin An’s unflagging efforts to bother him, Hao Ritian would respond to him once or twice for every ten of his sentences.
For Qin An, this was a milestone kind of progress and he still needed to redouble his efforts.
In the blink of an eye, Saturday arrived.
On that day, Ou Yu was going to hold a private party at home. However, without exception, everyone invited were people of fame and prestige and nearly all of them were friends Ou Yu had business dealings with. It was not much different from a formal banquet.
Naturally, Feng Qi had to go congratulate them at this sort of occasion. After packing away the gift he planned to give Hao Ritian and saying his goodbyes to the elderly man inside the house, he drove away and headed to the Ou House.
Old Master Feng was a highly experienced chess enthusiast who loved to find people to play chess with when he was free. He had three precious chess set collections in hand, which were incense wood, red sandalwood and white jade respectively. He cherished them dearly and would take them out to polish each piece at every opportunity.
Shortly after Feng Qi left, he took out his three babies for maintenance. But when he opened the small chest, his eyes immediately goggled and he inspected the interiors of the small chest several times.
Old Master Feng, “? ? ?”
Why were only his incense wood and red sandalwood there? Where was his white jade chess set?
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Editor - Chubby Dragon
2.12 Old Master Feng: Where’s My White Jade Chess Set?
The muddled Mu Rou subconsciously looked at Ou Yu. Unfortunately, Ou Yu was driving at the moment and couldn’t catch her eyes.
Hao Ritian, inwardly, felt amused. Based on the understanding he gained on Ou Yu yesterday, he could more or less guess the reason for this situation. To be honest, he didn’t really hate Ou Yu’s type of personality and it was actually pretty great that Mu Ziwen had such a father.
It was a pity that Mu Ziwen’s life had completely fallen apart because of Ou Siyang’s one evil act. Now that he was here, he was going to make sure Mu Ziwen’s family was happy. As for Ou Siyang, the chief culprit, family bankruptcy was perhaps not a bad option.
Speak of the devil. Hao Ritian was sitting upright with both his hands flat on his thighs, a simple posture that gave people the impression that he was very well-mannered and well-disciplined. He’d been looking unwaveringly in front him the whole time, so he immediately spotted Ou Siyang who was standing in front of a villa on the right, just ahead of them.
Ou Siyang hadn’t acted any differently when Ou Yu sounded him out, but in Mu Ziwen’s memory, he had once met this student union president face-to-face. Otherwise, with so many students in the school, Ou Siyang wouldn’t have gone out of his way to think up such a malicious plan for a junior. Mu Ziwen’s face had given him a fright. And after determining through a paternity test that Mu Ziwen was his second uncle’s biological son, he had to make a move.
If someone had to take blame, then he blamed Mu Ziwen for appearing and threatening his status with his second uncle. That was what Ou Siyang had thought after resolving to take action.
When he saw Ou Siyang again at that moment, Hao Ritian appropriately displayed a tiny bit of emotion.
Mu Rou, this ‘son’s mood detector’, soon noticed his subtle mood and followed the direction of his gaze to Ou Siyang. Softly, she asked him, “Ziwen, what’s wrong?”
With a sudden change in their environment, she was worried that her son wouldn’t be able to adjust. So, she never let any peculiarity in his mood slip her notice.
Hao Ritian couldn’t help but sigh with emotion in his heart again. He practically had the max level luck in this world. Everyone around him were godsends; Feng Qi, Mu Rou, including Ou Yu. This made completing his task too easy, there was almost no sense of achievement.
“…That’s the president of our school’s student union.” Since it was Mu Rou asking him, Hao Ritian’s answer seemed very normal. He pointed to Ou Siyang with hints of nervousness in his expression.
Ou Yu immediately slowed down. His eyes narrowed and a dangerous look crossed his face, but his voice was cautious as he asked, “Son, do you know him?”
Mu Rou was also aware that something felt off and tentatively asked, “How do you know him?”
Hao Ritian paused for a while before answering, “Once, when I was returning to the dormitory building, we accidentally ran into each other. I almost fell and Senior supported me up.”
Without waiting for Mu Rou to gain a favorable impression of Ou Siyang, Ou Yu spoke up from the driver’s seat, his voice emotionless, “He’s Ou Siyang.”
This was an explanation to Mu Rou.
Coldness flitted in Ou Yu’s eyes. Though, he had already understood the truth from the findings of Feng Qi’s investigation, it was still hard to suppress the anger that rose in his chest when he heard his son say with his own mouth that he had encountered Ou Siyang.
