Shao Dong’s eyes were filled with concern, and Mu Jingzhe laughed out loud. “It’s fine. What could have happened to me? I was angered previously, but I’m fine now.”

  Even though Mu Jingzhe had said that she was fine, she suddenly said that she wanted to make glutinous rice cakes when she returned from Li Fang’s house. Then, she started making glutinous rice cakes in the courtyard. It was only after she broke out in a cold sweat in the winter that she stopped.

  That night, Mu Jingzhe, who had eaten brown sugar glutinous rice, fell asleep feeling exhausted. The next day, Mu Jingzhe and the rest left Great Eastern Village.

  After that, Mu Jingzhe, Li Zhaodi, and the four kids all tried their best to ignore the news about Xiao Wu and Shao Qiyun. Even Shao Qihai no longer paid attention.

  Relationships would slowly wear off. When there was too much disappointment, there would be no more hope left.

  After the New Year, Mu Jingzhe entered a busy state again. She and Little Bei went to the production team of the ancient drama that they had agreed to work on previously.

  Long before the filming process started, the main actors entered the production team to participate in the training. Because it was a period drama, the actors had to participate in training to learn both how to talk and walk. In order to achieve the wanted effect, they had to learn historical knowledge and etiquette so that they could better portray the characters.

  The production team was very serious. Little Bei had also come to train for a few days previously, but she had practiced long ago, so she didn’t take as much time as everyone else.

  After filming officially started, there was no shortage of teachers in the production team. The etiquette, clothes, and everything else were highly accurate.

  Although they were just filming a television drama, the seriousness was the same as in a movie production. Or rather, it was more exquisite than in ordinary movies.

  Mu Jingzhe liked this serious way of doing things and felt that she had also learned a lot. Other than filming daily, Little Bei also liked to talk to the history teachers and experts the crew had invited.

  \r \r \r

  Little Bei’s role was more complicated. In the early stages, she was an innocent little girl. She could have grown up without worries, but the circumstances didn’t allow her to do so. Amid a power struggle, she married someone at the age of ten.

  She was only ten years old and had a tender face, but she was still forced to comb her hair into the style of a married woman.

  This character underwent a huge transformation in the early and late stages. The little girl had to transform in the short span of one year. In spite of her tender face, the look in her eyes made it seem as if she had experienced many vicissitudes in life. It was a huge test for her acting skills. Everyone was worried that Little Bei wouldn’t be able to portray the character well, but after a few adjustments, Little Bei managed to act perfectly.

  The director’s attitude toward Little Bei changed visibly. He kept saying that they had to collaborate again in the future.

  Of course, the director was also very satisfied with Mu Jingzhe and kept marveling at how wonderful her work was. Later on, he even mentioned Xiao Wu and said that the television drama needed some grand music. He expressed the desire to collaborate with Xiao Wu.

  In the past, this would have been a very joyous matter, but this time, it was just awkward. She could only tell the director that she couldn’t make any decisions regarding Xiao Wu now. If the director wanted to work with him, he’d have to contact him himself.

  Everyone sensed something different and tactfully stopped mentioning Xiao Wu in front of Mu Jingzhe.

  Mu Jingzhe stopped paying attention to Xiao Wu and completely broke off all ties to this youngest son of hers. Although it was very childish, Xiao Wu seemed to be very satisfied and never contacted her again. He just guarded Shao Qiyun every day like a filial son.

  Mu Jingzhe and Little Bei stayed in the production team for a period of time. They were busy working and they tried their best to forget about Xiao Wu. No one would mention Xiao Wu anymore either. However, when the director mentioned Xiao Wu, it seemed like the ‘Xiao Wu switch’ had been turned on again. Then, from time to time, they would hear news about Xiao Wu.

  For example, Xiao Wu seemed to have taken on many jobs. No matter who asked, as long as the price was high, he would take on the job, be it accompaniment music or song writing.

