Good Baby C01

Chapter 1

“Where is this?”

In the dark system space, a faint, babyish voice echoed.

The system, which had just finished preparing to welcome its new host, experienced a brief stutter in its program due to shock upon hearing this voice.

As it approached, it could see a small, raggedly dressed child standing there. The child was very delicate-looking, especially those clear, sparkling eyes that seemed to contain the stars and the sea.

No matter how cute the little one was, it couldn’t erase the sadness deep within the system.

This, this was the old monster host it had gotten with the 999 points it had saved up for half its life?

After asking the question, Xie Shi’an did not get an answer and wasn’t in a hurry. It seemed he had already gotten used to this silence. He sat on the ground and began playing with his fingers.

When the system accepted the situation and appeared in front of Xie Shi’an, it had already been half an hour.

The child didn’t cry or make noise, just sat there obediently playing with his fingers, which made the system feel soft-hearted. The 250 System began to reflect on whether it was too harsh to leave him here earlier.

“Who are you?”

Xie Shi’an looked up, staring at the strange mechanical cat in front of him. After a while, when he still hadn’t received an answer, he felt a bit tired from holding his current position and tilted his head to continue watching.

He noticed that the mechanical cat’s gaze actually met his, and it blinked innocently at it.

“Mm?”

250 cleared its throat and began explaining the existence of the system space and the mission it was about to execute.

Xie Shi’an nodded in seeming understanding, his hair bobbing with his movement.

Once the host is bound, it can only be removed after the mission ends. So, even if 250 was reluctant to accept the reality, it had no choice but to forcefully send this little one to the mission world.

Fortunately, it was a “reformed” system, so the mission plane would automatically select an appropriate replacement based on the binding system.

Xie Shi’an woke up because of the blinding sunlight on his face. His curled eyelashes cast a shadow in the light, and his milk-white skin with delicate features were in stark contrast to the shabby environment.

After opening his eyes, he curiously stared at the sunlight for a long time. He realized this beam of light was very warm and stretched out his hand to touch it. Finding he couldn’t hold the sunlight in his palm, he puffed up his cheeks in frustration.

At that moment, the door was pushed open from the outside, and a very frail woman walked up to Xie Shi’an and picked him up.

Xie Shi’an instinctively struggled. It was nearly impossible for a child of his age to escape the embrace of an adult. After twisting a few times, he got tired and stopped struggling.

However, his hands were tightly clenched into fists, still seeming somewhat unconvinced.

Fan Chunxiang carried her son to the yard, placed him in the crib she had picked up, and let him bask in the sun while she turned to tidy up the junk in the yard.

She was mute and had never been able to speak since birth. When she grew up, she was with the deaf Li Datiao, and the two had no children.

Later, during a rainy day, they heard a baby crying in a trash can. The child’s cries were pitiful, so they brought him home.

Xie Shi’an lay in the crib, staring intently at the leaves of the tree in the yard.

Whether it was the golden sunlight falling on the leaves, the light dancing on his face through the gaps in the leaves, or the trembling leaves stirred by the wind.

To a ghost suppressed under the ancestral home for tens of thousands of years, everything felt extraordinarily fresh.

Until the system’s voice appeared in his mind, temporarily breaking the tranquility.

“Host, do you confirm accepting the original host’s memories?”

The familiar voice reminded Xie Shi’an that he had come here because of that strange thing. Without thinking, he nodded and answered.

“Mm.”

Fan Chunxiang, who was bending down to organize the junk, heard the child’s hum. She hurriedly looked over. When she saw Xie Shi’an staring at her nervously as she ran to him, she suddenly felt guilty for doing something wrong.

One hand covered her mouth, her big eyes staring at him.

Fan Chunxiang picked him up to check and, confirming he wasn’t wet, went to the room to prepare a bottle of milk powder. After handing it to him, she continued with her chores.

Xie Shi’an stared at the milk bottle for a long time, poking it here and there, before finally awkwardly holding the bottle and starting to drink.

