Chapter Fifteen: The Rat’s Message

The big dark mole left behind couldn’t stand the troublemaker and didn’t want to stay any longer. With a sarcastic tone, he muttered curses and went to guard the corridor entrance. Instantly, the area in front of the cell door cleared out.

Li Wenxin, who hadn’t achieved the desired outcome, swallowed a mouthful of old blood in frustration and was about to cause a fuss again when Mrs. Song seized the opportunity. She stepped forward and snatched the steamed bun from Li Wenxin’s hand.

With her hand now empty, Li Wenxin was stunned and angrily stomped her feet, complaining loudly to her grandmother and mother.

“Grandmother, mother, look at Third Aunt and that despicable girl. Not only do they hide things from their elders behind their backs, but they even snatch my food.”

“Fool!” Chaochao could no longer watch the scene.

Still fearful of her stepmother, Mrs. Song, for her son’s sake and driven by maternal strength, hid the steamed bun behind her back, fully alert and defensive.

Old Mrs. Luo looked on coldly, furious that her once-pampered granddaughter showed no improvement. “Idiot!”

She brusquely brushed away the hand clutching her arm and mercilessly pushed aside the foolish person clinging to her side. Closing her eyes briefly, she reopened them to reveal an icy indifference.

“Eldest family, is this how you normally teach Sister Xin? Huh? Does this disgrace even understand what it means to share honor and disgrace as one? Sisters in the same family, no matter how much you quarrel or misbehave, once the door is closed, everything can be resolved. How dare you make a scene after something happens without reporting it to your elders? Did you even think of this old woman? Where were you before now?”

More importantly, if today’s matter could be resolved by simply getting rid of the fool without leaving any troubles behind, she wouldn’t have said a word.

After all, women are either ruthless or clever. If someone could bring benefits to the family, she would even admire and appreciate them.

But the problem was?

Charging out recklessly, scaring the snake but failing to kill it and instead suffering harm—ha! This girl was so foolish and petty. Who did she take after?

Old Mrs. Luo’s face was filled with frustration and disappointment. Seeing her granddaughter being scolded and despised by the matriarch, Mrs. Luo felt a deep hatred and quickly tried to smooth things over.

Taking advantage of the moment, Mrs. Song tightly clutched the recovered steamed bun and led the two little ones to a corner. Despite the pressure, she stuffed the bun into Chaochao’s hand.

Chaochao quickly turned away, hands behind her back, shaking her head and refusing to accept it. “Give it to my brother.”

The little one was insistent; the steamed bun was the source of trouble and couldn’t be kept. As the old lady was busy scolding and distracted, Mrs. Luo temporarily forgot to protect her daughter. Mrs. Song’s selfishness won out. After solemnly thanking Chaochao, she hurriedly handed the bun to her youngest son.

“Good boy Ying, your fourth sister gave you this bun, eat quickly.”

“Mother eats too.”

“Good boy, mother isn’t hungry.”

“Mother won’t eat, and Chang Ying won’t eat either.”

Though only five years old and the legitimate child, Li Changying’s life in the Bo family was far from easy due to his father’s status as a concubine-born son. Despite having an older brother to look after him, he had learned at a young age to read people’s expressions and was considerate and filial.

Regarding the steamed bun his birth mother gave him, the little one could not bear to eat it alone and stubbornly refused.

The mother and son’s back-and-forth rejection was striking. Chaochao couldn’t stand it and decisively snatched the bun, tore it in half, handing one half to Mrs. Song and the other to the fourth brother.

“Isn’t this better? Eat quickly, someone’s coming.”

As she urged, the heavy footsteps of the prison guards moving heavy objects echoed down the corridor. The mother and son dared not delay, fearing further trouble, and hurriedly began to eat.

They had been hungry for a long time, and even the most ordinary steamed bun was a supreme delicacy for a mother and son trapped in prison.

Though the taste seemed off compared to the buns they had eaten before, and the little one didn’t think much of it, Mrs. Song furrowed her brow slightly upon tasting the part soaked with nutrient fluid.

