Liu Guilan and Wen Deshun stood frozen in place, as if someone had struck their acupoints.
The couple took a moment to respond. “Uh… uh…”
Then their expressions stiffened, and the corners of their mouths twitched. They didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Liu Guilan’s vision went dark. She grabbed Wen Deshun’s arm. “Honey… help me over to the sofa so I can sit down… I need a moment…”
Wen Deshun was just as stunned. He mechanically helped her over to the sofa and sat her down.
The couple sat on the sofa in silence, their expressions blank.
The four little ones exchanged glances.
Er Er asked in a small voice, “Mom, do Grandma and Grandpa not like us?”
Wen Mo bent down, her eyes curving into a smile. “No, they’re just very surprised. Give them a little time to take it in.”
After quite a while, Liu Guilan finally recovered.
She exchanged a glance with Wen Deshun.
Then Liu Guilan forced a smile and beckoned the four little ones over. “Come, come, sit on the sofa and have some sunflower seeds!”
The four little ones obediently came over and sat in a row, but didn’t take any sunflower seeds.
Liu Guilan pulled Wen Mo into the kitchen and lowered her voice. “Dear baby, tell Mom the truth. Where did these four children come from? Whose are they?”
Wen Mo answered honestly. “They’re Pei Sijie’s.”
“What?!”
Liu Guilan and Wen Deshun stared at her, dumbfounded.
Liu Guilan quickly covered her mouth, then lowered her hand and her voice even further. “We sent you abroad to lie low back then, not to have a baby!”
Wen Deshun leaned in, too. “Th-these four children… you gave birth to all of them?”
Wen Mo nodded. “Mm. I gave birth to them.”
Liu Guilan glanced at the four children and couldn’t help frowning. “How did they end up like this? They’re so pale and skinny, just like little beggars…”
Wen Mo felt guilty. Her gaze wandered, and she didn’t dare say anything.
She couldn’t exactly say that the original host had abused the children.
Liu Guilan didn’t press her. She asked in a low voice, “Does Pei Sijie know?”
Wen Mo shook her head. How could she let him find out? If he did, wouldn’t that be the end of her?
To her surprise, Liu Guilan suddenly slapped her thigh, her eyes lighting up with a greedy gleam. “If he doesn’t know, then tell him right away!”
Wen Mo: “???”
Liu Guilan was so excited her voice trembled. “Our dear baby is going to become the young mistress of the Pei family!”
Wen Deshun nodded along. “Pei Sijie is the CEO of Pei Group now. He’s loaded! Once he finds out you gave him four children, he’ll have to marry you!”
The more the couple talked, the more excited they became, no longer bothering to hide their greed.
Liu Guilan even beat her chest and stamped her feet, lamenting on Wen Mo’s behalf. “Dear baby, you were such a fool. Since you had Pei Sijie’s child, you should’ve come back sooner. Then you’d already be the young mistress of the Pei family!”
Wen Deshun, however, said, “You think it’s easy to marry into a wealthy family? If the children had been little, the Pei family would definitely have forced Xiao Mo to abort them. Then you wouldn’t have gotten a thing!”
“Now that the children are older, it’s the perfect time to bring them back. When the Pei family sees four boys this big, they can’t exactly beat them to death, can they?”
Liu Guilan suddenly saw the light. “Exactly, exactly! Dear baby, you really thought this through. Take those four children and go find Pei Sijie right now!”
The couple smugly plotted how they could go to the Pei family and extort them.
But Wen Mo’s vision went dark. In the original novel, the female protagonist had started down the path of no return because of their meddling.
She immediately refused in no uncertain terms. “No!”
The couple froze in unison.
Wen Mo looked at them sternly and said with grave emphasis, “Absolutely not. I won’t go to Pei Sijie, and I won’t let him know the children exist.”
Liu Guilan grew anxious. “Why not? That’s the Pei family! The Capital Circle’s foremost elite family!”
Wen Mo knew perfectly well that the Pei family was the Capital Circle’s foremost elite family, but she didn’t want to die.
But there was no way she could explain that she had transmigrated into a book.
