NB Chapter16

He had obviously already gone downstairs, yet he suddenly rushed back up again. Had he seen something? Or perhaps heard something?

I sat at the table, quietly meeting the pointed look Zhang Mingsheng directed at me.

I suspect Zhang Mingsheng senses it too. The child he chose to adopt resembles him the most; though they are not related by blood, they both have the same pair of eyes that quietly take in everything around them.

Just now, Ah Shan ran to the living room to answer the phone. After exchanging only a few brief words, he headed back the way he had come and leaned close to whispering something into Zhang Mingsheng’s ear. Zhang Mingsheng gave a slight nod, his expression never changing, his gaze remaining fixed on me the entire time. He pulled out a napkin and slowly wiped his palms, “Ah Hai, take the breakfast upstairs.”

Ever since he revealed the boy’s origins in front of him, his level of indulgence toward him has climbed to a new peak. No wonder; after the cruel things Zhang Mingsheng said that day, Zhang Xiaoyuan had been so quiet at home lately that he was practically like a mute child.

Just as Ah Hai picked up the tray to leave, I stopped him, “Take out the fried egg. He doesn’t like them.”

“And you say I spoil him.” Zhang Mingsheng stood up and reached his arms back before slipping into the overcoat Ah Shan held out for him. He looked down at me and smiled. “He won’t even come down for breakfast, yet you still remember what he dislikes.”

“Taking it up there is just a waste.” I turned my head to look toward the second floor, hardening my heart.

For a child like that, no matter how much you care for him, it’s a waste.

“I’m heading out,” Zhang Mingsheng habitually straightened his collar. He leaned down over the table and gently kissed Keke’s cheek, making her giggle. “Meimei stay home and keep Mommy company, okay?”

Keke pouted. At first, she found the arrangement hard to accept. Most of the time, she was reluctant to stay by my side. But whenever she hesitated, Zhang Mingsheng would look at her with eyes full of expectation, making it impossible for her to refuse. Zhang Mingsheng had told her that Mommy was a child who needed to be taken care of too. I was utterly at a loss for words, but children easily believe things like that, and Keke quickly developed a strong sense of responsibility because of it. Finally, she looked at me, then back at Zhang Mingsheng, and gave a bashful nod.

Then, Zhang Mingsheng looked at me again.

No way, I thought. No way. The main event couldn’t possibly be starting this early today; please, anything but that. Outwardly, I remained calm, but inwardly I was gritting my teeth as I prayed desperately.

God never hears me. That handsome face gradually moved nearer and nearer to mine. With a faint curve at the corners of his lips, he leaned down and finally stopped, his cheek only inches away from mine.

Keke let out a small cry and burst into giggles while covering her eyes with both hands, though the flutter of her eyelashes was still visible through the gaps between her plump little fingers.

If I gave him a kiss, she would be happy. She would feel that even if her mommy was cold, at least her parents loved each other.

Children are sensitive. I recalled how it felt back in the orphanage; the constant anxiety that a new auntie might replace the old one overnight. No child should have to endure a childhood of constant uncertainty.

However, her sense of security seemed to come at the cost of my own slowly eroding self.

Each time I played out another scene with Zhang Mingsheng, the version of myself trapped in that dark basement room seemed to fade a little more.

I still remember when I was in high school, the girls in class would pass around fiction magazines with pink and green covers. They were all filled with turbulent, emotionally charged stories that pushed one main theme: possession is the purest, most frantic form of love.

This is a story passed down from ancient times to the present, “hiding a beauty in a golden house,” “a coral held in the palm,” “a bird in a cage.” The protagonist, half-resisting and half-acquiescing in despair, ultimately gives in to compromise, and within the confines of the cage, learns to pick out a trace of sweetness from loneliness and torment to console themself.

Zhang Mingsheng wants to play; he insists on playing. He wants a family, so he kidnaps a policeman who has delivered himself right to his doorstep, takes in a self-aware, sensitive child, and then sinks deeper and deeper into the role, exhausting every bit of effort to keep hold of a child who would likely be born with deformities.

And now, he stands here asking me for a morning kiss.

What a terrifying game of “house.” He insisted on skipping many stages, dragging me, trapping me, and transforming me so that we would land together at the universally recognized “perfect ending” of mundane love.

In my exhaustion, I have smelled that sliver of sweetness countless times. Especially after Keke was born, I had almost wavered.

But then Li Yi appeared.

The ruins of my former life still have tourists wandering through as if it were a place to sightsee.

It is like the Little Mermaid standing alone in the palace at night while watching familiar figures rise from the sea’s surface; her sisters, each holding scissors in one hand and strands of their hair in the other, telling her that if she kills the prince, she can return to the ocean.

