Knock on the door, the eldest child opened it, and the family sat down at the dining table.

"Mother," Niu Niu obediently handed over the water.

Chen Yunyun fanned her nose; the pungent, strong fragrance still lingered faintly in the air.

Are you hungry?

After getting off the train this morning, I quickly fed the children some food. After a morning of travel, they must have been starving.

Now that it's past mealtime, Xu Zhijun hasn't even thought to ask the children if they've eaten.

Chen Yunyun took out the food she had prepared in advance from her storage space. The dishes she had made earlier were placed on a plate and slowly heated up using Rong Yan's small cauldron.

The familiar aroma of food filled the entire room.

The family sat down at the table and ate their first meal in Taicheng.

The afternoon passed quickly, and not long after a whistle, the sound of a key rattling came from the doorknob.

Xu Zhijun came in carrying two metal lunchboxes and placed them on the table.

Chen Yunyun and the children sat on the stools, watching his actions without saying a word.

Xu Zhijun glanced around the room and asked Chen Yunyun, "Where's your brother?"

Chen Yunyun remained expressionless and said, "I need to use the restroom."

With a creak, Rong Yan emerged from the bathroom, his expression indifferent, revealing nothing unusual.

Xu Zhijun looked away and pointed to the lunchbox. "Haven't eaten yet? Have a taste."

Chen Yunyun opened the lunchboxes. On top of the limp sweet potato chunks were one or two slices of meat. Both lunchboxes were like this. When she touched the inside of the lunchboxes, they were completely cold.

Aren't you going to eat?

Xu Zhijun shook his head and said coldly, "I've already eaten."

Looking at the obviously insufficient portions of cold dishes and rice on the table, Chen Yunyun fell silent. "I don't seem very hungry."

Before Xu Zhijun returned, the children had already eaten some snacks, and they didn't want to eat anymore.

"Aren't you hungry?"

Xu Zhijun finally looked at his cheap wife and children properly, and after a long while said, "Then let's leave them for now."

The room fell silent.

After a long silence, Xu Zhijun broke the silence first and said to Chen Yunyun, "There aren't any extra quilts at home. When someone comes later, you and your brother can help get some."

Chen Yunyun looked up. Was she trying to get the adults away?

Very well, she wanted to see what kind of mischief Xu Zhijun was up to.

Someone knocked on the door; it was a security guard.

Chen Yunyun and Rong Yan followed. Before leaving, Chen Yunyun glanced at Da Wa, who nodded subtly.

Once the door closed, the room became dark again.

“Niu Niu, hold your little brother and let him sleep for a while,” Xu Zhijun said, his tone leaving no room for refusal.

Niu Niu obediently agreed.

Only Da Wa and Xu Zhijun remained in the room, facing each other. Xu Zhijun squatted down, opened his arms, and forced a stiff smile. "Son, let Dad hug you."

The eldest child lowered his eyes, slowly approached, and threw himself into the arms of a stranger.

Xu Zhijun had a sweaty smell that made Xu Jingrun feel uncomfortable. He heard Xu Zhijun say, "Has she ever hit you? If she has bullied you, tell your father, and your father will stand up for you."

Da Wa stepped away from Xu Zhijun's embrace and looked at Xu Zhijun.

Xu Zhijun put his hands on his shoulders, looking directly at the eldest child, and asked, "Tell Dad, is there one?"

The man's eyes held urgency and expectation, but... no worry or heartache.

Da Wa looked away, his eyelashes concealing the emotions in his eyes, and answered, word by word, "No."

The older child felt the pressure on his shoulder increase, and it hurt a little.

"How could she not be here? Don't be afraid. If she's not here, tell your father everything, and he will stand up for you."

“If she really bullies you, Dad will divorce her, and then she will never be able to beat or scold you again.”

Upon hearing this, Da Wa suddenly looked up, his dark eyes staring straight into Xu Zhijun's eyes.

Xu Zhijun continued, "Did she threaten you to stop you from talking?"

The man grabbed the older child's sleeve with too much force, rubbing the child's tender arm until it was covered in red marks.

The child's skin, exposed under the light, was completely clean, without a single scar.

Xu Zhijun wasn't satisfied with just looking at the arms; he examined the eldest child's back, thighs, and every other part of his body, finding no injuries whatsoever.

"How is that possible?"

The letter he received clearly stated that Chen Yunyun loved to beat and scold the children, so how could there not even be a scar? Something must have gone wrong.

Xu Zhijun pushed open the bedroom door and pulled up Niu Niu's sleeve to check.

The little girl's arms were slender, even more delicate and fair than the older children's, with smooth skin without any marks.

"Dad, you're hurting me!" Niu Niu cried out, breaking free from Xu Zhijun's grasp.

The eldest son followed him in. He looked at Xu Zhijun and asked, "Dad, what are you looking for in us?"

Xu Zhijun paused for a moment, looked into the child's clean and pure eyes, withdrew his hand, and straightened the child's clothes. "It's nothing, Dad is just concerned about you."

He paused, then asked, "How did your stepmothers treat you?"

The eldest child replied first, "Our stepmother treats us very well; she never skimps on our food or clothing."

Xu Zhijun scrutinized the eldest child's clothes with a gloomy gaze, dissatisfied with the child's answer.

He glanced sideways and asked Niu Niu again.

Niu Niu's answer was no different from Da Wa's: "Mom is so good to us. She even lent us money to buy food. Dad, you should be good to Mom too."

Xu Zhijun hummed in response and didn't say anything more, and the room fell into a quiet silence.

The eldest son looked at the man squatting in front of his sister and felt a chill in his heart. Only now did he truly understand this man.

Xu Zhijun clearly hadn't gone home, so how did he know they were being abused by their stepmother?

And with such a clear purpose, they directly checked them for scars.

Xu Zhijun clearly knew all along that they had been abused by the former Chen Yunyun, but he made no comment. Instead, he intensified the abuse, even refusing to give them the five yuan they were entitled to for living expenses.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!