Chapter 53: Strange Habits

Jiang Yi broke down and went crazy here, and what was speechless was that he looked so hateful towards Lu Ze that people who didn't know would think that he was the one who was abandoned and that he was the victim.

Seeing that he seemed to be in an abnormal mental state, Qi Nian and Lu Ze looked at each other and chose to stay away from him. After all, no one would really bother with a madman.

However, when the two wanted to leave, Jiang Yi refused to let them go and even held out her hand to stop them from leaving.

Seeing that Lu Ze was getting more and more impatient and was about to take action, a woman's voice came from not far away: "Jiang Yi, I told you not to come over and make trouble, why didn't you listen!"

Qi Nian looked over and found it was Mrs. Jiang.

Mrs. Jiang often comes to see Lu Ze secretly recently, so it is not surprising that she appears here.

Mrs. Jiang walked up to Jiang Yi and said coldly, "Go back. Do you hear me? I want you to go back!"

Jiang Yi looked dissatisfied and glared at Lu Ze: "You don't want me and Dad just for him? Why? Why did you favor him when you were a child, and you still do this now!"

Mrs. Jiang couldn't bear to listen any longer. Jiang Yi still didn't think he was wrong. She raised her hand for the first time and slapped Jiang Yi in the face.

She trembled and looked at Jiang Yi: "Because Xiaozhi is also my son. Because of you, he has lived through so many hard times. Isn't that enough? Since you can't tolerate him, can't I compensate my son?!"

Jiang Yi covered his numb face in disbelief. He obviously didn't expect that his mother would beat him, and beat him just for Jiang Zhi!

Why, why should the mother love Jiang Zhi more? Isn’t he the other person’s son?

Jiang Yi's mentality might indeed be a little twisted. He never thought that Jiang Zhi was also Madam Jiang's son. Jiang Zhi was young at that time, so Madam Jiang would naturally pay more attention to him. But Madam Jiang also felt that she should not ignore her eldest son because of her younger son. She loved her eldest son as always and never thought that her eldest son would have such terrible thoughts.

Jiang Yi covered his face in hatred and left. Mrs. Jiang looked at Lu Ze a little helplessly. The latter's expression was normal, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with him.

Madam Jiang felt a little uncomfortable and called out softly, "Xiaozhi..."

Lu Ze interrupted her: "My name is not Xiao Zhi, my name is Lu Ze."

"Okay... okay, Xiaoze, I'm sorry... you suffered just now." Mrs. Jiang felt sad and happy when she thought about how the little kid from before had grown so tall. She felt sad that the kid had suffered so many years, but she was happy that the kid was so outstanding now.

She looked at Lu Ze, feeling mixed emotions for a moment. After all, she still missed the other person's growth. Although this was certainly Jiang Yi's fault, Mrs. Jiang still felt very guilty deep down and felt that it was her negligence.

Lu Ze looked at the woman who was crying and paused as he was about to leave. He took out a tissue and handed it to her: "I didn't suffer. I'm living a good life."

When Mrs. Jiang came to her senses, she looked at Lu Ze's back, crying and laughing at the same time. She didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

Mrs. Jiang watched Lu Ze's back as he disappeared. She felt a little depressed. She wiped her tears and returned home.

Jiang Yi was sitting on the sofa, with Jiang's father sitting next to him. Both the father and son looked unhappy.

In front of Mrs. Jiang, Father Jiang scolded Jiang Yi first: "What you did was wrong back then, and you can still say that you were young and ignorant, but you shouldn't have gone to find your brother today!"

Jiang Yi was dissatisfied: "Dad, if it weren't for him, would Mom want a divorce?"

Father Jiang looked at Jiang Yi with a hint of disappointment in his eyes. It seemed that after so many years, this child had become useless and had no brains at all.

In the past, Jiang's father had no choice, after all, he only had this one son left. However, now that Lu Ze has appeared, he has other ideas.

The child Lu Ze is better than he thought.

