Jiang Yan looked at him coldly, his eyes devoid of any warmth.
Jiang Che hadn’t noticed, his face full of excitement. “Wan Ning has come to join the army. In a couple of days, the house I applied for will be ready. You should come over for a meal then.”
He had been away for training exercises and only returned at noon today, so he didn’t know about Su Nanyue bringing the two children to the military base.
He bounced Jiang Jing Zhou in his arms. “Son, call me Uncle. From now on, if you want anything to eat, just ask your uncle.”
Hearing about delicious food, Jiang Jing Zhou immediately called out, “Uncle!”
Seeing the lunchbox in Jiang Yan’s hand, he reached out. “Meat, I want meat!”
Jiang Che quickly held him properly, pinched his cheek, and scolded him affectionately, “You little greedy cat.”
Jiang Yan watched this family of three, his eyes clouded with coldness.
His mind flashed to the images of Su Nanyue and the two children—thin, frail, and their clothes patched all over.
Then he looked at Su Wan Ning and Jiang Jing Zhou—their faces rosy, their clothes brand new, clearly living well.
Rage surged in his heart, but he didn’t show it directly. Instead, he asked Jiang Che, “Why didn’t you tell me about your sister-in-law’s pregnancy?”
Jiang Che had joined the army half a year after getting married, at which time Su Nanyue was already six months pregnant.
Yet, after arriving at the army, he hadn’t mentioned it once.
A flicker of panic crossed Jiang Che’s eyes; he didn’t know how to respond.
Su Wan Ning, standing nearby, spoke up softly, “When A Che left, Yue Yue was indeed pregnant, but…”
She sighed, her expression troubled. “Those two children aren’t yours. I never thought she’d be so bold as to marry you while pregnant with another man’s child. No wonder she did what she did back then.”
Jiang Che quickly nodded in agreement. “Brother, it’s not that I didn’t want to tell you. It’s just… I really didn’t know how to bring it up.”
Jiang Yan looked at the two of them, his expression icy cold.
He believed he had been a dutiful son and a responsible brother.
But what about them?
They bullied and insulted his wife and children, and behind his back, labeled his sons as bastards.
Jiang Che had always been afraid of him. Seeing his silence, he knew his brother was truly angry this time and lowered his voice. “Brother, I’m telling the truth. I really didn’t lie to you.”
Su Wan Ning added, “When she was pregnant, her belly was unusually large. Mom was worried and specially brought a midwife to check on her. The midwife confirmed that her pregnancy timeline didn’t match up.”
“Later, the two children were born much earlier than expected.”
Jiang Che nodded vigorously beside her.
Jiang Yan’s dark eyes turned colder as his gaze swept over Jiang Che. “Are you sure you didn’t tell me because you were worried about me?”
Jiang Che’s heart trembled, but he stuck to his story. “Of course. After all, no man could tolerate something like this.”
“Hah!” Jiang Yan let out a cold laugh.
The laugh made Jiang Che uneasy. He tentatively asked, “Brother, what are you laughing at?”
He had just reunited with Su Wan Ning and was too caught up in their intimacy.
He had no idea that Su Nanyue had run away with the children.
Su Wan Ning knew but hadn’t had the chance to tell Jiang Che yet.
Feeling flustered, she hurriedly said, “I was going to tell you about this when I arrived, but I didn’t expect Yue Yue to steal Mom and Dad’s money and run off with the two children a week ago.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yan fixed his sharp, hawk-like eyes on Su Wan Ning. Under his intense gaze, she broke out in a cold sweat.
She forced herself to appear calm, but her voice trembled involuntarily.
“We searched for them as soon as Dad, Mom, and I realized they were missing, but we couldn’t find them. Someone said they saw her leaving with the children and a man.”
Her story matched exactly what Jiang Jianguo and his wife had said. If Jiang Yan hadn’t already encountered Su Nanyue and the two children, he might have actually believed their account.
At this moment, he felt nothing but profound irony.
His gaze swept over the trio. “She brought the children to find me. I met them on the train—just the three of them, no other man.”
Jiang Che was genuinely panicked now.
Su Wan Ning also grew flustered and blurted out reflexively, “Impossible.”
