Translated by Eve
Edited by Kara
At the entrance to the penthouse apartment, which was situated in a garden in Y City’s downtown, Xiao Yuanmu looked at the madam who stood two steps away from him. Her clothes were elegant, and she had a refined aura. Xiao Yuanmu’s tone was flat and estranged as he spoke, “How can I help you?”
Mrs. Xiao held her purse tightly in her hands, feeling ill-at-ease. Her well-maintained, pale, and tender fingertips pressed tightly against the petite jewels embedded on her purse’s border and turned slightly white from the pressure. Her usual elegant poise was nowhere to be seen, and her eyes were slightly red.
Her eldest son, who had been lost and then found, had been “busy” for so long. She already realized how he felt towards the Xiao Family, herself, and his father. He didn’t feel close to them at all. He didn’t seem to like them very much. He even seemed to be on guard against them.
This knowledge upset Mrs. Xiao so much that she would wake up crying in the middle of the night. But no matter how many times she was given the cold shoulder, she couldn’t help but want to get a little closer to her eldest son, who she hadn’t seen for over twenty years.
Mrs. Xiao cautiously sized Xiao Yuanmu up. Xiao Yuanmu looked very alike to her younger brother who had died young. The moment she had laid eyes on Xiao Yuanmu, she had known that he was her son. There was no one except for her eldest son who could possibly look so much alike to her deceased younger brother.
Faced with Mrs. Xiao’s fervent gaze, Xiao Yuanmu remained calm. A flicker of impatience flashed through his eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbed once, and he asked again, “Mrs. Xiao, how can I help you?”
Mrs. Xiao was pulled out of her thoughts by Xiao Yuanmu’s voice. Her fingers, which were already slightly white from how tightly she was holding her purse, turned even whiter. However, she still forced herself to smile. “Yuanmu, I’m your mom. You don’t have to address me so distantly.”
Xiao Yuanmu nodded, but he didn’t change his words. For the third time, he asked, “How may I help you?”
“I heard that you didn’t eat breakfast this morning.” Mrs. Xiao bent down slightly and lifted up the basket that was on the ground beside her. She held it in front of Xiao Yuanmu and said, “You’re so busy at work every day. Your body won’t be able to take it if you don’t eat breakfast. Therefore, Mom made some food and came to deliver it.”
Xiao Yuanmu’s gaze fell on the exquisitely woven basket as she spoke. He then looked back at her face. When he saw the anticipation in her eyes, he accepted the basket. “Thank you.”
A delighted expression graced Mrs. Xiao’s face upon seeing him accept it. Her smile became much more relaxed. Her tone also became a lot smoother. “You might want to heat up the congee inside. How about Mom heats it up for you while you go wash up?”
“No need,” Xiao Yuanmu declined in a flat voice, “I have something to do right now. I’ll just eat a bit quickly.”
“Now that won’t do.” Mrs. Xiao’s pretty brows scrunched up slightly. “Cold food is bad for your stomach.”
“It’s fine, Mrs. Xiao.” Louis, who could feel Xiao Yuanmu’s gaze flicker over to him a few times, felt the hairs on his arm stand up. He took a step forward and smiled. “We, young people, like to eat cold food. Since you’ve managed to give it to him, how about I see you out?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Louis nodded at once. He hadn’t been able to refuse when Mrs. Xiao had asked him to bring her to Xiao Yuanmu’s home because of the relationship between his own father and the Xiao Family. Therefore, he had originally felt very nervous. Now that he saw Xiao Yuanmu’s stormy expression, that sense of unease only intensified. He would immediately take away Mrs. Xiao from there and hoped that Xiao Yuanmu would be merciful when he came for him later.
“Mrs. Xiao, this way.” Louis pressed the elevator button and very chivalrously held the elevator door open for her. His face was covered by a smile.
Mrs. Xiao nodded gracefully. She smiled at Xiao Yuanmu and said, “Then, Mom will come see you again tomorrow.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Xiao Yuanmu glanced at Louis and said, “I can make my own breakfast.”
Mrs. Xiao paused. Her smile stiffened. “Then next time, Mom will….”
Before she could finish, she was interrupted by someone’s ringtone.
