After the Reborn Young Master Embraced a Life of Wellness – Chapter 96

And so, Chen Mo officially began his long recovery leave.

Xi Siyan imposed nearly military-level discipline on his diet and daily routine—and every rule had to be followed. Chen Mo complied for the most part, because he knew very well: the one who truly never escaped that moment on the seventh floor of the unfinished building wasn’t him.

It was Xi Siyan.

Xi once said he didn’t believe that seeing flashes of the past meant you were still trapped in it.

But Chen Mo could tell—he was already deeply entangled.

He would cling to him in his sleep.

He would subconsciously tense up near ledges or stairwells.

And if Chen Mo wasn’t within sight for even a moment, he’d turn and start looking for him.

Strangely enough, after New Year’s Day, Xi Siyan’s long-standing headaches vanished.
Whether it was coincidence—maybe the last lingering effects of the explosion had passed—or something else entirely, no one could say.

This was the first year they’d been reunited in five years.

By the time the pale color in Chen Mo’s face faded and winter quietly turned to early spring, the old calendar had given way to the new.

Finally, he returned to work.

—

The first workday of the new year, 8:00 AM.

He ran into several colleagues in the elevator.

“Happy New Year, Mr. Chen! Hope you had a good one?”

Chen Mo nodded with a smile. “Very good.”

“I think so too,” a coworker from the R&D department chimed in. “Boss, you look great.”

Chen Mo touched his own face subconsciously. “Really?”

Faced with their enthusiastic agreement, he thought to himself:
Well, it’d be weird if he didn’t look good after Xi Siyan’s hardcore health regimen.

Six carefully balanced meals a day. Medicinal supplements.
Everything focused on restoring nutrition and recovering from his long-standing gastric issues and chronic fatigue.

On top of that, their relationship was now semi-public in both circles.

Chen Mo had stayed at the Xi residence for much of the New Year. Later, Siyan accompanied him to visit his maternal grandfather—the Zhou side of the family.

Both families had elderly matriarchs whose wellness routines made Chen Mo’s own shallow attempts at self-care seem laughably superficial.

With all this combined supervision, Xi Siyan implemented the health regimen with terrifying precision.

And so, Chen Mo’s breakneck, five-year grind ground to a halt.

With proper rest and better nutrition, even his doctor had finally approved a full return to normal lifestyle.
That was the only reason Xi Siyan had let him return to work in the first place.

The elevator was getting more crowded. As more people filed in, Chen Mo naturally moved toward the back.

Up front, some whispering started—low, but not quite low enough.

If you listened closely, it was all about him.

“Is that Mr. Chen from R&D not coming back yet? Mr. K said he just took some time off before New Year’s, but…”

“I heard he had surgery.”

“Surgery? His house caught fire too. He’s so young, but he’s been through so much already.”

“No kidding. My friend just started working at CM. Less than six months in. Before New Year’s, they said the whole group was on edge, like the boss was in a foul mood.”

Snicker. “You think it has something to do with our CEO Chen?”

“How could it be?”

“Oh, you don’t know? There were rumors before that something’s up between the two of them. And during Mr. Chen’s recovery, it’s not like he was out of the loop. Someone tried to visit him for work, but the nanny turned them away—said Mr. Xi had set visiting hours. Doesn’t that sound like they’re living together?”

Everyone who’d entered the elevator with Chen Mo suddenly looked uncomfortable.

Someone couldn’t take it anymore and nudged the gossiping person gently.

That group turned around—and their faces turned red when they saw him.

They scrambled to shut up, just as the elevator arrived at the executive floor.

Chen Mo stepped out and noticed a few people lingering awkwardly nearby, clearly wanting to apologize.

He gave them a calm, easy smile. “Not going in? Clock-in time’s almost up.”

“Mr. Chen,” one of them spoke up quickly, “I’m sorry. We were just repeating what we heard, that’s all…”

“It wasn’t a rumor,” Chen Mo interrupted gently, still smiling. “Anyway—it’s a new year. I’ll be counting on all of you. Let’s do our best.”

He walked away.

Behind him:

“Holy crap. He didn’t even deny it!”

