The Heretical Husband Is Too Good at Acting! - Chapter 1

Chen Mo didn’t answer his mother’s call right away because he was, quite frankly, a bit busy at the time.

A while back, he had taken a job as a bodyguard. His mission was to protect a controversial government official during an outdoor campaign rally.

He had no intention of answering when his phone vibrated in his trouser pocket; after all, he was on the clock.

Just as he was about to pull it out to turn it off, he suddenly sensed a faint whistling sound coming from his ten o’clock direction.

In an instant, as if in a slow-motion movie replay, Chen Mo grabbed the official by the collar and shoved him violently to the side. He successfully evaded the bullet’s flight. Within tenths of a second, the event grounds erupted in continuous screams. The other bodyguards reacted, quickly gathering around to form a human wall with their bodies facing outward to guard against a potential second wave of attack.

Chen Mo casually stuffed the official—whose legs were shaking like sieves from terror—under a table. His sharp gaze pierced through his sunglasses, looking toward the direction from which the bullet had been fired.

The assassin was a middle-aged man of ordinary appearance wearing a peaked cap. Failing to find a second opportunity to strike amidst the security team’s well-trained response, he had already turned around, attempting to vanish into the crowd.

If it had been anyone else today, the man might have escaped successfully. Unfortunately, his luck was poor; he had encountered Chen Mo.

Chen Mo pursued him with incredible speed. Most people on the scene didn’t even notice how he moved; those who felt something only sensed a gust of wind sweeping past them.

By the time they realized what was happening, the failed assassin had already been firmly pinned to the ground by Chen Mo, his hands handcuffed behind his back, rendered completely powerless to resist.

The surrounding police quickly stepped forward and took over the rest of the matter.

Chen Mo scanned the surroundings. Judging that there were no other threats, he returned to the speaker’s platform, bending over to respectfully invite the official out from under the table.

The official was on the verge of a breakdown from fear, but fortunately, he was uninjured. That bullet had grazed his shoulder and hit the display board poster behind the podium.

Together with his colleagues, he escorted the official into the vehicle that had come to pick them up. Chen Mo figured there was nothing left for him to do and was prepared to retire after a job well done. However, the official suddenly snapped out of his trembling state and pointed at one of his own bodyguards in the car, ordering: “You, get out.”

Then he pointed at Chen Mo and commanded: “You, get in.”

Likely because Chen Mo had saved him, the official felt a greater sense of security; he couldn’t do without him for the moment.

One takes the money to dispel the disaster.

Chen Mo didn’t object. He obediently bent down and entered the back row of the car, sandwiched between the terrified official and another tall, white bodyguard.

It wasn’t until the official was finally delivered to the hotel that Chen Mo managed to get away.

Back in the breakroom, the phone in Chen Mo’s pocket had vibrated so much it had practically numbed his thigh.

He took off his sunglasses and wiped his face before fishing out the phone to answer. He had only managed to get half the word “Mom” out when a torrent of scolding rained down from the other end.

Chen Mo picked at his ear, put the phone on speaker, and set it on the cabinet by the bathroom door. He stripped off the black suit he wasn’t used to and went to take a shower. By the time he returned, the voice on the other end had finally finished ranting and was catching its breath.

Chen Mo coaxed her good-naturedly, “Alright, Mom, don’t be mad. If you get sick from anger, no one can take your place!”

“Exactly who is the one making me angry?” Song Anfeng was fuming. “Don’t get smart with me. Just one thing: are you coming back for the New Year or not?”

Chen Mo hurried to agree, “I’m coming back, I’m coming back, of course I am.”

Song Anfeng: “If you’re coming back, don’t dawdle. Buy a ticket for today. There’s no Spring Festival travel rush abroad; there are plenty of tickets available.”

What choice did Chen Mo have? The Empress Mother had spoken; if she told him to return to the country, he had to return obediently.

However, returning that very day was impossible; he needed at least a little time to hand over his work.

When the government official learned Chen Mo was leaving, he disagreed.

Even if he disagreed, there was nothing to be done. Chen Mo was neither his subordinate nor an employee of the security company; he was just a foreign student working a part-time job because he was bored during winter break.

If he insisted on leaving, he couldn’t be kept.

Not only could he not be kept, but the security payment had to be settled on the spot. After all, Chen Mo had saved his life; the price couldn’t be low. Wouldn’t a low price make it seem like his own life wasn’t worth anything?

A government official in Country A being assassinated on the street was, of course, an explosive news story that was widely reported. Since many people at the scene were filming with their phones, the entire process of Chen Mo staying calm in the face of danger and using his agility to stop the tragedy was captured and broadcast on television, sparking quite a heated discussion among netizens.

