It was indeed quite strange. Logically, Xu Baihu was only a stepfather; the ones with an actual biological connection were Chang Geng and Xiu Niang. But it was only when Xu Baihu stayed at home that this mother and child pair would feast at the same table, exchange greetings, show filial piety, and pretend to be harmonious. As soon as the man of the family left, they were even stranger than strangers and paid no attention to one another. They lived in the same house, yet Chang Geng didn't even use the main gate; every day, he'd run to their next-door-neighbor's using the side entrance. The mother and son might not have seen each other even if many months had passed.

Even before, when Chang Geng was infected with the severe illness that could have cost him his life, Xiu Niang merely glanced at him with indifference, with not a single concern about whether he was dead or alive.

In the end, it was Shiliu who took him away and cared for him.

The old maid had always suspected that Chang Geng was not Xiu Niang's biological child. However, their appearances were similar to one another; they unmistakably must have been blood-related.

Moreover, a vulnerable and fragile woman who strayed away from her home like Xiu Niang, who did not even have the strength to defend herself...if it was not her biological son, why would she still hold on to this child?

It was truly incomprehensible.

After a while, the old maid brought over a food container and said to Chang Geng: "Master will probably return today. Madam has asked Young Master to come home early."

Chang Geng understood what she meant: when Xu Baihu returned, they would have to put on their display of a harmonious mother and son relationship. He nodded and said, "I know."

His gaze fell on the food container. Suddenly, Chang Geng noticed a long strand of hair on its handle, and the hand that he had stretched out immediately flinched back.

The old maid's hair was already white. This black and silky strand of long hair would unquestionably not be hers. Xu Baihu hadn't come back yet. In this household, counting the servant, there were three people in total. If it was not the old maid's, then without a doubt, it must have been Xiu Niang's.

Chang Geng had a strange kind of cleanliness - a son who despised his own mother.

He could eat the leftover rice in his yifu's bowl with no problem when staying at their next-door neighbor's place, but as soon as he returned home, as long as Xiu Niang had laid her hand on something, he would never touch it.

The old maid was aware of this strange quirk of his. She carefully removed the hair and said with a smile: "Madam just accidentally let it fall on the surface of the box, no one has yet touched the breakfast inside, please rest assured."