Chapter 28: Mistaken Husband and Father

A soldier was about to run off when Han Xiao grabbed him by the back of his collar.  “What’s the rush?”

“It’s Captain Lu’s wife. She’s in the break room with her two children. The Captain’s on a mission and won’t be back for a while. I need to tell them something.”

Hearing that Lu Zhengan’s wife had arrived, Han Xiao pulled the soldier towards the door. “Finally! Come on, I’ll go with you. Your captain told me about this this morning.”

Lu Zhengan had often helped Han Xiao, so he was determined to take care of this matter.

Han Xiao followed the soldier, his sharp eyes spotting a woman and two children in the break room before he even entered.

He immediately recognized Lu Zhengan’s wife and children.

The two children strongly resembled Lu Zhengan, especially the boy, who was practically his spitting image.

As Han Xiao and the soldier approached, the anxiously waiting mother and children turned their gazes towards him.

Han Xiao was a striking figure:  his skin was tanned, his hair neatly cropped, and his military uniform made him appear tall and imposing.

To Su Yuanyuan and her two children, this was exactly what Lu Zhengan should look like upright and handsome.

Lu Siyuan and Lu Mingzhu, masters of playing the victim, immediately went into action upon seeing Han Xiao.

“Daddy! We miss you so much!” The two children jumped off their seats and rushed to him, hugging his legs.

Han Xiao: “……???”

Han Xiao was tall, and the two small children only reached his knees, making them look like large pendants clinging to his legs.

Lu Mingzhu’s words had already stirred Lu Siyuan’s emotions, and now with the appearance of ‘Daddy’, both children cried while hugging his legs.

While there was some acting involved, their emotions were genuine. They truly missed their father; they believed that if their father had been home, their mother wouldn’t have been bullied.

Children’s tears are the most effective; their wailing was heartbreaking.

Su Yuanyuan glanced at Han Xiao, lowered her head to wipe her eyes, pretending to cry, silently giving her children a thumbs-up.

Lu Siyuan had planned to speak after his sister, but her crying was so intense that she could barely utter a coherent sentence. He quickly chimed in.

“Daddy, why don’t you ever come home? We’ve had a terrible time these past few years. You sent money home, but Grandma and Grandpa took it all and gave it to Uncle and Second Uncle. They only gave Mom a little each month, and we barely had enough to eat.”

The children were particularly knowledgeable about food, having rarely had enough to eat before leaving home.

“We were always hungry.  Even when Mom was sick, Grandma and Grandpa wouldn’t give her enough to eat. Look, Mom has gotten so thin.”

Lu Mingzhu’s eyes were red and swollen, like a little rabbit’s.

Han Xiao was completely shocked, first by the children mistaking him for their father, and then by their words.

He knew that Zhengan sent money home every month because he helped him mail it. Lu Zhengan was on long-term missions and had no time to do it himself.

That money should have been enough for Su Yuanyuan to live comfortably in the village, but the mother and children were poorly dressed and looked far from well-off.

Han Xiao looked at Su Yuanyuan with suspicion. She had a delicate oval face, exquisite features, and beautiful, curved eyebrows and peach blossom eyes, as pretty as a woman from a calendar.

She was just too thin and looked frail.

Noticing Han Xiao’s gaze, Su Yuanyuan rubbed her eyes, adding fuel to the fire by continuing the children’s story.

“You heartless man! You left us three years ago and never came back, abandoning us in the countryside. I couldn’t even write you a letter to tell you about the children because I was illiterate back then.”

Su Yuanyuan clutched her clothes, tears streaming down her face. Her delicate beauty remained even in her thinness.

“You sent money every month, but you had no idea how we were living. You didn’t know how your family bullied me and the children. Now, they’ve kicked us out, and we have nowhere to live.”

Su Yuanyuan bit her finger, tears falling. She felt a genuine sympathy for the original owner.

“Look how thin the children have become. If we can’t find you in Beijing, we’ll starve to death.”

This was the truth. They couldn’t return to the Lu family, and the original owner had no money. In the original story, the mother and children starved to death.

Han Xiao initially felt sympathy for Su Yuanyuan and the children, but things started to sound increasingly off. Noticing the strange looks from the guards, he realized Su Yuanyuan and the children had made a mistake.

The soldier beside Han Xiao was also confused.  They were told it was Captain Lu’s family, but now it seemed to be Han Lianchang’s.

If Lu Zhengan found out his wife and children mistook Han Xiao for him, there would be trouble.

Moreover, spreading such a story would damage Su Yuanyuan and the children’s reputation. Han Xiao panicked and tried to stop the conversation.

“No…”

Before Han Xiao could finish, the two “large pendants” on his legs interrupted.

“Daddy, last autumn, Mommy went to work in the fields and fell ill when she came back. She only just recovered these past few days.”

“Someone stole from our home, and we had less to eat. Grandma and Grandpa only gave me, my sister, and Mom one corn cake each; it wasn’t enough.  Auntie and Grandma made me and my sister work, and they beat us when we couldn’t keep up.”

The two children cried again.

“Others say we’re unwanted children. My cousin called me and my brother bastards, saying Daddy doesn’t want us.”

The children decided to follow their mother to the military base because of the insults from Gou Wa and An Niu.

They weren’t unwanted children. They weren’t naive. If their father truly didn’t want them, their mother’s life in the village would be even harder.

Their heartbreaking cries made the guards’ faces darken.

Even though Han Xiao was a company commander, their respect vanished, replaced by condemning glares.

No one treats their wife and children like that, not returning home for years.

Urbanization hadn’t begun yet; many people came from rural areas.

It was a new era, where women could hold up half the sky, but it was still difficult for women to raise children in the countryside.

They couldn’t imagine how heartless someone had to be to leave their children for years without visiting.

Look how thin the wife and children were! Their journey to Beijing must have been incredibly difficult.

Su Yuanyuan’s watery eyes stared at him with resentment.

Han Xiao inwardly cried out his innocence.

The situation was indeed terrible, but he wasn’t the children’s father!

He was so wronged!

He was also puzzled. Lu Zhengan hadn’t been home for years, and apparently, his wife and children had forgotten what he looked like.

Having been subjected to the guards’ contemptuous stares, Han Xiao felt incredibly wronged. If he didn’t explain quickly, his reputation in the camp would be ruined.

“Wait, sister-in-law, nephews,” Han Xiao quickly clarified his identity. “I’m not Captain Lu. I’m his comrade.”

Su Yuanyuan and the two children: “……?”

O.O Is that true?!