How could Su Nanyue have brought those two little bastards to find Jiang Yan?
Wasn’t she terrified of him?
And where did she get the address?
Watching their guilty panic, Jiang Yan’s face darkened ominously, a terrifying ferocity radiating from him.
Everything was clear to him now—the discrepancies about the conception date, the claim of an early delivery.
They were all excuses fabricated to silence gossip. They knew better than anyone who the children’s father really was.
“You know perfectly well what game you’re playing.”
He turned to Jiang Che. “I’ll be having a word with your superiors about this matter.”
Jiang Che grew desperate and hurriedly pleaded, “Brother, I truly didn’t know they were your children.”
The lunchbox in his hand had gone cold. Remembering that Su Nanyue and the children were waiting for him, Jiang Yan had no more patience to waste on them.
He picked up the lunchbox and headed toward the Guest House.
Afraid he would actually go to the leadership, Jiang Che rushed forward to block his path.
Jiang Yan lifted his eyes, giving him an icy glare. “Get out of my way!”
His voice was utterly devoid of warmth.
Though frantic with fear, Jiang Che didn’t dare obstruct him further and could only watch helplessly as Jiang Yan walked away.
Back at the Guest House, after Jiang Yan left, Su Nanyue fetched water to wash the children’s faces. Once they fell asleep, she began calculating her finances.
When she left the Jiang family, she had extorted five hundred from Wang Xiu Lan. She’d spent forty-eight yuan and twenty fen, mostly on train tickets which cost twenty-eight yuan.
That left four hundred fifty-one yuan and eighty fen.
In addition, there was the two hundred yuan bonus the Political Commissar had given her today.
So she now had six hundred fifty-one yuan and eighty fen.
In an era where the average monthly wage was thirty to forty yuan, this was no small sum.
With this money and finding a job, she could support herself and the two little ones after divorcing Jiang Yan.
Comforted by this thought, she felt more settled.
She set aside twenty yuan, then carefully stored the remaining money and the remittance slip.
Holding both children, she settled down to sleep.
Her body was severely depleted and needed proper nourishment.
She was awakened by noise. Opening her eyes, she saw Jiang Yan holding Xiao Bao in one arm and Da Bao in the other.
“You’re awake. I’ve fetched hot water. Get up and wash your face, then we’ll eat.”
Su Nanyue lay in bed, momentarily dazed, before registering his words.
She sat up, rubbed her face to wake herself properly, then got out of bed. There was cold water in the basin; she added some hot water, washed her face, and felt refreshed.
By then, Jiang Yan had already opened the lunchboxes. Seeing Su Nanyue approach, he handed her a pair of chopsticks.
She reached out, took the chopsticks, and glanced at the two children still perched on Jiang Yan’s legs.
“When did you get here?”
Jiang Yan had already distributed chopsticks to the two little ones and replied, “Just arrived.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Bao chimed in, “Daddy’s lying. He’s been here for quite a while.”
Jiang Yan showed no embarrassment at being exposed. “You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to wake you.”
Su Nanyue hummed in acknowledgment. Noticing Jiang Yan was also holding a pair of chopsticks, she said, “Put them down now.”
Before Jiang Yan could react, Da Bao and Xiao Bao were already squirming to get off his lap.
Jiang Yan held them by their waists and set them down on the floor.
The lunchbox had been kept warm in hot water, so the food inside was still steaming.
Jiang Yan ate quickly. After finishing, he began serving the children while saying, “I’ve already tidied up the house. We can go straight there after the meal.”
“I have these two days off. Tomorrow we’ll go downtown and buy anything else we need.”
He also needed to buy two sets of clothes each for the children and Su Nanyue.
Their current clothing was much too thin.
Su Nanyue waited until he finished speaking before responding, “What I said earlier was serious. You don’t need to force yourself to stay with me because of Da Bao and Xiao Bao.”
“Even if we divorce, you’ll still be their father. I won’t stop you from seeing them.”
She silently added to herself: After all, the more attached he remains to the children, the more willingly he’ll provide child support.
Jiang Yan lifted his gaze to study Su Nanyue.
He found her with her head bowed, focused on her meal.
He examined her openly without reservation. “If we divorce, what are your plans afterward?”