I Became the Mother of His Child

Song Chengguang, the little boy, was usually very mischievous, but when he saw his mother vomiting, the little guy naturally became very worried. He sat solemnly, his little eyes closely observing every move Xu Xiuxiu made. Normally, the little guy would lean out to blow on his mother, firmly believing that a breath could ease the pain or discomfort, but today he was on his best behavior.

Possibly because he knew he needed to be cared for by his aunt while swaying unstably in the car, he behaved himself much better than usual, no longer standing on his seat plastered against the car window, looking like he wanted to jump out and bounce around. The trip was quite worry-free all the way.

Finally reaching the city, Xu Xiuxiu looked somewhat better, but she still lacked energy. Seeing that it was nearly noon, the group found a distinctive restaurant near the shopping mall to rest and resolve the lunch issue.

Since Xu Jingjing's arrival in City Z, Xu Xiuxiu had not really taken the young girl out for fun, feeling it would be a shame to send her back home without a proper playtime in City Z. However, her health wasn't really up to it, so she decided to spoil Jingjing with money instead. Entering the mall, Xu Xiuxiu announced generously, letting Jingjing pick whatever she wanted as she would buy everything.

Jingjing was thrilled by this. She hadn't worked at Sichuan Pavilion for long, but she had been on paid leave these past days, so she had about a hundred bucks on her. Yet, that amount wasn't enough to buy much in the mall. Now that her sister said she would buy whatever she wanted, Jingjing was naturally happy. Not one to stand on ceremony with her own sister, she took Song Chengguang by the hand and started bouncing around the mall.

With summer approaching and the weather warming up, the clothes in the mall were changing to the new season's styles. Jingjing navigated the dazzling array with ease, and luckily, she wasn't too extravagant, always checking price tags first, choosing clothes within the range Xu Xiuxiu could afford.

Seeing this, Xu Xiuxiu let the young girl pick for herself while she and Song Yuanhuan followed behind, selecting suitable items for the family back home.

"This sweatshirt is nice, the tender yellow color suits Yuanyao well. What do you think?" Xu Xiuxiu had already picked out a summer outfit for Song Yuanming and naturally didn't forget her sister-in-law Yuanyao. Walking into a shop that catered to young women, Jingjing took the lead with Auntie and nephew in choosing, while Xu Xiuxiu casually looked around and chose a sweatshirt.

"Yeah, it's good," Song Yuanhuan did what a good husband does, giving affirmative praise to whatever Xu Xiuxiu said.

"Then let's take this one!" Xu Xiuxiu said with a smile, deciding to make the purchase.

So, with Song Yuanhuan's indulgent encouragement, Xu Xiuxiu splurged in one go, buying a summer outfit for each of her in-laws, Father Song and Mrs. Song, along with two large cans of calcium powder that the elderly often drink. Song Yuanming and Yuanyao were outfitted with the season's new summer clothing too. Of course, a variety of school supplies wasn't forgotten. These were essential purchases every month. Xu Xiuxiu had become quite experienced in selecting them, choosing intricate designs not likely available back home, certain to delight her brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

"The variety of student supplies these days really is vast," Song Yuanhuan watched as Xu Xiuxiu led the way into a stationery store and picked out all sorts of items, suddenly feeling envious of his siblings. How attentive his wife was to them!

Back when he was still in school, he'd use a pencil down to the nub, then attach a small stick to the end with a string to hold it in place and keep writing. Just thinking about it, you could tell it was a tough life, nothing like his younger siblings who had a beautiful sister-in-law like Xu Xiuxiu, thoughtfully preparing their school supplies with good quality and expensive items.

"Alright! Since you're here too, I'll buy you a couple of casual outfits! You have too few casual clothes," Xu Xiuxiu had picked out everything they needed for their hometown and was now ready to buy some new clothes for Song Yuanhuan. She was somewhat tired of seeing him in military uniform all the time. Although Song Yuanhuan looked incredibly handsome in it, when it came to going out, he had only two casual outfits, something Xu Xiuxiu noticed only today. As a woman, Xu Xiuxiu naturally felt she was not doing her job right.

"I don't need to buy any; I rarely have the chance to wear them," Song Yuanhuan felt that buying clothes was a waste. He was always in the military base, and having a couple of casual outfits for the rare times he went out was enough. Why buy so many just to waste them.

"I said we're buying, so you'll listen to me," Xu Xiuxiu glared at Song Yuanhuan without much force.

"Alright then! We'll just get two tops," Song Yuanhuan saw Xu Xiuxiu's determination and didn't argue back, not wanting to make her unhappy, so he quickly agreed.

"You buy a whole set, not just two tops," Xu Xiuxiu glared at Song Yuanhuan again.

"Fine! A whole set," Song Yuanhuan promptly agreed without any principles.

"It's two sets," Xu Xiuxiu corrected Song Yuanhuan very seriously, as the man even dared to find loopholes in her words.

"Alright! Two sets it is, I'll listen to you," Song Yuanhuan nodded and then looked at Xu Xiuxiu with an indulgent glance. Then he thought of something concerning Xu Xiuxiu, "But if I'm getting two new outfits, you also have to buy two for yourself." Seeing his wife dressed beautifully made him happy too. If he was to wear new clothes, then naturally his wife shouldn't have less.

"Okay, we'll both buy," Xu Xiuxiu, in a great mood, nodded and agreed without hesitation.

However, after choosing for a while, the person who ended up paying the bill was Song Yuanhuan. He mentioned he had received various salary increases and allowances recently, and since Xu Xiuxiu was never short on money, she never asked him to contribute to their small treasury. This guy had even saved up quite a bit of private money. For him, paying the bill was natural as what was his was hers, and what was hers was his; there was no point for a couple to quibble over who paid.

Leaving the mall with big and small packages, it was already late afternoon. As they exited the mall, they unexpectedly saw a movie promotional poster featuring a very beautiful woman next to the big characters "Liu Sanjie." This movie had been released a while ago, and Xu Xiuxiu remembered it being quite good. Xu Jingjing had also heard others talking about it, and she was curious about the legendary, singing, beautiful, and capable Liu Sanjie in the movie. The only film Xu Jingjing had ever seen was a free movie screened in their village called "Combat in the Underground Tunnels."

The young lady was naturally excited, and Xu Xiuxiu had already planned to make it up to her, so agreeing to watch a movie was a given. The four of them carried their purchases back to their residence in the city, prepared a meal for dinner, and after eating, not yet seven o'clock, they all went out together to see the movie.