Then let the witch offer her loyalty

He had already told his family that he needed to stay at the police station for some time.

At times like this, unless it's something catastrophic, Dong Xiaobai would never rashly disturb him.

Chen Moxin didn't dare to delay. She put her phone on speakerphone and said while changing her clothes, "Don't cry, don't cry. I'll be right down. Wait for me there for a while."

After changing his clothes, Chen Moxin, though still quite weak, was able to get out of bed and move around without any problem. He greeted the medical staff and hurried downstairs.

The weather was terrible today. Dark clouds hung low, and rain poured down from the gray sky, dense and fine like woven threads, blurring the street scene.

Chen Moxin walked out of the management bureau's gate and saw Dong Xiaobai under a tree.

She stood there alone, seemingly having suffered some kind of blow, appearing absent-minded.

Moreover, she forgot to bring an umbrella when she went out, and the leaves alone couldn't keep her out of the heavy rain. She was soaked to the bone, and her wet, long black hair was stuck to her face, making her look very disheveled.

"Sister Xiaobai." Chen Moxin walked over quickly, holding up her umbrella to shield her from the sun. "What happened? What's going on?"

"Young Master..." Dong Xiaobai looked at Chen Moxin with great grievance, her face covered in water stains, making it impossible to tell whether it was rain or tears.

Her next words stunned Chen Moxin.

"It seems like the master wants to kick me out..."

Based on just that one sentence, without needing to ask about the details or the cause and effect, Chen Moxin immediately made a conclusion in her mind—there must be some misunderstanding.

Dong Xiaobai came to our home when she was 7 years old. After so many years together, Old Chen has long treated her as his own daughter.

To put it bluntly, putting aside the blood relation, Chen Moxin felt that Old Chen probably preferred the obedient and sensible Dong Xiaobai to a troublesome and unfilial son like himself.

Now, is Old Chen trying to drive Dong Xiaobai away?

happy.

Chen Moxin had initially thought something might have really happened at home, but after hearing what Dong Xiaobai said, he felt relieved.

This idiot must have gotten something wrong.

As Chen Moxin wiped the water off her face, she asked, "What exactly happened? Tell me in detail."

Dong Xiaobai rubbed her eyes and said in a trembling voice, "Master won't let me do any work... This morning I wanted to go to the garden to trim the plants, but he told me not to go, and instead called someone else to do it. He also said I shouldn't do any work at all..."

Chen Mo thought for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully, roughly understanding the situation: "Oh... I see..."

"Don't worry, Old Chen just didn't explain himself clearly. How about this, let's go home together now. You go take a hot shower and change your clothes, and I'll go talk to Old Chen, okay?"

"Mmm..." Dong Xiaobai nodded, sobbing.

Seeing this 178cm tall girl looking so wronged like a child, Chen Moxin couldn't help but laugh. He took Dong Xiaobai's hand and said, "Let's go home."

...

After driving home, Chen Moxin told Dong Xiaobai to take a shower, and then went to find Chen Wenzhe.

Dong Xiaobai must have run away from home without telling his family. Old Chen was acting like nothing had happened, listening to records in his study, his neck bobbing back and forth like a rooster, and he kept saying "Oh yeah, oh yeah."

Chen Moxin immediately turned off the record player.

When the music stopped, Chen Wenzhe was taken aback, thinking the record player had broken.

He turned around and was startled by Chen Moxin suddenly appearing behind him: "Oh my god! Why are you like a ghost? You didn't even tell me you were coming back! You scared me to death!"

Chen Moxin crossed his arms and asked, "Old Chen, I have a question for you. Xiaobai is going to work today. Did you tell her not to do it anymore?"

Chen Wenzhe thought about it for a moment, and it seemed like there was such a thing: "Yes, what's wrong?"

Chen Moxin said helplessly, "What happened? You scared Xiaobai half to death with just one sentence. She even came to my workplace crying."

Chen Wenzhe was immediately puzzled: "Wait, why are you crying for no reason?"

Chen Moxin shook her head and said, "What else could it be? You didn't explain yourself clearly. You told her not to work, and even said she shouldn't do it anymore. She thought she had done something wrong and you wanted to kick her out."

Chen Wenzhe was stunned for a long time before slapping his forehead hard.

"Oh dear! This child...that's not what I meant!"

"I know that's not what you meant. I just find it strange that you wouldn't let Xiaobai do any work for no reason?"