The first sip made his eyes immediately light up, and then he sucked in a big gulp.

250, seeing how delicious the milk seemed to be, hesitated to interrupt. It waited until Xie Shi’an finished drinking before reminding him that they could communicate directly in their minds without speaking.

In the last life, the original host’s name was also Xie Shi’an. After being picked up by the mute couple, they raised him as their son.

All the family’s money was spent on him, and they provided the best conditions they could afford.

But the genuine care didn’t earn any return.

As he grew up, the original host began to despise this broken family, resenting his parents for being useless, one mute and the other deaf.

He thought they were dirty, wearing ragged clothes, which made him the target of ridicule from his classmates.

At first, he was just dissatisfied with the family, but when his biological parents came looking for him, his dissatisfaction reached its peak.

He began to blame that if it weren’t for his adoptive parents, he might have been living with his biological parents, enjoying a better life, instead of staying in this dilapidated place for over ten years.

Unfortunately, his biological parents didn’t look for him out of love or guilt. They only wanted him because his twin brother needed a kidney transplant, and the doctor said the chances of a match were higher among family members.

The original host only enjoyed a few days of family warmth before he was tricked into signing a voluntary donation agreement.

Once his biological parents used him for his value, they kicked him out without hesitation.

Losing a kidney made daily life inconvenient, and on top of that, he didn’t receive proper care after the surgery. His body completely broke down.

Just when the original host thought he would die under a bridge, his illiterate adoptive parents found him again in the big city and took him back.

They spent all their savings to get him hospitalized and recover. Later, when his adoptive parents died from overwork, they died still thinking about how no one would cook for him anymore.

After the original owner buried them and sorted through their belongings, he saw the album in which his parents had recorded his growth, along with many items he had used as a child.

Although they were already old and tattered, and were of no value, they were still carefully preserved in a box by his mother, who had never once said “I love you” to him.

After experiencing the abandonment by his biological parents twice, reflecting on the care and love from his adoptive parents, the guilt he felt after their death nearly reached its peak.

He was willing to use his soul as a price to exchange with the Time and Space Administration for a chance to start over with the task taker.

There were many clients like this, and ultimately, they understood that if they were to be reborn on their own, the outcome would not change.

Xie Shian was still a bit confused about the contents of the story. However, fortunately, after 250 discovered that it had bound to a little brat, it had already made all the preparations and patiently explained things to him bit by bit.

After hearing this, Xie Shian’s small face scrunched up in a ball. He tightly held the already empty bottle and quickly shook his head.

“Woo, wa.”

Every time Fan Chunxiang heard the child’s voice, she would hurry over to check on him. She had no experience with children, and had only heard from others how fragile children of this age were, so she was especially careful.

This time, she took the empty bottle from Xie Shian’s hand, then gave him a new toy.

Xie Shian clenched the rattle drum in his palm, gently shaking it to make a sound.

His porcelain-white face flushed with anger. He shook the rattle drum with all his might. When Fan Chunxiang saw this, a smile flickered in her eyes. In her view, as long as the child had energy, it meant he was healthy.

For families like theirs, who could barely get by, peace and health were the greatest wishes.

250 saw that the little guy was so angry that he couldn’t even speak clearly and tried to explain to him that the previous version of him was not him; the one who had done wrong was someone else, but now, the person occupying this body was him.

The task required him not to become a cold-hearted, ungrateful person like the original owner. It hoped he could be obedient and grow up to be successful and repay the couple.

Xie Shian didn’t know how to express his thoughts. Whenever he thought of how the original owner had treated such good parents that way, his tears immediately started flowing.

At first, Xie Shian thought that his name carried the hopes of his parents for his safety and success in life, encapsulating their love for him.

Until on his third birthday, when his father broke his limbs and shoved him into a jar, burying him under the Xie family ancestral home.

