“What are you doing? You actually came in to snatch a child?! Are you a robber? Help me stop her!”

  Li Zhaodi had picked Xiao Wu up and was about to leave, but when the two chefs heard Shao Qiyun’s words, they got up and stopped her. Xiao Wu also reacted, finally breaking free from Li Zhaodi’s arm.

  Li Zhaodi grabbed Xiao Wu, who was about to run away. “Xiao Wu, come back with me right away. No matter what you did previously, today is New Year’s. The next year will be smooth sailing. Your mother and the rest are waiting for you to go back to celebrate the New Year.”

  “I’m celebrating the New Year with my mother now. Don’t disturb us.” Xiao Wu’s face was cold.

  This sentence made Li Zhaodi, who had wanted not to get mad, anxious. “What mother? She became your mother just by raising her butt and giving birth to you? She’s no different from the hens hatching little chickens. The one who raised you—Jingzhe—is your mother. Come back with me quickly.”

  “She’s not my biological mother.” Xiao Wu turned his head. “We’re fine the way we are. Hurry up and leave.”

  “I knew that you couldn’t raise someone who isn’t your biological child. Sooner or later, you would raise an ingrate. Back then, she refused to listen and insisted on going back!” Li Zhaodi was furious and anxious. “I even brought Jingzhe back. You kids were the ones who cried, begged, and knelt down to make her come back. You cried and begged yourself. Now that Jingzhe raised you, you turned against her and you’re claiming that she’s not your biological mother!

  “She wasn’t your biological mother back then either. Why didn’t you mind then? How could you treat your mother like this? How could you say that? How did she raise you? Do you know how much she doted on you? I should have thought of a way to stop her from going back.”

  Li Zhaodi felt regretful. Under the gazes of the two chefs, Xiao Wu repeated himself. “Hurry up and leave. Saying all this isn’t going to change things.”

  “I’m not leaving.” Li Zhaodi stepped forward. “Even if I have to tie you up, I’ll bring you back today!”

  After saying that, Li Zhaodi really wanted to catch Xiao Wu. Xiao Wu dodged and Shao Qiyun took a step forward. “I’m not dead yet, you stupid old woman. Xiao Wu already said that he doesn’t acknowledge you people anymore. How can you be shameless enough to snatch him away? Mu Jingzhe can’t give birth herself, so she’s insising on snatching my kid, right?

  “If she has the ability, let her give birth herself. That’s not right either. She and Shao Qihai have already divorced. Did they get a divorce because she couldn’t give birth? No wonder a stepmother like her is fighting to raise a child who isn’t biologically hers. Looks like it’s because she can’t give birth. She’s a hen who can’t lay eggs, so she doesn’t even know how to raise her butt and lay eggs…”

  \r \r \r

  “Who said that my Jingzhe can’t give birth? You’re the one who can’t!” When Li Zhaodi heard Shao Qiyun’s words, she immediately panicked. If word got out, it would be bad for Jingzhe.

  “Look at you getting all anxious. Seems like I was right. Mu Jingzhe can’t give birth…” Shao Qiyun was watching Li Zhaodi smugly, when the latter pounced over, making her feel a little afraid. “Don’t come over. What are you doing…”

  “Don’t scare my mother!” Xiao Wu held back Li Zhaodi, who was about to pounce on her. Li Zhaodi looked at Xiao Wu. “You… You’re going to anger me to death. She badmouthed Jingzhe, yet you’re still protecting her. You…”

  She raised her hand, ready to hit Xiao Wu, but when she looked at Xiao Wu’s face, she recalled how Xiao Wu had sweetly called her ‘Grandma’ in the past and even played the flute for her. She also recalled that he had treated Jingzhe well back then.

  “You… You…” Not having the heart to hit Xiao Wu, Li Zhaodi rushed toward Shao Qiyun, who was fanning the flames. “Shao Qiyun, I’ll teach you a lesson today and rip your mouth apart. Let’s see if you’ll still spout nonsense then!”

