Chapter 101: Which Is Better—Birth Father or Stepfather?
On the little boat, Shao Xi finally learned to row.
He could have just sat there and played with the water while Ji Buwang and Mu Jingzhe rowed the boat. However, Shao Xi insisted on rowing the boat himself and asked Ji Buwang to go play with the water instead.
Ji Buwang: “…”
Why would a grown man like him play with the water?
On the other boats, the adults were rowing and the children were playing with the water, which ultimately became a splashing game. Why wasn’t it the same on their boat?
Ji Buwang was perplexed. He didn’t know the real reason Shao Xi was fighting to row the boat. Other than him really wanting to try rowing the boat, it was because he had seen the parents rowing the boat and their children playing with water on the other boats, looking very blissful.
He’d immediately eliminated the possibility of letting Ji Buwang row the boat, for he didn’t want strangers to get the wrong idea about their relationship.
When they reached the center of the lake, Shao Xi was a little tired. Mu Jingzhe could tell and said, “Let it float for a while for now. Let’s rest for a bit.”
“Okay.”
Mu Jingzhe warned him, “Be careful so you don’t fall into the water.”
In the modern era, life jackets were present during all water sports and other activities, but there were none here. Hence, Mu Jingzhe was a little nervous and felt insecure.
“I don’t really know how to swim, do you?” Mu Jingzhe asked Ji Buwang.
Ji Buwang shook his head. “I don’t either.”
“So none of us here can swim.” Mu Jingzhe didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “If I had known earlier, I would have confirmed it before we boarded.”
Mu Jingzhe could only swim in a swimming pool for a while. Although she kind of knew how to swim, if they were to fall into the water, she would barely be able to save herself, let alone rescue anyone else.
Mu Jingzhe shook her head as she thought of this. ‘Nothing’s going to happen, don’t think too much.’
Ji Buwang saw that Mu Jingzhe was holding onto the edge of the boat tightly and quickly consoled her. “Don’t be too nervous. Look, there are lifeguards over there. There are also lifeguards on that boat.” Ji Buwang pointed to the shore and the boat not far away. “The people on that boat are ready to save people at any time.”
The fact that this rowing activity had been able to continue operating so far meant that nothing major had happened.
“That’s good.” Mu Jingzhe relaxed a little.
Shao Xi looked at Mu Jingzhe and couldn’t help but say, “I’ll learn it when we get back. I’ll be able to save you after I master it, so you don’t have to be afraid.”
Seeing that Mu Jingzhe was actually afraid, Shao Xi secretly decided to go back and learn from the uncles and older brothers in the village who knew how to swim.
Mu Jingzhe’s eyes lit up when she heard that. “Sure. If there’s a chance in the future, you can sign up for swimming lessons.” It was good to learn how to swim. It could ensure one’s safety and also train one’s body.
Shao Xi: “Is there a need to spend money to learn?”
Couldn’t he just go to the riverside to learn from someone? Why did he have to sign up for everything that he wanted to learn? “Mom, is there really a swimming class?”
Mu Jingzhe nodded and said, “Of course. There’ll be even more such classes in the future. You can learn anything. I believe you’ll be able to master it, Little Xi.”
At this point, Mu Jingzhe hurriedly reminded him, “However, Little Xi, don’t think that you can save people just because you’ve learned how to swim. Being able to swim and saving people are two different things. Those who can save people are all professionally trained.
“So, Little Xi, even if you manage to learn how to swim in the future, if your skills don’t meet the requirements and you’re not trained, you’ll have to act according to your abilities when you encounter something. Otherwise, you’ll end up losing your life trying to save someone.”
Shao Xi nodded obediently. “I understand.” At the moment, there wasn’t anyone he particularly wanted to save. At most, it would just be his family.
After they chatted for a long while, the splashing game finally began belatedly. In fact, they even started playing with the people on the next boat.
Since the weather was hot, there was no need to be afraid of catching a cold. Thus, they really enjoyed themselves.
