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…
Having experienced rebirth, Xu Mo had already seen through everything, harboring no expectations for the Xu family.
The maternal love and family affection he longed for were nothing but illusions.
He was thoroughly disgusted by it all and just wanted to break free.
“I’ve been given a second chance, money isn’t an immediate concern. Once I leave, I need to make some money!”
“The college entrance examination is coming up soon. I hope to do well!”
“And, I need to focus on improving my physical fitness!”
Xu Mo died suddenly from a heart attack.
Before his death, he had experienced many sudden episodes, and the doctor’s diagnosis was that he had died from exhaustion, leading to heart failure.
Reflecting on the past, he realized how much he had done to please his elder sisters and mother – preparing food for them in the middle of the night, delivering clothes and cosmetics, taking care of household chores – all in the hope of gaining a little more attention from them.
But they treated him like dirt.
How pathetic he had been!
Recalling his past actions, Xu Mo blushed with embarrassment.
Perhaps in Xu Junzhe’s eyes, all those efforts he had made to please his elder sisters and mother, Xie Bingyan, seemed laughably childish.
He might even chuckle at the thought.
He couldn’t believe he had once worried that his eldest sister was too busy to eat, so he secretly made noodles one night and brought them to her office, only to be kicked out on the spot and warned never to enter her office again.
Upon learning about it, Xu Junzhe genuinely laughed.
He often mocked Xu Mo afterward, advising him not to provoke their elder sister and even publicly suggesting that Xu Mo was doing everything for their elder sister’s sake, urging her to forgive him.
Seeing Xu Mo’s foolishness, Xu Junzhe was overjoyed to the point that he dared to conspire with Xu Manni to blame Xu Mo for damaging their mother Xie Bingyan’s dress.
This wasn’t the first time Xu Manni had conspired against him either.
Looking back now, all the efforts he had made to please Xu Manni also seemed laughable.
It was all so childish!
“Work on improving my health, find a place to stay, earn more money! And prepare for the college entrance examination!”
Xu Mo quickly formulated a plan in his mind.
In this lifetime, he decided to live for himself.
He no longer wanted to endure these disgusting things.
Quickly rummaging through cabinets and drawers, he found some money, totaling ten thousand yuan.
Half of this amount came from his part-time work, while the other half consisted of New Year’s money and regular living expenses.
Most of the time, Xu Mo ate at home, rarely indulging in snacks and saving money whenever possible.
He took out half of the money, hiding the other half, then opened the door and stepped outside.
While the family was still having dinner, a middle-aged man in a shirt and trousers appeared. If it wasn’t his father, Xu Deming, then who could it be?
His father, Xu Deming, bore some resemblance to him.
“Xu Mo, where are you going?” Xu Deming frowned as he saw Xu Mo come out.
He probably heard about what just happened and looked very displeased, his face stern.
“Just going out for a bit,” Xu Mo replied tersely, unwilling to say more.
“Xu Mo, your brother pleaded with your mother to let you come eat. What else do you want to do? Come and have dinner!” Xu Deming urged.
“Haha, Dad! He’s probably not hungry! He can fill up on air!” Xu Manni, the third sister, mocked.
“Xu Mo, are you planning to go out? To see those dubious friends of yours?” Xu Xuehui, the second sister, frowned.
She was a university professor, teaching music, and very well-educated. She disliked Xu Mo’s friends, considering them unsophisticated.
“Whatever you think,” Xu Mo replied, heading outside.
“Xu Mo, what’s with your attitude towards your sisters?” Xu Deming, accustomed to commanding his subordinates and accustomed to being in a superior position, looked furious.
But Xu Mo didn’t even look at him as he walked away.
“What’s with this attitude?” Xu Deming became enraged and was about to rush out.
The others hurriedly stopped him, saying, “Dad! Xu Mo probably isn’t hungry and went out!”
“Yeah! He’s probably not hungry! Let’s not bother with him for now, let’s eat!”
