Chapter 36

Mo Di couldn’t believe what he just heard. How can someone name a puppy garlic?!

But seeing Mu Tian Heng’s satisfied manner, Mo Di did not have the heart to reject him.

The name is quite… flavorful.

“What do you think, little one?” Mu Tian Heng was filled with amusement all the while paying close attention to the little guys’ expression.

“Haha…. That’s pretty good.” Mo Di let out a forced laugh and looked at the ‘garlic’ in his arms.

The ‘garlic’ was staring at him with its innocent and moist black eyes.

Mo Di: “…” No, he had to fight for the cute little ‘garlic’!

Mo Di raised his head and smiled at Mu Tian Heng: “Brother, that’s a good name but garlic is such a common ingredient that’s being eaten every day. Our Suan Suan is innocent.”

“Um, that makes sense.” Mu Tian Heng repressed his urge to smile, he would like to see how his family’s Mo Di steer this one.

“So little one, do you have any good suggestions?”

“Well…the name you picked is great. Suan Suan… it’s a solid and energetic name. And the reduplication is also very cute, cough…” Mo Di was not able to continue with his self-contradictory words anymore, “why don’t we switch up the word a little to give him a more unique name?”

Mu Tian Heng was about to burst out laughing but he kept his composure: “So what word would you like to use?”

“How about… Suan Suan (算算)! The suan from ji suan (计算 = computing/calculating). It still retains the name you gave but its meaning is closer to home since we’re both good at computing. It can be our mascot! That’s three birds with one stone! Brother, what do you think?”

“Suan Suan?” Mu Tian Heng who was racking his brains to think of a better name for the puppy to appease Mo Di was saved by his suggestion. His little one is just too cute, and also very quick-witted.

Mu Tian Heng could no longer hold back and reached out to touch Mo Di’s hair. He smiled and said: “Indeed, that’s a very good name.”

A smile spread across Mo Di’s face immediately. He pinched Suan Suan’s hairy ears.

Suan Suan, you should remember and be thankful to me, I’m the reason you managed to escape from that pungent name.

“Alright, let’s stop bothering Suan Suan for now. It’s time to eat, what do you want for dinner?”

“Anything will do.” Mo Di replied.

“Anything will do….that’s actually harder to deal with.” Mu Tian Heng at Mo Di with gentle eyes. After a moment, he smiled and said: “How about steak? We still have some left from the last time.”

“Ok.” Mo Di nodded decisively. When he said ‘anything will do’, he really meant it, he was not going to refuse anything.

“Then I’ll go make it. You can stay in the living room and wait.”

“Brother, I want to be your assistant.” Mo Di refused to stay idle. He put down Suan Suan and went to the kitchen.

“There’s no need, it’s nothing complicated. I don’t need an assistant. And…” Mu Tian Heng looked at Suan Suan with a contemplating look, “if your name wasn’t changed, I might actually let you in to help improve the taste, but now, let’s just forget it.” “(TN: 算了吧 means something like forget it or nevermind. It is the same word as Suan Suan’s name)

Mo Di was so humored he let out a laughter. He held Suan Suan’s paw and said: “Ha ha, Suan Suan, did you get it? You’re seasoning!”

…

While Mu Tian Heng and Mo Di were basked in warmth and sweetness, the Mo family was in a turbulent state.

Mo Shi Guo looked at his son with a heavy expression. He picked up a stick and lashed at Mo San Zhi. “You disgraceful thing! This is just great. You stayed in America all these years and this is what you learned?! To be a pervert?! To like men?! To be a homosexual?! I’m going to beat you to death! You’re a disgrace! I’m going to kill you…”

“Uncle! Please stop! Please don’t hit third brother anymore!”

Seeing the cane landing on Mo San Zhi, Mo Liu Gui rushed over to block for Mo San Zhi. “Uncle, don’t hit him anymore. Brother didn’t do anything wrong.”

“He didn’t do anything wrong? How can this not be wrong?! Xiao Gui, stop defending him. I have to kill this shameless thing today! I can’t let him bring men back and disgrace our family!”

“Xiao Gui… Xiao Gui, stay away. You don’t have to defend me. If it were to hit you by mistake, I’ll be even more distressed.” Mo San Zhi was extremely moved. He looked at Mo Liu Gui and only felt that his sister was the best, no one else came close.

He would not allow her to be hurt by anyone.

“Third brother, I can’t just stand and watch you get beaten like this.” Mo Liu Gui’s eyes turned red as she looked at Mo San Zhi then at Mo Shi Guo. She pleaded: “Uncle, don’t hit him anymore. If this continues, he might be hospitalized. Then the one who’s hurt will be you.”

“That’s right, Shi Guo, don’t hit him anymore, please….” the second aunt was sobbing next to him. She held Mo Shi Guo’s hand and begged: “Please, Shi Guo, we can still correct his wrong but you can’t keep hitting him like this.”

Mo Liu Gui added: “Uncle, third brother was led astray by that Song Yu but he’s over it now. He doesn’t like that man anymore, why are you still punishing him? Doing this will only hurt him.”

“I don’t believe that he can change just because he said so!” Mo Shi Guo’s eyes were bloodshot with indignation. “I refuse to recognize this pervert as my son!”

“Dad, I’ve changed. I’ve really changed!” seeing Mo Liu Gui’s wink, Mo San Zhi got the cue and quickly expressed his regret and grievances: “Dad, I know that I was wrong but now I’ve gotten over it. At that time I was seduced by Song Yu. He made me like him. You don’t know this but he’s really good at seducing someone.”

“But when I came home, I realized that I was misled by him, I have no feelings towards him. I wanted to break up with him but I did not expect him to come here to look for me. He knew I was planning to break up with him, that’s why he said those scandalous words. Dad, he wanted to ruin me.”

“I don’t like him at all. Now I’m just disgusted with him. Dad, I don’t like men, I still like women!”

“Shi Guo! Shi Guo, look! Our son already knew his mistake, he’s changed. Don’t hit him anymore!”

The second aunt cried and grabbed the cane in Mo Shi Guo’s hand, “Sanzhi was under that vixen’s bewitching, he’s better now. He knows he was wrong before, he still prefers girls. Please forgive him, forgive him…”

Mo Shi Guo was infuriated: “You stay quiet! Spare the rod and spoil the child. I have to make him remember this day for life! I …”

“Enough!” Suddenly, the patriarch sitting on the main seat called out in anger. He placed his teacup on the side table.

Mo Shi Guo looked at the Mo patriarch: “Father…”

“Stop your shouting! Do you still think of me as your father?!” the Mo patriarch’s breathing was heavy as he raised his voice in anger: “He’d already repented, do you still insist on sending him to the hospital?! What happens when this spread and people started asking questions? Are you going to tell them that because he is homosexual that’s why you hit him till he was hospitalized? Do you know what shame is?!”

“Father, this…” Mo Shi Guo threw the stick in his hand but he was not soothed, “you’re just making up excuses for him. We can’t just let this slide.” 

“Why not? Isn’t it enough that he knew his mistake and changed? What else do you want him to do? He already said that he doesn’t like men, if you don’t believe him then what, you’re going to force him to say that he does?” The Mo patriarch stared at Mo Shi Guo.

The second aunt continued to cry.

“Alright, daughter-in-law, don’t cry anymore.” The Mo patriarch picked up the teacup and took a sip. His mood eased a little and he said: “San Zhi is already twenty-seven, he’s not young anymore. It’s time for you to find him a partner. Tomorrow, go have a chat with your peers, see if there’s a suitable girl. Set up a date for them and let him be in a relationship.”

“Yes, I understand father.” the second aunt wiped her tears and agreed.

Mo San Zhi who was still on the ground dared not say anything. He slowly got up but remained kneeling.

