Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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Mentioning the little guy, Ji Yan’s cold, hard face finally softened a bit, and his eyes became gentle. “I applied for five days of leave this time. I’ll finish what I’m doing and go back next week.”
Dong Li sighed. “Sigh… You only get to see your child once every month or two, and his mother is… This isn’t good. Why don’t you bring the child here? Although this place isn’t very developed, the kindergarten is quite good. If you bring Xiao Zhuo here, you and your son can see each other every day, and you won’t have to worry about him.”
Dong Li and Ji Yan were classmates, had joined the army together, and both served as battalion commanders in the special forces. They had been through thick and thin together and were close brothers who would speak frankly about anything.
Dong Li was also the only one who knew about Ji Yan’s marriage. Ji Yan shook his head. “Bringing him here isn’t a good idea. I might have to go on a mission at any time. If I leave, there will be no one to take care of Xiao Zhuo.”
Dong Li thought about it and agreed. Hiring a nanny in the military family compound wasn’t feasible, and they couldn’t bring a nanny with them. They couldn’t rely on Xiao Zhuo’s mother, and there would be no one to take care of the child if they brought him here.
“If only Xiao Zhuo’s mom were a normal woman.”
Dong Li sighed deeply for his old friend, and couldn’t help but mutter again, “I really don’t know what’s the point of having a woman like that. If you ask me, you might as well get a divorce and find Xiao Zhuo a good mother. Not all stepmothers are bad, and even if they are, they’re still better than this biological mother.”
Ji Yan paused, didn’t speak, and continued writing his report.
Knowing that Ji Yan didn’t like to talk about this, Dong Li stopped there, gave a brief instruction, and went back to sleep.
Ji Yan finished writing his report at two in the morning. He rubbed his sore eyes, then turned off the office light and went back to his dormitory.
Ji Yan was the battalion commander, and his dormitory was a single room. Everything was neatly arranged, reflecting the excellent qualities of a soldier.
Ji Yan sat down at his desk, remembered something, took out his phone from the drawer, and heard a series of vibrations as soon as he turned it on. Ji Yan ignored everything else and opened WeChat directly. Seeing the series of voice messages his little one had sent him, his expression softened involuntarily, and he tapped to listen to them one by one.
“Daddy, why didn’t you video call me? Are you busy?”
“Daddy, you didn’t video call me today either. Did you go on a mission?”
“Daddy, are you still not back from your mission? When are you coming back?”
“Daddy, you haven’t video called me in so long. Where are you?”
The little one’s innocent voice came from the phone, and Ji Yan’s heart softened. If anyone asked him if this marriage had given him anything to be grateful for, he would answer without hesitation: his child. He was grateful to her for giving birth to Xiao Zhuo, so he was willing to tolerate her for Xiao Zhuo’s sake. As long as she didn’t cross his boundaries, he could guarantee her a comfortable life.
Ji Yan continued clicking, and when he reached the last message, an unexpected female voice came through, “Husband… husband, please… please take care of yourself. Don’t worry about me and the baby.”
Tang Tang?
Ji Yan frowned, staring at the last voice message, wondering why she would send him a voice message, and why her tone was like that.
Ji Yan thought for a moment, then opened his contacts. There were several missed calls from Aunt Li. He considered calling back, but then thought about the time and gave up, grabbing his clothes and going to the bathroom to shower.
The next morning, after training, Ji Yan figured the little guy should be awake, so he opened WeChat and sent him a video call request.
“Daddy, Daddy, you’re back!” The video call connected, and the little guy’s chubby face appeared on the screen, as if he wanted to jump through the screen and run to him.
A rare smile appeared on Ji Yan’s serious face. “Xiao Zhuo, did you just wake up?”
The little guy nodded his head. “Daddy, I just woke up. You haven’t seen me for so long. Did you go on a mission? Are you hurt? When can you come back to see me?”
The little guy’s questions came one after another. Ji Yan listened patiently, his usually strong and confident heart aching at this moment. He wasn’t a good father. He had let Xiao Zhuo down. He couldn’t give him a good mother, he couldn’t be by his side, and even seeing his child was difficult. He understood the little guy’s loneliness, but he was powerless to help.
“Daddy just got back from a mission, he wasn’t hurt. Daddy can come back to see you in a few days.”
Hearing Ji Yan say this, the little guy’s eyes lit up instantly and his little mouth stretched into a grin, revealing his tiny white teeth. “Really, Daddy? Then I’ll wait for you to come back, okay? Hurry up!”
“Okay, Daddy will come back soon.” After saying that, Ji Yan asked, “Xiao Zhuo, has anything happened to Mommy lately?”
The little guy nodded immediately, secretly glancing at the door to make sure it was closed, before cautiously telling Ji Yan, “Daddy, Mommy was hit by a car before, her leg is lame, and she has a lot of injuries on her face.”
Ji Yan pursed his lips and didn’t say anything.
Ji Xiaozhuo glanced at the door again and whispered, “And also, let me tell you, Mommy said she doesn’t remember anything, she doesn’t know a lot of things anymore, and she even asked me to teach her.”
Amnesia? Ji Yan’s first reaction was disbelief. Could she be trying to play some kind of trick?
Seeing Ji Yan’s disbelieving look, Ji Xiaozhuo immediately said, “Dad, I think Mom has amnesia, really!”
“Oh? Why do you think that?”
