Our Entire Family Has Secrets [Transmigrated] - Chapter 19

The words that Yuan Bozhu said sounded very hurtful.

After saying them, he quickly averted his gaze.

Lin Shuanghuai didn’t even have the chance to pretend to be pitiful towards him, he just watched Yuan Bozhu walk out.

He waited for a while, making sure Yuan Bozhu really wouldn’t turn back, then he returned to his seat.

Lin Shuanghuai ate slowly, with still a lot of food left on his plate, quietly chewing and swallowing by himself.

He seemed lost in thought, occasionally touching the pocket of his school uniform.

There was a ticket inside that he hadn’t had the chance to give away.

But seeing Yuan Bozhu leave, Lin Shuanghuai wasn’t that disappointed, perhaps even relieved – it seemed like he had felt from the beginning that this ticket wouldn’t find its recipient. Now, without the opportunity to offer it, he felt spared from the possibility of rejection.

Three people at a nearby table, who had been watching the scene of Yuan Bozhu abandoning Lin Shuanghuai with a shocked expression, huddled together and discussed for a while.

Finally, they decided to move to Lin Shuanghuai’s table with their trays.

Han Banlan placed her cup and plate on the table, sitting beside Lin Shuanghuai.

She asked, “What’s going on? Why did he leave?”

Lin Shuanghuai honestly replied, “He doesn’t want to be friends with me.”

Han Banlan exclaimed, “He simply doesn’t know what’s good for him!”

Xu Zhilong echoed, “He simply doesn’t appreciate what he’s got!”

Yu Yangen had just sat down, still chewing on a piece of meat. To keep up with the conversation, he gulped it down and said, “He’s simply, simply a scumbag!”

The other three gave him a disapproving look.

“You really don’t have to say everything that comes to your mind,” Han Banlan scolded Yu Yangen, not for the first time.

But Yu Yangen retorted, “What’s wrong! Brother Hui has never failed to make friends in his life, and that guy just turned his back on him. If that’s not a scumbag, what is?”

Lin Shuanghuai gently put down his chopsticks and smiled at Yu Yangen, “Shh, don’t make me hit you.”

Yu Yangen shrugged and focused on his meal.

Actually, Lin Shuanghuai wasn’t affected by Yuan Bozhu’s words at all. In other words, he felt like he learned more about Yuan Bozhu. It wasn’t “I don’t want to be friends with you,” or “I dislike you as a person,” but rather “I don’t need friends.” So, Yuan Bozhu was indifferent to everyone equally.

So Yuan Bozhu is friendless.

So… he has an opportunity.

Han Banlan saw that he didn’t want to elaborate and thought he was upset. So she instigated with Xu Zhilong, speaking quickly, expressing dissatisfaction for Lin Shuanghuai.

Xu Zhilong said, “Such a person is dull and boring, there’s no topic when together, who would want to be friends with him? Just leave him be!”

Han Banlan also said, “Exactly, that kind of guy disappears into the crowd in the next second, no characteristics, no charm, who would want to be friends with him?!”

Lin Shuanghuai buried his head, his mouth twitched: “I do.”

Han Banlan and Xu Zhilong glanced at each other, their minds quickly spinning, rephrasing their words within three seconds.

Han Banlan: “I take back what I just said. Actually, upon careful consideration, that classmate is tall, extraordinary in temperament, speaks and acts cautiously, honest and modest. They don’t treat you differently just because you’re Lin Shuanghuai, which to some extent shows that they’re quite principled. I think it’s good to be friends with them. I support you to keep going.”

Xu Zhilong: “I also think that classmate seems wise yet simple, unassuming, usually not fond of socializing, few people can enter their heart, but I guess once they recognize you as a friend, they’ll stand by you wholeheartedly… In short, they’re a good person!”

Yu Yangen took a sip of soda, burped satisfied, and interjected, “Huh? Was that person really that impressive?”

The others completely ignored him.

“You don’t need to comfort me, I haven’t given up yet,” Lin Shuanghuai said.

Xu Zhilong nodded: “Yeah! Sincerity moves mountains!”

However, Han Banlan couldn’t understand: “Why did he refuse you? What’s wrong with being friends with you?”

At this question, Lin Shuanghuai also paused, and blurted out: “What’s good about being friends with me?”

Xu Zhilong immediately became enthusiastic, counting on his fingers: “You have a good temper, good personality, good grades, helpful, and you love treating others! Most importantly, hanging out with you is fun!”

