The Chi Family’s New Year celebration was quite strange. There were many people, and everything appeared orderly on the surface, but it lacked any real festivity—it was just chaotic.
It didn’t feel like a New Year gathering; it felt like a banquet.
Clothes rustled and hairpins gleamed, glasses clinked amid toasts, and people exchanged fake smiles like masks. Someone would say a couple of words, nod slightly, and then turn to the next person—familiar yet not quite.
But Chi Mo had said that the Chi Family never invited outsiders during New Year. That meant everyone gathered here tonight, the dozens of people in sight, were all relatives connected to the Chi Family by blood or marriage.
Before they arrived, Li Ran had said guiltily, “Then I’m an outsider. Today, I’ll stay home with Grandpa, Grandma, Little Black, and Little White…”
Chi Mo cut him off before he could finish.
“To me, they are the outsiders. You’re not.” He wrapped a thick, long scarf twice around Li Ran’s neck to prevent him from sticking his head out the window to look at the scenery on the way to the manor, like he had done the day before, letting the cold wind caress it senselessly. “You have to meet them eventually. The timing isn’t ideal now, but it’s suitable enough. My family—you’ll need to know and understand them sooner or later.”
“No one will dare say anything to you.”
Chi Mo offered no explanation for last night’s “child bride” remarks, but he strictly enforced it in his actions.
Just half an hour after arriving, Li Ran already felt suffocated. He had experienced unforgettable moments with Shen Shu, where a few words turned them into “the absolute best of best friends,” but the baffling, infuriating snail’s pace had been accelerated. With Chi Mo as his responsible teacher demonstrating by example, half an hour was more than enough for him to learn how to blend into the crowd without a word.
But he had been among these people for so long now, breathing out countless breaths of carbon dioxide that could warm the Earth, yet he felt no warmer—only chills.
He hadn’t even taken off his down jacket. Chi Mo’s foresight in wrapping that thick scarf around him had been spot on. After the Cullinan drove into the manor, it had traveled another full half hour—all on Chi Family land. The kid had rolled down the window shortly after raising it, and since the family roads didn’t follow traffic rules, his curly head poked fully out to observe the manor in disbelief. “It’s all yours?”
Chi Mo replied politely, “Old Mr. Chi’s.”
That grandfather of his, Chi Jin Xuan, who was still alive and kicking.
Chi Mo added, “Barring any surprises, it’ll be Little Uncle’s in a few months.”
The manor villa had a semi-open venue dedicated to banquets, large enough for two hundred people without issue. The decor was exquisite, every piece of furniture meticulously chosen.
Amid the lavish banquet, people could sip wine and chat while gazing through the night at the distant mountaintop, where thin snow still lingered unmelted.
It was a uniquely flavorful indulgence.
Even with underfloor heating, not every spot was warm enough.
One should have dressed warmer for the cold.
But everyone who came wore long gowns that trailed the ground for the women, exposing their ankles in high heels, their delicate bones turning blue from the chill; the men were in suits and leather shoes, ties and cufflinks impeccable, not a single extra layer.
Only Li Ran stood out in his down jacket, sweater, scarf, thermal underwear, fleece-lined jeans, and long johns… His insulation clashed completely with the scene.
Oh, and Ye Chengwan, who was also bundled up substantially—a suit stuffed with several layers inside, thermal patches everywhere, practically radiating immortal aura. He was an adult, after all, and for Old Mr. Chi’s gatherings, one had to save face.
But Chi Wei and Ye Chengwan hadn’t arrived yet, nor had Old Mr. Chi.
Important figures made others wait.
Barring surprises, Chi Wei would arrive later than Chi Jin Xuan. He had used up his annual leave months ago—ask, and he’d say he was working overtime, no time.
Just attending this boring annual “New Year meeting” of the Chi Family was filial enough.
Chi Mo was on the rise, young, and hadn’t picked up the habit of acting like a big shot. He brought Li Ran early to watch this group of demons and ghosts put on a show for amusement. From time to time, he shared bits of family history. With everyone present today, he could point out people with his chin to help Li Ran match faces.
Gossip was only fun when you knew the faces.
“Bro… they’re all staring at me.” Li Ran took the milk that Chi Mo had a server warm for him, cradling it in his palms and sipping slowly. His eyes furtively scanned the gazes appraising him, pressing close to Chi Mo’s arm and whispering, “It’s not my imagination, right…? Check for me quietly.”
