Cheng Rushan stared coldly at him. “You’re not Bian Haitao. You’re a young educated youth from Shuihuai Village. Name!”

Qian Bo was in so much pain that he couldn’t resist at all against Cheng Rushan’s overwhelming presence.

He immediately blurted out his name.

Cheng Rushan, however, didn’t inquire about Jiang Lin from him.

After all, he was still nominally Jiang Lin’s husband, so naturally he wouldn’t ask another man about his wife’s affairs.

Qian Bo, seeing Cheng Rushan’s changing expression and unsure if he would punch him in the next second, whispered nervously, “Comrade… I…”

Cheng Rushan’s lips curled into a mocking smile. “You know who I am, so why pretend?”

If he didn’t know who he was, how could he twist the truth and claim he was Jiang Lin’s partner? It was begging for a punch.

Qian Bo hadn’t expected Cheng Rushan to be so sharp.

He laughed awkwardly, “Cheng Rushan, you’re back. Everyone thought…”

“I was dead?”

“No, no, everyone thought you… had been sent for labor reform.”

Cheng Rushan’s eyes followed Jiang Lin and the two children as they walked away, and he took off his backpack.

Although Qian Bo was afraid of getting punched, he couldn’t resist making a snide remark. “Cheng Rushan, Jiang Lin doesn’t like you. Stop bothering her. You’ve been gone for six years. Why are you still bothering her? She’s only loved Bian Haitao her whole life.”

Even though I can’t have Jiang Lin, you, Cheng Rushan, can’t either.

She only loves Bian Haitao.

Why are you glaring at me?

Cheng Rushan had been about to put his backpack on the ground, but upon hearing this, he slammed it into Qian Bo’s arms and said coldly, “Hold this. Stay here and wait for me.”

Qian Bo: “Who the hell do you think you are, giving me this bag?”

But Cheng Rushan didn’t give him a chance to argue back.

He shoved the bag into Qian Bo’s hands, causing him to stumble, then turned and hurried off to catch up with Jiang Lin.

When he let go, Qian Bo was pressed down so hard that he knelt straight on the ground, nearly twisting his waist.

Why was the bag so heavy?

Cheng Rushan hurriedly followed, assessed the intersection, then strode off in a direction.

At the end, he indeed saw Jiang Lin and the two children.

They were selling embroidered goods, which made Cheng Rushan smile.

He had confirmed at the supply and marketing cooperative that she genuinely hadn’t recognized him, rather than pretending not to see him out of embarrassment.

Based on Qian Bo’s words just now, he concluded that she was still at the Cheng residence and the two children were indeed his.

If she had remarried, Qian Bo would have directly stated she was someone else’s wife, not spouted nonsense like she only loved someone else her whole life.

He inexplicably felt a weight lift off his heart, instantly feeling relieved, all fatigue vanishing.

In fact, they were all wearing embroidered headscarves, which should have been confirmation enough.

Back then, he lacked confidence, always feeling the headscarf could have been taken away by her or acquired through other means, not solid evidence that she was still his wife.

Now he was sure she hadn’t remarried, that she was still his wife, and their son was indeed his son.

The tightness in his chest suddenly burst forth with a rush of warmth, and he strode toward them.

Cheng Dabao spotted him right away and nervously tugged at Jiang Lin’s sleeve. “Mom, that man is coming again!”

Jiang Lin had originally planned to take the children back to the village, but they couldn’t walk such a distance, so they were waiting for a ride.

Several women passing by had taken an interest in her embroidered goods.

Since the bus hadn’t arrived yet, she thought she might as well sell them.

Little did she know, the weirdo was back again!

She turned to see Cheng Rushan, eyes widening. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you staring at us? Why are you following us? Are you really being a pervert? I’ll go to the police station right now!”

Once or twice could be seen as coincidence, but this time it couldn’t be brushed off as mere coincidence, right?

Cheng Rushan: “…”

Calling him a thief one moment and a pervert the next—clearly, he couldn’t win her favor.

Several women looked at Cheng Rushan, asking inquisitively, “Young man, you don’t look like a bad person. What’s going on?”

Jiang Lin pocketed the money and hurriedly led Dabao and Xiaobao away.

