Today, the Huo family’s breakfast was exceptionally lavish.
Egg pancakes, apples for dessert, and
a bowl of thick, hot porridge—it was incredibly comforting!
The three little ones, Huo Qiyun, Huo Qihou, and Huo Qilan, all ate their fill.
The eldest burped and picked his teeth: “Dad, you didn’t steal anything, did you? We’ve been drinking thin rice porridge for months, where did you get rice to cook such a thick porridge?”
The second child nodded slyly: “I suspect Dad stole Mom’s food, but I have no proof!”
The youngest daughter’s face flushed with happiness: “Dad, will we still be able to eat such delicious breakfasts in the future?”
Without even a hint of meat, these three little ones were so happy.
Huo Mingfeng frowned. “Didn’t your aunt give you any of the money I usually send you?”
This wasn’t Huo Mingfeng’s hometown.
It was the hometown of his deceased wife, Lin Xiaohua.
The three children lived here, usually cared for by Lin Xiaohua’s older sister, Lin Xiaofang.
The two-bedroom dilapidated mud-brick house they lived in was the Lin family’s old house.
When Huo Mingfeng was away traveling, every time he wrote, Lin Xiaofang would reply that the three children were eating well, dressed well, and living well—everything was perfect!
But this time, it was clearly not the case!
Upon hearing “aunt,” Sanya immediately pouted and cried, looking extremely wronged.
The eldest son spat in frustration.
“I don’t think I’m Lin Xiaohua’s child. Otherwise, why doesn’t she look like an aunt at all? To be honest, Dad, you should be grateful you’re still alive!”
The second son patted him. “Big brother, calm down. Good people don’t live long, but bad people live a long life! Mom must have been a good person, otherwise why would she have passed away after giving birth to us?”
The eldest son suddenly realized and pointed at the three of them. “Then we’re the bad ones?”
“That’s about it.”
The second son grinned mischievously.
Huo Mingfeng rubbed his temples and simply asked Sanya what was wrong.
But his serious expression only frightened Sanya more, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
The eldest and second sons, being so carefree, were still laughing and joking even when they were talking about serious matters.
Inside the house, Jiang Mingyu was wide awake.
After listening for a while, she had bitten the apple in her hand down to the core. She put on her clothes and gently opened the door.
“Sanya, why are you crying?”
Her gentle voice was one the three children had never heard before.
They froze and turned to look at Jiang Mingyu.
The eldest child suddenly blushed and hid behind the second child, but the second child hid behind him first, whispering, “Big brother, this stepmother is… is really pretty! Her smile is prettier than a flower! What do you think?”
They were only six years old and couldn’t think of any gentle words.
The eldest child nodded blankly, “Much prettier than Widow Xu!”
Huo Mingfeng’s lips twitched, and
he slapped each of them on the head. He apologized to Jiang Mingyu, “I’m sorry, my two children talk too much, it’s annoying.”
He turned back coldly, “Huo Qiyun, Huo Qihou! Aren’t you coming over to greet them?”
Since they were getting married, they would definitely have to live together.
From now on, they would all be family, and it was necessary for them to get to know each other.
Jiang Mingyu smiled and nodded, crouching down slightly to extend her hands to the two little ones: “Hello, my name is Jiang Mingyu. From today onwards, I am your mother.”
The two children exchanged a glance, vying to shake hands with the beauty while stubbornly insisting,
“You’re a stepmother!”
“Yes, my mother died young.”
Uh…
Jiang Mingyu couldn’t stand the word “young.”
Fine, stepmother it is then.
It’s alright.
Anyway, in her eyes, all three children were lucky.
They perfectly matched what Master Yi had said about marrying a man with three children.
She comforted Sanya, “Sanya, what’s your name? Can you tell Aunt Mingyu?”
“My name is… Huo Qilan…”
Sanya sobbed, looking at her with teary eyes, looking incredibly cute.
“Oh~ what a lovely name! What have you suffered, Sanya? Aunt Mingyu will stand up for you!”
Jiang Mingyu’s patient demeanor was incredibly gentle, full of maternal love.
Huo Mingfeng stared, his throat tightening involuntarily, the
heat spreading to his heart.
But Sanya’s next words enraged him completely.
Even Da Wa and Er Wa fell silent.
It turned out that during the years Huo Mingfeng had been away, aside from the occasional New Year’s visit when Lin Xiaofang would dress them up as if they were exceptionally healthy, he had pocketed all the money Huo Mingfeng gave the children.
Even though Huo Mingfeng gave her a stipend every year,
she was still greedy.
She only gave the children a bag of coarse rice each month, leaving them to cook for themselves.
Only when it was too cold would she throw over two tattered quilts for them to keep warm.
Even the charcoal and firewood were gathered by Da Wa and Er Wa with Sanya.
The reason Sanya was so afraid of her aunt was because she had fallen ill around this time last year and was almost sold by Lin Xiaofang.
Unable to contain his anger, Huo Mingfeng suddenly questioned Da Wa and Er Wa, “Why didn’t you two tell me?”
Da Wa immediately became agitated, jumping up and hitting him.
“Who do you think you are? If I told you, could you take us away? Could you take care of us?”
Er Wa said, “Big brother, don’t be like this, he’s our dad!”
The next second, he added insult to injury, “If we beat him to death, who will give us living expenses?”
Such a young age, yet such a sharp tongue.
Jiang Mingyu chuckled inwardly, coughed, took out a lollipop from her ring and gave it to her. After calming her down, she put her on the bed, then came out and picked up Da Wa and Er Wa, raising an eyebrow:
“Now you have a stepmother to take care of you, you don’t need that damn aunt!”
The two children were quite heavy, and she picked them up and put them on the bed with San Ya, then gently closed the door, winking at Huo Mingfeng: “Let me talk to the children for a while, please?”
After saying that, she slammed the door shut without hesitation.
Huo Mingfeng: “…”
What should he do if he suddenly felt a little superfluous?
Jiang Mingyu led the three children back to her room, not to lecture them or instill maternal love.
Instead, she playfully curtsied and said in a serious manner, “May I perform a magic trick for the two young masters and this little princess?”
“A magic trick?”
The three children stared at her intently.
Jiang Mingyu pressed her hand to her ring, then suddenly raised her hand—
“Hahaha! Nothing there!”
“Stepmother’s lying! You can’t do magic tricks at all!”
“Aunt Mingyu, what did you do?”
“Ahem,” Jiang Mingyu pointed, “If I can’t do magic tricks, then how did the baby cream behind you appear?”
“What?!”
The three children turned around, astonished.
Behind them was a bottle of Dabao!
Unfortunately, they didn’t recognize the packaging.
The eldest and second children eagerly opened it, and the youngest quickly joined in to smell it.
Instantly, the room was filled with a fragrant aroma.
The eldest child suddenly realized, “Oh~ I get it, this is women’s perfume?”
The second child pretended to be profound, “Yeah, this smells much better than Auntie’s body odor.” The
third child was the most serious, quickly handing the baby cream back to Jiang Mingyu, “Auntie Mingyu, how do I use this?”
Jiang Mingyu gently squeezed out the baby cream, rubbed it in, and then rubbed it all over the three children’s faces.
“Doesn’t it feel better after applying it? If you listen to me in the future, I’ll do lots of magic tricks for you~”
The Big Bad Wolf began to coax Little Red Riding Hood.