Liu Shutong was washing his feet while listening to Wei Wenjie complain.
“Old Liu, tell me, how could Little Huo’s wife have such a miserable life? Just look at those two children. They’re as thin as matchsticks! There’s barely anything left of them except those huge heads! How did their lives become like this? I saw Little Huo sending them money just last month. Huo Guangji doesn’t seem like the kind of man who would completely neglect his wife and children.”
Liu Shutong paused and sighed.
“Women back home have a hard life. The country isn’t wealthy, so ordinary people aren’t exactly living comfortably either. Sigh… From now on, we’ll just have to look after them a little more.”
Even Liu Shutong himself couldn’t understand how Qin Yue’e and her two children had ended up in such a state.
After all, he had personally trained and commanded Huo Guangji’s unit. He knew his subordinate well.
Huo Guangji absolutely wasn’t the kind of man who would abandon his wife and children.
“Of course! She came to see me earlier.”
Wei Wenjie handed him a towel from the rack.
“She came to see you? Did she have some kind of problem?”
“Exactly! And let me tell you, Qin Yue’e is one stubborn woman. She came to ask me if I could help her find some work so she could support her children.”
The moment he heard this, Liu Shutong’s movements stopped.
He frowned.
“Didn’t the logistics department assign food rations to the three of them?”
“They did. Their food coupons are definitely available. I just don’t know why, but from the way she looked, she seems to be desperately short of money. And Huo Guangji’s salary isn’t exactly small.”
Wei Wenjie glanced at Liu Shutong.
His salary certainly wasn’t small.
As a special forces captain, with his additional allowances for special missions, he should have more than enough to support a wife and two children.
The problem was whether that money actually reached Qin Yue’e.
If Huo Guangji had given Qin Yue’e even half of what he earned, would the three of them really have needed to ask others for work?
Thinking of the timid and cautious way Qin Yue’e and the children had behaved, Liu Shutong suddenly felt a sting in his eyes.
He threw the towel into the basin.
Splash!
Water sprayed everywhere.
He immediately put on his shoes and stood up.
“Old Liu! Where are you going this late?”
Wei Wenjie called after him.
“I’m going to settle accounts with that brat Huo Guangji!”
With that, Liu Shutong stormed out.
“Here!”
It was almost time for lights out when Liu Shutong kicked open the door to Huo Guangji’s dormitory.
His furious roar made Huo Guangji’s heart jump.
But his military discipline kicked in immediately. He straightened his uniform and stood at attention, waiting for his superior’s orders.
Liu Shutong looked him up and down before suddenly speaking in an irritated tone.
“Didn’t I tell you to go comfort your wife? What are you doing here?”
Huo Guangji frowned instinctively.
Seeing Liu Shutong’s furrowed brows, he knew his commander was furious.
Then he remembered seeing that woman at the training ground.
He immediately understood.
She went to the company commander and complained about me.
Typical woman.
He gave a quiet snort but still reported formally.
“Reporting! I was preparing to go to sleep!”
Liu Shutong glared at him.
“You can still sleep?! Is this where you’re supposed to be sleeping? You’re here sleeping while leaving your wife and children at the guesthouse?”
Sure enough, she had complained about him.
And now she was using the company commander’s authority to pressure him.
She had failed to get money from him, and now she wanted to force him to sleep with her?
What a trick.
Huo Guangji curled his lips.
“Commander, the guesthouse is inside the unit compound. It’s perfectly safe. I don’t need to—”
“Bullshit!”
Liu Shutong glared at him as though he wanted to crack open Huo Guangji’s skull and see what was inside.
“You have a wife here visiting you! Why are you still sleeping in the dormitory? Pack your things and get your ass to the guesthouse right now!”
“I…”
“Don’t try any tricks with me! Xiao Li, go with him and carry his things over. And keep an eye on him. I don’t care what you have to do—make sure he gets inside that room!”
Liu Shutong didn’t give him any room to argue.
“Commander, is that really necessary…?”
Huo Guangji’s face darkened.
“Of course it is! Hurry up! The children will be asleep soon!”
Qin Yue’e had just gotten the two children settled in bed when she heard a knock.
“Coming!”
She quickly put on her clothes and went to open the door.
The moment the door opened, Huo Guangji’s tall figure appeared outside.
“Why are you here?!”
Qin Yue’e was so shocked she nearly bit her tongue.
Then she noticed the bedding in his hands, along with several personal belongings.
She immediately understood.
This scumbag actually wants to sleep with me!
She quickly blocked the doorway.
“The bed isn’t big enough. There isn’t room for you!”
Huo Guangji looked her up and down.
Her long, soft hair hung loose around her shoulders. Without her hair tied up like it had been during the day, she looked much younger.
The sight reminded him of the fleeting glimpse he’d caught of her at the training ground earlier.
He unconsciously swallowed.
Only then did he remember that when they had first gotten married, she had actually been quite pretty…
“Ahem.”
Huo Guangji coughed lightly before squeezing past Qin Yue’e and entering the room.
“I’ll sleep on the floor.”
Qin Yue’e was speechless.
But she couldn’t stop his mountain-like body from pushing past her.
So she could only glare as he spread his bedding on the floor at the foot of the bed.
The two children had just seen Huo Guangji marching with the soldiers earlier.
Perhaps because of that, they weren’t as afraid of him anymore.
They stared at him curiously with their huge eyes.
Looking at the two little ones on the bed, Huo Guangji’s heart softened slightly.
This was the first time he’d ever seen his children in person.
Every time he’d written home asking for a photograph of them, his mother had always made excuses, saying that taking pictures could frighten young children.
She had kept putting it off.
Before he knew it, the children had already grown this big.
A smile unconsciously appeared at the corners of his lips.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out two eggs.
“Eggs!”
Xiao Zhuyue’s eyes immediately lit up.
She turned to look at Qin Yue’e.
Qin Yue’e pursed her lips.
This scumbag sure knows how to win over children.
Still, if someone was offering food, there was no reason to refuse it.
She nodded slightly.
“Go ahead and eat. When you’re done, I’ll get you some water.”
The happiness on Xiao Zhuyue’s little face was immediately obvious.
Her big eyes curved into delighted crescents.
Afraid that she might be frightened by him, Huo Guangji placed the eggs beside the bed and slowly pushed them toward the children.
Two tiny hands reached out and quickly grabbed the eggs before stuffing them into their mouths.
The effect of those two eggs was immediate.
After finishing his egg, little Qingfeng let out a tiny burp.
Then he opened his little mouth and spoke the first word of his life.
“Dad!”