32

The little thing pleaded pitifully: "Mom..."

His voice was like the little wild cat that ran from the front yard, huddled in the corner, and whenever someone passed by, it would call out softly, "Oh my god," very softly.

Very smart, after a few days, the little wild cat was taken away.

Xu Xiao had seen the cat many times, but every time she just passed by quickly and never paid any attention to it.

Chen Nan, on the other hand, would stop and add some water and food to the little wild cat, which she brought out specially.

Even so, the cat always meowed at Xu Xiao.

The voice was mournful, with a lingering breath.

At first, it only acted coquettishly towards Xu Xiao. Even if Chen Nan took care of it, the little heartless cat ignored Chen Nan. After a few days, the little wild cat finally realized that Xu Xiao would not take care of it, so it gave up on itself and cried whenever it saw people passing by.

Before it could make any disturbing noise, it was taken away.

Later, Xu Xiao met the cat again.

Being raised to be very fat, and with its long, frizzy fur, the cat looks like a walking dough ball. It still remembers Chen Nan and Xu Xiao, and will take the initiative to roll around at Chen Nan's feet, but is obviously much more aloof towards Xu Xiao.

After pretending to be cool once or twice, the cat disappeared again. It was as if it had returned just to make Xu Xiao regret it.

Xu Xiao did not regret it, but the cat did leave her with deep memories and even made her come up with a crazy guess.

Tightening the little hand in his hand, Xu Xiao winked at Chen Bei: "I picked it up, let's go."

Chen Bei retracted his gaze, ignoring the boy's cries, and directly hugged him in his arms, then took Xu Xiao's hand: "Okay, let's go home."

Xu Xiao did not struggle, she felt there was nothing wrong.

Some people value the sense of ritual in love, some people need sincere emotions, but as for her, she just wants stability.

Knowing he couldn't escape, the boy stopped struggling. He turned sideways to look at Xu Xiao, calling out again and again: "Mom, Mom..."

When Mother Chen opened the door, she saw her children standing at the door holding a small child. She was stunned for a moment: "What is this?"

Chen Bei looked at Xu Xiao, and the boy also looked at Xu Xiao.

Xu Xiao: “…”

Chen's mother was angry and pointed at Chen Bei and said, "I'm asking you! Why are you looking at your sister?"

The boy seemed to be too smart. He broke free from Chen Bei's hand, took a step forward, and pulled Xu Xiao to follow him. He looked up, blinking his big eyes: "Grandma, I am your son."

He shook Xu Xiao's hand, his voice as clear as a bell: "This is Mom."

"Ah?" Mother Chen was stunned. She said slowly, "You guys go in first. Ah Xiao, take the child in."

Chen Bei was stopped outside the door.

As soon as she entered, Chen Nan flew out. She squatted down with an excited look on her face: "What's your name?"

Pushing the little thing to Chen Nan, Xu Xiao turned and walked outside.

"Tell me what happened?" Chen's mother said with a stern face.

"have no idea."

"You don't know? What's the use of having you as my son? Didn't you say before that you liked A Xiao? I think you are..."

Chen Bei saw the door being pushed open and said coldly: "Mom!"

Mother Chen sneered: "What are you yelling about! Can't I just say a few words to you?"

Meeting Chen Bei's pleading eyes, Xu Xiao sighed helplessly, turned around and closed the door. She walked towards Chen's mother: "Godmother."

Mother Chen regained her gentleness and turned to look at Xu Xiao lovingly: "Ah Xiao, why did you come out? Go in quickly... and accompany the child."

After briefly explaining the child's origins, Xu Xiao frowned slightly: "That child's arrival is strange."

Mother Chen smiled as always: "So that's how it is. It's okay. I'll ask your godfather to check it out later."

She said to Chen Bei again, "You kid, if you didn't know, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Chen Bei: “…”

Xu Xiao nodded and said, "That's right!" She held onto Chen's mother and said, "Godmother, you don't know that he is just a mute."

"Ah Xiao," Chen's mother sighed, "How could you be so attracted to such a piece of wood?"

Xu Xiao smiled awkwardly: "Godmother, come in, it's not a good idea to stand outside." She gave Chen Bei a look.

The latter walked forward silently, pushed open the door, and pulled Xu Xiao towards him.

Looking at the empty doorway, Chen's mother took a deep breath and told herself: It's okay, it's okay, I won't be angry about the person who brought back my own cabbage!

As soon as she entered the house, Chen's mother went to Chen's father's study. She stood at the door, her hands on her hips, and said, "Go take care of your son!"

