Shao Qihai coughed and explained in a low voice, “I just happened to see this.”
“Oh.” Mu Jingzhe heard the train attendant explain things amid the pickpocket’s rant.
These two people were habitual criminals who ran around a few familiar routes. They had been paying attention to these two, but there were too many people on the train, and they weren’t sure when they would get on or off. They were very cunning. This time, it was thanks to Mu Jingzhe and that guy that they had been able to catch them.
After he finished explaining this, they realized that Shao Qihai had disappeared.
“Where is he? Why is he gone?”
Shao Nan pointed to the corridor. “While you were talking just now, he walked over there. He seemed to be afraid of something.”
No one doubted Shao Nan’s words because he was a kid. They were a little suspicious when they heard this, though. Why would he flee? Could he be an accomplice too? That shouldn’t be the case, right?
“Little Nan, did you see him leave? Why didn’t you say anything? We hadn’t thanked him yet.”
“I saw that you were talking, so I didn’t say anything.”
While Shao Nan was held by Mu Jingzhe, he couldn’t help but keep his attention focused on Shao Qihai. For some reason, he felt a sense of familiarity. That man even felt like the father who had abandoned them.
That was why Shao Nan had kept staring at him. He wasn’t sure, so he hadn’t said anything. Of course, even if he had been sure, he wouldn’t have said anything, much less been grateful.
They were living well now and didn’t need him anymore, so it didn’t matter if he was their father or not.
Of course, Shao Nan deliberately didn’t say that he’d left because of selfish motives. He didn’t want that person to attract his mother’s attention, nor did he want his mother to be grateful to him.
Even if there was just a 1% chance, he didn’t want his mother to be related to Shao Qihai in any way.
Since he was already dead, he might as well stay completely dead.
Mu Jingzhe had no idea what Shao Nan was thinking about, but she felt that he was a little nervous and unusually clingy.
“Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you. No more pickpockets will come.”
Mu Jingzhe thought that Shao Nan was scared and quickly comforted him.
When this commotion was over, the sun rose after Mu Jingzhe and Shao Nan took a nap. Just as Mu Jingzhe had said, they didn’t encounter any more thieves and successfully returned home.
On the other hand, because Ji Buwang had missed the opportunity to go back with Mu Jingzhe, he decided to stay in the capital and deal with more matters.
Ji Buwang dealt with Sister Lan, who had offended Mu Jingzhe, and it became a topic of discussion after dinner. Everyone said that Ji Buwang was serious about her.
Even now that Sister Lan’s heart had been broken by Ji Buwang, she still couldn’t take this lying down. Just in what way was Mu Jingzhe better than her? Thinking of what Mu Jingzhe had said before, she really did inquire about the Shao kids to see how capable they were.
She wasn’t the first to ask around. There had already been others before her, so it took her no time to find out. What she heard shocked her.
She realized that Mu Jingzhe hadn’t been lying at all. The children really did have their own abilities.
Sister Lan herself wasn’t very capable, and her information was lagging behind, but the people she asked were quite well-informed. While Mu Jingzhe and Shao Nan were in the capital, some people took this chance to contact Shao Dong. They wanted to hear his thoughts and see what he thought about the Ji Family’s businesses.
Shao Dong shook his head firmly in reaction to this. “Never mind the fact that there is nothing between Mommy and Teacher Ji now. Even if there really was something between them, we wouldn’t have anything to do with Teacher Ji, much less the Ji Family. We have too many things to attend to and don’t have the time or energy to snatch any of the Ji Family’s businesses. We can earn money ourselves and build our own empire.”
These words were as unyielding as Mu Jingzhe’s statement but weren’t boastful.
Shao Dong had already shown his talent at a really young age, and the other four children weren’t inferior to him. As for Mu Jingzhe, although she wasn’t rich, she was quite well-off herself. She didn’t need to covet Ji Buwang’s riches and she could live well without having to rely on anyone.
After Mu Jingzhe brought Shao Nan back, besides bringing back a pile of clothes, she heard from Shao Dong that the electricity in their house had been turned on, so she directly carried a television back from the city.
Coincidentally, Little Bei’s drama was finally going to air, as was Shao Nan’s gameshow. They definitely had to tune in.
The timing was just right. As soon as the television was brought, the television drama started playing. Besides, although Little Bei only had a few scenes, she appeared quite early.
After the addition of a television and electricity to Mu Jingzhe’s house, many people in the village came over to watch television. Some simply watched television, while some women even held needles and thread to sew and chat while watching television.
When they saw Little Bei on TV, all of them were extremely fascinated.
In their eyes, anyone who appeared on television was a bigshot with real ability. They even looked at Little Bei differently now.
The others in the village also found out. The children even started mimicking Little Nezha. Little Bei immediately became extremely famous.
Then, the gameshow that Shao Nan had participated in also began to be broadcast. This wasn’t a local channel but a direct broadcast on the People’s Television Station. Although it wasn’t Channel 1, it was still very impressive.
The competition had already reached its end. Knowing that Shao Nan was the champion, the film editor showed many scenes of Shao Nan right from the beginning. Even in the first episode, there was a highlight moment of him.
Even more people watched Shao Nan’s gameshow than Little Bei’s TV drama. Instantly, many people memorized Shao Nan’s name.
The way the villagers looked at Shao Nan changed accordingly. In their eyes, he was another incredible Shao child who had appeared on television.
When Mu Jingzhe, Shao Dong, Shao Dong, Shao Nan, Little Dong, and Xiao Wu appeared in their parent-child outfits, they became the most beautiful sight in the village.
The five children liked the parent-child outfits very much. They even said that they would wear matching outfits like this in the future. For example, rather than twin outfits, they preferred parent-child outfits.
Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng started a new round of showing off. Other than showing off their woolen shirts and leather shoes, now, they were also showing off the children. Little Bei and Shao Nan became another thing for them to show off.
“Both of them are on TV. Little Bei even has an upcoming movie. I’ll invite the villagers to watch the screening with us.”
With a wave of her hand, Li Zhaodi decided that when Little Bei’s movie was released, she was going to invite the movie company to screen the movie in their village. She would treat everyone to the movie.
Mu Jingzhe had originally intended to do so, but Li Zhaodi took action before her.
While watching Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng showing off everywhere, Old Lady Mu was furious.
Ever since she’d found out that Tang Moling wasn’t that rich anymore and was no longer worthy of Mu Xue, she’d been waiting for Mu Xue to find a rich husband, but no matter how much she waited, Mu Xue hadn’t found one.
On the other hand, Mu Jingzhe’s life was getting more and more glamorous, as was Li Zhaodi’s life.
She was the one who should be basking in glory. How had Li Zhaodi ended up basking in glory instead? Was she even worthy? Old Lady Mu was extremely displeased. Seeing that she was in a bad mood, Mu Xue finally perked up and said that she would take her to the county city to shop and buy some clothes for the new year.
Previously, when Tang Moling had broken off the engagement, he had given Mu Xue a house and a car in the county city. As Mu Xue didn’t know how to drive, she hadn’t even touched the car once. She had not wanted to accept the house either, but Old Lady Mu had accepted it on her behalf.
He had delayed Mu Xue for so long and even broken off the engagement. This had affected Mu Xue’s reputation, so it was only right that they accepted this compensation.
