After the Reborn Young Master Embraced a Life of Wellness – Chapter 56

In the car, Chen Mo finally asked the question on his mind. “Why are you here?”

“If I hadn’t come, what would you have done today?” Xi Siyan replied calmly.

Chen Mo thought about it for a moment and then smirked. “I probably would have been sorry for your… ‘beauty.’ Qin Kai isn’t smart, so I wouldn’t have endured it to the end.”

“Not a beauty,” Xi Siyan corrected, leaning back in his seat. “I’ve known her for a long time. She probably liked me since junior high school, but I never reciprocated. The Liao family raised their daughter very carefully, but her parents were controlling. In junior high, she attracted a lot of attention because of her looks, and Qi Lin and I used to take turns walking her home to ensure her safety. She likely saw me as some sort of savior. Unfortunately, I wasn’t one.”

Chen Mo listened quietly.

Although naturally distant and cold, especially when it came to emotions, it seemed like the exceptions to Xi Siyan’s rationality often revolved around Chen Mo. From using his connections to protect him to taking bold steps like their first kiss, there were several moments when his actions contradicted his logical nature.

Sitting beside him now, Chen Mo looked utterly relaxed. His long legs stretched out, his body leaning back against the car seat, and his demeanor conveyed trust.

While Chen Mo’s guarded nature and past experiences had shaped him into someone vigilant and distant, the way he gradually opened up to others—and to him—was something that left an indelible mark on Xi Siyan.

“Have you decided where to go?” Xi Siyan changed the topic.

Chen Mo looked out of the window at the rain-soaked streets of Suicheng.

After the heavy rain, the city looked fresh and renewed, and it brought back an old thought.

“I want to go back and take a look,” Chen Mo murmured.

“What?”

Chen Mo turned to him and said clearly, “Yuhuai Village. I want to go back and take a look.”

Although nothing was said outright, the slight change in Xi Siyan’s expression revealed his disapproval.

Chen Mo laughed and leaned in closer, dismissing the seriousness in his tone. “It’s not as bad as you think. Yuhuai Village wasn’t all bad memories for me. The media exaggerated things, painting it as this backward, oppressive place, but that wasn’t the full picture.”

Siyan listened quietly, placing a hand on Chen Mo’s shoulder to gesture for him to rest.

Chen Mo, still tired from the late-night project with Lao K, laid his head on Xi Siyan’s lap, quickly finding a comfortable position.

“The countryside at night is beautiful,” Chen Mo began, staring at the car’s ceiling. “There are so many stars. In Suicheng, you can’t see stars that bright. At night, you can hear dogs barking and insects chirping from the fields. Neighbors are close—unlike in the city, where you don’t even know who lives next door. The Chen family had a neighbor with a son we called Xiao Hei because he was so tanned. When he moved to the city at eight years old, he said his dream was to become a barber. He thought dyed hair was so cool.”

Chen Mo chuckled at the memory, a sound of genuine relief.

“Are you jealous of him?” Siyan asked, running his hand lightly through Chen Mo’s hair.

“Yeah.” Chen Mo smiled wistfully. “Having a dream is amazing. Back then, it wasn’t something I could afford. That’s why I want to go back—to the beginning. Maybe it’ll help me figure out what path I want to take next.”

Chen Mo wasn’t someone who dreamed. Before he turned seventeen, his only goal was to survive. After that, ambition consumed him.

He decided to voice this idea to Siyan, who paused for a moment before saying, “Alright, I’ll go with you.”

The faint smile that curved Chen Mo’s lips was one of both relief and gratitude.

In his previous life, his connection to Yuhuai Village was severed at seventeen, and he never returned. It symbolized the end of his life and his final resting place. He never imagined revisiting it, let alone with someone by his side.

He fell asleep during the car ride, his head still resting on Siyan’s lap.

During this short nap, Siyan stared at him for a long time.

Finally, he turned to the driver, Uncle Lin, and asked, “If you had to let go of everything from your past like he did, could you do it?”

Uncle Lin glanced at Chen Mo, then shook his head. “No, I couldn’t. That boy is remarkable. Ah Yan, are you sure you won’t reconsider staying abroad? Your grandfather might not approve.”

Siyan remained silent, his rejection unspoken but firm.

“If I had decided to leave,” he eventually said, “I wouldn’t have let myself get close to him in the first place.”

Uncle Lin sighed and didn’t press further. He thought to himself that young love was both precious and precarious.

Watching Chen Mo sleep so soundly, Uncle Lin realized he genuinely liked the boy. But he also understood that young love, especially when separated by oceans and expectations, was a test few could withstand.

