Chapter 217 (Bonus Chapter)
217:
"You can just use this phone to go back," Director Wang said solicitously. "Well, the live stream has already ended, so you don't need to worry."
Mu Shaowu: !!!
Good grief, they even turned off the live stream because of this!
Old Mu, you truly live up to your reputation!
Mu Shaowu looked at the cameraman in front of him and said, "Excuse me, could you please step out for a moment?"
"Okay," the cameraman nodded.
Mu Shaowu closed the door and turned off the camera before taking out his phone to call his father back.
"How come you're still in contact with our program's director?" Mu Shaowu asked, puzzled.
"I didn't ask you to call me back to talk about this," Mu Feng said.
He got straight to the point, "Is Xiaoxi back?"
"No, what's wrong?" Mu Shaowu keenly sensed that things might not be as simple as he thought.
“He just went to He Lei’s house to play. He Yao deliberately said the word ‘foster father’ many times in his ear, to make him understand you. He said that you have had a hard time, it has been very difficult, and it has been very painful. He said that there are some things that even a biological father cannot do, let alone a foster father.”
Mu Shaowu: !!!
Mu Shaowu's temper flared up instantly. "Is he crazy?! I'm going to find him right now!"
"There's no need," Mu Feng said calmly. "I've already spoken to your program's director. After this episode is finished, he will withdraw from the recording and never appear in front of Xiao Xi again."
"I asked you to call me because I felt that as your father, you should know about this. When Xiaoxi comes back later, please keep an eye on him and don't let his words affect his mood."
"Okay," Mu Shaowu replied.
He was somewhat annoyed, "I should have gone with him, really."
Mu Feng rarely comforted his son, saying, "Maliciousness is something you can't guard against. Even if you go with him this time, can you be with him every single moment?"
“Playing games and doing tasks might temporarily separate you from him. He Yao might happen to run into him, and these conversations won't take long. He can say whatever he wants whenever he wants. In fact, since you're a celebrity, if any students in his class dislike you, they can rush up to Xiao Xi after class and badmouth you. You can't stop any of that. So all you need to do is teach them the lesson they deserve once you find out.”
"There's no need to blame yourself for other people's malice; that will only waste your time."
After Mu Feng finished speaking, he hung up the phone.
This was not Mu Shaowu's fault.
He wouldn't blame Mu Shaowu for this, nor would he blame himself.
Mu Feng disliked wasting time on meaningless things like self-blame and regret.
There were certainly moments of regret in his life.
But most of the time, he was moving forward, dealing with problems calmly and overcoming difficulties.
Therefore, even now, he doesn't regret that if he hadn't asked Ye Qingxi that question back then and had directly made He Yao quit the recording, none of today's events would have happened.
It's meaningless.
Instead of wasting time, we should solve the problem directly.
Just like now, He Yao's matter has already been resolved.
That's why he wants his children to have power.
You can never prevent others from being malicious towards you, but when you have power, you can directly eliminate those who are malicious towards you.
Mu Shaowu stared at his phone for a long while before walking out the door and returning it to the cameraman.
He had just returned the phone when he heard the door being pushed open.
Ye Qingxi's voice came in, "Dad, I'm back from picking tomatoes."
As he spoke, he walked in, carrying a large stainless steel basin.
"Leilei gave me a really big basin to pick, look."
Ye Qingxi walked up to Mu Shaowu and handed him the bowl so he could see the tomatoes in it.
Mu Shaowu looked at him, then raised his eyes and slowly looked at him.
Ye Qingxi's face showed a light and cheerful expression, and she seemed unaffected.
But is that what he really thinks?
Mu Shaowu looked at the staff around them and said, "Could you please step outside for a moment? I have something I'd like to say to Xiaoxi alone."
Upon hearing this, the staff members nodded politely and left.
Mu Shaowu then pulled Ye Qingxi into the bedroom.
Ye Qingxi was confused. What was going on?
Did he know what He Yao had said to him before?
