Chapter 43: Perhaps No Blood Relation
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. The early autumn night wind carried a hint of coolness, brushing against people’s faces and completely sweeping away the heat of the afternoon.
A bright and warm lamp was lit in the living room of the villa, illuminating the entire room with a warm glow.
Chi Xiasheng and Wen Nian were lying on the table, waiting for Pei Zhixuan to come back for dinner.
Wen Shu had already made an appointment with Bai Ranran for three spa treatments and had disappeared this morning, saying they didn’t have to worry about her for the next two days, so Chi Xiasheng hadn’t made her dinner.
Wen Nian held his chopsticks and, like a beached dead fish, stared at the dishes in front of him.
When Chi Xiasheng turned to look at the door, Wen Nian reached out and, as fast as the wind, picked up a piece of meat and threw it into his mouth.
To hide the fact that he had something in his mouth, Wen Nian didn’t even speak, just focused on chewing the meat in his mouth.
Chi Xiasheng was still wondering why he was so quiet when he looked up and saw the grease on his mouth. Three black lines immediately appeared on his head.
“Niannian, how many times have you sneaked a bite? Brother Pei is coming back soon…”
As he was speaking, footsteps sounded at the door. Pei Zhixuan, with a smile on his face and his suit jacket draped over his arm, changed his shoes and walked in.
Wen Nian had just sneaked a lot of food and, feeling a little guilty, he ran up, took Pei Zhixuan’s clothes, and hung them on the coat rack.
“Oh? Who is this? Why are you impersonating Niannian?”
Pei Zhixuan looked at Wen Nian with a hint of disbelief, his eyes filled with undisguised teasing.
Wen Nian quickly swallowed the meat in his mouth and said anxiously, “I’m Wen Nian! What’s wrong with you, big brother?!”
Only then did Pei Zhixuan let out a knowing “oh.” “So Niannian was sneaking food. No wonder you’re so well-behaved, even helping me hang my clothes.”
Seeing that Pei Zhixuan had guessed it at once, Wen Nian quickly stuck out his tongue and lowered his head.
Chi Xiasheng also walked over and said with a headache, “If you hadn’t come back, that plate of meat in front of him would have been eaten by him.”
Pei Zhixuan shook his head with a laugh. “You don’t have to wait for me next time. I’m sometimes not sure when I’ll be back.”
Chi Xiasheng hesitated for a moment and then said, “It’s okay, I can wait a little longer.”
Hearing this, Pei Zhixuan felt a pang of heartache. This child was probably used to being alone. Now that he had friends and family, he would easily compromise to accommodate others.
Although Chi Xiasheng looked cold and not very talkative on the surface, in fact, for those who had entered his heart, he would rather wrong himself than not fit in.
His personality is still a bit soft in the end, Pei Zhixuan sighed.
“Xiaxia, if you’re hungry, you can eat first. Mother and I won’t dislike you for eating early. On the contrary, if you keep waiting on an empty stomach, it will make us feel sorry for you. You should learn from Niannian. Look, he never lets himself go hungry.”
Wen Nian also chimed in on the side. “That’s right, that’s right. A child who sneaks food will also be liked!”
Pei Zhixuan tapped Wen Nian on the head, telling him to be quiet.
Hearing Pei Zhixuan’s words, Chi Xiasheng felt a warm current flowing through his heart, all the way to his limbs, so hot that his fingertips couldn’t help but curl up slightly.
His throat was a little dry. He nodded slightly. “Yes, I know.”
Pei Zhixuan smiled and rubbed his head. “That’s right. Let’s eat.”
Chi Xiasheng sat down again and, looking at the feasting Wen Nian and the headache-ridden Pei Zhixuan, he sighed in his heart, This is so nice.
A family that thinks for you is really nice.
It was unlike when he was still in the Su family. Mother Su had strict rules, and they had to eat at a set time. Afraid of being late for dinner every day, he would always wait for a long time in advance.
At that time, he was really afraid of missing this opportunity to eat and chat with his family at night.
Unfortunately, it was always Su Chimian who livened up the atmosphere. He was like a little sun, radiating light, always the center of the Su family. And Chi Xiasheng wouldn’t say a word during a meal, always lowering his head in silence.
At that time, he really hoped to be able to integrate into the family. The way he looked at Su Chimian was with envy and longing.
“Xiaxia, eat this. This foodie Wen Nian will eat it all later.”
Seeing that Chi Xiasheng was always eating those few plates of vegetables, Pei Zhixuan thought to himself, How can you grow up to be a beautiful little merman if you only eat vegetables and no meat?
Chi Xiasheng looked at the two pieces of meat that had been added to his plate. The scene he had once longed for was now being experienced with another family, which made him feel an unreal sense of being in a dream.
He poked the meat a few times with his chopsticks before he ate it slowly.
Wen Nian heard Pei Zhixuan’s words and muttered that he was not a foodie. “I’ve eaten very little today. It’s all because that Su Mian came to our place and let his dog bite people, which ruined my appetite.”
Pei Zhixuan, who was drinking soup, lifted his head and asked with a frown, “What let his dog bite people? Did someone come to cause trouble this afternoon?”
Chi Xiasheng corrected him helplessly. “It’s Su Chimian, not Su Mian. He was probably walking his dog, but he didn’t watch it properly, and it almost bit Wen Nian.”
Wen Nian nodded quickly.
