Chapter Forty-Three

Ning Xiangjian didn't understand what Zhou Mo meant. She only thought it was a threat. It wasn't until she got home and relayed the words to her father, and saw the anger and rage on his face, that she gradually understood.

Zhou Mo has dirt on her father.

how so?

How did things turn out like this?

Ning Xiangjian couldn't understand it.

Shawn couldn't understand either. He didn't understand how Zhou Mo's "rubbing a meal" had turned into "rubbing a meal" in a mahjong parlor. The heavy mahjong tiles clattered and thumped on the table, making a thumping sound. Since that was the sound all around, it didn't seem out of place.

But the fact that the four of them were there was conspicuous enough.

This mahjong parlor is old, mostly frequented by elderly men and women. When four young children suddenly appeared, the enthusiastic grandmother next to them naturally asked, "You play mahjong too? How much do you play for?"

"Grandma, we're not playing for money, we're just playing casually."

Seeing Zhou Mo's sweet smile, Grandma smiled too, "Great! There are chips here. Even if you don't play with real money, you can try this. It's more immersive."

Although Grandma is old, she is still very trendy, placing the pile of red and green round chips next to Zhou Mo.

Later, the four of them were forced to move to a private room on the second floor because of the arrival of a group of regular customers. The prices on the second floor were different from those in the main hall on the first floor, so they actually made a profit.

Zhou Mo followed behind Yu Xi, holding the chips.

To be honest, those four didn't look like they were there to play mahjong. They all had gloomy faces and looked like they were there to collect debts.

Speaking of this, Zhou Mo asked, "What happened when Ning Xiangjian was bullied in junior high school?"

Qi Xiao had just sat down when she heard Zhou Mo ask a question. Before she could even speak, Shawn Ke interrupted, "She deserved it. She used her family's resources to steal a competition spot from another child. Their homeroom teacher couldn't stand it and refused, so the teacher was beaten up when she got off work. That's why the child couldn't stand it and went to confront her. And she, on the other hand, went and had someone teach her a lesson. But somehow, word got around that she became the victim."

Qi Xiao rolled her eyes at Shawn.

"And what about the teacher?" Zhou Mo asked.

As Shawn pressed the start button on the mahjong machine, he thought back, "I don't remember."

"Hehehe." Qi Xiao smiled insincerely. "Momo, don't talk to him. I remember."

Qi Kai hired someone to do this. It was originally a small matter, and Qi Kai didn't intend to make a big deal out of it. He just wanted to scare those troublemakers who wanted to see Ning Xiang's child. However, an unexpected incident occurred. The upright teacher was also present and was seriously injured while protecting the child. In the end, Qi Kai paid the teacher to settle the matter, but he kept cursing about it for many days. That's how Qi Xiao pieced together the whole story.

Zhou Mo nodded thoughtfully.

Qi Xiao sat to Zhou Mo's left, Yu Xi sat to Zhou Mo's right, and Zhou Mo's opponent was Shawn Ke. The four of them played mahjong casually. Zhou Mo seemed absent-minded, but in fact she was on the verge of winning every hand, and even won a hand of pure suit by self-draw.

“I’m not playing anymore.” Shawn pushed the cards forward like a rogue. “My boss once told me not to associate with people who know how to play mahjong, they’re scary.”

"It's clearly your brain that's not working properly, how can you blame Zhou Mo for being smart?" Qi Xiao put all the chips in front of him into Zhou Mo's basket. "Mo Mo is so amazing, teach me sometime, I can't figure it out."

"You'll get used to it after playing with it a lot."

Qi Xiao's eyes widened. "You, do you often play mahjong?" Having known Zhou Mo for so long, she still subconsciously thought of Zhou Mo as a good girl who didn't do anything.

Zhou Mo played with the "One of Bamboo" (a type of divination stick). "When visiting relatives during the Spring Festival, neither my mom nor my dad likes to play it. I'm quite interested in this kind of gambling game."

"A gambling game?" This was the first time Qi Xiao had ever heard anyone call mahjong a gambling game. Zhou Mo really was something else.

"Alright, since someone's quitting, let's just call it quits and call it quits."

Qi Xiao glared at the spoilsport Shawn Ke with displeasure. Shawn Ke had become immune to glares by now and simply pretended not to see her. Qi Xiao then looked at Zhou Mo with a wronged expression, "We were supposed to go shopping, but you've ruined our plans time and time again."

"It's okay, there's still time tomorrow."

Tomorrow is the weekend.

Yu Xi, who hadn't spoken for a long time, finally opened her mouth. Qi Xiao immediately retorted, "What's wrong with the weekend? You stay home to study, and we go out shopping. You're a senior in high school, so don't think about anything else."

Yu Xi ignored Qi Xiao's provocation and just looked at Zhou Mo without any grievance or pleading. She simply looked at Zhou Mo.

"The senior high school students are nervous about their first weekly test. Let's do it on Monday. We'll have plenty of time after that."

Zhou Mo arranged everything with just one sentence.

Qi Xiao didn't know what to say, so she picked up her crossbody bag and walked out, not forgetting to glare at Shawn and Yu Xi from both sides.

Qi Xiao left, and Shawn Ke naturally wouldn't stay either. "I'm leaving."