Little Xiaobao even looked back at Cheng Rushan, finding him particularly handsome and friendly.

Cheng Rushan quickly took a few steps to catch up. “Jiang Lin!”

Jiang Lin turned around and scolded, “Don’t give me that ‘you look familiar’ nonsense. I don’t know you.”

The women chimed in, “Young man, she’s married with children. Don’t be foolish. You could get in serious trouble for being a pervert.”

“Yeah, you’re so handsome. What kind of girl are you looking for? Tell Auntie, and Auntie will help you find her.”

Cheng Rushan insisted, “She’s really my wife.”

Upon hearing this,

Jiang Lin felt she had been right about him trying to grab her because he said she was his wife.

She took the kids and ran to the police station to report it.

Cheng Rushan broke free from the women surrounding him and hurried after them. “Jiang Lin, I’m Cheng Rushan!”

Cheng Xiaobao laughed, “Who’s Cheng Rushan?”

Cheng Dabao said, “He’s Dad.”

Cheng Xiaobao added, “Dad’s name is Dongsheng.”

Cheng Dabao explained, “Dongsheng is his nickname. Cheng Rushan is his real name.”

Yan Runzhi had told them ages ago, but Xiaobao remembered the nickname and forgot the real name.

Jiang Lin was still angry and not really paying attention.

She casually cursed, “I don’t care if you’re Cheng Rushan or Cheng Rushui, you jerk…”

What? Cheng Rushan? Isn’t that…?

She stopped in her tracks and turned around, only to find him standing right behind her, startling her.

Seeing her pale face, Cheng Rushan instinctively lowered his voice. “Take another look, I really am Cheng Rushan. I live in Shuihuai Village. My father’s name is Cheng Yunzhi, at the labor reform farm. My mother is Yan Runzhi, she embroiders for a living. I was taken away by the police in December of the Gengyin year. There’s an introduction letter in my bag, Qian Bo saw it.”

Jiang Lin sighed, “Alright, I believe you.”

When she hadn’t heard that name, she didn’t connect it to him at all.

But once she heard “Cheng Rushan,” the fuzzy image in her mind suddenly became clear.

Though his appearance wasn’t vivid, the image matched—a tall figure with a commanding presence that was quite intimidating.

And then came the overwhelming awkwardness.

His mood instantly lifted, and he chuckled softly, “Did you think I was dead too?”

Jiang Lin replied calmly, “No, I just thought it was nice that you weren’t home.”

She instinctively brought Dabao and Xiaobao closer to their biological father. “It’s so good that you’re back. I’ll give the kids to you.”

Jiang Lin turned to leave, but Cheng Rushan grabbed her arm, making her nervous from the physical contact. “Let go of me!”

Cheng Rushan immediately released her arm.

Jiang Lin turned to walk away, thinking that since Cheng Rushan was back, Dabao and Xiaobao didn’t need her care anymore.

Could she then go and meet her original parents?

Though she got along well with Yan Runzhi and the children, she had crossed over into this life halfway, needing to adapt in many ways.

She had always defined her role as needing an identity here; they gave her that identity, so she felt responsible for taking care of them, but there wasn’t yet a natural bond of family.

“Mom—” Cheng Dabao and Cheng Xiaobao trotted after her.

Cheng Xiaobao went from ecstatic at his father’s return to terrified of losing his mother in just a second,

Crying loudly. “Mom, don’t go, waaah…”

Though Jiang Lin thought, “I’m not your mother,” her steps slowed.

Then the two children tightly hugged her legs—one on each side.

Cheng Xiaobao sobbed loudly, “Mom—”

Cheng Dabao didn’t cry out loud but tears silently streamed down his face, his shoulders trembling.

Jiang Lin thought to herself, “We’ve only known each other for a few days. Why am I finding it so hard to leave them?”

Cheng Rushan was a bit bewildered.

They had been fine before he returned, so why was she about to leave now that he was back?

Was his return not welcome?

Or was the timing wrong?

Could she really be planning to go back to the city with Qian Bo?

He walked over and noticed her nervousness, so he stopped about a meter away, quietly observing her.

Once she realized she couldn’t leave and had to face this man, Jiang Lin found herself in a major awkward situation.