Chen Mo saw the news while waiting at the airport, but he only gave it a glance and didn’t pay it much mind.

After all, the sunglasses had covered more than half his face, and his movements were so fast that the footage was very blurry. He didn’t have to worry about being recognized on the street.

Because the assassination attempt didn’t result in any actual consequences, the domestic media in China only briefly forwarded the news without causing much of a stir. However, the feelings of families who had children studying abroad in that area were naturally different.

When Song Anfeng saw the news, she immediately called again to ask.

Chen Mo let out a yawn. “What assassination? I don’t know anything about it. I stayed up late playing games last night and just woke up. I’m so sleepy.”

Beep, beep, beep…

Song Anfeng was disappointed in him and didn’t want to say another word, so she hung up the phone directly.

Chen Mo looked at the disconnected phone innocently and puffed out his cheeks.

The Song household.

Chen Xiaomi, a six-year-old primary school student swinging her legs while playing on an iPad on the sofa, let out a cry of surprise and called to Song Anfeng: “Mom, come look quickly! Doesn’t this person look like Brother?”

Upon hearing the word “Brother,” Song Anfeng walked over quickly to take a look.

Chen Xiaomi pointed at the black-suited bodyguard protecting the official into the car in a screenshot of the assassination news video. She tilted her head up, her large, round black eyes looking at her mother expectantly. “This person is super cool! Is he Brother?”

Song Anfeng said crossly, “Your brother went abroad to go to school. This person is a bodyguard; how could he be your brother?”

“Though, his build really does look a bit like him.”

Thinking of this, Song Anfeng started to get annoyed again.

The child she had carried for ten months and worked hard to raise for over a decade felt like he had been lost ever since he was sent abroad to study. Every time she asked him to come home for the New Year, it took three or four pleas, and she had almost forgotten what he looked like. It was truly aggravating!

No matter how great the anger was, once she learned Chen Mo’s specific flight time, it turned into joyful anticipation.

On this day, Song Anfeng told her husband, Chen Siyuan, not to go out. She dressed their daughter, Chen Xiaomi, in a princess dress, and the whole family dressed up beautifully to go to the airport together to pick up Chen Mo.

Chen Mo felt a bit dizzy while on the plane, and he actually stumbled when he was retrieving his suitcase.

This was truly a rare experience for him.

He touched his forehead; it seemed a bit hot, and his body felt feverish.

Chen Mo sensed something was wrong, but he couldn’t afford to think too much about it at the moment.

After turning off airplane mode, his phone began to vibrate wildly again.

Chen Mo answered the call and learned the whole family was waiting outside for him. He felt a bit helpless, but mostly, he felt a sense of warmth.

Dragging his suitcase, he strode toward the exit.

His speed was naturally much faster than a normal person’s. When he didn’t consciously control it, his figure almost stretched into a blur.

Song Anfeng hung up the phone and said to her husband and daughter beside her, “Xiao Mo has already picked up his luggage and is coming out. Let’s wait a bit longer.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a waist-high suitcase appeared by her side.

Chen Xiao Mo wrapped an arm around her shoulder and whispered, “Mom, my head hurts.”

Song Anfeng was startled.

In fact, not just her—Chen Siyuan and Chen Xiaomi were also startled.

The three of them were confused: when did this guy come out?

Three people with six eyes staring at the exit, and none of them had seen him clearly.

However, the confusion didn’t last long before it turned into panic.

When Chen Xiao Mo said his head hurt, he wasn’t lying.

Because in the next second, he fainted.

The family was scared out of their wits. In the frantic rush, the airport security was alerted.

Chen Xiao Mo was hurried to the airport’s attached medical clinic. After a preliminary diagnosis, the doctor on duty said: “A high fever of unknown cause. I suggest taking him to a nearby hospital immediately.”

Thus, they followed the ambulance in an emergency transfer to the nearest top-tier hospital.

Chen Xiao Mo’s body temperature was incredibly high. Song Anfeng held his hand worriedly, feeling as if she almost couldn’t keep her grip.

It was too hot.

His expression was also one of pain; his eyes were tightly shut, and his forehead was covered in sweat.

His entire body was soaked in sweat, as if he had just been fished out of water.

The airport doctor had started an intravenous drip for the fever, but it didn’t have the slightest effect.

Song Anfeng couldn’t help but urge the ambulance driver: “Sir, can you drive a little faster? My child is in pain.”

The driver in the front seat responded, “I’ll do my best.”

Only one family member could accompany him in the ambulance.

Chen Siyuan and Chen Xiaomi followed behind in the family car.

Song Anfeng was anxious, gripping Chen Mo’s hand tightly.

Chen Mo’s eyes were tightly shut, but his consciousness was very clear.