Mu Rou’s reaction was even greater. After learning about Ou Siyang’s identity, hatred and disgust quickly tinged her eyes. She must’ve gone soft in the head for thinking Ou Siyang was quite friendly with her son a moment ago.
She turned her head and warned Hao Ritian, “Stay away from him and don’t believe anything he says. Didn’t you just make a friend yesterday? He’s quite nice, be sure to get along with him more.”
Hao Ritian, “…”
Forget it. He could stay away from both of them.
“Ziwen, do you remember what Mom said?” Mu Rou assumed her son was very fond of Ou Siyang, seeing that he hadn’t answered her. That wouldn’t do at all, and her tone was involuntarily inflected with a touch of anxiety.
Luckily, Hao Ritian soon responded to her, “I know.”
Mu Rou carefully observed his reaction and relaxed once she was certain that he was serious.
At that moment, the car was getting closer and closer to where Ou Siyang was standing. With a smile on his face, Ou Siyang held his hand out to flag down the car. Just as he was considering how to greet the woman Second Uncle had brought back, he saw the car speed past, without the slightest intention of stopping from the get-go.
The look on his face stiffened for a second, especially since many people were present, hoping to join in on the fun after hearing that Ou Yu was bringing people back today. He had lost his face in full public view. Anger quickly flashed through his eyes.
Though the car hadn’t stopped, he still saw Mu Ziwen sitting in the back seat. Damn it, how could he be so lucky? He was knocked out and left in Wei Huai, yet was able to escape. As expected, he absolutely shouldn’t have returned.
Nevertheless, he swiftly adjusted the look on his face. He shrugged helplessly under the gazes of several nearby families and joked, “Second Uncle is so anxious, he won’t even give me time to say hello to Second Aunt. Looks like I’ll have to pay a visit in person.”
He did this to find a fitting explanation for why Ou Yu didn’t stop the car. Some people smiled knowingly when they heard how he had intimately addressed Mu Rou, but there were others who didn’t buy it.
The lady who lived next door to his family couldn’t help but laugh when she saw Ou Siyang disgraced. When he turned around to go home, she was unable to help but say to herself, “I heard Ou Yu has a son now. All of Ou Siyang’s schemes will come to naught. Serves him right.”
She had her reasons for not liking Ou Siyang and his family. She just couldn’t stand how awfully pretentious Ou Siyang acted, believing himself to be Ou Yu’s successor. And there were multiple occasions when Mother Ou had flaunted in her presence, causing her to want to retch when she saw her.
However, those people were Ou Yu’s relatives and Ou Yu had never cared about such things. So, no matter how much she disapproved, what was the use?
Now, things were different. Ou Yu, who used to be a bachelor, had made an about-face and carried home a wife and a son. It was only natural for him to leave all his possessions to his own biological son. So, they would have nothing to do with Ou Siyang anymore. Just thinking of how dark Mother Ou’s face would be and how Ou Siyang would no longer have the right to assume airs made her very happy. Even though this matter was not related to anything of interest to her, she was still happy about it.
Back in the car, Ou Yu didn’t care that his actions had disgraced Ou Siyang. After learning what Ou Siyang did to his son, in his eyes, Ou Siyang was no longer that nephew whom he could indulge like before. Instead, he was a virtual stranger to him. In fact, a stranger he had to ruthlessly take care of.
“Why haven’t we arrived yet?” Mu Rou didn’t want to bring up Ou Siyang at the moment and ruin the mood. More importantly, her son was still present. So, she could only raise this question insipidly.
Ou Yu promptly replied, “We’re almost there. The villas here are divided within an outer area and an inner area. What we just passed was the outer area. Once we pass the sign ahead, we’ll reach the inner area and soon be home.”
Not only was the price difference between the inner and outer villas immense, the status difference was vast as well. The identities of those who lived nearby were different. Being able to live in the inner area, by itself, was a kind of a testimony to their capabilities.
One could well imagine the efforts Ou Yu had expended to be able to barge in here and put down roots.
However, Mu Rou didn’t know of these things. When she heard Ou Yu say they would arrive soon, her heart suddenly jumped to her throat and she clasped Hao Ritian’s palm tighter. Ou Yu accelerated, bypassing the enormous sign, and after driving for several more minutes, the car finally stopped in front of a medium-sized villa.
“We’re here. Let’s get out of the car.” He jumped out of the car, then ran to the back to open the door for Mu Rou and his son, so they could get off easily. He couldn’t be more eager.
Mu Rou could still act steady but Hao Ritian was clearly feeling apprehensive. However, it was precisely because she could feel her son’s uneasiness that Mu Rou, instead, calmed down. She had to be her son’s rock, how could she cower from such simple matters?
