Chapter 4: The Dark Childhood
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The atmosphere in the dining room became tinged with an awkward silence.
Wen Mo paid no heed, picking up the silver soup spoon once more and continuing to drink from the bowl of broth. The morning light cast shadows on others, clear and blurry, light and darkness, making him look like a sinister and dark character from a story.
Zhao Lan exchanged a glance with Shang Xinjian, who understood things. He whispered a few words to Wen Yi, and though Wen Yi seemed reluctant, he got up and followed Shang Xinjian out. The door closed with a heavy thud.
Zhao Lan sent the youngest son downstairs with the help of Mrs. Sun. With only three people left in the dining room, Zhao Lan’s voice softened, “Xiao Mo, you know, the Wen family hasn’t been doing well these past few years. Earlier this year, we even had to lay off quite a few people. The recent supply disruption has also cost us a considerable amount. You haven’t been home for over a year. You don’t know how things are for us now. That fifteen million, to be honest, won’t be readily available for a while. But I promise you, once the situation at Wen Enterprises improves, that fifteen million plus interest will be given to you.”
Wen Mo didn’t speak, slowly drinking the soup.
Zhao Lan nudged Wen Congjie with her elbow. Wen Congjie finally spoke with a stern face, “Fifteen million is not a small sum. You have to give us some time to gather it.”
“Yeah,” Zhao Lan quickly added, “We’re family after all. We shouldn’t make a fuss about a few days’ delay.”
Wen Mo still spooned the soup into his mouth, as if it were the most delicious thing.
“Xiao Mo…” Zhao Lan tentatively called.
Wen Mo finally put down the spoon, raising his gaze, “Fifteen million. Swapping it for a Federal Military Supply License is a good deal no matter who’s doing the calculations. How did this account become a matter of me buying and selling forcibly in front of my parents?”
Zhao Lan felt a little guilty, looking away, while Wen Congjie’s expression grew even darker.
Wen Mo let out a bitter laugh, saying calmly, “Never mind, I won’t trouble you.”
He stood up, giving a slight bow, “Thank you for your hospitality.”
With that, he turned and left decisively.
Wen Congjie grew anxious, immediately standing up, while Zhao Lan acted quicker, rushing forward to grab Wen Mo’s arm.
“Xiao Mo! Wait!”
Wen Mo stared coldly at the hand on his forearm. Zhao Lan stiffened momentarily and withdrew her hand hesitantly. She swallowed and spoke with a pleading tone, her smile strained, “Don’t leave. It’s us who were foolish.”
Her smile seemed forced now, “If you really need that fifteen million urgently, we’ll scrape it together even if we have to sell the kitchen sink—”
She lowered her voice, pleading earnestly. She was evidently the first to realize the gravity of the situation. She looked at Wen Congjie, shook her head slightly. Wen Congjie’s face turned grim as he pursed his reddened lips tightly.
Before Zhao Lan could speak again, he finally deflated like a balloon, took out his phone, and dialed a number. He spoke softly into the phone, giving a few instructions.
After hanging up the phone, he endured once more, saying, “The money will be in the account tomorrow morning. The company has other matters to attend to. I’ll leave first.”
He pushed back his chair, swiftly stood up, and with a stern expression, walked towards the door.
The door slammed shut with a resounding thud.
Wen Mo glanced sideways at the slightly vibrating door, remained silent for a moment, then let out a wry chuckle. “Thank you, Father and Mother.”
He continued to sit down, casually breaking off a small piece of baguette, putting it into his mouth, and chewing it slowly.
“Mother, you can rest assured. The value of this Federal Military Supply License is something you both understand very well. Whoever benefits from it is also quite clear between us. But I don’t intend to dwell on that too much. After all, I’m also a ‘son’ of the Wen family.”
He tossed the remaining half of the baguette back onto the porcelain plate, saying, “Isn’t that right, mother?”
He smiled warmly as he spoke.
Wen Mo’s skin carried a touch of unhealthy paleness, and this smile gave him an additional hint of enigmatic allure. Zhao Lan felt a slight shiver crawl down her spine.
In that fleeting moment, she found herself thinking of that thin child who lived in the basement – he knelt on the ground, holding onto her hand, begging earnestly to be saved.
Is that him? Zhao Lan wondered. Why can’t she connect these memories with the person right in front of her?
A sense of unease washed over her.
For the first time, she realized that perhaps she had never truly seen the person in front of her—from the moment she brought him back from the orphanage to the Wen family. She had never really understood him.
Wen Mo wasn’t truly a son of the Wen family. To be exact, he had transitioned from being a servant to a foster son three years ago. He took the place of her biological son, Wen Yi, who was to be sent to the Huo family.
It all began with an accidental pregnancy.
In a society where Omega’s reproductive role had been replaced by technology, Omegas were defined by mainstream society as a group that should be eliminated, couples planning to have children registered at the Population Reproduction Center six months in advance. After a series of medical examinations and genetic screenings, the center would arrange for them to have a child of their desired specifications.
However, accidents could still happen. Zhao Lan, an Alpha with a female reproductive system, unexpectedly became pregnant. Although she had a uterus, the likelihood of an Alpha getting pregnant was nearly as low as winning the lottery. Perhaps due to the sense of fate associated with this, she chose to proceed with the pregnancy.
