Chapter 33
Editor: Princess
Qin Huanxi looked at Mo Shaoheng, feeling somewhat hesitant in his heart. He really wanted to ask Mo Shaoheng about Mo Shanshan’s situation.
“What’s wrong?” Mo Shaoheng noticed Qin Huanxi’s furtive glances and found it somewhat amusing. He said in a deep voice: “If you have any doubts, feel free to ask. I’ll tell you everything.”
Qin Huanxi rubbed his nose with his finger. He actually had the illusion that he was being pampered by Mo Shaoheng.
Mo Shaoheng’s gaze darkened slightly when he saw his unconscious gesture. He said softly: “So… what do you want to ask?”
Qin Huanxi glanced at him, seeming to carefully calculate the weight of his words. He was indeed very curious, but it was more out of concern for Mo Shanshan. His precious baby was very fond of his Sister Shanshan, and Mo Shanshan also truly doted on Mo Siyuan. If Mo Shanshan had difficulties, he would definitely do everything possible to help her.
“I just find it strange. Logically, Shanshan should be the old madam’s granddaughter, but the old madam doesn’t seem to like her. Although Shanshan isn’t her only granddaughter, as far as I know, the old madam dotes on her other granddaughters and even great-granddaughters. Why does she treat Shanshan so differently?”
Hearing this, Mo Shaoheng fell silent. He drank his tea, and after a long time said: “Shanshan is not a member of the Mo family.”
“What do you mean?” Qin Huanxi suddenly looked up. “Does Shanshan know?”
Mo Shaoheng’s eyes turned slightly cold: “I won’t let her know about this.”
Qin Huanxi breathed a sigh of relief. This matter would be extremely cruel no matter who it happened to.
Mo Shanshan was already an adult. Even if she had never been favored, even if there were countless reasons for not being loved by her relatives, she would never have imagined that she wasn’t actually a child of the Mo family and didn’t have Mo family blood flowing in her veins.
Anyone would be unable to bear such a devastating blow, let alone Mo Shanshan, who was already an extremely sensitive person.
“It’s better not to let Shanshan know about this.” Qin Huanxi sighed. “Fortunately, Shanshan still has you as her little uncle. No matter what happened back then or how many grudges there were, Shanshan is innocent.”
“Mm.” Mo Shaoheng responded softly.
Competition among great families never ceased. Even now that Mo Shaoheng was in power, open and covert struggles remained intense. For example, the Su family and Fu family had never given up their intention to bring him down. Moreover, the Mo family back then had foundations far less stable than now, and intense struggles inevitably produced victims of interests.
Actually, when Mo Shaoheng revealed Mo Shanshan’s background, Qin Huanxi already had an idea.
Although Mo Shaoheng and Mo Shanshan’s father were cousins, their ages shouldn’t differ by much. Mo Shaoheng was 35 years old, but Mo Shanshan was already 20. Mo Shanshan’s father was probably only five or six years older than Mo Shaoheng. And going by this calculation, Mo Shanshan’s mother wasn’t yet 20 when she gave birth to her.
Qin Huanxi suddenly felt somewhat sad. How innocent Mo Shanshan was, yet she had to bear the sins left by her parents. If Mo Shanshan’s father hadn’t been young and impetuous, provoking people he shouldn’t have, Mo Shanshan’s mother wouldn’t have suffered humiliation from others.
Although Mo Shanshan’s mother was also a victim in this matter, her subsequent actions directly led to Mo Shanshan’s current awkward situation. Perhaps out of excessive fear and confusion, or perhaps afraid that the Mo family would break off the engagement, Mo Shanshan’s mother concealed the entire matter. And even after becoming pregnant later, she maintained a hopeful attitude and never suspected whether the child in her belly was actually from the Mo family.