Getting out of the car with Hao Ritian, Mu Rou’s expression appeared natural. One wouldn’t be able to tell that till just a moment ago, she had been nervous.
It wasn’t easy to get the two of them here. Ou Yu fervently wished to obtain their approval and also hoped that they would like it here. Quickly rubbing his hands behind his back, Ou Yu fawningly asked Hao Ritian, “Ziwen, how about Dad show you your room? See if you like it?”
Hao Ritian subconsciously looked at Mu Rou. When Mu Rou nodded in encouragement, he responded to Ou Yu with a, “Mn.”
Ou Yu was beyond delighted. His son had actually spoken to him, albeit just one word. But he would surely speak more and more afterwards. He simply wanted to howl at the sky to express his excitement at this very moment.
Trying to stifle his urge to howl, Ou Yu hung a smile on his face and entered the house with the mother and son. Knowing his son’s special situation, Ou Yu had given a day off to all the servants .
The villa had two floors. Ou Yu had chosen this villa, which wasn’t overly large, because he had been living alone. If the villa was too big, the spaciousness would only serve to make him feel more lonely. But now that it was welcoming an additional two masters, it would definitely become more lively.
Ou Yu walked ahead, showing them the way, and led his son to a door on the second floor where he had prepared the room for him. He pushed the door open, then looked at Hao Ritian with a bit of uneasiness and anticipation, “Come in and have a look, this will be your room from now on. See whether you like it or not. If there’s something you don’t like, I’ll change it.”
Mu Rou and Hao Ritian entered and raised their eyes to take it in. The main colour of the room was sky blue and the interior was clean and tidy. A bed, a wardrobe, a desk, a bookcase and a computer were all there, placed in very reasonable positions. The room appeared extremely spacious, pleasing those who saw it. One could envision that the person who had put the room in order had put in a lot of thought to it.
“Do you like it?” Seeing his son only looking but not making a sound, Ou Yu felt a little worried. This was his first time doing something for his son as a father, of course he hoped to satisfy him as much as possible.
This time, without Mu Rou’s urging, Hao Ritian answered Ou Yu’s question on his own accord, “I like it.”
He didn’t appear very habituated to speaking when he answered. He was somewhat shy, yet also somewhat happy that Ou Yu had taken such pains to do this. Though it was so faint that people who weren’t familiar with him wouldn’t be able to tell, it was truly there.
Ou Yu, who’d been holding his breath the whole time, suddenly let out a huge sigh of relief, his face covered with a smile so wide that it looked a little ridiculous. However, Mu Rou could see his feelings from that look, and her expression couldn’t help but soften as well.
Following that, Ou Yu very enthusiastically showed the mother and son around the villa, familiarizing them to the place they would be living from then on as quickly as possible.
After the moving company had moved all of their things from Mu Rou’s rented apartment, they once again went through a busy spell. After that, they finally settled down in their new home.
To their surprise, when night fell, Qin An, who they had met the previous day, took the initiative to come to their house and—true to his words—brought his favourite video games to play with Hao Ritian. Ou Yu and Mu Rou were pleased to see this. Ou Yu even led them to the game room in person and personally prepared some deserts and fruits so they could play as they wished.
Qin An didn’t understand the meaning of modesty. After thanking Ou Yu, he actively acted like the turtledove that took over the magpie's nest. He installed the game disk, adjusted it, then sat next to Hao Ritian on the floor with a ‘plop’, throwing him one of the video game controllers, “Come on, let’s play a game. Do you know how to play? If not, I’ll teach you!”
He was full of confidence as he said this. He’d already become very proficient at this game and though he didn’t dare say he was the absolute no.1 at it, he was still an expert.
Hao Ritian, who was passively holding the video game controller, “…”
Since he wasn’t good at declining, he had no other choice but to accept.
With the sound of music accompanying them, the curtains rose on a sharp and fierce battle. Qin An complacently prepared to carry Hao Ritian, already picturing Hao Ritian in his mind worshipfully calling him ‘Big Bro’.
What was that saying? ‘Imagination is beautiful, reality is cruel’?
Just three minutes later.
Qin An held the controller in his hands, a dull look on his face as he stared at the screen. He lost? Are you kidding me? An expert like him lost so quickly?
exm?
His head turned, making a clunking noise, and Qin An stared at Hao Ritian in confusion, “You’ve played this game before?”
Hao Ritian didn’t speak, he just fiddled with the controller in his hands. But in Qin An’s eyes, he was permeated with the air of an expert.
