The female students in the class surrounded Wu Hao, peppering him with questions as if they had discovered a treasure.
They were all accustomed to using expensive cosmetics and whitening products, and some had even visited high-end beauty salons, yet the results had always been mediocre. However, after seeing Wu Hao use only a tiny dab of ointment to completely erase the burn scar on Yuan Jingjing’s face, they were instantly stunned.
Seeing their overwhelming enthusiasm, Wu Hao hurriedly said, "Everyone, if you're interested, please wait a little longer. My wife is currently starting a business, and this ointment is one of the products we plan to sell. Once we launch, you’ll be able to purchase it. Rest assured, it will definitely be cheaper than the ordinary products on the market!"
Hearing this, the female students felt a little disappointed, but they had no choice but to wait.
Since Yuan Jingjing still had classes in the afternoon, Wu Hao and Yuan Qiang left first. On the way back, Yuan Qiang kept expressing his gratitude to Wu Hao. "Thank you, Hao. I really thought the scar on my sister's face was going to be with her for the rest of her life!"
"What’s there to thank? We’re family!"
Yuan Qiang sighed, "Hao, I feel like you’ve changed. For these past six years, you were like a complete stranger!"
Wu Hao smiled. "Who doesn't change?"
The two of them shared a laugh.
After returning to the martial arts hall, Yuan Qiang went back to his delivery job. Wu Hao had wanted to help him, but knowing his good friend’s pride, he decided not to press the issue. Just then, Zhou Bin saw that Wu Hao had returned and hurried over.
"How was the training?"
"Mission accomplished!"
"Is that so? Come on, then, let me put you to the test."
The two stepped onto the ring and began their afternoon training session.
Around five or six in the evening, Wu Hao received a call from Liu Yafei. She was busy and asked him to pick up their son from school. Wu Hao hadn't realized how quickly time had passed; he made some arrangements and immediately left the martial arts hall.
After the Liu Family went bankrupt and Liu Yafei moved with her son to a village-in-the-city within the Longshui District, Liu Chenghao had been attending a top-tier school in the district. Although the tuition was quite expensive, Liu Yafei believed that her child’s education was paramount. Ever since he started school, she had worked tirelessly, and fortunately, her son was diligent, consistently scoring perfect marks on his exams.
When Wu Hao arrived at the school, luxury cars were parked everywhere, causing a traffic gridlock that stretched down the entire road. Upon reaching the school gate, he spotted a man talking to his son. Seeing this, Wu Hao immediately walked over. "Haohao!"
Liu Chenghao looked up, and upon seeing Wu Hao, he shouted, "Dad!" and sprinted toward him. The man turned to look at Wu Hao with a confused expression.
Wu Hao took his son’s hand and looked at the man. "Who are you?"
The man ignored Wu Hao and instead looked at Liu Chenghao, asking, "Haohao, what... what did you just call him?"
"He’s my dad!"
"Your dad?"
The man froze in his tracks, scanning Wu Hao from head to toe with a look of pure shock. Wu Hao scooped his son up, gave the man a sidelong glance, and walked away.
On the way back, Wu Hao asked his son who the man was. Liu Chenghao, while nibbling on a candied hawthorn stick he’d bought at the school gate, replied, "That’s Uncle Deng."
"Uncle Deng?" Wu Hao pressed, "Who is Uncle Deng?"
"He’s one of Mom’s friends."
Wu Hao muttered to himself, his mind racing with various thoughts. After a while, he said to his son, "Son, from now on, if you see him again, stay as far away as possible. You only have me as your father, understand?"
"I understand, Dad!"
"Good boy."
After taking his son home, Wu Hao told him to go to his room to do his homework. He rested for a while before heading to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
He wasn't sure how much time had passed as the sky turned dark, but he had finished making dinner. Checking the time, he saw it was already past nine, and Liu Yafei still hadn't returned.
"Dad, why isn't Mom back yet?" Liu Chenghao, having finished playing, asked.
Wu Hao thought for a moment, then stood up. "Haohao, come on, let’s go find Mom."
"Yay! Okay!"
Late in the night, Wu Hao added a jacket to his son, picked him up, and headed downstairs. Liu Yafei had told him the location of the office space she had rented a few days ago, so it didn't take long for him to arrive.
As soon as he got there, he saw Liu Yafei being blocked by a man, the two of them seemingly in an argument. Seeing this, Wu Hao rushed over with his son in his arms. Once he got close, he realized the man was none other than the "Deng" fellow he had encountered at the school gate earlier that afternoon.
"Wife!"
Liu Yafei looked awkward seeing Wu Hao and their son arrive, unsure of how to explain the situation.
Wu Hao glared at the man named Deng and shouted, "Hey, who the hell are you?"
The man ignored Wu Hao again, turning back to Liu Yafei. "Yafei, I truly love you. I don’t mind that you have a child. Don’t worry, even though Haohao isn’t mine, if you marry me, I will treat him as my own flesh and blood!"
*What the hell?*
Wu Hao’s temper flared. He was standing right there, yet this guy had the audacity to ignore him and flirt with his wife and child. Wu Hao handed his son to Liu Yafei, took a step forward, and shouted at the man, "What the hell are you babbling about? She is my wife, and that is my son! 'You don’t mind'? Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Get out of my way! You don't even know who I am? Go out and ask around—in Hecheng, who hasn't heard of Deng Haiyang!"
As soon as Deng Haiyang finished shouting at Wu Hao, he reached out to grab Liu Yafei’s arm. Seeing this, Wu Hao unleashed a punch squarely into his face.
"Ouch!"
As the man screamed, Wu Hao pointed a finger at Deng Haiyang’s nose and cursed, "I’ll say this one last time: she is my wife, and that is my son. If you come looking for trouble again, don’t blame me for being ruthless!"
With that, Wu Hao took Liu Yafei and their son and walked away.
On the way home, Liu Yafei looked at Wu Hao’s angry face, wanting to explain but not knowing where to start. Back home that night, once Liu Chenghao had fallen asleep, she went into the room.
"That... Deng Haiyang is a rising star in Hecheng. The Deng Family has quite a bit of status here. After you left and my parents passed away, he started pursuing me, but I never agreed to it."
Wu Hao sipped his tea. "I know. I didn't take it to heart."
Afraid that Wu Hao was overthinking, she repeated herself.
"I know. I really didn't take it to heart," Wu Hao replied.
"But... you look unhappy."
Wu Hao paused for a moment. After thinking it over, he asked Liu Yafei, "Then... if we hadn't had Haohao, would you have been with him?"