Chapter 108

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

“An expert in this field?” Mo Di’s heart jumped but there was no change in his voice, “Uncle Song, this expert, is he someone famous?”

“That, I’m not too sure. The dean didn’t say. But this person only gives out guidelines, it’s the doctors in the First Hospital who will evaluate your psychological tests.”

“I see. I was not expecting a psych evaluation to be included in our school’s annual health checkup. Such a comprehensive test, the school is going to bleed quite a huge amount of money.” Mo Di said calmly, “Thank you, Uncle Song.”

“What’s there to thank? It’s just some casual talk.” Song Yu laughed, “The competition is coming to an end, are you done with the preparations? Don’t worry, I’m sure you can win the championship. I’ve played your game and even someone who had never played games before like me is addicted, I’m sure your game will continue to be loved by many.”

“Uncle Song played my game too?” There was an added excitement in Mo Di’s voice, “Do you want me to give you a back door with an invincibility mode?”

“I’m deeply touched but better not, there’ll be a loss of motivation. I’d rather you update more chapters for me to play.”

Mo Di and Song Yu chatted for a few more minutes before hanging up. After there was no noise coming from the phone, Mo Di’s face no longer had a calm expression. 

But before he could do anything else, his phone rang again.

This time, it was Mu Tian Heng.

Mo Di connected the call immediately, “Brother.”

“You don’t have to be scared or worried about this matter. I’ll look into it.”

Mu Tian Heng’s voice was calming and gentle. It had the power to appease Mo Di and with just that one sentence, the anxiety in his heart was partially diminished because he knew that this life was different, he was no longer alone.

“Ok.” Mo Di tried to smile.

“Good boy.” There was a sound of a door closing on Mu Tian Heng’s side. “Mo Er Qian could carry out his handiwork in the previous life because the Qin and Ye family were backing him. That was why he could do whatever he wanted to you but in this life, things are different. The Qin and Ye families have lost their standing. As long as he steps out of line, we’ll throw him straight in jail.”

“But he’s a highly sought-after genius, the higher-ups would try to protect him and even if he was sent to jail, he would be out in a couple of months.” Mo Di was especially unforgiving towards Mo Er Qian, he did not want his revenge against him to be just a period of jail time.

“Brother, I want him to have a taste of his own medicine.”

Mu Tian Heng paused momentarily before continuing, “That’s for sure. But at present, I haven’t come up with a way to deal with him so it’s best to put him in jail first.”

“I don’t want to overthink this but there’s always a way for them to strike. Qin Cheng Yi was only sentenced for three months and although the Qin family has been weakened, ‘a lean dead camel is still bigger than a horse’. With the Qins’ connections, they could probably get him out even earlier. When that time comes, he won’t let me off, and… He will try to get even with you as well.”

(TN: 瘦死的骆驼比马大 The proverb roughly means that although someone had lost their standing, they are still formidable)

Mu Tian Heng understood Mo Di’s conjectures. He said, “You mean… Qin Cheng Yi and Mo Er Qian will join hands.”

“Yes, and it’s not just baseless speculation. I’m quite certain it will happen.”

After all, they were the only people on Mo Liu Gui’s side who were still influential. If they joined up to retaliate against them, Mo Di and Mu Tian Heng could suffer some damages.

“Furthermore, I don’t think that Mo Er Qian’s plan this time only involved the psych evaluation. Even if he could label me as mentally unstable, he couldn’t possibly force me into a mental institution because we’ve cut off all ties. I’m sure he has something else planned for us.”

Mu Tian Heng remained silent and did not respond immediately. As soon as he heard the phrase ‘force me into a mental institution’, his heart shook violently. 

“Brother?” Mo Di couldn’t help calling out when he did not hear Mu Tian Heng’s voice.

“I won’t let them do as they like. The asylum is where they belong.” Mu Tian Heng said in an icy tone, “They won’t be around for long. Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do but brother, you cannot be impulsive. And don’t focus too much on taking revenge. The most important thing is to live our lives well.” Mo Di was afraid that Mu Tian Heng would act rashly and betray his own principles.

Hearing Mo Di’s concern for him, Mu Tian Heng’s heart warmed up and the dark feelings subsided. “Of course, I’m not stupid, don’t worry.”

……

After Mo Di spoke with Mu Tian Heng, his heart stabilized and his worries were elevated. He went back to the track and completed the remaining tests with the others.

The next day, the school administration organized a trip to the First Hospital for the students to take the blood test and X-rays.

As for the psychological evaluation, it was just as Mo Di had predicted. A link was sent to them in the evening and the students had to answer the questions online. The results would come back in three days.

Mo Di was almost certain that when the results came back, his name would be on a certain list. Mo Er Qian would do anything to have him labeled as a mental patient. 

But that would also mean that within these three days, he would be completely safe.

Coincidentally, the deadline to upload their game also fell on the same night three days later. He might just receive the ‘big health report’ right before the championship round began.

However, Mo Di would never have thought that he was wrong this time.

When the results came back around the same time as the submission deadline, Mo Di did not receive any special notice. 

Still, he kept up his vigilance while focusing on his studies.

In truth, if Mo Di could see what had transpired in the Mo house, he would know that his speculation was actually spot on. 

For some reason, ever since Mo San Zhi came back from prison, he had become a whole different person. His mood was unstable and he was particularly antagonistic towards his twin brother, Mo Er Qian. 

After dinner the day before, he had accidentally knocked over a scorching hot bowl of soup into Mo Er Qian’s face, almost blinding him. 

The Mo family panicked and Mo Er Qian was immediately taken to a hospital. As a result, Mo Er Qian had half of his face covered in gauze and his eyes had to be treated for at least a week.

The Mo patriarch and the second aunt were both fuming. Unexpectedly, even Mo Liu Gui lost her temper. She did not make her magnanimous speech and joined in to reprimand Mo San Zhi. 

Only Mo Wu Hang spoke up for him but Mo San Zhi did not appreciate it. He simply called him a fool and left.

Consequently, Mo Er Qian’s accident had caused a delay in his plan.

As for Mo Di, since there had been no one to pick a fight with him, he had spent his days peacefully until the day the winner of the game competition was announced.

The competition committee provided the teams with suits and dresses for the event. At 3pm, members from the three remaining teams would have their hair and makeup done, ready for the big announcement.

The gang was very nervous. This was a live event and would last for over an hour, they did not want to make a fool of themselves.

Zhao Chun requested the makeup artist who was over forty to give her a thinner face. Hearing that, Xian Yu Chao also called him ‘brother’ and asked that he make him look good. 

The rest also began to make requests. Only Mo Di was the least demanding but ironically, the makeup artist regarded him as his most satisfactory work because of how perfect it turned out even with minimal effort.

That night, the program commenced at 8:30 sharp during the prime time slot.

In just five minutes of starting the live broadcast, millions had already tuned in. And the number kept rising quickly.

Mo Di knew that Mu Tian Heng would be watching so he straightened his back and showed a gentle smile. His movement was immediately recorded into a gif and spread like wildfire.

Among the people who were watching the program, there was one person Mo Di would never have guessed to have tuned in.

Qin Cheng Yi.

In prison, Qin Cheng Yi never had a hard time, in fact, it was more like a vacation.

Although the conditions of this ‘holiday destination’ were a little poor, it was nowhere close to the living standards of an actual prisoner.

He not only had a lot of freedom but also the right to use electronic devices. 

It is no wonder that money indeed makes the world spin.

Seeing Mo Di having a good life, Qin Cheng Yi was filled with hatred and violent thoughts. He felt that he was too merciful before. In other words, he did not want Mo Liu Gui to be hurt, that was why his methods against Mo Di had been too soft.

This person, he should have killed him a hundred times already.

His softness had in turn cost him tremendously!

And then there’s Mu Tian Heng! That conceited, arrogant, and disgusting man! The both of them should just die!

Too bad he couldn’t get out yet, or else…

“Master Qin, are you done? There will be a room check later, you should put those away.”

A flattering voice interrupted Qin Cheng Yi’s train of thought.

A police officer came in and bowed his head. He smiled and said, “We still have to at least keep up a front…”

Qin Cheng Yi had a dark look but he did not get angry. He squinted at the man and said, “Of course, I can’t put you in a difficult position.”

“But…” Qin Cheng Yi continued, “I have a little problem, I wonder if Superintendent Sun could do me a favor?”

“What is it? Please do say. As long as it’s within my power, I will definitely help you!”

“That’s good. When I get out, I’ll make sure to send Superintendent Sun my thanks.” Qin Cheng Yi stood up and gave him an icy smile, “I’ll be writing a letter and I hope you can pass it to someone for me…”

Chapter 106

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

“Someone in the Mo family?”

“Brother, how did you know that?” Mo Di was quite surprised. Even he himself did not remember the Mo family members’ numbers. Furthermore, he was certain that if they were to call him, they would probably use a disposable number.

“During the previous investigations, I found all their private numbers and had them noted down.” Mu Tian Heng returned the phone to Mo Di and gave his hair a rub.

In truth, these numbers only came up when the ‘he’ from their previous lives began to investigate the Mo family.

“Brother, you’re incredible.” Mo Di’s eyes shone without a trace of doubt. Mu Tian Heng was the person he trusted the most.

“Brother, did you memorize all the numbers?”

“Almost. I have a good memory.” Mu Tian Heng had a gentle look but in a rather stern voice, he said, “Since this number belongs to the Mo family, they must be up to something. Whether it’s the base or at school, you have to be vigilant, or else I won’t allow you to participate in the competition or attend school anymore.”

“!” Mo Di was dumbfounded.

He did not expect Mu Tian Heng to become so strict to the point that he would stop him from going to the base and school. “Brother, did my story worry you? It’s actually not that bad. They don’t have that kind of power now, you don’t have to worry. Ain’t I a lot better in this life? Everything is going my way.”

“I am indeed worried which is why I want to avoid any risk.” Mu Tian Heng looked at him in all seriousness and said, “Of course I won’t make you stay at home forever, that would be my incompetence. At most, give me one year, at least until I give those scums their retribution. For now, you have to be extra careful and protect yourself, or else… I will have to suspend you from attending school for one year.”

“I know. Brother, you don’t have to worry.” Mo Di hugged Mu Tian Heng and rubbed his head against his neck. He then looked up at him and said in a sweet voice, “I was quite capable in my previous life. And in this life, I’m even more so. Didn’t we send them to jail one by one? You really don’t have to worry about me.”

Mo Di did not find Mu Tian Heng domineering nor was he worried about his freedom being restricted. He just hugged him and tried to soothe his fears.

Mu Tian Heng, in turn, held Mo Di tighter. Thinking back, he found that he was quite overbearing but Mo Di’s experiences and what he saw in his dream about their previous lives made him unable to calm down. Seeing that number was enough to send a chill down his spine.

The cold and lifeless urn was like the manifestation of his worst nightmare, haunting him with overwhelming despair and violent hatred.

“Second brother, why didn’t you let me talk?”

Mo Liu Gui grabbed her phone back and with a little frustration, she said, “It was really hard for me to finally get through. Xiao Di doesn’t answer our calls or strange numbers. This time I especially got a new number and he was willing to pick up. Second brother, why didn’t you let me talk?”

“Xiao Gui, calm down.”

Mo Er Qian looked at Mo Liu Gui with patience and tolerance, not even a hint of anger at the fact that she could not understand his intentions. “Even if you managed to talk just now, he would still hang up. When that happens, you’re the one who will be upset.”

“That won’t happen. Xiao Di won’t hang up on me. If I tell him it’s about mom, he’ll be sure to listen!”

“That’s unlikely. Mo Di had reached an unprecedented level for being a white-eyed wolf. Although I don’t want to sully my mouth talking about him, I still have to tell you that I’m right.” Mo Er Qian pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up, looking like a refined and elegant gentleman.

“His nature is that of an animal. Even if you tell him that third aunt is ill and had to be hospitalized, he would still ignore her.”

“No way, Xiao Di is not like that. He… he was the most obedient and caring child. When mom sneezed, he would run to get her cold medicine. He will not ignore her.” Mo Liu Gui’s eyes began to turn red. “Mom is seriously ill this time, how could he not go to visit her? How could he…”

“Xiao Gui, that was when he was a child. Although he was nothing good when he was a child, it was still a hundred times better than what he is now. At least back then he knew what filial piety was. Now he’s full of calculations and has no regard for his family. You want him to visit auntie, that’s not going to happen. Calling him again will only make you sad. So, listen to me, stop calling and just consider him as dead.”

“But, but…” Mo Liu Gui began to choke up, “But why did it turn out this way? Why? Xiao Di wasn’t like this before…”

Mo Er Qian patted her back and said, “Xiao Gui, he’s unworthy of your concern.”

Mo Liu Gui suddenly raised her head like she had just thought of something. She looked at Mo Er Qian with pitiful red eyes, “Second brother, do you remember I once asked you a question?”

