Chapter 22 Part 3

—The host had, of course, offered to drive Li Zhuo, but the latter refused.

The train raced along, the scenery outside blurring backward at a dizzying speed.

The entire business class cabin was very quiet; each passenger had a private space. Mo Liang directed more of his perception towards a certain compartment at the very front.

His child was selecting the movie…

Selected, adjusting the seat position…

Charging the phone…

Drinking water… swallowing…

Breathing… blinking…

So cute… so cute…

~

Mo Liang’s current identity was that of the mysterious head of the Mo family who had never shown his face. Every month, the acting family head and various branches would send their monthly reports to Mo Liang together, awaiting his reply and approval.

And this work had always been done by 0255.

Except for necessary moments when 0255 projected Mo Liang’s current appearance for conversations, the vast majority of interactions were via online communication.

This led to quite a few rumors outside, not only within the Mo family’s main and branch lines but also among the heads of other families aware of his existence. Many wanted to meet him in person, see what holy land produced someone like him and what he looked like.

Mo Liang completely underestimated the influence of his current identity, so much so that not long after leaving the high-speed rail station, he was immediately surrounded by a crowd of unfamiliar humans.

Some uninformed passersby probably even thought it was a major celebrity, seeing the tightly packed, impenetrable circle. A few even wanted to squeeze in to get a look.

Even Li Zhuo glanced over curiously a few times, but since there were too many people, especially the bodyguards on the outermost perimeter—all tall and imposing—they completely blocked his view.

Mo Liang: “…”

0255 explained within their consciousness, its tone carrying a hint of grievance: [I did send you reports. You never read them yourself, and you were unwilling to handle them. I handled it all.]

[Plus, you never really showed your face before. Now that you’ve finally come out to make an appearance, how could your relatives not get excited?]

[That leading old man is your nominal uncle, the current acting family head Mo Fengcai. The ones beside him are heads of a few branch families… Behind them is your cousin once removed, Mo Yu…]

[………]

Mo Liang multitasked, dealing expressionlessly with those Mo family members harboring unclear intentions according to the System’s prompts, while simultaneously diverting more perception to Li Zhuo’s side.

This indifferent expression fell into Mo Yu’s eyes, stirring even greater astonishment within him.

He had long heard many stories about this distant uncle he had never met, heard that the Mo family’s current standing was entirely thanks to this uncle, heard he was exceptionally talented and astute in methods, heard he was unmarried and childless to this day, heard his personality was eccentric and he disliked socializing…

He had heard many, many rumors about Mo Liang, but they were all just hearsay; he had never seen the person himself.

Before coming to receive him, the currently somewhat elderly heads of the Mo family held an emergency meeting, precisely worried about what major move Mo Liang might be making by stepping from behind the scenes to the front? Or what was he hinting at?

None of their hands were clean these years. Having previously seen Mo Liang never appear, they had all long suspected whether something was wrong with his health, even planning how to divide his assets upon his passing.

But now, it seemed he was quite healthy, walking freely, showing no sign of illness whatsoever. What a pity.

Although Mo Liang had only let them help manage these years, they were ultimately unwilling to spit out the meat they’d already swallowed. That was the source of this lively scene.

Outside, as long as one carried the Mo family title, Mo Yu was treated with deference and accommodation wherever he went. But now, he was only fit to be an insignificant attendant at the side.

“Uncle, I’ve wanted to meet you for so long…”

He piled on a face full of sycophantic smiles, trying hard to get close to Mo Liang, but the latter didn’t spare him a single glance the entire time. Once in the car, he half-closed his eyes, uttering not another word.

“…Don’t make a fuss.”

~

Returning to the Li residence, Li Zhuo no longer felt the unease and novelty he experienced the first time he arrived with the show crew. Instead, a somewhat complex and indescribable feeling filled him.

The driver who picked him up carried his luggage behind him. Li Zhuo himself adeptly navigated through the winding courtyards and covered corridors. On the way, he ran into a few servants he vaguely remembered, greeting them along the way.

“The young master is back?”

Uncle Zhang, who was responsible for tending the garden, called out. A few free workers gathered around Li Zhuo, looking him over repeatedly, commenting that he’d grown taller, stating his features had matured, and so on.

Halfway from the outer areas to the inner rooms, Lu Fei also came. The woman wore a light-colored shawl, her mass of wavy curls cascading casually over her shoulders, each strand looking meticulously styled. That familiar scent of perfume lingered in the air, exactly the same as in his memories.

Those meticulously maintained hands, showing not a trace of wrinkles, warmly pulled Li Zhuo closer, meticulously scrutinizing him from head to toe.

“A year away does make a difference.”

“You’ve gotten taller.”

Li Zhuo smiled, not refuting nor confirming, slowing his steps to enter the main hall alongside the woman.

Aunt Liu was busy in the kitchen. Hearing the sound, she came out before even wiping her hands, still in her apron, asking if he was cold outside and saying she had prepared his favorite desserts.

