Shao Qiyun couldn’t be bothered to say anything else. She pulled Zhao Lan along and left. Zhao Lan took a few steps forward, feeling a little hesitant. “I was thinking that you should go to their factory to work. It’s better than working in a restaurant.”

  “Didn’t you say that they didn’t agree?”

  “Maybe if we bring it up a few more times, they’ll agree.”

  Upon hearing Zhao Lan’s words, Shao Qiyun couldn’t help but stop. However, because she hesitated, by the time she turned around, Mu Jingzhe and the others were long gone.

  They had already left, and only their backs were visible. Zhao Lan was muttering and cursing the kids for being ingrates, but Shao Qiyun was stunned when she saw the figure beside Mu Jingzhe.

  Zhao Lan came back to her senses and saw her looking dazed. “What are you looking at?”

  “Nothing. I just thought it looked familiar…”

  Shao Qiyun snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head, her expression inexplicable. “I think I saw wrong. I only saw the side of his face…”

  ******

  Mu Jingzhe bumped into Ji Buwang at the entrance of the theater. While Ji Buwang had been passing by the theater, he’d been wondering if he would bump into Mu Jingzhe. He hadn’t expected to see Mu Jingzhe when he raised his head.

  He could clearly see Mu Jingzhe’s vibrant smile in the crowd.

  “Jingzhe!”

  Ji Buwang raised his hand and shouted, “Jingzhe, over here!”

  As he walked over and was about to greet Xiao Wu and the rest, he noticed Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng and quickly greeted them.

  “Hello, Uncle and Auntie. I’m Ji Buwang.”

  It wasn’t easy for Shao Qiyang to escape from that young lady. When he ran out, he saw Ji Buwang’s brilliant smile as he fawned over Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng.

  He saw that Li Zhaodi seemed to be quite satisfied, and there was a broad beam on her face.

  \r \r \r

  “What a persistent ghost.” Shao Qiyang gritted his teeth and quickly went forward to greet them. “Teacher Ji, why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to go home to celebrate the New Year?”

  Ji Buwang smiled. “I made a trip home. I was in the capital last night. I spent the New Year with my grandfather and only flew over today.”

  Considering that he had a suitcase in his hand, he had really just returned. When he’d passed by the cinema, he had recalled that Little Bei’s movie was being released today and thought that he might encounter Mu Jingzhe. His heart had skipped a beat, and he had gotten out of the car. He hadn’t expected to really see Mu Jingzhe.

  This was probably what telepathy was like.

  Ji Buwang stared at Mu Jingzhe, completely forgetting about Shao Qiyang, who had just asked him a question.

  Shao Qiyang wished he could blindfold him. “It’s finally the New Year. Why didn’t you just spend a few days with your family instead of anxiously rushing back?”

  Ji Buwang finally glanced at Shao Qiyang. “My grandfather had matters to attend to, and there’s also someone I wish to see here. That’s why I came back.”

  It was self-evident who he’d wanted to meet.

  It wouldn’t be good to be any more direct than he already had. Or rather, in front of Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng, these words were already aggressive enough.

  Ji Buwang stopped while he was ahead and didn’t dare go overboard. He didn’t even dare look at Mu Jingzhe anymore. He quickly memorized the characteristics of Li Zhaodi, Mu Teng, and Mu Han, in case he didn’t recognize them next time and they misunderstood and thought he was arrogant.

  Due to face blindness, Ji Buwang usually didn’t take the initiative to greet anyone. He would wait for someone to greet him before using their voice and memory to recall who this person was. Because of this, many people said that he was arrogant, and some people even complained to his grandfather.

  Since his grandfather knew about his situation, he naturally wouldn’t say anything. Ji Buwang didn’t take their words to heart either.

  However, he couldn’t do this to Li Zhaodi, Mu Teng, and Mu Han. Otherwise, it would be terrible. It would be best if he could distinguish them from the crowd and take the initiative to greet them.