Han Banlan shrugged and praised without hesitation:

“If I were to praise you carefully, I wouldn’t finish it all at once… Simply put, being with you feels like there’s nothing to worry about, you’re happy all the time, I don’t feel embarrassed talking to you about anything, and you take even the smallest favors seriously. Anyway, wherever you are, there’s nothing unpleasant.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Even Yangen, who wasn’t good with words, suddenly felt inspired and exclaimed, “Hui bro is all-powerful! Anything I can’t handle except for fighting, I just come to you!”

Several people spoke in succession about Lin Shuanghuai’s many advantages.

After listening, Lin Shuanghuai nodded, not too moved, but not disappointed either, and smiled: “So I’m that good, huh?”

“Nonsense! If you weren’t good, who would hang out with you every day?”

Lin Shuanghuai hummed, smiled, finished the last bite, slapped the table, and said, “Okay, since you think highly of me, I’ll treat you to video games this weekend.”

The three cheered together, “Yeah!”

But a moment later, Yangen frowned and said sadly, “I don’t think I can make it this weekend, there’s a parent-teacher meeting on Friday, I can already imagine what my weekend will be like.”

Lin Shuanghuai looked at him sympathetically and said, “Then let’s go tomorrow night, let you have some fun before your hands and legs get crippled by your parents.”

“Sob sob sob, Hui’er, you’re always the best to me.” Yangen wiped his tears and was about to hug Lin Shuanghuai.

Lin Shuanghuai dodged disdainfully, stood up without a word, and went straight to the counter to pay the bill.

When he took out his wallet, the ticket for the welcome party that he hadn’t had a chance to give away fell out.

Lin Shuanghuai was about to bend down, and Yangen who followed him picked it up for him.

Looking at the information on the ticket, Yangen exclaimed, “Wow, front row! Damn it, you told me you could only get back-row tickets, there’s obviously a super good spot here, who are you saving it for?”

Han Banlan and Xu Zhilong, who had finished eating, followed.

Lin Shuanghuai just glanced at it, said nothing, didn’t take the ticket back, turned his head to pay.

“Get out of the way.”

Han Banlan walked over, pushed Yangen aside, and took the ticket from his hand, carefully put it back into Lin Shuanghuai’s pocket, saying,

“There are only a thousand seats in the venue. The sophomores and juniors will fill up, and some students from the international class will come to join in the fun. It’s good enough that Hui’er can save you a seat. Why are you complaining?!”

“But I can’t even see Hui bro’s brilliant performance on stage from that corner!”

“He’s playing the piano, just listen with your ears.”

“Humph! Han Banlan, I find you’re really getting more and more harsh on me.”

“Congratulations, you finally noticed this obvious fact.”

As the two were arguing, Xu Zhilong also joined in, unwilling to be left out, saying, “Isn’t the front row usually occupied by parents and teachers? Is Hui’er’s parents finally coming to the parent-teacher meeting this time?”

“…!” Han Banlan was cursing Yangen as a fool, a syllable stuck in her throat, almost choking herself.

Yangen, being bold, continued, “Oh yeah! Hui bro wants to save the seat for parents? By the way, I’ve never seen uncles and aunties from grades one to three. I’m really curious about what they look like.”

“If they can give birth to such a handsome son as Hui’er, his parents must be stunning!”

“Not necessarily, my mom is very beautiful, and my dad is handsome too, but somehow I ended up with my grandpa’s square face.” Yangen sighed with frustration, “I really want to know how beautiful Hui bro’s mom must be to give birth to him, so handsome—”

At this point, Lin Shuanghuai had already paid, and without saying a word, pursed his lips and said, “Let’s go, it’s time to go back.”

With that, he walked out of the restaurant on his own.

The other two were still discussing what Lin Shuanghuai’s parents looked like, talking as they followed him.

Han Banlan couldn’t tolerate it anymore. She grabbed them by the back of their collars and slapped each of them on the back of their heads: “Blah blah blah, do you have mouths? Can you shut up for a moment? From now on, all of you shut your mouths!”

Yu Yangen: “Why—Ah ah ah!”

Han Banlan kicked him on his calf, leaving him with a sinister remark: “Keep blabbering, and the next kick will be aimed at your little buddy.”

With that, she ran out the door, chasing after Lin Shuanghuai.

Leaving behind the two hot-blooded youths at the restaurant entrance, they silently covered their crotches, trembling as they shut their mouths.

***

After leaving Lin Shuanghuai at the restaurant, Yuan Bozhu returned to school.

