allonlinenovel Chapter 1 Children Can't Be Without Their Mothers
Chapter 1 Children Can't Be Without Their Mothers
[As long as you embody the wicked stepmother persona, I will provide you with any reward you desire: money, beauty, immortality—the choice is yours!]
"..."
[Interested? If you agree, I will immediately provide you with a newbie gift pack.]
The air fell silent for a second.
"You've arrested the wrong person, I'm a man."
Gu Xinglan, bald and dressed in a hospital gown, stared at the electronic screen in the sky with a haggard expression.
[Male?]
A pair of pixelated electronic eyes appeared on the screen, looking left and right: [The Supreme God said that people with long hair and good looks are girls. I noticed you clearly had long hair before, and...] The system pondered for a moment: [People around you often say you're good-looking.]
The people around?
He was surrounded only by Li Hetai, and his daily life, including his living arrangements and meals... or rather, his meals a day, were all taken care of by that person.
"Are you mistaken? There's only one kidnapper around me."
The electronic screen displayed gibberish for a moment: [This shouldn't be happening. I really saw you with your long, flowing hair, being complimented on your looks.]
Gu Xinglan pondered for a few minutes, but couldn't recall any corresponding memories.
Perhaps I've lost that memory.
"I promise you."
The electronic screen lit up instantly, and starry-eyed eyes appeared on it: [That's great! I'll send you there right away!]
"and many more……"
Before he could finish speaking, his eyes quickly darkened.
In the blink of an eye, even the clothes on his body had changed.
"Are you ok?"
A deep male voice rang out from beside him. Gu Xinglan, not yet recovered, lost his balance and fell to the side. He landed heavily in a large embrace, making him dizzy.
"My God, is that the new mistress of the Li family?"
"The original mistress of the Li family has only been dead for a few days, and she's already marrying a new one so quickly."
“Young Master Li can’t be without his mother. Look how tiny he is.”
"This young master of the Li family is also a strange one. I saw him smiling on the day of the funeral, and he was smiling very happily."
"How could we possibly understand the intricacies of the Li family's affairs?"
System: [Young Master Li is your target.]
Gu Xinglan's eyes slowly cleared, and now she could see everything clearly: she was wearing a white wedding dress, completely covered from head to toe.
"Madam, have you recovered?" The deep male voice rang out again.
The word "Madam" startled him greatly, and Gu Xinglan looked to the side.
A tall man was looking down at him, his smiling eyes gleaming with coldness, inexplicably making him hallucinate as if he were seeing someone.
"Li Hetai?"
"Hmm? Madam wants to see the child? It's not too late to see him later."
The man extended his arm, gesturing for him to take it.
This is the wedding venue.
And the child the man was talking about?
Is he... transported back to when Li Hetai was a child?
Li Hetai, heir to the Li family's commercial empire in China, ascended to the throne at the age of twenty-five, engaging in both legal and illegal activities, and even expanding his empire overseas. Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Africa are his home turf, while East Asia, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific are his markets.
That person was approachable in public, always smiling at everyone. To those who didn't know him, he seemed like someone easy to talk to.
But in reality, this person is ruthless and decisive, killing people today and having their corpses in the Mariana Trench tomorrow. Most importantly... this man of his word suffers from a serious mental illness and cannot recognize himself.
Even he, as this person's personal psychologist, was affected.
Gu Xinglan tried to recall something, but his mind was filled with no information that could provide him with anything.
"lady?"
This was the second time the man had called Gu Xinglan. He was still smiling, but his eyebrows were slightly furrowed, though it was not noticeable unless you looked closely.
So this person is Li Hetai's father?
Gu Xinglan glanced at the faces above out of the corner of her eye.
The two were indeed cut from the same cloth; even their warning expressions were identical.
He had just crossed over when his body went limp and he couldn't control his hands and feet.
If he doesn't respond to the Li family members next door, he will face severe punishment.
"I sprained my ankle."
Gu Xinglan lowered her eyes, and as if it were a muscle memory and conditioned reflex etched into her bones, the expression on her face quickly became pitiful.
The man remained silent, his eyes scrutinizing Gu Xinglan as if verifying the truth of his words.
After a long pause, amidst gasps of surprise from those around them.
The man picked Gu Xinglan up in his arms.
Even the way they hug each other is the same; after punishing him, Li Hetai would also hug him like this.
"This is the first time I've ever seen Patriarch Li so close to a woman."
"Who is this person that the Li family head treats him like this?"
"I heard he's just a nobody, a minor variety show host, nothing special."
"This is not about becoming a phoenix on a branch, it's about treating a phoenix like a chicken."
The whispers didn't reach the main audience, and Gu Xinglan was carried across the flower-lined red carpet.
"Put...put me down." Gu Xinglan covered her face with her wedding dress.
This looks like a women's wedding dress...
There was a child standing next to the emcee.
The child had soft, fine hair and stared blankly in the direction of the red carpet.
Gu Xinglan trembled involuntarily after just one glance at the child.
He couldn't remember where this memory came from, and the physical reflex made him feel very uncomfortable.
"The wedding is suspended."
As soon as the man finished speaking, the royal band, which was playing the wedding march, suddenly stopped without any hesitation.
Without hesitation, the emcee announced the closing remarks: "Dear guests, thank you for coming. Let us wish the newlyweds all the best."
Before the guests in the audience could react, they saw the head of the Li family carrying his bride up the spiral staircase.
"Wishing... wishing President Li and Mrs. Li a long and happy marriage."
This sentence is like a drop of water poured into hot oil, making a crackling and popping sound.
Soon everyone stood up, applause rose and fell, and blessings were offered one after another.
The protagonist who was blessed had already gone upstairs.
He remembered this building.
It is the tallest building in Wushui City, in a very good location, and its commercial value showed no signs of decline even when Pei Hetai inherited the family business; it was extremely prosperous.
He just didn't expect that the building belonged to the Li family.
His remaining memories told him that the building belonged to another family surnamed Yu.
"hiss"
The more Gu Xinglan thought about it, the more her head ached.
"Are you still recovering from last night?" The man didn't look down, his eyes were fixed ahead, but his words were directed at him, his voice deep and natural.
Gu Xinglan's own memories are incomplete, let alone the memories of the body he transmigrated into.
System: [You transmigrated here on your own, and this body is yours—your entire being, from top to bottom.]
"I need to remember."
Gu Xinglan expressed her inner thoughts: "I don't want money or immortality, I want my memories."
The system remained silent: [This is simple, I agree.]
The system readily granted his request.
His intuition told him that he had sealed away his memories. No matter what he had forgotten, as a psychologist, what he could never forget was his professional knowledge.
Gu Xinglan's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed, but then she felt a sharp pain in her lower back.
"You've been distracted thirteen times since then. Is there anything you're unhappy with about the wedding arrangements?"
The man gripped his waist, his tone anything but friendly.
Gu Xinglan had never been pinched so intimately around the waist before. Her body went limp immediately.
It's not that he's sensitive, but rather that there's a deep-seated memory etched into his bones that makes him react automatically to such actions.
The man was clearly pleased with the reaction and chuckled, "Didn't you want to see the child? I'll take you there."