Traveling Through the Book and Becoming a Cub Among the Villains - Chapter 46

Mu Shaowu paused for a moment, only then realizing, he’d been so focused on spending time with his son that he had completely forgotten to tell his agent, Zeng Chong, that he now had a child.

Feeling a little embarrassed, Mu Shaowu scratched his head, “He’s not biologically mine, don’t worry.”

Zeng Chong, “?????”

“Not biologically yours? And I’m supposed to feel better about that?!”

How is that supposed to be reassuring?! If the kid isn’t his by blood, how does that make it less of a problem?!

“What the hell is going on with you?!” Zeng Chong asked helplessly.

“It’s just that our old man has a friend who got seriously ill. On his deathbed, he entrusted his child to my dad, and my dad ended up registering the kid under my name. That’s why I had you cancel those events lately, I just wanted to spend more time with him and build a bond.”

Hearing this, Zeng Chong finally let out a sigh of relief.

So that’s what this was all about. As long as it wasn’t some secret child he had with a female celebrity—or any woman, for that matter—that Zeng didn’t know about, then fine.

“Mu Shaowu, next time you have something like this happen, you must tell me. And more importantly, any emotional entanglements must be reported. Keep your personal life absolutely, absolutely clean!”

Mu Shaowu, “……”

Mu Shaowu felt like his personal life was already plenty clean!

He was 25-years-old and still a pristine, untouched bachelor! How much cleaner could it get?!

Was there anyone in the entertainment industry cleaner than him?!

“If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up!” Mu Shaowu said, about to end the call.

Zeng Chong quickly added, “Wait! Clouds Part After the Rain starts filming in about half a month. Get ready, I’ll come pick you up then.”

Mu Shaowu, “????”

“Starts in half a month? Are you kidding me?!”

“I’m not,” Zeng Chong replied helplessly, “It’s a big platform-backed project, the start date was set ages ago. They even signed a backup lead with a tentative contract. If it weren’t for waiting on you, the production team would’ve made the announcement long ago.”

Mu Shaowu, “……”

“That’s why I kept trying to get you to sign,” Zeng Chong said gently, “The script’s great, the producer’s sincere, the pay is high. No matter how you look at it, it’s a win.”

“Got it,” Mu Shaowu said, “I’m hanging up now.”

“Alright, see you in half a month.”

“Mm.”

Mu Shaowu hung up the phone, walked out of the small study, and came to the bedside.

Ye Qingxi was still asleep, his fair little face flushed a soft pink in slumber, unspeakably adorable.

Just thinking about how he’d have to leave in half a month, how he wouldn’t be able to stay by his side anymore, it wasn’t that he was just a little reluctant, he was completely unwilling to part. Now he understood, once you become a dad, kids really do anchor your heart.

Mu Shaowu gently pinched his precious son’s soft cheek, “See what happens when you worry about Daddy? Now look—Daddy’s going to work soon and won’t be able to keep you company. You better not cry.”

Sigh… Mu Shaowu thought, why can’t he just pack his son up and bring him along?!

If only he had a Doraemon pocket.

Mu Shaowu didn’t tell Ye Qingxi the next day that he’d be leaving soon. To him, this kind of thing was too sudden, he couldn’t just drop it on him. It needed a proper lead-up.

After some thought, he decided to take advantaGe of the National Day break and bring Ye Qingxi on a trip abroad.

Then, he’d tell him about having to leave for work.

“Xiao Xi, do you want to go on a trip during the National Day holiday?”

Mu Shaowu looked at Ye Qingxi, who was playing a game on his tablet, and poked his soft little cheek.

“Wanna go on a trip during the holiday?” he asked.

Ye Qingxi instantly looked up, “Go on a trip?”

“En,” Mu Shaowu said with a smile, “It’s a 7-day break, you can really enjoy yourself this time.”

Hearing that, Ye Qingxi asked eagerly, “Where are we going?”

“Abroad, of course,” Mu Shaowu replied, brushing his bangs to the side.

“You know your dad’s pretty popular. The National Day holiday is a major break, there’ll be crowds everywhere in the country. If I’m not careful, I won’t just be your dad anymore, I’ll be someone else’s husband or big brother, too.”

Ye Qingxi couldn’t help but laugh, “Then where are we going abroad?”

“Somewhere by the sea,” Mu Shaowu said, “I’ll take you to play in the water.”

“Okay!” Ye Qingxi said happily.

Mu Shaowu ruffled his hair and began planning the trip.

“Oh right,” he added, reminding Ye Qingxi, “Don’t tell anyone else, this trip is just for the two of us. Only the two of us.”

Ye Qingxi, “……”

Looks like his dad needed some one-on-one time with him, too.

“Okay,” Ye Qingxi agreed.