He felt relieved for successfully removing a buff.

Certainly, Lin Shuanghuai hadn’t done anything wrong, and upon closer inspection, among all the people Yuan Bozhu had encountered, he was one of the less unpleasant types.

However, Yuan Bozhu, for his own reasons, didn’t want to waste time on meaningless “friendships.”

Fortunately, Lin Shuanghuai seemed to be the optimistic type and would probably forget about today’s incident quickly.

For unknown reasons, Qin Rui also voluntarily distanced himself from Yuan Bozhu.

During the lunch break, Yuan Bozhu slowly came to his senses from his meditation.

He realized he had a new desk mate.

Qin Rui had moved to the opposite corner—Yuan Bozhu could guess it was because of Lin Shuanghuai, but he didn’t know the exact reason, nor did he want to inquire.

The new desk mate was another inconspicuous person in the class, equally low-key and dull as Yuan Bozhu, if not more so.

It took Yuan Bozhu the entire class period to remember his new desk mate’s name with the help of his workbook.

But recalling it had no significance because Yuan Bozhu wouldn’t initiate conversation with anyone.

Qin Rui’s distancing made Yuan Bozhu feel like it was a very good day.

He simultaneously got rid of the four school bullies, the campus heartthrob, and the chatterbox desk mate. He was about to return to the tranquility of his original life.

Now, only one thing remained—Yuan Qifeng.

After school today, Yuan Bozhu didn’t go home directly.

He took a detour and went to a fast-food restaurant far from home. After using the restroom, he changed his outfit.

When Yuan Bozhu needed to conceal his identity, he rarely relied on items like masks or sunglasses. Overly complicated disguises would only attract more attention than simply walking down the street.

So he changed his face directly.

Disguising oneself wasn’t a difficult task. Among the basic spells practiced by cultivators, altering one’s appearance was one of them.

Contrary to common imagination, there were two methods of changing appearance: possession and adjustment based on the original bone structure.

However, since height and body shape remained unchanged, and eyes, ears, nose, and mouth couldn’t be completely transformed, if someone familiar looked closely enough, they could still discern clues.

So unless necessary, Yuan Bozhu rarely resorted to this method.

But today, it was unavoidable.

He was going to meet someone from the Spider Domain.

Fortunately, most people didn’t have the chance to see Yuan Bozhu’s face.

On ordinary days, his glasses shielded him from many prying eyes. Even if he took off his glasses and stood in the school, no one would recognize him. So after leaving the fast-food restaurant, Yuan Bozhu didn’t worry about exposure.

Yuan Bozhu hailed a rare taxi and spent a hefty 56 yuan to arrive at the Nocturnal Island.

But he didn’t head to the same entrance as last time.

The driver dropped him off at a shallow beach on the side of Nocturnal Island, with a ten-meter-high protective net at the end of the rocky shore, beyond which lay the Nocturnal Club.

Yuan Bozhu didn’t plan to climb over the wall either.

A dilapidated fishing boat was stranded on the shore, with a bored boatman lying on top, playing with his phone.

He seemed to have been here for a long time, yet also just arrived.

His face showed weariness and impatience, occasionally mixed with alertness.

Yuan Bozhu walked over and asked, “Are you taking passengers?”

The man glanced at him and said, “Are you crazy? It’s getting dark soon, who the hell would go out on a boat? Go buy seafood at the market yourself, I’m not a fisherman.”

Yuan Bozhu stared at him and suddenly reached out his hand.

The man was very cautious, flipping off the boat like a hawk and fixing his eyes on Yuan Bozhu. “What’s up?!”

Yuan Bozhu opened his palm, revealing a badge gleaming with metallic luster.

He asked again, “Are you taking passengers?”

The man’s mouth hung open, seemingly incredulous—Spider Domain passes were divided into different levels, and the level of this badge could be counted on one hand throughout Qiancheng.

“Are you… alone?”

“I’m alone.”

“Okay, please follow me,” he said.

With that, they boarded the boat.

As the sun set, the boat didn’t stray too far from the shore.

However, they continued towards the end of the visible horizon and ran aground near a new rocky beach.

Yuan Bozhu got off the boat and walked in the direction of his memory.

The path could avoid all sight and lead to the underground sea at the very center of Nocturnal Island.

But the “boatman” behind him suddenly called out to him.

“Sir.”

Yuan Bozhu paused: “?”

“Are you really… Gabriel?”

This name wasn’t chosen by Yuan Bozhu himself.

