At the corner, Mr. Chi grew increasingly confused. "Is this a psychiatric hospital? Didn't you say Little Seven was fine? From the sound of it, he really did damage his brain."
Mrs. Chi: "…"
The voice continued inside their ears, like a broadcast in three-dimensional surround sound, occasionally rising to an alarming volume.
Mr. Chi began doubting reality. "I don't remember mental illness running in our family… does it?"
Mrs. Chi sighed and closed her eyes. Sometimes, when they were out in public, she genuinely didn't want to admit Chi Qi was her son.
There was only one reason: he was simply too embarrassing.
Whenever Chi Qi was with her, no matter the time or place, she invariably became the center of attention—the most conspicuous person in the crowd.
Ever since kindergarten, whenever she attended a parent-teacher meeting, the homeroom teacher could barely say three sentences without mentioning Chi Qi.
"It's wonderful that your child is lively and enjoys making friends. But isn't it a little inappropriate for him to introduce one friend to another as a potential romantic partner? After all, these children are only three years old. Don't you agree, Mrs. Chi?"
"I know Chi Qi is exceptionally bright and consistently ranks at the top of his class. Even so, you must teach him to behave. He can't accept an award at the weekly flag-raising ceremony and then immediately read out a public apology every single time, can he? What do you think, Mrs. Chi?"
"Mrs. Chi, if he doesn't like the school meals, he can complain to the cafeteria manager. He shouldn't dig through his food, bury firecrackers in it, and light them just to create the illusion that the food is explosively delicious."
Mrs. Chi: "…"
Even someone as sociable and unbothered by attention as Mrs. Chi couldn't avoid feeling mortified. On occasion, she seriously considered severing their relationship.
Mr. Chi was still talking to himself. When he looked up and spotted a crowd ahead, his interest was immediately piqued. "Look at all those people! Let's go see what's happening."
Mrs. Chi had already spotted Chi Qi and therefore didn't object.
[AAAAH! I've committed so many sins in the first half of my life, but witnessing this spectacle has surely wiped them all clean. From now on, riches will flow my way! In fact, Heaven itself still owes me three portions of good fortune! Let Heaven bear witness: the pact is sealed!]
The voice was getting closer and clearer.
Wasn't it right beside him now?
Mr. Chi turned and happened to meet Chi Qi's terrified gaze. He was about to scold him for shouting in public, but an even louder scream cut him off before he could speak.
[GOOD HEAVENS! A GHOST IN BROAD DAYLIGHT! TERRIBLE OMEN!]
Though the thought came out of nowhere, Mr. Chi understood perfectly. The "ghost" clearly meant him.
His face darkened. He glared at Chi Qi. What sort of son called his father a ghost in public? The brat had no respect for his elders and no sense of boundaries at all!
[I only blinked, and Dad's mood completely changed! Men going through menopause really are unpredictable. Sigh. A man's heart is as unfathomable as the deepest sea.]
Steam practically shot out of Mr. Chi's nostrils. *Since when am I going through menopause?*
[Attention, all departments! Attention, all departments! Dad's about to turn into a fire-breathing dragon again! Find an escape route immediately to avoid unnecessary casualties!]
[If I can't fight him, can't I at least hide from him?]
*Slander! My temper is wonderful!*
The more he heard, the more ridiculous it became. Mr. Chi frowned even harder, only to hear the voice abruptly change direction.
[No! I haven't finished enjoying the gossip! Should I stay for the gossip or stay for the gossip? Forget it! Nothing is more important than gossip. I'll pretend I didn't see Dad.]
*Outrageous! Utterly outrageous!*
Chi Qi, standing directly in front of him, tilted his head and smiled shyly, looking perfectly well-behaved. "Morning, Dad."
His spoken voice was completely different from the insolent one in Mr. Chi's ears.
As though doused with cold water, Mr. Chi's anger vanished instantly. The scolding lodged in his chest with nowhere to go, leaving him feeling painfully frustrated.
One couldn't strike a smiling face. He silently vowed, *Just you wait, you little brat.*
Wait. A few seconds later, Mr. Chi finally noticed something wrong. In disbelief, he replayed the scene in his head. Throughout the entire encounter, Little Seven didn't seem to have moved his lips at all.
Could he be… hearing things?
For a moment, he forgot to conceal the subtle changes in his expression.
[Why does Dad keep staring at me like he's constipated?]
The voice continued. Mr. Chi peered carefully at Chi Qi and confirmed beyond doubt that his son wasn't speaking.
Oh no. Was this an early sign of dementia?
[Oh, I get it! Mom must have found out Dad stripped all the flowers she'd lovingly grown last week and then blamed Tangyuan for it.]
Tangyuan was Mrs. Chi's most precious treasure, holding an even higher position in the household than Chi Qi. He was thoroughly pampered. Even when he misbehaved, the worst punishment he got was losing a big chicken drumstick.
If some other member of the family committed the same offense, however, they certainly wouldn't get off so lightly.
Knowing Tangyuan couldn't defend himself, Mr. Chi had shamelessly shifted the blame. "Tangyuan was being playful and accidentally ate the flowers you grew. Don't be angry. I've already scolded him."
[Hiss… Why does the back of my neck suddenly feel cold? Dad's expression keeps getting darker. Does he think I told on him? I'm innocent! I may have witnessed the crime, but I'd never do anything that threatened family harmony!]
[Tangyuan, Big Brother's sorry. For the sake of this family, you'll just have to suffer a little.]
Completely unprepared, the guilty Mr. Chi received a resounding slap. He turned toward his wife just in time to hear her say through gritted teeth, "I'll settle this with you when we get home."
After so many years together, Mr. Chi had developed an exceptionally keen instinct for danger. He couldn't stop himself from trembling.