Oh no, she had made a huge mistake!

First mistaking him for a thief, then a pervert!

And even thinking he was a mental person!

Thank goodness she hadn’t called the police, or it would have been in the newspapers!

If embarrassment could kill, she would be immortal by now!

Deciding to take the initiative, she said, “Why didn’t you say anything once you recognized us? What exactly do you mean?”

She had expected Cheng Rushan to blame her for running away each time, but to her surprise, Cheng Rushan apologized, “I’m sorry, I didn’t think it through. I should have shown you the introduction letter right away.”

In truth, his overthinking had caused this misunderstanding, making her nervous and scared, and he felt guilty about it.

His kind attitude eased much of Jiang Lin’s embarrassment. “Why did you suddenly come back without writing a letter or sending a telegram or something?”

Cheng Rushan looked down at her and said softly, “I won’t do that again.”

At this moment, the two little guys on the ground stopped crying when they saw their mother wasn’t leaving.

They both looked up at Cheng Rushan.

Cheng Dabao and Cheng Xiaobao said in unison,

“Cheng Rushan, how can you be someone’s husband!” Cheng Dabao said indignantly.

“Cheng Rushan, how can you be someone’s dad!” Cheng Xiaobao continued.

Cheng Rushan was momentarily stunned, then chuckled, but his gaze remained on Jiang Lin’s face.

Jiang Lin felt awkward and her face turned red again. “I didn’t teach them that,” she thought.

Not knowing Cheng Rushan’s temperament, she feared he might scold the children, so she silently signaled to Dabao not to say such things.

Cheng Dabao pursed his lips and looked up at Cheng Rushan.

He was so tall that Cheng Dabao couldn’t see if he was angry or not.

But he hadn’t come home for several years, and now that he was back, he had scared Mom away.

It was his fault!

Cheng Rushan bent down and reached out to hold Dabao’s hand, giving it a gentle shake.

Xiaobao reached for his other hand, but could only grasp a couple of his fingers.

The two boys shook hands with him, a gesture of getting acquainted.

Cheng Rushan said, “Hello, my name is Cheng Rushan.”

Dabao replied, “Hello Cheng Rushan, my name is Cheng Dabao.”

Xiaobao chirped, “Hello Dongsheng, my name is Cheng Xiaobao.”

Jiang Lin was silent, her gaze lowered to the two children.

She moved to pick up Xiaobao, but he was already eagerly eyeing Cheng Rushan’s arm.

Dad was so tall, he must be stronger than Mom.

Xiaobao wouldn’t need to tire Mom out by asking her to carry him anymore.

Understanding Xiaobao’s meaning, Cheng Rushan extended his arm and lifted both Dabao and Xiaobao together.

“Wow!” Xiaobao exclaimed, “Mom, look how high I am! I can see so far!”

He realized the view from Dad’s arms was different from what he saw on his own. Having a Dad was great!

“Ohh, now Dabao and I have a Dad too! Those mean kids won’t dare to make fun of us for not having a Dad or Mom anymore! Hmph!”

Cheng Xiaobao was so happy that he flapped his arms as if he could fly.

He kept smiling at Cheng Dabao, saying, “Big Brother, are you happy?”

Cheng Dabao replied, “I’m happy. But stop laughing so loudly, it’s embarrassing.”

Jiang Lin once again praised Yan Runzhi.

Whenever she had time, she would tell the two children stories about their father, Cheng Rushan.

This way, even though the children couldn’t see their dad, he wouldn’t feel like a stranger to them when they finally met him.

Otherwise, being kids from a rural area, they would be scared and hide behind adults when they saw a strange man, and wouldn’t dare to get close to him.

Cheng Rushan held his twin sons in his arms, feeling a strange sensation he couldn’t describe.

He had never imagined himself becoming a father, let alone to twin boys.

Since the moment he took off his family’s burden, he should have felt reborn and ecstatic.

But at that time, he didn’t feel any joy in his heart.

It was as if he had experienced so much hardship that he had lost the ability to love the true beauty of the world.

At this moment, he felt truly reborn, filled with endless strength, willing to get to know the world anew.

And there was the woman before him.

For six years, she had never left him, and as long as she was willing, he was willing to spend the rest of his life with her.