Chapter 404 I Want to Kiss

Two little girls were squatting in the sandpit, building houses with sand.

Su Man looked at them and let out a breath softly: "Let me tell you a story, Xiao Beisheng. Do you know that there is a saying in the countryside called 'exchanging lives'?"

Xiao Beisheng looked confused.

Su Man smiled bitterly: "You don't know, actually, I just heard Xiaoyue tell me this recently."

She murmured:

"Although everyone talks about gender equality now, some uncivilized older generations in the countryside still value sons over daughters. They are obsessed with having a son to support them in their old age."

Xiao Beisheng interrupted, "What does this have to do with Chen Ma's story? Chen Xiaoyue is a girl. Are you still going to start from the beginning when Pangu created the world?"

Suman glanced at him.

Xiao Beisheng made an "OK" gesture and then fell silent.

Su Man continued, "Because of the obsession with having a son, families without one will try every possible means to have one. At this time, they will 'exchange' their children with families that already have two or more boys."

Xiao Beisheng was puzzled:

"Why would you want to swap? If you want a son, you should adopt one, right? I've heard of some rural families who, unwilling to raise daughters, would give them away or even abandon them. In extreme cases, they'd even give their newborn daughters to... In such circumstances, are there still families willing to trade a son for a daughter?"

"This is the origin of 'exchanging lives'," said Suman.

This matter sounded mysterious and sinister, and Xiao Beisheng fell completely silent and stopped interrupting Su Man.

"A family needs to have two or more boys and also want to raise a daughter. These conditions are already very demanding, and it's not easy to find such a family. Moreover, swapping children is not a casual matter; it depends on fate.

"Wanted families will ask a fortune teller to read the fortunes of both parents to determine if the child is compatible with the new family and whether the child can successfully enter the new Palace of Children. For example, if the new parents' Palace of Children indicates that the child will be very successful and wealthy, it will also depend on whether the child can truly live up to such a destiny."

"The couple whose child was swapped must also swap the other child to fill the vacant position in their own Children's Palace. Otherwise, this 'exchange of life' will be unstable."

Su Man looked sad:

"Under such circumstances, there was a woman without a family or children. During a fortune-telling session, the fortune-teller pointed out that she was destined to have a son. This son would nourish her and bring her a healthy and safe life. He would also grow up to be successful and bring honor to the family.

"After listening to the fortune teller, the woman decided to have a child.

"It just so happened that around this time, a family in the same village gave birth to their third child, a son. Having heard that the woman's Child Palace indicated great wealth and honor for her family, they considered exchanging their child with her. That way, even though the son would be raised by the woman, his blood would still flow through his veins. Their family would also benefit from the birth of the child.

"The woman and the family hit it off immediately, both willing to exchange their children. But the problem was, the woman had no children, so where could she find a child to exchange? Coincidentally, the woman had a younger brother, a compulsive gambler. Because of gambling, his wife abandoned him and their daughter and ran away. When the younger brother heard that his sister was childless, he proposed to adopt his daughter as her own, but on the condition that she help pay off his brother's gambling debts.

"The woman agreed and spent half her life savings to help her brother pay off his gambling debts. However, just a few days before the adoption process was completed, his daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. To ensure the success of the 'life exchange', the woman gritted her teeth and chose to shoulder all the girl's medical expenses. This time, she took out her coffin money and gave it to her brother to pay for the girl's treatment. But who could have known that her brother would not change his ways. He took the life-saving money and returned to the gambling table. In less than three days, he had lost every penny of it and even incurred a new debt."

After hearing this, Xiao Beisheng understood everything.

He said thoughtfully, "So, although Mother Chen and Chen Jianzhong appear to be trying to save Chen Xiaoyue's life, they are actually doing it for their own selfish reasons. It's no surprise that Chen Xiaoyue would help you."

"Actually, Xiaoyue and I are quite similar. We both have a gambler father, and we were both 'sold' by our father for a good price. Mine only stopped at my aunt's place. And Xiaoyue was 'sold' from her father to her aunt, and then was 'exchanged' for her son by her aunt." Su Man smiled sarcastically.

Xiao Beisheng looked at her smile and suddenly felt uncomfortable.

He was a little irritable.

I don’t know whether I’m annoyed with Suman’s mother-in-law or Chen Ma and the others.

"The motive is clear, the evidence is irrefutable. If that's the case, why not just kick her out? Why go through all this trouble, go through so much trouble, and even invite her here? She's dead, so why bother asking how she died?"

Su Man stared at the tip of her shoe, lost in thought. "Mother Chen means something special to me. Even if I die, I want to die with my eyes closed."

Xiao Beisheng didn't say anything else.

He took out a cigarette and wanted to get up and smoke somewhere farther away from Su Man, but Su Man stopped him:

"You'd better bear with it. This is a hospital, and there are patients everywhere. Even though it's outdoors, smoking is prohibited. If you want to smoke, you can only go to the smoking area."

Xiao Beisheng glanced at the hospital building.

It's a bit far from here.

"Forget it." He put the cigarette back in his pocket.

The topic is indeed a bit heavy.

Su Man changed the subject and asked, "Tell me about you. It's fine if you're doing business in the Golden Triangle, but why are you also starting a gambling table business? You've done two of the three evils. Are you planning to get involved in pornography?"

"The more you know, the faster you die. Do you still want to listen?" Xiao Beisheng threatened.

Su Man: "Forget it, whatever you get involved in is none of my business, and I don't care."

Xiao Beisheng laughed dryly twice, his laughter a little cold. "It's best if you don't care and don't interfere. Don't forget the lesson from last time. I can let you go once or twice, but not three times."

"Xiao Beisheng, I'm becoming increasingly confused about you. I remember when I first met you, you were the model student your teachers praised, the prodigy everyone touted, with a bright future. Back then, I thought you were aloof and arrogant, righteous and stubborn. But now... I sometimes wonder, was it you back then that was the real you, or was it you now that is the true you?"

Xiao Beisheng added irrelevantly, "When you first met me, you were probably dating Ziheng."

"Yes, I had just started dating him." Su Man recalled, "Among the people pursuing me, his family was the most powerful. It was more than enough to deal with my aunt."

Not a single word was what Xiao Beisheng liked to hear.

In front of them was a couple, hugging each other and whispering in each other's ears.

In fact, they had been whispering in each other's ears and were now kissing each other as if no one was around.

The two hugged each other and kissed each other more and more passionately. The man's hand even reached into the woman's clothes.

Xiao Beisheng suddenly said without any context, "I want to kiss you."

Suman:?