TPW – Chapter 63

Not long after, Yu Zhilan returned from grocery shopping, and her eldest daughter-in-law, Song Wenmin, quickly stepped forward to greet her.

“Mom, go spend time with Haizhou and the others. I’ll cook.”

Qiao Lu hurried over as well. “Mom, Sister-in-law, how about I cook instead?”

Yu Zhilan glanced between her two daughters-in-law, gripping the vegetable basket tightly and handing it to neither. “You two go sit down. I’ll handle it.”

Qiao An, ever observant, ran up holding a women’s wool sweater: “Grandma~ this is for you! It has fuzzies. You won’t be cold wearing it.”

He raised his hands high like he was offering a treasure, eyes bright with anticipation as he looked at her.

Just one glance, and even the hardest heart would melt into tenderness.

“Oh, you sweet child, you’re so thoughtful.” Yu Zhilan was genuinely surprised and pleased, patting his head several times. “Grandma will accept it. Thank you, little one.”

The little guy gave a shy smile, his earnest voice paired with an adorably soft tone: “Grandma, my name is Qiao An. You can call me An’an like my dad does.”

He didn’t want to be called “little one”—it felt distant.

“Alright, An’an, good little treasure!” This child’s little mouth really knows how to talk. How could he be so endearing?

Xu Haizhou and his wife exchanged a smile, pleasantly surprised that the child had so easily won over Grandma’s heart with just a few words.

Once upon a time there was the “beauty trap”—now Qiao An was using the “cute kid trap”!

Getting a response, his little lips curled up high, and he tumbled into Qiao Lu’s arms with a happy bounce.

In a barely audible whisper: “Mommy, Grandma called me a good little treasure~”

That secretly pleased grin of his was just like a little mouse that had stolen oil.

Qiao Lu’s heart completely melted. She crouched down and kissed him: “That’s right. Our An’an is such a good boy—everyone likes you.”

With that, the child was all smiles and no longer felt shy. He trotted after Grandma, saying he wanted to help her wash vegetables.

His mom had already told him on the train: once they arrived at Dad’s hometown, he had to look for chances to help Grandpa and Grandma with chores and try to make a good impression.

He liked doing chores anyway—at home he often helped Mom wash vegetables, pass bowls, serve plates. This was nothing to him!

Qiao Lu was chatting with her sister-in-law, Song Wenmin, and didn’t know what was happening on the other side.

A few minutes later, laughter and voices erupted from the corridor. It sounded very lively.

“Zhilan, you’re so lucky! Your grandson is so obedient and well-behaved. His parents raised him well!”

“Thank you, Auntie.” Qiao An recognized the compliment and sweetly thanked her.

“Hahaha—little one, what’s your name? You’re so young and already helping your grandma wash vegetables?”

“Uncle, my name is Qiao An—‘An’ like in ‘peace and safety.’ I’m four years old.” Afraid they wouldn’t know which character, he even explained it. So cute!

Tan Kuan caught on to a detail and was puzzled: “Qiao An? Hey, little guy, why isn’t your last name Xu?”

The little fellow blinked his deer-like eyes and nodded firmly: “I don’t have the Xu surname. I take after my mom.”

“Why’s that?” The crowd was confused.

“Because… because…”

Inside the house, hearing the commotion, Qiao Lu and her husband quickly ran out. Yu Zhilan was anxious too, trying to think of how to explain it, but the little treasure spoke up first.

Lifting his chin proudly, he explained to everyone: “Because Daddy loves Mommy, so he gave me Mommy’s last name~”

And with that, this childish little voice actually spun a touching love story!

“Daddy met Mommy and fell in love with her at first sight. Then they fell in love. Daddy took Mommy to eat yummy food and play fun games, and when Mommy was happy, she married Daddy. After they got married, Daddy loved Mommy even more, and then An’an was born. Daddy said he loves Mommy so much, he gave me her last name~ That way, I could become the person Daddy loves the most.”

My god, this kid is something else!

Qiao Lu was stunned. It felt like something had struck her brain—stars filled her vision, and she was momentarily speechless.

Though she had told her son fairytale-like love stories before, she hadn’t expected him to apply them like this!

No one had taught him how to make up stories, yet he spoke so smoothly and naturally, completely mesmerizing the group of neighbors!

Son, with a mouth like yours, you should become a writer someday—you’ll be a galaxy-wide hit!

“Oh wow, hahaha—what’s this kid saying? You’ve got your uncle all confused.” Uncle Tan rubbed his bald head and asked again: “So your dad really likes your mom that much, huh?”

“Mm! Daddy likes Mommy, and Mommy likes Daddy too.” I mean, how could they get married otherwise? You have to like each other to live together. Such a simple truth, and Uncle doesn’t even get it? So silly~

Yan Ni was completely taken by this adorable little guy and almost wanted to steal him home: “An’an darling, you’re only four? How are you so good at talking?”

