After the Salted Fish Transmigrated into a Book, He Discovered the Whole Family were Villains - Chapter 7

Wang Zhe stormed off, cursing under his breath.

Jian Chengxi was drenched in cold sweat. He rubbed the arm Wang Zhe had just grabbed, feeling a wave of disgust.

The system said: 【Host, was there really a need to get so worked up? Wang Zhe was the original host’s lover. He might notice something’s off. What if he turns on you?】

Jian Chengxi snapped, “So I’m supposed to put on an act with him, sell my body and suck up to him. Just looking at that pretty boy makes me sick. Isn’t he going to Sky City anyway? I heard everything there is amazing. Why would he even have time to come bother me?

The system fell silent.

Jian Chengxi was walking home, and when he got not far from the house, he saw his two children by the roadside. “What are you doing here?”

Li Sui­sui stood beside her older brother, her small frame looking fragile. She had her hair tied in a little braid and was holding a basket in her hands. When she saw Jian Chengxi, she held the basket out to him.

Jian Chengxi looked down. “This is…?”

Li Sui­sui answered sweetly, “Fruit.”

The basket held quite a few fruits—about half full.

Jian Chengxi had picked from the fruit trees before, and there weren’t many good ones to be found. Gathering even half a basket like this must have taken a lot of time. He said, a bit helplessly, “Didn’t I tell you two to wait for me at home?”

Li Sui­sui and Li Chen fell silent.

The two young children stood where they were, their thin bodies and sallow faces looking especially small and innocent.

“Don’t be mad, Daddy.” Li Suisui’s voice was soft, almost cautious. “Gege and I picked these fruits so we can sell them. That way, you won’t have to worry anymore.”

Jian Chengxi froze in place.

In his past life, Jian Chengxi had been an orphan with no parents and no family, growing up like a wild weed. He had never known what it was like to have relatives.

After crossing into this world, he had felt lonely and helpless too. He had thought taking care of two kids would be exhausting, but to his surprise, for the first time in his life, these two three-year-olds were actually worrying about him.

He wasn’t an orphan anymore. He wasn’t alone. He had a family now.

Jian Chengxi’s nose stung. He reached out and held Li Chen’s cold little hand. “You two are still so young. The truth is, we’re not short on money right now. You don’t need to go picking fruit.”

“We are,” Li Chen said calmly, looking at him. “Daddy sits by the window every day, staring at his wallet and sighing.”

“…”

This kid really didn’t know how to spare anyone’s pride!

…

Evening.

Jian Chengxi showed the two winter jackets he had brought home to the kids. It was their first time seeing brand-new clothes, and their eyes lit up.

“Ta-da!” Jian Chengxi held up a little padded jacket in one hand. “These are brand-new winter clothes for this year. One for Suisui and one for your gege!”

Li Suisui beamed with joy. “New clothes!”

Jian Chengxi smiled and said, “But it’s still autumn now, so you can’t wear them just yet. We’ll put them in the closet and wait until it’s colder. Then you can dress up all pretty, and you’ll be the cutest little girl everyone loves!”

The smile on Li Suisui’s face slowly faded.

Her gaze toward Jian Chengxi grew calm.

So that’s how it is.

No wonder he suddenly bought new clothes for her and her brother. It’s because they’re not pretty now, not good-looking, and nobody likes them.

They probably wouldn’t sell for a good price either.

Jian Chengxi still had a smile on his face as he asked, “Do you like them?”

Li Suisui clenched her jaw tightly. But under Jian Chengxi’s expectant gaze, she hid the sarcasm in her heart flawlessly and forced out an innocent, radiant smile. “I like them.”

Jian Chengxi nodded. “Good. Daddy will put them in the wardrobe for now. I’ll give them to you later.”

In this whole rundown house, the wardrobe left by the original host was the only decent piece of furniture. Everything else was falling apart.

He had given up so much just to exchange for these two coats. They were the kids’ only winter clothes so he had to be careful with them.

Since there wasn’t much electricity in the house, the three of them usually went to bed early.

But tonight, unusually, Jian Chengxi stayed up in the living room for a long time. After the power went out, he lit a cheap candle made of rattan wax. The winter clothes were taken care of, but now that autumn had arrived, the two kids were still wearing their thin summer clothes. He planned to alter some of his own clothes into children’s sizes and it would save quite a bit of money.

When Li Chen woke up in bed, he noticed there was still light downstairs.

He slowly moved his legs and made his way down, only to see Jian Chengxi sitting at the table, seeming to be altering a fancy dress over and over. The warm yellow candlelight cast a soft glow on the side of his face, making him look gentle and calm. The wardrobe at home used to be full of his many flamboyant outfits, but over the past few days, they had all disappeared. He had thought maybe Daddy had changed but it turned out he was still quietly obsessing over pretty clothes.

He had separated from Wang Zhe today.

Was it because…

Daddy had found a new lover?

Maybe, when that time comes, he’ll leave them behind again and stop wanting them.

Li Chen stood there, unmoving, staring at Jian Chengxi’s back. His small figure seemed ready to melt into the darkness behind him.

Jian Chengxi seemed to sense someone watching him. He turned and jumped in surprise. “Xiao Chen?”

Li Chen nodded. “Mm.”

“Why aren’t you asleep? What are you doing up?” Jian Chengxi walked over, then suddenly paused, as if something occurred to him. “Wait—did you wet the bed?”

“…”

As if he would wet the bed.

