☆ 26. Remarriage

“Up so early?”

Ji Qinghe usually got up at exactly 5:30 every morning. Today, he woke up a bit earlier, remembering he still needed to prepare medicine for his son-in-law. He didn’t rest in bed, he got up directly. As he pushed open the door, he saw his son-in-law also coming out of his room. After closing the door, he leaned against the door handle and sighed, as if he had just gone through some ordeal inside, looking visibly relieved.

Ji Qinghe was momentarily taken aback and greeted him.

“Yeah, I’m used to waking up at this time. What about you? Are you up this early too?”

Su Cheng didn’t expectJi Qinghe to be awake. A hint of awkwardness flashed across his face as he raised his hand to lightly touch his nose, catching a faint, pleasant fragrance lingering on his fingertips.

Unavoidably, the image flashed through his mind of how he had quickly covered the person in bed with a blanket earlier, only for her to lift it, reaching out to wrap her arms around his waist. Consequently, a slight flush crept onto the tips of his ears.

“Old people wake up early.”

Ji Qinghe didn’t know what his son-in-law was thinking. He replied gently and went to get a mouthwash cup to brush his teeth. Seeing this, Su Cheng didn’t speak again and also went to grab a toothbrush cup from the windowsill.

The father-in-law and son-in-law washed up simply. Ji Qinghe then brought out the stove to prepare medicine for Su Cheng.

This medicine needed to be taken after a meal, and the timing for brewing was just right. Su Cheng was touched and moved, watching Ji Qinghe busying himself for his sake so early in the morning, but he didn’t show his emotions or have sweet words. He quietly observed for a moment before heading into the kitchen to make breakfast.

Ji Qinghe didn’t stop him when he saw this, he didn’t believe in the idea that men shouldn’t go into the kitchen, nor did he treat his son-in-law like a lord, burdening his daughter with work.

In his view, the more capable the son-in-law, the better, ideally, he would take care of all the housework so that his daughter could have an easier time. Ji Qinghe had done the same when he was a son-in-law, that’s what made a good son-in-law and a good man.

Su Cheng was quite competent in cooking, he made porridge and prepared a few side dishes—a stir-fry of green beans, tender bean sprouts, and a cold cucumber salad.

Feeling that plain porridge and side dishes might not be filling enough, he recalled Ji Qinghe mentioning that Ji Meng and Qiuqiu liked the buns from the shop at the corner, so he went out to buy buns and fried dough sticks.

At 6:10 in the morning, Ji Meng’s tin alarm clock rang. As usual, she reached over to turn it off, then sat up in bed and took a moment to meditate.

This had been her habit in the past, whenever the alarm rang, she would sit up and focus for five minutes before opening her eyes, instantly feeling awake.

However, today she suddenly remembered that Su Cheng would be in the house. Just half a minute into her focus, she abruptly opened her eyes, saw that Su Cheng was not there, and noticed that the spot next to Qiuqiu was empty. She then let out a sigh of relief.

Now awake, Ji Meng didn’t dawdle. She got out of bed and noticed at that moment that her bra strap had slipped outside, and even the thin layer of her bra was peeking out.

She hurriedly tucked it back in, feeling grateful that she was covered by the blanket and that Su Cheng wasn’t around when she got up.

After readjusting her position and fastening her clasp, Ji Meng went to the wardrobe to find an outfit to change into. It was a bit cool in the morning, but the weather had been warming up lately. She also had a meeting to lead today, so she couldn’t dress too casually.

She picked out a white silk shirt paired with black slightly flared pants. This outfit was leftover stock from Meng Ling’s batch. At the time, the collar had turned yellow, so Ji Meng took it back and altered it by adding a small pointed collar, sewing a string of silver beads at the seam. The entire outfit instantly looked fashionable.

Once dressed, Ji Meng used a silk ribbon to tie her hair into a bun. Just as she finished, there was a knock on the door.

Ji Meng put down her comb and went to open the door. Su Cheng stood at the entrance, tall enough to nearly reach the door frame, blocking out the light with the half-open wooden door.

In the dim light, the contours of his sharp, cold features appeared even more profound, his deep-set dark eyes shining brightly.