  Seeing that Li Zhaodi was about to catch Shao Qiyun, Xiao Wu panicked. He stepped forward and pushed Li Zhaodi to the side. “I told you not to touch her.”

  Li Zhaodi was caught off guard and fell to the ground. She was a little chubby, so she instantly fell backward with her hands and legs in the air. Shao Qiyun laughed out loud. “Why did you fall like a turtle?”

  Xiao Wu clenched his fists tightly. “Don’t come over again. Stop calling me an ingrate. You’re not my biological grandmother…”

  Li Zhaodi finally balanced her body and rubbed her butt, which hurt from the fall. Just as she was about to say something, she saw someone sweep in like a gust of wind and slap Xiao Wu, stopping him mid-sentence.

  Due to the loud slap, Xiao Wu took a big step back.

  He steadied himself and when he saw who had hit him, his heart became as numb as his face.

  “Mu Jingzhe, what are you doing? Why did you hit my son for no reason? Xiao Wu, are you alright?” Shao Qiyun stepped forward nervously. “Your face is red from the slap.”

  “I’m fine.” Xiao Wu pushed Shao Qiyun’s hand away and stared at Mu Jingzhe.

  Mu Jingzhe looked back at Xiao Wu. “Shao Zhong, you’ve emphasized that you’re ‘not biologically mine’ many times. There’s no need to emphasize it to my mother too.

  “You can change your mother at will and abandon her, but I can’t. You can criticize me, but you can’t criticize my mother, nor are you qualified to lay a hand on her. Shao Zhong, this slap is payback for pushing her.”

  Mu Jingzhe turned around and helped Li Zhaodi up. “Mom, are you alright? Does it hurt?”

  “No, I’m fine.” Li Zhaodi looked at Mu Jingzhe carefully. “Jingzhe, are you alright?”

  Her gaze was filled with worry, as she knew that Mu Jingzhe would feel terrible and her heart would ache. It was often said that hitting a child would hurt a mother’s heart. Mu Jingzhe had treasured Xiao Wu so much previously, so how could she bear to lay a finger on him? However, she had just slapped him.

  This was Jingzhe’s first time hitting Xiao Wu, so she was worried that Mu Jingzhe’s heart would ache.

  Shao Qiyun didn’t understand Li Zhaodi’s feelings. She was about to die from anger when she heard that. “She hit my son. My son should be the one in pain. Why do you need to ask if she’s alright?”

  After saying that, Shao Qiyun showered Xiao Wu with concern. When Mu Jingzhe heard her voice and looked at Li Zhaodi’s gaze, she almost couldn’t control her tears. “Mom, it doesn’t hurt.”

  Mu Jingzhe understood what Li Zhaodi meant. She was indeed in a lot of pain. How could she not feel pain after slapping him? However, she didn’t want Li Zhaodi to worry. “Mom, let’s go. From now on, just pretend you have one less grandson.”

  She smiled and added, “He’s not your biological grandson anyway. I’ll give birth to a biological child for you in the future. You can dote on him then. If he dares to be disobedient or unfilial, you can hit him all you want. No one will say anything.”

  Li Zhaodi glanced at Xiao Wu, who had his head lowered and was deep in thought, and heaved a sigh of relief. “Alright, it’s settled then. Let’s go.”

  As long as Jingzhe would think it through.

  Shao Qiyun was furious as she looked at them. “You make it sound like you’ve suffered a great grievance. You’re clearly the ones who came to cause trouble. You came all the way here to hit someone else’s child, yet you still think that you’re in the right.”

  “Yes, we do think that we’re in the right. After all, I raised him for the past few years. I think I still have the right to slap him, but today was the last time. We won’t do it again.”

  Regardless of whether there was a reason, the way Xiao Wu had treated Li Zhaodi had touched Mu Jingzhe’s reverse scale[1].

  She would just pretend that she didn’t have such a son from now on.

  [1] it refers to something that one shouldn’t touch