“What question?”

“It’s… can a severe allergic reaction affect a person’s brain? Can it cause pathological changes?”

Mo Er Qian frowned, “It’s hard to say. This had to be analyzed case by case. What’s the matter Xiao Gui?”

“It just occurred to me… Xiao Di wasn’t always like this. He only changed abruptly after being hospitalized for his allergies last May! Could it be… Could it be that that incident caused a lesion or some tissue damage in his brain? Otherwise, how could a person change his temperament so drastically?!”

Mo Er Qian suddenly placed his index finger to his chin, seemingly in deep thought.

“And I’m worried…” Mo Liu Gui sobbed, “I’m worried that not only did it change Xiao Di’s personality, but it could also cause even more dangerous health issues for him!”

“Second brother, can you find a way to give Xiao Di a checkup? If you assure me that he’s fine, then I can be at ease. But if… If Xiao Di is unwell, then we should give him treatment as soon as possible. And maybe, maybe when he’s cured, his previous personality would be restored and our family could reconcile!”

Mo Er Qian showed an ambiguous smile.

He reached out to pat Mo Liu Gui on the head and spoke in a calming tone, “Xiao Gui is right. I might’ve been too ignorant. There could be some truth to this. If Xiao Di is truly sick, we have to try and help him. Although we don’t see eye to eye, we’re still a family. There’s always a chance that after he’s cured, he will return to the way he used to be.”

“That’s right!” Mo Liu Gui’s eyes lit up for a few seconds before she frowned with concern and said, “But Xiao Di has cut ties with us. What if he tries to hide his illness and refuses treatment?”

“That’s unlikely. If it’s a medical diagnosis from an authoritative doctor, how could he ignore it? He’s not that stupid.”

Mo Liu Gui looked down and rubbed her red eyes.

Of course he’s not stupid but had most likely been reborn. He would probably be traumatized by a mental checkup and would refuse any treatment. He might even suspect of it being a trap.

“What if, what if he refused the checkup?” Mo Liu Gui looked at Mo Er Qian anxiously, “We can’t force him but if we let this go on, it could get dangerous!”

“It’ll be fine. Even if he refused to see a doctor, his backer, Mu Tian Heng, will make him go. Mu Tian Heng on the surface seems to be his backer but in fact, the both of them are actually having that kind of perverted relationship. Xiao Di couldn’t possibly distrust Mu Tian Heng. As long as we get a specialized doctor to give a diagnosis, Mu Tian Heng will definitely take him to a hospital.”

“But…”

“Xiao Gui, don’t worry.” Mo Er Qian pinched Mo Liu Gui’s face and sighed, “You’re too kind and worry too much. Let me handle this, I have my ways.” But I’m sorry to disappoint you. I have no intention of helping him. Instead, I’m going to make him suffer under the guise of an illness, regardless of whether he was truly sick to begin with.

…..

Meanwhile, Mo Di had returned to the base. Before they parted, Mo Di had to assure Mu Tian Heng over and over that he would always be vigilant. 

When the gang saw Mo Di coming back, they all made fun of him, “It’s different when you have a big boss supporting you. Even your holidays are longer than ours. Xiao Di, where did you go? Did the big boss take you out to have fun?”

Thinking of what happened that night, Mo Di’s face started to heat up. He coughed and said, “No, we had some business to deal with. It’s very important… Cough. So it took quite some time.”

“What business?” Lin Jun Feng came over and asked, “Tell us!”

“This… It has something to do with our team.” Mo Di spoke calmly. After all, when they had dinner that night, they did talk about the game company.

“Something to do with our team? What is it?!” Pang Qiang Lang asked curiously, “Does the boss want to give us an investment or get us to work with his company?!” 

“As if.” Han Chao couldn’t help pointing out, “Our team has nothing in common with the boss’s businesses other than programming. I think the big boss was just helping Xiao Di sort out how to best develop our team after the competition.”

“Yes, yes, yes. You’re right.” Pang Qiang Lang quickly agreed.

His reaction made Chen Zhao roll his eyes. If it was him who refuted his words, Pang Qiang Lang was sure to argue…

Sigh…

Men… Especially those in love…

Chen Zhao snickered in his head. He then turned to Mo Di, “Xiao Di, the school had informed our class that there would be a physical examination and a health check, did you hear?”

“I did.” Mo Di smiled and nodded.

Xian Yu Chao shook his head and added, “But you guys might not know that this time our school coordinated with the First Hospital. They were willing to give us a full health examination from head to toe! We students are getting a free checkup!”

“A cooperation with the First Hospital?” Mo Di was surprised. “Such a large group, can our school afford to give everyone a full checkup?” 

“I think we might be required to donate blood and it might not be overly comprehensive. Most likely just a blood test, urine test, poo test and so on.” Chen Zhao said.

Zhao Chun who had wanted to join in their conversation was instantly stumped, “Did you have to mention the poo?”

Chapter 105

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

“Brother…Do you believe that there can be someone who can be reborn in this world?”

“Do you believe that there’s a person who had been despised and hated by his family from the day he was born and had to live through abuse and torture? When he grew up and was finally able to leave that house, he was forced into a mental hospital because his sister accidentally fell down while she was pulling him?”

“Do you believe… That when he was confined in the mental hospital, he was beaten, tortured, electrocuted… Injected with drugs… Locked up with violent lunatics? The tortures were repeated until the day he was killed by a madman. Even in his final moments, he was trampled on and no longer resembled a human being…”

“Then he was reborn and wanted revenge, brother…”

“Do you believe it?”

Can you believe it?

Mo Di’s every sentence, every word sank deep into Mu Tian Heng’s heart.

After the initial shock, there was never a doubt. Only surging anger and a pain that almost choked him.

And there was something else. Something familiar but forgotten was coursing through his heart, making it ache and causing him to shed tears.

“Of course I believe you.” Mu Tian Heng looked at Mo Di and pulled him in, locking him tightly in his arms.

“As long as it’s your words, I will believe them.”

Mo Di’s eyes were red. He kept wiping away the tears with his hand but could not stop them from flowing.

Deep down, Mu Tian Heng was brimming with anguish and sadness, and also a familiar sense of emptiness. He had a feeling that he had forgotten something of extreme importance.

“What you said…Was everything that had happened to you, wasn’t it?”

As though the orange sunset had reflected its light into Mu Tian Heng’s eyes, turning it into a deep shade of red.

“Yes.”

Mo Di raised his head and showed a resolute expression.

“That is why, whether it was the Mo, Qin, or Ye family, I have no favorable impression of them. I want to pay them back a hundred times of what I had suffered! Brother, do you think I’m a terrible person? Am I too vicious?”

“I don’t think a hundred times is enough.”

Mu Tian Heng gently rubbed away the tears on Mo Di’s eyes.

“We should return those scums and animals the torment you’ve suffered by thousands of times.”

Mu Tian Heng could not control his anger and heartache at the thought of Mo Di’s suffering since childhood and the tortures he had to go through after being sent to the asylum.

At the same time, he also wanted to know if they had met in their previous lives. Did he not manage to help him in any way?

“In the previous life, did we know each other?”

“No…” Mo Di shook his head, “In my last life, I only knew that you were on the world’s richest list and an outstanding entrepreneur, and…”

Mo Di paused.

“And?” Mu Tian Heng looked at him.

“And when you came to Hua Xia during the period of the College Entrance Exam, you met with an accident here and your right leg was disabled.”

“So…” Mu Tian Heng smiled, “That time at the construction site, you tried to save me, didn’t you?”

“Yes. But I also had other motives at that time. I was hoping you would protect me. At least let me get through the exams safely.” Even after he had confessed, Mo Di was still embarrassed by his calculations.

“So you had come to save me and helped me to avoid an accident. You’re my precious lucky star.” Mu Tian Heng kissed Mo Di on the cheek and then on his eyelid. “I’m glad you came to me. I’m very sorry I could not protect you in our previous lives.”

Mo Di’s eyes turned red again.

“So tell me as much as you can about what happened, alright?” Mu Tian Heng gently stroked the back of Mo Di’s head.

“Ok…” Mo Di agreed but he was not going to tell Mu Tian Heng everything that had happened to him. Let him be the only one who knew of those dark and horrendous days. There was no need to torment Mu Tian Heng with it.

But even when Mo Di left out a lot of details and events, Mu Tian Heng still knew of the things that had happened….

Because that night, Mu Tian Heng dreamt about his past life.

He dreamt of meeting Mo Di, who had already been turned into a fool, near a garbage dump. He dreamt that he had wanted to send him to a welfare home but had been captivated by him and had decided to keep him by his side. He dreamt of the beautiful days they had spent together and although his little fool would act up sometimes, he had been very dependent and obedient towards him. And he dreamt that when he had finally found him again, all that had been left of him was an urn of ashes…

The moment he touched the cold, black urn, Mu Tian Heng abruptly woke up from his dream.

A chill was spreading from his spine and he was sweating cold sweat from every pore on his body.

Everything in his dream had been too fast and real that none of it had resembled a dream.

Mu Tian Heng was still feeling the destructive anger, hatred, and despair…

Then he felt the warmth within his embrace.

Mu Tian Heng lowered his head and looked at Mo Di, sleeping in his arms. Tufts of hair were getting messy around the slumbering face.

Mu Tian Heng’s eyes turned red. He began kissing every part of Mo Di’s face as if to make sure that this person was truly safe by his side.

Mo Di was awakened by his movements but he was still half-asleep. After all, yesterday had been a long day for him and Mu Tian Heng. He was still very sleepy.

“Brother… What is it?”

Hearing Mo Di’s sticky voice, Mu Tian Heng’s arms held him tighter. Then it occurred to him that several events that had happened to Mo Di in his dream hadn’t been mentioned prior.

Mu Tian Heng said softly, “When you were in junior high, you could not attend the graduation party and were sent to the hospital due to a severe allergic reaction. Mo Liu Gui attended and brought back for you a portion of seafood soup and a dessert. Did that happen?”

Mo Di was too sleepy to remember that he hadn’t talked about this event with Mu Tian Heng. He responded dully, “En, but I didn’t eat them. And then…”

And then he was reprimanded by the Mo family members, something along the lines of being a white-eyed wolf. But Mo Di did not tell Mu Tian Heng this.

“Brother… What is it?”

Mo Di’s head was beginning to clear and he was thinking back if he had already told Mu Tian Heng all this.

“It’s nothing. I love you.” Mu Tian Heng placed a kiss on top of Mo Di’s head.

Mo Di closed his eyes and snuggled into Mu Tian Heng’s arms. He said in a sweet and mushy voice, “I love you too, brother.”

Mu Tian Heng felt sore in his heart as he thought of a scene in his dream. He asked unconsciously, “Where is it that loves brother?”

“Everywhere…”

Mo Di thought that Mu Tian Heng was playing with him. Although he was still sleepy, he went along and put his hand on his chest, “Here loves brother.”

“… Anywhere else?” Mu Tian Heng felt his heart ache.

“Hm?” Mo Di opened his eyes and saw that Mu Tian Heng was also looking at him. He thought of the common interactions between parents and children that he had seen and couldn’t help smiling. He tilted his head and said, “Tummy also loves brother?”

“Any more?” Mu Tian Heng’s voice was a little hoarse.

Mo Di did not know why Mu Tian Heng had those strange questions. Could he have some strange fetishes that had been hidden until now?

“Here too.” Mo Di stretched out his hand and coaxed, “Hands and legs too. Everywhere loves you. Love brother the most.”

Mu Tian Heng dragged Mo Di into his arms and locked him in a death grip until Mo Di was getting a little suffocated.

Mo Di moved his head and had to push Mu Tian Heng away, “Brother, brother, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Go to sleep.” Mu Tian Heng suppressed his emotions and rubbed his lips on Mo Di’s hair.

“Good boy, go to sleep, go to sleep…”

The next day, after he woke up, Mo Di was fed with Mu Tian Heng’s ultra-loving breakfast.

After eating, Mu Tian Heng wrapped a scarf around his neck and seeing that he was having difficulties bending down, Mu Tian Heng bent and tied his shoelaces for him. Mo Di was then ready to be driven back to the competition grounds.

Lai De Si was feeling sour standing at the side of the scene. 

“Enough you two. It’s not like you’ve just started dating, do you have to stick to each other like glue? Unbearable…”

Mo Di was also embarrassed. He did not want Mu Tian Heng to tie his shoelaces for him but Mu Tian Heng’s gentle tone when he said ‘be still’ was too irresistible to disobey.

He felt that after the complete confession yesterday, his family’s Mu Tian Heng was particularly sweet on him, almost treating him like a glass doll.

Mo Di was smitten in his heart but also a little embarrassed and self-spurning. 

Ai, letting your boyfriend tie your shoelaces, aren’t you being too spoiled?

But being spoiled by someone was indeed a happy feeling.

Mu Tian Heng held Mo Di’s hand and opened the door for him. 