Two lives have begun to pull at me violently.

I know that I still want to leave. Sooner or later, I will go.

I did not kiss Zhang Mingsheng.

I made him wait for a long time until the air in the dining room seemed to reach a standstill.

Zhang Mingsheng’s expression froze; he likely hadn’t expected that I would have no intention of cooperating even in front of Keke. If he didn’t have business to attend to, I might have already been dragged up to the third floor by now.

He stopped waiting, leaned in, and gave my lips a quick kiss instead.

Zhang Mingsheng said, “Laopo, don’t be angry with me anymore.”

I looked at him calmly, and he also looked back at me.

A few seconds later, he left.

After he departed, the house returned to a state of silence. My thoughts were so heavy that I suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded. That is the reality of having a frail body; when the mind overthinks, it only deepens the physical weakness.

Just then, Ah Hai walked down from upstairs.

Zhang Mingsheng had left Ah Hai at home.

He usually takes two people with him when he goes out; I wasn’t sure what was different this time.

Perhaps it was to keep an eye on me. Maybe Zhang Mingsheng actually believes Li Yi could overcome all obstacles and break through layers of security to rescue me.

Knowing that Zhang Mingsheng was anxious brought me a sense of satisfaction.

I was so dizzy that I couldn’t keep my eyes open, so I asked Ah Hai to take me upstairs. I lay on the bed, and the moment I closed my eyes, it felt as though my soul was being drawn out of my body; my flesh grew heavy as iron, dragging my mind down along with it.

If I had known what was going to happen tonight, I definitely would not have gone to sleep.

By the time I opened my eyes again, it was already seven in the evening. I spent a moment mourning how my health wasn’t what it used to be while simultaneously cursing Zhang Mingsheng’s animalistic behavior from the night before. I dialed the internal line, and Ah Hai picked up, “Madam, you’re awake. Do you need me to come upstairs?”

“It’s fine, I can manage,” I said. “What are the children doing?”

“They are eating,” Ah Hai replied.

“Is Zhang Mingsheng with them?” I asked.

“Sir has not returned yet.” Ah Hai’s voice was as calm as it had been for the last ten years.

He’s not home by seven o’clock; that wasn’t like Zhang Mingsheng at all. That company of his was just a fiefdom his grandfather had carved out for him; it was unremarkable and lacked any real challenge. He was always arriving late and leaving early just to come home and eat with the kids.

To think he actually hadn’t come back today.

Could it be that he has a new target?

It didn’t matter; when he wasn’t home, I felt at ease. I lingered in that sense of freedom until nine o’clock, then went downstairs to eat, coaxed Keke into falling asleep, and was escorted back to my room by Ah Hai, where I turned on the television.

An advertisement was playing on the screen. The spokesperson was a young, beautiful male celebrity with fine features and a brilliant smile. He had a distinctly unique aura, carrying an almost rare sense of ease as he held a cup of yogurt and delivered impassioned lines. To anyone unaware, it would almost seem as though drinking it could grant eternal youth.

The more I looked at him, the more familiar he seemed. I sat up to get a closer look.

He… he seemed to be the one who protected Keke from the fire at her birthday party.

The advertisement came to an end, and the voiceover rang out: “Join Song Yixing now!”

Song Yixing.

Zhang Mingsheng had mentioned this name before; he had once delivered clothes to Zhang Mingsheng’s office. The young man who had shielded Keke from the flames, the Song Yixing who delivered the clothes, and the minor celebrity from the commercial were all, in fact, the same person. It seemed the Song family’s young master had not been content with playing the role of a dutiful heir and had instead gone off to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry.

This bunch of second-generation rich kids really have no idea how fortunate they are.

Just as I was about to change the channel, I suddenly heard a knock at the door.

I froze.

This door had never been knocked on before.

A-Hai would always contact me before coming, while Zhang Mingsheng would simply push the door open and walk in. Aunt Liu never came upstairs, and the butler and bodyguards, for their part, would never even step into the elevator.

It shouldn’t be a villain; if it were a robber or a bandit, there would be no reason for them to knock. Besides, this was already the home of the worst man in the world.

Who could it be?

“Come in.” I said hesitantly.

The door creaked open, and Zhang Xiaoyuan poked his head in. He looked at me with a shy, stiff expression.

Seeing it was him, I was greatly surprised and tugged at my blanket to ensure my legs were covered. “Did something happen?”

Zhang Xiaoyuan seemed a little embarrassed. Gathering his courage, he said, “The game… I can’t clear… the latest level.”

I was stunned again after hearing this. “Did you ask Ah Hai for help?”

“He can’t pass it either.”

“How about waiting for Daddy to come home and let him help you?”