"It's nothing. I just feel that Xiaobai has been with our family for so many years, and she's exhausted from working every day. I might as well tell her to quit. We have other servants in the house."

Chen Moxin looked even more helpless after hearing this: "Hey, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you're always out fooling around with little girls, how come you don't even understand what girls are thinking?"

“Xiaobai is not your biological child. Although we have been a family for a long time, in her heart, she always remembers that she was an adopted child.”

"Her hard work over the years is actually a very common reward mentality. Working makes her feel that she is giving and making a contribution."

"Regardless of whether the housework is meaningful or not, as long as she does it, she will feel that she has value in this family."

"If you suddenly stop her from doing chores, it's like you've completely erased her purpose in life. Do you think she won't cry?"

Chapter 161 Happy Birthday, Mio!

Chen Wenzhe never imagined that he would be criticized and lectured by his son one day.

And it was about girls, no less.

He hesitated for a moment, then asked with a strange expression, "So, according to you, if I feel sorry for her and don't let her do any work, am I wrong?"

Chen Moxin answered directly: "Yes, it was wrong. I know our family is not short of money, nor is it short of servants. The housework that Xiaobai does every day can be done by other servants, so it's completely meaningless."

"But there's no way around it. Whether it means anything to us or not, she needs to have something to do to make herself feel at ease."

Chen Wenzhe scratched his thinning head, thinking that it seemed to make some sense, and asked dryly, "Then tell me, what's the next step?"

Chen Moxin shrugged: "What else can you do? Just make up an excuse, say that you didn't explain things clearly this morning, and let her continue working."

Just then, familiar footsteps came from the stairs outside the corridor; it must be Dong Xiaobai who had finished showering and changing clothes.

Chen Moxin gave Old Chen a wink.

Chen Wenzhe rolled his eyes at him, got up and went outside the study.

When Dong Xiaobai saw Chen Wenzhe, she seemed a little nervous. She pursed her lips, kept fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, and didn't even dare to look up at him, afraid of seeing a pair of cold eyes.

Seeing the child's aggrieved look, and remembering how she had run to Chen Moxin to cry after being misunderstood, Old Chen felt quite distressed.

Chen Wenzhe coughed lightly, pretending nothing had happened, and said, "Xiao Bai, didn't I tell you this morning not to do any work, and that you don't have to do it anymore?"

“I didn’t explain that clearly. What I meant was that in another month or two, it will be autumn, and the plants in the garden will wither anyway, so it doesn’t matter whether we repair them or not, so we might as well not repair them.”

After hearing this, Dong Xiaobai dared to raise her head, her eyes rekindling with hope as she looked at Chen Wenzhe with such eagerness.

Chen Wenzhe coughed lightly and deliberately spoke in a master's tone, "Chen Moxin is home. Hurry up and cook dinner. Make a few more dishes to welcome the young master back."

The gloom in Dong Xiaobai's eyes completely disappeared. She gave a warm "hmm," lifted her skirt, and hurriedly ran downstairs to cook.

Seeing Dong Xiaobai's appearance, Chen Wenzhe laughed in exasperation: "This kid is so simple-minded, he wouldn't even know if he was sold out one day."

With the matter resolved, Chen Moxin stretched and yawned, twisting her stiff neck as she complained, "Ugh, I'm so miserable. It's bad enough that I'm exhausted at work, but you two are always causing me trouble, having to worry about all these trivial family matters every day... I'm going to take a nap now, call me when it's time to eat."

"Wait a minute." Chen Wenzhe suddenly called out to him, and led the way back to the study. "Don't sleep yet. I have something I want to talk to you about."

Chen Moxin followed him back to the study, where Chen Wenzhe closed and locked the door.

Old Chen sat down in the chair and scrutinized his son with a stern gaze.

Seeing this, Chen Mo wanted to laugh: "Wait, why are you glaring at me like that?"

"Let's talk serious business, stop with the joking around." Chen Wenzhe looked into Chen Moxin's eyes and said earnestly, "I think your analysis just now makes a lot of sense."

"Ultimately, it's because Xiaobai, as an adopted child, lacks a sense of security and belonging in our family."

"In that case, let's pick an auspicious day and get things done."

"Huh?" Chen Moxin didn't react immediately. "Took care of the matter? Took care of what matter?"

Chen Wenzhe glared at him: "What else could it be? Of course, it's your life-long marriage."

Chen Moxin's eyes widened immediately: "...You mean, marriage?"

