Three days later, this unscrupulous food delivery company was indeed investigated, found to have engaged in tax evasion, withheld employee wages, caused a death, and deliberately suppressed and abused employees' families, among other things...
One incident after another appeared on the trending topics, arousing public outrage. The company's stock price plummeted, and after compensating all employees, it declared bankruptcy. The company owner and the accountant who falsified the accounts were imprisoned. The original owner could be said to have gotten his revenge.
At that time, Shang Shujue had already moved into the new house with her adopted son Shang Linyu, and they had spent three days getting to know each other there. Shang Linyu's guard had finally lowered a bit, but they still had a big fight over something—taking a bath.
It wasn't that Shang Linyu was uncooperative; he genuinely felt ashamed from the bottom of his heart. But not showering was uncomfortable, and showering was shameful. Although his body was that of a baby, his soul wasn't.
He was afraid that if he made a scene too much, he would anger Shang Shujue and cause him to abandon him. But if he didn't make a scene, he would feel awkward and uncomfortable. So he changed to faking crying while taking a shower. As long as he wailed loud enough, he wouldn't feel embarrassed.
So Shang Shujue was tormented by his increasingly loud voice for three days. He would cry every time he took a bath, and he was at his wit's end. The same thing is happening now.
It was evening, and Shang Shujue was giving his adopted son a bath. He didn't know why, but while other babies loved playing in the water during bath time, his baby not only disliked playing in the water, but also cried as soon as he was undressed and put in the water.
Shang Shujue was exhausted from Shang Linyu's pig-like loud voice, but he was very gentle in his movements while bathing. If Shang Linyu weren't still a little baby who could be manipulated by others, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold him down by himself.
" Shang Linyu, stop! Daddy's patience has its limits. If you cry again, I'll spank your little bottom."
"... Waaaaah..."
Upon hearing this, Shang Linyu wailed even louder. This time, he was truly crying. Sure enough, no one could stand him, no one loved him, and he wasn't even allowed to cry. He was still a baby...
Shang Shujue put the bottle into Shang Linyu's mouth. The sweet, soft milky aroma instantly made him instinctively hug the bottle and suckle. The crying stopped for two seconds. Seeing Shang Shujue's relieved expression, Shang Linyu opened his mouth to start wailing again...
" Shang Linyu, you naughty boy, if you fake cry again I'll really hit you! Your wailing is getting complaints from the neighbors every day, and then the landlord will come knocking, and we'll have to move again. Stop it, hurry up and finish your bath, and Daddy will tell you a bedtime story, okay?"
Shang Shujue gently kissed the little guy's cheek, and soothingly pinched the soft flesh on his belly. His tone was soft and gentle. Although he said he was going to hit him, he didn't show any reluctance in his actions and was still coaxing him. His words were not fierce at all.
"Eee-ya... Ah..."
Shang Linyu was too embarrassed to cry anymore. She made a few soft whimpers and then drank from the bottle. Her little ears were flushed, whether from shame or from the hot water, it was hard to tell.
This guy actually kissed me! He's so shameless! Humph! When I grow up, I'm going to beat him up! Humph ╯^╰
She muttered to herself that she held a grudge, but her soft, white feet, soaking in the hot water, honestly wiggled a little, clearly showing how happy she was to have such a gentle father.
"Oh, what a good baby you are! You ate a small bowl of rice cereal after your milk today!"
Seeing that his son was finally willing to cooperate, Shang Shujue was in a good mood and quickly gave him a bath. Then he wrapped him in a blanket, dried him off, dressed him, and put on a diaper.
Shang Linyu didn't actually like eating that awful rice porridge, but when Shang Shujue fed it to him, he thought it tasted alright and was willing to eat it.
Of course, he would never admit that he had accepted this mission taker as his father.
Shang Shujue touched Shang Linyu's stomach and felt that it was still a little flat, so she made him some rice cereal and fed him spoonful by spoonful.
"Hmm, your tummy is all round now, sweet boy. Daddy will play with you for a while, then you can go to sleep when you're tired."
Shang Shujue put Shang Linyu in the playpen, quickly washed the dishes, and then came back to play with his toys. Shang Linyu thought these toys were incredibly childish, but seeing Shang Shujue laughing so happily, he couldn't help but laugh along.
Before falling asleep after hearing the bedtime story, Shang Linyu held tightly to Shang Shujue's clothes. He had never felt such warmth and joy in a long time.
For the first time, he realized how fortunate it was to have family. No wonder people would rather die than be with their loved ones when the world was about to end.
Losing family members is more terrifying than death...
Goodnight, my dear son.
Shang Linyu heard Shang Shujue whisper in his ear, followed by a gentle kiss on his cheek, as soft as a feather brushing against his skin. The kiss carried the weight of a father's love.
Does he have a father now? Will his life be any different this time? Will he still go down the path of no return and become a ruthless killing machine?
He didn't know what the future held this time, because everything he was experiencing now had already exceeded the scripted paths he had followed countless times before...
There is no predetermined future, only this mysterious figure who is not here to kill him. He already understands what his mission is, and it is most likely related to him.
After enduring so many worlds and countless cycles, has Shang Linyu finally found his salvation? Heh... this feeling isn't bad at all...