Chapter 83: Found Mother

Ten minutes later, it was time to leave for school again.

Chao Xu put on her school uniform, tucked the little ball of fur into the inner pocket of her backpack, and got ready to find Ci Mo and walk together.

When she went downstairs, Ci Mo was nowhere to be seen; instead, she spotted Shi Zi first.

He looked as lazy and casual as ever, silver hair loosely draping around his face, golden sunlight spilling over it, making him look as if he’d stepped out of a comic book.

But the moment Chao Xu remembered his terrible attitude, all that charm disappeared for her. She much preferred her own Ci Mo—obedient, gentle, soft, like a Samoyed.

Turning away, Chao Xu ignored Shi Zi and prepared to find Ci Mo.

Unfortunately, Shi Zi had already seen her and was sprawled across the sofa, calling out, “Why are you in such a hurry?”

Chao Xu didn’t stop, answering, “Going to school.”

Shi Zi vaulted over the back of the sofa, his long legs carrying him in front of her, still wearing that arrogant expression. “As it happens, I need to go register at school today too. You can take me with you.”

His tone was cocky, as if he was certain she wouldn’t refuse him out of respect for her grandfather.

Chao Xu glanced at him, her face utterly expressionless. “Fine.”

With that, she continued on to find Ci Mo.

Seeing that she still hadn’t left, Shi Zi, annoyed, shoved his hands into his pockets and grumbled by her ear, “What are you dawdling for? My time is very precious, you know?”

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. If it weren’t for searching for K, he would never willingly go to that shabby little school. Surrounded by a bunch of halfwits with IQs barely above a hundred, just sharing a classroom with them felt like an insult to his own intellect.

Chao Xu ignored his complaints and went straight to find Ci Mo.

At that moment, Ci Mo had just finished changing into the uniform the butler brought him. When he saw Chao Xu, a fleeting spark of delight lit up his misty eyes—only to be quickly replaced by rejection when he noticed Shi Zi trailing behind her.

“Why is he here too?”

He hurried to Chao Xu’s side, glaring at Shi Zi with open hostility, making no attempt to hide it.

Shi Zi, on the receiving end of this sudden animosity, scratched his wild hair, completely baffled. Why did it feel like there was something strangely intimate about the atmosphere between these two? Was he imagining it?

Chao Xu gently patted Ci Mo on the head in reassurance. “He’s coming with us to school today.”

Ci Mo’s face immediately fell, a misty sheen of tears forming in his pale blue eyes. “But didn’t you say it would just be the two of us going to school?”

In his world, going to school meant being alone with Chao Xu—a little world for just the two of them. Now, with Shi Zi barging in, he felt like an unwelcome third wheel.

He wanted to ruin it.

A storm brewed in his eyes, like the sea before a tempest, though his long lashes hid the depth of his emotion—it only made the air feel heavier.

“He’s the butler’s grandson; he was always meant to come to school with us,” Chao Xu explained.

After that, Ci Mo said nothing more. He simply lowered his head, his excessively long dark lashes trembling, looking pitiful but silent.

Even Shi Zi, witnessing such a delicate boy’s sadness, couldn’t help but question himself, wondering if he’d done something wrong.

For the rest of the walk, Chao Xu led the way, with Shi Zi and Ci Mo following behind. Unable to bear seeing such a refined boy so downcast, Shi Zi eventually offered a few words of comfort: “Don’t waste your energy on someone like that. He’s just a pampered little prince—does he really deserve your loyalty?”

He’d already heard the story: the boy had lost his memory, was picked up by Chao Si, and for some shallow reason, became blindly loyal ever since.

To throw yourself away for such a spoiled child was, in his eyes, pure foolishness.

He was determined to save Ci Mo’s worldview!