After Qin Yuanzheng returned, he went straight to the kitchen.
Ever since Sister Shi left, there had been no one to cook at home. Whoever got home first between Qin Yuanzheng and Qiao Lanshu would be the one to prepare dinner.
Most of the time, it was Qiao Lanshu who bought groceries and cooked, since she got off work earlier than Qin Yuanzheng.
Qin Yuanzheng usually didn’t come back until after six, while Qiao Lanshu returned home just after five.
So, seeing Qin Yuanzheng home today, Qiao Lanshu was a bit surprised. "You’re back? So early today?"
Xiaxia also happily called out, "Dad!"
Although Han Ye and Qin Qiao'an were somewhat afraid of Qin Yuanzheng—after all, he showed no mercy when training them—Xiaxia had no such fear. Qin Yuanzheng simply couldn't bring himself to scold his daughter. Every time he saw her face, which was seventy or eighty percent similar to his wife's, he couldn't muster the sternness. Besides, Xiaxia was quiet and obedient.
He reached out and ruffled her hair, saying, "I’ll help your mom. Go read your books."
Xiaxia loved reading—a trait she inherited from Qiao Lanshu. Qin Yuanzheng thought it was a good thing; better for her to grow up knowledgeable than to cause trouble like those two rascals.
Xiaxia cheerfully ran off to read.
At the time, the library had a vast collection. Qiao Lanshu worked at the school, and her internal library card allowed free borrowing, so Xiaxia often used it to check out books.
She spent her days sitting at home reading, since the school rarely assigned much homework, giving her plenty of free time.
Han Ye often wanted to take the two siblings out to play, but he could only ever bring Qin Qiao'an along, because Xiaxia always refused.
But whenever Han Ye bought snacks or toys, Xiaxia accepted them all without hesitation.
Han Ye thought his little sister was ungrateful, so he often liked to mess with her.
When Xiaxia went outside, she heard Han Ye calling from the yard, "Xia'er, come here! I’ve got something cool to show you."
Curious, Xiaxia walked over, only to see Han Ye toss a twisting, pitch-black worm at her feet.
Xiaxia screamed in fright and scrambled back into the house.
Han Ye and An'an burst out laughing in the yard.
Hearing the commotion, Qin Yuanzheng turned around and came out, glaring at them.
An'an quickly explained, "Dad, it’s just an earthworm, an earthworm!"
Han Ye added, "Yeah, Xiaxia used to put earthworms in your pockets when she was little, and now she’s scared of them? Hilarious!"
Qin Yuanzheng was speechless.
From inside the house, Xiaxia shouted, "I’m cutting ties with you! I’m not talking to you anymore!"
Han Ye grabbed the earthworm, ran to the window beside her, and said to Xiaxia inside, "Come on, Xia'er, look—it’s just an earthworm. I brought it to make it up to you."
With a slap, Xiaxia slammed the window shut.
As she grabbed a book from the shelf, she muttered, "You two are just awful."
They didn’t act like brothers at all.
Not even as good as the Zhou Dingwen brothers. Although the Zhou brothers were Han Ye’s sworn enemies, they were always nice to Xiaxia. When they came over during the New Year, they didn’t say much, but they treated her politely and never scared her.
Back in the kitchen, Qin Yuanzheng helped Qiao Lanshu chop vegetables.
As she cooked, Qiao Lanshu said, "Did Han Ye scare Xiaxia again?"
Qin Yuanzheng replied helplessly, "That little brat never learns. Thankfully, he hasn’t gotten into any fights lately, or I’d have to drag him to the army."
Qiao Lanshu nodded. "Minor mischief is fine, as long as he doesn’t cause real trouble. And don’t be too partial to Xiaxia—you should also pay more attention to An'an."
In truth, Qin Yuanzheng did care—about both his son and daughter.
But when one is a mischievous troublemaker and the other a quiet, book-loving girl, wouldn’t anyone favor the latter? It was only human nature.
Qin Yuanzheng said nothing.
He stood nearby, staring at Qiao Lanshu with a wistful gaze.
Sensing his look, Qiao Lanshu raised her head. "What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?"
Qin Yuanzheng’s voice carried a hint of jealousy. "Wife, am I getting old?"
He reached out and touched his own face.
Qiao Lanshu was twenty-seven, and Qin Yuanzheng was eleven years older, now thirty-eight.
Though he had never slacked off on training over the years in the army, keeping himself as fit and strong as many younger men, his age was still apparent next to his young wife. He looked much older.
Fine lines had appeared at the corners of his eyes, and his mannerisms felt a bit old-fashioned to him. He wondered if he seemed too stiff and dull compared to the younger men outside.
