After the Reborn Young Master Embraced a Life of Wellness – Chapter 47

When Chen Mo took the phone from Xi Siyan, he was a little surprised. “What do you mean by him contacting reporters?”

Lao Gou added, “Yeah, some of the follow-up reports even painted Yang Shule in a bad light, saying he accepted the Yang family’s favoritism with a clear conscience while still trying to maintain his image as a campus star. It’s like he tried to take down his enemy but ended up hurting himself too.”

At that moment, Qi Lin came over with a laptop.

“Look at this.”

Chen Mo and Lao Gou both leaned in.

It was the latest breaking news from early that morning.

On the shaky camera screen, the entrance of the Yang family estate appeared, engulfed in chaos—reporters, police cars, and all the members of the Yang family, except for Chen Mo, huddled together.

A middle-aged man with his arms twisted behind his back knelt on the ground, struggling and yelling. It was none other than Chen Jianli.

“It’s only natural for me to ask my own son for money!” he bellowed. “I’m telling you, it was that woman, Li Yunru, who stole the child! The Yang family should be suing her! Why are you arresting me?!”

The camera panned to a familiar figure—Yang Shule—standing stiffly with his head bowed.

A reporter approached. “Student Yang Shule, you’ve been blackmailed by your biological father for a long time, with the total amount reaching 50,000 yuan. As a student, this must have been a heavy burden. Why didn’t you seek help from your family or other resources?”

Finally, Yang Shule looked up. His complexion was ghastly, his eyes rimmed red even before he spoke.

But he still put on a confused and troubled look before replying with difficulty, “I… I didn’t want to cause trouble for my family. The Yang family has always treated me like their own son, and Chen Mo has already suffered so much because of me. I know that…”

He hesitated, voice faltering. “I didn’t know what kind of person Chen Jianli was at first. He told me that working in Suicheng alone was tough, so I thought I could help him out a little. But his appetite kept growing, and he started threatening me not to tell anyone…”

His voice trailed off as if he couldn’t continue.

The reporter, sensing his distress, consoled him with a few kind words.

Meanwhile, the public opinion in the comments section started to shift.

[Poor Yang Shule… just because he was raised by the Yang family, doesn’t mean everything is his fault.]

[Yeah, the Yang family was clearly biased. What could a teenager like him do?]

Others disagreed.

[Easy for you to say when you’re looking at this with hindsight. In my opinion, Yang Shule is something else. He wants to have it all—he reaped all the benefits while playing the victim. Did everyone forget who the real victim here is?]

[Master Zhen lost seventeen years of his life, but I lost a whole 50,000 yuan.]

[I’m curious to see how the Yang family handles this now.]

Qi Lin closed the laptop.

“In the beginning, the reporters were the ones digging into this,” he explained. “But once Yang Shule realized it was going to blow up, he reached out to them himself. Pretty smart move, actually. Not only did it maintain his good-boy image, but it also forced the Yang family to help him get rid of Chen Jianli, since they were now under public scrutiny. If it weren’t for Old Xi catching wind of this last night, the Yang family probably wouldn’t have known they got backstabbed this badly until now.”

Lao Gou was stunned.

“Damn. Are all rich families this complicated? I feel like if I got involved in this mess, I wouldn’t survive for more than half a year.”

Chen Mo said nothing.

Yang Shule’s situation might have seemed stable on the surface, but in reality, he was caught in quicksand. It wasn’t surprising that he had the intelligence to find a way out. What disgusted Chen Mo was that he had chosen to step on him to do it.

Turning away, Chen Mo spit out the water in his mouth and said, “I’m going back to the Yang family.”

“Are you crazy?” Lao Gou tried to stop him. “Going back now is just handing the media more fuel. Do you know how many people are desperately trying to find you right now?”

Chen Mo dried his hands and replied, “I need to put an end to this.”

At that moment, Xi Siyan spoke up.

“You will go back,” he said. “But not yet.”

By the afternoon, Chen Mo finally understood why.

A long-overdue figure had finally appeared in the child-exchange controversy between the Chen and Yang families.

The real culprit—Li Yunru.

A woman in her forties, wearing a faded floral blouse and a triangular headscarf, appeared on-screen. Her weathered face and streaks of white hair made her look even older.

She had agreed to an interview.

Sitting inside a cramped, run-down rental unit, she bowed her head slightly and spoke in a slow, quiet voice:

“It was a rainy day. I slipped and fell on my way to work and was taken to the hospital… I had no money, and that beast Chen Jianli didn’t have a cent to his name either. The doctor was kind enough to cover my medical fees. There was another woman in labor in the next bed—she looked rich. Her delivery was difficult, and she kept screaming in pain, saying she didn’t want to give birth anymore, begging for her husband to come. The first to arrive was a little boy, about six or seven years old…

“She finally gave birth, but my own child was weak and had to be put in intensive care. I panicked when I heard how expensive it would be. And then I saw that the newborn next to me—hers—also had to be taken to the ICU because of premature birth.

“The hospital wasn’t as strict back then. I don’t even know what I was thinking—I secretly switched their ID bracelets while that woman was asleep and the nurse wasn’t looking… then I grabbed the child and ran.

“I hid for days, terrified of getting caught. The baby had bruises all over his little body. I thought… he wouldn’t make it.”

She sighed deeply.

“It’s all karma. All of this is my karma.”

Her voice turned bitter as she continued, “That bastard Chen Jianli insisted on coming to Suicheng, thinking the Yang family was rich. I couldn’t stop him. Two months ago, he even called me, bragging that he had money now, that his son had recognized him and was willing to give him money.”