Before losing consciousness, Xie Shian heard his father talking with another strange man. It was then that Xie Shian realized that his parents’ wish for his safety and longevity was because of the preciousness of his fate.

By using him to guard the ancestral home, it was said that the Xie family would prosper for thousands of years, and naturally, they hoped he would live as long as possible.

It wasn’t a short-term wish; it was for several tens of thousands of years.

As the family head, his father could not resist such a temptation, even though he was his biological son.

Being trapped in that dark place for so long, his resentment faded with the passage of time. Yet, Xie Shian was still just a three-year-old child, yearning for his parents’ love.

The things he could never obtain, these people had obtained without hesitation.

Whenever he thought about this, Xie Shian couldn’t help but feel both anger and injustice.

Fan Chunxiang didn’t know how to take care of a child. When she saw him crying, she quickly picked him up.

This time, Xie Shian didn’t resist her embrace. He clung tightly to her neck, and while he had been silently shedding tears before, he now cried out loud.

After crying for a while, his small voice became hoarse, and he had no strength left. His body jerked with sobs, occasionally making faint sounds.

Fan Chunxiang reached out to check his forehead temperature, then checked to see if he had wet himself. She saw the freshly cleaned bottle and made him a bottle of milk powder.

Xie Shian had indeed cried himself out. Exhausted and thirsty, when he drank the milk, his mouth was blocked, and he couldn’t cry anymore. He just stared at Fan Chunxiang with tearful eyes.

His eyes, washed by tears, seemed even clearer and more transparent. The sunlight was just right, and Fan Chunxiang could clearly see the reflection of leaves in his eyes. The furrowed brow from before, caused by his crying, unconsciously relaxed.

In the evening, Li Datiao finally returned, carrying two large snake-skin bags, filled with the scrap items he had picked up that day.

This man appeared very tall, at least one meter ninety, but he was very thin, his body emaciated. The ill-fitting clothes hung on him, making his bones stick out, and standing there, he looked a bit intimidating.

Both Li Datiao and Fan Chunxiang were used to hardship, and they barely managed to get by.

Every morning, they would go to the market and pick up vegetables discarded by vendors. Though they didn’t look good, with some preparation, they tasted fine and saved them quite a bit of money.

They had always been frugal, but they never skimped on buying the soft cotton clothes the child wore, and they bought formula without hesitation, no matter the cost.

At this time, Fan Chunxiang was cooking in the kitchen, while Xie Shian was placed in a crib in the yard. He was getting a bit bored and, seeing Li Datiao enter, he eagerly stretched out his arms to be held.

Li Datiao had worked hard all afternoon and didn’t know how many places he had visited before picking up these scraps.

The two snake-skin bags were heavy and bent his waist. He walked into the shabby courtyard, panting, and set the bags down in the farthest corner.

The evening glow spread across the sky, and outside, there were vendors selling Northern-style steamed buns with loudspeakers. After putting down the bags, Li Datiao let out a long sigh.

He turned around and saw Xie Shian stretching out his arms toward him. Perhaps because he hadn’t noticed earlier, the little guy had become a bit anxious, kicking his legs twice, as if trying to stand up.

Li Datiao first turned on the faucet to wash his hands thoroughly before drying them and then went over to pick up Xie Shian.

When Xie Shian had been trapped in that dark place, his greatest wish had been to have parents who would love him.

Now that his wish had been fulfilled, he didn’t care at all that Li Datiao looked a bit dirty after a long day of hard work. He was covered in dust.

He wrapped his arm like a lotus root around Li Datiao’s neck, first nudging his head against his father’s face.

Before Li Datiao could react, Xie Shian leaned over and kissed him. After the kiss, he seemed a little shy, hiding behind Li Datiao’s neck and covering half of his face with his little hand.

The sensation of the child’s lips on his cheek, soft and tingling, made Li Datiao freeze in place for a long time.

The eyes that had once been filled with poverty and exhaustion were now gradually filled with happiness and contentment, becoming incredibly bright.