Father Chen put down the book and looked up: "Isn't that your son too?"

Mother Chen walked in and took off Father Chen's glasses: "Go and take care of it!"

Chen's parents also arranged a marriage, but they were luckier because they fell in love and then got married.

The couple have been together for many years and have a pair of children, but their feelings for each other have never changed.

When Chen's mother's face turned cold, Chen's father no longer hesitated and stood up hurriedly: "I'll go, I'll go, don't get angry!"

Seeing that Chen's father had really left, Chen's mother walked lightly towards the other room. From the room came the sound of chattering. It was Chen Nan and Xu Xiao talking.

Just as Chen's mother was about to knock on the door, she felt someone tugging at the corner of her clothes. When she looked up, it was the child she had just mentioned.

Mother Chen softened her brows and whispered softly, "What's the matter?"

The boy rolled his eyes and said cunningly, "Grandma, I'm hungry..."

He pouted and pointed to his stomach.

Mother Chen was immediately touched by the cuteness. Thinking about how the child had been separated from his parents for over half a month, she felt even more distressed. She bent down and whispered, "How about going to dinner with grandma?"

Chen's mother didn't think there was anything wrong with calling her grandma, after all, she was quite old. Chen's mother gave birth to Chen Bei when she was in her twenties, and after recuperating for more than two years, she was ready to have a second child.

At that time, her husband was away, and she was alone in the city, taking care of her two children.

For Chen's mother, her child was everything in her life at that time.

Thinking of the past, Chen's mother wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and walked towards the living room with the boy.

The aunt was still cooking in the kitchen. She took out some cake and handed it to the boy: "This is chestnut cake."

Unexpectedly, the boy shook his head and said, "Grandma, I don't like chestnut cakes."

His mouth curled up even higher, and even though his stomach was rumbling, he did not take the chestnut cake.

Mother Chen was distracted and muttered, "Ah Xiao doesn't eat chestnut cakes either."

There are three children in the family, and each of them has different tastes. Chen Nan prefers sweets, while Xu Xiao prefers spicy food. As for Chen Bei, his taste is not important, and he always accommodates the three ladies in the family.

Like Xu Xiao, Chen's mother also likes spicy food. However, due to her dietary restrictions in recent years, she rarely eats spicy food.

Thinking of the half bowl of pickled pepper chicken feet left in the kitchen, Chen's mother tentatively asked, "How about chicken feet?"

After bringing chicken feet from the kitchen, Chen's mother sat on the sofa and watched the boy with a dull expression as he quickly ate five chicken feet. When she met the boy's bright eyes, she felt a little heavy-hearted.

When Chen Bei finished talking to Chen's father and came out, he saw Chen's mother and the boy looking at each other in confusion. He walked over and hugged the boy to himself. It wasn't anything special, he just wanted to bully the child.

As soon as he picked the child up, he pulled the boy's chubby cheeks and said, "Don't call me mommy."

The boy said angrily, "Tonic!"

Chen Bei continued to chat, he was having so much fun that he didn't notice his parents' accusations against him at all.

One side of the boy's face was already red, and Chen's mother couldn't help but say, "Chen Bei, put the child down."

Father Chen was more direct: "What's the big deal about bullying a child? If you have the guts, go find the person first!"

"Who is it?" Xu Xiao walked in front, holding the candy she found from Chen Nan's room.

She leaned against the stairs and waved to the boy: "Come here and have some candy."

The boy who was originally sitting on Chen Bei and didn't dare to move pushed Chen Bei away and ran towards Xu Xiao without looking back.

Chen Nan, who was standing on the other side, couldn't help but sneer: "You even bully a child, tut tut tut!"

Xu Xiao squatted down and pressed the boy's red face with one hand.

Chen Bei didn't use much force, but the child's skin was delicate, and a red mark appeared when he pressed it.

Xu Xiao withdrew his hand, handed the candy to the boy with stars in his eyes, rubbed his head again, and then pushed Chen Nan behind him: "Nan Nan, take him to apply some medicine."

"Okay." Chen Nan took the obedient boy's hand and walked back.

It wasn't until the sound of the door closing did Xu Xiao continue to ask, "What happened?"

Mother Chen walked towards the kitchen: "I'll go help Aunt Zhao, you guys chat."

Father Chen pushed his glasses up on his nose and snorted, "Only he knows about this!" His voice softened. "Ah Xiao, godfather is going to be busy now. Come find me in the study if you need anything."

