Chapter 54: A Mother’s Guilt, a Charlatan’s Invitation, and a Family’s Dark Secret

Xia Zhiquiu was momentarily stunned by her daughter’s words, and a flicker of guilt crossed her eyes as she pondered something unspoken.

Immediately, she playfully yet sternly tapped the young woman’s head, asserting her maternal authority.

“What ‘beauty secrets’ are you talking about? And what kind of comparison is that, likening your mother to a peach?”

Xia Wei playfully stuck out her tongue, yet in her heart, she remained convinced; after all, wasn’t her mother at this moment a perfectly ripe peach?

***

The following day, Xia Zhiquiu revisited the bar where she had previously worked and officially resigned from her intermittent bartending position.

This decision wasn’t solely prompted by the young man’s words; rather, her frequent absences, despite her boss never firing her, had simply made her too embarrassed to continue.

As for earning money, she resolved to hunt more Specters and accumulate more Merit Points, a currency readily convertible to cash within the TNS system.

Moreover, this path would enhance her strength.

After her last encounter with the Skin-Stripping Specter, Xia Zhiquiu had keenly felt her own inadequacy; she hadn’t even been able to withstand a single blow from it!

However, as Xia Zhiquiu browsed the TNS platform for cost-effective missions, an internal message suddenly arrived, sent by the Old Charlatan.

[Charlatan: Little Zhiquiu, I have a mission here with generous rewards. Interested in joining?]

Xia Zhiquiu’s eyebrows arched slightly as she read the message, and she promptly typed a reply: “Are you really being that kind?”

Although they had never met in person, Xia Zhiquiu knew the Old Charlatan was far from weak, and considering he even had an apprentice, it seemed peculiar for him to invite her to share in a reward.

[Charlatan: It’s hard to explain in a few words, but it is rather tricky. Little Zhiquiu, perhaps we should discuss it offline.]

After a moment of thought, Xia Zhiquiu agreed.

They arranged to meet three days later, at which point she mentioned she would bring a helper.

The Charlatan readily assented, understanding that an extra person meant extra strength—unless, of course, Xia Zhiquiu brought a mere ordinary individual.

Naturally, Xia Zhiquiu had no intention of bringing an ordinary person.

Her chosen companion was Bai Hao; if even the Old Charlatan found the mission tricky, then bringing that little rascal, Bai Hao, along was undoubtedly the wiser choice.

Unbeknownst to her, the young man had, at some point, begun to instill a profound sense of security in her heart, a fact she stubbornly refused to acknowledge.

In Xia Zhiquiu’s estimation, while she harbored a slight intention of utilizing Bai Hao, the thought of having given herself to him for nothing… well, this could be considered a small return, couldn’t it?

With that thought in mind, Xia Zhiquiu called Bai Hao, but no one answered.

‘Had his phone died?’

Xia Zhiquiu murmured to herself, not giving it much thought.

Yet, for the next two days, despite Xia Zhiquiu sending messages and making calls, he failed to respond at all!

Consequently, Xia Zhiquiu’s mind began to wander, filled with anxious conjectures.

‘Could something have happened to that scoundrel?’

Yet, upon reflection, ‘He’s so powerful, what could possibly happen to him?’

‘Unless… he was deliberately ignoring her?’

It must be said that when one begins to care deeply about another’s attitude towards them, it marks the precipice of their emotional entanglement.

Xia Zhiquiu, evidently oblivious to this truth, found her gaze immediately falling whenever the thought arose that the young man might be deliberately ignoring her.

Gazing at the unanswered messages on her phone, Xia Zhiquiu ran a hand through her cascading hair, muttering an exasperated curse.

“Scoundrel!”

With that, Xia Zhiquiu promptly turned off her phone and lay on the bed, her pretty face puffed out in a pout, much like a young woman experiencing the first stirrings of love.

Nevertheless, by afternoon, Xia Zhiquiu’s body, ever so honest, found itself standing before Bai Hao’s villa.

Ultimately, she remained worried that something might have happened to Bai Hao; after all, if the young man were home alone and fell ill, there would be no one to look after him.

Since her fingerprint had long been registered, she entered the villa with ease, only to find the entire house eerily empty.

Upon reaching the young man’s room, Xia Zhiquiu found it remarkably neat and understated.

The only discernible difference from her first visit was a photo frame on the bedside table, containing a picture of… her.

A strange sensation stirred within Xia Zhiquiu’s heart at the sight.

After a long moment, she gently set down the frame, intending to call Bai Hao’s homeroom teacher for information.

Just then, however, the sound of a car suddenly echoed from the front of the villa.

Xia Zhiquiu glanced out the window and saw a middle-aged man open the car door, step out, and proceed towards the house.

At this sight, Xia Zhiquiu froze, her first thought being, ‘Could this be Bai Hao’s father?’

The realization sent a wave of panic through Xia Zhiquiu.

Though she had always refused to acknowledge her marital relationship with that scoundrel, their wedding photo was undeniably real.

Consequently, she had no desire to confront the man’s father under such circumstances.

Immediately, Xia Zhiquiu sought a place to hide.

After the middle-aged man entered the villa, he scanned the living room, a flicker of understanding crossing his eyes, before continuing without pause towards the back garden.

Hidden at the staircase landing, Xia Zhiquiu let out a breath of relief as she watched the middle-aged man’s retreating figure.

‘Is that Bai Hao’s father? He certainly bears a resemblance to him…’

Driven by curiosity, Xia Zhiquiu hesitated for only a moment before following him, also arriving in the back garden.

The back garden was vast, filled with various rare and precious flowers.

However, perhaps due to a lack of care, it appeared somewhat overgrown.

Even so, many seasonal flowers still bloomed vibrantly, presenting a beautiful sight.

Xia Zhiquiu couldn’t help but sigh in admiration at the scene.

‘This little scoundrel’s family is truly wealthy.

If she were to agree to be his wife, wouldn’t she…’

But she quickly shook her head.

‘No, how could she entertain such a dreadful thought?

She would never be that guy’s wife; they would divorce eventually!’

Xia Zhiquiu followed for a while longer until the middle-aged man finally stopped.

She lifted her gaze, only to be momentarily stunned.

For just ahead of him, not far away, stood three gravestones, one of which was completely blank!

At that moment, the middle-aged man sighed as he regarded the gravestones before him, speaking with an air of resignation.

“Brother, Sister-in-law, don’t blame me, your younger brother, for only coming to see you now.

After all, managing all those companies you left behind has been quite an arduous task.”

At this point, the middle-aged man’s tone shifted, suddenly imbued with a touch of smugness.

“But this feeling of being the boss is truly different, isn’t it?

I no longer have to live under your thumb like I used to!”

“Oh, and Little Hao.

You say your whole family is reunited; why haven’t you properly disciplined him down there, Big Brother?

He just had to come and bother me, his uncle.

I had no choice but to find a Daoist priest to teach him a good lesson on your behalf!”

As he spoke, a shadow of malice fell across the middle-aged man’s face.

He spat disdainfully at the blank gravestone beside him, then turned to leave.

At this revelation, Xia Zhiquiu was utterly bewildered.

The sheer volume of information in the middle-aged man’s words left her momentarily unable to process it.