Chapter 15: A Fateful Fall and a Familiar Ring

Xu Hengzhou raised an eyebrow. ‘Had he caught a little thief?’

Noticing the strange expression on his face, Xiang Chen stammered, eager to explain. “You, I, I’m not…”

The more he rushed, the more muddled his words became. Desperate, Xiang Chen instinctively braced himself against the beam, intending to stand upright and clarify things properly with Xu Hengzhou.

As his chubby little hand moved, the small red mole flashed before Xu Hengzhou’s eyes. Xu Hengzhou’s gaze sharpened, and he lifted his head, wanting to get a closer look.

Then came a startled yelp. Having released his grip, Xiang Chen lost his balance and tumbled directly from the beam.

Given Xu Hengzhou’s usual disposition, he would have immediately shifted aside to avoid being hit by the child.

However, perhaps the glimpse of that small red mole had unsettled him, for Xu Hengzhou subconsciously reached out, attempting to catch Xiang Chen.

If Xu Hengzhou were still his twenty-something adult self, catching Xiang Chen from such close proximity would have been effortless. Yet, he had forgotten his own shrunken body.

His outstretched arm, while cushioning Xiang Chen’s fall and preventing him from hitting the ground directly, failed to fully catch him and instead caused Xu Hengzhou himself to be pulled down.

Xu Hengzhou let out a muffled groan, the impact of Xiang Chen hitting his shoulder nearly making him cough up blood.

Xiang Chen scrambled to his feet. Thanks to Xu Hengzhou’s quick action, his fall wasn’t severe, as Xu Hengzhou had broken it. He was only a little sore.

“Are you alright!” He gazed at the frowning Xu Hengzhou, on the verge of tears. ‘What if he had seriously hurt someone else’s child?’

Xu Hengzhou cautiously moved his arms and hands. Fortunately, nothing was broken.

Xu Hengzhou, who had never possessed a charitable bone in his body, felt utterly bewildered.

‘This wasn’t anyone important to him; that little idiot was someone he’d never see again in this lifetime. How could a mere mole that looked somewhat similar have led to such a predicament?’

Burning with irritation, Xu Hengzhou chose to ignore Xiang Chen. He pushed himself up, intending to go home and rest.

Xiang Chen failed to hold him back. He watched Xu Hengzhou walk towards the door, then inadvertently kick the culprit—Xiang Chen’s small pouch.

With a crisp *clink*, a familiar large gold ring rolled out of the pouch…

Xu Hengzhou’s gaze froze on the large gold ring. ‘Such an ugly ring—he had only ever seen it once before…’

Xiang Chen’s face paled with fright. He rushed over in a panic, snatched up the ring, clutched it in his palm, and then hid his hands behind his back, foolishly hoping to pretend nothing had happened.

With the ring gone, Xu Hengzhou’s gaze shifted upward, settling on Xiang Chen’s face.

His pointed chin had rounded, and while the shape of his eyes remained, they too had become a bit rounder, making him appear even more naive. His nose and mouth, though shrunken, retained their fundamental features.

‘No mistake,’ Xu Hengzhou closed his eyes.

‘A mole in the same position could be a coincidence, and a similar appearance could also be a coincidence. But a child this small carrying an identical gold ring? If he weren’t that little idiot, Xu Hengzhou wouldn’t believe it himself.’

Unable to describe the complex emotions swirling within him, Xu Hengzhou felt that he should be happy. He had no attachments in his original world, so it didn’t matter where he transmigrated.

His only regret was the person he held in his heart, to whom he hadn’t even had the chance to confess his feelings.

It seemed heaven was indeed compensating him, sending that person directly to him.

Xu Hengzhou couldn’t help but let the corners of his mouth curl upward. ‘That little idiot was truly chubby when he was young, and undeniably adorable.’

Xiang Chen knew nothing of Xu Hengzhou’s internal journey. All he saw was the man suddenly smile at him, a sight that was utterly unsettling.

Xiang Chen tightened his grip on his large gold ring. ‘This absolutely cannot be stolen. His future meals depended entirely on it.’

With that thought, Xiang Chen shuffled his short legs, trying to run back into the house. Xu Hengzhou, however, slowly called out from behind him, “Xiang Chen.”

“Ah?!” Xiang Chen instinctively responded with a shout, only to realize, ‘How does he know my name? Everyone here thinks my name is Chen Dabao!’

Thinking this, Xiang Chen asked, “How do you know my name is Xiang Chen?”

Xu Hengzhou took two steps forward, looking down at the little runt before him. “What do you think?”

He extended a hand, signaling Xiang Chen to give him the ring.

Xiang Chen’s hand, clutching the ring, tightened. He kept it behind his back, refusing to produce it. “This is mine!”

Xu Hengzhou scoffed. “Didn’t you say you bought it for me? If it’s a gift for me, then it’s mine.”

‘Bought it for him?’ Xiang Chen was stunned. It took him a moment to process. ‘His Male God had also transmigrated?! How did he become so small? Oh, right, he himself had also become small.’

Meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land—no, this was even more joyful. Xiang Chen was so happy he practically wanted to leap. He grabbed Xu Hengzhou’s arm, exclaiming enthusiastically, “Wang Dagui, you transmigrated too!”

Xu Hengzhou: “…”

‘Why hadn’t he just fallen to his death earlier!’

A vein pulsed on Xu Hengzhou’s forehead. He picked up Xiang Chen’s small pouch, pulled Xiang Chen into his own house, and closed the door.

Then, he forced a smile and earnestly told Xiang Chen, “My name is Xu Hengzhou, not that… Wang Dagui.”

“You changed your name?!” Xiang Chen asked, astonished.