  At first, there was no news about it, but slowly, people started talking about Xiao Wu’s exorbitant asking prices. Even his reputation was affected.

  Shao Qiyun was the one who negotiated, so everyone had a deep impression of her. Later on, there were reports that Xiao Wu had changed his mind halfway and now refused to acknowledge his adoptive mother, only acknowledging his biological mother at present.

  In the past, Xiao Wu’s identity had caused quite a lot of discussion. At the time, some people had supported Xiao Wu, and other people had said that she was still his biological mother. Although there were disagreements over this issue, they had already accepted the fact that Xiao Wu wouldn’t acknowledge his biological mother.

  In the end, after such a long time, Xiao Wu had actually gone back on his word. He even personally contacted the reporters and said in an interview that Shao Qiyun was his biological mother and that he had nothing to do with Mu Jingzhe anymore. He hoped that everyone wouldn’t report this inaccurately in the future.

  Based on this, the production team understood why Mu Jingzhe no longer mentioned Xiao Wu. After the report was published, Xiao Wu was scolded again and people called him ungrateful. However, Xiao Wu had no intention of clarifying anything. He only said that this was what his biological mother wanted.

  It turned out that Shao Qiyun was dissatisfied with the fact that everyone only remembered that Xiao Wu’s mother was Mu Jingzhe, so he specifically had a report published to clarify this.

  When Mu Jingzhe left the production team midway, she heard more news about Xiao Wu. The reason Xiao Wu had taken on so many movies and television shows was to earn money. The money he had earned previously wasn’t enough to splurge, as he wanted to buy Shao Qiyun a car and jewelry.

  At first, when Shao Qiyun came back, it was said that she had changed. However, her true colors were quickly revealed. Watches, gold, silver jewelry, clothes, and all that required money. Although Xiao Wu could earn money, he couldn’t keep up with the speed at which she spent money. That was why he took on so many jobs.

  The price he charged had increased, and the speed at which he worked had increased as well. However, among the work that Xiao Wu submitted, only a portion met his previous standards, while the rest was very ordinary.

  It might not be that bad, but some people said that he was no longer inspired like before and his music wasn’t that infectious anymore.

  “Shang Zhongyong[1]” was mentioned again. Shao Qiyun directly retorted that Xiao Wu’s work was still superb. As long as he had time, he would even play it for her every day. She was very obviously being protective.

  Unlike Mu Jingzhe, who kept a low profile, Shao Qiyun, his current mother, was different. She was very enthusiastic about appearing in front of the camera and was extremely willing to be interviewed by reporters. She would even go on shows with Xiao Wu.

  In the past, Xiao Wu hadn’t been very willing to accept interviews or go on other shows. He had kept a low profile. However, after he went to live with Shao Qiyun, he became very high-profile. Because Shao Qiyun said that she liked it, he went to these events. Not only did she want him to show his face, but Shao Qiyun would think of a way to show her own face and speak every time. She would always say Xiao Wu this and Xiao Wu that, clearly very eager to play up the image of a loving mother and son with Xiao Wu.

  She liked the feeling of being watched by everyone. She also wanted to earn money and become famous. She hadn’t given up on acting and she still wanted to become a movie star like those other beautiful women.

  She felt that, with her good looks, she was perfectly up to the task. Sometimes, she would even use this as a condition when someone wanted to work with Xiao Wu. Xiao Wu could work with them, but they had to include her.

  However, Xiao Wu’s situation was a little special. He didn’t know many people, and his foundation was still unstable. Previously, with Mu Jingzhe and Ji Buwang’s help, everything had gone smoothly. Now that the ignorant, money-grubbing Shao Qiyun had taken over, after interacting with her once, people were immediately put off.

  Even those who had previously had a good impression of Xiao Wu and wanted to collaborate with him quickly became afraid.

  While Shao Qiyun still felt that things were going very well, their situation was actually slowly deteriorating. In contrast, Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei’s situation continued improving.

  [1] a wasted child prodigy