Initially, he just needed an alias to register, so he casually wrote down a perfunctory name on the documents: Zhang San.

However, the person who stamped his pass at the time was quite dissatisfied with this uncool-looking name and forcibly changed it for him on the spot.

“A stylish name can help you get a good price when taking on tasks.

Trust me, no one would want to entrust their lives to someone named Zhang San for millions of dollars.”

Yuan Bozhu didn’t refuse and smoothly accepted the new name, Gabriel.

Gabriel wasn’t a big shot in the Spider Realm.

Even though his success rate in hired tasks was always one hundred percent, nobody paid too much attention to him.

Because his whereabouts were mysterious, he was low-key, and he never accepted tasks he didn’t want, no matter how much money was offered.

After the boatman called out Yuan Bozhu’s name, he might have startled himself, feeling somewhat regretful for daring to address him directly.

After a moment, he said, “…You’re my idol. Two years ago, when that group of pureblood rare species claimed, they were going to expel us non-pureblood rare species, you spoke up for us. I still have a screenshot of the video where you knocked down three orc-men with a single palm as my phone wallpaper!”

As he spoke, he was about to show Yuan Bozhu his phone. “Look!”

Yuan Bozhu just nodded expressionlessly, said nothing, and walked away.

“Really cool.”

The boatman held his phone, watching Yuan Bozhu leave, then sailed away on his shabby boat.

He would never know one thing:

Yuan Bozhu didn’t intervene because he wanted to speak up for them.

Those pureblood rare species were clamoring to take everyone in the Spider Realm for a medical examination to determine whose bloodline was purer.

If they detected weak abilities or a bloodline leaning more towards ordinary humans, they would be expelled.

They believed that non-pureblood rare species had the risk of betraying the Spider Realm and siding with humans at any time.

Yuan Bozhu, who was only sixteen years old at the time, hadn’t awakened any bloodline abilities, only possessing cultivation skills.

If he was detected, without a doubt, both the pureblood and non-pureblood rare species would target him, a human.

To avoid exposing himself in this matter, when the non-pureblood rare species raised their voices against the expulsion, causing chaos within the Spider Realm,

Yuan Bozhu took advantage of the confusion and swept away the three rare species who were passionately advocating for expulsion from the platform where they were giving speeches.

Yuan Bozhu didn’t really want to be a hero.

He was just acting in his own self-interest.

Nocturnal Island still appeared to be the top-tier billionaire club on the surface, while its underground, the least-known area hidden in the deep sea, was the Spider Realm. Initially, it wasn’t called the Spider Realm but the

“Interstellar Rare Blood Species Resident Office in the Nocturnal Island.”

About ten years ago, it was taken over by a new boss who found it too mundane and renamed it.

Perhaps it was called the Spider Realm because of its intricate and widespread network of information, spanning the entire interstellar space.

Any information, whether you wanted to know it or not, could be obtained here for a price.

Rare species couldn’t casually reveal their abilities in front of humans, so the Spider Realm provided a channel for them to monetize their abilities, which could be considered a reasonable destination.

Initially, some rare species were dissatisfied with this kind of makeshift existence, believing that their bloodlines were much stronger than humans, and there was no need to give up living space to humans.

But the harsh reality showed that the population disparity between humans and rare species was too great, nearing sixty million to one in recent years.

Even taking a step back, the existing number of the Allied Forces alone reached three billion, while all the rare species in the entire star system combined might not even have half as many as the Allied Forces.

In this situation where nobody dared to act rashly, decades ago, humans finally reached an agreement with some peace-loving rare species and established the Special Blood Species Management Bureau.

So, some rare species pledged allegiance to humans, and society reached a certain level of balance.

The current situation was that the rare species hidden among humans had rebellious intentions but lacked the conditions to rebel.

“And once their identities are exposed, there’s the possibility of being ‘caught’ by the Special Bloodline Management Bureau.

For various reasons, the rare breeds live cautiously.

The Spider Domain has become an entity for maintaining balance—it not only provides opportunities for rare breeds to showcase their respective talents but also offers them remuneration far above the ordinary jobs in human society.

With wealth, cars, and houses, the rare breeds lead comfortable lives and are less inclined to oppose humans.

As the door to the Spider Domain opened, a bird hovered above his head.

At first glance, it wasn’t a living creature.

Otherwise, it would have flown away in a flurry of feathers.

Instead of entering directly, he raised his hand, letting it perch on his arm.

In a way, he quite liked birds.

