Yan Huang’s heart jolted, realizing something must have happened downstairs. He quickly erased the pencil marks he had made with his eraser and hurried down the stairs.
Before he even reached the bottom, he could hear a harsh voice scolding: “You can’t even do this little thing right! Can’t you just give us some peace of mind? How did we end up with a child like you who ruins everything you touch? Look at everyone else—they’ve all already hatched! And you? You just stay there on your knees!”
The voice was unmistakably Mother Xie’s, though her tone was quite different from her usual gentle and amiable demeanor. There was a distinct sense of frustration—the feeling of a parent disappointed in their child’s failure.
Father Xie stood beside her, also glaring coldly at his disappointing child, his anger boiling over. He pointed at Xie Fumu and shouted: “Look at you—you couldn’t even greet anyone properly today. Who knows what’s going on in that head of yours all day! When are you ever going to give us some peace? Now pick up all this glass right now!”
The father’s voice was even more imposing, pressing down on the air until it felt suffocating.
Yan Huang took a quick glance around. It wasn’t anything too serious—just a broken vase.
Xie Fumu remained completely silent throughout, his head lowered, his expression unreadable. The atmosphere was stifling to the extreme.
Father Xie took a deep breath, then grabbed Xie Fumu by the ear: “I told you to pick it up—are your ears not working?!”
With that, he raised his hand high. The sound of the swing cutting through the air made it clear the force behind it was no joke—if that landed on someone’s face, it would definitely cause serious damage.
Smack—!
A loud sound rang out.
A buzzing filled Yan Huang’s ears, making him feel sick.
[Huahua entered the livestream.]
[Feng Xiaotian entered the livestream.]
[…]
In an instant, a surge of traffic flooded into the livestream.
[Congratulations, Player, on achieving the achievement “Fifty People Watching the Livestream Simultaneously.” Reward: 10 points.]
[Congratulations, Streamer, on a slight increase in livestream data. You have received a Level 5 newcomer recommendation—Death-Defying Streamer—sidebar recommendation.]
[Huahua: Damn, it’s been a while since I’ve seen someone dare to block a slap like that. I remember that after blocking this slap, that certain plot is supposed to trigger…]
[Feng Xiaotian: Hahaha, how is this newcomer’s Attribute Panel so low? Worse than an elementary schooler. And he actually dared to block that slap. Once that plot triggers, he’s definitely dead for sure!]
[Kuangtu: It’s been ages since I’ve seen a newcomer who could walk this plotline. The last one probably had his ashes scattered by now. Tsk tsk tsk, even just getting to watch this plot is worth it.]
…
Perhaps because his Attribute Panel was far too low, Yan Huang only felt that the hand he had rushed over to block with was nearly broken, and his head was spinning dizzily.
What was “that plot” the bullet comments were talking about?
Probably nothing good.
Unfortunately, the livestream couldn’t reveal the plot, or else he could have prepared in advance.
But there was no time to worry about that now.
He happened to catch a glimpse—in the instant his hand blocked Father Xie’s slap—of a flash of violent rage crossing Father Xie’s face, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
But it quickly returned to his original gentle and simple appearance. He stepped forward with a face full of guilt and concern, grabbing Yan Huang’s hand: “Teacher Yan, why are you here? Oh dear… that block must have hurt, right? Let me apply some medicine for you?”
“No need, thank you.” Yan Huang withdrew his hand, then asked, “Old Xie, why are you disciplining the child in broad daylight like this? What mistake did he make?”
He had to admit, that slap really hurt—it felt like his whole body was about to fall apart.
Old Xie quickly let out a sigh: “Teacher Yan, you’re just asking for trouble here. My Fumu is clumsy, so we gave him a small lesson to make him remember not to do it again. See, you got caught in the middle and suffered for it, didn’t you?”
“Yes, yes, Teacher Yan, you… I’ll go get some medicine for you.” Mother Xie chimed in as well.
A small lesson?
Yan Huang felt he couldn’t accept their medicine, quickly waving his hand: “Really, no need. It’s nothing much. But a lesson is a lesson—you can’t keep raising a child like this, or you’ll beat him silly.”
The moment those words left his mouth, he felt the temperature around him drop several degrees.
Father Xie and Mother Xie said nothing, only pursing their lips and smiling at him with narrowed eyes.
Even though it was still afternoon and sunlight streamed in from outside, casting half of each of their faces in shadow.
He inexplicably felt a chill down his back, an eerie discomfort that made him uneasy.
Suddenly, the two spoke in unison:
“Teacher Yan, this is ultimately our family matter. As parents, we know well how to raise our child. You needn’t worry yourself about it.”
Their voices were low, their expressions clearly kind and friendly, and their words were indeed reasonable—but it sounded strange nonetheless.
He felt like the next sentence would be: keep meddling, and we’ll cut your head off.
Yan Huang merely smiled and said nothing more.
Mother Xie lowered her head, patting the back of Xie Fumu, who was still kneeling on the ground: “Fumu, Mom and Dad were indeed a bit impulsive today. We’re sorry. Now, say thank you to Teacher Yan.”
Xie Fumu’s body trembled, his voice unsteady as he spoke: “Th… thank you, Teacher Yan. N… next time, please don’t interfere in our family matters.”
“Teacher Yan, look at this child, so clueless. He still has homework to finish, so we won’t keep you.” Mother Xie smiled helplessly, grabbing one of Xie Fumu’s ears and dragging him inside.
Xie Fumu’s eyes widened in pain, his pants scraping against the floor with a “shhh shhh shhh” sound.
Yan Huang wanted to say something more.
But it was at this moment that he finally saw Xie Fumu’s expression clearly.
On his delicate face was terror, refusal, despair.
How could a child of barely ten-something years have such an expression in an environment wrapped in love like this?
Yan Huang knew that no matter how much he said, it would be useless—it would only make things worse.
So he kept his mouth shut.
“Teacher Yan is a smart man, but… Teacher Yan should also worry more about himself sometimes. Let me walk you back to your room. The food is just about ready—I’ll bring it over to you as an apology.”
Yan Huang hummed in acknowledgment.
Father Xie turned and went into the kitchen to prepare, then picked up a plate of food and led Yan Huang back upstairs.
He spoke to Yan Huang in a pleasant tone about various things, but Yan Huang’s attention wasn’t on him.
Instead, he heard from the direction where Xie Fumu had been dragged off, Mother Xie’s frustrated complaints and scolding:
“You’re this old and still haven’t successfully hatched? Isn’t that losing at the starting line? The neighbor’s kid has already done this and that—you’re a disgrace to the both of us!”
Hatching?
Yan Huang heard that word again.
At first, he thought it was just some kind of metaphor… but now, he faintly sensed something was off.
Finally.
Father Xie escorted him to the door, his earlier persuasive words now exhausted, and handed the meal to Yan Huang.
“Teacher Yan, are you listening to what I’m saying?”
Only then did Yan Huang snap back to reality, replying without changing his expression: “Of course, I think what you’re saying makes a lot of sense.”
Father Xie naturally understood.
He gave a helpless smile:
“Forget it, it doesn’t matter if you weren’t listening. There’s no point in telling you all this anyway… after all… you won’t have many more chances like this in the future.”
His tone seemed to mock Yan Huang.
And Yan Huang, at that moment, quietly purchased a discounted item from the Points Mall.