“I only cooked for myself and my daughter, and the portions were small, not even enough for us. And you still want to share it with other children? Do you want my daughter and me to go hungry? Do you think I’m being unreasonable?”
Tang Rubao looked up at Zhou Jingran with a calm, indifferent gaze.
Zhou Jingran was momentarily speechless, unsure how to respond to her sharp retort.
Tang Rubao didn’t give him a chance and sneered, “If I’m not mistaken, you should have brought them food from the cafeteria and eaten it yourself, right?”
“The food you ordered didn’t include any for us, and the food I cooked didn’t include any for you either. Doesn’t that even things out? How dare you throw a tantrum at me?”
“Who did you learn this sharp tongue from? You’re so clever with words.” He still preferred the old, ineffectual Tang Rubao from before.
The Tang Rubao in front of him now was like a hedgehog, covered in thorns, touch her, and she’ll prick you.
“I need to eat. You understand the principle of ‘no talking while eating or sleeping,’ right, Commander Zhou?” Tang Rubao picked up her bowl and shoveled food into her mouth.
A bite of rice, a bite of vegetables, the food tasted incredibly delicious.
Seeing that Anlai hadn’t eaten yet, she smiled and said, “Eat quickly, and after you finish, Mom will take you for a walk.”
During the day, she had written a 3,000-word story about the love between a snake demon and a human.
After dinner, she would take her daughter for a walk to relax, and then continue reading and writing when they returned.
Now that her daughter was back with her, she wanted to work hard to give her a good life.
She would never allow her daughter to suffer like she did in her past life, enduring hardship and mistreatment.
“Mmm.” Anlai smiled sweetly at Tang Rubao, picked up her bowl, and began to eat eagerly.
Zhou Jingran, Tu Xiuxiu, and Ke Xin stood there, silently watching.
Tu Xiuxiu studied Tang Rubao carefully, every detail of her felt unfamiliar.
Before she had been falsely accused of scalding her hand with chicken soup, Tang Rubao had been timid and weak.
After the false accusation, she had changed completely, it was as if she had been cursed.
The aroma of the food made them swallow hard.
Tu Xiuxiu didn’t want to lose her composure in front of Tang Rubao and swallowed her saliva discreetly.
She smiled at Zhou Jingran. “Ah Ran, the Children’s Day performance is coming up soon, and Xinxin and I went back to rehearse.”
Zhou Jingran nodded. “Okay.”
Tu Xiuxiu led Xinxin out, still holding the apple in her hand.
After they left, Zhou Jingran pulled up a chair and sat beside Tang Rubao, waiting patiently for her to finish eating, determined to have a proper talk with her.
After Tang Rubao finished, she put down her bowl and watched Anlai eat.
Anlai ate slowly, but with great relish.
Tang Rubao’s eyes softened, brimming with maternal love.
This was the first time Zhou Jingran had seen this side of her.
No longer sharp-tongued or bristling with thorns.
The way she looked at Anlai was nothing like a foster mother’s care.
The way Tu Xiuxiu looked at Xinxin was filled with maternal love too, but in a different way.
Zhou Jingran blurted, “Anlai is really just someone you adopted?”
Tang Rubao knew Anlai’s appearance would arouse suspicion.
If he doubted her, so be it. A person with a clear conscience has nothing to fear.
She turned her head coldly toward Zhou Jingran. “I gave birth to her.”
She deliberately emphasized those words, like a hammer pounding on Zhou Jingran’s heart, three heavy blows demanding, “Tell the truth!”
“Honestly, you don’t believe me anyway, so is it really necessary?” Tang Rubao was furious. She glared at Zhou Jingran. “Didn’t you used to claim you didn’t care about my affairs? Whether Anlai was adopted or born naturally, it shouldn’t matter to you, right?”
“How can it not matter? If the child had a different father, I would… I would…”
What would he have done? He couldn’t say.
Tang Rubao spoke for him: “Just divorce me. I’m an unfaithful woman who gave you a huge betrayal.”
“You—” Zhou Jingran was so angry he stumbled backward.
Tang Rubao turned to him seriously. “Zhou Jingran, I know you married me because my father forced you. I once thought marrying you was a good thing because I loved you. Now I realize it’s not good for either of us. We’ll get a divorce peacefully.”
“I won’t get a divorce!” Zhou Jingran roared, clenching his fists and pounding his thigh, making Anlai shrink back in fright.
Seeing Anlai’s reaction, he felt annoyed and ashamed. How could he, a dignified soldier, scare a little girl?
He controlled his emotions, keeping his face calm, and said to Tang Rubao in a deep voice, “I will not divorce you.”
“If you won’t divorce me, does that mean you plan to live with Tu Xiuxiu for the rest of your life, pretending to be a married man?”
Tang Rubao raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in her gaze. “You don’t love me, you won’t divorce me… so why are you keeping me by your side?”
“To be your free nanny, to take care of Tu Xiuxiu and her daughter for you? To serve you for free for the rest of my life?”
“I’ve told you countless times that Xiuxiu and I are innocent. I only see her as a younger sister. What more do I have to do for you to believe me?”
“Yes, I believe you. It’s only right for an older brother to take care of his younger sister.”
After Anlai finished eating, Tang Rubao got up to clear the dishes and wash them.
Anlai said sensibly, “Mom, you talk to Uncle, I’ll wash.”
Uncle?
Zhou Jingran frowned, looking at Anlai helplessly.
She called Tang Rubao “Mom,” but called him “Uncle” so distant, so formal with him.
“Good, my daughter is so sensible,” Tang Rubao said, satisfied, as Anlai carried the bowl to the kitchen to wash it.
Zhou Jingran returned to the previous topic. “I’m glad you can believe that Xiuxiu and I are innocent. Xiuxiu saved my life, so it’s only right that I help her when she’s in trouble.”
Tang Rubao let his words slide off her like water, not taking them to heart, and nodded perfunctorily, “Yes, that’s how it should be.”
Seeing that she didn’t argue back and accepted his explanation, Zhou Jingran’s expression softened slightly. “A car will be going to town soon. Let’s go take a look around, and buy a gift for Anlai.”
He couldn’t push her too far yet, he needed to proceed slowly, investigate carefully, and figure out exactly which man Anlai was born to.
He wanted to appease her, to coax her into revealing the truth about the other man.
“No, thank you.” Tang Rubao shook her head lightly. “I’m not used to going out at night. Anlai and I will just walk around the family compound for a while.”
The nights are chaotic these days.
Department stores close early, few people are doing stall business, and you wouldn’t find anything worthwhile at this hour anyway.
Besides, Anlai doesn’t need a gift from him.
Zhou Jingran didn’t really want to take her to town.
He showed no emotional reaction when she refused.
Anlai finished washing the dishes.
Tang Rubao got up and went to lock the door.
Only then did she happily lead Anlai outside.
Zhou Jingran sat there, his sharp eyebrows raised.
She had put an iron lock on her room door.
She locked the door and put the key in her pocket.
She usually doesn’t lock her door, but now she did… Does she have some secret she doesn’t want him to know?
Her expression, which had just softened, suddenly turned cold again. She was on guard against him!
He got up and walked over.
He reached for the lock, twisted his wrist, and the lock snapped easily in his palm.
He pushed the door open and entered.