DTTM 7

Chapter 7: It Feels So Good To Win

Wuxi Li is not Zong Yanlei’s biological mother.

I learned this secret a year after I joined the Zong family.

That day was no different from any other; the north wind was howling outside, but the Zong family home remained warm and cozy. Zong Yanlei and I were in class when a maid knocked on the study door, interrupting the teacher’s lecture and telling us that Madam Zong wanted to see us.

As the young master’s personal study companion, I was wherever he was. Unless he specifically told me not to follow, I usually would. So when Wuxi Li summoned him that time, I went with him.

The Zong family manor was vast, with over a dozen reception rooms alone. Generally, Zong Shen’an used his own, and Wuxi Li used hers; they each had their own and would never share. Zong Shen’an’s reception room was always furnished with three essentials, fine wines, cigars, and a game table. Wuxi Li, however, preferred a more refined aesthetic, adorning her reception rooms with books and porcelain. She arranged these spaces according to the guest’s status: the more distinguished the visitor, the more obscure the books and the more exquisite the porcelain displayed. There was only one room, which contained neither a rich collection of books nor valuable porcelain; this was specifically for receiving those who could not become her guests.

For example, my father and me.

For example, Sha Lan.

Sha Lan was born into a working-class family in Penglai. She was the fourth of seven siblings, a position that was neither high nor low and was not noticed by anyone. At the age of 14, she left home to make a living in Baiyujing, working various jobs such as waitressing in restaurants, salesperson in shops, and extra. Finally, she took refuge in the Zong family and found a job as a maid.

She was beautiful, ambitious, and quick to stand out wherever she went; yet she was also vain, superficial, and ignorant, always taking the straight path astray.

As mentioned earlier, Zong Shen’an was a lecherous man. He had no scruples when it came to any woman he liked, whether she was a maid or a noblewoman.

No one knew how Sha Lan and he got together, but by the time everyone found out, Sha Lan was already five months pregnant.

This was quite a strange thing. According to the older servants of the Zong family, things had been going wrong in the family for generations; the children had all died young, and only Zong Shen’an, a deformed and unattractive boy, survived. As Zong Shen’an grew older, he frequented brothels, yet no one had ever heard of him impregnating anyone. Later, Wuxi Li became Madam Zong and apparently had two pregnancies, but both ended in miscarriage. Therefore, everyone speculated that Zong Shen’an might be impotent.

Zong Shen’an was unperturbed by the speculation. His primary concern was personal enjoyment; whether or not he could have children was of no concern to him. After all, for nobles, offspring were merely tools for forging alliances and consolidating wealth. Whether his offspring were someone else’s bearing the Zong surname was irrelevant.

When Sha Lan was discovered to be pregnant, Wuxi Li was in the midst of a cold war with Zong Shen’an. Zong Shen’an planned to adopt a child from a collateral branch of the Zong family into Wuxi Li’s name, but Wuxi Li was not satisfied with the candidate and refused to agree for a long time. Sha Lan’s child came at the perfect time.

While the child was still in her womb, Zong Shen’an conducted a paternity test and confirmed that the child was his. He then sent someone to take Sha Lan to the countryside to rest and recuperate, while simultaneously announcing the false news that Wuxi Li was pregnant.

Zong Yanlei didn’t stay in his biological mother’s arms for even a day after his birth; he was immediately sent to Baiyujing. Sha Lan received a large sum of money, signed a hush money agreement, and disappeared.

When she reappeared, five years had passed. In those five years, she had squandered all her money and was now heavily in debt. Desperate, she remembered the Zong family and shamelessly went to their door to beg for money.

Wuxi Li gave her money the first time, the second time, and the third and fourth times after that. Sha Lan would come to ask for money almost every six or seven months, and Wuxi Li would give it to her every time. Not only would she give it, but she would also have Zong Yanlei stand aside and watch her give it.

The older servants thought it was the lady’s kindness, giving money was kindness, letting Sha Lan see her child was kindness. But I thought Wuxi Li was terrifying.

With a flick of her finger, she could easily overpower even ten Sha Lans, let alone one. Yet, she allowed her to repeatedly blackmail her, constantly knocking on the Zong family’s door and making a fool of herself in front of Zong Yanlei time and again. She didn’t care that Zong Yanlei knew about his background. So what if he knew? Did Zong Yanlei have any other choice?

