Watching his back, I had a feeling sothing was about to go wrong.
Jiang Jinghuai didn’t even have ti to take a bite of rice before rushing after his son.
ng Shuyan, consud by grief and anger, was about to shut the door when he was t by his father standing outside.
In a low, gentle voice, his father called out, "Yanyan."
The little guy’s tears rushed out like a broken dam, and he began to wail miserably.
His crying shattered Jiang Jinghuai’s heart.
Panic-stricken, he knelt down and pulled the small body into his arms.
ng Shuyan sobbed uncontrollably in his embrace, lifting his little head to stare at him with tear-filled eyes. "Why hasn’t Mommy co back?"
Jiang Jinghuai pressed his dry, chapped lips together and said, "She’ll be back tomorrow. Daddy promises you."
"You’re lying, Daddy." ng Shuyan shook his head in despair. "I don’t want tomorrow. I want her now."
"I want Mommy... She’s my mommy..." The little guy clung to him in fear, crying into his shoulder.
One coaxing, one crying. To be honest, Jiang Jinghuai didn’t have much experience comforting anyone. Right now, he was as helpless as a novice father. He couldn’t just grab the boy and say, "Stop crying, or I’ll spank you!" He was only four years old, after all. So many things had happened in the household recently, and no matter what, it wasn’t his fault. No matter what, the bla couldn’t fall on him.
And just like that, ti slipped away. ng Shuyan cried until he was exhausted, emotionally spent.
His eyes were swollen like little peaches, his shoulders trembling with occasional sobs.
The night had fallen completely.
Jiang Jinghuai thought about what Tian Sangsang would usually do at this ti: brushing teeth, washing face, bathing, changing clothes, going to bed.
He brought ng Shuyan downstairs, filled a small cup with water for him, squeezed the toothpaste, and handed the toothbrush over. "Co on, Yanyan, brush your teeth."
ng Shuyan remained motionless, his eyes vacant.
Jiang Jinghuai gently touched his face. "Be good. Listen to Daddy."
ng Shuyan numbly took the toothbrush. As the toothpaste touched the brush, a bit accidentally sared onto his right cheek.
He moved downward, finally brushing his front teeth.
Brush, brush, brush. Brush, brush, brush. Brush, brush, brush. After brushing, the corners of his mouth still had tiny white bubbles of foam.
Jiang Jinghuai brought over a basin of warm water, wrung out a small towel, and wiped the foam and toothpaste from his face. Then he washed the towel, wrung it out again, and used it to clean his face.
One gentle pass after another, careful not to use too much force. After cleaning his face and ears, he carried him to the bathroom.
Next ca bath ti.
But there was no hot water.
He went to the kitchen, unfamiliar with the various utensils and equipnt. What should he use to heat water? Quickly, his eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the thermos flask. Bending down, he picked it up.
Thankfully, the thermos was heavy—it still contained water.
Jiang Jinghuai breathed a sigh of relief.
He prepared the bathwater, tested the temperature—just right. After all, in the winter, he could swim in rivers. Bathing at this sumr temperature wouldn’t be a problem, even for his delicate son.
ng Shuyan was entirely unresponsive, like a wooden puppet in his hands.
After bathing and drying him off, Jiang Jinghuai stretched out his long arm to grab so clothes, but ca up empty-handed.
Wrapping his son in a large towel, he carried him to the bed and had him sit down.
"Yanyan, wait here for a mont." He sighed. In the military, he handled tasks effortlessly and led training sessions with ease. Yet these small dostic matters felt more exhausting than taking a bullet. Thank goodness it wasn’t winter; otherwise, forgetting the pajamas could freeze his son. Wait—he could always tuck him into bed first to warm him up.
But where were his son’s pajamas?
He opened the wardrobe, and a gentle hint of floral fragrance wafted out. It was the scent of their ho—her scent.
He picked a set of white pajamas, the soft fabric proving to be a challenge to put on ng Shuyan. After dressing him, he placed him on the bed and pulled the blanket over him. ng Shuyan held onto the hem of his shirt.
