Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  “Brother Hai? Are you alright?”

  Shao Qihai shook his head. “I’m fine. How are Little Dong and the others? Are they doing well?”

  After recuperating for another month or so, Shao Qihai finally got much better and could get out of bed.

  Jiang Feng, the short-haired man who had been following him, had completely recovered.

  Therefore, he had gone to Shao Qihai’s hometown to inquire about the situation of the Shao Family’s children.

  “It was alright when I went to ask around. Sister-in-law is taking care of them at home, but it seemed like your daughter was sent away by Auntie once. It was Sister-In-Law who brought her back.”

  Shao Qihai’s expression sank. “Little Bei was sent away?”

  Even though they had sent back news of his passing, it had only been a short time. How could they have sent Little Bei away? It wasn’t like the Shao Family couldn’t afford to raise a child.

  Everything else aside, the money that he had sent back over the years should be enough to raise the children as long as they used it wisely.

  How could she…

  Shao Qihai knew that Zhao Lan wasn’t as good as he had imagined, but he hadn’t expected her to give Little Bei away.

  Of course, he hadn’t expected Mu Jingzhe to bring her back either. Besides, she was currently still taking care of the children.

  “You said Mu Jingzhe is still taking care of the children and hasn’t returned to her maternal home?”

  “Yes, I remember your instructions. I didn’t dare go directly to the Great Eastern Village. However, I found the people from your village who came to the market and asked around.” Jiang Feng nodded affirmatively.

  Shao Qihai had a complicated expression on his face. Everything had exceeded his expectations since he had woken up after escaping death a few months ago. To think that Zhao Lan, whom he had thought would raise the children no matter what, had actually sent Little Bei away…

  On the other hand, Mu Jingzhe, whom he had married by accident and hadn’t pinned any hopes on, hadn’t returned to her parents’ home. Instead, she had stayed on at the Shao Residence to take care of the children and had even brought Little Bei back.

  He’d thought she would have gone home long ago.

  It was also right for her to go home. Although they’d gotten married, they had only been husband and wife in name.

  His most memorable impression of Mu Jingzhe was her striking hair, eyebrows, and red lips. He couldn’t remember what her face looked like in detail.

  Shao Qihai snapped out of his reverie and saw Jiang Feng hesitate to speak.

  \r \r \r

  “What else is there? Just tell me. I can take it.”

  “Actually, I also heard a piece of news. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it’s said that the Shao Family split up the family assets. Your younger brother and your children got their share, and Auntie is now living with your oldest brother.”

  Shao Qihai’s first thought was that this was absurd. “How is that possible? How can they split up the family assets when they’re just kids?”

  Previously, Eldest Brother Shao had told him that they were brothers with an unbreakable bond. Even though he knew that what he’d said was a little fake, it wasn’t so fake that they’d need to split up the family assets, right?

  How were they going to survive now that they had been left on their own?

  Jiang Feng touched his nose. “That’s what I heard.”

  When he reached this point, he looked a little troubled. “Brother Hai, I know that given our current situation, it isn’t appropriate for our family to hear from us. I’m aware that knowing this will harm them, but as long as the person who receives the news is reliable, can we do it subtly?”

  Shao Qihai frowned. “No, the less they know, the better. When everything is settled, I will return. When that time comes, they will know.”

  Jiang Feng was put in a difficult position. “Can’t we even tell Sister-In-Law? Why don’t you tell her in secret?”

  Shao Qihai gave him a strange look. “There’s no benefit in her knowing.”

  Actually, he was also worried. According to the feedback, Mu Jingzhe seemed to have changed from the person he remembered her to be. However, he still wouldn’t trust her with such an important matter.

  If it was Mu Xue, he might be able to trust her… When he thought of Mu Xue, Shao Qihai’s gaze darkened.

  The two of them hadn’t been fated to be together ultimately. There was no point in thinking about it now.

  Shao Qihai was depressed, but Jiang Feng was worried about him. “Brother Hai, a husband and wife are one. It would be good for her to know.”

  “What’s wrong with you today? Why are you acting so strangely?” Shao Qihai was puzzled.