But no matter what he was thinking, Jiang's father did not show it. He shook his head and said, "Your mother didn't want a divorce because of your brother. Your brother is also a victim. It's me who is wrong, and even more so you!"

Jiang Yi looked at his father in disbelief, not quite understanding why he suddenly spoke for Lu Ze.

He, who had been fearless before, suddenly felt a little panicked. The only person who stood by him was gone. What should he do?

Jiang Yi was silent for a moment, like a punctured balloon.

After scolding his son, Father Jiang let him go and looked at Mrs. Jiang: "Don't bother with divorce. The child won't feel good if he finds out."

Madam Jiang looked at Father Jiang stubbornly: "Since you don't acknowledge him, I will. He is the child I carried for ten months and gave birth to. I have already let him down before, and I cannot let him down again in the future. Do you know what he has been through all these years?

He had a hard life since childhood. Because his family was poor, he almost dropped out of school. If it weren't for his intelligence and good academic performance, he wouldn't be here today! He finally got into Kyoto University, but was framed and almost jumped off a building. Every time I think of this, my heart aches. It hurts so much. He really suffered too much. Really, he didn't have to go through this..."

Father Jiang was also moved when he heard this. After all, he was his own child. He sighed, stood up and walked to Madam Jiang, holding her in his arms: "I know, I know everything, that's why we have to do our best to compensate him."

Mrs. Jiang looked at Jiang's father, not understanding why he suddenly changed his mind. He had clearly been unwilling to acknowledge the other child for Jiang Yi's sake.

Father Jiang sighed: "Jiang Yi is a child who has been brought up with a small temper. It's time for him to change."

Mrs. Jiang didn't say anything. She was so disappointed with Jiang Yi.

Father Jiang continued, "So, how about I take the child back?"

Mrs. Jiang frowned: "You are too fanciful. He won't agree now, and I don't want to disrupt his current life."

Mrs. Jiang originally planned to divorce Jiang's father, get half of the property, and then find a way to give it to Lu Ze. But she heard that the kid was making games, and if she didn't want the money directly, she would invest in him in someone else's name.

Since Lu Ze no longer needs love, she can only compensate him financially.

It's not that she hasn't thought about bringing Lu Ze back, but this is not a good choice. Given the situation at home, forcing him to come back will only make Lu Ze feel unhappy.

So, when Father Jiang proposed this idea, Mrs. Jiang objected immediately.

"I know. I will try my best to find a solution that has the best of both worlds." Father Jiang felt that the Jiang family needed a qualified heir.

Mrs. Jiang didn't say anything more when she saw this. Father Jiang was too rational in doing things. Sometimes he was sober and a little scary, but at the same time it meant that he would not do anything impulsive.

——

On Friday night, Qi Nian received a message from Ning Hao.

[Ning Hao]: There’s a petting party tomorrow, don’t forget it, there will be super cute little animals!

Considering Ning Hao's own preferences, he said she was cute, so Qi Nian didn't have high hopes.

As long as it's not weird.

【Ning Hao】：［Address Location］

[Ning Hao]: You must remember to come. Your little fans miss you.

[Qinian]: Xiaofen and I have only met once, right?

How come he doesn't miss her at all? He suspected Ning Hao was teasing him.

However, Ning Hao did not say anything and directly sent a video.

When Qi Nian clicked on it, he saw a pink and tender baby placed on the table. Opposite it was a mobile phone, and on the phone... was a photo of Qi Nian.

I don’t know if Xiaofen really recognized Qinian or just thought it was fun. The whole snake was crawling on the table and then successfully touched the phone.

The little pinkie tapped the phone with her head, and I don't know if she was rubbing it, but then she moved along the edge of the phone and slowly wrapped her whole body around it.

You know what, the more I see her, the more I think Xiaofen is adorable.

Ning Hao felt that he had produced evidence, and he spoke with confidence.

[Ning Hao]: What do you think? Do you believe it now? I told you that Little Pink missed you. Alas, this little fellow, I, an old father, raised him with all my heart, and he is closer to you than to me. How can this be possible?

I don't know why, but as I was talking I started to sound sour again.

