Tiny Genius Alert! Mom & Dad Better Make Peace

Chapter 1026: Chapter 6: Come to My Place Later, I’ll Show You Something Even Better

Gu Yan gives the impression of still focusing on his phone, and indeed he is staring intently at it, but on the phone screen, apart from the reflection of his face, there’s nothing but darkness.

At this moment.

The sound of a car approaching from afar comes from outside the villa.

Gu Yan squints, his somewhat deep baby face turning nonchalant. He stretches out from the sofa and says with a smiling face to several elders, "My buddy is here to pick me up. You all enjoy catching up, I’m leaving first."

Nie Xiaoxing looks at him, her brows still furrowed.

Yuan Xihuo’s face drops slightly, muttering under her breath, "Outsiders only know I have a son, little do they know having a son or not doesn’t make a difference! He’s hardly ever home, and once he returns, he’s in a rush to leave!"

"Empress Dowager, your words are too harsh. Haven’t I always come running back the minute you call?" Gu Yan jokes with a cheeky smile.

Yuan Xihuo glares at Gu Yan with discontent.

This mischievous boy spends all day hanging out aimlessly, a gang of brothers accompanying him.

Has he ever considered whether his own mother, living alone in this empty villa, feels lonely?

As she thinks about this.

Yuan Xihuo feels a bit powerless, so she turns her body towards Nie Xiaoxing, presenting her back to Gu Yan.

Gu Yan just assumes his dear mother is pouting at him again and doesn’t take it to heart. He nods at Fu Ruyi and Nie Fangsheng, glancing at Nie Xiaoxing from the corner of his eye, and "bounces" his legs toward the exit.

Shortly after he leaves the villa.

Nie Xiaoxing hears the car engine sound gradually fade away.

Simultaneously, the clear light in Nie Xiaoxing’s eyes slowly drains out.

...

Learning that Nie Xiaoxing’s family intends to settle down in Z City but hasn’t yet found a place to rent, Yuan Xihuo willingly offers to help find a house.

While Yuan Xihuo makes calls to contact people about the house, Nie Xiaoxing glances at Fu Ruyi, stands up, and walks outside the villa.

Fu Ruyi lowers her gaze and follows suit, stepping out of the villa.

Outside the villa, Nie Xiaoxing looks at Fu Ruyi with a cold and clear gaze, "Why did you lie to Aunt Yuan?"

Fu Ruyi cautiously glances back at the villa, leans slightly closer to Nie Xiaoxing, a look of conflict and helplessness on her face, and softly says, "Mom did it for you..."

"Lying was for me?" Nie Xiaoxing’s face shows no hint of a smile, and her tone is icy, as if Fu Ruyi weren’t her biological mother but an irrelevant stranger.

Fu Ruyi’s heart aches; she reaches out to grasp one of Nie Xiaoxing’s arms, holding back tears as she looks at her, "Xiaoxing, what’s done is done; we should start anew."

"Is starting anew about lying and deceiving someone who genuinely cares for you?" Nie Xiaoxing’s tone is devoid of warmth.

"..." Fu Ruyi looks at Nie Xiaoxing with a pale, sorrowful expression, "Do you think I want to deceive Aunt Yuan? Aunt Yuan is my best friend. Do you think I’d want to deceive her?"

Nie Xiaoxing turns her face aside, "That was in the past."

In the past, she was willing to believe Fu Ruyi truly regarded Yuan Xihuo as her best friend.

But now, she no longer thinks so.

Fu Ruyi gazes down, a tear sliding down her face as she grips Nie Xiaoxing’s arm, her voice hoarse, "Xiaoxing, is it that your mom is so undeserving of your trust? Is your mom’s character that terrible?"

Nie Xiaoxing says nothing.

It’s not that there’s nothing to say, nor that she’s reluctant to speak.

It’s just that there’s no need to say anything more.

Without hearing her response, Fu Ruyi’s tears fall even more heavily. After a while, she says, "Whatever you think, this time, it’s truly for you."

"This morning, Xiao Yan took you to tour the villa. Aunt Yuan kept casually inquiring about you, asking if you’ve dated anyone these years, or if you have someone you like now."

Fu Ruyi looks up with teary eyes at Nie Xiaoxing, "Tell me, why would Aunt Yuan be asking these questions?"

Nie Xiaoxing’s eyelashes flutter, her eyes turning toward Fu Ruyi.

Fu Ruyi smiles sincerely, "Because Aunt Yuan has taken a liking to you; she wants you to be her daughter-in-law."

"..." Nie Xiaoxing’s eyes widen slightly.

Fu Ruyi raises her hand to wipe away her tears, shifting her grasp on Nie Xiaoxing’s arm to hold her slender hand, "Xiaoxing, if you marry into the Gu Family, marry Xiao Yan, you can truly leave the past behind, those people, and start your life anew."

