The mother-and-son duo held hands and left, chatting merrily. Mu Jingzhe and Shao Dong tried their best to find some traces of reluctance in Xiao Wu, but they couldn’t find any.

  Shao Dong looked at Mu Jingzhe’s expression and suddenly asked her, “Mom, what if there’s really no reason? What if Xiao Wu simply wants to acknowledge his mother and doesn’t want to acknowledge you anymore?”

  “Although I’ll be very sad, if that’s the case, I won’t acknowledge him anymore either.”

  If one was heartless, their spouse would divorce them. This did not just apply to relationships between men and women. It was also applicable in all relationships.

  “Mommy, you still have us. We won’t turn out like this.”

  Mu Jingzhe grinned. “Of course. You’re not capable of that either.” She even made a small joke, but this joke wasn’t quite appropriate and resulted in a smile that looked more like she was crying.

  “You really still have us.” Upon seeing Mu Jingzhe like this, Shao Dong sighed and hugged her.

  Mu Jingzhe leaned all her weight on Shao Dong. “Little Dong, you seem taller.”

  “Mm. I’ll be as tall as you in a year or two.” Shao Dong supported Mu Jingzhe. “Mom, don’t worry. I’ll help you deal with that ungrateful brat.”

  “I’ll also deal with…” Mu Jingzhe paused. “But I think he must have a reason!”

  Shao Dong: “…”

  She was still softhearted after all.

  What Xiao Wu had done couldn’t be hidden for long. Ji Buwang and Shao Qihai soon found out. The two of them couldn’t figure it out either. At first, they had the same thought and felt that Xiao Wu might have been threatened or something.

  \r \r \r

  However, after the final exams ended and the holidays started, they followed him and investigated this but they didn’t find anything. There was no threat or any other situation on Xiao Wu’s side. No matter how they looked at it, this was his genuine behavior.

  By then, Xiao Wu had already bought Shao Qiyun a new house and a lot of furniture. The two of them happily moved there.

  One couldn’t argue that he was being forced anymore. Shao Qihai and Ji Buwang were extremely disappointed, but scolding or hitting Xiao Wu was useless. Xiao Wu didn’t change his mind.

  Shao Xi and the others had also gone to look for Xiao Wu. They had scolded, hit, and begged him, but it was all futile.

  Xiao Wu was irritated by them. “Aren’t you annoying? Is there no end to this? I just want to live with my biological mother. What’s wrong with that?”

  Xiao Wu seemed to have become a different person. After what had been said previously, he seemed to no longer care. It didn’t matter who tried to salvage the situation.

  Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei took turns looking for Xiao Wu, but it was useless. Xiao Wu didn’t care about anything and just walked in circles around Shao Qiyun. No one could do anything about him. When Old Master Ji heard about this, he also went to look for him. Xiao Wu was very affectionate when he saw him and kept calling him ‘Grandpa’, but he was only affectionate because he wanted money.

  In the past, Xiao Wu had never taken the initiative to ask for money, but this time, he did. He was clearly still young, but he now looked more like an unscrupulous businessman.

  Everyone wanted Xiao Wu to change his mind. They all wanted to know why he had suddenly become a different person, but they all returned empty-handed. In the blink of an eye, it was New Year’s Eve.

  In the past, the children used to look forward to the New Year the most. No matter how busy they were, they would try their best to celebrate the New Year together. Each of them would write a couplet, the character ‘Fortune’, and then stick them together.

  They felt that their words weren’t good enough, but Mu Jingzhe kept saying that the best couplets were the ones one wrote alone. This caused them to secretly practice before the New Year every year to avoid embarrassing themselves.

  There were five kids and five pairs of couplets, which was just right. However, there weren’t five kids this year. Even writing the couplets felt terrible.

  Every year, Little Bei and Xiao Wu loved to bring back the paper-cuts[1] from Li Zhaodi’s place. The paper-cuts that Li Zhaodi cut were created fast and looked beautiful. Every time, Xiao Wu and Little Bei would surround Li Zhaodi and watch her cut them. When she shook them open, the two children would give her face and clap and shout as if Li Zhaodi had done something amazing.