After saying that, he also stood up without even looking at his own son sitting on the sofa.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Chen's words and actions revealed that they were not familiar with the person sitting on the sofa.

Xu Xiao chuckled and said teasingly, "You don't seem to be very popular?"

Chen Bei said quietly, "Well... it's been almost three years."

Xu Xiao was puzzled. She walked towards Chen Bei and sat down beside him. "What do you mean three years?"

Chen Bei avoided the topic and talked about another matter: "Someone is missing. Have you had any news recently?"

Unlike Chen Bei, Xu Xiao and Chen Nan both have bodyguards specially arranged by Chen's father. They are injured veterans. Compared with Chen Bei, they also have better channels to obtain information.

As for how many people there are and where they are, only they and Chen's father know. Even Chen Bei only knows this.

Xu Xiao was silent for a moment. She did not ask further: "Was it the Ji family who did it?"

She did get some information. She tracked down Xu Huai and also found the Ji family. Xu Xiao narrowed his eyes and asked, "Who is missing?"

"...Adjutant." Chen Bei didn't hide anything. There was no need to hide anything between him and Xu Xiao. "There's new technology. The Ji family is causing trouble."

Xu Xiao understood that the so-called new technology was nothing more than what he had learned from Old Man Chen before, which was how to modify guns.

However, the Ji family never liked dealing with guns. She asked, "Besides that, are there any new technologies?"

"No. The Ji family has connections."

That is, they wanted the Ji family's technology, and the adjutant went there to steal things.

Xu Xiao just breathed a sigh of relief, but then his eyes widened and he looked at Chen Bei in disbelief: "Your adjutant?"

Chen Bei didn't understand what was going on, so he nodded, "Yeah. It was arranged recently, and I didn't have time to tell you."

Fang Hui and Chen Nan exchanged letters every few days. They really had never talked to each other since they parted in Xujia Village.

Chen Bei found Xu Xiao's reaction strange, but he continued, "I didn't arrange that adjutant privately."

Xu Xiao had a lot of questions in her mind, but she knew she couldn't tell Chen Bei about this. Suppressing her doubts, she nodded, pretending nothing had happened and continued to ask, "How did he get lost? What did you ask him to do?"

Adjutant, in his previous life, Chen Bei did many extraordinary things for that person.

Xu Xiao was not worried that Chen Bei would do something called two-timing. She knew very well that he had a very high sense of morality.

Moreover, he is a responsible person.

Chen Bei: "The Ji family wanted to exchange new technology, but the higher-ups didn't agree."

If you can't make a deal, you can only try to steal. When he said this, he frowned, full of disapproval of this behavior.

Xu Xiao thought it was a good idea. If the Ji family wanted to pursue personal gain, then they couldn't be polite to them.

Having lived in the Chen family for many years, she also knew the feud between Chen's father and the head of the Ji family. Moreover, Ji Hong was also from the Ji family.

It was just that his family was a branch of the Ji family. Even though it was a branch, Ji's father and mother showed enough respect in front of her.

To be able to come up with such a result, the Ji family must be a den of snakes and rats, and the head of the Ji family is not a good person either!

Xu Xiao took Chen Bei's half-held left hand. His voice wasn't gentle, but it had a reassuring calmness. "If it's really the Ji family who did it, I'll go with you?"

Chen Bei's heart trembled, and he turned around: "A Xiao?"

Xu Xiao stood up, ignoring his surprised and happy look: "Let's eat, this matter can't be solved no matter how urgent it is."

Xu Xiao was seeking revenge for Xu Huai, but this only made Chen Bei even more upset. He hadn't investigated Ah Xiu's affairs, and he didn't even know why the Chen family had adopted Xu Xiao.

When he first met Xu Xiao, Chen Bei didn't like the extra sister because he already had a sister.

In addition, there were always some adults in the yard who jokingly told him that she was his young wife, a child bride.

At that time, Chen Bei was already twelve years old. He knew what a young wife was, and he knew what a child bride was. He angrily went to Chen's mother to protest: "I don't want a child bride! I don't want one!"

After all, he is a child, no matter how precocious he is, he is still a child. Chen's mother looked at her talkative son and was silent for a moment before saying, "Do you think you are worthy of Xiao?"

The little girl from the country was thin and weak, but even so, you could tell that she was very pretty.

After several months of care, he seemed to have been reborn and was even more handsome than the children in the city.

Little Chen Bei was stunned and forgot to protest. He asked blankly, "Why am I not worthy of her?"

