The Cannon Fodder Went Out Of Character Again Today - Chapter 4

Driven by a burning desire for gossip, Xu Qiduo raced back to the old mansion at top speed.

Located in a tranquil suburb, the estate of pseudo-antique architecture covered an exceptionally vast area.

With small bridges over flowing water, pavilions, towers, rockeries, and winding corridors, the manor built in traditional Chinese style vividly displayed the Xu family’s immense wealth and power.

When Xu Qiduo arrived at the main hall, a fierce argument was already underway inside.

There were plenty of onlookers, ranging from his stepmother down to a landscaping worker who still held a pair of pruning shears.

Xu Duoduo waved at him from within the crowd, and the two slipped out of the gathering, moving upstairs to a more spacious vantage point on the second-floor terrace.

After listening to the gossip for a bit, Xu Qiduo learned that the reason Second Dad had tracked down his first-love girlfriend’s stepson was entirely thanks to Third Aunt.

Third Aunt had even gone so far as to hire a private investigator to track the person down.

Now that the matter had been exposed, Second Mom was itching to go straight over and pull that woman’s hair out.

“But you have to admit, that person actually looks quite pretty.” Xu Duoduo spoke in a crisp girl’s voice. She was only ten years old this year, and her speech still carried a milky lisp.

“You’ve seen him?”

“Yeah, he went with Second Dad to Fangyuan to see Grandpa.”

Even though Xu Qiduo had rushed back to the old mansion the moment he received the call, the hour-and-a-half drive from the city to the suburbs still caused him to miss the most exciting part.

“What expression did Second Mom have when she saw that kid?” Xu Qiduo asked gossiping.

Xu Duoduo gave a disdainful snort, tossed her head haughtily, and mimicked: “Oh, the child has grown up so much! It must not have been easy coming all the way from Nancheng to N City. From now on, just treat this place like your own home. Our whole big family are your relatives. If you want anything or are missing anything, just tell Auntie, and Auntie will satisfy all your needs.”

The ten-year-old girl imitated the scene vividly, perfectly capturing the fake courtesy Second Mom usually plastered across her face.

Suddenly, the bickering in the hall came to an abrupt halt, and the two siblings immediately stopped what they were doing and looked downstairs.

Seeing that Second Mom and Third Mom in the hall downstairs had calmly sat down in their chairs, and the surrounding gossiping servants had quickly dispersed, Xu Qiduo knew someone must have arrived outside.

When he first witnessed this spectacle last week, he had been utterly dumbfounded.

The two women who had been screaming at each other at the top of their lungs a second ago could switch to sisterly affection the very next second.

Sure enough, after two minutes of quiet in the main hall, footsteps gradually sounded from outside the door.

Accompanied by the increasingly close footsteps was the sound of a man speaking.

“From now on, just treat this place like your own home. Come back to stay on weekends and holidays. As for your old relatives and friends, stop keeping in touch with them; you have a new life and family now.”

“Oh my, you’re back! What did Dad say?” Before Second Dad even walked into the main hall, Second Mom stood up to greet him.

“What else could Dad say? It’s just one more mouth to feed, and the Xu family isn’t like they can’t afford to raise him. From now on…”

From his vantage point on the second-floor terrace, which had been a great spot for watching the argument earlier, trying to catch a glimpse of the arrivals at the door was actually quite difficult now, blocked by the chandelier in front and the railing below. Getting a first-hand look at the center of the gossip really wasn’t easy.

As he tilted his head to peer toward the entrance, his eyes suddenly locked directly with Second Dad’s gaze.

“Xu Qiduo, come here.” Second Dad called out to him, then turned to speak to the person beside him: “From now on, you should hang out more with Xu Qiduo. He’s your cousin, and you two are around the same age, so you should have common topics. He’s good at eating, drinking, and having fun; just follow him around first to get familiar with N City and your current life.”

“Okay.” The young man’s reply came in a flat tone.

Walking down the stairs, Xu Qiduo curiously looked toward the person who had just spoken.

At first glance, he was completely stunned by the other person’s gender-ambiguous face.

Earlier, Xu Duoduo had said that person looked quite pretty. Of course, that was a child’s perspective, but the first-love’s stepson was far beyond what could simply be described as pretty.