At that time, Mo Shanshan’s father was also very satisfied with this marriage arrangement and naturally wouldn’t suspect Mo Shanshan’s mother. After Mo Shanshan’s mother became pregnant, he was very happy and became even more considerate toward his beloved. Mo Shanshan’s mother then enjoyed this tenderness from her lover with peace of mind, even swearing in her heart that regardless of whether the child belonged to the Mo family, she would keep this matter buried in her stomach.
Since the child was already conceived, the wedding had to be held quickly. Plus, both families were very satisfied with each other, so Mo Shanshan’s mother soon married into the Mo family.
Qin Huanxi held his forehead, feeling more helpless than anything: “How did your cousin later find out that Shanshan wasn’t his child?”
Mo Shaoheng continued: “Shanshan was seriously injured when she was young.”
Qin Huanxi immediately understood: “I see. So when Shanshan was first born, she was actually very favored in the Mo family. It was precisely because of this sudden accident that Shanshan’s background was exposed? But as far as I know, the old madam cares most about face. This matter would be equivalent to a great humiliation for her. Given her usual temperament, how could she still tolerate Shanshan and her mother continuing to stay in the Mo family?”
A trace of mocking coldness flashed in Mo Shaoheng’s eyes: “Because the Mo family back then still needed more benefits.”
Qin Huanxi was stunned but instantly understood the meaning in Mo Shaoheng’s words: “This matter was indeed caused by Shanshan’s mother herself. No matter what caused her suffering back then, everything that happened afterward was ultimately her debt to the Mo family. Keeping her could bring more benefits, and because of guilt, she would unconditionally supply whatever they demanded. That old lady is really cold and ruthless. No wonder the Mo family treats Shanshan this way, yet as parents, they don’t dare voice a single complaint. What about Shanshan’s father? Was and is he willing?”
Mo Shaoheng said indifferently: “He feels guilty. After all, it started because of him.”
Qin Huanxi smiled with some disdain: “He does have some conscience after all. They created this mess themselves, but now Shanshan has to bear it alone, watching helplessly as she suffers humiliation from the entire Mo family. When she left the Mo family alone, no one stopped her. I think the only thing they’ve done right by Shanshan all these years is concealing this matter and not letting her suffer even greater harm and shock.”
Mo Shaoheng stared at him steadily: “You’re very angry?”
Qin Huanxi was puzzled: “Of course!”
“Why? Do you like Shanshan very much?” Mo Shaoheng’s tone was very flat.
However, Qin Huanxi felt a chill down his back. He looked at Mo Shaoheng cautiously, his confusion deepening as he asked instinctively: “If you didn’t like her, how could you keep her by your side and personally take care of her? In this world, besides you, Shanshan is the person who loves Xiao Yuan the most. During Xiao Yuan’s youngest and darkest times, it was Shanshan who took care of him meticulously.”
He had once heard Su Yang say that after Mo Shaoheng adopted Mo Siyuan, he couldn’t be by Mo Siyuan’s side all the time, often being so busy that he couldn’t return home for days. During that time, when Mo Siyuan had just arrived in a strange environment, it was Mo Shanshan who took care of Mo Siyuan day and night, allowing Mo Siyuan to adapt to his new home so quickly.
Mo Shaoheng suddenly smiled again: “You care about her so much because of Xiao Yuan?”
At this point, Qin Huanxi’s expression while looking at Mo Shaoheng became somewhat subtle. Could it be that this guy was actually jealous of his own niece?
He smiled: “When treating someone as a friend, shouldn’t we look at that person’s character?”
Mo Shaoheng lowered his head to drink tea, but the smile at the corner of his mouth never disappeared. Once again, he felt that bringing this person out wasn’t an impulsive decision or a whim. Hearing the unusual tone in Qin Huanxi’s voice over the phone, he had almost instinctively done this, with only one thought in his mind – to get to Qin Huanxi’s side and accompany him.
Qin Huanxi rested his chin on one hand and turned his head to admire the courtyard scenery: “It’s so pleasant here that I don’t want to go back to class.”
Mo Shaoheng chuckled deeply: “Then skip class. I’ll accompany you.”
