RMM -Chapter 318 The Ringing Tone of Colonel Xi’s Phone

After that, Su Ruo hardly ever saw Lian Yunfen again—and as for Lian Yunduo, she hadn’t seen her at all. She was probably sent back home long ago.

Once, much later, Su Ruo ran into Lian Yunfen downstairs. From a distance, she saw Lian Yunfen deliberately avoid her, keeping her head down as she hurried away.

Su Ruo stood there and raised an eyebrow. It seemed this woman now regarded her as some kind of flood or ferocious beast. Just look at that panicked, guilty expression—where was even a trace of her former arrogance and fiery temper?

Judging by this, the reason Su Ruo hadn’t seen Lian Yunfen lately was probably because she had been intentionally avoiding her. Su Ruo found it rather amusing. If she had known it would come to this, why cause trouble in the first place?

Still, those few chance encounters didn’t really stay on Su Ruo’s mind. She laughed it off, and just like that, the matter was turned over and done with.

As for Xi Yuechen, Su Ruo had only been angry with him for a single day before returning to her usual calm. What else could she do? If flies kept swarming over, could she really blame the meat in her hand for being too fresh?

Although one might say “a man without guilt may still be punished for possessing jade,” considering that he was still quite loyal and devoted, she decided to forgive him—reluctantly.

Su Ruo absolutely did not want to mention how miserable her own fate had been after she gave Xi Yuechen the cold shoulder that day. The next day, she could only get out of bed lying flat on her back. Faced with Xi Yuechen’s completely unrestrained combat power, Su Ruo’s outcome could only be described as utterly惨烈.

Once life became leisurely and comfortable, it slipped by silently like sand through an hourglass. In the blink of an eye, several months of Su Ruo’s accompanying-the-army life had passed.

These days seemed almost unchanging—every day looked the same. Eat when it was time to eat, drink when it was time to drink. Comfortable and laid-back. Yet there were still some changes, adding plenty of joy to those steady, repetitive days.

For example—Xi Zi.

Over these past few months, Xi Zi’s changes could only be described as rapid progress. He had grown teeth, learned to sit, learned to play with toys, and even learned to “think” (ahem—Xi Zi liked to space out, so Su Ruo unhesitatingly labeled it as thinking). He had also grown more and more adorable and delicate.

That afternoon, Su Ruo carried Xi Zi into the living room, set him down on the carpet to play with his toys while basking in the sunlight. It was already the height of summer, and the weather was scorching. Su Ruo took off his little jacket, leaving him in just a small vest and shorts, exposing his lotus-root-like chubby arms and legs. Then she drew the sheer curtains partway so the sun wouldn’t shine too harshly on him. If he got sunstroke, her heart would ache to death.

Letting Xi Zi sit in the sun for a while every day had already become Su Ruo’s habit. Children were growing, after all—getting more sunlight had many benefits. As long as he didn’t overdo it. Besides, her son’s skin was so fair. Getting a bit tanned wasn’t a bad thing. His features were already delicate enough; if his skin stayed this fair, what if people mistook him for a pretty boy when he grew up?

“Son, you play here, okay? Mommy’s going to watch some TV. Be good and don’t get into trouble, got it? Come on—happy cooperation.”

Su Ruo squatted down in front of Xi Zi, smiling as she spoke, then reached out to hold his tiny hand and shook it twice.

Xi Zi lifted his little face and gazed quietly at Su Ruo. In his large, clear black-and-white eyes was reflected Su Ruo’s smiling face. He looked at her so earnestly and carefully that Su Ruo’s heart softened, and she couldn’t help but reach out and pick him up.

“Alright, alright, I won’t go. I’ll stay and play with you, okay? Why are you looking at me like that—so pitiful, like you’ve been abandoned?”

Su Ruo sat down on the carpet, leaning against a soft cushion she had brought over to keep Xi Zi from bumping himself. She set him on her bent knees, supporting him as he sat there, then frowned and made an exaggeratedly troubled expression.

“You little rascal, not even letting Mommy watch TV.”

She lightly tapped Xi Zi’s nose and scolded him with a soft laugh.

Sitting on his mother’s bent knees, Xi Zi didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. Seeing his mom pulling faces and making expressions, he found it novel and split into a wide smile.

Su Ruo burst out laughing and continued teasing her son. Getting Xi Zi to smile wasn’t as difficult as getting Xi Yuechen to smile—but it still wasn’t easy. This kid had developed a poker face at such a young age.

Watching Xi Zi laugh more and more happily, Su Ruo thought to herself that he truly was carved from the same mold as his father—even when he smiled, he looked just like the commander.

“Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. Go play by yourself. I’ll stay here and watch you.”

After laughing enough, Su Ruo put Xi Zi back on the carpet and piled a bunch of toys in front of him, letting him play on his own. Using his hands and brain more would make him smarter in the future.

Who knew that after being put on the carpet, Xi Zi didn’t even look at his toys. Instead, he kept his clear, innocent gaze fixed on Su Ruo’s face, the smile on his little face not yet completely gone.

Looking at her son, whose smile was enough to melt hearts, Su Ruo let out a long sigh and simply lay down on the floor, her head resting right beside Xi Zi’s legs. She tilted her head back, looking up at Xi Zi as his gaze followed her movements, and joked with a smile.