He turned to Lai De Si and said, “Too bad you don’t have anyone for you to be sticky to.”

“What the!” Lai De Si jumped out of his chair. He grabbed a sandwich and followed behind Mu Tian Heng, “You’re a beast and I’m a good man. Don’t you compare with me using your animalistic standards!” He then looked at Mo Di and thought how could such a good child fall for that beast?

Mo Di coughed and told Lai De Si what Song Yu said before, “Brother Lai De Si, Uncle Song said that he would meet me for a meal in the next few days.”

“Xiao Yu is coming?! When?!” Lai De Si’s eyes lit up and he completely cast Mu Tian Heng aside.

“I don’t know. You can ask him yourself. And please tell him on my behalf that I would like to invite him home for dinner.”

“Ok, ok! I’ll ask him!” Lai De Si immediately put back the sandwich and picked up his cell phone instead.

Mo Di took the chance and locked the door. He looked at Mu Tian Heng and gave him a smile.

“Smart.” Mu Tian Heng smiled back and gave his hair a rub.

Mu Tian Heng then led Mo Di away by the hand and Mo Di followed behind him in big strides. When they got to the car, Mo Di’s phone in his pocket rang.

Mo Di opened the car door and at the same time, answered the phone, “Hello?”

There was no sound coming from the other end.

Mo Di got into the car and said ‘hello’ again.

It was still soundless.

Mo Di frowned and took the phone away from his ear. He looked at the screen and saw that the caller ID was an unfamiliar number. Thinking over, he went ahead and hung up.

“What is it?” Mu Tian Heng saw Mo Di frowning and asked, “Is it a prank call?”

“No. It’s from an unfamiliar number. I picked up but there was no response so I hung up.”

“An unfamiliar number?” Mu Tian Heng’s vigilance was now at an all-time high. His eyes were alert and he said, “Show me the number.”

“En.” Mo Di passed him the phone without much thought. He then heard Mu Tian Heng say, “This number belongs to someone in the Mo family.”

Chapter 104

Edited and Proofread twice by KitKat 😀

The second day after his death, the Mo family had sent someone to have his body cremated.

No one from the Mo family had showed up. Only Mo Wu Hang had used a disgusted tone to tell the crematorium staff to dump Mo Di’s ashes into the trash and not wait for them to come and pick it up.

If Mu Tian Heng hadn’t arrived in time, Mo Di’s ashes would have been mixed in with the muddy water and thrown into dirt.

When he had found Mo Di’s ashes, the sky had been overcast with strong winds and dark clouds.

Mu Tian Heng had hugged the urn and covered it with his coat.

He had never experienced such deep hatred and sorrow in his whole life.

If it hadn’t been for Lai De Si’s extreme effort in counseling and holding him back, Mu Tian Heng would have done many irrational things that would not have been in accordance with any law.

But Mu Tian Heng was not just anybody. He not only had a powerful mind and nerves of steel, but he had also been very patient.

So, he had swallowed all his emotions and returned to America with Mo Di’s urn.

And then…

He had plotted his revenge.

Mu Tian Heng had been one of the richest men in the world. There was almost no one that would have turned down the opportunity to befriend him. And so, in five years’ time, he had established connections with anyone who would have been useful to his cause, seized Hua Xia’s market, and had expanded his influence.

And during those thousand and more restless days and nights, he would spend time tracking the Qin and Mo family’s footsteps and as a result, had been able to dig up a large number of illegal activities done by the two families and gradually, even the Ye family had not been able to escape his scope.

Amongst the three, the Qin family had been particularly hard to deal with. They had had no bottom line, were lawless and the crimes they had committed were enough to destroy them a thousand times over!

But then again, the benefits they had sent out as bribes had helped them form an iron fence that could protect them thousands of times over.

Therefore, he had had to remain patient and carry out his plan step by step.

Every time Mu Tian Heng had felt that he was losing control of his dark side, he would go to see Mo Di’s urn, to talk to his little friend, ask him if he should endure and wait a while longer.

But the cold and dark urn hadn’t been able to give him any response.

Every time that Lai De Si had come to find Mu Tian Heng, he would have brought along a wine bottle and gave him some advice. Something along the lines of ‘don’t be impulsive’ and ‘think positively’.

In the seventh year after Mo Di’s death when the both of them had been in their forties, Lai De Si had come as usual with his bottle of wine but this time, his head had been hanging low. He had not given his usual speech and persuasion but had instead drowned himself in tears.

“Say, what had happened to me? Only at this age did I find out that the man I’ve loved for so many years is dead.”

Lai De Si’s blonde hair had been mixed in with grey strands. His eyes had been red as he had cried: “He’s dead! He’s dead… the person I’ve thought about for so many years, dead! He died on his way to see that heartless animal!”

“Mu… Tell me why I only found out about this now, ha? Tell me why did it take me so long to find out that that motherf**ker is from the Mo family, Mo San Zhi! He had lied to Song Yu for so many years with his glib tongue and made him into his underground lover without him even knowing! He had dared not even tell anyone about his sexual orientation, or even that Song Yu was a man…I f**king want to kill him!”

“That animal had even pretended to be a good man. Song Yu died on his way to see him and he had dared not even fart….Dared not give him a proper status, or even admit his gender! He let the whole world think that he is the most faithful lover. A bunch of girls had wanted to marry him for this and those ignorant idiots had even said that Song Yu had been lucky to have him in his life. Pei! F**k that! To hell with that animal.”

Lai De Si had cried as he threw out curses. Mu Tian Heng, however, hadn’t paid him too much heed. He had only been focused on the pitch-black urn in his hand. Lai De Si had belched and said: “Say… you’ve been eating and sleeping with this urn for so many years, aren’t you tired? Ha?! Good thing I’m the one who came to have dinner with you and don’t mind you carrying that around. If it had been someone else, see if they don’t spread rumors about your hic…About your insanity….”

Mu Tian Heng had cut a piece of cheesecake and placed it in front of the urn. He had spoken without looking at Lai De Si: “Whoever has the guts to say it, I’ll allow him to do so in my presence….”

“Oh, they won’t have the guts to say that out loud, but they will think it in their head…” Lai De Si had held the wine bottle and poured himself another glass.

Orange sunlight had shone through the window and had reflected on Mu Tian Heng’s eyes.

Looking at Mo Di’s urn, he had asked Lai De Si out of the blue: “If you had the chance to keep that Song guy’s ashes with you, wouldn’t you have done the same?”

“I…?” Lai De Si had been sluggish and his tears had fallen even harder.

“I don’t know. Song Yu, he hadn’t known about me, maybe he wouldn’t have been happy if I had kept his remains….”

“That’s right, you’re not like me.”

Mu Tian Heng had smiled briefly. His eyes had been red and slightly wet, “My little friend and I had been in love. He had said that he loved me so he’s definitely happy to let me take him with me, show him around. I’m different from you…”

“Drop the act…” Lai De Si had looked at the urn in Mu Tian Heng’s hand and snorted, he emptied the wine glass then said,“Your little friend was a lunatic, a fool! The hell he knew what love was. Stop dreaming…..”

“Ok, ok, ok, I won’t say anymore. Fine, you guys had been in love, alright?” Seeing that Mu Tian Heng had been staring daggers at him, Lai De Si had changed his tone and continued to drink as tears had flowed down his beard.

“You’re right, Mu, you’re luckier than me… But then what?” Lai De Si had glanced at the urn and said with a bitter smile, “Aren’t we the same in the end?”

“Not the same.”

Mu Tian Heng had suppressed the burning sensation in his eyes. He had looked up and gulped down the wine.

In the fourteenth year after Mo Di’s death, a series of scandals of the Qin and Mo family had erupted and swept across the nation, and eventually the world, with incredible speed. Their news had been broadcasted daily on every major network of every continent.

Not only that, but the laws that the Qin, Mo, and Ye family had broken had also been publicized with an abundance of compelling evidence and had been covered by every major news station and websites.

This had caused a sensation across the globe.

After all, the Qin group was then one of the top three giants in the world. Qin Cheng Yi would have been the richest man if Mu Tian Heng, the crippled old man, had not been holding on to the position relentlessly.

As for the Mo family, they had become the most prestigious family in Hua Xia and none other had even come close. Furthermore, Qin Cheng Yi’s beloved and the Mo family’s big miss, Mo Liu Gui, had been a world-renowned actress, regarded as the national treasure of Hua Xia.

Mo Liu Gui had been over forty but she was still as beautiful as she had been in her youth. She hadn’t only been the national treasure but also the standard of perfection across the world. The reason having been her beauty and kindness, had made everyone fond of her.

But now that the unethical and corrupt crimes that the Qin family had committed were exposed, and the Mo family’s unscrupulous means had also been revealed, Mo Liu Gui wasn’t untouchable. Her game company also went under investigation and had been found to have evaded taxes, plagiarism, etc.

These revelations had had a wide impact and repercussions and of course, the Qin, Mo, and even the lesser-known Ye family had all suffered irreparable damages. 

As the evidence had all been ironclad, there was no way for them to manipulate the law. If they could turn a serious crime into a minor crime, and minor crimes into nothing, then wouldn’t the law enforcement be a joke to the public?

But this process had not been easy. All the evidence had been collected a long time ago but the timing hadn’t been right. He still could not break the chain of corruption in the upper management. There hadn’t been anyone that he could trust to make coherent commands or showed credibility. So Mu Tian Heng had grit his teeth and held on to the evidence.

Fortunately, his wait and efforts for more than a decade hadn’t been in vain. When the time was ripe, Mu Tian Heng had offered his newest breakthrough technology to the higher-ups of Hua Xia, and very quickly, the orders had been passed along.

They had also guaranteed him a speedy closure for these cases. In fact, the government had long been frustrated with the Qin family which had no regard for the law but they hadn’t had the opportunity to take them down. Hence, this was a good chance to cooperate with Mu Tian Heng and do good for the people.

So with the government intercepting, the case had been closed in only half a month after its outbreak.

Qin Cheng Yi and his close subordinates had been arrested, his properties confiscated and a large portion of it had been acquired by Mu Tian Heng’s company in Hua Xia. As for the Ye family, the bachelor Ye Cheng Feng who had been protecting Mo Liu Gui, had wanted to console her in her husband’s place was also arrested due to tax evasion and falsifying legal documents. The Mo family had been the main catch. Those who had forced Mo Di into the asylum, especially Mo Wu Hang and Mo Si Lang who had introduced the torture methods, did not have a good ending. The Mo family since then had fallen out of the upper-class circle.

Finally, it had been exposed that Mo Liu Gui’s game company had actually been acquired after forcing Mo Di into the asylum. This and several other reasons, caused its shares to plummet and had consequently been acquired by Mu Tian Heng. The Mo Liu Gui who was in her forties but still remained a soft and innocent girl had turned haggard overnight.

However, Mo Liu Gui was the darling of the world, even with Qin Cheng Yi, Ye Cheng Feng, and the Mo family members in prison, she hadn’t been affected. Her fan base had remained supportive and the roles she received were continuous.

But how could Mu Tian Heng let her off?

After more than ten years of painstaking investigation, Mu Tian Heng had been very clear of Mo Liu Gui’s personality: an extremely hypocritical white lotus. There hadn’t been a single thought of showing leniency to her in his mind.

He came up with a sinister plan. 

There was a female star who had accidentally ‘offended’ Mo Liu Gui, causing Qin Cheng Yi to take revenge by ordering his goons to gang-rape her. The female star had completely broken down and in the end, committed suicide. After her assault and death, her father had been enraged to the point of insanity. Sometimes he would be fine and sometimes, he would lapse into lunacy. Without any agitation, he could actually live a normal life. 

When Qin Cheng Yi’s crimes were exposed and broadcasted nationwide, he had seen it too and lost his mind again.

Mu Tian Heng decided to use this man after finding out about his madness.

So he had led him to the location where Mo Liu Gui had been filming a variety show. When she had been preparing to give her innocent and pitiful act, she had been assaulted by a madman who somehow managed to enter the set. Her stomach had been stabbed, eyes blinded, and her face had been slashed.

That year after his daughter had been raped, her face had been mutilated. Whether in his sane or insane state, he would never forget her look.

Mo Liu Gui had been disfigured, blinded, and stabbed in the kidney. She had screamed and howled in agony and had immediately been taken to the hospital.

Unfortunately, no matter how advanced the hospital was, it had not been able to give her back her face and those eyes that could only cry tears of hypocrisy. 

Even though the Mo family had collapsed, they had still been protected by Mo Er Qian, an academically accomplished genius. Giving Mo Liu Gui the best treatment and medical care was an easy task.

After six months of treatment, aside from the blindness, disfigured face, and a weak kidney, Mo Liu Gui’s health had been recovering.

However, her punctured kidney eventually developed into uremia.

Those that had been left from the Mo family were Mo Er Qian, Mo San Zhi, the two aunts-in-law, Mo Liu Gui’s mother, and Mo Liu Gui’s daughter of sixteen or seventeen in age.

