Chapter 2

“Mother…” His weak and soft voice was mixed with indescribable deep emotions.

The moment he said this, not only was Mrs. Mu stunned, but Hu Yixi as well.

Hu Yixi, no, Mu Yixi, didn’t understand how he was in excruciating pain because of kidney failure the moment before and now Mrs. Mu was sitting by his side looking at him with a remorseful and pitiful gaze.

Before he could process what happened, he blurted out “mom” in grievance, happiness, guilt, and pain.

He had been brought to the Mu Family when he was twelve. His name was changed to Mu Yixi and he officially entered the Mu Family’s ancestral records. He called Mrs. Mu his mother for the past twelve years. However, he schemed and hurt Mu Yiqi and Mu Yixuan later on, causing Mu Jiurong to enter the hospital because he suffered a paralyzing stroke and Mrs. Mu fell gravely ill, refusing to see him anymore. In Mu Yixi’s memory, he hadn’t seen Mrs. Mu in six years. Even when he entered the hospital to treat his kidney failure and felt like he was almost dying, Mrs. Mu still refused to see him. Instead, she had Mu Yiqi visit him. It was then that he realized that Mrs. Mu would never forgive him and he thought he was better off dead.

Therefore, he was dead now, right? Otherwise, why could he see Mrs. Mu? The young Mrs. Mu that treated him kindly and like her own son...

He only realized what he truly wanted after he died. Mu Yixi thought that he was in reality just an out-and-out fool!

Before six, he hadn’t seen his parents. His grandmother, Hu Lijiao, hated his existence and always beated him. When he was six, he suffered the most serious injuries ever and almost died. It was then that he met Mrs. Mu. The latter wanted to adopt him, but his biological mother suddenly jumped out and stopped her, acting like a kind mother in front of him. Between his birth mother and Mrs. Mu, he chose the former. From then, Hu Qin started brainwashing him with thoughts that “only your birth mother wouldn’t hurt you,” “Mu Jiurong was unfaithful and fickle,” “Fang Zhen stole your father and is a sinister woman,” “you’re the eldest son of the Mu Family, so everything belongs to you,” and such. When he was twelve, he entered the Mu Family driven by revenge and bias. No matter how genuine and kind Mrs. Mu was towards him, he ignored it and believed that she had an ulterior motive. Twelve years later, he finally got revenge on everyone that “let down” him and his mother. However, he didn’t feel as accomplished as he should’ve. He panicked and felt upset when he saw Mrs. Mu’s disappointed gaze. What happened after proved that his beliefs were wrong from the start. What a pity that he had already hurt them and he couldn’t undo anything. When it was confirmed that he had kidney failure, his birth mother forced him to hand everything in the will over to her. However, Mrs. Mu had Mu Yiqi visit him and the latter mocked him. He even dared to say that he’d give him a kidney...

At that moment, Mu Yixi understood everything. He’d rather die than to accept Mu Yiqi’s kidney. He himself was cruel and unscrupulous, so he’d go to hell sooner or later. Therefore, why bother dragging him down? Heaven knows the impact one less kidney would have to a person’s body.

Who knew that he could still see Mrs. Mu after he went to hell. Hell didn’t seem that terrifying anymore. But there was no reason why Mrs. Mu wasn’t in heaven instead.

Mu Yixi let his imagination run wild. After all, he was dead already. Therefore, nothing mattered, right?

Mu Yixi followed his heart and gently rubbed his face against Mrs. Mu’s hand, murmuring, “Mommy...mommy...mommy…” I finally get to see you again. That’s great...

“I…” am not your mother. Mrs. Mu’s words got stuck in her throat when she met Mu Yixi’s longing eyes. She softly sighed and gently comforted, “Don’t be afraid. You’re hurt. Let me get the doctor to inspect you.”

She stood up and wanted to press on the bell to call for the doctor, but Mu Yixi was still in a daze and didn’t hear her words clearly, thinking that she was going to leave him. He hurriedly pulled on her sleeves, tugging on his wound in the process, groaning in pain. “Don’t go, mommy, mommy!”

“Ah, don’t move. I’m not leaving you!” Mrs. Mu hurriedly stopped him and pressed on the bell, immediately holding onto his hands after.

At this time, Mu Yixi finally realized something was wrong. He stared at his shrunken hand, in a daze. Do dead people feel pain? Would they become a child again? Was he supposed to be able to feel Mrs. Mu’s soft and warm hand?

What is going on?!

Mu Yixi widened his mouth stiffly, drinking the spoonful of porridge that Mrs. Mu fed him. She glanced at him in praise and he subconsciously returned a bashful smile.

He couldn’t help it. He felt guilty.

Right now, he finally figured out that he was reborn and he brought his memory back to when he was six years old, the time when he was almost beaten to death by his grandmother.

Mrs. Mu was still kind hearted as he remembered her as. She clearly knew that he was the illegitimate son of his husband, but she was still unable to abandon him. He even... Mu Yixi drank the nutritious porridge that Mrs. Mu made for him. He gathered his thoughts. Because he called her “mom” when he woke up, she treated him even better. In his past life, she also treated him kindly. However, he didn’t get a chance to taste the porridge she personally made for him nor did he get the opportunity for her to stay by his side. Especially when Hu Qin came to cause trouble when Mrs. Mu wanted to adopt him. In order to avoid suspicion, Mrs. Mu had to act indifferent and this made the young him think that she was a noble woman that was unapproachable. Back then, he felt inferior and scared, not daring to approach her.