“Shut up! This has been obvious for a while. We were just trying to be discreet. But no—you had to blab in public. Mortifying. Let’s go.”

—

Chen Mo had just arrived in his office when Old K came in.

“How’s recovery?” Old K leaned against the desk, arms crossed. “That guy of yours was so worried. When he found out about the gastric bleeding, I thought he was gonna kill me—like it was my fault you were overworked the past five years. Technically, I used you for free labor on my university research. Think he’s gonna skin me alive?”

Chen Mo set down his bag, pulled out his chair, and looked up. “Under sixteen is child labor. Besides, he’s not as lame as you—he doesn’t show up first thing in the morning just to gossip.”

“I’m just being nostalgic, alright?” Old K shrugged.

He looked around the office, then out through the full-length windows.

“Can you believe we made it this far with Xinrui? Do you remember that terrible office we started in? Power would go out every two hours.”

Chen Mo squinted suspiciously. “You’re setting me up for something.”

“…Fine, yeah.” Old K leaned in immediately, voice dropping. “Our Phase II core tech has been shortlisted for the top international AI science and technology award. The award. This is once-in-a-lifetime stuff. No matter what, you have to convince President Xi to come overseas with us!”

Chen Mo frowned. “When?”

“Next week.”

“Next week?” He paused. “I can go before Friday. Not after.”

Old K let out a breath of relief—no scheduling conflict.

But he still asked, “Why? What’s happening Friday?”

“Suicheng No. 1 High School’s 50th anniversary celebration. I have to go back.”

Old K raised an eyebrow. “Ah. Time to return to the scene where you and President Xi got engaged?”

Chen Mo: “…Shut up. I’m giving a speech.”

—

It was a clear, breezy Friday.

Suicheng No. 1 Middle School looked the same as ever. Spring here was neither as noisy as the cicada-ridden summer nor as biting as winter. The temperature was perfect, and the campus trees—cherry blossoms, magnolias—were all in bloom.

Old Mr. Xiang, Xiang Shenglong, hadn’t changed much.

Still holding his massive triangle ruler, still looking stern—but everyone knew how meticulous and soft-hearted he really was.

Director Lai stood at the podium. His wig was combed perfectly, making him look at least ten years younger. His voice was loud and brimming with sincerity:

“This is a special reunion… and a day for us to receive blessings…”

Under the stage, Chen Mo tilted his head, giving the man next to him a suspicious glance. Dressed in a suit and leather shoes, sitting in the front row among leadership and dignitaries, Xi Siyan looked out of place.

“We’re both just alumni,” Chen Mo muttered. “Why do you get to sit with the bigwigs?”

Xi Siyan raised an eyebrow, calm as ever. “Blame the Xi family. They donated a building. I’m technically a shareholder.”

Before Chen Mo could reply, someone from behind clambered over two chairs and leaned in between them. Qi Lin poked his head forward and glared dramatically at Siyan. “We made a pact to suffer together in this life. Whoever betrays that promise is a dog. We’re dying up there listening to these speeches like it’s Beijing opera, and you’re down here clapping like an elite. You’ve changed, Xi Gou. You’ve really changed!”

Xi Siyan didn’t even blink. He looked at Qi Lin like he was dirt on his sleeve. “Get lost.”

Qi Lin instantly turned to Chen Mo, all aggrieved: “Brother Mo! Why don’t you rein him in? Are you even emotionally okay right now?”

Chen Mo, dressed more casually than most, looked nothing like the other formally dressed alumni. His snow-white cotton-linen shirt, soft and loose, along with the tousled, styled hair, made him stand out like a breeze of spring in a crowd that had aged into the corporate world.

He turned his head slightly, calm as ever. “Didn’t you hear? I’m a shareholder now. A model student. Be scared.”

Qi Lin made a gagging sound. “You’ve been with him too long. Both of your insides are pitch-black.”

“What are you mumbling about?” Lao Gou arrived just in time, lugging a big bag of drinks. He handed it directly to Chen Mo and said, “Lao Xiang bought these. Looks like a lot of our old classmates made it back. I didn’t realize so many people were still in Suicheng.”

Chen Mo grabbed a bottle of green drink.