“I reckon he’s upset with Mom! She just punished him!”
“Why would he be upset with me? He’s full of faults, so clumsy and ruined my dress. If I don’t discipline him, he’ll never learn!” Xie Bingyan said disdainfully.
For her, disciplining her own child is her responsibility. Demanding strictness is the only way to help Xu Mo grow. There’s nothing wrong with that!”
“Yeah, Mom’s right! He’s just pushing his luck!” Xu Xuehui and Xu Manni chimed in, their hearts already blooming with delight.
…
Xu Mo took the money and his ID card, caught a bus, and soon arrived in a suburb.
This place was quite far from High School 17, taking an hour by bus to reach the school. But Xu Mo didn’t have much money, so he had no choice but to rent a room here.
Luckily, he was already eighteen and had his ID card, so he quickly spent a thousand yuan to rent a small room in this small village.
Although not as luxurious and splendid as the Xu family mansion, this place was sufficient for Xu Mo.
He would live here until he finished the college entrance examination and earned a large sum of money.
Previously an orphan, now he had a part-time job and could easily live on his own.
He took out pen and paper, busied himself in the room for a while, then cleaned the room before heading back to the Xu family mansion.
“Xu Mo, you’re finally back. Sneaked out to play by yourself, huh?”
As Xu Mo returned, there were quite a few people in the living room.
His parents, second and third sister were there, along with a maid, Zhao Ma, who was mopping the floor.
“Young Master Mo, you’re back?” Zhao Ma greeted with a smile.
Xu Mo nodded and headed towards his room.
“Xu Mo, stop right there! What’s with your attitude?” Xu Deming suddenly saw Xu Mo ignoring everyone and immediately scolded him.
“I’m going back to my room for now, we can talk later!” Xu Mo replied.
“What talk? What can you possibly say? Why do you never change? What was the meaning of ignoring your second and third sisters just now? What about your manners and etiquette?” Xu Deming berated.
Xu Mo chuckled, remaining silent, and continued towards his room.
“Xu Mo, are you listening to me? Have you gone mad? Do you even respect me?!” Xu Deming roared in anger, grabbing a nearby ruler and lunging towards Xu Mo.
Xu Mo, seeing him coming at him with the ruler, furrowed his brow, dodged to avoid the blow, but unexpectedly slipped on the floor and fell down.
“Master Mo?” Zhao Ma exclaimed in shock.
“It’s fine!” Xu Mo steadied himself against the table and gestured to Zhao Ma not to worry.
Xu Deming, seeing Xu Mo fall to the ground, was initially surprised, but when he saw him get up and apparently unhurt, he became furious. He swung the ruler at Xu Mo again.
This time, Xu Mo, just having stood up, couldn’t avoid it. The heavy ruler struck Xu Mo’s head, and blood gushed out suddenly.
“Ah!” Zhao Ma gasped in horror.
Xu Mo felt a slight pain in his head and reached up to touch it, finding his hand stained with bright red blood.
Xu Deming, Xu Xuehui, and Xu Manni were also taken aback, not expecting Xu Mo to bleed from the blow.
However, Xu Mo remained indifferent at this moment, merely furrowing his brow as he looked at Xu Deming and said calmly, “Try it again, and I’ll fight back! I mean what I say!”
“You…” Xu Deming was stunned to see Xu Mo bleeding from his strike, his face filled with strangeness.
“Zhao Ma, Zhao Ma! Get some bandages and call 110 quickly!” Xu Deming frowned and shouted urgently.
“Don’t pretend to be kind!” Xu Mo said indifferently, ignoring him and quickly walking back to his room.
“Xu Mo, where are you going? Are you trying to make me mad?”
“Master, I’ve already called 110!” Zhao Ma said.
“You, quickly get the bandages for him! This disobedient brat is driving me crazy!” Xu Deming, furious at Xu Mo’s repeated defiance, seethed with anger.
