I Became the Mother of His Child

Xu Xiuxiu's decision to go out shopping was not impulsive, for she always prefered fresh ingredients, and Aunt Luo fully understood her finickiness. Hence, at home, aside from rice and some noodles, other daily needs like vegetables and meat were bought fresh every day. Therefore, there was actually not much food at home available for consumption.

In any case, they had to figure out a way to go out because the ingredients at home could last through lunch at most. Xu Xiuxiu thought since it had only just started raining heavily today, the supermarkets and food markets outside might still have some vendors setting up stalls. So, it is best to rush out for a big shopping trip immediately and at the same time drag Song Yuanming, this male labor force, out with her to help carry things.

"Oh." Xu Xiuxiu commanded with authority, and no one at home dared to resist. Song Yuanming naturally nodded obediently and then stood up to fish out the raincoats from the house.

Soon, Song Yuanming found the raincoats, quickly put one on, and handed another one to Xu Xiuxiu. Xu Xiuxiu put on the raincoat and said, "Jingjing, Yuanyao, the two of you stay home and watch the children. With such heavy rain, don't go outside at all." Xu Xiuxiu said to the two people at home before leaving with Song Yuanming.

"Got it." Xu Jingjing and Song Yuan Yao rarely saw Xu Xiuxiu with such a serious expression and put away their usual playful nature, responding very earnestly.

"Mm-hm." Seeing this, Xu Xiuxiu felt at ease and left with Song Yuanming.

Outside, the rain was much heavier than it had seemed indoors, and the wind was not small either, causing nearby rain shelters and such to make loud snapping noises. On the sidewalks next to the road, some tree branches were even blown off. Wearing raincoats in the rain, one could even feel a slight pain as the raindrops hit the body. In areas with storm drains, water had already filled up to people's calves; in places without storm drains, the water had even pooled up to people's knees or submerged a part of their thighs.

Walking outside and feeling the onslaught of the rain, Xu Xiuxiu was even more determined to buy a large quantity of groceries. After all, she was not short of money, so it was no problem to purchase extra. If the weather cleared up, then let it go to waste; but if there were a widespread and continuous downpour, these things could save lives.

Her guess was not wrong. Although the rain was pouring down and not many pedestrians were on the streets, the supermarkets were still open, and some vendors were also selling at the markets. Perhaps because it was the first day of the rain, the business owners had not yet reacted. Few were as cautious as Xu Xiuxiu, who had suddenly decided to go out and buy things in such rainy weather.

But as a little rich girl of the 80s, Xu Xiuxiu naturally was not short of money, so she bought many things in one go, enough to last for a dozen days or so. She even purchased some cured meat and other non-perishable items. She also found a public phone outside Hai Chao Garden and first made a call to her hometown to express concerns. The phone signal was poor, the voice intermittent, but the general message was conveyed: both the Song and Xu families told her not to worry.

Xu Xiuxiu hung up, seeing the storm still raging outside, and even wondering if it was an illusion that the typhoon seemed to be growing fiercer and the rain heavier; the sky darkened further. So, she decided to go all in—since she had made the call, she might as well call Ye Hua and discuss with him how to deal with the issues that Soup City might face if Z city continued to experience widespread heavy rains.

Fortunately, some of Soup City's major projects and assignments had already been topped out or completed, making many things much easier to handle. If heavy rains caused only a delay in the completion of everything, other aspects were unaffected.

The only concern for Xu Xiuxiu was Sichuan Pavilion, but she still called each branch, instructing the managers to close temporarily depending on the situation. After all, in such heavy rain, Sichuan Pavilion would hardly have many customers coming to eat. Xu Xiuxiu felt that it was more important to prioritize the staff's safety. It was necessary to make money, but it couldn't depend on just these one or two days.

After arranging everything, Xu Xiuxiu and Song Yuanming headed home, each carrying a large bag of goods, half dead from exhaustion. But after arranging all the goods at home, Xu Xiuxiu's heart, which had been filled with anxiety, finally relaxed a bit.

As it turned out, sometimes a woman's sixth sense is really quite accurate. The wild storm outside did not abate, with the rain getting heavier and heavier as if a hole had been punched in the sky, pouring down continuously.

Perhaps affected by Xu Xiuxiu's influence and observing the rainstorm outside, a tense mood also emerged within the household. Xu Xiuxiu, as the head of the household apart from Song Yuanhuan, naturally began to comfort the three sensible adults at home again. Perhaps Xu Xiuxiu's reassurances had an effect; by dinnertime, the atmosphere was somewhat improved.

As the night slowly fell, the family had dinner and passed the time until Xu Xiuxiu took the three children to sleep in the master bedroom. She patiently soothed them to sleep, and the house finally became completely quiet. Xu Xiuxiu checked the time and saw the clock at home approaching nine o'clock, which furrowed her brow slightly.

This was the first time since they moved to Hai Chao Garden that Song Yuanhuan had not come home. In the past, even if he had something to deal with, he would always discuss it with her first, letting her know how many days he needed for military exercises or training, when it would end, when he would come back. But today, he went out once and had not returned home, and there was still no news. To say that she was not anxious and worried would absolutely be false.

But even though she was worried, Xu Xiuxiu could not resist the assault of her biological clock and slowly fell asleep.

Due to the heavy rain outside, the evening was not as hot as usual, and sleeping under a thin blanket was relatively comfortable. But after an unknown amount of time, a soft noise came from the bedroom. The next moment, the bedside lamp on the nightstand lit up. Xu Xiuxiu, a light sleeper, opened her eyes as soon as the lamp turned on, and before her was the drenched figure of Song Yuanhuan. His military uniform soaked, he looked somewhat ragged and haggard under the light of the bedside lamp yet still handsome and resolute.

It had to be said that Song Yuanhuan indeed was the epitome of a soldier. Even returning home on such a rainy night, when Xu Xiuxiu saw it was him, what surged in her chest was a profound sense of safety, a trust so weighty that it amazed her.

"Yuanhuan," Xu Xiuxiu watched him with surprise: "You're back? Are you hungry? Do you want me to make you something to eat?" Her innate concern asked as her gaze lingered on his soaked uniform, filled with heartache.