That shouldn't be the case.
It was strange that the director suddenly said he should go back.
On the way back, Ye Qingxi asked her why she suddenly asked him to go back.
A fleeting hint of embarrassment crossed the director's face. "It's nothing, I just felt that Xiaoxi, you've been out for a bit too long, and I was worried your father would worry."
"Is it long?" Ye Qingxi asked innocently. "But Leilei hasn't come back from the toilet yet."
Filming Director: ...
"Really? I didn't even notice."
"Xiao Xi, look, there's a kitten~" the filming director quickly changed the subject.
Ye Qingxi looked in the direction he pointed and saw that it really was a kitten.
He came back a little late because he went to see the kitten.
But now, what's wrong with his father?
Ye Qingxi placed the stainless steel basin she was holding on the bedside table in the bedroom and looked at Mu Shaowu.
Mu Shaowu looked at him, unsure of what to say.
After a long while, he slowly opened his mouth.
"Xiaoxi, do you remember the question I asked you when we first met? — Do you like me as your dad?"
Ye Qingxi was taken aback. Why bring this up all of a sudden?
"Back then, I asked you to ask me this question too, but you didn't. I told you then that I quite liked you. Now, almost a year later, I'm revising my answer. I don't just quite like you, I really, really like you. I really, really like you."
He said, "Before you, I had never thought about children, and after you, I haven't thought about any other children."
"It's my first time being a father, so there are definitely some things I didn't do very well, but you've always been very understanding of me and you've done many things better than me, so I didn't feel any hardship, bitterness, or difficulty."
“Being your dad is easy. You're well-behaved, have good grades, are sensible, and considerate. You hardly need any adults to worry about you. Anyone who has a son like you would feel incredibly lucky and happy. There wouldn't be any hardship, bitterness, or difficulty.”
"So Xiaoxi, don't listen to He Yao's nonsense. You know, his younger brother has a grudge against your uncle, and his younger sister has a grudge against your aunt. As the older brother, he naturally has no good intentions towards me, you, or our family."
"He said those things to you on purpose, deliberately trying to make you unhappy."
Ye Qingxi was surprised that he actually knew what He Yao had said. Why?
Wasn't he always at home? How did he know?
“I know,” Ye Qingxi nodded. “I didn’t listen to my father.”
Mu Shaowu was relieved.
He looked at his son and said with heartache, "How can I? Of course your father wants to stay by your side, accompany you, and protect you, but your father is a policeman. He has no choice. He has to go catch bad guys. He doesn't know that when he goes, he will leave you forever."
"Your grandfather is the same. He loves you more than anyone else, but he's old and there's nothing he can do."
"So I'm the only one who can be your father. Of course, this is a good thing for me, but it's actually quite unfair to you. You could have had a better father, an upright, brave, and noble father, instead of someone like me, who is not noble at all."
Ye Qingxi shook her head, "Dad, you're great too! You're handsome, you know a lot, and now you can even cook a lot of the things I like to eat!"
Mu Shaowu smiled and said, "So you know that Dad would do things for you that Dad wouldn't do himself, right?"
Ye Qingxi nodded.
Mu Shaowu said softly, "You see, Tao Tao's father wouldn't learn to eat the things Tao Tao likes just for Tao Tao's sake."
"What does this mean? It means that there are some things that biological fathers can't do, but I can do. Although I'm not your biological father, I can do a lot for you. My love for you is no less than that of biological fathers for their children."
Ye Qingxi nodded.
He knew, he always knew.
He looked at Mu Shaowu and beckoned for Mu Shaowu to bend down.
Mu Shaowu bent over in confusion.
Ye Qingxi leaned closer to him and gently kissed him on the cheek.
His voice was soft as he said, "I know my dad. He loves me. He treats me like his own child. I know all that."
At this moment, Mu Shaowu's eyes suddenly stung with tears.
He knows.
His son knows everything.
