Lu Haici sat off to the side, watching Ji Yang and the other kids play together.

He seemed dazed, his eyes lacking any brightness.

“Lu Haici, come play!” Ji Yang turned around and waved to his friend, noticing his lackluster demeanor.

Lu Haici shook his head. “I don’t want to play.”

He wasn’t being good today; he had fought with a classmate, and Teacher Qian said she would call the parents.

If his mom came, she would probably be angry, right?

Adults liked well-behaved children.

He had hurt Qin Ming, and now he was the bad kid everyone was talking about.

What if his mom didn’t like him anymore?

But Qin Ming was so mean, saying that his mom wasn’t really his mom and that stepmoms were all bad.

His mom was clearly his mom!

When Dad said he was going to marry a new mom, Lu Haici had asked him if this new mom would be his mom, and Dad said yes.

So, his mom was his mom.

Besides, she treated him very well—she made him fried rice and mashed potatoes, gave him baths and washed his hair, and held him to sleep at night.

Yesterday, he still remembered how warm it felt when his mom carried him to bed.

His mom was a good mom, and Qin Ming was a bad kid.

But… Lu Haici’s eyes slowly turned red.

He was also a bad kid; he had hit Qin Ming, and that would make his mom ashamed.

Thinking of this, Lu Haici lowered his head and silently shed tears, droplets falling to the ground and quickly soaking the area beneath him.

“What’s wrong?” Suddenly, a gentle voice sounded in his ear, and a large hand rested on his head.

Lu Haici looked up abruptly, his eyes widening at the sight of the woman squatting before him.

His tears burst forth like a river, “Mom…”

The tears flowed uncontrollably, blurring his vision.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry.” Lin Qingqing hugged Lu Haici tightly.

The moment she entered, she saw him sitting alone with his head down, and as she approached, she heard his soft sobs, which made her heart ache.

This child reflected her own childhood; when she was young, she, too, had only known how to lick her own wounds alone.

Even though her grandmother had loved her dearly, there were still times when she couldn’t be there for her. “Our little Haici is a brave boy. Brave boys shouldn’t cry. No crying, no crying…”

She held him close, letting him lean against her chest while gently patting his shoulder.

“wuwuwu!!…” Lu Haici cried even louder.

He remembered how other kids cried in the yard, and their moms would hold them and pat their shoulders like this. “Mom, wuwuwu…”

But soon, his mom might not hold him like this again.

She probably didn’t even know yet that he had hit Qin Ming.

So, Lu Haici cried even louder.

Although Lin Qingqing didn’t fully understand that Lu Haici was crying out of fear of being disliked by her, she did sense the child’s inner grievances.

With Lu Cheng not around and her being a stepmother, she felt the child was crying out of fear and insecurity.

She found herself somewhat resenting Lu Cheng—not exactly resenting him, but rather thinking he wasn’t a competent father.

Lu Haici had no one else here but him, yet he went off on a mission, leaving Lu Haici alone in the family compound.

Even though the compound was safe and there were no criminals or human traffickers to harm Lu Haici, didn’t he realize that there’s another kind of harm in this world?

The harm of words, the harm that is silent.

Perhaps Lu Cheng was an excellent soldier for the country, but he certainly wasn’t a good father.

No, he wasn’t even qualified.

Lin Qingqing had originally been pondering how to handle her relationship with Lu Cheng, but now she felt that there was no need to deal with it at all.

Let him go on missions 365 days a year; she and Lu Haici would be close and loving.

This “widow-like marriage” seemed quite good.

After all, she had no plans to get married, and raising a sweet child seemed to be a perfect arrangement.

From what she had heard from Teacher Qian and Xu Huijuan, she knew that the child had fought with Qin Ming to defend himself.

This touched her deeply, and she liked the feeling of being protected.

Since her grandmother passed away a year ago, her heart hadn’t been stirred since.

In fact, sometimes when she saw her biological parents and her younger sister visit their hometown, she felt a bit resistant.

But now, meeting Lu Haici—a child who was innocent and kind—made her feel that perhaps her crossing into this story was meant for her to meet this child.

“Alright, alright, don’t cry. I didn’t buy any meat today, so we can’t make meat buns, but I bought some tofu. How about we make tofu pancakes?”

Actually, tofu buns are delicious, and Lin Qingqing preferred them to meat buns, especially the tofu soup buns from her hometown.

However, making fermented dough takes time, so there was no time to make buns today.

As Lu Haici was crying loudly, upon hearing his mother’s words, he suddenly stopped like a faucet being turned off.

He looked up, his tearful eyes gazing at Lin Qingqing. “We’re making buns to eat?”

