Chapter 23: The Tale of a Pouch of Gold Melon Seeds

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Cheng Xueyang did not contradict Gu Anyu’s claim to be Xuanxuan’s paternal aunt. She merely held Gu Anyu’s hand as they strolled through the streets.

The last time Cheng Xueyang had wandered through the streets like this had been five years ago. The person beside her then had been Gu Mo.

That day, Cheng Xueyang had tricked Gu Mo into coming out with her and made him accompany her from one end of the street to the other. She bought all manner of things, while Gu Mo worked like an ox, carrying everything back to the residence.

After drinking a cup of flower tea, Gu Mo realized what was happening and reacted. Yet when Cheng Xueyang began undressing him, the fool had blushed and run away.

Both embarrassed and furious, Cheng Xueyang ordered Shadow Three to catch him and bring him back.

Drugged as he was, Gu Mo was no match for the clear-headed Shadow Three. When Gu Mo was tied to the bed, his face flushed with shame as he struggled desperately. Cheng Xueyang was heartbroken—and terribly aroused.

Things had already gone this far. Gu Mo had reacted, yet he was still rejecting her.

Was she truly that unbearable?

Was she truly not worth caring about to him?

“I have always remembered the first time I met Sister Xue. I was even younger than Xuanxuan then. My family was desperately poor, and there were so many brothers and sisters that we could barely keep food on the table. Sister Xue appeared before me like a fairy and gave me a pouch of golden melon seeds as a meeting gift. They were all gold—I was frightened out of my wits.”

Gu Anyu slowly recounted the events of the past.

Cheng Xueyang also remembered the first time she had met Gu Anyu: a filthy little girl.

Back then, Cheng Xueyang had found out the name and exact address of the young man who had helped her chase away the dogs. She had then slipped out of the palace once more.

First, she intercepted Gu Mo and pulled out the golden melon seeds she had deliberately prepared for him.

“You must stop helping them do bad things. Come work for me instead. I have money.”

Gu Mo was stunned for a moment, then regarded her warily. Clearly, he had not recognized her.

That was only natural. The day Cheng Xueyang had gone out to punish evil and uphold justice, she had been dressed as a young boy. Now Gu Mo was looking at a wealthy young lady in women’s clothes. The two were like different people, so it was perfectly normal that he failed to recognize her.

Cheng Xueyang patiently explained that she was the little boy who had been chased up a tree by dogs that day.

Gu Mo, however, did not appreciate her kindness. He refused the golden melon seeds and said, “I don’t want your charity. Take your money and leave. Don’t appear before me again.”

He might have disowned all his relatives, but he even refused money.

Cheng Xueyang had never met anyone so stubborn. She turned around and went straight to Gu Mo’s home.

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It could hardly be called a home. There were only three thatched huts, crammed with seven or eight children of different ages whose fathers were unknown.

Their mother had come from a brothel. After being bought out by a powerful and wealthy man, she had been abandoned and settled here to raise the children.

That woman had given birth to only one child—Gu Mo. The others were children she had taken in after they had been abandoned. She was a compassionate yet tragic woman.

Cheng Xueyang had heard that the woman had disappeared two months earlier. The neighbors said she had run away, and Gu Mo was now taking care of the children.

It was nearby that Cheng Xueyang saw Gu Anyu.

Gu Anyu gazed at her timidly, embarrassment, unease, and a trace of longing in her eyes.

“Sister, you’re so beautiful.”

Cheng Xueyang stuffed the golden melon seeds into Gu Anyu’s hands and said with a smile, “What a sweet little mouth you have. You’ve made Sister very happy. This is my gift for meeting you. Don’t let anyone else see it, all right? Hurry home. Your brother will be back soon.”

At the time, Cheng Xueyang had no idea how much trouble that pouch of golden melon seeds would bring upon the impoverished family.

Now she finally learned the answer from Gu Anyu.

“When Big Brother saw the golden melon seeds in my hands, he became terribly angry. But before he had time to teach me a lesson, trouble came knocking.”

Someone had seen Cheng Xueyang give Gu Anyu the pouch. They did not know it contained golden melon seeds, but the pouch itself was clearly a valuable item. Whatever it held had to be even more precious.

Naturally, there were people who grew envious and resentful.

A household of orphans could hardly have been more vulnerable. Anyone felt entitled to trample them.

Even the gang of ruffians Gu Mo belonged to came over, forcing him to hand over the golden melon seeds. Otherwise, they threatened to tear down the ramshackle house.

Cheng Xueyang’s heart tightened.

“Did Gu Mo hand them over?”

Gu Anyu shook her head. “Big Brother fought them. That was when I discovered how handsome he looked when he fought.”

Cheng Xueyang could easily picture the scene. Gu Mo’s skills were not weak. He had merely kept his edge hidden and avoided showing his strength, making people think he was nothing more than a little pest they could crush whenever they pleased. That was why they had dared to bully him again and again.

Gu Anyu continued, “After that fight, Big Brother became the leader of the little gangsters.”

Cheng Xueyang suddenly understood. “No wonder Gu Mo later had a group of lackeys trailing behind him.”

Gu Anyu stared at her in surprise. “You didn’t know about this, Sister Xue?”

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Cheng Xueyang shook her head. “I didn’t know about that whole mess. I only knew that later, when I left the palace, Gu Mo stopped me near the General’s Residence and insisted on stuffing the golden melon seeds back into my hands. I really thought there was something wrong with him. Who refuses money when they have the chance to take it?”

Gu Anyu could not help laughing. “Big Brother does seem strange, but he was actually afraid.”

“Afraid?”

Cheng Xueyang silently rolled her eyes. Gu Mo had never been afraid of anything.

Gu Anyu stopped walking and looked at Cheng Xueyang seriously.

“He really was. Big Brother had never been treated kindly by anyone. You were so passionate and radiant that no one could ignore you. Once he let you into his heart, he could never let you go.”

“Don’t be fooled by the fearless way he acts. Deep down, he also feels lost and afraid... Once someone has seen the light, they can no longer resign themselves to the darkness. But for people like us, born at the very bottom, breaking through that darkness is impossibly difficult. In front of you, he feels inferior.”

“Wow! You shameless bad woman!”

Suddenly, Cheng Xueyang heard Xuanxuan’s voice. She hurried toward it, failing to hear the rest of what Gu Anyu had been saying.

Gu Anyu quickly followed, worried that Xuanxuan might have encountered some kind of trouble.

Onlookers had already formed a circle of their own to watch the spectacle. At the center stood Xuanxuan, hands planted on her hips like a little tigress. Facing her was a young man who looked remarkably similar to Lin Xuan, with a mature yet still attractive young woman standing behind him.

Xuanxuan snorted. “Stop making excuses! I saw everything. This woman was hugging and kissing a man in the alley.”

The young man’s face flushed with anger.

“You’re slandering my mother! She is innocent and will not tolerate your accusations!”

It did not take long for someone to recognize the mother and son. Weren’t they the widowed mother and orphaned son of the Lin household?

Lin Nian, the eldest grandson of the Lin family, argued with the little girl full of confidence. Feng Mobing, meanwhile, wore an expression mingled with embarrassment, anger, and a hint of worry. Every so often, she glanced into the distance, though there was nothing there.

Some people decided that the widow must be feeling guilty.

After all, Feng Mobing was still young, not old at all, and possessed a captivating figure. Few people believed that she had remained untouched by desire throughout the fifteen years since she had been widowed.

And as for the little girl, she was spotless and clearly the daughter of a wealthy household. Why would she lie?

If she said she had seen Feng Mobing entangled with someone in the alley, then she must truly have seen it.