Seeing Ji Meng open the door, his hand that was about to knock naturally dropped. Looking at her already dressed and with her hair tied up, he lightly clenched his palm and asked, “Are you awake?”

Maybe it was because he had just woken up in the morning and hadn’t had much water, his warm, rich voice sounded slightly hoarse, causing Ji Meng’s ears to tingle slightly.

“Yeah.” Ji Meng raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, scratching her scalp in response to the itch. Remembering Qiuqiu, she added, “Qiuqiu hasn’t gotten up yet.”

Su Cheng replied, “I’ll go wake her up, you can go wash up. Breakfast is ready.”

Ji Meng hesitated for a moment, thinking of how dependent Qiuqiu was on him, and agreed, “Okay.”

Ji Meng handed her daughter over to Su Cheng and went to get water to wash up. She always washed her face with warm water in the morning, feeling that it helped clean off the oil accumulated on her face overnight. While washing, she reminisced about using facial cleanser.

Currently, her money wasn’t enough to buy the equipment for skincare freedom, which was quite unfortunate.

Qiuqiu didn’t have the bad habit of waking up cranky, she woke up as soon as her dad called her.

However, after spending some time painting and being influenced by Ji Meng’s emphasis on dressing and grooming, Qiuqiu had developed certain standards for her outfits.

She wasn’t satisfied with the clothes her dad casually pulled from the closet. Not wanting to hurt his feelings, the little girl cleverly sweet-talked him for a while, leaving him confused but ultimately managed to get dressed in an outfit she liked.

She didn’t let her dad style her hair because she realized that after she expressed what hairstyle she wanted, he hadn’t understood at all. Instead, he took her small comb and box of hair ties and clips to find Ji Meng.

Seeing Ji Meng’s hairstyle, her eyes lit up, and she said, “Mom, I want a hairstyle like yours today.”

“Sure.” Ji Meng had already washed her face and, upon hearing this, hung the towel under the eaves, smiled, and went over to style her daughter’s hair.

Su Cheng followed Qiuqiu outside. Seeing this scene, he felt a mix of helplessness, it hadn’t been long, and the little girl had already started to care about her appearance like her mother.

The bun was soon styled. Although Qiuqiu didn’t have the trendy bow that Ji Meng wore, she had a pretty hair tie with a bow and nice little clips. After getting ready, she went back to the room to look in the mirror, feeling quite satisfied, and happily came out to join her parents at the table for breakfast.

“Today, you both can take Qiuqiu. I have an appointment with a patient, I’ll be heading to the clinic at 6:50 for acupuncture.”

During breakfast, Ji Qinghe glanced at his daughter, who was focused on eating, and at his son-in-law, who was looking after his granddaughter, and spoke up.

“Sure,” Ji Meng responded without hesitation, taking a bite of porridge.

“Then Dad, you can have breakfast and head to the clinic. We’ll clean up here.”

“Are you both taking Qiuqiu to school today?”

Qiuqiu blinked her eyes. Earlier, she had wondered if she could exchange wiping the table for the reward of having both parents take her to school today, but she didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.

Ji Meng had originally planned to let Su Cheng take her, since he was likely free while recovering, but seeing Qiuqiu’s excited expression and realizing it had been several days since she had taken Qiuqiu to school, she smiled and nodded.

“Yes, but you need to eat quickly. We must be at the factory by 7:30.”

“Okay!” Qiuqiu eagerly responded, speeding up her eating of the buns.

Ji Qinghe indeed had things to do today. He quickly finished his meal, reminded Su Cheng to remember to take his medicine, and hurriedly left.

Su Cheng ate quickly, but in order to take care of his daughter, he was delayed for some time, so the family of three left the table almost at the same time.

After finishing breakfast, Ji Meng began to clear the table, but Su Cheng stopped her.

“I’ll do it. You go check what Qiuqiu needs to bring to school and get ready. Once you’re done, we’ll head out.”

“It’s almost seven, didn’t you say we need to be at the factory by 7:30?”

Upon hearing this, Ji Meng decided not to be polite anymore, she nodded, “Okay, you clean up, and I’ll go get ready.”

