During this time, Qi’s mother first brought Qi Ziyue a set of clean clothes.
Outside, it wasn’t even dawn yet. She couldn’t tell what time it was, but judging from everyone wearing padded jackets, it was likely winter.
As expected, what Qi’s mother brought her was a slightly worn floral cotton padded jacket, cotton pants, and an old pair of cloth shoes.
“These are your old clothes. Wear them for now. When things settle down outside, Mom will make you a new set for the New Year,” she said.
Qi Ziyue didn’t ask for details. After searching for a while, she realized there was truly only one set of underclothes and a padded jacket inside—all in her size.
As for the little boy’s clothes, there were only four words: none at all.
Qi Ziyue asked, “Mom, there aren’t any clothes for children?”
She had just vaguely seen that the boy’s clothes were not only tattered, but also so dirty they looked like they could be washed out with a layer of mud.
Qi’s mother looked at her clear eyes and seemed to confirm she was truly no longer mad.
She sat down on a wooden stool beside Qi Ziyue and held her hand earnestly.
“Ziyue, you know the family can’t keep a child here. Especially since you’re unmarried and had a child out of wedlock. Right now, the outside is very strict about relationships between men and women. If anyone finds out you gave birth out of wedlock, they could charge you with hooliganism. In serious cases, it could even mean exile—or worse, execution.”
“Don’t blame us for being heartless. The fact that the child is still alive is already because you refused to let go of him and clung to him so tightly.”
She didn’t say it outright, but the implication was clear: the child was an existence that had to remain hidden in this house. After being concealed for so many years, how could they possibly let him go outside?
Qi Ziyue was very sharp. She understood everything Qi’s mother didn’t say.
She didn’t press further. Wanting the whole family to accept the child wouldn’t happen overnight—it had to be done step by step.
So she changed the topic.
“Mom, it’s cold. An’an’s clothes are all full of holes. If he freezes to death, and the outside inspection groups find out there was a dead child in our house, won’t that bring trouble to our family?”
Her mind turned quickly. In just a few words, the issue of not giving the child clothes became a potential disaster involving inspections and punishment.
Qi’s mother was momentarily stunned and couldn’t follow her logic.
Originally, giving the child a set of clothes—or even borrowing a set from a grandchild—would at most cause a quarrel at home. But if it attracted those terrifying inspection “Red Guards,” the whole family would be in trouble.
Small matters would become a huge crisis.
Qi’s mother hesitated. “This…”
Qi Ziyue took her hand again.
“Mom, you have a kind heart. No matter what, An’an is my biological child. I was crazy these past years, and you didn’t accept him either—you must know how hard his life has been. If he froze to death outside… would you be able to bear it?”
Qi’s mother felt a sharp pain in her chest just thinking of it.
She hugged her daughter tightly, tears welling up.
“I’ll go get a set of clothes for An’an.”
Qi Ziyue quickly hugged her back gratefully.
“Thank you, Mom. I also want to have a meal with An’an, and give him a bath. I’ve never properly taken care of him since he was born.”
Qi’s mother originally planned to just take out some old padded clothes, but after hearing her daughter, her heart softened further. She decided to borrow a clean set from her son’s child instead.
After she left, a small dark head peeked in from the doorway.
Qi Ziyue waved him in.
Qi Ning’an immediately took a step back and tried to run, but Qi Ziyue reacted faster than he expected. The moment he turned, she grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him inside.
A small, pitch-black child was dragged in. A strong, unpleasant smell immediately filled the air.
The original host, due to years of madness, had long periods of emotional breakdowns where she would hit and curse people. Her clothes were also rarely changed.
Both mother and child were filthy. At this moment, it was hard to tell whose smell was worse.
For a brief moment, Qi Ziyue even felt that her family actually had some affection for her—she was this dirty, yet they still let her talk nonsense for so long.
If it were her, she would’ve run away holding her nose long ago.
She used the water Qi’s mother had just fetched to wash the child’s hands.
The moment she put his hands into the basin, the boy resisted strongly and tried to run.
Qi Ziyue grabbed him. “Try running again. Wash your hands and face first, or I’ll beat you.”
Her strength was greater; the child couldn’t escape and had to let her wash him.
His small hands were covered in black mud, even under his fingernails.
As she carefully cleaned him, she said, “Later, when Mom takes a bath, you bring me my clothes. They’re on the stool. Grandma will also bring you clean clothes.”
But the boy suddenly muttered coldly, “I won’t wash.”
Qi Ziyue froze. “Why not?”
He simply turned his head away, refusing to look at her.
It seemed like he was trying to make her give up.
But Qi Ziyue didn’t care. She still firmly washed his hands and then changed the water to wash his face.
When he resisted, she would simply use force.
She believed firmly: “Spare the rod, spoil the child.”
If communication didn’t work, then discipline was the only option.
However, when she pulled back his sleeves while trying to “discipline” him, she froze.
The child’s thin arms were covered in small wounds.
They had already scabbed over, but the marks were clearly from cuts—like knife injuries.
“Who did this?” she asked sharply.
She pulled open his cotton jacket further. When she tried to inspect his back and shoulders, the child struggled violently.
But she had already seen it—more small injuries scattered across his shoulders and back.
“Tell Mommy. Who did this to you?”
Her nose tingled, and she nearly cried.
The child suddenly broke free and ran.
A four- or five-year-old child, covered in injuries like this—what kind of life had he been living?
Qi Ziyue didn’t chase him, afraid of making things worse.
She simply watched his disappearing figure and called out:
“It’s dark outside. Don’t run around! Bring me my clothes later—I need you! If I don’t wear clothes when I bathe, I’ll catch a cold!”
The child paused slightly, then ran off again without looking back.
Qi Ziyue wasn’t discouraged.
After all, this was the future “blackened villain boss”—he wouldn’t be so easy to deal with.
Still, those injuries bothered her deeply.
She began to suspect there was more to his past.
While she cleaned up the room—carrying out dirty water, tidying basins, folding clothes, and sweeping the wet floor—the courtyard house gradually became spotless.
Looking at the clean room, she suddenly realized something.
After the fire incident and all the chaos, her body wasn’t weak at all. In fact, she could run, jump, and move freely without discomfort.
A strange joy rose in her chest.
Maybe after transmigration, although the original owner had been mentally unstable, this body itself was actually healthier than before.
At that moment, Qi’s mother returned.
Seeing her daughter sweeping the floor, she nearly cried in shock.
“Why are you cleaning? Let me do it!”
She then handed over clothes.
“This is your nephew’s padded jacket. Try it first. Later we’ll modify old clothes and add cotton so he can survive winter.”
Qi Ziyue thought to herself that she had caused her family a lot of trouble—an unmarried daughter, mentally unstable, and now a child no one acknowledged.
But now that she had this healthy body, she felt unexpectedly energized.
Then she asked carefully:
“Mom, does An’an usually stay with anyone? Does he fight with others?”
Qi’s mother paused, then replied:
“He’s not acknowledged by the family, so he’s always been locked together with you.”
“Back then, when you were at your worst, you often hurt yourself or hit people. During that time, it was your brother and that child who stayed with you.”
“So… for all these years, that child has basically been staying with you.”
Qi Ziyue froze.
So the original host had been locked in a room… with this child?