Chen's father had already made certain military achievements, and Chen Bei was also a star-studded figure. In the compound, all the children admired and feared him.

So, he didn't understand why his mother said he was not worthy of that girl.

Besides, that girl is quiet and cold.

He doesn't like to talk either, but he is different, he is polite!

Xu Xiao ignored him and only paid attention to Chen Nan and Chen's mother. Others said that she was his child bride, but he didn't want such a child bride.

Little Chen Bei didn't understand that when he noticed someone, it was no longer a question of whether he was worthy of them or not.

Mother Chen didn't think much about it, she just pushed her eldest son out and said, "Axiao is not your child bride. She is your sister, just like Nannan. So, Xiaobei, you must protect your sister."

Outside, Xu Xiao pulled Chen Nan and beat down all the children in the compound, just like a bully holding her trophy. Even without saying a word, one could see her pride.

Chen Bei refused to go no matter what, no matter how much his mother tried to persuade him.

He felt that his sister no longer needed him as a brother.

But a sister needs her brother after all. When Chen Nan found Chen Bei crying, Chen Bei was very proud, but the following words made him really unhappy: "Sister Xiao is missing, she is missing..."

He thought that maybe he was not nice to her, so his sister didn't want to stay.

Later, after his sister was found, Chen Bei followed her all the time until the day she became an adult. He then firmly knocked on the wooden door of his father's study.

Later, he joined the army, braved life and death, and made meritorious service. He became a company commander, but when he thought he had a chance, just like the accident a few years ago, the man disappeared again.

This time she volunteered.

Chen Bei's eyes were dark as he watched Xu Xiao slowly leave. He then stood up and went to Chen's father's study.

Father Chen had been waiting for a long time, and when he saw him coming, he didn't say anything in a good tone: "Oh, you're here."

"Dad..." Chen Bei stood in front of the desk, staring at his father, "Why did you bring Xu Xiao back?"

Some problems are unavoidable. Some people prefer to remain ignorant of certain matters, but he cannot.

What should I do if I am really guilty?

Chen Bei didn't know, he just felt it clearly. When he thought that the Chen family felt guilty towards Xu Xiao and that Xu Xiao's tragedy was caused by them, his heart ached.

I felt sour and swollen, but it was different from the feeling I had when I knew Xu Xiao was going to marry someone else. This time I felt more self-blame and disgust towards myself.

He couldn't blame his parents, let alone his grandfather.

Old man Chen was right, his son Xiaobei just thought too much.

Before Mr. Chen could say anything, this man had already thought of many possibilities.

Father Chen snorted coldly: "Get out."

"Dad?" Chen Bei didn't give in.

"Eat!" Father Chen stood up and gave him a cold look: "You'd better rescue your adjutant as soon as possible! Otherwise..."

Otherwise, Father Chen didn’t say anything.

Chen Bei followed him out. He wanted to continue asking questions, but then he saw Xu Xiao coming out with the child, so he could only shut up.

Regarding the boy's arrangements, almost no one thought it was a good idea to send the child to an orphanage.

So, the boy naturally stayed at Chen's house. He acted well-behaved to everyone, but he was always overly silent when facing Chen Bei.

Chen Nan couldn't help but joke: "I don't think you will be popular with children in the future."

Xu Xiao was reading a book nearby. He looked up at the boy and said, "I'm thirsty."

The boy ran over happily. Chen Nan was so amused by what she saw that she also shouted, "Zizi, please get some fruit for Auntie. Sorry for bothering me."

The boy was reluctant to say his name, and they couldn't force him, so they just called him "baby" and "good boy".

Chen Bei: "Give me one."

Looking at the green apple in Chen Bei's hand, Chen Nan sat up from Xu Xiao's lap and said, "Sister Xiao, look at him, he is just not popular. This time it's not my fault."

Xu Xiao was helpless. He supported Chen Nan, who was swaying from side to side, and raised his eyebrows at the child: "Change one."

The boy exchanged for another very green apple. There were five or six bright red apples in the fruit bowl, but he chose to look for them at the bottom.

Meeting Chen Bei's sad eyes, Xu Xiao curled his lips into a smile and continued reading his book.

Chen Nan laughed even louder, wishing everyone knew that Chen Bei was unpopular.

Leisurely time is always short. Chen Bei came back with a mission, so he had to go out. As for Xu Xiao, she also had to deal with strange things that happened - a strange kid, and who Xu Huai was ordered by.