Xuan Zhixia returned to the main room, opened one of the two bags that Shang Shuji had brought back, which happened to contain mineral water, and took out a bottle of water.
He sat down to drink water and watched Shang Shuji work.
Shang Shuji unpacked the cardboard box and took out the washing machine and microwave oven. The microwave oven was placed in the kitchen, while the washing machine was placed under the eaves in the backyard, where there was a sink, a faucet, and an extension cord that ran from the house.
Afterwards, Shang Shuji took the two cardboard boxes containing the electrical appliances behind the stove and placed them together with the firewood.
After settling the two large items, Shang Shuji began to clean up the food and other things he had brought back.
In this respect, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu were not as at ease as Xuan Zhixia. Seeing Shang Shuji working alone, the two children shyly approached to help, also wanting to get closer to Shang Shuji.
Shang Shuji didn’t think there was anything wrong with letting four or five-year-old children do chores, but the kitchen countertops in the house were all high, and the two children would not only be unable to help, but would also cause trouble.
”No need, you can go play by yourselves,” Shang Shuji said to the two children.
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu obediently walked away.
Seeing Xuan Zhixia’s calm demeanor, the two children couldn’t help but move closer to him again, sitting on the small stools and tilting their heads slightly.
”Are you going to sleep again?” Shang Jingqi asked.
Xuan Zhixia held the bottle of mineral water he had only taken a few sips from and shook his head: “I can’t sleep.”
”Then why don’t you play on your phone?” Shang Jingshu continued. “Don’t adults really like playing on their phones?”
Xuan Zhixia smiled and said slowly, “I don’t like playing, it hurts my eyes.”
”Oh…” Shang Jingshu blinked, then revealed her true intentions, “Then… if you don’t use your phone, can you lend it to us to watch cartoons? There’s no TV here.”
Xuan Zhixia raised an eyebrow and asked the two children, “Why don’t you go borrow your dad’s phone?”
The two children hesitated for a while before Shang Jingqi finally said, “I just wanted to borrow from you…”
Actually, they didn’t dare to approach Shang Shuji.
Then I felt that Xuan Zhixia seemed to have a decent temper and was easy to talk to.
However, Xuan Zhixia’s tone was gentle, but what he said chilled the hearts of the two children.
He said decisively, “No.”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu stared blankly at Xuan Zhixia.
Shang Shuji was going back and forth between the kitchen and the main room, packing up the two large bags of things he had brought back. At this moment, he also lifted his eyelids to glance at Xuan Zhixia, and then continued to work.
”Why…why?” After a while, Shang Jingshu asked in a very low voice.
Xuan Zhixia said matter-of-factly, “I don’t like others touching my things. Also, have you forgotten our relationship? Or have you suddenly realized that I’m someone you can like?”
These words made the two children’s eyes widen.
Just then, Shang Shuji came out of the kitchen. Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu glanced at him subconsciously, and then, as if afraid that their father, Shang Shuji, would misunderstand, they quickly denied it to Xuan Zhixia three times.
”No, no, no!”
”You’re talking nonsense!”
”We don’t like you at all!”
”You…you stop being lazy! Go and cook!”
”…Yes! We’re hungry, hurry up and cook! That’s what we wanted to tell you!”
”I didn’t want to borrow your phone!”
“We have our own smartwatches! You have a cell phone, that’s nothing special, adults all have those!”
The two children went from stammering to speaking with conviction.
Xuan Zhixia listened calmly, and at the same time noticed that Shang Shuji seemed to be watching a play, standing not far away, leisurely and composed.
So, when Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu ran out of words and stopped talking, Xuan Zhixia calmly stretched out his hand and pointed at Shang Shuji.
“Go find your biological father. Your stepfather won’t feed you,” Xuan Zhixia said.
Upon hearing this, Shang Shuji’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu were dumbfounded.
The viewers in the live stream were also dumbfounded—
【this……】
[Sorry, I take back my previous conspiracy theories about Xuan Zhixia… He’s genuinely giving up! My God!]
[Although Qiqi and Shushu’s words were quite blunt, but…]
[To say things like “biological father” and “stepfather” to the two children in front of President Shang, on such a big live broadcast…]
[Looking at what happened before, Xuan Zhixia actually knows how to get along with the two children, and even President Shang. He’s not stupid, right?]
[Is Xuan Zhixia… planning to get a divorce right after the show ends?]
[I just don’t understand. Judging from the situation, President Shang and Xuan Zhixia really have no feelings for each other and even dislike each other. Xuan Zhixia also doesn’t get along well with the two children, so why did they get married?]
[On a side note, strictly speaking, Shang Shuji isn’t exactly the biological father of the two children…]
[Although they were adopted, he is legally their biological father.]
[In terms of the order of events, it’s fine if Xuan Zhixia is the stepfather, but distinguishing between biological father and stepfather is a major taboo in this kind of family…]
[Does President Shang look like he’s not angry?]
