Chapter 9

It was warm around Mù Yú, impervious to ice and snow, difficult for frost and wind to approach. But Yàn Sǔn's position wasn't ideal; it was a bit far, and the cold air of the ice rink lingered. It truly froze him into a chilled little snowball.

Yàn Sǔn didn't mind. When he was with the Yan Family, he had slept in worse places.

He wanted to be closer to Mù Yú. Discovering that the other person was shedding candy all over himself, he felt it was too dangerous and temporarily abandoned the plan to nuzzle into his embrace.

Sensing movement, Yàn Sǔn woke up sharply.

Still in a state of alert, his back tensed. He opened his eyes like a little wolf, his pupils dark.

Mù Yú reached out and supported the little one's back, "Thank you."

His tone was gentle and solemn as he thanked him earnestly, steadying the child who was about to roll off the floor. With his other hand, he took the razor blade.

Afraid of cutting him, Yàn Sǔn tilted his head away, instinctively trying to hide the razor blade in his mouth. Halfway through hiding it, he felt a gentle touch from warm fingers.

Yàn Sǔn froze, stunned.

The razor blade ended up in Mù Yú's hand. Somehow, as it turned between his slender fingers, it transformed into a lollipop.

A creamy lollipop, its wrapper already peeled off, fragrant, sweet, and clean.

"Trade," Mù Yú said slowly. "Okay?"

Noticing that Yàn Sǔn's language ability hadn't completely regressed, Mù Yú tended to speak more, subtly slowing his pace and enunciating as clearly as possible.

Yàn Sǔn's comprehension skills were excellent. In the original timeline, although he never learned to speak, he could already understand the content of conversations.

In fact, even now, Yàn Sǔn wasn't entirely cut off from the outside world; he could vaguely understand some fragmented words and tones.

For example, Mù Yú was asking him, "Okay?"

In the Yan Family, Father Yan and Mother Yan would ask Yàn Xī like this.

Then Yàn Xī could shake his head or nod.

After that, he could refuse something he didn't want to do, or get something he wanted.

Yàn Sǔn knew the meanings of nodding and shaking his head, but he had never encountered a situation where he needed to do so. Mù Yú held him and sat him on his lap. He opened his eyes wide, the lollipop held very close, his nose filled with its sweet fragrance.

Yàn Sǔn was more familiar with the taste of a razor blade; the two were entirely different. He was involuntarily drawn to the sweet scent, yet he firmly pressed his lips together.

Mù Yú's voice was gentle, without any bias or leading, and he softly asked, "Okay?"

That razor blade reappeared, placed in his palm for Yàn Sǔn to see, then gripped and withdrawn, leaving the lollipop for Yàn Sǔn.

In this thorough, unhurried process, Yàn Sǔn was able to learn and understand the concept of "trade."

Mù Yú wanted to exchange the lollipop for the hidden razor blade.

"Host," the System chimed in, whispering, "Without the blade, the current Yàn Sǔn cannot defeat Yàn Xī in a conflict."

Yàn Sǔn was five years younger than Yàn Xī. For a child still in their growth period, this age difference almost guaranteed absolute dominance if a fight broke out.

Such a severely biased and dangerous collectible theoretically shouldn't be in the hands of a young villain, yet the System hesitated to log it on its table after scanning the item's background.

... This was currently Yàn Sǔn's only means of self-protection, and the only sense of security a five-year-old Yàn Sǔn could grasp.

"He won't," Mù Yú said.

The System paused, "What?"

"He won't conflict," Mù Yú said, consulting it in advance. "I'm going to break up this family."

The System: "..."

Mù Yú brought up the data for the Yan and Xu families.

According to their original plan, Mù Yú intended to assume the identity of "Yú Mù."

Following the world line of the previous life, Father Yan would hire Yú Mù as Yàn Sǔn's teacher, allowing him to naturally move into the Yan Family home.

