CHAPTER 376: CHAPTER 373: 【THE ENDGAME】

Chapter 373: Loose Ends

Ou Xiuhua reacted a fraction slower than Xiao Yezi, just in time to see the little girl scream and hurl herself into her son’s arms.

Xiao Yezi’s face was streaked with tears, yet she kicked, pummeled, and even bit Chen Nuo.

"Didn’t you say I’d be with you from now on?

"You said if I was good and listened, you wouldn’t abandon me!

"You also said..."

Towards the end, the little girl was so choked with tears she couldn’t speak, unleashing a year’s worth of accumulated fear, worry, and panic in a torrent of sobs and cries.

Chen Nuo let his sister hit him. He gently picked Xiao Yezi up, turned, and looked at Ou Xiuhua, who had collapsed to the ground. He then took a deep breath.

"I’m... I’m back. I’m sorry for making you worry."

Ou Xiuhua’s lips trembled as she stared intently at her son, as if trying to burn his image into her very eyes. She held her breath, fearing that a single exhale might make the scene before her vanish like an illusion.

CLACK.

An unexpected sound broke the tense silence as the stick Hou Changwei was holding fell to the floor.

Old Hou looked at Chen Nuo, then at Ou Xiuhua. "Uh... is this your son?"

Ou Xiuhua didn’t speak, biting her lip hard as she kept her gaze locked on Chen Nuo. Shakily, she stood up.

Chen Nuo put Xiao Yezi down and glanced at the middle-aged man with some surprise.

"And you are?"

"I am... your mother’s colleague," Hou Changwei said, suddenly nervous.

"Have you eaten?"

"...No."

"Then stay and have dinner with us?" Chen Nuo offered with a smile.

Hou Changwei did indeed stay for dinner.

Instinctively, he felt it was somewhat inappropriate—it was clear there were family matters unfolding.

But... the unexpected simply occurred.

The Chen family didn’t have much food for dinner that evening.

Originally, Ou Xiuhua had invited Hou Changwei up for a simple meal and tea, hoping to have an open conversation with him.

There wasn’t much food in the house: some homemade dumplings in the fridge, a couple of stir-fried vegetable dishes, and some fried peanuts. It would have to do. Discussing matters was more important.

But Chen Nuo had returned, and seeing him wolf down instant noodles as if he were a reincarnated starving ghost, it was clear he was famished.

A thought suddenly struck Hou Changwei, and he volunteered to go downstairs and buy some more food.

He bought half a saltwater duck, a pound of Liuhe pork head meat, a container of cold kelp knots, and a container of cold-dressed bamboo shoots with peanuts. All were common favorites in Jinling households.

At home, Ou Xiuhua boiled two plates of dumplings and also cooked a bowl of noodles.

There’s a saying, "dumplings for farewell, noodles for return," but this is a Northern custom not observed in the South. Jinling, being a city in Jiangnan, naturally didn’t follow this tradition.

The dumplings were filled with chives and egg, Chen Nuo’s favorite.

The saltwater duck was fragrant, and the pork head meat was rich and tender.

Hou Changwei sat at the Chen family’s dining table, hesitantly holding his chopsticks, curiously observing the family of three.

Ou Xiuhua was somewhat distracted, her eyes fixed on her son as if terrified he would vanish in the blink of an eye.

With a guest present, Ou Xiuhua managed to maintain some composure and refrained from bombarding Chen Nuo with questions. Instead, Chen Nuo was the one who kept up a constant stream of conversation with Old Hou.

"So, Master Hou, you also work at XX Property Management?"

"Oh, a logistics driver. That’s good, steady work."

"How old are you, Master Hou? Your children must be in elementary school by now?"

"Oh... that’s truly a shame. I’m sorry, Uncle Hou, I shouldn’t have pried." (And just like that, upon hearing the man was an old widower, "Master Hou" instantly transformed into "Uncle Hou" in Chen Nuo’s address.)

Chen Nuo was no fool; he was as cunning as a fox.

The moment he had walked in and seen the middle-aged man holding a stick, protectively shielding Ou Xiuhua and Xiao Yezi... what wasn’t there to understand?

Chen Nuo wasn’t against the idea at all.

Simply put, he genuinely regarded Xiao Yezi as his sister.

But he truly couldn’t think of Ou Xiuhua as his mother.

Chen Yanluo, in his previous life, had died in middle age. How could a middle-aged soul see Ou Xiuhua, barely forty, as a mother?

His feelings for Ou Xiuhua were a mixture of guilt and sympathy. Sympathy for the hardships in her life, and guilt for occupying her son’s body.

Since Chen Nuo didn’t consider Ou Xiuhua his mother, he was happy to see men pursuing her. As long as their character was decent, why would he feel awkward about it?