[Qinian]: Haha, maybe it’s because I can see you every day?

[Ning Hao]: That’s right, how could Xiaofen not kiss me?

Ning Hao successfully comforted himself, reminded Qi Nian again to remember, and then logged off happily.

Qi Nian clicked on the video and watched it again. The more he watched, the more he could appreciate Xiaofen's cuteness. He happily shared the video everywhere.

It was first sent to the group of He Lu Ze and Liu Yu.

【Liu Yu】: Ahhh! I almost threw my phone away. I’m afraid of snakes!

【Qin Nian】: Oh...really? Sorry.

Qi Nian quickly withdrew the video.

【Lu Ze】：You raised him?

[Qinian]: No, my cousin adopted it and he said he would take me to a petting party tomorrow.

[Liu Yu]: Hiss is scary, I don’t understand but I respect it, @Qinian, you know that Zhou Jing’s group is going to debut in a few days, on the group’s formation night.

Qi Nian immediately felt guilty because he had no idea about it, so he quickly ran to greet Zhou Jing.

Zhou Jing thought Qi Nian was thinking about him, and was deeply moved. He also said that he would work hard to get a debut position.

Qi Nian: Hiss... I feel so guilty.

Chatting with Chu Rongshi again.

【Qinian】: How is it? Cute, right?

It took a while for the other side to reply.

[Chu Rongshi]: Yeah, cute.

[Chu Rongshi]: Was he raised by Ning Hao?

As a relative, Chu Rongshi had naturally seen Ning Hao's pets.

Qi Nian said "yes", and Chu Rongshi asked him if he wanted to raise one.

[Qinian]: No, hahaha, I don’t have time to take care of it.

On the other hand, Chu Rongshi saw this message and closed the search page for "cute snakes suitable for breeding" on his tablet.

【Chu Rongshi】：Yeah.

Everything was normal at this moment, but when it came to Chu Tianheng's turn, the style became a little abnormal.

[Chu Tianheng]: You like snakes so much? My second brother is going to shoot a music video recently, do you want to come over?

Qi Nian's face was full of question marks.

[Qinian]: What does it have to do with shooting an MV?

Then, Chu Tianheng sent a screenshot, which was a group chat of his post-production team about the creative ideas for the new song MV.

One of them said, "We need the element of snakes."

Everyone gave their own suggestions, and in the end, I don't know how it got to this point: "I think we need a shot with a snake crawling all over the body. It must be a real snake, but don't worry, it must be a pet snake that doesn't bite. Oh, it should take about three seconds, not too long, otherwise there will be no room for imagination."

Finally, Chu Tianheng couldn't help but speak in the group: "Your idea must not last more than three seconds."

The man foolishly thought he was being recognized: "Really? As expected, Brother Chu, you also agree with this idea, right?"

Chu Tianheng: "I agree with you. If it lasts more than three seconds, I'll just treat everyone to a meal, okay?"

【Qinian】: So in the end...

[Chu Tianheng]: This shot has been decided, haha.

Qi Nian: “…” I feel sorry for my second brother.

However, I still want to say that everyone’s mental state is not very good after going to work.

Qi Nian was very tactful and didn't dare to mention anything about snakes to his second brother again. He guessed that his second brother didn't want to see this kind of creature right now.

But he was still a little worried.

[Qinian]: It won’t be dangerous to shoot like this, right?

[Chu Tianheng]: They are all non-venomous snakes with gentle personalities. Oh, if you bite me, I will make you snake soup :)

Chu Tianheng appears calm on the surface, but it is actually difficult for him to be happy. After all, even if it is a non-venomous snake, it would be creepy to have it crawling all over the body.

【Qinian】: I hope I don’t have to eat snake soup [put hands together]

On the other side, Chu Tianheng looked at the message sent by his younger brother and laughed suddenly. Alas, he wanted to rub the little sheep.

Qi Nian had no idea that his brother was thinking of "repaying kindness with evil", so he went out as soon as he woke up in the morning.

Today is a rare good day with bright sunshine, but because it is late autumn, it is not too hot.

