“Sorry to trouble you again.”

  “It’s no trouble.” Tang Moling listened to them as he drove. Halfway through, he asked Mu Jingzhe to help him look for something.

  Mu Jingzhe accidentally found a pearl bracelet as she rummaged through the items.

  Tang Moling glanced at it and casually said, “This is a pearl bracelet. Take it if you like it.”

  Though he might look nonchalant on the surface, he was actually carefully observing Mu Jingzhe’s expression in the mirror.

  He was doing that on purpose. He had decided to work harder to uncover her true colors, so while buying Mu Xue a pearl necklace, he’d thought of Mu Jingzhe and bought this bracelet as well.

  The pearls on this bracelet were much smaller than those on the other necklace and weren’t worth much, but to someone of Mu Jingzhe’s status, this was already a rare item.

  She would definitely fall for it if she was short-sighted.

  The bracelet would look good on Mu Jingzhe’s slender, fair wrist. Any girl would be tempted.

  In the end, Mu Jingzhe merely glanced at him strangely. “Thank you, but there’s no need.”

  Was this indeed a trap? Was it a sugar-coated bomb? Or was he trying to defraud her or something?

  However, she hadn’t provoked Mu Xue in the past few days. With those thoughts in mind, Mu Jingzhe placed the bracelet back very carefully to avoid giving him a chance to extort her.

  Tang Moling: “???”

  He couldn’t help but tilt his head. “You don’t like it?”

  “No, it looks pretty good.”

  “Then why don’t you want it?” Tang Moling glanced at her. “I’m in a good mood today. That’s why I said I would give it to you.”

  He then said meaningfully, “Don’t worry, this is nothing.”

  Mu Jingzhe chuckled. “Yes, I know.”

  ‘I know very well just how rich you are because I’ve read the novel. I don’t need you to tell me that. I’ll have money in the future too!’

  Mu Jingzhe clenched her fist.

  Tang Moling raised his brow upon seeing her actions. “Woman, if you like it, just take it. There’s no need to hold yourself back. Go ahead and take it. It’s just a small item.”

  His tone was especially wild and arrogant. Mu Jingzhe couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

  Had he just called her ‘woman’? Gosh, he truly sounded like the male protagonist of a novel filled with sweet, doting love!

  \r \r \r

  It hadn’t been so bad when she had read about it in the novel, but hearing him say that in reality was too tacky and hilarious.

  It made Mu Jingzhe feel like she was watching an ancient idol drama.

  “Ha ha ha…” The more she thought about it, the more she couldn’t help but laugh.

  Tang Moling: “What are you laughing at?”

  Could she have seen through his plans? But it didn’t look like it. It seemed like she was laughing at him.

  She actually dared to laugh at him?

  Seeing his dark expression, Mu Jingzhe quickly restrained her laughter. “Ahem, I just remembered a joke.”

  Tang Moling didn’t feel comforted by this.

  After all, this was completely different from what he had imagined. He had plotted so meticulously to see her make a fool of herself, but in the end, he was the one being regarded as a joke?

  Tang Moling pursed his lips. Never mind if the first attempt had failed. He could try a second or third time. Surely she wouldn’t continue to act like this?

  Therefore, he ‘bumped into’ Mu Jingzhe again in the afternoon. Upon seeing her and the kids holding two cans of fruit as if they were treasures, he snorted in his heart and asked casually if they wanted to go to the best restaurant in the county to eat.

  Seeing how much they cherished even something like canned fruits, Tang Moling felt that Mu Jingzhe and the kids definitely wouldn’t refuse.

  In the end… he was rejected again, and they happily went away with their precious canned fruits.

  Tang Moling: “Are canned fruits really that delicious?”

  After failing to achieve his goal, Tang Moling was so mad that he slammed the steering wheel.

  Later on, he deliberately bumped into Mu Jingzhe, who was going to the city to deliver goods. Coincidentally, he was also going to the city to handle some business. This perfectly showed off his identity and everything he owned once more.

  He then casually gave her some gifts, including lipstick and perfume, things that girls found hard to reject.