When Wen Yi was born, the hospital conducted tests as per protocol and determined that he had a 100% probability of becoming an Omega once he reached maturity. This news was undoubtedly unfavorable for the Wen family. However, possibly due to the shared bond formed through ten months of pregnancy, or perhaps because Wen Yi was simply too cute, Zhao Lan found herself growing fonder of her child day by day, even though she harbored a deep prejudice against Omegas.
This sentiment wasn’t difficult to understand. Human emotions were contradictory yet somehow harmonious in their complexity.
Wen Mo’s birth story was similar. It also began with an unexpected pregnancy. The difference was that Wen Mo’s mother was a sex worker. By the time she realized she was pregnant, the child was already too far along. Due to the Federal Heartbeat Act’s prohibition on abortions and the exorbitant cost of going to an illegal clinic, she had no choice but to carry the pregnancy to term.
When Wen Mo was more than nine months along, he triggered his mother’s labor during a transaction. The client, terrified by the bed soaked in blood, fled in panic. Fortunately, a kind-hearted landlord sent her to the emergency room. Tragically, she lost her life after giving birth to Wen Mo due to excessive bleeding.
And so, Wen Mo was sent to the orphanage. A place like that, of course, was far from being a holy ground. The children in such limited-resource environments were anything but innocent, especially the Omega orphans. They attracted a group of enthusiasts who were as predatory as beasts. Wen Mo’s memories of his time in the orphanage were far from pleasant.
Fortunately, when he was seven years old, Wen Mo finally escaped that dark jungle.
All because of Wen Yi.
When Wen Yi was five years old, he fell ill with a unique blood disorder that required continuous blood transfusions. This wouldn’t have been a problem in itself, but there was an issue—Wen Yi had a rare Rhnull blood type. The occurrence of this type in the general population was less than one in a hundred thousand.
Indeed, just that rare. Wen Mo happened to be that one in a hundred thousand.
He was taken back by the Wen couple and became Wen Yi’s blood bag.
Wen Yi’s condition kept relapsing, and Zhao Lan frequently took Wen Mo to the hospital. Many times, Wen Yi got off the hospital bed, but Wen Mo couldn’t. His pale and frightening appearance on the hospital bed, with vacant eyes, made Zhao Lan think he wouldn’t make it, yet perhaps due to his tenacious fate, Wen Mo was resilient and managed to survive each time.
Ultimately, Zhao Lan wasn’t a bad person. She herself was the mother of an Omega. Watching him survive these close calls, she felt a tinge of guilt. Besides, Wen Mo was always well-behaved during these times, never crying or making a fuss. His thin and pale face, his large eyes that took up half of it, timidly watching the needle in the doctor’s hand, he would quietly extend his arm, showing the needle marks on his elbow.
Gradually, Wen Yi’s condition stabilized. By the time he turned sixteen, his condition hadn’t relapsed in a long time. Zhao Lan started treating Wen Mo better, to the extent that she even disregarded Wen Yi’s objections and sent him to an expensive private school.
Time passed year after year, and Wen Mo grew up slowly. After his puberty, he became even more beautiful. The gazes of visitors in their home started focusing more on him, including those of the master of the Wen family, Wen Congjie.
This made Zhao Lan feel uneasy, but it was later proven that she had misunderstood her husband.
One day, Wen Congjie called Wen Mo to his study. When Wen Mo came out, he almost burst into tears and knelt in front of Zhao Lan, begging her not to let Wen Congjie give him to the old chairman of that organization with sadistic tendencies.
“Madam,” he grabbed her hand, his expression full of pitiful pleading, “I’ll serve you well for the rest of my life, please.”
Seeing him cry so pitifully for the first time, Zhao Lan couldn’t help but feel some pity. So she went to talk to her husband, expressing her opinion somewhat displeasedly. However, her husband didn’t say anything and only pushed a letter of intent contract in front of her.
Since the outbreak of war, business in the Federation had become increasingly difficult. They were on the verge of not being able to sustain their respectable lifestyle anymore, and the amount on that contract was enough to secure their well-being for years.
Zhao Lan fell silent. Because she had become the mother of an Omega, her once tough heart had softened a lot, but life had to go on. Sacrificing a child with slightly guilty feelings to ensure her family’s affluence and dignity wasn’t an entirely unacceptable thing.
She thought Wen Mo should understand this, especially since she had treated him fairly well. He shouldn’t make her so conflicted.
For no apparent reason, she felt angry, and even her underlying guilt vanished. She straightforwardly refused to see him and instructed the housekeeper to watch over him.
If it wasn’t for what happened later, Wen Mo would have been smoothly delivered to that old man’s bed, until they successfully signed the formal contract.
However, as life would have it, a few days later, Wen Mo ended up in the bed of another influential figure on a whole different level.
Zhao Lan’s breath trembled. Unable to resist, she addressed Wen Mo, almost speaking to herself: “Xiao Mo, these years, we haven’t treated you poorly.”
Wen Mo didn’t say anything. He simply smiled again, a very shallow smile, as if he couldn’t even be bothered to include any sarcasm. He took a napkin, wiped his hands, and casually tossed it onto the table, as if discarding trash, then turned and walked out the door.
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