As if he had inexplicably become the “outsider” among the four, Shang Shuji “endured humiliation” and went to fix the curtains.
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu thought they had done a really great job! They were sure their father and uncle would be very satisfied!
After watching Shang Shuji enter the bedroom, the two children looked at Xuan Zhixia.
Shang Jingshu said softly, “See? We’ve already said we won’t hate you anymore, and we really meant it when we said sorry!”
Shang Jingqi nodded emphatically, then asked somewhat hesitantly, “So… have you forgiven us now?”
Xuan Zhixia smiled and said, “If the answer is important to you, then I can answer it. It’s okay, I forgive you.”
The two children were instantly delighted, their faces beaming with joy, almost jumping for joy on the spot.
Xuan Zhixia then said gently, “Actually, you don’t need to care so much. From your perspective, it’s normal to dislike me. Of course, putting salt in the medicine bowl is a bit inappropriate. Apart from that, you don’t need to feel ashamed because you disliked me before.”
Upon hearing this, both Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu were somewhat confused.
Xuan Zhixia curved his lips slightly: “Just as I am your nominal stepfather, I do not treat you as family, nor do I feel that I should take care of and coax you just because you are children. To me, you are not much different from the children of other families on this show, and I will not feel that I am wrong or need to correct myself because of this.”
“The way you are now makes people think that you care a lot about my feelings and my attitude towards you. This situation does not affect me at present, but it is actually beneficial to me. However, I do not want you to ‘wake up’ one day and feel that I have taken advantage of you.”
The two children understood less and less as they listened; Xuan Zhixia’s words filled their little heads like a tangled ball of yarn.
Shang Jingqi scratched his head: “You…you think we’re doing something wrong right now?”
Xuan Zhixia picked up the bottled water beside him, took a few sips to moisten his throat, and then shook his head slightly: “It’s not a matter of right or wrong, it’s just that I feel you may not understand what you are doing.”
Shang Jingshu frowned and said, “We know! You… I understand. You mean we’re being too nice to you now, and you think we’ll end up hating you like before, but now we don’t hate you anymore, and then we’ll go from not hating you to hating you again, right?”
Xuan Zhixia wasn’t really in the mood to think right now, and he was actually a little dizzy when he first heard Shang Jingshu’s “dislike” and “not dislike”.
After sorting out his thoughts, Xuan Zhixia chuckled: “I don’t feel flattered at all. If I had any embarrassment, I wouldn’t be lying here so peacefully right now. I just think that you don’t need to care so much about our relationship.”
Shang Jingshu shook her head, her brows suddenly unfurrowing, and concluded firmly, “You’re overthinking it! We haven’t been nice to you at all! We just don’t dislike you anymore, but we don’t like you either, we’ve already told you that!”
“Exactly! We don’t care about you at all! We…” Shang Jingqi stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and continued, “We just don’t want to be bad kids, we want to be good kids. We’re not trying to be nice to you, we just want the Buddha to see that we’ve changed! You’re overthinking it!”
Shang Jingshu, acting like a little adult, sighed dramatically: “Sigh! We only said one sentence for you, and we even said you can’t do anything, and you think we’re too good to you and are afraid we won’t treat you well in the future. You’re so silly…”
Shang Jingqi suddenly had a flash of inspiration: “Ah! I remember now! We used to feed a very small stray cat at the orphanage!”
Shang Jingshu immediately chimed in, “Oh, right! That cat was so small and pitiful, but we didn’t have much food, so we could only give it a little bit of leftovers. But it ate very happily. It didn’t want us to hold it at first, but after it finished eating, it clung to us and wouldn’t leave. The headmistress was very worried when she found out, afraid that the stray cat might have fleas…”
Shang Jingqi sighed and said to Xuan Zhixia, “Uncle, you look a bit like that little cat…”
Two children, not yet five years old, looked at Xuan Zhixia with a mournful “You’re so pitiful” gaze, as if they wanted to say something but hesitated.
Xuan Zhixia: “…”
These two children have a somewhat abstract way of thinking, their understanding is too convoluted, and their associative abilities are exceptionally high.
If they hadn’t been pitying himself, Xuan Zhixia would almost have believed their analysis.
“You guys… never mind, do whatever you want,” Xuan Zhixia said weakly.