"Let me explain."
"Don't make me do something in public…"
Mr. Chi promptly shut his mouth. He knew that a wise man understood when to yield and silently turned away.
"Don't go, A-Huai! Don't leave me!"
*Young people these days. Even a breakup has to look like a separation by death. Who can't live without someone else? They place far too much importance on romance. There's a long road ahead…*
That was what Mr. Chi was thinking when a casual glance brought Chen Xiaoxi's face into view. His comforting thoughts stopped dead.
Now he really had seen a ghost in broad daylight!
Moving stiffly, Mr. Chi took out his phone and dialed a video call. When a man appeared on the screen, he said uncertainly, "Old Zhou, look! Your son has risen from the dead."
Live long enough, and you'd witness every manner of strange and extraordinary thing.
Zhou Mingda, the man on the screen, raised an eyebrow. "Bullshit. My son's sitting right here in front of me, perfectly fine. It's *your* son who's risen from the dead."
"Not your eldest. Your other son."
Mr. Chi turned his phone, pointing the camera toward Chen Xiaoxi. He was still in a daze. "I'm not kidding. He's really back from the dead."
"Look. He resembles you so closely it's uncanny. If he isn't your supposedly dead son, I strongly suggest a DNA test. He might be an illegitimate child you never knew you had."
Crash! A teacup dropped and shattered into fragments on the other end of the call.
The other man said only, "Send me the address."
Then the call ended. Even through the screen, his haste had been unmistakable.
Standing close by, Chi Qi had heard every word. He leaned over. "Dad, you know him?"
Mr. Chi sighed wistfully. "I even held him when he was little."
"…"
[Ohhh! I remember now! Dad really is good friends with an Uncle Zhou. I got so caught up in criticizing everyone that I forgot all about it.]
[Wait, Zhou… Why does that name sound familiar? Did I miss something?]
[Oh my god! The relationships are *that* tangled?]
Mr. Chi perked up and discreetly pricked up his ears.
Mrs. Chi stopped walking too.
[Holy shit! Forbidden romance?! Ye Man ends up with Zhou Yingnan? Hang on, I can't untangle this. Isn't Zhou Yingnan Zhou Yinghuai's older brother? What does that make them?]
Chi Qi looked at Ye Man's staggering figure and then at the backs of Zhou Yinghuai and Chen Bai, pressed closely together, and sank into thought.
In the author's version, Ye Man was a spoiled, arrogant second male lead and villain. He exploited his engagement to Zhou Yinghuai and wielded his family's power to pressure Zhou Yinghuai into abandoning Chen Bai and marrying him.
Unwilling to put his lover in a difficult position, Chen Bai chose Zhou Yinghuai's future when the Zhou family presented their conditions. Through tears, he said every hurtful thing he could think of and returned alone to the little fishing village, intending to raise their child by himself.
But how could two people who truly loved each other ever be kept apart?
Zhou Yinghuai refused to compromise. He even went on a hunger strike, landing himself in the hospital, barely alive. He told his parents that if he couldn't grow old with Chen Bai in this life, he had nothing left to live for and might as well die.
In the end, Mr. and Mrs. Zhou reluctantly let him pursue true love.
He returned to the fishing village, walked into their former home, took Chen Bai into his arms, and confessed his feelings by the sea. The two reconciled.
Had the story ended there, it would have counted as a happy ending. But when Chi Qi opened the table of contents, there were still more than three hundred chapters and another hundred bonus chapters.
He opened a random chapter. The original text said: [On an ordinary day when Chen Bai was six months pregnant, Zhou Yinghuai regained his memory. Everything he had forgotten came rushing back, including the sweet days he had once shared with Ye Man.
At that moment, Chen Bai was nestled happily in his arms, thinking up names for their baby. When Zhou Yinghuai abruptly shoved him away, he assumed the man wanted to initiate something intimate.
Only when he met those icy, disgusted eyes did Chen Bai realize something was wrong. It felt as though all the blood in his body had frozen.
Zhou Yinghuai left. His pride wouldn't allow him to accept that he had fallen in love with someone as ordinary as Chen Bai. As for promises he'd made while suffering from amnesia, they didn't count.
It was time to steer his life back onto its rightful course.
He would find Ye Man and fulfill their engagement once more.
But he never expected to see Zhou Yingnan under the dim lights, one arm around Ye Man's waist as he kissed him passionately. "Manman," he pleaded softly, "forget him. Will you give me a chance?"
*Will you turn around and look at me?*
Held tightly by a powerful arm, Ye Man had no opportunity to escape. Breathing unevenly, he obediently closed his eyes and slowly leaned against that warm chest.
Drip—
The sudden patter of rain interrupted the answer that was about to be spoken.
Shadows of trees swayed. Zhou Yinghuai burst out of the darkness, his eyes bloodshot. He seemed to have reached the very limit of his endurance, veins bulging on his arms as he demanded in anguish, "Why didn't you wait for me?"
Lightning flashed, illuminating the other man's pale face.
The furious shout shattered what remained of Ye Man's fragile composure. He sprang away as if released from a tightly wound spring, shoving Zhou Yingnan aside.
The rain grew heavier. Ripples spread across the water's surface like pieces of shattered peace, widening endlessly, unable to settle.
With Zhou Yingnan's patient companionship, Ye Man had finally decided to say goodbye to the past, relinquish his longstanding obsession, and try beginning a new relationship.
But fate played a cruel joke on them.
At the very moment he was about to nod, the old Zhou Yinghuai had returned.
Zhou Yingnan had been only one step away from having his wish fulfilled.]
"…"
After reading it, Chi Qi had only one thought: *Vicious! This novel is downright vicious!*
