Shao Dong and Shao Xi were sitting in Mu Jingzhe's arms. This was the first time they were so close, so they were a little embarrassed.
However, their attention was quickly attracted.
Shao Qiyang had taken them on a bicycle only a few times before, so their eyes were filled with novelty.
Soon, the bumpy road distracted them from all that.
The bumpy dirt road made sitting on the crossbeam feel really good. Anyway, when they got to town, Shao Dong and Shao Xi felt like their butts and legs were so numb that they didn't seem to be theirs anymore. They had even swallowed a mouthful of dust.
Needless to say, their bodies were also covered in dust.
Compared to them, Shao Nan, Little Bei, and Xiao Wu were much better. While Shao Dong and Shao Xi had grown listless, the three of them would chatter from time to time.
When they arrived in town, after Shao Dong, Shao Xi, and Mu Jingzhe got off the bicycle, they started walking unsteadily.
Mu Jingzhe looked at the two children speechlessly. She knew what they were feeling.
Riding a bicycle on the roads of this era was really cruel and inhumane.
It made Mu Jingzhe suspect that her hymen would burst… Ah, no, that her butt was about to split into four pieces.
After this, she learned to stand and ride.
In spite of her tremendous strength, it was tiring for her.
It wasn't a joke to take care of five children. Besides, she had been tense all the way there.
Fortunately, she hadn't fallen.
"Let's go." Mu Jingzhe took the children to find Li Zhaodi's bun stall.
Now that the bun shop was selling steamed buns, fried dough sticks, tea eggs, and soy milk, business was becoming increasingly prosperous.
After eating, they rushed to the county city. This time, the road was much better.
When she rushed to the art school, she saw Ji Buwang standing in the distance.
Ji Buwang was still the most eye-catching existence. Mu Jingzhe thought that he was a character in a historical drama as he stood there.
"Mu Jingzhe."
Ji Buwang had also spotted Mu Jingzhe.
He had not seen her for a few days, so Ji Buwang heaved a sigh of relief when he saw her face clearly again.
He walked over to help Mu Jingzhe steady the bicycle. "I thought you wouldn't come."
"It's far from home." Mu Jingzhe was covered in dirt. With Ji Buwang's help, she carried Shao Xi and Shao Dong and placed them on the ground, then took Shao Nan and Little Bei out of the bamboo basket.
Ji Buwang looked at the neatly lined-up five children, whose eyes were filled with wariness.
"…"
He remembered that Little Bei and the kids called Mu Jingzhe 'Auntie'. He wanted to ask if they were her nephews and niece, but Mu Jingzhe couldn't be bothered to speak to him anymore.
"I'll take them in first. There's not enough time."
There were two foreign language classes in the morning.
Ji Buwang looked around. When he heard that they'd be hiring a teacher, he thought for a moment and went to the person in charge to recommend himself.
Since he had nothing to do, he might as well apply to be a teacher during the weekend. This way, he could naturally see Mu Jingzhe and wouldn't have to keep waiting.
What a good idea.
When the children finished their classes and Mu Jingzhe saw Ji Buwang again, Ji Buwang had already changed his identity.
"I'm a teacher here."
Mu Jingzhe exclaimed, "Teacher? Why did you suddenly become a teacher?"
"I just heard that they were looking for someone, so I applied."
"So fast? Do you have any skills to apply?"
Ji Buwang smiled. He naturally had the skills to apply for a teaching position for which they weren't recruiting.
There were fewer musical instruments in the newly established school, so there were also fewer musical instrument teachers. Since he had brought his own musical instrument, he naturally got the job when he applied for it.
Soon, a piano was carried into the art school. The piano teacher, Ji Buwang, took over the role.
The big guy attracted many people, including Little Bei and Xiao Wu. Ji Buwang also suggested that they learn to play the piano first.
The piano's strengths were obvious, which was why it would become one of the most common and popular musical instruments in the future.
"Playing it with both hands is beneficial to developing the left and right side of the brain. Furthermore, its pitch is fixed, which makes it very suitable for children who have just started learning music. The foundation of the piano will be very helpful in learning other musical instruments or vocal music in the future."
"This is a strength. The disadvantage is that it's inconvenient to carry around the piano, unlike other musical instruments that are portable. This, in turn, affects the training. Also, it will require a lot of money."
Buying a piano, especially a good one, required one to have the financial ability. If one didn't buy it, it would be difficult to learn it.
Ji Buwang suggested that they learn as much as they could first. After all, they didn't stand to lose anything by learning.
Xiao Wu and Little Bei were in his class, while Shao Dong, Shao Xi, and Shao Nan went to try out other courses.
Ji Buwang had come to class because of Mu Jingzhe, but after only two classes, he was stunned, and his original intention changed.