After the adjacent boat rowed away, their battle ended, but the game continued. Shao Xi and Mu Jingzhe automatically formed a team to deal with Ji Buwang.
At that moment, Shao Xi finally completely forgot about what had happened before and focused on having fun. This was the first time he was shouting excitedly without any scruples.
Their laughter traveled all the way to the shore. Shao Qihai, who was on the shore, was speechless.
He clenched and unclenched his fists as he stared at the three people on the boat in the distance. Countless times, he imagined throwing Ji Buwang into the water and telling him that this was his wife and child.
He should have been playing with them on the boat. He should have been their father and husband, but now, he could only watch from afar.
When Jiang Feng had told him that Mu Jingzhe wanted to remarry, he hadn’t felt so strongly about it. However, now that he had seen it, he felt that this wouldn’t do, even though she hadn’t even remarried yet.
And Little Xi, are you kids going to accept Ji Buwang as your stepfather so soon? Don’t tell me he’s better than your biological father?
When Shao Qihai heard Shao Xi address Mu Jingzhe as ‘Mommy’, he felt conflicted and gratified. He had asked them to do so before, but the children had been unwilling to change the way they addressed her.
Since they were willing to call her ‘Mommy’ now, it meant that Mu Jingzhe treated them very well. Based on the way they interacted with each other, Shao Xi seemed very reliant on her.
In just a few short months, Shao Qihai felt that both the children and Mu Jingzhe were completely different from what he remembered.
Just as Shao Qihai’s eyes were about to ache from staring so hard, the laughter finally stopped, as Mu Jingzhe and the rest had gotten tired of playing.
“Let’s call a truce and rest for a while. I’m laughing so hard that my face hurts.”
Ji Buwang immediately stopped when he saw Mu Jingzhe asking to stop. He looked at Mu Jingzhe’s smile under the sunlight and felt a fullness in his heart.
“Mom, let me rub it for you.” Upon hearing Mu Jingzhe say that her face was sore, Shao Xi immediately spoke and raised his hand to rub her face.
Mu Jingzhe couldn’t help but burst into laughter again. “Ha ha! Little Xi, why are you so adorable? This is the first time I’ve heard someone offer to rub someone else’s face when it’s turned sore from laughing.”
Shao Xi used to be an arrogant little boy with a vicious tongue, but he was a complete sweetheart now.
“You’re too cute.” Mu Jingzhe couldn’t help but pinch his cheeks.
“I’m a real man.” Shao Xi was pleased to hear her call him cute, but he also felt a little regretful. He wanted to be a real man now.
Ji Buwang heard Shao Xi’s childish words and couldn’t help but laugh. “If you’re a man, what am I?”
Shao Xi looked at Ji Buwang. “You’re an old man.”
After saying that, Shao Xi felt that something was wrong. He bent over to get some water to splash back Ji Buwang, but when he looked down, he exclaimed in surprise.
“Mom, I think there’s something down there.”
“What?” Mu Jingzhe was about to take a look.
However, before she could turn around, something happened. A dark figure suddenly emerged from the bottom of the water and reached out to grab Shao Xi, who was looking down, and drag him away.
“Little Xi!”
Mu Jingzhe’s expression changed. Without thinking, she went to pull Shao Xi back. She managed to grab his clothes, but Shao Xi was already being taken away.
Mu Jingzhe didn’t let go and immediately fell into the water.
“Jingzhe!” Ji Buwang was shocked. Just as he was about to follow him down, he heard Mu Jingzhe shout without turning her head, “Don’t come down!”
Shao Xi didn’t know how to swim. She was a dabbler, and Ji Buwang couldn’t swim either. If he came down as well, it would be a complete mess.
Ji Buwang abruptly realized that if he jumped down, he might not be able to help and might even become a burden.
“Help! Can anyone come over and help?” Ji Buwang immediately shouted.
However, the rescue team on the lake was a little far away from them.
The rescue personnel on the shore jumped down without a word. There was one person who was faster than him, and that was Shao Qihai.