“Such a good boy.” Mu Shaowu leaned in and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

With that little moment between them, the week leading up to the National Day holiday felt especially long for Ye Qingxi. Every day, he was counting down the time, eagerly waiting for the holiday to arrive.

But before Mu Shaowu’s overseas trip could begin, Mu Shaoyan’s midterms came first.

Mu Shaoyan called him and said, “I can’t send you photos tomorrow. I have exams for the next two days.”

“Are you taking them?”

“Not like I want to, but your uncle won’t let me skip them.”

Ye Qingxi, ……Well now your little nephew won’t allow it either!

“Good luck, Uncle! Do your best on the exams!”

Mu Shaoyan, ……Is this really a matter of “good luck”?

“Alright.” Mu Shaoyan agreed.

Ye Qingxi sent him a selfie-based cheering sticker he made himself: [Remember to double-check your answers~]

Mu Shaoyan saw it and couldn’t help but laugh: [Got it~]

Midterm exams in the third year of high school were always graded quickly, the tests were on Tuesday and Wednesday, and by Thursday, the math scores were already out. By Friday, the rest of the subjects’ scores came in one after another, and not just that, the ranking sheet was also released.

Ye Qingxi was very curious, but he didn’t ask about it over WeChat.

He wanted to ask Mu Shaoyan in person, that way, depending on his scores, he could plan his next move. Though honestly, he didn’t expect Mu Shaoyan’s grades to be particularly great.

With that in mind, Ye Qingxi waited for Mu Shaoyan to come home.

Finally, once Mu Shaoyan had washed his hair and returned, Ye Qingxi immediately asked with concern, “Uncle, did you eat yet?”

“I did,” Mu Shaoyan replied.

There were a lot of people in the living room, so Ye Qingxi thoughtfully didn’t bring up the midterms.

He simply said, “We have cookies today.”

“Then you should eat more,” Mu Shaoyan smiled, “I’ll pass.”

After saying that, he went upstairs and into his room.

Ye Qingxi stayed in the living room with Mu Shaoting for a little while longer before returning to Mu Shaowu’s room.

He picked up his game console and said to Mu Shaowu, “Daddy, I’m going to find Uncle to play video games.”

“Alright,” Mu Shaowu replied.

Now that he had decided to take on Clouds Part After the Rain, Mu Shaowu took it seriously and responsibly, starting to study the character and memorize lines.

Because of that, he couldn’t be with Ye Qingxi every minute of the day.

Ye Qingxi went downstairs and headed toward Mu Shaoyan’s room.

Just as he was approaching the door, he heard Mu Zheng’s voice from inside, “Look at your grades. How do you expect to get into college like this? How are you going to take the college entrance exam?”

Ye Qingxi instantly froze in place.

Part of him was surprised, Mu Zheng is back?

The other part thought, As expected, Mu Shaoyan didn’t do well on the exams.

He lightened his steps, tiptoeing to the doorway to eavesdrop.

“Worst case, you help me apply to a college abroad. I’ll just study overseas,” came Mu Shaoyan’s voice from inside.

“Do you call that going abroad for university? You’re just planning to waste time overseas!”

Mu Shaoyan, “……”

Mu Zheng was clearly anxious on his behalf, “Shaoyan, you weren’t like this before. You used to have good grades.”

“You just said it, used to.”

“Then why won’t you study properly now? If you really tried, you could absolutely catch up within a year.”

Mu Shaoyan didn’t respond.

Seeing how completely unbothered he was, Mu Zheng could only say, “There’s something I haven’t told you. But if you keep going down this road, I think we’re going to end up there sooner or later.”

“You think it’s all over after the college entrance exam? Dad said, if your exam scores aren’t good enough, you’ll repeat a year. But not here. You’ll be sent to Dad’s old school, Fenghua County No. 1 High School.”

Hearing that, Mu Shaoyan looked at his brother in shock.

Mu Zheng’s tone was firm, “Dad originally wanted to send you there this semester. But when Xiao Xi came to live with us, I told him that if you left now, you might not be familiar with him anymore when you came back and that’s the only reason he changed his mind.”

“But if you keep this up, then by next semester, or next year, he will send you over. And when that time comes, not even Xiao Xi can save you. I won’t be able to save you either!”

Mu Shaoyan didn’t say anything, but there was a hint of stubbornness and hurt in his eyes.

“It’s just one year,” Mu Zheng said gently, trying to persuade him, “Just study hard for this one year. After the college entrance exam, whatever you want, I’ll buy it for you, alright?”

“No need,” Mu Shaoyan replied, “I don’t want anything.”

He looked at Mu Zheng, “This is just who I am. If Dad really can’t stand it, then he can exile me or whatever. He’s my dad, what can I do about it?”

Mu Feng, “……”

Ye Qingxi, “……”

He took a step back, quietly and soundlessly retreating from Mu Shaoyan’s floor.