“It’s not your imagination. They’ve been staring at you for half an hour.” Chi Mo chuckled. He didn’t need to look to know how curious these aunts, uncles, great-aunts, and great-uncles were. No matter how polished their exteriors, they couldn’t suppress human gossip. But he respected Li Ran’s wish, subtly shielding him with his body while glancing at the crowd. His gaze was indifferently mechanical.
He didn’t look stealthily—that glance was overt, carrying a tangible warning.
A curious glance was fine, but anyone who stared too long would find him petty enough to hold a grudge and settle accounts later.
Dozens of overt and covert gazes instantly retracted. Those mid-sentence continued smiling, those with unfinished drinks kept persuading others to sip. No one looked at Li Ran again.
Who would dare?
It was Chi Mo’s birthday on the first day of the New Year—today. He had just turned twenty-one.
A new year, a new beginning—an auspicious sign. But Chi Mo rejected it, growing “vicious” day and night without respite. Even Old Mr. Chi feared him.
From his looks to his iron-fisted methods, he didn’t seem twenty at all. It wasn’t that he looked prematurely aged—quite the opposite; his face had the potential for a pretty boy. But it bore the frost of hardships unknown to his peers, elevating his gaze to a level mismatched with other twenty-year-olds.
Chi Wei was Chi Jin Xuan’s legitimate eldest son, capable but not exceptionally so. Despite a lifetime of support, Chi Jin Xuan couldn’t propel him to the heavens. Chi Mo, Chi Wei’s only son, had grown sturdy wings and flown high early on without much help, just like his troublemaking little uncle.
Fate played cruel tricks.
“Wait, Bro, isn’t Little Uncle named Chi Wei? Why is your dad also Chi Wei?” Li Ran stayed glued to Chi Mo’s side, listening to him explain family ties. The names confused him.
With Chi Mo there, no one dared approach to ask who Li Ran was or what his relationship with Chi Mo was. Boyfriend? Bedmate? Didn’t the family taboo homosexuality the most?
It had been nearly a year since most had seen Chi Wei and Ye Chengwan, and they had nearly forgotten this ready-made gay couple existed.
Chi Mo said, “Different characters.”
He took Li Ran’s hand and traced the strokes of two characters in his palm.
Wei (危-“Perilous”), Wei (巍-“Towering.”).
The pronunciations were identical—could you even tell who was being called? Li Ran frowned, puzzled. While others drank alcohol, he sipped milk. “Why name them like that?”
“Little Uncle is an illegitimate son.” Chi Mo swirled his wine glass, the fine liquor rippling along the walls. He lowered his long lashes and said irreverently, nonchalantly, “When Third Grandma forced a name for the newborn little uncle to legitimize him, the old bastard deigned to grant him that name to humiliate him.”
Chi Mo sneered coldly. “It meant to tell him that ‘Wei’ would forever be a perilous tower, crumbling to ruins in an instant, while ‘Wei’ was a towering mountain, destined to hold power. His legitimate eldest son was only Chi Wei—and Chi Wei would forever be his unseen shadow.”
Li Ran nearly choked on his milk, trembling as he said, “…Huh?”
Then he pouted, a surge of anger rising, blurting out, “That’s messed up.”
“It’s not exactly illegitimate. Back when the old bastard was young in Hong Kong, he could marry multiple wives. But with one-man-one-wife on the Mainland, anyone besides the legal wife counted as an affair.” Chi Mo draped his arm over the sofa back, then touched Li Ran’s cheek to relax him and not get mad. These secrets were common knowledge in their so-called upper circles.
No need to feel sorry or pity Little Uncle for knowing this. Chi Wei had risen from shadow bastard to today not on sympathy, but cold-blooded ruthlessness and insidious tactics.
Chi Mo continued, “The old bastard’s bastards weren’t just Little Uncle. He doted on Chi Wei most. His stubborn notions of hierarchy made him favor this legitimate eldest son. In the will he drafted early, all family assets went to Chi Wei. But now, in the entire Chi Family, the old bastard’s sons were down to just Chi Wei and Chi Wei. And Chi Wei—” Here, his lips curled disdainfully, “—is a waste.”
He spoke of his biological father more coldly than a stranger, his words laced with disgust at having been produced by Chi Wei and Qi Shan. Chi Mo didn’t explicitly say why Chi Jin Xuan had only two sons left or where the others had gone.