He could feel several chaotic currents clashing violently inside his body. He had to grit his teeth tightly to control himself so as not to be completely shattered by those chaotic forces.

This sensation was actually not unfamiliar to him.

In fact, several years ago, he had had a similar experience.

It was when Chen Mo was eighteen and taking the Gaokao (National College Entrance Exam).

In the early summer of that year, on the morning of June 8th.

He had successfully finished the Chinese and Mathematics exams on the 7th. On the morning of the 8th, he was taking the English exam. He had just finished the listening section when he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness, and his body—which was already feeling a bit unwell—grew hotter and hotter.

He didn’t know what was happening, but he intuitively felt something was wrong, so he chose to fill in the answer sheet first.

Struggling to support himself, he managed to fill in seven or eight questions before collapsing onto the table and fainting.

He was then rushed to the hospital.

Consequently, his Gaokao score was 8 points for English and 0 for the Science Comprehensive.

He was disqualified from any good universities.

Chen Mo’s grades weren’t top-tier, but he had received an elite education since childhood. Normally, he would have had no problem getting into a “985” university, and with a good performance, it wasn’t impossible for him to aim for Tsinghua or Peking University.

But who could have predicted he would encounter such an abnormal situation?

Chen Mo didn’t want to repeat a year of school, so he used his usual grades and some previous competition awards to apply for a university in Country A.

Chen Mo’s family was quite well-off, but neither Chen Siyuan nor Song Anfeng wanted their child to be so far away.

The path they had planned for Chen Mo since he was a child was for him to stay in the country, preferably developing his career in their home city.

Studying abroad was a decision made only because there was no other choice.

Both parents hoped the child would return home immediately after graduation. Yet, Chen Mo—who had been very obedient and attached to home since childhood—seemed to turn into a different person after going abroad and hardly ever came home.

What Chen’s parents didn’t know was that originally, Chen Mo hadn’t wanted to go abroad either.

He had considered either repeating a year or retaking the Gaokao the following year.

But that fever in the examination hall had left him with a secret.

He seemed to have awakened some extraordinary ability.

He couldn’t say exactly what the ability was, but his strength, speed, and neural reflexes had begun to far exceed those of an ordinary person, and his five senses had become exceptionally sharp.

On the day he woke up in the hospital, Chen Mo accidentally crushed the steel bed frame in the ward. In his shock, he crushed half of the bedside table’s surface. Hearing the sound of a door opening, he hid in the bathroom within half a second. His eyes, which had previously had mild myopia, became incredibly clear, and his hearing was so sharp that he could clearly hear the mumbles of a child in the next ward dreaming amidst the high-decibel exclamations of his mother and the nurse.

An eighteen-year-old boy suddenly encountering such a thing inevitably thinks a lot.

He had seen many messy sci-fi works and didn’t want to be caught and experimented on.

Instead, he wanted to be a secret superhero, a thought that grew quietly in a corner where no one knew.

Thus, facing the chaos in the hospital room, Chen Mo chose to play dumb and act innocent, only silently paying the corresponding compensation afterward.

He chose to keep the secret to himself.

Things weren’t that smooth at first.

Chen Mo spent a lot of effort just to adapt to the changes in his body. This process was difficult, but what was even harder was keeping the secret. After accidentally crushing dozens of cups, plates, bowls, and chopsticks, and replacing seven or eight hospital beds, he firmly requested to be discharged under his parents’ strange gazes and quickly made up his mind.

It would be better to go to a strange environment where no one knew him, such as abroad.

That way, he wouldn’t have to work so hard to hide anything and could focus all his energy on adapting to the changes.

So, during these years of studying in Country A, Chen Mo hadn’t actually spent much effort on his studies.

The first half-year was spent struggling to learn how to control his superpowers. Once he finally adapted, it became very cool.

Chen Mo began to study boxing, Jiu-Jitsu, and the like, training in combat techniques. He also developed an unprecedented interest in things he hadn’t cared for before, such as shooting and parkour. He studied weapons, driving, and wilderness survival skills, and practiced yoga and meditation.

It could be said that during these years abroad, Chen Mo had become a completely different person than before.

He learned a lot of knowledge he had never encountered through the internet. Driven by curiosity, he even participated in some dangerous missions, such as the bodyguard gig he took before returning home.

If his mother hadn’t been calling him every few days to urge him to return, Chen Mo might have actually wanted to try being an international mercenary to see if he could become a “Soldier King.”

Having finally arrived at the emergency room, Chen Mo was taken over by the doctors who had hurried over.

Song Anfeng followed the gurney at a jog but was blocked by a doctor outside the consultation room.

Her body was kept outside, but her heart went in with him.

Chen Siyuan and Chen Xiaomi, having parked the car, arrived quickly. The family of three stood guard outside the door in anxiety.

