"Chai Yang, what are you looking at?"
A figure suddenly appeared behind him, patting the man's shoulder, his delicate face full of curiosity.
Chai Yang turned to look at him, his expression serious. "Xing He, I think I saw Shen Wei." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Upon hearing this, Xing He immediately denied it without thinking. "Impossible, Shen Wei died three years ago. Don't forget, we were the ones who personally handled his body."
Chai Yang frowned. "I mean, I saw Shen Wei's face."
"Seeing his face and then..."
Xing He's words suddenly stopped, and the nonchalance on his face turned to shock. "You mean Master, he..."
Chai Yang nodded, a hint of nervousness and excitement flashing in his eyes.
They had been searching for so long, deploying almost all their hidden forces, but there was no clue.
Now, even if he was mistaken, it was better than finding nothing.
Xing He was also shocked. He suddenly thought of something. "No, after we received the news of the organization's trouble, we went to the Shen family to check. Shen Wei never appeared!"
Chai Yang frowned and pondered for a moment, then said, "We went to check before, but what if Master only appeared later?"
Xing He fell silent.
It wasn't impossible.
After a long pause, Chai Yang spoke again. "We've searched all the nearby towns and found no news. Even if I was wrong, I have to confirm it personally."
He paused, then added in a low voice, "I heard Elder Xu has already traveled to this area. I wonder how much he knows about Master's affairs."
Upon hearing this, Xing He's expression also turned serious.
Without further ado, the two immediately decided to go to the Shen family again.
...
Li Yue Shu was unaware of the scene unfolding on the street. After buying dozens of pounds of chicken, duck, and pork, she began her journey home.
Old Man Liu's eyes widened in shock at the sight of so much meat. "Third daughter-in-law, aren't you afraid it will spoil if you buy so much?"
Li Yue Shu smiled faintly, offering no further explanation. "Don't worry, Uncle Liu, we'll finish it before it spoils."
Old Man Liu naturally didn't believe her. Even with a family of five, they couldn't possibly eat dozens of pounds of meat!
However, he didn't want to pry into other people's affairs.
And so, the group that had left pulling a wild boar returned pulling a cart full of good things. News of this quickly spread throughout the small village.
Li Yue Shu paid no mind to the gossip. After stuffing ten coins into Old Man Liu's hand, she had Shen Wei carry everything inside.
Then, she called the three children to her side.
She personally handed each of them a set of clothes. "The money Mother earned today was used to buy things for the household. The last ten coins also went to Uncle Liu next door, so I could only buy one set of clothes for each of you."
"But Mother promises that before next New Year, I will buy another set for each of you!"
Shen Ting Wen had seen the clothes she bought, so he wasn't very surprised. The other two children, however, looked stunned, as if they were dreaming.
Finally, it was Shen Zhi Yu who reacted first, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Li Yue Shu. "Thank you, stepmother!"
His crisp voice melted Li Yue Shu's heart. She couldn't help but reach out and gently stroke his head, her face full of affection.
Then, she took out a paper-wrapped package from her pocket and opened it, revealing soft, sweet pastries.
Li Yue Shu distributed one pastry to each of the three children, and even Shen Wei, who was standing nearby, received one. She kept the last one for herself.
She said nothing, as if this was a very ordinary sharing of food.
But the twins looked at the still-warm pastries in their hands with indescribable complexity.
Li Yue Shu paid them no mind and got up to prepare dinner in the kitchen. However, the twins voluntarily ran over to help.
Although they kept their heads down and said nothing, their actions indicated they were no longer as resistant to her.
Li Yue Shu was very pleased and didn't expose the siblings' small pride, directing them to help with the cooking from the side.
After tidying everything up, Li Yue Shu wanted to sneak into her space to take a bath but couldn't find an opportunity.
Her laboratory in modern times had a dedicated resting room, which was convenient for times when she got so engrossed in experiments that she forgot to go home. This time, it had also come with her.
However, this old house was almost entirely in ruins. The only place to bathe was in the room where she slept. There was a hole in the corner where a brick had broken, just big enough for the bathwater to drain out.
But precisely because of this, the sound of water could be clearly heard from outside, making it impossible for her to enter her space.
Thus, Li Yue Shu had no choice but to wash obediently in the room. Coupled with her shoulder injury, her movements were severely restricted.
Meanwhile, outside the room, two small figures looked at each other awkwardly.
Shen Ting Wen smiled warmly. "Third sister, weren't you watching fourth brother? Why are you here?"
Shen Ting Yi retorted, "Second brother, weren't you boiling water in the kitchen? Why are you here again?"
The siblings exchanged a glance, and as if by telepathy, they understood each other's intentions. They couldn't help but touch their noses awkwardly.
Shen Ting Yi tilted her head, a look of confusion on her face. "Second brother, don't you think this woman seems to have changed a bit?"
Shen Ting Wen pursed his lips slightly and nodded.
He turned to look at the closed door, listening to the splashing sound from inside, his small face creased.
"I hope she's not plotting some grand conspiracy."
The woman's drastic change in such a short time made it impossible not to be suspicious.
Shen Ting Yi slowly walked to his side and said softly, "If only she could always be like this."
Shen Ting Wen remained silent, but his expression clearly showed he had the same thought.
Just then, Shen Wei emerged from somewhere. "Why are you two here?"
He had a look of innocent ignorance, which, paired with his rough face, made him appear particularly dull.
The twins, not noticing anyone approaching, were startled.
"Dad, why... why are you here?" Shen Ting Wen asked in surprise.
Hadn't he been told to watch the fire in the kitchen? Why had he come out too?
Shen Wei blinked innocently. "I saw you were all here, so I came to take a look."
His matter-of-fact expression, as if he was just there to join the fun, left the twins speechless.
They strongly suspected that their father, who had become foolish, might not be the same person as the wise and heroic figure they remembered.
Just then, there was a sudden splash from inside the room as a water bucket was overturned.
Immediately followed by Li Yue Shu's involuntary exclamation: "Ah!"
The twins' hearts skipped a beat. Without thinking, they were about to rush into the room.
However, one figure moved faster than they did.
With a loud "bang," the already flimsy wooden door collapsed to the ground.
The twins stared in shock at the figure that had charged in like a battering ram, their jaws nearly hitting the floor.
Just then, a loud cry instantly snapped them back to reality.