Chapter 96

At the current standing of the Xu family, the granddaughter-in-law’s background didn’t need to be particularly impressive. While a good background could be a bonus, it wasn’t essential. Grandpa Xu understood one important principle: a virtuous wife brings fewer troubles to her husband. Xu Zhao was a soldier, spending half the year on missions, so his wife had to manage all the household affairs. He felt grateful to her parents for raising such a wonderful daughter.

As a commanding officer in a military district, Grandpa Xu was serious and imposing. Jiang Suihan respected him greatly, and his praise made her blush.

Xu Zhao smiled slightly, “I’ve always been lucky.”

When his father arranged his marriage to the Jiang family, he felt somewhat lost and unsure about what his fiancée would be like. He worried they might not get along. Fortunately, he met the right person, and they had Chenchen, with another adorable child on the way soon.

Military men often say that a wife and child warm the home. Just thinking about it made him feel a warmth in his heart.

Grandpa Xu couldn’t help but laugh. It had been a while since he’d seen that youthful innocence on Xu Zhao’s face. He remembered how mischievous Xu Zhao had been as a child—teasing animals, climbing trees, and getting into trouble. With both his son and daughter-in-law busy with work, he worried that Xu Zhao might go astray, so he made the tough decision to send him to the army to shape him up.

When Xu Zhao first arrived in the military, he was quite a handful. Thankfully, he hadn’t disappointed Grandpa Xu. He was truly born for the army.

Grandpa Xu patted Xu Zhao on the shoulder, saying, “In the blink of an eye, over twenty years have passed. You’re a father now, and I’m getting old.”

Xu Zhao was a little speechless. Chenchen was almost two years old. Wasn’t it a little late to say this?

Jiang Suihan glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost 1 AM. “Grandpa, did you get up for something?”

Grandpa Xu patted his head, “I almost forgot my business—truly getting old!”

Muttering to himself, he shuffled toward the bathroom. Xu Zhao hurried to turn on the light, concerned that Grandpa might trip in the dimness. He waited for him to finish before returning to their room.

The next day, when Jiang Suihan woke up and saw it was already past 9 AM, she knew she couldn’t linger at her mother-in-law’s house. She quickly got dressed and went downstairs.

Chenchen and Jiang Leyun were sitting on the sofa, playing. The child held a black object, which turned out to be a piece of chocolate. His mouth was smeared with chocolate, and when he smiled, his teeth were also black.

Since having a child, Jiang Suihan has always carried handkerchiefs in her pockets. She took one out to wipe Chenchen’s mouth. “Are you not going out today? Where’s your dad?”

In the past few days since he came back, Chenchen has not been at home for a single day. He either goes out with his great-grandfather to meet old friends or goes to other grandfathers’ homes with his grandfather to play with other children. He is busier than his mother.

Chenchen pointed to the door, saying, “Outside.”

Su Ying approached with a cup of hot milk, “He had something to attend to early this morning but should be back for lunch. Here, drink some milk to warm up.”

Jiang Suihan took the milk, “Thank you, Mom.”

Su Ying smiled and said, “Why say thanks in a family? I’ve kept breakfast warm in the pot; remember to eat.”

Su Ying knew that her son was going to bring his daughter-in-law and grandson back, so she went to the milk station to order milk in advance. Xu Zhao didn’t like drinking milk as he was not used to the taste and thought it was a bit fishy. However, Jiang Suihan and Jiang Leyun enjoyed it. As for Chenchen, he didn’t dislike it, and he would drink it if asked, but he’d push it away for something more delicious.

Seeing his mother drinking, Chenchen moved closer. “I want some too.”

Jiang Leyun pinched the child’s cheek. “You want to eat everything! Xu Chen, are you a pig?”

Chenchen knows that his name is Chenchen, but as for who Xu Chen is, the child said he has never heard of him and doesn’t know.

Jiang Leyun laughed at Chenchen’s ignorance. “Sister, your son is so silly. He doesn’t even know his own name! Chenchen is a little fool.”

Chenchen stared at him with big, round eyes and raised his small hand to poke his uncle. “You’re the fool. Chenchen isn’t!”

Jiang Leyun pretended to be hurt, pitifully turning to his sister. “Sister, your son hit me!”

Jiang Suihan sighed, feeling exhausted. One child was not yet two, and the other had just turned ten. She really didn’t want to get involved in their squabbles.

“Serves you right! Who told you to say Chenchen is silly? Our Chenchen is smart, isn’t that right, Chenchen?”

Chenchen proudly tilted his head. “I’m smart! Hehe!”

Jiang Leyun acted dramatically hurt. “Sister, I’ve realized something. Ever since Chenchen came along, I’m no longer your favorite little brother. I’m a bit sad.”

What terrible acting! Jiang Suihan rolled her eyes. “How old is Chenchen? How old are you? You are already a grown-up kid. Aren’t you ashamed to be jealous of a little kid still on milk?”

After having a child, a lot of time and energy had been taken up by Chenchen. Since it was her first time as a mom, she had to invest a lot of thought into everything. It was normal for her younger brother to feel neglected, and she wasn’t surprised.

Jiang Leyun took her sister’s other hand and said, “I am only ten years old. Even if I am a big kid, I am still a child. I am still young. I can act like a spoiled child with my sister. It is not embarrassing.”

Chenchen was his sister’s child, his beloved nephew. He liked Chenchen, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t feel jealous. After all, he cherished his time with his sister.

