Our Entire Family Has Secrets [Transmigrated] - Chapter 20

When Yuan Bozhu returned home, the moon had already risen.

In just one hour, during which his signal was blocked by the Spider Domain, he had been mentioned 99 times by members of the “Happy Family” group.

In fact, all he had done was send a message to the group during school hours:

“Don’t wait for me for dinner.”

But his family had an exceptional ability to imagine scenarios. Yuan Bozhu didn’t need to look to know what they were going to say.

Over the years, Yuan Bozhu’s extracurricular life had been rather monotonous.

Although he often took part-time jobs or wandered around aimlessly during holidays, his four parents still saw him as a thoroughly boring child.

If asked to describe their son, Yuan Jilang and Zhang Shu would immediately think of the word “easygoing.”

Being easygoing meant being obedient, sensible, and predictable, but also dull and unremarkable.

Yuan Bozhu didn’t make plans with friends to go to cafes, game arcades, internet cafes, or KTV.

He didn’t meet classmates to hang out at the bookstore or do homework together.

He didn’t ask his family for money to spend on holidays, nor did he pursue trendy things online.

Incidents like coming home late after school were extremely rare. If he had a reason, that would be fine, but without a reason, there was endless room for speculation.

So when his parents showed excitement in the group, they reasonably assumed that Yuan Bozhu’s long-awaited adolescence had finally kicked in.

They tried to show concern for him in the group: “Is little brother going to start being rebellious from today? Mom and dad are ready, go crazy!”

Compared to them, his older siblings’ attitudes were quite different.

Yuan Qifeng called him six times.

Yuan Wanjiao kept sending messages, using various divinations like horoscopes and even fortune-telling results, telling him to come home before dark because there might be human traffickers nearby.

When he returned home and opened the door, Yuan Bozhu was surrounded by his four family members.

He couldn’t believe how they all fit into the narrow entryway.

Seeing them all together, he wondered, “What’s so important today? Is it some kind of anniversary? Why is everyone here?”

Could it be that they were starting to suspect him?

… Yes, Yuan Bozhu rarely came home late after school.

If there was something, he usually gave a reason.

But today, he just said he would be late, without explaining why.

Perhaps someone recognized him when he was in the Spider Domain?

Just as he thought of this, he heard his mom choke with tears and say,

“Our little son, he’s really in love.”

Yuan Bozhu: “?”

Even his usually steady father sighed deeply with emotion, “It’s really not easy. My son is eighteen years old, and today he finally realizes that he doesn’t have to come home immediately after school.”

Maybe it was because Yuan Bozhu never joked around, or maybe it was because of Yuan Wanjiao’s fortune-telling beforehand.

In any case, since he had said “early love” yesterday, it had now become a universally acknowledged fact in the family.

They welcomed Yuan Bozhu into the house and tried to find out about his early love interest.

“Little son, what did you eat with her?”

“Son, did you safely escort the young lady home?”

“Yuan Bozhu, be honest, did you take advantage of the opportunity to hold hands or kiss?”

“Yuan Qi Feng, get up! A Zhu, do you have a picture of your girlfriend? Let us see.”

The best response is to ignore it, otherwise it’s just adding fuel to the fire.

Yuan Bozhu remained silent, only saying he had to do homework.

The bedroom door closed, the parents exchanged a glance, and the older siblings nervously awaited their fate.

Finally, the father made a strategic announcement: “Friday, parent-teacher conference.”

The mother nodded firmly.

Yuan Qifeng had just returned home recently and wasn’t clear about the schedule, so he asked, “What’s that?”

Yuan Jilang explained, “Yuan Bozhu’s school is having a parent-teacher conference on Friday. Mom will temporarily represent our family and go see his girlfriend.”

Yuan Qifeng seemed to understand: “Mom, are you going to put up a banner at school asking who’s dating your son?”

Yuan Wanjiao retorted, “Are you stupid?”

“How else would you know who it is?”

