The next day, Jiang’s father and mother returned.
They came to the shop and hugged all three babies. Having not seen their grandchildren for several days, the elderly couple missed them dearly.
“Banyue, pack up the children’s things. I’ll take the three of them home for a day. Their great-grandfather misses them too—let’s take them back to see him.”
“Alright.”
Jiang Banyue packed a large bag of things—baby clothes, toys, food, and daily necessities.
Jiang’s father held one baby in one hand and carried the bag with the other, while Jiang’s mother held the other two children. They left the shop.
“Let’s go! We’re going home to see Great-Grandpa!”
Once the children left, the shop immediately became quiet.
After finishing some cakes, Jiang Banyue sat down in a daze, staring at the place where the babies usually played.
She had thought that without the children around, she would feel relaxed—but instead, she felt empty and didn’t know what to do.
She stood up and paced around, then looked at the clock again and again. Time felt unbearably slow.
She had no motivation for anything today. She even wanted to call and ask how the babies were—whether they missed her, whether they cried.
But there was no telephone installed in the shop yet. She thought she would definitely install one later, so she could check on them anytime in situations like this.
..
“Hello, I’d like a small cake.”
A cheerful girl’s voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.
Startled, Jiang Banyue turned around with a smile—and froze.
It was Shen Yunshuang, her former sister-in-law.
Shen Yunshuang blinked, then suddenly shouted in surprise:
“Sister-in-law! It’s really you! I missed you so much!”
She rushed forward and hugged Jiang Banyue.
Feeling awkward, Jiang Banyue gently pushed her away.
“Are you here to buy cake?”
“Yes! Last time I smelled cake here and wanted to buy some so badly—I’ve been craving it!”
Shen Yunshuang happily chatted away.
“Sister-in-law, last time I came with Grandpa, my parents, and my brother, but your house wasn’t open. We even ate across the street from your shop. If we had known you were here, we would’ve come directly. What a pity—we didn’t get to meet you…”
“What did your whole family come to find me for?”
Jiang Banyue thought they had found out about the children and had come to take them.
“Sister-in-law, I’m sorry. My brother is a jerk! How could he divorce such a good wife? The whole family scolded him. Please don’t be angry.”
“The divorce was my idea. It has nothing to do with him.”
She hadn’t expected that one divorce would bring the entire Shen family out.
“But it must be because my brother didn’t do well, so you didn’t want to stay with him!”
“No. It’s just that we weren’t meant to be.”
Since she had already divorced, Jiang Banyue didn’t want any more contact with the Shen family. She feared they might try to take her children—those were her life. No one could take them away.
She took out a box of cake and handed it to Shen Yunshuang calmly.
“Here. Take it and eat it. If there’s nothing else, you should go. I’m busy.”
“Sister-in-law…”
Shen Yunshuang felt her sister-in-law was no longer as close to her as before. She felt a little sad and even the cake didn’t seem appealing anymore.
Thinking of her brother, she nodded.
Fine—her sister-in-law must be upset because of him. She would go back and call him to scold him properly.
“Alright, sister-in-law. I’ll go now. I’ll come visit you again next time.”
She left the shop reluctantly, turning back step by step.
..
Shen Yunshuang ran to a public telephone booth and called the military base.
“Hello, I’m looking for Shen Yunhe. I’m his sister.”
“Yunshuang, it’s me.”
“Brother, I saw sister-in-law. She’s on the same street where we ate last time, running a cake shop.”
“What!”
Shen Yunhe suddenly stood up.
“How is she? Is she doing well?”
Thinking of how empty and lost Jiang Banyue had looked earlier, Shen Yunshuang couldn’t hold back her anger.
“She’s not doing well at all! Sister-in-law looks really bad—her spirits are low! It’s all your fault, why did you divorce her? You jerk! I hate you!”
Hearing his sister’s words, Shen Yunhe’s heart tightened painfully.
She wasn’t doing well…
Did that mean she regretted the divorce like him?
If he went back and asked for a reconciliation… would she agree?
He began calculating his leave days. He had accumulated quite a lot of vacation time. In a few days, he would go back again and see her. If she was willing, maybe they could remarry.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. A warm rush surged in his chest, making him restless.
He hung up the phone and casually unbuttoned two buttons, thinking of that calm and gentle woman—his eyes filled with warmth.
A knock came at the door.
He looked up and laughed.
“Sun Yonghui, you’re back.”
“Commander Shen!”
Sun Yonghui walked in.
“My leave is over. I’ll report back for duty tomorrow.”
Sun Yonghui was a battalion commander under him.
“Alright.”
Seeing Shen Yunhe in such a good mood, he asked curiously,
“Commander Shen, did something good happen? You seem really happy.”
“Yes, something good did happen.”
Thinking of Jiang Banyue, warmth spread through his chest again.
Sun Yonghui then smiled knowingly, remembering the triplets he had seen last time at the cake shop.
“With three such lovely babies, it really is something to be happy about. Commander Shen, you’re not very loyal though—your wife gave birth to triplets and you didn’t even tell us.”
“Triplets?”
The smile on Shen Yunhe’s face froze.
He frowned in confusion.
“What triplets?”