Their eyes were always sharp, yet their movements were clumsy. Their feathers were smooth and soft, their movements agile and graceful. Most importantly, they were small.

Being able to fit in the palm of one’s hand made them adorable.

‘This is a Silver-Throated Long-Tailed Mountain Finch. Isn’t it cute?’

He said, looking at the bird in his palm. Its small, sharp beak was gently opening and closing, emitting a low, masculine voice.

The next moment, he waved his hand, throwing it away.

The bird continued to hover above, and the man’s voice continued, ‘You can’t just toss me away like that, Gabriel. I’m an adorable long-tailed mountain finch.’

He took a step into the gate of the Spider Domain, where it was pitch black inside.

He manually turned on the light, and the long corridor led to different rooms. He headed for the end.

The bird still followed him.

‘It’s been a long time since you’ve come. Are you short of money lately?’

‘Look at me, Gabriel. Don’t you think I’m very cute with my fluffy appearance? Do you want to take me home and raise me?’

‘As long as you promise to help me kill the current highest leader of the alliance, I’ll give you a bird that will never shed its feathers.’

Arriving at the end room, he reached out to open the door handle.

The adorable, round, fluffy long-tailed mountain finch flew onto his face, giving him an intimate encounter.

He grabbed it in one go, saying coldly, ‘You’re annoying.’

With a bang, the little bird suddenly disappeared.

The door opened, revealing a man in a black tailcoat standing inside.

He wore a round top hat, and his deep red hair was tucked behind. Despite being over fifty, he maintained himself well, looking like he was in his forties.

‘Saying “you’re annoying” to the one who pays your salary, what does that imply, do you know?’

The man walked to the long conference table, elegantly turned and sat at the head, saying, ‘It means if you have a favor to ask of me later, I’ll make things difficult for you.’

He sat across from him expressionlessly, paying no attention to his threat, only asking, ‘What’s with the warrant?’

‘What warrant?’

‘Last night.’

‘What about last night?’

‘The mission to hunt down the wolf breed.’

‘Hunt down what?’ ‘…’

He looked at him, not speaking.

The other person smiled and said, ‘You see, I have ways to make things difficult for you.’

This kind of boring dark humor seemed to be a game this person never got tired of playing.

‘You said not to kill our own kind unless necessary.’ He didn’t respond to his joke at all, just reminded him, ‘Why this time?’

‘Hmm, I’m glad you took my words to heart.’

The man leaned his chin on his hand and looked at him, saying, ‘But I’m not obligated to inform you of such things. After all, you didn’t take on this task.’

The two men locked eyes in silence.

Yuan Bozhu’s gaze straightforwardly conveyed one message: I want to know why.

The other’s gaze was much more complex.

He simultaneously conveyed several meanings like ‘I’ll make things difficult for you,’ ‘I’ll annoy you,’ ‘I’ll tell you if you ask me,’ and so on.

Two minutes later, the other couldn’t hold back.

He chuckled, ‘Haha, alright, alright, if we were playing rock-paper-scissors, I’d definitely lose. You can stay silent for twenty-four hours, but I can’t. Come on, talk about your rare visit’s purpose.’ Yuan Bozhu sat up slightly.

The other said, ‘Can I understand that your relationship with the wanted wolf breed is not simple? Are you trying to save him?’

Yuan Bozhu naturally couldn’t answer that question.

‘However you like it, I’ll just tell you, he’s definitely dead.’

Yuan Bozhu’s gaze chilled.

‘The people who took on the warrant are all A-level masters. Let alone whether that wolf breed can handle it on his own, even if you lend a hand, I estimate it would just add one more corpse.’

He finished, then happily imagined, ‘Oh, maybe not.

Unless you can take on ten by yourself? That would be great, Gabriel. If you’re that good, you should join me in rebelling against the alliance. I’ll be the emperor in the future, and you’ll be the prince.’

Yuan Bozhu didn’t respond to that, only asking, ‘Who issued the warrant?’

‘I can’t give you that information.’

The man shook his crossed legs, seeming to be in a good mood, and said,

‘Here’s some free advice for you, Gabriel—your strength is the most unfathomable among the people I’ve seen. You have many opportunities to become a commander, to make people bow down and obey, to be an unquestionable ruler who is never refused. But since you’re content being an ordinary person, then you have to accept the fact that many things won’t go your way.’ He paused halfway through, looked at Yuan Bozhu, and concluded, ‘But if I may, you seem to have a close relationship with the wolf breed being hunted, don’t you? Are you trying to save him?'”