Now, God had returned her daughter to her side, and in this life, she would love her daughter even more.
After eating noodles, Tang Rubao took Anlai for a walk around the family quarters.
It would help Anlai get familiar with her surroundings and also serve as a post-dinner stroll to aid digestion.
Passing by Tu Xiuxiu’s house, she stopped and listened to the voices coming from inside.
Zhang Yunmei: “Xiuxiu, has Eighteen Years in the Enemy Camp been released yet?”
Tu Xiuxiu: “Not yet, it’ll be at seven o’clock.”
Zhang Yunmei: “Why is it taking so long? I’m so anxious. Xiuxiu, you’re so lucky. You wanted a TV, and Battalion Commander Zhou bought it for you.”
Tu Xiuxiu: “It was something Platoon Leader Wu didn’t want, so Ah Ran bought it.”
Zhang Yunmei: “Battalion Commander Zhou, how much did this TV cost, since you bought it from Platoon Leader Wu’s house?”
Zhou Jingran: “Two hundred and fifty.”
Zhang Yunmei: “Wow, so expensive! You’re so good to Xiuxiu. Xiuxiu, I’m so envious of you.”
Zhou Jingran: “Xiuxiu is my sister. It’s only right for an older brother to love his sister.”
Zhang Yunmei: “I also want a brother like that.”
Ke Xin: “Uncle Zhou, the ribs are delicious today.”
Zhou Jingran: “The cafeteria gave these to Uncle Zhou, but I couldn’t bear to eat them. I brought them back for Xinxin. If Xinxin eats them, she has to do her homework obediently.”
Ke Xin: “Yes, Xinxin will do her homework obediently.”
Tang Rubao’s lips twitched in a sarcastic sneer.
She took Anlai’s hand and continued walking.
Along the way, they met the political commissar and his wife, who were also out for a post-dinner walk.
Political Commissar Cheng Gang looked at Anlai’s unfamiliar little face and asked Tang Rubao curiously, “Little Tang, is this little girl a relative of yours?”
Tang Rubao smiled. “Political Commissar, she is the daughter I adopted today. Her name is Anlai. The Public Security Bureau issued a certificate, so it’s official.”
Anlai was well-behaved and smart.
Hearing Tang Rubao greet the political commissar, she smiled and politely said, “Hello, Uncle Political Commissar, hello, Aunt.”
Cheng Gang and his wife Lu Ying were surprised.
“An adopted daughter?” Cheng Gang frowned. ‘They already have a daughter, so why are they still getting a divorce?’
The divorce application was still in his drawer, not yet submitted. He’d have to talk to that brat Zhou Jingran again later.
‘You already have a daughter, why get a divorce?’
Lu Ying came over, patted Anlai’s head, and said softly with a smile, “We are much older than your parents, so please call us Uncle and Auntie, it will be friendlier.”
Her hair was clean and soft but dry and yellow, clearly due to poor nutrition.
Anlai obediently adjusted her words: “Uncle, Aunt.”
Her sweet, childlike voice was very endearing.
Lu Ying smiled kindly.
Cheng Gang looked at Tang Rubao seriously. “You and Battalion Commander Zhou have been married for so many years without children. It’s good to adopt one and have her by your side.”
Having a child in the family might help repair the relationship between husband and wife.
After parting from Cheng Gang and his wife, Tang Rubao took Anlai home.
She took out two packets of plum powder, one for herself, one for Anlai.
The mother and daughter sat on the sofa, eating small spoonfuls.
It was sweet and sour.
They loved it.
Zhou Jingran pushed open the door and entered, only to see a little girl in the house.
His gaze fell on the little girl’s face, filled with doubt. “Who is she?”
Tang Rubao answered calmly, “My daughter.”
Zhou Jingran paused in the act of closing the door.
When he first saw the little girl, he thought she looked somewhat like Tang Rubao.
Looking more closely, they seemed to resemble each other more and more.
Tang Rubao confirmed it, she was her daughter.
Zhou Jingran immediately misunderstood.
His face immediately turned green. “She looks about four years old, doesn’t she?”
Did Tang Rubao betray him four years ago?
Tang Rubao calmly tell Anlai’s age as five. “She is five years old this year.”
“Who did you have the child with?” Zhou Jingran clenched his fists.
“I adopted her.” Tang Rubao raised her eyes and looked at Zhou Jingran steadily. “She took my surname: Tang Anlai.”
Zhou Jingran sneered, his tone laced with humiliation and sarcasm. “Do you think I’m stupid or blind? You expect me to believe that you ‘adopted’ someone?”
Thinking back on what he believed was her betrayal years ago, Zhou Jingran’s anger surged uncontrollably.
He strode over, grabbed Anlai, and shoved her in front of Tang Rubao.
The plum powder she had been holding fell to the floor.
He stepped on it, pinning it down.
If Tang Rubao hadn’t caught Anlai in time, the girl would have been pushed hard and possibly hurt.
“Look at you! Look at you! You actually told me you adopted her?”
Zhou Jingran’s veins bulged. His eyes were cold and dark as he stared at Tang Rubao. “No wonder you want a divorce. It turns out you’ve been having an affair all along.”
Seeing Anlai’s red eyes and realizing he had been too rough, he felt a flicker of regret, but then he thought of Tang Rubao’s repeated declarations of love for him, her desire to be his wife.
He was furious that she could have been with another man and had a grown daughter like this.
Tang Rubao, holding Anlai, stood up from the sofa and glared at Zhou Jingran. “Why are you angry at a child? Are you even a man?”
Suppressing his anger, Zhou Jingran’s voice turned icy. “I want to know who the child’s father is.”
“Look!” Tang Rubao pulled a certificate issued by the Public Security Bureau from her pocket and shoved it at Zhou Jingran. Her voice dripped with disgust. “You can refuse to treat me as your wife, but you cannot humiliate me!”
Zhou Jingran took the certificate and opened it. It bore the Public Security Bureau’s official stamp, signatures of neighbors who approved the adoption, and today’s date.
He looked at Tang Rubao in disbelief. “She really is a homeless beggar… You really took her in out of kindness?”
Tang Rubao snatched the certificate back. “You don’t have to believe me. But if you dare lay a hand on my daughter again—ha…”
She suddenly curled her lips into a wicked smile. “If you touch my daughter, I’ll hit Ke Xin three times.”
“Just try it!” Zhou Jingran felt uneasy and angry all at once at Tang Rubao’s expression.
“If you dare touch my daughter, I dare to touch hers,” Tang Rubao retorted sarcastically. “At least my daughter and I have an adoption certificate. Do you and Ke Xin have one?”
“Why are you dragging Xinxin into this for no reason?”
For some reason, seeing Zhou Jingran care for Ke Xin made Tang Rubao feel a thorn in her heart.
Ke Xin isn’t his biological daughter, yet he loves her so deeply.
In her past life, Anlai was his biological daughter, did he ever love her?
Anlai never wore the clothes he bought, never ate the food he bought, never used the money he earned.
Thinking back, she had given birth alone, raised her child alone, faced illness, and even her child’s death, all by herself.
Tang Rubao felt both resentful and aggrieved.
Her eyes glared at Zhou Jingran with fierce, icy fury. “You’re not a man!”