Since Qiao Lanshu started college and now at work, she had always been surrounded by highly educated, quality young men in their twenties—with advanced degrees and respectable jobs. Among them, he remembered quite a few who had expressed interest in her.
Qiao Lanshu looked at him and smiled. "What’s this? Why the sudden question?"
Qin Yuanzheng reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her slender shoulder. In a low voice, he asked, "That man who dropped you off today—who is he?"
Qiao Lanshu laughed. "Who? That’s Teacher Zhao, a new colleague."
Qin Yuanzheng grumbled, "You sure have a lot of male colleagues."
Catching the jealousy in his tone, Qiao Lanshu comforted him. "Of course there are many colleagues, but a husband—there’s only one."
She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Alright, let go of me. The pot’s heating up."
She found it amusing that Qin Yuanzheng, nearly forty, could still be so possessive.
Rolling up his sleeves, Qin Yuanzheng washed vegetables at the sink, his muscular arms exposed in his short sleeves. "Starting tomorrow, I’ll drive you to and from work," he said.
Qiao Lanshu was at a loss for words.
As she ladled lard into the pan, she couldn’t help but say, "Isn’t that unnecessary? The school’s close to home—I can walk back on my own. Besides, you don’t get off work until past six, right?"
Being the commander of a military subdistrict came with a heavy workload. Though Qin Yuanzheng never spoke about military matters, it was only a few years since the Reform and Opening-Up policy had begun, and the military restructuring had just ended.
What’s more, the National Day military parade was only five months away, and as a participant, Qin Yuanzheng was extremely busy.
He naturally couldn’t pick Qiao Lanshu up from work.
Still, he had to keep an eye on his wife—she was still young, while he was already aging.
"Don’t worry," he said. "I’ll arrange for an orderly to pick you up."
Qiao Lanshu was rendered speechless again.
"Really, it’s not necessary," she said.
As a teacher, she had to walk past many people every day coming and going, and she didn’t want the school to know her husband was an officer.
But Qin Yuanzheng wouldn’t listen. "It’s settled," he said.
In short, he wasn’t about to let any other male teacher take Qiao Lanshu home.
That was how an older man acted in matters of the heart—insecure and domineering.
Qiao Lanshu thought for a moment and decided it was okay. After all, some of her colleagues also had family members who drove cars. In this day and age, driving a car wasn't that eye - catching.
Han Ye had been staying here these days. It wasn't because Han Wenlin was on a business trip again, but because the father and son had an argument, and Han Ye just naturally left home.
During the meal, Qin Yuanzheng asked him, "Why have you come here again these days? Isn't Director Han at home recently?"
Han Ye's grandmother still lived with them. But since the old lady was getting on in years, Han Wenlin hired a nanny to take care of the old woman at home and cook for both the old lady and the children.
Even if Han Ye went back now, the nanny would still cook his favorite dishes for him. So there was really no need for him to come all the way here just for three meals a day.
Han Ye had gobbled up two bowls of rice in one go. Now he was holding a third bowl and eating while saying, "Han Wenlin is going on a blind date. Just thinking about having to call another woman 'Mom' makes me upset. So I might as well not go back and leave the house to him to start a new family, so that the other woman won't find me in the way."
Then, Han Ye looked at Qiao Lanshu pitifully and said, "Mom, please don't drive me away. They say once there's a step - dad, there'll be a step - mom. I'll be a homeless child from now on."
Qiao Lanshu and Qin Yuanzheng exchanged a surprised look.
Qiao Lanshu repeated, "Director Han is going on a blind date?"
Come to think of it, Han Wenlin was now the director of the provincial public security bureau, a quite high - ranking position. The ladies who could go on a blind date with him probably also had a good social status.
Hearing this, Xiaxia glanced at Han Ye and said to him, "Even if you have a step - mom, your home is still your home. What are you so afraid of?"
Xiaxia really couldn't understand. Wasn't Han Wenlin still Han Ye's father? Would this fact change just because Han Wenlin got married?
An'an swallowed the food in his mouth and then said,
"Xia'er, you don't understand. Big Brother is afraid that Uncle Han will have a child with the newly - married woman. Then, once they have a child, who will care about Big Brother? Maybe they'll even give the house, the car, and all the money to the new child. Then Big Brother will not only be homeless but also have no money."
Xiaxia, at such a young age, was greatly shocked. She said in surprise, "But Uncle Han is so old. Can he still have a child?"
In Xiaxia's mind, only young people could have children.
How could an old person have a child?
