The Whole Family Are Villains, I’m the Group Pet 163

Chapter 163

Xing Nuo had been an orphan in his previous life.

He had lived in the orphanage until he was three or four, then, being cute and well-behaved, had been adopted by a childless couple.

For the first year, they had treated him well, and he had started to see them as his parents, feeling a sense of belonging he had never experienced before.

But then, the woman, having been told she couldn’t have children, had miraculously become pregnant.

Xing Nuo’s life had changed drastically.

To make room for the new baby, he had been moved from his bedroom to a small storage room, his new clothes replaced by hand-me-downs, his meals accompanied by cold stares and harsh words.

He had been too young to understand why.

He had tried his best to please them, always smiling, his eyes bright and cheerful, like a little sunbeam, hoping to earn their affection.

But the more they looked at him, the more they resented him. His delicate features, once the reason they had adopted him, now a constant reminder that he wasn’t their own.

They were ordinary-looking people. They couldn’t have produced such a beautiful child.

He had lived with them until he was six or seven, then, one morning, having woken up late, he had been scolded and punished.

His memories were hazy. He couldn’t even remember what he had been thinking, but he had done the same thing he had done in this life.

He had run away from school, angered his teachers, embarrassed his adoptive parents, and, after being beaten, had been sent back to the orphanage.

Standing in the orphanage courtyard, the most painful and heartbreaking memory of his previous life replaying itself,

he looked at the orphanage director, her face a blur in his memory, and, walking over, hugged her, his eyes crinkling into a smile.

His bright, sparkling eyes, like a miniature galaxy, were infectious, and even the director, her heart heavy, couldn’t help but smile faintly.

“Don’t worry about me, Grandma Director. I’m happy now.”

All the unhappiness of his past life was behind him.

Although his memories were still jumbled, he knew he would have a loving family in his next life, and he felt no sadness.

After the director left, he stood in the courtyard, looking at the pale blue sky, his chin resting on his hand, lost in thought.

Unable to understand why he was here, he left the orphanage, searching for a way out of this world.

But this world felt too real. He couldn’t find any inconsistencies, any signs of it being an illusion. And his leg, injured from jumping over the wall, ached with every step, forcing him to return to the orphanage.

In a small alley near the orphanage, he ran into Lu Qi.

Lu Qi’s eyes flickered with blue light, his voice cold and mechanical, his face expressionless.

“Xing Nuo.”

Xing Nuo smiled, finding Lu Qi’s ability to find him, no matter where he went, amazing.

“How you always find me, Lu Qi?”

Lu Qi tried to smile back, but his expression remained stiff.

“Of course I find you. You and I…soul-bound.”

Xing Nuo, tilting his head, scratching his curls, not understanding, asked:

“Don’t understand. But Lu Qi, how I leave this world?”

Lu Qi, his small face serious, his demeanor colder and more distant than Xing Nuo’s, despite their similar age and size, said:

“This not like other dungeons. This one called ‘Memory’.”

Xing Nuo’s eyes widened in surprise, then he nodded slowly, mumbling:

“That’s why…this place familiar. Last life’s memories?”

Lu Qi hummed and looked around the dilapidated streets and buildings, his own eyes flickering with a strange emotion.

So this is the orphanage Xing Nuo talked about.

Just as he described, bleak and desolate, everything painted in shades of gray.

He looked at Xing Nuo, then said:

“This dungeon…easy and difficult.”

Painful memories could haunt you forever, resurfacing even when you thought you had forgotten them, the emotions, even if the details were blurred, still raw and vivid.

Many players who were accidentally pulled into this Memory dungeon never escaped.

Unable to break free from their past, trapped by their painful memories, a universal human experience.

“I don’t know…how to clear this dungeon. But Xing Nuo, you have to believe in yourself.”

Xing Nuo, not understanding these profound words, just nodded, slightly confused.

“I believe in myself.”

He always trusted his instincts, his decisions.

Like a little knight charging into battle, his sword held high, he rarely dwelled on the past.

But he was still trapped in this world.

His memories started to accelerate, and he found himself back in elementary school, trapped in a storage room, mocked by older students for not having parents.

“This kid is an orphan! Hahaha!”

“I heard he was adopted, then returned!”

“He must have been a bad kid. Probably a thief!”

