Su Jiuyue shook her head.
Couldn’t be Li Yanchuan, could it? More likely Bai Lili had gone back and run her mouth again, and Li Yanchuan was probably lecturing everyone as usual…
Whatever.
As far as the world was concerned, Li Yanchuan was already dead.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that her past self had been an absolute idiot.
Her husband had “died,” leaving behind a martyr’s pension. The children were entitled to compensation. Her own salary was hers to spend however she pleased, without anyone telling her what she could or couldn’t do.
What a wonderful life.
So why had she been so desperate to cling to such a biased, unfair husband?
For the first time, she truly understood the kind of life some men dreamed of.
“Promotion, wealth… and a dead wife.”
Damn.
It really did sound liberating.
All she wanted now was to sever every last tie with Li Yanchuan and never have anything to do with him again for the rest of her life.
The more she thought about it, the happier she became.
She worked with renewed energy, even humming a little tune.
Unfortunately, she sang terribly.
And it happened to be the middle of the night…
Political Commissar Zhang got up to use the bathroom. Hearing the eerie wailing outside, he was so startled that he ran back to his room before he’d even managed to pull up his pants.
“Honey, don’t go outside tonight. That crying out there is creepy as hell.”
Still half asleep, Sister Wang listened carefully before sighing.
“That’s Jiuyue next door crying.”
Political Commissar Zhang: “…”
Since when did crying sound like a ghost howling?
But Sister Wang sighed again.
“Poor Jiuyue… She has the children with her during the day, so she doesn’t dare cry. She can only wait until the middle of the night to cry quietly by herself. My heart just aches for her…”
Political Commissar Zhang sighed as well.
These past few days, all he’d dealt with were the families of fallen soldiers.
It was heartbreaking.
The night grew even deeper.
Li Tao slept soundly beside them.
Bai Lili, nestled in Li Yanchuan’s arms, seemed fast asleep, but Li Yanchuan remained wide awake.
For no reason he could explain, his heart suddenly tightened, as though pricked by a tiny needle.
At that moment, Su Jiuyue unexpectedly came to mind.
He remembered her fingers, always slightly cool.
He remembered the graceful curve of her neck as she lowered her head to mend clothes, quiet and gentle like moonlight.
But before the thought could linger, Bai Lili shifted unconsciously and pressed herself even closer against him.
Li Yanchuan took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
He shouldn’t be thinking about her.
He couldn’t think about her anymore.
Meanwhile, with her back turned to him and hidden by the darkness, Bai Lili slowly curled her lips into a cold, triumphant smile.
She knew she had made it through tonight.
She would never allow Li Yanchuan to “wake up.”
She would never let him return to Su Jiuyue.
This home…
This man…
They belonged to her and Tao Tao now.
No one would take them away.
Quietly, she placed a hand over her lower abdomen.
The pain had actually disappeared long ago.
But at this moment, it was more useful than any weapon.
Su Jiuyue worked quickly.
Before long, she had transformed one of Li Yanchuan’s old uniforms into a perfectly fitted outfit for the little boy.
She quietly placed it beside his pillow before returning to her own room.
The moment her door closed, the little boy opened his eyes.
He carefully turned over and reached out.
It was… clothes.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
He had actually been awake the whole time Su Jiuyue had been measuring him.
He had always been a light sleeper.
The nanny from his old home used to disturb him in the middle of the night, leaving him with the habit of waking at the slightest sound.
At first, he’d been worried.
But it turned out…
She had been making clothes for him.
Thinking back to the steady tap-tap-tap he’d heard earlier…
She had been sewing them herself.
For a long while, he simply lay there in silence.
Then he suddenly realized his face was wet.
He was crying…
Before dawn the next morning, while the sky was still dark, Su Jiuyue quietly slipped out to work.
The house became silent.
Not long afterward, the little boy woke up.
He was still clutching the newly made clothes tightly in his arms.
The room was empty, illuminated only by the faint glow of dawn filtering through the window.
Feeling uneasy, he climbed down from the kang bed barefoot and padded softly toward the room where Jiaojiao was sleeping.
After hesitating for a moment, he gently pushed open the door and slipped inside.
Jiaojiao was still asleep.
He stood beside the bed watching her for a while before carefully climbing up and lying down beside her.
Still hugging his new clothes tightly against his chest, he reached out with one small hand until he found hers.
Her hand was warm.
As if he’d finally found something safe to hold onto, he closed his eyes, and his breathing gradually steadied.
As daylight slowly brightened the room, Jiaojiao sleepily opened her eyes.
Seeing someone lying beside her, she nearly screamed.
Then she recognized the thin little figure and let out a relieved sigh.
“Oh… it’s you.”
The little boy also woke up.
His long eyelashes fluttered as he opened a pair of bright, clear eyes to look at her.
Jiaojiao quickly got dressed while curiously studying him.
“My name’s Jiaojiao. What’s your name?”
The little boy looked at her and slowly shook his head.
“You… don’t remember your name?”
He nodded, his eyes innocent and slightly confused.
“Hmm…”
Resting her chin in her hands, Jiaojiao thought very seriously.
Suddenly her eyes lit up.
“My name is Jiaojiao. How about you be called Yunsheng? Like clouds rising into the sky—high up, bright and beautiful!”
She pointed toward the gradually brightening sky outside the window.
The little boy followed her finger, looked out at the sky, then looked back into her sparkling eyes.
He nodded.
“Mmm.”
“You can talk!” Jiaojiao exclaimed happily, clapping her hands.
Yunsheng said nothing else, simply gazing quietly at her.
Jiaojiao immediately understood what he meant and quickly explained,
“Mom works in the cafeteria. She leaves at four every morning, but she’ll be back by seven-thirty! Don’t worry. She’s the cook, and her food is super delicious!”
She deliberately dragged out the last few words before pointing at the clothes in his arms.
“And look! Mom can make clothes too!”
Yunsheng lowered his head to look at the brand-new, soft outfit.
A tiny smile, almost too faint to notice, appeared at the corner of his lips.
“They’re… pretty.”
Only then did Jiaojiao take a closer look at the fabric and style.
The more she looked, the more familiar they seemed.
The dark blue cloth…
The collar…
Suddenly she remembered.
Wasn’t this made from one of Dad’s old uniforms?
Mom had altered it.
Her heart felt both warm and a little sore.
“Hurry and put it on!”
But Yunsheng simply hugged the clothes tighter and shook his head.
After thinking for a moment, Jiaojiao asked tentatively,
“Do you want to bathe first? We haven’t heated any water yet. Maybe… wait until Mom comes home?”
Yunsheng nodded.
Even so, he continued hugging the clothes without changing.
Jiaojiao became anxious.
“If you go outside wearing those ragged clothes, everyone will think Mom mistreated you! Come on, put these on. They’re nice and warm.”
She gently tugged at the sleeve of his old shirt.
Yunsheng looked at her worried expression, then at the clean clothes in his arms.
Finally, he slowly loosened his grip.
Turning his back to Jiaojiao, he began unfastening the buttons of his thin, tattered shirt.
The instant he took it off, Jiaojiao gasped.
Across the boy’s frail back crisscrossed several old scars that had faded to pale pink.
There were also one or two darker red marks that looked as though they had only recently scabbed over.
In the weak morning light, they looked especially shocking.
Jiaojiao unconsciously reached out.
Her fingertips hovered in midair, too afraid to touch him.
Her voice softened to barely a whisper.
“…Did they do this to you?”