“Don’t come over!” When he saw Shao Qihai walk over, Eldest Brother Shao was so frightened that he got up and stumbled out. He, who usually looked like he had difficulty even walking, was running very fast today. It was impossible to tell that he was lame. In no time, he had disappeared without a trace.

  When Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao saw Eldest Brother Shao run away, she screamed and ran out as well.

  As Shao Qihai watched the two of them leave, his gaze inadvertently scanned Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ. Their pants were all wet, and they were trembling in regret.

  “Second Uncle, we were wrong. We won’t snatch Shao Dong and his siblings’ food or clothes anymore. Even if Grandma gives them to us, we won’t accept them anymore. Please let us off.”

  Because of their parents’ influence, these children were afraid of ghosts and gods.

  As Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ spoke, they wailed and ran away. Upon seeing Shao Qihai look at her, Zhao Lan swallowed her saliva and sat on the ground before retreating. “Qihai, I gave birth to you and raised you, so please forgive Mom. I just don’t like Bai Lu, which is why I don’t like them either.”

  Seeing that Shao Qihai’s eyes were getting redder, Zhao Lan felt even guiltier. “Qihai, I know I was wrong. You should go back quickly. I won’t try to snatch the children anymore. I won’t ever think of making them earn money again.”

  “That’s right. Brother, you should go back quickly. In the future, I won’t plot against Mu Jingzhe and try to marry her off anymore, nor will I scheme against your children again. I’ve always remembered your kindness. You were the one who helped me cover up my mistake. I…”

  Shao Qiyun was about to continue speaking, but she suddenly saw Shao Qihai exhale and immediately stopped expressing her repentance.

  How could a ghost breathe? Only living people did!

  Instantly, Shao Qiyun realized that Shao Qihai wasn’t dead. He had returned!

  Even now, Shao Qihai’s corpse had yet to be found. The funeral that the village had held had only buried the army clothes he had worn when he’d retired from the army. Therefore, it was entirely possible that he hadn’t died and had returned alive!

  Shao Qiyun stood up abruptly. “Second Brother, you’re not a ghost. You’re human!”

  Zhao Lan was stunned. “What?”

  \r \r \r

  Shao Qiyun had already mustered up the courage to step forward and check Shao Qihai’s breathing. “Yes, you’re breathing. You’re alive. Second Brother, you’re not dead!”

  Upon hearing this, Zhao Lan suddenly got up and grabbed Shao Qihai. Feeling his body temperature, Zhao Lan instantly burst into tears. “Qihai, you’re not dead. You’re still alive. Why did you come back without saying a word? You scared me.

  “What took you so long? You unfilial son. Don’t you know how cruel it is for a parent to send off her child? Why did you leave me behind back then? You unfilial son!”

  She was weeping uncontrollably. Those who heard her would have shed tears if they had not heard the words of repentance she had blurted out a moment ago.

  After seeing Eldest Brother Shao and the others run away in fright and then seeing Zhao Lan and Shao Qiyun repent, they really couldn’t cry. They even felt that this scene was a little comical and sort of amusing.

  It was already strange enough that Shao Qihai hadn’t died and had come back alive. In combination with the confession accidentally made by the eldest branch of the Shao Family, his biological mother and younger sister, this was even more shocking.

  Shao Qihai felt similar to them. If all this hadn’t happened, he might have been moved. After all, this was the mother who had given birth to him and raised him. Even though she had been biased later on, Zhao Lan had once tried her best to raise him.

  However, after hearing those confessions, he didn’t feel touched. He only felt mocked.

  “If I hadn’t come back this way, I probably would never have heard you admit these things with my own ears or seen your true colors.”

  Shao Qihai didn’t move much but he firmly removed Zhao Lan’s hand from his. “We’ll talk about the rest later. Let’s make things clear first.”

  Shao Qihai looked at the group of people who had come with Zhao Lan. “I hope that today’s incident won’t happen again. I’m still alive. I’ll take care of Little Dong and the others myself. Whether they succeed in the future or not has nothing to do with you. Other than me, their only other guardian is Mu Jingzhe. No one but her is qualified to raise them. Don’t even think of scheming against them in the future.”

  If Mu Jingzhe wasn’t qualified to raise them, then who was?

  Shao Qihai pointed at the door and ordered firmly, “Go back. You don’t have to worry about our family affairs in the future.”

  Everyone wanted to ask why Shao Qihai had returned, but seeing the atmosphere, they could only suppress their curiosity. This was clearly not appropriate timing. They’d better ask again tomorrow.

  Now that the outsiders had left, Zhao Lan came back to her senses and asked Shao Qihai, “Qihai, are you blaming me? It’s not completely our fault. It was Mu Jingzhe who went overboard. Did you see my forehead? This is all thanks to Mu Jingzhe.”

  When Zhao Lan complained, Shao Qihai’s gaze darkened. “You hit her too.”

  “Is her wound even comparable to mine? Look at that tiny red speck on her forehead. Look at how mine has ended up.”

  At that moment, Zhao Lan’s forehead was very swollen and indeed looked pretty terrifying.

  However, Shao Qihai only took one brief glance before looking away. “This is what you deserve.”

  In other words, it served her right.

  Who had asked her to provoke Mu Jingzhe? Even he was afraid of her strength and didn’t dare underestimate her. To think she’d dared to get physical with Mu Jingzhe.

  “Shao Qihai, you… you’re actually siding with Mu Jingzhe? Sure enough, you’ve forgotten your mother after getting married. Your wife beat me up so badly, yet you…”

  “Do you need me to say even more awful things?” Shao Qihai interrupted her and pointed at the door. “Go now.”

  “Shao Qihai, how dare you kick me out? I’m your mother…” Zhao Lan stared at Shao Qihai in disbelief.

  “So what? You might be my mother, but we’ve already split up the family assets. We’re two separate families now. You chose Eldest Brother yourself. From now on, you’re part of his family.”

  Shao Qihai interrupted Zhao Lan again. “Since we’ve already split up the family assets, there’s not much to say. Let’s just live like two separate families in the future. It doesn’t matter even if you’re my mother. Go.”

  Zhao Lan was about to say something when Shao Qihai glanced coldly at Shao Qiyun. When Shao Qiyun saw his gaze, she seemed to think of something and her expression changed slightly. She immediately went to pull Zhao Lan over. “Mom, let’s go now.”

  After Shao Qiyun pulled Zhao Lan away, Shao Qihai’s gaze finally landed on Mu Jingzhe’s face.

  When some people ate, they habitually ate the parts they didn’t like first and left the ones they liked for last. Shao Qihai did the same when dealing with certain matters. Only after he dealt with the bad stuff did he turn his attention to the good stuff.

  He had been refraining from making eye contact with Mu Jingzhe until now.

  An unnatural expression crossed his face, and he forced a stiff smile. “Jingzhe…”

  He had just called her that when he froze. He had been following Mu Jingzhe, so he felt close to her. However, in reality, Jingzhe was quite a stranger to him. Was it appropriate for him to call her that?

  Shao Qihai had thought quite a bit, but Mu Jingzhe hadn’t expected this at all. She was only stunned by this sudden, godlike plot twist.

  What was going on? Why would Shao Qihai come back alive!? Why wasn’t he dead? Hadn’t he died a long time ago in the book?

  Mu Jingzhe didn’t feel surprise, only shock and fear, especially when she heard him say that he would raise the children himself in the future. Her first reaction was to think that Shao Qihai had come to snatch the children from her!