Silently, Xia Mingyu lowered her eyes and did not look at Si Konghuai, giving him no reaction at all.
Si Konghuai did not mind. He stared at her and slowly continued speaking, as if performing a one-man show.
“Five years ago, I went south on a mission. On my way back, I passed through here.”
“When I was in the wild, I misjudged something and accidentally ate poisonous wild mushrooms. By the time I realized it, it was already too late. My consciousness started to blur.”
“I had no choice but to enter a village to seek help. I remember pushing open a courtyard door and walking in. At that time, I had almost completely lost awareness.”
“I can only vaguely remember what that house looked like. When I woke up again, I was already by the roadside. The poison had been neutralized.”
“My clothes were a bit disheveled, but I didn’t pay attention. I thought entering a villager’s home was just a hallucination caused by the poisoning.”
“At that time, I was rushing to complete my mission, so I didn’t think too much. I never expected that it wasn’t a hallucination… and that I had done something to you…”
When he said this, Si Konghuai felt extremely remorseful. If he had been more careful back then, or investigated properly afterward, he would not have only learned the truth five years later.
“Sorry. I made you suffer. Because of me, you were wronged and had to give birth to my children and raise them alone. I owe you too much over these five years.”
“No matter what resentment you have, I will accept it. It’s my debt. You can do whatever you want to me, and I will not resist.”
“I just want to say that I am willing to take responsibility. I will marry you and bring you to the capital so you and the children can live a better life.”
Si Konghuai looked at her sincerely, offering all his sincerity.
“Of course, if you are unwilling to accept me, I will respect your choice. I will give you money and send supplies every month to ensure your livelihood.”
“Your future will be my responsibility.”
“Whether you hate me or not, I hope you do not reject these things. They are what you and the children deserve.”
He finished speaking and waited tensely for her response.
However, to Xia Mingyu, all of this sounded like nonsense.
She couldn’t believe someone could come up with such a flimsy excuse. She originally didn’t want to speak, but now she couldn’t help but glare at him.
“Poisonous mushrooms? Do you think you can just casually eat wild mushrooms you don’t recognize? And you’re a soldier on top of that—would you really be that careless?”
“Even if you really got poisoned, how did you just happen to walk into my house? And how did you still have the strength to do… that…”
“And how did you manage to leave without alerting anyone and then remember nothing at all afterward? Who are you trying to fool?”
Even if all of that were true, how could he have done something like that and still have no memory of it?
How could he not find that strange?
This wasn’t something that could be explained away as simple negligence. If anything, it sounded more deliberate.
Xia Mingyu’s sharp questioning left no room for him to treat her like a fool.
Si Konghuai had no rebuttal. If he weren’t the one involved, he wouldn’t believe such a story either.
How could it be such a coincidence—entering, doing that, leaving, and remembering nothing?
But the truth was, he truly had no memory of it.
Aside from slightly disheveled clothes and two misbuttoned buttons, he noticed nothing unusual at the time.
Since he had never had such experience before, he may not have been able to distinguish dream from reality.
Now, thinking back carefully, his body that day did feel somewhat off…
But it was too late to say anything now.
He could only apologize.
“I’m sorry. It was my fault.”
“Please give me a chance to make it up to you.”
He lowered his head in guilt, letting her scold him.
Tall and strong, yet standing there obediently with his hands clasped, like a large dog being reprimanded by its owner.
From a distance, Lu Ning, who had been secretly watching, couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
Even though he couldn’t hear their conversation, their expressions told him enough.
Goodness—this Xia Mingyu really knows how to handle people!
She actually managed to scold Si Konghuai into behaving better than his own soldiers.
“I don’t need it!”
“I will raise my children well. They don’t need a father!”
Xia Mingyu was still angry. She refused all apologies and compensation and turned to leave.
She hadn’t even managed to escape from Qiao Hongye’s pit yet—she wasn’t about to jump into another one.
And now that the children were older, with Si Konghuai suddenly appearing, who knew if he had ulterior motives?
