The next morning.
The alarm rang punctually at nine o’clock.
Bai Nanxing closed his eyes and turned off the alarm on his phone. Only after the splitting headache subsided did he slowly open his eyes to look at the ceiling.
He had arranged to meet Bai Yi at ten o’clock. Someone would be sent to the school to pick him up and take him directly to the Mo residence.
However, because of a certain malicious person yesterday, he had accidentally caught a chill and developed a fever. Bai Nanxing suddenly didn’t want to go; he even felt like finding that guy at school and tearing him into a thousand pieces.
But at the thought that the person he was going to see was Mo Yuncheng, Bai Nanxing had no choice but to force his body out of bed.
“Is your fever gone?” Yan Mo was awakened by the noise he made and asked with concern.
Bai Nanxing touched his forehead; the fever had finally broken. “It’s gone. Aren’t you going to sleep a bit longer?”
Yan Mo turned over and lay on the bed, looking at him. “I can’t sleep.”
He was actually worried that after Bai Nanxing went to the Mo family, they wouldn’t let him come back. Having finally met such a good friend, he would be very sad.
Bai Nanxing understood his meaning and didn’t know what to say, only telling him not to worry. He took a bite of bread and went downstairs.
The car Bai Yi had sent was already parked at the entrance. The person picking him up was Bai Yi’s confidant, Chen Kui.
Bai Nanxing was reluctant to greet him; he simply opened the car door and sat inside.
“The Master asked me to ask you if you have looked at the things he sent yesterday.”
“If I don’t look, are you going to throw me out of the car right now?”
Chen Kui had always looked down on that woman’s child. Back then, he had protested strongly to Bai Yi many times, even threatening with his own life, but in the end, he couldn’t stop Bai Yi from bringing Bai Nanxing back to the Bai family.
Because of this, Chen Kui hated this illegitimate son even more. If the person they were seeing today weren’t the Director of the Mo family, he would never have driven here personally to pick him up.
“This is the Master’s order,” Chen Kui said, his tone extremely displeased.
But this had nothing to do with Bai Nanxing. “Bai Yi told you to pick me up; I didn’t ask you to come. If you have a problem, go tell him.”
Chen Kui already felt an immense loathing for this illegitimate son. Hearing him speak in such a tone, his anger flared even more. “He is your father!”
Bai Nanxing found this point quite laughable. “There shouldn’t be any father who would leave his child with no money for food, forcing them to endure until they are sent to the hospital for hypoglycemia.”
Chen Kui was left speechless.
Everyone in the Bai family knew very well how Bai Yi treated Bai Nanxing. However, despite this, everyone still believed that Bai Nanxing’s ability to stay in the Bai family was a blessing he failed to appreciate, and they often made things difficult for him.
Especially the mistress of the Bai family—Bai Ruoning’s biological mother, Qiao Qian. If Bai Nanxing did even the slightest thing to displease her, being whipped was a common occurrence.
Over the years, Bai Nanxing had lost count of how many times he had been whipped by Qiao Qian.
He only knew that the feeling of the whip hitting his body was painful—a burning, searing pain. It was so painful that Bai Nanxing couldn’t sleep for countless nights and had to rely on painkillers to fall asleep.
“Why aren’t you talking anymore?”
Chen Kui saw through the rearview mirror that Bai Nanxing was staring at him. For some reason, he suddenly felt afraid of the way Bai Nanxing was looking at him. “I have nothing to say to you.”
Bai Nanxing knew that Bai Yi valued Chen Kui highly and that many unsavory tasks were handled by him. Therefore, like master, like dog—it was only natural for him to be hated. “Could it be that the person talking to me just now was a ghost?”
Chen Kui nearly coughed up blood from anger, but he couldn’t lay a hand on Bai Nanxing now. Since Bai Nanxing now had a marriage contract with the Mo family, if anything went wrong, Bai Yi would take his life immediately.
No matter how angry he was, he could only endure.
Or simply shut up.
Bai Nanxing was already in a terrible mood, but after scolding Chen Kui without using a single profanity until he couldn’t talk back, his mood improved significantly.
He propped his chin up and looked out the window. The small car slowly passed through the bustling streets. Meeting one’s future in-laws should have been a happy occasion, but Bai Nanxing couldn’t muster any excitement. He felt like the place was a prison and that he was currently sitting in a prisoner transport vehicle.
After about a half-hour drive.
They finally arrived at the entrance of the old Mo family estate.
As soon as the car stopped, someone came over to open the door. “Young Master Bai, please get out and follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
“Just follow me.”
Bai Nanxing knew that asking further would only yield the same response, so he could only get out and follow.
The old Mo estate was a traditional Chinese building, very similar in style to the courtyards of the Imperial Capital, except that the Mo house was not completely enclosed but featured a semi-enclosed design.
The surrounding area was planted with various rare flowers and plants. Servants could be seen everywhere meticulously tending to them, and they didn’t find it strange at all to see the bodyguard leading Bai Nanxing past.
“We’ve walked this far; can you tell me where we’re going now?”
The bodyguard still repeated the same sentence from before: “Young Master Bai, you just need to follow me.”
Bai Nanxing frowned. He disliked this feeling; it was no different from a blind person asking for directions. He didn’t even know if what awaited him ahead was death or survival.
They walked for about fifteen minutes before the bodyguard finally stopped.
Bai Nanxing looked up; they had reached the main hall of the Mo residence.