  However, Mu Jingzhe still refused without any hesitation.

  Tang Moling started suspecting himself. How could Mu Jingzhe remain unmoved in the face of items that even a young miss would be tempted by?

  However, Mu Jingzhe was indeed not moved. She had seen everything in the modern era, and even if she was tempted, she would refuse. After all, those things belonged to the male lead, and she was merely the supporting character.

  After being rejected thrice, Tang Moling was all the more determined to expose her true colors.

  Following some reflection, he changed his strategy and started giving presents that targeted the kids instead—such as calligraphy paper and fountain pens that were especially beneficial for children.

  Mu Jingzhe couldn’t refuse this time, and Tang Moling finally felt better.

  However… he soon received Mu Jingzhe’s reciprocal gift.

  The best local tea leaves and specialty ginseng wine that was said to do wonders for the body. Now, they were even.

  Tang Moling could bring the tea leaves and ginseng wine back with him and give them to his family or anyone he pleased.

  The value of this gift was equivalent to the value of the fountain pens, so she hadn’t taken advantage of him.

  Tang Moling finally understood what kind of person Mu Jingzhe was.

  Who said she was a shallow thinker and was deliberately pretending to ignore him to attract his attention? It was nothing like that.

  She had her own considerations and knew what she was doing.

  He hadn’t managed to expose her true colors. On the contrary, he’d truly understood Mu Jingzhe. Over time, he became more and more interested in her and found it increasingly difficult to hate her.

  After all, she had been genuine from the start and truly treated the children very well. Furthermore, her knowledge and the way she spoke were completely different from what he had imagined. Her knowledge and upbringing had far exceeded his imagination.

  He would occasionally show off what he knew, but in the end, she knew everything. She could hold a conversation on all sorts of topics, as if she knew everything. Furthermore, she had many opinions that he had never heard before.

  Although he didn’t want to admit it, he had a lot in common with Mu Jingzhe, even more so than with Mu Xue.

  Not only was she knowledgeable, but she would also say things that inspired and amazed him sometimes.

  Tang Moling was conflicted.

  Meanwhile, Mu Jingzhe’s attention was completely focused on the children’s final exam.

  The final exam took place as scheduled. Although she knew that their results were pretty good, Shao Nan and Little Bei had to take the grade-skipping test this time. They had to do well in order to successfully skip grades.

  Seeing their younger siblings work so hard, Shao Dong and Shao Xi didn’t want to fall behind either. Before the fourth grade even started, they were already planning to skip grades and go to the fifth grade next year.

  Mu Jingzhe was also nervous.

  After the nerve-wracking examination ended, the children were quite confident. The moment Little Bei returned, she said, “Mommy, when school starts, I’ll be in the third grade.”

  “Me too,” Shao Nan added.

  “You guys are amazing, but don’t work too hard.”

  Mu Jingzhe praised them but didn’t crush their confidence. “You’re still young. You can take it slow. There’s no hurry. Regardless of whether you skip a grade or not, you’re the best.

  “You guys have worked hard for the past two days. I’ll kill a chicken tonight to nourish your bodies.” She could also take this chance to let Shao Dong eat the drumstick.

  Shao Dong also thought of it when he heard that. He scratched his head. “It’s just an exam. It was not hard.”

  In the past, no one used to care if they did well in the exams. Zhao Lan definitely wouldn’t praise them or say they had worked hard.

  Yet now, Mu Jingzhe even wanted to kill a chicken. This was too grand.

  “Why don’t we eat it after the results are out?” Shao Xi, who also didn’t think the exam had been hard on them, suggested.

  “We’ll eat another chicken when the results are out.” Mu Jingzhe waved her hand. “It’s fine. Our family is rearing chickens now, so we don’t lack them. We can always raise another later.”

  Xiao Wu clapped his hands and said that his siblings had worked hard. He couldn’t help but ask Mu Jingzhe.

  “Mommy, when can I go to school? I want to go to school too. I also want to score 100.”

  He also wanted Mommy to praise him!