Traveling Through the Book and Becoming a Cub Among the Villains - Chapter 42

Mu Shaoyan was utterly stunned, what did his little nephew just say? How often?

“Xiao Xi, have mercy on your poor uncle,” he said in despair.

Ye Qingxi looked at him seriously, “If you behave well, I can go back to one photo per class period.”

“Then when can I be released on parole?” Mu Shaoyan asked hopefully.

Ye Qingxi, “..…”

What he said next nearly made Mu Shaoyan black out on the spot.

“ColleGe entrance exam,” Ye Qingxi said calmly.

Mu Shaoyan collapsed onto the sofa instantly.

He was wrong, he had been wrong from the very beginning. He never should’ve skipped class to go fight Sun Zhen that morning. If he hadn’t fought Sun Zhen, he wouldn’t have ended up in that place. If he hadn’t ended up there, he wouldn’t have run into Ye Qingxi. And if he hadn’t run into Ye Qingxi… he wouldn’t be sitting in a metaphorical jail right now.

Some people are alive, but they’re already dead.

Others are alive, but it’s a fate worse than death.

Mu Shaoyan grabbed Ye Qingxi’s hand, eyes burning, “A year… more than three hundred days… you really have the heart to do that to me?”

Ye Qingxi did have the heart, but he was worried his little uncle wouldn’t survive it.

Fine. Being realistic, it was better to take it one day at a time.

“Let’s go with a week,” he said.

One week, Ye Qingxi thought, and then I’ll figure something else out.

Mu Shaoyan instantly came back to life!

Compared to the college entrance exam, a week was music to his ears!

He hugged Ye Qingxi tightly. Yes, yes, whatever he says, his nephew was the sweetest, softest little treasure ever.

Mu Shaoyan couldn’t resist nuzzling his head into Ye Qingxi’s chest, “Xiao Xi, you’re the best.”

Ye Qingxi, “…..”

He raised a hand and gently patted the “puppy’s” head.

Wait a second, he looked at the dark hair on that doggy head, “You’re back to black hair again?”

“Washed it out,” Mu Shaoyan replied, “I always use temporary dye at the salon, easy to rinse.”

Ye Qingxi, “…..”

He facepalmed.

Why do you insist on dyeing your hair?! What’s wrong with being a clean, fresh-faced pretty boy?! Is that so bad?!

Ye Qingxi sighed inwardly,  “I’m going back now.”

“Alright. Uncle will walk you back,” Mu Shaoyan said.

He picked Ye Qingxi up and carried him back to Mu Shaowu’s room.

Mu Shaowu watched him appear in the room again, glancing at his brother, then at his son. Suspicious, very suspicious. These two were definitely up to something.

As soon as Mu Shaoyan left, Mu Shaowu dashed over to Ye Qingxi’s desk.

“What did your little uncle want with you?”

Ye Qingxi held up the cake Mu Shaoyan had given him, “This.”

“He came just to bring you a cake?”

“En.” Ye Qingxi nodded.

Mu Shaowu was highly skeptical, “Nothing else?”

Ye Qingxi nodded again.

Mu Shaowu didn’t believe it. Narrowing his eyes, he studied his son closely.

Ye Qingxi simply smiled sweetly, letting Mu Shaowu study him all he wanted. Please, he thought, if Mu Shaowu could spot even the tiniest flaw on his face, he’d hand over his Best Actor trophy right now!

Sure enough, Mu Shaowu saw nothing suspicious.

Maybe I really am overthinking this, he thought.

“Are you going to eat that now or after your homework?”

“I’ll eat it after I finish,” Ye Qingxi replied with a smile.

Mu Shaowu nodded and didn’t press further.

Meanwhile, just one floor down, Mu Shaoyan sent a tragic message to Lu Zhao: [I’m not going to No. 2 High tomorrow morning. You guys handle it on your own, okay?]

Lu Zhao read it and asked: [Your little nephew’s doing another check-in tomorrow?]

You know it, and even more frequent this time!

Mu Shaoyan replied: [Mm.]

Lu Zhao chuckled. He really thought Mu Shaoyan was a good guy, so gentle and patient with his little nephew.

Lu Zhao: [Got it.]