“What does ‘good at talking’ mean?” Qiao An asked sincerely.

“Hahaha—it means we’re praising you!” Yan Ni laughed nonstop.

“This child is just too lovable.”

“He’s just like Haizhou. When Haizhou was little, he was super clever and even more talkative than this.”

“That’s true. Out of all the kids in our building back then, Haizhou was the smartest!”

They started reminiscing about Xu Haizhou’s childhood. The hallway was filled with laughter and cheerful chatter.

The “name” crisis was effortlessly smoothed over by the little guy’s “fairytale,” and no one pursued the surname issue any further. The mood became light and relaxed.

Later, when cooking began, Xu Haizhou took the child back into the room.

The little guy hugged him tight, their cheeks pressed together sweetly. Their closeness—tsk, who could say they weren’t blood-related? They were clearly father and son.

Song Wenmin and her husband exchanged a knowing glance.

“See? I told you—with your brother’s standards, how could he possibly be into some random village woman? He’s not stupid,” Song Wenmin scoffed at her husband.

She had known Xu Haiping since primary school—they were childhood sweethearts, went to college the same year, married right after graduation. After so many years together, she knew both brothers well, perhaps even better than most.

Glancing at the trio across from her, she muttered, “Even if she’s from the countryside, look how well she’s raised that child… way smarter and more sensible than our Mianmian.”

Xu Haiping had no retort. He admitted that the letter he had written before was too harsh.

Sigh. What a great kid—smart, quick-witted… how could he not be his brother’s son?

Qiao An quite liked Xu Yimian. She was the only one around his age, so he kept trying to chat with her.

The little girl was a bit shy and didn’t talk much. Qiao An simply started telling her stories. It worked—Xu Yimian started responding to him here and there.

Watching the two children interact, Song Wenmin felt a little envious and quickly asked Qiao Lu how she raised her child like that. The two women then launched into a parenting discussion.

Unknowingly, night had fallen—it was around six in the evening—when Yu Zhilian finished preparing dinner.

“Dinner time, everyone!”

Thanks to Xu Haizhou and his family of three coming over, dinner was quite a feast: one meat dish and four vegetarian ones, all classic Northeastern cuisine—braised pork and cabbage with glass noodles, three delicacies (potatoes, eggplant, and green peppers), stewed eggplant, and stir-fried mushrooms with cabbage.

Qiao Lu tried a few bites. The flavor wasn’t bad at all, just a bit bland—no chili peppers at all.

During the meal, the atmosphere remained fairly harmonious. It was mostly Song Wenmin chatting with Qiao Lu. Occasionally, Yu Zhilian and Xu Haizhou would chime in. The other two men ate in silence, showing no interest in conversation.

Since everyone was gathered tonight, Yu Zhilian took out an aged bottle of liquor she had stashed away for a long time. Xu Haizhou could drink, but not a lot. In contrast, Xu Haiping and Xu Yonghe had great tolerance—they could each down a full bowl.

“What do you two do down south?” Xu Yonghe asked, pouring himself a bit more liquor.

It was rare for the old man to speak up. Qiao Lu quickly answered before Xu Haizhou could say anything: “Dad, Haizhou is selling clothes now. I’m good at making clothes, so when I’m free at home, I make a few pieces and have him sell them at the market.”

Xu Yonghe glanced at her and quickly looked away, sipping from his ceramic bowl. “You two do it together?”

Qiao Lu smiled. “Yes, like this coat I’m wearing—if we can get the fabric, there’s definitely a market for it.”

None of the Xu family had expected this. A woman from the countryside, instead of staying home as a quiet housewife, was actually helping Haizhou run a business?

Strange. Was she really from the countryside?

They thought Xu Yonghe would continue the conversation, but suddenly, he changed topics abruptly and asked, “When are you two planning to have a child?”

Cough cough… Qiao Lu choked out of nowhere, caught completely off guard.

The question was so sudden that she started coughing uncontrollably, her face and ears turning bright red.

“Slow down,” said Xu Haizhou helplessly. One hand gently patted her back while the other held her hand, rubbing it soothingly.

“Mama, eat slowly, no one’s stealing your food,” said a soft little voice.

“You little rascal.” Qiao Lu was amused. She poked his nose and was comforted by her son’s sweet words.

Once she finally stopped coughing, Xu Haizhou returned to Xu Yonghe’s question. “We’ll let it happen naturally.”

Upon hearing that, Xu Yonghe didn’t say anything else. His gaze suddenly turned to Qiao An. “Four years old?”

The couple paused for a moment, and Xu Haizhou replied, “Yeah.”

“What happened with your previous man?” he asked, looking at Qiao Lu.

“Dad, why are you asking that?” Xu Haizhou’s expression darkened.

