Traveling Through the Book and Becoming a Cub Among the Villains - Chapter 40
was running for his life when suddenly he heard a loud “waaah” crying sound from behind. His heart tightened, and he turned around with a trembling head, only to see his adorable little nephew apparently having fallen down, now sitting on the ground bawling his eyes out.
Mu Shaoyan, “!!!!”
In an instant, Mu Shaoyan felt his scalp go numb! You had to know, ever since Ye Qingxi came to live with their family, he had never seen him cry.
Now he was crying like this, just how badly must he have fallen?
Mu Shaoyan felt a chill down his neck, he had the sinking feeling that his head was about to pack up and flee home on its own.
Without thinking, he rushed back and pulled Ye Qingxi up from the ground, speaking with concern, “What happened? Did you fall? Why were you running?”
Ye Qingxi looked up at him, eyes brimming with tears.
Mu Shaoyan dropped to his knees instantly, sliding into a kneel, “It’s my fault, all my fault! I was the one who ran, it’s all on me!”
After saying that, he carefully started checking Ye Qingxi over. Thankfully, it didn’t look like the fall was serious, no visible injuries.
Mu Shaoyan let out a sigh of relief. If Ye Qingxi had really gotten hurt chasing after him, forget his dad tearing him apart, he’d feel so guilty he’d want to beat himself up.
“Does it hurt?” Mu Shaoyan asked with concern, “Where does it hurt?”
Seeing the worry in his eyes, Ye Qingxi reached out and grabbed his arm, perfect. Got him. Let’s see where he thinks he’s running off to now. Little Mu Shaoyan, easily handled~
Ye Qingxi shook his head and replied softly, “It doesn’t hurt.”
Mu Shaoyan didn’t believe that for a second, if it didn’t hurt, would he have cried so loudly?
“Where did you fall? Your knee or your butt?”
“My knee,” Ye Qingxi answered.
Mu Shaoyan bent down, rolled up his pant leg to check his knee. His pale little leg and knee were spotless, no bruises, no scrapes. Only then did Mu Shaoyan completely relax.
Just as he let out a breath and reached up to pat Ye Qingxi’s head, he heard a voice beside him, one of his friends, “Yan-ge, who’s this?”
Mu Shaoyan, “……”
Ye Qingxi turned to look at the three people standing beside him, even more puzzled than they were, “Little Uncle, who are they?”
Mu Shaoyan, “……”
He hadn’t even figured out what to say when another voice came from the end of the street.
“Ye Qingxi, was that you crying just now? Are you okay?”
Pei Liang ran up in the lead.
But as soon as he turned the corner, he saw his good friend standing with a red-haired guy.
Pei Liang, “!!!!”
He was so startled, he slammed on the brakes. And because he was the “locomotive,” everyone who followed behind—Kang Cong, Zhong Yan, and Chen Xiang—bam, bam, bam—each one crashed into the person in front of them.
“What are you doing?” Kang Cong said angrily.
He followed Pei Liang’s gaze, and instantly froze in shock, too.
“Whoa! It’s the Flame King!” Chen Xiang’s eyes lit up, “So cool!”
Pei Liang, “????”
Pei Liang, “…..”
In the end, it was Ye Qingxi who ran up to them first and said, “It wasn’t me, I didn’t cry.”
He was such a good actor, tears came and went on command. By now, they had completely vanished, not even a trace of redness in his eyes.
Seeing him like that, Pei Liang felt reassured and nodded.
“I knew I didn’t hear crying,” Kang Cong said, “But Pei Liang insisted he did, scared me half to death.”
Ye Qingxi, …Well, his ears are pretty sharp.
“Then who’s that…?” Zhong Yan asked, raising his chin to indicate Mu Shaoyan.
Ye Qingxi smiled sweetly, “My little uncle.”
Everyone, “????”
“Your little uncle? The Flame King?!” Chen Xiang exclaimed in shock.
Ye Qingxi, …Can you take back those cringey words? Flame King? Why not just call him Fire Kid while you’re at it!
Ye Qingxi turned around and waved at Mu Shaoyan.
Mu Shaoyan hurried over.
Ye Qingxi introduced, “This is Pei Liang, Kang Cong, Zhong Yan, and our classmate Chen Xiang.”
Mu Shaoyan, …Great, except for this Chen Xiang, the rest are all grandsons of people his dad knows well.
He could only smile and say, “Hi there.”
“Hello, hello! Uncle, you’re so cool!” Chen Xiang said enthusiastically, “Is that hair natural? I want that, too!”
Mu Shaoyan, “..…”
He awkwardly rubbed his nose, then looked down at Ye Qingxi to chanthe subject, “What are you guys doing here?”
Ye Qingxi held up his broom, “Cleaning the streets.”
“Here?”
“En.” Ye Qingxi nodded.
“This is voluntary labor, helping create a better community environment. It’s very meaningful,” team leader Pei Liang said again, mimicking the teacher’s tone.