This was because he had discovered Xiao Wu's amazing learning ability.
He first taught them some basics, then simply played elementary melodies, letting everyone try.
The other children really just tried their hand at it, but Xiao Wu directly replicated the music.
Ji Buwang: "!!!"
"Mu Jingzhe, this child is incredible. He has absolute sound accuracy and excellent musical memory. He can play music after only hearing it once. Furthermore, this is his first time playing the piano. It's simply…" What a devil!
Ji Buwang excitedly told Mu Jingzhe about his discovery. Mu Jingzhe nodded and said, "I know. He was like this when he learned the trumpet and the erhu before. His only limitation is that his hands are a tad short."
Ji Buwang: "Are you that calm?"
Mu Jingzhe chuckled. "No, I'm very happy too."
Wasn't she used to it? Besides, she knew how impressive these children were because she had read the novel.
Ji Buwang looked at Mu Jingzhe, who was smiling awkwardly, and a hint of novelty flashed across his eyes. So this was what it felt like to see someone's face.
In the past, he used to only judge a person's emotions by their breathing and sounds. However, these things could all be disguised. This was the first time he saw a change of expression on a person's face.
Apart from a smiling, proud, troubled, puzzled face, and so on, he had unlocked a new expression.
Her emotional response and smile were both very interesting.
"In the future, let Xiao Wu come every week to learn. I'll teach him well."
Unexpectedly, he had met a very talented child. Even Ji Buwang started becoming serious about teaching.
"Okay."
The day passed quickly, and Ji Buwang reluctantly bade them farewell.
It had only been a day, but the children's mental and physical appearance felt different.
Little Bei chattered about the contents of her lessons. She had learned the most today and had even learned how to dance.
Later on, they showed off the foreign language they had learned. Mu Jingzhe encouraged them to speak more. It was important to speak so that they wouldn't stay mute due to their shyness to try speaking the new language.
As it has been said previously, the children were very serious about their studies, and each of them was smarter than the other. They had gained a lot.
Later on, in spite of his stutter, even Shao Dong started reading the letters he had learned while holding a flashlight.
Mu Jingzhe received feedback that the butterfly hair clip was selling very well. The boss directly tripled the order quantity and asked Mu Jingzhe to be prepared to deliver the goods at any time.
Mu Jingzhe wasn't surprised. She'd had a premonition that the butterfly hair clip would become popular, so she had prepared a lot of supplies in advance.
However, it seemed like this was still not enough. Mu Jingzhe decisively found four more people to join her production team.
Now, there was a total of seven female workers.
The four new candidates had all been observed by Mu Jingzhe during this period and were all delighted to be chosen.
Mu Jingzhe's movements made it clear to the villagers that she was about to make a fortune.
She felt very helpless about this. She was far from getting rich, but this career was really going to work.
Mu Jingzhe was very busy. She didn't know if it was because the news of her adding more people agitated Bai Qiang, but something happened on his end again.
Because the Li Family had held on and refused to give in, Li Fang refused to marry no matter what he did to tarnish her reputation. Hence, he changed his mind.
He said it was fine if Li Fang didn't want to marry him, but the Li Family had to compensate him.
The betrothal gifts, the money it had cost to marry Li Tao, and the money he had spent on Li Tao in the past three years—even the responsibility of the Bai Family not having a child—were all pushed entirely onto the Li Family. They even shamelessly asked the Li Family to be responsible for his second marriage. What an exorbitant demand.
That wasn't all. In fact, he even demanded the compensation to include Li Tao's salary.
He said that Li Tao had been previously earning money by working for Mu Jingzhe. Therefore, if Li Tao hadn't run away, the money would have been his.
The Li Family naturally wouldn't agree to such an absurd request. They didn't have that much money either.
This time, Bai Qiang was completely shameless. He called a few hooligans from the outer village to harass the Li Family every day. They would smash their things, snatch their food and drinks, and verbally and physically harass Li Fang. They hurled all sorts of humiliating insults at her.
Li Fang's parents ended up falling sick from fury.
Everyone in the village said that they were not dishonorable. Even the village leader had spoken, but Bai Qiang was shameless and refused to listen. He continued making a fuss and refused to leave until he got paid.
The matter between Bai Qiang and the Li Family attracted the attention of the villagers, but Mu Jingzhe kept a low profile.
In the blink of an eye, it was Sunday again. It was time to go learn in the county city.
However, Mu Jingzhe hadn't set off yet because it was raining.
When the rain subsided, Mu Jingzhe told the children to pack up and prepare to leave.
Before leaving the village, she ran into Mu Xue and Tang Moling.
Mu Xue was holding an umbrella and wearing a pale yellow dress and white sandals. She was taking Tang Moling to the car.