Her lips cracked into a grimace.

“I only found out the truth when I overheard him talking on the phone the other day. That boy—he’s smart. He knew if he set the amount high enough, it’d turn into a criminal case. He wanted to send Chen Jianli to jail. But Chen Jianli caught wind of it first, so he went straight to the Yang family to cause trouble.”

She sighed again, looking defeated.

“I never planned to ask him to acknowledge me. A mother like me… what difference would it make?”

She hesitated for a moment before adding, “As for Chen Mo… I have nothing to say. I’ll accept whatever legal consequences come my way.”

The comments exploded.

[Wow. I don’t even know who’s worse—the parents or their genetics.]

[She’s out here playing the ‘loving mother’ act, but in the end, a thief is a thief. Some pitiful people really do have something detestable about them.]

[Yang Shule is quite the actor. If his biological mother hadn’t come forward, I really would’ve believed he was some poor kid driven to desperation by his gambling father.]

[I can only say that the drama among the rich is absolutely thrilling. Not a single fool among them.]

[They’re all just playing their own games. Oh, except for Chen Mo—I haven’t seen much of him, so I won’t comment.]

[By the way, where is Chen Mo? This whole incident has been massive, and every member of the Yang family has been hounded by the press, but no reporter can find him? That’s hilarious.]

[Why are you looking for Chen Mo? Focus on dealing with Yang Shule first. His face is still up on the official Education Bureau’s website—it’s disgusting to see him portrayed as some role model for students. I already reported him.]

[“Master Qingqing Baiyang” (Noble White Poplar Star)—this is the funniest joke I’ve heard all year.]

The Fallout

With the truth exposed, Yang Shule suffered a massive fall from grace.

But within the Yang estate, they were still unaware of the full extent of the storm raging outside.

Back in the hotel, Xi Siyan reached out and closed the interview window on Chen Mo’s screen. He spoke in an even tone, “You don’t need to feel any guilt. Since she had the audacity to do something like that back then, she should be prepared to bear the consequences. We only used her to clarify the facts before she ends up in prison. That’s already lenient.”

Chen Mo chuckled. “Who said I felt guilty? I’m really not someone with a strong moral compass.”

Forget about an interview like this—

In his previous life, he had stood by Li Yunru’s deathbed and had not felt an ounce of regret.

When it came to being cold and detached, Chen Mo always felt that he had cultivated this trait quite well.

But Xi Siyan disagreed. He shook his head. “You have stronger principles than you think. Haven’t you realized that yourself?”

“For example?”

“Think about it.”

Chen Mo squinted at him. “Are you in love?”

Xi Siyan replied calmly, “I don’t recall us being in love.”

“Of course not,” Chen Mo said. “I meant, you just said you like someone, and now you’re looking at everything through the lens of love. You sound like one of those love-brained idiots. Be careful not to get deceived, Brother Yan.”

“Worry about yourself.”

Xi Siyan handed him his phone.

It was a call from their homeroom teacher, Xiang Shengtaki.

To Chen Mo’s surprise, Lao Xiang’s voice was uncharacteristically gentle.

“Chen Mo, where are you?”

“Hotel,” Chen Mo replied.

Lao Xiang sighed in relief. “That’s good. Listen, all the teachers and students understand that you’re going through a tough time. Are you with someone right now? Are you safe? Do you want me to ask a few students to keep you company?”

Chen Mo rolled his eyes. “Lao Xiang, is Director Lai with you? Tell him to stop worrying—I’m eating well, sleeping well, and I’ll be back in class next week. Oh, and tell him I won’t be committing suicide. You guys have called me enough.”

After hanging up, Chen Mo glanced at Xi Siyan.

“Why didn’t you just tell them you were here?”

“What do you want me to say?” Xi Siyan raised an eyebrow.

Chen Mo frowned. “What can’t be said?”

Xi Siyan rubbed his temples and chuckled. But he didn’t explain.

The Photo Scandal

Last night, just outside the bar’s entrance—

A blurry photo had been taken.

It quickly spread through school group chats, going viral at a ridiculous speed. By this afternoon, it had become a hot topic.

The picture only captured Xi Siyan’s side profile, while Chen Mo had turned his head at that exact moment, making his figure an indistinct silhouette. From the image alone, it was impossible to tell if the person beside him was a man or a woman.

Still, the idea that Suicheng No. 1 High’s top student, who had just graduated early, might be dating someone was juicy gossip.

Compared to the high-stakes scandal of the Chen and Yang families, this kind of student drama was far more exciting for their peers.

Chen Mo had been wondering why Xi Siyan’s reaction earlier seemed off.

Then, his phone buzzed with a message from Lao Gou, who had left at noon.

Attached was a screenshot from the school’s chat group.

At the top were several chat messages:

“Damn, my dream is shattered—that’s Xi Siyan.”
“Stop crying. The reason male gods are male gods is because they’re unattainable.”
“You guys are exaggerating. There’s nothing in that photo.”
“Are you blind?”
“Look at the dim lighting, the way Xi Shen is lowering his gaze, the way they’re so close—if you still say nothing’s going on, I’ll do a handstand and eat dirt.”
“Damn, that’s savage, sis.”
“So, can someone please tell me who that lucky bastard is?”

At the bottom of the screenshot, Lao Gou had circled the faint silhouette in the image.

He followed up with a message:

“Bro, I know you’re dealing with a life crisis right now, but I gotta ask—this time, are you really the ‘lucky bastard’?”