Grandpa Mo was left speechless by Mo Xuan's words. He opened his mouth several times, but no words came out.
"Grandma often reminisces about the person you used to be. She told me that when you first met, you weren't like this," Mo Xuan said with a bitter smile. "Grandma painted a picture of the old you—someone who was sunny, kind, and considerate. Forgive my bluntness, but I don’t see any of that in you now."
Seeing that Grandpa Mo remained silent, Mo Xuan took a deep breath, leaned forward slightly, and spoke slowly, "So, it’s because of your brother, isn’t it?"
At the mention of his brother, Grandpa Mo’s shoulders trembled. He suddenly looked up at Mo Xuan, his previously dull eyes now filled with an inexplicable hatred.
"It seems I hit the mark," Mo Xuan said with a faint smile. "Grandma told me everything in her final notes. So, you’ve been disgusted by me all this time just because I share the same birthdate as your deceased brother?"
"You think it’s just the same birthdate?" Grandpa Mo let out a cold laugh. "He was born at noon, and so were you. Even your facial features resembled his when you were a baby. I kept telling myself it was just a coincidence, but before you turned two, you behaved exactly like he did!"
"You walked earlier than other children, spoke earlier too. You were quick-witted and learned things fast—just like my brother back then!"
Mo Xuan sighed, leaning back in his seat before speaking calmly, "Is that all?"
"Wasn’t your behavior as you grew up enough?" Grandpa Mo seemed trapped in some kind of obsession, his cloudy eyes showing a hint of madness. "My brother was just like you—top of his class, always excelling in his studies. And then there’s your rivalry with Mo Jinpeng…"
"Are you serious?" Mo Xuan laughed in disbelief. "Is it me who’s against him, or him against me? What, you killed someone and now you’re playing the victim?"
At the mention of "killed someone," Grandpa Mo froze, staring at Mo Xuan as if time had stopped.
Mo Xuan looked at his biological grandfather, feeling a mix of pity and absurdity.
Grandpa Mo’s past mirrored the relationship between Mo Xuan and Mo Jinpeng—an average older brother overshadowed by a talented younger sibling. His parents weren’t blind to it, but they didn’t do anything to make it better.
Their blatant favoritism was like a sharp blade, and the shadow of his younger brother loomed over him from childhood. In those days, attending university was a matter of great pride for a family. Grandpa Mo struggled to get into an ordinary university, but when it was his brother’s turn, he effortlessly got into Capital University—just like Mo Xuan.
In comparison, Grandpa Mo’s achievements seemed insignificant.
And this pattern continued from the moment his brother was born until he grew up.
Though he harbored resentment toward his brother, he knew his brother had a gentle nature and never intended to compete with him.
"Grandma knew you since you were young. She was aware of everything about you," Mo Xuan sighed. "After reading her notes, I suddenly felt a sense of emptiness. Maybe you still loved Grandma, but from her words, it’s clear that the old you was completely devoted to her."
Mo Xuan glanced at the notebook, reached out, and flipped through its pages casually.
"After Grandma’s surgery, she became excessively sleepy, sleeping for two-thirds of the day. Given that it was brain surgery, writing was the least suitable activity for her condition," Mo Xuan said, looking at the notebook. Grandma’s handwriting was sometimes neat, sometimes messy. "You thought no one knew about your past, but you never considered that Grandma, your life partner, might have figured it out."
"Everyone thought your brother’s death was an accident—a fall down the stairs that resulted in a fatal head injury. But in reality, you pushed him, didn’t you?"
"It wasn’t intentional!" Grandpa Mo suddenly raised his voice. "He lost his balance—it wasn’t my fault!"
Mo Xuan once read a story about a man who spent his entire life searching for something, only to find it and realize it wasn’t worth it.
It wasn’t so much about the thing he was searching for, but rather the obsession that clouded his judgment, making him fixate on one thing for his entire life.
Stories are just stories, but the actions of real people can often be more absurd than fiction.
In her notes, Grandma revealed the truth to Mo Xuan. The Mo Family, though not as established and wealthy as the Luo Family, was still quite affluent at the time.
When it came to the issue of inheritance, Grandpa Mo’s younger brother voluntarily stepped aside. He didn’t want to compete with his older brother and had no interest in the family business.
When Grandpa Mo married Grandma, he was at the peak of his happiness—marrying the woman he had loved since his youth, inheriting the family fortune, and finally gaining his parents’ recognition.
But Grandpa Mo was mediocre in his abilities. The family business neither flourished nor declined under his management. Grandma thought this was acceptable—building a business was hard, but maintaining it was even harder.
However, Grandpa Mo’s parents didn’t see it that way. Especially after one of his mistakes led to a financial loss—though not significant, as no business is immune to setbacks—they became convinced they had chosen the wrong heir.
They clamored for their second son to return and take over the family business.
That was when Grandpa Mo completely lost control. He had an inexplicable argument with his brother. No one saw what happened, but his brother somehow fell down the stairs, hit his head, and died despite efforts to save him.
Grandma thought it was an accident until she pieced together the truth from Grandpa Mo’s sleep-talking during nightmares. He had pushed his brother in a moment of rage, causing him to fall and hit his head on the wall.
"After your brother’s death, you changed. You became driven, doing things you once refused to do, attending social events you once avoided," Mo Xuan said, tossing the notebook onto the bed. "Take a look for yourself. Grandma wrote a lot about it here."
"There’s one line I find particularly poignant: 'Watching the person you once loved, like a blooming rose, slowly wither and decay, no matter how hard you try to nurture it, the outcome remains unchanged.'"
