Chapter 100: Shao Qihai
Mu Jingzhe quickly said, “We weren’t talking about anything. Was it fun? Do you want to play again?”
“No.” Go play again and give him another chance to be alone with Mommy? Shao Xi wasn’t stupid.
After glancing at Ji Buwang vigilantly, Shao Xi squeezed himself between the two of them and took Mu Jingzhe’s hand, pointing at the lake in front of them.
“Mommy, let’s go row a boat.”
Although Brother had said that he shouldn’t stop his mother from getting married and having children, and he didn’t intend to stop her from doing so either, he really couldn’t bear for his mother to get married and have children so soon.
Their happy times together had been too short. So short that he would occasionally wake up at night and think it was a dream.
He wouldn’t force anything else. He just wanted this dream to go on a bit longer for him to truly feel this happiness. After he truly felt it, even if his mother got married and stopped loving them so much later, he would be able to remember this blissful feeling and memories.
Shao Xi held Mu Jingzhe’s hand tightly and suggested rowing the boat together, actively creating blissful memories.
No matter how much time passed, he could always remember this day, when he and his mother had rowed a boat in the park.
It was rare for Shao Xi to propose doing something, so how could Mu Jingzhe not agree? “Alright, let’s row the boat.”
Ji Buwang watched as Shao Xi pulled Mu Jingzhe away, then rubbed his nose and followed them.
Although he couldn’t see Shao Xi’s expression, he could sense the little boy’s hostility toward him.
Well, among the five children, except for Xiao Wu, who was very compatible with him, the other four were a little hostile to him and treated him as the bad guy who was trying to steal their mommy.
Although… the kids’ intuition was indeed pretty accurate. He did seem guilty of doing that now.
Mu Jingzhe couldn’t let go of the five children. If he really wanted to have a good ending with her, he couldn’t ignore the children.
He was actually rather fond of these five kids, so after he’d realized he had feelings for her, he had considered this problem. Previously, he had even asked other parents what it was like raising children.
Although he’d received different answers, some saying it was easy and some saying it was hard, he didn’t plan on giving up just like that.
The problem was the children’s attitude toward him. Apart from Xiao Wu, how could he make the others accept him as their stepfather?
On the first day that he made his intentions clear, Ji Buwang inexplicably felt that it would be a long journey. After all, they were five children, and five smart children at that. They seemed to be even harder to deal with than five brothers-in-law.
Shao Xi pulled Mu Jingzhe toward the boats.
A park was only complete with a lake. Although the lake wasn’t big, despite its small size, it had everything.
Unlike modern tourist boats, such as the yellow duck tour boats that could be pedaled, this was a kind of boat that required rowing.
After observing for a moment, Mu Jingzhe found the cleanest and newest boat.
“Boss, how much to rent the boat?”
The boss, who had been hiding in the shade, slowly sat up and answered hoarsely.
He was wearing a tank top and shorts and he had a fan in his hand. When he looked up, all that could be seen of him was a full beard and a big straw hat, making it impossible to see his face.
Mu Jingzhe took a casual glance and retracted her gaze. “Let’s rent it for an hour first.”
Mu Jingzhe was about to pay when Ji Buwang beat her to it. “I happen to have some change here.”
He smiled and looked at the boss. “Boss, take the money.”
The boss, who had been staring at Mu Jingzhe and Shao Xi, snapped out of his thoughts. He cast a glance at Ji Buwang and took the money.
For some reason, Ji Buwang felt a chill run down his spine. He glanced at the boss suspiciously but couldn’t tell if something was wrong.
“Let’s go, Jingzhe, Shao Xi.”
“Let’s go.” Mu Jingzhe pulled Shao Xi. Shao Xi frowned and glanced at the boss, then let out an ‘eh’.
For some reason, Shao Xi felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity when he looked at the boss, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen him before.
Just as he was about to think about it carefully, his attention was regretfully diverted by Mu Jingzhe.
Shao Xi turned around and left. The boss, who had originally lowered his head, suddenly looked up and stared at Mu Jingzhe and Shao Xi.