Jiang Jinghuai lay down beside him, holding him in his arms. The little boy started crying again, sobbing out in a choked voice, one word after another: "I want Mommy. Mommy. I want Mommy..." His cries stretched out like a slow refrain, repeating again and again.
Jiang Jinghuai gently patted his back, but it did nothing to stop the chanting. He also lacked the experience to soothe a child to sleep. It turned out that coaxing a child to take dicine, eat, brush teeth, wash up, bathe, and now, even sleep—all needed comforting. He thought about how Tian Sangsang used to do it, and the more he thought, the more his heart ached.
No matter how much she disliked him, how could she leave their son like this? But he also wondered how that heartless woman was doing now, all alone.
He glanced down at the child in his arms; the little one was finally quiet—eyes closed, long lashes trembling slightly.
Carefully and a little clumsily, Jiang Jinghuai got up, tucked the blanket around him, and left the room. His stomach was rumbling with hunger. When he went downstairs, the food was already cold. He didn’t even bother to reheat it, eating it as it was—he wasn’t that picky, after all.
Taking care of a child turned out to be this exhausting. In the past, these things were either handled by Sangsang or his mother. Sangsang had been tired, but then again, his mother had raised several kids back in the day, and she must have been just as tired.
Jiang Jinghuai found himself sinking into inner conflict again.
**
Tian Sangsang returned empty-handed, dragging her exhausted body back ho, where Auntie Tian had already prepared dinner.
When she reached the third floor, both Auntie Tian and Grandma Tian were startled, sensing that sothing was off.
Auntie Tian imdiately asked with concern, "Sangsang, why are you back? Haven’t you been sleeping there every night the past few days?"
"I’m not going back tonight. I’ll stay here," Tian Sangsang replied flatly.
"You silly girl, are you trying to make furious?" Grandma Tian’s sharp, aged eyes glared at her as she tapped her cane on the floor. "Go back right now! What kind of nonsense is this? A married woman sleeping outside her ho—what’s the aning of that?"
The sudden outburst startled Tian Sangsang, and all the grievances she’d bottled up burst forth in an instant. Her tears stread uncontrollably. She knew she needed sothing external to push her over the edge, and her grandmother’s booming scold was exactly that trigger.
"Mom, why are you yelling at her?" Auntie Tian looked back and forth between them and ended up supporting Sangsang. She thought to herself, Can’t you see Sangsang is upset right now? Why are you yelling? Besides, don’t you know who owns the place you’re staying in now? How can you be so thoughtless, you old lady! Are you even her real grandmother? How could you kick her when she’s down??!
Grandma Tian retorted angrily, "If I didn’t care about her, I wouldn’t yell at all! I’m trying to wake her up! Can’t you see she’s been wronged so much that she doesn’t even fight back anymore?"
"Sangsang, where’s that fiery spirit you used to have? From a few days ago till now, how many tis have you cried already? Do you even care about the baby in your belly? If you don’t want it, I’ll take care of it right now!" She raised her cane, as if to strike. "Even if I don’t hit you, all this crying will make you lose the baby! Have you only been drinking water today without eating? Crying nonstop like your tears don’t cost anything, do you think they don’t cost you your life?!"
Tian Sangsang took a step back, hurriedly wiping her tears and not daring to cry anymore. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t cry, but maybe it was the pregnancy hormones making her emotional; she wanted to cry every ti she felt upset. Still, listening to Grandma Tian’s scolding didn’t irritate her in the slightest. It felt so good, being yelled at like this. This kind of scolding was different from Ye Binyi’s.
Grandma, yell at more, please~
"You’re right, Grandma." She sniffled, her rosy nose wrinkling, and her pretty face still streaked with tears.
Looking at her soft, fragile deanor, scolding more or hitting was impossible. And with her pregnancy being so delicate, Grandma Tian couldn’t bring herself to do it. If it caused harm, she’d only have herself to bla. Relenting, her tone softened significantly, though her face remained stern. "Go back and sleep at ho right now!"
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