Back to the Past: The Rise of the False Heiress Marrying the True Tycoon

Chapter 1003: Too Scary

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ever since the day he fainted and was rushed to the hospital, Xu Sheng hadn’t stepped foot back here.

After he was discharged, his mother, Huang Fei, had tightened her grip on him even more. It was as though the hospital scare had only deepened her resolve.

Xu Sheng’s days continued to be dominated by grueling academic drills, leaving him no time to breathe, let alone play.@@novelbin@@

At first, Su Li had envied him. Xu Sheng was brilliant, a bona fide prodigy dripping with accolades, hailed as a “genius boy.”

Huang Fei paraded his accomplishments with unbridled pride, basking in the glow of her son’s success. She seemed like the epitome of a doting mother, one whose life revolved around her child’s brilliance.

But that illusion shattered the day Su Li witnessed the slap. It happened at the hospital, Xu Sheng still pale and frail from his ordeal, when Huang Fei’s hand struck his face with a force that echoed through the sterile halls.

At that moment, Su Li no longer saw Xu Sheng as someone to envy but someone to pity.

Huang Fei’s love was a facade, a mere performance for the world. What she truly cherished wasn’t her son but the prestige he brought her. It was then that Su Li understood something profound—love wasn’t guaranteed by blood.

Su Li, too, had known what it was like to live without love. He could empathize with Xu Sheng’s silent suffering, though he suspected Xu Sheng was even worse off. After all, Xu Sheng hadn’t yet realized the cruel truth: his mother’s love was conditional.

But Su Li couldn’t bring himself to spell it out for him. Instead, he asked gently, “Did your mom let you come out to play?”

Xu Sheng’s face flushed a deep red. He hesitated for a couple of seconds before murmuring, “My mom stepped out for a bit. I came to… to thank you. For helping me that day. When I fainted. I don’t have anything to give you, but I—I wanted to show my gratitude.”

The gratitude caught Su Li off guard. He and his mother had only done what anyone would’ve—rushing Xu Sheng to the hospital.

But Su Li’s lips curled into a small smile as he glanced at the scattered Chinese checkers on the ground. Inspiration struck. “No need to thank me for that,” he said, waving off the seriousness. “But if you really want to do something, why not teach us how to play this?”

Gao Ming, who had been sitting beside him, perked up. Neither of them had a clue how to play. They couldn’t even fully understand the rules printed on the box. But Xu Sheng was a natural at board games, even attending chess classes. Surely, Chinese checkers would be child’s play for him.

Xu Sheng’s tense posture relaxed slightly. “I can do that,” he replied, a hint of relief in his voice.

He crouched down beside them, his movements stiff but precise. As he began explaining the rules, something remarkable happened—he started to enjoy himself. For the first time in ages, Xu Sheng felt an unfamiliar warmth bubbling within. Teaching them wasn’t a chore; it was… fun.

Su Li noticed the shift too. Xu Sheng wasn’t sitting with the rigid formality of before; he was leaning closer, his voice more animated. And in the midst of this, Su Li realized that Xu Sheng no longer looked at him with thinly veiled disdain.

Time slipped away unnoticed. Xu Sheng was so absorbed in the game that he didn’t even hear the footsteps approaching until a sharp voice sliced through the air.

“Xu Sheng! What are you doing here, fooling around?”

The shrillness made them all freeze. Su Li flinched, instinctively stepping behind Gao Ming, while Xu Sheng scrambled to his feet, panic flooding his features. “No, Mom, I just stepped out for a bit. I—”

Huang Fei’s face was a storm cloud of fury as she marched toward her son. She grabbed him by the arm, her grip unyielding, and pulled him upright. “You’re supposed to be at home studying! Didn’t I say I’d be back soon? Have you even finished your assignments? All you ever think about now is playing! It’s disgraceful!”

Her voice rose with every word, her finger jabbing at Xu Sheng’s forehead as if she could drive her scolding directly into his brain.

Xu Sheng cowered, his shoulders hunched in submission, his eyes wide with shame.

Su Li peeked out from behind Gao Ming, heart racing. He’d seen this side of Huang Fei before, the unrelenting wrath that left no room for tenderness. He’d even seen her hit Xu Sheng.

He clutched Gao Ming’s sleeve nervously. Would she lash out again? Would she turn her anger on them next?

Gao Ming, for his part, was frozen in place. He didn’t understand why Auntie Huang was so angry. Xu Sheng had only come out to play for a little while. Was that really such a terrible thing?

Watching Huang Fei, he felt a pang of sympathy for Xu Sheng. His mother seemed terrifying, like a storm that couldn’t be reasoned with.