But doing so would inevitably lead to an unavoidable problem—the official designated childcare time wasn't twenty-four hours. Even if parents genuinely wanted to do this, they couldn't stay in the sleep pod all the time. Eventually, there would be times when only Yàn Xī and Yàn Sǔn were left at the Yan Family home.

Mù Yú had changed his mind.

Not just during the variety show filming, but after the show ended, he also planned to take Yàn Sǔn with him.

The little snowball should be thinking about whether he wants milk candy, cotton candy, or lollipops, not whether he wants "candy or a knife."

... Yàn Sǔn took the lollipop from Mù Yú's hand.

His focus was different from the System's. Mù Yú had too much candy; Mù Yú needed the blade more than he did.

Curled up in Mù Yú's arms, Yàn Sǔn stared at the plastic bag of candy for a long time before grabbing Mù Yú's hand and urging Mù Yú to put away the blade.

Yàn Sǔn held Mù Yú's hand and pointed towards the plastic bag, gesturing to teach him: "Awesome."

He gave the blade to Mù Yú and demonstrated how to protect the candy, gesturing and teaching: "Awesome."

The little villain didn't completely understand the meanings of the words he had learned, only grasping the general idea and applying it.

He gestured and added sounds.

Clenching his fist: "Awesome." Throwing a punch: "Awesome."

... It was incredibly, uniquely fierce.

Mù Yú earnestly learned a set of "razor blade and candy protection moves" from the little snowball and successfully put the lollipop into the little snowball's mouth.

The little guy was caught off guard and his eyes widened. His soft cheeks puffed out slightly. He remained still for two seconds, then his face flushed crimson.

Mù Yú's eyes twinkled with amusement. He stroked the boy's hair and gestured to the ice rink behind them, "Fly?"

... The little villain's third learned word was "fly-fly."

The System, holding a slotted spoon, recorded this amidst the data.

After resting, Mù Yú didn't teach Yàn Sǔn any more moves. He simply played with him on the ice—playing without any purpose, completely relaxed.

Mù Yú's gliding posture was elegant, as if effortless. He played with Yàn Sǔn on the ice, steadying and lifting him. His fluid and graceful movements made the game seem like a true flight.

After landing, Yàn Sǔn stopped doing the moves he learned from Father Yan and began to imitate Mù Yú's gliding.

He was too small and lacked initial momentum. Mù Yú supported him as he started, gently pushing the little one forward.

The child on the ice, eyes closed, arms spread wide, was free and light. Ice crystals scattered in the wind, crystal clear and not cold head-on.

The System remembered the information it had found: "Yàn Sǔn" was also the name of a small bird of prey, which lived in sparse forests, wilderness, and open plains, flying with agility and speed like lightning.

Yàn Sǔn learned quickly, completely adopting new moves, like Mù Yú's miniature shadow.

The little one's nose tip was red, his eyes bright and free of haze. He breathed lightly, his bangs blown back by the wind.

He flew from the other end of the ice rink and plunged into Mù Yú's arms. Being steadily lifted, he was so happy he felt hot.

"Alright," the System grumbled, putting away its slotted spoon.

It no longer fished out the word "fly" from a pile of data and floated over itself: "A free bird."

... The snow continued until evening and finally showed signs of stopping.

When the program team sent a notification that segments delayed due to weather would resume filming, asking parents to bring their children to the filming location, it was already 7:55 PM.

Mù Yú had played with Yàn Sǔn on the ice until dark, returned to the small courtyard for dinner, and coaxed the little one to sleep for a nap. The timing was perfect.

The little snowball, wrapped up tightly and carried out, was still asleep. His short hair was messy from rubbing, but his complexion was clearly better than before. His soft, plump little face had a healthy, pale pink hue as he listlessly rested on Mù Yú's shoulder.

There were many strangers at the filming site, the fill lights were dazzling, and figures moved and conversed everywhere.