Qin Huanxi was instantly amused. He looked at Mo Shaoheng and found that Mo Shaoheng’s expression was very serious, not like he was joking with him. He suddenly felt his face getting a bit warm. He liked the feeling of being with Mo Shaoheng, not simply because of their relationship in his previous life, but because being with Mo Shaoheng felt very comfortable.
But most of the time, when he called Mo Shaoheng “Uncle Mo”, it was initially mostly joking. Eventually, calling him that became a habit since this body was indeed 15 years younger than Mo Shaoheng. He didn’t know if it was because of this reason, but Mo Shaoheng seemed to indulge him greatly, with a touch of doting tolerance.
Qin Huanxi’s rare display of shyness made Mo Shaoheng’s gaze particularly focused, and even his voice carried a trace of huskiness: “If you like this place and don’t want to go to class, I’ll stay here with you. We can stay until evening and then go pick up Xiao Yuan from school together.”
Qin Huanxi was very tempted, but unfortunately, reason told him that given his current course progress, he really couldn’t afford to be so willful. He could only shake his head regretfully: “I’ve already missed several months of classes. I can’t miss any more this semester. How about we come here on the weekend instead, bringing Xiao Yuan along?”
“Alright, I’ll listen to you.” Mo Shaoheng wasn’t disappointed either. Some things couldn’t be rushed.
Qin Huanxi smiled and said lightly: “Actually, leaving the Mo family isn’t necessarily a bad thing for Shanshan. At least she can do what she wants to do now. I once heard Su Yang say that Shanshan has loved painting since childhood and has great talent, but when choosing her major, her parents opposed it strongly. Su Yang also said that if you hadn’t intervened forcefully, Shanshan would have almost compromised and given up her passion and true love.”
From their time together, Qin Huanxi had gained a deep understanding of Mo Shanshan’s character. She didn’t have Su Yang’s dominance and stubbornness. Mo Shanshan still didn’t know about her background, and even though she had left the Mo family for years, subconsciously she still hoped to gain her family’s love and recognition. When her parents opposed her, no matter how sad she felt, she didn’t want to make things difficult for her parents and was even more afraid that the already thin family affection would completely disappear.
People sometimes loved to deceive themselves this way. They knew clearly that no matter how much they compromised, they wouldn’t gain the other party’s gratitude and recognition, yet they still chose to compromise silently because of the other party’s opposition.
The people who wanted Mo Shanshan to give up painting were probably not her parents but that cold and selfish Old Madam Mo, while Mo Shanshan’s parents didn’t dare disobey her orders. Qin Huanxi didn’t need to think much to guess her intention, and that was that as long as Mo Shanshan’s background wasn’t exposed, she still had value to her.
However, the one thing he felt reassured about was that as long as Mo Shaoheng stood in front, even if Old Madam Mo and Mo Shanshan’s parents wanted to use her to exchange for greater benefits in the future, Mo Shaoheng would definitely not just sit by and watch.
Mo Shaoheng’s eyes turned sharp: “From the moment Shanshan left the Mo family, they no longer had the right to interfere with her affairs, much less the right to control her future life.”
Qin Huanxi chuckled softly: “No wonder in her eyes, Uncle Mo is family, while her parents have become strangers.”
The two sat for another half hour. Then seeing that the time for elective class was getting closer, Qin Huanxi had to get up and leave.
Staying in such a quiet and elegant place for a long time would indeed make one addicted. When he had free time on the weekend, he definitely wanted to bring his baby here together. The pastries here were also exquisite and delicious. His little baby would definitely love them.
Thinking of his baby’s bright smile, he couldn’t help smiling himself.
Mo Shaoheng’s gaze never left Qin Huanxi’s face. And seeing his somewhat distracted yet smiling with satisfaction expression, he quickly guessed what he was thinking. The only person who could make Qin Huanxi care so much was the precious treasure in his heart.
Mo Shaoheng’s eyes darkened, and he felt something indescribable and strange in his heart. Perhaps there were some things he should investigate.