All the goddesses in the world are lusting after my body.

Even after so many years since his wife passed away, he still refuses to remarry.

When the bitterness in one's heart overflows, what way can one relieve it?

Even the bitterest tea can't compare; I've long since gotten used to it.

He regretted countless times that he couldn't protect her, and it seemed that there was no other meaning in the rest of his life except to raise her and his children.

He has the best resources, and his daughters will live the happiest lives, free to enjoy everything.

That's how it should have been.

But as Mu Yunyi and Mu Yuqing grew up, their personalities became different. Among them, Mu Yunyi was almost identical to her mother in terms of gentleness and purity.

That's why he was even more furious about the ridicule and reprimands his daughter received on her first day of school because of her dyslexia. When his daughter cried and threw herself into his arms, saying that she hated going to school and hated reading and learning to read, his heart was breaking.

On the other hand, he couldn't deny that he felt a secret joy that he couldn't let anyone know because of this.

He wanted to protect Mu Yunyi, so that she could grow up cleanly and carefree under his watchful eyes, without ever coming into contact with any danger.

Let's prevent... from any further accidents!

Dyslexia seems like a perfect excuse.

………………

"Actually, you love your daughter Mu Yunyi very much, but you don't dare to admit it. You even sacrificed the opportunity to be close to your daughter, just to create the illusion for others that you hate your daughter and think that she should stay at home and not go to school to avoid embarrassment."

"No matter what others say behind your back about your differential treatment and cold-heartedness, for you, as long as you can protect your daughter, as long as you can achieve this goal, that's enough."

Even so, Jiang Tang still had some unresolved doubts.

That is, President Mu clearly shows more affection for Mu Yuqing than for Mu Yunyi. How is that possible?

Surely it can't be another disguise to protect Mu Yunyi?

Having finished speaking, Jiang Tang felt that his tutoring job at the Mu family had come to an end.

But he was still willing to sacrifice his career for a "death plea".

"President Mu, I know I am but a nobody, and even if I say all this, it may still be of no use to the outcome. You are the only one in charge of this family."

"But think of Yunyi's mother... She wouldn't want to see her daughter alone at home, even befriending dolls. There's rain outside, but there are also flowers and sunshine."

"If she gets caught in the rain, the right thing to do is to tell her to use an umbrella and teach her to walk away from the rain, instead of taking away her chance to even touch the sun."

"This is not protection, this is imprisonment."

Without receiving any response, President Mu had already given the order to leave, as if he had no intention of wasting any more words.

Jiang Tang sighed silently to himself.

Indeed, changing this kind of stubborn middle-aged man, this kind of domineering chauvinist, is a very difficult thing.

Ultimately, he was indeed an outsider; what right did he have to interfere in President Mu's family affairs?

But there are some things I just have to say.

Now that Jiang Tang has chosen this path, he will not regret it or turn back.

"I'm leaving now. You don't need to pay for today's class, Mr. Mu. Please take good care of Yunyi. You are like sunshine and rain that she can only look up to but never reach."

"As for Yuqing, she has a great talent for learning, but she is not serious enough usually. Please don't spoil and indulge her too much. Discipline her more and she will be much better."

He stood up from in front of President Mu, then turned and left.

But just as he was about to leave the study, he heard something behind him.

"and many more."

Jiang Tang raised an eyebrow and stopped in his tracks.

Mr. Mu's voice continued to come from behind.

Do you know that one wrong step leads to another, and one lie requires countless more to cover it up?

"Of course I know, but it's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost."

"But I can't fix this prison. Can you, Jiang Tang, do it?" President Mu's tone calmed down again, no longer showing the anger he had before.

It seems that Jiang Tang's words did touch his heart to some extent.

"I... am willing to give it a try."

It felt like I'd taken on some troublesome responsibility, but that's just the kind of person Jiang Tang is; it's impossible to change him.

He returned to President Mu, who finally introduced himself.

This also shows that he truly regarded Jiang Tang as someone with whom he could communicate on an equal footing.

"My name is Mu Changtian. Please try this cup of tea."

He took out another purple clay teacup, poured warm tea into it using a teapot, and then pushed it in front of Jiang Tang.

The latter couldn't help but swallow and try to take a sip.

"..." Jiang Tang forced himself not to spit it out; he had greatly underestimated the bitterness of the tea.

"what about the taste?"

"It's very bitter."

"That's because you don't understand tea. You need to slowly savor it for a few years before you can be considered an expert."

Jiang Tang thought to himself, "If he keeps drinking this bitter tea for years, I might as well just kill him."

But was Mu Changtian able to persevere because there was a pain deeper than death...?