Yàn Sǔn felt a bit uneasy and wanted to get down and walk himself, but Mù Yú tucked him further into his jacket. "It's okay."

Mù Yú found a quiet corner and told him, "You can keep sleeping."

Yàn Sǔn's continuous sleepiness wasn't due to being overly sleepy, but because he had barely slept properly during his five years with the Yan Family.

His treatment was slightly better in the first two years. Once Yàn Xī started to notice the living, moving, running "toy," Yàn Sǔn never had another chance to sleep soundly and peacefully.

The sense of security Mù Yú provided was something he had never experienced. In this atmosphere where he could involuntarily relax, the little one couldn't get enough sleep, and the drowsiness surged like a tide, as if to make up for all the sleep he hadn't had.

Mù Yú pulled on the System to help block the light, patiently folding his jacket like a wrap, tucking back the little snowball filling that was spilling out.

Fate was not kind. Before the little bundle could be successfully wrapped, an unwelcome guest arrived to disturb his dream.

Upon seeing who it was, Mù Yú raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Mr. Yú... pardon the interruption," Mother Yan said, walking up to him with an exceptionally polite expression. "We heard you wish to 'bind' with Little Sǔn."

"Binding" was a rule of The Greenhouse, meaning "a parent's social rating is directly linked to their child's performance"—under normal circumstances, it was natural for parents and children to be bound. However, Yàn Sǔn was undoubtedly not in a normal situation.

Since Yàn Sǔn was sent to the Yan Family when he was young, Father Xu and Mother Xu had not raised him themselves and did not meet the conditions for binding. The Yan family members had no blood relation to him, so they also did not have to acknowledge him as their child.

Moreover, Yàn Sǔn had been diagnosed with a language disorder from a young age. For children with such congenital developmental deficiencies, even if Father Yan and Mother Yan didn't bind with him, no one would point fingers.

After returning from the ice rink, the System had been busy with this matter. While coaxing the little snowball to sleep, Mù Yú contacted the relevant responsible agencies. After verification, Yàn Sǔn indeed had no one to bind with, so Mù Yú submitted an application.

"Under special circumstances, a teacher-student relationship can also be bound."

Mù Yú had already reviewed the relevant regulations and said gently, "I have already explained the situation in the application."

Seeing his calm expression, Mother Yan couldn't help but frown before adjusting her tone again. "But... Mr. Yú, this may be somewhat offensive, please don't mind."

"Your social rating is C-class, you can only receive the lowest-grade housing and the worst resources in The Greenhouse... Little Sǔn is our child."

Mother Yan said, "We watched him grow up. Even without a blood relation, we have a responsibility towards him."

She spoke grandly, her expression filled with concern and gravity. She occasionally glanced down at Yàn Sǔn in Mù Yú's arms, appearing as if she were genuinely worried about "her child."

Mù Yú had already done his research and nodded, "I know."

"Yú Mù's" social rating was C-class—this was even after he had worked as a screenwriter for several years and written several good scripts, with the added bonus of past achievements. Looking only at the years later when he acted absurdly and ruined himself, a D-class rating would have been lenient.

Social ratings are not affected by income; they are more like a reputation value that integrates social credit, moral standards, and contributions. It's useless even if you are wealthy.

This was precisely why, after Yú Mù lived quite well by leeching off Yàn Sǔn, he couldn't resist the temptation after agreeing to disappear and endure for ten years, and participated in the variety show again. Shining on the variety show was a good way to level up.

Yú Mù had always been C-class over the years. He was denied entry to most high-end establishments, couldn't purchase residences in the central city district, and couldn't enjoy high-end resource allocation. Seeing that ten years post-Yàn Sǔn's death had been peaceful, his overgrown ambition could no longer be suppressed.

Social ratings like this don't show up normally. If it were just like the original Yú Mù, holding the so-called "teacher" title and actually living in the Yan Family home, watching Yàn Sǔn write scripts, no one would deliberately cause trouble—but if it were to bind through a teacher-student relationship and take Yàn Sǔn away from the Yan Family, it would be different.