“What’s the point of being good-looking? He still doesn’t have a mommy or daddy! Hahaha!”

Xing Nuo’s face burned with anger, and he clenched his fists, yelling:

“Not twue! I have!”

But he was small, and his voice was drowned out by their laughter, his protests insignificant.

The older students, holding sticks and stones, approached him menacingly. Xing Nuo, outnumbered, couldn’t fight back, but he still yelled:

“I have a daddy!”

His daddy would come for him!

The older students laughed even harder, their blows raining down on him, their taunts relentless.

“Keep dreaming, orphan! You’ll never have a daddy!”

“Wearing the same clothes all year round, so poor! Having parents would be a miracle!”

Xing Nuo covered his head, his heart aching.

They’re wrong! I have a daddy!

His head throbbing, his vision blurring, he suddenly saw the older students being thrown back.

He opened his eyes and saw a tall man walking towards him.

“Daddy?”

Wen Xingxue, his knife in hand, his clothes and hair covered in snow and ice, his face pale, his entire being radiating a chilling coldness, as if he had just emerged from a blizzard,

walked over, hummed in response, crouched down, and picked up Xing Nuo, gently ruffling his hair.

Xing Nuo, nestled in his arms, looked up at Wen Xingxue’s face and reached out to touch it.

His nose tingled, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Wen Xingxue, not used to comforting children, awkwardly wiped away his tears and carried him outside.

Xing Nuo, his face buried in Wen Xingxue’s shoulder, sniffled, then wiped his eyes.

“Daddy, how you find me?”

Wen Xingxue, walking briskly, the bleak and painful memories of Xing Nuo’s past crumbling around them, his voice hoarse, said:

“Daddy’s sorry. Couldn’t be part of your life…arrived too late.”

He had been worried when he sensed Xing Nuo being pulled into this dungeon.

The Memory dungeon was a trap, capable of trapping people forever.

But he had also been puzzled. Xing Nuo, so young, raised in a loving home, what painful memories could he possibly have?

Then, using a high-level tracking prop, he had entered the dungeon and heard the older students taunting Xing Nuo, calling him an orphan, their words cruel and heartless, and his heart had ached with regret and anger.

He hadn’t known these were memories from Xing Nuo’s previous life and had assumed it was bullying he and Shen Wen hadn’t noticed.

Children from single-parent families are more likely to be bullied.

His voice choked with emotion, tears streaming down his face, a rare display of vulnerability for the usually cold and stoic man, he hugged Xing Nuo tightly.

“It’s all Daddy’s fault.”

Having been an orphan himself, he understood the pain all too well. He kissed Xing Nuo’s hair, his heart filled with a fierce protectiveness.

“It’s okay. Xing Nuo has no mommy, but Daddy is always here.”

Xing Nuo, looking up, seeing Wen Xingxue cry, was stunned for a moment, then reached out and wiped away his tears.

“Don’t cwy, Daddy. I not sad.”

The memories were too distant, the pain dulled by time, like watching a play unfold, a detached observer.

But Wen Xingxue shook his head, his pale face filled with self-reproach, and carried Xing Nuo towards the dungeon exit.

The moment he had appeared, Xing Nuo’s memories had started to fade.

The key to this dungeon was clearly his parents, his family, and Wen Xingxue, hugging him tightly, felt a surge of guilt and protectiveness.

“Even if Xing Nuo not sad…Daddy still sad.”

Xing Nuo, his past life’s memories fading, a smile appearing on his face, wiped away Wen Xingxue’s tears.

He didn’t speak, then, sensing they were about to leave the dungeon, kissed Wen Xingxue’s cheek.

“Daddy, I made you snowflake…long time ago…in my backpack. If I forget when I go back…you take it.”

He had given his kindergarten snowflake away today.

Wen Xingxue just nodded, watching as Xing Nuo’s form began to fade.

Bright summer sunlight streamed through the window, and Xing Nuo woke up with a start, jumping out of bed and running out of his room.

Shen Wen, having just returned from the market with a bouquet of flowers, was arranging them in a vase, while Shen Yan, in his suit, looking like he was about to attend an international conference, worked on his laptop.

The cheerful shouts of children playing outside drifted in through the open window, and Xing Nuo, feeling like he had just returned from a long journey, sighed in relief.

It was just a dweam.