Old Chen retorted, "Otherwise what?"

"No." Chen Moxin immediately waved her hand, rejecting the proposal directly.

"Bang!" Chen Wenzhe slammed his hand on the table.

"Why didn't you get married?!"

"I'm only 21! I'm not even of legal marriage age yet!"

"22 is next year. It takes time to plan a wedding anyway, so let's take advantage of the second half of the year to finalize it. We can get married right after your birthday next year."

"...No marriage."

"Chen Moxin! You little brat, you slept with that girl, aren't you going to take responsibility?!"

Chen Moxin was speechless for a moment.

He almost forgot that, from Lao Chen's perspective, the two of them had already consummated their relationship.

But soon, he picked up his skill at changing the subject and stirring up trouble again: "You have the nerve to say that to me? You're always out hanging out with little girls, but I've never seen you take responsibility for anyone."

Chen Wenzhe jumped up in a panic, like a rabbit whose toe had been stepped on.

"That's different!"

"Why is it different?"

"When I married your mother, it was our first time. I was very responsible to her and never went out to have affairs."

"And then after she died, she started to let loose, right?"

"So what? So what? So what? This isn't a feudal society anymore. Am I supposed to live a life of widowhood for the rest of my life?!"

Old Chen's attitude was very self-righteous: "Besides, those young girls are just passing through. I just played around with them casually."

"They covet my wealth, and I covet their beauty. We're mutually beneficial and fair in our dealings, what's the problem?"

Chen Moxin has certainly learned a lot.

This is the first time I've heard someone describe "scum" with such righteous indignation.

"Anyway, I'm not getting married. I'm still young and don't want to enter the grave of love so early."

"Chen Moxin! Tell me honestly, have you been flirting with other girls behind Xiaobai's back?!"

"What are you talking about? Who am I supposed to seduce?"

Chen Wenzhe said sarcastically, "How would I know who you're hooking up with? Maybe it's like in those anime, where there's some white-haired beauty in your workplace, rich and powerful, arrogant and haughty, a childhood sweetheart who just fell from the sky... Who knows?"

Chen Moxin was completely speechless: "...Old Chen, you're so old, and you're still watching anime?"

Chen Wenzhe chuckled: "If you want to understand young people like you, how can you do it without watching some anime? I've already watched more than a dozen romance anime series."

Upon hearing this, Chen Moxin turned and left, saying, "I'm outta here. I can't mess with anime fans. I'm going to sleep."

Chen Wenzhe chased after Chen Moxin to the door, shouting at his retreating figure, "Chen Moxin! I'm telling you this, I don't care who you're flirting with outside, you have to take responsibility for Xiaobai in the end! Otherwise, I'll beat you to death!"

...

Saturday was Luo Lingyou's birthday, and Chen Moxin left home early in the morning.

The two had a very full schedule.

We went to the amusement park in the morning and used the VIP entrance, so we didn't have to queue anywhere. We managed to experience all the rides that would take an average visitor a whole day, but the two of us finished them in one morning.

At noon, they ate at the fairytale town in the amusement park. Chen Moxin had spent over 100,000 yuan to book her birthday event in advance. Professional actors dressed in mascot costumes took turns appearing on stage to interact with and take photos with Luo Lingyou, making her the little princess in the spotlight.

After lunch, Chen Moxin took Luo Lingyou out to sea on her family's yacht. The two sunbathed and leisurely fished for an afternoon.

Dinner was arranged in a luxurious floating restaurant, where you could enjoy a sumptuous meal while watching the sunset over the sea.

Back in the city, Luo Lingyou didn't want to go home to sleep early, so the two of them decided to call Alexander and Lei Lie out as well. The four of them went to the "Like Water Flowing Years" bar they had visited before, intending to have a few drinks.

The bar was as lively as ever, with the resident band playing passionately on stage. The drumbeats vibrated, and the metallic sound of the electric guitars pierced the air, eliciting continuous cheers from the crowd.

Lei Lie was an honest man; he just sat there drinking and playing on his phone.

After a few drinks, Alexander's bloodline awakened, and he became very uninhibited, even jumping on the table.

Chen Moxin leaned back comfortably on the booth sofa, occasionally nodding slightly to the rhythm of the music, while Luo Lingyou sat next to him with a sweet smile on her face.

"Brother Chen, I'm so happy that you specially celebrated my birthday today!"

"As long as you're happy."

"You've spent the whole day with me, I hope the other girls with you aren't angry~"