  “I…” Jiang Feng felt aggrieved. “It’s all because of you. If you don’t tell Sister-In-Law, what if she… marries someone else?”

  She was such a good woman. Brother Hai was already dead, yet she was still helping raise his children, who weren’t related to her by blood. What a wonderful person.

  If he accidentally let her slip by, he would regret it for life!

  “Brother Hai, people aren’t dumb. Everyone can tell that Sister-In-Law is a good person, so it’s not surprising that someone noticed her. Someone has already proposed to Sister-In-Law. I heard that it’s a driver from the county. Everyone in your village said that this man is very eligible. If it weren’t for the fact that Sister-In-Law still remembers you, she might already have remarried.”

  She might even have had a baby in her stomach already!

  Jiang Feng felt like the emperor wasn’t anxious, but a eunuch was. He had really expected better from Shao Qihai.

  Shao Qihai was stunned again.

  Someone had proposed marriage to Mu Jingzhe? A driver from the county to boot? And Mu Jingzhe had chosen not to marry when this man was so eligible?

  “Did she really turn him down?” Shao Qihai couldn’t help confirming it.

  “Yes, she said no. Sister-In-Law is really devoted to you.” Jiang Feng thought that Shao Qihai was finally anxious. “Brother Hai, you must cherish her. Sister-In-Law must have been under a lot of pressure not to accept this time. What if an even more eligible, good man shows up? Sister-In-Law might be forced to remarry in the end.”

  Upon seeing Jiang Feng’s anxious look, Shao Qihai swallowed back the words ‘There’s nothing I can do if she really remarries’.

  Jiang Feng didn’t know that he and Mu Jingzhe had only been married for a short time and thus didn’t have any feelings for each other at all, nor did he know that they had yet to consummate their marriage. He was anxious for him, so it was normal for him to be afraid that Mu Jingzhe would remarry.

  However, he couldn’t say these things to Jiang Feng.

  That night, Shao Qihai suffered from insomnia.

  He would be lying if he said he didn’t feel terrible about Zhao Lan’s actions. That was his biological mother.

  And those kids… The ones Shao Qihai couldn’t let go of the most were the children. In the past, they had been the ones constantly on his mind.

  Tonight, perhaps because Jiang Feng had said too much about Mu Jingzhe, his mind was filled with thoughts of Mu Jingzhe.

  He didn’t know what she was thinking or why she had changed. To think she’d actually stayed behind to take care of the children.

  Could… what Jiang Feng had said be true? Did she really like him?

  “Ahem…” Shao Qihai felt a little hot. He thought that if Mu Jingzhe didn’t remarry, he would definitely not let her down when he returned.

  As he thought about this, he started to feel anxious. Should he speed up? What if she remarried…

  Shao Qihai, who had realized what he was thinking, straightened his face. He wasn’t anxious. He was merely worried about the children.

  A large portion of the subsidies that Shao Qihai had received after retiring from the army had been used by him to help his comrades. In addition, he wasn’t completely crippled, so he had given up the work the army had assigned to him to someone in more difficult circumstances and had decided to do business by himself.

  His comrades believed in him and had come to work with him. Later, they’d started a transportation company.

  Because they were creditworthy and offered competitive prices, business was good.

  However, since their business was doing well, it was unavoidable that some people would consider them an eyesore. Many hooligans were also looking for trouble.

  They naturally weren’t afraid of such hooligans, but something had happened later on.

  There were certain powers involved in this matter. If they’d turned a blind eye to this, it would have been fine. However, they couldn’t do so. Furthermore, those people had refused to let them off, which had resulted in the subsequent accident.

  The matter wasn’t over yet, and there was still danger. That was why, although Shao Qihai had only been severely injured and unconscious, news of his passing had been sent back.

  This was also a last resort. It was safer to announce that Shao Qihai was dead.

  At the time, he had been no different from a dead man. Everyone had said that he wasn’t going to make it.

  Unexpectedly, he had managed to pull through.

  However, even though he had made it through, he couldn’t go back until the danger was eliminated.