Li Chen’s usually expressionless little face twitched for a moment, then he turned away. “I didn’t.”

Jian Chengxi looked at him, puzzled. “Then what’s going on?”

Li Chen pressed his lips together.

He had just… seen that Jian Chengxi was still up so late, and wanted to come take a look.

But for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to say that out loud.

Jian Chengxi thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up suddenly. “Did you have a nightmare and get scared sleeping alone?!”

Li Chen choked on the words, but couldn’t come up with any other excuse, so he stayed silent.

“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared,” Jian Chengxi said gently, patting the boy’s head. “Our Xiao Chen is a brave young man. Even monsters would get chased away by him.”

So cheesy.

He wasn’t afraid of any monsters.

Li Chen felt disdainful, but as Jian Chengxi gently coaxed him with such patience, it really felt like he was truly his most cherished and most beloved child.

Even though he knew it couldn’t be real.

It was just a lie and just a way to keep him calm.

And yet, under Jian Chengxi’s gentle touch, the tension in Li Chen’s small body slowly eased. His always-alert eyes lowered. The skinny boy stood on the rickety stairs, leaning quietly against his father.

Jian Chengxi picked him up. “Come on, Daddy will stay with you.”

Back in the room, he gently laid the boy on the bed, then lay down beside him, softly patting his back. He waited until the child’s eyes began to close in drowsiness before starting to get up and leave.

But Li Chen’s hand was still holding onto the corner of his shirt.

Jian Chengxi thought he was already asleep. He was tired too, but there were still clothes to sew. As he slowly sat up and gently pried the sleeping child’s hand away, he whispered, “Be good, Xiao Chen… Daddy will be back in a bit.”

Tiptoeing.

The door opened and closed again with a soft click.

Li Chen’s eyes opened in the dark, clear and wide awake, not the slightest bit sleepy.

Heh.

Said he would stay with him, but left anyway.

He gently turned over, shifting to the spot where Jian Chengxi had just been lying. Feeling the lingering warmth of his father’s body, he buried his face into it, as if pretending the person was still there. His small frame curled up tightly, and he sniffled softly.

Big liar. He hasn’t changed one bit.

…

The next day.

The clothes weren’t fully altered yet, and Jian Chengxi had only managed to sleep for a few hours. Today, he planned to take the two kids up the mountain behind the house to see if they could find something to eat.

The nutrient solution was just too expensive.

Everything in and out of the house needed money so he had to find another way.

Early in the morning, he gave the two kids their nutrient solution, and secretly ate a few fruits himself. Then he packed up their things and got ready to head out.

Passing by the front gate, he unexpectedly ran into his neighbor.

The neighbor was an older woman who lived alone. When she saw Jian Chengxi, her attitude was rather cold. She simply greeted him with, “Taking the kids out?”

Jian Chengxi nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

The system chimed in:【The original host used to abuse the kids. She doesn’t like him.】

Jian Chengxi thought to himself, “She’s a sensible woman. If I were her, I wouldn’t like me either.”

The system went silent.

Jian Chengxi didn’t take it to heart. He carried Li Chen on his back, held Li Suisui’s hand, and headed up the mountain along the small path behind the treehouse.

The mountains in this world were especially vast. Along the way, they passed all sorts of plants, but most of them looked strange and unfamiliar. It was definitely not edible. He was hoping to find some vegetables they could actually eat.

Jian Chengxi said, “Let’s walk a little farther.”

After crossing a dirt slope, they spotted a few rabbits grazing on the hillside not far ahead. The snow-white rabbits looked lively, their appearance both adorable and gentle. It was utterly irresistible.

He had raised rabbits before. It was clever, affectionate, and so much fun.

A smile appeared on Jian Chengxi’s face. He had the kids rest on a nearby rock, and when he saw Li Suisui also watching the rabbits, he asked her gently, “Do you like rabbits too, Suisui?”

Li Suisui snapped out of her thoughts and nodded.

“Yeah?” Jian Chengxi was already toying with the idea of getting a rabbit for his daughter. “Daddy likes them too.”

She was still just a little girl.

Maybe having a cute pet would make her a lot happier.

Jian Chengxi gently guided her. “So, Suisui, if you had a rabbit, what would you want to do with it?”

Li Suisui’s round eyes were wide and innocent as she looked at the rabbits in the distance. “Can we raise more than one, Daddy?”

Jian Chengxi smiled. “Why? Do you like them that much?”

“Mm!” Li Suisui pulled her gaze away from the rabbits and turned to look at Jian Chengxi. Her chubby little face lit up with a bright smile, and in her soft, childish voice, she said seriously, “Otherwise there won’t be enough to eat.”

“…”

Jian Chengxi’s smile froze on his face. “Eat the rabbits?”

Li Suisui nodded.

Jian Chengxi hadn’t expected this at all. She was only three! Three years old was supposed to be the age of innocence and cuteness, so how could she be thinking like this?

He hesitated for a moment before saying, “But rabbits aren’t easy to catch. Maybe we should just—”

“You can kill them by setting traps and mechanisms on the slope,” came Li Chen’s voice. The usually quiet boy spoke with a cold, emotionless face. “That would make things a lot simpler.”

!!?

Beside them, the stunned father Jian Chengxi stared in disbelief. For some reason, as he listened to this calm and casual conversation, a chill crept up his spine.

He didn’t know why…

But suddenly, he had the distinct feeling that there was something seriously off about his two kids!!!