I Became the Mother of His Child

"Grandma also saw it?" Others might not know who Chengguang was referring to as 'grandma,' but Yuanhuan couldn't possibly be unaware, thus he lowered his gaze to inquire of Song Chengguang.

"Mm. We were watching the little brothers and sisters inside the house, then I saw Shi Tao grabbing Little Moon's rattle. I wouldn't let him play with it, but he insisted on playing, and then he ran off with it," Song Chengguang said with some grievance, then his little mouth pouted, so much so that a bottle could have been hung from it.

"Mm. I saw it too." Suddenly, Aunt Lai's voice came from the top of the stairs on the second floor, and there she was, holding Little Moon in her arms, then with that wise look, she swept a glance over Shi Tao, "It's understandable for young children to do some dishonest things, but if adults indulge and protect them without teaching them right, the problems will be much bigger when they grow up." Aunt Lai, being older, claimed her tolerance for children was extremely high, yet, when faced with that domineering Shi Tao, she felt nothing but disdain.

Normally it wouldn't be right for an old lady like her to criticize a junior, but what Shi Tao's mother did earlier was just too ugly - how could she not see that the woman was threatening Zhao Nan simply because she was the stepmother! Acting without any regard for decency was just too unseemly.

"Auntie, just now Chengguang said that my Shi Tao just took it to play," Guo Cuiping used Song Chengguang's words to argue on behalf of Shi Tao, her tone somewhat awkward, but still not admitting that Shi Tao did anything wrong. She obviously realized that things couldn't turn out the way she wanted, but she also wouldn't allow her son to be labeled with the unsightly labels of 'thief' or 'petty pilferer'.

"If he stole it or not, wouldn't you know if you checked his pant pockets?" Aunt Lai leisurely dropped a comment.

As soon as Aunt Lai's words came out, all eyes in the living room turned to Shi Tao's bulging pockets, which indeed looked as if he was hiding something.

"As his mother, I know what Shi Tao has in his pockets; there's no need to deliberately check. However, Auntie, as an elder, it's not very nice of you to talk about a child like that!" Guo Cuiping stubbornly stood her ground, indifferent to the heat of the situation.

"Hmph," Aunt Lai looked disapprovingly at Guo Cuiping and snorted coldly.

"Shi Tao, what do you have in your pocket?" Zhao Jian Country could no longer stand by and let things unfold; with a stern face, he stood up and asked the visibly guilty Shi Tao, who was covering his pocket with his hand.

"What do I have is none of your business. It's mine," Shi Tao growled back at Zhao Jian Country, with a rebellious and unruly attitude.

Zhao Jian Country, a military man of upright character, felt a headache coming on while looking at Shi Tao's behavior; he had no substantial experience in dealing with children. His ex-wife, Zhao Nan's mother, had passed away early, and Zhao Nan was mostly brought up by relatives or helped by his older sister, Zhao Xiumei. Zhao Nan was also more sensible and well-behaved, so he rarely had cause for concern.

Even when Zhao Nan had once scarred his face, Zhao Jian Country was on a mission and didn't manage to attend to him, as Zhao Nan was usually well-behaved and sensible. But with Shi Tao being rebellious and boisterous, he was utterly at a loss, especially since Shi Tao wasn't his own son. Even if he wanted to discipline him, he feared gossip; moreover, Guo Cuiping was fiercely protective of her son. They had argued before, and he didn't want any discord with his wife, as the reputation of a stepfather mistreating his stepson was not something he wanted. Every time Shi Tao did something wrong, he would turn a blind eye.

"Take it out," Zhao Jian Country took a deep breath and then roared authoritatively at Shi Tao.

"No! Why should I listen to you? Mom..." Shi Tao retorted Zhao Jian Country defiantly and then turned to Guo Cuiping for sympathy. The slightly timid Shi Tao who had just arrived in the army was gone, replaced by a child completely spoiled and twisted by Guo Cuiping's doting, wilful, and boisterous!

"Zhao Jian Country, if you want to show off your authority, go do it to your subordinates, why are you yelling at my son?" Upon hearing Shi Tao's cry, Guo Cuiping immediately sharpened her voice protectively and roared back at Zhao Jian Country.

Zhao Jian Country only felt a headache, "Guo Cuiping, don't always protect him, he will be spoiled by you sooner or later." He spoke in a tone saturated with concern and gravity.

"He's my son, if I don't spoil him, who will I spoil, Zhao Jian Country? Don't think I don't know—you're always protecting Zhao Nan, aren't you? You never interfered when Zhao Nan bullied my Shi Tao, and now that Shi Tao is being bullied by others, are you just going to let them bully him?" Guo Cuiping accused Zhao Jian Country.

Zhao Jian Country felt a bitter taste in his throat. Protect Zhao Nan? He had never once really protected Zhao Nan. Whenever Zhao Nan was wronged, hadn't he always told him to yield to Shi Tao?

"Shi Tao, can you take out what's in your pocket, please?" Zhao Jian Country's tone softened as he tried to reason with Shi Tao.

"I don't want to." Shi Tao shook his head in refusal.

"You must take it out for me." Wincing from the headache, Zhao Jian Country grabbed Shi Tao, bending over, intending to forcibly remove the item from his pocket.

Shi Tao began to cry and struggle, "Don't, don't touch me," he growled, his tone quite unpleasant.

Seeing Zhao Jian Country act so forcefully, Guo Cuiping was a bit stunned. After a moment, she grabbed Zhao Jian Country's hand, attempting to stop him, "Zhao Jian Country, don't touch Taotao," she yelled, but she couldn't stop his actions.

"What is this?" Zhao Jian Country swiftly pulled the item from Shi Tao's pocket, then clenched the small piece of fabric in his hand, his forehead twitching as he frowned and asked aloud.

"Wuwu..." Shi Tao, tears falling, looked at the small piece of fabric without uttering a word.

Guo Cuiping reached out and snatched the small piece of fabric from Zhao Jian Country's hand to examine it and realized it was a piece of children's underwear, feeling a sudden tightness in her chest.

"Taotao..." Seeing it was just a piece of children's underwear, Guo Cuiping was about to say something,

"Daddy, it's Tom and Jerry, wow, it's Chengguang's little underwear; he hid Chengguang's underwear in his pocket!" Song Chengguang, sitting in Song Yuanhuan's arms, stared at the familiar fabric for a while, then suddenly tugged on Song Yuanhuan's sleeve, speaking sorrowfully.

"Huh?" Song Yuanhuan furrowed his brow, clueless about the Tom and Jerry Song Chengguang was talking about.

"Ah!" Xu Xiuxiu, looking at Song Chengguang's cherished underwear, now understood. The domestic market didn't have many options for children's underwear, and this pair with the Tom and Jerry print was mailed from the United States by Cui Shuo's aunt, "That's the underwear Chengguang washed last night and hung out to dry on the balcony," Xu Xiuxiu explained, her mouth twitching slightly.

Song Chengguang's underwear, the ones Shi Tao hid in his pocket, were Song Chengguang's. Somehow, everyone just felt that the development of events was deeply sigh-inducing.

"Taotao, what's going on with you? Why are you hiding that broken toy?" Guo Cuiping growled at Shi Tao.