…

What happened in the Mo villa, Mo Di did not know for the camera they planted was not in the living room. But how things would turn out, he had long predicted it.

There was no way he would let the Mo family swindle a marriage.

Although their conversation was not recorded by Song Yu, it was caught on the camera. He only had to distort uncle Song’s voice and trim out his name, then he could put this on the internet.

However, there was something else he had to do. That was to take the audio file and the photos in Song Yu’s hands and mail it to the Mo’s circle of friends and the upper-class families of the capital. 

Of course, he couldn’t be presumptuous. This matter, he would have to ask for Song Yu’s permission before doing so.

Song Yu agreed on the spot. He was even happy to do so. 

“After I left that place, I really regretted not recording those words. I’m just worried those scums will try to dupe another poor girl. I wanted to put those evidence on the internet but without a good cause, it will just backfire and it’ll be harder to deal with that jerk if we don’t strike when the iron is hot.”

“We have the audio, coupled with your pictures, this should nail him good.” Mo Di smiled and replied. “Thank you uncle Song, I’ll send these to several families in the capital first. The second aunt’s disposition is extremely proud. No matter how bad her son is, in her heart, only the ladies from the noblest of families are worthy of her him. Therefore, we shall start with those.”

“This’ll be a good show.” Song Yu said: “Let’s see how they’re going to be crushed by those families.”

“This won’t be enough to crush them but they won’t be able to get out of this unscathed.”

When Mo Di and Song Yu ended their conversation, the files and documents were also neatly compiled into a package and sent out to the influential families in the city.

Prior, he had wanted to post this directly on the internet but thinking over, doing that would not be as effective.

In case the Mo family denied and claimed that it was falsified. Even were they to acquiesce this matter, they could still declare that although their child was homosexual, they would not deceive anyone into a sham marriage. This ending was not enough of an impact, after all, being gay is not wrong.

But once they expose their truthful and disgusting thoughts and plans, the scorn that awaits them is the truly rewarding outcome. 

By then, Mo San Zhi would’ve lost all his standing.

However, all these would still depend on whether his guess was accurate. In case the Mos change their spots, then … maybe the sky would fall.

At noon the next day, Mo Di knew that his guess was accurate.

As the saying goes, a leopard cannot change its spots, a dog can’t change its habit of eating dung. 

Um…the second part isn’t right, his family Suan Suan doesn’t even have that habit.

That very morning, the second aunt dressed up elegantly to visit the Li family, a second-class family in the capital. She wanted to matchmake Mo San Zhi with their third daughter. 

Madame Li was inevitably furious after she had seen the materials last night. She refused the proposal on the spot. And because they were a cultured family, even when angered, she still kept her temper in check. Besides, she did want to discuss this matter in the open and hence, did not tear off the second aunt’s face.

On the other hand, with the second aunt’s proud nature, she did not think too highly of the Li family. But one was that the Mo family had met with a large setback recently and they could not be considered as prestigious as before, the second was that the Mo patriarch had ordered her to swallow her ego and pick a second or third rate family’s lady to propose. This was why she suppressed her anger and reluctantly picked the second class Li, Zhao, and Sun family.

Never would she have thought that she would be rejected so quickly and adamantly. Her anger erupted, she stated that the Li girl was not worthy and that she really did not think anything of their family.

At this point, no matter how restraint madame Li was, she was not a clay doll. Seeing how the second aunt was not only shameless but even dared to despise their daughter, madame Li began to feud with her. The Li patriarch was not as patient, he ordered the security guards to collect the dirty things from the public toilet and chased the second aunt away with it.

What a nasty aftertaste….

In short, the second madame of the Mo family became the laughing stock of the whole upper circle of the capital in just one short afternoon. The Li family also took down the surveillance in their villa and spread it around, all the while denouncing Mo San Zhi and his mom.

The Li family’s deed saved Mo Di the trouble of having to intrude into their surveillance to retrieve the footage. He took it directly from the email that was sent out. Together with the previous batch of materials…

He posted them all on the internet and even helped it push into the top ten spots.

That afternoon, Mo San Zhi was on fire.

But what he gained was not fame but infamy.

There was no exceptions but an all-out abuse towards him:

“What kind of garbage is this? Isn’t it too f**king disgusting?”

“Sh*t! This Mo San Zhi’s character is degraded. He’s got a handsome face but the inside is just not human!!”

“God, what a scum! Not only did he lie to his boyfriend into becoming his closet lover, he even pretended to be heterosexual to deceive other girls! Sh*t! Disgusting disgusting!”

“Mo San Zhi’s boyfriend is pretty tough. Did he post these photos on purpose? Well, whoever posted this, thank you very much for letting everyone see clearly the scum man and his family. No girls will be deceived by him again!”

“Not just girls but boys should stay away from him. Don’t ever agree to be with him! This garbage is an animal, he’s not worth it!”

“The Mo family is really an eye-opener. Before this they abuse their own kid, now this… what a wonderful family! Boycott the Mo enterprise!”

“…”

Mo San Zhi’s name instantly became a stink bomb for the whole country. His photo was made into a sticker: “Wanna date? Men or women, I’ll be especially scummie”

All the business collaborations that Mo San Zhi was planning were rejected. No one wanted to work with him. The designers that once agreed to jump ship with him have all blacklisted him.

Even the Mo family was affected. In less than four hours, their stock value fell by nearly eight percent!

Witnessing the whole thing play out, Mo Di couldn’t help but applaud. He rubbed Suan Suan’s tiny head and gave him a piece of snack to celebrate.

What Mo Di did not know was that there was another happy event that he did not anticipate.

Li Zhao, Mo Liu Gui’s broker, wanted to help her gain some popularity since she had just finished with her filming. Even when he had already paid, after seeing the heated hatred for Mo San Zhi and the Mo family, he contacted Weibo again to pull down the hot search he just bought.

Li Zhao was infuriated! His previous artist had never caused him so much torment and dislike!

Some time ago, the hot searches he bought for her were always pushed down. Now, even when she had better backing from the Qin family and he was about to go all out to promote her, this had to happen!!

After the previous video with Mo Di, the Mo family and Mo Liu Gui’s popularity were already low. Now with this new event, with such a brother…

How is he going to promote her?! How?!

There was no way he could boost her popularity without being berated! 

He’d lost his resolve to take care of this artist!!!

Chapter 35

Mo San Zhi turned ghastly pale. 

“You…you, you’re lying!” The second aunt pointed straight at Song Yu, her expression was unsightly. She picked up the things on the table and smashed them at him.

“Nasty thing with the filthy mouth, get out of here! How dare you say my son is gay, You’re the one who’s gay. You disgusting pervert! Get out! Get out of here!” 

Song Yu dodged to one side and did not elaborate further. He said with a cold face: “Auntie if you hurt me, I will post the evidence that Mo San Zhi is gay on the internet. At that time not only will everyone knows that he’s gay, but also that he’s a coward!” 

“You!” the second aunt froze in place. The things in her hand were not thrown but her insults did not cease: “You slander my son. You’ll die a horrible death! Song Yu you’ll die horribly!”

“Are you sure you got the right yu this time?” Song Yu sneered, “Auntie, I had no intention of coming to your Mo house but Mo San Zhi he’s just too much. Not only was he playing with me, he even wanted to fool me into staying in America and become his closet lover… heh!”

“I think this matter, as his mother, you have the right to know. Otherwise you would arrange a blind date for him and make him unhappy, as well as ruining another girl’s life. Such a vicious thing, I think I should try to prevent it.”