“Son, why are you staring at me like that? Never seen me before? Or did you suddenly realize your mom is as beautiful as a celestial fairy?”

Whether or not Xi Zi could understand, Su Ruo laughed loudly and shamelessly. Sunlight filtered through the curtains and gently spread across her face. Her radiant smile, set against the soft light, looked dazzling.

Just then, the quiet Xi Zi suddenly opened his mouth.

“Ma…”

Su Ruo felt as though she had been struck by lightning out of nowhere. In an instant, she froze completely—even her bright smile stiffened in place.

Had she just imagined that?

Su Ruo thought blankly.

“Son… what did you just say?” she asked cautiously, looking at Xi Zi.

She felt she must have imagined it—otherwise, how could she have heard Xi Zi calling her “mom”?

However, Xi Zi did not disappoint her. He opened his little mouth again and made a tender, childish sound.

“Ma… ma, ma.”

Boom. This time, Su Ruo was truly struck to the core. He… he… he was calling what???

She could hardly believe it. Xi Zi had started calling her “Mom” so suddenly, without any warning at all. She hadn’t been prepared in the slightest.

Xi Zi lowered his head and looked at Su Ruo. Seeing her stiff and unresponsive, and feeling ignored, he grew dissatisfied. Slowly lifting his little hand, he slapped Su Ruo’s face with a pa—the strength was small, but the action showed no mercy.

That slap snapped Su Ruo back to her senses. Seeing Xi Zi looking at her unhappily, she shot upright, her smile growing even brighter—so bright it nearly rivaled the sunlight outside the window.

“Haha! Son! You finally called me Mom! That’s wonderful—so amazing!” Su Ruo scooped Xi Zi up and planted a loud kiss on him, her joy overflowing.

“My son is incredible! You can already call Mommy! Haha, I’m so happy! Come on, son, call me a few more times!”

She kissed Xi Zi several more times in a row, her smile stretching nearly to her ears, her voice so excited it sounded ready to take flight.

She didn’t care whether the “ma” Xi Zi had said earlier was truly meant as “Mom” or just an unconscious sound. Either way, her son had called her Mom.

Still, it was probably really “Mom,” because Xi Zi continued smiling at Su Ruo, his eyes curved happily, and called out again, “Ma.”

“Yes!” Su Ruo laughed loudly, tears of excitement spilling from her eyes. After laughing, an urge to cry surged up as well, her heart so sweet it almost turned sour.

“Baby, you’re amazing. Mommy loves you so, so much! Our Xi Zi is so smart—really incredible!”

Su Ruo hugged Xi Zi and buried her head in his neck. Her hair tickled him, making his neck itch, so he laughed and tilted his neck to the other side, trying to escape her hair.

Like his father, Xi Zi usually wore a serious expression, proper and stern, as if he couldn’t make any other faces. But in front of Su Ruo, it was as though he became a different person—like an ordinary child, showing joy and anger freely, smiling easily. That was true now, and would be true in the future as well.

Unable to suppress her excitement, Su Ruo carried Xi Zi into the bedroom, grabbed her phone, then returned to the living room. Sitting on the rug with Xi Zi in her arms, she dialed Xi Yuechen’s number, not caring whether he was busy or even able to answer.

Her happiness had swollen to the point of bursting. She needed to share it with someone—and that someone, of course, had to be Xi Zi’s father.

When Xi Yuechen’s phone rang, he was inspecting the training field, his phone tucked in his trouser pocket.

“Attention!”

Just as Xi Yuechen walked past a formation, the company commander training them happened to shout the command. With a sharp shua, all the soldiers snapped to attention, standing perfectly still like slabs of steel.

And then, in that quiet air where only the wind could be heard, Xi Yuechen’s phone suddenly rang.

Little person, oh—
Living it up, oh—
Every day just loving simple happiness, oh—
Carefree soul, oh—
Not quite serious, oh—
…

On the silent training ground, this sudden burst of cheerful music sounded exceptionally loud. Most people heard it clearly.

Everyone immediately understood where the sound was coming from. Their bodies, frozen at attention, dared not move—but their eyes, as if by prior agreement, all slid toward Xi Yuechen’s trouser pocket. They wanted to hide their gazes, yet couldn’t resist peeking. Their eyes twitched, their expressions utterly awkward.

Someone even let out a suppressed snort of laughter.

Once the first person laughed, a few more muffled chuckles followed.

The regiment commander actually uses this kind of ringtone! Pfft—haha…

That’s right—this was the ringtone of the mighty, imposing Regiment Commander Xi.

For a split second after the phone rang, Xi Yuechen was confused, not yet realizing whose ringtone it was. As the music grew more cheerful, he finally realized it was coming from his own pocket—and the phone was vibrating along with the tune.

Xi Yuechen’s face darkened. He quickly pulled out his phone and silenced it.

Unfortunately, the cheerful music had already traveled far. Many people had heard it and were now twitching as they desperately suppressed the urge to burst out laughing.

If this kind of ringtone went off on anyone out on the street, it would probably earn a few laughs. But for it to belong to their icy, battle-hardened regiment commander—well, that was something else entirely.