Chapter 20

Zhou Yun felt a little anxious in her heart. She thought that Su Qianqian was a sharp-tongued person, and Cheng Yue might be deceived by her few words.  

“This is our private family matter. Why involve an outsider?” she said faintly, looking at Cheng Yue. Cheng Yue felt that she had a point—family matters should not be aired in public.  

Moreover, Zhou Yun’s behavior had already overstepped, making him uncomfortable.  

He said to Zhou Yun, “Zhou Yun, you should leave. Let me and my wife talk first. Also, don’t go digging into my family matters again.” The last sentence was a warning, which made Zhou Yun even more upset.  

Damn Su Qianqian! She was like a toad trying to eat swan meat—old, ugly, and shabby. How could she deserve Cheng Yue?  

But she knew it wasn’t appropriate to stay any longer, so she left with a cold face.  

“Let’s eat first. After the meal, we’ll talk. Otherwise, the food will get cold,” Su Qianqian said, appearing too calm, which made Cheng Yue uneasy. Could it be that none of this was true? Or was Su Qianqian just too mentally strong?  

Thinking back to previous events, he felt it was the latter. Once Su Qianqian made a decision, no one could shake her resolve.  

While eating, he couldn’t help but admit that Su Qianqian’s cooking was really good, and he felt very comfortable after eating, an indescribable kind of comfort. What was going on?  

“Can we talk now?” he asked seriously, his face stern. Since this involved the children, he had to take it seriously, especially when it came to who the children would stay with after a divorce.  

“It’s simple. Three children, three mouths to feed. There wasn’t enough labor, and the living conditions at home were too poor. At that time, I thought that going to someone else’s house would at least guarantee we could eat and stay warm.” Su Qianqian explained. The original owner of the body had the same reasoning, though she had done it due to a preference for sons over daughters. But Su Qianqian couldn’t say that directly, or she’d never get the children.  

“You think it’s easy to just walk away, but we have to live every day, we have to eat, so stop talking like you’re free from worries.”  

Her words left Cheng Yue speechless.  

Actually, lying around all the time didn’t make his back feel any better.  

“If you hadn’t insisted on tying yourself to me back then, things wouldn’t have turned out this way,” Cheng Yue said, thinking of a response.  

At that time, he had saved her life, but she had clung to him, causing a huge uproar. Several villages knew about it, and he had no choice but to marry her, because she insisted that he had taken advantage of her and seen her body.  

His reputation in the village had been ruined by Su Qianqian.  

“Right, I clung to you. You left your home, so we’re even now. As for the children, at least I’ve been the one taking care of them, raising them. So they’re staying with me, no problem. Otherwise, ask them. It doesn’t matter what others say; it all depends on what the children think.”  

“We want to stay with Mom!” the three children answered in unison.  

Cheng Yue was a bit irritated and rubbed his forehead. “I’ll think about this and give you an answer later.”  

Su Qianqian nodded.  

“And from now on, don’t talk nonsense in front of the kids. There’s nothing between me and Zhou Yun.”  

“I didn’t say anything to the kids.”  

Erbao immediately spoke up, “We figured it out ourselves! We may be small, but we’re not dumb!”  

Cheng Yue: “……”  

“Enough! This is adult business. Don’t get involved!” He didn’t think there was anything going on with Zhou Yun. He had been busy with missions all these years and hadn’t had much contact with other women. Even with Zhou Yun, their interaction had been minimal. Besides, no matter how much he disliked Su Qianqian, he was already engaged and couldn’t do anything out of line.  

“As long as you let us stay with Mom, that’s fine,” Erbao said seriously.  

Cheng Yue didn’t say anything. He still needed to investigate everything thoroughly.  

The next day, Cheng Yue’s superior came to visit him.  

Along with his superior was a middle-aged man.

“I heard from the doctor that you’re recovering well,” said Captain Yao, looking pleased. “I’ve made sure they give you the best medicine, and all expenses will be reimbursed. You’ve done a great job this time, we can’t let anything happen to you!”

“Thank you, Captain, it’s what I should have done, I don’t deserve any praise,” Cheng Yue replied. Just as he was about to ask Su Qianqian to make tea, he noticed she had already brought two cups over. “Leaders, tea.”

“Cheng Yue, is this your wife from the countryside?” The middle-aged man asked after taking the tea.

“Yes, this is my wife, Su Qianqian. Qianqian, this is Captain Yao, and this is Commissioner Zhou,” Cheng Yue introduced.

Su Qianqian smiled and nodded, “Hello, Captain Yao, Commissioner Zhou. These are my three children, you can call them ‘Uncle’.”

“Hello, Uncle,” the three children politely greeted.

“Very well-behaved! You’re a lucky guy, three kids all at once. Family planning can’t even stop you!” Captain Yao remarked, seeming to like Su Qianqian and the kids.

However, Commissioner Zhou’s words made things a bit uncomfortable.

“I heard your wife never went to school, she’s illiterate?”

Su Qianqian furrowed her brows, thinking to herself, How can someone be this tactless at this age?

Wait, Zhou? Could this be Zhou Yun’s father?

“I didn’t go to school. After all, I’m from the countryside, and conditions were bad. I’m just glad we didn’t starve or freeze. Of course, I’m not illiterate, I’m smart, and I learn quickly,” she said, standing tall and meeting Zhou’s gaze.

Zhou Jian’s face slightly changed, clearly surprised. This village woman seemed to have some courage.

“How smart? Let me test you,” he said.

“Sure, teach me a few characters, and I’ll learn them quickly. Or I can memorize a poem,” she replied confidently.

“Qianqian, stop messing around,” Cheng Yue said, feeling that Su Qianqian was being too arrogant. How could someone who had never been to school act so confident?

Captain Yao, on the other hand, seemed entertained. “Not bad, Cheng Yue, your wife has guts.”

Zhou Jian immediately said, “I’ll recite a few lines from ‘Qin Yuan Chun,’ you try to recite them.”

!!! Is this a good thing? She was very familiar with this poem!

“‘The rivers and mountains are so beautiful… Only know how to bend the bow and shoot the big eagle.’ Just these few lines, go ahead and recite them.”

To avoid overshadowing herself, Su Qianqian had Cheng Yue recite it again, “I’ll write it down for you… oh wait, you can’t read.” He seemed a bit annoyed. The old Su Qianqian was just willful and unruly, but now had she become so presumptuous?

He recited it once more.

Su Qianqian quietly repeated after him.

“If you can’t do it, no need to force it. It’s fine, this is normal,” Zhou Jian said indifferently.

Su Qianqian gave a confident smile, “The rivers and mountains are so beautiful, attracting countless heroes to bow… Only know how to bend the bow and shoot the big eagle, right?”

The three of them were stunned.

Cheng Yue: ?? Su Qianqian is this good? Can she memorize things just by hearing them once?

“You’ve never recited this before?” Zhou Jian asked, shocked. How could she memorize it so quickly?

“One minute you call me illiterate, the next you doubt whether I’ve memorized it before. Seems like you’re not very satisfied with me. Did I offend you somehow?” Her demeanor was poised, her tone gentle—not aggressive—but her clear, bright eyes seemed as if they could see right through him.