Then he added: [Focus on school.]

But Mu Shaoyan… had no intention of focusing on school.

So, the next morning, after sending Ye Qingxi a selfie, he went right back to sleep.

Ye Qingxi looked at the black hair in the photo and nodded in satisfaction. 20 minutes into first period, he sent a new request, a photo with Mu Shaoyan’s hand placed on a math textbook. Unfortunately, Mu Shaoyan was deep asleep by then and didn’t hear his WeChat notifications.

By the time he was jolted awake by the class bell, he picked up his phone and saw that Ye Qingxi had already sent two photos to him.

Mu Shaoyan sobered up instantly and rushed to send the requested picture.

Ye Qingxi, “..…”

Ye Qingxi immediately called him.

Mu Shaoyan picked up in a flash.

“What were you doing earlier?” Ye Qingxi asked, “Why didn’t you send the photo or reply to me?”

Mu Shaoyan explained gently, “I fell asleep.”

“Really,” he added in a soft tone, “Baby, you have to believe me, I really am at school. I was just so tired earlier, I didn’t notice the messages.”

“Really?”

“Then you’re not allowed to sleep during the next class.”

“Okay, okay, okay,” Mu Shaoyan agreed without hesitation, “I promise I won’t sleep during the next period! I swear!”

Only then did Ye Qingxi reluctantly ease up, “Alright, then get some rest now.”

“You, too, rest well.”

Mu Shaoyan hung up the phone. Great, now that it’s every 20 minutes, not even a nap was possible.

He let out a sigh, filled with melancholy.

Meanwhile, the girl sitting behind him had heard everything he just said and turned to her desk mate, eyes wide with shock. Her desk mate looked just as stunned.

They locked eyes, leaned in together, and whispered, “Did you hear that? He just said… baby?!”

“I heard it, I heard it! And his voice was so gentle!”

“I knew something was up when he suddenly came back to class, turns out he’s in love!”

“Right?! Just now he even told the other person to trust him and promised not to sleep in the next class!”

“Love truly is a powerful thing!”

“Romance novels never lie!”

With that emotional exchange, the two girls quietly went to post on the school forum:
《Breaking! Our school’s campus tyrant has a situation!》

[??? Situation? Mu Shaoyan?!】]

[No way, what happened?! Is the source reliable?!]

[Holy—someone actually landed Mu Shaoyan? How many girls’ hearts just shattered?!]

[I don’t get how trash like him can still have fans.]

[??? What’s wrong with you, coming into the thread just to hate?]

[It’s totally normal for someone to like Mu Shaoyan. He’s handsome and rich. Sure, his grades suck and he’s flashy, but he really is handsome and rich!]

[I’m just curious… what kind of girl would someone like Mu Shaoyan fall for?]

The thread quickly exploded with speculation.

Meanwhile, the very subject of all this gossip, Mu Shaoyan, was fully engrossed in a mobile game.

What else was he supposed to do? He already promised his little nephew he wouldn’t nap again.

Mu Shaoyan felt exhausted. How are there 7 whole days in a week?! It was only Day 1, and he already felt like he was living through an eternity.

How am I supposed to survive the rest of the week?! Mu Shaoyan thought in despair.

During the break before lunch, on his way back from the bathroom, he overheard a girl chatting about a new candy shop nearby. The gummies were supposedly delicious, and she planned to buy some during lunch.

Mu Shaoyan stopped and asked, “Where is it?”

“Huh?” The girl was momentarily stunned.

“The candy shop you mentioned.”

“Oh, at the intersection of Xiqing Road.”

Mu Shaoyan nodded, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied.

After he walked away, she whispered in confusion, “Why’d he suddenly ask me that?”

“Probably to buy some for his girlfriend. Haven’t you seen the forum post? According to reliable sources, Mu Shaoyan’s got a girlfriend, he even called her ‘baby’!”

Everyone, “!!!!”

“What kind of drop-dead gorgeous person could possibly catch his eye?!”

“Who knows!”

“I really didn’t expect Mu Shaoyan to be in a relationship. I thought the two least likely people to date in our class were him and Duan Yi.”

“I really want to see this ‘baby’ he’s always talking about.”