Now...Mu Yixi carefully looked at Mrs. Mu and secretly tugged on her sleeves.

Because of this silent interaction, Mrs. Mu’s eyes softened. In just a short few days, even though Mrs. Mu pitied him, she didn’t feel too much towards him. However, Mu Yixi and Mu Yiqi were too similar. Mrs. Mu loved her children dearly and she couldn’t help but feel the same towards Mu Yixi when she saw his face. The latter naturally grasped this opportunity to increase her favorable feelings to him.

As expected, it was effective. Mu Yixi was satisfied, but also felt guilty. He always knew how to make Mrs. Mu’s heart softened and gained her trust. In his past life, he used this to destroy her family or rather, it was because he subconsciously knew that Mrs. Mu had feelings towards him that he dared to use her without fear...

He would never do that in this life.

Mu Yixi thought about this and blissfully lifted his face, allowing Mrs. Mu to wipe his face.

“Does your leg still hurt?” Mrs. Mu asked in a coaxing tone.

Mu Yix’s legs suffered the most. After the anesthetic went away, he trembled in pain. However, he seemed to be afraid of something so he clenched his teeth and didn’t dare make any noises. Don’t mention Mrs. Mu, but even the doctors and nurses that were used to seeing young patients couldn’t help but feel bad when they saw his pale face. Towards the so-called grandmother that beated him to this point, they hated and gnashed their teeth in anger.

Mu Yixi shook his head honestly. Children grew quickly and the most painful moments had passed already. He had been improving lately. However, he suffered serious injuries, so he still couldn’t get out of bed. He also wanted to enjoy Mrs. Mu’s meticulous care selfishly too. However, he didn’t want to make her worried too much, so he honestly reported his condition.

“If it hurts, don’t hold it in. You have to tell mommy or a doctor or a nurse, okay?” Mrs. Mu patted his head. She had accepted being his “mother” now. This was because according to the doctor’s diagnosis, Mu Yixi had suffered some memory loss due to the concussion or as a result of the injuries. Like a young bird, he treated Mrs. Mu who he saw at first glance as his mother. He probably didn’t want to think of his abusive grandmother. The doctor thought that was a good thing.

“Serious domestic violence could leave trauma for the child and affect his mental state as well as his growth. Forgetting it is an instinctive response within the human body. To some extent, it could ease some bad influences…”

Therefore, Mrs. Mu didn’t correct Mu Yixi’s address. Plus, an idea bloomed in her mind.

Mu Yixi fiddled with his fingers and said in a soft voice, “I’ll tell mommy. Mommy, don’t hit me…”

Mrs. Mu gently held his hand. “No matter what you do, mommy will never hit you.”

Mu Yixi reached over and hugged Mrs. Mu’s arm, silently expressing his fondness.

Mrs. Mu said, “Xiao Xi, there’s something that mommy wants to request for your approval.”

Mu Yixi lifted his head to look at her, trust written on his face. His eyes were basically saying, “mommy is the best. I’ll listen to you no matter what.”

Mrs. Mu chuckled. She considered her words before saying gently, “When Xiao Xi recovers, do you want to go home with mommy?” From seeing Mu Yixi, Mrs. Mu had the thought of adopting him. After getting along with him for the past few days, her idea became firmer.

Mu Yixi’s injuries were the result of domestic violence. She had no idea where his abusive grandmother went and even if she appeared, she wouldn’t allow her to look after him anymore. Instead, he would be moved to an orphanage. Mrs. Mu would adopt him through legal means within the orphanage. Even if Mu Yixi’s birth mother, Hu Qin, wanted to cause trouble, it would be to no avail.

Despite how shameless Mu Yixi was, after hearing the same words, his eyes couldn’t help but tear up. Even blind people could tell how genuine Mrs. Mu was. Yet, he was brainwashed by Hu Qin and thought that Mrs. Mu had bad intentions, that she only brought him back to the Mu Family in order to torture him and to separate him from Hu Qin.

“I’ll go wherever mommy goes.” Mu Yixi said in a childish voice.

“Xiao Xi, good boy.” Mrs. Mu kissed his forehead and said, “Mommy will take care of you.”

“Mommy is the best!” Mu Yixi said out loud.

Mrs. Mu softly laughed, “Are you tired? Lie down. Mommy will tell you a story…”

Mu Yixi wanted to just listen to her completely and continued to act like a child. Under Mrs. Mu’s support, he lied down. Mrs. Mu pulled up the covers for him and started telling him the story of The Little Prince.

Children liked to sleep a lot and since he was injured, it wasted a lot of his energy. Mu Yixi quickly fell into a deep slumber while listening to Mrs. Mu’s voice.

Before sinking into darkness, Mu Yixi vaguely asked, “What’s mommy’s family like?”

“Mommy’s family has your daddy, brother, and sister…”

“...Will brother and sister like me?”

“Yes. You guys are all good children, so you guys will like each other…”

Mu Yixi couldn’t help but curl his lips up. He believed that they would like each other. If they dare not to like him, he’d teach them a lesson! He wondered how it’d be like to meet Mu Yiqi and Mu Yixuan six years in advance. Mu Yixi was already looking forward to this.

While thinking, he slowly fell into a steady sleep because he knew that his mother was guarding him.

……

What woke Mu Yixi up was a malicious verbal fight!

A sharp and petty female voice shrieked at the top of her lungs, wanting everyone to heart, “Fang Zhen, you bitch! First you steal my man and now you’re here to steal my son! Shameless!”