Mu Jingzhe hadn’t expected Shao Xi to think so much and endure so much. When she heard him say those things and wonder how he would explain this to Grandpa and Grandma, her eyes couldn’t help but turn red.

  How scared and stressed he must have been just now…

  “You must have been startled, huh? I’m sorry, Little Xi. I’ll be careful from now on. I was just afraid something might happen to you… I’ll be careful from now on. I’ll make sure to protect myself.”

  When Shao Xi heard Mu Jingzhe say sorry, he didn’t know how to describe it. “Why are you apologizing to me? You saved me. Why are you apologizing? Mom, are you stupid? Are you stupid?”

  Mu Jingzhe held back the tears that were about to fall. “Who are you calling stupid? You dare to call me stupid?”

  Ji Buwang, who was watching from the side, was feeling sad. When he heard this, he couldn’t help but laugh.

  On the other side, Shao Qihai looked away awkwardly when he saw Shao Xi crying, but he was a step too late.

  He still saw it. He could hear it too.

  Shao Qihai’s heart was violently shaken, but he was also filled with lingering fear and self-reproach. It was his incompetence as a father that had caused Shao Xi and Mu Jingzhe to encounter such a situation.

  Ji Buwang could laugh about that final statement, but he couldn’t.

  Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably, and he almost cried out loud.

  Shao Qihai wanted to stop, but because Shao Xi was still crying, everything was out of his control.

  Afraid that he would cry out loud, Shao Qihai had no choice but to jump into the lake—he had to jump into the lake to calm himself down and cover up the disgraceful tears on his face.

  Why was he forced to jump into the lake? Because Shao Qihai had a secret.

  He had been born with a problem. He couldn’t bear to hear people cry. Once someone cried in front of him, he would uncontrollably cry along with them when he saw them cry.

  It wasn’t that he wanted to cry, but he couldn’t stop those tears from flowing from his eyes.

  He didn’t know why he had this problem. When he was young, whenever his younger sibling would cry, he couldn’t help but cry along with them. Whenever a child in the village cried, he would cry as well.

  When adults fought and cried, he’d cry too. In fact, he’d cry harder than anyone else.

  \r \r \r

  Ever since he could remember, Shao Qihai would cry all the time. He cried every day, so much so that he’d grown to hate the sound of crying.

  He had thought that he would be fine once he grew up, but in reality, this problem persisted. He still couldn’t stand to see people cry and would shed tears along with them for no reason. It was useless no matter what he did.

  Because he’d discovered this bad habit of his, Shao Qihai had reduced his presence when he was ten years old and avoided crying in front of people to prevent exposing himself.

  Inevitably, he’d started hating people who cried. Crying had become his taboo. Whenever someone cried in front of him, he would lose his temper and leave.

  His family knew about his taboo and didn’t cry easily. Zhao Lan didn’t dare cry in front of him either.

  No one knew that Shao Qihai had left in a rage because he was afraid that he would cry as well.

  Such a shortcoming was a great humiliation to a manly man like him. This was also why he’d always taught the children not to cry.

  The reason he hated to see the kids cry was because he was afraid that he would cry along with them. As a father, his dignity wouldn’t allow him to show this side of himself.

  He was also afraid that others would call him a freak if they found out. He’d wanted to act normal in front of the children.

  Shao Qihai was rather successful in that aspect. The children didn’t cry easily because of his teachings, but he hadn’t expected that he would reveal this flaw of his today and be forced to jump into the lake.

  Shao Qihai’s sudden jump caught the attention of Mu Jingzhe, Ji Buwang, and Shao Xi.

  Shao Xi stopped crying and looked over with concern. “Why did Uncle jump into the lake?”

  “It’s alright, he’s just picking up the oars.” Fortunately, Shao Qihai had found something he could do. Ji Buwang stood up nervously and sat back down after taking a look.

  Mu Jingzhe also heaved a sigh of relief. Looking at his back, she felt a little strange. “Why do I feel like he’s crying?”

