After the tycoon went bankrupt, he was raised by the villainous female supporting character and beca

"To help ease my burden, Xingzhi has been in a state of being overly sensible all these years. Since he was eight years old, he has never shed a tear, nor has he ever complained or said he was tired in front of me. He always reports good news and never tells me about his troubles."

“I remember when he was in junior high school, he was bullied by some delinquents in his class because he was too good at studying. Those delinquents thought he was faking it and that he was arrogant and looked down on them because of their poor grades. So they found a group of the same delinquents from outside the school and waited for him to get out of school before cornering him in an alley and beating him up.”

"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Qin Song's heart clenched instantly.

Pei's mother patted the back of her hand to comfort her, and smiled bitterly: "I was too busy with work those days, and Xiaoxuan happened to be sick. I was running between the hospital and the school, so I didn't notice Xingzhi's abnormality."

"It was only after Xiaoxuan recovered and was discharged from the hospital that my tense nerves relaxed a bit, and that's when I discovered that Xingzhi had a lot of injuries on his body and face for quite some time."

“I became a teacher right after graduating from university, so I could tell what was wrong with Xingzhi at a glance. But when I asked him with the answer in mind, he refused to tell me the truth no matter what.”

Qin Song frowned, his voice trembling slightly as he spoke: "Xingzhi doesn't want you to worry about him, that's why he won't tell you the truth?"

"Yes." Madam Pei nodded, her reddened eyes instantly filled with tears. "Xingzhi is very afraid of me worrying, afraid that he will get beaten somewhere, and he doesn't want me to know a single word."

“But I’m his mother. How could I not worry when I saw him turn out like this? He wouldn’t tell me the truth, so I contacted his homeroom teacher and secretly went to his school to stake him out. I staked out for several days before I found out that he had been bullied.”

"There were so many people, and they just focused on beating him. But he wasn't stupid; he knew to fight back against the gang leader and knocked out the kid's front teeth with a few punches."

"It's good that you know how to fight back." Hearing this, Qin Song secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Sigh…” But Pei’s mother shook her head, her sorrow growing deeper. “He knows how to fight back, but all he knows is how to fight back. I dragged him home from school and spent hours trying to persuade him why he didn’t come home to complain as soon as he was beaten, but he wouldn’t give a single word of explanation.”

"I was furious and said I would never take care of him again! He was startled and reluctantly spoke up, but what he said almost broke my heart."

"What did he say?" Qin Song asked, her eyes red.

Pei's mother blinked quickly, forcibly suppressing the tears that were about to well up, but the sob in her voice could not be hidden no matter what.

He said these were all minor issues that he could handle himself. He really didn't want me to have to worry about the trouble he caused when I was already so tired.

He also said that his most important thing right now is to study, and he will not let any trouble interfere with his studies. He doesn't care about being bullied by others; he just wants to study hard and make progress so that Xiaoxuan and I can live a life where we don't have to worry about making a living anymore.

Pei's mother's words were like a belated steel needle, which, after the dimensional barrier was broken, pierced Qin Song from another world through the barriers of the river of time.

Qin Song felt as if Pei Xingzhi was about to shatter his heart.

Pei's mother raised her hand to wipe her eyes and continued, "Xingzhi used to be a child who would cry, make a fuss, throw tantrums, and be unreasonable. But ever since I divorced his father and his father ran away with all the money in the house, he has grown from a little kid into a little adult overnight."

“He didn’t care what people around him thought of him, and he didn’t care who bullied or beat him. He just buried himself in his books, as if he didn’t care about anything.”

"After that incident, he continued to go to school as usual and didn't let his studies fall behind at all. But from then on, he never let me know what was going on at school. If I asked, he would just smile and say that everything was fine."

"Hmm." Qin Song nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips. "That does indeed fit Xingzhi's personality."

Pei's mother: "His personality is something he forced himself to develop. Over the years, he has always appeared very calm and composed, as if he wouldn't even flinch if the sky were to fall. His friends always say that this is because he is relaxed and indifferent, but I don't think that's the case."

"Xingzhi is actually not relaxed at all. On the contrary, he keeps himself very tense. For so many years, he has been using one shackle after another to keep himself in place, making him calm, sensible, and easy-going."

"But the real him is not like that at all."

"What is he like?" Qin Song asked curiously. "What should the real Pei Xingzhi be like?"

Looking at her, Pei's mother suddenly smiled from the bottom of her heart: "The real Xingzhi is just like what you see now."

“…Huh?” Qin Song was stunned.

Pei's mother wiped away the tears that had fallen from the corners of her eyes, and her heavy tone gradually became lighter: "The real Pei Xingzhi is just like what you see now. He's like a childish and difficult little brat, and also like a little hedgehog covered in thorns."

"This car accident probably scared him, so much so that he no longer wants to be as tense as before, and just wants to use the excuse of injury to let his true self out."

"Xiao Song, thank you."

"Thank me?" These three unexpected words left Qin Song bewildered. "Thank me for what?"

Mrs. Pei smiled and held her hand: "Thank you for letting Xingzhi be his true self again. He's been tense for over twenty years, and even I can't let him relax. Only you have the ability to do so."

"I..." This credit is too great, and Qin Song didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"I...I don't think I did anything."

Pei's mother: "You don't need to do anything special. Just stay by Xingzhi's side, give him a sense of security, and provide him with a warm home. That will be enough for him to open up to you."

"..." Qin Song looked bewildered, as if he understood what Pei's mother said, but also as if he didn't quite understand.

Pei's mother turned her head to look at her; "Xiao Song, although it's not good to bring up the past at this time, I still want to say one more thing."

Qin Song nodded: "Please go ahead."

Pei's mother: "Do you know why, no matter how badly you treated Xingzhi before, he still shamelessly begged you to stay?"

Qin Song truthfully replied, "I don't know. Maybe he's just very responsible and doesn't want to end the marriage so easily?"

"No." Mother Pei rejected her long-held suspicion.

"Xingzhi was so stubborn in wanting you to stay, not only to save your marriage, but also because he wanted the child in your belly to have a complete and happy family."

"Xingzhi grew up in a broken family. He didn't want his children to follow in his footsteps, so he was willing to sacrifice his dignity to try his best for his children."