I Became the Mother of His Child

Xu Jingjing's legs turned to jelly as Chief Ma bellowed out for an explanation; she froze, giving Xu Xiuxiu a helpless, tearful look. Xu Xiuxiu glanced back at her resignedly, then turned her gaze calmly to the raging Chief Ma, gently set the obedient Song Chengguang down, and held the little one's hand as they made their way to the living room.

Earlier, if Xu Jingjing hadn't been forced to thrust the little one into her arms, Xu Xiuxiu wouldn't have planned on carrying Song Chengguang around often. Though the little guy was well-behaved, he was inevitably a bit heavy. She was in the precarious first three months of pregnancy and worried about hurting the fetus inside her. Thinking over it, Xu Xiuxiu felt it best to be cautious.

"Song Chengguang, come here; tell me, was it you who picked the flower?" Chief Ma's voice boomed like a large bell as he pointed at the flower pot on the coffee table, angrily not bothering to moderate his volume.

Song Chengguang was immediately stunned, his eyes fixed on the flower pot. After a moment, his small lips parted, "Grandpa, it was me who picked the flower." As he admitted it, he seemed confused as to why Chief Ma was yelling, a look of utter bewilderment spreading across his face.

"Come here." Chief Ma was so furious that steam seemed to emanate from his head, his finger trembling fiercely towards Song Chengguang.

Song Chengguang glanced fearfully at Xu Xiuxiu by his side and cast a pleading look towards his mom.

Seeing this, Xu Xiuxiu squatted down in front of Song Chengguang and soothingly rubbed his head, "Go on. Chengguang, it was wrong to pick grandpa's flowers without his permission, so you must bravely admit your mistake. Go, apologize to grandpa." Xu Xiuxiu spoke to Song Chengguang gently.

"Okay, I will." Song Chengguang nodded obediently and then toddled towards Chief Ma, "Grandpa, I'm sorry. Chengguang won't pick the flowers next time." Song Chengguang, looking up at the furious Chief Ma, apologized in his childishly mellifluous voice, instantly endearing himself to everyone present.

Chief Ma frowned deeply, glaring at Song Chengguang for a while before he snorted, "Humph, I do not accept your apology." Seemingly quite displeased, he then bent down, picked up Song Chengguang, and sat him on the couch, flipping the little boy so his face was towards the floor and propping up his little bottom.

Smack! A slap landed hard on Song Chengguang's bottom.

"Wah!" Song Chengguang let out a cry from the hit: "Mommy…" stretching out his desperate little hands towards Xu Xiuxiu.

Seeing this, Xu Xiuxiu furrowed her brows, feeling heartache for her precious child but not daring to intervene in Chief Ma's harsh punishment. Intervene? She did want to, but how could she? The one spanking Song Chengguang was Chief Ma, an "Olive Leaf" three-star, and if the child had ruined his flowers, wasn't he entitled to vent his anger? There was no arguing that.

Therefore, everyone in the living room was instantly shocked into silence, certainly not expecting Chief Ma to hit Song Chengguang, and with no signs of stopping.

Smack! Chief Ma mercilessly swung a second slap onto Song Chengguang's backside. Song Chengguang no longer stretched his hands towards Xu Xiuxiu, instead he hugged Chief Ma's knees, crying and pleading, "Grandpa, I'm sorry." The little guy continued to apologize sensibly.

"Sorry is not enough." Chief Ma thundered, raising his hand to continue the spanking, "I told you not to pick my little orchid, not to pick." he roared through clenched teeth.

"Enough, Old Deng, it was I who encouraged Chengguang to pick the flower. If you want to unleash your anger, come at me, and if you dare to hit Chengguang again, we are not finished." Aunt Lai, seeing Song Chengguang crying miserably, darkened her expression, slammed the table, and stood up to intervene.

It was clear that nobody in the living room dared to stop old Chief Ma from blowing his fuse, except for Aunt Lai.

"I knew it was you, Hua Qiong! I merely asked you to take care of Little Orchid, and you killed it outright. Hua Qiong, how could your heart be so cruel? You owe me Little Orchid." Chief Ma, pointing at Aunt Lai, had an expression demanding justice for his orchid.

The atmosphere suddenly shifted from tension to absurdity, which made Xu Xiuxiu barely able to suppress her laughter. The old Chief's temperament was completely out of sync with his robust and sturdy appearance! The contrast was adorably stark.

"You've done enough, haven't you? It's just a crappy little flower. So it's plucked, so what? Now you've started a fire over it? Don't push your luck!" Aunt Lai coldly mocked Chief Ma.

"You..." Chief Ma, pointing at Aunt Lai, wore an expression that shouted her cold-blooded and unreasonable attitude, "I knew you didn't have an iota of artistic sense. This is a top-grade orchid, and you call it a crappy little flower? Do you realize how important Little Orchid is to me? Ma Tianlong and I agreed to see whose flower grows better, and the winner would be the big brother. I had just gone to see the old man's flower, and it wasn't blooming as well as mine. I was about to win, and then you ruined everything. Now I will always be 'junior' to that short old man. Are you happy now?" Chief Ma Deng Linquan, feeling deeply hurt, hung his head.

Aunt Lai felt accused and a cold sweat dripped down her forehead. She didn't even know they had such a competition going on! Otherwise, she would not have allowed Cheng Guang to pick another bloom.

"What's done is done, what can you do about it?" Aunt Lai thought, her voice softening in resignation.

"Hmph." Chief Ma sorrowfully set down Song Chengguang and then reached out to embrace the orchid pot, looking extremely upset.

As soon as Song Chengguang was off Chief Ma's lap, the little boy rushed towards Xu Xiuxiu, crying as he clung to her legs, biting his lip, clearly frightened. He didn't dare to cry out loud as he usually would have.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere in the living room, Xu Xiuxiu looked at the pot of orchid in Chief Ma's arms, noticing two small buds still on it, "Chief Ma, have you and Chief Ma next door set a date for your competition?"

"Three days from now." Although still annoyed, Chief Ma morosely replied to Xu Xiuxiu. In three days, he would have to call that short man 'big brother'!

Three days! There was still time.

"Chief Ma, I know some techniques for caring for orchids. How about I take it home and tend it for a few days? I promise you that the buds on the orchid will bloom in three days." Xu Xiuxiu tried to persuade Chief Ma sincerely, with the advantage of having some space.

"Are you serious or just joking?" Chief Ma Deng Linquan looked at the two tiny buds in his embrace, somewhat skeptical.

"I'm serious." Xu Xiuxiu nodded earnestly.

"Good! Then take the flower home now and take care of it. If the orchid doesn't bloom in three days, you'll have to explain it to Ma Tianlong." Chief Ma Deng Linquan agreed immediately, handing over the pot to Xu Xiuxiu. After all, it was her son who had picked the flower, so it wasn't unreasonable for him to ask her to make it bloom.

"Don't worry, Chief, the flower will bloom on time." Xu Xiuxiu nodded as she took the flower pot.