Chapter 86 Intimate Time for the Family

This was the happiest day Yuanyuan had ever had in her memory. Led by her two older brothers, she saw a big tiger and a puppy, a big cactus fairy and a bright red bloodthirsty vine, and her big and beautiful new home.

The boys gave her lots of delicious food, each one especially tasty. Her round belly finally stopped burning with pain, and she no longer had to fight with the dogs for food.

Walking on the smooth wooden floor of her new home, she gazed around with curiosity. The thought of living in such a wonderful house filled Yuanyuan's eyes with a light brighter than the stars.

After Yuanyuan joined the family, Jiang Rong and Guan Shao experienced the feeling of being crowded at home for the first time.

When the house was first built, there were only two people in Jiang Rong's family. Besides his and his son's bedroom, there was only one guest room, and the other rooms each had their own purpose. Later, Guan Shao brought Jiang Hao into the house. Jiang Hao and Xiao Heng shared a room, and Guan Shao stayed in the guest room, so there were just enough rooms.

Jiang Rong had been thinking that once Xiao Heng and Xiao Hao were a bit older, Xiao Hao would live in the guest room. But now that Yuan Yuan was in the house, the guest room needed to be prepared for her in advance. Although Yuan Yuan was small, she was a little girl and needed her own space.

Guan Shao moved his belongings from the guest room to Jiang Rong's room, a smile playing on his lips: "From today onwards, I finally don't have to sneak around anymore."

Jiang Rong glared at him: "When have you ever done anything sneaky?"

Guan Shao only slept in the guest room a few times. Ever since the two of them made their relationship clear, every night he would run to his own room. Only a few times did he lock Guan Shao out of the room, but Guan Shao would unlock it while he was asleep.

Guan Shao said seriously, "I can only enter your room after the children are asleep every day. Isn't that sneaking around?" As he spoke, he opened the wardrobe and stuffed his clothes into it.

Three children stood peeking into Jiang Rong's bedroom. Jiang Rong turned her head and saw Xiao Heng hesitant to speak. Looking into her son's clear eyes, Jiang Rong suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Although he and Guan Shao had been secretly dating for a long time, he had never explained their relationship to Xiao Heng. Now, with Guan Shao openly moving things around, he felt like he was coming out to his son.

After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Xiaoheng asked, "Dad, is Uncle Guan going to sleep with you tonight?"

Jiang Rong nodded: "Yes."

Jiang Xiaoheng's eyes suddenly lit up: "Then Dad, can my older brother and I sleep with you?" Jiang Hao hadn't slept with his dad for a long time. Now that even Uncle Guan could sleep with his dad, why couldn't he?

Jiang Rong: ...

Jiang Xiaoheng pleaded softly, "Please? Just for one night, is one night okay?"

Jiang Rong and Guan Shao exchanged a glance and then smiled: "Okay, go get your little blankets, we'll sleep together tonight." It's Xiao Yuanyuan's first day at their home, so he can observe the child's sleep.

Seeing Jiang Rong nod, Jiang Xiaoheng cheered and hurriedly ran back to his room to get his little duck blanket: "Yay, I'm going to sleep between Dad and Uncle Guan tonight."

Jiang Rong's bed was large enough for two adults. However, if they were to squeeze three children between them, the bed wouldn't be big enough. Fortunately, the temperature was high, so Jiang Rong and Guan Shao decided to make do with sleeping on the floor.

After laying out the bedding side by side on the floor, a large makeshift bed appeared before them. Jiang Xiaoheng immediately grabbed his small blanket and claimed the best spot, rolling around happily on the makeshift bed: "This is so nice, Daddy! Can we sleep like this every day from now on?"

Jiang Rong chuckled and rubbed her son's head, saying, "You promised you'd only sleep one night tonight!"

Jiang Xiaoheng hid his face under the blanket and chuckled. He loved this bed and loved being with everyone.