The venue for the reptile party was provided by one of the reptile owners, in a house in the suburbs with a large lawn.

This season is still green and lush, and you can almost smell the scent of grass from afar.

After Qi Nian arrived, he was still a little worried about how to talk to people. If possible, it would be best not to talk. Then he saw Ning Hao at the door.

Phew, that's great. Qi Nian breathed a sigh of relief.

I originally thought that communication was unavoidable, and he even comforted me by treating it as exercise, but who knew that no one seemed to like to talk much.

But they all have one characteristic: when talking about their pets, they immediately become talkative.

Each of them had a proud expression as if they were introducing their own children.

"By the way, let me show you the cutest little reptile here!" Ning Hao felt like a fish in water here. He walked around the crowd with Qi Nian, the silent pendant, and came to a girl.

Qi Nian saw the other person's pet clearly and was immediately stunned. It was actually a spider!

It has furry legs and a furry body, and a pair of big black eyes, just like the little animals in cartoons. It is really cute and completely subverts Qi Nian's perception of pets.

Moreover, this spider is very small. When it is still, it really looks like a plush pendant, and it looks at you with its innocent big eyes.

The young lady proudly introduced her pet: "This is a little jumping spider. Isn't it cute? Actually, I used to be afraid of insects, but when I saw it, I was completely attracted to it. How could there be such a cute little thing?"

"Besides, raising a reptile is very courageous. Let me tell you, I used to be so timid that I would jump up when I saw a mouse. But now I'm not afraid at all. I can even catch a mouse with my bare hands. When I was about to crush the mouse to death, I was a little hesitant because the mouse looked pretty after looking at it for a long time. But I heard that mice have viruses, so I crushed it to death anyway." The young lady is indeed a person you can't judge by appearance. When she talked about the exciting things, a scary light flashed in her eyes, and she looked eager to try.

“By the way, I took a picture when I caught the mouse. Do you want to see it?” the young lady said, reaching for her cell phone, trying to share her past glory.

Qi Nian stepped back silently: "No... no need."

Although he is not afraid of mice, he still doesn't want to catch one with his bare hands.

This young lady is also a strange person. When she saw Qi Nian refused, she thought that he might be afraid, and said that she would go to her friend who has a hamster to borrow a hamster to act as an actor and show him how to do it.

Qi Nian: “…”Are you sure they will agree?

Not surprisingly, the young lady went over excitedly, and then came back with her head down and sad: "My friend told me not to touch her hamster because she was afraid that I would crush it to death. But I swear to God, I am really not that cruel, okay? When I crushed the hamster to death, I was still very scared in my heart!"

Ning Hao saw that she was very anxious, so he laughed: "Yes, yes, I believe you. You look very weak."

The young lady was successfully calmed down, and she said that she would never share the wonderful story of herself killing a mouse with her bare hands again, as it was easy for people to misunderstand her.

"What do you think? I told you that the people here are interesting, right?" Ning Hao said with a smile after pulling Qi Nian away.

Seeing Qi Nian nod, Ning Hao became more excited: "By the way, there is another big guy in our circle, he is very powerful, I only have a little pink snake, but he may not be the same, he has many, more than ten, right? He even has a house specially for snakes."

"Eh? He's there." Ning Hao looked somewhere not far away.

Qi Nian looked over and saw a thin middle-aged man standing not far away. He was wearing an ordinary shirt and had his head slightly lowered. He was talking to the people around him.

The people next to him were asking the man some questions about snake breeding, and the man answered with a smile and patience.

Ning Hao couldn't wait to pull Qi Nian over: "I have some questions to ask, too. Hurry up, every time he comes over, there are always people surrounding him."

Sure enough, just as they arrived next to the middle-aged man, there were a few more people around him.

Ning Hao brought his Xiaofen to show the other party. To be honest, Xiaofen is a large snake and is not light in weight. Ning Hao was able to carry Xiaofen on his back without even breathing hard. Qi Nian was a little impressed by him.

