12 Chapter 012 Men always say one thing and mean another
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âWhereâs Xu Chaomu?â Shen Chi asked a servant beside him.
âUpstairs.â
âCall her down for dinner.â
âYes, Young Master.â
As the servant went upstairs to knock on the door, Xu Chaomu was engrossed in her comics. Hearing the knock, she reflexively stashed all her comic books under the bed.
âMiss Xu, the Young Master is calling you to come down for dinner.â
âComing! Coming!â After putting away her comics, Xu Chaomu then opened the door and went downstairs.
Skipping downstairs, Xu Chaomu wrapped her arms around Shen Chi from behind his chair: âWere you worried Iâd go hungry?â
âGet your claws off me!â Shen Chi frowned.
âAm I right or what? Just admit it already!â Xu Chaomu was relentless.
She seemed to have completely forgotten about being scolded by Shen Chi during the day. Ah, what can you say? Sheâs just forgetful.
âI told you, the servant who feeds Dabai isnât here these days. After youâve eaten, go feed the dog!â Shen Chi said indifferently.
âMen truly are animals that say one thing and mean another!â
Xu Chaomu had just read this line in her comic today and used it on the spur of the moment.
âWho did you learn that from?â Shen Chiâs gaze was sharp as he asked coldly, frowning.
âI saw it in a TV show.â Realizing this wasnât good, Xu Chaomu quickly tried to cover it up with a smile.
âReally?â Shen Chi snorted coldly and slammed his chopsticks onto the table with a âsnap,â anger burning in his eyes.
Uh, Xu Chaomu trembled with fright.
Shen Chi stood up and walked upstairs, with Xu Chaomu quickly following!
âHey, where are you going? Werenât we going to have dinner togetherâ¦?â
Stumbling behind Shen Chi, he turned to the servant standing by and said, âDonât let her follow.â
The servant promptly held back Xu Chaomu, who kicked and punched to no avail, like an ant trying to shake a tree.
âHey, stop blocking me, let go of meâ¦â
Shen Chiâs heavy footsteps led to Xu Chaomuâs room, where he had long suspected she was still hiding comics!
Indeed, he sneered coldly as he found a thick stack under the bed.
He took out all the comic books and threw them down from upstairs.
With a âcrash, bang, thump,â the comics fell one by one. The loud noise made Xu Chaomu close her eyes in fright. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Soon after, Shen Chi also came downstairs. He told the servant, âTake these out and burn them!â
âYes, Young Master.â The servant let go of Xu Chaomu and walked out of the living room with the books.
In the spacious living room, only Xu Chaomu and Shen Chi were left, so quiet that no sound could be heard.
âStop pulling these little tricks with me from now on!â Shen Chi scolded furiously.
Xu Chaomu pouted her mouth, caught red-handed, and decided to confront him: âWhy do you care about what I read? Youâre neither my distant uncle nor my relative. Itâs just a comic book, not like Iâm committing arson or murder! Why the anger?â
Shen Chi sneered: âOh, talking back now? Fine, what did I say during the day? If I catch you again, youâre out of the Shen Family!â
Shen Chiâs voice was a bit loud, frightening Xu Chaomu.
In terms of size, she couldnât match him; in terms of strength, neither. But when it came to backbone, she definitely wouldnât lose to him!
âFine, Iâll leave; who wants to stay in your house. Is having money that great? Does having money mean you can boss people around? Why did you burn my comic books? They werenât bought with your familyâs money! Iâve had enough of you all, donât bother me!â
In a fit of anger, Xu Chaomu turned and left.
All her life, she had never endured such treatment. Although her family wasnât wealthy, her mother had never scolded her. Whatever good things there were, she always thought of Xu Chaomu first.
With that thought, Xu Chaomu wiped away a tear.
Arguing with Shen Chi didnât make her cry, but the moment she thought of her mother, she felt the pain.
When her mother was alive, how could she let Xu Chaomu suffer such grievances or be scolded by othersâ¦
She ran out of the living room, only then realizing how cold it was outside.