Seeing Chen Nuo constantly chattering with Old Hou, Ou Xiuhua grew increasingly restless. I have a mountain of questions for you, and here you are pestering me about my affairs?

Old Hou also felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

The young man before him looked youthful, fair-skinned, and refined, but whenever he spoke, Old Hou felt an inexplicable pressure, as if he couldn’t quite handle him.

Ou Xiuhua’s gaze, meanwhile, was fixed on them intently.

Old Hou felt like he was young again, visiting his girlfriend’s home to meet her parents for the first time.

Subconsciously, Old Hou reached for the pack of Hongtashan cigarettes he had bought. "Here, have a..."

He suddenly froze, realizing his mistake. Her son was so young; it was uncertain if he was even allowed to smoke at home.

Chen Nuo saw Old Hou’s awkward, halfway gesture. With a smile, he took the cigarette, lit it, and took a puff. Then, he turned, opened a drawer in a nearby cabinet, and pulled out an opened carton of Huazi cigarettes. He tapped out a pack, tore it open, and handed it to Old Hou.

"Uncle Hou, smoke these. You’re older; you should smoke something better that won’t be harsh on your throat. We young folks don’t really care; we can’t tell the good from the bad anyway. These cigarettes are mainly for show when I’m doing business; I don’t smoke them much myself."

That’s Chen Dog for you; with just a few words, he managed to smooth things over and consider everyone’s feelings.

Old Hou was a simple man and didn’t quite grasp all the nuances, but he felt the words made it easy for him to accept the cigarettes, and somehow, his reluctance vanished.

Xiao Yezi was easy enough to soothe. Children’s emotions flare up quickly and fade just as fast.

Chen Nuo ate and chatted with Old Hou, occasionally picking up a piece of saltwater duck, deftly removing the bones, and placing the meat into Xiao Yezi’s bowl. Xiao Yezi didn’t like duck skin; like many girls, she found it too fatty. Chen Nuo would remove the skin and put it in his own bowl.

Xiao Yezi ate happily, sitting close to Chen Nuo, quietly munching on whatever her brother fed her.

The meal lasted about forty minutes. Afterward, Chen Nuo insisted Old Hou join him for a bowl of the dumpling cooking water. "The original broth helps digest the original food, as they say."

Finally, they shared another cigarette before Chen Nuo politely saw Old Hou out.

Ou Xiuhua said nothing. Today wasn’t the day to discuss her and Old Hou; that wasn’t urgent and could wait. Inwardly, though, Ou Xiuhua felt like a cat was clawing at her, bursting with questions for her son.

"Take care, Uncle Hou! Come over for dinner again sometime," Chen Nuo said with a beaming smile as he watched Hou Changwei leave. Closing the door, he turned around, not at all surprised to see Ou Xiuhua’s anxious face.

"Chen Nuo!!"

Ou Xiuhua’s expression was grave. "Come here and sit down!"

Chen Nuo sighed.

The two of them sat down at the dining table again.

Ou Xiuhua didn’t rush to clear the table. Instead, she found an excuse to send Xiao Yezi back to her bedroom. Xiao Yezi was naturally reluctant, not wanting to leave Chen Nuo, but when Ou Xiuhua put on a stern face, she obediently went.

Only mother and son remained in the living room.

"Actually, that Old Hou seems like a decent fellow," Chen Nuo began with a smile.

Ou Xiuhua blushed, not expecting Chen Nuo to bring this up first.

"I saw what happened when you came in. If a real thief had broken in, a man who knows to protect a woman and child at a time like that... judging from that alone, I don’t know about other aspects, but his character can’t be too bad."

"Master Hou has always been very kind..." Ou Xiuhua started to say, then caught herself, realizing the boy had nearly led her off topic.

Her expression turned serious again, her hands clenching. "First, you need to explain clearly to me. What exactly happened to you? This... past year..."

As she spoke, Ou Xiuhua’s eyes reddened again. She had managed to hold back her emotions while the guest was present, but now, alone with her son, she couldn’t contain them any longer. She gripped Chen Nuo’s sleeves and wrists tightly, her hold firm.

"This past year... where on earth have you been?! Do you know I was worried to death?!"

Saying this, Ou Xiuhua burst into tears.

Chen Nuo sighed. There was no way to keep this hidden. Without some explanation, it would be difficult to give this woman an answer she could accept.

At that moment, Chen Nuo genuinely felt Corot should be thanking Seed. Because he really, really wanted to kill Corot right then.

After a moment of silence, Chen Nuo said in a low voice, "Here, I’ll show you something."

How to explain his year-long disappearance to his family was something Chen Nuo had naturally considered carefully.

