Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.
“You’re lucky I’m nice.” Zhou Nan kicked him. He was still curious though, and scooted over to ask, “Honestly, tell me the truth. My old man’s been ordering me around like I’m a mule. I’m scared that he has illegitimate children out there who want to get rid of me by working me to the bone.”
Xiao Shenglin said in a flat voice, “Like your dad would even bother with you anymore if had illegitimate children.” DoG8i0
When he heard this, Zhou Nan clicked his tongue and turned to look at Xiao Shenglin. “Lin zi
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Only then did Xiao Shenglin respond. His brows that had just relaxed scrunched up once more. Something flashed through his eyes. He then said, “After the eldest young master of the Xiao Family disappeared, the Xiao patriarch and his wife searched all over the world. But when they came up with nothing after two years, everyone told them that Xiao Yuanmu had likely already died. They had no choice but to give up….”
Zhou Nan turned to meet eyes with Song Xuanhe. They were confused. E5P8pl
What did Xiao Yuanmu have to do with why Xiao Shenglin didn’t want to go back to the Xiao Family?
Xiao Shenglin didn’t notice their eye contact. He slowly continued, “The Xiao Family couldn’t be without a successor. So, the patriarch and his wife decided to have another child once their emotions stabilized. But they hadn’t been able to get pregnant even after another two years, and someone suggested that they should choose a child from a branch family. The patriarch and his wife didn’t agree at the start,  but eventually, they caved under the pressure and gave in.
“Everyone knew that it was no coincedence that the eldest young master had gone missing. The most suspicious branch was my great uncle’s. But the person who had raised the suggestion had proposed that they chose a child from my great uncle’s side. Everyone else had agreed. Although the patriarch and his wife weren’t happy, they had no choice. They ended up choosing me, a child who was already in China and was related to my great uncle but had no contact with him.”
Song Xuanhe was taken aback. Zhou Nan was equally as shocked. They were so shocked that they didn’t even think to look at each other. Both of their gazes were stuck on Xiao Shenglin as they carefully listened to his words. ZFi41n
“Mom had a weak body. She was no match for Great Uncle and the rest of the Xiao Family. I had no choice but to leave with them. At that time, I was nearly six years old. I was old enough to understand what was going on. So I wasn’t willing to leave my mom. Even after arriving at the main residence, I always acted up. Every day, I would cause a fuss.
“The servants who took care of me had been really afraid that I would upset the patriarch and his wife. That’s why they would frequently lock me up in my room. I would only be allowed out when the patriarch and his wife wanted to see me. On my sixth birthday, many children came to the main residence. They were all children of the branch families who had come to live there temporarily while I celebrated my birthday. The matriarch had held my hand and fed me cake. She had then sent me off to play with the other children, but the other kids knew that I wasn’t the biological child of the patriarch and his wife, so they liked to bully me.
“They did so many things….In the end, I stopped talking.” Xiao Shenglin looked conflicted. “One day, someone tricked me into going into a cave in the mountains behind the castle. That person then left, leaving me there for two days.”
“I had no water or food. The cave was really dark and the sound of the wind blowing through the cave had been extremely frightening. Eventually, I decided to try to find my way back. Halfway, the search group finally managed to find me. When I woke up, I wanted to tell the matriarch that I wanted to go home. b62Rk1
“I didn’t expect to overhear the servants talking. They said that I was lucky to survive. But then again, maybe I was better off dead. They said that no one earnestly tried to find me after I disappeared. They said that the Xiao Family relatives wished that I was dead. Someone said that maybe my disappearance wasn’t just a childish prank. Maybe there was another reason.
“I was so afraid. I’d chosen a hiding spot at random.” Xiao Shenglin’s voice grew fainter. “I overheard the matriarch’s servants speaking. They said that the matriarch had been a bit worried in the beginning, but had then also thought that it was a good thing. She’d said, it would be wonderful if I wasn’t able to come back on my own. That maybe I would give up on going back to my mom and would decide to treat the matriarch better.
“I had been terrified. That night, I suffered a high fever.” Xiao Shenglin laughed. “My fever was so high I nearly died. Out of fear, I kept calling for my mom. So they sent me back. Who would have expected that I would recover after being sent home.”
Zhou Nan and Song Xuanhe could not conceal their shock at the end of his story. They even forgot to wonder how Xiao Shenglin was able to tell such a coherent story despite being ‘drunk’. It took them a while to come back to themselves. f szm3
“The Xiao Family is inhumane, how could they treat a child so cruelly?” Zhou Nan gritted his teeth. “They act like the child they stole isn’t a living, breathing human. Like the child’s life or death is up to them to decide.”
Song Xuanhe pursed his lips tightly and remained silent. He was trying to figure out if this story had anything to do with Xiao Shenglin’s future death. Before he could find a connection, another thought popped up in his mind. He looked up to face Xiao Shenglin. As expected, there was no trace of being drunk on his face.
Noticing Song Xuanhe’s expression, Xiao Shenglin smiled. “Thank you. If it weren’t for you two, I would have kept this cooped up inside me for the rest of my life. Not even my mom knows what happened to me while I was at the main residence. I feel a lot better after getting this off my chest.”
Eve: My heart hurts for XSL. That’s such a terrible experience to go through as a child. And ZN being soft over their friendship makes me sad. Change also makes me sad. Nostalgia is bittersweet when you think of what used to be. uHDwzc
xiin: here, have some stabby knives~
Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.
\nxiin: here, have some stabby knives~
Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.
\nStory translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.\n