She had been slightly taken aback. Soon after though, a look of glee emerged within her eyes. She hadn’t finished what she was going to say, but Xiao Yuanmu had an incoming call. This meant that she could stay for a little bit longer.
Xiao Yuanmu didn’t notice Mrs. Xiao’s expression. All of his attention had been pulled towards the familiar ringtone of the phone sitting in his living room.
“Go pick up the call.” Mrs. Xiao smiled understandingly. “Mom will wait for you here.”
Xiao Yuanmu paused. He then quickly walked over to the phone laying on the sofa. When he saw the familiar contact name, a smile flashed through his eyes. He picked up the call and quietly said, “Give me one second.”
He then turned around and headed back to the door. “I have something very important to handle right now. You….”
“It’s fine. Mom’s free. Mom will wait until you’re done to speak with you.”
Xiao Yuanmu looked at Louis. Louis actually really wanted to hear Xiao Yuanmu’s phone call. Ever since he had found out about Xiao Yuanmu’s boyfriend from Yang Jie, he had been very curious. When he saw Xiao Yuanmu’s excited expression just now, he knew that the person calling had to be his rumoured lover. However, no matter how much he wanted to hear this piece of gossip, his desire couldn’t win over his fear of Xiao Yuanmu.
His eyebrows drooped slightly in disappointment. He then beamed at Mrs. Xiao. “Mrs. Xiao, I—”
“You don’t need to see me out.” Mrs. Xiao stared at Xiao Yuanmu’s figure, which had already headed inside, a bit nervously. She was torn between leaving out of politeness and ignoring courtesy to stay. In the end, the temptation of getting to stay with her son for a bit longer won out. She gave Louis a gentle and elegant smile. “I’ll wait for him here. Louis, if you have something else to do, you can leave first.”
“No, no, no, it’s my honour to serve you.” If he left Mrs. Xiao by Xiao Yuanmu’s door all alone, Xiao Yuanmu would probably skin him alive once he was done with his call. Louis smiled bitterly. “I’ll wait with you.”
When Mrs. Xiao had heard this, her smile became much more sincere. “Thank you.”
On the other side, Xiao Yuanmu, who had left Louis to deal with Mrs. Xiao, walked into his room. He stood by the French windows and stared down at the garden and river below. When he heard the quiet breathing noises coming from the other side, a small smile seeped out of his eyes.
“Okay. You can speak now. Why did you call me at this time?”
It was probably about eight o’clock at night in the Capital right now. Song Xuanhe rarely called him at such a time. That was why Xiao Yuanmu had been so pleasantly surprised upon receiving this call.
When Song Xuanhe heard Xiao Yuanmu’s cool voice, the jittery feeling he had eased up a lot. He glanced at Song Jiabao and them before looking away. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
Xiao Yuanmu leaned against the transparent glass, relaxed. His gaze softened. “What’s up?”
Song Xuanhe smiled. His lips then pressed into a straight line upon seeing Song Jiabao and his family’s pleading gazes. Lowering his gaze, he asked, “Have you been busy?”
“No.” Xiao Yuanmu glanced at his watch and then at the huge pile of documents on his desk. With a straight face, he said, “I’ve been really free these last two days and got to rest a bit.”
Song Xuanhe had something else on his mind, so he didn’t notice Xiao Yuanmu’s tone. He only gave the other a quiet “mn.” He then glanced at Song Jiabao, whose face was white as a sheet of paper, and then went upstairs.
“What’s with that interview?”
Song Xuanhe asked while walking upstairs. When the Song Family members heard his question, they all craned their necks, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. However, Song Xuanhe was too quick. He took four-five steps at a time. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared. A second later, they heard the sound of a door closing.
Xiao Yuanmu: “Which interview?”
After shutting his door, Song Xuanhe went to sit down. “How many interviews have you done?”
Xiao Yuanmu turned around and headed towards the large bed in the centre of his room. “One.”
Song Xuanhe rested his legs on his coffee table. “Then, which one do you think I’m referring to?”
“What part of the interview are you asking about?”
Xiao Yuanmu sat down on the bed and placed his phone beside him after turning on speaker mode. He changed out of his home wear and put on a collared shirt. His slender fingers fiddled with his cuffs, and there was heedlessness effused in his tone.
