Wen Mo’s head drooped, and she felt as if the world ahead had plunged into darkness.
She hung her head in dejection for a minute. Then, with a ping, her phone chimed with a new text message.
She opened it and saw that exactly one thousand yuan had been deposited into her bank card.
Wen Mo was instantly moved to tears.
A child with a mother was a precious treasure!
Even if this was the original host’s mother, Wen Mo was the original host now. By rounding things off, that made her biological mother!
Wen Mo hurriedly thanked Ms. Liu, but got no reply. Why had she suddenly gone cold?
Wen Mo didn’t understand, but didn’t think much of it.
Just then, she noticed a sent message lying quietly in her inbox.
【Pei Sijie, I heard you’ve been looking for me. I’m back, and I’ve brought you a surprise. Wait for me......】
Wen Mo’s eyes widened.
Oh, crap!!!
How could she have forgotten something so important!
Before the original host died, she bought a plane ticket and sent the male protagonist this baiting text!
Seriously, lady, you’re already in the past. What made you think the male protagonist would still be foolish enough to fall for your tricks?
Wen Mo hurriedly tried to recall the original novel’s plot.
After the original host sent that text, the male protagonist hadn’t responded.
He’d promptly deleted it, too, without giving it a second thought.
Otherwise, the original host wouldn’t have gone looking for him herself, making a scene outside Pei Corporation—crying, throwing a tantrum, and threatening to kill herself—while demanding that Pei Sijie take responsibility.
But the male protagonist still hadn’t taken her seriously. He’d treated her like a clown and called a security guard to kick her out.
Wen Mo let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Thank goodness.
She hurriedly deleted the dangerous text and swore she’d never go looking for that Living Yama, Pei Sijie!
As long as she didn’t make a scene outside Pei Sijie’s company, she wouldn’t die an ugly death.
She stood up, dusted off her backside, and flashed the four little children a huge smile.
“Babies, we have somewhere to go! Mom’s taking you home!”
As soon as she finished speaking, all four little children froze, gazing up at her without moving.
Wen Mo tilted her head. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you so happy you’ve gone dumb?”
Er Er tentatively spoke up in a tiny voice. “Mom… you just called us babies…”
Wen Mo thought it was something serious. She bent down, gently rubbed each of their little heads, and said with a smile, “Mm-hm. You’re so little, of course you’re babies.”
The four little dumplings were collectively stunned.
Si Si even reached up with a little hand to touch the crown of their head where Mom had touched them. Their little face was dazed and utterly adorable.
Only then did Wen Mo realize.
The original host had never called them babies. She always called them, “Hey, hey, hey, Yi Er San Si…”
No wonder they were so surprised.
Luckily, they were little and didn’t know their mother had changed inside.
But that wasn’t the important thing. Now that she had money, they could go home first.
Once Wen Mo got the money, she didn’t hesitate and took a taxi straight home.
The four little children squeezed together in the back seat like four little potatoes, curiously peering out the window.
The farther the car went, the fewer tall buildings there were, and the narrower the roads became.
At last, it stopped in front of a dilapidated residential building.
The original host’s family lived in a run-down apartment in this poor neighborhood outside the Sixth Ring Road.
Several years had passed, but the building was still standing there. Its outer walls were peeling like a bald patch, and the stairwell was pitch-black. There wasn’t even an elevator.
Wen Mo could only take the four little children by the hand and start climbing the stairs.
The four little ones huffed and puffed as they climbed, but didn’t complain.
At long last, they reached the fifth floor.
Wen Mo stood at the door and caught her breath.
It was an old security door with half its paint peeled off and a faded paper “fortune” character pasted on it.
She was about to knock, but worried she might startle the people inside. Turning to look at the four dusty little dumplings behind her, she crouched down and lowered her voice. “Mom will go in first. You wait outside for a little while.”
The four little ones all looked up at her, their eyes full of question marks.
Si Si clutched her clothes tightly with a little hand, looking wary. “Is Mom going to leave us behind?”
Wen Mo rubbed their little head. “I won’t, I won’t. Mom will go in and let your maternal grandparents know first. I’m worried they might be startled if you suddenly come in. I’ll prepare them, then let you come in, okay?”
Si Si hesitated, then slowly let go.
The well-behaved dear baby Er Er nodded. “We’ll wait for Mom.”
The other three nodded along.
Wen Mo smiled, stood up, and knocked on the door.
Her fingers had just touched the door when she realized it was unlocked. She gave it a gentle push, and it swung open.
She froze for a moment, then peered inside.
A middle-aged man and woman were sitting on a shabby sofa, cracking sunflower seeds while watching the TV show Country Love, thoroughly engrossed.
At the sound of the door, they both turned around.
The moment they saw the person standing in the doorway, they both stopped cracking seeds.
The man was tall and thin, with thinning hair and an old undershirt. He was the original host’s father, Wen Deshun.
The woman had a round, slightly plump face and a head of tight curls. She was the original host’s mother, Liu Guilan.
Wen Mo cleared her throat and forced a sweet smile. “Dad, Mom, I’m home.”
The air fell silent for three seconds.
Liu Guilan rubbed her eyes hard, then rubbed them again.
“Dear baby?” she said, looking incredulous. “You really came back? I’m not dreaming, am I?”
She reached out and gave the man beside her a hard pinch on the arm.
Wen Deshun yelped in pain. “Why’d you pinch me?”
Liu Guilan clapped happily. “Oh! It’s not a dream! It really is my dear baby! My dear baby really came back!”
Wen Mo smiled. “Didn’t I tell you on the phone? Of course I really came back.”
To her surprise, Liu Guilan said, “I thought you were just asking me for money.”
Wen Mo: “…………”
Well, the original host really had done that plenty of times.
She’d come up with all sorts of excuses to ask for money, then disappear as soon as she got it.
Liu Guilan had already rushed over and taken Wen Mo’s hand, looking her up and down as she murmured, “You’ve lost weight, you’ve lost weight. Was the food abroad no good? It’s good you’re back. Mom will make you something delicious!”
Wen Deshun stood up too, rubbing his hands together with a simple smile. “It’s good you’re back, it’s good you’re back.”
The couple each took one of Wen Mo’s hands and started to pull her inside.
But Wen Mo stayed right where she was.
“Wait!” She looked at them. “Dad, Mom, I have another surprise for you.”
Liu Guilan’s eyes lit up. “What surprise? What good things did you bring me? Oh, it’s enough that you’re back. You didn’t need to bring anything…”
Though she spoke politely, her eyes had already started peeking over Wen Mo’s shoulder.
Wen Mo smiled awkwardly. “That’s not…”
She pulled her hands free, turned toward the doorway, and called, “Yi Yi, Er Er, San San, and Si Si, come in.”
The next moment, four grimy little dumplings came walking in.
Wen Deshun and Liu Guilan stood there with their mouths hanging open, utterly dumbfounded.
Wen Mo looked down at the four little ones. “Come on, greet your maternal grandparents.”
But the four little ones didn’t say anything.
Yi Yi knitted their little brows, looking wary. “What are maternal grandparents?”
Wen Mo said, “Your maternal grandparents are Mom’s mom and dad.”
The four little ones understood at once and obediently greeted them.
“Maternal grandmother!”
“Maternal grandfather!”
Four tiny, milky voices rang out together, soft and sweet, as obedient as could be.