Shang Shuji, Shang Jingqi, Shang Jingshu, and the people watching the live stream all fell silent after Xuan Zhixia called out a “fortune teller.”
Xuan Zhixia closed his eyes, everything was fine.
If Shang Shuji were to directly pull Xuan Zhixia up from the recliner, Xuan Zhixia would naturally be unable to break free. However, Shang Shuji did not have the habit of engaging in physical conflict with people, as that would be too unsightly and would make him appear as if he were in a fit of rage.
So after a moment of silence, Shang Shuji gave up on Xuan Zhixia, this hopeless piece of wood, and said to Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu, “This is professional ‘lying through your teeth.’ Although you both know that what you say can’t convince anyone, it’s very useful when the other party doesn’t intend to take it seriously or break off relations. But I don’t recommend using it too often.”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu nodded blankly, only half understanding what Xuan Zhixia was saying, though they knew that Xuan Zhixia seemed a bit cheeky.
Xuan Zhixia remained calm and composed.
The viewers in the live stream were greatly shocked.
【Huh? Huh?? Huh???】
[What a wonderful opportunity to be alone together! Xuan Zhixia, stop lying down!]
[Even if the intention is to attract President Shang’s attention, isn’t this strategy of first praising and then criticizing a bit too much…?]
[Why insist on conspiracy theories? Xuan Zhixia simply doesn’t want to go out, doesn’t he?]
[Hilarious, even CEO Shang is speechless.]
[Sobbing, my heart aches for my wife’s health. Honey, please don’t divorce President Shang. It hurts me to see you suffer with me.]
[Hahaha, to the friend who insisted on calling Xuan Zhixia “wife,” hahaha!]
[Although I went out with the production crew early this morning, the fortune teller said it wasn’t a good day for me to go out, hahaha.]
[Although it’s not very proactive, I love this “just giving up” attitude!]
[Speechless. Did they come on the show just to sleep? If they’re so capable, they should keep lying down. Trying to curry favor with Shang Shuji later is just a slap in their own face.]
[This is strange. How is it considered ingratiating? They’re family on the household registration. Even if he’s in good spirits and wants to get closer to his family, what’s wrong with that? What did my wife do to you? When the two kids spoke up for him, did anyone think the kids were trying to please their stepmother?]
[Stop arguing! This is quite entertaining! I don’t care if you’re lazy or hardworking, as long as it’s entertaining and makes me happy.]
Xuan Zhixia refused to go out, and Shang Shuji stopped pestering him. He took the two hundred yuan of living expenses that the two children had found and went out alone.
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu continued their search for the living expenses red envelope with great momentum, even taking out a magnifying glass that came with their detective outfits, acting very seriously and earnestly.
The house itself wasn’t big, and the production team couldn’t possibly hide the red envelopes in dangerous places for the children to find, so the task wasn’t too difficult, and the remaining five red envelopes were found in no time.
There were ten red envelopes in total, each containing a different amount of ten yuan. The first five envelopes contained a total of two hundred yuan, and the last five envelopes together contained a total of one hundred and fifty yuan.
The total cost was 350 yuan. The family spent a week in the village, with a daily living expense of 50 yuan. Considering the local standard of living, the production team wasn’t stingy.
After exchanging the red envelopes, the two children had nothing to do, so they simply went to talk to Xuan Zhixia.
”Are you asleep?” Shang Jingqi stretched out a finger and poked Xuan Zhixia’s shoulder.
Xuan Zhixia lazily opened his eyes.
The two children carried stools themselves and sat down next to Xuan Zhixia’s recliner. Seeing that Xuan Zhixia wasn’t asleep, Shang Jingshu asked him, “Why aren’t you sleeping? Why are you being lazy?”
Xuan Zhixia had been dozing on the recliner for so long and had rested enough. Since he couldn’t fall asleep anyway,she decided to perk up and start talking to them.
“I didn’t slack off,” Xuan Zhixia said calmly.
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu opened their eyes wide.
Shang Jingqi: “But you didn’t go when Dad asked you to go out and buy things.”
Xuan Zhixia nodded: “But I already explained the reason.”
Shang Jingshu tilted her head: “Isn’t that just being lazy?”
”No,” Xuan Zhixia said seriously, “What do you mean by ‘slacking off’?”
The two children looked up.
Xuan Zhixia changed from lying down to sitting up and continued, “Does being lazy mean doing something that should be done, but not doing it due to laziness, thus causing bad consequences, such as making something that could have been completed earlier end later, or adding tasks or causing trouble for your companions?”
The two children listened attentively and nodded in agreement.