In the drizzling rain, the handsome man and beautiful woman looked like a gorgeous painting.
Mu Jingzhe looked at the pleasing scene, then looked at herself.
"…"
It was only when it rained that Mu Jingzhe realized that there was no umbrella at home.
During this time of the year, umbrellas were considered luxury goods by the villagers. Only Mu Xue had one.
Every family in the village used plastic sheets that had previously been used to contain urea compound fertilizer as umbrellas and raincoats.
The thing above Mu Jingzhe's head was a plastic sheet, and it made a lot of noise when the rain fell on it.
Upon looking down at her muddy wet pants and old shoes, Mu Jingzhe felt that she was an embarrassment to transmigrators everywhere.
When other people transmigrated, they transformed into glamorous and well-loved characters that racked in big bucks and everything. She was the only transmigrator who had to work hard to make a living every day.
After transmigrating here for so long, she didn't even own a dress or a pair of sandals.
Before transmigrating, she used to be a worker. After transmigrating, she was still a worker.
The villagers were still envious of her for earning money, but they had no idea how difficult it was to earn money here. Carrying those products and running around to negotiate business deals was no joke.
Without her monstrous strength, she would have died from exhaustion.
At the end of the day, this was similar to running a business, and she had to deal with countless cold faces. Fortunately, she had already trained herself to be thick-skinned.
She had worked so hard and she still lacked money. She was indeed a supporting character.
Look at the female protagonist, Mu Xue. She had been born smart and quick-witted. All she had to do was just wait for the male protagonist to love her and dote on her. Whatever she wanted to do, the male protagonist would be there to support and guide her through.
She remembered that in the novel, Mu Xue seemed to have published some books midway and even opened a shop later on. However, she hadn't suffered, and all she did was wait elegantly to receive the money.
Unlike her.
Mu Jingzhe was envious, but that was it. She preferred to take things step by step.
If she worked harder, life would get better and better in the future.
After thinking about all these random things, in order to avoid any misunderstandings between the male and female lead, Mu Jingzhe pretended not to see them and quietly walked away.
However, Mu Xue and Tang Moling had already seen her.
Mu Xue had a complicated expression on her face. "I heard that Mu Jingzhe sent the children to an art school in the county to study. She's really behaving like their mother now. She's being very responsible. She even went beyond what other parents do for their own children."
She hadn't expected Mu Jingzhe's transformation to be so thorough and lasting, that she would be so consistently good to the children and even manage to persist for so long.
Tang Moling raised his brows, feeling very surprised. Mu Jingzhe actually had great foresight and knew how to develop the children's artistic talents.
In spite of his curiosity, he said, "Who cares what she's thinking? Let's not talk about her."
That was the only appropriate thing for him to say. Otherwise, Mu Xue would be unhappy again.
Mu Jingzhe and the kids left first, but Tang Moling chased after them not long after they left the village.
Upon seeing Mu Jingzhe move with difficulty on her bicycle with the five children, Tang Moling frowned.
He had previously believed that Mu Jingzhe had deliberately said those words in order to attract his attention. He had even decided to ignore her in the future and make her give up on her own.
Unexpectedly, he had been given no chance to ignore her. During this period, whenever he had run into Mu Jingzhe, she had never looked for him. Instead, she had avoided him like the plague.
Tang Moling felt uncomfortable. He suddenly suspected his conclusion had been wrong.
Was she really not playing hard to get?
Tang Moling looked at her pathetic back as she tried her best to ride the bicycle. He suddenly wanted to confirm her intentions.
"Do you want a ride?" Tang Moling stuck out his head and offered her a ride.
Mu Jingzhe had seen his car. Due to the narrow roads, she had stopped the bike to give way to him. She froze in surprise at the sudden offer.
"A ride?"
Seeing the genuine surprise on Mu Jingzhe's face, Tang Moling narrowed his eyes. "That's right. It's not easy to ride a bike in this weather."
He was momentarily frustrated after those words came out of his mouth, but when he saw Mu Jingzhe's reaction, his frustration ceased.
He wanted to see if she was deliberately ignoring him to attract his attention.
If she was doing this on purpose, he would pretend to be attracted to her. When she revealed her true colors, he would say those awful words back to her and show her how it felt to be despised.
Tang Moling gave her a perfect smile. "Get in quickly. You don't want to catch a cold."
Mu Jingzhe looked at the children and made up her mind. "Alright, thank you."
It was probably because she hadn't been up to any mischief recently that this future cousin-in-law of hers had shown mercy and taken pity on her.
That was fine. After all, he would be her cousin-in-law in the future.
It would be good to improve her relationship with the male and female protagonist.
None of the kids objected.