He couldn’t believe it and rolled up his sleeves, “Let’s play another round. I was just careless.”
Another burst of sharp game music started, but unfortunately, not only did the outcome not change, it ended even quicker than the previous time.
Qin An was the type of person who became more high-spirited, the more you hit him. Thus, for some while afterwards, the sounds in the game room never stopped. By the end, no matter how reluctant Qin An felt to admit defeat, he still collapsed on the ground and tried to cup his hands in obeisance to Hao Ritian, “Big Bro, this little brother bows to your superior skill.”
Someone was being called ‘Big Bro’, but the position was completely reversed.
Silently, Hao Ritian accepted this address, while secretly saying in his mind, a cypher like you want to crush me? Wait till your next life.
It was late and the two college students still had school tomorrow. With time on her mind, Mu Rou came to the game room and was greatly gratified in her heart to see the two boys getting along in harmony.
“Alright, you two should eat now. You can play again after dinner.” Mu Rou clapped her hands, snapping the two boys engrossed in the game to attention.
Qin An jumped up from the ground at once and scratched the back of his head, “Thank you, Auntie Mu.”
My Rou smiled sincerely, “No need to be polite. Treat this as your own home from now on and feel free to come here anytime you like.”
Because of Mu Rou’s words, it ultimately developed into Qin An unexpectedly staying overnight. At first, he wanted to share the same bed as the Great God. Sadly, he was firmly rejected by him, and so, had to miserably go to the guest room.
That’s right. After the course of countless games locked in battle, Hao Ritian had become a Great God in Qin An’s heart. Even when he didn’t speak, in Qin An’s eyes, he was brimming with loftiness of someone who ‘disdained speaking with mortals’. The hole in his brain was so big, it was beyond saving.
After freeloading in the guest room beside Hao Ritian’s room for an evening, the two were woken up by Ou Yu and Mu Rou the next day, then sent to school by a driver.
As soon as the boys left, Ou Yu dragged Mu Rou to the Civil Affairs Bureau. Standing outside the Civil Affairs Bureau, Mu Rou was still muddled and only realised after catching Ou Yu stealing glances at her that, ‘Ah, she was getting married with Ou Yu’. Sure enough, Monday was Monday. She was between laughter and tears inside.
However, Ou Yu was looking forward to this so much and she had already agreed. Besides, they’ve even moved. It would be far too unreasonable of her to refuse now. Still, she felt a little helpless, “We didn’t even bring our household registration book…lets…”
The second Ou Yu realised that Mu Rou wasn’t refusing to marry, his eyes brightened and he scooped out the booklets he had stealthily put into his pockets with a ‘swoosh’, “I brought them.”
Mu Rou, “…”
No wonder he had been lurking and sneaking around like a ghost last night. So, he was rummaging for the household registration booklets?
“…Let’s go then.” She held her forehead. She really had nothing to say.
With her heart both speechless and helpless, Mu Rou maintained that subtle frame of mind as she completed the registration with Ou Yu. When the two red books were in her hands, she regained her sense of reality. She and Ou Yu were now husband and wife?
It was twenty years late, still, a marriage certificate was finally at hand. Mu Rou sighed with sorrow in her mind, but suddenly jumped out of her skin when she glanced at Ou Yu to find tears shimmering in his eyes. However, she could not deny that it caused her heart to soften.
Maybe her impulsive decision was not bad at all?!
On the way home, Ou Yu reported to Mu Rou, “I set the date of the banquet on Saturday since Ziwen will be home for the weekend. Meanwhile, he can use this week to adjust. What do you think?”
The topic change was quick but Mu Rou’s response was just as quick. After all, Ou Yu had already told her earlier that he would hold a banquet to introduce her and their son to a few of his friends and partners. If it were the past, Mu Rou definitely wouldn’t have wanted to make such great fanfare, but now, she thought differently. Ou Yu was delivering the opportunity to assert sovereignty and position right in front of her, how could she refuse?
She wouldn’t refuse if only for her son, not to mention, she could even ruthlessly slap Ou Siyang’s face. Not only would she not refuse, she was even going to perform well.
“Sure. It’s your call.” Mu Rou smiled without stating an objection.
Ou Yu became happy, but hesitated for a moment, glancing at Mu Rou several times. When Mu Rou was about to ask him what the matter was in bewilderment, he finally opened his mouth to tentatively ask her, “Now that we’ve received our certificates, when do you think is appropriate to hold our wedding?”
Caught off-guard by this question, Mu Rou blushed and replied with some annoyance, “Holding a wedding at our age? Our son is so big, there’s no need to go through the trouble.”
