3 Mo family 1

"Mom, where is my gaming console? You can't just keep seizing it. Okay, I promise I won't go there anymore." She heard a male voice coming nearer to the living room. Must be their son. Soon enough, a boy came stumbling in and she couldn't help but squint her eyes.

He seemed to notice the presence of a stranger and mouthed an 'oh' before scuttling to her side. As she looked at the boy who seemed to be the chatty type, she suddenly had a bad premonition.

He greeted with a smile, "Hey."

"Hi."

"What's your name?" he asked.

She pursed her lips but considering that his father had helped her when she was down, she let down her guard a little. The family seemed to be nice after all. And she was hoping they would let her stay with them. She had nothing to eat after all and she wasn't stupid enough to reject help when being granted.

"Mo Xin Er."

"Mo? We share the same family name? Are you a distant cousin. Ah... I'm Mo Yuan."

"Oh…" she replied disinterestedly.

"I like your pair of eyes. It's blue."

She went silent for some time before looking up at him again. His eyes were pure and they held no animosity compared to others. Ever since middle school when she had learned to understand people, she was fairly aware that most were averse to the color of her eyes. Most of her peers called her a freak. And she had gotten used to blending perfectly in the crowd and hiding herself away from people.

"Thank you," Mo Xin Er replied almost in a whisper.

And she totally meant it.

"Which school do you go to? I go to Qing Yu High School." He seemed undeterred about her monotone.

Mo Xin Er's curiosity was piqued at his words. Qing Yu High School? She didn't expect them to be from the same school.

Mo Xin Er looked at him as he sat on the arm of one of the couch. She said, "I'm a student of Qing Yu too. Last year."

"What? How come you're in my class and I don't know you?"

Mo Xin Er was speechless. What sort of connection was this.

"You're in my class?" she squinted her eyes and a thought came into mind. She seemed to remember who he was. He was one of those boys sitting at the back of the class.

"Anyway, nice to meet you. What are you doing here?" he inquired, his eyes fixated on hers.

"Er..."

"Mo Yuan!" Mrs. Mo's voice rang behind them and they turned simultaneously to see her standing with her hands akimbo. "What did I tell you about sitting appropriately on the couch?"

"Okay...okay. No offense. On it."

He pouted and sat properly making her lift her lips slightly.

"Are you comfortable, Xin Er?" Mrs. Mo asked with a smile.

"Yes. Thank you so much."

"Oh. I found it," Mo Yuan suddenly exclaimed, inching over and grabbed the console.

Mrs. Mo glared at him. "Go tidy yourself."

"Yes, mom."

He groaned and scuttled off towards a door, she assumed was his room and shut the door. After a while, he came out. Coincidentally, the door to the living room also opened and shut. What came into her view was an older man. He was an older version of Mo Yuan and she presumed he was Mr. Mo.

"I'm home," the older man grinned and was soon beside his wife kissing her slightly on the cheeks. She laughed awkwardly and Mo Xin Er couldn't help but feel embarrassed when she saw the passion swirling in their eyes.

Mo Yuan grimaced. "Hello there. Do you guys remember that you have a son here?"

"Ah… How are you now, my dear?" he turned from his wife and faced Mo Xin Er instead ignoring his whining son.

"I'm fine. Thank you, sir." Mo Xin Er replied with an half smile.

"No problem. Have you eaten?"

"Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mo."

He laughed, waving his hand dramatically. "It's nothing. I'd like to talk to you. Get us two glasses of juice, Yuan."

"Yes, dad."

He led her into a separate room which she supposed was his study.

"Please sit down," he said, stretching his hand out in the direction of one of the chairs.

"Thank you."

He asked, "What's your name?"

"Mo Xin Er."

"Hm. Xin Er, nice to meet you. I saw you fainted in front of the house. The doctor said you were pretty dehydrated. Since when did you eat last?"

She fidgeted and lowered her gaze in shame. "Huh…Two days ago."

"That's pretty bad."

"What about your parents?" he asked and she fell silent for some time, clearly uncomfortable .

She replied almost in a whisper, her voice tinged with sorrow. "I don't have a dad. And, my mom died three days ago."

"Oh. That's a pity. Don't fret. You have us here. You don't have to panic."

Her eyes widened in shock as he patted her hand.

"What year are you in school?"

"Sophomore. Last years."

Mr. Mo nodded in understanding before asking, "Will you stay with us?"

"Huh?"

"You can stay with us. Actually, my wife had always wanted a girl. She says it's boring to shop alone. So… I want to adopt you," he muttered and eyed her cautiously as she fidgeted in her seat.

Mo Xin Er's eyes widened in disbelief. She stuttered, "Er… Thank you, sir. I… Thanks, I…"

"Calm down."

"Thank you so much."

"But there is a condition." He continued, fixing his gaze on her.

The light in Mo Xin Er eyes dulled slightly as she asked, "What is that?"

"I need you permission to add you to our ancestral register."

"But, that is..."

"It doesn't matter. None of my family has a problem with it," he replied with a strong sense of determination.

"Thank you, Mr. Mo."

"No. Call me dad," he corrected.

She turned silent for a moment before speaking up softly, "Dad"

"Good. You should join your mom outside. I have some things to do."

"Okay. Thanks, dad," she mumbled silently and he smiled as she scuttled off probably shocked by how the words rolled off her tongue.

He grabbed his phone from the table and dialed some digits.

"Hello, Mr. Zhou," he greeted respectfully.

The other man on the other line said, "Hello."

"It's done. I'll get her to sign the adoption documents by tomorrow."

"Okay then. You have to do your best to protect her," the man admonished.

"Yes, I will."

"Okay. I'll relay to boss."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhou"