After this kiss, Mu Jingzhe forgot all about tickling him. In the end, Ji Buwang suffered another round of torture, feeling both pain and joy.

  After Mu Jingzhe obtained strength from Ji Buwang and formulated a plan, she immediately implemented it. For this reason, she specifically summoned Shao Dong, Shao Nan, Little Bei, and Xiao Wu, basically all the kids except Shao Xi, and told them about her concerns and plan.

  Shao Nan and the rest could sense Shao Xi’s change and were very supportive. “No problem, Mommy. We know what to do.”

  “I’ll tell Daddy too,” Shao Dong said.

  “Alright, we’ll implement the plan starting today.”

  Shao Xi quickly sensed the change in his family’s attitude toward him. It wasn’t like they were ignoring him, but they were clearly much colder to him.

  No matter what he said, they weren’t as supportive as before. Plus, they didn’t praise him anymore.

  He thought that it was just his imagination, but when he took his new work and went to look for Mu Jingzhe, she wasn’t as excited as before. She even asked Shao Xi to put it aside, as if she couldn’t be bothered to look at it.

  Of course, in the end, Mu Jingzhe still read it, but she wasn’t as thrilled as before. Her expression didn’t change either, and she simply returned it to him after reading it.

  “Mommy, why aren’t you saying anything? Isn’t it a good read?” Shao Xi’s heart skipped a beat, and he was filled with trepidation.

  “It is. This was written by our great author Shao Xi. How can it not be a good read? So many people praise you.”

  Mu Jingzhe had said it was a good read, but her expression didn’t say that. Shao Xi pursed his lips. “Mom, tell me the truth. I’m asking you.”

  “Do you really want to hear the truth?”

  “Of course,” Shao Xi replied without hesitation.

  “Alright then. Actually, I was just giving you face just now. To be honest, it was… it was just average this time. You didn’t surprise me much.”

  Mu Jingzhe shrugged and looked at Shao Xi’s expression. “Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine.” Shao Xi said that he was fine, but he was flustered. “I’ll think about it again. The exercise book…”

  \r \r \r

  He had wanted to say that he would leave the exercise book to Mu Jingzhe, just like in the past, but Mu Jingzhe didn’t even look at the exercise book, and it was obvious that she had no intention of keeping it.

  Shao Xi gripped his exercise book tightly and turned around to leave.

  After he left, Mu Jingzhe looked up. “I wonder if this will be too big a blow…”

  Actually, Shao Xi had written quite a good piece this time. There was no doubt about his ability, but there was indeed no surprise there. Therefore, Mu Jingzhe had controlled her expression and carried out her plan.

  Shao Xi had indeed suffered a huge blow. This was the first time he had seen Mu Jingzhe like this. After taking a closer look, he even started to doubt himself.

  That night, Shao Xi didn’t feel like he was floating on air for the first time in a long while. Instead, he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. There was also a hint of indignation in him. “Average? How can it be average? I can write something extraordinary!”

  After saying that, he started writing furiously in the middle of the night.

  Worried about Shao Xi, Shao Dong slept with him. Upon seeing that he was writing in the middle of the night, something he rarely did, he couldn’t help but smile.

  The next day, as soon as Mu Jingzhe woke up, Shao Xi stopped her and asked her to look at his new piece of work.

  After taking a look, Mu Jingzhe almost couldn’t control her expression. When Shao Xi exploded for real, it was quite a pleasant surprise, but she still controlled her expression.

  “A bit better than yesterday. Why did you write something again so quickly?”

  Mu Jingzhe returned the exercise book to Shao Xi after reading it. Although she had said that it was a bit better, she didn’t appear delighted or anything.

  Shao Xi’s heart sank. Then, he lowered his head and walked away. He felt extremely aggrieved and couldn’t help punching the pillow when he returned to his room.

  “Was it really that bad? But I’ve already gotten very serious. I think it’s very good too. Isn’t it much better than what I wrote when I was younger?

  “In the past, you used to praise me for writing well and you even wanted to collect my exercise books. You even once asked how my brain grew to be so clever, but now…”

  It was as if Shao Xi had been let down by a scumbag lover. He was simply too sad.

  Shao Dong, who was observing him from outside, accidentally heard this. He almost couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

  Although she felt amused, Mu Jingzhe’s heart ached a little when she heard that. However, she still braced herself and persisted. Then, she bought many books according to the plan. They were all carefully chosen. Most importantly, the authors who had written them were young.

  Shao Xi then went on to hear Mu Jingzhe, Shao Dong, and the others praise other people’s work for several days. They even said that they wanted to invest in them to have them turned into animation.

  Shao Xi almost died from anger when he heard that. He said that he despised looking at these books, but at night, he couldn’t help but secretly read them.

  He recalled what Mu Jingzhe and the others had said about the strengths of these books over the past few days and realized that they were right. There was indeed always someone better than him.

  After three rounds of rehabilitation therapy, Shao Xi finally calmed down and his feet landed on the ground.

  Later on, Mu Jingzhe reminded him that it was time for him to pay his respects and burn his work. Everything about Chubby Boy surfaced in Shao Xi’s mind again, followed by his own original intention.

  Yeah, he had wished to do this back then.

  Shao Xi’s heart sank completely. He found back his original intention and showed his sincerity. The sense that he was floating in the air also finally disappeared.

  When Shao Xi matured, he realized that Mu Jingzhe and his siblings had deliberately tricked him.

  It was fortunate that they had. He now understood the good intentions of Mu Jingzhe and the others.

  In the blink of an eye, the New Year was almost there. They had originally wanted to go back to the county city to celebrate the New Year, but because there was an urgent matter to attend to at the studio, Shao Dong and the others went back first. Mu Jingzhe stayed behind and postponed her return by two days.

  Seeing that Mu Jingzhe hadn’t left, Ji Buwang also postponed his return to the capital by two days.

  Without the children, the two of them finally had a rare chance to be alone. After two days, they would have to separate again, so they were even more reluctant to part.

  Ji Buwang’s house was right beside them, but he kept hanging out at Mu Jingzhe’s place for no reason and couldn’t bear to leave. After having dinner, going for a walk, and returning, he still couldn’t bear to leave.

  “Hurry back. I’m going to take a shower. I’ll sleep after I’m done. You should too. Have a good night’s sleep when you get back.” The two of them were alone. They clearly weren’t doing anything, but for some reason, Mu Jingzhe felt something in the air. Thus, she sent Ji Buwang home.

  Ji Buwang agreed and left obediently. When he returned, he even took a bath. However, after washing up, he realized that he had forgotten to say goodnight, so he put on his coat and ran back.

  He had the keys to Mu Jingzhe’s house, so he could come and go as he pleased.

  Boys typically showered faster than girls. When Mu Jingzhe came out slowly, she was startled to see Ji Buwang there. “Why are you back?”

  “I forgot to say goodnight.” Ji Buwang kissed Mu Jingzhe. “I’m just here to do that. Goodnight.”

  “You’re really… Okay, I heard you. Goodnight to you too. I’ll go to sleep now.”

  “Wait, your hair isn’t dry yet.” Ji Buwang frowned.

  “It’s fine. My hair is short, so it’ll dry in a while.” Even now, Mu Jingzhe still mainly sported a short hairstyle.

  “Even so, you should dry your hair before you go to sleep. Otherwise, you’ll get a headache. I’ll help you dry your hair before I leave.”

  “No need. I can dry it myself.” Mu Jingzhe helplessly went to the room to find a towel. She then sat by the bed and started wiping her hair off.