Xu Hengzhou: “…No, I haven’t. From birth until now, I’ve only had one name: Xu Hengzhou. Did you remember it?”

Xiang Chen was startled by his cold expression. He mumbled, “Then who is Wang Dagui…?”

Hearing that name infuriated Xu Hengzhou. He reached out and pinched the soft flesh of Xiang Chen’s cheeks, asking testily, “You’re asking me? You got my name wrong when you confessed to me. Tell me, were you deliberately messing with me?”

“No, I wasn’t on purpose.” Xiang Chen’s face was distorted from the pinch, but he didn’t dare struggle. ‘It would be truly unlucky if he had actually gotten the name wrong. No wonder his Male God told him to scram.’

Xu Hengzhou had initially just wanted to vent his frustration, but once his hand made contact, he realized the little guy’s cheeks were incredibly soft and felt wonderful.

So, while Xiang Chen was consumed with guilt, he continued to pinch and knead. Only when he released his grip did he notice Xiang Chen’s little white bun-like face was flushed, making him feel a sudden pang of regret.

“Does it hurt?” Xu Hengzhou reached out to touch him, truly careful not to use force this time.

“No, it doesn’t.” Xiang Chen gave Xu Hengzhou an ingratiating smile, hoping he wouldn’t pursue the matter of getting his name wrong.

Xu Hengzhou rubbed his fingers together, almost blurting out, ‘If it doesn’t hurt, let me pinch it again.’

Suppressing the impulse, Xu Hengzhou turned to serious matters. “When did you transmigrate? How did you end up here? Tell me everything.”

Xiang Chen then recounted, in detail, how he had woken up on the road, encountered human traffickers, and subsequently been sold.

Finally, he rubbed his stomach and sighed, “It’s a good thing I was sold, and I even brought a few candies. Otherwise, I would have starved to death long ago.”

Xu Hengzhou: “…”

After a long silence, Xu Hengzhou finally asked, “The human traffickers you met, were they a man and a woman with two children, claiming to be surnamed Ma? The man looked fierce, and the woman seemed very kind?”

“Yes! How did you know?” Xiang Chen asked, surprised. “Were you sold by them too?”

‘No, they were sold by me,’ Xu Hengzhou silently grumbled to himself. He considered how truly miserable this little guy was; it was sheer luck that he was still alive to meet him.

“You only brought these things when you transmigrated?” Xu Hengzhou pointed to Xiang Chen’s small pouch, curious. He felt he had brought an entire shopping mall with him; surely Xiang Chen hadn’t come with absolutely nothing, despite also transmigrating!

“No!” Xiang Chen counted on his fingers. “I also have a wallet, clothes, and pants, but I cut them up, so they might not be wearable anymore. Oh, and I have candy!”

Xiang Chen pulled out his chewing gum and offered it to Xu Hengzhou like a precious treasure. “Here, you can have it all. I’ve already had milk candy.”

He felt that life was so hard now that Xu Hengzhou probably hadn’t eaten anything good in a long time, and chewing gum could at least sweeten his mouth.

Xu Hengzhou: “…”

Seeing that he didn’t take it, Xiang Chen looked dejected. “I didn’t know you had transmigrated too. I ate all the milk candy, otherwise I would have saved some for you.”

Looking at the child’s crestfallen expression, Xu Hengzhou silently accepted the three bent pieces of chewing gum. “I don’t like milk candy. Chewing gum is just right.”

With that, he reached into his pants pocket—actually, from his spatial dimension—and pulled out a handful of milk candies, offering them to Xiang Chen. “Help me eat these.”

“White Rabbit!” Xiang Chen joyfully took them, eagerly unwrapping one and popping it into his mouth. The rich milk aroma melted on his tongue, and Xiang Chen’s eyes crinkled with happiness.

Xu Hengzhou watched as the little guy’s bun-like face puffed out, like a hamster half-hiding its food. He had never found such small animals particularly cute before, but now, looking at Xiang Chen, he suddenly thought he genuinely was quite adorable.

Xiang Chen chewed his milk candy contentedly, letting out a satisfied breath. Finally, his mouth wasn’t filled with the bitter taste of wild vegetables.

He counted the candies Xu Hengzhou had given him; five remained. So, he took three and offered them back to Xu Hengzhou. “You should keep these. There’s so little good food here, you might not get candy again for a long time.”

Xu Hengzhou saw his earnest expression and chuckled. “What? Are you hungry?”

When Xiang Chen had recounted his transmigration story earlier, he had only mentioned the important parts. Not getting enough food seemed somewhat shameful to him, so he hadn’t told Xu Hengzhou about it.

Now that Xu Hengzhou asked, Xiang Chen felt a little embarrassed, but also feared he wouldn’t believe him, so he nodded. “Yes, I don’t get enough to eat every day. I’m so hungry.”

Xu Hengzhou had heard him mention almost starving to death once before, but he thought Xiang Chen was exaggerating or joking. He hadn’t realized he was truly going hungry, and a pang of discomfort settled in his heart.

“Then what do you eat every day?” Xu Hengzhou asked, frowning.

“Sorghum and wild vegetable porridge,” Xiang Chen blurted out. Seeing Xu Hengzhou’s change in expression, he added timidly, “And corn paste and dried sweet potatoes. They’re actually quite tasty…”

Xu Hengzhou’s expression grew even more grim. He knew people lived difficult lives in this era, but he had never truly empathized. As long as he himself had enough to eat and drink and lived well, why bother with others?

But Xiang Chen was different. This was his little idiot, the person he had once held in his heart, even if…

Xu Hengzhou looked at the small child before him and sighed. ‘Alright, even if he’s become small, he should still be protected by him. He shouldn’t have to endure such hardship.’