Chapter 468: He Never Had a Chance

Li Zhaodi hadn't expected to hear this. She had thought that Shao Qihai would take this opportunity to ask them to put in a good word for him in front of Mu Jingzhe.

"I thought you were… Forget it, I won't say anything else." Upon seeing Shao Qihai like this, Li Zhaodi knew that it was hopeless and felt terrible.

She had originally thought that it was only because Jingzhe couldn't forget Ji Buwang that she kept dragging this out. She had thought that, with Shao Qihai guarding her like this, Jingzhe might sort out her thoughts one day. She hadn't expected that Shao Qihai would not be interested either.

However, he'd clearly been interested in her before and had been guarding her all along. Li Zhaodi couldn't figure it out and blurted out, "Qihai, do you despise Jingzhe's white hair? She can dye it back now."

Shao Qihai was stunned. "No, why would I? It's just…" Shao Qihai paused for a moment. "Auntie, I don't mind it. I'd jump at the chance. It's just that we're not destined to be together."

Li Zhaodi regretted saying those words. Looking into Shao Qihai's eyes, she knew that what Shao Qihai had said was true. For a moment, she was at a loss for words.

"I don't understand what you two are thinking. I misspoke. Don't take it to heart."

In Li Zhaodi's opinion, if two people were more or less suitable, they could just make do with each other and live together. She didn't overthink these things. However, that wasn't the case this time.

Neither Mu Jingzhe nor Shao Qihai needed to make do with each other.

As Shao Qihai watched Li Zhaodi leave, the corners of his mouth formed a bitter smile. He muttered, "I know that we can't be together because she only has Ji Buwang in her heart. She can't let go or forget."

He had not given up on Jingzhe. He had just never had a chance.

He had not had a chance even before Ji Buwang. How could he have one now with Ji Buwang between them?

He had never mentioned this before, afraid that it would be difficult for them to meet again.

Coincidentally, after meeting Li Zhaodi, when Shao Qihai returned home, he saw the kids return too. "Wait for me for a while. I'll prepare dinner soon."

Shao Qihai was now proficient in cooking. Although his culinary skills couldn't compare to Mu Jingzhe's, he wasn't bad either. He put on his apron and got busy, while Shao Dong helped from the side. The latter suddenly asked, "Dad, are you not planning to get married? On my way back just now, an auntie next to me was asking about you."

"I'm already 40 years old. You're all grown up now. Why would I get married again?"

"It's because we've grown up that you can find an old partner." Shao Dong sighed. "Mommy's not looking for a partner, and neither are you."

"Isn't it a good thing that I didn't find a stepmother for you? Why are you rushing to get a stepmother? Do you think everyone is as good as your mommy? Aren't you afraid that your life will get messy?"

"Now that you mention it, it seems like we don't know what's good for us." Shao Dong looked at Shao Qihai. "What you said makes sense. However, when Mommy watches television, she says that it's really unreasonable for a devoted male supporting character to remain single forever. I quite agree with that. So Dad, you shouldn't overthink it. Don't hold yourself back when you meet the right person."

"Why are you suddenly being such a lobbyist today? I know what I'm doing. Don't worry about it."

Shao Qihai knew what Mu Jingzhe had meant. It was indeed unreasonable for a devoted male supporting character not to get married for the rest of his life. He agreed with her, but he had never felt that he was a devoted male supporting character. He simply didn't want to get married because he was tired.

More importantly, it wasn't like he didn't want to get married. He had already been married twice.

He hadn't even taken care of his two wives despite getting married twice, though. What right did he have to get married again?

He wasn't in the mood for that anymore. He didn't want to disturb the peace at home with a new marriage. Instead, he wanted to live comfortably with the kids around him and look after Jingzhe.

He didn't deny that, in his heart, he occasionally hoped that Jingzhe would think things through and they'd rekindle their previous relationship, but he also knew that it was impossible.

He was guarding Jingzhe to atone for his sins, as he had not done a good job previously.

Shao Qihai had always been this sober, but sometimes being too sober wasn't necessarily a good thing. It made people unable to even dream.

Seeing that the children had so much free time that they wanted to meddle in his affairs, Shao Qihai paused for a moment and added some chili in the dishes, successfully spicing Little Bei and the boys' food.

"Dad, you did it on purpose, didn't you?" The five kids ate very happily, but they were totally feeling the spiciness of the meal.

"No, I accidentally added a little too much." Shao Qihai was calm.

Little Bei understood when she saw Shao Qihai's expression. "Alright." She sighed and suddenly called him 'Dad'. Shao Qihai raised his head reflexively and saw Little Bei suddenly cry.

Shao Qihai: "!!!"

Shao Qihai wiped his tears away awkwardly. "Little Bei!"

Little Bei chuckled. "If you spice our food, I'll make you cry."

The secret that Shao Qihai couldn't bear to see tears had eventually been exposed. Little Bei was the most mischievous. She was an actress to begin with, and tears came to her naturally whenever she wanted to. Occasionally, she would make Shao Qihai cry.

Shao Qihai was almost driven crazy by her, but there was also a benefit. When he felt depressed and uncomfortable, it was actually quite good to cry.

Therefore, when Little Bei was mischievous, it was also when he felt the most depressed. After Ji Buwang's passing, when he had seen Mu Jingzhe's hair turn white, he had relied on venting to survive. At the time, Little Bei had forced him to watch the movies she had acted in, giving him an excuse to vent.

This time, Little Bei seemed to have heard something and had deliberately come to tease him again. Everyone said that daughters were their father's little cotton-padded jackets. This saying was true. Countless times, Shao Qihai was glad to have Little Bei as his little cotton-padded jacket.

It wasn't that Shao Dong and the rest weren't good, but the thought of having five sons was a pretty scary one. It was best to have a daughter too.

Although Shao Qihai was sober, being sober didn't mean that he was heartless. It didn't mean that he wouldn't feel terrible either. After being teased by Little Bei until he was forced to cry, he felt a little better.

Then, he, who had originally had no appetite, felt hungry after crying. Therefore, he decided to eat more. Shao Qihai went to scoop some rice with red eyes and took a few more glances at the brand name 'Good Mommy' on the rice cooker.

This was the new brand that Shao Dong's company had launched in the past two years. 'Good Brother' was now famous in the country and had become a household name. Both adults and children could recite the brand's advertising slogans. If one mentioned a slogan, the brand 'Good Brother' would come to mind.

Besides continuing to sell washing machines and refrigerators, they also launched other appliances. Previously, they had launched an electric rice cooker and an electromagnetic stove. This time, the line wasn't called 'Good Brother' but 'Good Mommy'.

Shao Dong hadn't discussed it with Mu Jingzhe and his siblings. He felt that this was a very suitable name for a rice cooker, for it implied that the rice cooked by this rice cooker was as delicious as the rice cooked by a mother.

It wasn't an exaggeration, but the rice cooker was indeed not bad.

After it was launched, the sales were excellent and its reputation was awesome. Again, this appliance entered thousands of households.

Shao Qihai didn't have to buy one. As soon as the product came out, it was sent to him. When he saw this brand name, he felt that it was quite good. Of course, he didn't dare ask if there would be a 'Good Daddy' brand name in his lifetime as well.

He felt that there was a high chance that it wouldn't happen, so he didn't ask to spare himself the humiliation.

The five kids stayed at Shao Qihai's place for two days. When Mu Jingzhe returned, they went back to see her.