Yuan Qifeng rolled his eyes at her disdainfully and reasoned,

“There are so many people in the school, you don’t even know which grade they’re in or what they look like. Moreover, both parents will be coming in and out, and the other party’s parents will definitely come too. They won’t want to attract attention at school, let alone on the day of the parent-teacher conference. Will they still show you?”

Yuan Qifeng snorted, looked at Yuan Wanjiao and said, “So now, who’s the idiot?”

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone was silent.

After a moment, Shu Shu covered his faceturned her head aside, and said sadly, “I understand now, Mom is the idiot.”

Yuan Qifeng: “???”

Yuan Wanjiao: “!!!”

Yuan Jilang eyebrows raised, he rolled up his sleeves, stomped his foot, and shouted, “Rebellious child! Today next year will be your memorial day—”

Yuan Qifeng howled, shouting “Mom, I was wrong” and “Dad, forgive me,” as he ran around the living room.

Meanwhile, Yuan Bozhu was sitting at his desk.

There was a jet-black paper crow on his workbook.

It looked no different from an ordinary black crow, with a healthy gloss to its feathers, but upon closer inspection, its eyes were tightly shut.

This was the Array Head Crow that Yuan Bozhu obtained from the Spider Domain—a substandard version made of paper.

The Array Head Crow served as the judge for each task; every rare mercenary who accepted a task would bind one as a recorder to be used at the first moment they completed the task.

In fact, the whereabouts of those rare species who weren’t registered in the Spider Domain were very elusive.

For example, beastmen like Yuan Qifeng would seamlessly integrate their citizen identities.

Their transformed appearance was difficult to associate with their usual image.

So catching them wasn’t easy.

Many mercenaries had weak tracking abilities but strong aggressiveness, so they would follow behind some rare species skilled in tracking to pick up the leftovers.

When they found the target, they would rush in to steal the prey.

At this point, the role of the Array Head Crow was crucial.

Even if two mercenaries were hunting the same target simultaneously, the Array Head Crow could distinguish who was the primary contributor and who was the secondary one.

Seeing the Array Head Crow was akin to pinpointing the mercenaries.

However, only the person who bound it could see the real Array Head Crow. Yuan Bozhu couldn’t see it.

So, this paper crow played a crucial role.

It retained the tracking function and could judge whether there were nearby rare species who accepted tasks based on the scent of the real Array Head Crow.

Moreover, it was bound only to Yuan Bozhu, and others couldn’t see it.

Yuan Bozhu could use this paper crow to prepare in advance before the mercenaries arrived.

But obviously, the Spider Domain wouldn’t help Yuan Bozhu for nothing.

So, Yuan Bozhu also had to offer some exchange conditions—the other party requested him to accept another task for free.

To find a bird he had never seen before.

These were the exact words.

Yuan Bozhu’s tracking ability was top-notch in the Spider Domain, and he always easily obtained information that others couldn’t.

So, accepting this task was simple for him. As long as it wasn’t about rebelling against alliances, Yuan Bozhu could almost accomplish anything—of course, rebellion was also possible, but it was too troublesome.

Yuan Bozhu asked for more information from the other party, but received three meaningless questions in return:

“Have you seen the Nine-Headed Phoenix?”

“Have you seen the Red Heavy Ming?”

“Have you ever seen the Three-Legged Golden Crow?”

Yuan Bozhu initially thought he was making one of those boring jokes again, but then he heard him say, “Anyway, I haven’t seen it. All the information I have here is just like those myths and legends, baseless, without any solid useful clues.”

“Otherwise, why would I eagerly ask for your help? Of course, it’s because no one else is willing to take on this task, so I can only make do. Ah, Gabriel, don’t give me that indifferent look. It’s because only you can accomplish such a difficult task.”

“But rest assured, the target is real. It just requires a stroke of luck. That’s how their bloodline works, awakening only once every few generations, evolving each time, they are born strong.”

“However, this also means that no one knows what they look like now.”

“…Maybe it was just a little sparrow at first, but tens of thousands of years later, it could have become a Peng bird. Who can guarantee? So, when you see a bird you’ve never seen before, catch it and bring it to me.”