“Shut up! You pervert! Shut up! You’re the one who likes men. My son is not like that at all! You vixen! You tried to seduce my son! He rejected you, that’s why you’re trying to ruin him! Let me tell you, I won’t let you off. The Mo family won’t let you off! You’d better be careful, I…”

“That’s enough!”

The Mo patriarch roared angrily and struck hard with his crutch. “Everyone, just stop talking!”

The second aunt was shocked and her screeching stopped for two seconds before she started to sob: “Father, father, this is definitely slander. This Song Yu is lying! He’s a pervert, he’s trying to ruin San Zhi. We can’t just let this go. Father…”

Mo grandfather snorted. With Mo San Zhi’s pale and frightened look on the ground, how could he not tell whether this was a lie or not.

But regardless, he would not admit that his third grandson was a pervert who liked men.

“Xiao Song, regarding this type of thing, you shouldn’t talk nonsense. It looks like there’s a misunderstanding between you and San Zhi. That’s alright, if there’s a misunderstanding, we can talk it through but you can’t spread this absurd claim around!” The Mo patriarch looked at Song Yu coldly, “Otherwise, you’ll only bring trouble to others and yourself.”

“That’s right. This is all a misunderstanding! A groundless accusation!” Hearing his grandfather defend him, Mo San Zhi’s sinking heart was emboldened: “Xiao Yu, I know that you like me but it’s impossible between us. I only liked your sister, but now it seems we’re not meant to be. When you returned to America, you…”

“Mo San Zhi!”

Song Yu interrupted his words and retorted calmly with disgust: “You’re more unbelievable than I thought. Lying without any hesitation, just like your brothers and sister when they tried to distort the truth. You guys are really …birds of a feather”

“What crap are you talking about?” Mo San Zhi regained his strength. He stood up and looked at Song Yu with a darkened face. “You can slander me, but you can’t behave like those trash on the internet and slander my sister all because of a bullsh*t video. That Mo Di has never been a good thing!”

Song Yu looked at Mo San Zhi and let out a laugh.

“And I thought what they said about your Mo family’s twisted principles when it comes to Mo Liu Gui was exaggerated, it’s actually worse than that. Slander? Mo San Zhi do you even know what that means?!!”

“Like what I said about your homosexuality is slander? What that video showed about your family is slander?! Your family’s mentality is twisted. You’re biased to the extent of having no morality or humanity and yet you still think of yourself as a highly virtuous family.”

“You people are ridiculous!”

Song Yu’s lecture made everyone in the Mo family burn with anger.

“Song Yu, shut the f**k up!” Mo San Zhi’s anger burst. He aimed a fist straight at Song Yu but was knocked away by Chen Zhao. “You jerk! Stay away!”

Chen Zhao’s rage which had been accumulating all this time erupted into that one shove, blasting Mo San Zhi away by about five meters and causing him to bump into the table edge.

Mo San Zhi’s mother burst into tears. She kept swearing even as she ran over to help her son. The Mo patriarch was also flaring, he directly called security to chase Song Yu and Chen Zhao out.

“Song Yu is it? Our family does not welcome people like you who sullies the reputation of others by calling them gay. You can get out now!” 

“Is that so? But I still haven’t shown you the evidence yet.” When the security guards were approaching them, Song Yu took out a stack of photos and splayed them in front of the crowd. 

“Chat logs, confession photos, and more! A few of the photos might be too stimulating in your opinion but you have the right to know.” Song Yu said contentedly, “But don’t think of using these against me. None of these has my information.”

Seeing that the guard was coming for him, Song Yu grabbed two photos and pasted it on their faces, “Hey you guys should have a look as well.”

The security guards stepped back and their faces turned red. They dared not look at the photos, the Mo family will kill them!

Out of curiosity, the eldest aunt picked up a couple of the photos and stared in bewilderment, her face then showed a look of disgust.

“Well, since you don’t want to see me anymore, I’ll be going then.” Song Yu smiled at the security guards and said: “Don’t have to see me off.”

Song Yu had just felt the vibration from his phone. This was the signal Mo Di designated in advance when he wanted them to withdraw.

The Mo patriarch’s face was red with anger and was on the edge of collapsing. The eldest aunt saw his declining state, threw the photos in hand, and ran to appease him. Not long ago because of that little animal Mo Di’s doing, the old man was sent straight to the hospital. He was only discharged recently. If he was to be hospitalized again…

Wouldn’t the Mo family fall apart?!

“Father, father, don’t be too agitated… I’ve already called Shi Qiang back, father…”

“Go put those photos away…put them away quickly!!” The Mo patriarch was red as a beet and his throat felt like there was a big lump lodged there. “Our family cannot afford to carry this shame!”

At this time Song Yu was already downstairs, running off with Chen Zhao.

In his hands remained a few provocative photos which he treated as his weapon, in case their path was blocked, those would go directly onto the guards’ faces.

But as they got to the gate, they met up with another Mo family member who was coming back.

Mo Liu Gui was surprised when she saw Song Yu. She then quickly greeted him with a smile: “Hello, you are…?”

“Since I just dumped your third brother…” Song Yu replied gracefully: “then I’m likely your third brother’s ex-boyfriend.”

After saying this, Song Yu ignored Mo Liu Gui’s ‘wonderful’ look, and dashed out the gate.

Chen Zhao picked up his pace to catch up. There was jittering in his heart when he saw the man standing next to Mo Liu Gui. Why are his eyes and facial expression that frightening? It’s like he wants to eat them alive!

They promptly found Mo Di’s rental car and scuttered inside. 

“That felt good.” Song Yu let out a long breath, then said to Mo Di: “Xiao Di, is it done?”

“Em.” Mo Di nodded. He had perfectly hidden any trace of connection the wireless camera would emit. And because he had seen clearly what happened in the Mo house, he was in quite a complicated mood.

When Uncle Song lets his mouth run loose, his soft and gentle image…was completely torn down. That mouth of his is a terrible weapon!

“Xiao Di, why did you signal us back so suddenly? Is it because of Mo Liu Gui?” Song Yu, sitting next to him, asked.

“Uhm.” Mo Di turned off his computer. “Especially the man next to her, Qin Cheng Yi. At present, we can’t afford to provoke him. He was the one who plotted against me in the college entrance exam case.”

“What?! He’s the one?!”

Chen Zhao immediately swore in surprise: “No wonder he looked evil. There is a strong anguish aura between his brows. He has the making of a mafia boss.”

“Anyway, turn around if you happen to meet them. Do not by any means confront them.” Mo Di advised.

“Uhm, we’ll listen to you.” Song Yu patted Mo Di on the shoulder and said in an elderly tone: “Thanks to you providing me with adequate information that your uncle, me, can lash out on them with my full potential. It’s a pity you had to do something else, otherwise, you could’ve joined us.”

“Even though I wasn’t there, I can still tell how handsome Uncle Song was.” Mo Di said with a smile, “now that everything is almost done, I’ll be getting off at the Chang Cheng road junction. I won’t be accompanying you guys after this.” 

“Xiao Di,  you’re going home? Uncle still wants to invite you for dinner.”

“Um. I have to go home. My brother is waiting for me.” Mo Di was oblivious that once he mentioned Mu Tian Heng, his mood would brighten and he would even want to smile.

“Brother? Which one?” Song Yu eyed Mo Di doubtfully, “Aren’t all your brothers a bunch of crazies?”

“Of course it’s not those.” Chen Zhao interjected. “It’s someone Xiao Di got to know outside. He’s super good and has helped him a lot. If Xiao Di isn’t this young and that guy isn’t that old, I would have thought that he had taken a fancy to Xiao Di. Isn’t that right, Xiao Di?”

Mo Di: “…”

“What’s more, he’s super handsome.” Chen Zhao bragged to Song Yu. “Uncle it’s true! That brother of Xia Di is super hot. He’s tall with long legs. I did not see his face clearly but I can tell he’s very good looking. Hundreds of times better than Mo San Zhi!”

