At the Mo family residence.

Shen Cuiwei frowned and complained to Mo Tiangao, "What do we do now? That little brat has been taken back to the main house, so we won't have a chance anymore. Old Mo, quickly think of a way to bring him back."

Mo Tiangao held his tea but didn't take a sip for a long time. "None of that matters now. You should worry about whether the main house will discover anything."

Shen Cuiwei was unconcerned and snorted coldly, "Impossible. Think about it, we've been treating him like an ancestor these past few years! He doesn't have the brains for it."

Mo Tiangao put down his teacup, feeling a bit exasperated as he scolded, "Mo Qi may not find out, but Mo Yitao is no fool. If he learns about those things, we're all finished. Can't you use your brain?"

Shen Cuiwei immediately stammered, "Then what do we do? My uncle has already urged me several times. If I don't pay back the borrowed money, I can barely maintain relationships with my relatives."

Previously, in order to get money for Mo Lanyu's investment, she had shamelessly borrowed a large sum from her maternal family. Along with their family's savings over the years, it was all given to Mo Lanyu.

But unexpectedly, Mo Lanyu, who had never lost money before, was scammed and all the invested funds were locked up. Now her maternal relatives had started demanding repayment, and their family couldn't come up with a single cent.

They could use Mo Qi's money to buy things for themselves, relying on Mo Qi's weak personality. But before Mo Qi came of age, the inflows and outflows of his account were monitored by the main family.

If they dared to transfer money from Mo Qi's card to their own accounts, their guardianship would likely be revoked the next day. So even though they coveted Mo Qi's bank card, it was something they could see but not touch.

Therefore, only if Mo Qi "accidentally" died before adulthood could they, as his temporary guardians, receive a small portion of the inheritance. Although the amount they would get was negligible compared to all the assets Mo Qi's parents left him, it was more than enough for their family to get through the current crisis.

After paying off the debts, there would even be some startup capital left for Mo Lanyu.

Seeing this plan already half-implemented, only lacking the final step, giving up now made her feel very unwilling!

Mo Tiangao was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "In any case, don't think about this matter for now. First try to sound out the situation at the main house. Maybe in a few days Mo Qi will be sent back. And don't think about going to the main house to demand his return."

Shen Cuiwei was unwilling. "Why? We have custody of Mo Qi. How can they just take him away as they please? If you say forget it, then forget it. What will we use to repay people then?"

Mo Tiangao was already distressed over this matter. Repeatedly provoked by his wife who couldn't see the big picture, he also got a bit angry. He couldn't help raising his voice to scold, "Can't you use your brain? How many times have I told you..."

Mo Lanyu had just reached the door when she heard the quarreling inside. Pushing open the door, she saw her usually elegant and poised mother and steady father arguing with displeased expressions.

Mo Lanyu hurried over to mediate. "Dad, Mom, what's going on? Let's sit down and discuss things properly. Don't be angry."

"Lanyu," Shen Cuiwei saw her daughter that she had always been proud of return. Her expression instantly softened. After showing some concern, she tentatively asked Mo Lanyu, "Is there any room to maneuver with the money you invested? Retrieve as much as you can..."

Mo Lanyu shook her head dejectedly.

The smile on Shen Cuiwei's face also couldn't be maintained. Mo Tiangao looked even more grave as he returned to his room.

While Mo Tiangao's family was shrouded in gloom on one side, He Yan was so carefree he was about to grow fur on the other.

Ever since learning about He Yan being poisoned, Mo Yitao really started treating him like a fragile little doll, watching him closely, afraid something would happen to him. He was also extremely attentive about his diet, not only preparing a lot for three meals, but also insisting on a daily medicinal soup.

However, although it was medicinal soup, Mo Yitao had instructed the chef to improve the flavor, so it wasn't unpleasant to drink.

He Yan indicated that in this life and the previous one, this was the first time he had enjoyed such princess treatment. The Mo family head's caregiving was equivalent to eighteen Shen Cuiweis.

Summer days got dark late. After dinner, Mo Yitao would hold He Yan's hand, passing through the corridors connecting the front and back courtyards, and take him for a stroll in the back garden to aid digestion in the glow of the setting sun.