Yuanyuan stood blankly beside the makeshift bed, hugging her cat. She had seen beds like this before; adults slept on them at night in the shopping mall of the industrial park. When it was cold, seeing people huddled together sleeping so soundly, she wondered just how warm that bed must be.

She wanted to sleep in the same bed as them, but whenever she got close, the adults would complain that she was dirty and scold her to go away.

Yuanyuan looked down at her little dress, then at the bald patches on the cat's body, and finally squatted down on the floor next to the cot. Sitting here, hopefully her dad and brother wouldn't dislike her, right?

Jiang Rong sat down on the floor mat and, feeling the softness beneath him, nodded in satisfaction: "It's quite comfortable." Xiao Heng and Xiao Hao were already rolling around on the floor mat. If the children liked it, they could sleep on the floor mat more often in the future.

After finishing her work, Jiang Rong waved to Yuan Yuan: "Little Yuan Yuan, why are you sitting on the ground? Come on, come up and sleep with me."

Yuanyuan paused for a moment, then pointed to herself: "Can Yuanyuan sleep in such a beautiful bed?"

Thinking of Yuanyuan's past experiences, Jiang Rong felt a pang of sadness. How much suffering had this child endured to find a simple, ordinary dormitory room appealing? Jiang Rong said softly, "Of course, this is your home. You can do whatever you want here."

Yuanyuan blinked, then got up and walked towards the makeshift bed. When her feet touched the soft mattress, her eyes widened in surprise: "Daddy, the bed is so soft!"

On her first day at Jiang Rong's house, Yuanyuan felt like she was dreaming. She lay between her two older brothers, able to reach out and touch their faces. Late at night, the brothers were asleep, but their father was still awake.

Jiang Rong was sitting on the floor with his back against the bed, flipping through documents and books. He was also talking to Uncle Guan: "Tomorrow we'll go to the school and see if we can find a tutor for Yuanyuan."

Yuanyuan is too young. Jiang Rong doesn't know how much foundation she has. If she sends the child directly to school, she might easily fall into a dislike for learning if she can't keep up.

Guan Shao had no experience taking care of children, and he always listened to Jiang Rong's opinions on matters concerning children: "Okay. I'll listen to you. We happen to have some textbooks that Xiao Heng and the others used. I'll find them for Yuan Yuan to use tomorrow."

Jiang Rong responded, "We need to buy some clothes for Yuanyuan tomorrow. She's a little girl, she can't be dressed like a boy. Oh, and we also need to go to Hanyu's place to find some medicine for Lai... for Mimi. This cat is lucky to have survived with the child until now. Since it's in our home, we should treat it well."

Guan Shao nodded: "Okay, I'll handle this. It's getting late, you should get some rest. There are things to do tomorrow."

Jiang Rong smiled, closed the book in her hand, and turned to look in Guan Shao's direction: "Can you sleep?" Usually at this time, it would be the time for the two of them to deepen their relationship, but today there were three children between them, so they naturally couldn't be as intimate as usual.

Guan Shao pulled up a thin blanket to cover the children around him, and looked at Jiang Rong with a fire burning in his eyes: "Can't sleep? Come on, let's go exercise. I have some insights I want to share with you."

Jiang Rong pursed his lips and looked down at the three children. The children were breathing evenly and seemed to be fast asleep.

Guan Shao lowered his voice and invited, "Is Captain Jiang afraid?" As he spoke, he quietly got up from the floor, his eyes seeming to have two hooks gently tugging at Jiang Rong's heart.

Jiang Rong's breathing became heavier and her voice became hoarse: "I couldn't ask for more."

The bedroom door opened gently and closed slowly. Inside, the three children slept soundly, while outside, spring was in full bloom.

*

Three days later, Yuanyuan, carrying a brand-new little schoolbag and holding her father's hand, walked into a house. As soon as they entered, Jiang Rong extended her hand to the people inside: "Hello, Teacher Yuan."