Upon hearing Xuan Zhixia’s nonchalant remark that “the stepfather doesn’t provide meals,” Shang Shuji paused for a second, then felt a surge of amusement—not in a derogatory or sarcastic way, but because he genuinely found it quite amusing.
The two children, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu, looked bewildered.
Although they haven’t seen what other people’s stepparents are like, they’ve read fairy tales.
In the story of Cinderella, even though the stepmother dislikes Cinderella, she pretends to be kind and friendly to Cinderella in front of Cinderella’s father… But Xuan Zhixia is even more formidable than Cinderella’s stepmother; he dares to say to Cinderella’s father that he won’t give them food!
After a moment of stunned silence, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu subconsciously looked at Shang Shuji.
Shang Shuji smiled enigmatically and asked Xuan Zhixia, “You can’t cook?”
Xuan Zhixia replied honestly, “I can. There’s no natural gas here, but you brought back a microwave oven, which can also be used for cooking.”
In his past life, Xuan Zhixia lived alone, and to have a good environment for recuperation, he lived in a remote and quiet place for many years. He did not hire servants, relied on machines for cleaning, occasionally hired people to come to his home, and did his own grocery shopping and cooking.
”So, Mr. Shang, we can divide the work. You can do the cooking yourself, and I’ll provide verbal technical guidance. This way, we can solve the problems of you not knowing how to cook and me not having the stamina. But let me make it clear beforehand that I have a sensitive stomach and can’t stand the smell of cooking oil, so I can only make steamed dishes or soups with little oil and salt. You can both take care of your health with me.”
Xuan Zhixia was very composed, and his sincerity was comparable to that of a bank teller sitting behind the counter doing business.
Shang Shuji had never even washed his own clothes, let alone cooked, so he really had no experience in this area.
After staring at Xuan Zhixia for a few seconds, Shang Shuji didn’t answer whether it was okay or not, and somewhat abruptly returned to the sentence that Xuan Zhixia had said earlier.
“My stepfather doesn’t provide meals…” Shang Shuji repeated calmly, looking at Xuan Zhixia with a calm gaze. “Such words are easy to offend people, and given your attitude so far, I’m taking the liberty of asking – are you planning to retire from the entertainment industry after this show ends?”
Shang Shuji has never been involved in the entertainment industry and has never been interested in variety shows. However, audiences are all people, and human nature can be categorized and portrayed. For Shang Shuji, understanding people’s hearts is an essential skill in business.
Xuan Zhixia’s previous image as an artist was not positive, and his current words and actions on this program are not appropriate and are likely to cause controversy.
While controversy may bring attention and buzz, Xuan Zhixia’s actions were too reckless and blunt, lacking the intelligence and foresight expected of someone who would react so bluntly. He seemed completely unconcerned about the possibility of overwhelming public criticism and made no crisis management plans. If this was intentional, it would be rather petty.
Strangely enough, Shang Shuji hadn’t previously considered Xuan Zhixia to be a smart person, but now he felt that this shouldn’t be Xuan Zhixia’s style. Rather than thinking that Xuan Zhixia was intentionally acting this way for the sake of discussion, Shang Shuji felt that he was more indifferent.
He doesn’t care what the audience thinks, nor does he care about his future career development in the entertainment industry. He just wants to live comfortably in the present, so he does whatever he wants and is not afraid of offending anyone.
Let alone the audience in the entertainment industry, Xuan Zhixia doesn’t even care about Shangs anymore. Otherwise, even the most foolish person, as long as they know how to seek profit and avoid harm, wouldn’t have said “the stepfather doesn’t care” so casually in the previous situation.
It’s obvious that they’re handing someone a target.
There’s really no need for that.
Shang Shuji’s question surprised Xuan Zhixia.
He chuckled softly and said, “I didn’t expect Mr. Shang to be curious about my affairs.”
Xuan Zhixia did not directly answer Shang Shuji’s question.
He does not intend to continue working in the entertainment industry, but he only wants to withdraw quietly and does not plan to make a high-profile public announcement of his retirement.
”It’s already 12:30. Aren’t you hungry?” Xuan Zhixia asked gently.
Shang Shuji smiled for no apparent reason, picked up the two woven bags that were almost empty, and said, “Let’s cook, as you said.”
Xuan Zhixia calmly got up from the recliner and followed him into the kitchen.
The viewers in the live stream are still discussing it.
[He’s not angry about this, he’s not getting a divorce, I’m starting to suspect conspiracy theories… Does Xuan Zhixia have some kind of leverage over the Shangs?]
[To be honest, my wife gives me the feeling that if he wanted to, he could control Mr. Shang and the two children, but he just doesn’t want to!]
[How did this family of four even come together?!]
[Did Xuan Zhixia save the galaxy in his past life?! How is that even possible?!]