When we entered the reception room that day, Sha Lan was kneeling in the center of the room, in the very spot where I had once knelt, her clothes disheveled and reeking of alcohol. Upon seeing her, Zong Yanlei’s entire back stiffened. Wuxi Li, on the other hand, was seated in her usual spot, elegantly sipping her tea, completely ignoring the woman in front of her who was weeping.

“Mother.” Zong Yanlei walked to the woman’s side and bowed slightly to Wuxi Li.

I followed behind Zong Yanlei and also performed a servant’s salute.

“Sit down,” Wuxi Li said, pointing to the high-backed chair next to her.

Zong Yanlei sat down as instructed, while I stood to his side and slightly behind. This change in position allowed me to see Sha Lan’s face more clearly.

A white fur coat slipped off her shoulders, revealing a fiery red dress underneath. Her ash-gray hair, though lacking the luster of a noblewoman’s, still showed signs of careful maintenance. Her features were delicate, and her eyes… were neither the aristocratic sky blue nor the commoner’s gray-blue, but the same blue-green as Zong Yanlei’s eyes.

Seeing this, I glanced at Zong Yanlei discreetly; from my angle, all I could see was his taut jawline.

“Madam, I promise this is the last time!” Sha Lan held up one finger, making a pitiful promise.

“Sha Lan, you’ve said this countless times over the past few years,” Wuxi Li said calmly, setting her teacup aside.

“For the sake of the young master I gave birth to for the Zong family, Madam, please believe me one more time! This is truly the last time!” Seeing that Wuxi Li was unmoved, she crawled a few steps to Zong Yanlei, grabbed his trouser leg, and pleaded. “Young master, please beg Madam for me!”

The smell of alcohol wafted through the air, and Zong Yanlei’s hand on the armrest tightened instantly.

“Get away from me…”

Sha Lan was drunk and probably didn’t hear clearly, so she straightened up and leaned closer to Zong Yanlei to listen carefully: “What?”

“Stay away from me, you reek.” This time, Zong Yanlei’s voice was colder and more tense.

She looked annoyed and embarrassed for a moment. Sha Lan pursed her lips, pulled her fur coat tighter, and climbed back towards Wuxi Li.

“Madam…” she tugged Wuxi Li’s skirt, almost prostrating herself on the ground, “Kind-hearted madam, merciful madam, please help me…”

Wuxi Li stared at her coldly for a moment, sighed, and raised her hand to signal Butler Li behind her: “Never mind, give it to her.”

Butler Li accepted the order, stepped forward, and took out a gold bar that he had prepared beforehand from the inside pocket of his suit, tossing it beside Sha Lan.

“Take it and get out of here,” he said sternly.

Sha Lan’s face, which had been somewhat gloomy, was instantly filled with ecstasy. She picked up the gold bar, kowtowed twice, and kept thanking Wuxi Li. Then, she lifted her dress and ran away without looking back.

The actors left the stage, the play ended, and Wuxi Li asked Zong Yanlei and me to leave as well.

For the rest of the day, Zong Yanlei was absent-minded. Several times when the teacher asked him questions, his mind wandered, and he gave irrelevant answers. The teacher was particularly strict, a devout follower of the Jing Shi religion, and would not go easy on Zong Yanlei even if he couldn’t accept the punishment; I, his study companion, had to take the punishment for him. By the end of the day, my palms were swollen.

I thought I was in bad enough trouble, but when I changed Zong Yanlei’s bandages that evening, I discovered that his hands weren’t much better; he had scratched both palms raw. Not only his hands, but also two abrasions on his left calf, with the skin peeled back, exposing the delicate tissue, it was a shocking sight.

At first, I wondered how his leg got injured, but when I ran my fingers over the wound while bandaging it, I suddenly remembered: Sha Lan must have accidentally scratched Zong Yanlei’s leg that afternoon.

She should have known about Zong Yanlei’s physical condition; this little tofu doll was not to be touched…

“Where is the woman who gave birth to you?”

I paused, my hand still wrapping the bandage, and looked at the young master lying quietly on the bed. His hands, already treated and re-bandaged, were placed on his abdomen. His eyes were fixed on the ceiling, and if it weren’t for the fact that we were the only two people in the bedroom, I would have thought that it wasn’t him who had just asked the question.