"Think about it—if Aunt Yuan knows you...you didn’t graduate from college, and your work is so dangerous, not to mention you once..."

Seeing Nie Xiaoxing’s face suddenly turn pale, Fu Ruyi hesitates to continue, yet she must, "No family would accept someone with your past. Even if I am a friend of Aunt Yuan, Xiao Yan is her only son. How could she possibly accept you? That’s why I had no choice but to say what I said."

"...I don’t need it."

Nie Xiaoxing clenches her fingers tightly, calmly looking at Fu Ruyi, "I don’t need that kind of marriage. I don’t want to deceive a kindhearted person this way. Regardless of whether you truly mean well, I have to confess to Aunt Yuan."

"Xiaoxing, don’t be so stubborn, okay?"

Fu Ruyi anxiously fixes her gaze on her, "We need Aunt Yuan now. Look at your father now, look at me; we have no other choice."

"I don’t see it that way." Nie Xiaoxing lifts her chin, expression firm, "We can’t return to K City, so we don’t go back. We can stay in Z City or move to another city. We have arms and legs; we can be independent and not rely on or burden others. I’m going to come clean with Aunt Yuan now."

"Xiaoxing!"

Fu Ruyi tightly grips her hand, tears streaming down, "If you confess to Aunt Yuan now, how will Aunt Yuan see me? How am I supposed to face Aunt Yuan? I might as well be dead!"

She can be looked down upon by everyone but cannot be seen that way by the sister who was once her closest, once in adversity with her.

Her self-esteem can’t withstand the exposure of this lie!

She can’t imagine how Yuan Xihuo would look at her after the lie is exposed... Maybe with disdain, maybe disappointment, maybe even hatred.

But no matter which one, she can’t bear it.

Nie Xiaoxing looks at Fu Ruyi with incomprehension, "If you can’t bear the consequences of the lie being exposed, you shouldn’t have lied like that."

"But I’ve already said it, I can’t take it back." Fu Ruyi shakes her head, pleading with Nie Xiaoxing, "Xiaoxing, I’m begging you. Don’t tell Aunt Yuan, okay?"

At this point, Fu Ruyi sees Nie Xiaoxing still resolute, closes her eyes briefly, and her tone lowers, "You can tell her, but can you not today? Give me some time, so I can mentally prepare before you tell Aunt Yuan, okay?"

Nie Xiaoxing frowns.

...

In the blink of an eye.

A week has passed since Nie Xiaoxing arrived in Z City.

During this week, they moved into a two-bedroom apartment that Yuan Xihuo helped them find.

Yuan Xihuo said that the apartment belonged to a friend of hers who had left it vacant and offered it to her for free, knowing she was looking for a place.

But Yuan Xihuo was too embarrassed to take it for nothing, so her friend rented it to her for fifteen hundred a month.

Paying fifteen hundred for an apartment in the heart of the city is pretty much the same as getting it for free.

Fu Ruyi and Nie Fangsheng were delighted with the apartment, but Nie Xiaoxing felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on her heart, suffocating.

This week, Fu Ruyi and Nie Fangsheng have been immersed in the joy of moving into a "new" house.

Nie Xiaoxing, on the other hand, has been out job hunting every day.

Eventually, she found a part-time job at a Taekwondo company, with a two-month probation period. During this time, she’d earn thirty-five hundred a month without bonuses, plus commission.

After the probation period, the salary would double. If her performance is good, there’s potential for a further raise.

Though part-time, she has to work two full days a week; for the other five days, she must work at least four hours a day.

This means Nie Xiaoxing only gets one day off each week, assuming she doesn’t have other work on that day.

...

This day, Nie Xiaoxing’s shift starts in the evening. On her way home from work, she passes by a bar, a journey she must take.

Nie Xiaoxing, wearing ripped jeans and a white T-shirt, with a black studded backpack slung over her shoulder, had just walked past the bar when several hefty figures suddenly darted out from the bar’s corner, rushing straight toward her.

Nie Xiaoxing reacts swiftly, immediately turning around, taking a couple of quick steps forward, then suddenly grabbing the other strap of her backpack, swinging it onto her shoulder, and starting to sprint.

Simultaneously, those shadows also dash forward, pursuing her rapidly.

As Nie Xiaoxing and those figures run out of sight on that street, a man and a woman step out of the bar, standing at the entrance. The woman looks coyly at the man beside her and says, "Mr. Gu, what’s so interesting about this? Let’s go to my place later, and I’ll show you something even more interesting."

Gu Yan squints, retracting his gaze from the end of the street, his lips curving with a mischievous smile as he looks at the woman beside him with a noncommittal expression.