Chapter 43: Scolding the Kids and Listening to a Story by Accident

The look Song Yeqing gave him when she came in was a little strange.

Is he alright? What’s he laughing at by himself? Weird…

“Daddy…”

He Chengze ran over and lay on He Yanxin’s knee, his head tilted up, eyes shining brightly as he looked at him. Song Chengsi giggled and pounced forward too.

He Chengze used to be a bit afraid of his father and rarely acted so freely and clingy, draping himself completely over him.

But ever since He Yanxin spent a day playing with them, He Chengze realized his father wasn’t that scary after all, and his courage grew.

The two brothers’ sudden pounce startled He Yanxin, who quickly reached out to catch them, and Song Yeqing also took a big step forward and bent down to support them from behind.

That’s a dangerous fire stove right there!

Seeing He Yanxin catch them securely, Song Yeqing breathed a sigh of relief.

“Big Treasure, Little Treasure, you must never run near the fire again, understand?” It was the first time Song Yeqing spoke to them with a stern face—strict and serious.

If anything happened, it would be no joke.

Even in the modern world with advanced medicine, burns come with huge risks—complications, scarring—often leading to lifelong pain and regret.

She was truly afraid of something happening that she couldn’t undo. If she couldn’t protect the children, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself, nor face their parents.

It had to be said—Song Yeqing with a stern face was quite intimidating, especially since she was usually so kind and gentle to the kids.

The eldest immediately froze, not daring to make a sound, just staring at his mother in a daze.

The younger one stopped smiling too, lips pressed tight, cheeks puffed, eyes welling with tears, as if about to cry.

Although He Yanxin was also scared by what happened, seeing the kids like that, his heart immediately softened.

“Fire is very dangerous. If you get too close, you could get hurt. You have to be careful and stay away from it, okay?” he said gently, explaining patiently to the two boys.

The elder one looked thoughtfully at the stove—it seemed he understood.

The younger one didn’t quite grasp it yet, but education starts young. If you don’t teach them now, it’ll be even harder later.

“Luckily nothing happened this time. But remember, stay far away from fire in the future. Your mom—uh, your mother—was only being strict because she was worried. Now apologize to her and say, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t do it again.’ Okay?”

He Yanxin gently patted both children, encouraging them.

“Mom, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again…” the elder one said in his soft little voice, still looking a bit frightened.

The younger one didn’t speak, likely still upset from being scolded. He was too young to understand everything—he only vaguely caught the meaning.

Song Yeqing softened too. “It’s okay.” Maybe she had been too harsh just now?

“There, she accepted your apology. Now you’re friends again!”

Song Yeqing gave He Yanxin a speechless look. How did I suddenly get demoted like this…?

Even He Yanxin realized something was off after saying it. His experience with comforting kids mostly came from watching his cousin.

And that line he just said… was something his cousin used when helping her son make up with his friends.

He smiled at Song Yeqing in a placating way. Oops. Slip of the tongue.

Children are quick to bounce back, and soon He Chengze had already recovered.

“Daddy, I want to hear that… that sugar-wood story again!”

Sugar-wood story? Song Yeqing was curious. Astro Boy? Xylitol?

“Alright, but you have to bring your little stool over and sit properly, okay?”

He Yanxin smiled as he bargained with him.

“Okay!”

He Chengze stood up straight and made a wide arc around the fire, carefully avoiding it. Then he ran to a corner, grabbed a stool, and set it near the stove.

“Mom, sit!” he said, patting the stool, clearly not holding a grudge over being scolded.

“Thank you, Big Treasure.”

Song Yeqing was deeply moved. She knew from the original host’s memory that this child was very thoughtful, but being on the receiving end of it still made her heart ache and melt.

The original couple had truly raised these children well.

Without hesitation, Song Yeqing sat down. But seeing the two well-behaved kids made her think of Madam Song again, and she sighed quietly.

Such small children didn’t understand—they didn’t know their real parents were already gone. Now, the two souls in their parents’ bodies were from another world entirely.

Maybe it was the influence of Madam Song’s memories, maybe it was her own longing for familial warmth, or maybe the kids were just too sweet.

Whatever the reason, Song Yeqing truly wanted to do her best to be even better to them—to ensure they lived a happy, carefree, and healthy life.

Seeing their mother sit down, the eldest went and dragged two small stools—ones made just for him and his little brother.

The stools had backrests and were made by Grandpa Wu from next door, designed so the boys could sit more securely.

“Little Treasure, want to help your brother?” He Yanxin gently patted the still sulky Song Chengsi.

“Mm…” He turned to look at his brother struggling with the stool and mumbled, “Okay.”

Then he carefully walked over, took his own special stool from his brother, and dragged it over.

Once they were both seated, He Yanxin resumed the story he hadn’t finished earlier.

“Tom and his friends got on a raft, leaving the twinkling lights of the small town behind…”

Oh, it was “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”

Song Yeqing quietly sat and listened, gradually becoming absorbed. The gentle voice in her ear seemed to merge with a memory from over a decade ago.

Back then, she used to sit on the couch, clinging to her dad—one of the rare times he was home in the evening—begging him to tell her a story.

Back then, she had a dad… and a mom…

To be honest, aside from his gentle tone, He Yanxin’s storytelling was kind of all over the place—only the main plot points were there.

After all, it was a childhood book, and he hadn’t read it in years.

“They played freely on the island, had a picnic, while their families believed they were dead. Tom’s aunt…”

“Dad, what’s a picnic?” the eldest asked curiously, clearly intrigued by the story.

“A picnic is when you go outside—like to a mountain or a river—and eat there,” He Yanxin explained simply.

“Oh.”

The story continued, and Song Yeqing couldn’t help but get drawn in.

Eventually, He Yanxin paused and waved at Song Yeqing.

She looked up and saw that both children had gotten sleepy. The elder was still trying to keep his eyes open, while the younger had already slumped against the backrest, fast asleep.

So the two adults each picked one up and carried them into the bedroom.

The younger whimpered a bit but didn’t wake up. The elder one fell asleep as soon as he touched the bed.

They tiptoed out of the room, gently closing the door behind them, and returned to sit by the fire.

Now it was grown-up time!

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(End of Chapter)