“Yes, you said your favorites are milk candy and meat buns, right? I bought milk candy, but you can only have two pieces a day; eating too much will give you cavities,” she said, smiling.

“If you get cavities, you won’t be a little man anymore!” As for the meat buns, even though she hadn’t bought any meat today, she could go to the market tomorrow to buy some.

If not tomorrow, then the day after; she would definitely make sure her little Haici got to eat meat.

Lin Qingqing helped Lu Haici up and said, “Now let’s go pack your backpack and then head to the infirmary to check your face.”

Lu Haici was taken aback, staring blankly at Lin Qingqing.

His mom had said she would buy him milk candies, and when she got the meat, she would also buy him meat buns, but didn’t that mean she wouldn’t dislike him?

He had hurt Qin Ming and caused trouble for her; wouldn’t she hate him?

“What’s wrong?” Seeing the child lost in thought, Lin Qingqing used her sleeve to wipe his face clean, thinking that she needed to prepare some handkerchiefs for him.

“Mom, you… aren’t you angry?” Lu Haici asked stupidly.

Lin Qingqing smiled and asked, “Why would I be angry?”

“Because… because I hit Qin Ming, I fought; I’m not a good kid anymore.” Lu Haici said, “I’ve heard other kids’ moms say they like well-behaved children.”

Lin Qingqing said, “I like children like Lu Haici. You fought to protect me, which means you’re a filial and good child. A filial good child is also a well-behaved child, so I really like you.”

When he heard his mom say she really liked him, Lu Haici’s eyes brightened instantly, and his small face gradually turned red.

The once gloomy child now seemed to shine brightly, like a little sun radiating light. “Really… really? Mom likes me?”

Lin Qingqing: “Of course it’s true. Now, let’s pack your backpack and go home.”

“Okay.” Lu Haici replied loudly.

He tidied up his things, put on his small backpack, and took Lin Qingqing’s hand as they walked out of the classroom.

Ji Yang watched and hurriedly threw on his own small backpack to chase after them. “Lu Haici, are you going home?”

“Yeah, my mom is taking me to the infirmary to check my face, and then she’s going to make me tofu pancakes at home.” There was a hint of pride in Lu Haici’s tone.

“I’ll go back with you.” Ji Yang was the best friend of Lu Haici; seeing him leave, he wanted to go along.

“No way.” Lin Qingqing said, “You haven’t reached the end of school yet. You can’t go home unless your mom comes to pick you up.”

She thought it best to keep Ji Yang at the kindergarten, as she wouldn’t know what could happen if he left with them. “But Ji Yang, thank you for helping Lu Haici today. When you finish school at noon, please come to our house for dinner.”

“Ah?”

Ji Yang’s eyes lit up. “You’re inviting me to dinner?”

Lu Haici looked at Lin Qingqing with shining eyes.

Lin Qingqing “…”

She said, “Yes, you helped Lu Haici, so I’m treating you to a meal as a thank you. I also hope you can continue to play with Lu Haici.”

Ji Yang was the male lead, and having Lu Haici be friends with him was not a bad thing.

Of course, her intention was not to have Lu Haici curry favor with Ji Yang; they were already good friends, and she wanted them to continue playing together.

If they weren’t friends, even if Ji Yang was the male lead, Lin Qingqing wouldn’t let Lu Haici play with him.

Children make friends naturally based on their preferences.

“Hey, then I’ll come to find Lu Haici to play after school at noon,” Ji Yang said, feeling excited when he heard Lin Qingqing wanted to treat him to a meal.

Children love being treated this way, rather than being seen as just kids.

“Then Lu Haici and I will wait for you at home,” Lin Qingqing waved to him. “See you soon, little friend Ji Yang.”

“See you soon!” Lu Haici also waved to his friend, mimicking his mother.

Seeing this, Ji Yang couldn’t help but wave back: “See you soon.”

As he waved, he watched his friends leave with his mother, smiling foolishly.

Although he was still young and didn’t fully understand, he felt particularly happy.

In the past, he and Lu Haici were both little friends without mothers.

Now, he had a mother, and Lu Haici had one too.

This was really great.

Lin Qingqing took Lu Haici to the medical clinic. “Hello, doctor.”

There were two male doctors in the clinic.

The military clinic wasn’t large, but it could handle urgent medical needs, as the doctors there were always ready to go to the battlefield on missions, resulting in a higher number of male medical staff.

“Hello, comrade,” one of the male medical personnel stood up. “What seems to be the matter?”

Lin Qingqing pushed Lu Haici in front of him: “Well, my son has a scratch on his face. I’d like to put some medicine on it.”

“My son?” Lu Haici’s eyes widened in surprise upon hearing her say that.