Song Yu instantly gave out an “oh?”. Wanting in on the gossip, he asked: “Xiao Di, what does your brother do?”

But Mo Di at this moment asked the driver to stop: “Uncle, you can let me down here, I have to go.” Then he smiled and said to Song Yu and Chen Zhao: “Uncle Song, Chen Zhao, I’m leaving now. I can ride the subway from here. Let’s have a meal together when we have the chance.”

Then, Mo Di opened the door and ran off.

Chen Zhao and Song Yu: “…”

Why did Xiao Di suddenly act so strange? (TN: cause he’s running away from a potential love rival lol!)

After walking for some distance, he reached the subway station. As he was about to enter, he heard several weak whimpers coming from the sidewalk.

He turned to look and saw a cardboard box next to a trash can. Inside… is it a puppy?

The puppy had dirt all over and its white fur was clumped together. It could not open its eyes but could still sense the presence of someone approaching. Its tiny body moved forward with all its might, using the weak paws to scratch at the box and whimpered frailly.

When Mo Di saw the little puppy, he was slightly stunned. This little guy… why does he look like the one he tried to adopt before running away from home in his last life?

In his last life, after he failed to do well in the College Entrance Exam and had a broken arm and leg, his mood coming home after the hospital stay was gloomy. He wanted to retake the exam but no one supported it. Hence he ended up in a mediocre university.

After he enrolled, he only came back to the Mo house once a month. In fact, if Mo Liu Gui did not insist on wanting him to come back, and the Mos ordered him to do so to please Mo Liu Gui, he would not return at all. On his second trip back, he met the little puppy near the Mo villa. Although it was dirty, he could tell that it was white and had a brown spot, and also a broken tail.

Exactly the same with this one.

Back then, he saw the pitiful dog and he himself was quite lonely, so he brought the puppy to a pet store for a bath and treatment. He got some dog food and a kennel for it, thinking that he was going to have a companion in the future.

After getting the kennel for him and placing it near the Mo villa, planning to bring it back with him when he left for school, the dog disappeared the next day and even its kennel was thrown away.

According to what he overheard from the servants afterward, Mo Wu Hang had hit the dog and chased it away for scaring his sister.

Mo Di took a deep breath and exhaled the discomfort in his heart, then went over to pick up the box.

The puppy sensed that someone was close and that he was being held, his sobs became louder. The tiny paws continuously scratched the carton box’s wall, trying to climb out of the box with its soft body. It soon failed and tumbled backward.

Mo Di couldn’t help but chuckle. He said softly: “I’ll take you for a bath first, then to the vet for injection, and check up to see if you’re sick before I can bring you home.”

Mo Di hugged the carton box and walked to the nearest pet store three kilometers away. He let the puppy have its bath and also bought some dog food for it.

After the fluffball was washed and fed, Mo Di brought it to the vet and had them do several tests on it.

The veterinarian said that the puppy was fine, only slightly weak. He told Mo Di to bring it back the following weekend to have its vaccination shot. After Mo Di noted it down, he went to purchase a medicine box, a kennel, and a doggie toilet.

The little white-ball was a lot more energetic after being stuffed. It clawed at Mo Di’s clothes and looked at him with its black round eyes, incredibly adorable.

“What are you looking at?” Mo Di lightly touched its nose and said with a smile: “Later you have to behave well, if brother doesn’t like you, then we’ll both have to sleep on the street, got it?”

“Woo.. woo…” the little puppy gave two soft barks, as if saying that it understood.

Mo Di’s smile widened with delight. He rubbed the little head, “You’re so cute, let’s see…what name should I give you?”

But with his disastrous naming sense, even when he reached home and saw Mu Tian Heng, he still could not come up with a good name.

Mu Tian Heng was quite surprised seeing Mo Di return with a little puppy in his arms. He walked over and said: “Little one, how did you end up coming back with a puppy?”

“I picked him up. But I’ve let him take a bath and injections, he’s germ-free.” Mo Di said softy, then looked at Mu Tian Heng anxiously: “brother, let’s keep him, shall we? See, he’s cute and very obedient. He only needs a little space in the courtyard. That’s it.”

Mo Di stared at Mu Tian Heng nervously but unknown to him, Mu Tian Heng was laughing in his heart.

The little one probably did not know that his expression and the puppy’s were exactly the same, surprisingly consistent. The two pairs of eyes looked at him pleadingly, this picture …. is inexplicably effective.

When Mu Tian Heng did not speak, Mo Di called out again: “Brother, are you mad at me?”

“Of course not.” Mu Tian Heng was just at a loss for words. He reached out to rub Mo Di’s hair, “I’m trying to think of a name for it.”

“So brother, you agreed?” Mo Di beamed and his eyes bent. Apparently, his ‘sympathy act’ was still useful. 

That’s right, Mu Tian Heng did not know that he had once again witnessed a stage play.

“Thank you, brother!”

“That’s ok, don’t have to thank me. I actually also like dogs. Do you have any name in mind?”

Mo Di wanted to say that he was not done thinking but changed his mind and said: “I haven’t thought of it. I planned to let brother name it. Brother, please help him think of a name.”

The first step to cultivating affection between the master and pet: naming it!

But this time, Mu Tian Heng saw through Mo Di’s little routine immediately. He was laughing inside but went along: “Really? But I’m not good with names.”

“It’s ok it’s ok. I’m not good at naming things either. Brother, just randomly give him a name. Whatever name you give him, I’m sure he’ll like it.”

“Alright…” Mu Tian Heng agreed. He put on a thinking posture and said: “Uhm, I think a pet name should demonstrate spice, ferocity, and zest.”

Mo Di echoed: “That’s right!”

“And it has to be cute, and also not too strange.”

Mo Di once again echoed: “That’s right, That’s right!”

“So…” Mu Tian Heng laughed, “let’s call it da suan.” (TN: da suan 大蒜 = garlic)

Mo Di choked at the last ‘that’s right’ that he was going to say. His expression froze as he shouted a “ha?”.

Mu Tian Heng nodded with satisfaction, “Well, there is the spice and zest, but doesn’t sound very cute, let’s get rid of the da and call it suan suan.”

Chapter 34

Mo Di did not go with Chen Zhao and Song Yu to the Mo villa. He told them to meet up in half an hour near the compound. In the meantime, Mo Di hurried to Mu Tian Heng’s company. 

Mu Tian Heng did not expect Mo Di to come looking for him. He happily came down to the reception to fetch Mo Di. 

“Little one, you miss me that much?” Upon seeing Mo Di, Mu Tian Heng’s first reaction was to rub his hair. He said in a doting tone: “have you had your lunch?”

“Not yet.” Mo Di shook his head then shyly scanned the area. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he gave a sigh of relief and whispered: “Brother, I have something important to tell you.”

Seeing Mo Di’s secretive posture, Mu Tian Heng chuckled and said: “Come to my office.”

When they reached Mu Tian Heng’s office, Mo Di was about to say something when Mu Tian Heng gave him a flick on the forehead.

Mo Di was dumbfounded. He looked at Mu Tian Heng, completely oblivious of what he was being ‘punished’ for.

“Don’t know your offense yet?”

Mu Tian Heng looked at Mo Di’s confused and innocent expression and the slightly red forehead. Feeling somewhat annoyed for not controlling his strength, he reached to rub the pinkish spot for him. “It’s already past one. Why haven’t you had your lunch yet? Such an irregular eating habit, are you trying to ruin your body?”

Mo Di gazed into Mu Tian Heng’s eyes but felt speechless. His face was dyed red with embarrassment, but unlike the kind when he used to suffocate himself to create, this time it was beyond his control.

