Middle-aged tycoon: Twins come knocking on his door when he goes home for Chinese New Year

When Jiang Qiuyan, the eldest sister-in-law, shouted this question, everyone stopped what they were doing.

Those eyes were fixed on Li Ze, as if trying to see right through him.

Not only the eldest sister-in-law, but also the second sister-in-law Tang Dan and the third sister-in-law Geng Qi who kept picking fights, all stopped what they were doing.

Even Zhang Ruoran, who was squatting not far away, had her back to everyone.

But the ear twitched noticeably and turned to this side on its own.

This is indeed a very crucial issue.

In fact, Zhang Ruoran had been thinking about this matter ever since Li Ze returned in the past three days.

Although Li Ze had explained Bai Qianyue's situation to her by the car that day.

They said it was a coincidence, and that they didn't know Bai Qianyue had also gone to America.

Even if it's true.

But that's a full eighteen years, after all.

A grown man, in the prime of his life, is adrift alone in a foreign country.

He has saved up several hundred thousand US dollars, so he can be considered a wealthy person.

In such a dazzling world, can he really control himself?

Everyone knows that the United States has a very open-minded atmosphere.

Even if he doesn't look for a proper girlfriend, it would be easy for him to spend money on some frivolous fun.

Faced with the scrutinizing gazes of his sisters-in-law, Li Ze's hand holding the scissors stiffened slightly.

To be honest, he felt guilty.

I almost broke out in a cold sweat.

The reason is simple: because he actually did it.

Those eighteen years abroad were truly difficult.

In the first few years, that damned "Godly Rich System" would issue tasks all the time.

If it's not done, it will be eliminated; if it's still not done, it will self-destruct.

Li Ze was living a life where he risked his life every single day.

After each mission where I narrowly escaped death, the immense mental pressure and fear needed to be released.

Moreover, as the business grew larger and larger, so did the money.

The women who surrounded him were in large groups, of all shapes and sizes, plump and slender.

They're willing to do anything for money.

Li Ze is a normal man, not a saint.

Under such extremely high pressure, coupled with his belief that after all these years, Zhang Ruoran must have remarried and was living with someone else long ago.

Since he's already lost his wife, why should he remain celibate?

So he certainly had his share of fun and putting on an act.

But if he knew that Zhang Ruoran had not only not remarried in the past eighteen years, but had also single-handedly raised a pair of twins with great difficulty.

She even rejected all her suitors for him.

Even if Li Ze castrated himself, he would never mess around outside.

But there's no going back.

What's done is done.

Li Ze looked at his sister-in-law's expectant eyes, and then at Ruoran's back, which was pretending to be busy but was actually waiting for an answer.

He knew that this truth was absolutely forbidden to be told.

If you were to nod and admit now that you've had other women.

Forget about remarriage, his brothers-in-law would probably chop him up and make him into dumpling filling on the spot.

More importantly, Ruoran's heart can probably never be warmed again.

Li Ze took a deep breath, forcing a calm and composed expression onto his face.

He looked at his sister-in-law and said in a very calm tone:

"Sister-in-law, what are you saying?"

Am I that kind of person?

"For the past eighteen years, all I did there was work hard to earn money and miss home."

"My heart is always with Ruoran; how could I possibly have the mind to look at other women?"

"I swear, I have never done anything to wrong Ruoran."

These words were spoken with absolute certainty.

But only Li Ze himself knew that when he said those words, his heart ached as if it had been pricked by needles.

He hates lying more than anything in his life, especially lying to his family.

But now, he has no choice but to tell this colossal lie.

Using lies to buy a chance to start over.

Upon hearing this answer, Jiang Qiuyan, the eldest sister-in-law, let out a long "Oh".

His expression immediately relaxed, even showing a hint of admiration:

"Really?"

"Oh my, Li Ze, you've really had a tough time."

"Eighteen years, that's like living like a monk in a temple."

"It's a man!"

Second sister-in-law Tang Dan also covered her mouth and laughed, teasingly saying:

"you do not say."

"If you have remained chaste for these past eighteen years, then so have you."

"You two really are a perfect match, like monks."

Only Third Sister-in-law Geng Qi pursed her lips, her face full of disbelief.

She spat out the sunflower seed shells from her mouth and snorted.

"It's all talk."

"Who knows if it's true or not? We can't see what's happening overseas."

"If you're really that innocent, I think you should go to a temple to be ordained and have Buddha give you a certificate to prove it."

Although he was still being sarcastic, his tone was noticeably less sharp than before.

At this moment, Zhang Ruoran, who had been squatting there without saying a word, finally stood up.

She turned around, seemingly to get a basin.

The moment she turned around, her gaze met Li Ze's.

Li Ze saw it clearly.

Zhang Ruoran's lips curled up slightly.

That was a smile.

A smile, though shallow, that came from the heart, a smile of relief.

Clearly, she believed it.

Or perhaps, she chose to believe.

That smile, however, instantly doubled the guilt in Li Ze's heart.

It felt like a huge rock was pressing on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

So be it, so be it.

The more you trust me, the easier it is for you to satisfy me.

