Chapter 25

Cough, cough! He quickly averted his gaze. I can’t look, I can’t look.

After a great deal of effort, all the ingredients were finally prepped. Those that needed marinating were set aside, and Su Qianqian began planning the dishes.

“Ten dishes and a soup—is that enough?”

“If the portions are generous, it should be fine. It’s not like there will be a lot of people. Let me think…” Cheng Yue calculated briefly. “Including the kids, about ten people.”

Su Qianqian thought it over and decided to prepare extra staple food to ensure everyone had enough to eat. Preparing ten dishes all by herself would already be exhausting.

“Oh, by the way, since I’m cooking all these dishes, you’ll need to pay me for the labor!” She wasn’t about to work for free.

“Alright.”

Cheng Yue agreed readily. After all, putting together such a feast was no small task—plus, her cooking was simply too delicious.

“Let’s have dumplings for dinner tonight.”

“Sure.”

While Su Qianqian was making dumplings, the three children gathered around, staring with wide, eager eyes.

“If you want to make some, go ahead. It doesn’t matter if they don’t look right—we’re eating them ourselves.” She handed the dumpling wrappers to the kids with a gentle smile.

The children were a little nervous. Such a kind and gentle mother was something they had always longed for. Every time they saw other children with loving mothers, they had felt envious. But now, they had their own gentle mother who even bought them White Rabbit candies—the best thing they had ever tasted!

Daya’s dumplings looked decent, but the ones made by Sanya and Erbao were quite a mess, lumpy and misshapen.

“It’s okay,” Su Qianqian reassured them. “You’ll eat the ones you make yourselves. If you want to keep making them, go ahead.”

Cheng Yue, watching from the side, was puzzled. Su Qianqian doesn’t seem like someone who would mistreat children. In the days he had observed her, she hadn’t even raised her voice at them, let alone hit them.

Maybe I’ll find out in a few days.

“I’m going to cook them now,” Su Qianqian said, heading to the kitchen.

There were plenty of dumplings—more than enough to satisfy everyone.

She prepared two types of dipping sauces, one spicy and one mild.

“They’re delicious even without sauce,” Cheng Yue said, eagerly grabbing a dumpling fresh out of the pot and popping it into his mouth. The filling, made with shepherd’s purse, egg, and minced meat, was incredibly fragrant and flavorful.

He ate one after another, sometimes even two at a time, his appetite making up for his lack of table manners. His enthusiasm was contagious, and Su Qianqian found herself eating quite a few as well. The dumpling wrappers were chewy, the filling savory, and the dipping sauce tied everything together perfectly.

“When I’m better, I’ll do the dishes,” Cheng Yue said awkwardly, feeling bad that Su Qianqian had to shop, cook, and clean.

Honestly, if she were always like this, maybe divorce wouldn’t be necessary.

Su Qianqian smiled faintly but didn’t respond. In her mind, once he recovered, the divorce would proceed as planned. The issue of who did the dishes wouldn’t matter.

After walking so much that day, she was tired. She quickly washed up and got ready for bed.

Before sleeping, she glanced at the box of Vanishing Cream she had bought. With the spiritual spring water, I could totally start a skincare business. The spring water’s effects were immediate—it would be a guaranteed moneymaker.

She decided to look into factories soon. Some products would need to be processed on a larger scale.

She added a few drops of spiritual spring water to the Vanishing Cream and applied it to her face, neck, and hands. The difference was immediate—her skin felt rejuvenated, smooth, and fragrant.

Vanishing Cream was already a popular skincare product of this era, and she was confident she could use it to her advantage.

However, the spiritual spring water hadn’t expanded for a long time. She still couldn’t figure out the conditions under which it grew. While her usage was minimal, the spring had already shrunk a little. What used to be a full basin of water was now four-fifths full.

Satisfied, she fell into a deep, restful sleep.

Meanwhile, in another room, a father-son conversation was unfolding.

“Tell me about the past—everything, good and bad. I promise I won’t scold you or your mother. How about it?”

The three children stared at him in silence, not speaking a word.

“Do you not want to acknowledge me as your father?” Cheng Yue asked softly.

Erbao sighed. “I know you’re anxious, but don’t rush it. We’re not familiar with each other yet, but once we are, we’ll recognize you as our dad.”

Cheng Yue immediately felt a pang of sadness. Not one of the children had called him “Dad.”

If it weren’t for the one-child policy, he might have thought about having another child.

No, no, that was ridiculous. How could he think like that? He was supposed to be divorcing Su Qianqian.

He was startled by his own thoughts and turned over, only to hurt his injured side. The pain made him grit his teeth, but he had to stifle the sound—he couldn’t embarrass himself in front of the kids!

The next day, hearing some noises, he realized Su Qianqian was up making breakfast. He felt strangely comforted.

He sat up and noticed his leg injury seemed to have improved a little. The speed of his recovery was so fast it made him question everything—he’d been injured before, but never healed this quickly.

As he was thinking, the three kids came out of their room, fully dressed and making their beds.

“How come you’re up so early? You can sleep a bit longer,” he asked.

“Mom has a lot to do today, so we’re going to help,” Daya said.

Cheng Yue was puzzled. Are they pointing at me? I feel so ashamed!

He placed his hand over his chest, feeling a twinge of guilt.

When he went out of the room, he saw the mother and children working together, laughing and chatting. It was such a harmonious, warm scene, while he stood there like an outsider, feeling out of place.

Ah! It was so painful!

He really was a fool!

“Mom, if you and Dad separate, will you find us another dad?” Sanya asked innocently. She had changed from the shy and insecure child she once was into a much livelier one.

“Well… I’m not sure. Would you want that?”

“If that person is really kind to you, Mom, then yes,” Sanya answered earnestly.

Daya and Erbao nodded in agreement. “Yes, they have to treat Mom well.”

Su Qianqian was deeply moved. How did I get so lucky to have three angelic children?

Cheng Yue’s face immediately turned dark. He cleared his throat loudly, interrupting the warm moment between them.

“You’re up. Breakfast will be ready soon.” Su Qianqian paid no attention to whether Cheng Yue had overheard their conversation. After all, they were getting a divorce, so it didn’t matter.

Cheng Yue felt even more annoyed now.

So much so that he sulked throughout breakfast.

Daya gently nudged Su Qianqian, using her chin to silently indicate that Su Qianqian should look at Cheng Yue, who was wearing a grumpy expression.

“What’s wrong with you? Are you feeling sick, or is the noodles not good?” She had made noodles today, with a bit of topping; it should have been fine since both she and the kids were satisfied.

“Mm, just a little uncomfortable, but it’s nothing serious.”

“If you’re really feeling bad, you should say something. I’ll take you to the hospital—don’t hold it in,” Su Qianqian said, concerned.

Cheng Yue’s lips curled up slightly. “You really care about me?”

“Yes.”

The smile on his face grew wider.

“You’re a soldier, protecting the country and its people. I really respect you!” Su Qianqian said, her expression serious and earnest.

“…” His face immediately fell.