Chapter 6: From Now On, I’ll Make Sure You Live the Good Life

The black dog next door had taken its fair share of beatings from him.

After getting beaten so many times, it held a grudge against Chen Liyang, barking the moment it laid eyes on him.

Deep down, though, it was still terrified of Chen Liyang. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be all bark and no bite.

It only dared to bark, never to bite!

After exchanging a few glances with the black dog, Chen Liyang finally understood why it barked non-stop whenever it saw him.

The original host really knew how to draw aggro. Beating people up was one thing, but he didn’t even spare a dog.

“Don’t… don’t you get any ideas about my dog! I’ll tie it up right now!” Aunt Zhao said, looking at Chen Liyang nervously.

This man was a lunatic, liable to snap anytime, anywhere.

Everyone said he was mentally ill.

And someone who was mentally ill wouldn’t even be breaking the law if he killed a person, let alone a dog.

Someone like that was best left unprovoked. You could only stay out of his way.

Looking at the middle-aged woman still wearing her apron, Chen Liyang didn’t get angry. He waved a hand casually. “It’s fine. It’s just that your dog isn’t small anymore. If you don’t tie it up, what if it accidentally hurts my kids?”

He knew these words would never have come out of the original host’s mouth, but he had no intention of imitating the man just to change bit by bit.

He wasn’t an actor and didn’t know how to act. Keeping up a facade would only risk exposing him sooner or later.

Nor did he want to live in the original host’s shadow. He just wanted to be himself.

Hearing Chen Liyang’s words, Aunt Zhao froze on the spot. Was this really the same Chen Liyang she knew?

Since when did he become so protective of these kids? Didn’t he use to call them little bastards all the time?

Only then did she notice Chen Liyang was holding the hand of the youngest girl.

They had lived here for nearly three years, yet this was the first time she had seen him take a child’s hand of his own accord.

If not for his bruised and battered face looking a bit intimidating right now, he would almost look like a loving father.

Meanwhile, Zhou Chengdong and the others thought they were hearing things when they heard him say “what if it hurts my kids.”

He had actually admitted in front of an outsider that they were his children. What on earth was he planning?

Having witnessed his hideous, cruel side, they weren’t foolish enough to believe he had turned over a new leaf.

Yet this sudden change left them uneasy. Today, he acted as if he had been possessed, completely transformed into a different person.

Aunt Zhao nodded numbly, watching Chen Liyang walk away with the children, unable to snap out of her daze for a long time.

“Why are you still arguing with him? Is he trying to extort money again…” A loud voice rang out, only to cut off abruptly at the sight of the family of six walking away.

The newcomer was Aunt Zhao’s husband, Liu Puping. He had a hot temper, and every time an issue arose regarding the dog, things between him and Chen Liyang turned ugly, occasionally escalating into physical fights.

The worst incident had ended with them at the police station. Fortunately, after looking into the situation, the police gave them a verbal warning and let them go.

But Aunt Zhao was still scared, so she stopped letting him handle things directly.

So much time had passed, and his wife still hadn’t brought the dog inside.

Assuming Chen Liyang was giving her a hard time, Liu Puping hurried out of his yard.

Only to be greeted by the sight of Chen Liyang holding the little girl’s hand, leading his four stepchildren away…

Though he found it odd that he hadn’t heard Chen Liyang shouting curses from inside the house, he still asked uneasily, “He didn’t give you any trouble, did he?”

“Trouble? What trouble? Not only did he not hold a grudge, he even knew to protect his kids. It’s completely out of character.”

Hearing his wife’s response, Liu Puping was taken aback for a moment. He hadn’t expected this outcome at all.

“Out of character or not, you’d better leash Qiuqiu from now on. Otherwise, if he snaps one day and beats the dog to death, you won’t even have anywhere to cry…”

Neither of them dwelled too much on Chen Liyang’s change. They had plenty of their own problems to deal with and no time to worry about other people.

Meanwhile, Chen Liyang held the youngest child’s hand as they walked along the main road of the urban village.

Rows of houses lined both sides of the street. Outside a few doorways sat groups of elderly men and women, watching them with curious eyes.

Chen Liyang knew that these people formed the ultimate intelligence network of modern society.

Even if a stray dog walked past, they’d find something to gossip about.

Let alone a group of living, breathing people. Sure enough, as they passed by one of the houses, Chen Liyang caught an old woman speaking in a deliberately lowered voice.

“That guy moved here two years ago. Those kids are his stepchildren. I heard his wife ran off, so he takes his anger out on them. Beats them so bad there isn’t a single unbruised spot on their bodies…”

“What a sin, to be stuck with a father like that.”

“Look at the injuries on his face. Turns out bad people really do meet their match in worse people…”

…

Every word of their chatter reached Chen Liyang’s ears. If he could hear it, the kids obviously could as well.

All these evil deeds were committed by the original host, yet now he was the one stuck facing the backlash.

In all his years of living, he had never felt so ashamed. Fortunately, seeing that the children’s expressions remained calm without displaying intense hatred, he felt somewhat relieved.

Facing these kids who could try to take his life at any moment, he had to walk on eggshells.

Just past the urban village was the city proper, but due to a nearby landfill, this part of the city looked desolate and run-down.

Still, it was the city after all, so there were shops selling food, clothing, and everyday necessities.

Chen Liyang originally wanted to take the kids out for a big meal, but the moment he remembered the balance on his WeChat-linked bank card, he instantly discarded the unrealistic thought.

The original host was twenty-eight years old, yet all the money he had added up to less than a thousand Yuan.

Not only had he lost his job, but rent was also due in two days.

And back home were five hungry little wolf cubs waiting to be fed. Talk about a leaking roof during an all-night rainstorm!

He remembered that after the original host was fired, the company hadn’t paid him his final wages.

No, he had to find time to get his wages back. The female lead of this book was way too stingy. When an employee got beaten and injured, not paying for their medical treatment was one thing, but withholding their pay after firing them was another entirely.

He seriously doubted whether she was really the female lead.

But for now, he had to resolve their immediate plight first; otherwise, in a few days, they’d all be drinking the northwest wind^[1].

So he brought them all to a beef noodle shop.

Standing outside the shop, he looked a little sheepish. “Uh… money’s a bit tight right now, so we’ll have to make do tonight. Once I start making big money, I’ll make sure you’re all eating and drinking the very best.”

He sounded completely earnest as he said it.

But for the children, getting to eat beef noodles was already like celebrating the New Year.

By all rights, people in this day and age didn’t need to be wealthy to at least have enough food and drink.

Yet they had been living as though trapped in the seventies or eighties, cold and hungry every day while suffering through endless beatings, stuck in a bleak and sunless existence.

Even after sitting down at a table inside, they still felt as though it was all surreal.

The fourth child seemed especially anxious, his small hands restlessly rubbing his fingertips together, unsure of where to put them.

At around six o’clock, right at dinner time, there was a modest crowd inside the restaurant.

With his yellowish hair and a face so badly beaten it was barely recognizable, Chen Liyang instantly drew everyone’s attention.

A battered man accompanied by five severely malnourished children with sallow faces was a strange sight no matter how one looked at it.

Some patrons even suspected he might be a human trafficker, watching him as if ready to call the police at the slightest hint of strange behavior.

But Chen Liyang paid them no mind. He pulled Zhou Wanning into his lap, took the menu brought by the server, and handed it to the eldest without hesitation. “Order whatever you guys want to eat.”