Then he closed his eyes, wanting to take a quick nap.
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu sighed again, appearing very mature and composed.
So as not to disturb Xuan Zhixia’s sleep, they very considerately went outside, squatted under the eaves, and discussed it in a very quiet voice.
“Oh, he’s a grown man, it’s so pitiful to see him like this. Good children should help others, let’s help him a little more in the future! Although we haven’t been kind to him before, we can be a little nicer to him in the future!”
“Hmm! He seems worried that we’ll change our minds. He’ll be very upset if we don’t treat him well, as if we’ve done something wrong again, and good children shouldn’t make mistakes!”
In response, viewers in the live stream commented—
[I’m a little confused…]
[The two kids are making a lot of sense, but… Xuan Zhixia isn’t that fragile, is he? I mean, his mental state.]
[Does Xuan Zhixia mean that he doesn’t care at all that Qiqi and Shushu disliked him before, nor does he care that Qiqi and Shushu are apologizing to him now, so he wants Qiqi and Shushu to relax? Did I misunderstand?]
[Xuan Zhixia’s mistake might be that he made it too complicated, hahaha.]
[Hahaha, those two kids are so cute!]
[Hmm, but aren’t children supposed to be very perceptive? If this is their true feeling, then maybe it’s true?]
[That makes sense. Xuan Zhixia’s health is so poor, it must be quite inconvenient for him in daily life…]
[But my wife is completely baffled by the way our two kids think! Please don’t label my wife as a pitiful, love-starved little thing.]
[Yes, I also think it’s unnecessary to label Xuan Zhixia like that. Children’s understanding is just naive and kind. Xuan Zhixia’s state is genuinely relaxed and carefree; this kind of state can’t be faked.]
[Being physically weak doesn’t mean being weak in everything. Xuan Zhixia is a typical example of someone who has made peace with his physical condition, which is why he is mentally strong. That’s my opinion.]
[Am I the only one who thinks the two children want to be close to Xuan Zhixia, but are afraid of upsetting Shang Shuji, so even though they believe they firmly dislike Xuan Zhixia, they subconsciously try to rationalize their closeness to him?]
[Hilarious! Nobody cares about Boss Shang who’s still working.]
[Hahaha, the two kids who were originally firmly on their father’s side have switched sides without President Shang’s knowledge.]
[This family of four is so interesting!]
Shang Shuji used thin rope, spare bed sheets from the wardrobe, and nails that were already on both sides of the window to hang simple “curtains” in both bedrooms.
By the time he finished doing all that, it was almost 3 p.m.
Xuan Zhixia slept for nearly twenty minutes and felt much better after waking up.
Even the two children, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu, looked at him with a strange mix of pity and unrealistic expectations.
Xuan Zhixia clicked his tongue lightly: “If you like me, you can just say so directly. You don’t need to beat around the bush like this.”
The two children’s eyes widened instantly, and they resolutely denied it.
“Stop talking nonsense! I don’t like you!”
“That’s right! Dad, don’t believe what Uncle said!”
Shang Shuji said indifferently, “Stop playing around, get ready to go out.”
As the meeting time approached, the guests from the five families emerged one after another from their houses, catching sight of each other’s groups from a distance before finally gathering by the roadside.
Upon meeting, the couple, Gao Feng and Shang Bishu, pushed out their unruly son, Gao Shang.
Gao Feng smiled apologetically at Shang Shuji and said, “Oh dear, Mr. Shang, I’m so sorry, my son Gao Shang is just too naughty…”
The other three families were unaware of what had happened and were filled with doubt and curiosity.
Shang Bishu then looked at the two children, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu, especially Shang Jingshu: “Shushu, were you scared? Your aunt and uncle have heard that Gao Shang suddenly appeared outside your window and frightened you. Auntie apologizes to you on Gao Shang’s behalf.”
“But actually, Brother Gaoshang didn’t mean to scare you. He just wanted to play with you. But you kids had a little disagreement this morning, right? Brother Gaoshang was worried you wouldn’t play with him, so he sneaked around. He didn’t expect to scare you like that. This misunderstanding is really huge…”
If we disregard what happened this morning, Gao Feng and Shang Bishu’s current behavior is quite sincere.
Unfortunately, Gao Shang is still the same Gao Shang who doesn’t give face to his own parents and is more likely to sabotage them than cooperate with them in acting.