As for the men in the family, none had had an offspring.

After all, those that had wanted to break up were broken up and not to mention, the closeted homosexuality. At present, the only one with a family was Mo Wu Hang who had been blackmailed into marriage after sleeping with a female celebrity and making her pregnant. But after the Mo family’s downfall, she had aborted the baby and fled.

So there hadn’t been many who could be a match for Mo Liu Gui’s kidney.

In the end, only Mo Liu Gui’s darling daughter and Mo San Zhi were suitable donors. But Mo Liu Gui’s daughter had also been the family’s treasure. Whether it was how she had been raised from young or that it had been in her blood, her character was the exact replica of her mother’s. So, after her naive and kind-hearted filial speech saying how much she had wanted to save her mother, it had been followed by various reasons why she could not do so. In the end, it all came down to Mo San Zhi.

But the current Mo San Zhi, could he have stayed as the selfless brother who had once only had his sister in his heart?

How was that possible?

He was now way past his prime. At fifty, his family was in decline. He had had a bad reputation for being a hypocrite and someone had even intentionally sealed his career path, not allowing him to be hired anywhere. He was just an old man with no money, wife, or kids. And now he had to lose a kidney as well?

In the past, there had always been someone else to take his place as a scapegoat so he could be a good brother. But Mo Di was gone, his sister-in-law Wen Ru Ya was gone, his status, power, and money were also gone. He just could not continue to be a good brother anymore.

He did not want to donate but hadn’t been courageous enough to speak up, so after it was decided, he had planned to run away. To his dismay, he had been dosed with anesthetic and sent directly to the operating table by Mo Er Qian who had already seen through him. His kidney had been removed and given to Mo Liu Gui.

Unfortunately, there was an accident during the surgery. Mo Liu Gui had been successful in getting a new kidney but Mo San Zhi did not manage to get off the operating table.

That was just great, the Mo second aunt completely lost it. 

A total of three sons she had. The youngest had gone to prison for Mo Liu Gui. The eldest had forced his brother into surgery and cut off his kidney for Mo Liu Gui, causing her second son’s death!!!

The second aunt’s hatred had escalated. She hated her eldest son for not thinking clearly but the one she had hated the most was Mo Liu Gui!

If it hadn’t been for Mo Liu Gui, the little money they had left would not have been completely gone. They could have bought her a kidney, her son would not have been in prison and her second son would have still been alive!!!

And that wretched ghost had still been pretentiously crying, acting aggrieved.

After the second aunt had held Mo San Zhi’s funeral, she had gathered all her hatred and with red eyes and gritting teeth, she had lit Mo Liu Gui’s room on fire and staged it as an accident to avenge her son.

Unfortunately, the fire had been uncontrollable.

The flames had burned the Mo family to the ground. Other than the aunts-in-law and Mo Liu Gui’s daughter with a burned face, there had been nothing left of the Mo legacy.

The big fire had been identified as an accident while being reported on the news.

But only Mu Tian Heng had known the truth. That fire hadn’t only been the second aunt’s hard work, but there had also been a little ‘help’ from him.

Although Mu Tian Heng hadn’t been satisfied with their retribution, which hadn’t even been comparable to one percent of what his little Mo Di had been through, he had ultimately avenged him.

After completing his revenge, Mu Tian Heng had returned to American.

He resided in the villa where he and Mo Di had lived for that one year. He would admire the flowers Mo Di had used to like, eat the cakes that Mo Di had used to eat, and try to catch the fireflies that Mo Di had tried to capture.

Later, Mu Tian Heng had also established many charity organizations, charitable hospitals, schools, libraries, and so on all over the world in Mo Di’s name.

He did not ask for anything else except that the people who had received the help pray for Mo Di in their hearts so that in Mo Di’s next life, there would be peace, health, and happiness.

Most people did not understand Mu Tian Heng’s request and thought that he was very strange. But those who had received his benevolence had complied with his wishes and prayed.

The day Mu Tian Heng had felt like he was leaving this world, he had called his nephew and passed along his will, leaving him a portion of his wealth and the rest had gone to the various Mo Di charities and had requested his supervision of them after he had passed on. 

And most importantly to take his ashes and put them in the urn that he had always had with him.

Finally, Mu Tian Heng had died at the age of seventy-one….

The same day he had found Mo Di thirty years ago.

(E/n: So touching to have come a full circle :’))

Chapter 103

Edited and Proofread twice by KitKat

Actually, Mo Di had met Mu Tian Heng before in his previous life, and it hadn’t been just a brief meeting either.

It’s just that he had forgotten about it.

The days in the asylum for a general psychiatric patient were already hard enough; let alone Mo Di, who had been instructed to be given ‘special care’. He had spent more than a year in the asylum being mentally and physically abused– beatings, electrocutions, needles to his fingers, and drug injections to name a few. All those inhuman treatments had been done to him repeatedly, over and over again, until one day——

He truly went mad.

The memories after he had lost his mind were automatically inaccessible. He would wander around the hospital in a soulless state. This had gone on until the third year when he had been beaten to death by a violent patient, only then did his mind return to normal.

Although Mo Di had recovered his consciousness after death, for some reason, the memories of the time he had gone mad were blank, and hence he only remembered to the point where he had been tortured brutally but nothing else in the months that he had become a mindless retard.

And in that period of time, he had met Mu Tian Heng.

After he had become a retard, there had been lesser surveillance on him. By chance, when the nurse went to the bathroom, he had slipped through the corridor and ended up in the back of a garbage truck.

And at that time, Mu Tian Heng, who had come to Hua Xia on his business trip to do a market survey, had passed by a small alley, and fatefully found the little fool, Mo Di, whose whole body was dirty and reeked. He even had a banana peel on his head.

Mu Tian Heng wasn’t sure what he had been thinking. Maybe because the little fool sitting by the roadside watching people having their breakfast had been just too pitiful, or that even though he looked hungry and dumb, he hadn’t tried to snatch food from anyone, proved his good and pure nature, which had moved Mu Tian Heng.

All he wanted was to get someone to give him a bath, a change of clothes, and a good meal before sending him to a charity organization or a welfare home but …. Unexpectedly, with just a little amount of interaction, his bottom line had been touched by the little fool. And after that, he couldn’t help but want to get along with him. And the closer they had gotten, the more broken his bottom line became. In the end, he had decided to let the little fool stay with him.

This event had become Lai De Si’s joke for a long time.

Although Mo Di had lost his mind, he had been a very, very obedient little fool. Because of the repeated torture, he hadn’t retained his beautiful and picturesque looks from before but his facial features were still exquisite. Especially when he focused on someone, the eyes seemed silly but untainted, like a dark sky filled with stars.

Mu Tian Heng had taught the little fool to eat, bought toys for him, and also told him stories at times when he had suddenly acted up– running around the villa, screaming and crying.

He had also investigated the little fool’s background, the things that had happened to him which reduced him to such a state. 

And he finally knew, this little fool had a name–

Mo Di.

After seeing the results of his investigation, Mu Tian Heng had been enraged as never before in his life.

Whenever he saw the dumb yet obedient Mo Di, his heart ached to the extreme.

Mu Tian Heng wanted justice for Mo Di, but he was very clear….

The Mo family that had harmed Mo Di, was a prestigious family in Hua Xia. They had a good reputation and powerful financial resources. And then there was Mo Liu Gui, a world-renowned goddess of perfection. Mo Di’s reputation had always been bad, and now, he had even become a fool, he wasn’t sure he would be able to help Mo Di get justice for being forced into the mental hospital.

Regarding Mo Di’s tortures in the asylum, he had been able to find bits and pieces of clues but there was nothing concrete as evidence. Not to mention, the Mo family was backed by the Qin family which had great influence financially and politically in the whole of Hua Xia. Although his resources trumped that of the Qin family, their base of operation in Hua Xia was more powerful than his.

Therefore, to get justice for the little fool, he could only do it slowly.

Mu Tian Heng had then planted several of his subordinates in Hua Xia and tasked them with several missions, then he had taken the little fool back to America, where he found the best psychologists and psychiatrists to treat him.

Alas, they had all been unsuccessful.

In the beginning, when the little fool had laid eyes on people in white lab coats, he would turn hysterical abruptly. But even when the doctors had donned casual clothes, he would no longer be trusting towards them. He would hide behind Mu Tian Heng and grab his clothes while crying and throwing things at them.

After the countless times this had happened, Mu Tian Heng put Mo Di’s treatment on hold. He had then begun to learn from the psychiatrist on how to calm Mo Di and treat him.

However, Mu Tian Heng had soon found out that he did not need the psychiatrist’s help because when Mo Di was not being crazy, he was very docile. He would peacefully follow behind him, pull at his clothes without saying anything or make any noise. Even when he had been agitated and acted with intense violence, as long as Mu Tian Heng had hugged him with all his might, comforted him, spoke to him, slowly step by step….He would be able to calm him down.

…

And like this, Mu Tian Heng and Mo Di had cohabited for a whole year.

In the later period, not only had Mo Di been close to Mu Tian Heng, but during the time they had been together, he had also gradually become the core person in Mu Tian Heng’s heart.

Mu Tian Heng had known jolly well that he was in love with this no longer normal but still purely good little fool, who, with a little grooming, was just like a youth from a beautiful ink painting.

Mu Tian Heng had felt both happiness and heartache. He felt that he was too much of an immoral beast.

Because Mo Di obviously could not think for himself, what he had done was akin to abduction. 

But even so, Mu Tian Heng hadn’t been able to suppress his feelings.

There had been times when he even thought that they were actually perfect for each other. A handicap and a simpleton, being able to meet even when they had been heaven and earth apart must have been fate. 

But when Mu Tian Heng had had this thought, he had been casting aside the fact that even though his right leg was disabled, he was still a tall and handsome man with a fortune worthy of the world’s richest top five. There were countless elite men and women who had wanted to be with him….

….But all he could think of was how good of a match he was with his little fool.

And when Mo Di had been living his hard-earned peaceful life, the Mo family had finally learned of his disappearance.

In fact, after Mo Di had gone crazy, the ‘caring’ family members had stopped coming to the mental hospital to visit. The most would have been a few words of inquiry, asking about his situation. But Mo Liu Gui had been different from the rest of the Mo family. She was kind, simple and thoughtful so even though her visits had been scarce, she would still visit him at least once a year. Especially during the Lunar New Year and Mid Autumn Festival, she had to care for her crazy brother and then shed a few tears after seeing him, all of which would have then been posted on her page. She would then be embraced and comforted by Qin Cheng Yi.

And the comforting would continue into the bedroom and under the sheets….

As such, on the day of the Mid Autumn Festival, once Mo Liu Gui had gotten off the set, she had gone directly to the mental hospital to see Mo Di in her high heels and Chanel getup. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been able to see Mo Di but learnt from the group of panicking medical staff that he had been missing for several months now.

That was just great. Then, Mo Liu Gui had been so anxious that she was on the verge of tears. She urged her brothers, Qin Cheng Yi, Ye Cheng Feng, and everyone else to find Mo Di quickly.

Her exact words had been, “Don’t let Xiao Di suffer outside.”

After punishing the medical staff for concealing information from him, he had sent people to search for Mo Di’s whereabouts. However, after searching for more than a month, he still had no news of Mo Di.

On the other hand, Ye Cheng Feng had been able to dig up some clues that Mo Di was no longer in Hua Xia and told Mo Liu Gui about this. Naturally, if Mo Liu Gui knew, then so would Qin Cheng Yi. His influence in foreign countries, although not powerful, hadn’t been useless either. And hence, he had sent out his subordinates overseas to search for Mo Di.

On October 28th, the one year anniversary of him picking up his little fool, Mu Tian Heng had initially wanted to make a big meal and then have a little two-person world of their own.

But Mo Di had been struggling with a stomach ache all morning.

Because Mo Di hated the hospital, Mu Tian Heng had hired a private medical team for him six months ago. The villa had also been installed with various medical equipment for doctors to do their checkups. But after analyzing Mo Di’s symptoms, the head doctor had given Mu Tian Heng devastating news.

Mo Di had seemed to have been fed too irregularly or some other reason that had caused heavy damage to his stomach. There was a lesion and he had suspected it was …..Stomach cancer. It hadn’t been clear at what stage the cancer was as further tests had yet to be conducted.

At that moment, Mu Tian Heng had felt the sky collapse for a moment.

Mo Di the simpleton hadn’t been in any more pain after taking the painkiller. He stood staring warily at everyone else. Then slowly went to Mu Tian Heng and took his hand.

“Brother, hungry…..”

Mu Tian Heng snapped out of his daze. He lowered his head and looked at Mo Di. There was a tint of red around his eyes.

“Today…  Brother will make you a big meal. But you have to wait first. Why don’t you go to play over there, ok? Brother has something to talk to these people.”