“Just wait, maybe we’ll get the chance,” one of the girls said with a smile.

What they didn’t know was that the “baby” Mu Shaoyan spoke of… had just been brought into the office by a teacher.

“You were playing with your smartwatch during class, weren’t you?” the homeroom teacher said, looking down at Ye Qingxi, “Ye Qingxi, I let it slide before when you fell asleep in class, but now you’re playing with your smartwatch? Your family gave you that watch so you could play in class? You’re here to study.”

Ye Qingxi shook his head, “I wasn’t playing.”

“I saw you,” the teacher said, clearly exasperated.

So Ye Qingxi simply opened his WeChat conversation, lifted his wrist, and held it out toward her.

“I was checking whether my little uncle was in class.”

Homeroom teacher, Huh??? What… did he just say? Check who?

“My little uncle is in his last year of high school, and he needs to focus on his classes,” Ye Qingxi explained, “But he always wants to skip, so I make him send me a photo every 20 minutes.”

Homeroom teacher, “????”

“You? You’re doing spot checks on your little uncle?”

Ye Qingxi nodded.

Homeroom teacher, “..…”

She was utterly confused.

This photo had a clenched fist over a Chinese textbook. That one had fingers making a peace sign over an English book. Another was an upside-down thumbs-up from inside the desk pocket.

“…Your little uncle… actually listens to you?”

“He does,” Ye Qingxi said proudly, pointing at the smartwatch screen, “Teacher, look, he sent me these photos.”

The teacher leaned in, and sure enough, each one clearly showed he was inside a classroom. What’s more, every single one was different and uniquely posed, vivid proof that this uncle was indeed in his seat, in his classroom, every single time.

It’s just….

You’re only 5, kid!

Where does a 5-year-old even get all these brilliant ideas?!

The homeroom teacher suddenly remembered how Ye Qingxi had previously suggested that Sun Hao write a reflection, with his mom recording the apology on video.

“All of this… you came up with on your own?” she asked.

Ye Qingxi nodded.

“How did you think of it?”

Ye Qingxi, … How should I explain this? It just came to me.

He looked at her but didn’t say anything. His silence made the teacher think he was just being shy.

Unable to hold back, she praised him, “You really are a clever one.”

Ye Qingxi gave a soft, bashful smile.

But kid—you’re only 5! And you’re managing your 18-year-old uncle?!

The homeroom teacher’s mind flashed with four bold words: The natural order has been reversed!

What else could this be but complete role reversal?! And the most ridiculous part? His little uncle actually lets him manage him! Truly… like uncle, like nephew, they’re cut from the same absurd cloth!

“How long have you two been doing this?”

“Since yesterday afternoon.”

Yesterday afternoon… The teacher suddenly remembered, “Is this the same uncle who treated you all to lunch yesterday?”

Ye Qingxi nodded.

So that’s what happened, the teacher thought. She’d assumed Ye Qingxi’s uncle had already been working and had just stopped by to visit.

Now it looked like someone had skipped class yesterday, only to get caught by his 5-year-old nephew.

The homeroom teacher didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

She’d seen students skip class and get caught by parents. This was the first time she’d seen an adult skip class and get caught by a 5-year-old, who then proceeded to supervise him academically.

Especially when that little one was just a kindergartener.

The homeroom teacher almost burst out laughing.

She gently patted Ye Qingxi’s little head, what a truly devoted little nephew!

“You’re quite a responsible one,” she said with a smile.

Ye Qingxi thought so, too. From his eldest uncle to his youngest one, how would this family possibly manage without him?!

Author’s Note:

The head teacher to Mu Shaoyan: Could you be more sensible and let your nephew worry less!

The head teacher to Xiaoxi: You are such a responsible nephew.

Mu Shaoyan: …I always feel that this is a bit weird.

[Mini Theater]

Classmates in the class now: How beautiful Mu Shaoyan’s “baby” is! I really want to meet him!

Classmates after meeting him: …He is really a little, cute girl who is so beautiful that she can make fish sink to the bottom of water, geese fall, and the moon hide in shame!

Mu Shaoyan: Of course, my baby is super cute!

Baby Benbao: …