“Brother, I….I was too busy today.”

“No matter how busy you are, you still have to eat. I’ll tell Assistant Gao to get lunch for you. Try the roast duck I had before, it’s quite good. You can eat in my lounge later.” Connected to Mu Tian Heng’s office was another room with adequate facilities, a bed, a table, and even a simple bathroom, suitable to take a rest in.

“Brother, I can’t. I’m really busy today. And also I have something urgent.” Mo Di took a deep breath. When his face was less heated, he took a step back.

“My roommate’s uncle is back. We went to pick him up at the airport and later, we’re going to the Mo house.”

“You mean…the one named Song Yu has returned to Hua Xia?” Mu Tian Heng had a restrained look. “Is he going to confront Mo San Zhi now?”

“Um. He wants to settle this once and for all.” Mo Di looked to Mu Tian Heng and said: “Brother, we have agreed to meet up near the Mo house so I have to hurry. Previously I asked brother to help me get a special pinhole camera, do you have it now? I want to bring it along.”

“The kind with wifi charging? I just received it two days ago but it’s in the villa.” Mu Tian Heng frowned, “Little one, you’re planning to put it inside the Mo house?”

“Um. Uncle Song agreed to help.”

Mu Tian Heng’s gaze stayed on Mo Di for a few seconds but did not question him. He rubbed his hair and said: “Come, I’ll send you back to get it.”

Half an hour later, Mo Di took the items, got on a cab, and left for the appointed destination.

When Mo Di arrived, Chen Zhao and Song Yu had been waiting for twenty minutes.

“Sorry I’m late.” Mo Di said apologetically.

“No problem.” Song Yu looked at Mo Di’s backpack and asked: “You’ve brought it?”

“Um. But it’s not in the bag.” Mo Di pulled out two minuscule items and put them in Song Yu’s hand.

Chen Zhao, the ignorant party, was baffled. He did not know the secret plan they had hatched through WeChat and asked curiously: “What are those? Xiao Di, what did you give my uncle? Why don’t I get one?”

“It’s a secret.” In the half-month Mo Di spent interacting with Song Yu, he felt that he was more at ease with Song Yu than Chen Zhao. This was not only because Song Yu was more reliable, but also his status as a ‘cannon fodder’ gave Mo Di a sense of camaraderie.

“Thank you, Uncle Song.” Mo Di thanked Song Yu once again.

“Don’t mention it. Xiao Di, you’ve helped me a great deal. Doing you this little favor is nothing.”

A smile loomed on Mo Di’s face. He said to Song Yu: “Uncle Song, at this time, there will only be several daughters-in-law and the Mo patriarch at home. Are you going to wait for Mo San Zhi or go in to pay the others a visit first?”

“I actually have the same thought as you.” Song Yu looked straight at Mo Di and put on a devilish smile. “Of course it’s the latter.”

Mo Di smiled: “Um, that will be more exciting.”

Chen Zhao looked at both of them with a head full of question marks. What game are these two playing?!

After pinpointing the Mo house’s location to Chen Zhao and Song Yu, Mo Di rented a car nearby. He sat in and waited quietly with his laptop in hand. Once the pinhole camera was connected to the wifi, he could immediately hack into its data and store its information.

Chen Zhao followed Song Yu to the Mo house. He was worried that the unreasonable people of the Mo family would beat up his uncle on impulse.

The Mo members were not expecting an unidentified guest at their door, but, maintaining a hospitable front had always been their forte, and so, they were not chased away. After being asked several questions, the Mos realized that the person was Song Yu’s brother and quickly invited them in.

The second aunt was particularly enthusiastic. She kept inviting Song Yu to some tea and snacks.

“Aiya, so you’re Song Yu’s brother. Such a talented person. I can tell just by looking. That girl Yu Er must also be a beautiful and elegant girl with good virtue. Your names are also meaningful, one with jin(gold) and the other a pure jade. Why didn’t Yu Er come with you?”

“She’s busy.” Song Yu smiled and said: “Mo San Zhi…what did he tell you about my sister?”

“Hai…my son really likes your sister. A few months ago, he told me he fell in love with a girl named Song Yu and said she’s like someone from the heavens. We wanted him to bring her back but he kept saying that it was inconvenient for her. Ai, this boy has been like this since young. For the things and people he likes, he always wanted to hide and protect it. He was worried that we’ll bully her. Xiao Song, you don’t have to worry, my son knows best how to protect and pamper his girlfriend.”

“Indeed, I also feel that he’s very good at protecting.” Song Yu smiled.

Well, he did protect his existence with care, even his gender was changed.

“Cough…” The Mo grandfather cleared his throat abruptly and said: “Second daughter in law, call that kid San Zhi back. His girlfriend’s elder and younger brothers are here to visit, how can he not be around to host, what kind of behavior is this?!”

That’s right. Chen Zhao was pretending to be Song Yu’s younger brother who was now fuming mad at Mo San Zhi. But he still warned himself not to give the game away.

The second aunt said: “Yes father, I’ll give him a call right now. Isn’t he busy these days? He’s creating his own brand in Hua Xia, it’s not a simple task.” She took out her cell to dial Mo San Zhi’s number, then said to Song Yu: “Xiao Song, our family’s San Zhi is the most capable one. He would rather tire himself to death than let his wife suffer.”

Song Yu lowered his head to take a sip of tea, hiding his ironic smile.

Song Yu had not even been married to their house and yet, she was already jabbed at.

“Hello, mom?” when the phone got through, Mo San Zhi’s voice could be heard faintly from this side: “What is it? I’m still busy here.”

“Ai, big news! San Zhi, come home quick, your girlfriend’s brother is here.”

“What? What girlfriend’s brother? Mom, what are you talking about?”

“Auntie, let me talk to him.” Song Yu put down the teacup.

“Good good good. Xiao Song you talk to him.” She handed the phone to Song Yu.

“Wei? Mo San Zhi? I’m at your house right now. Why don’t you come back for a visit?” Song Yu said to the phone with a smirk: “I came to say hello to auntie on behalf of my sister.”

“Clang—!” The noise that came through sounded like the phone had dropped and someone hurried to pick it up.

“Mo San Zhi, I’m not in a hurry, I’ll wait for you to come back.” Song Yu did not wait for Mo San Zhi’s reply. He handed the phone back to the second aunt. “Thank you, auntie.”

The second aunt was actually dissatisfied with Song Yu’s attitude but she did not say anything. “Son, did you hear that? Stop your work and hurry back.”

“I.. I’ll be right back.” Mo San Zhi’s voice was tense and he hung up the phone soon after.

“The boy was too nervous.” The second aunt frowned, then turned to ask Song Yu: “Xiao Song, what do you do? Are you a doctor like your sister?”

…

Mo San Zhi came back in less than half an hour.

What he saw when he charged into the living room with sweat on his face was Song Yu chatting heartily with Mo grandfather. 

“San Zhi, you’re back.” The second aunt came to meet him but only saw him dashed over to Song Yu and grabbed his arm, “you…why are you here?”

“I can’t come here?” Song Yu smiled and looked at Mo San Zhi coldly.

“San Zhi, what are you doing…”

“Mom, I have something to say to Xiao Yu’s brother, we’re leaving first.” Mo San Zhi interrupted his mother. He held on to Song Yu’s arm and was about to leave when Mo grandfather stopped him.

“What is wrong with you?! Is this how you treat our guests? People will think our Mo family does not know how to educate their children.”

“Grandpa, we really have urgent matters to discuss, I….”

“How about this? We can discuss things in your room first. I still want to have dinner with auntie later.” Song Yu smiled as he retracted his hand from Mo San Zhi’s grasp.