The past was in the past—what good was digging it up again?

Qiao Lu gently squeezed Xu Haizhou’s hand, took a deep breath, and smiled. “Well, it’s like this…”

Talking about Ge Wenrong was like reopening a wound and pouring salt into it. Xu Haizhou felt heartbroken, squeezing her hand tightly in the hope she wouldn’t continue. But she still spoke—without hesitation.

After all, Qiao Lu wasn’t the original owner of this body. To her, recounting past events was just like telling a story. Of course it didn’t hurt her—it was simply laying out the facts.

When she finished explaining, the Xu family all fell silent.

After a long while, Song Wenmin slammed her fist on the table, angry and indignant. “That man is scum! And he’s from the north, too? Even worse! Disgraceful! Trash!”

“Sigh, what a mess,” murmured Yu Zhilian, clearly affected by Qiao Lu’s story. She hadn’t expected such a past with her “ex-husband.”

Turns out they’d all misunderstood her before.

But then again, if Ge Wenrong hadn’t abandoned Qiao Lu—if he had stayed with her in the countryside with their child—would Xu Haizhou ever have had a chance with her? Clearly not.

Everything, it seemed, had been destined.

After hearing her story, both Song Wenmin and Yu Zhilian felt a deep, indescribable sympathy for Qiao Lu. Perhaps as fellow women, they could truly feel her helpless sorrow.

As for Xu Haiping and Xu Yonghe… from the current situation, it seemed Xu Haiping no longer harbored hostility toward Qiao Lu and her son. But how much he liked them remained a complicated matter.

Xu Yonghe? He hadn’t said much all evening and didn’t show much warmth. It seemed he still had reservations about Qiao Lu’s remarriage.

But since the fact of their marriage couldn’t be changed—and Qiao Lu had behaved impeccably—he had no reason to object.

After dinner, with nothing particularly interesting to do, they turned on the radio, listened to some programs, and chatted.

Xu Haizhou took out some tea leaves and brewed a few cups. “An’an, serve tea to everyone.”

The little guy loved to help, so this was a good chance for him to earn some brownie points.

Carefully holding a cup of tea, he tiptoed over to Xu Yonghe. “Grandpa, have some tea~”

Xu Yonghe glanced at him and continued rolling his tobacco. “Mm, just put it down.”

Xu Yonghe was sitting on the bed, with the only table in the center of the room—too far from the bed. There wasn’t anywhere nearby to place the cup.

The little guy had no choice but to walk back with the tea.

“Daddy, Grandpa told me to put it down, so I’ll leave it here,” he said, scratching his head in frustration.

Glancing at his own father, Xu Haizhou comforted him. “It’s okay. Take a cup to Uncle.”

Qiao An didn’t hold grudges and had a short memory. He cheerfully took a cup to Xu Haiping. “Uncle, have some tea~”

“Thanks, An’an.”

Such an affectionate name! Qiao An beamed and skipped back to his father, then served tea to Song Wenmin.

“This is for Auntie.”

“Thank you, sweetie!”

“This one’s for Grandma—be careful, it’s hot.”

“Okay, okay, Grandma won’t burn herself.” She lovingly patted the little boy’s head. What a sweet child.

Although everyone gave him positive responses, Grandpa’s indifference was like a tiny invisible thorn pricking at Qiao An’s heart.

He only dared to sneak peeks at Grandpa, wondering, Does Grandpa not like me? How can I make him happy?

So frustrating. He wanted to ask Mommy… or Daddy.

“An’an, come here to Daddy,” Xu Haizhou suddenly called out.

“Daddy~” The little guy ran into his arms.

“It’s still early for bed. Do you want to stay inside or go outside to play? Daddy can take you to have a snowball fight. Want to go?” He gently stroked the boy’s soft short hair.

Qiao An blinked his big eyes. “Will Mommy come too?”

Xu Haizhou chuckled. “Do you want her to?”

“Can we all go together?” Mommy will be so lonely if she stays here by herself…

Xu Haizhou said, “Of course.”

And so, he took his wife and child out.

“Mom, I’m taking them out to play for a bit.”

“Alright, it’s cold outside—don’t go too far. Just have a little fun and come back soon,” Yu Zhilian reminded him.

“Got it.”

Out of the Xu family’s sight, the three of them headed downstairs. Tap tap, tap tap—the stairwell was eerily quiet. Though it was only seven o’clock, the sky was pitch black. Outside the apartment building was a main road, lit by a few dim street lamps casting a soft glow on the snow.

“Is it okay for us to leave like this? We’re kind of just leaving your family upstairs…”

To her surprise, Xu Haizhou laughed and said mysteriously, “We can’t stay now.”

“Why not?”

“Didn’t you see the look on my dad’s face?”

His face? That cold, distant expression? Qiao Lu didn’t quite get it.