WBSGVS Chapter 68 V2

If he let his mother choose, he was afraid he wouldn’t want to go home at all.

After a moment of silence, Xiang Lifeng suddenly remembered that he still had a few days of family leave. He quickly said, “Mom, just wait a bit. I’ll come back in a couple of days.”

“Alright. As long as it doesn’t delay anything with the army, you need to come back and handle this matter. Dragging it out isn’t a solution.” Zhang Cui nodded, but she guessed something, saying, “Don’t expect anything from Du Qingli. She returned the bride price and is living alone in her old house, and she even bought a few chickens to raise.”

Xiang Lifeng fell silent again. After a long pause, he finally said in a hoarse voice, “Mom, I understand. Please take care of them a bit longer. I promise I’ll get this sorted when I go back.”

As his mother said, the children needed guidance from their mother. With him not around, their education would suffer. Not every child was well-behaved and obedient enough to contribute to society. After being a soldier for so many years, he had seen quite a bit of this.

With his promise, Zhang Cui felt assured that her son would handle his responsibilities.

She quickly replied, “Alright then, I won’t say any more. I’ll hang up.”

Xiang Lifeng also set the phone down. The person who had him take the call was his leader, who had overheard part of the conversation. The leader patted him on the shoulder and said, “I know. I’ll make an exception and give you two extra days off. Try to sort out your matters as soon as you can!”

“I understand. I will take care of it this time,” Xiang Lifeng replied with a bitter smile. “Sir, can I take an hour off to buy my ticket?”

“Go ahead.”

With a wave of his hand from the leader, Xiang Lifeng ran out.

He was quick to act and secured his train ticket within an hour. That night, he was on a train back home.

Meanwhile, Daba, Erba, and Sanba were still playing outside.

With their parents away, even though their grandparents loved them, their attention was divided among so many grandchildren. At this time, everyone who could work was off trying to earn extra credits.

Around eight or nine o’clock, with the sun not too hot and the temperature just right, a group of children enjoyed playing games.

However, since Daba, Erba, and Sanba always huddled together, the other children weren’t keen on playing with them, so they ended up playing by themselves.

After tiring themselves out, they lay down on the grass to sleep.

Daba felt content. Although these days were not as good as when their stepmother was around, they felt more at ease without worrying about being bullied by her or losing their father to her and ending up with many half-siblings, becoming completely orphaned.

Erba was also happy, but amidst his joy, he expressed a little concern, whispering, “I heard Grandma and Aunt say Dad is coming back.”

“Really?” Daba sat up in surprise.

“But he’s coming back to marry someone else,” Erba frowned and replied.

Daba’s face fell instantly. Du Qingli’s presence had convinced them that all stepmothers were bad. She had been nice to them for the last couple of days, but when they played a harmless prank, she reacted by punishing them and even threw away the food without letting them eat!

Daba said resolutely, “I don’t care; I don’t want a stepmother! If we have a stepmother, Dad won’t love us anymore.”

Erba quickly chimed in, “We don’t want one either.”

Sanba, though confused, nodded along.

Daba and Erba exchanged grins, but suddenly Sanba pointed into the distance and shouted, “Dad!”

The two quickly turned to look and saw a figure in olive green appearing on the road. There was no mistaking it; it was their dad.

The three children jumped up and ran toward him.

When they got closer, they confirmed it was indeed Xiang Lifeng.

Daba was the happiest and rushed over, “Dad!”

“Dad—”

“Daddy~~~”

The three childish calls, each different yet equally innocent, brought a gentle smile to Xiang Lifeng’s tired face, which hadn’t slept a wink the previous night.

As the three children reached him, he opened his arms, hugging them one by one, his steady voice failing to hide his affection, “You’ve gotten heavier; I can hardly lift you.”

“Hehe! Daddy, hold me!” Daba laughed even more joyfully.

With two boys and one girl, Xiang Lifeng naturally favored his daughter a bit more. He lifted Daba into his arms and held Sanba’s hand, saying to Erba, “You hold onto Sanba.”

“Okay.” Erba nodded eagerly, gazing at his father.

On their way home, they ran into some villagers. The children, who usually didn’t pay much attention to others, were now eager to greet them, adding, “My dad is back!”

“Lifeng is back! Did you let your mother know in advance so she could prepare something good to eat?” a neighbor joked.

Xiang Lifeng nodded, “Yeah, but I’m not sure if there’s anything good to eat.”

Those familiar with the Xiang family situation asked, “Are you back to resolve the issue with the children’s mother? Sigh, how can an unmarried girl be a mother? You need to lower your standards a bit.”

“Will do.” Xiang Lifeng responded coolly but politely nodded.

Daba’s face fell immediately.

Since it was a night train, Xiang Lifeng didn’t get home until just before nine o’clock. Zhang Cui, covered in dirt from the fields, rushed back upon hearing the news, not knowing how to greet him, “Have you eaten breakfast? Should I make you something?”

“I bought a pie at the station,” Xiang Lifeng said, setting the children down to let them play. He added, “Mom, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m going to clean up a bit and head to Du’s village.”

Zhang Cui hesitated for a moment, but seeing her son’s expression, she nodded, “Alright.”

Neither of the adults noticed the children pouting. Daba exclaimed, “Dad, we don’t want a stepmother! She hits us! She’s a bad stepmother!”

“Do you think I don’t know what you did? If you haven’t started it! If she’s a bad stepmother, then you’re bad kids!” Xiang Lifeng said sternly.

Daba and Erba’s expressions shifted; they felt a little guilty, especially Daba, who was more sensible and had reddened eyes.

In the next moment, Xiang Lifeng continued, “Actually, I didn’t plan to take you along, but since you’re saying this, you’ll come with me to apologize!”

Daba and Erba’s resistance immediately turned into anger, and without a second thought, they turned to run away.

Xiang Lifeng was stunned, not expecting them to dare to run like that. He hesitated for a moment, and Zhang Cui cleared her throat and urged, “You better hurry.”

Xiang Lifeng bit his lip, his face darkening as he returned to his home, which was a bit messy. His room had been locked for a long time, and when he opened the door, a strange smell filled the air.

He furrowed his brow and sniffed, then quickly stepped forward to lift the neatly arranged blanket on the bed.

There, lying on the bed, was a dead rat that had been left there for days…

Seeing this, Xiang Lifeng’s face turned green!