B5SB -Chapter 264 Borrowing Money Fails

Lu Huailin held Haohao’s hand as they walked out of the daycare.

He looked down at him and asked softly, “Haohao, what story did your teacher tell you today?”

Haohao scrunched up his little nose, lifted his head, and glanced at Lu Huailin, knowing that his dad probably wanted to hear a story again.

He sighed and, like a little adult, said in a tiny, childish voice, “Daddy, you’re really pitiful. Grandpa actually couldn’t bear to let you go to daycare.”

Hearing this, Lu Huailin’s lips curved slightly, and he tried to suppress a laugh.

He put on a pitiful expression and looked at him, “Yeah, Daddy never went to daycare. If I want to hear a story, I can only rely on you, Haohao.”

To help Haohao develop his language skills, he was really going all out—pretending to be pitiful and finding excuses every day.

Haohao looked at his dad’s pitiful expression.

His sense of responsibility immediately kicked in, and with his chubby little hands, he patted Lu Huailin on the shoulder.

He soothed him in a small voice, “Daddy, don’t be sad. I’ll tell you the story of Nezha Conquers the Sea.”

Lu Huailin bent down and gently rubbed Haohao’s little nose, smiling, “Thank you, Haohao, for telling Daddy a story.”

Then he scooped him up in his arms.

Haohao grinned, showing a row of neat little baby teeth.

His little bottom sat steadily on Lu Huailin’s arm, his back straight.

He recalled the story the daycare teacher had told about Nezha Conquering the Sea.

Using the words he could remember, he acted it out with gestures and excitement, recounting it to Lu Huailin.

Lu Huailin listened intently, tilting his head, and when Haohao got to the exciting parts, he nodded along and deliberately gave him a look of admiration.

Haohao felt extremely proud.

Lu Huailin gave him a thumbs-up and praised, “Haohao, that was a really great story.”

Haohao covered his mouth with his little hand and giggled. He loved being praised by his parents.

At the courtyard gate: “Commander Lu, wait a moment.”

Hearing this, Lu Huailin turned, holding Haohao, and saw Deputy Battalion Commander Wang walking toward them.

He asked in surprise, “Deputy Commander Wang, you need something?”

Deputy Commander Wang hurried over and glanced at Haohao, who was curiously staring at him.

He opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and then stammered, “Commander Lu… my family’s finances have been a bit tight recently, and I was hoping to borrow some money from you to tide us over.”

Lu Huailin was momentarily stunned—he hadn’t expected Deputy Commander Wang to want to borrow money from him.

He looked closely at him. Seeing the man’s embarrassed expression, he calmly asked, “How much do you want to borrow?”

Upon hearing this, Deputy Commander Wang’s eyes lit up, and he quickly held up five fingers.

“Not much… just five—”

“Creak”

The sound of the courtyard gate opening interrupted him.

Gu Yihan walked up to Lu Huailin with a smile and tugged at his shirt.

“I thought that sounded like you two,” she said.

Lu Huailin froze, looking down at his wife’s hand tightly holding his shirt. He thought for a moment, then looked up and smiled, “Honey, have you finished making dinner?”

Gu Yihan nodded with a smile.

“Commander Lu, look—”

Deputy Commander Wang hurriedly tried to continue, clearly anxious. Lan Cao was still waiting for him at the family compound gate. No matter what he said, she refused to leave, so he had to rush back.

Lu Huailin slapped his forehead, laughed, and handed Haohao to Gu Yihan.

He reached into his pants pocket, digging around, and after a minute finally pulled out five small bills, extending them to Deputy Commander Wang.

“Here, I still have five mao.”

Gu Yihan, holding Haohao and watching Lu Huailin fumble for money, thought he hadn’t understood her remark.

After digging around for so long, there were only a few small bills. This must have infuriated Deputy Commander Wang.

Sure enough, she glanced at him—his face was as dark as soot.

Gu Yihan bit her lip tightly, suppressing a laugh.

Deputy Commander Wang stared at the thin bills fluttering in the wind, his face thunderous.

He glared at Lu Huailin and asked coldly, “Commander Lu, what do you mean by this?”

Was this a humiliation? He had struggled to even open his mouth, and Lu Huailin had handed him these measly bills as a slight.

Lu Huailin seemed oblivious, as if blind and deaf.

He directly shoved the five small bills into Wang’s hand and waved generously.

“I’m giving them to you—no need to pay me back.”

Before Deputy Commander Wang could react, Lu Huailin looped an arm around his wife’s waist and headed back into the courtyard.

“Slap”—the gate closed behind them.

Deputy Commander Wang clenched the small bills in his hand, feeling humiliated like never before.

Back in the living room: Gu Yihan could no longer hold it in. She put Haohao down, covered her stomach, and burst into laughter.

Lu Huailin glared at her, “Honey, what did Deputy Commander Wang ever do to you?”

Still laughing, Gu Yihan shook her head, “I was just afraid that you, my meat bun, might be too generous for nothing.”

“That’s not the case. He hasn’t left the army. If he doesn’t pay back, it can just be deducted from his allowance,” Lu Huailin explained.

Gu Yihan pouted. She didn’t know about anyone else, but Deputy Commander Wang earned money alone and had to support two households—he’d probably be poor all his life.

The three of them sat at the table eating dinner.

“Haohao, happy birthday,” Gu Yihan said. Then, like a magic trick, she pulled out a model ship and looked at him tenderly.

Haohao saw it and excitedly shouted, “Ah… a model ship! Mom, give it to me!”

He carefully took it from Gu Yihan’s hands and studied it repeatedly.

“Mom, how did you know I like this model?”

Gu Yihan glanced at Lu Huailin and smiled, “Of course, your dad told me.”

“Thanks, Daddy!”

Lu Huailin felt a bit embarrassed by Haohao’s words and pretended to be stern, “Eat your dinner first.”

Haohao nodded, holding a spoon in one hand to eat his egg custard and the model ship in the other.

He took a bite of the custard, his little eyes lighting up.

He looked up at Gu Yihan: “Mom, when you’re in a good mood, even egg custard tastes better.”

Gu Yihan smiled. He’s cheeky. It’s not because of my mood—the egg custard is delicious because she put a lot of space water in it.