“My mother left home with my younger brother when I was five years old, and I have never seen her since…” I did not hide anything and told him about my father’s incompetence, my grandmother’s cover-up, and my mother’s suffering.

After listening, he remained silent for a long time.

“Do you hate her?” He suddenly spoke again after I finished wrapping the bandages on his leg and tucked him in.

“Hate her?” I tilted my head.

He slowly closed his eyes, his voice filled with weariness: “Hate her for giving birth to you and then abandoning you, Hate her for making you like this, Hate her… for being so despicable.”

I understood when I heard him saying that. He wasn’t asking me anything; he just wanted to hear the answer he wanted from me.

I thought for a moment: “If hatred could change everything, I think I would hate her.” After saying that, I pressed the switch on the bedside table, and the room lights went out the next moment.

“Good night, young master.”

In the darkness, Zong Yanlei remained silent.

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Using children as leverage to force Zong Yanlei to submit was undoubtedly rubbing salt into his old wounds. Given his petty nature, he would never let me off.

I was fully prepared mentally and willing to bear all the consequences, but when he kicked me, I had to admit that I was still surprised.

Zong Yanlei’s kick was so heavy and solid that it almost made me vomit blood. Before I could even catch my breath, he stomped on me again.

“Ugh…” I braced one hand against the toe of his shoe and the other hand on his ankle, trying to get off the sole of his shoe.

“Are you so stupid as to think I’d be threatened by you?” he sneered, focusing all his weight on the left foot that was stepping on me.

Instantly, I felt my chest tighten, had difficulty breathing, and my vision began to go black.

“Young Master… I was wrong, I was wrong!” I hurriedly admitted my mistake, clutching his black trouser leg. “I lied to you… uh, there was no emails…”

“Too late.” He declared, taking off his coat and throwing it at me.

The black velvet draped down like a sudden nightfall, instantly covering my head and face completely. The strong smell of smoke and alcohol mixed with a faint perfume, flooding my nostrils and making my mind hazy.

“I should have killed you six years ago…”

Zong Yanlei’s voice became muffled, and the lack of oxygen caused by positional asphyxia gradually gave me a sense of impending death.

A cramped, dark cell, a body covered in whip marks, a stomach churning with pain…

I seemed to be hallucinating, with my past self, beaten to the point of near death years ago, gradually overlapping with my present self, struggling to survive.

After all these years, how come I still can’t learn my lesson?

“Waaaaah, I want my dad… Daddy… I want my daddy…”

Just when I thought I was really going to die this time, the sound of a child crying suddenly came from outside the door. After a while, there was a knock on the door of the cigar room, and a embarrassed voice rang out.

“Mr. Zong, we found a child outside, crying and saying he wants to find his father, what do you think…”

Zong Yanlei was infuriated by the disruption: “Child?” He hesitated for four or five seconds before finally clicking his tongue and lifting his precious foot, “Come in.”

The moment I felt the pressure on my chest disappear, I pulled the coat off my face, rolled onto my stomach, and began coughing.

“Daddy!”

Just as I was coughing so hard it was excruciating, Wei Jiarui burst in like a cannonball, knocking his elderly father down again.

So heavy.

“Daddy, waaaah, why haven’t you come back for so long… hic. It’s so dark outside, I was so scared…” He cried until his little face was red.

I struggled to sit up, holding him in my arms, and kept comforting him in a hoarse voice: “It’s okay, it’s okay. Cough cough, it’s Daddy’s fault. Daddy apologizes to you.”

Feeling safe again, Wei Jiarui wrapped his arms around my neck, buried his head in my shoulder, and his crying gradually subsided, though his round body would occasionally twitch.

“Is this your son?” A cold voice suddenly rang out.

I was startled and looked up at Zong Yanlei, who was speaking.

He sat on the solid wood coffee table, his long legs stretched out naturally, arms propped behind him. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing his muscular forearms, and a few strands of hair falling down his forehead. He was completely different from the noble and elegant aristocrat he had been at the gambling table.

Staring at his forearm, where the veins were bulging, I unconsciously swallowed. His sleeves were already unbuttoned; it seemed he really had wanted to punch me to death.

“Yes. Rui Rui, call him Uncle.” I discreetly observed the only exit of the cigar room and found a bodyguard in black standing by the door, presumably the one who had brought Wei Jiarui here earlier.