After all, they were still children, so they were very curious about cars.
This was their first time sitting in a car.
Previously, when there had been fewer people around, they had secretly gone to take a look. However, they didn't dare approach, afraid that they would bump into the car or scratch it and have no money to compensate the owner.
The five kids got down from the bike and stood a little awkwardly. They looked down at their shoes and pants, feeling a little hesitant.
Tang Moling could tell. "It's fine. Get in the car."
After driving to the village, it was inevitable that the car would get dirty. It wouldn't take them long to get there anyway.
Only then did the five kids smile.
Little Bei's eyes were filled with excitement. She pulled at Mu Jingzhe's clothes and asked, "Auntie, can I sit in the front?"
She felt that sitting in the front was very impressive. The last time she had gone to the joint performance, she had seen some students sitting in the front passenger seat.
Tang Moling frowned slightly when he heard that. He didn't like having children by his side, nor did he like having people sitting in the front passenger seat, as they would either be overly nervous or overly relaxed.
The overly nervous ones would shout and scream. As for the overly relaxed ones, they would touch the car here and there. Sometimes, they would be so enthusiastic that they would force him to eat or even tug at him.
Upon recalling these experiences, Tang Moling was about to speak.
However, he then heard Mu Jingzhe say, "No, Little Bei. Children can't sit in the passenger seat. It's dangerous."
"Then Auntie, you sit there and I'll sit on your lap." Little Bei's form of address became increasingly intimate.
"That won't do either. It's dangerous for an adult to hold a child in the front." Mu Jingzhe continued to shake her head.
In the end, Shao Dong sat in the back with Little Bei on his lap.
There weren't enough seats, so Mu Jingzhe, the biggest person among them, sat in the front.
Seeing that he didn't have to waste his breath, Tang Moling heaved a sigh of relief.
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When they got on the road, Tang Moling felt more at ease.
He couldn't open the window because it was raining, so as time passed, the window would begin to get foggy. He wanted to get a towel, but Mu Jingzhe consciously wiped it away to prevent the mist from fogging up his vision.
When some leaves fell on the rearview mirror, without needing him to say anything, she opened the car window and removed them.
When he felt thirsty and wanted to retrieve the teacup to drink some water, Mu Jingzhe saw that.
"I'll do it. I'll help you. Just focus on driving."
Mu Jingzhe removed the lid from the teacup and handed it to him. After he finished drinking, she covered it and placed it back.
Anyway… he didn't have to worry about anything.
As Mu Jingzhe moved, Tang Moling could detect a faint fragrance at the tip of his nose. It smelled like soap, but it also didn't feel like it. It was a little arousing.
The children relaxed halfway through the journey and asked many questions about cars. Mu Jingzhe, who knew a lot, answered simply. If she occasionally encountered strange and unconstrained questions that she couldn't answer, she would honestly say that she didn't know either.
Their way of interacting and their conversation surprised Tang Moling.
Didn't adults have to pretend to understand everything in front of children even if they didn't know anything? Or shouldn't the adults find some excuse and scold the children for asking the questions they didn't have an answer for?
Why was Mu Jingzhe so calm?
Besides, the content of their conversation had exceeded Tang Moling's expectations. Why was it that as they talked, the range of the topics became wider and wider? Later on, they even started talking about dimensions and natural phenomena. There were all sorts of subjects, some of which even he didn't know about.
He actually didn't know these things?
Was this possible?
Who was he? Who were these bumpkins? They were only a few years old!
Tang Moling was surprised.
Then, they continued to astonish him.
When they were close to the county city, they started memorizing poems and textbooks. Later on, they even played an idiom game.
Shao Xi answered the most questions and was the fastest. Even when Little Bei dug out the dictionary from her bag, she couldn't beat him.
The dictionary was the reward Shao Xi had wanted after he'd received the first royalties.
The five siblings finally had their own dictionary. When they had nothing to do, they would read the dictionary and learn idioms.
Later on, by the time they started revising the foreign language they had learned and began singing alphabet songs, he already felt numb.
"Didn't they just start learning?" the numb Tang Moling asked Mu Jingzhe. "Is it that easy to learn foreign languages?"
It was a little different from what he thought.
"It's hard for ordinary people, but not for them." Mu Jingzhe shrugged. "They're smart."
She knew that they had learned the alphabet, so she had taught them to sing the alphabet song. They had immediately mastered it.
Tang Moling took them to the county city.
Although it was raining, the art school was still lively. It was even livelier than before. There was also a group of observers there.
Mu Jingzhe and the children arrived late and were busy getting to class, so they didn't notice them. They only thought that they were parents who were there to visit.
After Mu Jingzhe took them to class, she turned around and saw Ji Buwang.
