For some reason, Shao Qihai thought of this. He hadn’t even recalled this back when Mu Jingzhe had wanted to get a divorce. But now, when he heard that she was going to remarry, these memories all came back to him.

  However, after recalling this, he realized that he hadn’t been a good person at the time either.

  Just as he started feeling upset, he heard Shao Dong say, “Then buy a few more pieces of clothing this year, Daddy. Buy a suit too. When the time comes, wear it and attend the wedding.”

  “Alright.” Shao Qihai agreed. He hadn’t married her properly and treated her well back then. Now, he should at least properly witness her happiness.

  Seeing that Shao Qihai had agreed, Shao Dong smiled. “Dress more handsomely when the time comes, Daddy. Don’t look too inferior to Uncle Ji.” Though it was impossible to snatch the groom’s thunder, they could be evenly matched.

  Shao Qihai laughed. “If you continue speaking like this, you’ll ignite my competitiveness. When the time comes, what if I really dress better than the groom and outshine him?”

  “No, Daddy, you won’t,” Shao Dong said honestly. “Besides, Uncle Ji’s limelight isn’t something you can snatch away just because you want to.”

  Shao Qihai choked. “You’re so honest.” After saying that, he paused for a moment and said nonchalantly, “After your mother gets married, you’ll have to change your form of address too, right?”

  When he thought of the five kids calling Ji Buwang ‘Daddy’, he felt very upset, but this couldn’t be changed.

  “Yes.” Shao Dong admitted it directly. Eventually, in order to distinguish the two of you, shouldn’t we come up with an exclusive title for each of you? For example, ‘Big Daddy’ and ‘Little Daddy’? Or ‘Daddy Ji’ and ‘Daddy Mu’?”

  “What ‘Big Daddy’ and ‘Little Daddy’? That’s absurd. The ones with the surname are ridiculous too. No… Maybe you kids can call Ji Buwang ‘Papa’ and call me ‘Daddy’ in order to distinguish us?”

  Shao Qihai endured this heartache and discussed how they should address Ji Buwang with Shao Dong.

  “Then I’ll ask Uncle Ji later and see what he thinks.” Shao Dong nodded.

  \r \r \r

  Not wanting to continue this conversation, Shao Qihai got down to business. “Little Dong, why haven’t you kids spent any money recently?”

  “Because Mommy is getting married, Grandpa Ji was happy and tried his best to spend money on us, so we didn’t have to spend any. He felt that the betrothal gifts were not enough, so he wasn’t very pleased.”

  When Shao Qihai heard Shao Dong’s words, his heart suddenly felt empty for a moment.

  He had also heard that the Ji Family had insisted on giving more betrothal gifts. He couldn’t help but compare this to his wedding. He remembered that his family hadn’t given Mu Jingzhe any betrothal gifts at the time.

  Zhao Lan had looked down on Mu Jingzhe and used the excuse that she wasn’t Mu Xue to completely omit the betrothal gifts. It was useless, even though Li Zhaodi had gone over to fight with her. As a result, she and Mu Jingzhe had become the butt of many jokes in the village.

  Li Zhaodi had refused to give up. Ignoring the scratches on her face and body, she had gone to look for Shao Qihai. She had sat outside the department store and cried, forcing Shao Qihai to buy a watch. She had said that Mu Jingzhe had to at least get one decent betrothal gift, as their family had given them the sewing machine as a dowry.

  Everyone knew that the sewing machine was a dowry that Old Lady Mu had prepared for Mu Xue, but it had been stolen by the husband and wife. At the time, Shao Qihai really hadn’t liked shrews like Li Zhaodi. He had only bought the watch because he had felt that it was embarrassing.

  Back then, he had hated being forced. When Zhao Lan had found out that Li Zhaodi had actually forced her son to buy a watch, she had stormed over to their door and almost ended the marriage.

  Their marriage had been like one farce after another. While the Shao Family had tried their best not to give Mu Jingzhe a single betrothal gift, the Ji Family was trying its best to shower her with gifts. The contrast was too obvious and cruel.

  Shao Qihai couldn’t help but laugh, his face filled with misery. “Why bother… Shao Qihai, stop comparing us.”

  The more he compared the two weddings, the more he hurt. He was simply asking to be humiliated. How could he have the face to compare himself to her new groom?

  “Might as well. I’m glad you’re happy. They value you enough…”

  The two weddings were worlds apart. No wonder he had failed to keep her.

  If it were him, he would have chosen the Ji Family too.

  He could only blame himself for not helping Mu Jingzhe at all because he’d had Mu Xue in his heart back then. All he had seen were Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng, who were nasty pieces of work. He had only been worried that if he had such parents-in-law, they would continue to throw tantrums and force him to do things in the future.

  At the time, he had been filled with frustration. But now, when he looked back, he realized that those unreasonable and shrewish acts had been forced out of Li Zhaodi. Behind them had been the heartache of a parent.

  Just look at them now. The Ji Family valued Mu Jingzhe, so Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng’s actions were the complete opposite of their actions back then.

  Other than Old Lady Mu’s favoritism and Zhao Lan’s unreasonable attitude, the main reason for that situation had been him. He was the one who hadn’t done his duty and hadn’t protected Mu Jingzhe.

  If he had done his duty, Mu Jingzhe wouldn’t have been like the version that existed in his memories.

  While Shao Qihai was torturing himself, Shao Dong really went to ask Ji Buwang about changing their form of address.

  When Ji Buwang heard that they were planning to change their form of address after he married Jingzhe, he couldn’t help but grin. He was very happy, but he felt strange hearing them call him ‘Papa’.

  Ji Buwang’s eyes darted around. “Little Dong, why don’t you try calling me that way now to practice?”

  “No.” Shao Dong wasn’t fooled. He also felt embarrassed. “We’ll uniformly change our form of address when you get married.”

  “Just try it once. I want to hear it now. Who knows when I’ll be able to hear it in the future…” Ji Buwang acted shamelessly.

  “No.” Shao Dong was determined. “It won’t be long before you hear it. Uncle Ji, tell Mommy. I’m not talking to you anymore.”

  He then called for Mu Jingzhe and slipped away.

  When Mu Jingzhe heard the forms of address ‘Papa’ and ‘Daddy’, she laughed out loud. “Why is it so funny? Papa? No matter how I look at it, you don’t look like a ‘Papa’.”

  “I think it’s strange too, but this is the only suggestion they could come up with. Since they’re calling Shao Qihai ‘Daddy’, calling me ‘Daddy’ as well would confuse things.”

  Mu Jingzhe wanted to laugh again. One of them would be ‘Papa’ and the other ‘Daddy’. Anyone who didn’t know better would think that they had switched and the two men were getting married.

  Mu Jingzhe chuckled, and Ji Buwang immediately sensed that something was wrong. “Mu Jingzhe, what kind of nonsense are you thinking about again? Stop your brain at once.”

  “Nothing, nothing.” Mu Jingzhe quickly denied it, not daring to continue being impudent.

  Although Ji Buwang felt strange being called ‘Papa’, he still hoped that the children would change their form of address. He even asked Mu Jingzhe if he could tempt them to change their form of address early.