Song Xuanhe listened to the rustling noises and noticed that Xiao Yuanmu’s voice sounded farther away than before. He paused and then asked, “What are you doing?”
Xiao Yuanmu: “Changing clothes.”
Song Xuanhe put his legs back down. He pressed down on the edge of the coffee table closest to him, causing the hind legs of the table to lift up into the air. He then pushed the table a bit further away from him. He then asked, “You’re changing clothes while talking to me?”
Xiao Yuanmu’s voice was mild. “Louis is waiting for me outside. I can’t see him in my pyjamas.”
Song Xuanhe raised a brow but didn’t continue to ask about this. He went back to the main topic. “So, what was that interview all about? We’ve already broken up. Why did you say that we’re together?”
Xiao Yuanmu paused while buttoning his cuffs. In a flat voice, he said, “You said that we could believe in our own version of events regarding our relationship. You think that we’ve already broken up, but I believe that we haven’t. I just said what I believe. If you don’t agree with me, then by all means, you can publicly announce your stance.”
Song Xuanhe paused his action of slowly pushing the coffee table away. His mind blanked for a few seconds before his eye twitched. “Who would believe me now if I said that we’ve already broken up?”
When Xiao Yuanmu had heard the suppressed anger in Song Xuanhe’s voice, he smiled as he finished fastening his cuffs. His smile caused the end of his sentence to sound a bit husky. “That’s your problem.”
Song Xuanhe was a bit astonished by Xiao Yuanmu’s shamelessness. For a moment, he couldn’t say anything. He felt like a donkey must have kicked him in the head just now for him to have given up his chance of directly freeing himself of Song Jiabao and his family over that hint of surprised delight in Xiao Yuanmu’s voice, which had been so slight that he might have just imagined it.
When he had first heard Xiao Yuanmu speak, he had thought that the other sounded very tired. That was why Song Xuanhe hadn’t wanted to bring it up. He hadn’t wanted to make the other unhappy so early in the morning.
Song Xuanhe finally shoved the table far away with one kick, and his foot fell to the ground. He didn’t know why, but when he imagined the other’s eyes curved and filled with happiness upon hearing the smile in Xiao Yuanmu’s voice, the unhappiness he had felt just now disappeared. He didn’t like having his emotions influenced by Xiao Yuanmu like this. Therefore, he pursed his lips and asked in a constrained voice, “Then, what’s with the invitation?”
The smile in Xiao Yuanmu’s eyes froze. His jaw then tightened. “The Xiao Family sent it to you?”
Song Xuanhe was slightly surprised. “You didn’t know about it?”
Xiao Yuanmu gazed at the door. His voice, which had originally held a smile, grew cold. “Don’t come.”
Eve: Xuanhe ah, you’ve already started to fall. You care and he affects you so~
Ehhh? Don’t go? I thought there will finally be a renunion….well i hope they meet again next time then~Thanks for the chapter~
thank you for the chapter! is momma xiao projecting her dead brother on mumu?
Mrs Xiao is something else. Mom this, mom that, mom will wait. Miss girl, learn how to read the room. Mumu is not interested at all.
Xuanhe, listen to Mumu and stayaway from the Xiao family. It’s nothing but trouble.
Thanks for the chapter! <3
Indeed. It repulsed me when you are overly eager to connect, yet you be doing things behind his back. It surprised me that the invitation was sent without Mumu’s knowledge! When this missus had been bothering him daily it seems. Untrustworthy.
I have sympathy for her.
Take her position, her kidnapped and long thought dead son returns alive but wants nothing to do with her. Yes there are business shenanigans but a son she mourned for 20 years and only thought to be reunited with in death is alive but treats her like a villain when all she wants is her family whole, safe, and happy together.
Haha funny how you think Mumu doesn’t understand that after two lifetimes. He understand well enough what she wanted had you read between the lines. Well, I can be as smug as I am since I had completed the book and know I had judged right by reading the situation of past and present, body languages of both as well as choice of words for each occasion. But well, bless you for having such good soul.
Ho~ Something will happen??
