When Lu Xingzhou and Lu Mingjue came downstairs, the two siblings were washing their feet on small stools.
The two little troublemakers were excitedly talking to Su Yueheng about going up the mountain to catch fireflies.
Lu Xingzhou heard the children’s voices and subconsciously looked for Su Yueheng.
She was leaning by the window, gently swaying a palm fan. Her jade-like face carried a faint smile, and a few strands of hair fell against her cheek.
Moonlight poured down behind her, making her figure look hazy and dreamlike, like a fairy from the moon.
“Uncle, you really appeared!”
Lu Sangning’s cheerful voice broke his thoughts. He curved his lips slightly. “What do you mean ‘really appeared’?”
Su Yueheng slightly lifted her chin at the sound and saw Lu Xingzhou standing at the stairway. He had changed out of his military uniform into a white shirt. His chest muscles were more noticeable, and his handsome face carried a smile, no longer as cold as before.
His trousers were also changed, neatly fastened with a belt. His broad shoulders and narrow waist created a perfect, restrained silhouette—full of a strong, abstinent aura.
Their eyes met. She smiled faintly as a greeting.
Lu Xingzhou coughed lightly, then looked at the two dirty children and said, “You two have really been running wild these past days. Have you been listening to grandma properly?”
Lu Sangning giggled and avoided answering, instead saying, “Just now, pretty sister told me that Uncle would appear at the staircase—and he really did. Pretty sister is amazing!”
Lu Shengli facepalmed, thinking his sister was a bit silly.
Clearly, Uncle had just come back today—how could it be that the pretty sister was amazing? Had his sister always been this foolish?
Sigh, since it was the pretty sister who tricked her, he would help keep it a secret.
Lu Xingzhou twitched his lips. “Sangning, are you alright?”
The little girl seemed fine normally—why was she acting so silly now?
What kind of magic did Su Yueheng have?
He looked at her again, studying her for a few seconds. Ignoring his slightly faster heartbeat, he thought: she’s just good-looking, speaks nicely, knows how to fight, and has a cute personality—why does everyone in the family like her so much?
Lu Sangning blinked. “I’m fine!”
Lu Mingjue smiled from the side. “Sangning and Shengli really like their future aunt-in-law. They listen to her and have even become a bit more childish.”
Lu Xingzhou suddenly felt like he had become a live-in son-in-law.
Lu Shengli then turned excitedly to Su Yueheng. “Sister, are you really going to be our aunt-in-law?”
Su Yueheng smiled and nodded. “Yes. In a few days, we’ll all be family.”
Lu Sangning then stood with her little feet in the basin, eyes full of anticipation. “Then, then, sister, do you think I and brother are cute?”
“Cute.”
“Do you like us?”
“Yes.”
“Then… can you be our mom instead?”
Lu Sangning tilted her head, her dirty little hands grabbing Lu Xingzhou’s trouser leg. Before Su Yueheng could answer, she continued in a soft, disappointed tone:
“I like brother, and I also like you, pretty sister. Now that you two are becoming a family, I don’t want to call you uncle and aunt-in-law anymore. I want to call you dad and mom.”
Lu Shengli quickly nodded along. He wasn’t good at acting cute, so he was afraid that if he said the wrong thing, they might not want to keep them.
They had already agreed before that once their uncle came back, they would make a preemptive move.
Lu Mingjue froze in shock. The children had mentioned this before, but she hadn’t taken it seriously, thinking it was unfair to the couple.
She didn’t expect them to say it directly now!
Lu Xingzhou frowned slightly. If it were before, he would have agreed without hesitation—these children were pitiful, and it would be nice to make them part of the family.
But now…
He first needed to ask Su Yueheng’s opinion. He suddenly realized he had forgotten to tell her something important—he was infertile.
Su Yueheng noticed several nervous gazes on her and quickly snapped back to reality.
She smiled and stood up, fanning herself as she walked toward them. “Alright then. I’ll just raise two ready-made troublemakers. Life will definitely be more interesting.”
Lu Mingjue was a bit surprised. “Ah Heng…”
The two children, however, didn’t think much and cheered excitedly. “Yay! We’ll have parents soon!”
Lu Xingzhou said in a deep voice, “Comrade Su Yueheng, let’s go for a walk outside.”
She understood he had something to say and nodded. “Let’s just walk in the courtyard. I’m not dressed properly to go outside.”
“Alright.”
He then turned to his mother. “Mom, please watch Sangning and Shengli.”
Lu Mingjue nodded. “Leave it to me. You two go take a walk.”
The two children didn’t care and immediately clung to their grandmother.
Lu Sangning wiped her feet and asked sweetly, “Grandma, when will Uncle and Pretty Sister get married? If she already agreed, when will Uncle change our household registration back?”
Lu Mingjue pinched her cheek. “Go ask your uncle yourself. Now go upstairs and change clothes.”
In the courtyard.
Lu Xingzhou found a stool for Su Yueheng, and they sat side by side on the steps.
He sighed softly. “Ah Heng, why?”
“Why what?” she asked.
“Why did you agree to Sangning’s suggestion?”
Su Yueheng rested her chin on her hand, gently waving her fan. Her long lashes fluttered. “Because Sangning and Shengli are very well-behaved. I like them. That’s all.”
Her gaze was open and honest, unafraid of his scrutiny.
Lu Xingzhou stared at her for a while. Seeing her yawn, he coughed lightly, a trace of guilt flashing in his eyes. “Ah Heng, thank you.”
“No need to thank me. We’ll be family in a few days. Commander Lu, all this thanking is unnecessary~”
She shot him a playful glance, then stood up while yawning. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back.”
Lu Xingzhou still didn’t understand why she was willing to become a stepmother.
As she turned to leave, he subconsciously grabbed her slender arm and looked away, avoiding her questioning gaze.
“Yueheng, I need to talk to you.”