The house was heated, and she had only put on a thin coat. Now that she had just stepped out, her entire body trembled with cold.
She walked and cried, still just a child, tired from not finding the exit of the Shen Familyâs residence, she sat down at a corner of the wall, hugging her head and calling out, âMommy.â
The cold wind brushed against her, causing her to shiver uncontrollably and hug her arms even tighter.
âMommy⦠why did you leave me all alone⦠Mommyâ¦â
Her crying became more intense, and her voice fluttered in the wind like threads, tearing at the heartstrings.
The sky had already turned completely dark, and occasionally a bird flew over from the trees, flapping its wings, which frightened Xu Chaomu so much she dared not lift her head.
âWuu wuu⦠wuu wuuâ¦â She sobbed, feeling very distressed.
Why did Shen Chi have any right to scold her, burn her books, bully her? How could he be so domineeringâ¦
âWhose child are you? Why are you crying here so late?â
Suddenly, a gentle voice of a youth came from above her head. Xu Chaomu initially thought she had misheard, but then the youth looked down and said, âDonât sit on the ground, itâs the middle of winter.â
The youth reached out his hand, and Xu Chaomu lifted her head.
In the light, Xu Chaomu saw a very good-looking young man with a smile on his face.
Xu Chaomu blinked, âAre you talking to me?â
âIs there anyone else?â The youth laughed, revealing two rows of white teeth.
âOh. Iâm not from any family, I was kidnapped!â Xu Chaomu said unhappily.
âKidnapped?â The youth laughed out loud, âBy whom were you kidnapped?â
âItâs so cold here, if you take me out, Iâll tell you,â Xu Chaomu pouted.
âCome on, get up! Iâll take you to my place!â The youth reached out his hand to pull Xu Chaomu up.
He dusted off the dirt on her body and, holding a basketball, walked back with her side by side.
âWhatâs your name?â Xu Chaomu asked.
âLi Beiting.â
âOh, my name is Xu Chaomu.â
Actually, she wanted to say her name was the âXuâ from âXu Nuoâ and the âChaomuâ from âChaomu,â but on second thought, that was something Shen Chi had taught her, and she definitely wasnât about to say that!
âYou havenât told me yet, who kidnapped you?â As soon as Li Beiting heard her name, he knew, wasnât this the little miss the Shen Family had just brought back?
Xu Chaomu had intended to say it was Aunt Zhou, but after thinking it over, she felt that wouldnât be right, so she indignantly said, âShen Chi!â
Li Beiting couldnât contain his laughter, the little miss was too adorable, a real treasure!
He and Shen Chi were childhood friends. So, Shen Chi was trafficking people now, huh? That was truly an eye-opener!
âWhat are you laughing at.â Xu Chaomu was very serious, her little face earnest.
âNo, nothing,â Li Beiting couldnât stop laughing all the way.
They happened to have reached the Li Familyâs doorstep, and Li Beiting took her into the house.
âYour house is also very bigâ¦â Xu Chaomu couldnât help but wonder, is it that aside from her family, all the others were wealthy?
âItâs much smaller compared to Shen Chiâs place,â Li Beiting said with a smile, âBy the way, why did you run out here all alone and cry?â
âWouldnât you cry if you were kidnapped?â Xu Chaomu looked at Li Beiting with contempt.
Li Beiting choked on his response, as if⦠she had a point.
No, thatâs nonsense, could the Shen Family really be involved in trafficking? This little girl had clearly been brought from the orphanage.
âThen⦠does Shen Chi know you ran out here?â
âHow would I know if he knows!â Xu Chaomu grumbled.
Well⦠Li Beiting choked again, Shen Chi had indeed picked up a gem!
âSeeing you cry so sadly, did Shen Chi scold you?â Li Beiting teased her.
He knew Shen Chiâs temper and character quite well; Xu Chaomu must have irritated Shen Chi. With his nasty temper, no one would expect to get off easy once theyâve provoked him!
Plus, he had heard that there had been some recent changes in the Shen Family, which probably made Shen Chi even moodier.