“You…” Mo San Zhi was exploding with anger in his head but he knew that now was not the time to get physical and drag Song Yu away. He suppressed his anger and shifted closer, blocking any incoming sight. He then spoke to Song Yu in an affectionate tone: “Can’t we talk outside? There’s a cafe around the corner. Let’s go…”

“No. I’m not leaving until you give me an explanation.”

When the second aunt heard Song Yu’s words, she thought that Mo San Zhi had wronged Song Yu’s sister behind her back. Although in her heart, nothing her son did could be wrong, she still had to put on the act of a decent mother-in-law and said: “Aiya San Zhi, if there’s a misunderstanding somewhere, you have to clear it up with Xiao Song. Don’t let others think our Mo family picks on others.”

Mo San Zhi ground his teeth in anger as he stared at Song Yu, but things were out of his control, he had no choice but to take Song Yu upstairs. Chen Zhao was distressed, he called out: “Brother?!”

“It’s ok. Xiao Zhao, you stay here and have a good talk with auntie and grandpa.” Song Yu gave Chen Zhao a pacifying look, then followed Mo San Zhi upstairs.

Song Yu paused when he passed by Mo Di’s room. He raised his hand to touch the damage on the door and stayed there.

Walking ahead, Mo San Zhi saw that Song Yu had stopped following. He pressed down the anger and said: “Xiao Yu, hurry up.”

“Uhm.” Song Yu quietly withdrew his hand from the door and said: “This room looks different from the others. The door even has a crack, you guys don’t fix it?” And with one look, he could tell the damage was caused by someone kicking it open.

“That room belongs to that ani…” Mo San Zhi put on the brake in time and swallowed back his words: “That’s my cousin’s room. He doesn’t like us touching his stuff. He won’t let us fix it, so it’s better for us not to.”

“Oh.” Song Yu put on a fake smile and continued to follow Mo San Zhi to his room.

Immediately after Song yu entered the door, Mo San Zhi shut it tight. He turned and stared straight at Song Yu, lowered his voice and said: “Xiao Yu, what’s the matter with you? Why did you come to Hua Xia all of a sudden, and even came here? This matter cannot be…”

“Cannot be what?” Song Yu no longer wanted to look at Mo San Zhi lest he would feel nauseous. He turned to face the bookshelf and sneered: “Cannot be exposed to your family that the Song Yu you’re dating is a man?”

“Xiao Yu!”

Mo San Zhi frantically looked at the bedroom door. Fearing that someone might be lurking behind it, he ran over like a schizophrenic, opened the door, and quickly checked the corridor. Seeing that no one was there, he closed it and immediately looked at Song Yu with a sad face: “Xiao Yu, I know, I know I’m wrong. I know it’s wrong to hide your gender but I really have no choice. For our future, we have to plan this slowly. My family doesn’t understand the love between two men. If we tell them this, they will get mad.”

“So I’m just like any other girl?” Song Yu did not want to hear Mo San Zhi’s excuse. This type of excuse sounded noble and reasonable but in fact, it’s disgusting.

Moreover, Mo San Zhi’s every little move and expressions just further demonstrated to him what kind of person he was.

Before deciding to blow this matter up, Song Yu actually gave Mo San Zhi ample opportunities but…clearly, he did not cherish them. 

“Baby, I know I’m wrong. I really do.” Seeing Song Yu was not paying him any heed, Mo San Zhi concealed his anger and impatience, walked to Song Yu, and took his hand. Gently rubbing it, he said tenderly with some grievances: “All that I did was for us, I’m doing this for our future.”

“When my career is stable, no one can control me anymore. And you, you should stay in America for a few more years. Get American citizenship, then we can get married there. How good is that? We can live our own little lives in peace, no one will disturb us. But now is not a good time. We have to hide this from my family temporarily, otherwise, their opposition will be more severe in the future. It’ll be even harder for us to be together.”

“Really?” Song Yu suddenly smiled.

“Of course it’s true.” Mo San Zhi replied instantly when he saw Song Yu eased up, “That’s what I’ve been planning all along. But baby, your coming was too abrupt, it almost ruined my plan. Were you deluded by someone into doing this? That’s underhanded, I’ll have to deal with him!”

Song Yu ignored his words and asked: “What if even then, your parents still do not agree?”

“No, that won’t happen. I’ll persuade them with everything I’ve got.” Mo San Zhi assured: “They will understand.”

“Is that so?” Song Yu looked straight at Mo San Zhi’s handsome face and finally for the first time, he felt that a man can be this disgusting. “It’s a pity, I don’t believe you.”

“You…” Mo San Zhi saw Song Yu’s smile and finally understood that from the start, Song Yu was just mocking him, never intending to trust him. His face turned ugly but he held back his enmity and said in a warm voice: “Baby, what exactly don’t you believe?”

“It’s nothing. I just feel that those words of yours just now, your mom and the others should have a listen.”

“What? You recorded it?!!”

Mo San Zhi was in full-blown shock. His expression turned brutish. He reached out to grab Song Yu’s phone but missed. “Mo San Zhi, what are you doing?”

“Baby, give me your phone.” Mo San Zhi tried hard to keep his voice and temper in check: “Give it to me.”

“Why should I give it to you?”

The fear of being exposed as a homosexual and the anger of being played by Song Yu finally took over. Mo San Zhi lost it and went straight for Song Yu, grabbing his hand, and was even taunted to hit him: “I said give it to me!!”

“Mo San Zhi! You even want to hit me?!”

“Give me!!”

 The truth was there was no such recording. Song Yu just wanted to give it a last shot but Mo San Zhi’s reaction to this moment not only disappointed him deeply, but it also infuriated him.

When Mo San Zhi charged at him again, aiming for his neck, Song Yu suddenly remembered a little trick Mo Di taught him beforehand. At that time, he felt that it was too cruel but now, there was never a better time to use it.

Song Yu raised his feet and brutally kicked at Mo San Zhi’s third leg.

“Ah—!!!”

Mo San Zhi’s scream rang through the hall. His face was bleached and his lips were trembling. His legs gave in and he fell to the ground, covering a certain place, unable to lift his head.

Song Yu raised his hand and discreetly placed another pinhole camera in the crevice between the books on the shelf.

At this time, several sets of hectic footsteps could be heard coming from outside and before Mo San Zhi could even stand up, the door was forced open with a bang.

“Uncle! Are you all right?” Chen Zhao was the first to enter. He hurried to Song Yu’s side and took a-head-to-toe scan of him. “Did this garbage hit you?”

“He wanted to but wasn’t able to. Thanks to Xiao…” Song Yu stopped and swallowed back the word “Di”, “Thanks to your little classmate who’d taught me not only how to test his nature but also to defend myself.”

“What’s going on? What exactly is happening here?!” When the second aunt arrived at the scene and saw Mo San Zhi on the ground, writhing in pain, she was immediately enveloped in rage. She screeched: “Who hit my son?! Who did it?! It’s you, isn’t it? Song Yu, it’s you who hit him!! What kind of understanding do you have to use violence?! Ha?! Assaulting people is against the law, you’re going to jail! I’m going to call the police! You wait and see! The Mo family will not let you off. Just wait and see!”

“Mom…!” Mo San Zhi was the most anxious of them all. He reached for his mother’s clothes and said: “Mom, don’t make a big scene…”

“What are you afraid of? Are you still worried about that girlfriend of yours? Silly boy, wake up! I’m telling you, her brother is such a rotten thing, she’s definitely the same!”

After her scorn, she looked at Song Yu and said: “Pei! Your sister, tell her to never think about entering our Mo family! We will never accept such an ill-bred thing!”

“Sister?”