The more I felt that way, the more I realized I was an idiot.

I made you happy with a lie.

But the absurd things I did were real.

This guilt made him feel worse than if he were directly scolded.

For the next while, Li Ze remained silent.

He mechanically repeated the actions in his hands, trimming shrimp whiskers and brushing crabs.

Although he still had a smile on his face, he chatted casually with his sisters-in-law.

But his mind was already in turmoil.

Just then, Li Mengli came skipping and hopping over.

She had overheard that conversation as well.

Li Mengli, holding Li Ze's arm, said with an expression of admiration:

"Dad, you're amazing!"

"I knew I hadn't misjudged him."

"It wasn't for nothing that my mom rejected so many uncles all these years; it turns out you've been watching over her all along."

"That's what you call a two-way journey!"

"So touching!"

Looking into his daughter's clear, big eyes, Li Ze felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.

He reached out and touched his daughter's head, forced a smile, and continued the conversation:

"Of course."

"That's all for your mother."

"In my heart, there's only your mother."

When you say the words "only your mother".

Li Ze felt his face burning.

He's not only deceiving his wife, but also his daughter.

This feeling of being doubly deceived made this once ruthless and powerful businessman feel an urge to escape.

He hated himself.

I hate my past indulgences, and I also hate my current hypocrisy.

Soon, all the seafood was cleaned up.

The eldest brother, Zhang Jianguo, greeted him:

"Alright, alright, stop chatting there."

"Quickly, heat the oil in the wok!"

"If so, you'll be in charge of cooking, and the other women will help out."

"Let's start cooking!"

The kitchen immediately sprang into action.

Li Ze also wanted to go in and help, just to make himself seem more diligent.

He volunteered to show off his skills by making a boiled green dragon.

As a result, he was used to being waited on abroad, so he didn't know how to control the heat of this kind of rural earthen stove.

He threw the shrimp in before the water boiled, and the fire was burning too brightly.

I almost overcooked that pot of delicious shrimp.

Zhang Ruoran couldn't stand it anymore and chased him out with a spatula:

"Alright, alright, stop making things worse."

"It's fine as long as you can eat. Go outside and rest."

"This whole room smells of cooking oil, don't let it ruin your nice clothes."

Although he was asking them to leave, there wasn't much disdain in his tone; instead, it carried a hint of the playful reproach he used to have when they lived together.

Li Ze chuckled awkwardly and readily left the kitchen.

He really needed to get some fresh air.

The warm atmosphere inside the room made him, a man with ulterior motives, restless and uneasy.

Li Ze walked outside the courtyard.

It was completely dark by then.

On New Year's Eve in the countryside, firecrackers are going off everywhere, and the air is filled with the smell of sulfur.

He stood at the gate, turned around, and looked inside through the open gate.

The main room was brightly lit.

Steaming hot air drifted out of the kitchen.

Zhang Ruoran, wearing an apron, was busy at the stove, her face flushed red from the firelight.

The children were playing in the yard, while the adults were setting out bowls and chopsticks at the table, chatting and laughing.

Everything was so harmonious and so blissful.

It's like the most perfect New Year picture.

But Li Ze, standing in the shadows, felt like an outsider.

A thief who got his ticket by lying.

Although everyone's attitude towards him has changed now, his sisters-in-law praise him as a good man, and Ruoran even smiled at him.

But he knew in his heart that all this beauty was built on that lie.

If the truth comes out, this painting will be torn to shreds in an instant.

Li Ze pulled a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket.

He pulled one out, put it in his mouth, and lit it with a "pop".

He took a deep breath, and the pungent smoke filled his lungs, making him a little more awake.

He raised his head and looked at the cold, round moon in the night sky.

He exhaled a smoke ring.

"That's enough."

Li Ze said to himself:

"Since the lie has already been told, let's make it the truth."

"I will spend the rest of my life being good to Ruoran, so good that she feels that even if I have made mistakes, I deserve to be forgiven."

"Or, better yet, let her never know about all that mess."

Just then.

Suddenly, something flickered in his field of vision.

A pale blue light screen, visible only to him, quietly appeared before his eyes.

That was the last gift the system left him.

[Current number of wishes remaining: 3/3]

Li Ze looked at the line of text, his expression becoming somewhat complicated.

These three wishes are something he can use to reverse everything.

He could have made a wish and had the system erase all traces of him from his time abroad.

Let all of this, in a physical sense, never have happened.

In that case, his words would no longer be empty talk.

But just as he was about to do so...

But then he gave a cold laugh and turned off the panel.

It seems that he has figured everything out.

Because deep down he knew that some things couldn't be solved by cheating.

Especially people's hearts, especially their feelings.

These three chances are to save lives and to protect the future of this family.

It is not a fig leaf to cover up one's mistakes.

Li Ze waved his hand in the air and closed the system interface.

The cigarette butt flickered in the night.

"Li Ze, oh Li Ze."

"You have to repay the debts you owe with your own sincerity."

"Don't even think about taking shortcuts."

You'll have to tell Ruoran the truth sooner or later, whenever it may be.