“Don’t want…” Mo Di was unexpectedly stubborn this time. He tugged hard at Mu Tian Heng’s hand.

Mu Tian Heng had always been tolerant and patient towards Mo Di. He had told the medical staff to wait and brought Mo Di to the outside of the villa.

“Was staying inside for too long making Xiao Di unhappy?” 

Mu Tian Heng gazed at Mo Di with gentle and sorrowful eyes.

Actually, Mo Di had deserved to be praised. That had been the longest he had come in contact with a doctor in that one year. It was probably because of this reason that he had been refusing to leave his side.

If only the results had turned out to be a common disease, then he could have really celebrated…..

“Brother, hungry…..”

The Mo Di at this moment could not comprehend Mu Tian Heng’s mood. He rubbed his stomach and said, “Brother, Xiao Di hungry…..”

Mu Tian Heng rubbed Mo Di’s hair and tried his best to show him his usual gentle smile, “Brother will make you something good to eat soon but you have to wait a bit. Brother has to talk to those people first, ok?”

Mo Di tilted his head and looked at Mu Tian Heng. He showed a slightly tangled emotion, like he wanted to obediently agree but was also reluctant to. 

If this had happened before, when Mu Tian Heng saw Mo Di react with a normal person’s expression, he would have happily hugged him several times. Now he was only trying hard to hold back the redness in his eyes.

As emotions surged, he had let out the words he had always hidden in his heart.

“Brother used to think….The thing I wanted most in life was to help you recover, so you will know that brother loves you. And the best outcome may be to let you also feel that you love brother….. Maybe, that is why God is punishing me for being greedy, but the punishment is on ….”

“Love brother,” Mo Di suddenly opened his mouth and said these words.

“What?” Mu Tian Heng froze as he looked at Mo Di: “….Xiao Di, what did you just say?”

“Love brother.” Mo Di did not seem to know what he was saying but the focus in his eyes was strangely clear, as though he understood every word.

“Brother loves me….I love brother.”

Mu Tian Heng had been pleasantly surprised and thought he was having auditory hallucinations. He had looked at Mo Di with red eyes, and said with a slight choke, “…Love brother? Where is it that loves brother?”

Mo Di had not understood what Mu Tian Heng had been talking about and tilted his head. Then he had seemed to have suddenly realized something and clapped his hands. 

He had smiled and said, “Hand love brother!”

Mu Tian Heng had been stunned. His eyes had swelled with a sourness and his voice had been all the more gentle, “Good boy…..Where else that loves brother?”

Mo Di had then felt a sense of pride and he had pat his tummy, “Tummy also loves brother.”

Mu Tian Heng’s eyes had turned moist as he had smiled, “Anywhere else?”

Mo Di then patted his chest, on the location where his heart was beating: “Here, this place loves brother too!”

Mu Tian Heng’s eyes had instantly turned a shade redder. He had reached out and held Mo Di in his arms, then placed Mo Di’s hand on top of his chest where his heart was pounding.

“Brother loves you here as well.”

Mo Di’s eyes bent and he had a wide smile. But quite quickly after, he had begun to frown. Grabbing Mu Tian Heng’s shirt he said, “Bad smell. Brother smells bad.”

“Sorry. Brother will go get changed now. Can’t let Xiao Di dislike me….”

Mu Tian Heng’s eyes had been red to the limit. He kissed Mo Di lightly on the cheek and let him play by himself for a while. He had gone to change the shirt that had been splashed with liquid medicine.

Mo Di had nodded obediently like always. After all, most of the time, he had been a very, very good boy.

To Mu Tian Heng’s dismay, when he had come back with a new shirt, his Mo Di had been  missing; along with one of the female doctors in the medical team. They were both gone.

Mu Tian Heng had been in an instant state of panic, anger and fear. He had resorted to all the means that he had never wanted to use before, and had overturned all his principles cultivated over the past thirty plus years; as long as he could find Mo Di, nothing else mattered.

After two days, he had managed to find Mo Di’s whereabouts, but by the time he had flown back to Hua Xia and arrived at a different mental institute from last time….

His little one……..

He had already been dead.

It was said that he had died during an inpatient riot.

Chapter 102

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

Song Yu smiled and said, “It’s actually nothing. After they found your lost phone, there was nothing in it, only a memo that the idiot thought was some sort of love diary. It’s nonsense and so is Lai De Si. I told him not to spread silly rumors and I’ve also taught him a lesson for you.”

“Taking lessons from you isn’t much of a punishment. He probably enjoyed it.” 

Mo Di teased and Song Yu was indeed embarrassed by it. He coughed lightly and said, “Since you’re fine then I’m hanging up. I have patients to attend to, let’s have lunch and talk when I’m free.”

“Alright.” Mo Di answered.

“I’ll have a day off in the next few days, I’ll call you then,” Song Yu said before hanging up.

When only the beeping sound could be heard, Mo Di’s smile slowly faded. He went to his contacts list and entered Lai De Si’s name. He looked at the screen for a long time until Mu Tian Heng’s footsteps came into earshot. He immediately turned the screen off and put it back on the bedside table.

“I added some shredded ham and seaweed, I’m not sure if they go well together, you can be the judge,” Mu Tian Heng said as he entered the room with a bowl and cup, looking at Mo Di endearingly.

“It smells great, I’m sure it’s delicious.” Mo Di was not sure how he felt at the moment but he did not show it on the surface. He smiled sweetly, sat up, and stretched out his hand towards Mu Tian Heng,“Brother, hug me.”

“Why have you become clingy all of a sudden?” Even as he said so, he quickly placed the honey water and porridge on the table and went to hug Mo Di. He kissed him on the forehead and lips.

“But the more you cling to me, the happier I am.”

Mo Di snuggled his head on Mu Tian Heng’s chest and stayed silent.

Not sensing anything wrong, Mu Tian Heng pinched his face and said, “Drink some honey to ease your throat and stomach.”

“Ok.”

Mo Di looked at Mu Tian Heng without revealing any traces of oddity. He looked at Mu Tian Heng with a shine in his eyes and asked, “Brother, have you eaten?”

“I ate the leftovers from yesterday.” Mu Tian Heng handed the glass of honey to Mo Di and he drank it obediently while his eyes were still fixed on Mu Tian Heng.

In Mu Tian Heng’s eyes, Mo Di was like a small animal watching its environment while eating. He smiled and asked, “What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

“No but you’re very good-looking.”

“I’m good-looking?” Mu Tian Heng patted Mo Di’s head dotingly, “I’m not as good-looking as you. Drink or it’ll turn cold.”

“En!” Mo Di gulped down the honey then pulled away the quilt when Mu Tian Heng picked him up and set him down next to him.

He scooped a spoon of porridge, blew it, then fed to Mo Di, “Have a try.”

Mo Di did not know why he was blushing again, clearly they had done even more intimate acts…

“Brother… I can eat by myself.”

“But I don’t want you to have to do anything today. You were very tired from last night; I will take care of you today.”

“!!!” Mu Tian Heng’s sentence sent a buzz to his brain. Mo Di’s head turned into a tomato and his mouth gaped.

His Mu Tian Heng, why does it… Why does it seem like he had somewhat changed?! His brother was so gentlemanly and polite with words before.

In fact, Mo Di was being euphemistic when he complained. Mu Tian Heng’s change should be justly described as a beastly transformation instead of ‘somewhat changed’.

Mu Tian Heng took his time to feed Mo Di and after the last spoon, he kissed his lips. 

“You should get some rest. I’m going to wash the dishes and come back to accompany you in a bit, alright?”

Mo Di wanted to say that he was fine and help Mu Tian Heng with the housework but thinking that he had to ask Lai De Si something in private, he nodded in agreement, “Ok, I’ll wait for you.”

“Good boy,” Mu Tian Heng squeezed Mo Di’s cheeks lightly then turned and left with the dirty dishes.

Mo Di quickly got out of bed and grabbed his phone. He slipped into the bathroom and sat on the toilet.

When he turned on his phone, he received two news feeds.

[Good news! Mo Er Qian, a genius neurobiologist, has returned to Hua Xia and will be teaching in Jing Da. Blessed are the students in this department!!! For more details…]

[Today’s news: Mo Shi Hong, imprisoned for the College Entrance Exam Fraud case, and Mo San Zhi, the mastermind behind the intended sulphuric acid attack on a Jing Da student, will be released today. These two are blood relatives to the genius Mo Er Qian, one is his uncle and the other is his twin brother! For more details…]

The two pieces of news were all about the Mo family. His father and Mo San Zhi were released from prison. This was indeed a happy event.

As for Mo Er Qian’s return to Hua Xia for good, this was something that had never happened in his previous life. Mo Er Qian refused to work on government projects but he still resided abroad as a professor. This life, he actually returned to Hua Xia.

But considering how things had turned out, it was quite reasonable.

The Mo family had fallen. What was once the most prestigious family in Hua Xia was now deteriorating fast. Its members had been sentenced to jail one by one and most importantly, Mo Er Qian’s precious little sister was now in dire need of his protection. 

And so, Mo Er Qian’s return made sense.

However, that would mean that the Mo family was almost fully reunited. Except for Mo Si Lang, who was still in prison, everyone else had gathered.

Mo Di was beginning to feel a sense of panic. Intuition was giving him an ominous feeling.

For some reason, he felt that the gathering of all her lead supporters would help her halo to recover and put this world back on track. As though Mo Liu Gui was a god, the stronger her most loyal supporters like the Mo family and Qin Cheng Yi were, the easier it was for her to regain her halo and shift the course of this world to its ‘original fate’ – 

That was the world he experienced in his previous life.

Mo Di took a deep breath to suppress the restlessness that had emerged.

As Mo Di was mulling over the news, Mu Tian Heng had come back into the room.

Seeing that Mo Di was not in bed, Mu Tian Heng turned to look for him and saw that he was washing his hands in the bathroom.

“Why are you out of bed?”

In Mu Tian Heng’s hand was another cup of honey. “Does your throat still hurt?”

“Not anymore.” Mo Di turned off the faucet, wiped his hand, then turned to look at Mu Tian Heng.

Mu Tian Heng had never seen Mo Di looking at him with such an expression. His heart jumped and he asked kindly, “What’s wrong?”

“Brother…”

Mo Di’s face was flushed of color because of the tension. He took a deep breath. 

Mo Di did not want to drag this matter on any longer, there were more important things ahead, and so he decided…

To come clean. 

Instead of asking Lai De Si and testing Mu Tian Heng step by step, he might as well get a direct answer from him. 

After all, the only person he had ever trusted, wasn’t it just Mu Tian Heng?

And Mo Di was certain that Mu Tian Heng knew about the memo’s existence.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing that Mo Di was not speaking after calling him, Mu Tian Heng was a little nervous and distressed, “Did something happen? You can always tell me, I’ll help you find a way.”

“It’s not that…” Mo Di shook his head. He kept looking at Mu Tian Heng and his eyes were turning red.

“Brother, you know about the memo on my phone, don’t you?”

Mo Di’s sudden mention of this matter caught Mu Tian Heng by surprise.

Mo Di continued, “Brother, did you read it? Lai De Si and the others, have they also seen it?”

“No, they didn’t read it,” Mu Tian Heng was worried that Mo Di would misunderstand, he quickly added, “I’m the only one who saw it. I couldn’t hold back and took a look. I know this is a violation of your privacy so…”

“Aren’t you mad at me?”

Mo Di did not know why Mu Tian Heng was still concerned about his feelings while all he thought of was to hide and deceive him.

“Brother, why don’t you blame me?!! I used you, I got close to you on purpose. Don’t you hate me? Why are you still this good to me? Why aren’t you angry with me? Or rather…”

“Do you not like me now?” Mu Tian Heng interrupted Mo Di but his voice was gentle as ever. He then reached out to pat Mo Di’s head.

“Do you not like me now?”

“I… Of course I like you. I like you the most, more than anything.” Being interrupted by Mu Tian Heng’s words, Mo Di was flustered. His anxiety and aggressiveness disappeared and his voice softened, “Of course I like you. Brother, you’re the most important person to me, but I, but I was…”

“That’s not important anymore.” Mu Tian Heng’s hand moved to his neck and pressed him into his embrace. 

“I know you approached me for a reason but looking back, what you did was right. If you didn’t come to me back then, it would’ve been impossible for you to escape from the clutches of the Mo family. By yourself, how could you deal with them and the Qin family as well? If you didn’t come to me, I wouldn’t have gotten a precious treasure like you. Even if I was used by you, it’s still not a loss for me in the end.”

Listening to Mu Tian Heng speaking up for him and comforting him, Mo Di was deeply touched and tears began swelling up his eyes, blurring his vision.

“Brother, you really don’t blame me?”

“En… I did blame you a little in the beginning but when I know that you like me now, I don’t blame you anymore. And… Now that you’re mine, you have to spend the rest of your life with me and love me for a lifetime.”