  “Crying? Why would he be crying? Did you see wrong?”

  “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

  Ji Buwang lowered his head and saw that Mu Jingzhe was drenched. His face turned slightly red, and he quickly took off his shirt and draped it over Mu Jingzhe.

  Mu Jingzhe looked at Shao Xi and wrapped his clothes around him. “You don’t want to catch a cold.”

  Ji Buwang: “…”

  He lowered his head and looked at his singlet. Just as he was wondering if he should take it off, a kind person brought over a big towel.

  Ji Buwang heaved a sigh of relief, and Shao Qihai also heaved a sigh of relief in the lake.

  Shao Qihai calmed down a little and turned around, only to see Ji Buwang drape his clothes over Mu Jingzhe. He was so upset that he forgot about the oars and had the urge to swim right back.

  When he saw that someone had brought them a towel, he heaved a sigh of relief and didn’t swim back to shore. He wanted to wait for Mu Jingzhe and the others to leave before going back. After all, it wasn’t the right time to reunite with them.

  Unexpectedly, the trio, including Mu Jingzhe, continued to stay there. Old Fish had also been caught.

  Mu Jingzhe had made a fatal move, causing Old Fish to choke on water. Unable to recover for a while, he had finally been caught.

  When the police arrived, Mu Jingzhe and the rest cooperated and gave their statements.

  They were victims who didn’t know much, so after they gave a statement, the matter was over.

  As for the identity of that person, why he’d suddenly appeared in the lake, and what he was carrying, Mu Jingzhe and company had no idea, nor did they want to know.

  They were waiting for their savior to come up so they could thank him.

  Shao Qihai: “…”

  He dawdled for a long time, but Mu Jingzhe and the others were still waiting for him to thank him.

  Shao Qihai saw that he couldn’t avoid them and then saw that Mu Jingzhe and Shao Xi were still waiting for him, drenched from head to toe. He was afraid that they would catch a cold, and he also knew that it would be even weirder if he delayed any longer. Thus, he let his hair down, put on his hat, and went ashore with his head lowered.

  “Uncle, thank you. Thank you for saving my mother.” Shao Xi, who had a towel draped over his shoulders, bowed to thank Shao Qihai.

  “No need to thank me,” Shao Qihai replied in a muffled voice. How could he accept this gratitude? He should be apologizing to him.

  “Of course I need to. Uncle, what’s your name?” Shao Xi carefully gazed at Shao Qihai’s face, wanting to remember it. Not only had this man saved Mu Jingzhe, but he’d also saved their entire family. Otherwise, both their family and the Mu Family would have fallen into eternal darkness.

  “No need to tell you.” Shao Qihai didn’t reveal his name.

  Shao Xi was in a difficult position. He thought for a moment and said, “Okay, I’ll tell you my name. I’m called Shao Xi and I’m staying in Great Eastern Village. If you need any help in the future, you can look for me. I’ll definitely repay you when I have the chance.”

  Shao Qihai gave a vague reply and felt quite gratified in his heart. This child had grown up to be so sensible and polite.

  He was relieved, but Shao Xi was a little suspicious. He felt that the uncle in front of him was a little weird and strangely familiar. Furthermore, he had a nagging feeling that this uncle was fairer than before.

  Shao Qihai’s heart almost jumped out of his chest under Shao Xi’s probing gaze, as he was afraid that Shao Xi would recognize him.

  Shao Xi had good eyesight because he was young. A lot of his disguise had been ruined while he was in the water. Shao Qihai avoided his gaze, but in the end, he met Ji Buwang’s probing gaze.

  Ji Buwang also thanked him seriously. Although he felt that this man was a little weird and was a little conflicted, he was still very grateful to him for saving Mu Jingzhe.

  Shao Qihai turned even stiffer, feeling truly afraid that he would be recognized. In a rough voice, he said, “I still have something to do, so I’ll leave first.” Then, he fled.