Become the Sickly Villain in the Novel - Chapter 98

They hugged for a while before Mo Chuan suddenly remembered something. “Right, baby, what did you want to see me for?”

“First of all, can you call me normally?” Li Nuo muttered. “I’m not a child anymore.”

“Then what should I call you? Darling? Dear? HONEY?”

“…Forget it, call me whatever you want.” Li Nuo sighed wearily. “Didn’t you say before that you helped me find a job at a coffee shop? But that was months ago. Is that job still available now?”

He looked at Mo Chuan with some hope. It would be great if it was still available.

Mo Chuan would have to go to work later. If Li Nuo stayed home alone, it would be no different from how it was in Songshan, and he’d even have the same people looking after him.

His social circle was small, and when he went out, he was always by himself. It was too boring.

Maybe it was because he had spent too much time in hospitals before, but now he craved social interaction.

“Oh, that,” Mo Chuan tried to recall. Ever since he got busy working to secure the position for Qin Xu, he hadn’t followed up. He genuinely couldn’t remember whether that coffee shop had been renovated yet.

“I’ll check on it later. I’ll ask Yun Jin since she loves running coffee shops and owns several in the city.”

“But, baby, isn’t it nice for you to rest? Why do you want to go out and work?”

“You’re working too. I can’t just keep eating and lounging around. I still want to pay off my debt. By the way, what do you think about the virtual streaming industry?”

Mo Chuan: ?

Virtual streamer.

Mo Chuan thought for a moment. If Li Nuo really wanted something to do, streaming did offer flexible hours. As long as he didn’t sign with a guild¹ or company, he could just play around with it. And the fact that virtual streamers didn’t need to show their face was something Mo Chuan appreciated.

“I originally thought that if I couldn’t find a job, I’d give virtual streaming a try… Although I have no experience.”

Li Nuo gave an awkward smile.

Mo Chuan helped him think it through from the side. “Do you know how to edit and stuff?”

“Yeah, it’s rough, but I can manage, thanks to the laptop you gave me.”

“Well, you really did learn something,” Mo Chuan said, rubbing his head. “It’s fine to learn, just don’t overwork yourself. Do you want me to hire a tutor for you?”

Li Nuo shook his head. “No need. There are plenty of online resources.”

“All right then,” Mo Chuan didn’t push further. Since Li Nuo had studied for so long, he should be allowed to give it a shot. Anyway, Mo Chuan would be keeping an eye on things from behind the scenes. “Then I’ll get the equipment for you.”

He smoothed Li Nuo’s hair. “I’ll check on the coffee shop too. As for virtual streaming, it’s up to you. If neither of those work out, you can try anything else you like.”

Although he didn’t want Li Nuo to stress about these things, he also worried that Li Nuo would get truly bored at home.

He felt a bit of regret. If he’d known, he wouldn’t have agreed to go back to work for Qin Xu. He should’ve just quit decisively and taken Li Nuo on a relaxing trip to recover.

Rubbing his face against Li Nuo’s, Mo Chuan thought maybe he really should resign after all.

……………

The rest of the day passed pleasantly, without anyone disturbing them.

The only interruption was when Li Nuo called Li Yan and Mo Chuan kept interfering from the side. Everything else was great.

On Monday morning, Mo Chuan sighed plaintively. To avoid traffic, he needed to leave early, but he still clung to Li Nuo at home for a long time, refusing to leave until he got a goodbye kiss.

Li Nuo had no particular plans, but since he was sending someone off to work, he got up early anyway.

He had originally planned to just see him off, but in the end, he couldn’t escape Mo Chuan’s grasp. Finally watching the car drive off, Li Nuo, already exhausted from the early morning chaos, let out a sigh of relief and collapsed on the sofa.

“Have some juice.”

Aunt Zheng brought over a glass and placed it on the nearby coffee table.

“Ah, just leave it there. I’ll drink it in a bit.”

Mrs. Zheng smiled and took the tray away.

Earlier that morning, when Mo Chuan was clinging to Li Nuo and causing a ruckus, she had been trying to talk some sense into the young master.

“If this continues, Young Master Li Nuo will get angry.”

“Hmm, then just one kiss, only one. On the cheek is fine.”

Mo Chuan’s refusal to give up completely stunned Mrs. Zheng.

She had known him for many years, but this was truly the first time she had seen him acting so shamelessly.

“Looks like he really is in love.”

At the time, when she received the message asking her to come to Country Z, she thought it was something urgent. She had handed off her tasks to others and rushed from abroad to the Songshan villa.

As a result, she discovered that her young master was seducing a child.

She had also learned a few things about Mo Chuan’s past from Liu Ming, and it was truly an eye-opener.

The way he looked heartbroken when his feelings were ignored by the person he liked, the way he clung stubbornly to someone, and the way his emotions were swayed by another’s actions were completely different from his former image as a playboy, which the Master and Madam had found so detestable.

Back when the villa was being organized, he even said that he wanted to lock Li Nuo up here forever.

Because he didn’t want anyone else to covet Li Nuo.

He had long lost the self-assured ease and arrogant frivolity of the past.

‘Love humbles the proud.’

Turns out, that saying was true.

Even though she felt that being too obsessive wasn’t good, seeing the blissful look on his face left her at a loss for words.

All she could do was hope the young master would maintain a bit of composure befitting his age.

However, watching the man who still wouldn’t stop clinging, she deeply felt that this wish might be hard to realize.

……………

While Li Nuo was resting briefly on the sofa, Mo Chuan was striding straight into Qin Xu’s office.

He pushed open the door and sat down heavily on the office couch, staring directly at Qin Xu.