And so, Yuan Bozhu gained another task without a clear beginning or end, with no deadline— the other party’s exact words were, “One day.”

He opened the window to let the wind in. The sentinel crow on the table tightly closed its eyes.

It was a safe signal.

It indicated that within at least a kilometer radius, there were no other sentinel crows.

Yuan Qifeng was temporarily safe.

Yuan Bozhu sighed silently, placed it by the window, took out his workbook, and focused his mind back on reality.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

He looked over and saw Yuan Qifeng’s head sneakily poking through the crack in the door.

In the instant they made eye contact, Yuan Qifeng revealed a playful expression, stepped into the room, and said, “Doing homework? What a responsible kid.”

Yuan Bozhu looked him up and down, thinking to himself whether Yuan Qifeng had taken enough precautions when he went out to fool around, whether anyone had ever seen him in human form.

Naturally, Yuan Qifeng didn’t know what he was thinking. Suddenly, he jumped onto his bed, lay down, folded his legs, and looked like he had no intention of leaving.

“What’s up?” Yuan Bozhu asked him.

“Bored, just bored. Dad won’t give me pocket money anymore, so now I’m penniless and can’t go out. I can only come play with you.”

“You can watch TV.”

“What’s there to watch on TV? The recent news is all about supernatural phenomena, aliens visiting, and someone mentioning the descendants of some higher-dimensional beings—have you heard of it? It’s that high-dimensional monster from hundreds of thousands or millions of years ago, something called ‘Chi Di’.”

Yuan Qifeng spoke offhandedly, casting a sidelong glance at Yuan Bozhu.

“I don’t know,” Yuan Bozhu replied, refilling his pen with ink and starting to do his homework.

“I bet you don’t know, you blockhead,” Yuan Qifeng chuckled, seemingly casually bringing up, “Some internet marketing accounts are spreading terrifying rumors, saying that this ‘Chi Di’ high-dimensional being didn’t actually die at all. Apart from leaving its bloodline in human genes, it also left behind a seed of resurrection—because these creatures have different anatomies from humans, they don’t have organs or brains, their death is just a form of dormancy, and when their energy is replenished, they’ll come back to life.”

“Now there’s a cult specifically dedicated to its resurrection, promoting slogans like ‘Higher Dimension Equals God’ every day.”

Yuan Bozhu suddenly sighed loudly.

“Hey, isn’t it rude to sigh so impatiently while I’m talking to you? I’m chatting with you, and you interrupt me with such an impatient sigh,” Yuan Qifeng said.

“I’m doing homework.”

Yuan Qifeng sat up on the bed, saying, “What’s more important, homework or your big brother?”

A meaningless comparison, Yuan Bozhu ignored him and asked, “So, what’s the matter?”

“Tsk, you’re really clueless, even though you look so brainy,” Yuan Qifeng said, rubbing his nose, choosing his words carefully, then said, “I’m just here to tell you that I’ll pick you up from school tomorrow.”

“?” Yuan Bozhu looked at him in shock.

“Why are you reacting so strongly? Hey hey hey, I’m your big brother, it’s normal for me to pick you up from school, okay? The way you’re acting, it’s like you’re not going to school to be picked up by me, but to be taken to the gallows!”

Yuan Bozhu thought to himself, the shock value between these two scenarios is actually about the same.

Despite Yuan Qifeng seeming to enjoy bantering with Yuan Bozhu, he was actually the most independent person in the family. He even preferred being alone more than Yuan Bozhu did.

Yuan Qifeng often went out suddenly and came back just as abruptly, never reporting his whereabouts to his parents. He appeared lazy and aimless, liked to hang out, and was very self-absorbed.

Not to mention picking up his little brother from school, sometimes even their parents couldn’t get him to go out if he didn’t feel like it.

For Yuan Qifeng, he could only go out with his own plans, not at the beck and call of others, or for things unrelated to him.

Just as Yuan Bozhu was about to ask further questions, their mother suddenly knocked on the door, calling them for dinner.