Mu Tian Heng did not tell Mo Di that after he confirmed his feelings, he had made up his mind to bind Mo Di to him regardless. He also did not reveal that yesterday was all planned out by him but instead showed him his understanding side while Mo Di was vulnerable with guilt.

And indeed, Mo Di was stricken with regret and his tears were flowing uncontrollably.

He hugged Mu Tian Heng tightly and tried hard not to cry.

“Sorry brother… Sorry, I…. hic… I’m sorry.”

“But…hic… But after that, I never lied to you again. Even before my birthday, I’ve already liked you. Now… hic… You’re the only one I’ve ever liked, I like you the most… Brother, believe me, please believe me hic…”

Mu Tian Heng listened to his beloved’s confession in tears and hiccups. He was also in distress looking at Mo Di’s wet eyes and red face. He leaned in and kissed his cheeks and the tears that lingered on his eyes.

“I don’t blame you, I really don’t.”

“But…” 

Mu Tian Heng’s benevolence and kindness towards him had surpassed his imagination and this only made his guilt more difficult to bear. He cried even harder as he buried himself into Mu Tian Heng’s arms.

His little one was throwing himself at him and crying inconsolably, making Mu Tian Heng’s heart ache. He kissed Mo Di’s hair lightly then picked him up and placed him back on the bed and continued to kiss Mo Di’s wet cheeks.

Mo Di wanted to kiss him back but as he was about to, he hiccuped again.

Mu Tian Heng chuckled. Finally, he couldn’t hold back and kissed Mo Di on the lips while gently lifting his chin.

Mo Di’s neck was raised and he looked at Mu Tian Heng through a blurry vision but his mind had been cleared. He plucked his courage and suddenly said, “Brother… I, I still have one more thing to confess.”

“What is it?”

“Brother…” Mo Di locked his eyes on Mu Tian Heng, “Do you believe that there can be someone who can be reborn in this world?”

“Do you believe that there’s a person who had been despised and hated by his family from the day he was born and had to live through abuse and torture? When he grew up and was finally able to leave that house, he was forced into a mental hospital because his sister accidentally fell down while she was pulling him?

Do you believe… That when he was confined in the mental hospital, he was beaten, tortured, electrocuted… Injected with drugs… Locked up with violent lunatics. The tortures were repeated until the day he was killed by a madman. Even in his final moments, he was trampled on and no longer resembled a human being…”

“Then he was reborn and wanted revenge, brother…”

“Do you believe it?”

Chapter 101

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

Mu Tian Heng did it till deep into the night.

After the third time, he took the barely conscious Mo Di into the bathroom. With extreme care and gentleness, he washed him and put his pajamas on for him. Then he carried him back to bed and locked him in his arms.

Mo Di was his.

From now on…

Every part of him was his.

Mu Tian Heng tenderly kissed Mo Di’s damp hair. He looked at his crimson cheeks, ears, lips, and the corner of his eyes that had turned pinkish due to the crying during their session of intimacy.

Mu Tian Heng kissed Mo Di’s closed eyelids.

Lai De Si had been right, he was indeed an old beast.

But what’s the point of being an ordinary man?

In front of Mo Di, he had always been charming and gentle, restrained and considerate. Mo Di had never suspected otherwise but Mu Tian Heng knew that he himself was not someone to be judged by appearance.

He harbored immense possessiveness and desires that had to be concealed and suppressed. 

And the memo, it was like a trigger that broke his control over these dark emotions that he had kept buried.

Would the little guy be afraid of him when he woke up tomorrow?

Probably not. After all, even when he was struggling under the sheets, he still said that he liked him the most.

Therefore, he did not do anything wrong.

As for the memo…

Mo Di probably had written it when he was still insensible? Anyway, Mu Tian Heng was willing to act as though he had not seen it and write the matter off.

He did not care if Mo Di had initially approached him with a motive, as long as he was sincere to him now, that was enough.

And even … Even if it wasn’t so, he still would not let him go.

Since he had decided to use him, he had better be prepared to pay with the rest of his life.

It was sometime later that Mo Di finally woke up. When he came to, he was feeling groggy with a headache and a dry and sore throat.

Mo Di frowned and when he tried to roll over, a sudden pain hit his back and completely sobered him up.

Sunlight was partially blocked by the thick curtain and from the look of it, it was no longer seven or eight in the morning.

Mo Di entered a trance as memories of last night came flooding back. His face turned red instantly.

He, he… He and Mu Tian Heng had slept together last night?!

And…

And they even did it so many times!!!

In the middle he even said it was comfortable… but later, he was crying ‘no more’…

AAAHHHH! He only knew that he would spill all his secrets when drunk but didn’t know how lustful he could become!

Just as Mo Di was shouting at himself mentally, the bedroom door opened and Mu Tian Heng appeared in black pajamas.

Seeing that Mo Di was already awake, he hurried to his side and pulled him into his arms.

“You’re awake. Are you uncomfortable anywhere? Let me get you a glass of honey, ok?”

Mo Di’s face was scorching and he nodded confoundedly, “Okay…”

Mu Tian Heng heard his voice and found that it was a little hoarse. He felt a tinge of guilt and kissed Mo Di’s hair and ear, “Sorry, I was too impulsive last night and did not know how to restrain myself. It’s my fault.”

Mo Di’s face was getting redder and his heartbeats were thumping uncontrollably, “It’s, it’s fine…”

Seeing Mo Di embarrassed like a baby quail, Mu Tian Heng couldn’t help but deliberately tease him, “Oh? Then… Then I will continue to get intimate with you this way, can’t I? Do not blame me for being unrestrained.”

Mo Di’s head buzzed and smoke was almost coming out. Mu Tian Heng’s intimate behavior from last night came flashing into his head, rendering him speechless with shame. 

His senses were all concentrated on the places that Mu Tian Heng touched. 

And Mu Tian Heng was still deliberately teasing him with his caressing.

“Yesterday was also my first time, I did not have much experience. Next time I’ll be gentler and work harder to satisfy you.”

“Brother…!”

Mo Di was too ashamed that he was numbed with courage, he looked up at Mu Tian Heng and complained, “You’re doing it on purpose!”

His little quail had suddenly turned brave. Mu Tian Heng laughed and kissed Mo Di’s forehead.

“I did it because you’re just too cute and obedient, letting me do whatever I want. What else could I do?”

“I… I never said you can do whatever you want,” Mo Di quibbled timidly.

“But you said that you like me the most and I’m the most important person to you, therefore… I can do anything to you.”

Mo Di eyed Mu Tian Heng suspiciously and couldn’t figure out why his Mu Tian Heng suddenly seemed like a different person. He was not this… This beast-like before!

“Alright, I won’t tease you anymore.” Mu Tian Heng saw Mo Di staring at him and smiled, “I made you some honeyed water and porridge with preserved egg. I’ll bring it to you in a bit, lie down and wait for me, ok?”

“Ok.” Mo Di looked at the clock and agreed obediently.

It was already past three in the afternoon and today was going to be wasted away after all. He did not want to return to the base anymore and decided to rest in bed a little longer.

Mu Tian Heng pecked him on the lips before leaving.

Mo Di looked at his back with happiness and abashment. He rubbed his blushing face and took a deep breath.

His heart was beating so fast that he couldn’t catch his breath.

Mo Di tucked a pillow behind his back and leaned back. 

He did not expect things would develop to that stage last night. The mess that comes with being drunk!

Mo Di recalled Mu Tian Heng’s extremely gentle but overbearing behavior from last night and blushed again. Although he was embarrassed, it felt really good…

Mo Di couldn’t believe his thoughts and buried his face into the blanket.

It had to be said, Mu Tian Heng seemed to have asked a lot of questions, most likely it was some sort of bedroom talk? But thinking back, it was still a little strange.

It felt as though Mu Tian Heng was feeling insecure and had to ask him repeatedly if he liked him.

Hahahaha…

Mo Di giggled to himself.

Ding Ding Ding

Mo Di’s phone suddenly rang. He searched for it and found that it was placed neatly next to Mu Tian Heng’s on the bedside table. 

A certain sense of bliss bloomed in his heart and he had a silly smile on his face as he picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Xiao Di, you sound happy. Something good happened?” Song Yu’s voice came from the other end.

“Uncle Song.”

Mo Di hiccuped, “Nothing. Uncle Song, why are you calling me? Or is it that Brother Lai De Si is bothering you again?”

Song Yu was stumped momentarily. He was a little embarrassed regarding this matter and deliberately skipped over this topic, “I can only call you if something’s the matter? Can’t I call simply to talk?”

After that, Song Yu continued, “Why does your voice sound weak? Did you catch a cold?”

“No, no.” Mo Di’s ears turned red, “It’s… I sang too much yesterday, it’s a little dry.”

“Then remember to take some honeyed water to moisturize your throat.” Song Yu smiled and asked, “Where are you, Xiao Di? Are you at home today?”

“Yes.” Mo Di answered, “Uncle Song, do you want to hang out with me today?”

“Although I really want to have a chat with you, I’m flooded with patients these few days.”

Song Yu said regretfully, “Xiao Zhao called me just now and said that he called you at noon but you didn’t pick up so I just called to make sure you’re ok. I’m relieved now knowing that you’re fine. Seems like I was just overthinking.”

“En?” Mo Di was curious, “What were you overthinking about?”

“It’s all Lai De Si’s fault. I shouldn’t have trusted him.”

“What is it?” Mo Di was even more confused, “Uncle Song, what’s up with Lai De Si? Did he say something?”

“He…” Song Yu sighed, “His words are not trustworthy at all.”

“But when it comes to you, Brother Lai De Si can be very reliable.” Mo Di tried to add a good word for Lai De Si seeing how he had been in love with Song Yu for so long. He hoped that Song Yu could be with someone who cherished him.

“How can you still side with him?” Song Yu hesitated before continuing, “Do you know what he told me yesterday?”

“What?”

“If it weren’t for his gossipy mouth, I wouldn’t have to be worried about you after Xiao Zhao told me he couldn’t reach you.”

“Huh? What exactly did Lai De Si tell you?”

“He said that there was a memo on your phone and Mu Tian Heng had found out about it. It was something you wrote when you had a crush on someone else. Mu Tian Heng was very angry and was going to teach you a lesson. Lai De Si was too scared to witness the domestic violence and dared not go home. He even wanted me to accompany him back to mediate the matter.”

“Ai…” Song Yu continued, “I know that he was joking but then you couldn’t be contacted so I got worried and called to check on you. It seems I was worried for nothing.”

Song Yu finished speaking but he did not hear a response from Mo Di. He had a bad feeling.

“…Xiao Di?”

“Uncle Song, Lai De Si is indeed a joker.” Mo Di’s voice came a moment later. 

“What did he say about the memo? Uncle Song, can you tell me about it?”

Chapter 100

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

“Brother?”

Not hearing Mu Tian Heng’s reply, Mo Di asked again.

“Today… En, it’s an important day indeed.” Mu Tian Heng responded but he did not specify. “You’ll know tonight. Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you!” Mo Di did not hesitate at all when he said this. He smiled brightly, “Then I’ll wait for you at the east gate tonight.”

“Good.” Mu Tian Heng’s voice was low and gentle, “I’ll pick you up at six.”

“En!”

Mo Di was in a good mood after hanging up. He hummed a song and went for lunch.

Seeing Mo Di’s happy expression, Zhao Chun couldn’t help but ask, “Xiao Di, why are you so happy? Did you win the lottery?”

“It’s not the lottery, it’s something even better. You guys won’t be able to understand.” Mo Di continued to hum his song and left with his lunchbox.

“I suspect that Xiao Di has left us behind and started dating someone.”

…..

On the other end, Mu Tian Heng had switched off his phone and leaned back. He closed his eyes and rested against the leather chair. 

He pushed down the turbulent emotions that were looming over him.

Even if Mo Di doesn’t love him and is only using him, so what?

Since he had decided to reel him in for his plan then he had better be prepared to do it for a lifetime! Not a day, a minute, or even a second less!

He would not let him go nor would he push him away.

This secret, since Mo Di did not want him to know then he would feign ignorance but Mo Di had better never think of leaving him.

Once he had been provoked, he’d better stick to it till the end. He was no saint and wouldn’t let Mo Di leave him after knowing that he had been deceived. Never!

He would only bind him tighter.

The fist that was on the armrest clenched, then released. 

Frankly, he didn’t believe…

He didn’t believe that Mo Di doesn’t feel anything for him.

In the beginning, it could have all been an act but what about after that? When he blushed whenever they met, when his ears turned red with shyness after they had kissed, when he smiled sweetly and showed his little dimple as they chatted. And those times when he had taken the initiative to rush into his arms and call him brother coquettishly…

He refused to believe that it had all been an act!

Mu Tian Heng opened his eyes.

In them was a layer of emotion that Mu Tian Heng had never shown anyone.

He would ask Mo Di tonight, no, tomorrow…

Ask him whether he liked him now.

