When he heard Xiao Wu’s words, Shao Qihai’s eyes turned red. “Okay, Xiao Wu. I’ll call you Xiao Wu from now on. You can really speak. That’s great.”

  As soon as he heard Xiao Wu speak with his own ears, Shao Qihai’s eyes turned red. He wanted to hug Xiao Wu and cry, but he couldn’t reach out to him. Xiao Wu quickly hid behind Mu Jingzhe and hugged her legs tightly, staring at him vigilantly.

  Shao Qihai was embarrassed once more, and Mu Jingzhe also felt a little helpless. She quickly nudged Shao Dong, wanting him to go over and hug Shao Qihai to resolve the awkwardness.

  However, Shao Dong, who was usually very sensible, obedient, and considerate, surprisingly didn’t listen to Mu Jingzhe and didn’t budge at all. When Shao Qihai went to pull him close, he even dodged him. Shao Xi and Shao Nan’s faces were also cold, and they all showed signs of resistance. Little Bei didn’t have much of an expression, which was a little better, but she also lowered her head and wouldn’t look at him.

  In the past, Little Bei would never have done this. Every time, she would be the first to hug him, bringing him endless warmth.

  The touched look on Shao Qihai’s face froze. He had to admit another truth: The children seemed to have a problem with him.

  They were too cold. They didn’t seem delighted about his return. Thinking back, they’d seemed like this since the moment he had appeared.

  The others were either shocked or frightened, but they didn’t seem too surprised. It was as if he hadn’t come back from the dead after more than a year and had just casually returned from a trip.

  Besides, this trip wasn’t the popular kind. It was as if he had done something bad and then returned, so they were icy to him and didn’t show a trace of delight.

  Shao Qihai was forced to calm down, but he couldn’t fathom why they were acting like this. In the end, he cast a pleading gaze at Mu Jingzhe, wanting to know what was going on.

  Mu Jingzhe also realized that the kids were acting strangely. Previously, they had thought that Shao Qihai had suddenly come back to life and lost their composure, but there really seemed to be something amiss with their current attitude.

  “Little Dong, what’s wrong with you kids?” Mu Jingzhe bent down to ask Shao Dong and looked at the children carefully. “Are you guys a little frightened by his sudden return? Or are you a little angry?”

  She guessed that the children were angry because Shao Qihai had hidden it from them. Shao Xi curled his lips and was about to say something when he saw Shao Dong glance at him.

  After Shao Dong stopped Shao Xi, he looked at Mu Jingzhe and softened his expression. “A little. We just couldn’t come back to our senses for a while.”

  \r \r \r

  He paused. “Mommy, why don’t we talk to him?”

  There were some awful words and ugly realities that he didn’t want Mu Jingzhe to hear. Sooner or later, he would have to face them and make things clear. In that case, they might as well make things clear with Shao Qihai themselves. They didn’t want Mu Jingzhe to be dragged into this and put in a difficult position.

  Mu Jingzhe immediately nodded. “Alright, then have a good chat and clear things up.”

  Mu Jingzhe was still thinking that it would be good for the father and son to clear things up, so she didn’t realize that Shao Dong was referring to Shao Qihai as ‘him’ and not ‘Dad’. Ever since Shao Qihai had appeared, they had never called him ‘Dad’.

  Shao Dong’s gaze landed on Shao Qihai. His eyes didn’t match the steadiness and calmness of his age.

  The earlier incident had made them realize that because they were still young, everyone was inclined to think that Mu Jingzhe had taught them everything they’d heard and seen.

  However, their mother had only ever taught them good things. Her teachings were things that would benefit them for the rest of their lives. They learned bad things from their own experiences and outsiders, but no one understood this.

  Since that was the case, they shouldn’t let their mother watch while they talked, in case Shao Qihai felt the same way. They could talk about it themselves and keep their mother out of this.

  Shao Dong took charge and looked at his younger siblings. “Let’s talk.”

  Shao Dong didn’t say much, but the children looked at Shao Dong and pretty much understood what he meant. They reluctantly let go of Mu Jingzhe’s hand.

  “Then talk to your father nicely.”

  After saying that, Mu Jingzhe raised her head and saw Li Zhaodi waving frantically at her from the door. She thought for a moment and left.

  As she passed by Shao Qiyang, Mu Jingzhe glanced at him. Thinking that the two brothers should have something to say to each other too, she didn’t say anything.

  She gave the children and Shao Qihai some space to communicate. She didn’t want to get involved. She also needed to digest this explosive news and think about the subsequent arrangements.

  Shao Qihai’s return had completely disrupted her plans.

  Li Zhaodi pulled Mu Jingzhe over. As she habitually tidied the corners of her clothes that had been crumpled by the kids, she asked anxiously, “Isn’t Shao Qihai dead? Why did he suddenly come back? Jingzhe, what are you going to do next?”

  “Leave it for now!” Mu Jingzhe pulled Li Zhaodi along. “Come on, Mom. Let’s talk over there.”

  Shao Dong watched Mu Jingzhe leave. Seeing that his younger uncle, Shao Qiyang, was still in a daze, he turned around and walked in.

  “Let’s go inside and sit down.” As he spoke, Shao Dong’s aura of negotiation, which was one of a host at that, emerged.

  “Okay,” Shao Qihai answered subconsciously. He turned around to hug Xiao Wu, but Xiao Wu turned and followed Little Bei in, holding his hand.

  As Shao Qihai watched the backs of the children, who were holding hands, he felt a little gratified and curious.

  The children had always been on good terms, but Shao Dong and the others hadn’t really cared about Xiao Wu previously. Even though he had talked to them a lot about it, it hadn’t helped. However, this time, their relationship was very good.

  Besides, Xiao Wu had changed a lot. He could speak now and looked much bolder than he used to in the past. He was no longer as timid as before.

  Shao Qihai sat in front of the children and was about to speak when he heard Shao Dong say, “Now that you’re back, what will happen to your new wife and children? Or will you abandon them too?”

  The corners of Shao Xi’s mouth curled up in a mocking smile. He thought to himself that he might have come back after seeing them on TV and feeling the same regret as Zhao Lan and the rest.

  Previously, they had been furious because they’d wanted Shao Qihai to regret it. However, wasn’t this regret too quick? How could anyone regret something so quickly and return just like that?

  Shao Qihai was completely stunned. “What new wife and children?”

  Shao Xi couldn’t take it anymore and added, “Your new wife and children, of course. Stop denying it. We saw it. We knew you weren’t dead. We just didn’t expect you to have the nerve to come back.”

  The corners of Shao Nan’s mouth curled up as he added, “How could you bear to come back? Or did your new wife and children not want you anymore?”

  Shao Qihai was dumbfounded. “Wh… What are you talking about? I don’t have a new wife or children. I only have you guys. I was forced to feign my death because of a special situation. Little Xi, where did you see me?”

  Shao Qihai’s mind was filled with question marks. He felt even more wronged than Dou E[1].

  Shao Xi casually described seeing him in the night market. Since it hadn’t been that long since the incident, Shao Qihai still remembered the situation. He heaved a sigh of relief and explained.

  “So you were talking about that. That was not my new wife and children.”

  Shao Qihai explained, but Shao Xi and the others looked at him with an expression that said, “Go on, continue weaving your story.”

  [1] a fictional character who was wrongly convicted of crimes by a corrupt court official for actions perpetrated by a rejected suitor