Thank you for the chapter!!
Thanks for the update
Thank you for the translation!!!!!! Also the mom kinda bugs me because I’m not sure if I remember right but I think [redacted because of spoiler]?????? Wack. Take it cold congee and leave, woman
Ah, this tsundere couple! 😂
+1
ahhhh thank you for the new chapter, eve!!
i cant wait for them to meet up again, whenever that may be
👉👈
Ah there’s a tiny hint of the sweetness I’m looking for ♥️♥️
Thanks for the great translation ♥️
Thanks for the chapter!
Protecting his boyfriend from his family? So cute
The mother really can’t take a hint huh?
Mumu is too polite. He lived his 2 lifes without needing a mother and he clearly doesn’t want one too. He’s a grown man, just leave him alone would you? Your son is just your son, he’s not your brother. Stop projecting, he deserves to be treated as his own person and not as a knock off.
Hopefully, Xuanhe will be able to tell her to back off none too gently in the future when he’ll probably ends up meeting her
Ehehe so cutee~~♡♡♡
Thank you for the update!!!! ( ≧v≦)♡
Ahhhh, our He bao is finally showing care for Mumu! It’s so cute that he tried to be considerate for him~ And I love that Mumu always gets so happy whenever Xuanhe calls him. I’m looking forward to more of their phonecalls, I’m sure they’ll get even more lovey dovey hahaha
Thank you for the chapter as always!!
Honestly the Xiao family is really sus rn. Like how the hell do you lose your first son?? If it was a normal family I would sorta understand but this is a family who is known to be rich and powerful so 🤷♀️
ikr 🤔 like how Mumu actually end up at that orphanage….with that jade pendant…. suspicious…. if nobody wants him to be recognized as a Xiao then they would’ve throw it away somewhere…. not leaving it with him rite…. and the fact that the Xiao wants him back after all this still irks me….. forget it…. I’m only here to see Mumu and Xuanhe baby in conjugal bliss and happy ever after 😌 that’s all. And thanks for the chap 😘
+
+1
This two families rrl gave me a headache…
I don’t know what I should feel with XYM’s mom. I genuinely thinking Madam Xiao is like that purely bcs of his mother nature. bcs I imagine if I meet my long lost son I would be like Madam Xiao too. and Xiao family’s matter is beyond Madam Xiao’s control I think? or maybe I’m just tricked by this elegant madam….
+1.
+2…i kinda feel really sorry for Mrs. Xiao and there is this part of me that wants XYM to have a good relationship at least with his mother just like SXH does with Li Nianan….tbh i just want to see him being taken care of lol
+1 I also think that way Like I feel sorry for Mrs Xiao and at the same time I also feel guarded at Mrs. Xiao
+1 based on this chapter’s POV. If she really wakes up from her sleep with that thought… 😔 Well, looks like their family matters are complicated. sigh
Can’t Mrs. Xiao understand that Yuanmu doesn’t want to go back to that toxic place? Give him space and stop pestering him. Also, I think the reason why Yuanmu didn’t want Xuanhe to come is because of the other family members which would probably make things bad for him because he’s the weakness of Yuanmu.
Thanks for the chapter!
So.. short.. yet the tension.. AHHHHH I NEED MOA.
Thanks so much for the chapter! Happy new year~! 💞
GASP is mumu her son w/ her younger bro? i mean who would usually think ”oh this is my son bcos he looks like my bro”??
Also reading abt Xuanhe slowly but surely falling in love with mumu is such a delight hskshssb
WHY WOULD YOU ASSUME THIS WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU
my little brother looks like my mother’s younger brother, are you also convinced my mom slept with her brother??? if you don’t bear a resemblance to anyone in your family besides your immediate parents i’ll eat my hat
+1!!! I’m surprised there’s someone thinking like this… ⊙.☉ my face looks like my dad but my cousin from mom’s side has exact copy of my looks so wth 😂😂😂 also my sister in male filter in IG is like young image of my uncle!!! so my family is a mess lollll rotflollll (≧▽≦)
I meant it in the context of what his mom said: There was no one except for her eldest son who could possibly look so much alike to her deceased younger brother The reaction was just pretty odd to me. I mean, they were separated while Mumu was a baby, but by what she said, she’s very sure that her oldest son should look like her brother. It’s not bc of the ”mom knows best” kind of thing either. (Also, now that i think about it, she prolly identified Mumu as a Xiao even w/o the jade stone bc of his face) In any case, this is why i thought that either mumu is actually her brother’s son, not hers, or mumu is product of incest. ( of course, this is just a theory and I might be thinking too much about this whole thing). Andd yeah fact: I dont bear any major resemblance to anyone in my family so,, haha PS. I hope you just asked me why I said this instead of immediately scolding me in all caps. Happy holidays!