Song Yu laughed. His glance swept the room from the second aunt to the Mo patriarch and the others who had gathered at the door and said serenely: “Auntie, I’ll just tell you the truth then. I don’t have any sister. Mo San Zhi also does not have a girlfriend because from the start, the one named Song Yu, has always been me. The one Mo San Zhi went after, the one he repeatedly confessed his love to, there’s only me.”

“If you don’t believe me, I have proof.”

Chapter 33

“No. Nothing’s bothering me. These snacks are for you guys. You can have them later. 

Mo Di took out the large bag of junk food and placed it on the table, then retrieved his computer and said to Xian Yu Chao and Lin Jun Feng: “The game you guys made, I’ve tried it. It’s not bad but just wasn’t innovative enough. The programming is also too simple.”

“Ah, please don’t mention that! I don’t want to get hurt again!” Xian Yu Chao grabbed his blanket and snuggled under it. 

Mo Di sighed, “Alright then. I was just going to ask if you guys want to join my team and make games together.”

“Ha?!” Xian Yu Chao came out of his blanket at lightning speed and stared wide eye at Mo Di: “Xiao Di, is what you said true?!”

Mo Di: “Um. But not for the current game. It’s for the next one. I’ll need your help with some of the codings.”

“I’m still pumped even if it’s not for now. I didn’t think that I could still participate in this competition. Ahh Ah Ah Xiao Di, you’re too good! Xiao Di, you’re my favorite younger brother!” Xian Yu Chao held out three fingers: “Forever love!”

Mo Di ignored him. This guy said yesterday that his love belonged to LeBron James.

Lin Jun Feng gnashed his mouth and said: “But both our skills are quite limited. Not to mention other, with just your Xin Wei Dao game alone, the majority of the programming is way above our league…sigh, although daddy wants to help, he’s not capable enough.”

Mo Di was determined to ignore the word ‘daddy’ and said: “That’s not true. There are still some programs you can work on. When it’s really helpless, then I can teach you guys.”

“Ai…our studies are so hard. The after class schedules are also tight, University is not easy.” Lin Jun Feng patted his tummy with a sigh and said firmly: “But I’ll still put effort into learning with you. Don’t worry Xiao Di, this father will not be a drag!”

“You’re in Jing Da, don’t even think about relaxing. And also, don’t take advantage of Xiao Di! Father my ass.” Chen Zhao opened his mosquito net and looked at Mo Di with puppy eyes: “What about me? Xiao Di, have you forgotten about your second brother?”

Mo Di smiled: “I don’t know what program you’re fluent with so I can’t designate a place for you. But when the time comes, you can also learn together with them and I’ll see what you’re most suitable with.”

“No problem! As long as I can participate!”

In his delirious state, Chen Zhao raised his hand to hit hard on the bed railing to bounce off his butt, very much unlike the handsome pose he used to make during the basketball game, “At that time, we’ll break through the frontline and straight into the finals. We’ll conquer every mountain and ….oww.”

Mo Di: “…”

The class meeting that Mo Di told Mu Tian Heng about was a lie. He did not go anywhere, just stayed in the dorm to code the whole morning. After which he went to have lunch with the others at the eatery behind their school. Then to the library to borrow some programming books to read.

Xian Yu Chao and the others decided to go have some fun before school started. They left and only came back in the evening to gather in the classroom.

There were three classes in the Computer Science and Technology department. Mo Di and the gang belonged to class one, or Ji Yi which they preferred to be called. There were forty students in their class, thirty-six boys and four girls, which nicely fit the number of dorms available.

Xian Yu Chao sat in his seat and complained angrily to Lin Jun Feng: “There are too few girls in our class. What kind of ratio is this, nine to one! How can I find a girlfriend in four years?!”

“It’s better than Ji Er and Ji San, do you know how many girls they have?” Lin Jun Feng held out one finger and flashed a smirk: “There are only three girls in their classes and they have more boys than us. The ratio is thirteen to one, they’re so much worse!”

“What?! There are only ten girls in our department?!” Xian Yu Chao scratched his head. I shouldn’t have enrolled in the computer department! I would’ve been so much happier with the Chinese department.”

“Oh please have some dignity. Even if you enrolled in an all-girls’ school, you’ll still be single.” Chen Zhao pulled down his collar and made a devilish expression: “real men will not restrict themselves within their class or department. You have to scan the whole school, the whole capital, the whole country, and …” Chen Zhao spread his hand forward: “the whole world!”

Mo Di: “…” I don’t know these people.

“Hi, can I sit here?” a boy in a white t-shirt walked up to Mo Di and asked politely. 

Mo Di raised his line of sight and looked at him, then nodded and said: “Go ahead. It’s not taken.”

“Thank You.” the boy unfolded the chair and sat down. He smiled and said: “my name is Zhao Chun Cheng. My room is across from yours. I actually wanted to come over to say hi but was worried to disturb you guys.”

“Don’t worry. You’re welcome to come over.” Mo Di had a vague impression of Zhao Chun Cheng. He had looked through their class list and remembered everyone’s name but some faces just did not match their photos.

“Junior! You’re here. Did you miss me?” When Zhao Chun Cheng wanted to say something else, Sun Ru Ru came in through the back door and went straight to Mo Di. She pulled out a chair and sat down. She smiled and said: “Do you want to be part of the classroom committee?” 

“Hello Senior, for now, I am not able to be part of the class committee.” Mo Di smiled: “I’m always busy and don’t have much time. I don’t think I can be of good service to my classmates.”

“You’re not in? What a pity. I and Zhao Qing Gong were planning to help you into the class committee, so I’ll have more chances to talk to you.”

“Even if I’m not part of the committee, I can still chat with senior. You can find me directly on WeChat. I promise I’ll reply when I get your text.”

“I’ll hold you to your words!” Sun Ru Ru stared at Mo Di and squinted: “When the time comes, don’t you ignore me.”

“Absolutely not.” Mo Di looked at the time: “Senior, when is the class meeting going to start?”

“It starts at seven. Another five minutes.”

“Then I’ll go to the restroom first.” Mo Di looked at Chen Zhao and the other. Seeing that they were busy talking among themselves, he did disturb them and went out alone.

After using the toilet, Mo Di went outside to wash his hands.

Two boys from another department came in and chatted in front of the urinal. 

“The Chinese department has a new flower. Do you know who it is?” 

“Who?”

“You’ve seen her before. You even praised her.”

“Who? Don’t leave me hanging. I praise so many beauties in a day, how do I know which one you’re talking about.”

“Ai, it’s that Mo Liu Gui girl. The one you keep complimenting whenever you see her picture on the internet.”

“F**k! Is that true?!”

“It’s true. She came to report this morning. So pretty. Our school forum already had pictures of her wearing a white dress, so pure, just like a princess. Definitely the most beautiful one in the department.”

“Then I have to quickly go have a look.”

“You only know how to lick faces. Don’t you remember how she is towards her little brother?”

“Ai, why do you care how she treats her little brother. We’re just talking about her looks. And don’t say it like you don’t like her, I know she’s your type.”

“Oi oi oi, you don’t have to out me like that.”

“…”

Mo Di shut the faucet and walked away. 

Unexpectedly, Mo Liu Gui only came to school today. Did she skip the military training?

He did not want to be bothered with Mo Liu Gui, but even thinking with his toes, he can tell that she will not leave him alone.

Therefore, it was better for him to get a head start.

It was just that the video had already been broadcasted on the internet, using it here would be ineffective. And hence, he had to come up with other means.

Mo Di returned to class and in a few minutes, the meeting officially began.

To start off, the seniors, Zhao Qing Gong and Sun Ru Ru, made a speech to rouse everyone’s enthusiasm and heat up the atmosphere before the election began.