Saying he’d gotten into trouble with his business dealings wouldn’t work; it would only make his family worry more. Claiming he’d been lost on a deserted island or a remote mountain was too far-fetched to be believable.

He had no choice but to reveal a little of his true situation to his family.

Chen Nuo picked up the bowl he had used for dinner. Then, under Ou Xiuhua’s dumbfounded gaze, he lightly swiped his finger through the air above it.

Silently, the bowl split cleanly in half, the cut surfaces as smooth as if sliced by a razor-sharp blade.

Ou Xiuhua gasped, covering her mouth.

Then, before she could cry out, Chen Nuo raised his finger and swiped again.

This time, the bowl was cut into four pieces, the cuts still perfectly neat.

"You... Xiao Nuo?! You?!"

"..." Chen Nuo looked at Ou Xiuhua wordlessly. "Well... do you believe immortals exist in this world?"

"...Huh?"

Chen Nuo concocted a rather outlandish tale for Ou Xiuhua.

It was about a young man in the city who, by chance, learned martial arts (Ou Xiuhua knew her son practiced boxing with Teacher Jiang from school). Then, an accidental opportunity led him to hear of a legend. All alone, he ventured into a remote, ancient mountain forest, found a place resembling an ’immortal’s grotto,’ and then...

"So, you were trapped in that place for a year?"

"Well, it wasn’t exactly being trapped. It’s more that I became completely absorbed in my training, to the point of obsession. When I finally snapped out of it, all this time had passed. But I did manage to master my skills."

Ou Xiuhua fell silent.

The explanation was too fantastical, but... her son had just demonstrated an even more fantastical ’spell’ right before her eyes.

Ou Xiuhua felt as if all the words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat.

She had imagined many scenarios that night. For instance, her son getting into trouble outside, being kidnapped, or something similar.

Chen Nuo had also considered revealing a bit about being an Ability User, but his disappearance was an unavoidable issue.

What if he said he was out on some mission and got trapped for a year? That would be even worse.

What do parents worry about most? Their child’s safety! Even if the child returned, they would still worry about their future safety.

If he told Ou Xiuhua he was an Ability User who had been trapped on a mission for a year... then in the future, whenever he wanted to leave, Ou Xiuhua would surely dissolve into tears and forbid him from going.

Compared to that, this story was somewhat better. At least, on the surface, "the future" seemed free of danger. A fortuitous encounter, so to speak.

Ou Xiuhua was still trying to process it.

She wasn’t unfamiliar with such stories. Wuxia novels and mythological tales were popular in the eighties, and Ou Xiuhua had read some. They generally followed the pattern Chen Nuo described: receiving some boon from an old master deep in the mountains.

She wanted to disbelieve it, but the skill Chen Nuo had just demonstrated was undeniably unnerving.

"This ’spell’ you’ve learned... it won’t harm your body, will it?"

"Ah, no, it won’t. On the contrary, it will prolong life," Chen Nuo answered immediately.

"Then... are there any side effects?"

"Just that I’ll occasionally need to go out to practice."

Ou Xiuhua immediately objected. "You still need to travel far?!"

"For cultivation," Chen Nuo said seriously. "In the city, there’s pollution, humans damage the environment, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is depleted. To properly cultivate, I have to go out, seek famous mountains and great rivers, places rarely touched by humans, where spiritual energy is most abundant. That’s where I can train better."

"Then, can’t you just not train?" Ou Xiuhua’s reaction was like any other parent’s. "We’re living a good life. What’s the use of practicing these spells? Even if you master them, society today values science, math, and chemistry. Master those, and you can go anywhere without fear. If you don’t get into a university, even if you become an immortal, you won’t find a good job."

"I have my own business; I don’t need to find a job."

"Without a degree, you’re uncultured. People will look down on you, you won’t find a wife..."

Chen Nuo just smiled at Ou Xiuhua without saying anything.

Alright, Ou Xiuhua sighed.

Setting other things aside, Ou Xiuhua truly wasn’t worried about her son’s luck with women. There were those foreign girls who kept finding excuses to appear before her, one after another. And then there was Sun Keke, whom Ou Xiuhua liked and approved of the most. All these wonderful girls, as if blind to any faults, were utterly smitten with her son. Ou Xiuhua herself would be the first to disbelieve any claim that Chen Nuo couldn’t find a wife.

"But, if we’re living a good life, practicing those spells is useless, isn’t it? They have no practical application. And you traveling so far, the family will worry. What if you run into danger out there..."

"It can prolong life, ward off all illnesses, and lead to longevity in the future..." Chen Nuo said, sighing inwardly. Damn it, if Ou Xiuhua knew I died of illness in my previous life, I wouldn’t be able to keep up this bluff.

Ultimately, Ou Xiuhua found she couldn’t win against Chen Nuo.