She hadn't even seen her parents have a child.
As soon as she said this, Qin Yuanzheng and Qiao Lanshu were silent for a moment.
Han Ye also frowned slightly, looking thoughtful.
It was An'an, who was about the same age as Xiaxia, who seriously talked about this topic with Xiaxia, "Old people can also have children. Li Yiting's parents in my class are quite old. Their hair is all white..."
"Qin Qiao'an," Qin Yuanzheng said with a cold face, staring at him. "Shut up and eat your food."
An'an was confused and didn't know what he had said wrong. But because he was so afraid of his father, he quickly shut up and buried his head in eating.
Qin Yuanzheng then looked seriously at his daughter and said to her, "Xiaxia, don't mention the topic of having children in the future. You're still young. Don't say whatever comes to your mind."
Qin Yuanzheng was a bit annoyed. How old was his daughter? She was only in the first grade. Why was she starting to pay attention to the matter of having children?
As a father, he couldn't help but think too much. Had some male classmates said something to her at school?
Had she played the game of getting married and having children with other boys?
Xiaxia was also frightened by Qin Yuanzheng's expression and silently lowered her head to eat.
Han Ye didn't dare to say a word either. It was he who had told An'an all those things about having a step - mom, a step - dad, and losing everything once there were younger siblings.
An'an was his most loyal little brother and would stand by his side and scold Han Wenlin with him, so he had said those things.
Who knew that An'an would tell Xiaxia about having children? He knew Uncle Qin would be angry.
Under Qin Yuanzheng's intimidation, none of the three children dared to speak and they all ate their meals in silence.
Qiao Lanshu picked up a piece of fish for each of the three of them. Seeing An'an sweating profusely while eating, she picked up a piece of sparerib for him and said in a low voice, "Eat slowly. Don't choke."
An'an always ate too fast and too hurriedly, gobbling his food down. He had been a worry since he was a child.
Fortunately, Xiaxia ate slowly, chewing each mouthful carefully, which made people feel at ease.
When the meal was almost over, Qiao Lanshu still couldn't help asking Han Ye, "Who is Director Han going on a blind date with? Has he already found someone he likes, or is he just starting to look?"
Han Wenlin had said before that since Niuwa was still young, he wouldn't get married because he was afraid that a step - mom would treat his son badly, and he was too busy with work to take care of the family.
Presumably, now that he saw Niuwa had grown up and was already in junior high school, as tall as Han Wenlin himself;
plus, after years of military training, Han Ye had well - built muscles and was good at fighting. He stood there tall and strong, with his skin tanned by the sun.
Han Wenlin knew that no one could bully his son anymore, so he started thinking about a blind date.
After all, Han Wenlin was only in his thirties. He had been a widower for eight years. He couldn't be one for decades more.
Actually, Han Ye didn't object to Han Wenlin's blind date either. He had secretly hoped that Qin Yuanzheng and Qiao Lanshu would get divorced, and then his father could take advantage of the situation.
But unfortunately, so many years had passed, and as Qin Yuanzheng got older, he watched his wife even more closely.
The Han Wenlin father - son duo saw that there was no hope, so they gave up.
Han Ye silently finished his third bowl of rice, then went to get a fourth one. Then he said, "He's just starting to look. I heard there are three female comrades. One is a primary school teacher, one is a comrade from the Organization Department, and the other one seems to be the daughter of a provincial cadre. I'm not really sure. These are all what my grandma said. My grandma is really happy."
After all, Han Wenlin came from a rural area. Like Qin Yuanzheng, he had fought hard in the military, been on the battlefield, and won military honors. It was not easy for him to reach his current status.
Now, his second wife would be an intellectual from a dual - income family in the provincial capital, with a presentable education, good family background, a decent job, and a respectable social status.
So Han Ye's grandma had been very happy recently and would tell everyone about it.
The happier his grandma was, the more uncomfortable Han Ye felt.
An'an comforted Han Ye, "Brother, it's okay. If that home doesn't want you, this home does. You can move here to live from now on, just like when we were kids. We can sleep in the same bed."
Han Ye sighed and said, "Anyway, I won't go back these days. It's annoying to see."
Qiao Lanshu comforted him, "Your father still loves you very much. Don't worry. He will definitely consider your feelings. If you have any thoughts, just tell him. The most important thing is communication. Don't keep it all in your heart, okay?"
But then again, the primary school teacher who was going on a blind date with Han Wenlin wouldn't be from An'an and Xiaxia's school, would she?
Qiao Lanshu knew quite a few single female teachers. She just didn't know which one it would be.