“What happened?” At this moment, Xie Bingyan and Xu Junzhe returned.
“Mom, Xu Mo is bleeding, Dad wanted to discipline him, but he ran back to his room!” Xu Manni spoke up.
“Bleeding? Is he okay?” Xie Bingyan asked in surprise, showing no concern.
“He’s fine! Zhao Ma has already called for an ambulance!” Xu Xuehui also chimed in, furrowing her brow as she too felt Xu Mo’s recent behavior was off.
Just now, Xu Mo seemed too unfamiliar to them, not moving even when he was bleeding.
Xu Junzhe spoke up, saying, “Dad, Mom, don’t blame Big Brother! He just hasn’t learned proper etiquette. He should have gone out for dinner just now! He’ll come out soon!”
Hearing this, Xie Bingyan immediately smiled with affection, patting Xu Junzhe’s head, “Our Junzhe is indeed more obedient! Junzhe, you should teach your brother more in the future! If there’s anything wrong with him, you should point it out loudly, okay? He’s got a lot of problems, needs discipline!”
Xu Junzhe felt secretly delighted, obediently replying, “Yes, Mom, I’ll definitely get along better with Big Brother in the future!”
“Good!” Xie Bingyan, feeling tender towards Xu Junzhe, beamed with happiness.
Xu Mo hadn’t come out of his room for a long time, which made Xu Deming and Xu Manni furious.
Xu Deming walked over directly and tapped on his door, saying, “Xu Mo, open the door for me!”
“Just a moment!” Xu Mo’s voice came from inside.
“Open up!” Xu Deming couldn’t wait any longer and was about to kick the door.
However, just as he kicked the door, Xu Mo happened to open it. The kick landed on Xu Mo, almost sending him flying and crashing into the table inside the room.
“Xu Mo?” Xu Deming was surprised once again.
Xu Mo quietly lifted his head, his face deathly pale. Despite the pain, he endured it, stood up again, and dragged out a suitcase from his room.
“Although it may not matter to many, I believe it’s necessary to do this. It’s best if it has legal effect,” Xu Mo said faintly as he walked out of the living room.
In the living room, there were many people including his mother, Xie Bingyan, Second Elder Sister, Third Elder Sister, and Xu Junzhe.
The maid, Zhao Ma, was also there.
“Let Zhao Ma be a witness!” Xu Mo said indifferently, taking out a piece of paper and handing it to Xu Deming.
“Young Master Mo, what are you…” Zhao Ma couldn’t help but feel surprised as she saw Xu Mo dragging the suitcase.
Xu Deming took the white paper and glanced at it, then suddenly erupted in anger.
“Xu Mo, what did you write? Have you gone mad?” he bellowed.
“I’m not mad!” Xu Mo sighed as he looked at him. “If Mr. Xu and Mrs. Xie agree, then let it end here. Even if you don’t, then let it also end here. I think there needs to be some evidence! It’s for the best, after all.”
Xu Deming immediately shouted, “Where did you learn this nonsense? Who taught you? Your mother is right; you’re nothing but trouble! And now, you’re using this to threaten me? To threaten your mother?”
Xu Mo chuckled at this. “Mr. Xu Deming seems to be mistaken. I have no intention of threatening anyone! I’m just tired and don’t want to argue with you all anymore! Mr. Xu Deming should agree to that, right?”
“What did he write?” Xie Bingyan exclaimed, walking over to take a look.
When she saw what was written on the paper, she too erupted in anger.
“Xu Mo, have you lost your mind? Where’s the ruler?” Xie Bingyan almost went crazy.
Written on the paper was an agreement to sever the parent-child relationship, stating various terms that declared the relationship cut off.
Xie Bingyan couldn’t tolerate such a thing. She immediately searched for the ruler on the table and found it nearby, still stained with some blood.
She didn’t care and just pulled out the ruler, swinging it towards Xu Mo.