Returning to her room, Ji Meng hurriedly applied some cream, checked the notebooks and pens in Qiuqiu’s backpack, packed a few pieces of small cake and milk biscuits into her bag, and poured a cup of warm water from Qiuqiu’s little water bottle. Then she grabbed her own bag, as well as Qiuqiu’s backpack and water bottle, and left the room.

At this moment, Su Cheng had just finished washing the dishes and was about to take his medicine. Seeing Ji Meng, he said, “Wait for me a minute.”

After drinking his medicine in one go, Su Cheng rinsed his mouth with water, placed the medicine bowl in the kitchen, and came out to say, “Okay, let’s go.”

“Let’s ride the bike, you can take us, right?”

Ji Meng pointed to the 26-inch women bicycle that Ji Qinghe had bought for her, which was slightly smaller than the male version, but it had a bar in front, making it easy to carry three people. She just wasn’t sure how Su Cheng’s body would hold up.

Men never admit when they can’t do something.

Hearing this, Su Cheng readily replied, “Sure.”

He wheeled the bike down the alley. Su Cheng held Qiuqiu in the front, and Ji Meng sat in the back seat.

The back seat didn’t have any padding, it was just a hard piece of metal, which was a bit uncomfortable. As soon as Ji Meng sat down, she felt uneasy, but it was getting late, and there was no time to waste, so she kept quiet, settled in, held onto the iron bar below, and said, “Okay, let’s go.”

Su Cheng glanced at her but didn’t say anything and pedaled the bike out.

The Yuhong class wasn’t far. Su Cheng rode quickly, and soon they arrived.

Most parents dropping off their children at Yuhong were busy with work, and kids were arriving one after another.

In the past twenty days at Yuhong Class, Qiuqiu had already become close with her classmates. As soon as they arrived, before the bicycle had even stopped, her friends waved and greeted her. At this time, Zhuangzhuang and Honghong were also brought to school by their respective grandmothers.

Zhuangzhuang was the first to rush over upon seeing Qiuqiu, and even Aunt Lai couldn’t hold him back.

“Qiuqiu, you’re here! Today I brought you chocolate that my mom had someone bring back from Hai City! I’ll share some with you later!”

“What’s chocolate? I’ve never eaten it before,” Qiuqiu asked.

This child, Qiuqiu, sometimes displayed a calmness that even adults lacked, like now. She had never heard of or eaten something, but she could ask about it without hesitation.

However, Ji Meng and Su Cheng felt a bit uncomfortable hearing this. They had raised their daughter in luxury, yet she didn’t even know what chocolate was. Although kids shouldn’t eat too much of it, they should at least be aware of what it is.

While the adults were feeling uneasy, the children were happily chatting away.

“Chocolate is a type of candy, it’s even more expensive than White Rabbit candy. It melts in your mouth, but Zhuangzhuang thinks it doesn’t taste as good as White Rabbit candy, it’s a bit bitter.”

Honghong, who was nearby and had eaten chocolate before, disagreed: “I think chocolate tastes better than White Rabbit milk candy! It has a very unique flavor. Qiuqiu, don’t listen to Zhuangzhuang.”

“Humph! Qiuqiu, don’t listen to her. I’ll let you taste it later, and you’ll see I’m telling the truth!”

Zhuangzhuang, feeling a bit sensitive about his pride, became slightly unhappy when he heard his point was being challenged.

Qiuqiu just smiled widely and obediently nodded, “I haven’t eaten it, so I don’t know, but I’ll share my honest opinion after trying it later.”

“Qiuqiu also has some delicious treats to share with you all! My mom made little cakes and number cookies, and they taste really good!”

“Look at these little rascals, they seem to get along well! Zhuangzhuang studied all day yesterday at home and wanted his aunt to bring him to play with Qiuqiu. His aunt said there were guests at your home, so they didn’t come. This morning, he got up and was busy preparing that chocolate, saying he wanted to bring it for Qiuqiu.”

Aunt Lai approached, watching the group of children chattering excitedly. She smiled at Ji Meng and then noticed Su Cheng, who had parked the bicycle. Aunt Lai blinked in surprise and looked at Su Cheng before turning to Ji Meng, “Xiao Meng, who is this?”

