Only her aunt’s mouth twitched, a flash of disdain in her eyes.
As for the two cousins who had been sitting quietly on the side, treating themselves as part of the background—one looked indifferent, as if it had nothing to do with him, while the other had clear, innocent eyes, gazing blankly at everyone.
What exactly happened back then? Could it be that the reason Dad and Mom aren’t close is because of that incident?
Bai Li’s little head was filled with big questions.
But before Bai Li could figure it out, Yu Jianguo brought today’s matter to a close.
“Alright! That’s enough for today. Everyone, go your separate ways.”
“Qingqiu, from now on, you must teach Linlang properly, so she knows what can and cannot be said, what can and cannot be done.”
“Dingting, Lixia and Li Li were frightened today. Since you’re rarely back, spend some time with them.”
With that, Yu Jianguo stood up first and left the living room with Shen Qionghua.
Bai Li pouted. The moment she saw the guilt flash across the Yu family’s faces, she knew her grandfather would ultimately smooth things over. Fortunately, she had also slapped Wei Linlang, reclaiming at least a bit of justice for herself.
If only she had known, she would have slapped her one more time, making both sides of Wei Linlang’s face symmetrical.
Seeing the fierce grandfather leave, Wei Linlang perked up again, squirming in Yu Qingqiu’s arms, crying and complaining that her face hurt. Yu Qingqiu had no choice but to take Wei Linlang back to her room.
Soon, only Bai Li and her parents remained in the living room.
“Dad, what was Aunt talking about?”
Seeing no one else in the room, Bai Li’s eyes darted around before she suddenly asked Bai Dingting.
Bai Dingting’s expression instantly turned awkward. He instinctively glanced at Yu Lixia, who happened to look back at him. Their eyes met briefly before they quickly looked away.
“Li Li, you’re still young. When you’re older, Dad will tell you.”
Bai Dingting guiltily averted his gaze, avoiding his daughter’s eager, questioning eyes.
Seeing Bai Dingting looking guilty and Yu Lixia blushing like a shrimp, Bai Li’s mind instantly raced through countless storybook plots.
Could it be that Dad and Aunt were originally engaged, but the moment he saw Mom, he fell in love with her and insisted on marrying her instead, abandoning Aunt? That would explain why the Yu family always indulged Yu Qingqiu.
But that didn’t seem right either. If Dad liked Mom, why were the two of them so distant?
Or maybe Mom liked someone else, and Dad forcibly took her? But what did that have to do with Aunt?
Ah!
Little Pi Xiu screamed internally—who could tell Little Pi Xiu what exactly happened back then?
Seeing his daughter’s dazed expression, like a chubby-faced golden tabby cat staring blankly at him, Bai Dingting couldn’t help but smile slightly. He patted her head and asked, “What are you thinking about?”
Lost in thought, Bai Li answered instinctively, “Thinking about the things Dad won’t tell Li Li.”
Bai Dingting: …
“Hehe!” Bai Li forced a laugh and changed the subject. “Dad, what about my reward?”
Bai Dingting continued ruffling his daughter’s hair. “The application has been submitted. We’ll know the result in a few days.”
Remembering that Bai Dingting and Yu Lixia had never stayed overnight at the Yu family home after their marriage, Bai Li asked him again, “Dad, will you stay at home today?”
The curve at the corner of Bai Dingting’s mouth vanished, his eyes carrying a hint of apology. “Li Li, Dad still has to return to standby duty later, so I won’t be staying home tonight.”
Bai Li rolled her eyes. “Dad, this is the military family compound. It would be very convenient for you to stay here tonight and go back later.”
Bai Dingting: “…” He realized that having an overly sharp-tongued daughter wasn’t exactly a pleasant thing.
Seeing Bai Dingting’s awkwardness, Yu Lixia softly came to his rescue. “Li Li, this is Grandpa’s house. Dad has missions at any time, so it’s not very convenient for him to stay at Grandpa’s place.”
Bai Dingting hadn’t expected Yu Lixia to speak up for him voluntarily and glanced at her in surprise.
Yu Lixia gave a slight smile, indicating she would calm their daughter down.
Bai Li paid no mind to Bai Dingting and Yu Lixia’s inner thoughts, continuing her soul-searching questions for Bai Dingting. “If that’s the case, Dad, since you’re a regiment commander now, why haven’t you applied for family housing?”
The little cub had wondered before—all the children in the compound lived with both their parents, so why was it just her and her mom living at Grandpa’s house? She had also imagined countless times what it would be like to live with both her dad and mom.
Although the little cub was no longer here, Little Pi Xiu could still help the little cub ask her dad and mom about it.
Bai Dingting, bombarded with three consecutive questions from his daughter, made his already sharply defined facial contours appear even more chiseled, as if carved by a knife and axe. “Li Li, Dad often goes on missions. If Mom were alone at home, she could easily be bullied. Living at Grandpa’s house is the best for Mom.”
He hadn’t forgotten the looks in his wife’s adoptive parents’ eyes—the desire to kill her—after what happened back then. Even after he and his wife got married, her adoptive parents would scold her every time they met, saying she owed Yu Qingqiu and wouldn’t rest until they had stripped a layer of skin off her.
He worried that if he didn’t live with his wife, his gentle and delicate wife would eventually be bullied so badly by that family that she’d be stripped of a layer of skin. Living with the Yu family was, in a way, a form of protection for her.
Hearing Bai Dingting’s explanation, Bai Li frowned. Were these two planning to live separately forever?
That would be a disaster.
People nowadays weren’t yet accustomed to things like divorce, but in a few decades, divorce would become as easy as drinking water. If not for that, there wouldn’t be things like “cooling-off periods” later on.
Could it be that her dad and mom would divorce decades later, each embarking on some twilight romance, leaving her, their child, to lick her wounds alone? Unloved by both father and mother?
That absolutely wouldn’t do!
Bai Li’s eyes darted around as she made up her mind: first, figure out what happened back then, then come up with a solution.
Sigh!
Being human was hard, and being a child was even harder. Little Pi Xiu had only been a child for half a day and already discovered a pile of problems in this family waiting to be solved.
For the sake of Little Pi Xiu’s future quality of life as a human, this family needed to be saved.
Seeing that his daughter wasn’t pressing him further, Bai Dingting secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said to Bai Li, “Li Li, Dad has to return to standby duty now. When your reward comes through, I’ll bring it back to you, okay?”
Hearing the word “reward,” Pi Xiu’s instincts made Bai Li’s eyes shine even brighter. “Dad, when will you be back?”
Bai Dingting calculated in his mind the merits Bai Li had earned this time and the process for the military to approve the reward, giving her an estimated date. “Dad will come back to see Li Li in three days. Even if the reward hasn’t been approved yet, I’ll come back to tell you.”
Bai Li nodded and extended her left hand, hooking her pinky finger with Bai Dingting’s right pinky, giving it a shake. “Daddy, you’ve made a pinky promise with Li Li. You can’t lie to Li Li!”
After making the promise with Bai Li, Bai Dingting crouched down, hugged his daughter, kissed her, nodded toward Yu Lixia, and then turned and left.
Pursing her lips as she watched Bai Dingting’s fleeing figure, Bai Li let out a mental “hmph.” Hah, men! They only know how to run away when things get tough. But even if he dodges today, he won’t escape tomorrow.