Before Gao Feng and Shang Bishu could even ask Gao Shang to apologize and explain, Gao Shang had already snorted out first.
Then he yelled, “No way! I don’t want to play with you! You’re all bad kids who bully others! I hate you the most! It’s all my parents’ fault for making me play with you. I didn’t want to! You deserved to be scared to death! Coward!”
The atmosphere immediately became somewhat heavy.
Shang Jingshu was still hesitating about whether to accept Shang Bishu’s apology, but upon hearing Gao Shang’s words, she exploded like a firecracker.
“You’re the bad kid! All you do is act tough! You lost the race and blamed sister for running too fast. When you fell, all you did was cry and call for your parents. When your parents don’t care about you, all you do is call for your grandparents. You’re the worst! So shameful! When you climb through someone’s window and get caught, all you do is run away. You’re not just a coward, you’re a crybaby! Nobody wants to play with you! You’ll be turned into a calf by the Buddha!”
Shang Jingshu spoke faster and faster, her words logical, well-founded, and forceful.
But her last childlike remark lightened the otherwise somber atmosphere, and the adults all smiled to some extent.
The youngest child, Yao Shuyue, tilted her head and asked, “Sister, why did the Bodhisattva turn him into a calf?”
Shang Jingshu snorted, “Because he’s a bad kid!”
“You, you…you bullied me again! I…” Gao Shang angrily wanted to retaliate.
Shang Jingshu pulled out a magnifying glass from her pocket, pointing it at Gao Shang with an air of authority, like a detective who had caught a criminal: “How are you? Are you going to cry again?”
Shang Jingqi, playing the straight man, mimicked Gao Shang’s demeanor from earlier that morning, raising his hand to wipe his eyes: “Waaah, you’re all bullying me! I’m going to call my grandpa and grandma to beat you up!”
The adults were a little troubled by what they saw, but the children didn’t think too much about it. They just thought Shang Jingqi’s lesson was funny and couldn’t help but laugh.
Hearing the laughter, Gao Shang raised his arm and wiped his eyes hard with his sleeve to stop the tears welling up in his eyes from falling, his face turning red.
“I won’t cry! I’m much stronger than you guys!” Gao Shang gestured with his fist.
As the father of Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu, Shang Shuji remained completely silent, neither blaming nor advising anyone. Xuan Zhixia, who was nominally an elder to the two children, also stayed out of the situation.
These two were more composed than the parents from other families. Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Gao Feng and Shang Bishu had no choice but to quickly interrupt them.
“Alright, alright, stop arguing. It’s just a little squabble between kids. You’re all good children, don’t let this cause conflict.”
“That’s right. We just met today, and we’ll be spending a lot of time together. As the saying goes, you can’t be friends without a fight. Maybe you’ll be good friends in no time.”
“Gao Shang, wipe your tears. Why are you crying over nothing? No wonder the other children misunderstand. You’re the older brother, how can you argue with your younger siblings?”
“Qiqi and Shushu, you two are so smart and clever. Your aunt and uncle have never seen such intelligent children before. How about you let your brother have his way this time?”
“Oh dear, we’ve wasted more time. Let’s hurry up and ask the production team what the activities are planned for this afternoon.”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu did not press their advantage, and although Gao Shang was still unconvinced, he did not undermine them further, and the conflict was thus resolved.
The group moved forward according to the program team’s plan.
Xuan Zhixia strolled along and naturally ended up at the very back of the line.
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu observed him and felt sorry for him walking alone at the very back…
So the two children following Shang Shuji quietly and seemingly naturally slowed down their pace, and soon they were walking alongside Xuan Zhixia.
Xuan Zhixia lowered his head and glanced at the two of them.
The two children immediately looked away, resolutely adhering to their policy of “disliking Xuan Zhixia,” and seemed very busy chatting with each other.
Shang Jingqi asked, “Oh, right, didn’t you say there was no Bodhisattva?”
Shang Jingshu nodded: “No, there isn’t any.”
Shang Jingqi was puzzled: “But you just told Gao Shang that the Bodhisattva would turn him into a calf…”
Shang Jingshu said lightly, “Oh dear, that was just to scare him. The other kids are all so naive; they still believe in fairy tales. Gao Shang will definitely be fooled!”