Chapter 35

Zhou Yun was stunned.

Cheng Yue sighed and said in a low voice, “Shut up!”

“Oh, protecting her already, are you? But it’s a new era—no concubines allowed anymore. What to do now?”

With that, Su Qianqian turned and walked into her room, slamming the door behind her with a loud bang.

Zhou Yun, both anxious and angry, exclaimed, “Cheng Yue, did you see how she talked to me?”

“Don’t take it to heart. That’s just how she is. There’s nothing more to discuss here. You should head back and focus on your work. I’m a married man, after all, and we should maintain proper boundaries—it’s better for your reputation.”

This response hurt Zhou Yun even more. She stared at Cheng Yue in disbelief.

He can’t possibly not like me. I’m so much better than that shrew Su Qianqian. There’s no way he’d choose her over me!

She convinced herself that Cheng Yue was only acting this way because they weren’t divorced yet and wanted to avoid trouble. She decided not to make things harder for him, so his reputation wouldn’t suffer.

“Alright, I’ll go then,” she said before leaving.

After Zhou Yun left, Cheng Yue stared at Su Qianqian’s closed door. He wondered if he should explain Zhou Yun’s presence but quickly dismissed the idea.

There’s no point. She’s unreasonable, and explaining won’t change that.

However, as time passed and his stomach growled louder, he began to wonder if Su Qianqian planned to cook today.

The room remained quiet, with no signs of activity. Cheng Yue had no idea what she was doing.

He found himself staring at the door when it suddenly opened. He quickly averted his gaze, pretending nothing had happened.

Su Qianqian didn’t even glance at him as she walked straight to the kitchen.

Is she finally making lunch? he thought.

But after waiting for a while, no delicious smells wafted from the kitchen. Unwilling to get up and check, he decided to wait a bit longer.

Nearly an hour later, Su Qianqian emerged but didn’t call him to eat. Instead, she returned to her room without a word.

Dumbfounded, Cheng Yue got up and went to the kitchen, only to find nothing prepared.

What was she doing in there for an hour?

His hunger grew unbearable. With the dining hall now closed, he had no choice but to make some noodles for himself. Unfortunately, the taste left much to be desired.

As he ate, he couldn’t help but recall how much better Su Qianqian’s noodles were.

No. I can’t let myself be swayed just because of food.

The rest of the afternoon, Cheng Yue focused on his recovery, practicing walking. He was improving, though still slower than usual.

Around 4 PM, Su Qianqian finally left her room. She gave him a fleeting glance before heading out again, leaving Cheng Yue feeling both irritated and powerless.

Su Qianqian was on her way to pick up the kids. It was their first day of kindergarten, and she wanted to get there early.

When she arrived, she saw her children standing off to the side of the playground, silently watching the other kids play together. They hadn’t joined in.

That’s normal for the first day, she thought. The other kids already know each other.

“Teacher, I’m here to pick up my children,” she said.

“Alright, I’ll bring them out,” the teacher replied.

A few moments later, the three children came running, their faces lighting up with pure, innocent smiles.

“Mommy!” they called out.

“Oh, my precious babies! Let’s go home and have dinner.”

“Mrs. Cheng, I think it’s time to give the kids formal names,” the teacher suggested.

Su Qianqian realized her oversight. She’d been meaning to do this but had kept putting it off.

“Thank you for the reminder. We’ll decide tonight.”

On the way home, she asked, “Did any of the other kids bully you today?”

“No, everyone was nice,” the eldest replied.

“Don’t worry, Mom. It was fine,” the second chimed in.

The youngest, Sanya, pursed her lips and said nothing.

Seeing the usually talkative Sanya stay silent, Su Qianqian sensed something might be wrong. However, she didn’t press further. The children were uninjured, and their clothes were clean, so it didn’t seem serious. She decided to observe and see if they could resolve it themselves.

“It’s your first day—did you get any books or homework?”

“No.”

“So, did you learn anything today?”

“The teacher taught us a nursery rhyme!” Sanya eagerly responded.

“Really? Did you learn it?”

As soon as Su Qianqian finished speaking, Sanya started singing. Her voice was sweet and clear, and her pitch was perfect. Su Qianqian was surprised to realize that Sanya had a natural talent for singing.

“That’s wonderful! What about your brother and sister?”

Daya sang reasonably well, but Erbao… well, his tone was a bit off.

The four of them laughed and chatted as they walked home together.

When they arrived, Cheng Yue suddenly remembered that he was supposed to pick up the children from school today. His anger earlier had made him completely forget.

No wonder Su Qianqian said I’m unfit to fight for custody, he thought bitterly.

Now that the children were home, surely Su Qianqian would cook dinner, right?

Wrong.

“Kids, how about we go to the cafeteria to get food tonight?” Su Qianqian suggested.

“Sure! That way Mommy won’t have to work so hard cooking,” the three children happily agreed.

And just like that, Su Qianqian and the kids grabbed their meal containers and headed out again.

Once again, Captain Cheng was thoroughly ignored—completely and utterly!

He consoled himself, thinking they wouldn’t skip his portion, but he couldn’t be sure. After all, Su Qianqian had been pretty harsh during their argument.

As he mulled over it, a sense of guilt crept in. For the past twenty-something days, Su Qianqian had been taking care of him—cooking, nursing him, massaging his legs, and managing the children. She had done so much.

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.

“This is driving me crazy!” he muttered.

Just then, the door opened, and Su Qianqian returned with the kids.

“What’s wrong with you?” Erbao asked curiously.

“Nothing,” Cheng Yue replied. He felt this was an issue between him and Su Qianqian and didn’t want to involve the children.

But Su Qianqian had other plans. She set the food on the table, including a portion for Cheng Yue, and after they finished eating, she spoke up.

“Kids, your dad and I had an argument today. We’re planning to get a divorce, but he doesn’t want to let you stay with me. What do you think?”

Cheng Yue slammed his chopsticks onto the table. “Su Qianqian, are you out of your mind?”

“What’s wrong? We didn’t ask for their opinion when we decided to have them. Now that we’re making decisions about their future, shouldn’t we consult them? They’re human beings, not toys!” Su Qianqian retorted coldly, her tone sharp and logical.

Cheng Yue realized that Su Qianqian was different now. She was no longer the unreasonable woman he knew. Instead, she was articulate and logical. Was this the result of just one stint at night school?

“We want to stay with Mom!” Daya declared firmly, speaking on behalf of her siblings.

“Aren’t you afraid she’ll give you away to someone else?” Cheng Yue asked cautiously, avoiding the word “sell” to minimize the emotional impact on the children.

Erbao frowned, his little face serious. “If she wanted to give us away, she would’ve done it long ago. Aunt Guihua and Grandma both wanted to take Sanya, but Mom refused. And where were you back then?”

This struck Cheng Yue like a dagger to the heart—direct and brutal.

“In the hardest times, Mom never gave us away. Now that she can earn money, she definitely won’t!” Daya added. “Mom became so much better after her injury. We want to stay with her!”

Sanya hugged Su Qianqian’s leg tightly and pointed at Cheng Yue, shouting, “Bad man! When people teased us about not having a dad, where were you? Now that we finally have a good mom, you want to take her away from us. Bad man!”

Another dagger to Cheng Yue’s heart.