He returned to Mu Shaowu’s bedroom, sat down on the sofa, and rested his cheeks in his hands.

Mu Shaowu, hearing the movement, walked out of the study and looked at him, “Back already? Weren’t you going to play games with your uncle?”

“I saw Uncle Zheng,” Ye Qingxi said, “He seemed to have something to talk to Uncle Shaoyan about, so I came back first.”

“I see. Then play on your own for now. Daddy has two more pages of lines to memorize, after that, I’ll come play with you.”

Ye Qingxi nodded, “Mm, Daddy, memorizing your lines is more important. I’ll watch a movie first.”

“Okay.” Mu Shaowu smiled and praised him, “Such a good boy.”

Ye Qingxi casually picked a movie and hit play.

But his mind wasn’t on the movie at all, it was on Mu Shaoyan.

18-years-old, in his rebellious phase, the more the people around him wanted him to study, the less he wanted to. As if studying meant he’d lost. As if this was the only way to prove that whether it was his parents or siblings, what they loved was truly him, not the version of him who got good grades.

Before transmigrating into the book, Ye Qingxi had acted in a similar drama.

In the scene, the girl cried and said, “If I don’t do well in school, am I not your daughter anymore?!”

“Do you love the me who gets good grades, or just me?”

She was exhausted from studying, completely burned out. The more she studied, the worse her grades became, to the point where the sight of textbooks and worksheets made her feel sick.

But her parents didn’t know that. They were just ordinary parents, so they kept urging her to study hard, to do well on the college entrance exam.

In the end, in the scene, Ye Qingxi, playing the class monitor, found her and asked, “Do you really not like studying?”

She shook her head and replied softly, “I’m just scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“Scared… that I won’t live up to their expectations.”

The more scared she was, the more pressure she felt. The more pressure she felt, the harder she tried.

The harder she tried, the more disappointed she became. The more disappointed she was, the more afraid she became.

A vicious cycle.

Ye Qingxi didn’t know what Mu Shaoyan’s exact situation was, but Mu Zheng had said earlier he wasn’t always like this.

He used to have good grades. So something must have happened, something that changed him into who he was now.

Ye Qingxi didn’t know what that something was. And he didn’t think he could figure it out just yet.

He only knew one thing, studying is something a person has to be willing to do themselves.

If Mu Shaoyan didn’t want to, then just like this past week, forcing him to stay at school wouldn’t help.

So no matter what the reason was for his resistance, he first had to find the will to open a textbook again, he had to be the one to take the first step, only then could he possibly break through his inner barriers and return to the academic level he once had. Of course, during that time, he would help him.

But how could he make Mu Shaoyan want to study on his own?

Ye Qingxi almost immediately came up with an idea.

Sorry, little uncle, he thought, I’m not trying to trick you on purpose—it’s really just for your own good.

Students are meant to study, especially college entrance exam students.

Ye Qingxi could understand rebellious phases, he could understand teenage angst, but even rebellious, angsty teens still have to study!

Even if Mu Shaoyan didn’t need studying to change his fate, learning a little more was always a good thing.

Especially since their grandpa seemed to care quite a bit about the kids’ grades.

So, study, little uncle!

Of course, Ye Qingxi wasn’t some heartless schemer, so he decided to let his little uncle enjoy the National Day holiday first.

Once the break was over and he’d had his fun, then he’d “set him up” and guide him back into studying properly.

With that plan in mind, Ye Qingxi finally let go of the matter for now.

He turned his attention back to the movie, only to see a familiar face suddenly appear on screen.

Wait a minute… why was Mu Shaowu playing a background pretty boy in this drama, too?!

Just how many shows had he acted in as a flower vase?!

Ye Qingxi watched his all-too-familiar flower-vase dad in the movie.

By the time the film ended, he couldn’t help but shed a tear of sympathy for him, not just a flower vase, but a shattered one at that.

His scenes were scattered and fragmented, practically just a decorative prop.

Sigh…

As a former lead actor in films himself, Ye Qingxi couldn’t help but sigh.

Same top-tier celebrity status, yet the treatment was worlds apart.

Truly tragic, his dad had it the worst!

Author’s Note:

Mu Shaowu: Isn’t it? QAQ

Ye Qingxi: “My Flower Vase Dad”

Mu Shaowu: … Just think of it as you praising my good looks!

Mu Shaoyan is just in the rebellious period, it’s easy to solve, so don’t worry.

Mu Shaoyan who didn’t want to study at the age of 18: No one cares about me.

Mu Shaoyan who gave an important speech at the 985 university at the age of 19: I can be where I am today, mainly thanks to my nephew! Without him! There would be no new and excellent middle school graduate now!

Ye Qingxi: Applause!