"Come on, let’s toast and feel free to eat all you want."
Xu Jiawei raised his beer to clink glasses with Shen Siyuan.
Zhao Xiaorui silently divided the dishes for the two of them.
This woman was not only beautiful but also quite shrewd. She sat to the side, mostly watching Xu Jiawei, barely speaking, but her expressions provided enough emotional value.
Xu Jiawei talked about his younger days, his ventures, and the hardships he faced over the years, but he remained tight-lipped about his ex-wife.
It’s unclear whether his ex-wife truly provided no support during his ventures, or if he feels that everything he achieved was through his own efforts.
However, from the expressions on the little boy nearby, it seems the situation wasn’t that simple.
Whether Xu Jiawei was a good person or not, Shen Siyuan wasn’t sure; however, Xu Jiawei seemed like a good person for now, as he generously offered free drinks and food.
After all, someone who offers you free drinks and food can’t be bad, right?
Of course, it wasn’t entirely free since Xu Jiawei’s intention to offer Shen Siyuan drinks and food was to extract some emotional value from him.
He spoke profusely to showcase his success, wealth, and his young, beautiful wife.
But clearly, he failed, as he ended up getting freeloaded off a meal.
Because of the freeloading, Shen Siyuan started to consider him a good guy.
However, after eating their fill, Shen Siyuan lost any interest in staying there.
"Cultivation is about cultivating the mind; excessive comfort and enjoyment of life will only make me lazy, destroy my will, and corrupt my practice."
After saying this, Shen Siyuan grabbed his backpack and continued on his journey without looking back.
Xu Jianwei, looking at the messy table silently, thought bitterly. During the meal and drinks earlier, you didn’t mention any of this; it’s only after eating and drinking your fill that you criticize, right? And you ate and drank the most.
Zhao Xiaorui covered her mouth and chuckled lightly.
"Why are you following us?"
Duoduo was guarded and unhappy as she thought the young man was still following them.
"Stupid, he must be having something to do with Guoguo," Duoduo said.
"Oh, you call him Guoguo, too? Hi, hi~" Dou Dou exclaimed happily.
"No, no, it’s all your fault, leading us astray..." Duoduo said hastily.
Shen Siyuan didn’t care about the children’s playful squabbles, but asked the little boy, "What’s your name, how old are you this year?"
"Xu Shilong, I’m thirteen this year," the little boy replied.
"Thirteen?" Shen Siyuan looked at him; he didn’t seem that old.
"I mean, I’m thirteen now; I was eight when the car accident happened," Xu Shilong explained.
"Oh, so you died in a car accident?"
Shen Siyuan wasn’t surprised; at his age, children usually die for a few reasons: illness, accidents, or drowning—these three being the most common.
However, what Xu Shilong said next was quite surprising to Shen Siyuan.
"I was killed by Aunt Zhao driving the car," Xu Shilong said.
"What, wait, the Aunt Zhao you mentioned, who is she?"
"That one, Aunt Zhao," Xu Shilong pointed in the direction they had come from.
"Your dad’s new wife?" Shen Siyuan frowned and asked.
Xu Shilong nodded, "Yes."
"She hit you with the car and nothing happened to her, and your dad even married her?"
"Dad said it was an accident, and not to blame Aunt Zhao," Xu Shilong explained.
"Do you think so too?" Shen Siyuan pressed.
"I don’t know," Xu Shilong lowered his head.
This little boy seemed introverted.
Unlike his father, dressed simply, sporting a mushroom haircut, wearing a pale blue sweater with slightly faded cuffs, and his pants appeared to be a school uniform.
His attire was neither due to Xu Jiawei’s negligence nor was Xu Jiawei wealthy before his death.
"What do you think?" Shen Siyuan asked.
Xu Shilong kept his head down, remaining silent.
"You’re already dead, what’s there to be afraid of?" Shen Siyuan said.
Those words seemed to give him courage; he lifted his head and looked at Shen Siyuan, saying, "I think she did it on purpose."
Murder, this issue just got serious. Indeed, human hearts are as cunning as ghosts, which I failed to recognize earlier.
"Didn’t the police look for her?"
"The police did, my dad wrote a letter of forgiveness, so Aunt Zhao got off the hook. Mom was very angry about it and divorced my dad..."
This truly threw things out of alignment.
If Zhao Xiaorui intentionally killed Xu Shilong, it implied that she had already colluded with Xu Jiawei before this, pretty much planning the murder.
But why kill Xu Shilong? Could it be to pave the way for their future together?
But that makes no sense. For such a trivial reason, taking such a huge risk, it’s completely unnecessary.
Xu Jiawei could simply choose not to have children, granting custody to their mother. I suppose a judge would support that.
Unless there is another reason.
After pondering, he asked, "What about your mother? Is she living alone now?"
Unexpectedly, Xu Shilong shook his head and then said, "She found a new uncle, and had another cute little baby..."
Upon hearing this, a chilling thought suddenly surged in Shen Siyuan’s heart.
So, he carefully asked, "Did your father become wealthy only after your death?"
Xu Shilong shook his head at the question, and Shen Siyuan breathed a sigh of relief, relieved that his thoughts weren’t as dark as he feared.
Unexpectedly, Xu Shilong said, "Mom also became wealthy; she even bought many handbags and cosmetics."
"Then, do you know how they suddenly became rich?" Shen Siyuan continued to ask.
Xu Shilong shook his head, indicating he was unclear about these matters; he was only eight years old when the car accident happened, just an innocent elementary student, unaware of these things.
"Do you hate Aunt Zhao?"
"Can I hate her?" Xu Shilong asked blankly.
"Why not, she killed you, isn’t it right to hate her?"
"If I hate her, wouldn’t dad be very upset? Dad really likes Aunt Zhao; he treats her very well."
Hearing this, Shen Siyuan felt a complicated mix of emotions. This child was too kind, too naive, hoping all his suspicions were wrong. This update ıs available on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚫𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵
"When you were alive, were your parents nice to you?"
"Of course, they were very nice to me." Hearing this, Xu Shilong revealed a bright smile.
"So you love them very much and don’t want to sadden them?" Shen Siyuan said.
Looking at his innocent demeanor, Shen Siyuan didn’t quite know what to say.
However, Shen Siyuan no longer continued this line of questioning but instead smiled and asked, "Do you want to travel with us?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Shilong turned to look towards where the motorhome was parked, seemingly a bit reluctant.
"Do you know where your home is? If you don’t want to travel with me anymore, I can take you back there," Shen Siyuan said.
"Really?" Xu Shilong’s face lit up with surprise.
Shen Siyuan pointed at Dou Dou and Duoduo playing nearby and said, "Perfect, they can keep you company."
"Okay, thank you, Uncle," Xu Shilong said happily.
"Call me brother, and don’t mention it."
Xu Shilong, probably feeling lonely for too long, thus agreed so readily to the travel invitation.
PS: Another Chapter, see you tomorrow~