Hearing Mo Xuan’s words, Grandpa Mo suddenly broke down in tears, his sobs resembling the mournful cries of an old ape—suppressed yet filled with despair.
Grandma had said those very words to him before she passed away.
"In her notes, Grandma wrote that you changed from that point on. You became obsessed with chasing profits, even resorting to unscrupulous means. You started doing things you once refused, attending social events you once avoided."
"Before your moment of recklessness, how many times did you visit those pleasure houses? You probably don’t even remember, but Grandma did. She remembered the countless sleepless nights she spent at home, the many times she tried to pull you out of the mire."
"But did it work? You only went further down the path you chose."
Mo Xuan stopped speaking and watched Grandpa Mo’s reaction. Grandpa Mo’s sobs ceased, and he stared blankly at the notebook on the bed. His trembling hands reached out to pick it up.
"These aren’t my words. They’re Grandma’s, written line by line," Mo Xuan said with a bitter shake of his head. "I also understand why you’ve always resented me. When you sent me to live with Grandma, you, your son, and your daughter-in-law—each of you had your own motives."
"The only redeeming thing was that you might have had a shred of conscience. Having me, your grandson, by her side, Grandma wasn’t completely alone. But more than that, you didn’t want to see me, because I reminded you of the brother you pushed to his death."
"Or maybe you’ve always wondered—if your brother had lived, would the Mo Family have been better off? Would you have been spared the need to play those social games, pretending to be someone you’re not?"
Grandpa Mo suddenly looked up at Mo Xuan, his eyes clouded. After a long pause, he finally spoke, "You’re right… Grandma was right."
"After my brother died, I threw myself into the business. Every time my parents said things might have been better if he were alive, I doubled down on expanding the Mo Family’s enterprises."
"Grandma kept trying to reason with me, but I ignored her. My brother’s death didn’t just devastate me—it trapped me in a cycle. I kept telling myself that things were better without him, but every time I succeeded, I’d compare myself to him. Then I’d remember that I was the one who killed him, and I’d feel fear, guilt, and once again convince myself that it was better without him."
“After you were born, I felt even more suffocated by this pressure, so I despised you. As for sending you away back then, I admit I didn’t want to see you, and even now, I still don’t want to see you.”
“I said sending you over was to torment your Grandma, but she lived alone in the dormitory, with no family around. I thought if you went, at least she’d have a grandson by her side and wouldn’t feel too lonely…”
“As for your Grandma, nothing I say matters anymore. She tried to reason with me countless times over the years. We started arguing from the moment your father was born, and the youthful affection we once had turned into mutual disdain.”
“She was right. Ever since my brother died, my heart has been rotten. Your Grandma did everything she could over the years. She didn’t wrong me, nor did she wrong this family…”
“When someone spends a long time chasing wealth and status, they slowly forget why they pursued those things in the first place. The family business grew bigger, and I changed too…”
Pausing for a moment, Grandpa Mo suddenly let out a few self-mocking laughs: “Do you know what my brother told me the last time I saw him? He had already applied to become a volunteer teacher and didn’t know when he’d return. He told me he really wasn’t cut out for business and didn’t want to do it.”
“But I had just lost a sum of money, and my parents provoked me, so I lashed out at him. He came to console me, and in a fit of rage, I pushed him… I didn’t notice the stairs behind him. He wasn’t prepared, fell down, and hit his head on the wall…”
The door suddenly swung open, and Qin Ni, supported by Mo Tingting, hurried in. When she saw Mo Xuan, her eyes were filled with surprise and even a hint of wariness.
“Don’t be nervous, Ms. Qin. I haven’t said anything yet,” Mo Xuan shrugged. “I’ve asked what I needed to ask and said what I needed to say. The rest has nothing to do with me.”
“Mo Xuan, something’s happened at home. Your father’s in the ICU, you…”
“What does that have to do with me?” Mo Xuan cut Qin Ni off. “I’ve already cut ties. You shouldn’t be coming to me for help.”
Mo Xuan turned back to Grandpa Mo: “After everything you’ve just said, I only have one question for you. When you saw Mo Jinpeng trying to harm me, what did you think?”
Grandpa Mo was stunned, staring blankly at Mo Xuan, unsure how to respond.
“In your heart, you’re no different from Mo Jinpeng. The only difference is that you had a justifiable reason, while he simply wanted to drive me away.”
“Your brother gave up the family business, choosing to become a volunteer teacher and leaving everything to you. Yet you lashed out at him, just like how Mo Jinpeng repeatedly provoked me.”
“He didn’t want me in the Mo Family competing with him, and you didn’t want to give up the family business you had secured. That’s the root of the problem.”
“The only difference is that Mo Jinpeng failed, while you succeeded.”
“What Grandma truly wanted to save wasn’t you killing your brother, but for you not to lose yourself to greed and desire because of the family business. That’s why she compared you to a rose.”
“The reason you rotted wasn’t because of your brother’s death, but because of the greed and desire that came with the family business.”
“Don’t get worked up. This isn’t my opinion. I don’t know you well enough. This is what Grandma wrote in her notes. This was her deepest sorrow and despair in the end. In comparison, your indifference during her surgery wasn’t even that significant.”
“A rotting rose naturally emits a foul stench, doesn’t it?”
After finishing, Mo Xuan ignored Grandpa Mo’s pale face and trembling body, turned, and walked toward the door. After a moment’s thought, he looked back and said, “Grandpa Mo, after today, we’ll never see each other again—not just me, but Grandma too.”
With that, he pushed the door open and left. Grandpa Mo spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed in a faint, as Qin Ni and Mo Tingting screamed in panic…