As long as Mo Di said yes, it would be enough.

As long as Mo Di said it, he would believe it.

If someone had told him half a year ago that he would fall for someone to the point of self-deception, he would probably dismiss it because it sounded implausible.

But now, he was willing to ‘be the one who steals the bell with his ears covered’.

(TN: This phrase refers to the proverb 掩耳盗铃 ‘to cover one’s ears while stealing a bell’. It means to deceive yourself and cover up things that you obviously cannot.)

And what about it? As long as he had the bell and kept it in his arms forever, he was satisfied with that.

The competition had approached its final round. For the other teams, the production schedule was extremely tight but the same was not true for Mo Di’s team. Because the championship was most certainly in their grasp, Mo Di did not pressure his teammates with added work. Everyone had the same amount of work as before and Mo Di even gave them time to relax.

Before six in the evening, Mo Di increased his working speed and completed his tasks for the day. He quickly got a change of clothes and eagerly sped towards the appointed place.

Mu Tian Heng was leaning against his Maybach, waiting for Mo Di at the east entrance.

When Mo Di was about a hundred meters away, Mu Tian Heng could already recognize him.

Under the setting sun, the young man was running towards him with a delightful face. His dark soft hair was blown back and his scarf was dragging behind as he dashed against the cold wind, running wildly in his direction.

Mu Tian Heng’s heart softened at once.

He did not believe that this was an act.

And even if it was, it could only be for him.

…..

“Br, brother!” Mo Di panted heavily. When he finally reached Mu Tian Heng, he smiled broadly and his cheeks blushed, “Brother, did you wait long?”

“No.” Mu Tian Heng smiled and reached out to touch Mo Di’s hair, “Let’s go. Get in the car first.”

“En!”

The car had been preheated and Mo Di could take off his scarf after getting on. He rubbed his hands and breathed out.

In the next second, Mu Tian Heng’s large pair of hands were wrapped around his own.

“Spring is almost here.” Mu Tian Heng held Mo Di’s hand and transferred some warmth to it, “Bear with it for another month.”

“En. It is getting warmer than before.” Mo Di felt Mu Tian Heng’s care for him and his heart was filled with sweetness, “Where are we going?”

“We’re going straight home today. I’ll cook for you, how’s that?”

“Of course it’s great!” Mo Di was in bliss, “Brother, are we having steak again?”

“We’re not having steak today, I’m making you another of my specialty dishes.” Mu Tian Heng lightly touched Mo Di’s face, “Are you excited?”

“Very!” Mo Di replied with enthusiasm, like a bright-eyed child.

Mu Tian Heng smiled and moved his hand to rub Mo Di’s head, “Good. Fasten your seat belt, we’re going home.”

…..

How busy was the traffic during peak hours?

It was simply impassable. 

When the two reached the villa, it was already past seven o’clock in the evening.

And Mu Tian Heng only finished cooking at half-past eight.

This time, Mu Tian Heng made Chinese cuisine and they were all Mo Di’s favorite. One could tell that he had specially learned them for him.

There were a total of five dishes – tomato sirloin, chestnut fried chicken, fried shrimp, pepper fish head, sweet and sour ribs, and yam, kelp, and scallop soup; all of which were partially customized by Mu Tian Heng.

Other than the soup, everything else had a touch of alcohol added.

Mo Di knew that wine could improve the tastes of certain dishes but he couldn’t drink, so he had never tried cooking with it. Seeing Mu Tian Heng making the personalized changes and creating such scrumptious dishes, Mo Di swallowed his saliva in anticipation.

If the wine was cooked and consumed as a condiment…

He wouldn’t get drunk, would he?

Mu Tian Heng saw through Mo Di’s concern and asked, “Worried you’ll get drunk?”

“En, but I shouldn’t be too drunk since it’d be cooked.” As Mo Di came closer to Mu Tian Heng, the fragrance intensified and he couldn’t help but feel a little intoxicated, “It smells great.”

Mu Tian Heng picked up a piece of chicken and blew it before feeding it to Mo Di, “Have a try.”

Mo Di opened his mouth wide and chomped down on the whole piece in one bite. His eyes lit up immediately, “Brother, it’s delicious!”

“If it’s delicious then have more.” Mu Tian Heng smiled and pinched Mo Di’s cheeks, “You won’t get drunk even if you ate all of this. And even if you do, I’ll take care of all your drunken foolery.”

Mo Di shook his head. “I don’t act out when I get drunk. My brain just gets confused and I would answer everything anyone asks. That’s why I avoid drinking because it’s hard for me to keep my secrets.”

“Oh? So are there any secrets you’re keeping from me?” Mu Tian Heng smiled and leaned in. He looked at Mo Di and said, “Tell me now or you’ll be forced to confess later.”

Mo Di giggled, “You can just ask me directly, I won’t keep it from you.”

Other than the matter of rebirth.

And the fact that I lied to him.

Actually…

Mo Di had been thinking if he should tell Mu Tian Heng about his rebirth at a later time.

Mu Tian Heng smiled, “Then I’ll take you up on it.”

Mo Di raised his head, “Go ahead!”

“Alright… Bring these to the table first.” Mu Tian Heng patted Mo Di on the head, “I’m almost done with the final dish.”

…..

The two ate and chatted until it was almost ten at night.

In the end, Mo Di had gotten slightly drunk.

Mu Tian Heng looked at Mo Di in his drunken state and went over to hold him in his arms.

“Are you drunk or sleepy?”

Mo Di leaned into Mu Tian Heng’s embrace. He looked up and gave him a silly smile, “I’m not drunk, and I’m not sleepy either!”

Mu Tian Heng knew that Mo Di was indeed drunk.

But he had planned this all along. He said nothing else and lifted Mo Di up. He let Mo Di sit on his lap and started kissing him.

Mo Di was in a daze as his body heated up. He hugged Mu Tian Heng’s neck in response and reciprocated his kisses, whispering ‘brother’ in between.

The little voice was soft and gluey as he dragged out the words, revealing a complete sense of trust and affection. Mu Tian Heng listened and his heart melted.

He did not believe that Mo Di would still be able to act at a time like this. He felt that at least at this moment, Mo Di did have feelings for him.

Almost everyone is their true self when drunk and currently… Mo Di was definitely drunk.

Mu Tian Heng gently kissed Mo Di’s forehead, then to his eyes, nose tip, and lips.

“Little one, you’re drunk. Do you know who I am?”

“Brother…” Mo Di struggled to stay focused and his eyes cleared for a moment before his confusion relapsed. He then raised his head and nibbled at Mu Tian Heng’s face.

“Are you sure?”

Mu Tian Heng looked at Mo Di with extremely gentle eyes but underneath suppressed a powerful possessiveness he had never shown in front of Mo Di.

“Of course I’m sure, it’s brother, the person I like the most,” Mo Di hiccupped. He held Mu Tian Heng’s neck tightly and continued, “Brother, haha, you’re drunk…”

“I’m not drunk but you are. I’ll carry you to bed.”

Mu Tian Heng concentrated his fiery gaze on Mo Di while the powerful arms held his waist and slowly carried him up to his bedroom.

He continued planting kisses on Mo Di. Beginning with his lips, then gradually downwards to his neck, collarbone, chest, waist…

And in between the kisses, Mu Tian Heng repeatedly asked, “Do you like me?”

“I like you,” Mo Di answered naturally.

“Do you know who is kissing you?”

“It’s brother…” Mo Di was puzzled by Mu Tian Heng’s questions. He tilted his head and looked at him in a daze then pinched his nose and said, “Haha, brother, you’re drunk.”

Mu Tian Heng held his hand and continued to ask, “Am I the person you like the most now?”

“Of course… now, before, and in the future, you’re the one I like the most…”

“Who’s most important to you?”

“Brother, you’re the most important…”

“Do you like being kissed by me?”

“Like it! Very much…”

Mo Di responded obediently to all of Mu Tian Heng’s questions until he was kissed in the belly. His answers eventually turned into soft moans and begging.

And towards the end, his final words were ‘brother’ as he called out to Mu Tian Heng…

(E/N: What a perfect way to end this chapter hehe..)

Chapter 99

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

When George interrupted, Lai De Si completely forgot about the phone and went straight to the conference room after changing.

Only when he saw Mu Tian Heng did he remember and quickly said, “Mu, the kid’s phone was found but I left it in my office and forgot to bring it along.”

“I’ll take it afterward.” Mu Tian Heng said, “Sit, let’s start the meeting.”

“Ok.” Lai De Si eyed the old men on screen and began to switch to his serious mode. He pulled a chair and sat down.

As Mu Tian Heng had already discussed the more important points with them, Lai De Si’s part was fairly straightforward and he only had to sit through it for another twenty minutes.

The moment the meeting concluded, Lai De Si heaved a sigh and turned off the computer.

“Ai, I really hate meetings, especially when it’s with those old foxes. All of them are so serious and scary. Not like my sweet and gentle little Song Yu.” Lai De Si suddenly thought of something and started giggling to himself.

Although he had not managed to score a date with Song Yu yet, it seemed Song Yu had already regarded him as a friend…

Mu Tian Heng lifted his hand and gave Lai De Si a smack, forcing him to come back from his daydreaming, “Get moving. Go back to your office and give me the phone.”

“Ai, let me relax a little.” Lai De Si stood up reluctantly, “The phone is not going anywhere.”

“Quickly.” Mu Tian Heng ordered and exited the room. 

“Ok, ok.” Lai De Si had no choice but to follow.

As the two reached Lai De Si’s office, Lai De Si went to open the door for Mu Tian Heng.

“Where did you put it?” Mu Tian Heng gave his office a quick sweep.

“Isn’t it on the table?”

“Where?” Mu Tian Heng frowned at Lai De Si, “Are you sure it’s on the table?”

“It’s right th… Huh?!” Lai De Si looked at his workspace and was startled that the phone was gone.

“I, I, left it there!”

“How could it be missing?!” Lai De Si panicked and began to ransack his table when he suddenly came to a realization, “Ah! I think George must’ve taken it!”

“What has George got to do with this?”

“George came to take the material for this week’s programming competition. I told him it was on the table and let him take it. Turns out he took the wrong item.” Lai De Si picked up the laptop on the table and shook his head, “He should have taken this laptop. Shouldn’t they realize by now that they’ve taken the wrong thing? What’s there to decode in little Mo Di’s phone?” 

Mu Tian Heng had long ignored Lai De Si and was heading straight for the senior programmers’ office.

Lai De Si carried the laptop and hurried behind him.

As Mu Tian Heng approached the office, he could hear Edmund shouting excitedly.

“I’m very close to decoding it!!!”

Mu Tian Heng frowned and picked up his pace. He entered the room and saw George and the others sitting around a table with a cell phone in the center. It was plugged into several cables and connected to everyone’s laptop.

And that phone was most certainly Mo Di’s.

“Three, two, one, I did it! I decoded it! It’s open! Hahaha I won…..Mu?!” Edmund paused halfway through his excited proclamation when Mu Tian Heng stepped in and disconnected the data cables to the phone.

The files shown on their screen flashed and disappeared instantly. 

“Mu, what are you doing?” Edmund was baffled. He had just unlocked it and did not get to see anything yet.

Although the content of the file was not important, this had been a complex and time-consuming task which he had won; it was his right to read what was inside!

“This is not this week’s challenge. This is Mo Di’s phone. The program is in here.” Lai De Si put the laptop on the table. “George, you idiot, you took the wrong item!”

“Ha?!” George was stunned. “That’s not right, there’s really an encrypted file on this phone.”

“That’s right, there’s a memo with multiple layers of encryption on this phone. Aside from that, there’s nothing else on it. How can this be Mo Di’s phone?” 

“The person who took this phone must’ve formatted the phone to wipe the memory but this file had powerful encryption so it could not be touched. I have to say, little Mo Di’s programming skill is quite top-notch. It took the group of them thirty minutes to crack so it would have been impossible for some average joe to access it.” Lai De Si said with a smile.

Although Mu Tian Heng did not say anything, he was beaming with pride. Of course his little one’s skill was one of the best in the world.

However, he did expect that Mo Di would set up such a high-level lock for his phone. This file should be of some importance but he remembered asking Mo Di if he had valuable information on his phone and Mo Di had replied with a no.

Mu Tian Heng frowned.

Lai De Si curiously asked Edmund, “Hey, were you the first to crack it?”

“Of course, I’m still the number one in this department.”

“Come on, this is just one time. And we even worked on the wrong thing, it does not count.” George objected.

“Say, did you guys happen to see what was written on it?” Lai De Si quietly nudged Edmund’s arm. He was really curious about the file that Mo Di had hidden under so many layers of encryption.

“Dunno, I didn’t see anything. Mu was too fast.” Edmund shrugged.

Li Cheng and Raymond shook their heads.

“I managed to make out a few words!” Chote said, “But I’m not sure. Something with ‘like’ or ‘don’t like’… Ai, I couldn’t see clearly. Mu was really quick.” 