In the end, Chen Nuo promised that if he ever went out, he would inform the family clearly, would definitely not take risks, and would maintain contact with home (as much as possible).

Although Ou Xiuhua felt helpless, there was nothing more she could do. The worry, however, remained.

"That... those spells you’ve learned, you mustn’t use them to fight people outside! Even if you become very powerful, if you hurt someone badly and get into trouble, the police will still arrest you!"

"...Okay."

"Also, you can’t talk about this outside! In the future, we mustn’t speak of it in front of Xiao Yezi at home either! Remember the saying, ’Never intend to harm others, but always be on guard.’ Now that you have great power, you must be even more humble. Don’t go around bragging to the whole world; that will only bring disaster to our family."

"Alright, I won’t say anything."

Mother and son talked for over half an hour more, with Ou Xiuhua asking many detailed questions.

Finally... Ou Xiuhua looked a bit embarrassed.

"Xiao Nuo, that spell of yours... it can prolong life... um... can it make someone look a bit younger?"

"Uh...?"

That night, Ou Xiuhua was destined for sleeplessness.

Such a miraculous, frightening, and astonishing event kept her tossing and turning all night.

When she got up early the next morning, the first thing she did was check Chen Nuo’s room. When she pushed open the door and found his bed empty, Ou Xiuhua’s heart leaped into her throat.

But soon, the front door opened. Chen Nuo returned from outside, carrying fried dough sticks and steamed buns for breakfast. Only then did Ou Xiuhua breathe a sigh of relief.

Watching Chen Nuo bustle about in the kitchen, making porridge, her anxious heart gradually settled.

In the morning, Chen Nuo and Ou Xiuhua took Xiao Yezi to school together, allowing Chen Nuo to familiarize himself with the route.

After leaving the school, Ou Xiuhua dragged Chen Nuo to the Public Security Bureau.

It couldn’t be helped; these matters had to be dealt with. Chen Nuo had been missing for so long that the family had reported it long ago, and the police had officially registered it as a missing person case.

At the police station, both Chen Nuo and Ou Xiuhua gave statements and completed some procedures.

The mother and son had already concocted their story: the son had argued with his family about the college entrance exams. His mother wanted him to study hard for university, but he refused and wanted to go out and see the world, so he ran away from home.

Then, a police officer in uniform, surnamed Zhang, took Chen Nuo aside and gave him a stern lecture.

Officer Zhang launched into a tirade against Chen Nuo.

This, in police procedure, was termed "criticism and education."

"...You’re a grown man now! Don’t you have any sense of responsibility or family values?!!!

"Running away from home just like that! If your mother and sister worried themselves sick, you’d regret it for the rest of your life, but it would be too late then!

"And do you have any idea how much police manpower was wasted looking for you?!

"You’re not a kid anymore; you’re a young man! From now on, use your brain and think before you act! Don’t be so impulsive and reckless!"

Officer Zhang berated Chen Nuo for a full fifteen minutes, and Chen Nuo meekly nodded and agreed throughout.

There was nothing for it; the officer was just doing his duty, saying what needed to be said. Moreover, his words were well-intentioned.

Finally, after Chen Nuo repeatedly assured him he would no longer be rebellious, Officer Zhang had him write and sign a letter of guarantee on the spot, including his fingerprint. After reviewing their statements one last time, he let the mother and son leave.

Exiting the police station, Ou Xiuhua looked at Chen Nuo, her expression a mixture of anger, exasperation, and amusement.

Chen Nuo wiped the earnest officer’s spittle from his face, went to the restroom to wash up, and when he came out, Ou Xiuhua pulled him to the side of the road. "The official matters are settled, but there are still many things at home. Have you thought about them? How are you going to explain this to your two business partners? And..."

At this point, Ou Xiuhua’s expression turned serious, her face stern as she glared at Chen Nuo. "And what about that girl, Keke? How are you going to explain this to her?!"

Actually, Brother Lei and Lin Sheng would be easy to explain to; they knew his background, so it wouldn’t be difficult. Keke knew too, so that wasn’t a major problem—she’d even been through the Body Seizing incident with him, so this current situation wouldn’t be hard to explain to her either.

But the issue was... it had been a year. The real problem wasn’t Sun Keke herself; she understood everything. The challenge was explaining it to Sun Keke’s family. Getting Old Sun to accept this won’t be easy.

Chen Nuo sighed and thought for a moment. "I understand. I’ll handle it."

"If you let that girl Keke down, Chen Nuo, I’m telling you... I’ll take Ye Zi and move out of your house! Your father was a heartless man. I don’t want to see the son I gave birth to grow up to be a heartless man too!"

Chen Nuo nodded with a wry smile. "Alright, I know. You should get to work now. I... I’ll go deal with Keke’s situation right away."