“I made plans with a friend; I don’t want to keep them waiting.”

So it was a cooperative game.

He had even found a partner to play with. Was it a classmate, or an online friend? Even a child’s social circle was wider than mine.

Zhang Mingsheng had once bought me a mobile phone, but it only contained his private number. I assumed he had secretly installed various monitoring and GPS tracking programs on it, so I never even bothered to switch it on, simply throwing it into a cabinet instead.

With Zhang Mingsheng away from home today, I finally had a chance to touch a computer.

I just didn’t know if Zhang Mingsheng monitored the child’s things. I guessed he didn’t have the heart for it.

My relationship with Zhang Xiaoyuan was poor, and I rarely visited his room. Even Zhang Mingsheng probably wouldn’t have expected Zhang Xiaoyuan to come up to the fourth floor on his own to ask me for help. They used to be as close as a real father and son; even though Zhang Xiaoyuan had witnessed certain unspeakable things, he still stood firmly on his father’s side. Now, he seemed to have suddenly changed.

How did he get in? The elevator clearly has a passcode.

In any case, I decided to go downstairs. I called for Ah Hai, and he hesitated for a moment; probably because he genuinely couldn’t clear the level either, before finally agreeing to take me to Zhang Xiaoyuan’s room.

I said, “If we clear the level today, you have to play a little less tomorrow; otherwise, you’ll turn into a ‘four-eyes’ later on.”

“En!” Zhang Xiaoyuan nodded emphatically.

Ah Hai pushed me over to the computer desk. The moment I looked at the colorful pixelated scenes in the game, I could already feel a headache starting to form.

Zhang Xiaoyuan pulled up a chat window, his small hands slowly typing out a few words before sending them.

The other side replied almost instantly with a short line of text.

This friend of Zhang Xiaoyuan’s was actually quite interesting. His ID was “Little Fish Eating Bubbles,” and even his avatar was a red clownfish made of pixels.

[The Moon is Brighter at Home]: I found someone else to help me! Just wait, I’ll definitely clear it!

[Little Fish Eating Bubbles]: Pfft, you’re eighteen and you’re still calling for backup? What if you still can’t pass? Are you going to compensate me for my wasted time? An inch of time is worth an inch of gold; how much money are you going to give me?

Eighteen?

It seemed Zhang Xiaoyuan had significantly lied about his age online. I looked at Zhang Xiaoyuan; he guiltily avoided my eyes and stared straight at the computer screen.

This “Little Fish Eating Bubbles” person also had a very sharp tongue; he seemed exactly like an arrogant teenager in the midst of a rebellious phase.

I took a quick look; the game controls were actually quite complex. I believed Zhang Xiaoyuan couldn’t clear the level not because he lacked intelligence, but because his hands were simply too small. As for Ah Hai failing to beat it, that was because he and this “Little Fish Eating Bubbles” were fundamentally incompatible and had nearly ended up quarreling with each other.

I calmly typed and hit sent.

[The Moon is Brighter at Home]: Please speak more politely.

[Little Fish Eating Bubbles]: Are you his mom? You talk just like a parent. If you’re going to be that polite, don’t play games; you’d be better off as a hotel greeter.

A spark of irritation flickered in my heart.

I said sternly, “Zhang Xiaoyuan, is this really your friend?”

Hearing me use his full name, Zhang Xiaoyuan’s face flushed red. “He just… he doesn’t sound very nice when he talks, but he’s a good person.”

“Is he your classmate?”

“…No.”

“Then what is he?”

“…We met online.”

I went silent.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Ah Hai tentatively took half a step toward me. I waved him away, signaling that he could go downstairs.

Let me deal with this “Little Fish Eating Bubbles” myself.

I reviewed the game instructions and asked Zhang Xiaoyuan a few more questions. Just as I was about to tell the “Little Fish” we could start, the internal phone on Zhang Xiaoyuan’s desk rang. He picked it up and handed it to me.

I pressed the receiver to my ear and asked hesitantly, “Hello?”

“Madam! Madam, hide! Quickly!”

It was Ah Hai’s voice.

I had never heard him scream like that before; he sounded urgent and desperate. It was as if… as if someone had broken in.

Listening carefully, there really were strange noises in the background. Someone was whispering at first, then suddenly shouting, I’m going to kill him.

The person who broke in was definitely not Li Yi, nor could it be Zhang Mingsheng.

I grabbed Zhang Xiaoyuan and said, “Stay here. I’ll go out, get your sister, and then we’ll all play together.”

I started my wheelchair, but just as I was about to leave, Zhang Xiaoyuan grabbed the corner of my clothes.

His hands were shaking, and his voice trembled as he spoke, “Mom, let me go instead.”

---

Unlock the complete translation HERE!