They asked questions while Qi Nian watched silently. From the conversation, he learned that the middle-aged man was called Xin Yi. He was said to have been a professional reptile keeper in a zoo, but later quit his job to take care of his snakes full-time.

It is conceivable how much the other party cares about his own snakes. In addition, the other party has professional skills and is a very trustworthy person in the circle.

The way Ning Hao looked at Xin Yi, it felt like there were stars in his eyes. He simply admired her too much.

After asking a few questions, he stopped asking. Although he wanted to continue asking, he had to give others a chance.

Ning Hao took Qi Nian to the outside of the crowd, praising Xin Yi non-stop: "He is really amazing. I have always been unable to solve a problem, but he can solve it as soon as I ask him, and he is so patient!"

"Doesn't he have a job?" Qi Nian asked in a low voice.

Ning Hao was stunned for a moment and said, "Yes, because I have to take care of more than a dozen snakes."

Qi Nian seemed a little curious: "Cousin, does it cost money to raise Xiaofen?"

"It will definitely cost money!" Ning Hao started to talk non-stop, and said a lot of things. Finally, he said: "But I will be happy if I can raise Xiaofen well. Hahaha, I can't let Xiaofen live a hard life with me."

Qi Nian: "Well... if it costs so much for you to raise just one, where does he get the money to raise so many?"

"I don't know either, maybe his family is rich?" Ning Hao shook his head stupidly.

Qi Nian was helpless, he had already hinted at it! Well, it was too shocking, who could have thought of it.

At this moment, after Xin Yi finished talking to those people, he came over again and offered with a smile: "Can I see your snake? I just saw a little bit of it and I think it's very cute."

Ning Hao immediately said happily: "Okay, okay!"

Everyone thought: "..."

Ning Hao took Xiaofen out, and Xin Yi looked at the pretty Xiaofen with admiration, his eyes full of satisfaction: "Not bad, she is really pretty."

Ning Hao felt that he was being praised, and he kept talking about how he took care of his little fans, sometimes with a little sweet complaint.

As they talked, they somehow got to talking about Ning Hao's recent problems. Ning Hao sighed, "To be honest, I'm really worried. Everyone in my family is a little afraid of Xiaofen. I'm worried about leaving it at home, but I can't take it with me. I've been worried so much lately that I can't sleep."

Xin Yi smiled when he heard this, and touched Xiaofen with his fingers: "If you really have no other options, you can send me here and I will take care of you for a few days."

"Ah? That's so embarrassing?" Ning Hao was very happy and obviously very moved.

"It just so happens that I already have a dozen or so, so one more won't be a big deal. The main thing is that I really like your little pinky, and I've been considering raising the same breed recently, so it would be good to adapt to it in advance." Xin Yi's words made sense.

"That's great." Ning Hao didn't refuse at this point and agreed happily.

Xin Yi achieved his goal, talked for a while and then left, and exchanged contact information with Ning Hao.

After he left, Qi Nian said in a somewhat awkward tone, "Do you really want to let him take care of Xiaofen? Are you confident?"

"If it were someone else, I would definitely not feel at ease, but how could it be the same for Master Xin? My little Pink will definitely be well taken care of." Ning Hao said, smiling foolishly and looking quite happy.

Qi Nian finally couldn't help himself: [Why do I always encounter such absurd things? I just hinted to my cousin for a long time, but he still doesn't understand! ]

Ning Hao: “?”

Qi Nian couldn't control the urge to complain: [That Xin Yi, who looks like a decent person, actually has a strange habit. He was indeed taking care of snakes in the zoo, but he lied to everyone. He didn't resign voluntarily, but was fired.]

[Ah, this guy's behavior is too disgusting, isn't it? I have to slow down... He actually did that to the snake... Um, he just offered to help my cousin take care of the snake, it must not be out of kindness, he must have evil intentions! ]

[Oh, and when he does that to a snake, he takes a video and posts it online to make money. He’s pretty popular on some weird website. He’s even taken care of snakes for other people before. Oh my god, I really don’t know what to say. Cousin, wake up!]