Wow…I didn’t pay attention to that line…That line is really odd. I mean, she could just say that he resembles a family member so he is a Xiao family member.
Mumu’s mom is acting way too pushy in my opinion. I won’t judge her just yet because it’s her first appearance but the way she is almost forcing mumu to accept her is really irritating
Thx for the chapter 😘
When will they finally meet? (TT-TT)
Not any time soon, sorry hun LOL I don’t remember specifics but it’s probably around ch 120 that they see each other in person again. But their phone calls are very sweet and there will continue to be development~
This two really know how to communicate aren’t they?~ Ayyy This tsundere couple +1
Thanks for the chapter<3
While Mrs. Xiao seems quite pitiful, I believe she must have done something for MuMu to treat her like that….Don’t go SXH, I think Xiao family is going to use SXH to control Mumu.
OhHhh I never thought about that
YES! Thank you! I didn’t think she was being horrible at all this chapter and it genuinely seemed like she cared and wanted to reconnect with her son but then I went to the comments and everyone was talking about how she was horrible. I thought did I miss something?? People are very quick to judge someone despite not knowing their circumstances 😟
True…Even though we don’t know what she did in last life….most probably favored her younger son for succession(just guessing) who grew up by his side, she hasn’t done anything annoying yet. I mean…won’t any normal mother try to get to know his long lost son ? In fact the opposite would have been abnormal. And there is no indication that she is doing this to make Mumu merge his company in Xiao group. So I am gonna keep my thoughts open for now.
Ahhhh Xuanhe your feelings are showing
Thank u for the chapter
ai~they are so cute!
Probably using their mother and son bonding to get close to him to merge the company. But I’m wondering if he will take over the family branch or leave it? I’m more curious about his younger brother. And could it be they invited the boyfriend to put him in check?
thank you for the chapter it was a lot of fun! i have a character roast below so pls dont mind the vitriol uwu
lady, his real mom is the orphanage director. i don’t know what nonsense you’re spewing in hopes that someone will believe it. you, a mom???? who would believe it. you’re clearly a queen in the historical sense of the word. you just want to control your eldest son like you control your official son. don’t talk about things you don’t believe in, like genuine familial love.
I really can’t like Mrs. Xiao because I kbow how she will treat Yuanmu in the future gosh😭
Anywaysss lets focus on the good things that will happen in the future! I can’t wait for the sweet moments hehehe
That poor table :'(
I’m sorry, I laughed LOL. This comment +100
Ahw that’s so sweet ♡ (⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄<⁄ ⁄) Xuanhe is falling fast~
Thank you for the chapter 😘💕💕
Thanks for the chapter, I believe the reason why Mumu is not close to the mom is because of how he was treated in his past life and he doesn’t want it to be repeated.
At first I was worried when Xiao Yuanmu went to America but their phone calls are so sweet and filled with fluff~ My heart is happy 💕
Thank you for the chapter!! 😊
Thr xiao family must have hurt him in the past for xiao yuanmu to be so cold towards them…
Whoever falls in love first loses! And Xiao Yuanmu is losing so hard in this game of love hahahhahah!!
But does my eye deceive me?! Is the other contestant losing as well!
Both of them seem to be losing now ¯_ (´∇｀ )_/¯
Thanks for the chappie! ( ˘ ³˘)♡
Thx for the chappy
(≡^∇^≡)
mrs. xiao seems genuine tho? then again, despite that, she also put her son up for adoption so…
I find their phone call quite amusing, how they like to beat around the bush
Thank You for the chapter ♡(ӦｖӦ｡)