The more Shao Nan spoke, the more his heart ached. “Isn’t this too unreasonable? How can there be such a good thing in the world?”

  “That’s right. It is too unreasonable. Xiao Wu even learned how to speak. We also learned a lot of skills. This is all thanks to Mommy,” Shao Xi added at the end. The way he looked at Shao Qihai was as though he was looking at a thief or a villain who had snatched a peach while he was eating it.

  The three of them spoke one after another, making Shao Qihai feel so ashamed that he wished he could dig a hole in the ground.

  It would have been fine if they hadn’t said it, but now that they had, it seemed like he was really shameless.

  He paused and was just about to say something when Shao Xi said impatiently, “Stop it. I’ve spoken clearly. Anyway, Mommy is so beautiful and capable now. She’s not someone you can covet. You should give up as soon as possible. Tomorrow, you should obediently divorce Mommy.”

  Shao Xi felt aggrieved on his mother’s behalf. Why would Mommy have to marry such a person? It was absurd.

  Shao Qihai almost spat out a mouthful of old blood. If someone who didn’t know better heard this, they would think that they were overestimating a fool or some pervert who was lusting after an outstanding girl.

  But the heavens could attest to the fact that he and Mu Jingzhe were husband and wife.

  Shao Qihai was about to clarify this when he looked up and saw that Shao Xi’s face was filled with heartache. “It’s not just Mommy. There’s also us…”

  Right, other than Mommy, Shao Xi also felt aggrieved for himself and his siblings. On what basis? On what basis had he come back now that they had become successful and outstanding?

  Shao Xi didn’t complete his sentence, but the children understood. For a moment, their hearts ached for themselves. The way they looked at Shao Qihai became increasingly unfriendly.

  Unfortunately, Shao Qihai had yet to react and thought that they were forcing him to get a divorce.

  Shao Qihai took a deep breath to calm himself down. “Have you ever thought that if you support her decision to get a divorce, she will have nothing to do with me and you? Aren’t you afraid she’ll leave after getting a divorce?”

  Shao Xi’s heart skipped a beat, but he said stubbornly, “What’s there to be afraid of? Mommy is divorcing you, not us. We’re mother and children, so we can’t get a divorce. She’s still our mother.”

  “No, if she divorced me, she wouldn’t be your mother anymore. She wouldn’t have any legal relationship with you guys. She would just be your ex-stepmother.”

  Shao Qihai exposed the cruel truth. “Aren’t you afraid?”

  “Don’t try to lie to us! Mommy won’t leave us. She won’t leave us alone. She has promised us!”

  \r \r \r

  “If you don’t believe me, you can ask her yourself. Things won’t be the same after she divorces me. Even now that she hasn’t divorced me, some people are already saying that she isn’t fit to take care of you kids. Once she’s divorced me, it’ll be even harder for her to take care of you kids.”

  Shao Qihai hadn’t wanted to tell the children these things, but they were too smart and shrewd. He had been forced by the children to tell the truth.

  “If she can’t take care of us, who can?” Shao Dong asked with a cold face.

  “Me, of course. I’m your biological father,” Shao Qihai answered matter-of-factly. “Therefore, it would be best if we didn’t get a divorce. That way, she’ll continue to be your mother.”

  Even though he had already guessed it, Shao Dong’s expression still changed when he heard that.

  “Little Dong, I know you kids can’t forgive me yet, but I don’t think we should be rash when it comes to this matter. A divorce is a big deal.”

  The boys were silent for a few seconds. Looking at their expressions, Shao Qihai finally heaved a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that he would be forced to get a divorce by his own children tomorrow after finally escaping death today.

  He wanted to take this opportunity while the kids were listening to him to analyze the situation in detail. However, before he could speak, Shao Dong had already gotten out of bed silently and gotten dressed.

  “What’s wrong, Little Dong? Do you want to go to the bathroom? I’ll go with you,” Shao Qihai said quickly.

  “No, I’m going to ask Mommy.”

  In short, Shao Dong didn’t believe Shao Qihai. He wanted to personally confirm it by asking Mu Jingzhe.

  Shao Qihai could tell and nodded helplessly. “Alright, go ask…” Before he could finish his words, Shao Xi, Shao Nan, and Xiao Wu had already gotten up and gotten dressed.

  “Big Brother, we want to go too.”

  “Alright, let’s go. Let’s clarify this with Mommy.”

  Then, Shao Dong took his younger brothers to look for Mu Jingzhe. Mu Jingzhe was talking to Little Bei. Too many things had happened today. In addition, Shao Qihai had suddenly returned without a warning. Mu Jingzhe’s mind was a mess, so how could she fall asleep?

  Seeing that the kids’ attitude toward Shao Qihai was a bit off, Mu Jingzhe took this opportunity to ask Little Bei about it.

  Just as Little Bei was about to blurt out the truth during her questioning, Shao Dong and the rest knocked on the door. “My brothers are here. I’ll go open the door!”

  Little Bei heaved a sigh of relief and tried to open the door, but Mu Jingzhe grabbed her and scooped her back.

  “I’ll go open it in case you catch a cold.”

  Mu Jingzhe opened the door. “What’s wrong? Little Dong, what’s the matter?”

  “We want to talk to you, Mommy.”

  “Then come in quickly. You don’t want to catch a cold.” After putting the kids under the blanket, Mu Jingzhe asked, “What do you want to talk about?”

  “The divorce.” Shao Dong, Shao Nan, and the others were sitting in a row under the blanket. Their bodies were nestled in the blanket, and a few strands of hair were sticking up on their heads. However, they spoke in a very mature tone.

  Mu Jingzhe held back her laughter and put on a serious face. “Go ahead.”

  “Are you going to leave us behind when you get a divorce?”

  Mu Jingzhe paused. “No, I never thought of leaving you kids behind.”

  Although Mu Jingzhe quickly denied it, the children didn’t miss her pause. “Mom, tell us honestly. Is it really as he said? Once you’re divorced, your relationship with us will be different? You won’t be able to take care of us anymore and he’ll be the one raising us?”

  “I will. Of course I’ll take care of you kids. Regardless of whether I get a divorce or not, I’ll take care of you kids.” Mu Jingzhe quickly guaranteed this, but after she did so, she suddenly felt that something was wrong. “Wait, what did he say? Did he say I can’t take care of you kids after I divorce him?”

  “He didn’t say that, but Mom, after you get divorced, do we really have to be in his charge?”

  “Logically speaking, that should be the case. After all, he’s your biological father.” But Mu Jingzhe couldn’t bear to part with them. Did that mean she couldn’t get a divorce because of the children?

  Mu Jingzhe’s brain exploded, and so did the children’s.

  “No, we don’t want him. Mommy, we only want you. He might disappear again at some point. What if he goes looking for a new wife and child just like before? What are we supposed to do then?”

  “That’s right. If he abandoned us once, he can abandon us again. Mommy, you can’t leave us. You can’t leave us alone. Otherwise, we’ll be finished again.”

  “You can get a divorce, but you can’t leave us behind. We’ll only acknowledge you, not him.”

  “Mommy, you wouldn’t want us to fall into the hands of Zhao Lan and the others again and be treated as their money tree, right?”

  “I only want Mommy!”

  The five children expressed their true thoughts one after the other.

  Because he was really curious to know what they were talking about, Shao Qihai, who couldn’t help but come to eavesdrop, happened to hear the five children’s confession.

  For a moment, he was speechless and bitter.

  These children. He hadn’t been around for only a year and they already acknowledged their mother and not their father. He had already said that he hadn’t abandoned them, so why didn’t they believe him?