At ten o’clock that night, Li Qiuyue got into bed and habitually reached out to touch Zhaozhao’s little face.
But her hand met a sudden heat he was burning.
At that moment, Qin Huai hadn’t gotten into bed yet. Hearing that Zhaozhao had a fever, he didn’t hesitate: he scooped Zhaozhao up and headed straight for a doctor.
Li Qiuyue, flustered, quickly put on her shoes and hurried after him.
They knocked on the door to wake the doctor and had him check Zhaozhao.
Qin Huai glanced at Li Qiuyue and then took off his own coat, giving it to her.
Only after leaving the house did Li Qiuyue feel the bone-chilling cold, but her worry for Zhaozhao was greater than her discomfort, so she didn’t go back for her own clothes.
Running through the cold, she had been shivering all along.
Now, suddenly having a warm coat, she didn’t refuse.
The doctor checked Zhaozhao and asked some questions, then diagnosed that the fever was caused by fright and over-worry.
“It’s nothing serious. You two, as parents, need to pay more attention to your child’s emotions,” Dr. Zhou advised the young couple.
At twenty-five and twenty-three, they were indeed very young.
Qin Huai nodded silently and paid the bill.
The two of them left the pharmacy, walking side by side along the dark, cold street.
Qin Huai held Zhaozhao close, noticing Li Qiuyue huddled in the coat. He moved slightly ahead of her, using his body to shield her from the biting wind.
Li Qiuyue noticed the small gesture and felt a warmth in her heart.
“Thank you so much today,” she said, looking at his broad shoulders, letting out a small cough.
Speaking softly to him felt more embarrassing than taking a slap to the face.
Qin Huai remained silent.
Sensing something off, Li Qiuyue tilted her head and called, “Commander Qin?”
Qin Huai’s Adam’s apple moved; his expression in the dark was somber and hard to read.
After a long pause, he hoarsely said, “Comrade Li Qiuyue, can you refrain from raising your hand in front of the child from now on?”
Li Qiuyue was taken aback, feeling a mix of guilt and helplessness.
“It was a special situation today they came looking for trouble themselves,” she said.
Qin Huai thought she was shirking responsibility and his tone carried a trace of reproach: “Couldn’t you have thought of another way to handle it?”
Li Qiuyue seemed to act purely on instinct, with no thought at all.
Even something as simple as putting on proper clothing before going out could have been thought through.
Could a person like this really raise Zhaozhao properly?
“Do you realize how much Zhaozhao was shaking when he ran to me today?” Qin Huai recalled the day’s events, a rare hint of fear in his voice.
If those two had recklessly hurt Zhaozhao… what would they have done?
Perhaps Qin Huai’s usual gentleness made his current scolding feel especially oppressive.
“Uncle, it wasn’t Mommy! I’m not scared of Mommy. I’m scared of that chubby person!” the little one defended his mother.
Qin Huai paused, emotions complex Zhaozhao and Li Qiuyue were really close.
He realized he had to bring up taking Zhaozhao away!
“Sorry, Comrade Li Qiuyue, I took my anger out on you just now,” he first apologized for his earlier anger.
Then he explained his purpose: “But I think this environment might not be…”
“Then you should be blaming those who caused trouble! Why yell at me here?” Li Qiuyue interrupted.
“I’m not yelling at you,” Qin Huai said, lips pressed together. His voice wasn’t even as loud as hers.
Li Qiuyue snorted. “You know what you were thinking.”
She had always responded to kindness, not force.
Seeing Qin Huai act so poorly, even if she knew she was wrong, she couldn’t offer a kind expression.
And…
“If you hadn’t come back, would those people have come asking for money?” Li Qiuyue glared at him.
Wasn’t he the real culprit!
Qin Huai was so amused by her “robber logic” that he laughed despite himself.
Zhaozhao quickly interjected: “Mom, Uncle, don’t fight anymore.”
The child’s voice was weak, like a tiny kitten’s mew, yet it made both adults pause.
They both instinctively turned their heads, avoiding each other.
Li Qiuyue, in defiance, refused to stand behind Qin Huai.
Who needed his fake concern!
After taking the medicine, Zhaozhao’s fever subsided shortly.
But the next day, Qin Huai and Li Qiuyue still hadn’t spoken to each other.
Even Zhaozhao’s efforts to coax them failed; all he got was Li Qiuyue’s cold snort and Qin Huai’s reassurance not to worry.
Zhaozhao was too young to understand ideology or positions; all he knew was that his mom and uncle argued because of him.
He blamed his own weakness for not being able to stand in front of his mom like Uncle Qin, to protect her.
He vowed he had to become stronger!
All morning, he mentally prepared himself, finally clenching his tiny fists and marching out the door.
The weather was nice. Under the big locust tree at the village entrance, a group of kids were playing.
They were older than Zhaozhao, with traces of dirt on their faces and clothes.
Suddenly seeing Zhaozhao, so clean and cute, they all paused to look.
Some didn’t notice, like Zhao Guangzong.
He ran and crashed into a little girl in front.
The girl fell and started crying.
Zhao Guangzong got up, snorted, “Girls are useless. We won’t play with chubby girl anymore!”
The others looked at the crying girl and at Zhao Guangzong holding a handful of marbles, and eventually ran to him.
Seeing the girl still on the ground, Zhaozhao went over to help her up.
“Don’t cry. I have something tasty for you.” He took her under the tree and pulled out treats from his pockets.
Not only colorful fruit candies, but many White Rabbit candies.
“How do you have so much candy?” the chubby girl asked in shock.
“Uncle bought them for me. Mom says I can only eat one a day,” Zhaozhao said, handing her a White Rabbit.
He added: “But for peach cookies and animal biscuits, Mom lets me eat a lot.”
He didn’t want anyone to misunderstand his mom.
“Wow, your mom is amazing!” the chubby girl exclaimed.
She shyly put the White Rabbit in her mouth, finally smiling sweetly.
Seeing this, other children couldn’t resist and came over.
“Can I have a White Rabbit too?” one asked.
Zhaozhao tilted his head, pointed to the chubby girl, and said, “Play with her, and I’ll give you one.”
The child agreed immediately and sat beside the girl.
Zhaozhao handed him a White Rabbit.
Seeing this, the other children imitated him, running over to play with the girl.
Zhao Guangzong, now alone, turned red with anger.
Blaming Li Zhao!
He saw the candies in Zhaozhao’s hands and remembered what his grandfather said:
“Those are bought with my money! Don’t eat them!”
He shouted, but everyone was too busy listening to Zhaozhao talk about his mom and uncle to pay attention.
Furious and humiliated, he lunged at Zhaozhao like a little firecracker.