Before Ji Meng could respond, Qiuqiu, with her eyes beaming, announced to Zhuangzhuang and the others, “Qiuqiu has big news to share with you all! My dad is back!”

“Qiuqiu’s dad didn’t sacrifice himself, he’s back! From now on, Qiuqiu is a child with a dad!”

“Wait, he didn’t sacrifice himself?”

Aunt Lai was stunned. She couldn’t help but widen her eyes and look at Su Cheng again. He was simply dressed in a white shirt and black pants, tall and upright, with a handsome appearance.

Ignoring the shock that Su Cheng’s survival had caused Aunt Lai and the others, and not considering whether her family would become the hot topic of discussion in the alley again, Ji Meng realized it was almost time for work. She hurriedly told Qiuqiu a few things, greeted Aunt Lai and Yanzi, and rushed off with Su Cheng to get to work.

When they arrived at the textile factory entrance, Ji Meng ran into Meng Ling, who was also on her way to work, accompanied by Zheng Wu.

“Ji Meng, have you had breakfast? Zheng Wu went to the small market and bought steamed dumplings, and he brought you a portion too.”

Meng Ling was eating while walking over, and when she saw Ji Meng, she quickly ran over to greet her. Noticing Su Cheng, who was taking Ji Meng, she paused for a moment. Glancing at Su Cheng, she tentatively asked:

“Is this the guest who came to your house yesterday?”

Meng Ling had developed a fairly good relationship with Ji Meng over time. She knew that Ji Meng was hosting guests at home yesterday.

Her nephew had been clamoring to find Qiuqiu, and Meng Ling had mentioned that there were guests at Ji Meng’s home. The Ji family didn’t have many relatives left, and they barely interacted with Ji Meng’s uncle’s family. When Aunt Lai heard there were guests at the Ji family, she speculated whether someone was trying to play matchmaker for Ji Meng.

Meng Ling had rebutted that possibility back then, but seeing Su Cheng today, her mind went blank, and she suddenly remembered her mother’s words, feeling that her mother might have guessed correctly.

“What’s going on? So, um, have you confirmed your relationship?”

Since the incident at the state-run restaurant last time, Zheng Wu hadn’t seen Ji Meng for a week. He had come specifically to buy breakfast and was waiting for Meng Ling on the way, hoping to have a chance to see Ji Meng.

However, he hadn’t yet processed the joy of finally seeing her when he noticed the man who was driving Ji Meng. Hearing Meng Ling’s question, he quickly shifted his gaze to Su Cheng.

Su Cheng was usually very perceptive and noticed this. He calmly raised his gaze to meet Zheng Wu’s stare.

There was hostility and wariness in Zheng Wu’s eyes.

Just a glance, and Su Cheng determined that this man was likely the younger guy who had confessed to Ji Meng but was rejected.

Ji Meng stepped out of the bicycle and, upon hearing Meng Ling’s question and glancing at Zheng Wu’s gaze behind her, paused for a moment before smiling at Meng Ling.

“This is my husband, he returned yesterday. It’s fortunate that he didn’t sacrifice himself, he’s back.”

“Hu… husband!”

Meng Ling was so shocked that her mouth hung open, even more surprised than Aunt Lai had been when she heard the news. Zheng Wu behind her was even more shaken, his entire body trembling as if he had lost his soul, swaying slightly and struggling to stand.

“Mengmeng mentioned you to me. Thank you for your help and care during her time back in the city,”

Su Cheng said, looking away from Zheng Wu and nodding slightly at Meng Ling.

With his handsome and gentle demeanor, Su Cheng exuded an air of refined elegance. His voice was rich and clear.

Meng Ling rarely encountered such a man and took a moment to respond, stammering slightly as she looked at Su Cheng’s stern expression, “N-no, it’s nothing.”

Feeling that her reaction was off, she quickly bit her tongue and added, “No, I didn’t do much. In fact, it was Ji Meng who helped me a lot.”

“It’s about time, I’ll be late. You should head back now,”

Ji Meng raised her hand to check the time. It was already 7:25 AM, and according to the rules, arriving after 7:30 would be considered late, affecting her performance evaluation.

She was no exception. If she was late without a valid reason, she would have to treat over eighty colleagues to a meal at the cafeteria, which would leave her broke.