“Some people even came back from other provinces. Qi Lin too,” Lao Gou added.

Qi Lin sprawled across two chairs without any sense of shame. “I didn’t come back for the school anniversary. I just suddenly remembered I haven’t been back in years. And Mr. Xi came back to China—how could I not join in on the fun?”

Xi Siyan frowned. “Don’t use me as an excuse. What happened? Did you get scammed again?”

“F**k off.” Qi Lin cursed under his breath, then straightened up. “Nothing happened. I’m just not playing anymore. And you—can’t you let things go without saying it out loud? That’s so boring! Chen Mo, your vision must be seriously messed up if you’re trying to make peace—ah! Xi Siyan! Talk like a human being, don’t you know how not to throw drinks at people!?”

Siyan, utterly unfazed, retrieved the bottle he’d just flung and said flatly, “Keep yelling like that and people will think you’ve lost your mind over a breakup.”

Qi Lin clutched his chest, pretending to cough up blood from the emotional damage.

Then he looked up—and saw Chen Mo, who had just unscrewed the cap of his drink, have it snatched away.

Xi Siyan replaced it with a bottle of mineral water. “Don’t drink that. It has food coloring.”

Chen Mo, used to it by now, calmly took the water and took a sip.

Qi Lin looked at them both like he’d just witnessed the collapse of the laws of the universe.

“Brother Mo,” he whispered, half-serious, “do you remember you were the baddest bully in our year? Now look at you. Xi Gou here has you wrapped around his finger. He’s your dad now. My worldview is collapsing.”

Chen Mo nodded in mock solemnity. “Having breakup issues? It’s okay. I understand.”

Qi Lin: “…”

He shut up. He deserved that one.

—

Director Lai’s speech was wrapping up.

Though they hadn’t all kept in close contact over the years, ties were never truly lost.

Director Lai raised the mic and turned toward the front row. “Now, we’ll hear from our distinguished alumni. First to speak is someone I believe many of you will recognize. He’s made remarkable contributions to the field of intelligent technology. He graduated with the class of XX, is currently pursuing both master’s and doctoral studies at Q University, and is a co-founder of Xinrui Technology—Chen Mo!”

To the group of high schoolers currently drowning in exam stress, that name didn’t immediately trigger any big reaction.

But among the alumni, faculty, and school leadership, heads turned.

And it wasn’t until Chen Mo took the stage that the student crowd erupted into cheers and applause.

Lao Gou returned to his seat, right next to Qi Lin, who squinted at the stage.

“…Is Chen Mo nearsighted? Why’s he wearing glasses now?”

The thin silver-framed glasses matched his look perfectly, adding a layer of maturity and restraint to his youthful, easygoing appearance.

Chen Mo walked up to the podium, laid his speech neatly on top—and didn’t even look at it.

The spring breeze carried his voice clearly across the campus.

“Before coming here today, I had a very official speech written—thank you, Baidu. But someone read it and told me it sounded like it was written by a middle school Chinese teacher using his feet. Long, boring, and completely unreadable.”

Laughter rippled through the crowd.

“So I decided to take his advice and just talk a bit about my experience in high school…”

—

As he spoke, the noise from his old classmates sitting below gradually picked up.

They sat in a group, chatting and laughing.

“Brother Mo hasn’t changed one bit. Remember when he used to read self-criticisms on stage? The whole school would be buzzing just like this.”

“After the college entrance exam, the entire teaching building was packed with people shouting his name. Everyone thought he’d be the city’s top scorer. Then the results came out, and Old Xiang gave him hell. Everyone who brought him up got scolded.”

“You were already abroad by then, weren’t you, Old Xi? Too bad. Do you regret not taking the exam with us?”

Xi Siyan sat silently, legs crossed, eyes never leaving the man on stage.

A moment later, he replied quietly, “Yes. What a pity.”

But the pity wasn’t about the exam.

It was about the person he missed back then.

Because someone like Chen Mo—so dazzling, so brilliant—was like a flawless jade even time couldn’t dull.

No matter how much dust covered him, no matter how many years passed…

As long as he stood there—

He was enough to move hearts a thousand times over.