Xiao Wu raised his head and glanced at her, but he didn’t say anything. His expression was completely different from the reluctant look he’d had when he had seen Mu Jingzhe out this morning. If she didn’t clearly know that she had only been out for a day, Mu Jingzhe would have suspected that she had been away for several years or had transmigrated again.

  Mu Jingzhe took a deep breath. “Xiao Wu, you don’t even want to talk to me anymore?”

  “No.” Xiao Wu immediately denied it and looked up at Mu Jingzhe. “Mommy, that’s not it.”

  “Good.” Mu Jingzhe smiled and stroked the soft hair on his head. Then, she looked at his head. “The hair on the back of your head has grown longer.”

  Sensing her usual warmth, Xiao Wu’s heart tightened. “Mommy…”

  “Mm, I’m here. Xiao Wu, I don’t like beating around the bush. You know that, right? So can you tell me exactly what happened to you?”

  Xiao Wu pursed his lips. “I… It’s nothing actually. It’s just that… When I was suddenly protected that day, I felt a little different about her. You know I used to really want to get to know my… biological mother. This time, when I went back, I felt that she’s changed a lot, so I went over to take a look out of curiosity.”

  “I see. So you’re just curious. There’s no other reason, is there?”

  “No.” Xiao Wu denied it.

  Mu Jingzhe looked at Xiao Wu for a moment. “Alright then. I’m just afraid that something might happen to you or that she will hurt you. She has a bad track record after all. If she was a good mother, I wouldn’t have stopped you from meeting her. You know that, right?”

  “I know.” Xiao Wu nodded. “Mom, don’t worry.”

  Xiao Wu ultimately didn’t say that he wouldn’t look for Shao Qiyun again. He also didn’t say that he had missed Mu Jingzhe, like he had before. Merely a day had passed, but they seemed to have grown apart.

  \r \r \r

  The strawberries she had painstakingly picked were clearly only a little sour when she had tried them. However, when she took them home and ate them again, she realized that not only were they sour, but they were also a little astringent. She didn’t manage to taste their sweet and sour flavor, and her mouth was filled with astringency.

  The atmosphere was very heavy. Even though the family had gathered to eat strawberries, the situation didn’t get better. Mu Jingzhe waved her hand. “Stop eating. Let’s eat when I buy delicious ones next time.”

  However, Xiao Wu stopped Mu Jingzhe, not letting her throw them away. “They’re delicious. I want to eat sour strawberries.”

  The remaining half of the strawberries ended up in Xiao Wu’s mouth. Shao Xi looked at him coldly and didn’t say a word.

  However, Shao Dong felt that Xiao Wu was doing this because he wanted to show that he appreciated Mu Jingzhe’s efforts, so he asked Shao Xi not to say anything.

  When Mu Jingzhe saw that Xiao Wu had returned to normal, she thought that this matter with Shao Qiyun had come to an end. When she returned from the paper manufacturing factory again, she made a lot of effort to make Shao Xi and Xiao Wu reconcile.

  Although there had been many ways to resolve their quarrel previously, they were clearly all inappropriate this time. Mu Jingzhe originally wanted to think of another way. She even wondered if she should pluck strawberries again, thinking they might taste better now that they were riper. However, this didn’t resolve the conflict. Instead, the conflict kept getting bigger and bigger.

  A few days later, Xiao Wu started going to school alone early again. Whenever he went to school alone early, he would go to see Shao Qiyun. Shao Xi had been watching him and caught him again.

  This time, Xiao Wu was much calmer than the first time. He even said, “She’s alone. I’m just going over to take a look.”

  “Why would you take a look at that thing? Do you think it’s not enough that she tried to kill you once, so you plan to let her kill you a few more times? Shao Zhong, have you forgotten what sort of a person she is? You’re not allowed to see her again.”

  Shao Xi was furious. What made him even angrier was Xiao Wu’s attitude. Xiao Wu fell silent and didn’t agree at all.

  “Shao Zhong, what does your silence imply? Mommy is still here. We agreed to be good to Mommy for the rest of our lives. What’s the meaning of you going to see Shao Qiyun? Do you know how annoying and overboard your actions are? You’re betraying Mommy. Listen to me, if you dare go over again, I won’t let it slide!”

  “She’s my mother too, so I’ll go.”

  Xiao Wu’s answer angered Shao Xi completely. “Your mother? Shao Zhong, are you going to acknowledge that woman as your mother? You’re crazy! Shao Zhong, you’ve gone mad!”

  Shao Xi was so angry that he stomped his feet, but Xiao Wu was still the same as always. “I’m not crazy. I’m free to acknowledge her or not. Why shouldn’t I? Your biological mother is dead, but my biological mother isn’t.”

  “Shao Zhong, that’s too much.” Early in the morning, Shao Dong heard their argument and didn’t even have time to put on his shoes before rushing out. When he heard this, he immediately retorted.

  “I didn’t say anything wrong.” Out of the corner of his eye, Xiao Wu saw that Mu Jingzhe’s room door was also open. She and Little Bei had come out, but he didn’t look up. He only lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, “I’ll leave first.”

  “You’re not going!” Shao Xi also saw Mu Jingzhe. Upon seeing the expression on Mu Jingzhe’s face, he was furious. “Listen to me, Shao Zhong, I absolutely won’t allow you to betray us!”

  Shao Nan added, “Xiao Wu, you suddenly started to see Shao Qiyun lately, making the atmosphere at home tense. Speaking of that, you’re free to do so. If you insist on looking for her and acknowledging her, we won’t stop you. But if you go, don’t come back. We don’t want a younger brother like you!”

  Shao Nan had to show Xiao Wu the seriousness of the matter. It was impossible for the two mothers, Shao Qiyun and Mu Jingzhe, to coexist. He had to let Xiao Wu know the severity of this issue and also tell him who to choose.

  There was basically nothing to hesitate about. Shao Nan thought that Xiao Wu would definitely choose Mu Jingzhe and should be aware of the severity of the matter. He didn’t expect Xiao Wu to say directly, “Fine, I won’t come back then. Coincidentally, she’s my mother alone. Here, the five of us are fighting over one mother.”

  Xiao Wu’s words exploded like water in a pot of oil. “What do you mean? Don’t tell me you’re going to forsake Mommy and only care about Shao Qiyun? Do you not even care about Mommy anymore?”

  Shao Xi was furious and didn’t even dare look at Mu Jingzhe.

  “You’re the ones who can’t accept that I have two mothers. I can only make a choice. Coincidentally, Mommy still has the four of you, and she only has me. I’ll acknowledge her.”

  Xiao Wu’s words were still very calm, but this made them even angrier. Shao Xi couldn’t help but pounce on Xiao Wu. “Shut up!”

  “Little Xi, stop!” Mu Jingzhe and Shao Dong shouted at the same time, but before they could stop him, Shao Xi slapped Xiao Wu again.

  Xiao Wu’s mouth and the surrounding skin quickly turned red from the slap, but he didn’t retaliate or shout in pain.

  Shao Xi looked at Xiao Wu, his eyes filled with rage, as if he wanted to eat him up. In the end, Mommy had still heard it. She was bound to be sad now.

  In reality, Mu Jingzhe didn’t have the time to be sad. She’d only fallen asleep in the middle of the night because she had stayed up late. In the morning, she had been deep in slumber when she had heard the sounds of quarreling and woken up in a daze. Then, she had heard their conversation.

  Although she had heard it, she kept feeling like she was having a nightmare. This was something that only happened in nightmares, right?

  However, when she pinched herself, it hurt. That was when she realized that this wasn’t a dream.