“Are you my future sister-in-law?”
A clear female voice suddenly rang out from behind.
Bai Nanxing turned around. A young girl was standing in front of him.
She was wearing an orange-red student skirt with long hair draped over her shoulders. She looked like a minor, her face carrying a hint of childishness, but she was very beautiful. One could tell at a glance she wasn’t a girl from an ordinary family.
He heard the bodyguard nearby shout respectfully, “Fifth Miss.”
Mo Qingqing bypassed the bodyguard and walked straight up to Bai Nanxing. After examining him carefully, she said in disbelief, “Third Brother said my future sister-in-law was a boy, and although he’s boring, his face is very good-looking. I thought he was lying to me, but I didn’t expect it to actually be true.”
Knowing that Bai Nanxing didn’t know the Mo family members, the bodyguard pointed to Mo Qingqing and introduced her: “Young Master Bai, this is the Fifth Miss, Mo Qingqing.”
Bai Nanxing said politely, “Hello, Fifth Miss.”
“You can just call me Qingqing. Although you haven’t married in yet, according to the rules, I should still call you sister-in-law.” Mo Qingqing moved her face closer. “Why exactly is this?”
She even wanted to reach out and touch him. Bai Nanxing seemed to realize what she wanted to do and stepped aside.
Mo Qingqing’s hand met thin air.
“Sorry,” Bai Nanxing said.
Mo Qingqing wasn’t angry either; she knew her behavior was inappropriate, but she was simply too curious. “No, no, no, I should be the one apologizing to you. I didn’t do it on purpose just now, it’s just… just that you are really good-looking!”
Bai Nanxing could even see the light in Mo Qingqing’s eyes. This look was exactly the same as Yan Mo’s. “Thank you, you are very beautiful too.”
Mo Qingqing was delighted to be praised. She grabbed Bai Nanxing’s hand and pulled him inside.
Internally, Bai Nanxing was resisting.
This was the Mo family, and Mo Qingqing was the Fifth Miss of the Mo family. If they were seen pulling and pushing like this by Mo Yichen, who knew what he would think.
Speak of the devil.
Mo Qingqing had only taken a few steps with him when someone walked over from behind.
The bodyguard bowed respectfully and shouted, “Eldest Young Master, Third Young Master.”
Hearing the bodyguard’s words, Mo Qingqing immediately pulled Bai Nanxing around.
And with that turn, Bai Nanxing froze completely in place.
He didn’t know Mo Yichen, but the person standing next to Mo Yichen was someone he would recognize even if he turned to ash.
“Qingqing, come here,” Mo Yichen said. “A girl should behave with more decorum.”
Unlike Mo Leyang’s mixed-race appearance, Mo Yichen had pure Eastern features. His facial features were well-defined, his face contour was rugged, and his brow possessed a heroic air. Combined with his aura, every move he made was very intimidating.
Mo Qingqing didn’t listen; instead, she stuck her tongue out at Mo Yichen and then pulled Bai Nanxing to introduce him. “Future sister-in-law, those are my eldest brother and third brother. You might know my eldest brother through others, but my third brother went abroad when he was very young and only returned a few days ago. You probably haven’t met him yet.”
So that was it.
Bai Nanxing let go of Mo Qingqing’s hand and slowly walked up to the two men, greeting them politely, “Eldest Young Master, Third Young Master.”
Mo Yichen was slightly surprised when he first saw Bai Nanxing. He had seen photos of Bai Nanxing; he was good-looking, but now that the real person was standing before him, the feeling was different from looking at a photo.
“Qingqing is still young and doesn’t know better. Don’t blame her.”
Bai Nanxing hadn’t thought of blaming her, but Mo Qingqing was so enthusiastic that he was a bit startled. “I won’t.”
Nor did he dare to.
Mo Yichen saw that his complexion wasn’t very good and asked, “Motion sickness?”
Bai Nanxing didn’t react for a moment, wondering why he asked. Only later did he remember that because he had a fever yesterday and it had only broken this morning, his face was quite pale. Mo Yichen thought he had been vomiting from motion sickness.
“No, thank you for your concern, Eldest Young Master.”
Of course, these were just polite words from Mo Yichen; there was no way he genuinely cared about him.
Regarding this, Bai Nanxing had self-awareness.
Sure enough, Mo Yichen didn’t follow up on that topic but instead said, “You just arrived and shouldn’t be familiar with this place. I’ll have Ah Yang take you around. I have things to attend to in a moment, my apologies.”
Bai Nanxing was about to say that Mo Qingqing could take him, but before he could speak, Mo Leyang cut in, “Qingqing, the Madam has been looking for you; she likely has something for you to do.”
The Madam was the current mistress of the Mo family and the biological mother of Mo Yichen and Mo Qingqing. Her status in the Mo family was extraordinary.
Mo Qingqing was a bit dissatisfied. She really liked being with Bai Nanxing—she didn’t know why, she just liked it from the bottom of her heart. But her mother’s orders were hard to disobey, so no matter how unwilling she was, she still had to go. “Alright then.”
Before leaving, she took Bai Nanxing’s hand and said, “Little sister-in-law, wait for me. I’ll come find you to play in a bit!”
Inwardly, Bai Nanxing wanted to go with her to find the Madam, but he had just arrived at the Mo residence. If he did that, Mo Yichen would surely become suspicious, so he could only give up. “Okay.”