Shao Xi stared at Ji Buwang and pursed his lips as he gazed at his outstanding face.

  Everything else aside, Teacher Ji was really quite good-looking. Many female teachers in the art school kept stealing glances at him, including the female parents.

  Most importantly, he kept following Mommy around and was constantly staring at her. If this continued, would his mother really be snatched away?

  This was the first time Shao Xi didn’t pay attention in class. He wrote a line in his notebook and handed it to Shao Dong.

  “Do you like Teacher Ji?”

  When Shao Dong saw this question, he was very puzzled, as they weren’t all that familiar with Ji Buwang. “Why do you ask? Pay attention and listen.”

  How could he be distracted during this class when they had paid money to attend it?

  “What if Mom likes Teacher Ji and wants to marry him and have children with him?” Shao Xi asked again.

  This time, Shao Dong was also a little distracted. He could only comfort Shao Xi first. “Don’t think too much.”

  Elsewhere, Ji Buwang suddenly sneezed.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Thank you for asking.”

  “No need to thank me. Regulate your emotions yourself. Don’t blame yourself for everything. If you’re sad, just cry. Don’t hold it in because you think you’re a man and shouldn’t cry, or you’ll go crazy from holding it in.”

  Mu Jingzhe thought of the five kids and decided to advise him. One should cry when need be, or they would never be able to recover from it.

  Ji Buwang grinned. “I’ve cried before. I’m actually much better now because I’m past the point of being sad.”

  Mu Jingzhe sighed. He had been unconscious for four years before waking up, and upon waking up, he had found out that his older brother was gone. It must have been a huge blow to him.

  “You’re here to take a breather, right? If you have relatives, you should go around and visit them. It’ll pass. They must be very happy that you woke up.”

  Ji Buwang’s smile faded. “I’m taking a breather. I still have family, but…”

  Ji Buwang didn’t continue and only shrugged. “My heart is a little dark now, so it’s better if we don’t meet for the time being. Besides, I won’t see their faces even if I visit them.”

  \r \r \r

  The only face he could see was Mu Jingzhe’s.

  For the past few days, there had been no news of Mu Jingzhe. He had found it difficult to sit still, and his thoughts had run wild.

  There were a few times when he’d almost looked for Mu Jingzhe. He’d only managed to stop himself after recalling her request that he did not do so. He couldn’t help but recall Uncle Li’s words.

  If Mu Jingzhe got married in the future, would he have even less of a chance to see her?

  At the thought of this, Ji Buwang felt uncomfortable all over. This was not only because he would never see Mu Jingzhe again but also because of the thought of her marrying someone else.

  Just thinking about it made him find it difficult to accept.

  After enduring this for a few days, what else did Ji Buwang not understand? He wasn’t only after Mu Jingzhe’s face. He seemed to have fallen for her.

  He had fallen for Mu Jingzhe, who was raising five children.

  Ji Buwang’s thoughts were a mess as he looked at Mu Jingzhe. He was about to say something when his pager[1] rang.

  “You can return the call,” Mu Jingzhe said quickly.

  Mu Jingzhe glanced at Ji Buwang’s pager twice.

  Compared to convenient modern phones, this thing was of little value and was even quite expensive. Mu Jingzhe had never thought of buying one before.

  However, she would probably have to buy it in the future to make it more convenient for her to contact people and vice versa. After all, she was a businesswoman.

  When Mu Jingzhe picked up the children in the afternoon, she could tell that they weren’t in a good mood.

  “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Mu Jingzhe hurriedly asked.

  “Nothing.” Shao Dong shook his head.

  Although they said that everything was fine, they were all listless and they even stole glances at her, looking like they wanted to say something but stopped themselves.

  There had to be something wrong with them. Mu Jingzhe stopped helplessly. “Tell me, what exactly happened? Don’t hide it from me.”

  Shao Dong and Shao Xi looked at each other and hesitated. Xiao Wu looked at them and thought for a moment before holding Mu Jingzhe’s hand and saying softly, “Mommy, they are worried that you like Teacher Ji. Do you like Teacher Ji?”

  Mu Jingzhe’s mind was filled with question marks. “Why are you suddenly asking this question? Why are you worried?”

  “Mommy, answer me first. Do you like him or not? Will you marry him?”

  Mu Jingzhe shook her head. “I think Teacher Ji is very good and has helped us a lot, but if you’re talking about the kind of like that leads to marriage, then no.”

  Shao Xi visibly heaved a sigh of relief. It looked like a false alarm. For the time being, he wasn’t in danger of having a younger brother or sister.

  His reaction was too eye-catching, making it difficult for Mu Jingzhe to ignore it. “Shao Xi, is that what you’re thinking? Why would you suddenly think to ask about this problem?”

  “Nothing. I just saw that you guys are always together.”

  Just as the topic was about to be changed, Shao Nan suddenly said, “Mommy, you don’t like Teacher Ji, but Teacher Ji seems to like you, right?”

  Mu Jingzhe was exasperated. “What’s wrong with you guys today? Did you hear someone say something? What’s all this talk about liking or not liking him?” This wasn’t good.

  Shao Nan coughed. “I just feel that he likes you. We’re afraid that he’ll come to our door to propose marriage.”

  “No, don’t make wild guesses. Otherwise, it would be really embarrassing if we guessed wrong. He’s only like this because he can only see my face. That’s all.” Mu Jingzhe shook her head. “Don’t talk nonsense anymore, okay?”

  Shao Nan nodded, but he was still a little puzzled. “Mom, why are you so sure? Why do you think he definitely doesn’t like you?”

  “That’s because… we can’t overthink.”

  Actually, it was mainly because Mu Jingzhe had been embarrassed a few times when she was young. She had thought too highly of herself and had wrongly assumed that the guy had liked her. A total of three times. In the end, it had all been untrue.

  The first time was when her interest in the opposite sex had first awakened. A boy who used to come to the orphanage with his parents for volunteer work had been taking good care of her. In addition, everyone had said that the boy treated her very well, so she’d thought that the boy liked her.

  At the time, she’d felt all sorts of sweetness in her heart. She had even imagined them getting married and having children in the future. In the end, it turned out that the guy had only thought that she was pitiful and thus taken care of her. He was completely uninterested in her. It was all wishful thinking on her part.

  Just like that, Mu Jingzhe’s first love had come to an end.

  Later on, when she had been in university, a fellow villager had often come to look for her. Every time he came, he would treat the people in her dormitory to a meal and would even give them fruit. He would also speak to her about his troubles. She’d thought that it wasn’t wishful thinking on her part this time, but… it turned out that history had repeated itself.

  That guy from her hometown had a crush on her roommate, and she was just a bridge between them. The fruit he had brought was also what her roommate liked.

  However, she hadn’t noticed it at the time. It was only after they got together that she was stunned.

  The third time had happened after graduation. She’d been hired by the same company and department as two male colleagues, so they’d usually be together.

  There was a male colleague who had always been very good to her and used to take care of her. However, Mu Jingzhe later realized that she had only been taken care of in passing. That male colleague had been so good to her because of another male colleague.

  Mu Jingzhe, who had later found out the truth, had burst into tears. Who would have thought? She was the only girl left. She’d thought that she wouldn’t make a mistake again, but who would have thought that there’d still be the option of a guy liking a guy?

  These three bitter lessons had taught Mu Jingzhe that she shouldn’t overthink or get carried away just because someone cast a few more looks at her and treated her a little better.

  In order to change her bad habit of falling prey to wishful thinking, Mu Jingzhe had learned to never let her imagination run wild.

  [1] a wireless telecommunication device that receives and displays alphanumeric or voice messages