When Ji Buwang saw her, his eyes lit up like light bulbs that had suddenly been turned on.
Mu Jingzhe's scalp instantly turned numb.
Because Ji Buwang could only see her face, he was very happy every time he saw her. She could understand that.
However, every time she came, he would look for her and keep staring at her. She couldn't quite take it.
She had thought that she would be able to avoid it today.
Alas, that was not the case.
"Jingzhe, you're here. I was wondering if you wouldn't come because of the rain today."
"Of course we came. We can't hold up the children's lessons because of the rain." Mu Jingzhe nodded with an awkward smile.
Ji Buwang looked at her expression. "Jingzhe, this expression… Did you not want to see me?"
Mu Jingzhe: "…"
There it was again.
He studied her expression once more.
The thing was, he was always spot-on.
While facing Ji Buwang, Mu Jingzhe felt like she was facing a facial micro-expression expert.
She took a deep breath and looked at Ji Buwang expressionlessly and coldly. "Take a guess?"
That's right, she didn't really want to see him.
She didn't hate Ji Buwang, but it was stressful to be scrutinized like this.
Ji Buwang laughed and then quickly apologized. "No, I wasn't making fun of you, Jingzhe. I didn't do it on purpose. I was just really happy."
He couldn't see other people's faces, not even his own, so he couldn't distinguish between beauty and ugliness. In any case, in his opinion, Mu Jingzhe was the most beautiful person.
She was as pretty as his mother.
On Mu Jingzhe's face, he could also see all sorts of expressions.
He didn't know if others were like Mu Jingzhe, always wearing all sorts of expressions and smiles, but in any case, Mu Jingzhe was the cutest.
Her emotional reactions, smiles, and various expressions were all so fascinating.
Every time he saw Mu Jingzhe, he would unlock new expressions. It was extremely interesting.
However, he had never seen what crying looked like.
"Jingzhe, when are you going to cry? Can you cry?"
Mu Jingzhe: "…"
Listen to him. How demanding was this? Not only did he want to study her, but now he wanted her to cry?
Mu Jingzhe refused heartlessly. "No."
Ji Buwang said regretfully, "Alright, remember to call me when you want to cry in the future."
1
Mu Jingzhe couldn't help but say, "Get lost."
"Don't be angry, Jingzhe, don't be angry," Ji Buwang hurriedly said.
Mu Jingzhe sighed. "I'm leaving."
"Wait, don't leave yet. I have something to tell you today."
Ji Buwang started talking about serious business with Mu Jingzhe. "Shao Zhong is really talented in music. He has an absolute sense of music, and his future is limitless."
Ji Buwang hadn't expected to chance upon such a good seedling.
There were very few musical instruments in this school. With his ability, he could totally learn more musical instruments.
Mu Jingzhe naturally knew how awesome Shao Zhong was, but…
"I'll work hard to allow him to study later."
She would earn more money!
A trace of doubt flashed past Ji Buwang's face. "No, I'm telling you this because I have something to discuss with you. We can let him learn more musical instruments, and I can help to provide them. I have quite a few at home."
"At your home?"
"Right, they're just piling dust at home anyway. We might as well let them be of use."
Ji Buwang nodded and took out a piece of paper. "I've counted what we have at home. If you agree, I'll bring them all for Shao Zhong to learn them. The other students can use them too."
Therefore, after the piano, Ji Buwang was going to bring yet more musical instruments to school.
Mu Jingzhe numbly took a look at the list.
It was really quite a complete set. There were Western instruments, like violin, cello, guitars, harps, and even drums, as well as traditional Chinese musical instruments, like yangqin, guzheng, and pipa.
"Do you have all these at home?"
Mu Jingzhe was astonished.
"Yes, if you agree, I'll get someone to bring them over." Ji Buwang naturally wanted Mu Jingzhe to bring the children to his house to learn, but he didn't dare push his luck.
"Is it convenient?"
"Of course." Ji Buwang said that there was nothing inconvenient about it. "There are also enough music classrooms. If you agree, I'll call home and have them brought over."
Ji Buwang even had a phone installed at home.
"What a rich family." Mu Jingzhe raised her thumb and made a joke before thanking him seriously.
"Thank you, Ji Buwang. Xiao Wu was fortunate to meet you."
Ji Buwang smiled. "I'm lucky I met you."
Mu Jingzhe: "…"
So… mushy.
Next, Mu Jingzhe and Ji Buwang waited for the instruments to be sent over from his home.
The person who brought the musical instruments was an old man with white hair. Ji Buwang called him Uncle Li. He was supposed to be the butler.
Uncle Li instructed his men to carry the musical instruments and secretly observed Mu Jingzhe without her knowing.