Xuan Zhixia then asked, “If I don’t go shopping with your father, will I be causing him trouble? Will he spend more time shopping and come back later because of it?”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu hesitated for a moment and looked at each other.
Then Shang Jingqi hesitated and asked in return, “Don’t you not want to go out?”
”Of course not,” Xuan Zhixia said decisively. “I didn’t want to go out just now, and I gave several reasons. Think about it carefully.”
So, in front of Xuan Zhixia, the two children started discussing it.
He said the sun was too bright and it was dazzling.
”I understand! The light will make him uncomfortable, and if he’s uncomfortable, he won’t be able to walk!”
”Just like before, everyone else has left, so we can leave too, but we have to stay and wait for him to come with us!”
”And Dad has to help him his with my luggage… He’s about as strong as us!”
”No way! We can run, we can snatch the best houses. If he tries to snatch one, he definitely won’t win!”
”If Dad takes him out to buy things, won’t it actually be slower?”
”Right… He can’t carry things, and Dad has to take care of him, so it’ll definitely be even slower!”
”Huh? So Xuan Zhixia is right?”
Hearing this, Xuan Zhixia raised an eyebrow in satisfaction: “Now tell me, did I slack off?”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu were convinced by him, and shook their heads somewhat awkwardly: “No…”
Xuan Zhixia was quite pleased with himself, feeling that the two children were rather easy to fool.
Then the two children saw Xuan Zhixia get up from the recliner and instinctively asked, “What are you doing?”
Xuan Zhixia replied slowly, “Let’s look at the house.”
With nothing else to do, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu instinctively followed Xuan Zhixia.
Moving to the kitchen, Xuan Zhixia saw the firewood in the corner and the stove that needed to be lit manually, and remained somewhat silent.
Xuan Zhixia thought to himself, without much hope, that the multi-talented Mr. Shang Shuji might know how to cook.
After finishing his shopping, Xuan Zhixia moved his suitcase, which was still in the main room, to the remaining bedroom.
Afterwards, Xuan Zhixia returned to the recliner and continued to rest without any worries.
Shang Jingqi scratched his head: “Aren’t you going to help Dad take his suitcase inside too?”
Xuan Zhixia glanced at Shang Shuji’s suitcase and replied, “It’s impolite to touch someone’s things without their permission.”
Shang Jingqi blinked.
Shang Jingshu had a sudden inspiration: “You’re just lazy, aren’t you?”
Hearing this, Xuan Zhixia raised an eyebrow: “Don’t talk nonsense. There’s only one room left. Do you think your father would be willing to share it with me? I’m not touching his things to save him trouble, so he won’t have to move out again later.”
Shang Jingqi tilted his head: “Ah…but, if that’s the case, then Dad won’t have a room to sleep in, will he?”
Shang Jingshu: “Shouldn’t we discuss this with Dad?”
Xuan Zhixia smiled slightly: “I’m sorry, I also don’t want to share a room with him, nor do I want to suffer without a bed to rest, so let’s not discuss it. If your father comes back and sees this and gets angry, he might throw my suitcase out of the room, and then we can discuss it again.”
The two children stared wide-eyed.
Xuan Zhixia has been “challenging” Shang Shuji’s authority all day, which has shocked the two children who don’t even dare to act cute in front of Shang Shuji.
They no longer thought of picking on Xuan Zhixia or going against him. Instead, they pressed him for an answer: “What if Dad doesn’t mind and brings his own suitcase into the room? What are you going to do? Are you going to move it out yourself?”
Xuan Zhixia frowned, then relaxed, and gave up struggling, saying, “Then whatever, we can do whatever we want. We can also do what your room is like, with a ‘wall’ in the middle of the bed. Anyway, I’m not going to make things difficult for myself, but I don’t want to offend your dad either. After all, we just started the show today, and we’re counting on him to do the work for the next month.”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu: “…”
The two children were deeply shocked. After a while, Shang Jingshu asked softly, “But…didn’t you keep making Daddy unhappy all day?”
Shang Jingqi: “Can this be considered not wanting to offend Dad?”
They asked very sincerely, sitting on small stools and looking up at Xuan Zhixia on the recliner, their eyes filled with curiosity.
Xuan Zhixia smiled and denied it, saying, “I don’t even like to get angry myself, so why would I deliberately make others unhappy? Have I ever been angry with you?”
After recalling the events, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu realized… that Xuan Zhixia, that wicked person, hadn’t even been angry! How amazing!
Both children shook their heads.
Xuan Zhixia asked again, “I’m not feeling well, I can’t carry my luggage, and I can’t go out. Is that something I did on purpose?”