He had noticed Mu Jingzhe and Shao Xi the moment they had arrived. It was impossible for him not to notice them, as Shao Xi was his son.
Even though Shao Xi had grown up and changed a lot, he was still his son. He could therefore recognize him at a glance.
Although he had a full beard and long hair, his expression and eyes revealed a hint of familiarity.
If Shao Xi would just take a few more looks and imagine this man without his sideburns and beard, he would definitely be able to recognize this person as the heartless father who had abandoned them, Shao Qihai.
Shao Qihai was currently hiding in secret and hadn’t expected to run into them.
At first, he’d only heard Mu Jingzhe’s familiar voice and felt that he recognized it, but he hadn’t dared confirm that it was Mu Jingzhe.
Because Mu Jingzhe’s clothes were too different compared to the past, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she had completely turned into a different person.
However, later on, Ji Buwang had called her name, and Shao Xi was also there. Even if he didn’t want to admit it, he had to. This completely different, dazzling, and unfamiliar woman was Mu Jingzhe, his wife.
However, this married couple didn’t recognize each other when they met. More importantly, he saw Ji Buwang following them around.
Shao Qihai looked at Ji Buwang, who was taking care of Mu Jingzhe and Shao Xi, and frowned. So… Jiang Feng might be right.
Mu Jingzhe seemed to be quite popular now, and it was very likely that she would remarry.
Shao Qihai couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable. To Mu Jingzhe, Shao Qihai had already been dead when she’d transmigrated there. As soon as she’d arrived, she had been a single person, free to fall in love or get married. It all depended on whether she wanted to or not.
But to Shao Qihai, regardless of whether they were close or not, he and Mu Jingzhe were married. In his heart, Mu Jingzhe was his wife. It was impossible for him to not care.
In order to avoid his family being implicated and ensure their safety, he had faked his death. It was normal for Mu Jingzhe to remarry or befriend someone new. Shao Qihai knew that she wasn’t at fault.
However, even though he knew it, he still felt terrible when he really saw it. Furthermore, that person was Ji Buwang.
Logically speaking, Ji Buwang and Shao Qihai were people from two completely different worlds that shouldn’t have had any interactions.
However, the two of them had crossed paths before. Not only did they know each other, but they were also old rivals.
Ji Buwang used to be a marksman. Even though he had only learned for a short time and was only an amateur, he had been born to do this.
With his talent, he had managed to defeat a group of professional men at the outdoor shooting range.
The professional men were Shao Qihai’s comrades. They’d thought that they were professional, but in the end, they had been taught a harsh lesson by pretty Ji Buwang.
After this matter had spread to the troops, the higher-ups had gotten very angry and even increased the intensity of their training, telling them to buck up and be more professional. They also hadn’t forgotten to ask Shao Qihai to ‘take revenge’.
Since it wasn’t suitable to have a formal competition, the higher-ups had asked Shao Qihai to spar with Ji Buwang at the outdoor shooting range to knock him down a notch.
In the end, he hadn’t succeeded. Although Shao Qihai hadn’t lost, he hadn’t won either.
The two of them had been evenly matched and tied. After that incident, Shao Qihai had deeply remembered Ji Buwang, his competitor, and even agreed to compete again.
Alas, they hadn’t gotten a chance to compete again subsequently. He had retired from the army due to an injury, and Ji Buwang had also gotten into an accident that had caused him to become a vegetable.
When he’d heard that, he had felt as regretful as everyone else. After all, they were rare competitors who had appreciated each other.
Unexpectedly, they’d bumped into each other today. Ji Buwang, who was supposed to be in a vegetative state, was following Mu Jingzhe around and fawning over her.
No matter what, Mu Jingzhe was still his wife… At this thought, Shao Qihai suddenly froze. He remembered that he was supposed to be dead, so this relationship seemed to be temporarily invalid.
But Ji Buwang had always been arrogant, so why was he treating Mu Jingzhe differently?
As Shao Qihai listened to the laughter on the boat, he felt conflicted. He stared at the boat that was slowly rowing away.