When Liu Guilan saw her fall silent, she thought Wen Mo was afraid and immediately thumped her chest, assuring her, “Don’t be scared, dear baby. If Pei Sijie refuses to acknowledge them, I’ll take you to make a scene outside Pei Corporation. They’re his own children—how dare he not take responsibility? Once the news gets out and he loses face, he’ll have to marry you and bring you home as his young mistress!”
Wen Deshun nodded vigorously beside her. “Dad will make a scene, too!”
Wen Mo: “…………”
That was even less acceptable!
That was exactly what the original host had done in the original novel. What had happened afterward?
As the male protagonist of this fictional world, Pei Sijie had the entire news industry behind him. If he said the word, who would dare publish anything?
After the original host made a scene for ages, she hadn’t even made a ripple before security guards threw her out like a piece of trash.
Wen Mo said, “In short, listen to me. You absolutely cannot tell Pei Sijie about this. If you do, I… I’ll take the babies and die in front of you.”
At that, the couple panicked instantly.
Liu Guilan said, “All right, all right. Mom and Dad won’t say a word. Don’t say things like that, dear baby.”
Wen Deshun said, “Mom and Dad will keep this under wraps. We absolutely won’t tell anyone!”
Watching them fret, Wen Mo sighed silently to herself.
There was still a lot of work to do to straighten out these villain parents’ values.
Though the couple were a little reluctant, they had always listened to their daughter. Since she’d made her position so clear, they didn’t dare bring it up again.
Liu Guilan glanced at the four scrawny children in the living room. “Look at how you’ve raised them—they’re thin as bamboo poles. You can’t even take care of yourself, and you think you can raise children? If you don’t go find Pei Sijie, you’ll have plenty of hardship ahead of you!”
Liu Guilan complained as she headed for the kitchen. “I’ll make you all something to eat.”
Wen Mo’s eyes lit up. “Thanks, Mom!”
Liu Guilan stopped and looked back at her.
How strange.
Her daughter never said thank you unless she was asking for money.
Liu Guilan muttered to herself for a moment, but didn’t think much of it. Then she went into the kitchen with Wen Deshun to get busy.
Before long, the thud of chopping vegetables came from the kitchen.
Wen Mo went to the sofa and sat in the living room with the four little children, waiting for dinner.
At last, she had time to take a good look around the little house.
It was a small two-bedroom apartment, with a tiny living room cluttered with odds and ends.
There was a little room on each side, and both doors were closed. The house had no air conditioner. A fan whirred away, and the place was hot and stuffy.
Wen Mo also had an older brother. There were two rooms: the original host had lived in one, and her brother in the other, while the couple slept on the living room floor, rolling up their bedding during the day.
In the years the original host had been away, the couple had moved into her room.
Life was both poor and hard.
Fortunately, Wen Mo had done well for herself and gotten into a good university. Her biggest dream had been to turn her life around and become rich, but the Capital was vast, and she was insignificant. Only after starting university did she realize that turning your life around was nearly impossible for ordinary people.
Later, she met her campus belle roommate, Chu Yueyao. Eight or nine out of every ten boys at school liked her.
Wen Mo had no idea where Chu Yueyao got all that charm, but she knew that face was a useful tool. So she secretly used Chu Yueyao’s photos online to lure in men and swindle them out of their money.
At her peak, Wen Mo was chatting with eight or nine men at once. Pei Sijie was simply the most generous, so he became her regular online relationship.
The place was a little small, a little cramped, and a little hot… but it was still better than living under a bridge.
She turned toward the kitchen and called out, “Mom, I’m planning to stay here long-term with the four little babies. Where will we sleep?”
Liu Guilan called back as she cooked, “You’ve been away all these years, so your dad and I moved into your room. It’d be a hassle to move again and again, so you and the children can stay in your brother’s room. He hardly ever comes back anyway.”
Wen Mo frowned. “He doesn’t come back? Where did my brother go?”
Liu Guilan said, “Your brother’s taken a liking to a girl recently. He’s been thinking about how to win her over every day. It’s inconvenient at home, and the place is far away, so he rented a place outside.”
Wen Mo’s heart suddenly tightened.
Taken a liking to a girl?
Oh no. That loser brother was the tragic, lovesick cannon-fodder supporting male character!