I Became the Mother of His Child

"Daddy, I want to eat enoki mushrooms," Song Chengguang said, rejecting the privilege of the steamed bun.

Yuanhuan didn't mind Chengguang's rejection much. As long as his son didn't compete with his daughter-in-law over food, he could eat whatever he wanted; he was quite an enlightened father.

Unaware of his own father's thoughts, Chengguang awkwardly ate roasted vegetables and steamed buns, his face as wrinkled as the buns.

Xiuxiu watched the interaction between father and son with amusement, then, holding the chicken wings in her hand, she paused momentarily and said, "Mommy will stop eating, Chengguang, you eat!" She handed the chicken wings to Chengguang, feeling somewhat embarrassed after having eaten several already.

Chengguang looked hopefully at the chicken wings, but after receiving a menacing look from his dad, he sadly shook his head, "No need, Mom, Chengguang won't eat the wings," he said, mustering all the courage he could to refuse.

Seeing this, Xiuxiu didn't say much more, took a bite from the chicken wing, then turned back to barbecue again, and as a mother—even a somewhat absent-minded one—she knew she had usurped Chengguang's treat. The little one must be feeling sad now! Thinking this, Xiuxiu decided to grill a couple more chicken wings to console him.

"Fend for yourself and grill the wings. Stop always relying on Mommy because you're young! You're a boy, almost five years old; you should learn to be self-reliant," Yuanhuan said coldly as his wife went back to barbecuing—no doubt for their eldest son.

This tactless kid, doesn't he know to let mom and dad spend more time together during such beautiful moments? Such peaceful moments are so rare!

"Okay!" Chengguang felt immensely disheartened by his father's scolding, then put down the half-eaten enoki mushrooms, deciding to be self-reliant as his father had said—after all, he was a boy. He needed to protect his younger siblings and his mom, so he needed to learn to be strong. Dad's expectations were for his better growth, yes!

"Mom, I want to grill the chicken wings myself," Chengguang said as he fumbled to pick a raw wing from where they were skewered and happily approached the barbecue grill, barely managing to reach.

Although it was sad for such a young boy to be self-reliant, he was also enjoying doing things himself, and his little face was filled with excitement.

"Chengguang, there's smoke here; don't move. Mommy will grill for you. You go back and play with your puzzle!" said Xiuxiu, who dared not let Chengguang barbecue—the grill was even taller than him! What if he got burned or hurt? Thinking this, Xiuxiu continued to soothe and stop him while casting stern looks at Yuanhuan.

This dad really had it rough!

Even Yuanhuan realized, only when his son walked to the barbecue stove, that Chengguang was shorter than the stove, having to stand on his tiptoes and strain his neck just to see the grill—a sight difficult to bear. Seeing Chengguang eagerly holding the chicken wing, Xiuxiu seemed to be having a hard time stopping him, making Yuanhuan feel that the stern looks his wife was throwing at him were, perhaps, fairly mild.

"No, Mom, Chengguang wants to grill it himself," Chengguang stubbornly retorted against Xiuxiu's coaxing.

"No way," Xiuxiu responded, her face turning stern.

"..." Song Chengguang puckered his small face, feeling as if he had been abandoned by the whole world. It really hurt! His dad wanted him to be self-reliant, but his mom wouldn't let him be self-reliant. What was he supposed to do?

"Chengguang, be good! Mommy will grill three more chicken wings for you, okay? Stay back a bit, the sparks can really sting if they hit you." Xu Xiuxiu's hands were greasy from handling the food, so even though she wanted to pull Song Chengguang back, she ultimately couldn't bring herself to lay her hands on him.

"..." Upon hearing this, Song Chengguang hesitated and looked at Song Yuanhuan.

"Stay here! Don't make trouble for your mom." Unable to bear the sight of the sorrowful bond between mother and son, Song Yuanhuan finally spoke up.

Song Yuanhuan's words were like an imperial decree to Song Chengguang. So, the little guy easily stopped worrying about being self-reliant, and he completely ignored the term "making trouble" his dad had used. He then obediently sat on the mat, waiting for the chicken wings to arrive.

The barbecue party was very lively, with many families and soldiers from the Military District participating. Of course, Zhao Jian Country's family was among them.

Zhao Jian Country was dragged away by a group of comrades to drink and have fun. Zhao Nan was caught by Guo Cuiping to help with threading skewers of vegetables and meat. By the time he had finished threading a bunch of veggies and meat, a lot of time had passed, and with an empty stomach, he couldn't help but feel envious and sad when he saw Shi Tao eating oilily.

If his mom were here, she would surely be very good to him.

The family-style individual barbecue grills were laid out evenly. Xu Xiuxiu's family's grill was not far from Guo Cuiping's. Xu Xiuxiu noticed that Zhao Nan had been made to work from the beginning by Guo Cuiping, but she held back from saying anything, as they weren't relatives, and she couldn't easily play the good Samaritan. Even when Song Chengguang saw Zhao Nan and clamored to go play with Brother Nan, Xu Xiuxiu had Song Yuanhuan forcibly keep him on the mat.

Now, seeing that Zhao Nan had almost finished his chores, yet was just standing there drooling over the barbecue, Xu Xiuxiu felt sorry for him. She called over Song Chengguang and had the little guy invite Zhao Nan over to their side.

Guo Cuiping was aware that Song Chengguang was calling Zhao Nan away, but she didn't mind. On the contrary, she felt that by Zhao Nan being called away, she would save quite a bit of food meant for him—after all, the allocation of barbecue materials for each family was fixed. Now that the vegetables and meat skewers were prepared, letting him go was fine!

"Auntie, let me help you grill!" Zhao Nan approached, led by Song Chengguang, and his first thought was to help Xu Xiuxiu. Despite his young age, he was capable of doing a lot.

Xu Xiuxiu turned and glanced at Zhao Nan, seeing the little boy ready to lend a hand. She immediately stopped him, "Don't touch this; it's very greasy." As she did so, she took some freshly grilled skewers and put them on a plate for him, "Take these and go eat with your brother and uncle over there."

"Okay." Zhao Nan, who was already really hungry and knew that Xu Xiuxiu truly cared for him, felt deeply grateful. He didn't make a fuss with Xu Xiuxiu, nodded obediently, took the plate, and led Song Chengguang to sit on the mat Xu Xiuxiu had laid out.

"Brother Nan, eat." Song Chengguang had been thinking about chicken wings for a long time, but when he saw them now, he picked one up and offered it to Zhao Nan first, clearly showing his intent to share.

"Thank you, Chengguang." Zhao Nan smiled as he accepted it, and then also picked up a chicken wing and offered it to Song Chengguang. The two of them got along harmoniously.