Jiang Suihan ruffled her brother’s hair and laughed. “It’s not shameful to be spoiled by your sister, no matter if you’re eighteen or eighty. Our little man hasn’t grown up yet. Once he does, he might get shy about it!”

Jiang Leyun blushed a bit. He often said he was grown up enough to protect his sister, but being coddled in front of his little nephew felt a little embarrassing.

Children are possessive of their mothers. Seeing his uncle clinging to his mother, Chenchen crawled over and tried to push his uncle away. “Mommy, mine!”

Mommy was his, and no one could take her away, not even his uncle.

Jiang Leyun playfully teased Chenchen. “No way! This is my sister. Let’s take one side each. Don’t be petty.”

Chenchen refused and waved his little hands to hit him.

Jiang Leyun made silly faces at the child. “You can’t catch me! You can’t catch me!”

Chenchen was close to crying, turning to bury his face in his mother’s embrace, pouting and complaining, “Uncle is bad!”

He hated his uncle and declared he wouldn’t play with him anymore.

The two little ones were making a ruckus during breakfast, leaving no peace for anyone. Jiang Suihan rubbed her forehead. “If you make him cry, you’re responsible for calming him down.”

With that, she stood up and went to the kitchen for breakfast.

Jiang Leyun and Chenchen stared at each other. The person has left, so what is there to fight for?

Xu Zhao was walking home in a hurry when he suddenly heard someone calling him.

Qiao Hui pulled her coat closer and said with a smile, “Long time no see.”

Xu Zhao nodded lightly and replied, “Long time no see. What’s up?”

Qiao Hui tucked her windblown hair behind her ear and smiled tentatively. “After so many years, you are still the same as before, still so direct. We haven’t seen each other for three or four years, right? Can’t you catch up with old friends and chat? Why are you afraid that Comrade Jiang will find out and worry that she will misunderstand?”

She had secretly liked Xu Zhao since adolescence, planning to confess when she got into college. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned, and before she could even apply, Xu Zhao was sent to the army by his grandfather. She had written to him, but he never replied, and later, he moved to a different place, losing all contact.

She had never been one to give up easily. Friends said she was stubborn, insisting on sticking with one tree, even though many other young men in their compound were better than Xu Zhao. She was attractive and came from a decent family, with plenty of suitors, yet she couldn’t bring herself to like any of them.

When she learned from Aunt Su that Xu Zhao was married, it felt like a knife to her heart. It hurt deeply. She was the one who had known him first and liked him so much, yet he didn’t see her and married a stranger for the sake of some supposed duty.

Qiao Hui was unwilling to accept this. Two days ago, she visited the Xu family to see Jiang Suihan. While she admitted that Jiang Suihan was indeed prettier and seemed nice, she couldn’t understand why she was better than herself. She heard that besides Jiang Suihan and her brother, the Jiang family had no one left. Jiang Suihan was determined to marry Xu Zhao, likely wanting to climb the social ladder.

Such a scheming woman didn’t deserve Xu Zhao, and she worried he might get hurt.

Xu Zhao’s expression remained unchanged. “No, she’s not like that.”

Qiao Hui was the youngest daughter of the Qiao family, two years younger than him, and they grew up in the same neighborhood. As a child, she often followed them around, but the boys never wanted to play with the girls, finding them too delicate.

Xu Zhao’s impression of Qiao Hui was still that of a little sister who grew up in the same compound. He was a little confused when Qiao Hui suddenly called him and said she wanted to reminisce about the past, and he felt that their relationship was not that serious.

Seeing Xu Zhao’s cold attitude, Qiao Hui felt a little hurt and curled her lips: “I heard from my mother that Comrade Jiang is pregnant. Congratulations.”

She waited for him, but he was already building a life with another woman and had children of his own.

What was she still fantasizing about?

Xu Zhao smiled politely. “Thank you. If there is nothing else, I’m leaving first, bye.”

Qiao Hui stood there, watching his figure grow smaller until he seemed to vanish from her life.

A friend approached, worry etched on her face. “Haven’t you given up yet?”

Qiao Hui forced a smile. “I never really had anything to begin with, so what’s there to give up? Some people just don’t belong to you, no matter how hard you try. Let’s go.”

Xu Zhao stepped inside, brushing off the snow from his coat before hanging it on a rack.

Jiang Suihan called out, “You’re back! I’ll get you a cup of hot water.”

Xu Zhao pressed her shoulder gently. “You sit. I’ll get it myself.”

When Jiang Suihan felt his icy hands, she exclaimed, “Hiss, so cold!” 

She handed him her enamel cup. “You drink this. It’s ginger tea with brown sugar that Mom made for me.”

Seeing that she kept complaining of being cold, her mother-in-law specially cooked a pot of brown sugar ginger tea for her to drink slowly. Chenchen had also been given a small cup, but the little guy disliked the ginger flavor and found it too spicy.

Xu Zhao took the cup and downed it in one go.

Jiang Suihan studied his face, feeling it looked a bit pale. She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination.

“Did you go out to meet friends?”

Xu Zhao grew up in the capital and had many friends. During the holidays, they often visited home, and he usually came back with the smell of alcohol. Knowing his wife disliked drinking, especially while pregnant, he always took a shower first upon returning home.

Xu Zhao shook his head. “No, I went to the hospital.”

Jiang Suihan frowned. “The hospital? Who’s sick?”

He glanced at her. “Not sick, just had a small surgery.”

Not sick, but he had surgery? Jiang Suihan was confused and pressed further. “What kind of small surgery?”

Xu Zhao paused for a moment. “After this, we won’t have any more children.”