I Became the Mother of His Child

He reminded himself that he was very alert, yet with that same clarity, he watched himself sink into the whirlpool. To be honest, it was both ridiculous and helpless—the uncontrollable fluttering of his emotions made him feel like a green boy. At his age, well into his thirties, having been with quite a few women, he was still impulsively stirred by a married woman. Wasn't that a joke?

Click, the sound of a sleeper berth door opening interrupted Ye Hua's troubled thoughts. Xu Xiuxiu, carrying Little Baby with care, stepped out and greeted Ye Hua with a smile.

"I really appreciate your help today. If you're free when we get to Z City, I'll treat you to a meal," Xu Xiuxiu said graciously. It was all thanks to Ye Hua's kindness; otherwise, the little girl in her arms might have cried her heart out!

"Don't mention it! I'm Cheng Guang's godfather, so naturally, I'm the godfather of your boy and girl twins as well," Ye Hua said nonchalantly, waving his hand before asking with concern, "Did you buy a hard seat ticket?"

"Yes," Xu Xiuxiu nodded. "Our hometown county is pretty small, so we can only buy hard seat tickets. VIP sleeper tickets are only available for purchase in larger cities. We definitely don't have the privileges that you do, covering expenses for a whole VIP sleeper."

Xu Xiuxiu spoke as if to explain, quite helplessly. In this day and age, many places have long begun to distinguish between different classes. For a small county town to even have train service is already quite good; many county towns don't have train service at all!

"I've booked an entire sleeper berth anyway. If it's inconvenient for you, you can come to my berth. It's a waste just sitting empty," Ye Hua said, snuffing out the remains of his cigarette and tossing it out the window as Xu Xiuxiu opened the sleeper door. He had by now tucked away the wasteful demeanor from his smoking and had also tidied up his thoughts, appearing as a gentleman before Xu Xiuxiu.

"No, thank you." Xu Xiuxiu shook her head, declining the offer.

She could actually accept a hard seat. If it weren't for the boy and girl twins crying out of hunger, she would not have come looking for the VIP sleeper. Moreover, it was already noon, and in a few hours, they would arrive in Z City. Why bother with such troublesome exertions?

"Alright then!" Ye Hua didn't insist politely, nodded his head, and was just about to ask Xu Xiuxiu where she was seated so he could escort her back.

"Xiuxiu," Song Yuanhuan's deep voice called out urgently.

Xu Xiuxiu immediately looked in the direction of the voice and saw Song Yuanhuan with an anxious expression on his face. She guessed he must have been very worried after preparing the formula, returning to his seat, asking Xu Jingjing about her location, then not finding her in the restroom. Xu Xiuxiu felt somewhat guilty. The train was a mix of all sorts, and she, a woman with a child, had wandered off, causing him concern.

"Yuanhuan," Xu Xiuxiu smiled at Song Yuanhuan.

"Why did you come over to the sleepers?" Song Yuanhuan thoroughly examined Xu Xiuxiu from head to toe, relieved to see her safe, then turned his attention to Ye Hua standing nearby.

"Little Baby was crying so much. I wanted to go to the restroom to feed her, but I couldn't stand the smell there, so I thought I'd come to the sleepers to find a place where there's no one around. I happened to run into Cheng Guang's godfather and fed Little Baby in his berth. Look, Little Baby has already fallen asleep after eating," Xu Xiuxiu explained softly, also embarrassed by her own fussiness. If she were like other rural women, she might have simply lifted her clothes to breastfeed on the train without all this hassle. That would just be making a mountain out of a molehill!

"Cheng Guang's godfather?" Song Yuanhuan's deep eyes lingered on Ye Hua for a moment. As a man, he instinctively felt a sense of danger, but he did not show it. Instead, he found the term 'godfather' in Xu Xiuxiu's speech quite significant. When had his son gotten a godfather, and why did he, the biological father, not know anything about it?

It seems Xu Xiuxiu is itching for a beating!

"Oh right! I haven't told you yet, have I? His name is Ye Hua, a regular at Sichuan Pavilion. He became Cheng Guang's godfather during his birthday party when you weren't around, and I forgot to mention it afterward," Xu Xiuxiu explained helplessly.

"Oh, hello, I'm Xiuxiu's husband, Song Yuanhuan," Song Yuanhuan nodded and extended a polite greeting.

"Hello, I am Cheng Guang's godfather, Ye Hua." When Ye Hua introduced himself, he usually did so crisply with the four words, "Hello, Ye Hua." But just now, when Song Yuanhuan introduced himself as Xu Xiuxiu's man, Ye Hua inexplicably suppressed the words he was about to say, then changed his tune and added Cheng Guang as a reason.

He was very aware of Song Yuanhuan's guard against him. It couldn't be helped, Song Yuanhuan was very astute and sensitive. As Ye Hua, a man who had been through the wringer in the business world, he also knew that he had seemingly purposely revealed some of his malicious intentions. He admitted to his own crazy jealousy, jealous that this man could have Xu Xiuxiu.

Indeed, as he so clearly demonstrated his malice, Song Yuanhuan immediately changed his demeanor due to Ye Hua's self-introduction, revealing that feeling of a lion whose territory has been violated. The tense atmosphere between the two men became somewhat strange for a moment.

Xu Xiuxiu did not realize that there was something off between the two men, only feeling it strangely quiet after the introductions, so she broke the deadlock while holding Little Baby: "Then, Ye Hua, we should head back to our seat. My sister is alone looking after the twins. I'm not really comfortable leaving her like that." Without her and Song Yuanhuan, she wasn't sure if her sister could manage alone with Little Baby and Song Chengguang.

"Alright, see you in Z city," Ye Hua shifted his gaze away from Song Yuanhuan and nodded warmly at Xu Xiuxiu.

"Alright," Xu Xiuxiu also smiled and nodded politely in return.

Seeing Ye Hua look away first, Song Yuanhuan too withdrew his gaze, then placed his hand on Xu Xiuxiu's slender shoulder, and gave Ye Hua a polite nod. He then led Xu Xiuxiu towards the direction of their hard-seat carriage.

Xu Jingjing sat quietly in her seat, pinching a bottle of baby formula prepared by Song Yuanhuan and feeding it to Little Moon while Song Chengguang sat obediently in the window seat beside her. He watched his aunt feeding his brother, holding a plump white bun in his hand, nibbling with a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Auntie, Little Brother looks so cute eating," Song Chengguang said as he bit into his bun, praising his little brother.

"Cheng Guang, you should say it's not cute at all! Your little brother and sister are still young and can't take too much praise, otherwise, they'll be the subject of jealousy. With kids, you have to do the opposite—praise them that way, and they'll grow up to be as handsome and cute as our Cheng Guang," Xu Jingjing, while holding the bottle and watching Little Moon gulp down her meal, leisurely corrected Song Chengguang's praise.