“Because she’s different from before. She used to ignore me, but now she cooks for me every day, it’s delicious, and she even brings me food to kindergarten and picks me up from school. She…” Ji Xiaozhuo trailed off, a little awkwardly, but with an undisguised joy hidden beneath the awkwardness, “She calls me baby, and sometimes she calls me little darling, little chubby. Ugh, I’m so annoyed.”
Doubts exploded in Ji Yan’s mind. He knew Tang Tang perfectly well; she would never even glance at Xiao Zhuo. How could she suddenly do so many things for Xiao Zhuo? What was going on?
However, Ji Yan didn’t voice his doubts, only asking, “Where’s Grandma Li? Where did she go? Why is your mom cooking?”
Ji Xiaozhuo replied, “Grandma Li went home to take care of the baby.”
Ji Yan had heard about Aunt Li’s daughter-in-law being pregnant with her second child, so perhaps that was the reason. He immediately said to the little one, “It’s getting late. Go wash up and eat, then go to school. Daddy will come back to see you in a few days.”
“Okay, goodbye Daddy.” The little one was reluctant to hang up, but knew he had to, so he waved to Ji Yan on the screen and reluctantly ended the video call.
Ji Yan exited WeChat and dialed Aunt Li’s phone number again.
….
Meanwhile, Tang Tang noticed that the little one was in a particularly good mood early in the morning, specifically from how his little legs were constantly swinging under the table, swinging while eating, and occasionally laughing.
“Baby, did something happy happen to you? Tell Mommy, okay?”
The little guy stopped wobbling, swallowed what was in his mouth, and put on a serious expression again. “Nothing.”
Tang Tang didn’t believe him. Knowing the little guy didn’t want to talk, she had to resort to her coaxing techniques, launching a sweet-talking attack. “Oh, please tell Mommy, okay? My little darling, my sweet baby? Mommy really wants to know!”
The little guy glared at Tang Tang, seemingly impatient, and said, “Ugh, why are you so annoying? You’re driving me crazy! I’ll tell you, Daddy will be back to see me in a few days.”
“Ah? Your daddy’s coming back? Then… then…” Tang Tang never expected this. She hadn’t even seen him yet, and just thinking about it made her heart pound.
What did her baby’s father look like? What kind of person was he? What should she do when she saw him? Aunt Li said that her baby’s father probably didn’t like the original owner of this body. Would he also dislike her? If he really didn’t like her, what should she do?
Tang Tang thought about all sorts of things in her mind for a long time, and finally decided to do her best to be good to the baby’s father and fulfil her duties as a wife. Even if the baby’s father didn’t like her, there was nothing she could do. However, as long as she treated the baby and him well, even if he didn’t like her, he probably wouldn’t kick her out.
Having thought this through, Tang Tang felt temporarily relieved and started thinking about what to cook for the little one. However, when she opened the refrigerator, she found it empty.
Aunt Li had been gone for several days, and the refrigerator, which had been full of ingredients, had become empty. Tang Tang knew she needed to buy some, but she didn’t know where to go. After thinking for a while, she could only ask her little one for help.
When Tang Tang picked the little one up from school, she didn’t go straight home but asked him for help: “Baby, we’re out of ingredients. Can you take Mommy to buy some? Mommy can’t shop by herself.”
Ji Xiaozhuo now believed that Tang Tang didn’t remember anything, so he wasn’t surprised and immediately led the way, “Come with me, we’ll go to the supermarket.”
Aunt Li often took the little one with her when she went to the supermarket, so the little one was very familiar with it.
Tang Tang had recently seen a supermarket on TV; it was huge and had everything. She was amazed by it for a long time, but had never actually been inside. Now that her little one was going to take her, Tang Tang was very excited.
At the supermarket, the little one walked confidently to the shopping cart area and, miraculously, pulled a coin from his pocket. He stood on tiptoe and painstakingly inserted the coin into the cart’s lock, which opened instantly. Tang Tang was practically starry-eyed.
Her little darling was so clever!
Under Tang Tang’s admiring gaze, the little one calmly pushed the cart inside, waving like a boss and beckoning Tang Tang, “Come with me!”
Tang Tang immediately followed her little leader, waving her hand eagerly.
However, although the little boy had a lot of presence, his height was a major drawback. He wasn’t even as tall as the shopping cart, and he struggled to push it. Tang Tang felt sorry for him. Usually, little kids like him would just sit in a cart and be pushed around by an adult, like the male protagonists on TV.
Tang Tang looked around and saw that quite a few adults were indeed pushing their children in carts, so she said to the little guy, “Baby, Mommy will push you. You sit in the cart, and Mommy will push you.”
Ji Xiaozhuo glanced at the other children in carts, a hint of longing flashing in his eyes, but he shook his head. “I won’t sit in it. That’s for three-year-olds.” He was almost four years old, not a three-year-old anymore, and besides… the little guy secretly glanced at Tang Tang’s leg in a cast.
Tang Tang didn’t believe the little guy didn’t want to sit, and immediately said, “It’s okay, baby, even though you’re not three years old, you’re still a child. Come on up.”
The little guy still shook his head, and continued pushing the stroller in with a serious and earnest expression, saying with a hint of disdain, “You can’t even walk steadily yourself, I don’t want to be pushed and fall, hurry up and go.”
Tang Tang then realized that the little guy was worried about her because of her leg injury.
How could he be so obedient? Such an obedient little darling, I really don’t understand how the original owner could bear to treat him badly.
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