The person inside was Yuan Qingquan, a friend of Jia Yuanqing. Since arriving at the Xinghuo Base, Jia Yuanqing had been entrusted with an important task: to be responsible for receiving supporters from the Peace Base. Yuan Qingquan, on the other hand, had previously worked in education and had been selected to become a teacher at Xinghuo School.

Jiang Rong had attended Yuan Qingquan's classes before and felt that Yuan Qingquan was very patient and persuasive, making him a suitable tutor for Yuan Yuan. That's why he brought Yuan Yuan to see him today.

Upon seeing Jiang Rong enter, Yuan Qingquan was overjoyed: "Captain Jiang! Hello, hello, please have a seat. This must be Yuanyuan, right? I already know about what happened, Captain Jiang, don't worry, I will definitely teach her well."

Jiang Rong smiled and said, "Teacher Yuan, there's no need to feel pressured. Just teach Yuanyuan the way you usually teach your students. This child has some special abilities, so if you find her doing something inappropriate, I hope you can correct her."

Yuan Qingquan nodded quickly, "Captain Jiang, don't worry, I understand." Without Captain Jiang, he and Jia Yuanqing didn't know how long they would have survived. Jiang Rong's decision to entrust her child to him showed her trust in him. For that reason alone, he would teach Yuanyuan diligently and carefully.

Yuan Qingquan had set up a small classroom in his home, where seven or eight children were having extra lessons. While her father and Yuan Qingquan were talking, Yuanyuan stood curiously at the classroom door, peering into the room.

Just then, Yuanyuan heard Yuan Qingquan's voice: "Jiang Yuan, Jiang Yuan."

Jiang Rong didn't know Yuanyuan's original name. Since Yuanyuan had become part of his family, he gave the child a formal name. The name Jiang Yuan would accompany Yuanyuan for the rest of her life, but unfortunately, Yuanyuan wasn't very familiar with her formal name yet.

Yuan Qingquan called her name several times, but Yuanyuan didn't respond. Finally, Jiang Rong reminded her, "Yuanyuan, the teacher is calling you."

Jiang Yuan suddenly snapped out of her daze: "Here." Her father had said that she had to respond when the teacher called her name.

Yuan Qingquan smiled gently, "Jiang Yuan, shall I take you to class?"

Jiang Yuan subconsciously looked up at Jiang Rong, who smiled and nodded: "Yuanyuan, study hard. When you finish class, Daddy will come to pick you up and take you home, okay?"

Jiang Yuan nodded seriously: "Okay~"

Watching Jiang Yuan being led into the classroom by Yuan Qingquan, Jiang Rong felt a little uneasy. He stood at the classroom door for a while, and only when he saw that Yuan Yuan was sitting there properly did his heart slowly settle down.

Even though it wasn't the first time Jiang Rong had taken her child to class, she would still feel inexplicably nervous and worried every time. This was probably what they meant by being overly concerned.

Just then, Jiang Rong's phone rang. Since the signal tower at Xinghuo Base was built, everyone inside the base could make phone calls. After the call connected, Chu Qiang's voice came through: "Xiao Jiang, Peace Base has issued an obituary. Meng Liang is dead. Guess who has become the next leader of Peace Base?"

Jiang Rong said in a deep voice, "Liu Heng?"

Chu Qiang slapped his thigh: "As expected of Xiao Jiang, you guessed right. Have you finished your work over there? If you have, let's meet in the conference room."

Jiang Rong glanced around the classroom and strode towards the door. "I'm here."

Author's Note:

I wonder if anyone else has ever felt this way: when an elder/teacher/leader calls out your full name, you involuntarily feel nervous?

Anyway, whenever the cat parents call the old cat by its full name, the old cat immediately starts thinking about what bad things it's done recently and whether it's going to suffer the consequences. TAT

I've been so tired these past few days, only managing to sleep for seventeen or eighteen hours. Could it be a post-COVID-19 side effect?