If Yú Mù's rating were any lower, dropping to the lowest D-class, he wouldn't even have the qualification to be a teacher, let alone bind.

The Yan family couple, as Yàn Sǔn's current adoptive parents, were perfectly entitled to refuse recognition of a C-class teacher taking Yàn Sǔn away.

"We didn't mean anything else," Mother Yan's tone was very tactful. "It's for the child's own good..."

Mù Yú asked gently, "Is Mr. Yan doing well as a coach?"

His tone remained calm and gentle, yet Mother Yan's body stiffened abruptly, her face turned pale, and her eyes darkened uncontrollably.

... The reason she was the one saying these potentially offensive words, and not her husband, was precisely because she feared this.

No one knew how a screenwriter as poor as this had connections with the Berghead Club. If they hadn't been forced to keep Yàn Sǔn to cover up the trouble Yàn Xī had caused, and if they feared that after Yú Mù took him away, he would teach Yàn Sǔn to speak and reveal what had happened in the past... Mother Yan wouldn't have reluctantly come to provoke a tough opponent who might cause her husband to lose his job.

"Mr. Yú," Mother Yan tried her best to adjust her expression and forced a stiff smile, "We hope you can reconsider."

She wasn't entirely unprepared to approach him. Mother Yan and Father Yan worked in different fields; she was a best-selling author with access to many media channels. If Yú Mù insisted on proceeding, the two sides would have to completely fall out.

In any case, Yàn Sǔn could not be taken away by outsiders. Once the things Yàn Xī had done were exposed, the consequences would be far more severe than Father Yan losing his coaching job.

"I heard... you came to this show because you were taken to a den of extravagance, had bad luck, and are now short on cash."

Mother Yan lowered her voice considerably, leaving him plenty of room to retreat. "Some reporters might have taken photos. I have some channels that can help you get rid of these hidden dangers."

She didn't say it explicitly, but the unexpressed meaning was clear—if these photos were leaked, even if the scripts Yú Mù wrote as a screenwriter were any good, his rating would be lowered due to bad social influence. Once downgraded to D-class, not only would he be unable to take Yàn Sǔn away, but Yú Mù himself would be stripped of most of his social rights. Even if the owner of the Berghead Club personally intervened, it would be impossible to change Yú Mù's rating. If Yú Mù insisted on going his own way, the channels Mother Yan held would also ensure the photos were spread everywhere.

As long as he gave up taking Yàn Sǔn away and didn't trouble Father Yan, he could easily escape this crisis. This "Screenwriter Yú's" reputation had always been absurd, but he was said to be shrewd enough and should know what to do.

... The System was furious and darted around, preparing to steal the photos, when it suddenly heard Mù Yú chuckle softly.

The System paused, "Host?"

"It's nothing," Mù Yú adjusted the cuff of his shirt. "I feel a bit nostalgic."

He genuinely felt a bit nostalgic—no one had threatened him with such methods for a long time.

Mù Yú stroked the little snowball's hair.

The little one had woken up when Mother Yan arrived. Cold sweat continuously seeped out, his nape pale and icy. He still rigidly held out his arms, blocking Mù Yú behind him.

Mù Yú solemnly entrusted the bag of candy to him. "Protect it well."

The System seemed to hear the little villain give a "ding" sound. He firmly protected the red plastic bag, his dark eyes fixed on Mother Yan.

Mother Yan flinched at the expression in those eyes, frowned, and averted her gaze. "Mr. Yú?"

Mù Yú nodded. "Is Mr. Yan doing well?"

Behind Mother Yan, something inexplicably tightened, and she involuntarily took half a step back. "What?"

"Figure skating coach, I heard he's B-class," Mù Yú unbuttoned his cuff, rolling it up to his elbow. "One variety show is enough.\