"Uncle, are you alright?" Xia Qingtian handed a hot drink to Xia Shang.
"Was it like this when my adoptive mother passed away..." Xia Shang didn't take the drink, only murmured, "Suddenly, just..."
"Yes, death is just a moment, and the waiting and pain before death are the longest." Xia Qingtian had a lot to say about this. "To be able to pass away peacefully is already a very fortunate thing."
"Qingtian, I shouldn't have disappointed him, but his wish, I seem unable to fulfill it." Xia Shang didn't believe he could carry the old man's wishes and support the entire family.
He knew he was weak and insignificant.
Being able to go to work and get off work every day, come home to eat, see his brother and sister-in-law, and see the two Qingtian and Qingyu, he was already very happy.
Back at the mountain villa, it was just him and his adoptive mother. His adoptive mother liked quiet and never proactively spoke to him, and he didn't want to speak either.
At that time, he just felt he had a place to stay, it was safe, and he could eat.
Xia Shang was already very content with this.
But now, after living in the Xia family for a year, Xia Shang looked back at his past life. Although he was still grateful, he also felt that he could never go back.
If he hadn't come to the Xia family, he could still have gotten used to it.
But how could someone who has seen the light be willing to shrink back into darkness?
"May I ask what wish it was?" Xia Qingtian asked, seeing Xia Shang so distressed.
"He gave this to me and said he was entrusting the Miao family to me..." Xia Shang opened his palm. The small object was warmed by Xia Shang's hand.
"A die?" Xia Qingtian was a little surprised at first, and then vaguely felt that the die looked very familiar.
[Beep—
[The Chosen One System has been activated.
Option A: Conceal the last words of the Miao family head and the white jade die, reward the impending assassination danger reduced to 3 (out of 10), and dispatch an additional reliable external aid for escort.
Option B: Hand over the white jade die, Xia Shang returns to the Miao family, reward the host with the Miao family's favor and generous gifts, and face impending assassination danger.]
Good heavens!
Xia Qingtian exclaimed, "Good heavens!"
So, no matter which option he chose, assassination was unavoidable?
Footsteps were heard from behind. Xia Qingtian didn't have time to think and could only snatch the white jade die from Xia Shang's palm, while gesturing to Xia Shang, who looked bewildered, to be quiet.
Although Xia Shang didn't know what Xia Qingtian was doing, he believed that Xia Qingtian would never harm him, so he blinked his eyes and said nothing.
The person who arrived was a middle-aged man. He seemed to have run in haste, with a few beads of sweat on his forehead. He recognized Xia Shang almost the moment he saw him and reached out to demand, "Where is it? Give it to me!"
Xia Shang subconsciously looked at Xia Qingtian.
"What thing? Who are you? Stay away from my uncle!" Xia Qingtian immediately stepped in front of Xia Shang.
"I am from the Miao family. I need to retrieve the遗物 (yí wù -遗物 -遗物) of our family head. Hand it over." The other party's tone was fierce and urgent.
"For your family head's遗物 (yí wù -遗物 -遗物), go to the ward and ask your family head. Wait for his lawyer to announce the will," Xia Qingtian said coldly. "Why are you yelling at us? My uncle just recognized his grandfather, and before he could even say a word, his grandfather passed away. He's already pitiful enough, what more do you want?"
Upon hearing Xia Qingtian's words, the other party's eyes showed some hesitation, as if doubting the truthfulness of her words.
"Heh heh, second uncle, aren't you being a bit too impatient?" A young man walked out from the corner, with a bright, faint smile on his face. His appearance was about eight or nine parts similar to Xia Shang.
Seeing this young man, Xia Qingtian and Xia Shang were also stunned.
No wonder no one they met on the way today doubted his identity.
This young man was too similar to Xia Shang.
However, this young man seemed a little younger than Xia Shang, about the same age as Xia Qingyu, perhaps a year or two older.
His smile was bright, his voice clear, and he waved cheerfully, "Hi, big brother, I'm the biological brother you've never met, Miao Tong."
"Miao Tong, you have no right to speak here!" Uncle Miao II frowned upon seeing Miao Tong, a hint of nervousness on his face. He also seemed to find this kid Miao Tong quite troublesome.
"Second uncle, Miao Sang is my biological brother. Can't I say a few words when I see him? Second uncle, you can't even manage your own family's messy affairs, yet you're coming to meddle in ours?" Miao Tong said with his arms crossed, "If you want the family heirloom, go ask grandpa. Seeing how active you are, perhaps grandpa's spirit in heaven will get so excited that he'll personally take you away~"
"Bastard! How dare you curse me!" Uncle Miao II glared at Miao Tong.
"How could I be cursing you! I'm offering my heartfelt wishes." Miao Tong's smile was bright, but his words were very irritating. "When you do too many things with a guilty conscience, you tend to confuse good and bad words."
"You! Miao Tong! Don't think I won't do anything to you!" Uncle Miao II warned.
"No way, no way... Second uncle, are you threatening me?" Miao Tong blinked his big eyes, casually flipped through his phone, found a photo, and showed it to Uncle Miao II: "I have photos of your daughter playing... games with two male escorts. It's enough to make a nine-grid mosaic. Second uncle, I'm so scared, please don't threaten me~"
"Miao Tong! You!" Uncle Miao II recognized at a glance that the promiscuous woman in the photo was his own pampered daughter. His temples throbbed violently.
"Miao Tong! Come here, don't bully your second uncle!" A stern male voice announced, and a middle-aged couple walked in. They seemed a few years older than Xia Honglang and Aunt Liu. Their features were excellent, and even with silver hair at their temples, they had a refined and ethereal air, making it easy to imagine they were handsome men and beautiful women in their youth.
Miao Tong shrugged his shoulders and stuck out his tongue innocently. His smile never left his face from beginning to end.
"Sang Sang?" The beautiful woman's gaze fell on Xia Shang's face, and her eyes welled up with tears. She walked quickly towards Xia Shang, cupping his face in her hands and examining him closely. Her fingertips touched a small scar behind Xia Shang's ear, and the beautiful woman's tears completely broke through. "My Sang Sang..."
Xia Shang felt very uncomfortable facing the weeping beautiful woman.
He didn't know how to deal with the current situation, and his expression became increasingly gloomy from solemnity.
"Wow... Big brother's expression is so scary... Are you okay..." Miao Tong looked at Xia Shang like this, covering his mouth with one hand, and the smile on his face briefly disappeared.
"Is Sang Sang blaming me?" the beautiful woman's voice trembled.
"No, no, he's just a little nervous." Seeing this, Xia Qingtian immediately explained for the bewildered Xia Shang, "He just has a problem with his facial nerve control function. He is now..."
Xia Qingtian looked closely at Xia Shang's face: "He is now nervous, uneasy, and a little shy."
The Miao family members all stared intently at Xia Shang's face, finding it difficult to discern any element of "shyness" in his current expression.
Being stared at by the Miao family, Xia Shang felt even more nervous and uneasy. Finally, he simply retreated behind Xia Qingtian, lowering his head, revealing only one side of his blushing ear.
"Ah! He's shy..."
"He really is shy..."
"Mmm, he is indeed shy."
Xia Shang: "..."