Chapter 4

Gu Zhenqi’s eyes grew hot, and a wave of emotion brought tears streaming down her cheeks.

She gently patted the thin backs of Ruiduo and Fei’an. “Alright, let’s go take a bath. The little blue car-shaped tub is specially for baby Fei’an, and the crimson fish-shaped one is for baby Ruiduo.”

“Yay! Yay! Mommy, I love it!”

Ruiduo clapped her tiny hands happily, wrapped her arms around Gu Zhenqi’s neck, and gave her a loud kiss on the cheek, expressing her gratitude in the most direct way.

Fei’an lowered his head, shyly sneaking glances at Gu Zhenqi. She smiled, leaned her face closer to him, pointed at her cheek, and said gently, “Feian, baby, do you want to kiss mommy too?”

Fei’an quickly turned his head and gave her a light peck on the cheek, then, blushing, ran over to the tub and began taking off his tattered, yellowed vest, which had several holes in it.

When he got to his little blue shorts, he turned his back, bashfully glancing over his shoulder at Gu Zhenqi.

Seeing her own son’s adorable, shy, awkward behavior made her laugh; her heart melted at his cuteness, and she couldn’t help but giggle.

To cooperate, she covered her and Ruiduo’s eyes with her hand—but left a big gap between her fingers to peek through. When she saw how thin Feian was—his ribs visible, his tiny frame no bigger than what one hand could grasp—she turned away, heart aching, tears silently falling down her cheeks.

“Mommy, is the little yellow ducky for me?”

Ruiduo spotted a rubber duck floating in the bathwater. Gu Zhenqi quickly composed herself, sniffled, and turned back, scooping a duck from the water. She gave it a squeeze—squeak, squeak.

Ruiduo clapped with joy and reached for another duck in the water, mimicking Gu Zhenqi and squeezing it. When she heard the first sound, it was as if a switch had been flipped—she gleefully kept squeezing the duck, over and over.

Gu Zhenqi picked up a loofah and gently scrubbed Ruiduo’s skinny back.

Feian copied them, retrieving a blue duck from his tub and squeezing it curiously, again and again.

—-

After helping Ruiduo and Fei’an bathe and change into fresh clothes, Gu Zhenqi lovingly hugged them again and again. She squatted in front of them, held out her pinky, and said seriously, “Babies, pinky promise with mommy. Promise that everything mommy gives you, lets you eat, and shows you—that magical stuff—can’t be told to anyone else. It’s our little secret, just for the three of us.”

Ruiduo immediately nodded excitedly. Feian followed suit, nodding solemnly. The three of them hooked pinkies and sealed the promise with a stamp.

Unwilling to let the kids walk on their own, Gu Zhenqi carried one in each arm back to her room.

As soon as they entered, Ruiduo wanted to get down. “Mommy, this is your room. You said before we’re not allowed in here—it’ll get dirty. We can just go back to the milk room.”

Gu Zhenqi placed them on the brand-new straw mat-covered kang (heated bed), gently holding their little hands in her palms, her gaze full of warmth. “From now on, you’ll sleep with mommy. This is our room. Trust mommy—I’ll give you the best things in the world.”

Upon hearing that, Ruiduo and Fei’an’s big eyes sparkled. When Gu Zhenqi looked into them, it felt like galaxies were reflected inside—holding the purest kind of beauty.

“Mommy, you’re amazing! Ruiduo and big brother finally get to return to their own room. We don’t have to borrow grandma’s room anymore!”

Gu Zhenqi’s heart sank. Just how terrible had she been in her past life? What treasures had she missed?

To Ruiduo and Fei’an, the room they had always lived in was “borrowed.” And this one, where they had never stayed, was what they believed to be truly theirs.

She pulled them both into her arms and kept whispering, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
It was like she couldn’t find any other words to say. Only “I’m sorry” could begin to express the guilt she felt for the sins she had committed against them in her previous life.

