In the end, it was Shao Dong and the others who saved Shao Qihai. They enthusiastically invited Li Zhaodi to eat sweets and pulled her away.

  “Grandma, come and eat the honey we specifically left for you. It’s very sweet and won’t give you diarrhea.”

  Shao Xi and the rest pulled Li Zhaodi away to eat honey. They even specifically explained that because Li Zhaodi had eaten poisonous honey before.

  The honey in the countryside was harvested by the bees themselves. Normally, there wouldn’t be any problems. However, there were also some unexpected situations sometimes. For example, occasionally, poisonous honey was harvested. There had never been any honey in the vicinity that was so poisonous it could poison a person to death. However, although the bees were immune to the poison of some plants, humans weren’t.

  Therefore, they usually had to be more cautious when picking honey. Some kinds had a hint of bitterness. Also, one had to be more cautious when picking honey in certain seasons.

  For example, previously, Li Zhaodi and the rest had once gotten into trouble after eating honey. They’d just had diarrhea and a headache and they had recovered in a day or two. They hadn’t gone to the hospital, and nothing had happened to them. That said, it was still dangerous. Unfortunately, Li Zhaodi loved to eat honey, so she couldn’t quit.

  Li Zhaodi accepted their kindness and started eating the honey. However, even though this honey had been left for her, in the end, she still stuffed a bite into each of their mouths.

  Shao Qihai carefully kept his mother-in-law company. When Li Zhaodi was about to leave, he even offered to see her off, but Li Zhaodi stopped him.

  “No need. I can go back by myself.”

  “Mom, slow down.” After Mu Jingzhe saw her off, she turned around and almost bumped into Shao Qihai.

  As soon as she saw Shao Qihai, Mu Jingzhe recalled Li Zhaodi’s words. In particular, the part about physical needs.

  The bodies of men and women were indeed different. The nights were long, and Shao Qihai should be having a hard time.

  “Erm…” Mu Jingzhe was about to say that they should discuss the divorce again when she heard Shao Qihai say, “If you want to talk about the divorce, then listen to me first. I don’t want a divorce. If you really insist on divorcing me, I won’t remarry, so getting a divorce won’t be good for me.”

  Mu Jingzhe’s expression was complicated. “Then… did you hear what my mother and I spoke about?”

  \r \r \r

  “Mm.” Shao Qihai admitted it. “I heard a few words, but what you are worried about doesn’t apply. I’m in good health, but I… have no needs.”

  There was nothing wrong with his body, but he wasn’t someone obsessed with sex.

  Mu Jingzhe hadn’t expected Shao Qihai to overhear her conversation with Li Zhaodi. She instantly felt a little awkward. He was in good health but he had no needs? It sounded too contradictory. However, since he had already made herself clear, she might as well continue. “What do you mean?”

  “My intentions haven’t changed, and I won’t force you in the future either. The children can’t leave you, so don’t mention getting a divorce for the time being. If… If you don’t change your mind in the future, or if you meet someone you like and want to marry him, we can talk about getting a divorce then.”

  Shao Qihai spoke with difficulty, but he still endured the pain and said, “When that time comes, I won’t pester you endlessly. I’ll let you go.”

  He couldn’t keep refusing to divorce her, and Shao Qihai didn’t want to use the children to tie Mu Jingzhe down either. That would only push her further and further away. After interacting with her for a while, Shao Qihai had also seen through Mu Jingzhe’s personality and felt that there were some things that had to be said openly.

  He couldn’t force Mu Jingzhe. He could only try his best to perform well and fight for her during this period of time so that Mu Jingzhe could see his sincerity. Perhaps she would be moved then. This was the only way.

  Actually, it’d be useless even if Shao Qihai really pestered her endlessly. Mu Jingzhe could also resolve this through litigation or other methods. However, upon hearing Shao Qihai say this, Mu Jingzhe heaved a sigh of relief.

  She only heaved a sigh of relief because there was another problem—the children. This was the most important thing.

  “Then when the time comes, the children…”

  Just as Mu Jingzhe started to speak, Shao Qihai immediately said, “You can come and see the children at any time. I won’t stop you from meeting them or say anything.”

  Of course, Shao Qihai could also work on the children. It would be very effective on Mu Jingzhe, but he couldn’t and wouldn’t.

  Mu Jingzhe smiled. Her expression seemed pleased but a little emotional.

  Shao Dong, who had been secretly observing, couldn’t help but say when he saw Mu Jingzhe’s expression, “Dad, we don’t just want to meet Mommy.”

  Shao Qihai turned around in surprise. “Little Dong, you…”

  “Dad, talk to us.”

  Shao Dong looked at Mu Jingzhe. “Mommy, it’s been hard on you today. Let’s talk to Daddy first.”

  Mu Jingzhe’s heart skipped a beat. “Little Dong, you guys…”

  “Mommy, don’t worry. I know how you feel. Leave it to me for now.” If Mommy couldn’t bear to part with them, they couldn’t bear to part with her even more. Besides, they didn’t just want to meet her. If they didn’t live together, their relationship would be affected. He couldn’t bear to part with her.

  Shao Qihai was dragged off to negotiate. Mu Jingzhe cooked while wondering what Shao Dong was discussing with him.

  In reality, Shao Qihai was also curious to know what they wanted to talk about. Before meeting with him, Shao Dong held a small meeting with his younger siblings.

  It was only after the kids’ little meeting ended that it was time for the big meeting with Shao Qihai.

  Shao Qihai could only wait. When he thought of what Shao Dong had said, he felt very uneasy. He didn’t know what the children were going to say. Could they want to say that they would leave with Mu Jingzhe after their divorce?

  After waiting anxiously for a few minutes, Shao Qihai finally sat down at the negotiation table.

  “Here’s the deal, Daddy. After this period of observation, and taking into consideration your conversation with Mommy just now, it looks like your marriage with Mommy will eventually lead to a divorce. It’s only because of us that the marriage has temporarily survived.”

  “But we won’t get a divorce now.” Shao Qihai quickly emphasized.

  “We know. I heard it just now. You and Mommy agreed not to get a divorce for the time being and to wait until Mommy wants to get married. This is a pretty good idea, but you might still get a divorce in the future. So let’s talk about the divorce today.”

  Shao Qihai: “You kids want to talk to me about that?”

  “Mm. After all, this matter will affect us greatly. It might even affect us for the rest of our lives. Since it concerns who we’ll be living with after the divorce, we have to participate.”

  Shao Qihai looked at Shao Dong and couldn’t help but sit up straight and raise his guard. “What do you guys think?”

  “Based on what you said to Mommy just now, you won’t stop Mommy from coming to see us. That means that we’ll 100% be living with you.”

  Shao Qihai was vigilant. “Of course. Don’t tell me you want to go with Jingzhe? I know you like her very much, but you can’t abandon me like this…” His expression was a little complicated. “Didn’t you say that you forgave me previously? Could your kindness to me during this period have been fake?”

  Shao Qihai’s words sounded familiar to the five kids, as if they had heard them in a television drama. However, it seemed like they shouldn’t have come up in a father-son conversation.

  Shao Dong frowned. “Of course we weren’t faking it when we treated you well. Our feelings for you are also real. We have indeed forgiven you, but forgiveness is one thing. Having feelings is valid, but we can’t ignore our principles and go against our intentions.”