Yunsheng froze.
His small back stiffened almost imperceptibly.
After a few seconds, he gave the faintest nod, then quickly shook his head.
Without turning around, he hurriedly pulled on the new clothes.
It was as if he wanted this soft layer of fabric to hide every painful scar and memory beneath it.
The clothes were a little too big, making his already frail frame look even thinner.
Only after he had finished dressing did he slowly turn around. The warmth of the new clothes seemed unfamiliar to him. Lowering his head, he carefully smoothed the hem with his hands.
Jiaojiao didn’t press him any further. She jumped down from the kang bed, grabbed a comb, and said,
“Turn around. I’ll fix your hair.”
Standing behind him, she clumsily but gently combed his messy hair, her eyes catching the faint edges of the scars peeking out from beneath his collar. Her heart ached.
At last, the morning sunlight spilled completely through the window lattice, illuminating the two small figures huddled together in the glow.
One chattered away, trying to chase off the lingering gloom.
The other quietly wrapped his old wounds beneath a brand-new shell.
When they were done, Jiaojiao took Yunsheng’s hand.
“Come on! I’ll take you to Mom’s place for breakfast!”
She carefully locked the door behind them, and the two little figures ran one after the other through the quiet military family compound.
Just as Sister Wang stepped outside to dump a basin of water, she spotted them.
At first, she thought Jiaojiao was dragging Li Taotao along. But after taking a closer look…
Wait, that child is so skinny. Whose kid is that?
Before she could ask, the two children had already disappeared into the distance.
The cafeteria was at its busiest.
The moment Jiaojiao walked in holding Yunsheng’s hand, they attracted everyone’s attention.
“Jiaojiao, whose child is this?”
“Oh my, I’ve never seen him before.”
Jiaojiao puffed out her little chest and proudly announced,
“This is the big brother I picked up!”
The adults froze for a second before bursting into warm laughter, their conversations buzzing throughout the room.
Jiaojiao ignored them and confidently led Yunsheng to the serving line.
From behind the counter, Sister-in-law Song spotted her immediately.
“Jiaojiao! Come over here! Eat inside!”
Jiaojiao quickly pulled Yunsheng through the side entrance.
The murmurs among the crowd only grew louder.
The Luo brothers had just gotten their breakfast and greeted her with smiles.
“Morning, Jiaojiao!”
“Morning, big brothers!” Jiaojiao answered brightly before gently pushing Yunsheng forward.
“This is my brother—the big brother I picked up. His name is Yunsheng.”
Busy cooking, Su Jiuyue assumed Yunsheng was simply the boy’s original name. She glanced over briefly.
Her gaze landed on the oversized clothes he was wearing, and she frowned slightly.
“The clothes are still a bit too big. Auntie will alter them for you later.”
Yunsheng quietly shook his head.
“They’re fine.”
Su Jiuyue had no time to continue the conversation. The vegetables in the wok were waiting to be stir-fried.
After breakfast, the kind-hearted Luo brothers took the two little ones outside to play.
Only then did Su Jiuyue finally have time to eat her own meal.
The kitchen staff immediately surrounded her, asking all at once where Yunsheng had come from.
She gave them a brief explanation.
When she mentioned the injuries covering the boy’s body and what might have happened to him, the bustling kitchen suddenly fell silent.
A moment later, everyone gasped.
Commander Li became so angry that he slapped Su Jiuyue squarely on the back.
“You silly girl! You’re way too reckless! Those were human traffickers! A young woman like you is exactly the kind of target they’d be after!”
“Exactly! Jiuyue, you’ve got far too much nerve!”
“So the poor kid still doesn’t even know what happened to him…”
“…”
Everyone scolded her one after another, but their words were filled with concern and lingering fear rather than blame.
After lecturing her, they all sighed.
“Ah… what a pitiful child.”
“Let him stay here for now. We can’t send him back to suffer again.”
Commander Li smacked his lips and said gruffly,
“I think that boy has honest eyes. He doesn’t look bad. If it really comes down to it… I’ll raise him myself!”
Su Jiuyue felt a warmth spread through her heart and smiled.
“Master Li, it won’t come to that. Besides, Commander Huo personally agreed to let us bring him back. If anything comes up, I’ll just dump him on the commander to deal with.”
The words had barely left her mouth when someone coughed at the cafeteria entrance.
Commander Huo stood there holding his lunchbox, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
“Comrade Su Jiuyue… I seem to have heard someone say she plans to dump the child on me?”
Su Jiuyue’s face instantly turned bright red.
She wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.
“C-Commander… I… I was only joking…”
The cafeteria fell silent for a heartbeat.
Then everyone erupted into even louder laughter.
Who could have guessed he’d be standing right there?
Meanwhile, Bai Lili had also left the house.
She walked over to the old locust tree in the middle of the residential compound.
It had always been the neighborhood’s information hub.
Several diligent military wives had already claimed the shady spot, mending clothes and stitching shoe soles while exchanging the latest gossip.
“Did you hear? After this latest frontline operation, there were quite a few casualties and serious injuries. Families without jobs may be told to return to their hometowns.”
A long-faced aunt lowered her voice as she spoke.
“That’s right.”
The round-faced woman beside her immediately chimed in, rubbing her needle through her hair.
“Policies change overnight. If you don’t have a proper job attached to the unit, once the organization tells you to leave, what can you do?”
The first woman suddenly remembered something and looked across at another.
“Sister Zhang, you’re always well informed. I vaguely heard the cafeteria kitchen might be taking on more people. Is that true?”
Sister Zhang paused her sewing and shook her head.
“I haven’t heard anything definite. That’s a great position. The work is hard, but it’s stable, and there are plenty of perks. Lots of people have their eyes on it.”
Just then, the sharp-eyed round-faced woman noticed Bai Lili approaching and immediately called out enthusiastically.
“Oh! Isn’t this Company Commander Li’s wife? Come over! It’s nice and cool here.”
Bai Lili paused.
She absolutely hated being called “Company Commander Li’s wife.”
But her usual pleasant smile quickly appeared as she walked over.
“Good morning, Aunties and Sisters-in-law. Chatting already? I just came out for some fresh air.”
“We were just discussing something important,” the long-faced aunt said, grabbing her arm and guiding her onto a stone bench.
“Lili, isn’t your sister-in-law, Su Jiuyue, the cook in the cafeteria kitchen? That’s a genuinely good job. Tell us honestly—is the kitchen hiring anyone these days?”
The moment she finished speaking, several pairs of eager eyes turned toward Bai Lili.
Caught completely off guard, Bai Lili’s expression stiffened for the briefest instant.
How would she know?
She and Su Jiuyue were practically sworn enemies. She never asked about anything happening in the cafeteria.
But the women sitting before her all had husbands with respectable ranks. They saw each other all the time, and she couldn’t afford to offend any of them.
Her mind raced.
Then she put on an even smoother smile and replied in just the right tone.
“As for that… Jiuyue hasn’t mentioned anything to me. You all know how busy she is, and I’ve been busy too. The children keep us occupied, so we hardly have time to chat.”
She smiled apologetically.
“How about this? The next time I see her, I’ll ask for everyone.”