What does it feel like to act like a thief in your own home?
At the noon meal, Li Mo kept his head down, shoveling rice into his mouth, sensing something off about his parents. He had only been home for a day—had their parental love really evaporated this quickly?
"Is it just my imagination?"
Li Mo subtly shifted his chair closer to the "ice block" beside him.
Hm?
Old Li and his beloved wife, Xueqin, twitched their eyelids and immediately cast scrutinizing glances his way.
"???"
Young Li was utterly baffled. Sure, love could fade, but did it have to fade into treating their own son like a criminal?
What the hell was going on?
To make matters worse, Ying Bing, out of sheer habit, took a sip of water from his cup, nibbled on his chopsticks, and then used them to pick up food for him.
Miraculously, her jade-like lips managed to hold back the words "stupid little brother" or "childish brat" before they could slip out.
"Li Mo, eat."
Parents: "?"
"!!!"
Young Li leaned back in tactical retreat.
What was with their stares? Were those literal flames burning in their eyes? The intensity of their gaze felt more oppressive than the Golden Crow's projection.
Ah, this was what they called bloodline suppression.
Li Mo quickly finished his meal. There was no way he could stay in this house any longer.
"Where are you planning to go?"
"Just... out for a walk. Bing and I haven’t been home in a while. Thought we’d look around."
"Fine, but be back before dinner."
Watching Li Mo and Ying Bing walk out together, the couple exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in each other’s eyes.
Little Bing used someone else’s cup to drink tea?
And used her own chopsticks to serve him food???
Something was nine-tenths—no, twelve-tenths—wrong here!
Li Dalong wore a solemn expression. "My instincts were right. These two are different from the last time they came home."
"They grew up together. Isn’t this kind of thing normal?" Gu Xueqin wasn’t quite ready to accept it.
"Remember how they barely spoke a word to each other when they left for Qingyuan Sect?"
"Hmph. That brat even kept it from his own mother."
"Tonight, we’ll check his room. If he’s not there... we’ll have to pay our respects at the Ying family’s old residence."
......
Meanwhile.
Li Mo finally relaxed once he stepped out of Li Manor’s street, strolling alongside Ying Bing through the bustling town.
Winter had set in, and even the sunlight felt devoid of warmth. Yet the streets were alive with noise and excitement—commoners hauling New Year’s goods in carts, some even banging gongs and drums or setting off firecrackers to welcome home loved ones returning from afar.
The festive atmosphere was already in the air.
"Why does my birthday always coincide with New Year’s?"
Li Mo couldn’t help but grumble. Every year, his birthday took a backseat to the celebrations.
Ying Bing gazed at the lively streets, her lips pursing unconsciously as she lowered her eyes.
Truthfully, she didn’t like New Year’s.
"Then this time, I’ll celebrate your birthday with you."
"!"
Li Mo froze, staring at her in stunned silence. Despite the clamor around them, the world suddenly felt quiet.
"Let’s go." Ying Bing turned her face away.
And so, the two wandered through Qinghe County, the place where they had grown up, moving from the noisy streets into quieter, emptier paths where fewer people lingered.
Li Mo’s eyes flicked toward the pale hand swaying slightly beside him. It looked like the moon reflected in a well—something he wanted to reach out and grasp.
But unlike the unreachable moon in the well, the "ice block’s" hand was right there.
Or so he thought.
The moment his fingers stretched toward hers, her hand dodged to the other side, slipping away.
"Hm?"
Li Mo glanced up at her flawless profile, but her expression remained unchanged, as if nothing had happened.
A coincidence?
He tried again, but each time, her hand evaded him by the narrowest margin.
"?"
Li Mo took a deep breath.
Gathering his focus, he flexed his fingers, waiting for the perfect moment—
But this time, before he could even move, the "moon in the well" floated right into his palm.
"????"
"Childish brat."
Ying Bing felt the warmth of his hand and let a faint smile curl her lips, no longer suppressing her amusement.
Li Mo blinked, realizing he’d fallen victim to the "ice block’s" sneak attack.
How could he let this slide?
Yet the soft, delicate sensation in his palm seemed to have a mind of its own.
Pathetic!
Hand in hand, they walked along the riverbank for a while longer. The buildings around them grew sparse, the surroundings quieter, the sound of flowing water crisp in the air.
"Li Mo? Ying... Ying girl?"
"You two...?"
A startled voice interrupted the moment.
Li Mo looked up to see a familiar figure.
"Fengzi? You’ve put on some weight."
Zou Yongfeng had been his childhood friend—the kind he’d climbed trees with to steal bird eggs and tossed firecrackers into neighbors’ water jars with. Though they’d eventually betrayed each other to save their own skins, their bond had remained strong.
But after Li Mo was dragged off to study at a private school, they’d seen each other less.
Now, Zou Yongfeng seemed awkward, standing there with restless limbs.
It was like suddenly running into the friend you’d once played in the mud with, only to find out they’d become a billionaire. The sheer unreality of it made everything feel distant.
"Quick, call him ‘brother.’"
Zou Yongfeng nudged the woman beside him, who obediently greeted Li Mo before hesitantly glancing at Ying Bing.
"...Sister-in-law?"
Li Mo felt the small hand in his grip curl slightly. Smiling, he asked, "Fengzi, you’re getting married?"
"Married? I got married at the start of the year. I’m about to be a dad soon."
"Ah?"
Li Mo noticed the slight swell of Zou Yongfeng’s wife’s abdomen.
Though Fengzi called him "brother," he was actually a year older.
In Li Mo’s memory, Fengzi was still the snot-nosed brat who’d been universally despised alongside him. Now, in the blink of an eye, he was about to become a father.
It was... jarring.
"Why did you move here?" Li Mo recalled that Zou Yongfeng hadn’t lived in the western part of town before.
Zou Yongfeng hesitated before answering, "Brother Mo, are you and Sister-in-law... planning to visit the Ying family’s old residence?"
The hand in his suddenly clenched tightly.
Noticing the pallor creeping into Ying Bing’s profile, Li Mo understood.
Beyond the western street lay the edge of Qinghe County.
And the ruins of the Ying family’s home.
It was from those blood-soaked ruins that his father had brought back the sole survivor—Ying Bing.