The summer vacation had been a unique and fulfilling time for Chen Mo. Between assisting Su Qianran with her startup projects, juggling schoolwork, self-taught courses, and attending events like the occasional banquet hosted by the Xi family, time flew by. It felt as though there weren’t enough hours in the day.

Meanwhile, Xi Siyan was equally busy, often disappearing for a day or two at a time. However, the two stayed in frequent contact, mostly exchanging small, trivial updates over the phone.

Finally, the day of their planned trip to Yuhuai Village arrived. But the night before, chaos ensued.

The troublemaker? Qi Lin.

When Chen Mo received a call from Xi Siyan explaining the situation, he hurriedly hailed a taxi and rushed over. As the car sped down the empty streets, Chen Mo felt the wind of unease sweep through him.

When he arrived at the scene, he immediately asked, “Is he… okay?”

It was late at night, and the street was deserted.

There sat Qi Lin, shirtless, wearing only a pair of boxer shorts, and barefoot. He was curled up on the edge of a stone pier by the roadside, shivering and motionless.

It was a pitiful sight.

Leaning casually against his parked sports car, Xi Siyan responded, “He’s fine. If something truly serious had happened, he wouldn’t be sitting here alive.”

Before Chen Mo could process this, Qi Lin suddenly erupted, screaming into the empty night, “I’m busy! Damn it! Fuck everything!!!”

His voice was raw with frustration, and his disheveled appearance made him look borderline unhinged.

Chen Mo hesitated before suggesting, “Shouldn’t we get him some clothes? It’s bad enough that he’s out here looking like this. I don’t want people thinking we’re all lunatics.”

To Chen Mo’s surprise, Xi Siyan chuckled dryly. “You’d better thank his ‘girlfriend’ for that.”

“Girlfriend?” Chen Mo’s confusion deepened.

“Yeah,” Siyan said with a mocking tone, gesturing toward Qi Lin. “She’s the one who stripped him.”

“What?”

The truth was unexpectedly absurd.

As it turned out, Qi Lin had arranged to meet a girl he’d been chatting with online for half a year. On a stormy night, he had eagerly gone to her place. But when the door opened, his supposed “busty girlfriend” turned out to be a dark-skinned, muscular man.

Qi Lin, utterly shocked, didn’t know how to react. Combined with the emotional baggage from an argument with his family earlier that day, he wasn’t thinking clearly and decided to stay the night.

According to Qi Lin, things took a strange turn. He had a brief fight with the man but stayed because the guy served him a bowl of noodles with two poached eggs. For reasons only Qi Lin could explain, this act of kindness softened him. The man apologized profusely, saying he created a female account out of boredom and never intended to deceive anyone.

Qi Lin, perhaps out of sympathy or sheer stupidity, chose to stay longer—and things escalated.

When Chen Mo heard the story, he didn’t even know where to begin. After a long pause, he hesitantly asked, “So… was he… taken advantage of?”

Qi Lin shot him a glare, clearly offended.

Siyan, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation, clarified, “No. Qi Lin wasn’t forced into anything. He willingly ‘slept’ with the guy… more than once, apparently.”

Chen Mo was speechless. He struggled to wrap his head around the absurdity of the situation and asked weakly, “But isn’t Qi Lin still underage? Couldn’t he press charges?”

“No point,” Siyan said flatly. “He’s technically an adult, and no one forced him. He’s just an idiot.”

The outcome was grim. The man disappeared the next morning, taking Qi Lin’s cash, watch, and even his clothes. Qi Lin woke up in the wilderness, humiliated and furious.

By the time they found him some proper clothes and got him into the car, Qi Lin was sitting in silence, his soul seemingly drained.

Chen Mo tried to console him. “It’s not the end of the world. Sure, this was… unexpected, but it’s not too late to get back on track.”

Qi Lin huddled against the car door, muttering bitterly, “It’s too late. I’m not clean anymore.” Then, in a sudden burst of rage, he shouted, “If I ever see that bastard again, I’ll make him regret being born!”

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow. “You went to meet him willingly, though. Who are you going to blame?”

Before Qi Lin could respond, Siyan delivered the final blow.

“If you had any common sense, you’d know better than to jump into bed with someone you just met online,” he said coldly.

Qi Lin’s fragile composure shattered. He turned to them in frustration and yelled, “What about you two? Don’t act like you haven’t done anything!”

Siyan smirked, “We haven’t, idiot.”

Qi Lin froze, his face a mix of disbelief and despair. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he finally broke down completely.