Chapter 28 His Eyes Were Pitifully Sad

Lu Siyi heard the subtext in Old Master Lu’s words and said, “Grandpa, I understand.”

“You, don’t let your family worry about you,” Old Master Lu glared at him and said with displeasure.

Lu Siyi remained silent, his mind seemingly preoccupied.

The family of five headed home. Along the way, Lu Siyi didn’t speak a word, looking burdened. Lin Qingyue tried several times to speak, but fearing she might distract him, she remained silent.

The atmosphere was awkward.

They arrived home in the late evening. Lin Qingyue checked the children’s homework while Lu Siyi shut himself in his room.

Watching the closed door, Lin Qingyue’s eyes flickered.

She opened the door. In the dark room, Lu Siyi sat dejectedly on the sofa, a nearly extinguished cigarette between his fingers. She walked over, extinguished the cigarette, and turned on the lights and opened the windows.

Finally, she left the room and closed the door.

Lu Siyi’s eyes flickered with complex emotions. He thought Lin Qingyue would question him; he had prepared his answers. But she asked nothing, instead giving him space.

A tender spot in his heart was gently touched.

Lin Qingyue put on an apron to prepare dinner for the three children when Lu Yiming mysteriously ran over and said, “Mom, I know why Dad and Aunt are unhappy. Aunt and Grandpa talked today, and they mentioned us being adopted.”

“Actually… at first, Aunt wanted to adopt the three of us, but she compromised because she couldn’t persuade Dad.”

He lowered his head and whispered, “So, I guess what Aunt and Dad talked about concerns our parents, fearing it would hurt us…”

Lin Qingyue also remembered that before Lu Siyi and Lu Yawen talked, he had deliberately reminded her to keep a close eye on the children.

Lu Siyi’s bad mood might be related to the three children’s parents.

“Actually, we’ve known for a long time that our parents are gone. Grandpa and Dad were always afraid the truth would hurt us, so they wouldn’t tell us,” Lu Yiming’s eyes reddened. “Actually, we know all this.”

“Our father and Uncle Lu were once comrades-in-arms, and Dad was Uncle Lu’s captain. Before Dad died, he entrusted us three to Uncle Lu, so he became our dad,” Lu Yiming sobbed. “Uncle Lu is our dad, and you are our mom.”

Lin Qingyue’s heart ached. She knelt down, wiped away his tears, and softly said, “Dad and I will be very, very good to you.”

All three of them were children of martyrs. The prosperous future was bought with the lives of these revolutionary martyrs.

She would be even better to the three children, much better.

When dinner was ready, Lu Siyi hadn’t come out of his room. Lin Qingyue gently knocked on the door and turned to serve the children.

Lu Siyi didn’t respond.

That night, when Lin Qingyue went to bed, she opened the door to find him still sitting on the sofa, motionless.

The dim light fell on him. The man’s thick eyelashes cast a shadow, concealing the light in his eyes. His sharp features were like a statue.

Lu Siyi’s temperament was cold and aloof. Even sitting there doing nothing, he was enough to make one’s heart flutter.

“Instead of worrying about the unchangeable past, it’s better to think about how to live our lives in the future,” Lin Qingyue said calmly.

Lu Siyi didn’t want to say more, so she didn’t ask.

She turned to make the bed. Suddenly, Lu Siyi hugged her from behind. She stiffened, as if making a decision.

“Lin Qingyue, I’m not leaving.”

Her brother-in-law had been investigating the border incident for a long time, certainly knowing more than he did. Saying he was going to burn incense was just an excuse to go.

He would go when things settled down a bit more.

Lin Qingyue’s skin was soft like tofu. Lu Siyi held her tightly. She struggled, but heard the man’s choked voice.

Was he crying?

She gently patted his back, comforting him, “People must look forward.”

“Mm,” he squeezed out a word from his throat.

That night, Lin Qingyue was “taken” by Lu Siyi on the bed. She thought the week wasn’t up yet and wanted to refuse, but seeing him looking at her with such vulnerable eyes for the first time, she found him pitifully sad.

She reluctantly made an exception.

Sometimes, a woman’s soft heart is more attractive than a soft body. Lu Siyi was very susceptible to this.

The next day.

When Lin Qingyue woke up, it was already bright. The bed beside her was cold; Lu Siyi had already left. She got up and tidied up, finding that the children had already gone to school, and a breakfast was left for her on the table, along with a note.

I’ve reported back to the army.

The handwriting was neat and strong. She could almost imagine Lu Siyi’s serious expression as he wrote those words.

After breakfast, Lin Qingyue visited Grandma Yu. She happened to meet Grandma Yu going out with a basket. “Little Lu’s wife, come to the early market with me?”

“Early market?” Lin Qingyue immediately imagined the bustling scene of street vendors.

She had never seen it and found it interesting, immediately returning to get a basket.

They left late. Many women from the compound had already returned from the market, chatting in groups.

Several people saw Grandma Yu and greeted her enthusiastically, “Hello, Grandma Yu.”

Their eyes inadvertently fell on Lin Qingyue beside Grandma Yu. “Is this Captain Lu’s wife? We haven’t seen you around lately.”

There’s no eternal war between women, especially since they were all neighbors. Lin Qingyue’s husband, Lu Siyi, was a high-ranking officer in the army—the kind of person they would be eager to curry favor with.

If Lin Qingyue hadn’t been so unreasonable, they would have tried to befriend her long ago.

“Recently, the three children started school, so there’s more housework,” Lin Qingyue smiled politely, trying to fit in.

The women in the compound admired Lin Qingyue for being a stepmother to three children without quarreling with her husband.

If it were them, they would probably have been distraught.

“That’s right, three half-grown children are very mischievous,” a fashionable woman with permed hair and exaggerated earrings said kindly. “After school, have your children come to my house to do their homework. It’s good to have them help my naughty boy. I heard that Lu Yiming is always very eager to answer questions in class. How do you teach your children?”

“Lu Yiming is inherently a sensible child. His personality complements Lu Yicheng’s,” Lin Qingyue answered seriously.

“Ye Zi’s mother, your child is naturally mischievous. Don’t spoil Yiming,” Grandma Yu worried.

The people around burst into laughter. The woman called Ye Zi’s mother didn’t get angry but said with worry, “I just hope my son’s personality can be more stable.”