“Then our family wouldn’t have anything to eat or drink, and you wouldn’t be able to go to kindergarten anymore.”
“The other day, I heard Auntie say she’s having a baby. Does that mean I have a little sister now?” Xu Rui spoke with the uninhibited honesty of a child.
Ye Zhiqiu, however, was very surprised. The “Auntie” Xu Rui mentioned could only be Xu Wan.
Xu Wan is pregnant!
And there’s no need to guess who the father is – it’s definitely Chen Can.
But Chen Can isn’t even divorced yet. This baby…
Kang Zhimiao didn’t know the specifics and didn’t want to scold Xu Rui for this. Luckily, she knew Ye Zhiqiu wouldn’t go around spreading gossip. She gave Ye Zhiqiu a slightly embarrassed smile. Ye Zhiqiu understood what Kang Zhimiao meant and gave a small nod.
No matter how busy Xu Xun was, he still made time every day to come by and check on Kang Zhimiao.
“Xiao Ye.”
He greeted Ye Zhiqiu, then asked about Kang Zhimiao, “How is she today?”
“Much better.”
Kang Zhimiao had known ever since she married Xu Xun that she shouldn’t expect much affection from him. In his heart, his family came first, followed by his deceased first wife, and then, if she was lucky, she’d get a turn.
No expectations meant no resentment. But after going through this incident, Kang Zhimiao had other plans.
After Ye Zhiqiu left with Xu Rui, Kang Zhimiao brought it up with Xu Xun, “Old Xu, Xiao Rui is getting older. He doesn’t need me to look after him all the time. I want to go out and find a job.”
“Find a job?”
Xu Xun was very surprised. “Why on earth would you want to do that? Do you need money? If you do, just take it from the household funds. You manage our money anyway.”
“It’s not about the money. I just really want to find a job.”
Seeing how insistent Kang Zhimiao was, and feeling guilty himself, Xu Xun finally agreed. “Alright, but wait until your injury is completely healed. There’s no rush.”
“I know.”
Their daily conversations were just like this – about everyday matters. Nothing else. Kang Zhimiao couldn’t ask about Xu Xun’s work, and she didn’t want to know about Xu Wan’s situation either.
Xu Xun sighed softly. “Zhimiao, are you feeling some resentment?”
Kang Zhimiao didn’t deny it. “Who wouldn’t resent being stabbed for no reason?”
Even though he knew the answer, hearing it still made Xu Xun uncomfortable. He instinctively tried to defend Xu Wan, “Xiao Wan, she…”
“She’s pregnant?” Kang Zhimiao didn’t want to hear what Xu Xun was going to say next and deliberately changed the subject.
Xu Xun was startled. “Who told you that? No, she’s not.”
“Okay.”
“Oh, by the way, Zhixin has been calling me a lot lately, asking about you.” Xu Xun couldn’t help himself. “What’s really going on between you and Zhixin?”
“Nothing much. I just suddenly realized that trying to control someone every step of the way just turns them into an enemy. Kind of like you and Xiao Wan.”
Kang Zhimiao knew Xu Xun wouldn’t be happy hearing this, but she still wanted to say it.
“Zhixin has done a lot of wrong things. I haven’t said anything to save face for her. You were right, she’s not a child anymore. She’s a grown woman. I won’t interfere with her anymore. Whether things turn out good or bad, it’s her life. She can live it however she wants.”
“If she really cared about me, she would come see me herself, not keep calling you. She was never this close with you before.”
Xu Xun frowned. “Zhimiao, why do I feel like you’re implying something? What do you mean?”
“Whatever you think I mean.”
Kang Zhimiao gave a sarcastic smile. “She was jealous that I married you. She wants to marry a general’s son too.”
“She thinks general’s sons are like cabbages, easy to find anywhere. Now that she’s been kicked out of the cultural troupe, she’s lost that chance. She doesn’t want to show weakness in front of me. And well, you just happen to be available.”
Kang Zhimiao hadn’t wanted to tell Xu Xun any of this. Even talking about it made her feel sick. But since the topic came up, and she never expected Kang Zhixin to be so shameless, she saw no reason to save face for her anymore.
Besides, she wanted to see Xu Xun’s reaction. If he showed even the slightest interest, she wouldn’t hesitate to leave.
Xu Xun had actually sensed something vaguely, but he didn’t dare think about it. Now that Kang Zhimiao had spelled it out, he felt very uncomfortable inside.
Sure, his marriage to Kang Zhimiao was his second, and they didn’t have much of an emotional foundation before getting married. But after all these years together, he wasn’t made of stone. Of course he had developed feelings for her.
It wasn’t the same as his feelings for his first wife. His relationship with Kang Zhimiao was more about mutual dependence and shared hardship.
He came home every day to a ready-made meal. The house was always clean and tidy. Kang Zhimiao was always smiling, gentle, and considerate. Plus, they had their son, Xu Rui. He had never once entertained other thoughts.
Let alone the fact that Kang Zhixin’s personality was nowhere near as good as Kang Zhimiao’s – even if she were better, he wouldn’t consider it.
“Ridiculous!”
Xu Xun frowned deeply. “If Zhixin calls me again, I won’t answer. I’ll keep my distance from her from now on.”
Hearing Xu Xun say this, Kang Zhimiao had to admit she felt much better. At least he still had some qualities worth staying for.
“Focus on recovering. I’ve already paid the caregiver part of her fee. If you need anything, just tell her.”
Xu Xun held Kang Zhimiao’s hand. “If she doesn’t take good care of you, we’ll find another one.”
“Okay.”
He hadn’t realized it before, but with Kang Zhimiao away these past few days, Xu Xun suddenly noticed how she was like droplets of water, seeping little by little into his life and into his heart.
In the blink of an eye, the Mid-Autumn Festival arrived. Ye Zhiqiu called Yue Mingyuan, who said he couldn’t come home for the festival.
Ye Zhiqiu planned to take Yaya to the base to see Yue Mingyuan. Of course, Ye Jiawen was going too, to see Ling Hang.
Yue Mingyuan and Ling Hang waited earlier at the sentry post. When they saw Ye Zhiqiu and Ye Jiawen arrive, they ran over to help carry their things.
The quiet, persistent longing of each day apart came pouring out in that moment, visible in the way they looked at each other.
“Yaya.”
“Ba… ba.” (Dad… dy.)
Yaya waved her hands happily when she saw Yue Mingyuan. He picked her up, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and Yaya immediately kissed him back.
Ling Hang watched from the side, incredibly envious. He stepped forward and pointed to himself. “Yaya, remember your goddad? Call me goddad, give me a kiss too.”
Yue Mingyuan pushed Ling Hang aside. “Get lost! Who agreed to that?”
“But we talked about it!” Ling Hang said, outraged.
Yue Mingyuan gave him a look like he was an idiot. “Do you want to be her uncle or her goddad?”
Ling Hang quickly caught on. He looked over at Ye Jiawen and grinned foolishly. “Uncle. Definitely uncle.”
“Who said you could be her uncle?” Ye Jiawen’s face turned red as she shot Ling Hang a coy, scolding glare.
She couldn’t understand how someone who usually looked so smart could be so silly sometimes.
Ling Hang stepped forward, took Ye Jiawen’s hand, and declared, “I’ll try my best.”
Ye Jiawen misunderstood what he meant and raised her hand to hit him. Ling Hang quickly added the rest of his sentence, “I’ll try my best to get you to say yes.”