She was extremely wary.
“If you truly feel sorry, then leave now and never come back!”
“I will consider what you did for Tuan Tuan as settled!”
Xia Mingyu pointed toward the direction of the train passage.
“Irreversible. It’s my fault.”
“Tuan Tuan is my child. Saving him is what I should do, but it cannot make up for my past mistakes.”
“Xia Tongzhi, don’t be emotional. If you don’t want Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan to know I am their father, I won’t tell them. I respect your decision.”
He stepped back slightly to ease her pressure.
“Don’t rush to drive me away. Your current husband Qiao Hongye treats you badly. At least let me stay and help you deal with him.”
“Otherwise, even if I leave, your life with the children will still be difficult. He is a soldier—military marriages are not easy to dissolve.”
“Do you want him to have another chance to secretly take the children away?”
Xia Mingyu’s resolve wavered for a moment.
Si Konghuai’s words were not wrong.
If he could help deal with Qiao Hongye, things would be much easier.
And since it was his fault in the first place, letting him help was only reasonable.
Her thoughts shifted.
A good woman gets only reputation, but a bad woman gets everything.
Her eyes darkened slightly.
“Fine. You can stay for a few days.”
“You help me deal with Qiao Hongye, and then we are even.”
“But you are not allowed to reveal your identity to the children—or anyone else.”
“I repeat,” Xia Mingyu emphasized.
“Alright. No problem. I promise I will not take the initiative to reveal my identity to Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan.”
“If you don’t agree, I will only be their uncle, not their father.”
Si Konghuai nodded solemnly, his gaze firm.
Seeing his righteous expression, most people would believe him—but Xia Mingyu felt it was not enough.
“You need to write me a guarantee letter.”
“If you break your promise, I will report you to your military superiors!”
Xia Mingyu said proudly, chin raised.
She would not be fooled again by a man’s words.
“Alright.”
Si Konghuai smiled slightly at her expression.
He immediately found paper and pen and wrote a guarantee letter, stating clearly that he would not actively reveal his identity to the children.
He emphasized the word “actively.”
If he violated the agreement, he would immediately leave and never acknowledge the children again.
He would also pay 500,000 yuan in compensation and voluntarily resign from his military position as punishment.
He wrote seriously, signed his name, and even pressed his thumbprint.
Sincere and formal.
Five hundred thousand yuan was an astronomical sum in this era.
Even Xia Mingyu, who came from a well-off background, couldn’t help but tremble slightly at the amount.
She carefully put away the guarantee letter.
After calming herself, she returned with Si Konghuai to the children.
“Mom, what did you and Uncle do? Why so long?”
“Yeah, Mom, you were gone so long.”
The twins hugged her legs and looked up curiously.
Xia Mingyu smiled gently and brushed them off.
“Mom was thanking Uncle. Without him, it would have taken a long time to find you.”
She easily changed the subject.
She picked both children up.
They were already four years old and quite heavy, but she insisted on carrying both.
Si Konghuai frowned in concern and reached out.
“I’ll help you carry one.”
“So will I,” Lu Ning added.
But she refused.
“No need. I can carry them.”
The children clung to her, talking excitedly about their experiences in the capital.
Behind them, Lu Ning and Si Konghuai spoke in low voices.
“Are they really your children? They look exactly alike. Even if not, you could just recognize them as godsons.”
“I did something wrong back then. She doesn’t want me to acknowledge them. Don’t mention it.”
“Serves you right.”
“What about your family?”
“The old master already knows. He said if I don’t bring the children back, he’ll come here himself.”
Si Konghuai rubbed his temples.
At that moment, he suddenly walked toward the children.
“Which one is Tuan Tuan? Which one is Yuan Yuan?”
“You two look exactly the same. I can’t tell. How do you usually distinguish them?”
The children immediately became lively and started explaining.
As they walked, they reached the village entrance.
Someone suddenly shouted:
“Oh my god! Mingyu, you found the children’s father!”