Yuan Qifeng bounced up, patted his shoulder, and went out.

This was a rare occasion for the whole family to gather.

The matter of Yuan Bozhu’s “early love” made the atmosphere in the house plunge into an early frenzy.

The table was filled with dishes that seemed impossible to finish.

As soon as they sat down, Zhang Shu exclaimed, “Oh no, I accidentally made too much.”

Yuan Wanjiao, as the thoughtful little cotton jacket, immediately understood her mother’s intentions and said, “Yeah, our table is so big, we could fit in an extra chair. It would be nice to have one more person.”

Yuan Jilang casually asked, “One more? Ah, who would that be?”

Yuan Wanjiao replied, “Dad, you’re so forgetful. Of course, it’s the girlfriend of my younger brother.”

“Haha.” Yuan Qifeng just leaned on his chin nearby, saying nothing, staring at Yuan Bozhuo with a smile.

Yuan Bozhuo tried to explain that he wasn’t really in a relationship.

But no matter what he said, they all thought he was just being shy.

In the end, Yuan Bozhuo kept his silence.

Time would prove everything.

It would prove that there was no possibility of him bringing a girlfriend home for dinner.

Yuan Bozhuo wondered how he would spend his time after school that day to avoid Yuan Qifeng.

Yuan Qifeng liked to dress himself up like a peacock showing its feathers.

Walking with him meant enjoying an eighty percent chance of being noticed.

So today, he would definitely wait until everyone had left school before leaving himself, to avoid being seen walking with Yuan Qifeng.

But what Yuan Bozhuo didn’t expect was that not only would Yuan Qifeng pick him up after school, but he would also drop him off in the morning.

Yuan Qifeng hadn’t planned this at first.

It all started because that morning, the family was having breakfast together, and they heard a news report about a serious incident that had happened yesterday.

Someone had set fire to an internet cafe near a certain school, and the source of the fire couldn’t be determined. It happened suddenly, and there was concrete evidence to prove that it wasn’t an accident.

Five people were seriously injured, and what was most disturbing was that the arsonist hadn’t been caught.

“This is too dangerous. I remember two days ago there was an arsonist at a bar… how about my younger son doesn’t go to school today?” Zhang Shu said.

But Yuan Jilang obviously disagreed. “Hide at home? What nonsense is that? Is my son going to be a coward? Unless the school announces that classes are suspended, he has to go to school.”

Zhang Shu was about to argue, but Yuan Jilang added, “Son, I’ll take you to school today.”

Yuan Jilang was busy with his project, and it would obviously delay him a lot to go pick up and drop off Yuan Bozhuo himself. He didn’t mind, but Yuan Bozhuo felt it wasn’t necessary.

“No——”

“I’ll take him.”

Before Yuan Bozhuo could finish, Yuan Qifeng volunteered.

He raised an eyebrow at Yuan Bozhuo and said with a smile, “I happen to be going to the area near your school today.”

“Where are you going to hang out again?” Yuan Wanjiao asked.

“There’s a new mall opening on Lakeside Avenue, claiming to have built the largest arcade in the whole town—anyway, it’s very close to a Zhu’s school, so I’ll pick him up while I’m there.”

Yuan Jilang frowned and said, “What’s the use of you going to pick him up? If something really happens, you’ll definitely abandon your younger brother and run.”

Yuan Qifeng asked incredulously, “Dad? What do you think of me?”

Yuan Jilang said frankly, “A spendthrift who does nothing all day but stretch out his hand to ask me for money.”

Yuan Wanjiao chuckled.

But in the end, Yuan Jilang agreed to let Yuan Qifeng pick up his younger brother.

Because he was urgently called away by a phone call from the company, and even if he didn’t trust Yuan Qifeng, he had to entrust him with the heavy responsibility.

And this time, Yuan Bozhuo didn’t refuse.

He just quietly touched the thread of soul on his index finger.

It was a good thing that Yuan Qifeng was close to him; if something happened, he could arrive in time.