Chapter 287 - I told him everything

Xiao Lei hesitated for a moment before nodding. "It's not just for the money. I want them to pay for what they did to my parents, your grandparents. Also..."

She looked at her son for a while before continuing, "It's not fair for you. You are supposed to be the heir. You ARE the rightful heir, not any of them who are living in that house now."

She thought about the time when she found those bruises on his body, and her hands clenched involuntarily. "No one should be bullied because of their parentage, much less you, the heir to one of the biggest entertainment companies in the country."

She sighed. "At first, I thought I can keep hiding... As long as you can be safe, I'm willing to keep hiding. I didn't think that even though I could protect you from them, I couldn't protect you from the rest. I know that the kids at your school have been making fun of you, and I want to put an end to it as soon as possible." 

She reached out to ruffle his hair as she said, "You are destined to be somebody in this world, and I don't want you to ever think about giving up on any of your dreams because someone keeps making fun of you."

"I'm not that weak, and it's not going to be too hard on me even if people keeps stepping on me," Xiao Zhihao said with a small grin. "You don't have to worry about me, Mum. I can take care of myself."

He then apologized for his earlier behavior again. He felt worse now that he knew what ordeals his mother went through before. His mother loved his father more than anything, and he knew that, yet he still said those nasty words to her. "Mum... I'm really, really sorry. I know you don't blame me, but I still want to apologize. I shouldn't have said stuff like that."

Xiao Lei smiled lovingly and without saying anything else, she reached over to pat his knee. That was all she had to do. She was glad that her son was coming around even though it was obvious that he still did not like Han Ye. 

"And about Murong Yu... Promise me that you'll stay away from him, Zhihao..." Xiao Lei said as she stared at her son worriedly. She saw how close her son was to Murong Yu earlier, and it bothered her. 

Xiao Zhihao hesitated for a moment before nodding. However, he knew that this was a promise that he could not keep. 

Even now, even after knowing everything, Xiao Zhihao could not believe his mother's description of Murong Yu. "He must have his own reasons..." Xiao Zhihao thought to himself. He did not believe that Murong Yu was there to hurt him.

He watched as his mother ate the food he brought in for her and thought, "I'm going to find out the truth about this..."

...

The next morning, Xiao Lei walked her son to the door. She was fully dressed for work and was about to go with Xiao Zhihao to school. When they were outside the door, Xiao Zhihao suddenly turned around and said, "Mum, you don't have to come with me today." 

"Huh?" Xiao Lei blinked. "Why?"

Xiao Zhihao shrugged. "I can go to school by myself. You've cried a lot yesterday, so just rest a little while longer at home."

Xiao Lei was about to say something when Han Ye's door was opened, and the man walked out while yawning loudly. He was rubbing his eyes when he realized that something was off. 

When he turned, he saw the mother and son duo staring at him. 

"Morning, Han Ye," Xiao Lei said with a smile. "Rough night?" 

Han Ye smiled. "Usual... Lots of work."

He was actually up the whole night worrying about them and whether or not they could talk it out, but judging from the slightly swollen eyes and the way Xiao Lei seemed so relax, he figured everything was alright now. 

Xiao Zhihao still refused to talk to him, but at least, there was no longer an intense hatred in Xiao Zhihao's eyes when he looked at him. 

"Are you going to school now, Zhihao?" Han Ye asked with a smile.

Xiao Zhihao ignored him. He looked at his mother and smiled as he said, "I can go to school with the driver. You should stay at home and rest or go spend someone's money on breakfast."

Xiao Lei chuckled. She hugged her son briefly before letting him go. "I'll pick you up after school." 

Xiao Zhihao nodded. He glared at Han Ye for a few seconds, as if he was warning him, before walking toward the lift. Once he left, Han Ye asked Xiao Lei, "Everything's alright?" 

Xiao Lei turned to him and nodded. "I... told him everything. His dad's past... as well as mine. Whether it's about my parents or Murong Yu, I told him everything."

"And how's his reaction?" 

Xiao Lei sighed. "He's a little shocked, but otherwise, he's taking it quite well... I think he had a feeling that something wasn't quite alright with me and Yunjie, and yesterday was merely a confirmation for him."

She then looked up at him and said wryly, "I've told him about our friendship that went all the way back to when we were kids, and he accepted the fact that you are the only friend that I could talk to. However, he's still upset with you for some reason. But since he didn't want to talk about it, I didn't push him. I hope you can just bear with him for now. He needs some time to get his heart as well as his mind in order."

Han Ye nodded. "As long as he's fine now, I don't mind." 

He hesitated for a while before asking, "So..."

"We are not moving," Xiao Lei answered him before he could even ask the question.

A smile appeared on Han Ye's face, lifting it up despite his tiredness. He then scratched his head as he asked, "So... wanna go for breakfast?" 

"Aren't you heading out to work?" Xiao Lei asked. 

He smiled sheepishly. "Not really."

His idea of trying to make Xiao Zhihao like him was to appear in front of him for as often as possible and try to talk to him more. Even if Xiao Zhihao ignored him, Han Ye was sure that he could wear the teen down one day and that the kid would one day talk to him. Even if Xiao Zhihao's words were scathing, Han Ye felt that it would be better than if the teen completely ignored him.