WMSR — QT Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Bai Yichen naturally loathed being fed like a child one spoonful at a time—after all, it was only his legs that had lost function, not his hands. Yet he didn't bother opening his mouth to interrupt Xu Jiangzhe, because over the past several years, he had long since come to terms with the boy's complete inability to understand the concept of rejection.

He couldn't tell whether this overbearing tendency was inherent to Xu Jiangzhe's nature or if the environment had genuinely warped a person. Over the span of five years, he had personally witnessed a child who was once somewhat endearing gradually morph into someone pathologically controlling and domineering, acting with absolute self-will and turning a deaf ear to virtually any refusal he offered. Meanwhile, his own status as a dependent living under someone else's roof left him utterly devoid of the strength or leverage to fight back. Over time, he had no choice but to acquiesce to Xu Jiangzhe's various intrusions.

With that, Bai Yichen was fed his meal bite by bite until it was finished. When he finally watched Xu Jiangzhe turn and leave the room carrying the empty food tray, he let out a profound, weary sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, after stepping out of Bai Yichen's bedroom with the tray, Xu Jiangzhe bypassed the private elevator entirely and opted for the staircase instead. Taking the spiral steps down the villa's interior with his long stride, he reached the ground floor in under a minute.

Seated at the dining table and already halfway through her meal, Liu Ling felt her irritation flare up the moment she caught sight of her son. One look at Xu Jiangzhe told her precisely where he had been and why he was descending only now, prompting her to snap with an acidic, sarcastic edge: "Goodness, for anyone who didn't know better, they'd wonder who the actual young master of this household is."

Xu Jiangzhe turned a completely deaf ear to his mother's barbed remark, allowing a nearby domestic worker to relieve him of the tray before taking a seat at the table to eat with refined yet swift efficiency.

Liu Ling had merely fallen back on her habitual nagging. Seeing how rapidly her son was eating immediately triggered her protective instincts; she quickly forked a helping of food onto his plate and fussed with maternal concern: "Are you starving? Are you exhausted from school? If you're tired, make sure to get enough rest and don't push yourself too hard."

Her words were dripping with maternal love and solicitude. In truth, over these past years, this son of hers had genuinely become her supreme pride and joy.

At some point along the way, her boy seemed to have undergone a profound metamorphosis, maturing far beyond his peers. As his naturally handsome features filled out and he began wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, an aura of scholarly sophistication and sharp, intimidating authority was added to his presence.

Simultaneously, her son's academic performance soared to exceptional heights, cementing his status as a top-tier straight-A student at their elite private academy. His calm, rational perspective when evaluating matters in daily life never failed to earn them an abundance of prestige and face among peers.

If there was any minor flaw in her otherwise perfect son, it would be that if he could just divert a fraction less attention away from that crippled burden, she would be even happier. Yet, as Xu Jiangzhe grew older with each passing year and exhibited an increasingly unyielding sense of independence, they gradually grew too intimidated to overrule his decisions. Consequently, Liu Ling could do little more than occasionally vent her frustrations with a few muttered complaints.

Meanwhile, as Xu Jiangzhe ate his meal while enduring his mother's continuous stream of chatter—which, aside from urging him to look after his health, consisted entirely of derogatory jabs painting Bai Yichen in a negative light—the hand gripping his chopsticks tightened in an imperceptible squeeze before he forced his fingers to relax, picking up the pace of his eating.

Some things had eluded his understanding back then, but the current Xu Jiangzhe was no longer the clueless child of the past.

He had long since stopped harboring the naive illusion that his parents' decision to adopt Ziqian years ago was genuinely motivated by fond memories of Uncle Bai or a desire to properly care for Ziqian. In reality, his parents' various maneuvers over the years had laid their true agenda bare, making it abundantly clear that their ultimate goal was nothing less than misappropriating the inheritance rightfully left to Ziqian.

At that thought, Xu Jiangzhe adjusted his glasses, his lowered gaze turning chillingly cold and sharp.

To be frank, his parents' predatory actions filled him with a deep, quiet sense of disgust, which only intensified the wave of protective pity he felt toward the isolated, completely helpless Ziqian.

Yet, despite knowing the truth, he found himself utterly incapable of returning to Ziqian everything that rightfully belonged to him.

It wasn't that he coveted the assets Ziqian stood to inherit; rather, he was painfully aware that the only reason Ziqian docilely remained trapped within this household—staying right by his side—was precisely because his father kept a vice-grip on Ziqian's legal guardianship and his inherited estate.

If he were to hand everything back to Ziqian, a Ziqian armed with both freedom and wealth would never choose to stay here; instead, he would fly away to a distant horizon where he could never reach him again.

The mere thought of Ziqian slipping away and failing to remain by his side as he was now twisted his heart with excruciating agony, making the scenario entirely unthinkable and unacceptable to him.

Therefore, he had willingly transformed into an accomplice—an accomplice who was fully aware of the crimes his parents were committing yet chose to collude with them in silence.

By the same token, he was well aware of how thoroughly shameless his parents were as they schemed to plunder Ziqian's wealth, treated him with utter disdain, and subjected him to a constant stream of malicious slanders. He should have stood up, loudly interrogated his parents, and fiercely rebutted every single insult and unfair accusation hurled at Ziqian.

Yet, his parents' relentless cruelty served a twisted purpose: it pushed Ziqian into complete isolation, severing him from every external lifeline where anyone might step in to offer a helping hand.

Yes—within the four walls of this household, thanks to his parents' hostile attitude and poisoned rhetoric, not a single soul would ever extend an ounce of genuine kindness toward Ziqian.

Under those bleak conditions, trapped in this isolated cage, he was Ziqian's sole reliance, leaving Ziqian with no other choice but to depend on him.

Ziqian belonged exclusively to him, and to him alone.

That intoxicating realization drove him into a state of deep, irrepressible obsession.

Author's Note: Shivering with fright over the late update—I promise I'm not a big liar! o(╥﹏╥)o

Chapter 30: The Caged White Moonlight (07)

Having swiftly finished his lunch, Xu Jiangzhe tossed a casual "I'm heading upstairs to rest" in Liu Ling's direction before rising from the table and walking away.

Although Liu Ling still wanted to linger and exchange a few more words with her son, she knew that he was currently in the thick of a grueling academic grind, with their elite private high school maintaining a notoriously brutal schedule and offering very limited midday breaks. Consequently, she had no choice but to swallow her words and force herself to hold back.

Once upstairs, however, Xu Jiangzhe bypassed his own bedroom entirely. Walking directly toward the familiar door immediately adjacent to his quarters, he pushed it open with practiced familiarity and stepped inside.

The moment the door swung wide, Xu Jiangzhe was greeted by the sight of that refined, elegant figure leaning back against the headboard of the bed. Brilliant afternoon sunlight poured in through the expansive floor-to-ceiling glass windows, casting a warm golden glow that illuminated even the finest, softest peach fuzz dusting across his pale, flawless cheeks.