Li Zhuo still remembered Auntie Liu, who had previously looked after him. He smiled and replied that it wasn’t too bad outside; the sun had come out at noon, so it wasn’t that cold.

Having not seen each other in almost a year, Li Huachuan, who was reading a newspaper nearby, also exchanged a few words with Li Zhuo. The atmosphere between father and son was somewhat less tense than a year ago.

The Li residence seemed to have acquired two new servants. As they served tea, they cautiously sized up Li Zhuo, who sat in the living room like a guest, letting them steal glances at him.

He himself was also observing. It felt largely unchanged from when he’d left. Those arguments and disputes in his memories seemed as if they had only happened yesterday.

Li Xuan came back close to evening. Entering the house, he shed his coat and handed it to a servant nearby, greeted Li Huachuan and Lu Fei in turn, his gaze landing lightly on Li Zhuo, who was on the sofa.

“Little brother is back?”

Li Zhuo gave an ‘Mhm’ sound. In a fairly good mood, he didn’t seem as rejectful towards him as before, but he didn’t show any more expression than that.

Li Xuan wasn’t annoyed either. His handsome face still wore a placid, friendly expression. He even picked up a few of the test papers and certificates on the tea table, examining them carefully.

“Not bad.” The test papers flipped between his fingertips as Li Xuan praised him with a tone hard to discern if genuine or not. “Little brother has really made great progress this year…”

The novelty and sentiments of longing born from distance and separation filled the Li household with a cosy warmth, the atmosphere so harmonious it was as if Li Zhuo had just been found.

Dinnertime, the exquisite chandelier cast a soft, warm glow. Li Zhuo sat at the dining table, looking at the array of fine, elaborate dishes, his gaze scanning those familiar faces, then glancing around, feeling a touch of dazed unreality.

From his peripheral vision, he glimpsed Li Xuan watching him, a hint of mild pity in his eyes, which vanished when he tried to catch it again, replaced by a nonchalant expression.

“What is it, little brother? Why are you looking at me?” Li Xuan made a harmless little joke. “Could it be that just one year apart, you don’t remember what I look like anymore? Then your older brother is really a little sad.”

Probably recalling the past scenes of Li Zhuo and Li Xuan arguing, the expressions on Li Huachuan and Lu Fei’s faces shifted subtly. The originally harmonious atmosphere at the table came to a delicate halt.

As if he hadn’t noticed, Li Zhuo didn’t respond to Li Xuan’s joke and continued chewing the food in his mouth.

Actually, the food cooked by the Li family chef was quite good, but compared to Teacher Mo’s, it seemed the latter suited his taste better.

Could it be that aliens all cook so well?

Li Zhuo felt a little like laughing again.

It sounded just like a cold joke.

And his so “sensible” reaction also immediately restored much of the frozen atmosphere at the dining table. Li Huachuan rarely praised him, saying he was sensible now, and Lu Fei also chimed in beside him, with similar meanings in every word.

Li Zhuo swallowed the food in his mouth and smiled, like an obedient and sensible good child.

As for the taste of the food in his mouth, he no longer knew it at all; he just mechanically chewed incessantly, then swallowed with difficulty.

It was truly strange, wasn’t what was before his eyes exactly what he wanted? Not what he wanted to hear? Otherwise, why would he have specifically taken out those certificates and test papers?

Now he had heard it…

But…

~

“What’s wrong, Family Head?”

A middle-aged man who didn’t look young noticed Mo Liang’s distraction, and sweat began to bead on his forehead again. Could it be that Mo Liang had discovered a problem?!

Actually, they had never really understood this so-called “Family Head.” In the past they had tried to locate him, but unfortunately, no matter how top-notch the hackers they found, they couldn’t find out his location.

It was as if he only appeared when he himself wanted to; if he was unwilling to show up, no matter what method others used, it was useless.

Could he see through it?

The possibilities of “yes” and “no” swirled in the man’s mind. He inwardly complained about Mo Liang’s sudden arrival. If Mo Liang hadn’t been in such a rush, if he could have given a heads-up, there would have been time to prepare more thoroughly.

Unfortunately…

Sure enough, the next moment, Mo Liang’s voice, completely devoid of any inflection, rang out: “…What is this item?”

“…Uh…” The man, who was over fifty, wiped the sweat from his forehead, struggling to think of an excuse.

Mo Liang appeared to be listening carefully, but in reality his mind had long drifted far away to some distant place.

Just a moment ago…

His child, his most important, most precious child! His emotional index had dropped!!

Just at the thought that his child, his most treasured darling, was unhappy at this very moment, an indescribable anxiety rapidly swelled in Mo Liang’s heart.

He felt unbearably irritable, his breathing becoming rapid and labored, as if a pair of invisible hands was tightly strangling his throat, nearly suffocating him.

He was completely unable to think about anything else; every cell in his body was urgently urging Mo Liang: Right now, immediately, go to his side!!

Go to his side, go to his side, go to his side, go to his side, go to his side, go to his side, go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his— side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side, quickly go to his side…