Chapter 5: Lin Qingyue’s Heart Melted

“Qingyue, now’s the time. Quickly establish some rules for this child. This is your first meeting, so the foundation you lay now will determine the future. If he fears you, you’ll have an easier time once Lu Siyi goes back to the army.”

“Children should be spanked when they deserve it, and scolded when they deserve it,” the second aunt said through gritted teeth.

She raised her eyebrows. One wouldn’t know, looking at her, that she had some kind of grievance with little Lu Yicheng.

Lin Qingyue twitched her mouth. In her previous life, her three children had been terrified of her when they were young, but that didn’t stop them from rebelling against her later.

“Second Aunt, setting rules for children isn’t wrong, but it’s the parents’ job to do so,” she cleared her throat and said, “If you interfere like this, the child will blame both of us. How am I supposed to get along with him after that?”

“You’re his aunt, and you barely see him throughout the year. I see him every day. How are my son and I supposed to get along?”

She said unhappily, “Even young children have self-respect. You barged in and started hitting and scolding him without understanding the situation. Doesn’t he deserve any face?”

The second aunt was speechless. She stared at Lin Qingyue in shock. What a sharp-tongued girl!

Grandpa Lu heard the commotion, and Lu Yiming followed him out.

Seeing his younger brother crying, he said politely, “Aunt Lin, my brother was wrong today. I apologize to you on his behalf. I’m sorry!”

After speaking, Lu Yiming bowed deeply to Lin Qingyue.

Grandpa Lu’s cane struck the ground heavily. He said angrily, “Where’s Lu Siyi? He made the child cry, what was he doing?”

“Grandpa, you called for me?” Lu Siyi, wearing an apron with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his hands covered in flour, appeared at the kitchen entrance, the picture of a good husband at home.

“You little rascal, what are you doing? The three children were behaving well, and as soon as you came back, you made one of them cry!” Grandpa Lu blew his beard and stared, his cane landing squarely on Lu Siyi’s back.

Lu Siyi didn’t dodge. “Grandpa, Lu Yicheng threw water on Lin Qingyue, so I was making him stand at attention.”

“Standing at attention, and he still cried?”

“……” Lu Siyi silently looked at Lin Qingyue. He had heard their argument clearly from the kitchen, and Lin Qingyue had been protecting Lu Yicheng.

“Lin Qingyue is involved in this matter.” His gaze turned cold, lightly falling on the second aunt, causing her heart to skip a beat.

“Lu Siyi, I’m your elder, what kind of look is that?” The second aunt said nervously.

Lu Siyi didn’t answer, his gaze falling back on Lin Qingyue. He said softly, “You decide how to punish the child.”

“Ah?” Lin Qingyue blinked.

Lu Yiming spoke again, “Aunt Lin, please forgive my brother. He’s just too playful; he didn’t mean any harm…”

Lin Qingyue looked up at Grandpa Lu’s intriguing face, then at Lu Siyi’s meaningful gaze.

“Lu Yicheng was indeed wrong, he should be punished!” Lin Qingyue said softly.

After she spoke, Lu Yicheng cried even harder, making Lin Qingyue’s ears hurt.

“He’ll…wash my dress clean,” she said calmly.

Lu Siyi raised an eyebrow, looking inquiringly at Lin Qingyue. “That’s it?”

She nodded. “This is also a form of punishment…and it can also train him to do chores, two birds with one stone, I think it’s pretty good.”

Lu Yicheng stopped crying, his eyes filled with tears, staring blankly at Lin Qingyue. This woman wasn’t angry? She didn’t hit him?

This stepmother was different from what he had imagined.

Lu Yiming quickly ran over, took his brother’s hand, and timidly asked, “Can I help?”

“Of course!” Lin Qingyue suddenly put on a serious expression, “My dress is being worn for the first time today, you two have to be careful.”

Lu Yicheng looked unconvinced and was about to argue, but Lu Siyi gave him a cold look, and the little guy immediately swallowed his words.

Lin Qingyue watched the interaction between father and son. She couldn’t help but chuckle.

One thing conquers another. Lu Yicheng’s greatest fear was actually Lu Siyi.

The two little guys nodded together, took Lin Qingyue’s dress, and happily took a basin to wash the clothes.

Grandpa Lu chuckled with satisfaction. “Isn’t this much better? Why make the child unhappy?”

He tapped Lu Siyi, “You, your way of managing children is not as good as Qingyue’s.”

The second aunt’s face turned pale, standing there awkwardly. She cautiously glanced at Grandpa Lu’s face, then at Lu Siyi, and wisely shut her mouth.

At this juncture, Grandpa Lu was in a good mood, and if she said anything, she would be offending him.

Lu Siyi pulled Lin Qingyue into the kitchen to help. She boiled water, Lu Siyi rolled out the dough, and the second aunt wrapped the dumplings. In a short time, the dumplings were ready.

After boiling the dumplings, they were served on the table. Lu Yicheng eagerly reached out to grab them.

Grandpa Lu knocked him on the head with chopsticks. “Go wash your hands, and get your chopsticks and bowl!”

Lu Yicheng pouted but obediently followed instructions.

Everyone sat down, and Lu Yiming brought Sisi downstairs, solemnly introducing her to Lin Qingyue, “Aunt Lin, this is my sister, Sisi.”

The little girl was exquisitely beautiful, hiding behind Lu Yiming, revealing a pair of bright, black eyes, timidly looking at Lin Qingyue.

Lin Qingyue’s heart melted. This little girl was too cute.

“Sister, don’t be afraid, she’s Dad’s wife, and she’ll be our mother from now on,” Lu Yiming put on a grown-up air, trying to coax Sisi out from behind him.

“Aunt Lin.” Sisi followed her brother and called her Aunt Lin.

Lin Qingyue’s eyes curved into crescent moons, smiling like a flower, she hugged the little girl in her arms, responding warmly.

Grandpa Lu immediately called everyone to eat.

Everyone sat around the table, enjoying a harmonious meal.

“Yicheng, is my dress washed?” Lin Qingyue asked suddenly, with a straight face.

“It’s been washed a long time ago, my brother and I hung it in the yard, you can see for yourself!” After speaking, he pointed to the window.

On the rope outside the window, a plain dress fluttered in the wind.

Lin Qingyue nodded in satisfaction. “Dare to do, dare to own up, that’s what a man should be!”

Lu Siyi looked at her sideways, his eyes filled with admiration. Grandpa Lu also nodded approvingly. “Qingyue is right, our Lu family’s good men are all brave, upright men.”

Lu Yicheng pursed his lips, suddenly stood up from his seat, and hung his head. “Aunt Lin, I know I was wrong, I apologize for what happened today.”

Lin Qingyue patted his head, smiling. “Good boy!”

She sighed inwardly. These three children were too wary of her.

It seems that the road to becoming a qualified stepmother is still a long way to go!

The second aunt looked at Lin Qingyue, then at Lu Siyi, and finally at Grandpa Lu. “Dad, why don’t you let Qingyue move to my place? When Siyi returns to his unit, I can help her take care of the children.”

“It’s not easy for a woman to live with three half-grown children. Qingyue is young, how can she endure such hardship?”

“No need.” Lu Siyi chewed his food calmly. “The army knows my situation now, and when I don’t have any missions, I can come home often.”

Hearing this, Lin Qingyue’s chopsticks trembled.

What does that mean? Lu Siyi will come back often?

Just as she was feeling depressed, a dumpling was suddenly placed in her bowl. She followed the chopsticks to look, only to see Lu Siyi giving her a smile.

Oh my god, Lin Qingyue’s heart sank, and her waist started to ache again.