I Became the Mother of His Child

The morning sun of winter felt warm, and although it wasn't a snowy scene, the frost overnight had coated many rooftops and branches with small icicles. Song Chengguang had woken up from his sleep and hurriedly called for Xu Xiuxiu to dress him, even hastily putting on his own hat and wearing a green little jacket.

"Slow down, what's the rush?" Xu Xiuxiu said, glaring at him.

In response, Song Chengguang flashed a silly grin, "Mom, are the ice pops ready?" His face full of anticipation.

"I don't know," Xu Xiuxiu shook her head, genuinely unsure.

Hearing this, Song Chengguang wasn't upset. He smiled as Xu Xiuxiu finished putting his shoes on, and once she let go, the fully bundled-up Song Chengguang bolted to the small balcony outside the living room like a rolling snowball.

"Mom, the sugar water really turned into an ice pop!" Song Chengguang excitedly looked at the cup filled with sugar water, shouting back to Xu Xiuxiu.

The weather in Imperial City was getting colder as it drew closer to the end of the year, chilling to the bone, especially at night when the temperature plummeted. Yet, for some reason, Song Chengguang, perhaps inspired by the frost on nearby rooftops every morning, clamored to eat ice pops in this dead of winter. Xu Xiuxiu had nowhere to find ice pops to feed him in this season, and even if she did, she wouldn't let him have any, fearing it might cause trouble. But the little fellow was particularly stubborn, feeling deeply aggrieved, having seen his chubby neighbor make ice pops. He clung to Xu Xiuxiu, pleading for several days, using all techniques from wheedling to downright tantrums and crying.

Unable to withstand his persistence, and remembering her own childhood desires for ice pops in winter nights—filling a small cup with sugar water and placing it outside the window with a chopstick before falling asleep, just to see it frozen in the morning—Xu Xiuxiu, spurred by Song Chengguang's incessant fussing, whimsically decided to give it a try.

Excited about this, Song Chengguang had a hard time falling asleep last night, but this morning, he didn't need Xu Xiuxiu to rustle him awake from the blankets; he climbed out of bed himself, still thrilled. Indeed, the motivation to make his own ice pop was strong, and now, standing on the balcony seeing the frozen cup, his happiness was uncontainable. Apart from adopting Little Huang, this was unquestionably one of Song Chengguang's rare moments of pure joy.

Seeing this, Xu Xiuxiu, despite not wanting Song Chengguang to indulge in such whims, couldn't bear to suppress her overprotective instincts. She understood that as a child, there were many things he needed to experience for himself. Due to her job, she was inconsistently able to take him to daycare, and he had made few friends; at his age, loneliness was inevitable. So, she thought to indulge him in other ways.

"Mom, Chengguang wants to eat it now, can you help me get the ice pop out?" Song Chengguang, unbothered by the cold, held the frozen cup with bare hands, his little fingers gloveless, presenting the cup to Xu Xiuxiu with urgency and anticipation, his face filled with sincerity as if holding a priceless treasure.

"Let mom help you thaw it with some hot water," Xu Xiuxiu said with a chuckle, shaking her head. Fortunately, she had anticipated Song Chengguang's impulsive temperament when making the ice pop last night, fearing he wouldn't listen to reason. She had used one of his small daily drinking cups and had not filled it to the brim, only halfway; she planned to thaw the cup's sides with hot water to easily extract the little ice pop, which was not much in quantity.

"Okay," Song Chengguang nodded, closely following Xu Xiuxiu to the kitchen.

Seeing the little fellow so persistent, Xu Xiuxiu walked into the kitchen, placed the small cup into a container of hot water to thaw it, and after a while, she twirled the chopstick, watching the ice inside the cup rotate with it, then easily removed it from the cup.

"Hey! It's very cold, just have a few bites and stop, okay?" Only children get immensely happy from eating ice pops in this weather. For normal adults, drinking hot water is the only desirable thing in the middle of winter; everything else is just self-torture!

"Thank you, Mommy, you're the best!" Song Chengguang grabbed the ice pop and began bootlicking, then licked it eagerly, "The ice pops Mommy makes are so delicious!" Clearly, Xu Xiuxiu's warning to only take a few bites was entirely pointless. In one ear and out the other for Song Chengguang. The little guy, excitedly holding onto one end of the popsicle stick, looked at the ice and couldn't wait to stuff it into his mouth, disregarding the cold and licking it several times. After tasting the cold and sweet flavor, he immediately grinned and shared his joy with Xu Xiuxiu.

"Little rascal," Xu Xiuxiu laughed at him, "Always up to mischief, not sure whom you take after."

"Like Mommy."

"I would never be like this; it must be from your dad." Xu Xiuxiu wrinkled her nose as she spoke.

"Dad says Chengguang's bad habits are all from Mommy," Song Chengguang shared while eating his ice pop, revealing the thoughts Song Yuanhuan had instilled in him.

"Pfft," Xu Xiuxiu snickered at a certain man's shamelessness, then turned to the kitchen to start preparing breakfast, but then she remembered that little Song Chengguang hadn't washed his face or brushed his teeth yet, which immediately annoyed her.

Yet, Song Chengguang clung tightly to his homemade ice pop and scampered far away, his giddy little figure almost dancing in circles. By the time Xu Xiuxiu had prepared breakfast, serving fragrant millet porridge, Song Chengguang had already quickly finished his homemade ice pop. The little guy's mouth was red from the cold, and a bit of snot appeared on his nose, evidently chilled by the ice pop.

"Look at you, go wash your face and brush your teeth," Xu Xiuxiu hurried him along.

"Okay, boss," Song Chengguang cheerfully headed to the bathroom to wash up.

At the dining table, after Song Chengguang had cleaned up and sat down with a small bowl of millet porridge, his mind was still on the taste of the homemade ice pops, feeling unsatisfied, "Mommy, can we make more ice pops tonight, please?" Song Chengguang raised his head, excitedly pleading with Xu Xiuxiu.

"No," Xu Xiuxiu immediately frowned and rejected him sternly.

Song Chengguang quickly sensed his mother's authority and wisely kept quiet. He was well aware that today's homemade ice pop was gained through persistent begging; his mother might indulge him once, but not twice. But having just finished the ice pop, he got too excited and got carried away. Now, a cold look from his mother brought him back to his senses.

"Then, how about we make ice pops once every time Dad comes home?" Song Chengguang started to negotiate with Xu Xiuxiu, his bright, twinkling eyes making Xu Xiuxiu almost couldn't bear to be firm.