In this situation, it would be easy for me to get away on my own, but it would be much more difficult if Wei Jiarui, that chubby guy weighing over 50 pounds, were also involved.

“Uncle,” Wei Jiarui whispered to Zong Yanlei, then quickly leaned back onto my shoulder.

“He’s so big now.” Zong Yanlei’s gaze was fixed on my chest, his disgust almost overflowing from his eyes. “Where’s his mother? Didn’t she come with him?”

I hugged Wei Jiarui tighter and told him the truth: “She died in childbirth.”

Back then, after Wei Nuan found out she was pregnant, she couldn’t find her boyfriend and didn’t dare tell Wei Bao, so she contemplated suicide. Like Xiang Ze, she called me before deciding to die. At that time, Zong Yanlei’s treatment plan had been finalized, and the next day was the day for my bone marrow extraction. The bodyguards were on high alert, and I wasn’t allowed to go out. I was really worried about Wei Nuan’s safety, so I could only sneak out by climbing over the wall in the middle of the night.

After finally finding Wei Nuan, I persuaded her to give up her suicidal thoughts. I was thinking of bringing her back to home safely and then hurrying back, but I was intercepted by the bodyguards who were searching for me on the way. The two of us were taken back to Baiyujing.

Everyone assumed I was deserting my post, planning to elope with my pregnant lover, and Zong Yanlei was no exception. He flew into a rage and ordered me to be whipped. I was beaten until I bled profusely, and it was under these circumstances that I underwent bone marrow extraction. Three days later, Butler Li came to me with two gold bars and a contract with its content obscured, demanding my signature. He said that if I signed, I could leave with the gold and Wei Nuan. I lay on the ground, weak, and without thinking, I signed my name.

Later, I was thrown out of the Zong family along with Wei Nuan. To this day, I still don’t know the specific contents of the contract I signed back then, and Zong Yanlei don’t know that Wei Jiarui is not my child.

“Oh?” This answer really surprised Zong Yanlei. He was stunned for a moment before saying a emotionless “What a pity.”

The room fell silent, and no one spoke for a moment. I couldn’t believe it. Just five minutes ago, I was recklessly extorting money from Zong Yanlei, while Zong Yanlei wanted nothing more than to kill me. And now, in front of the child, we had suddenly regained our adult dignity and were even chatting about everyday things.

For two or three minutes, Zong Yanlei remained silent, neither telling me to get lost nor drowning me into the pond. He simply stared at me and Wei Jiarui, lost in his own thoughts.

“How about……”

“Alright. I can make you my navigator.”

Just as I was about to speak, he suddenly made a startling remark.

I opened my eyes wide, straightened my back, and even wondered if I was still hallucinating: “…What?”

Seemingly finding it too foolish, Zong Yanlei acted as if he hadn’t heard my question.

“You have to give it your all to help me win the championship next season for a year. If you can’t… then we’ll continue with what we didn’t finish today.” His canine teeth were visible as he said the last sentence.

The young master’s thoughts were as unpredictable as the mountain weather, changing in an instant, but for me, this unpredictability had become a blessing.

Ten minutes had already passed. Zong Yanlei, as the host of the banquet, was busy with many matters and had no time to waste on me. He only told me to discuss the details with Xu Chengye later, and then hurriedly had the bodyguards escort Wei Jiarui and me out of the mansion.

“Don’t try to fool me. You should know I don’t like stupid people, Jiang Man.”

As I walked out of the cigar room, the sound came from behind me again. I turned around and saw Zong Yanlei pick up the mask from the bar and put it back on his face.

“How could I dare?” I gave him an absolutely docile smile, then turned and left with the child in my arms.

When I stepped out the side gate, I found that the rain had stopped. I looked up at the pale moon in the sky and realized for the first time how refreshing the air was after the rain had stopped.

I started the truck engine and slowly drove away from Zong Yanlei’s mansion with Wei Jiarui. However, after only a few hundred meters from the gate, I parked the truck on the side of the road again.

With ten minutes to go until three o’clock, I opened my email, rubbed my aching sternum, and completely deleted the scheduled emails.

“Daddy, what’s making you so happy?” Wei Jiarui asked, yawning. He’d grown sleepy again the moment he got in the car.

“Well… Daddy finally understands why so many people love to gamble. It feels so good to win.” I smiled and patted his head, adding as a final note, “Good boy, don’t learn from this.”