  Due to Ji Buwang’s good upbringing, after chatting with him for a while, Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng both felt that this young man really had a way with words.

  Naturally, they brought Ji Buwang along when they went shopping.

  Shao Qiyang was the only one who felt that it was unreasonable for Ji Buwang to go shopping with them. When Li Zhaodi bought arm sleeves, he even rushed to pay for them.

  This was what Shao Qiyang had wanted to do, but Ji Buwang beat him to it.

  As he looked at the scheming Ji Buwang, the sense of crisis in Shao Qiyang’s heart grew even stronger.

  After shopping for a while, Mu Jingzhe and the others wanted to return before nightfall and bade Ji Buwang farewell. Ji Buwang wanted to invite them over but ultimately didn’t say anything and only offered to drive them.

  However, Mu Jingzhe rejected his offer. “You just came off a plane today. It’ll be too tiring for you. Go back and rest.”

  Ji Buwang knew that Mu Jingzhe was concerned about him, so he nodded warmly. “Alright, be careful on your way back.”

  After he said that, Ji Buwang took five red packets out of his bag and gave them to the five kids. “You’ve grown yet another year older.”

  He had prepared a red packet for the children last night and thought that he wouldn’t have the chance to give it to them. Now that he could, Ji Buwang was very glad.

  The five kids were very surprised. They hadn’t expected Ji Buwang to actually prepare a red packet for them. They couldn’t help but look at Mu Jingzhe.

  Ji Buwang patted Xiao Wu’s head. “Stop looking at your mother. Take it. This is a form of blessing and a token of my sincerity.”

  “Thank you, Teacher Ji.”

  “You’re welcome. After you finish reading the books, come to my house to exchange them. Got it?”

  “Okay.”

  Ji Buwang happily bade the children farewell. Shao Qiyang watched from the side, his thoughts getting complicated.

  On the way back, Shao Qiyang was unusually silent. When they returned home, Mu Jingzhe wanted to cook, so he helped light the fire and fetch water to fill the water vat.

  This was something Shao Qiyang would do every day so long as he was home. Mu Jingzhe was strong herself and said she didn’t need him to help her fetch water, as she could do it herself. However, Shao Qiyang wouldn’t listen. He said that if he was around, he wouldn’t let her fetch water.

  He would either fill the bucket with water at night or before going to work in the morning. When there was no firewood at home, he would chop firewood during his break.

  Even though Mu Jingzhe said that she was capable, he wouldn’t let her do heavy work at home.

  Although Shao Qiyang was often not at home because he was at work, he hadn’t washed his hands off of everything. He saw everything that Mu Jingzhe did at home, so he never troubled Mu Jingzhe to wash his own clothes. As long as he had time, he would even wash the children’s clothes.

  Especially in winter, he would occasionally help Mu Jingzhe wash her outerwear.

  Mu Jingzhe had gotten used to burning firewood and cooking, but because the heavy smoke of the firewood stung her eyes, he’d even built a new stove at home. Now that there wasn’t much smoke, she no longer had to cook with red eyes like before.

  When Mu Jingzhe cooked, if he was around, he would always wash the dishes after eating so that Mu Jingzhe wouldn’t have to do it.

  Mu Jingzhe had actually noticed what Shao Qiyang did. Of course, the villagers probably saw it too. It was perhaps because of this that some girls had a crush on Shao Qiyang.

  Mu Jingzhe looked at the diligent Shao Qiyang and felt that he was a good man worth trusting. He was much better than the other men in the village.

  The men in the village never cooked or washed the dishes, nor did they wash clothes. They felt that it was something a woman should do and didn’t even help fetch water.

  Therefore, Shao Qiyang really shouldn’t end up an unmarried man for the rest of his life. Mu Jingzhe couldn’t help but ask, “Shao Qiyang, do you know the name of that apple-faced young lady we saw today? What do you think of her?”