Lin Jun Feng, Xian Yu Chao, and Chen Zhao all put their names up for election. Two competed for the class representative position, one for the entertainment committee.

In fact, Mo Di had no idea why Xian Yu Chao wanted to be in charge of the entertainment committee. Did he think that his silliness will give him an edge over the other contestants?

Mo Di felt worried for Xian Yu Chao.

Yet in the end, reality proved to Mo Di that nothing is impossible in this world. Xian Yu Chao was elected!

Mo Di was happy for Xian Yu Chao but at the same time, he began to have doubts about the duties of the entertainment officer for the class.

As for the two who ran for the class representative, Lin Jun Feng and Chen Zhao, there could only be one winner.

Chen Zhao was defeated and Lin Jun Feng won.

According to the only four girls in class, they chose Lin Jun Feng because of his reliable physique: tall, stout, and strong, which gives a sense of security. It was as if he would still be standing should the sky fall down.

Mo Di: “…”

The girls in their class are quite naive.

The loss was a big blow to Chen Zhao. One had to realize that he had been elected class rep for six years in a row in middle school. Never would he have thought that he could lose the election. Mo Di did not know how to comfort others. He patted on Chen Zhao’s shoulder and said: “Just use the time to learn coding from me and you can do more useful work.”

Chen Zhao was stunned and almost verbalized his cry.

On the third day after the allegation of the class committee, Jing Da’s classes finally began.

Lin Jun Feng had become a very busy person. Counselors, seniors, peers, teachers from various classes…everyone came to him whenever they needed anything. Of course, there was a secretary to help him cope. It was one of the four girls in their class, Li Lian Meng. She had short hair and a small figure, not even half of Lin Jun Feng’s size. Both of them standing side by side just gave a very sharp contrast.

The lecturers at Jing Da were humorous and had a vast accumulation of knowledge. Mo Di attended every class with great interest. And with that, five days of classes passed and it was finally Friday.

Even when it was just a short weekend, Mo Di still packed his stuff and prepared to leave school.

Chen Zhao stopped him on the way. He dragged him inconspicuously into the men’s toilet.

Mo Di eyed Chen Zhao suspiciously: “Chen Zhao, do you have a problem?”

“Of course I have a problem. It’s urgent! My little uncle is back in Hua Xia today, did you know that?”

“I do.” Mo Di nodded. He not only knew that Uncle Song was back in Hua Xia, but also that Mo San Zhi had returned just yesterday and had been buying hot searches. 

Unfortunately, it had been suppressed by him.

“Therefore, isn’t this a big deal?! Xiao Di, dear little brother, you have go pick my little uncle up with me. And then we can discuss the specific countermeasures. You’re our valuable tactician and mole, you can’t go offline now!”

Mo Di sighed, “But I’ve told Uncle Song everything that he needs to know, I really have no use now.”

“You do, you do! Absolutely need you. Aiya I’m begging you Xiao Di, please accompany your second brother this time. When my little Uncle and Mo San Zhi break up, you’ll be a great benefactor to our family!”

Mo Di was somewhat reluctant. He couldn’t possibly accompany them through every little thing.

But looking at Chen Zhao’s prostrating himself and the unrelenting posture, Mo Di agreed. “….alright. But this better be quick. I have to go home tonight. I’m still busy with things to do.”

“No problem, no problem. We’ll be quick.”

Mo Di and Chen Zhao hurriedly called a cab to the airport. To one side was Chen Zhao’s incessant chatter. Mo Di let his sight drifted outside the window.

He had not seen Mu Tian Heng for eight or nine days. He regretted that the last time, due to his guilt and unease, he went back to school early, and ended up not able to see him even until now. 

He felt that he was still dependent on Mu Tian Heng. Although not a romantic feeling, there was a feeling. Maybe it’s friendship?

Fifteen minutes later, they met up with Uncle Song.

Mo Di’s first impression of Song Yu was that his name really suited him. His visage was like a piece of jade, with a warm and gentle temperament. Just a bit skinny.

No wonder his third brother would rather live in fear of being found out than breaking up with him.

At this time, in Song Yu’s eyes, Mo Di was like a piece of landscape painting. This was the first time Song Yu saw a young man with the same charm as a portrait of ancient ink painting. Every stroke was clear and meaningful. His looks were unrivaled compared to those beauties online with eighteen layers of filter.

In conclusion, these two people had a good impression of the other.

“Uncle! Uncle! Over here!” Chen Zhao waved vigorously.

Song Yu saw his nephew’s enthusiasm and increased his speed towards them. “You guys took the trouble to come and pick me up.”

“No no no, it’s nothing…ah no, it was actually more troublesome for Xiao Di.” Chen Zhao grabbed Mo Di’s shoulder, “he’s a really good brother!”

Song Yu smiled and looked at Mo Di: “You’re Mo Di? Thank you. You’ve helped me a lot the past few days.”

“I’m glad to help. Uncle Song, you’re welcome.” Mo Di smiled, “let’s go. Where do you want to go first?”

“Xiao Di, you don’t have to be so polite with me, just address me normally.” Song Yu kept his eyes on Mo Di. He was quite fond of him, like a little nephew or brother. “Let’s see, our first stop is to take a look at the Mo family.”

“What?! Little Uncle, you….” Chen Zhao’s eyes widened: “You’ve just arrived and already decided to make a big scene?”

Song Yu had a sarcastic smile: “Isn’t there a great saying in Chinese ‘strike when the enemy is unprepared’? Although we’re not soldiers, to get the most realistic result, we’ll need to do this when they least expected. Don’t you think so, Xiao Di?”

Mo Di nodded.

This was the strategy he sent to Uncle Song in WeChat some time ago. He also told him to be decisive. To think that Uncle Song remembered his words so clearly.

“But… but we need a proper plan and script. We can’t just charge into the Mo house!” Chen Zhao looked at his uncle, then shifted his sight to Mo Di, giving him a ‘please persuade my uncle’ look.

But Mo Di said: “I agree with Uncle Song. Going now will yield the best result.”

“That’s right. I also do not want to be involved with Mo San Zhi for too long. I’d rather get this over with than having to face a long-term pain. I’m most disgusted with men who can’t even own up to their relationship. And if he’s not that type of person, I’ll transfer my work back to Hua Xia to be with him and you guys.” Song Yu looked at Chen Zhao, “but if he’s that type of person…”

“Even if he’s that kind you should still come back here. It’s great here! I and Mom miss you, isn’t this a good enough reason? What’s so good with your workplace in America, didn’t you meet a jerk like Mo San Zhi working there?” Chen Zhao held Song Yu’s shoulder.

Song Yu smiled: “Of course I’ll come back. Regardless of what he’s like, I’ll come back. Anyways, to me, you are much more important than him. Besides, I’m tired of living in America. When the contract expires, I’ll return home.”

Mo Di felt a discrepancy. He slightly frowned and said: “Uncle Song, when is your contract due?”

“In another three months. Something wrong?”

“…nothing. It’s just that you should contact the local hospitals in advance, they’ll all be scrambling to get you.”

“Thank you Xiao Di. I’ll keep that in mind.” song Yu patted lightly on Mo Di’s shoulder. “Alright, let’s go.”

Mo Di walked next to Song Yu with a heavy look in his eyes.

Since Uncle Song had already decided to return here after his contract expires, why did he delay and stay in America for so many years in his last life?

Was it because Mo San Zhi coaxed him with some excuse to make him stay out of concern that the Mo family would discover? He could’ve told him to stay there to get his citizenship, and when he got back, they could get married in America.

Come to think of it, that’s not impossible.

If so, then the Mo family and Mo San Zhi’s reaction should be pretty dramatic. Such a big play, maybe it won’t disappoint him.