Although He Yan had subtly hinted to Mo Yitao that "he was no longer a child and could walk on his own without being led", this overly doting Mo family head firmly rejected the notion, reasoning "your eyes haven't fully recovered, what if an accident happens". So today, Admiral He could still only walk hand-in-hand with the Mo family head on the path like a mentally challenged child.

The back courtyard was where Mo Yitao's grandfather resided. Unlike the modern villa at the front that blended Chinese and Western styles, here it was pure southern Chinese garden design, with grand and exquisite buildings and courtyards, winding corridors, and artfully arranged rockeries and flowing water, creating a fascinating interplay of elevations.

He Yan had only seen this traditional Chinese architectural style in historical records. In the world he came from, some nobles had imitated Chinese buildings based on those records, garnering attention from all sectors of society for a time. But if those imitations were compared to what lay before his eyes, one would find that the replicas were far inferior to real Chinese architecture in charm.

In the stream, slender, brightly-colored ornamental fish swam about. Mo Yitao took some fish food and gave it to He Yan. Attracted by the food, those agile little fish quickly gathered, chasing the morsels scattered in the water with swishing tails.

"Big Brother, don't you need to go to work?" He Yan really couldn't understand why Mo Yitao, as a company boss, could spend only an hour or two at the office each day and follow a little brat around playing nanny.

Did he enjoy playing nanny that much?

Mo Yitao held his hand, lying through his teeth with a straight face, "No need, the company isn't very busy recently. Besides, a company with a complete operating structure doesn't require my personal involvement in everything."

The boy's hand was much smaller than his, soft to the touch, making his heart cave in a little.

No, just this morning I heard your assistant politely complaining on the phone that you should pay more attention to the company instead of dumping all the work on your poor single assistant.

He Yan grumbled inwardly.

For over half a month, He Yan had been living a decadent bourgeois lifestyle of eating and sleeping all day in the Mo family's old mansion. Until one evening after dinner, in Mo Qiao's bedroom, Mo Yitao suddenly put on a slightly serious expression and said he wanted to discuss a very important matter with him.

Of course, the scene would have looked a bit more proper if Mo Yitao didn't occasionally pat his head.

After dilly-dallying for over half a month, they were finally getting to the point.

Wrapped in a small blanket and leaning against the headboard, He Yan held a cup of delicious freshly squeezed orange juice. He closed his eyes halfway, bit the small mouth of the straw and sucked while thinking absentmindedly. Speaking of which, the food at the Mo family's old mansion was really top-notch, even the fruit juice was squeezed to perfection. Apparently, the ingredients were carefully selected premium navel oranges.

If this continued, he feared he would become too lazy to move, spoiled by this decadent bourgeois lifestyle.

But the next second, the half-drunk cup of orange juice was taken away by a large hand. Having been pampered for half a month, He Yan didn't react immediately when the cup was taken from his hands, and his two hands still remained in the posture of holding the cup, looking a bit dazed.

"Be good, you already ate a lot at dinner. Drinking too much will upset your stomach." Mo Yitao pinched his fingertips with his other hand that wasn't holding the cup, unable to maintain his serious expression. "Little glutton."

At first, seeing the boy's thin figure, he had been worried that Mo Qiao might have some anorexia. He specially invited several chefs skilled in different cuisines to cook a variety of dishes for him, afraid that Mo Qiao wouldn't eat well.

But after half a month, he had thoroughly seen through him. The boy was a complete and utter foodie, eyes shining brightly at the sight of delicious food, like a kitten seeing tasty little fish snacks. He also had a particular sweet tooth, especially fond of various fruit juices, able to secretly drink a large cup in the blink of an eye.

Now, not only had his worries about Mo Qiao "not eating well" completely disappeared, he even had to supervise the boy every day to not drink too much juice.

But the effects were very obvious.

After half a month, it could be clearly seen that the boy had put on a bit of weight compared to when he first arrived, and his whole person looked even cuter. Especially when he smiled, a fleshy little dimple would appear on his left cheek. Every time he saw it, he had a strong urge to poke it a couple of times.

What a well-behaved and easy to raise little guy, yet he had been kept thin and weak by Mo Tiangao's family before, and was in poor spirits too, showing that family had not taken good care of the boy at all.

Mo Yitao naturally took a sip from the more than half-full cup of orange juice he had snatched from the boy, silently adding another charge to the list of crimes committed by Mo Tiangao's family in his heart.