Ever since Little Master had woken up, he had seemed to lose his interest in everything. He'd even hidden in his hometown and hadn't gone back.
Old Master Ji had gone from delighted to worried, fretting that something had happened to his grandson.
However, ever since the beginning of the month, the Little Master had been completely different. He was no longer dazed and bored. Instead, he was filled with hope.
He had asked around and found out that the Little Master had met a girl whose face he could see.
Uncle Li was so thrilled that he hadn't been able to fall asleep that night.
Later on, he had seen his young master chase after the young lady. He'd started getting busy and had even become a teacher at some art school.
Uncle Li had always wanted to see this girl.
He finally got to see her today.
At first glance, he was a little surprised.
She was completely different from what he had imagined.
She had such short hair that if someone didn't know, they might think that she was a nun returning to the secular world.
However, it looked very refreshing.
Previously, because Little Master had been sick, he hadn't wanted to get married and have children. He felt that since he wouldn't even be able to see his wife and children's faces, getting married would be too irresponsible. Also, he didn't want to pass this illness on to his children.
That was why he had said that he didn't want to get married.
Old Master Ji couldn't force him either, but he had always been very sad. However, ever since this young lady had appeared, the Little Young Master had changed. From time to time, he would mention her, and his eyes would sparkle.
Both he and Old Master Ji suspected that he had fallen for that girl. He had come here with a purpose today—to take a look at the young lady and report to the Old Master after observing her.
Though Uncle Li observed her in a subtle manner, Mu Jingzhe could still sense it.
Was it their family tradition to observe people?
Ji Buwang kept staring at her, and Uncle Li also kept looking at her.
Mu Jingzhe greeted Ji Buwang and found an excuse to go to the bathroom.
"Uncle Li, why do you keep looking at Jingzhe? Jingzhe ran away because of you."
Ji Buwang was helpless.
Uncle Li smiled awkwardly. "Well, I only took a few more glances because it's my first time meeting her."
He lowered his voice. "Buwang, what are you thinking? Do you know her well?"
"What do you mean?"
Uncle Li was anxious. "If you like her, you have to ask around. Otherwise, good girls are snatched by others."
Ji Buwang paused. "I haven't thought about this yet…"
He simply liked to look at her face and wanted to be with her often.
"Young Master, if you don't think about it now, what are you going to do if she gets married?"
Uncle Li was so anxious that he'd blurted out the words 'Young Master'. "If she gets married, you won't be able to see her anymore. Her husband won't let you either. Do you want to never see her again?"
Ji Buwang nodded. "Uncle Li, you have a point."
He felt very uncomfortable thinking about Mu Jingzhe marrying another man. He was reluctant.
He didn't want to be unable to see Mu Jingzhe either. He wanted to keep looking at her for the rest of his life.
"Uncle Li, what should I do? Should I… marry her?"
When he thought about it, it would be great if Mu Jingzhe married him and stayed with him every day.
Ji Buwang smiled.
Uncle Li smiled too.
It seemed like the young master really liked that girl. He could go back and report this to the Old Master. Then, he could prepare the marriage proposal. This was a big deal.
Uncle Li even thought of his young master having a few kids after marriage.
As he had these joyful thoughts, he heard Ji Buwang's puzzled voice.
"But Uncle Li, Jingzhe has married someone before. She also has five children."
Uncle Li's mind exploded. "What?"
She was married and had five children?
Uncle Li was dumbfounded. He raised his voice subconsciously. "When did this happen? Where are the children? That's not right. How is it possible that she has five children at such a young age?"
She looked like a young lady.
Uncle Li then conjured up an image of his young master being beaten up by Mu Jingzhe's husband because he was pestering his wife.
Little Master was really pitiful.
This would not do.
"The children aren't her biological children. They belong to the man she married previously. Her husband is gone, and she's raising those five children alone now."
Ji Buwang hadn't investigated Mu Jingzhe behind her back, but he knew what was basically going on by observing Mu Jingzhe's interactions with the five children.
Uncle Li: "…"
There was too much information, and he needed time to digest it.
Firstly, Mu Jingzhe was married, but her husband was gone.
So… his young master had taken a fancy to a young widow?
Uncle Li was stunned.
These words were a little harsh, but it was also the truth.
Uncle Li was sad. Given the young master's situation, the Old Master no longer emphasized a good match in terms of family background, nor did he have requirements for the girl's family background or anything.
However, although their requirements were very low… she couldn't be a young widow, could she?
No matter what, this was a little forced.
Sigh.
Before leaving, Uncle Li looked at Mu Jingzhe with a complicated gaze.
This girl was quite capable. Even though she had been married and was taking care of five children, she had managed to attract the Young Master's attention.
Mu Jingzhe: "???"