However, Mrs. Song firmly believed that Chaochao would not harm her. Since the child said the bun was taken during a raid some time ago, it might have changed flavor from being stored too long, so she did not give it much thought.

What was strange was that after eating half the bun, though the fullness was mild, her son miraculously stopped coughing. Not only that, Mrs. Song noticed that her own previously tight chest and sore throat had miraculously improved.

The ringing and clanging of the door knocking no longer distracted Mrs. Song. Holding her son tightly, she fixed her gaze on Chaochao curled up in the corner on the straw pile, her thoughts swirling.

Had this child kindly added medicine to the bun?

The situation did not allow Mrs. Song to ask more, but she deeply etched into her heart the memory of the prison’s dark night and the warm, healing steamed bun that saved her and her son.

At that moment, Chaochao sat leaning against the straw sofa, coldly watching the foolish ones who were being beaten and scolded, feeling extremely pleased.

Though the bars by her side were sealed one after another with nailed wooden planks, dimming the entire cell and thickening the stench inside, Chaochao paid no mind.

The fool remembered only the food and not the beatings—this was bad! And to make matters worse, she reported Chaochao. Ha! If the little cockroach didn’t teach the fool a lesson, then… Chaochao mischievously hatched a little plan.

In the dark night, the little one generously took out several pieces of biscuit, crushed them, and placed them neatly on the nearby stone table. Then he pulled out an electric pen and waited quietly.

Squeak, squeak, squeak...

All corners of the cell stirred as the plump rats caught the scent of the unusual treat.

The nailed bars could stop Chaochao but not the nimble rats.

With a feast laid out, the rats became excited and swarmed forward, squeaking and chittering.

Having waited long enough, Chaochao’s eyes lit up seeing the rat army.

I poke, I poke, poke poke poke; I zap, I zap, zap zap zap.

One comes, I zap one; two come, I zap two; zap two, and I send two away.

Honestly, that night kept both the boy and the bird busy.

Due to the owner’s ruthless command, the bird had to catch each filthy rat and deliver it to the crying, barely asleep Li Wenxin.

The problem was that the owner was perverse, demanding that the rats be arranged properly, neatly, and with elegant posture. Mistakes meant the bird’s food would be cut; life was tough for the bird!

One, three, five, seven, nine, ten... twenty... perfect!

A pile of dead rats arranged neatly with their heads inward, their bloodshot eyes glaring unblinkingly at the whining fool. Chaochao was very satisfied with his labor.

Calling the bird back, washing its claws and his own tiny paws with disinfectant, the pair filled their stomachs and then snuggled into the straw nest to sleep peacefully.

In his dreams, Chaochao’s mouth was stretched into a grin.

Ah!

At dawn, a piercing scream shattered the silence.

Li Wenxin opened her eyes to find a terrifying scene: a floor full of gruesome dead rats arranged in a neat circle, glaring at her. The sight was disgusting and horrifying; who wouldn’t panic?

Li Wenxin was completely terrified, crying and yelling, jumping and stomping, “Rats! Help! So many!”

Waking from the scream, Chaochao rubbed his eyes and, looking at the fool’s miserable state, felt a surge of satisfaction.

A little villain’s revenge is only a matter of timing.

How can one watch the show without snacks? Must buy a melon, or at least some melon seeds.

Comfortably reclining on the straw sofa, the salty fish Chaochao quickly opened his wristband.

His values aligned with his mother’s, and after scrolling for a long time without finding melon seeds or melon, he saw a new product from the calcium milk vendor—a supposedly retro Ferrero flavor.

Chaochao’s eyes lit up. Ignoring the moody Xiao Yi, he decisively placed an order, spending a steep 38 interstellar coins on a box.

Mission accomplished, he clicked to retrieve it, peeled open a piece, and popped it into his mouth—undeniably delicious.

He casually tossed the wrapper into the recycling bin, rested his paws behind his head, crossed his legs, lifted a little foot, and leisurely enjoyed the show, popping chocolates into his mouth, utterly delighted.