Thinking of this, Jiang Tang took another small sip. This time, he let the tea linger on his tongue for a long time, tasting a strange flavor.

Mu Changtian looked at Jiang Tang in front of him, but his eyes clearly reflected the past. He sighed.

"I made Yunyi run away, but I also ran away myself."

“When Yunyi was little, she was so well-behaved, like a pure white porcelain doll. I couldn’t bear to see her get hurt. When she cried and ran into my arms, I gave up on the proper guidance I should have given her.”

“Children only have instincts, the instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm. Before their minds mature, adults should make the right decisions for them,” Jiang Tang murmured.

"Yes, looking back now, I realize how selfish I was."

"I almost forgot that she still had her own spirit and her own desires, and simply thought that this way I could protect her."

"But I have had my regrets. It's just that I'm busy with work, and Yuqing has a bad personality. She's domineering and willful. I just can't let Yunyi, who has already missed several years of schooling and the opportunity to get to know her classmates, go back to school..."

“Her older sister can’t take good care of her, and she can’t keep up with her studies. Whether she joins a class with students of similar age or repeats a grade, she will only become an outcast in the class. I don’t care about her grades, but if all she gets from going to school is suffering, then I can only continue making the same mistake.”

"That is indeed an unsolvable situation," Jiang Tang couldn't help but sigh.

If Mu Changtian had changed Mu Yunyi's situation of staying at home and forced her to go to school, the result would only have been that his daughter would have suffered even more.

Those who are different will be attacked by the masses...

Children are not as kind as we imagine; on the contrary, a small portion of them possess pure evil.

"So I'd like to hear your ideas. If you just stick to that so-called 'correct' rhetoric and fail to offer a solution, then I'll consider you someone who only talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk, Jiang Tang."

"You were able to change Yuqing, which has already exceeded my expectations, but Yunyi... the problems she faces come not only from herself, but also from my mistakes and society, especially the latter."

"Of course I know that I can't convince others with words alone, so I won't say anything and just watch what I do next."

"I will try my best to change Yunyi, but at the same time, Mr. Mu, you must promise me that you will respect Yunyi's wishes. I will not say that going to school is good and staying at home is bad. Everything will be decided by Yunyi after this summer vacation."

"If she is willing to go to school, please don't discourage her from having mustered up the courage."

"..."

Mu Changtian remained silent for a long time, a father's worry for his daughter appearing on his face, but in the end he returned to normal and nodded slowly.

"I will."

It seems that he went through a period of psychological struggle.

People are not always conservative or always open-minded; they often oscillate between the two. In the past, the conservative side naturally occupied Mu Changtian's heart.

But now, he has also made his own changes.

Jiang Tang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was indeed not good at dealing with elders, regardless of whether they were related by blood.

At the end of the conversation, Jiang Tang had one more question that he had always been curious about and wanted to ask Mu Changtian.

"Is your coldness towards Mu Yunyi solely to protect her? Then why do you dote on Mu Yuqing so much?"

Mu Changtian gave Jiang Tang a deep look, and the latter immediately responded.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it..."

“Yunyi and I didn’t have this distance between us from the beginning. The first person to drift apart was actually her. She always thought it was because of her that her mother… She was a gentle child like her mother. She was afraid that I would be sad if I saw her, so she deliberately distanced herself from me, even if it would make her lonely.”

"As for me... I acquiesced to the relationship between Yunyi and me with mixed feelings. It remained neither too close nor too distant. I have always considered myself an unfortunate person. My parents passed away many years before me, and Yunyi and Yuqing's mother only got married after I..."

“If there were a chance to make amends, I would be willing to give up everything… That’s why when I saw Yunyi, who looked so much like her mother, I wondered if she would be spared my misfortune if she stayed away from me.”

Mu Changtian's gaze trembled.

"As for why I favor Yuqing, it's because I can't help but favor and pamper her."

"Because she is the child who was born at the cost of my wife's life..."

"This is a secret that only I have known all along."

"Actually, Yunyi is the older sister, and Yuqing is the younger sister."

107 Sneaking food

The sound of footsteps, as swift as a rabbit's, disappeared.

Jiang Tang looked towards the door of the study, which was also the direction that President Mu was looking in.

"You didn't actually say these things for my sake, did you?"

"Some things have been kept hidden for too long. If I don't say them now, I'll never have the chance to say them again."

Mu Changtian's expression was moved; Jiang Tang had thought he could remain calm and composed forever.

Yet, at this moment, he still revealed a vulnerable expression, a word that should not have been associated with him by anyone.

Rather, he has always given everyone the impression of being an indomitable giant.