She couldn't help but tremble. "Ji Buwang, why is your Uncle Li's gaze so strange? It's as if I've defiled something that belongs to his family."
If she wasn't certain that she was a woman, she would have suspected that she had become a pig and gone to Uncle Li's house to gobble up his cabbages.
"He's always been like that. Just ignore him."
When Ji Buwang saw Mu Jingzhe, his gaze finally became less direct and he stopped staring.
This was because he was now thinking about asking Mu Jingzhe to be his wife.
These thoughts made him feel a little shy.
Mu Jingzhe didn't notice the change in his attitude. Upon seeing the commotion outside, she knew that the class was over and quickly went to pick up the children.
Shao Dong and the boys were there, but Little Bei had been called away by the dance teacher.
"She was called away before the first class ended."
"Then let's go pick up Little Bei."
When they arrived at the dance classroom, they saw that it was crowded and noisy.
Before they even got close, they heard a voice.
"How can you steal things? Do you know how much this pocket watch is worth? Her father brought this back from Ocean City."
"I did not steal it!"
This tearful defense made Mu Jingzhe frown. This voice sounded familiar.
She couldn't help but speed up.
"It must be you. You're the poorest student in our class, and you can't even afford sandals. Look at how you dirtied our classroom."
"All our parents have watches, but your mother doesn't. That's why you stole the pocket watch."
"I don't want to be in the same class with a thief. Can you kick her out, Teacher?"
Mu Jingzhe quickly walked over and happened to see Little Bei pounce on a little girl with braids wearing a little dress. "I told you I didn't!"
Little Bei pounced forward and slapped the little girl's mouth. "Who told you to spout nonsense!"
"Why are you hitting people like that?!"
"Aren't children without a father all so ill-bred? You have no manners, you hit people randomly, and you even steal things."
The teacher wanted to persuade her to stop, but the girl's parent stepped forward, wanting to kick Little Bei.
She was even wearing high heels, which were a rare sight in that period. Her eyes were filled with ruthlessness, and her entire face was exerting force.
One could imagine the outcome of such a kick.
As the teacher gasped in shock, the parent in the high heels was sent flying by another kick.
She was kicked three meters away.
Mu Jingzhe retracted her foot and picked up Little Bei with an icy expression.
Mu Jingzhe hadn't expected Little Bei to be the one surrounded, criticized, and bullied.
Upon sensing that Little Bei was trembling, Mu Jingzhe was furious.
The parent in the high heels who had been kicked away felt like she had been kicked away by a powerful force. Her entire body hurt, and she couldn't get up for a moment.
The arrogant tone she had used previously was now filled with exasperation.
"This is absurd. How can she hit people like that!"
Everyone pointed at Mu Jingzhe. "It's her."
"Why are you kicking people around…"
"You are the one who started it. Plus, you were doing it to a child!"
Mu Jingzhe gritted her teeth. "How dare you sound so self-righteous when you were bullying a child!"
"Your child is a thief!" High Heels stood up angrily. "You must be her parent, huh. Look at what your child did."
"Bullsh*t!" Mu Jingzhe wasn't polite at all. "Your child is the one who stole. My child definitely wouldn't!"
Little Bei, who was being hugged by Mu Jingzhe, finally calmed down after hearing Mu Jingzhe's words. She then spoke to her.
"I put my school bag over there. When I was about to leave, they suddenly claimed that their pocket watch was missing. They then suspected that it was me and searched my bag, but I didn't steal it."
Little Bei's eyes were red as she gritted her teeth.
Little Bei's appearance resembled a video Mu Jingzhe had seen before she had transmigrated. In it, a little girl was gnashing her teeth in anger and trembling.
At the time, she had only thought it was cute, but seeing Little Bei like this only made her feel heartache.
"I believe you, Little Bei. Don't be afraid."
Mu Jingzhe stroked her head.
"What's the point of believing her? There's solid evidence…"
"There's no conclusive evidence. You claim the evidence is conclusive just because you found it in her bag? Are you a police officer? Is whatever you say the law?"
Mu Jingzhe interrupted her. "What era is this? Why is there a need to use such a vulgar method? Isn't it shameful?"
"The thing was found in her bag!" High Heels insisted.
"She did not steal it!" Mu Jingzhe seemed angry. She hugged Little Bei and ran over to push the parent.
"What are you doing? If you keep doing this, I'll—" Before High Heels could finish, Mu Jingzhe took a big step back and started shouting.
"Where's my wallet? I lost my wallet!"
Before High Heels could react, Mu Jingzhe pointed at her pocket and shouted, "My wallet! You stole my wallet!"
High Heels was completely stunned. She took out her wallet with trembling hands. "I didn't! You put it in yourself!"