Ou Yu became anxious and stepped on the brake, causing the car to stop abruptly. He twisted his body to look directly at Mu Rou, face-to-face. Quickly, he asked her, “How can you say it’s troublesome? A wedding is a once in a lifetime event, how can we not hold one? Besides, in what way are you old? You still look quite young…”
Mu Rou didn’t came over her, but without waiting for Ou Yu to continue persuading her, she retorted, “You’ve already done it once, so there’s no need to do it again.”
She regretted her words the instant she said them. She didn’t want to revive old quarrels and she also knew that Ou Yu had been forced into it. Since she had chosen to get married to him, she wanted to live a good life with him from then on. What was the point of saying this now?
Who would’ve expected Ou Yu to not only not be angry, but even be joyous? His hands bypassed the car seat to grasp Mu Rou’s hands. Surprised and delighted, he asked, “You’re jealous?”
Although she had returned, Mu Rou always appeared to have compromised only for her son’s sake, which made Ou Yu’s heart sink. However, her reaction now gave him a sense of realness. He felt he still had some place in her heart.
Mu Rou tried to withdraw her hands but wasn’t able to pull them away. Outside, a traffic police officer had already come over and tapped their windshield. Ou Yu discontentedly withdrew his hands to draw the windshield down, and was then slapped with a fine, and an admonishment from the traffic police officer to quickly drive his car away.
Ou Yu, “…”
He miserably paid the fine, and then had no choice but to drive away under the traffic police officer’s watchful gaze.
Once the figure of the traffic police officer faded into the distance behind them, Mu Rou burst out laughing. She honestly couldn’t help it.
“Ahem.” Ou Yu coughed in embarrassment, but still doggedly explained, “AnAn, my marriage with Gu Qing was just an agreement. We only received a certificate for it and a wedding wasn’t held. Believe me, I only want to have a grand wedding with you.”
What he spoke was the truth. It was precisely due to these various actions of his that the Gu Family didn’t attach importance to him. Though their dissatisfaction with him was never concealed, he hadn’t cared about that.
Mu Rou, whose lips still carried remnants of a smile, became dumbfounded. Her heart jumped, and thumped against her chest, one after another, each beat hurried and intense, leaving her bewildered.
When Ou Yu repeated his question once more, Mu Rou flusteredly replied, “Let’s revisit this situation again, later.”
This time she didn’t flatly turn him down, so Ou Yu accepted it with some satisfaction. The person herself had returned and their married status had been set, what fear should he have that a wedding wouldn’t be held?
Hao Ritian smoothly survived a week of school, during which Ou Siyang actively sought him out using his status as his cousin. However, each time he was constantly hindered by Qin An into returning. Hao Ritian didn’t expect Qin An to be so dependable at such key moments.
Feng Qi visited him once as well. After Feng Q’s departure, Qin An grumbled on and on about the difference in Hao Ritian’s treatment between the two of them, hurting his ears with how noisy he was. However, after Qin An’s unflagging efforts to bother him, Hao Ritian would respond to him once or twice for every ten of his sentences.
For Qin An, this was a milestone kind of progress and he still needed to redouble his efforts.
In the blink of an eye, Saturday arrived.
On that day, Ou Yu was going to hold a private party at home. However, without exception, everyone invited were people of fame and prestige and nearly all of them were friends Ou Yu had business dealings with. It was not much different from a formal banquet.
Naturally, Feng Qi had to go congratulate them at this sort of occasion. After packing away the gift he planned to give Hao Ritian and saying his goodbyes to the elderly man inside the house, he drove away and headed to the Ou House.
Old Master Feng was a highly experienced chess enthusiast who loved to find people to play chess with when he was free. He had three precious chess set collections in hand, which were incense wood, red sandalwood and white jade respectively. He cherished them dearly and would take them out to polish each piece at every opportunity.
Shortly after Feng Qi left, he took out his three babies for maintenance. But when he opened the small chest, his eyes immediately goggled and he inspected the interiors of the small chest several times.
Old Master Feng, “? ? ?”
Why were only his incense wood and red sandalwood there? Where was his white jade chess set?
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4 comments
Ha ha ha! poor Old Master Feng~
ReplyDeletethanks for the chapter, I'm expecting some face slappin' action soon! :)
relationship between my rou and ou yu is high key adorable
ReplyDeleteThnx for update....❤️❤️❤️
ReplyDeleteAwsome I loved the last part... so sorry old man feng your son has decided that was better for his darling...
ReplyDelete