Ruiduo and Fei’an didn’t understand why their mom suddenly hugged them so tightly and kept apologizing. The longer she hugged them, the harder it was for them to breathe.

But what if they said it was too tight—and then mommy stopped hugging them next time?

Their tiny hands gently patted her back, slowly helping Gu Zhenqi calm down. When she finally released them, she was alarmed to see their faces slightly purple.

She hurried to check them over, asking anxiously, “Are you okay? Where does it hurt? What’s wrong?”

Ruiduo took a deep breath, smiled, and said, “It’s okay. Mommy just hugged too tightly.”

Fei’an looked at her and gave a small nod, showing no blame at all.

Gu Zhenqi wanted to die all over again. Guilt spread like wildfire. Why was she always hurting her own children?

Was Chen Yue right? Were her kids doomed to misfortune just by having a mother like her?

Afraid of hurting them again, she shifted topics. “Babies! How about mommy makes you something yummy now?”

Ruiduo and Fei’an quickly nodded, eyes full of curiosity.

“Watch closely! No blinking. But… remember what mommy said. It’s our secret. Don’t tell anyone—not even grandma. If others find out, people like your third aunt will try to take it away. There’ll be too many of them for us to fight off.”

“Ruiduo promises not to tell. Third aunt is bad.”

“I won’t say either. Third aunt is bad.”

Gu Zhenqi knew mentioning Chen Yue was the right call. That woman’s reputation was already solidly bad in the children’s minds. With her worries eased, she confidently pulled items out from her storage space.

Suddenly, she held a slice of fragrant strawberry cream cake in her hand. Ruiduo and Fei’an were so shocked their little mouths dropped open wide enough to swallow the whole thing.

Gu Zhenqi used a small spoon to scoop two bites and fed them into the kids’ mouths, who looked just like baby birds waiting for mama to feed them.

The sweet taste exploded in their mouths. Ruiduo and Fei’an smacked their lips, eyes sparkling with joy, staring longingly at the remaining cake. Drool sparkled at the corners of their mouths.

Gu Zhenqi was utterly smitten by how adorable her daughter and son looked. She teased them, not feeding them yet, and asked with a gentle smile, “Is it sweet? Is it good?”

Ruiduo nodded vigorously. “So yummy! Sluuurp!” She was so drooly she couldn’t even speak properly, her mouth spilling saliva while she quickly slurped it back in.

Fei’an wasn’t doing any better. Seeing his sister so embarrassed, he decided to keep his mouth shut and simply nodded.

Trying not to laugh, Gu Zhenqi’s eyes swept over the two of them with gentle affection. “There’s even more yummy stuff! Look at the kang! Babies, look!”

Ruiduo and Fei’an turned to look—and gasped. Out of thin air, all sorts of delicious-looking foods had appeared!

Ruiduo clapped excitedly, looking up at Gu Zhenqi with worshipful eyes. “Mommy, you’re amazing! You’re just like the fairy grandma always talks about!”

Feian followed his sister’s lead. His eyes were full of admiration as he echoed, “Mommy’s amazing. Mommy is a fairy. A super beautiful fairy.”

Gu Zhenqi gently patted their little heads. “Go ahead and eat. Mommy has to go make lunch for grandma—it’s almost noon.”

Ruiduo tugged at her clothes, stopping her. “Grandma said you shouldn’t get tired. It’s Auntie’s turn to cook today.”

“Sweetie, it won’t take too much effort. Mommy will go make something delicious for you too. Be good, you and brother can enjoy some snacks here!”

Ruiduo looked to her brother for his opinion. Fei’an thought for a moment, then gave a slight nod.

He picked up two candies and handed them to Gu Zhenqi. “Mommy should eat too!”

Ruiduo was even more generous—she grabbed four and kept only two, clearly planning to share one with her brother. “Mommy, have some candy! It’s sweet!”

Looking at the candies in their little hands, Gu Zhenqi felt tears welling up again. She hadn’t even tasted the candy yet, but her heart already felt like it had been dipped into a jar of honey—so unbelievably sweet.