Ever since receiving Mu Feng's call, Mu Shaowu had been worried about Ye Qingxi's feelings.
I'm afraid he'll be influenced by He Yao's words.
I'm afraid he'll think he's really working hard and it's not easy for him.
I'm afraid that if he encounters any problems in the future, I won't dare to "bother" him.
He doesn't need Ye Qingxi to understand him.
All he needed was for Ye Qingxi to be the same as before, to laugh and joke with him, to awkwardly express her feelings to him, and to be an ordinary father and son, as if they had been living together from the very beginning.
"Dad, I can answer the question you asked me before now," Ye Qingxi said softly.
He looked at the person in front of him and laughed.
"I really like you as my dad, and I'm so happy that you're my dad."
"So what if he's an adoptive father? He's still a father. Uncle Zhang can't cook, Uncle Tao can't cook, Uncle Yang can't cook, Uncle Hu can't cook, and even He Yao himself can't cook. But my dad can cook."
“My dad didn’t know how to do it either, but he learned because he was going out with me alone.”
"But Uncle Zhang and the others know they want to come out alone with the baby, but they still won't."
Ye Qingxi said, "Dad, I'm very smart. I know I should use my brain to see things, not just my ears. Of course, my biological father can't do that, but my dad can. So my dad is better than all other dads, and he loves his baby more."
"So I'm very happy, Dad, you are my dad, not Uncle Zhang, Uncle Tao, Uncle Yang, or He Yao."
Upon hearing this, Mu Shaowu reached out and pulled him into his arms.
The question he asked a year ago has finally been answered at this moment.
He was right; relationships between people depend on the accumulation of feelings over time.
Blood ties merely provide an opportunity for these accumulated relationships. Even without blood ties, as long as they treat each other with sincerity, empathize with each other, and give each other love and affection, the other person will reciprocate with love and affection in return.
Mu Shaowu held the child in his arms and kissed him gently on the cheek.
Ye Qingxi looked up and smiled sweetly.
Only after Mu Shaowu released him did Ye Qingxi have the mood to ask, "How did you know that He Yao said those things to me?"
"Your grandfather told me," Mu Shaowu said without hiding anything from him.
Ye Qingxi: !!
Ye Qingxi was shocked. So his grandfather was watching the live stream too?!
No, Grandpa, don't you always have so many documents to process every day?
How do you have time to watch a live stream?!
Ye Qingxi could hardly believe it.
"So, my grandfather knows about He Yao's matter?"
Then He Yao is finished, isn't he?
Mu Shaowu nodded.
"Your grandfather is planning to have him withdraw from the recording."
Ye Qingxi: !!
He knew it!
"I guess He Yao wouldn't agree, would he?"
"He has no choice but to agree, your grandfather's decisions have never been changed by anyone."
Mu Shaowu looked at his son and advised him, "I also think this is better."
“Dad can’t be with you every moment, but He Yao has a grudge against your uncle, aunt and me. It’s fine if he comes at me, but if he says something like that to you again, even if it doesn’t affect you, I won’t like it.”
"I don't like people saying I'm your adoptive father. Isn't that just rubbing salt in my wounds? Does that mean I don't want to be your biological father? Does that mean I'm not lucky enough to be your biological father?" Mu Shaowu said, looking aggrieved.
Looking at the aggrieved look on his face, Ye Qingxi thought he had acted very well this time, making it hard for her to tell whether it was real or an act.
That's good, you've improved!
"It's okay," Ye Qingxi comforted him. "You're my dad now."
"So how about we let He Yao withdraw?" Mu Shaowu asked him.
Ye Qingxi nodded.
His grandfather already knows about this, is there any room for him not to back down?
He just needs to be more careful about his grandfather in the future, and he must not let anything happen to him.
Mu Shaowu felt relieved, patted Ye Qingxi's head, and looked at him tenderly.
Fortunately, his baby was not saddened by He Yao's words, nor was he affected by them.
Their little Xi is truly the smartest and most mentally strong child ever!
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