The two children shook their heads again.
So Xuan Zhixia said helplessly, “So, if your father is really angry because of this, is it my fault?”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu’s minds were already filled with Xuan Zhixia’s logic, and they subconsciously continued to shake their heads.
Xuan Zhixia closed his eyes contentedly and said, “Alright, I’m tired after talking so much. I need to rest… I hope your father bought some water. I’m thirsty.”
There was no kettle in the kitchen, and no water dispenser or bottled water in the entire house. Boiling water in the pot on the stove was beyond Xuan Zhixia’s capabilities. Just thinking about trying to burn firewood made Xuan Zhixia feel like he had already inhaled a lot of ash and wanted to cough.
As for drinking cold water directly, even if the water coming out of the tap is clean spring water, it is still beyond the range that Xuan Zhixia’s stomach can tolerate, since spring water is mostly refreshingly cold.
Xuan Zhixia thought helplessly, “I’ll just have to endure the thirst for now. If Shang Shuji doesn’t bring any drinking water when he comes back, then I’ll figure something out.”
He wanted to rest, but the two children still wanted to talk.
After hesitating for a moment, Shang Jingshu cautiously poked Xuan Zhixia’s hand and said, “Can I ask you one last question?”
Xuan Zhixia didn’t open his eyes, and gave a very soft “hmm”.
Shang Jingshu asked, “Yeah, I suddenly realized that although you said you weren’t slacking off, you still haven’t done anything, right? I’m a little confused.”
Xuan Zhixia: “…”
He wanted to say, “You’ve clearly thought this through far too much!”
Xuan Zhixia coughed lightly, reopened his eyes, and said, “But I cooperated with the production team’s arrangements. How can you say I didn’t do anything? You see, the production team’s requirement was for the parents to go out shopping, but they didn’t say that both parents had to go out, right?”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu nodded.
“Here, your father and I are your parents. Your father went out to shop, and I stayed home quietly so as not to cause him any trouble. When he comes back, our shopping task as parents is done, right? Besides that, there’s nothing else I need to do. Do you have any questions?”
The two children pondered for a moment, then both shook their heads.
The viewers in the live stream listened to the whole thing and were amazed.
[Both Qiqi and Shushu have been completely fooled by Xuan Zhixia.]
[But… I still feel like Xuan Zhixia wasn’t wrong, right?]
[Hahaha, it’s like what he said makes a lot of sense, but when you think about it carefully, it’s basically just lying around doing nothing!]
[He’s easygoing and doesn’t care about the consequences, but his logic is consistent. I love this kind of beauty who doesn’t fight back!]
[Well, this is pretty much a confirmation from the person himself, right? Xuan Zhixia and Shang Shuji don’t even have feelings for each other, so they don’t want to share a room. Even if they have to sleep in the same bed, they still want to draw a line between them.]
Then, Xuan Zhixia did not close his eyes again, but got up from the recliner.
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu instinctively followed him, asking, “What are we going to do this time?”
“Let’s do something practical so you can see that I can work too,” Xuan Zhixia said righteously.
He suddenly remembered that there was nothing else in the kitchen, but there was a rice cooker.
Although a rice cooker is not an electric kettle, it can still cook rice and make soup, so boiling water is naturally no problem either, although it might take a while.
But it’s better than being thirsty.
If you’ve transmigrated into a book and are no longer in the apocalypse, but still have to struggle to even get water, that’s just too miserable.
Xuan Zhixia looked sad, boiled a small pot of water in the rice cooker, then left the kitchen and returned to the recliner.
This time, when Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu spoke to him again, he didn’t respond.
The two children could only play with the magnifying glass by themselves.
Just as they were having a great time, Shang Shuji, who had gone out to buy things, returned, along with several other people carrying things, in addition to the cameraman who had been filming them.
They made quite a commotion when they entered. Xuan Zhixia, who was resting on the recliner, opened his eyes and was surprised.
—Shang Shuji went out to buy groceries and brought back a washing machine and a microwave oven. The cardboard boxes that came out were not only intact but also very new.
Three villagers helped carry the things inside, then exchanged a few pleasantries and left.
”How did you do that?” Xuan Zhixia asked in surprise.
Even if Shang Shuji was incredibly resourceful, it was still astonishing that he could bring back two electrical appliances from a village with only one small shop in such a short time. Small shops in villages generally don’t sell large items.
As Shang Shuji put down what he was holding, he glanced at Xuan Zhixia’s face and thought to himself that this lazy, spoiled boy seemed to be in much better spirits.