I Became the Mother of His Child

After her inner struggle and protest, Xu Xiuxiu finally decided to carry the children in a double stroller she had bought at the mall, accompanying Xu Jingjing to climb the Great Wall. Upon arrival at the Great Wall, Xu Xiuxiu stayed at the base with the twins, while Xu Jingjing excitedly climbed the Great Wall with Song Chengguang following along.

The weather was cold, yet the sun was shining bright. Xu Xiuxiu found a shaded spot where she and the twins could sit.

When Xu Jingjing and Song Chengguang returned, they were both drenched in sweat. Song Chengguang's little face was particularly flushed as he ran up to Xu Xiuxiu, grabbing her to start describing how long the Great Wall really was, "Mommy, Chengguang didn't finish walking it. Aunt said it would take a very, very, very long time to complete it, and Chengguang missed mommy, so he stopped walking." Song Chengguang admitted sadly to Xu Xiuxiu that he hadn't finished walking the Great Wall.

"Chengguang did great," Xu Xiuxiu said as she pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off Song Chengguang's face and then handed him a bottle of warm water to drink, knowing that the winters in the Imperial City were particularly cold, and despite Chengguang being covered in sweat from climbing, she wouldn't dare give him cold water to drink.

"It was packed." Although the Great Wall wasn't as crowded as it would be in future years, the daily amount of visitors was still substantial, causing crowds to throng at the base. Xu Jingjing had come with great enthusiasm, but the teeming crowd greatly dampened her spirits.

Seeing this, Xu Xiuxiu simply smiled and said nothing. In the following days, she continued to accompany Xu Jingjing around the Imperial City, since she wasn't busy with anything else. Yuanhuan was attending courses at the military academy and would only join her and the children on weekends. After touring around the Imperial City, Xu Jingjing visited several Sichuan Pavilion franchises in her capacity as general manager before heading back to Z-city.

This wasn't Xu Jingjing's first visit to the Imperial City; she had previously visited to recruit franchisees, but her trips were always rushed and focused on business without any leisure time to sightsee. This visit counted as a bit of a break.

The Imperial City was the Capital, and the locations of the Sichuan Pavilion franchises were excellent. Their business was booming and the profits were good. Due to the expansion and spread of these franchises, Sichuan Pavilion's reputation had been increasingly growing. With the franchise business continuing to expand, Xu Jingjing didn't stay much longer in the Imperial City. After about six to seven days of fun, she headed home.

After Xu Jingjing took a train back to Z-city, Xu Xiuxiu stayed at home peacefully taking care of the children while occasionally venturing out to shop for groceries and cook. She took the opportunity to look into nearby schools or nurseries as Song Chengguang, the little rascal, was simply too energetic. Xu Xiuxiu could barely manage with the twins and adding Song Chengguang to the mix caused quite the headache, so she thought of dropping him off at a nursery or kindergarten to wreak havoc on other kids and their teachers.

That weekend, Xu Xiuxiu and Yuanhuan discussed inviting some of his classmates over for a meal the next day, and the couple headed out with their three children to shop.

"How about buying some seafood?" Xu Xiuxiu asked as she walked through the vast seafood market in the Imperial City, the desire to personally cook a lavish feast growing stronger as she looked at the various seafood available.

"That works," Yuanhuan responded, pushing the stroller closely behind Xu Xiuxiu, watching as both the twins and Song Chengguang stared in amazement at the huge crabs and lobsters.

Song Chengguang, ever mischievous, was tempted to reach out and touch them, yet he appeared timid, which amused Yuanhuan greatly.

"You know, with the weather in the Imperial City being so cold, I think eating hot pot might be better." Xu Xiuxiu picked ingredients, initially thinking of simply preparing a hot pot, but considering they were hosting a dinner, and with the Imperial City being a place full of diverse cuisines, serving hot pot might seem a bit too casual, so she decided to cook a grand meal instead.

"I'm off next weekend, let's have hot pot just by ourselves," Yuanhuan suggested.

"Sure." Xu Xiuxiu was immediately satisfied and then personally selected some river crabs and shrimp.

As Xu Xiuxiu was picking out river crabs and shrimp, Song Chengguang, all bundled up, followed her closely. The little guy had already taken off his gloves. His chubby hand pointed at one shrimp, then reached for another crab. It was his first visit to such a large seafood market, and his first time seeing so many seafood options. He was extremely excited: "Mom, this one, this one..."

"I know, keep your gloves on, don't touch the water, okay?" The water could freeze you solid, Xu Xiuxiu herself dared not reach into the water. Seeing Song Chengguang remove his thick gloves, ready to fend for himself, Xu Xiuxiu felt a headache coming on.

After much effort, they finally left the seafood market, and Song Chengguang joyfully skipped ahead, holding a river crab that Xu Xiuxiu had bagged for him separately after relenting to his persistence.

"Be careful, don't fall."

"Mom, don't worry! Chengguang won't fall, and even if I do, I'm not afraid," Song Chengguang said, holding the river crab and turning back to give Xu Xiuxiu a silly chuckle, a look of pretentious capability on his face.

Xu Xiuxiu shook her head helplessly.

"Xiuxiu, during my time here in the Imperial City, you've really put up with a lot," Song Yuanhuan said, pushing a stroller and looking every bit the devoted dad, occasionally chatting about home life with Xu Xiuxiu, watching her interact with Song Chengguang, before suddenly changing the topic to discuss their hometown.

"Why are you suddenly bringing this up?" Xu Xiuxiu turned and looked at Song Yuanhuan, her face full of surprise.

"I called home yesterday. Mom mentioned quite a few things," Song Yuanhuan explained why he brought it up.

"Then you should also know about elder brother's divorce from Wang Qinghua?" Xu Xiuxiu then remembered that since arriving in the Imperial City, she hadn't discussed any hometown matters with Song Yuanhuan—not out of carelessness, but because she felt it wasn't much related to her, and so she had subconsciously forgotten about the major event of Song Yuantao and Wang Qinghua's divorce.

"Yeah."

"I didn't intentionally keep it from you, I truly forgot," Xu Xiuxiu said, afraid that Song Yuanhuan might overthink because she hadn't mentioned it. She had been in the Imperial City for about six or seven days. The couple had some time alone only on their first day in the Imperial City, but Xu Xiuxiu, tired from the long train ride, hadn't the energy to talk that night. The next day, they went out to play and spent the night caught up in flight and tank simulations, and the morning after, he had to return to the military academy for classes.

Therefore, it wasn't until today, his day off, that the two had a chance to meet again. And with their three kids being noisy and boisterous, Xu Xiuxiu didn't have time to properly talk with him until he brought up the idea of inviting some friends over for a meal at their home, leading to them going out together to shop in a dazed stupor.

"I understand, you've had a hard time!" Song Yuanhuan wrapped an arm around her, his cold, thin lips gently leaving a tender kiss on her hair, his tone full of the guilt of not being her strong backbone.