Chapter Twenty [Heartache]
Chen Nuo hauled the male host back and threw him on the ground. As soon as the man returned, the elderly lady rushed over with a wail and flung herself on her son. Raising her head, she began to curse vehemently, spitting out all sorts of foul and vicious words.
The female host immediately turned hostile and yelled, "You're dead meat! Do you know that you're breaking the law? I'm calling the police to arrest you right now!"
Chen Nuo didn't speak, just stared at the male host and sneered coldly.
The man shuddered. Having some experience with society, he roared, "Shut the hell up, all of you! Do you want to get me killed?!" Then he pleaded, "Chen, Classmate Chen, please, don't be rash. Let's talk calmly, let's talk."
"Hmm, now that's a bit more interesting." Chen Nuo nodded in satisfaction, then went straight to the kitchen, took a kitchen knife, and turned back.
At the sight of the knife, the family was shocked again. The female host shrieked and reached for her cellphone, while the male host scurried around on the floor in terror. The elderly lady, however, exhibited a remarkable fearlessness as she stood in front of her son, trembling.
Chen Nuo snorted with a hint of ridicule and slapped the kitchen knife down on the table with a SMACK.
"Relax, I won't use the knife... not today." Chen Nuo glared at the male host. "If you don't want bloodshed, then come over and talk properly."
The male host was somewhat cowardly, not daring to move.
The female host still tried to intimidate him. "Chen, do you not fear the consequences of what you're doing? I'm telling you, you're going to prison for this!"
"I'm not afraid," Chen Nuo replied with a smile. "I haven't hurt anyone today, see? You can call the police now; I won't stop you. The police can come and take me away. But think about it, nothing serious has happened, right? At most, I'll get a lecture. Fine, even if I'm detained for a few days, so what? I'll be out in a few days. And after I get out... guess if I'll come looking for you?"
As he spoke, Chen Nuo pointed at the male host. "You have a whole family to take care of; I have no attachments. If you dare to call the police, I'll go in for a few days and come out, then I'll come to your house with a knife. Uncle Gu, do you think I dare? Can you afford that bet?"
After a few sentences, the image of a rash, hot-blooded, and recklessly bold youth was vividly portrayed before the family.
The woman was about to say something, but the male host glared at her and scolded in a low voice, "Shut up if you don't want to get us killed!"
The man finally hesitated for a moment and, limping, he approached a few steps closer. "Classmate Chen, what do you really want to do? There's no need to make such a fuss just to vent your anger, right? We… we have been good to your sister…"
"I've seen everything I needed to see; don't bother lying to me, I'm not in the mood to listen," Chen Nuo responded coolly. "So let's simplify this whole thing—I'm taking my sister with me."
"We are the guardians!" the female host couldn't help but retort.
The male host shot her a fierce look.
Chen Nuo sneered. "Isn't it all about that little over two hundred per month, right? And that support money her biological parents left with you?"
The couple remained silent.
"I don't want a dime," Chen Nuo shook his head. "Keep the support money; you don't have to cough it up. As for the monthly donations, keep taking them too. Officially, you're still the guardians, but the kid, she comes with me. She'll live with me!"
"This, this…" The hosts clearly seemed tempted.
With no child to look after, their expenses would drop, they could keep pocketing the monthly donations, and they could even swallow the support money from the child's parents without having to pay it back…
"I'm not negotiating with you. Don't get it wrong; I'm just telling you how it's going to be," Chen Nuo tapped on the table with his finger. "Agree or not, I'm doing it anyway. Let's see if you dare to try and stop me. I'm just a high school student with no strings attached. But your family has four members—four lives! Your son is only seven years old, right?"
The first to snap back to reality was the mistress of the house. "Go, go, go! Take her away! Just take her now! And don't you ever come back here! From now on, we'll mind our own business and you mind yours!"
"Okay! I'll take her, and from now on, we'll keep to our own affairs," Chen Nuo laughed.
With that, he stood up, ignoring the family, and walked over to the corner, where he saw the little girl still covering her mouth, staring at him as if she had been frightened into a daze.
He gently pried the girl's hands away and saw that she had bitten marks into her delicate fingers from covering her mouth.
"You may not understand yet, but I am your brother, your real brother, from the same mother," Chen Nuo pointed at himself. "Do you understand?"
"...I understand," the girl nodded.
"From today on, you're coming with me. I can't promise I'll treat you exceptionally well, but whatever I eat, you'll eat. And... no one will hit you," Chen Nuo looked into the girl's eyes. "Are you willing?"
The little girl was trembling, but to his surprise, she actually looked up at Chen Nuo.
"If you don't hit me, I'll go with you, deal?"
It pained Chen Nuo a little inside, but he still put on a smile and pinched her cheek. "It's a deal! Also, from today, call me 'Brother'."
"...Brother."
"What's your name?"
"I'm Gu Xiaoye."
"Nonsense! There's not a single good thing in the Gu Family! From now on, you're with me and you'll have the Chen surname. You'll be called Chen Xiaoye!"
Having said that, Chen Nuo called out, "Chen Xiaoye?"
The girl was indeed smart. After a stunned pause and slight hesitation, she still lightly responded, "Hmm!"
Chen Nuo couldn't be bothered with this family of inhumane people anymore and, taking Chen Xiaoye by the hand, walked to the door. He saw the youngest son of the household, a seven or eight-year-old boy, peering out from the crack of the inner room door, his legs shaking with fear.
Chen Nuo gave him a grin, showing his teeth, and the boy quickly retreated back into the room and closed the door.