Qin Xu didn’t chase him out, but frowned and said, “I have a morning meeting.”

“I do too, Mr. Chairman. One that we both need to attend.”

Mo Chuan’s mocking tone conveyed his mood.

“You’ve handled it, right? No photos were taken, I hope?”

Although Qin Xu wasn’t a celebrity or anything, if some busybody posted photos online, Li Nuo’s face might get exposed.

“If there were photos, that’d be great. I’d want to keep them.”

“…I will seriously punch you.”

Mo Chuan took a deep breath. Judging from his words, there probably weren’t any photos. If there were, they had likely already been dealt with, or maybe Qin Xu really had kept them.

“Even if it’s you, stealing him from me is impossible. This is the one thing I absolutely won’t give you a chance on.”

Mo Chuan stared intently at Qin Xu and said with full seriousness, “If you joke about this again, I really will cut ties with you. And that’s only because you haven’t actually done anything yet.”

Qin Xu continued reading his files, his expression indifferent. “Then you’d better keep a close watch. If I get the chance, don’t blame me.”

What kind of chance?

A chance to steal him away.

Both of them knew exactly what that meant.

Mo Chuan snorted. “Don’t worry I’m keeping a close eye, and I’ll never let go, not even in death. Also, Li Nuo needs stability right now, so don’t contact him out of the blue. In fact, it’d be best if you just never contacted him at all.”

In response to Mo Chuan’s warning, Qin Xu casually flipped a page of his document.

“Anything else? If not, get out. Unlike you, an idler, I’m very busy.”

Mo Chuan gave another snort and strode out of the office arrogantly, leaving Secretary Yang and Li Yan thoroughly bewildered.

On the other side, after Li Nuo had rested enough, he got ready to head out and take care of a few things.

Aunt Zheng, watching him change clothes, asked curiously, “Are you going out?”

“Yes, I want to buy a few things, and also look for something.”

“Then let me drive you. The driver isn’t available yet.”

“Ah, won’t that be too much trouble?”

“Not at all. The others will keep an eye on things. They’re all senior staff.”

“Then thank you in advance.”

The transportation here really was inconvenient. It was quite far from both the bus and subway stations and transferring was a hassle.

The first stop for the two of them was the shopping mall. Li Nuo hesitated in front of various stores before finally seeking help, “Aunt Zheng, what do you think boys around my age would like?”

Aunt Zheng scanned the surrounding shops and said, “Watches, or maybe clothes?”

She roughly guessed that he wanted to buy something for Li Yan.

Li Nuo thought it over. “A watch might be a bit out of my budget. Let’s get a nice set of clothes. Last time I took him shopping, he kept saying there was no need. Just as well, I still remember his size.”

After getting Aunt Zheng’s opinion, he decisively bought a set to take home.

Since Li Nuo had something he wanted to look for, he asked Aunt Zheng to drop him off at the luxury apartment where he used to live. Although Li Yan no longer lived there, most of his things hadn’t been moved yet.

Li Yan had said he was looking for a new place but hadn’t found anything suitable for the time being.

Li Nuo skillfully opened the door and asked Aunt Zheng to wait for him in the living room while he headed straight for Li Yan’s room.

He had not been present during the move because Qin Xu had taken him out.

All the packing had been done by Li Yan and the people Qin Xu sent.

The brothers didn’t own much to begin with, so the apartment still felt rather empty.

The important belongings were all in the room.

Li Nuo opened the door and stepped inside. Traces of someone having lived there were still visible, and Li Yan had only taken a few things with him.

Li Nuo searched around and finally found a small box tucked in the corner of the closet.

It had a combination lock on it.

Li Nuo immediately frowned. A code… This could be tricky.

After thinking for a moment, he tried 1221.

Click. The lock opened.

“If this keeps up, I’ll start thinking all the passwords are just those numbers,” Li Nuo muttered as he opened the box.

Inside were several stacked photo albums.

“So there were some left.”

Previously, Li Yan had hidden them, saying they’d been lost during the move.

Li Nuo flipped through one briefly. Inside were photos of two children growing up. Perhaps to gain Li Yan’s trust, Li Yuzhi had kept many photos.

As Li Nuo slowly flipped through, his gaze suddenly froze.

“This is…”

A family portrait.

All four members were in it.

Li Nuo’s eyes focused on the young woman in the photo.

“She was beautiful,” he said with a sigh. “No idea what she saw in Li Yuzhi.”

He did not have many feelings toward this “mother” who had chosen to leave. He was just a little sentimental upon seeing the photo.

“I really do look a lot like her.”

As he thought about it, his phone suddenly chimed.

He took it out and raised an eyebrow. “A dinner gathering tonight?”

In the company, several people had just finished a meeting and were about to return to their respective offices.

Qin Xu’s casual “Let’s have dinner together tonight” successfully drew everyone’s attention.

Mo Chuan tugged at his collar, about to decline.

Qin Xu looked at him. “I already messaged Li Nuo. He said he’s free.”

Mo Chuan’s expression changed instantly. “Then I’m going too.”

With that, he grabbed his phone and left the room.

A few minutes later, just as Li Nuo was looking at his phone, he received a call from Mo Chuan.

“Ah, I didn’t say anything. I didn’t agree either. I just saw the message.”

Mo Chuan: ?

“Ah, since Brother Qin said you’re going, then I’ll go too.”

Only then did Mo Chuan realize that both of them had been tricked by Qin Xu.

TL Note:

1. Guild – Refers to a management or agency group that contracts streamers, often providing training, technical support, promotion, and platform benefits in exchange for a cut of their revenue. Signing with a guild often means giving up some personal control.