  This year, Li Zhaodi cut the paper-cuts as usual. Although Little Bei applauded, everyone could tell that her reaction was forced.

  With one fewer person there, not only would it all be less lively, but there would also be less enthusiasm about the New Year.

  In the past, they had always created the most beautiful memories at New Year’s, but this year, every minute and second seemed torturous, as every minute and second carried memories of the past.

  Li Zhaodi really couldn’t continue cutting. “I have to go and bring that brat back. What kind of a New Year is this? It’s so vexing. I don’t care what his reason is. Whether he’s willing or not, I want him to stay at home.”

  “Grandma, don’t. He won’t listen. You’ll only feel more vexed if you go.” Little Bei quickly pulled Li Zhaodi back.

  “Even so, I have to go. I have to bring him back. Can’t you see your mother’s state? Her soul ran away with that heartless brat.” Li Zhaodi’s heart ached when she thought of Mu Jingzhe. “I have to bring him back. Little Bei, don’t tell your mother. Hurry up and take the paper-cuts back.”

  “I’m worried about you going alone. Grandma, I’ll go with you.”

  “No need. If you go, it won’t be easy for me to throw… express myself. Don’t worry, I used to be unbeatable at quarreling in Great Eastern Village.” Actually, she was the best at throwing a tantrum. Li Zhaodi had almost exposed herself. Fortunately, she had stopped herself in time.

  Throwing a tantrum wasn’t exactly exemplary behavior, so Li Zhaodi didn’t want Little Bei to come along. She also wanted to save face.

  Li Zhaodi valiantly and spiritedly went to look for Xiao Wu. Meanwhile, Little Bei took the paper-cuts home. However, the more she thought about it, the more worried she felt. Thus, she still ended up telling Mu Jingzhe, “Mom, Grandma went to look for Xiao Wu.”

  “Didn’t I tell her to wash her hands of him?” Mu Jingzhe was helpless. Afraid that Li Zhaodi would get angry, she quickly went over.

  Li Zhaodi didn’t suffer much at first. When she went there, the place was bustling with activity. Xiao Wu had used his money to buy a house for Shao Qiyun. In addition to the television he had bought previously, he had also bought a lot of things for the New Year.

  That wasn’t all. Because Shao Qiyun had said that she wanted to eat well during the New Year, Xiao Wu had specifically hired banquet chefs to prepare a table of sumptuous dishes at home. When Li Zhaodi went over, the two chefs were busy.

  Shao Qiyun sat aside, munching on melon seeds and watching television, looking extremely carefree. Xiao Wu was writing couplets. When Li Zhaodi entered and saw this, she got so angry that she rolled her eyes. She had scolded Xiao Wu before, but none of it had worked. This time, she didn’t say anything unnecessary. She simply entered the place, picked Xiao Wu up, and left.

  Since Xiao Wu couldn’t heed reason, she didn’t say anything else. She didn’t care what kind of reasons the brat had. In any case, if Jingzhe, her precious daughter, was unhappy, she had to think of a way to make her happy. Even if it meant she had to kidnap Xiao Wu, she would do it.

  When Shao Qiyun had seen Li Zhaodi come, she had known what she wanted to do. She had prepared a basket of words, but in the end, Li Zhaodi hadn’t played by the rules and had directly wedged Xiao Wu under her arm before leaving.

  “Hey, hey… What are you doing!”

  “Let go of me!”

  Shocked by Li Zhaodi’s actions, Shao Qiyun and Xiao Wu only reacted after a moment. Shao Qiyun quickly got up to snatch the boy back, and Xiao Wu struggled as well.

  “Don’t move!” Li Zhaodi spanked Xiao Wu’s butt twice. “Behave yourself! If you move again, I’ll spank you.”

  [1] usually of auspicious patterns; to be pasted on windows, walls, and doors