Only Yu Xi and Zhou Mo remained in the private room. Yu Xi was about to speak when Zhou Mo passed by him and gently scratched his palm with her little finger. Yu Xi felt a tickle and subconsciously clenched his palm, but he couldn't grasp anything. When he looked up again, Zhou Mo had already walked out.

The lights in the courtyard were finally on. Yu Xi cooked dinner, with Zhou Mo helping him.

What did you say to her?

"It's nothing, just a warning for her to stay away from you."

Yu Xi continued chopping vegetables without stopping. "There's no need."

Zhou Mo turned around and leaned against the control panel. "Yu Xi, haven't you been very annoyed these past few years? There are always people, young and old, whose identities you don't know, who find ways to get close to you, just for that information that may or may not even exist. You can't leave Ming An either, and you must be tired of it all along."

"fine."

When the same days repeat themselves too often, people begin to become numb, so numb that they forget time, forget themselves, and start to deceive themselves into accepting such days, and start to force themselves to fantasize about such a future.

Yu Xi was almost ready to accept that during that natural disaster, when he was knocked into that narrow corner and the rocks above his head fell, he could have dodged them, but he didn't.

Isn't death a kind of liberation?

But he didn't have the courage to die, because even in such a dull and tedious life, there was a part he couldn't bear to part with—a corner he had once coveted but never possessed.

Perhaps it was this unfulfilled longing and hope that made Heaven take pity on him and send Zhou Mo to his side.

But then he thought, if the price of Zhou Mo coming to his side is losing everything, then he hopes it's all a dream, and that he'll wake up from it.

Zhou Mo's parents are alive and well, and she is happy and content.

He will only sink into this place without any defenses before he wakes up from the dream.

"Good my ass! If it were me, and someone kept babbling nonsense in my ear every day, I would definitely yell back. Yu Xi, the longer I spend with you, the more I think you're a coward. You're at your wits' end, aren't you? Do you need the head of the family to help you?"

Yu Xi raised an eyebrow and put down the knife in his hand. "What are your orders, sir?"

"Remember what I said? I would take you away from Ming'an City. That wasn't just empty talk."

"What do you want to do?" Yu Xi remembered that this was the first time someone had told him that they wanted to take him away from here. Even though he knew it was impossible, his heart still couldn't help but beat faster.

Zhou Mo picked up a piece of sausage from the cutting board, put it in her mouth and chewed, "An equal exchange, huh?"

How did you know I had the information?

Zhou Mo's eyes widened. "You have the information?"

Yu Xi: "?"

"You don't know I have the information, so what's the point of talking about an equivalent exchange?"

Zhou Mo: "?"

"It's not that you had the information, that you kept it a secret for so many years, and that I managed to get it out of you through our nonsensical conversation?"

Yu Xi looked away, avoiding Zhou Mo's shocked and questioning gaze. "I didn't trick you into it. I wanted to tell you."

"Family members should be honest with each other, and since you have this intention, I should tell you."

Only at this moment did Zhou Mo truly see how simple and sincere Yu Xi was. Stripping away the stigmatizing shell that others had placed on him, inside was a white and chubby little dumpling, looking pitiful and longing. No wonder he had been bullied until now.

"You don't need that. Just keep those materials safe and secure. When you get to university, if you want to continue your father's research, use your own eyes to publish papers and patents. They're all yours, don't give them to others. If you don't want to, then don't tell anyone for the rest of your life. If someone finds out one day, they can come and scold me, but I won't give you that chance."

“Zhou Mo, this thing can be exchanged for a bright future for you, a future without any obstacles.”

Zhou Mo gave Yu Xi a headbutt without any hesitation. "Do I need it? Do I need this kind of shortcut? Although I, Zhou Mo, am not exactly a top-notch smart person, I have always been able to do what I want to do since I was a child. If I can't do it, it's because I didn't try my best. I am happy with the result and have no regrets. I don't need shortcuts. I am here to experience life, not to be above life."

“Yu Xi, this world is actually unfair to us. In other people’s eyes, we are suffering, but that doesn’t matter. We just need to make ourselves happy.”

"Yu Xi, do you want to leave Ming'an with me?"

"Let's go see the sea together, see the mountains and rivers of Guizhou, cycle around Dali in Yunnan, go to Jingdezhen to make porcelain, take a boat on West Lake in Hangzhou, ski in Changbai Mountain, see the Northern Lights in Iceland, go to the Sydney Opera House, visit the filming locations of your favorite movies and TV shows, visit my favorite museums to buy interesting fridge magnets, and we can even draw our own map on a white wall."

"Zhou Mo, you're tempting me."

Zhou Mo winked playfully at Yu Xi and raised her hand, "So, were you tempted?"

Are you planning to bring Qi Xiao with you everywhere you go?

Zhou Mo didn't expect Yu Xi to bring up Qi Xiao at this time. She pretended to think, "Best friends have their own trips, but this is a trip for you and me."

"Then you'll have to go skiing in Changbai Mountain twice."

Yu Xi raised his palm and placed it against Zhou Mo's palm. They didn't interlock their fingers, but Zhou Mo felt Yu Xi's feelings.

He is willing.

"Believe me."

He believed it.