I Became the Mother of His Child

"It seems I was obstinate," Li Yunqiong said with a defeated shake of her head and a smile upon hearing what Xu Xiuxiu had said. "You've already told me you have no ointment, yet here I am, still hoping to bother you, hoping that you might take pity on Cui Shuo for the wounds on his face. I asked too much of you." Li Yunqiong expressed her apology, yet her gaze towards Xu Xiuxiu held no anger.

To extend help was a kindness; to refuse was simply proper. Xu Xiuxiu had already helped her once; it was Li Yunqiong who hadn't cherished that. Therefore, Xu Xiuxiu's words were understandable to her.

"It's nothing difficult," Xu Xiuxiu said, shaking her head indifferently. "But I really don't have any ointment left, so you might be going home disappointed, I'm sorry, Yunqiong." Xu Xiuxiu spoke formally, saying the right things for the situation.

Xu Xiuxiu and Li Yunqiong both knew very well what the other was thinking. Xu Xiuxiu no longer regarded her as a purely genuine friend, and Li Yunqiong had come with a motive. Despite that, neither of them were the sort to create a scene. Their similar temperaments meant their conversation remained polite, albeit with an undercurrent of distance.

Li Yunqiong pondered whether to take Cui Shuo and leave right away, but as she hesitated, there was a click! The sound of the door opening came from the entryway. Following that, Song Yuanhuan, clad in military dress, entered, undoubtedly Xu Xiuxiu's beloved husband. She knew he was a soldier, a lieutenant colonel with a not insignificant rank and capability.

"Yuanhuan, you're back," Xu Xiuxiu greeted him softly, her eyes brimming with joy as she rose to her feet.

"Mm," Yuanhuan responded, approaching Xu Xiuxiu, "Do we have company?" he asked while nodding politely to Li Yunqiong in greeting.

"Yes, this is my friend Li Yunqiong," Xu Xiuxiu affirmed with a nod as she introduced her, "This is my husband."

"Hello," Li Yunqiong promptly stood and greeted him politely.

"Hello, I am Xu Xiuxiu's husband, Song Yuanhuan," he replied crisply in his sharp military attire, greeting Li Yunqiong, and then coldly added, "Please make yourself at home, I'll excuse myself." With that, Yuanhuan turned and walked towards the baby stroller. It was his routine to first ask Xu Xiuxiu what she had done that day, and express concern about whether she was tired, but due to Li Yunqiong's presence, he refrained from the usual inquiries and instead turned to lift their cherished baby girl.

"Daddy!" Song Chengguang and Cui Shuo, who had been whispering to each other while watching the boy and girl twins, saw Song Yuanhuan approaching and quickly broke into smiles, calling out to him.

"Mm, finished with school," Yuanhuan acknowledged softly, his gaze lingering on his eldest son for a moment before moving to Cui Shuo. His stern eyes paused for a second on Cui Shuo's scarred face, betraying little emotion. The composed demeanor of a soldier was evident: "Take your friend inside to play; Daddy will watch over your little brother and sister."

"Okay," Song Chengguang nodded.

"Ba..." Lying in the stroller, Little Baby looked up curiously at her brother and Cui Shuo, until she saw Song Yuanhuan appear. Little Baby immediately broke into a smile, then excitedly stretched her arms and kicked her legs, calling out to someone.

"Hey! Daddy's here!" The cool air that shrouded Song Yuanhuan vanished instantly with Little Baby's call, and then the tall man bent down carefully to lift his well-behaved, wide-eyed precious daughter from the stroller, "Did Little Baby miss Daddy?" As a doting father, Song Yuanhuan had grown completely accustomed to his own starkly different ways of treating his son with a stern face and beaming with joy at his daughter.

Of course, Xu Xiuxiu and Song Chengguang had also gotten used to Song Yuanhuan's behavior.

But Li Yunqiong and Cui Shuo were taken aback, especially Cui Shuo—who had just seen the stern face of Song Chengguang's dad a moment ago; the next, he turned so tender it was startling. The drastic change was just too great, "Chengguang, your dad is..." Cui Shuo hesitated to speak, pausing as if realizing it wasn't right to speak ill of a friend's dad, then forcefully changed his train of thought, "Is your dad a military uncle? That's so cool!" Though the boy wasn't very old, he had a unique sensitivity toward the police and military, and the admiration he had while gazing at Song Yuanhuan's retreating figure brought a sense of pleasure to the proud child, Song Chengguang.

"Yeah. My dad is the most awesome," Song Chengguang indeed harbored a child's admiration for his father, and with Song Yuanhuan's military career, soldiers already held a noble status in this era. To a child, they were particularly heroic figures. So it wasn't strange at all for Song Chengguang to proudly acknowledge Cui Shuo's praise with his arrogant demeanor.

"Let's go, I'll take you to play in my room," Song Chengguang said, swelling with pride, he then grabbed Cui Shuo with the intention to go play with toys in the room. His beloved sister was already taken away by their dad, who was smitten by his daughter. Influenced by Song Yuanhuan, Song Chengguang also picked up a protective streak for his sister. As soon as she was whisked away, he immediately lost interest in teasing his brother.

Fortunately, Little Moon was still unaware of the different treatment from her father and brother; otherwise, she might howl in belief that she was a foundling.

"Ba..." They say a daughter is her father's past lover. Xu Xiuxiu used to doubt that, but since giving birth to her daughter, she had become thoroughly convinced. Her daughter's first words were calling out for her dad, and being held by him as if she had the whole world, giggling with joy, made Xu Xiuxiu quite jealous.

"It's getting late. I should take Cui Shuo back home," Li Yunqiong chatted idly with Xu Xiuxiu for a bit, perhaps because Song Yuanhuan was playing with his daughter nearby, making Yun Qiong a bit uneasy, and soon after, she suggested leaving to Xu Xiuxiu.

"Look, it's almost dinner time. Why not stay for dinner before you go!" As a friend and head of the family, Xu Xiuxiu instinctively invited them to stay for dinner around mealtime.

"No, thanks," Li Yunqiong shook her head, "There's still a lot to do at home! Cui Shuo's dad has been very anxious about his son recently. He can't stand not seeing him at meal times." Although exaggerated, it was true—Cui Shuo was their only child, and now that he had been in an accident, both parents were very nervous, needing to see him safe and sound each day, or they'd be endlessly worried.

"I see," Xu Xiuxiu accepted Li Yunqiong's tactful refusal, so she didn't persist, "Alright then! I'll invite you over for dinner when there's time." Although Li Yunqiong had come over today with plans in mind, she brought many gifts. Since Xu Xiuxiu didn't keep her for dinner, she would definitely make a point of returning the favor with a meal invitation at another time. Whether Yun Qiong would come or be available was another matter, but at the very least, Xu Xiuxiu would adhere to the basic social etiquette.