"I took it out of your pocket, and you still want to deny it? What did your parents teach you? Did you have a father to teach you or not? At your age, isn't it shameful to steal a wallet in front of so many people, including children?"
Like a machine gun, Mu Jingzhe threw the woman's words back at her.
She then looked at the stunned teacher. "Teacher, I'm worried that my children will be led astray by coming into contact with such a parent. Please get them to scram."
Teacher: "…"
High Heels was so angry that her face turned red. "You rogue, you put this in my pocket just now. I didn't touch it at all! You're slandering me!"
"I'm just imitating you!"
Mu Jingzhe sneered. Yes, she had deliberately placed the wallet in the parent's pocket while she was pushing her.
She was giving her a taste of her own medicine.
"You used this method to deal with Little Bei. I'm just paying you back in kind!"
High Heels trembled from rage. "You—"
"You feel angry, disgusted, and aggrieved, huh? This is exactly how we feel right now!"
Mu Jingzhe scoffed and looked at the surrounding people who had helped the wicked parent perpetuate evil deeds, as well as at the students who had shouted at Little Bei earlier.
The little girl with the braids stared at her in a daze. Those who had scolded Little Bei earlier also looked at her, unable to react.
Mu Jingzhe looked around.
"Since you've lost something, the first thing you should do is look around for it. If you can't find it, the best solution is to call the police and let them handle it, not search everyone. After all, you're not qualified to search other people!
"After you call the police, only they have the right to search when they come. We will find out whether the items were really stolen or whether someone is being framed as long as we investigate seriously. There are no identical fingerprints in this world. Whether Little Bei touched the pocket watch or not will be revealed very soon."
Mu Jingzhe looked at High Heels. "I'll give you one more chance. Do you want to apologize, or do you want to call the police?"
High Heels turned pale and couldn't speak.
"Scared? Afraid that the police will expose everything?" Mu Jingzhe scoffed. "If you don't want to call the police, explain this clearly. Apologize to Little Bei and clear her name!"
High Heels couldn't lift her head under everyone's gazes. If she wanted her to admit that she had framed a little girl, she might as well kill her.
She wanted to leave, but Mu Jingzhe blocked her way.
Not daring to look at her daughter or her daughter's classmates, she gritted her teeth. "Don't go overboard!"
"You're the one who's gone overboard!" Mu Jingzhe pointed at her daughter. "Now you feel shame and don't dare say it. Are you afraid of facing your daughter?"
"Shut up!" High Heels couldn't take it and screamed.
She opened her mouth to make a scene, but the teacher suddenly exploded. "Enough!"
The teacher had been at a loss and hadn't been able to stop the woman, but if she didn't speak up now, even she would look down on herself.
She looked at High Heels and asked, "Did you frame Shao Bei because of the people from the TV station?"
High Heels' words were stuck in her throat. She wanted to deny it, but the teacher wasn't listening. "You heard the news in advance and made preparations. However, the people from the broadcasting station only looked at Shao Bei and didn't spare your daughter a glance. Is that why you framed Shao Bei?"
The expression on High Heels' face changed drastically.
Mu Jingzhe's face fell. "So you didn't frame her for no reason?"
The teacher took a deep breath and nodded. "Looks like that's the reason. I'm sorry, the school didn't do a good job."
She apologized to Mu Jingzhe.
The people who Mu Jingzhe had thought were the students' parents turned out to be people from the broadcasting station. They were from the children's channel and often needed little dancers and actors. They also needed them for galas or performances, so they had come to look for potential seedlings.
If Mu Jingzhe hadn't brought the kids to school today because of the rain, they would have missed this opportunity.
Instead of missing the opportunity, they had merely not been informed of this because of their late arrival.
However, the woman in the high heels who had framed Little Bei had known about it. She had known about the news in advance and even prepared for it. She had made her daughter dress up nicely because she wanted her to be the most eye-catching child.
In the end, she had still not been as eye-catching as the simply-dressed Little Bei.
Little Bei was the cutest and most eye-catching child. She had stolen the limelight from her daughter. High Heels felt wretched and indignant about it.
How could her daughter not compare to that little girl from the village?
Because she had been determined to win, because she was used to being high and mighty and felt that as long as Little Bei left, her daughter would no longer have any competitors and would definitely be chosen, High Heels had immediately made a move and placed the pocket watch in Little Bei's bag when no one had been paying attention to frame her for stealing it.
The television station would definitely not want a thief.
High Heels' plan was well-thought-out, so she hadn't been afraid at all. She felt that it didn't matter even if they found out she was behind all this.
Shao Bei's family had no power or influence, and she was poorly dressed too. High Heels wasn't afraid at all, so she had deliberately bullied her.
However, something unexpected had happened—Mu Jingzhe.