Inside the room, the doctor placed a stethoscope against Chen Mo’s chest. The excessively fast heart rate made him frown deeply. The doctor quickly issued orders: “ECG monitoring, draw blood immediately, prepare for CT and EEG.”

The nurses acted immediately. Ice packs were placed on Chen Mo’s forehead, physiological saline was quickly infused, a probe was attached to his finger, and the ECG monitor began to operate.

The doctor checked the pupil response with a flashlight and said in a low voice: “Pupillary response to light is sluggish; there may be signs of increased intracranial pressure.” He signaled the nurse to prepare the infusion. “Continue to lower the temperature, prepare antipyretic medication, and monitor vital signs at all times.”

The unbearable pain lasted for an unknown amount of time before it finally ended. Chen Mo entered a state that was profoundly mysterious.

His soul seemed to turn into a wisp of light smoke and warm current, flowing everywhere along the path of his blood, traveling through his entire body.

Bones, blood vessels, muscles, skin, and internal organs—not a single place was blocked, and every part of him felt comfortable.

He let out a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes.

“Xiao Mo, you’re finally awake!”

Song Anfeng spoke with a pleasant surprise, her voice full of exhaustion.

Chen Mo moved his fingers. He felt excessively tired all over. He opened his mouth but failed to make a sound at first. After a moment of adjustment, he asked, “How long have I been asleep?”

“Three days.” These three days had driven the whole family to distraction. The hospital couldn’t find the cause of his high fever and coma at all. The only treatment plan they could offer was to work hard to reduce the fever and monitor his signs.

Now that he was finally awake, Song Anfeng breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if she had aged ten years all at once.

Chen Mo recalled that when he was eighteen, he had only slept for about a day.

This time was longer; he wondered what would be different.

He had a premonition that his superpowers had improved significantly again. He was exceptionally careful with every move to avoid a repeat of the previous farce.

The doctor came over to give Chen Mo a careful examination, his expression one of complete bafflement. He said to Song Anfeng and the hurriedly arrived Chen Siyuan and Chen Xiaomi: “All vital signs have returned to normal; he can be discharged. However, his situation is very strange. I suggest the family keep a close eye on him at all times to avoid another coma or accident.”

Song Anfeng agreed repeatedly. Once the doctor was sent off, she immediately began her nagging mode: “Tell me, what exactly happened? Fainting as soon as you got off the plane—what kind of life were you living abroad? Listen to your mother: you’re never allowed to go out again. Stay at home properly.”

Chen Mo couldn’t argue with her right now. He mumbled a few vague responses.

How could Song Anfeng not see through his stalling? She insisted on a definite answer: “You must promise me today that you’ll never go abroad again.”

Chen Mo: QAQ

Of course, he still wanted to go abroad.

He had finally mastered a set of skills. The country was peaceful and prosperous; where would he have the chance to use his prowess?

If he had all this strength with nowhere to use it, he feared he would get sick from suppressing it for too long.

He stopped speaking.

Since he was just recovering from a serious illness, Song Anfeng didn’t have the heart to yell at her son. Her fingers quietly applied pressure, pinching her husband Chen Siyuan’s arm.

Chen Siyuan let out a secret hiss of pain and spoke through it: “You brat, do you really have the heart to let your mother worry like this?”

Chen Mo said bluntly, “You don’t need to worry; I’m perfectly fine.”

Chen Siyuan: “Then explain why you suddenly had a high fever and were in a coma for three days for no reason?”

Chen Mo: “…That, that was just an accident!”

Chen Siyuan said calmly: “In any case, I’ve put your documents away. From now on, stay in the country properly.”

Chen Mo: !!!

Chen Mo couldn’t help but grumble: “Why are you always staring at me?”

He glanced at the innocent bystander, Chen Xiaomi, and decided to deflect the trouble: “Didn’t you also train a ‘smurf account’? Why don’t you go manage her?”

Chen Xiaomi puffed her cheeks and protested loudly: “I’m very good!”

Song Anfeng couldn’t take it anymore: “What nonsense are you talking? I advise you to be nicer to your sister. Since you said you don’t like women and won’t be having children in the future, you’ll still need her to provide for you in your old age!”

Chen Mo: “It’s the New Year; talking about this is really festive.”

Song Anfeng: “Wasn’t you lying in the hospital for the New Year even more festive?”

Chen Siyuan’s ears were almost deafened by the arguing; his head was buzzing. He glared at Chen Mo: “Stop talking. If you’re fine, get up and get discharged. In a few days, you’re going on a blind date for me!”

Chen Mo: “What blind date? Didn’t I say I like men?”

Chen Siyuan said: “It’s a man.”

Chen Mo: ?