This time, Xu Mo wouldn’t let her hit him. He reached out and caught the ruler as it came towards him.
“Mrs. Xie, are you trying to make me bleed further?” Xu Mo stared at Xie Bingyan, he looked at them strangely.
“You…” Xie Bingyan didn’t expect Xu Mo to dare to catch the ruler. She was surprised at first, but then, realizing what had happened, she erupted in anger. She snatched the broom from Zhao Ma’s hands and swung it towards Xu Mo.
Xu Mo frowned. Initially, he could have dodged, but this time, he didn’t. He let the broomstick hit him on the head.
The blow was heavy, causing Xu Mo’s head to bleed once again.
“Xu Mo!”
Others were shocked to see Xu Mo not dodging the blow.
“I’ve left some blood! Consider it as repaying the blood you shed when you gave birth to me! I’m compensating you for it!” Xu Mo felt an intense headache, with blood now overflowing.
Despite the pain, he held himself back from fainting and continued speaking, “I should still owe the Xu family some money! For the living expenses over the past four years, it should be around thirty yuan per day, totaling over forty thousand for four years, let’s say fifty thousand!”
“There’s also some money for gifts, snacks, and accommodation, which also sum up to around fifty thousand! All in all, I should owe you a hundred thousand!”
“Don’t worry about me not repaying you! I’ve calculated it all. Within a year, I’ll definitely pay you back!”
“Zhao Ma, call an ambulance!” Xu Deming saw Xu Mo’s pale face, seemingly struggling, and quickly shouted.
“No need! I’m fine!”
Xu Mo endured the pain, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a piece of cloth to wrap around his head, which instantly improved his complexion.
“I’ll return this blood to you first! As for the few pounds of flesh that came from you… I can’t repay that right now! Once I can convert it into cash later, I’ll pay it back all at once! If you really want the flesh, I can go to the hospital and have a piece cut off! Don’t worry, I’ll repay you!”
“Xu Mo, have you gone mad?” Xu Deming was astonished.
“I’m not mad!” Xu Mo wrapped his head and looked up at Xie Bingyan. “Mrs. Xie, Mr. Xu, please sign!”
Xie Bingyan was initially worried, but seeing him fine, her concerns vanished. However, anger surged within her as she looked at the document in her hand. She berated, “You really defy discipline! Where did you learn all this? Are you trying to infuriate me and your father? You…”
“I just feel tired! Don’t overthink it!” Xu Mo sighed.
“Alright, alright! Today, you’re deliberately provoking me and your father, right? You think we’ve disciplined you unfairly, don’t you? When I made you stand in the corner, withheld your lunch, did it fill you with resentment? Do you resent me, thinking I’ve mistreated you?” Xie Bingyan said through gritted teeth.
Xu Mo remained silent, his expression calm.
“Fine, we’ll sign it! Let’s see where you’ll go and how long you’ll keep defying us!” Xie Bingyan, seeing Xu Mo’s silence, grew even more furious. “Once I’ve sign, don’t bother coming home if you have the guts!”
Perhaps she forgot that Xu Mo was originally an orphan and had been living independently without any issues!
“Thank you, Mrs. Xie!” Xu Mo exclaimed, handing over the document of severed ties.
Xie Bingyan, upon seeing it, was taken aback and suddenly sobered up a bit. But at that moment, with everyone watching her, she became instantly embarrassed and furious, cursing, “If you have the guts, don’t come back! Don’t show your face to me!”
With a few brisk strokes, she signed her full name.
Xu Mo retrieved it with delight and turned to hand it to Xu Deming. “Mr. Xu Deming, it’s your turn!”
Xu Deming, still filled with anger, began, “Xu Mo, you really don’t respect our authority. You think we’re too strict with you, that you have all sorts of…”
“Stop!” Xu Mo interrupted him. “Mr. Xu Deming, please don’t continue. I don’t resent you! You’re all very good, very accomplished!”