Chote smirked and continued, “That old dude is like a different person when it comes to love. It’s only a file his boyfriend hid and he guarded it so tightly.”

“Like or don’t like?!”

As though he had discovered a mind-blowing scandal, he exclaimed with an ‘Oh!’ and then deliberately teased Mu Tian Heng, “Could it be that little Mo Di had an interest in someone else before liking Mu? He wanted to put away those memories but could not bear to delete them so he hid them in those files.”

Mu Tian Heng’s gloomy eyes stared straight at Lai De Si.

“O, o, of course that’s impossible!”

Lai De Si was struck by the death stare and had to change his words to survive, “I was just kidding. How’s that possible? It should be the diary little Mo Di wrote when he started having one-sided feelings for you. I remembered that he had fallen for you a long time ago…”

Mu Tian Heng was somewhat appeased but he still ignored Lai De Si and turned to leave.

Lai De Si swallowed hard, “It was just a joke, he didn’t have to stare at me like I’m some kind of dead meat.”

Chote patted Lai De Si on the shoulder and said, “There’s a Hua Xia saying ‘bu zuo bu si’, I think it suits you perfectly.”

(TN: 不作不死 directly translates as “don’t do, won’t die.” It’s pretty easy to understand, simply meant that don’t do stupid things and you won’t suffer for it.)

Meanwhile, Mu Tian Heng took Mo Di’s phone back to his office.

He poured himself half a cup of coffee and took a sip. He then sent Mo Di a message telling him that his phone had been found and he would deliver it to him tonight.

Mo Di did not reply, most likely he was concentrating on his work.

Mu Tian Heng took another sip of coffee. His eyes were downcast as the winter sun cast a shadow over his face.

What Lai De Si and Chote had said inexplicably lingered in his mind.

Like, or don’t like?

Why would his little one write those words?

Was there really someone he had liked before him… Or was this a record of his feelings for him?

Mu Tian Heng’s long finger slid over the blue case of the phone and stopped at the data port of the phone.

This is not something an upright man should do.

But…

If this was related to Mo Di’s feelings then he was willing to be a crook.

Mu Tian Heng hesitated twice before connecting Mo Di’s phone to his laptop.

The clock struck twelve and Mo Di finally stopped working. He cracked his knuckles then took a look at his cellphone. He saw the message from Mu Tian Heng telling him that his phone was retrieved.

Mo Di was astonished. He quickly gave Mu Tian Heng a call.

Beep beep beep.

No one answered.

Even until the last ring, Mu Tian Heng did not pick up.

Mo Di slightly sulked. The line wasn’t busy or out of range. Did Mu Tian Heng not hear the phone ring?

Mo Di dialed again.

The phone rang for a long time but towards the last beep, it was connected and Mu Tian Heng’s voice came through.

“Hello?”

“Brother.” Mo Di’s voice was a mix of excitement and nervousness, “Was the phone found?”

“That’s right, I’ve retrieved it. But…”

“But what?” Mo Di’s heart pounded and there was a lump stuck in his throat.

“But it had been formatted. There is nothing left, it has been cleanly erased.” Mu Tian Heng’s voice was gentle as ever but underneath were undetectable waves of raging emotions.

“It’s been formatted?!”

For a moment, Mo Di was unsure whether he should be relieved or depressed. He had put a lot of effort into writing the encryption on the memo, it shouldn’t be that easily erased…

“Is there anything important on it?”

Mu Tian Heng asked again, disrupting Mo Di’s thoughts. 

“No, no.” Mo Di replied instantly. His ears were turning pink.

Why did he feel that Mu Tian Heng’s voice was even more gentle than before, making him unconsciously blush.

“Brother, I’ll wait for you at the East gate tonight. You can come in if it’s just for a while and we can spend some time together!”

Mo Di’s voice was cheering up.

But Mu Tian Heng had other plans. “Come out at six today, I’ll take you out for dinner.”

“Ah?” Mo Di was stumped, “But brother, today is not Sunday, I can’t leave.”

“Yes you can. I’ve contacted the person in charge of the competition and he gave you permission to leave this evening and return tomorrow night.”

Mu Tian Heng’s voice was deep and alluring, it was even more enticing than before, “Be good, at six this evening, I will be waiting for you at the entrance.”

Although Mo Di did not know why Mu Tian Heng had requested for his leave, he still readily agreed.

He then asked, “Brother, is there something special about today?”

---

TN: In case you don’t remember, here’s the note MD wrote back in Chapter 32. It took me some time to remember which chapter it was in 😛

“I don’t like him but I acted like I do. I’m indeed too underhanded. If I can compensate, I’ll do anything, even giving up my company, it doesn’t matter.”

Chapter 98

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

The announcement was made several times but no one came to return Mo Di’s phone. 

When Mu Tian Heng tried calling it, there was a ring at first but then the call was rejected, and eventually, the phone was turned off.

Mo Di was now certain that whether his phone was taken by mistake or on purpose, the chances of him getting it back was very small.

He was too anxious to relax and his heart was sinking fast.

Knowing that the person who took Mo Di’s phone was refusing to return it to them, Mu Tian Heng was furious but seeing Mo Di’s disheartened look, he gently reached out and touched his cheek, then softly coaxed him, “Don’t be upset. That person probably didn’t hear the ring or maybe the phone is out of battery. Let’s try again tomorrow. Since there’s nothing important on it, you don’t have to worry too much. Let’s go to the mall before it closes and buy a new one.”

Mo Di looked at Mu Tian Heng. The bright lights of the park began to blur behind him.

Mo Di’s eyes became hot. He suddenly lunged into Mu Tian Heng’s chest and buried his head inside.

“Brother, brother… will you always be good to me like this?”

“Did losing your phone turn you silly?” Mu Tian Heng smiled. He hugged Mo Di and gently rubbed his head, “Of course I will keep being good to you and it’ll never change. Why do you ask such a question?” 

“Really?” Mo Di’s eyes were slightly red. He regretted writing that memo and hated himself even more for not deleting that stupid note after falling for Mu Tian Heng.

He had completely forgotten about its existence.

“Of course.” Mu Tian Heng looked into Mo Di’s eyes, “Don’t you believe me?”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, but… I’m just scared. You treat me too well. No one has been this kind to me before, you’re the only one. You’re also the most important person to me. I fear that one day you won’t like me anymore.” Mo Di sniffed and his voice was shaking, “I’m scared…”

“Brother, why don’t you stop being this good to me? So when the time comes and you stopped liking me, I would still be able to take it.” Mo Di kept his head down and spurted words he did not fully understand himself.

Mu Tian Heng was not sure whether to laugh or feel distressed over Mo Di’s sudden sense of insecurity. 

“Silly.” Mu Tian Heng gave Mo Di’s forehead a pat, “What kind of request is this? Who would ask someone else to treat themselves badly?”

“Ah.” Mo Di was quite stunned by the hit. He looked up with moist eyes and covered his forehead innocently, “It hurts…”

“So you do feel pain. I thought you were sleeping and seeing some weird dream,” Mu Tian Heng said as he pulled Mo Di’s hand away from his forehead and rubbed it for him.

“Does it still hurt?”

“…Yes.” Mo Di gave Mu Tian Heng a grievous look. He was not feeling any pain but he just wanted to be pampered by Mu Tian Heng and make this moment last a little longer.

“Then don’t say such things again,” Mu Tian Heng said so but he regretted it deeply. He never wanted Mo Di to have to experience any pain but he had accidentally used too much strength just now. 

Mu Tian Heng leaned over and kissed the pinkish dot on Mo Di’s forehead.

Mo Di opened his eyes slowly. He could clearly hear the next thing that Mu Tian Heng said to him.

“How could I not love you? Even if you make a big mistake, at most I will hit you on the butt and after that, I will still dote on you. I will never stop liking you or stop treating you well. Therefore, don’t say words like this again. I will only think that I was not good enough and that’s why you’re feeling insecure.” 

“There’s no such thing! Brother, you’re perfect!” Mo Di shook his head immediately. “You’re really great, you’re the best!”

Mu Tian Heng looked at Mo Di’s earnest eyes and smiled, “Then that’s that. Stop giving yourself unnecessary headaches.”

Mo Di sniffed and glanced at Mu Tian Heng. He then plunged back into his embrace.

“Sorry brother, I was overthinking.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. This only means that I have to work harder.” Mu Tian Heng lowered his head and kissed Mo Di’s hair.

“Do you still want to go for another ride?” 

“I don’t feel like playing anymore.” Mo Di shook his head. Although his fears were somewhat elevated, he didn’t want to hang around the amusement park anymore.

“Brother, let’s go get a new phone then go to the movies.”

“Alright.” Since it was Mo Di’s request, Mu Tian Heng naturally complied. 

No one from the amusement park got back to them about the missing phone and Mo Di had completely given up on it.

At almost midnight, Mu Tian Heng sent Mo Di back to the base. 

Mo Di kissed Mu Tian Heng goodbye and did not mention the cell phone again. He waved at Mu Tian Heng, then ran back to the villa.

Mu Tian Heng watched as his little lover left, all the way until he had disappeared out of sight. He then took out his phone and dialed for Assistant Gao.

“Sir.” Assistant Gao was always on duty for Mu Tian Heng and hence, the phone was picked up after a mere three seconds. 

Mu Tian Heng instructed Assistant Gao to publish a notice over major media platforms to find Mo Di’s cell phone. A fifty thousand yuan would also be rewarded to whoever brought it back.

No matter how expensive a used cell phone was, it could not even fetch five thousand yuan. Now that the reward was fifty thousand, anyone in their right mind would know what they should do.

As expected, a call came in the following day regarding the missing cell phone.

The caller sounded like a middle-aged man with a slight accent.

“Is it Mr. Gao? I saw the notice and called to return the phone. I took my kid to the amusement park yesterday and only realized that I took the wrong phone after we had left. I’m very sorry about that.”

The contact information left on the notices was Assistant Gao’s number. He listened to the man without pointing out the loopholes in his story. “May I ask how you can confirm that you have the phone we’re looking for?”

“Of course it is! It’s absolutely the one you’re looking for. It has a blue case and there’s a picture of the sea on it,” the man quickly replied.

“About that, I’d have to reconfirm.”

“Reconfirm?!” the man raised his voice. “Are you making excuses so that you don’t have to give out the reward? You big bosses are so wealthy, how can you be this stingy?!”

“That’s not the case. I’m a man of my word. How about this, you use that phone to call the number on the notice, after I confirm that the caller ID is correct, you can bring the phone to me and I will give you the reward.”

“Alright, I will call you again,” The man said then hung up instantly.

Ten seconds later, Assistant Gao’s phone rang again. It was indeed Mo Di’s number that Mu Tian Heng had given him. 

Assistant Gao proceeded to give the man a designated location where they would exchange the phone for the money.

The man readily agreed.

Before leaving to meet the man, Assistant Gao reported the matter to Mu Tian Heng. After listening, Mu Tian Heng told him to bring along a police officer.

The day before, he had called the phone countless times and was rejected. The phone was then shut down which proved that it had not been taken by mistake and the man had had no intention of returning it. This behavior was a direct violation of the law and there was no way Mu Tian Heng would have let him go. The reward would still be handed out because he was a man of his word but he would make sure that the man was punished appropriately.

…..

An hour later, Assistant Gao had settled everything and brought the phone back to the company.

When he was on his way to the chairman’s office to return the phone, Lai De Si came humming from the corridor.

“Old Gao, what’s up? You’re reporting to Mu? He’s having a video conference with those old men, it’s going to take a while.”

“…” Assistant Gao was at a loss but he calmly replied, “I’m not here to give a report. I’m here to hand Mo Di’s lost phone to the chairman.”

“Oh, it’s been found? That’s pretty fast. You can give it to me, I’ll also be attending the conference in a moment and I’ll pass it to Mu for you.” Lai De Si said.

Assistant Gao hesitated for a bit before deciding that there shouldn’t be a problem handing it to Lai De Si and so he agreed.

Lai De Si put the phone in his pocket and went back to his office.

Lai De Si’s office was also equipped with a small lounge furnished with a wardrobe, bathroom, and other amenities. Lai De Si placed the phone and his laptop on the desk before going to the wardrobe to get changed.

He was about to meet that group of grumpy old men later and under-dressing would cause him to be reprimanded. 

How annoying!

Just as he was changing clothes, his office door was knocked twice and George’s voice came through the door.

“Lai De Si, we’re holding the weekly competition. Have you prepared the challenge yet?”

“It’s done!” Lai De Si replied from the changing room. “This time is a decoding race. Whoever can decrypt the program the fastest is the winner. But I won’t be participating this time, I have a meeting later.”

“Then where’s the material? Give it to me.” 

“It’s on the desk, you can come in and take it with you,” Lai De Si said as he fidgeted in front of the mirror with a tie he had found in the drawer.