Pei Zhixuan’s brow was still furrowed. Thinking of what he had found out, he felt a strange sense of disgust for the name “Su Chimian.”
“Su Chimian, is that your younger brother?”
“Younger brother?! What younger brother? Xiaxia only has me as his older brother!” Wen Nian pouted, immediately unhappy. “Xiaxia, how can you have another younger brother? I don’t agree! That Su Chimian is so bad, how can you still let him be your younger brother?!”
Chi Xiasheng was shaken by Wen Nian’s arm, and his head was a little dizzy.
“Stop shaking. He’s not my younger brother either.”
Pei Zhixuan put down his spoon and looked at Chi Xiasheng with a serious expression. “Xiaxia, I shouldn’t be asking you this, but I’ve also heard a lot about you and the Su family in the entertainment industry. Are you really their child?”
Chi Xiasheng didn’t know why he was asking this question and was a little dazed. “Yes, when we did the paternity test, I was there in person.”
At that time, when he knew he still had parents and relatives, he naturally didn’t dare to be careless. He participated in the whole process and, after spending a long time at the hospital, he was the first to check the results.
His father-son relationship with Su Chengjian was indeed real.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kept fantasizing about them. He always felt that his parents must have also been looking forward to his return.
Pei Zhixuan lowered his eyes and was silent for a moment before he said, “But you’re a merman, and your parents are both ordinary people. The chances are too low.”
Chi Xiasheng was stunned for a moment. After a long time, he blinked and came back to his senses. “Auntie Wen told me before that humans and humans can also give birth to mermen.”
Pei Zhixuan nodded. “In ancient times, many mermen had children with humans. Because it was difficult for mermen to have offspring, most of the children born were human cubs. But those humans also had the genes of the merman race. After many generations, mermen would also be born.”
Chi Xiasheng listened and, thinking of how Wen Shu had also explained it to him before, he couldn’t help but nod.
“In fact, Mother is an example. She was born to two human parents and only discovered her difference after she grew up.”
This was the first time he had heard this. A hint of interest appeared in Chi Xiasheng’s eyes.
Even Wen Nian on the side held his little face and, without even eating, listened very seriously.
Seeing the small longing in their eyes, Pei Zhixuan couldn’t help but clear his throat and continue, “Mother’s father was a scholar, and although he married the daughter of a businessman, she had also read the Four Books and Five Classics since she was a child. She was a good wife to her husband. Although they only had one daughter, Mother, he never took a concubine. They supported each other all their lives. Mother also went to a girls’ school for a while. It was only after her parents both passed away that she returned to the bottom of the sea with her kinsmen.”
After listening, Chi Xiasheng nodded with a hint of understanding.
No wonder Wen Shu always had a generous and gentle temperament and could even recite some poems. It turned out she was a talented woman.
“So humans and humans can give birth to mermen. It’s just that for so many years, only Mother is a special case.”
Pei Zhixuan took a sip of water to moisten his throat and then looked at Chi Xiasheng.
After listening, Chi Xiasheng opened his mouth. For some reason, the firmness in his heart was inexplicably shaken.
According to Pei Zhixuan’s words, it was extremely rare for humans and humans to give birth to a merman. Even among the merman race, only Auntie Wen was such a case…
Could it be that I’m really not Su Chengjian’s son?
Chi Xiasheng recalled the time he had gone for a paternity test. He had been busy with the whole process by himself. Su Chengjian was too busy to even show his face, and only his secretary was in contact with him…
Could it be that there was really a mistake?
Chi Xiasheng’s eyelid twitched, and his heart also began to beat faster. In the end, it seemed as if he could only hear the thumping of his heart.
If… if I’m really not a child of the Su family…
It could be that Su Chengjian’s secretary made a mistake from the beginning, or it could be that the doctor took the wrong report…
This thought began to climb in his heart like a vine. After dinner, his mind was completely occupied by this matter.
“I want to try again tomorrow. Maybe we really have no blood relation.”
Chi Xiasheng even hoped that they had no blood relation. That would explain why Su Chengjian could abandon him without hesitation.
This would allow him to hate him more openly, without having to shatter his expectations for his relatives at the same time, making him feel like a pitiful wretch that no one wanted.
From the moment he fell into the sea, it was impossible for him to not hate the Su family. He just tried his best not to think about it.
Thinking about it would only fill his heart with dark and vengeful emotions, making him live forever in a corner of inferiority and depravity, just waiting for the right opportunity to perish with the Su family.
He felt that if he hadn’t met Wen Shu and Wen Nian, he might have really become like that.
His life was already bad enough, so he could just drag them down to hell with him.
But looking at Wen Nian, who was still clamoring that he hadn’t eaten enough, and Pei Zhixuan, who was looking at him with a hint of worry, all of Chi Xiasheng’s dark thoughts were crushed into powder and suddenly dissipated.
He was now living in the sunlight. He would naturally not give up his life for those scumbags.
It was not worth it at all.
Wen Nian put down his chopsticks with a thud. “Alright! Let’s do another paternity test and prove that I’m Chi Xiasheng’s older brother!”
Seeing that Wen Nian still didn’t understand the situation and was shouting nonsense, Pei Zhixuan tapped him on the head. “That’s enough. Don’t cause trouble for Xiaxia.”
Chi Xiasheng, on the other hand, smiled. “It’s okay. I haven’t settled my work for the next two days, so I can go to the hospital tomorrow.”