Mu Shaoyan, “…..”
“Then are you done cleaning?” he asked Ye Qingxi.
Ye Qingxi shook his head and pointed to a nearby alley, “That part hasn’t been swept yet.”
Mu Shaoyan took his broom and casually handed it to one of his friends, “Go sweep that alley.”
“Alright.” The guy didn’t refuse.
Pei Liang’s eyes lit up, “That bus stop sign over there was too high, we couldn’t reach it.”
No problem. Mu Shaoyan took the cloth and handed it to another one of his friends.
Kang Cong quickly passed the water basin over too, “Little Uncle, fetch some water.”
Mu Shaoyan, “…..”
A nearby buzz-cut guy chuckled and took the basin, “I’ll go get water. Where do I fetch it?”
Kang Cong eagerly led him toward the water source. Pei Liang also guided the other friend over to the bus stop sign.
Ye Qingxi looked a little worried, “Are they reliable? They won’t bully Kang Cong and Pei Liang, right?”
They wouldn’t, like… kidnap them or something?
“Relax,” Mu Shaoyan said, hands in his pockets, “They’re my friends, very reliable.”
Chen Xiang’s eyes instantly filled with admiration, Ye Qingxi’s little uncle is so cool!
And just like that, a group of delinquent-looking teens were suddenly transformed into model community volunteers—each one earnestly sweeping, wiping bus stop signs and railings. In no time at all, they’d finished all of Ye Qingxi’s group’s assigned tasks.
Pei Liang was absolutely thrilled, “Thank you, Uncle of Ye Qingxi!”
“No need to be so polite,” Mu Shaoyan replied with a smile.
Ye Qingxi checked his watch, then looked at Mu Shaoyan, “Let’s have lunch together.”
“Aren’t you supposed to eat with your dad?”
“Not today,” Ye Qingxi said, “Today we did community service, and the whole class is having a group lunch at noon to celebrate doing something meaningful. Dad’s not coming.”
“I see,” Mu Shaoyan nodded, “Alright then.”
He looked at the kids around Ye Qingxi, “Then lunch is on me.”
Chen Xiang shook his head, he had his own close friends, and they had already agreed to sit together at the lunch.
“I already made plans with Fang Xin.”
“Alright,” Mu Shaoyan didn’t insist.
“Then we’ll go let the teacher know,” Ye Qingxi said to him.
“En.”
“You wait here, don’t leave. Otherwise, I’ll be mad.”
Mu Shaoyan chuckled, pinching his cheek teasingly, “And what’ll happen if you get mad?”
“Ah~” Ye Qingxi opened his mouth and pretended to bite his hand.
Mu Shaoyan burst out laughing, and even his delinquent-looking friends couldn’t help but smile.
“So fierce~” Mu Shaoyan put on a mock-frightened expression, “Xi, you’re really scary when you’re mad.”
Ye Qingxi, “….”
Ye Qingxi suddenly felt his little act just now was kind of childish. Ugh—how did he even end up doing something like that?
He quickly turned around and pulled Pei Liang and the others with him toward where the teacher was.
They returned the cleaning supplies to the teacher.
Ye Qingxi said sweetly, “My little uncle came to pick us up for lunch.”
Pei Liang nodded.
Chen Xiang also chimed in as a witness, “Yeah, his uncle even invited me, too, but I turned him down.”
Seeing this, the homeroom teacher let them go.
On the other side, Mu Shaoyan said to his friends, “You guys go ahead, I’m having lunch with my nephew and the others.”
“No worries,” Wang Xu said casually, “It’s lunchtime anyway, we can all eat together.”
Mu Shaoyan, “..…”
Lu Zhao, standing next to Wang Xu, slung an arm over his shoulder and said, “Let’s go, my treat today, barbecue.”
“Sounds great,” Li Shuai laughed.
And with that, the three of them walked off arms around each other’s shoulders.
Just as they left, Ye Qingxi and the others came back.
Mu Shaoyan pulled out his phone, searched nearby restaurants, and finally took them to a Sichuan restaurant. He got them a private room, ordered some dishes, and even let Ye Qingxi, and the others order their own. Only then did the main topic of the meal begin.
“So, um… about what happened today when you ran into me—Xiao Xi, can you pretend it never happened, okay?” Mu Shaoyan blinked, eyes clearly pleading.
Ye Qingxi looked at his flame-colored hair with curiosity, stood up, walked over, and reached out to touch it.
“Not a wig.”
“Of course it’s not a wig,” Mu Shaoyan said, looking at him, “You think a wig could have hair this smooth?”
Ye Qingxi, “..…”
He just didn’t get it, “But your hair’s black at home.”
“That’s because your grandpa won’t allow it.”
Mu Shaoyan sighed. The first time he dyed his hair red, his dad kicked him out of the house, saying if he didn’t dye it back, he shouldn’t bother coming home. So he could only indulge in his style when wasn’t around to see it.