"Li- Little Chen... Let's consider today's matter settled. You, you better not come back to cause trouble," the man of the house said tremblingly. "If you come back, we're going to call the police. And besides, all the paperwork for the child is still with us."
Chen Nuo turned around and grinned broadly. "Don't worry, I am a man of my word."
Well, on New Year's Eve, Chen Nuo had still been savoring solitude, watching the fireworks alone. Now, it was only the second day of the New Year. In less than two days, he had a little one in the house.
He led the little one into his house.
The house was cold and empty, with a chill in the air. Chen Nuo started a fire and boiled a pot of water on the stove. He felt the little girl's hand; it was a bit cold, so he went to turn on the heater.
But the walls of the old house were thin, and in the bitter cold of winter, the young girl, shivering and pulling her neck in, bore it quietly without making a sound.
Chen Nuo wrapped the little girl in a blanket and frowned as he looked around the house.
With a slap to his forehead, he picked up his coat, put it on, and took the little girl's hand.
"Let's go, we're going out to buy things!"
In 2001, the best-selling air conditioner brand in Jinling was not the later brands like Gree or Midea, nor those foreign ones.
It was Chunlan!
Chunlan's rise was tied to Zhang Suning, and it was the trump card during the early days when Zhang Suning was making a name for himself. One of its features was fast installation.
Back in the 1990s, getting an air conditioner installed could take a week or even a month, but the Chunlan brand promoted by Zhang Suning could be installed within twenty-four hours.
In 2001, Chunlan was still flourishing... although Chen Nuo knew that it would soon start its decline and slide into The Abyss.
He went to the Suning flagship store at Xinjiekou, chose a few Chunlan air conditioners, and quickly paid for them. Then, Chen Nuo took the little girl to a nearby mall to pick out some children's clothes. Carrying their large and small bags, they passed by KFC. Seeing the little girl stare longingly, he took her inside.
Chen Xiaoye was very well-behaved, so much so that it was heart-wrenching.
When buying clothes, burdened with many packages, the little girl took the initiative to carry them herself. Only when she really couldn't manage would she turn her head to look silently at Chen Nuo, somewhat at a loss.
Chen Nuo smiled and handed her the smallest and lightest bag to carry, and it seemed to relieve some of the little girl's worries.
At KFC, she didn't make a peep or dare to say what she wanted to eat, waiting until Chen Nuo stuffed a chicken drumstick into her hands. She stared at Chen Nuo for a long while until she dared to believe it was for her.
But after a moment of hesitation, she raised it to offer to Chen Nuo first.
Chen Nuo laughed heartily, patted her head, and pushed the drumstick into the little girl's mouth. He looked at her puffed-out little cheeks and couldn't resist pinching them again.
The girl finally gave a sweet smile.
Chen Xiaoye seemed to study the newly purchased ice cream for a long time before taking a spoonful, tasting it. Her eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed as she savored it.
Afterward, she clumsily leaned over, spoon-feeding Chen Nuo with cautious spoonfuls.
She was so well-behaved it hurt one's heart.
"Have you never had this before?" Chen Nuo asked, frowning.
Chen Xiaoye shook her head.
"Do they hit you?"
Chen Xiaoye didn't dare to speak—the answer was quite clear.
"...Bro, can you not send me back, please?" The little girl seemed to have been gathering her courage, finally speaking up hesitantly. "I'm not troublesome. I can wash myself, sleep by myself, um... um... I can sweep the floor, wipe the table, um... I can also wash rice."
She hurriedly listed all the things she could do as if afraid of being rejected, then looked anxiously at Chen Nuo.
Chen Nuo fought down the rage in his heart. Sweeping, wiping, washing rice... what kind of life had this child had before?
A five-year-old child! How could the Gu Family be so heartless?
Chen Nuo touched her face. "Didn't I tell you? From now on, you'll stay with me. You won't go back to that place again. Okay?"
"...Okay!" The girl nodded enthusiastically.
She thought for a moment, still seeming uneasy, then cautiously scooped up some ice cream, offering it to Chen Nuo's mouth, her smile tinged with worry and an eagerness to please. "Bro, I'll behave well. I'll be very obedient."
So heart-wrenching!
When they returned home, they could see School belle Sun pacing back and forth in the corridor from a distance.
The young girl wore a beige down jacket and a knitted hat with matching gloves.
Chen Nuo raised an eyebrow and walked over with Xiao Yezi.
"What brings you here again?"
When School belle Sun saw Chen Nuo, her eyes lit up. "Why didn't you answer your phone?"
Chen Nuo took out his phone and glanced at it. "It's dead."
Only then did School belle Sun notice Xiao Yezi half-hidden behind Chen Nuo and paused in surprise. "Wow! What a cute little girl! Who is she, Chen Nuo? Where did you bring her from?"
Chen Nuo's eyes shifted. "Well... this is my daughter."
Saying that, he turned and winked at Xiao Yezi. "Xiao Yezi, call Daddy."
Without hesitation, Xiao Yezi said, "Daddy."
THUD!
School belle Sun sat down on the floor abruptly.
Xiao Yezi looked somewhat puzzled at School belle Sun sitting on the ground, as if she was worried, and asked with her little face upturned, "Bro... did I say it correctly just now?"
Exhaling, School belle Sun leaped up from the ground and chased after Chen Nuo, hitting him playfully. "Chen Nuo! You're not being serious!!"
[So next time I want to ask for votes, I'll just say BANG BANG BANG, okay?]