Chapter 70: Just Want to Be Su Jian

After driving home, Shen Yunhe held her hand as they entered the house. After everything that had happened, he would no longer trust Su Jian’s words. From now on, he would keep a closer watch on her.

The living room was empty. Shen Yunhe quickly walked upstairs, pushing open Jiang Huaijin’s door. The old and young were both asleep in bed. He quietly exited the room and walked downstairs. Su Jian was still eating.

Shen Yunhe walked over and snatched the fried skewers from her. “Stop eating. Go brush your teeth and go to bed!”

“No! I’m not done yet! Give it back to me!”

Su Jian reached out to grab the skewers, and Shen Yunhe lowered his voice, threatening her.

“Eat all you want today, but no more next time. If you eat less today, I’ll buy more for you in the future. You choose.”

“Huh?”

Su Jian’s head buzzed. It’s obvious that choosing to eat more now or later was the smarter option. She licked her lips, clasped her hands together, and begged.

“Can I have just one more? Please, just one more, good brother.”

The words “good brother” made Shen Yunhe’s face turn red.

“Su Jian, no more nonsense!”

“Hmph!”

Su Jian crossed her arms, glaring at him angrily. Suddenly, taking advantage of his moment of distraction, she quickly reached into the bag and grabbed another piece of fried tofu, putting it into her mouth. She smiled triumphantly, teasing him.

“Haha, I got another one!”

Shen Yunhe couldn’t help but laugh at her cheeky behavior. He threw the rest of the fried skewers into the trash can.

“Alright, finish that one and then go brush your teeth, wash your face, and go to bed!”

“Okay, no problem!” Su Jian raised her eyebrows and smiled.

After finishing the fried skewer, Su Jian went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. As she returned to the bedroom, Shen Yunhe followed behind her.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sleeping with you!” Shen Yunhe was worried that if he fell asleep, Su Jian might escape again. He had to remarry her as soon as possible so that he could keep a proper eye on her.

“I don’t want to!”

Su Jian was filled with rejection. Shen Yunhe leaned back against the bedside table, his dark eyes firmly fixed on her. Su Jian, feeling guilty under his gaze, knew exactly what Shen Yunhe was worried about—he was afraid she might run away again.

This time, she wasn’t prepared, but next time, she’d drive off and see how he would catch up.

There was a black sedan parked outside the yard, which she had seen Shen Yunhe drive. It was simple enough to drive.

Su Jian yawned, covering her mouth. She was so tired. Whatever, let him sleep here if he wants to. She climbed into bed and quickly fell asleep, sprawling out in all directions. The two-meter-wide bed couldn’t contain her, and she kicked him with her feet from time to time.

She also swung her arms out forcefully, hitting Shen Yunhe’s nose. The pain made his nose feel sore, and it took a while for him to recover from the shock.

It was just a nap, but Su Jian slept like she was swinging a stick around. Shen Yunhe, feeling irritated, sat up and stared at her. Could it be that their personalities were different, and even their sleeping positions were different? Jiang Banyue, when she slept, was very well-behaved, almost motionless, lying still until the light of day.

After sitting for a while, Su Jian had already turned her body across the bed, both her arms and legs spread out. She was sleeping soundly, and the two-meter-wide bed had no space left for Shen Yunhe to lie down.

Shen Yunhe’s mouth twitched in resignation. He got up from the bed, took a thick blanket from the closet, spread it on the floor, threw the pillow down, and lay down to sleep.

The next morning, at dawn, there was a loud knocking at the door. Shen Yunhe was startled awake. The children were outside, shouting and yelling.

“Dad, open the door! Dad, wake up! The sun’s already up, and you’re still not getting up!”

“I’m coming!” Shen Yunhe rubbed his face and quickly got up, tidying up the bed and stuffing the blanket into the wardrobe. He turned around and saw Su Jian, still holding the blanket, fast asleep.

He went to open the door for the kids, and once inside, they happily jumped onto the bed.

“Mom, wake up!”

“Mom is such a lazybones, hurry up and wake up!”

Su Jian, annoyed, threw her pillow at them and pulled the blanket over her head to continue sleeping. “Shut up, I’m not done sleeping!”

Jiang Huaijin stood by the bed, “Dad, Uncle’s making breakfast for us in the kitchen.”

“Ah?” Shen Yunhe suddenly remembered. Last night, a man claiming to be his uncle had come over. He slapped his forehead.

“I forgot. You guys go down first, and let me tidy up. I’ll be down in a minute!”

Shen Yunhe quickly washed his face and brushed his teeth in the bathroom. Jiang Huaijin and Jiang Huaiyu turned to go downstairs, while Jiang Huairou refused to go down. She tugged the blanket away and crawled into Su Jian’s arms, acting cute.

“Mom, hug me. You haven’t hugged me in so long!”

Su Jian, still deep in sleep, felt a small child crawl into her arms. She couldn’t push her away, so in a daze, she just held her and continued to sleep. Jiang Huairou was a little uncomfortable with her being pressed, but she didn’t dare to move. She was afraid that if she did, her mother wouldn’t hug her again. She felt safe in her mother’s arms and fell back asleep.

Shen Yunhe came out of the bathroom and frowned when he saw Su Jian asleep on the bed with Jiang Huairou in her arms. He hurried over, pulled Su Jian away, and lifted his daughter out of her arms.

Jiang Huairou pouted, rubbing her eyes.

“Dad, I want to sleep with Mom.”

On the bed, Su Jian turned over and hugged the blanket, continuing to sleep. Jiang Huairou tilted her head in curiosity.

“Before, Mom would wake up at 5 am to make cakes and cook for us. She would take us to school, and when she came back, she’d do housework. She was so diligent. Now, Mom has turned into a lazybones!”

Shen Yunhe thought of Jiang Banyue and felt a pang of heartache. He couldn’t breathe properly, his throat tightening. Being a mother was exhausting for Jiang Banyue. Su Jian was the person she truly wanted to be.

Without children and heavy housework, she could eat what she liked, do what she enjoyed, and didn’t have to sacrifice herself for anyone. She could just be Su Jian—simple and happy.

“Be good, don’t disturb Mom. She’s too tired and needs more rest. Let’s go downstairs and bring her breakfast, okay?”

“Okay, Mom used to take care of us, now it’s our turn to take care of her!”

Jiang Huairou hugged her father’s neck, her voice full of affection.

“Dad, let’s hurry downstairs so we don’t wake up Mom!”

Shen Yunhe carried his daughter downstairs. Just as they reached the staircase, they heard the sound of happy laughter from downstairs. Jiang Huaijin and Jiang Huaiyu were surrounding Grandpa Ji, listening to him tell stories.

When Grandpa Ji saw Shen Yunhe, he set the two children down and stood up with a smile.

“Yunhe, you’re up! I’ve finished making breakfast. Where’s their mother? Tell her to come down and eat with us!”

Shen Yunhe sat at the dining table. “She’s tired, so let her sleep a bit longer. I’ll take the kids to school, and when I come back, we’ll talk.”

“Alright, I’m fine with that!”

Grandpa Ji looked at the young man before him, who resembled him so much, and couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of nostalgia.

When his parents were busy with work, he had been raised by his older sister. She had been like a second mother to him. After his sister went missing, he searched everywhere, but could never find her. He never expected to meet his nephew so far from home, in a county town. It was a surprising joy.