“Pretty cool, right?” he said.
Ye Qingxi, “…..”
Across the table, Kang Cong nodded enthusiastically, “It is cool! Can I dye mine, too?!”
Ye Qingxi, “????”
Ye Qingxi looked at Kang Cong in confusion, you want to dye that little head of yours red, too?!
“No way,” Mu Shaoyan refused, “You’re still too young.”
“Then I can do it when I grow up?”
Ye Qingxi, “!!!!”
Mu Shaoyan, “.…”
Mu Shaoyan figured that probably wouldn’t fly either. Mr. Kang likely wouldn’t be thrilled to see his grandson with a full head of red hair.
“You better forget it,” Mu Shaoyan said sincerely.
Kang Cong pouted, while Ye Qingxi focused his gaze on Mu Shaoyan’s ear cuff.
“Uncle, you don’t have pierced ears.”
“Mm.” Mu Shaoyan nodded.
His dad had a rigid image of masculinity. In his eyes, getting ear piercings or wearing earrings was something a man absolutely shouldn’t do.
Ye Qingxi poked the little skull on his ear cuff. Mu Shaoyan immediately took off the ear cuff so Ye Qingxi could hold it and take a closer look.
As he removed it, Ye Qingxi caught sight of the rings on Mu Shaoyan’s fingers again.
One hand, five fingers, Mu Shaoyan was wearing three rings. One wide black ring, one slim silver ring, and another silver stacking ring. They weren’t ugly, just… a bit flashy.
Ye Qingxi felt a headache coming on, his little uncle really was a cringey Shamate. He had thought the original novel was exaggerating, but it turned out to be true!
“What’s this on your forearm?” Ye Qingxi lifted his hand.
On the inside of Mu Shaoyan’s forearm was a black compass tattoo.
“Oh, that?” Mu Shaoyan said, “It’s a temporary tattoo.”
As he spoke, he picked up a teacup, poured some tea over it, then used a tissue to gently rub it off.
It actually came off.
Ye Qingxi, “…”
Ye Qingxi facepalmed.
You could say he was over-the-top, but everything on him could be removed or wiped off without leaving a trace. But if you say he’s not over-the-top, just look at him! How could he not be? Who in the world plays the part of a clean-cut black-haired pretty boy at home, and then transforms into a red-haired, edgy, wannabe-punk Shamate at school?!
All those late Fridays, you were going to get your hair done, weren’t you?!
“Little uncle, how long have you been doing this?” Ye Qingxi asked wearily.
“Not long, just a year,” Mu Shaoyan replied.
A whole year is “not long”? Then how many years were you planning to keep this up?
“You plan to keep doing this in the future, too?” Ye Qingxi asked.
Mu Shaoyan, Why not?
Mu Shaoyan chuckled and pulled him into a hug, “Don’t you think your little uncle looks super cool like this?”
Ye Qingxi shook his head.
His black eyes simply couldn’t accept this kind of flashy aesthetic. Especially that hair, it was even ombré with highlights. Seriously? Who even does hair with gold-edged streaks?!
It was just… absurd!
Mu Shaoyan had expected this reaction.
The first time Ye Qingxi saw this side of him, Mu Shaoyan had panicked, not just because his hidden identity was suddenly exposed to family, but also because he figured a kid like Ye Qingxi couldn’t possibly understand how cool and edgy teens their age liked to be.
That’s why he had turned and run, trying to completely deny that what Ye Qingxi saw was actually him. But now that the kid was in his arms, Mu Shaoyan could only try to reason with his little nephew.
“Baby, you’re still young. It’s okay that you don’t like it. But can you please not tell anyone else? Don’t tell your grandpa, your dad, your uncle, or your aunt. Okay?”
Ye Qingxi, …So you do know this is something to be ashamed of.
“Then you should go back to class this afternoon,” Ye Qingxi said, “It’s Thursday. We elementary schoolers are doing community service, you high schoolers should be too, right?”
Mu Shaoyan, “…..”
Pei Liang chimed in with a chilly tone, “You skipped school.”
Mu Shaoyan, “…..”
Mu Shaoyan scratched his head, “I… I just stepped out for a bit. I’ll go back soon.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
“Then when you get back to school, send me pictures,” Ye Qingxi said, “Every class period. Wherever I tell you to take the picture in the classroom, that’s where you take it. And I want selfies.”
Mu Shaoyan, “????”
Mu Shaoyan stared at his little nephew. Seriously? What kind of brain does this kid have to come up with such a precise and complicated method? How the heck was he supposed to skip class now?!
Author’s Note:
Mu Shaoyan: I am always confused about how my genius nephew’s brain works!
Mu Shaoyan – My nephew is a genius: Hehe.
Mu Shaoyan – My nephew uses his genius little brain to deal with me: No hehe QAQ
Xiaoxi: Study hard!
Storyteller CloudyPastels's Words
Translator:nHeheh little uncle’s “fun” beginsn